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Trechriron10

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Posts posted by Trechriron10

  4. New Deluxe Character Sheet - Thoughts?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, assault said:

    Personally, I prefer single page character sheets...

     

    How, in the name of the Seven Gods of Design do you accomplish that with HERO?

     

    I'm working on a fancier creature stat block next, but as it sits currently the official one generally take up 1/2 - 3/4 of a page excluding the "fluff".

     

    I believe being able to read and comprehend the sheet is more important than brevity. In order to reduce the info required for HERO onto one page, I would have to use super SUPER small fonts, tons of abbreviations, and likely hieroglyphs to come close to putting the stuff you need on it. But again, this sheet was really targeted at casual and new players.

  7. New Deluxe Character Sheet - Thoughts?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Duke Bushido said:

     

    I have a soft solution for that; something we (the regulars) ...

     

    That would require a blank spot and I feel like the "official" HERO logo is a better "selling point"? Again, a veteran can probably navigate the official character sheet including all the acronyms with aplomb. This is really designed for the newbs, the con games, the demos and one shots where the target players are not particularly experienced. Yet. 🙂

  11. New Deluxe Character Sheet - Thoughts?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    TreChriron's HERO 6e Deluxe Character Sheet.

     

    Looking for input! I want to make sure it's somewhat usable before I make a form fill version.

     

    ------ From the Description ----

    This is a 3 page character sheet I whipped up for HERO 6th Edition. Here is a summary of the pages;

     

    1. Profile - characteristics, movement, senses, points, perks and talents and finally complications.
    2. All skills and powers / equipment.
    3. Combat profile - vitals tracking, to-hit chart, defenses, combat values, references and maneuvers.

     

    Design goals;

     

    I wanted a sheet that was more "newb" friendly. So I tried to include the full names of characteristics with abbreviations. I also wanted it to be easier on ink, hence the various watermarks.

    I also like my personal info at the top of the first sheet. I feel this approach makes it easier to use.

     

    • During social or interpersonal scenes, you can have sheet 1 and sheet 2 face up.
    • During combat, you can have sheets 2 and 3 face up.

     

    This allows for 2 sheets face up side-by-side depending on the focus of the "scene".

     

  14. Perceptions of the game change

    in Champions

    Posted

    I have three words for HERO games.

     

    Content. Creator. Program.  (DTRPG --> Lots of Eyeballs --> Share the profits --> If the creator does well HERO makes some cash...)

     

    Also, Kindle versions would be amazing. I read my Fire on the Porcelain Throne and it would be awesome to read HERO there... :D

  15. Ideas from Other Game Systems

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    10 hours ago, dmjalund said:

    one way to implement Conditions in HERO is that each Condition had a 'BODY' cost. Each time someone gets hit for BODY, they can declare they have this Condition and get these BODY points back.

     

    of course, the more the condition hampers the character, the more BODY they get back

     

    I really like this! Cool idea.

     

    10 hours ago, Doc Democracy said:

    ...

    Doc

     

    Yeah, what he said.

     

    2 hours ago, Chris Goodwin said:

    ...

     

    It might not be a bad idea for us to have a "cheat sheet" with conditions broken out: the effect, how it is applied, how to recover from it.  They're strewn throughout the rules -- in the sections where they're most likely to be needed, true, but a reference sheet might be good to have.

     

    I am currently refreshing my memory - learning 6e, so I will keep this in mind whilst I learn! 😄  Having conditions be a part of the rules I believe makes it helpful to understand. It also lends to creating things like reference card decks you can handout to players during the game to remind them.

  16. Ideas from Other Game Systems

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Trechriron10
    Clarity

    1. Conditions exist in several game systems. d20, new Worlds of Darkness / Chronicles of Darkness (CoD), Mutants & Masterminds (MM3e)... the basic premise is - instead of tracking a bunch of different "hit point" tracks, you have "states" that affect the character based on in-fiction things that happen to them. For example, you could have a Condition called "uneasy" [after a frightening experience, you feel uneasy until you have a chance to rest in what you consider a safe environment. You have -1 to all checks until the Condition is removed]. This is not a real Condition anywhere (yet), but I'm spitballing as an example. In MM3e, these conditions are closely tied to the damage/injury system. Everything is a save. Depending how badly you fail your save, you take "Conditions". The GM can also assign Complications based on severe trauma as desired (especially if you want a "grittier" feel). Conditions could map to supernatural corruption, injury, health or even emotions.
    2. GURPS/MM3e Affliction power is like an attack but does varying levels of distraction to outright pain to instant death. At a basic level, you itch. The next level you feel moderate pain. Then you feel severe agony. If you fail hard, you have a heart attack. It's generally configurable so again I'm summarizing blindly to illustrate - there are lots of "things" in this power (itching, ecstasy, agony, sneezing, coughing, retching, seizures, etc.). It's an attack that doesn't do direct damage. You end up "distracted" or "immobilized" or "paralyzed" or "unconscious". By defining conditions up front, you can summarize Affliction levels in the power and how it applies and then let the Conditions contain the "rules" for how it impacts the character.
    3. HERO games have a lot of back-and-forth in combat. It favors "taken out" as the most common end state vs. "killed". Which is fine. But for a Heroic game with some grit, I would want characters that take a bunch of Stun damage in the combat to walk away "bruised" and have that last for a specified period of time until healed. If you lose say half your Body in an encounter you have the "Injured" Condition, which again lasts a specified period of time until healed. So instead of relying solely on Stun, Body and Endurance you have some lasting "narrative" effects that remind everyone of their fragility. 🙂
    4. In Mythras a Passion works very much like a skill (Mythras is a d100 % game...). Except it relates to relationships, friendships, motivations or obsessions you have for someone or an ideal or perhaps a cult. When you and the GM agree that a Passion applies to a check, you add 1/10 the skill as a bonus to the skill used in the check. In certain circumstances based on in-game actions / decisions these Passions can increase or decrease. These are loosely derived from Pendragon's spiritual traits (IIRC). I would make these work like Complementary Skills on rolls we felt the Passion applied to. (also, I misspelled "complimentary". ooops).
    5. The basic Apocalypse World GM advice is based on two awesome tidbits - the Agenda, and the Principles (I'm taking liberties with the wording as to not copy EXACTLY the words from the books...).
      1. The Agenda
        1. Make the world seem real.
        2. Play to see what happens.
        3. Make the Heroes lives dangerous & scary (or adventurous & challenged OR heroic & complicated... you know, bring the things to the session that fit what you're running and don't be boring...).
      2. The Principles
        1. Put "the important thing" in everyday situations. If you are doing supers, then put harrowing shit in everyday situations. Or maybe you got some Men in Black going on, so you put "Sci-Fi Weirdness" in everyday situations. Just put it in there. Don't be passive. The players can watch National Geographic's Earth 2 when they get home.
        2. Address yourself to the characters, not the players. Nothing pulls you out of "the moment" like using people's real names!
        3. Use the GM "Moves" (the suggested actions you take when you get to make a move) but never use their names. This applies to the players too. Don't just Block, describe what it looks like. This advice is already dripping from the pages of HERO so...
        4. Be a fan of the characters.
        5. Build up the details (Mythology, History, Color) of the world as you play.
        6. Nothing is safe. Kill onlookers, maim all the people in the falling building, blow up cars and buildings, rocks fall everything dies and the characters are looking around wondering what's next. See any Avengers movie for examples. Don't be afraid. Go all George R.R. Martin ALL the time. Weeping is an acceptable outcome. OK, just kidding, I may have got a little worked up there...
        7. Give everyone they meet a name. Make NPCs and Villains and Baristas seem real / normal / plausible.
        8. Ask questions and build on the answers. You don't have to know everything. Ask the Curious Kitten what they think. Then build on it. "Is there a fire escape in here?" - "I don't know, tell me - IS there a fire escape in here? Where it is located? What does it look like?" Then go with it. Ask yourself - would putting a fire escape in here really be a BIG DEAL? Probably not. Make Fun - Not Bore.
        9. Sometimes give the Heroes EXACTLY what they earned, rather than everything they hoped for. You saved the princess but the castle is ruined and she really does NOT like the way you ruthlessly killed the Dragon and she's going to tell on you.
        10. Think about what's going on "off-screen". Events happen. People do things. The world should move outside the scene / moment the PCs are playing in. This should generally inspire some foreshadowing... One of the "moves" for GMs is "Announce future badness". Example: "the sky darkens and off the distance you hear a violent rumble..."
        11. You don't have to decide what happens. This is similar to #8. "I drink the unidentifiable green stuff in the vial... what happens?" (I wasn't prepared for this!) "Well, YOU tell me what happens. Based on what you know, describe what it does to you". Then run with it. This is like "forced improv". You know all those GMs you envy who can just pull things out of nowhere? Keep practicing this and that GM will be YOU in a few months. There are NO wrong answers, just GO with it.
        12. Everything is a threat. Or Everything is a mystery. Or Everything is a challenge. Basically, you don't need to go into the harmless fern. "It's a typical office with desks, computers, fake plants and terrible lighting" BUT maybe the fern is a mindless alien creature feeding for its inevitable growth... "as you walk by, the glistening fern reaches out with carnivorous frons and attempts to engulf you!" See? Now the fern is a threat. Not boring. To put it another way - Drama is Conflict!
    6. The concept here is to a) not confuse the players and b) not hide the clues and c) solving a mystery is WAY more fun than being wanked by it.
      1. The mystery doesn't need to be super complex. You are not Machiavelli and likely neither are your players. Maybe 3 important facts (clues) are all that's necessary to deduct what happened. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Don't be offended. I call myself stupid all the time.
      2. If the characters possess a skill that would find a clue, just give it to them!! You can roll and embellish the information on that clue depending on how well they roll. When you devise your mystery you should note some ideas on WHAT to embellish... NEVER I mean absolutely never I don't care how old school you are or how fun it is to feel smarter than every person in your circle of friends - NEVER withhold a clue. NEVER. If you absolutely HAVE to skip a clue in a scene because your NERD-compulsions won't allow it then find a way to slip it in the next scene or a later scene. NEVER. Withhold. A Clue. So serious here.
      3. How many mystery novels have you read where the antagonists DON'T solve the mystery? Zero? Yeah exactly. Now, imagine your playing in your game and four sessions later the aliens invade the earth, everyone is captured and the last thing the dying heroes see are the Prison Mines of Artox 6... Who's showing up to your next game? Exactly. You want them to solve the mystery! See Principle #4 above. Also note I didn't say just hand it to them in a Cliff's Notes summary before the game. They should still work for it. Just don't OBFUSCATE it under layers of boring mundane set pieces drowning in boring rules expositions.

    Whew. That was a lot.

  17. Ideas from Other Game Systems

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/18/2019 at 12:47 PM, Anaximander said:

    ... And, while on the subject of taking concepts from one game system and applying them to another, what concepts from other games would you or have you implemented in Hero, ...?

     

    1. Mutant's & Masterminds conditions (d20, True20, et al). I would tune them to be more HERO-like, but I really dig the idea of them.
    2. Create a new power similar to GURPS Affliction that utilizes conditions. MM3e has a similar power.
    3. For Heroic level games I would tune up Stun/Body loss with Conditions. Probably steal some ideas from LTE tied into certain Conditions to emulate injuries.
    4. Passions from Mythras setup like Familiarities. When focused on something related to a Passion you get a complimentary skill bonus.
    5. I always use the GM Principles from the various Powered by the Apocalypse games because they are brilliant. Tuned by genre, but there is a theme... Also, focus on the conversation, the description (this is suggested in HERO anyways...).
    6. Mysteries are always handled with a combination of GURPS Mysteries and GumShoe GM advice. Clues are obvious, deduction is based on clues, don't make it too complicated, etc. I would probably never use the Deduction skill in HERO.

  18. Perceptions of the game change

    in Champions

    Posted

    12 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

    I reckon a new thread? 

     

    Those who find inspiration from it could then throw their stuff up there, too. 

     

    I assume you're answering my post...

     

    I can start a new thread. But we need a handful of people to make it fly. I'll be working on some of my own worlds as well.

  19. Perceptions of the game change

    in Champions

    Posted · Edited by Trechriron10
    Missing whole words... sheesh.

    1 hour ago, Sketchpad said:

     

    Honestly, the easiest thing to do is just create your own universe. Work out a quick timeline, buy a few stock art portfolios off Drive Thru RPG (Storn's are great), and write something up. That way the only thing you may have to worry about is licensing the system.

     

    I would be willing to setup a shared superhero world for HERO 6e, on World Anvil (I have a paid account - I can add other admins...). I would also be willing to donate up to ten pieces of my Dreamstime subscription for (non-exclusive) artwork. I speak Photoshop to trim assets for online display. To start, if we create a significantly detailed world on World Anvil, we can just point the principles at the existing work (you know, to show how awesome it is and convince someone to grant us a license...). Makes it easier to show the quality... In addition, I have InDesign and can layout (or help...) and create a PDF / POD for sale on DTRPG (if we can get a license) - so those looking for PDF or physical books could get something in their preferred format. If we get to this point, we can re-invest funds into yet MORE artwork... perpetuating new cycles of content creation.

     

    Also, there are PILES of cheap art resources in stock art on DTRPG. 

     

    I'm suggesting that interested people can collaborate on a shared setting and then point people to this resource as a good intro to HERO. If we can recruit say a dozen contributors over time, there will be a constant stream of new material...

     

    Unless Cryptic + HERO is interested in supporting a similar effort online for Champions... getting approvals is usually slow and painful. We would likely have WAY more fun starting from scratch. By fans for fans. If we stay persistent and involved, this could start a nice buzz for the game.

     

  21. Perceptions of the game change

    in Champions

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Spence said:

    #1 Absolutely.  Hero has far few players to afford to immediately push out a big campaign book.  That is why a DMs Guild or Miskatonic Repository type of outlet is critical to getting  Hero back out into the world.

     

    A Content Creator program on DTRPG would be awesome. I would be all over that.

  22. Perceptions of the game change

    in Champions

    Posted

    1 hour ago, BigJackBrass said:

     

    The only reason I've been stalking eBay for some Hero books is because the ones I want are either out of print or, as with Champions 6th edition, effectively out of print (the only physical option being a black and white print on demand paperback).  Getting any of the books in the UK these days is difficult, one more problem when it comes to expanding the player base. 

     

    Fair enough. Getting stuff across either big pond is too expensive. HERO needs color high quality POD. It's tad more expensive but the DTRPG high quality color hardbacks are superb.

     

    Spence, I'm hearing you. I agree. How do you feel the HERO basic book does as an entry level introduction? Fantasy HERO complete?

  23. Perceptions of the game change

    in Champions

    Posted

    I really believe there should be an order to introducing someone to a system like HERO (or GURPS).

    1. Play a one-shot with pre-gens, keep it basic and fast.
    2. Invite someone to a regular game. Ask them conceptually what they want to play. Build a character for them. When they are ready to invest XP, you can teach them the building blocks - one thing at a time.
    3. Each session, introduce a new combat maneuver or option they haven't used previously.
    4. Lend them a set of books, so they can peruse at their own pace. Ask them to skip over stuff they find boring or too complicated to understand. Let the group explain the complicated parts.
    5. If they like gameplay, the next campaign work with them as they build a character.

    I've found that games with more crunch (or potential complexity) just need to be introduced in steps.

    I'm reading through 6e1 and 2 currently, and yes they can be verbose, but I like all the examples, suggestions and help. A game like HERO needs some consideration when you're building stuff. Without the right guidance you could end up with some characters or settings or adventures that are not fun to play in (too easy, too hard, too fiddly...).

     

    So the point here I'm suggesting... Let the books have as much info as they need. It's highly likely that anyone getting into HERO is going to come from a fan showing them the ropes. All across the intertubes you see people requesting to be taught D&D5e. It's a simple game yet people still want the guidance. Newbs are intimidated by everything until you play once. Then (generally, in my experience), the floodgates open and many (if not most) dive in with wild abandon. 🙂 Just get them there. They want to nerd-out with you and most endeavour to learn the system.

     

    I wouldn't worry so much about the presentation or the lack of adventures. If you want to help HERO do better, run a game! Encourage participation by a group. Encourage people to buy the books. Sales is one of the best ways to ensure your favorite game will continue to be supported.

     

    So, for example, waiting to buy a used book on ebay at a discount is probably doing far more immediate harm than the presentation of the game. I purposefully bought by PDFs and Hardcovers directly from the store. Why? Because they don't have to pay fees to DTRPG. I bought some POD only because they were not available on the store. I paid full price for my products. The return on investment for RPGs is high (if you play them!), so I believe that publishers deserve that cash. I certainly get tons of mileage out of my games...

     

    Adventures are generally a bad investment unless you have a strong stable of GMs buying books. They just sell less. I think Paizo's Adventure Paths are a great example of how a company broke this curse. The subscription model was genius for one... Also, they are super focused on a herd of GMs! The players come in and buy a book or two and play. Then a third of them decide to GM. Then you recruit them for organized play. GMs buy all the books and pick up APs they are interested. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. You generally will be able to build a player base but what you need (really) is to build a GM base.

     

    I'm currently looking into a digital option to share worlds / adventures online with a subscription model. I think this will be the future of publishing adventures and settings. Not printed product, but resources GMs can use to create adventures easily, print only what they need, organize things in the manner they like best. My hope is that by catering specifically to GMs I can build a nice following of GMs who like what I'm doing; that will make the venture profitable enough to justify the time.

     

    None of this works if people don't play the games, create groups and run the games, and most importantly... buy the games (and make new GMs... 🙂 )

     

    Just my two cents...

  24. Is someone in Seattle in need of a Doctor?

    in Player Finder

    Posted

    They are an exclusively D&D 5e group and not super open to new people (old friends, kids, special needs child in the mix).

     

    However, If you want to join us up north we could make it a tad easier for you. You could meet me in Renton (opposite of Sea Tac) and we can carpool over to Seattle. I have a guest room, so if you didn't want to travel home on a  FRI for whatever reason, you could crash at my place and embark in the AM.  😄

     

    OOC, Are you military? Retiring or is this your final assignment?

  25. Is someone in Seattle in need of a Doctor?

    in Player Finder

    Posted

    The group I want to form would be at Metro Seattle Gamers in Seattle. Not sure about the drive from Marysville, but certainly closer than Ft. Lewis.

     

    I'm suggesting jlc3721 look in the southend, because if he's stationed on Ft. Lewis, burning 60 - 75 minutes driving to a game can get old real quick. I have a ton of friends in the Tacoma area and I used to game with them, but the drive sucks.

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