eternal_sage

Re: Requires skill roll i knew it was something like that. and i agree as well with the skill cost with RSR. it can be prohibitatively expensive for say, a teen game. but i'm more of a concept person. as long as the concept (mine or the player's, depends on which side of the screen i'm on) is sound, fun, and interesting, i'm less into the small details. my players aren't too much into min/maxing, so they will usually just built something simple anyway (as in only a few lims or advantages).

Re: Okay, Lightsabres rule... but Star Wars is so-so. well, its not lightsabers, but Dune had the idea of personal energy shields that could only be penetrated by a slow (compared to ballistics speed) movement, thus making bladed weapons a viable option (actually the only option, considering a laser hitting a personal shield equals an atomic level explosion). maybe something like this could help you out. oh, also check out the Star Wars: Legacy comics for a slightly new take on the subject. Imperial Knights... yea you heard me. pretty good story too, for Star Wars (only a sort of fan).

Re: How many points does a person have? having had built myself in nWoD, i can tell you that is flat wrong. at least, if i am normal, which of course, i am, right... guys? come on! but seriously, that is a weird way of seeing the world.

Re: Tricky END Reserve Question in that case, maybe a -1/2 to a -1, if they could still attach the powers to their own END. i would CONSIDER a -2 if without the "power company" they are weak, feeble normals, but then i like to reward interesting power set ups, made for the right reasons, obviously.

Re: Grimoire books content i have a feeling that we are killing this poor soul with our kindness. he asks for help, and we thrust books into his face and say "love it, for it is GOOD!". lol. better to have a helpful board than a cynical, jaded board, however. long live the community! as for Ultimate Martial Artist, i have to say that is is useful, in that the martial maneuvers in HERO make combat much more lively, less repetative, and take a lot of strain off of the GM in that they fairly well describe the scene by their nature, instead of just a single attack over and over. this makes my games more fun for everyone (my wife hates combat, unless we are playing HERO, in which case she has a great time). however, i will also say that, unless you want to actually mimic existing martial arts (or make up new maneuvers) UMA is not that useful, because it doesn't add much other than write ups of martial arts styles (altough the fencing and kendo helped me alot designing the martial art styles of my various fantasy cultures). otherwise, though, your shelf is nearly identical to mine in HERO content. have fun! and don't mind us, we are just fond of breaking the "unhelpful, snotty american" stereotype!

Re: Tricky END Reserve Question i certainly wouldn't give them one... unless you wanted to actually take away the "power company" every once in awhile to enforce its "limitation-ness". i mean, knock him out, and the whole party is reduced to...well very few powers, at least. don't know the concept, but it sounds like some type of munchkin powerplay to me. of course, i could be wrong. it has happened before, like once .

Re: Requires skill roll personally, i think that RSR is one of the better limitations, simply because it models a specific relationship (one i find to be generally appeally) between power and skill. power is great, but without skill it is USELESS, so most of my characters have some sort of RSR or Activation roll depending on the circumstances of the power. AR is also an awesome lim, because it models another specific relationship (one that i also find appealing) that powers are not always reliable. the difference, of course, is that reliabitlity is based on the actual nature of the power (gun that jams, etc) while RSR is the measure of skill or finese needed to make a certain power work (like a spell, but also anything the character has to learn to do). to me, the point cost is irelevant. RSR may be better if you tie lots of powers to one skill, but if you want those skills to be unreliable, then you picked the wrong method. refigure your powers with AR, then we can get started. then again, i am a stickler for rp, and a concept must warrant point expenditure, not the other way around. so for me, i love RSR, and will continue using it for nearly every character i make, because i think that using a power should be more than a simple "i do this" but should actually take some understanding of the power in question (skill, anyone). p.s. if i remember correctly, activation rolls that are failed are Very Bad Things, because i believe that the power fails to work anymore, altough that may be an adder (no book to check)

Re: Entangle in Fantasy Hero i thought that seemed odd, but i figured "what do i know?" so didn't mention it. (reminded of the harpy scene in Jason and the Argonauts) i think the grab thing would work even better than an entangle (altough an entangle could be set not to prevent use of foci, better known as weapons, and with a lo, capped DEF and BODY could still simulate this fairly well (if you still wanted to do it that way) altough i think the grab idea is better. below is a net weapon i would allow built on entangle. Net: Entangle 2d6, 2 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4), Area Of Effect Nonselective (One Hex; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (40 Active Points); Does Not Prevent The Use Of Accessible Foci (-1), OAF (-1), Vulnerable (Common; Slashing Weapons; -1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Limited Range (-1/4), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, Only to Activate, -1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (8 Real Points)

Re: Why hasn't magic changed the world? i am lucky to be blessed with two fantastic players in my wife and our friend Dennis, both of which never miss a game, also GM, have similar styles (i'm the middle, the wife is more rp centric, and Dennis tends to occasionally go Dynasty Warriors on us) and really enjoy the same genres as i do. that makes my GM job SUPER easy. they are happy pretty much period, and then there is only one or two other players (we like small groups) so its all good. we don't have to worry about the guy who usually plays mages bitching about magic being "twinked" because he doesn't get a 10d6 RKA Explosion fireball, because we don't have those kinds of players. your mileage my vary. (hell, i'm the guy who usually plays mages, and i wrote the "twinked" rules!) i do have to say that i like the Eberron setting in conception, though, not so much in practice. it all sounds cool, but it seems less so when playing. although that was only a single campaign i played there, and i was a psion (which i found i DO NOT like), so it may be colored by general frustrations with that particualar adventure.

Re: Why hasn't magic changed the world? thats why i run mostly low fantasy games, or what i have termed middle fantasy (same great fantasy taste, half the stupidity). basically in my world there are certain things even magic can't do. resurrection is one, cure disease is another, teleportation, check. i also require character points to be spent on enchanted items, limiting the idea of the fighter with a +10 sword, +10 armor, +10 shield, plus magical boots, socks, underwear, hat, monacle, thimble, toothbrush, and prophylactic device (pesky werewolves). some characters could have a cool sword, or special armor, or maybe even both, but more than that and its a no go. it recreates the idea of LoTR where even Frodo only had two cool items, and he saved the entirety of creation. also lessens questions like these, and play balance.

Re: Entangle in Fantasy Hero i usually cap the number of dice that can be built into a weapon (like the warrior's) so that it can't be something only a dragon can get out of. my reasoning? even nylon netting has a limit on its tensile strength, and a fantasy net is likely just hemp rope or the like. cap the DEF and BODY of the weapon to that of hemp rope, and viola! or maybe a point or two higher because there are a couple ropes to cut. of course, if its a magic entangle, there is a certain amount of wiggle room with this, but my magic system has "all spells cost END" and "costs END each phase", so for a wussy mage, it won't be long before he's out of juice. also, remember with magic entangles (actually most entangles in this kind of setting) like ice shackles and the like that they should be solid, so to attack someone entangled thusly would help break them free. and as was already stated, turn about is fair play. entangle that warrior once, kill him with a cheap called shot head, then see if he bitches about toning down on the dice in his entangle.

Re: How many points does a person have? my wife and i did this in nWoD, first as mortals, then as Vampires, Mages, and even Werewolves. it was fun, but i have to say even the mediocore stats you start with in nWoD was a bit to much in some places. haven't really tried this in HERO, altough i think i will very soon. zombie infestations are great fun.

Re: The artwork drives me nuts as an artist (unfortunately 3d is my schtick, not 2d... and i'm only moderately skilled at traditional) i have to say that it is difficult to get a first job, but it gets easier as you go. as far as the art in HERO books... i never have liked any of it, honestly, but i am a youngin' around here (24) so i know that my vote is not the vote of many. it has, however, come to my attention that a large majority of HERO gamers are at least pushing 40, if not over (not that that is bad, mind. not an age elitist by any stretch), and i must say that, just comparing the things the different generations find appealing, i must say that while Kirby was the first to draw many of my favorite characters, i am definatly a child of my time, in that i will take a Joe Mad., Greg Coppolo, etc any day. i just like the punchier, in your face style, with the thick expresive line work and interesting poses. i still think Todd MacFarlane "fixed" Spiderman, by starting the weird contortion stuff. and i have to say that, layout wise, HERO works, it is legible, simple, and direct. however, i again am a child of my time. i like the more "dynamic" feel of the nWoD books, or even the WoTC books (although their art bites 80% of the time). a simple page border related to the genre would do alot for it, IMHO. i also must say that i only have the 5th ed book, Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, SPDB I & II, Bestiary, Asian Bestiary I & II, and Ultimate Martial Artist. I had Champions, but i do not like it as a setting, so i sold it to a used bookstore. i have shelves full of fancy WW nWoD stuff and d20 crap and even all of the SR 4th books (which also largely suffers from crap art-itis, altough the layout works well for me) i love the nWoD look, though. it is slick, dynamic, artistic, and fresh. and b&w. as far as production value, WW's nWoD is the summit of all that is good in the industry (decent mechanics, EXCELLENT settings, and the above mentioned art). however, i like HERO simply because it is the BEST system i have played. i just don't buy any book i don't have more than a handful of needs for, because i: hate softcover books, hate the art, dislike most of the settings, dislike many of the characters. it lacks the professional feel i'm looking for (btw, M&M has some okay art, but i wouldn't give the company a wooden nickel, because i find the system cheap and derivative). i do, however, understand that there are very few employees with the company (thank god the website finally got a facelift) and you have to put priorities in order. last i heard (and this was a couple of years ago) WoTC has something like a 50% share of the pnp market, WW has like 25%, and everyone else is crunched into the last 25%. i also think that HERO might be able to gain some ground if it went with a more modern look. however, i have already read many of the "core" or "base" customers say they like the layout as is, and i really dislike the idea of alienating the base to get new people in, eventually, without converts like myself, the system will die. and i nearly never picked the system up, because its ugly.

Re: Rant? Speed in Hero to OP, congrats, you have made a simple list to explain your take on a complex concept to the players in your game. this is a good thing. if it works for you, whatever, thats the point. the intention of speed is not, in my opinion, relevant, so much as the fact that your players can now look at this list and have a general idea of what the house standards are for the attribute. its just like the charts at the begining of the 5th ed revised rulebook, which have Sherlock Holmes and Hercules on them. to the dissent, i think as a whole, your arguements are valid, altough i'm not sure that they are meaningful. by this, i simply mean: i see your point, but i find little reason to care about it, because i do not use your ideas at my table, therefore my ideas are more important. if you were my GM, then your point would be valid, not mine. i personally see the arguement to be mostly semantic in nature.

Re: Horror Hero i will look into, as horror done well is a fantastic rpg setting. however, that tends to be EXTREMELY hard to to do, because the players need to be AFRAID, at least for their characters. that means they have to be worried their characters can't take on what ever is behind the door in a straight fight, something which i feel would be hard to get in HERO. the Heroes of Horror supplement for DnD 3.5 had a similar problem (thank god my wife was still working at the rp store when it came out) because in DnD its never a question of "can i kill it?" its a matter of "how many times will the cleric have to heal us before we kill it?" which is not very condusive to the genre. but it could be done, with the right set up, it would just take a strict GM, and a Dark Champions style approach, i guess.

Re: VPPs and Active Point Limits vpps i have little problem with. my wife is enamored of them, but i think they are a waste compared to a well thought out multipower. i simply do not allow ANY character to have the "i can do anything" concept. my world is a mutant powers only world (the only way to be a super is via genetic mutation, technology, or training), and so i make each character have a specific concept in mind (fire powers, telekinesis, etc) and their vpps are likewise restricted simply because i will not let magma boy have a teleport, because it makes little to no sense. the real gamebreaker is desolidify. my wife made a character, torrent, whose power was the ability to control water, which i reasoned to mean ice and steam. she then made a desol power defined as her becoming water (or steam) and then made it trigger when she was physically attacked, obviously making her invulnerable to physical attack. like a moron, i let her, and she ripped my game in two. actually, triggered is what broke the game. desol would have been fine if she had had to abort to it, cause she would eat up all of her actions fairly quickly.