SCUBA Hero

Breaking this project off from the Fifth Edition Renaissance thread.
 
 
Working Title:  Pittsburgh: City of Champions
 
Purpose:  Provide a setting and campaign book.  With P:CoC and Champions Complete, GMs and players have everything they need to actually run a Champions campaign.  Bring in new players and folks who want a ready-to-run game and campaign, not a toolkit.  Support with future products, if sales support it.
 
Format:
Introduction - Explain where all of the toolkit toggles are set (Silver Age, Standard Superheroic characters, power levels, and so on) History Geography and Government Transportation, Media/Arts/Entertainment, Subcultures Police, Emergency Services, Underworld, Superheroes, Supervillany Places of Interest GMs Vault Villains (include an organization and master villain) Adventures Continuing the Campaign  
Note that bullet points 2-7 follow the structure of Millenium City and Vibora Bay.  MC clocks in at 135 pages, VB at 157.  Much of the difference in page count is VB's extended GM chapter and adventure seed ideas.  P:CoC would be longer, based on the Introduction and extended Adventures/Campaign sections.  Make the adventure/campaign arc related to why the previous super-team is no longer around and the new PC team has to pick up the mantle.
 
One concern that I have is that CC only has 64 print copies left in stock, and I don't know if it will be reprinted.  Or possibly I'm an old pencil-and-paper grognard and that's not a big concern, folks today buy the pdfs and, if they want, use PoD or the local copy store for a paper copy.
 
Funding: Kickstarter.  Based on previous successful Hero System Kickstarter campaigns, rough estimate of $15,000. Start with a nice color cover and minimal B&W interior artwork; stretch goals would add more artwork and then upgrade it to color. Mention (and have) plans for future supplements: more linked adventures, a city development book; also to use Kickstarter.  Maybe have a second adventure arc, linked to the first, at a high enough stretch goal to fund it.
 
Staff:  Writers. Editor. Proof-reader. Artist(s). Project coordinator.  Mark Rand is providing backgound on Pittsburgh.  Need another writer to do the gamey stuff.  I am neither a writer nor an editor, but I can proof-read and coordinate (I am also qualified to do character write-ups.)

Luche Libre Hero for the win! 😀

I have completed and published the digital version of The Jolrhos Codex!  Its up on DriveThruRPG in the Hall of Champions section.  I hope to have it up here on Hero soon as well as in print.
 
The Codex is the rewrite of my old Fantasy Codex, with doublechecked math, new spells, streamlined layout and content, and specifically built to be for my Fantasy Hero campaign setting rather than generic.  Also added are Bard Songs and Priest rituals, as well as campaign rules for building spells.  As a result its slimmed down, but has more content.
 
The full spell builds (and NPCS, songs etc) are all in hdc files that are bundled with the book.  Because of this, there is no preview (I cannot figure out how to make a preview available with the zip bundle).

After reviewing the character sheet with friend, she gave me some great feedback. Notably, being able to read the headings and having the character portrait on the right instead of left. I think the final product came out well...hopefully it will attract new players to Hero System.

I recently ran the rules-light superhero RPG ICONS at a local game convention and it worked out beautifully, especially since out of the two groups of players that participated in the sessions I ran, only one had actually played role-playing games before. For the others, it was their first time ever and it was easy to explain the game mechanics and character sheet layout to them as well. Looking ahead to the next game event, though, I was thinking about running Champions and Fantasy Hero, which both have a special place in my gaming heart since I have been playing them since high school and college, respectively. I've owned and played other games (e.g. Robotech, Pendragon, DC Heroes, Villains & Vigilantes) before them, but in the end, my preference is still Hero System.
 
Why, beyond sentimental memories of rolling lots of d6s over pizza in the college dorm? It finally hit me when I purchased Fantasy AGE and its Bestiary over the weekend, a worthy fantasy game system in its own right. The products are first rate and the rules are to easy to pick up, but then it hit me: how do I establish game balance between the players and their opponents? How do I design my own monsters? That's when I realized the "beautiful madness" of Hero System. The beauty of Hero's point system has always been, and remains, a great way to determine the relative power level of a character, whatever the genre, as outlined in their respective game and source books. The madness, of course, is all of the nuances and related rules that can affect point totals, and the rules heavy nature of the Hero System that often turned new players away or frustrated them. The source books themselves remain amazing academic references that as educators, my wife and I loved...but was that really the writers' intent? 🤔
 
So, I challenged myself with this question: how can I make Hero System "Easy to Follow" for brand new players? Here's what I've done to create what I call, "Easy to Follow Fifth Edition" for the character sheet layout:
1) All of the statistics are written out; virtually no acronyms are used. (The Hero Designer file exists, but players aren't interested in that raw data.)
2) After the statistics are listed, the next two major entries are "Offense" and "Defense" that list combat values, main attacks, and defenses.
3) Everything else is listed under Skills and Abilities, followed by Disadvantages.
4) Perks & Talents are minimized. The skills and powers are only the main ones that people readily know and pick up. Not every minute detail is listed, especially when it can get tedious.
 
My friend, who's only played ICONS so far and head was spinning when I first introduced Hero System to her a while back, is coming over to look at what I created with a fresh set of eyes. Here is what I've created so far for Champions and Fantasy Hero as samples. Constructive feedback is welcome to see if it answers the question, "Does this make Hero System easier to understand?"
 
Thanks!

 
 

I had a concept like this that was well-received by the gaming group, but never got off the ground.
 
Fantasy Hero.  You have a race (like the Blood).  And normal humans.  And Blood-human Offspring.  A feudal setting; the Blood are the high nobles, humans commoners/serfs/slaves, and Offspring the equivalent of Knights.
 
The key mechanic is that Blood have 12 DCs of Damage Negation and the equivalent of 12 DCs of Deadly Blow - except with both Normal and Killing attacks and in all circumstances.  Offspring had 6 DCs.  Humans, zero.  (There were other powers as well, like RKAs.)
 
This has the effect that each type affects itself normally, but a human attacking a Blood needs at least a 4d6+1K or 13d6N to even have a *chance* at affecting them.  Offspring-Blood and human-offspring, 2d6+1K or 7d6N.
 
The players would all have been Offspring, each having their own fief.

This is discussed in 6e1p208-209.

Another option, for those who like the stun volatility, is to roll body dice for normal attacks as usual, then roll a single d6-1 stun multiple.

IIRC, that was true in 5e, removed in 6e.
 
Edit:  Found it!  5erp311, "However, a character may not combine two or more slots from a single Power Framework as part of a multiple-power attack, even if he has sufficient reserve or base points to use both slots at once."  
 
6e1p399, "A character can make a Multiple Attack (6E2 73) with two or more slots in a single Power Framework, provided he has enough reserve/Pool points to allocate to the two or more slots used in the attack simultaneously. A character can use slots from two or more different Power Frame - works to perform a Multiple Attack, assuming he obeys all the rules for such attacks."  So it looks like that's already a Multipe Attack, not a Combined Attack, by RAW.

I didn't mean to give the impression that Ndreare's player actually has a plan that needs thwarting. At the time, I couldn't conceive of any other reason to object to dividing the Multipower, but you've raised an alternative: player agency. I get that, and thank you. To clarify, I don't know anything about Ndreare's players, campaign, or GMing style; I can only say how it would make me feel—and what my concerns would be and how those concerns could be alleviated—were my PC not to have a 150-point reserve Multipower and another PC to have a 150-point reserve Multipower, without knowing anything else.
 
Here's where I'm coming from: Imagine two players both build characters. My PC has 4 50-point Powers that can be used simultaneously (200 Character Points). That other PC has a 150-point reserve Multipower and 10 50-point Powers in 10 different ultra slots so that only 3 can be used simultaneously (also 200 Character Points). Everything else about the two PCs is functionally identical. Upon learning how that other player built his PC, I would feel bad because…
That other PC is more versatile than my PC. Although that other PC can only use 3 Powers at a time, that other PC has access to more than twice the number of Powers that my PC has. Remember that we know nothing about the campaign, so I don't know yet if my 4 Powers at once will allow me to participate as meaningfully in the campaign as that guy with 10 Powers—that'll hinge on the GM, the narrative, my own inventiveness, and so on—, but I'd absolutely worry that my 4-Power PC couldn't contribute to the same degree as the 10-Power PC in as many different situations, under as many different conditions, or within as many different narratives. That other PC's versatility means that he can use simultaneously Attack Powers to launch encounter-ending alpha/omega strikes (bearing in mind that a Combined Attack using different slots of the same Multipower is legit—see here). Alternatively, that other PC could render himself virtually invulnerable by employing simultaneously multiple Defense Powers. My PC is only doing 2/3 of one of those, albeit all the time. Also, my PC's abilities are fixed, while that other PC might not just be able to execute alpha/omega strikes or to become nigh invulnerable but also be able to pick how. That other PC has opportunities for growth that my character lacks. That other player can spend experience points to buy that other PC new, plot-advancing Powers relatively inexpensively. Further, were the campaign's Active Point cap raised, that player can increase that PC's Powers' efficacy relatively inexpensively. Finally, for the same price as my PC could buy a fifth Power, that player can add a fourth Power to those that PC can already use simultaneously—while still behind my character in usable simultaneous Powers, the combinations that other PC can employ then increase tremendously. To be clear: I'm still in the abstract on all of this. I know that an RPG requires—among other elements—a GM and a narrative in addition to players and mechanics, so I'm not addressing many elements. My concerns are just based on feelings about character-building. Those're what I'd worry about as a player were that situation to arise at a table I was at. 
 
Keep in mind that my initial response—which might've been overlooked—would be to ask the GM if I could (re)design my PC to be more like the PC with the outsized Multipower. That'd be my preferred solution if the GM is inclined to let the outsized Multipower stand: Give everyone the same option. That other player may have exercised agency that some players didn't realize they had, so let the other players exercise the same agency. That's fair.

IIRC, that was true in 5e, removed in 6e.
 
Edit:  Found it!  5erp311, "However, a character may not combine two or more slots from a single Power Framework as part of a multiple-power attack, even if he has sufficient reserve or base points to use both slots at once."  
 
6e1p399, "A character can make a Multiple Attack (6E2 73) with two or more slots in a single Power Framework, provided he has enough reserve/Pool points to allocate to the two or more slots used in the attack simultaneously. A character can use slots from two or more different Power Frame - works to perform a Multiple Attack, assuming he obeys all the rules for such attacks."  So it looks like that's already a Multipe Attack, not a Combined Attack, by RAW.

Strength only for encumbrance makes sense, but then wouldn't you want to make it persistent and possibly add invisible power effects?
 
 

"Behold a God who bleeds!"

In that case I'd go with retainer.

I like REACT! 👍

What the heck?!?!  Vader has a STR of 13... that's enough to lift a grown human up by one hand and then crush his neck?  I call shenanigans!!

In a superhero universe, perhaps the mascot of the Pittsburgh Penguins is a human-sized anthropomorphic penguin, either from another world or another universe.
 
Think Howard the Duck, only a penguin.

Maybe this file? 
 
 

6e1p56:  "No Skill Levels (not even Overall Skill Levels) add to the 8- chance to perform a Skill with which a character is Familiar, since the character doesn’t understand the Skill well enough to use his expertise."

I should have mentioned, Honor + Intrigue is based on Barbarians of Lemuria, modified and customized for swashbuckling.  I'm not familiar with BoL, so I can't list the differences.
 
Don't post blocks of rules from games.  Absolutely! 👍

Kickstarter?

Barbarians of Lemuria does the same thing. It works well for what the game is.
 
/
Not sure what you mean by "post it here," but in case it needs to be said... Don't post blocks of rules from games. Ever. Respect the copyright and the effort for which writers and developers were paid. If they wanted it given away for free, it'd be Open Games License.
 
Sorry, sore spot. I've been in the biz.
 
Dean Shomshak

[red/bold/italics mine]  You can link to a power outside the framework (6e1, pp. 388-389).  But you're right that frameworks can neither be linked, nor can one add to or modify a slot in the same or another Power Framework, or the same or another Power Framework as a whole.
 
As far as Active Point cost, I'd just say that the base Control Cost can't allow for more than the campaign AP limit.  The Gm may also want to put a limit on the Pool CPs...

Killer Shrike has an in-depth system.
 
Campaign Guidelines (killershrike.com)
 

Hi, Everyone! I posted a group of elemental themed villains inspired by the 1980s cartoon Inhumanoids and the Calvin & Hobbes cartoon strip. Included are the Hero Designer Files (6th Edition) and Microsoft Word formats. They are the following;
 
Magmax - Lava elemental, inspired by the character Metlar (450 pts)
Revenant - Bone golem, inspired by the character Decompose (400 pts)
Trellis - Plant elemental, inspired by the character Tendril (400 pts)
Snow Goon #1 and #2 - Inspired by Calvin & Hobbes' creations one winter day that went mad! (250 pts each)
 
Enjoy! 😀