Khymeria

Not a comet, a surveillance device set to come by and check progress of primitive people. This time it is called a comet, last time it was a god blazing across the sky, next time? Is there a next time or have our observers seen too much. Plot for great normals or supers game. 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: I was a proponent of recasting but the memorial was moving. The look of Namor was excellent and the whole style and look was done much better than Aquaman. 
 

Kolchak, The Night Stalker: This is an excellent show and both movies as well. It is a great set-up for a normals campaign and the show had too much potential to be so short lived. 

Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: This cartoon is often overlooked even though it does a great job of diving into some Avengers history but with better pacing and voice acting than X-Men TAS. 
 

My campaign is set in 1984 so social media, mass surveillance, dna analysis and forensics are all much easier to deal with. 

If I wanted to play it safe I would have taken over the family furniture store. I strap on the old feed sack and see what’s cooking. 

1 hour ago, starblaze said:

This was in the Freedom Force computer game.  Freedom Force was a RTS game with the premise that people got superpowers due to an element called Energy X.  At the end of the second game it's revealed that Energy X is an actual person named Energy X.

I remember this vaguely I think. A tricot hat patriot type and a bug guy, maybe in a super suit on the cover? 

The problem I’ve ran into with this in the past is the PCs working to out “evil” each other and cold, calculated, and a bit cruel quickly devolves into barbarism. debauchery, and maybe cannibalism.  

I would ask the GM for suggestions since you stated they are quite knowledgeable of the setting. They might have someone in mind they are excited to have in or around the campaign. 

In my campaign world, the elves are tribal more than mystical. Living in specific environments and adapted off a base elf template. All are known for vehicles/mounts specific to their environment. I would say the elves are more wild beings living in the environment than magic glowing pixies. 

The trick is really good faith. I’ve played with some players that had masters the Hero System and used it responsibly. In game I’ve sometimes let their characters have abilities and powers I would frown upon for less responsible players (many mental powers, VPPs, and powers that build up “offscreen” land here). I’ve had other players that were actually good roleplayers but couldn’t stop trying to suppress the spirit of the game for their characters personal build power and after a couple tries to see eye to eye with this sort of thing, I try to part amicably. Just different gaming styles. 

2 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

I cant remeber the name of the 80's movie this is from, but a kid from a group of kids is grabbed by the wolfman, and one of his friends yells "kick him in the nards!"  The child does so, and is immediately dropped by a groaning wolfman, who then rolled around on the ground, cupping his groin, while the child wide-eyed marvels "wolfman's got _nards_!"

 

The movie is “Monster Squad” which also happens to be a sub-genre in my new book by Hero Games “Gaslight: Horror and Heroics in the Victorian Era.” Which was the third complete manuscript I sent to Hero Games without any contract in place, and not only did they credit me for my work, they paid me too. Funny little anecdote, WotC changed my credits on a project between printings without notice, permission, or compensation. So when we (not aimed at you) are throwing out any what about this company versus that company, I’ve actually played the adventure. 

 

Oh, wait you said about generational differences in expectations and gaps is so spot on! 

@Hugh Neilson

I think many people are upset because the rules have been changed on what other people had believed, largely from the designers of the OGL that this wasn’t a possibility. WotC is free to act in their own interests, but they also get to deal with the public and more importantly fan perception of their actions. The leaked OGL was gross, then apology, then slightly less gross on the surface releases OGL draft. Morality clauses that exist outside the game and WotC is the sole discretionary to arbitrate, denial of class action or any group litigation, the ability to take your work and use it, profit, and if you can sue them, only in King County, Washington, there can be no injunction just monetary compensation is all gross. They are free to act how they want, that just get to deal with how those actions are perceived. I think more attention to other games is good for the industry as a whole and we will see where it all lands, but not since the Satanic Panic has gaming been this interesting for many. 

Monte Cook being involved is a big deal. Makes sense for Roll20 to throw full support since there going to take a massive hit from the VTT part. 

4 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

 

As was said, the only reason for Surveys is to put the "conversation" someplace that isn't public, and bury it, rather than let it out into the public via Reddit, and YouTube.

 

I’ve heard some of this dismissive rhetoric of feedback given by the peasantry firsthand before. The surveys have always just been rage siphons and that’s why credits in some of the books include “thanks to legion of fans” and stopped listing all the actual playtesters. 

Unless they change 1.0a to simply read irrevocable the conversation with serious 3rd party creators is over. Unless they change the language so they can’t take your work (and somehow say they never thought of that) that conversation is over. Unless they remove language that they can change new OGL at any time with 30 days notice the conversation is over. 

On 1/14/2023 at 3:47 PM, BNakagawa said:

For high fantasy, I'd go with Pathfinder1. Otherwise, HERO system.

Right now I am playtesting some Fantasy Hero to scale more toward high fantasy and capture a more “fantastic” feel while keeping the lethality and variation of combat. I’m running my 3rd adventure now, and it seems to work well. I took the concepts I presented in Gaslight: Horror and Heroics in The Victorian Era for spicing up a Competent Normals game and cranked the juice. I have a few hundred pages of settings designed for it as well. I love Pathfinder though, it does what it does well, I’ve played and ran it a bunch, no hate.  

Hero is my go to when I run something, especially supers. My GM style is to teach, that’s why I wrote Book of Templates I and II. I’m a firm believer once you unlock the Hero System with a bit of guidance and intellectual investment into character generation, playing the game is no harder than a d20 system. It is actually easier in some aspects. Every spell uses a formula in Hero System and not a different set of text with varied interpretations. Playing a cleric in D&D for example is daunting for a new player, here learn every spell, all work different. The bias against complexity is a little disingenuous. When I play, I play the system is excited for. 

30 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

 

Oh, it's going to get released.  The plans have started. The general mechanics may not change, but the minor mechanics may on the edges, and definitely the tone is going to change.  OD&D was a tense survival Horror game, with tense resource management.  Current D&D is turning into a YA novel in tone. complete with magic academies, and proms. The new rules will move further in that direction, except with a subscription based virtual table top, and  micro-transactions.

Nailed it. The comparison between survival horror and YA is brilliant mate. 

For Vats I would probably use some combination of Penalty Skill Levels to buy off Hit Location Penalties and/or Autofire or Multiple Attack penalties, since that seems to be how it functions primarily. For the mapping, some sort of Clairsentience maybe with a "Physical Manifestation" of some sort maybe that requires some Concentration or something like that. 

This is a heavy loss of a talented man. My condolences to family and friends. 

Some form of intelligent undead is a logical choice. An ancient mummy with an illusory image to conceal actual look. Vampire is in the same realm, and a ghost could be interesting. 
 

On 12/21/2022 at 3:53 AM, Scott Ruggels said:

 

Now I wish there was a Champions Begins product for FH. But that would be hard, as few can agree on how fantasy works. 
 

Now that Gaslight: Horror and Heroics in the Victorian Era is done, my group and I have been steadfastly playtesting this with some more packaged ideas, slimmed down rules set, and a faster paced, still deadly, but with a nod to what you wished D&D actually was. What should stay, what should go, what is best moved to optional. Hammering out the little things, like a cavalier who takes wealth and buys plate mail is way out of the typical fantasy guidelines on resistant defenses but this is a fantasy staple character. I am also producing a half-dozen Book of Lairs style fantasy short adventure to drum up interest. 

 

 

Discord does grant an immediate type of satisfaction but really isn’t much for just scrolling through topics. 

Advss as aced Player’s Guide I has some Intercept Combat, Dogfight, and non-mapped vehicle combat rules and/or guidelines. 

2 hours ago, steriaca said:

While Lupin is French, I'm sure there is room for at least someone with the gentleman thief character in it.

It fits hand in hand with Western Hero, so it’s possible if well received some elements could be added to a follow-up. I had to drop some other “world” ideas that I had considered to keep the page count reasonable and this volume focused. Lupin was one that I set aside for the moment. 

On 12/7/2022 at 5:09 PM, steriaca said:

Humm...

 

Been thinking about Gaslight (bka Victorian Hero), and been watching Moriarty the Patriot. So, are we going to get writeups of...

 

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson?

 

Professor James Moriarty and Cornel Sebastian Moeran?

 

Jack the Ripper?

 

Arsen Lupin?

 

Springheal Jack?

 

Or should we expect a separate book for Victorian Dramatic Personal?

Hey, glad you were thinking about Gaslight: Horror and Heroics in the Victorian Era. Holmes, Watson, Thomas Carnacki, Sping-Heeled Jack, Count Dracula, Renfield, Van Helsing, Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s monster, Invisible Man, Captain Nemo & the Nautilus,  Nemo, Tarzan, The Time Traveller, Jekyll and Hyde (a literary version and a Hollywoodized version), Dr. Moreau, Morlocks, Beast Men, afanc, banshees, mummies, vampires, seances, gadgetry, rules for Madness & an Alienist talent to correct it. Most of the write-ups follow their literary performances in exacting detail up to the point that was available for use, crafted page by page. There is a lot more in the book, some history and important figures and how your characters may interact with that. London is described as a campaign setting with some spookier places detailed. I’m the author, feel free to ask away.