Scott Ruggels

Loved the first season so much. I really hope it doesn’t falter.

Accidental Wap bubble creation in the lab. https://stealthoptional.com/news/warp-bubble-darpa/

Just heard about the news of George Perez’s diagnosis on a YouTube stream. Ray Greer managed to help the negotiations to get George to do the covers for The Big Blue Book, and described him as the nicest of people. Very sad about this, as I was an avid reader of his Teen Titans run back in the 80s. Loved his Hero cover.

What it is looking like, is that, related to the weight, there is a subtraction to DEX for DEX order, A Character's strength will modify that by increments of 5 beyond the strength minimum. CSLs with that weapon will also help to remove penalties as well. I like the idea of only strike and Haymaker for weapons you are unfamiliar with. I like that a lot. Makes Weapons familiarity worth something. and CSLs only apply to weapons you are familiar with, otherwise no (?)

On the other hand, the Beta of the Hero mod for Tabletop Simulator works really well, specifically for Hero. It uses Hero Designer files to input characters into the game. There are several sets of miniatures and props and location useable for a Cham[ions game (Far more for generic Western European Fantasy, though), and there are a couple of games going on as testing continues. The downside is that you need a good internet connection, and a good game rig P.C. to run it, otherwise it will freeze the P.C. and crash to desktop. I've liked the combats I have played on that system, as it automatically does the Pythagorean calculations between characters at different altitudes, and also automatically calculated range mods and adjusted die rolls. It's a very good mod, specifically for Hero, but it's not yet ready for the public use apparently. Questions about it should be directed to the Hero Discord.

This is interesting, as I had to move online since 2015 as I had no car by that time, and was isolated in Los Angeles. I fell in with a group of people from Second Life that wanted to play D&D online. So I played. Being refugees from Second Life, none of use used our cameras, and still do not. We used Roll 20 for maps and tokens, and first Skype, and then Discord for voice. I think it has just been the years of using these tools that the group has just adapted to the people talk one at a time, and otherwise sit silent and listen. In the early days , yes, everyone tried to talk over each other, but that hasn't been a problem since. The original group split into two, and both groups continue. Now we have played a lot of other systems than 5e D&D, such as Traveller, Savage Worlds, but unfortunately no Herosystem (yet). in my current situation I a mostly without a car, but can borrow one for shopping, doctor's appointments, and special events, but otherwise I am stuck at home in the rural part of California, north of the Bay Area, so Online gaming will have to stay. I think the problem of players talking over each other is something a group has to adapt out of, but it may take a few years, as it did with us. I think NOT having face cameras on has helped with that. Most of the players are represented with a square piece of artwork of their character, or an abstract shape. The other thing that helped is that there are multiple public and private text channels available for massages to be passed, or player's intended action spelled out, with the die rolls. Now I am seeing an increase of people playing Hero products of one sort or another popping up on the Hero Discord, so there are venues for people to game, but you have to go there to find Hero, otherwise it's endless D&D 5e, Pathfinder 1e, Shadowrun, or WoD, on Roll 20. Hell, I might be having to run a game of Cyberpunk Red, when the current GM gets tired and wants to hand off the baton.

It would have to be a calculation of per weapon and per man, you wanted small differences. This is how you get them. I would limit this rule to heroic, like hit locations. Superheroes are complex enough on their own.

I think it would be a wise idea to make a back cover, because people do like POD because having a reference on the table, especial;y for GMS that ban electronics from the gaming table (and many do). LOts of player reference would be helpful.

I'd think the Dex would be determined by some mathematical interaction between the weapons' weight by type, it's length, and multiplied by the character's strength. But I can't do math, so someone else will have to figure that out. An alternative method would just be assigning speed ONLY on it's weight, and assume only for Heroic campaigns. The value would be arbitrary. like Epees, rapiers would be Dex 20, Daggers would be Dex 25, two handed weapons would be Dex 15. Combat Skill Levels cannot be added unless one can beat the STR minimum by 5, and for every by five you can add one CSL to raise fhe dex, but never past your inherent Dex. Just some thoughts.

I could say Luck is not a Hero Stat 😁 However, luck may not be enough. Sure, the narrative focused games will have a luck stat, or a narrative bonus token, but I don’t think that is enough, for the simple fact that most players of RPGs these days base their ideas of heroism and exceptionalism from film, far more than text on a page. Comics exist on that halfway point between film and text, and players want their characters to have a “bit”!to show off their skills in being a badass or above the average person. It takes a diffevent kind of player, in control, and satisfied with their lot in life to be the character actor, rather than the heroic lead. This is assuming a solo game, as characters like that seldom.can carry their weight in a dangerous situation and are more suited to be NPCs.

Thirded, here. THe show displays some of the best Non-Photorealistic=Renders (NPR), on their characters I have seen since Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. The locations are steampunk like, but probably more evocative of Ebberron. But the voice action and how they handle the characters make the tragedy of the story inevitable, an competely understandable. The following YouTUbe has some spoilders, but they are in the back, and there is a warning:

I think it would work better as a book or TV show than as an RPG. RPG Protagonists are player's escapeism, a chance to be "better" than normal in som way or another. being a dead stock normal, especially when one is not as clever or witty as they imagine their character to be, is a bit of a downer.

I would really like to see this elaborated on, as I am running into résistance to trying Hero, from other players. Everyone is defaulting to 5e, and those that aren't are going to minimalist systems I can't stand. Maybe start this in another thread as I don't want to derail this topic either?

One runs into this with firearms in the Heroic games. In that there are few things that delineate differences other than caliber and range mod. Pistols cluster around 1D6 plus or minus, rifles 2D6 plus or minus wit a 1to 3 add to range mod if braced. You may have a clue here with the dex mod, BUT, with those weapons there is a trade off between damage and Dex level. Now I can easily see a weapon limiting a character’s action to the Dex of the weapon, but that being said, do you see this effecting OCV, because I do not. ( remember, I don’t do 6th edition). I also think that the weapon would have no effect on the character’s speed. Daggers are fast, but only add to the strength of the character. Pole arms add reach, and can be leveraged. The heavier the weapon, the more additional damage it can add to strength ( at the cost of dex). The only downside I see is switching weapons in combat is going to change the dex order, and most online systems don’t seem to handle that well. It’s not a bad idea you have, just try to keep the extra book keeping to a minimum.

They are following the same methodology that the City of San Francisco, and most of the large metropolises in California are doing for COVID at this time. It's not about logic IMO< but COVID theater.

From the DunDraCon Facebook page: DunDraCon 45 COVID Policy: We want you to feel secure attending DunDraCon 45. We need to have precautions in place to provide as much safety as possible for our staff and attendees. The Santa Clara Marriott is much larger than our previous home in San Ramon, and there will be many people in the hotel for reasons other than DunDraCon who do not have to follow our protocols. We will require proof of completed vaccinations for everyone attending DunDraCon 45. As DunDraCon is a social event, there will be no exceptions due to medical, religious, or personal preference. We will not accept test results as an alternative. A test result only tells your status as of the time you took the test – you might be sick three days later. Please be aware that unvaccinated children will be unable to participate in Kids Room or other DunDraCon activities. We regret this, as we value our young gamers and don’t like to have to exclude them from playing. Masks will be required of everyone over the age of 2 years while in convention venues, which consist of any rooms in which we are holding events or conducting business, or adjacent corridors. We've thought it over. This is what we need to do. We really will miss anyone who cannot attend DunDraCon 45 because of this policy, and look forward to seeing everyone again at future DunDraCons. Official Con Home Page: http://www.dundracon.com/

Just a plus one? This discounts the kind of people that as soon as they are done with school, go to the basketball court and endlessly practice their shots until dinner time. There would be NPCs let alone players who would be looking for that extra edge. Now I have had some success with a fantasy game without magic, so there is no incentive to search for that edge, but the PC and friendly NPC body count has been high.

Good luck with that.

What's CSS?

I was doing 150 points for FH, plus disads, but my games were combat and skill heavy.

Thank you!

Please, oh Please can you create a template that looks like this?: I need this layout, with no pic, no backstory, and a three column format, just like this. Here are some HDC files to work with if you need them, and they are for Fantasy Hero. This would be for fifth Edition. 6th is Okay but we build in fifth or earlier.

Anomaly here: I kind of liked the 4-6 hour fights, so 12-14 D6 attacks, but High Defenses, and High con. One of these folksi was a good "boos fight for a team or 3--pt heroes, but fighting each other It was also cool. (though the stun lottery, may make short work of one, it's best then to fight in teams). Scott (Who habitually added pluses to stun mods on RKA attacks, because I'm like that)

The Eternals looks gray and depressing. No Kirby energy. I’ll pass. I’ll water for Spiderman this Christmas.

Oh I do. One of my characters is quite aggressive with a shield. I also created a martial art for creatures with long stiff tails that they would tie maces and axes to.