sentry0

I've been working on a new build for the app over the last week in my spare time and I wanted to give a quick development update.
Added many more knockback options to the damage tool (Zero G, Clinging, etc) Blast can now be long touched on a character and it will pre-populate the damage tool I'm also planning on gutting the underlying file manipulation library and replacing it with a nicer and better maintained one.  Hopefully, this will address some of the file loading issues people have been experiencing.  This type of change can be disruptive so I'll need to do some extra testing but I already have had a good experience with this library on another app I built.  I don't think that it will be a magic bullet for all file issues because I know some of them are caused by custom ROMs, AV, and other security software but I believe it will be a step in the right direction. 
 
No exact ETA on the new build but it will be within this month unless something comes up.
 
 

Hi all.  I've just updated my primer designed to introduce players (especially D&D players) to Fantasy Hero.  You can find it here:
 
https://www.herogames.com/forums/files/file/367-fantasy-hero-primer/
 
I would have just bumped the old thread where we originally hashed it out, but the fabulous archive feature prevents this.  I don't intend to keep updating it on any sort of schedule, but if anyone finds any errors or has any suggestions that don't require too much page count / rewriting I'd be happy to consider them (for instance, I was going through the previous thread and saw someone talking about shield bashing, and added that in).

As someone who came late to the 6th edition party I can totally see the hate for the 2 tomes that make up the core books.  When I started to consider moving from 5th to 6th I was completely lost with regards to what books to even buy.  I had to ask on these forums for suggestions on what people deemed critical.  I'm glad I did because I ended up up getting some really good advice.
 
The single best piece of advice I was given was that all you really need to run is the "Complete" books.  I've read both Champions and Fantasy Complete cover to cover, no exaggeration.  They are really all you need to run a game, yes they are missing a setting but from a rules standpoint they are all you need.  I have the core books as PDFs only because they were unavailable to me from the site store at the time.  I open them up once and awhile, usually during character creation or after a game to look up rule I'm not familiar with...that's it.  I would never read them cover to cover unless I had them in print anyways but I would only read them cover to cover for my own personal edification not because I felt they were mandatory reading to play.
 
I treat them like Encyclopedias (God, I'm dating myself) in that they're good to have on hand for reference and research but I don't feel the need to read them when more concise and digestible books exist that give me what I need.  I don't hate them because they're dry or not what I think they should have been.

As someone who came late to the 6th edition party I can totally see the hate for the 2 tomes that make up the core books.  When I started to consider moving from 5th to 6th I was completely lost with regards to what books to even buy.  I had to ask on these forums for suggestions on what people deemed critical.  I'm glad I did because I ended up up getting some really good advice.
 
The single best piece of advice I was given was that all you really need to run is the "Complete" books.  I've read both Champions and Fantasy Complete cover to cover, no exaggeration.  They are really all you need to run a game, yes they are missing a setting but from a rules standpoint they are all you need.  I have the core books as PDFs only because they were unavailable to me from the site store at the time.  I open them up once and awhile, usually during character creation or after a game to look up rule I'm not familiar with...that's it.  I would never read them cover to cover unless I had them in print anyways but I would only read them cover to cover for my own personal edification not because I felt they were mandatory reading to play.
 
I treat them like Encyclopedias (God, I'm dating myself) in that they're good to have on hand for reference and research but I don't feel the need to read them when more concise and digestible books exist that give me what I need.  I don't hate them because they're dry or not what I think they should have been.

As someone who came late to the 6th edition party I can totally see the hate for the 2 tomes that make up the core books.  When I started to consider moving from 5th to 6th I was completely lost with regards to what books to even buy.  I had to ask on these forums for suggestions on what people deemed critical.  I'm glad I did because I ended up up getting some really good advice.
 
The single best piece of advice I was given was that all you really need to run is the "Complete" books.  I've read both Champions and Fantasy Complete cover to cover, no exaggeration.  They are really all you need to run a game, yes they are missing a setting but from a rules standpoint they are all you need.  I have the core books as PDFs only because they were unavailable to me from the site store at the time.  I open them up once and awhile, usually during character creation or after a game to look up rule I'm not familiar with...that's it.  I would never read them cover to cover unless I had them in print anyways but I would only read them cover to cover for my own personal edification not because I felt they were mandatory reading to play.
 
I treat them like Encyclopedias (God, I'm dating myself) in that they're good to have on hand for reference and research but I don't feel the need to read them when more concise and digestible books exist that give me what I need.  I don't hate them because they're dry or not what I think they should have been.

I made this template last year for a group of new Champions players that I was GMing for.  I wanted to make a simple export template specifically for new players that printed well. It has the stats broken into categories like what was proposed in this thread.  It's not my idea, I saw it in another export template and adopted it because I liked it.
 
 

I was under the impression that COM was replaced by Striking Appearance.  This is a good move IMO because it replaced a CP sink with no official game effect with one that has an actual official mechanic associated with it.

It works for both 5th and 6th editions.  There's an option in the settings to turn on 5th edition rules but the app defaults to 6th.
 

I was under the impression that COM was replaced by Striking Appearance.  This is a good move IMO because it replaced a CP sink with no official game effect with one that has an actual official mechanic associated with it.

I was under the impression that COM was replaced by Striking Appearance.  This is a good move IMO because it replaced a CP sink with no official game effect with one that has an actual official mechanic associated with it.

I don't think any rule stops abuses.  That's why we have GMs.

I'm wondering if there is not an opportunity here for the community to step up and fill that gap.  
 
I'm working on a quick one shot Fantasy HERO adventure right now complete with pre-gens.  I would never claim to be the best GM  and the thought of putting myself out there in that way is intimidating for sure.  However, I would consider it if there was an actual demand for this type of thing.
 
When you look at the 800lbs Gorilla (D&D) you can find plenty if paid and free fan made adventures.  I would submit that HERO is so tiny these days that the paid option would not be feasible but free would work.  We even have a delivery mechanism available to us via this site and the download section.
 
If we're feeling really ambitious and there's real interest maybe a peer review forum could be requested.  That way aspiring authors could get feedback on their work before it's put up for download.

I love the setting and was curious if there's anyone else on these boards who do too?
 
Steve did and amazing job with the book and I think it deserves more supplements.  Although the base book is very detailed in terms of races, geography, theology, etc, I think there's tons of room to expand on.  The setting has such good bones that it feels criminal to not expand on it.
 
Also, an update to 6th edition would be fantastic although strictly not necessary.

Probably a PS: Detective roll or something like it

Probably a PS: Detective roll or something like it

Did someone say artist?
 

Cool. Should you ever decide to do so, feel free to hit me up for more observations and suggestions about it.

TA is my go-to fantasy game setting: Recognizably "generic" yet with a number of distinctive elements; broad and detailed but with plenty of room to elaborate; almost every location having plot seeds ripe for development. Admittedly, I've made a large number of modifications to the history and geopolitics of Ambrethel to suit my own priorities and preferences, but I couldn't and wouldn't have done so without having been given such a solid frame to hang them on.
 
Previously I posted to the forums what I would suggest if I were a GM (or writer) looking to further develop a place in the Turakian Age world as home base for my campaigns. I would look for a spot with plenty of story hooks built in, but also lots of unspecified room to expand upon. I'd want the home base to be large enough to be interesting, but small enough to be manageable. I would prefer it to be able to support a variety of adventure styles without going very far afield: wilderness exploration, city skulking, dungeon crawling, monster fights, political intrigue, military conflicts, etc. But I'd also like there to be ready potential for PCs to travel to other interesting places, as their abilities and ambitions grow.
 
On the largest continent of Arduna there are two enormous bodies of water which are the centers of vast geographic regions, with multiple kingdoms on their shores engaging in trade and political interactions: the inland Sea of Mhorec, and Lake Beralka. These two bodies are linked by the long Shaanda River, navigable along its entire length, making it one of the most heavily trafficked trade routes in the world, potentially bringing people from almost anywhere. There is no single state dominating the Shaanda; pairs of rival kingdoms are at each end, but the central stretch contains several independent small cities and large towns. The largest of these cities, Ishthac, is smack-dab at the middle of the river (according to the included map).
 
One would expect the larger kingdoms at the ends of the Shaanda to vie for control over the strategic central river. One of those kingdoms, Valicia, is ruled by a powerful wizard with ambitions of conquering the whole region (and who makes for a fine "big bad" for a campaign). But the cities of the Shaanda are described as too independent and clever to be ruled. To me this implies that they probably cooperate to defend themselves and play the kingdoms against each other; but that doesn't preclude rivalry among the cities themselves. Otherwise the Shaanda cities are given little further definition -- nothing about city layout, population, society, government, or the like.
 
Ishthac lies at the south-western edge of the huge, rugged Valician Hills region, said to be populated by "monsters" which sometimes raid the river settlements; as well as independent-minded "hill folk" with only a few other clues as to their nature. The Valician Hills also rest above one of the largest regions of the "Sunless Realms" (TA's analogue to D&D's Underdark). Somewhere within the hills is a hidden coven of powerful witches whose agenda is unknown. Chonath, a large ancient ruined city once the home of mighty magicians, and now monster-infested, is perhaps a hundred and fifty miles west of Ishthac.
 
Traveling a couple hundred miles along the Shaanda River in either direction from Ishthac will take you into the territory of the larger kingdoms, and the dangers and intrigues they feature. From there it's a relatively short trip to the Sea of Mhorec or Lake Beralka, and ready transport to half the continent.
 
I also previously posted a set of plot seeds set in one area of Ambrethel which IMO is particularly well suited to a campaign inspired by A Song of Fire and Ice/ Game of Thrones, emphasizing politics and diplomacy more than fighting and looting: Besruhan Intrigues.

I love the setting and was curious if there's anyone else on these boards who do too?
 
Steve did and amazing job with the book and I think it deserves more supplements.  Although the base book is very detailed in terms of races, geography, theology, etc, I think there's tons of room to expand on.  The setting has such good bones that it feels criminal to not expand on it.
 
Also, an update to 6th edition would be fantastic although strictly not necessary.

I love the setting and was curious if there's anyone else on these boards who do too?
 
Steve did and amazing job with the book and I think it deserves more supplements.  Although the base book is very detailed in terms of races, geography, theology, etc, I think there's tons of room to expand on.  The setting has such good bones that it feels criminal to not expand on it.
 
Also, an update to 6th edition would be fantastic although strictly not necessary.

I once co-ran a game where everyone had a common origin much like the Fantastic Four (accident gave them powers).
 
It was a lot of fun but everyone bought into the idea from the start...I think it's the only way to get a common origin story going.  Also, we had a player join us later in the campaign and he was kind of the odd man out unfortunately...he broke the vibe of the story through no fault of his own.

Champions: New Millennium
 
...I'll show myself out.

Interesting, I personally don't bother with hard Maxima in my games but I do impose a soft cap at the normal levels (ie: 20 for characteristics, 8 for PD/ED, etc).  I allow players to exceed Maxima based on race out of the gate and also over time as the game evolves without penalty so long as it conceptually makes sense.  I'm also super lazy when comes to things like prefabs and editing templates to have different Maxima although I have done it in the past.
 
I like the idea of characters being able to attain Legendary status given enough time and experience.  I'm not a low fantasy junkie by any stretch of the imagination though so YMMV
 

Also, that END cost is per shot.  360 END would likely put the user straight into a coma ?

I've been working on a document to introduce high school D&D players to Champions. Specifically, I wanted to address some of the fundamental differences between the two systems. Here's what I have so far. Any constructive feedback would be appreciated.
--
So, how is Champions different than Dungeons and Dragons?
 
Characters are built, not rolled up.
Champions characters are created using a point build system. Each character starts with a certain number of character points, which can be used to buy powers, skills, characteristics, etc. This takes a bit longer, but creates a lot more flexibility in character design.
 
There are no character classes.
Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, Paladin...there are no such distinctions in Champions. There are character archetypes like Brick, Energy Projector, Martial Artist, Mentalist, Gadgeteer, etc., but those distinctions aren’t defining or limiting. Want a character that is both stealthy and a great fighter--like, say, Batman or Daredevil? Build the character that way, and don’t worry about labels.
 
Characters don’t “level up”.
There’s no such thing as a “2nd-level Brick” in this system. Instead, experience comes in the form of character points--just like you use to build your character in the first place--that you can use to improve your character’s abilities as you see fit.
 
You don’t earn experience points just from combat.
Your Game Master (GM) will award experience based on what the characters accomplished during the adventure; this may or may not involve fighting the bad guys. Experience points are also awarded for exceptional role-playing, problem solving, and so on. There’s no “We wiped out the goblin village because they aren’t worth XP alive” rationale at work here.
 
You also don’t earn experience points by accumulating stuff.
Finding treasure is an important part of fantasy literature--the genre upon which D&D was based. It is not a particularly important part of the superhero genre. Unless money is a defining feature of your character’s identity--Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, etc.--nobody really cares how rich or poor your character is. And equipment? The equipment your character has is what they paid character points for.

Champions characters have liabilities as well as assets.
This is another convention of the genre. Examples include things like a Secret Identity (think Batman/Bruce Wayne), a Dependent Non-player Character (or DNPC, think Spider-Man’s Aunt May), a Vulnerability (like kryptonite to Superman), a Psychological Limitation (like Violet Parr’s shyness), and so on. In game terms, these liabilities are called Disadvantages (Disads) or Complications, and they give you more points to spend on your character’s abilities. 
 
Thoughts?