Leminkainen

Wow! Thank you all for your thought-provoking replies. This board is a lot more active than I expected. It's probably going to take me some time to digest everything you've written, but it clearly justifies a closer reading of the rules. By the way, this afternoon I was actually contemplating grafting the HERO System powers system onto the d6 attribute and skill systems. d6, after all, appeals to me precisely because of the linear die progression -- there are no break points. On the other hand, that seems like an awfully perilous undertaking. And frankly, I'm tired of tinkering with rules. So thank you. You've given me hope that I may have finally found an RPG home. Leminkainen

Greetings all, I am trying to decide on a core rules system for a low fantasy campaign, and have been comparing various candidates (d6 Classic, GURPS, d20, etc.). I also just bought the 5th Ed HERO System rules and, of course, there is much to recommend it. In fact, after a cursory review, I would consider it the present frontrunner. One thing that puts me off a bit, however, is what I believe some call stat "granularity" -- that is, the way the HERO system rules tend to minimize differences in basic stats by subjecting them to division for various purposes. STR, for example, is effectively divided by 2.5 for purposes of figuring base damage, and other characteristics are generally divided by 5 for purposes of figuring base skill values and 3 for purposes of figuring combat values. So on the one hand, just to take a random example, the difference between a DEX 10 character and a DEX 11 character seems to be pretty much lost -- or at least sharply diminished. And on the other hand, there seems to be a needless layer of complexity introduced between basic stats and game mechanisms. No doubt, much of this is necessary to handle Super campaigns, which I'm sure the HERO System does very well. Nevertheless, from my perspective, while this is clearly a very powerful system, it just seems to lack a certain ... well ... "elegance" on the lower end of the power scale. Now, I imagine most of you will advise me either to take my petty gripes and go back to my kiddy games or to design my own system. Fair enough. I mean no offense. And I apologize if this has all been hashed out before. I was just wondering whether anyone else had similar petty hang-ups. And if so, how you get past them. Thanks for your thoughts. Leminkainen