sentry0

I've often thought about this one from a character building perspective.  Before I get into that I would suggest if this is strictly a GM thing that you ignore building it at all and just tell players they're normal humans now (whatever that means).
 
From a character building perspective I often think that a mutant should be built like a human first.  Which means any stats in the superhuman range should be purchased as powers only.  So your mutant brick may have a 60 strength total but only 10-20 base.  The balance of the bricks strength would be purchased as a power.  All mutant powers (including characteristics purchased as powers) should have the Unified Power limitation.  This means that a Drain against one power affects all powers simultaneously which should mean building a mutant collar would be much more straightforward.
 
I've kinda wanted to run a mutant game using these build guidelines for awhile now.
 
Another option would be to have some sort of Physical Complication that all mutants must take. 
 
Personally, I like the Unified Power approach more as it adds flavor to the builds and it just seems more interesting to me.  After all, what does normal human mean?  Colossus is built when he's not armored up... does it make sense that if you slap a collar on him that he would have a 10 strength like Jubilee?  The Unified Power approach can actually address that issue quite simply, all it requires is a bit of ground rules to be laid.

I can't dispute any of your analysis, DShomshak -- you make some good points. Because TA had to be our "typical High Fantasy that appeals to the broadest swath of gamers," I had to make a lot of decisions, and present things in a lot of ways, that I might not have without those pressures. Our other FH setting books, such as Tuala Morn and The Valdorian Age, diverge significantly from that standard "form" because in those books I (and Allen) had the opportunity to do different things, things not necessarily found in a lot of setting books, because we had our "standard setting" already in place.
 
Unfortunately setting books just don't sell well enough for us to keep doing them, or to expand on the ones we have -- which is a shame, because I'd love to have the chance to do that. I'd love to do my own Swords & Sorcery setting (different from Valdorian Age, which was primarily Allen's creation), try some Low Fantasy ideas, and maybe some really weird High Fantasy stuff. (I do have a couple of Urban Fantasy settings I may publish at some point. Those are pretty common these days, but since that's what I happen to be running right now, it's what I've got material for.) Perhaps sometime in the future.

I have put Terra Prime on sale for Black Friday (ok, a little early).  It is currently 40% off and the sale will end on December 6th, 2019.
 
Please use the following link to get the discounted price: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=9a8b9baf62
 
For those of you unfamiliar with the setting here's some background...
 
---------------------------------------------
 
The world of Terra Prime is one of conflict and contrast. A world that has been forever and irreversibly changed by a mystical calamity that the Nazi regime caused during the second World War which fused together different realities. It is our modern day world, but The Arrivals now call Terra Prime home; Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and more live side by side with humanity. High Magic has returned with the coming of The Arrivals, and has forever changed life as we know it.
 
This fusing of realities also acted as a beacon to the denizens of the multiverse who now seek to conquer, control, or destroy Terra Prime. Terra Prime is the source of truth which all other realities are based on, whoever controls it would hold immeasurable power over the other realities. Mad forgotten gods, undead necromancer kings, and even the agents of light and darkness, all vie to posses the jewel of the multiverse.
 
Included within this mini-setting book:
Over 120 High Magic spells 8 race and 7 ancestry templates A small bestiary An introductory adventure for 3-6 players 6 sample characters  
Designed for HERO System 6th Edition rules; this is not a stand alone game and requires at least the HERO System Basic Rulebook to play.
 
Additional files for Hero Designer are available for free on the Hero Games website: https://www.herogames.com/files/file/492-terra-prime-hero-designer-files/

I think your biggest issue is going to be that the fundamental principles of FATE and HERO pull in different directions.  They rely on different tropes to do their work.
 
HERO is, at heart, a gamist style game seeking to emulate heroic action.  FATE is a narrativist game, also seeking to emulate heroic fiction.  Saying that, it is obvious you need to focus on the heroic fiction element.
 
The big issue with the setting is that it will be hard-wired into FATE mechanics and so there is likely to be disconnects in how things get done.  Personally, I think you need to step away from the mechanics of how FATE is doing something and ask yourself what you need to happen in-game.
 
With "Mystic Eyes of Distortion" you started by asking how to make an attack that cannot miss.  Come to us with how characters would experience this power and ask how HERO would model that.
 
I am familiar with FATE but not settings, FATE never struck me as a system that used absolutes either, so it might even be worth thinking through where the chance to fail came in FATE....
 
Doc

I was going for a classic high fantasy feel for spell casters so I went with a divisor on all spells.  The average cost of spells seems to be around 6 CP.  There is nothing fancy about the spell casting procedures, it's mostly just incantations and gestures.  It's pretty generic but not necessarily the only form of magic that exists on Terra Prime...
 
I was reading your magic system post in the Fantasy HERO forum, it look s really cool. 

I've often thought about this one from a character building perspective.  Before I get into that I would suggest if this is strictly a GM thing that you ignore building it at all and just tell players they're normal humans now (whatever that means).
 
From a character building perspective I often think that a mutant should be built like a human first.  Which means any stats in the superhuman range should be purchased as powers only.  So your mutant brick may have a 60 strength total but only 10-20 base.  The balance of the bricks strength would be purchased as a power.  All mutant powers (including characteristics purchased as powers) should have the Unified Power limitation.  This means that a Drain against one power affects all powers simultaneously which should mean building a mutant collar would be much more straightforward.
 
I've kinda wanted to run a mutant game using these build guidelines for awhile now.
 
Another option would be to have some sort of Physical Complication that all mutants must take. 
 
Personally, I like the Unified Power approach more as it adds flavor to the builds and it just seems more interesting to me.  After all, what does normal human mean?  Colossus is built when he's not armored up... does it make sense that if you slap a collar on him that he would have a 10 strength like Jubilee?  The Unified Power approach can actually address that issue quite simply, all it requires is a bit of ground rules to be laid.

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.

Julian and Julietta
 
A brother and sister Vampire duo of a `bloodline` typified by incredible superhuman strength and durability but also suffering from monstrous looking features when their superhuman abilities are in use. Though far more potent than the average vampire, they are both simple soldiers by intellect and inclination, operating as effective heavies for the area's master vampire.
 
 

That could work, but I would want to charge a higher price than usual for contacting a god.  A Mind Link with a god is a lot more powerful than a Mind Link with just some guy.  Sort of like the x3 cost for "Spirit Contacts" mentioned in FH somewhere.
 
And there's nothing in this build that compels the god to answer your questions, or even to tolerate your interruption of his day.
 
And the god doesn't even necessarily know the answer to all your questions anyway.
 
How will this spell be used?  If it's just a GM-handwavy thing to move the plot forward, then such an ability might even be free.  Otherwise, as a useful ability, it could possibly be built as a Detect - which would probably require Analyze and a lot of advantages, maybe even a VPP of "Detect Answers to Questions", 3 Charges, Once per week.

I've been mulling over a major change to the app; I want to do away with the export template and read directly from the .hdc files HERODesigner uses.  Far and away, the most common support question I get is from people trying to read from their .hdc file directly.  My rationale for using a custom XML export template was originally to provide the app insulation from upstream XML changes Dan Simon may introduce... after having seen it in action for the last year and a bit, I don't think it's worth the trouble.  This would be a breaking change once it goes live, so a major point increase makes sense
 
Below is a collection of random thoughts going through my head right now.  Please feel free to chime in with any comments and suggestions.
 
Features I want to implement:
Character portraits Opening multiple characters at once tablet support This doesn't mean writing separate UI for iPads/Tablets, this is only to scale the app properly  
Things possibly on the chopping block:
The H.E.R.O. tool (remove or upgrade to 6th edition) People get confused and think the app is only for 5th edition because of this tool The "Library" docs They bloat the app size The overall look and feel of the app Anyone interested in helping is welcome  
Stuff for nerds:
I'm contemplating open sourcing the code, any interest? The app is written using the React-Native framework (JavaScript based, non-negotiable) There's some messy corners that could need some love I am in bad need of unit tests, note to self...stop slacking Need to switch the storage system to use a proper DB in order to house all the data for images/characters Should probably look for a good image scaling lib for portraits Switching to reading a .hdc file directly would be a huge impact We would gain better granularity than we have now in terms of powers, skills, etc Would open up more possibilities for the app in the long run   
At any rate, I'm soliciting feedback, so have it.

Looks like it is all working .. multiple controllers .. with Multiple NPC's .. all working through the turn controller .. with floating combat record windows open and ready to roll dice on the dice roller (bottom right)
 

I would reach out to Jason Walters directly via the site for clarification... I'm betting that writing an adventure would be totally fine.
 
With regards to stat blocks, would you be opposed to using the established convention of writing them as "Character Briefs" as defined in the Writer's Guidelines (p. 32)?  https://www.herogames.com/files/file/472-writers-guidelines-5th-edition/ .  The doc is a little out of date but it goes a long way in terms of providing a map to follow in order to have a product with a consistent look and feel as the rest of the HERO-verse books.  You would have to explain your shorthand syntax to people, this may mitigate that potential barrier for entry.  
 
I believe there is a specific exception in the HoC FAQ Page that allows you to reproduce stat blocks in their entirety proving you get permission to do it.  Asking if you can abbreviate them doesn't sound like a crazy ask to me personally, I'm not the publisher though so YMMV.
 
 
 
 
 

But in the first two lines it says :"Looking for content or inspiration for your Hero System campaign? Or maybe you want to publish adventures, villains, powers, equipment, or settings you’ve created for your own Hero System games?" 
Isn't it enough to allow adventures publishing? 

I get where you're coming from, you want to run a game your players will actually like.  The question is; will you like to run the type of game they want?
 
If the answer is yes, go for it.  Murder and pillage away.  
 
I joined a group of D&D players in highschool who were all playing evil characters.  It was a real culture shock for me because the backstabbing, lying and outright hostility between players was unlike anything I had seen before.  Tell them to be prepared and to have backup characters because an NPC or player may end up punching their ticket.
 
Play how you want, just go in eyes wide open... this will probably cause some friction between people IRL, problems in game, and lots and lots of player driven drama.
 

Extract the zip file to a folder you have access to. Several sub-folders are created.  "Randall's Raiders" contains Character files (.hdc).  The rest contain Prefabs (.hdp). Run Hero Designer and open a character (or begin creating a new one). Go to the Menu Bar and click "Prefabs" -> "Load Prefab". Browse to the folder where you unzipped the Pulp Hero Character Pack and select a Prefab.  Click "Load Prefab".  For this example, we will select the New Talent "Animal Friendship.hdp". In Hero Designer, click the "Talents" tab.  You will see 2 sub-tabs, "Talents" and "Prefabs". Select the "Prefabs" Tab.  You will see a folder called "Animal Friendship".  Open the folder and you will see the "Animal Friendship" Talent (Real Cost: 20). Double click the "Animal Friendship" Talent and it will add it to your Talents list on the left.  The 20 points will automatically accrue to your character total. You can load multiple Prefabs simultaneously but if you have too many loaded, it will fill up your memory. Other Prefabs will add a Tab to Skills, Martial Arts, Powers, Equipment, etc. depending upon the Prefab.

Is it?  
 
I play in a weekly D&D 5e game and it's anything but fast playing and easy to learn.  There are many, many rules, dice, and exceptions to rules just to make it appear to work.
 
Where D&D shines is the ease of making a level 1 character.  Once you get a few levels and archetypes, features, and spell slots come into play it frankly becomes a mess of horribly balanced spells, feats, and exercises in accounting.  I play a simple Fighter (Cavalier) without spells or flashy abilities and I'm super underpowered compared to everyone in the group.  My choice, but someone needs to take the hit.
 
HERO, in comparison, has a painful character creation process rife with math.  It's so time consuming and error prone that we've been using computer programs to do it for decades.  Once you're in game, things are pretty straightforward I would argue.  At the very least I would assert it's no worse than modern D&D.

I get where you're coming from, you want to run a game your players will actually like.  The question is; will you like to run the type of game they want?
 
If the answer is yes, go for it.  Murder and pillage away.  
 
I joined a group of D&D players in highschool who were all playing evil characters.  It was a real culture shock for me because the backstabbing, lying and outright hostility between players was unlike anything I had seen before.  Tell them to be prepared and to have backup characters because an NPC or player may end up punching their ticket.
 
Play how you want, just go in eyes wide open... this will probably cause some friction between people IRL, problems in game, and lots and lots of player driven drama.
 

I get where you're coming from, you want to run a game your players will actually like.  The question is; will you like to run the type of game they want?
 
If the answer is yes, go for it.  Murder and pillage away.  
 
I joined a group of D&D players in highschool who were all playing evil characters.  It was a real culture shock for me because the backstabbing, lying and outright hostility between players was unlike anything I had seen before.  Tell them to be prepared and to have backup characters because an NPC or player may end up punching their ticket.
 
Play how you want, just go in eyes wide open... this will probably cause some friction between people IRL, problems in game, and lots and lots of player driven drama.
 

Nolgroth's story about adversarial players reminded me of a D&D game I was involved in for a fairly short time (maybe a few months).  Even though it was D&D, the DM allowed each player to have *one* unique ability or powerful item, and such abilities or items didn't have to be fantasy related.  One character, for example, had the ability to create a Bic lighter-size flame anywhere (including inside somebody else).  Another guy had an assault rifle with attached grenade launcher (and an unlimited supply of bullets and grenades).  My character could "summon" any relatively mundane item from the modern world - flashlight, tent, pistol, etc. though not things like military-grade weapons. 
 
This was a large group - I think there were 15-20 players total (though not everybody made it to every game session, so in practice it was like 12-15 at a time).  And of course, there were cliques and factions within the group.  It didn't take me long to realized that two of the players (we'll call them Phil and George) would go out of their way to argue and generally make each other's life difficult.  Things often escalated to the characters attacking each other, with most of the other players taking sides.  It got to the point that the DM was getting obviously irritated with the ongoing a**hattery.  Phil was the guy with the Bic flame power; I don't remember what George had initially.  Anyway, in one session George's character got killed (along with several other PCs), so the DM told them to write up new characters with new special abilities / items, and he would introduce them to the group when they were done. 
 
Skip forward about an hour, and they all have new characters ready.  The DM quickly looks them over and approves them, and then lays out the "introduce the new PCs" scenario.  Very simple - we see this trio of what look to be fellow adventurers approaching us on the road, one of whom (George's PC) appears to have a large metallic backpack with a hose leading to something held in his hand.  We're all thinking, "ah, a flamethrower" and that's when d***-head Phil gets the bright idea to ignite his flame inside the "backpack" while the trio of newcomers are still like 50 yards away. The DM asked him to reconsider, pointing out that there had been absolutely no provocation or reason to prompt such hostile action, but Phil was not to be deterred. 
 
Finally, the DM said, "Okay, fine.  The flame appears inside a key component of George's FGMP (fusion gun, man portable), causing it to overload.  This results in a nuclear explosion large enough to kill everybody in a half-mile radius.  George dies.  Phil dies.  Everybody dies.  The end."
 
Given the group dynamics, I'm not sure how the DM could have better resolved the ongoing animosity between the players, apart from kicking both of them out of the game, as well as a few others who were fairly fanatically loyal to either Phil or George.  The DM did restart the game a few weeks later, but I had gotten so sick of Phil's and George's infighting that I declined to rejoin the game. 
 
 

Well some significant changes this release.
 

 
The player combat records are now detachable, multiple are visible on screen at the same time and remotely trigger the dice roller. So you do not need to leave the action at any time. You can use the bars above your characters head to adjust Body, Stun and Endurance live on the model also. If needed you can add other bars as you want for charges etc.
 
Whilst talking about the combat records, all players can have them active on the screen, but not see each others. The GM in theory can have a significant number and that leads to the next change I am working on, which will be the ability to shrink them to just the "Title Bar" until clicked on. 
 
There are some minor visual bugs (spacing etc) that need fixing too.
 
Overall it will not be long till a beta release on the steam marketplace.
 
 

Hi guys! From the main page: as most of you already know, Hero Games will be launching a fan-driven community content program on DriveThruRPG in about two weeks, similar to Dungeon Masters Guild and Storytellers Vault. And at this point an amazing *fifty* of you have contacted me about contributing work to it!  I was surprised and overwhelmed by the positive response, which I thank you all for. 
 
However, to launch the program in a couple of weeks I need many of you who have expressed interest to turn in your work in advance. So if you're working on something, have contacted me, and are nearly ready: please don't hesitate any longer. Send it to me!
 
- Jason Walters, Publisher   

In another thread the topic of where can we find good art cheaply has come up.  I have never used this site and am not associated with them in any way but I think it has potential - https://www.fiverr.com/.  I have looked into them before for a hobby project I worked on but never actually used them because I couldn't justify the expense.
 
It looks like it's an online marketplace for artists to hire themselves out as freelancers.  Some of the sample art I've seen is remarkably good and easy on the pocket book.
 
If anyone feels like sprucing up their books with some original artwork and has some spare cash, it may bear fruit.
 
Of course, you would have to decide for yourself if you think you can recoup the money in sales 😁
 
It's also worth pointing out that we have artists within this community like Scott Ruggles who have already offered up their services.  Some of these artists already have works that appear in published materials and I would be inclined to throw money at them first, personally.

In another thread the topic of where can we find good art cheaply has come up.  I have never used this site and am not associated with them in any way but I think it has potential - https://www.fiverr.com/.  I have looked into them before for a hobby project I worked on but never actually used them because I couldn't justify the expense.
 
It looks like it's an online marketplace for artists to hire themselves out as freelancers.  Some of the sample art I've seen is remarkably good and easy on the pocket book.
 
If anyone feels like sprucing up their books with some original artwork and has some spare cash, it may bear fruit.
 
Of course, you would have to decide for yourself if you think you can recoup the money in sales 😁
 
It's also worth pointing out that we have artists within this community like Scott Ruggles who have already offered up their services.  Some of these artists already have works that appear in published materials and I would be inclined to throw money at them first, personally.

Perhaps you should have two or more stages of magic.  The first stage is the simple stuff that any beginning mage can do.  It doesn't cost points, other than a magic skill roll and maybe a weapon familiarity with that type of spell.  You pay money for your spellbook or scroll, but the spells themselves are just like mundane weapons.
 
So we've got Bob, a wizard's apprentice, who has snuck out of the tower and made off with a book of magic, a couple of scrolls, a talisman, and about a year's worth of training.  He's got Magic Skill at 12-, and has to make this any time he wants to cast something from his book of magic.  He's got WF: Fire Magic, WF: Divination Magic, and WF: Transmutation Magic.  Since these are "categories" of magic they cost 2 points each.  It's the equivalent of having WF: Swords or WF: Bows.  So Bob has spent a total of 11 points to know how to do basic magic, and he'd have to spend however much money the book is worth to replace it if he lost it (he begins with it as starting equipment).  Unlike a warrior, Bob has to make a skill roll to do anything, and the spells that this works for are all created by the GM and balanced as if they were mundane equipment.  An arrow from a crossbow may do 2D6 damage, while Bob's Spell of Fiery Bolt does 2 1/2D6 but requires a skill roll first.  You can take away the warrior's crossbow, but you can also take away Bob's spellbook.  Perhaps you can raise an undead skeleton warrior if you've got WF: Necromantic Magic, and all you need is a dead body and 10 gp worth of rare powders (which might be enough money for a normal person to hire a generic mercenary for a week).  Magic is a bit more powerful but also a bit less reliable.
 
Eventually Bob has gained some experience and wants to be a more successful wizard.  So he buys Deadly Blow or whatever it's called with his Fire Magic.  Now instead of a 2 1/2D6 Fiery Bolt, he does 3 1/2D6.  Now he's cooking with gas, and he's actually pretty impressive.  He can reduce an orc to cinders with one shot.  But he's also poured quite a few points into that ability, and he's gonna be similar to a fighter who has a weapon he's specialized in.  If this were a video game, the archer character would be shooting arrows at enemies while the wizard is shooting glowing energy thingys at them.  Functionally they're very similar.
 
The final level of magic would be to just buy your spells outright.  Things like this probably shouldn't duplicate normal powers.  Raising the dead, creating an undead legion, now you're into what we might call "strategic level magic".  You can bring down the walls of a castle, or summon a storm.  They aren't necessarily things you'd use in combat, and they aren't necessarily spells that you'd have a lot of.  A full-scale wizard who can change into forest animals, mesmerize people with his voice, and knows how to build golems is a devastating opponent even for a kingdom.  He's just not the kind of guy who goes running around dungeons.

You can do a lot with just a word processor... I created this PDF by writing a document in LibreOffice Writer (a free take on MS Word) and using their built in PDF converter.
 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Y5hufEqzSfmn5OfIU6QNsj1WW-spQJx8