PhilFleischmann

One more thing about the "breaking down into smaller pieces" thing: Pretty much everything in HERO has this property, and that doesn't mean the costs are wrong. A skill level with a single skill is 2 points. A skill level with all Agility Skills is 6 points. If I have more than three Agility Skills, I'm "getting more than what I paid for". Does this mean that these levels are not priced correctly? If I have a 60-active point power that doesn't work against the color Yellow (-1/4), that's 48 points. If I have a 60-active point power that only works against the color Yellow (-2), that's 20 points. Does this mean that a 60-active point power that works against Yellow and Non-Yellow is really worth 68 points, even though it costs only 60? I don't think any system can protect you from building an inefficient character - nor should it. You can always find a more expensive way to build something. That doesn't mean the components you used for the more expensive build should be cheaper.

I don't think it's fair to say that just because something can be broken down into smaller parts, and the price of those parts added together is less than the price of the whole, that the whole is underpriced. The HERO system has always had things like this. There have always been "package deals" if you will. In fact, many RPGs have something analogous. And it's not really a problem. This is because these multiple benefits aren't all practically useful at the same time. For example, once you're one point of DEX over your opponent, you're going first. Any additional points of DEX/Lightning Reflexes don't give you any additional benefit. If all you want is to be a skill monster, you can buy levels with all Agility Skills, Intellect Skills, and Interaction Skills, and pay a lot less than you would have for buying a lot of DEX, INT, and EGO. It's the usual balance between raw power and flexibility - which is seen in most RPGs and even a whole lot of board games. That depends on the character concept of course. But assuming the character isn't specifically based around EGO, DEX, or INT, I'd probably be inclined to leave them all at 10. If I was building a Brick, for example, I might be inclined to sell back some DEX, if it's 2 points, for all the extra points that would give me. And I might buy a few points of EGO, to protect myself against various mental powers (assuming I couldn't conceptually justify Mental Defense). And I think that's one of the great things about the 6e changes - that you don't have to buy DEX (or EGO or INT) if your character concept doesn't call for it.

I've usually used a limitation on Mind Control for "Emotions Only", and another for "One Effect Only". In this case, I'd apply both. Emotions Only means you aren't directly controlling the target's actions, just their emotions. The actions they then take may be somewhat unpredictable, and will depend on the personality/psychology of the character. What does this character do when he's afraid? Does he run away at full speed? Maybe, but he might do something else. And it also depends on how much the target's EGO is exceeded by the effect roll. But if you specifically want the single fear response of running away at full speed, then you don't get the "Emotions Only" limitation, but you can get the "One Effect Only" limitation - "Run Away at Full Speed (and feel fear)." I find that in most cases "Emotions Only" is worth about -1, and "One Effect Only" is worth about -1/2.

True, but that has nothing to do with DEX. True, but DEX doesn't really have that much to do with combat, directly. OCV, DCV, STR, CON, PD and ED have to do with combat directly, and all cost less than DEX. Yes, if you successfully use DEX-based skills, you might be able to get some bonus in combat. And a combat situation might call for a DEX roll. But the same is true for some INT-based skills and PER rolls. And the same is true for PRE-based skills and making and resisting PRE Attacks. And initiative is only useful up to a certain point. Going first isn't always that useful, which is why people hold their actions so often. But assuming you really want to go first for whatever reason (and I acknowledge that there are legitimate reasons), if everyone else has 10 DEX, and you have 11 DEX, then you get to go first for your 2 points spent. But if you spent 80 points for a 50 DEX, you don't get to go any "more first". Based on everything else I know about the 6e changes, I think all the other characteristics are priced about right. Particularly STR, CON, INT, EGO, PRE. It seems to me there is also something "elegant" about the game if all six of those main characteristics cost the same. I don't mean to belabor the point. And I'm aware there are probably other changes in 6e that I don't know about, and maybe various practical considerations in combat that my "armchair GMing" is overlooking. I'm just saying that it *seems* to me that DEX is too expensive, relative to the other characteristics, and while it *might* be slightly more useful than INT or PRE, it really doesn't seem *twice* as useful. (But of course, no one is going to want DEX priced at 1 1/2 points.) And the one "bottom line" is that it's up to the GM to make the game balanced. If one player wants to play Presence-Man, and the GM provides nothing but mindless robotic enemies that can't be negotiated with, bribed, seduced, bluffed, or intimidated, then that player is going to feel ripped off (and rightly so) no matter what the price was that he paid for his PRE. A player who bought 20 DEX for 20 points has every right to expect about twice as much utility as the guy who bought 20 INT for only 10 points.

i am satisfied with the cost of EGO. Thank you all for the clarification. But DEX still seems overpriced. It's not enough to simply point out a bunch of different things that a characteristic gives you. It's a matter of how useful in-game those things are - and in particular how useful they are compared with other characteristics (and powers and skill levels, etc.) Going earlier in the phase and improved DEX rolls for 2 points compared to extra lifting, HtH damage, and throwing and ranged damage with throwing, for 1 point. "Look at my fancy acrobatics! Watch me climb! How about some contortion or sleight of hand?" pretty much pales in comparison to "HULK SMASH PUNY HUMAN!"

No. The target is still "you", not anyone else. Tunneling creates a tunnel, even though the Target of the power is not the ground/material tunneled through. We're not trying to drag unwilling people into the tunnel with us, we're just trying to make a bigger tunnel.

Telepathy, No Range - He makes blood-to-blood contact with his target and then can get into his mind. " also works with Mind Control, or other Mental Powers. Not sure how useful this will be to him, but: Blood Sense - Discriminatory, Molecular-level, Analysis - to absolutely identify someone by their blood chemistry - no disguise/shape shift will fool him once he knows your blood. Blood Sense - Detect certain kinds of Physical Complications/Dependencies/Vulnerabilities that might be detectable by analyzing the target's blood, such as Addictions, certain diseases or genetic disorders, allergies?, et al. Maybe he can even get a feel for how much STUN/END you have left, maybe BODY too. Flash vs Sight - "Here's blood in your eye!" NND, Drown in blood - Defense is not having to breathe.

How so? A mentalist can buy all the OMCV & DMCV he wants - completely separate from EGO. Then he can buy Mental Defense - which works even better than EGO to defend against Mental Powers. Like you said, EGO rolls aren't made that often. If you don't need to control Summoned creatures, what else do you need EGO for that's worth more than buying more MDef? (And I'd assume you can buy Skill Levels for controlling the beings you Summoned - for less than the cost of +5 EGO.) Yes, being able to go earlier in a phase is useful, but is it 2-points useful? Especially compared to STR, which gives you lifting and HtH damage, for half the cost. Well, that's good to know. This is the kind of stuff I'm interested in - this is what I was looking for when I said, "Am I missing something?" With EGO at only 1-point, it's not too bad, I guess. The GM should just make sure that EGO is actually useful for something. The bottom line is, all other things being equal, are these builds balanced with each other: a) 30 DEX (40 points) b ) 10 DEX + 40 points worth of Skill Levels with DEX-Rolls. (40 points) c) 10 DEX + 30 points worth of Skill Levels with DEX-Rolls + 10 points worth of Lightning Reflexes. (40 Points) And are these builds balanced with each other: d) 30 EGO (20 points) e) 10 EGO + 20 points worth of Mental Defense (20 points) I can see how d and e are probably close enough. But the difference between a, b, and c worries me.

Re: Tunneling with AoE needing UAA I disagree. Tunneling is a movement power. UAA is only needed if you intend to *move* other people. Tunneling creates a tunnel as a side effect of the power. There's no reason why AoE can't simply make the tunnel wider, but it won't bring people along with you. Anyone can pretty easily step out of the area - especially since you're adding Full Phase. Any allies/innocents in the area might fall and take damage, which you probably don't want. And you certainly don't want enemies in your chamber. You might consider both Tunneling and Transform together - Tunneling to make the hole, and a Cosmetic/Minor Transform to turn the roughly tunneled dirt/rock into smooth and structurally sound walls.

Well, if EGO only costs 1, that's half the problem solved. But it still seems that you're better off with 5 EGO and 5 Mental Defense than with 10 EGO - even if you're a mentalist. How much does a Skill Level with All DEX-Based Skills cost? Does it cost the same as a Skill Level with All INT-Based Skills? And PRE-Based Skills? Or how 'bout All DEX-Rolls, with or without a Skill? Is Abort still available in 6th? And Holding is, since you mentioned it. Is there something in 6th that makes going earlier in the phase more important than it was in previous editions? And if you want a character who can do all kinds of amazing dexterous things, best to sell down your DEX and by DEX-Skill Levels instead. It took me a long time to buy into the idea of dropping figured characteristics, but I'm willing to do it. As I always said, "The Devil's in the details". This particular detail looks totally wrong to me. ----- But if it's any consolation, I completely agree with almost all of the other changes that I know about: No more EC's, fewer Complications, etc.

Looks like this fire has died down, but never fear - I found another can of gasoline! What I want to know is why DEX and EGO still cost 2 points even though they no longer contribute to CV and MCV? Seems to me, I'm better off selling my DEX down to 5 and using the 10 points for +2 with all DEX Rolls. Thus I get higher DEX rolls than just having 10 DEX. And for EGO, it seems I'm better off selling my EGO down to 5 and buying 10 points of Mental Def. Am I missing something?

For the "someone else's wand" effect, you could just use a partially limited power. Say, you've got 50 active points in the spell, which is at full power if you're using your own wand, but only half-power if using someone else's wand. So you buy the first 25 points with, say, -3/4 Focus limitation (requires a wand), and the remaining 25 points with a higher Focus limitation, say -1 (requires *your* wand). The precise values of the limitations would depend on how difficult it is to find a "wand of opportunity", and how likely it is you won't have access to *your* wand. And of course, the power doesn't have to be split exactly in half. It could be 40 points with any old wand, but 50 with your own; or it could be 20 with any wand and 50 with your own.

I've always considered location 13 to be everything covered by a speedo. Which gives plenty of room that it doesn't have to be right in the nads. It could easily be to either side, and is still a "vital" area, as you could bleed out quickly if you're hit in the femoral artery. Likewise a lower intestine hit is not good. And somewhere, I came up with a "Rear Hit Location" table, to reflect the slightly different effects of hits from behind. If you're hit in the butt, that's probably not as bad as 13 from the front. So I switched the multipliers for 12 and 13. 12 being about where your kidneys are.

Being the lazy-ass bastard that I am, and using the incredibly flexible game system that HERO is, I let my players design their own magic system. With only those restrictions necessary to fit into the game world and the adventure concepts (long-distance movement powers, for example, would tend to ruin a game where the journey is the challenge). The game world's magic "system" is really something someone else came up with that I seized upon, because it worked well for me. Each village/town/city has it's own style of magic that it teaches to its people (assuming they have the aptitude and desire to learn it), so that the style of magic you use depends on where you're from. So a player wants XYZ-type of magic, I say, "OK," and place that village somewhere on the map. Usually, a village's style of magic will be directly useful and relevant to the people of that village. For example, a coastal fishing village may have magic that relates to the sea and weather. While a desert-dwelling tribe might have magic that is useful for desert survival. The desert people might have a "create water" spell, but the fishing village probably wouldn't. And usually, the magic will be based on the specific culture of the village/town/city, even if it doesn't relate to the local industry or natural resources. I figure, no point in writing up a thousand spells for players to choose from, when they're only going to actually buy a few dozen among all the players, and they may very well want to create some of their own. There are three basic "sources" of magic: 1. Art - Magic is a force of nature, and it can be studied and manipulated and used, if you're willing to do the work to learn it. This is the typical "wizardly"-type magic, with books to read and magical theories. Magic is a "science" in a way. This is probably the most common type, and has the widest variety of possible effects. Art magicians can, and often do, invent their own original spells. Art magic includes most types of alchemy and creation of magic items. 2. Favor - Magic comes from supernatural beings, the gods, for example. This includes the typical "cleric"-type magic, where the magic ability is granted, directly or indirectly, by one or more gods, or other supernatural beings. This also includes magic relating to the summoning of such beings. The actual gods themselves are not likely to be summoned to do the will of mortals, but other beings might - various spirits, "elementals", even demons. And some kinds of Favor magic is "forced" from the source, where the mage in a sense "steals" the magical ability from a demon or the like, or compels the being to serve. Yes, this last type can be rather dangerous. Favor magic is almost as common as Art magic, and does not have quite as large a variety of effects - being limited by the nature of the being that grants the magic. For example the sun god is not likely to grant his followers a "darkness" spell. 3. Gift - This magic just sort of happens. Some people just have a natural ability to cause some kinds of magical effects. You might call it "wild" magic. There is no "theory" per se, to Gift magic - the only studying to do is to practice and learn control of the magic that is already within you. This kind of magic is fairly rare, and limited in the variety of effects. The usual kinds of effects are psychic - mental, sensory, nature-based, healing, etc. Gift mages may have just one specific "spell" available, or one magical ability that can be applied in a few different ways. Gift magic tends to be easier for the possessor to use, but less powerful overall than other types. In game terms, Gift magic has fewer active points, but fewer limitations. And there can be some specific types of magic that are a blend of the above types. Demon-summoning, for example may require Art to bind the demon to the mage's will, while the effects the demon allows are Favor magic. Magic powers do not get an automatic "spell" limitation, nor do they get an automatic reduction in cost. Magic can be bought in frameworks. And I do not want wizards in my games to be walking artillery platforms. If you want to kill something, just go ahead and use a normal weapon. Attack spells are for unusual circumstances, like if you have to kill something that can't be hurt by normal weapons, or you want to cause some attacking effect other than damage.

In my campaign world there are a few extremely rare fixed gates to other planes - usually built for nefarious purposes. They are created by some complicated magical means, and can be destroyed, closing the gate permanently. They are not intended for the players to use to get to other "planes" - they most likely don't want to go to Hell. They are built to bring horrors from other worlds here. The general population does not know about them (usually), and they usually don't remain secret for long, because when other-worldly monsters start showing up where they didn't exist before, someone's eventually going to wonder where they came from, and try to do something about it (the heroes).

The main benefit is that you get treated like a noble. You can expect hospitality (wherever your nobility is recognized) and deference and respect from those of lower station. Even without the Money perk, people will probably treat you as if you had money, so you can probably get credit, at least. Superior nobles may be looking out for you, and giving some help (because it reflects well on them and the noble family) - but usually not solely for your benefit, which would usually require the Contact perk. And Kesedrith is right that the costs are too high. Well, to be precise, they *may* be too high depending on further details. Specifically, the size/importance/prominence of your noble authority. If you're the king of a huge region spanning hundreds of miles with millions of subjects, then yes, the listed prices are probably about right. But if you're the king of an isolated island nation that no one more than ten miles from the nearest coast has ever heard of, then the price should only be about 10-20% of what it says in the book. Likewise, you may be the top-ranking sovereign of a relatively poor nomadic tribe - definitely not worth the same perk cost as Alexander the Great or Xerxes or Henry VIII. When designing a campaign world, it might be a good idea to give a "King Cost Rating" for each nation to reflect its size/strength/importance. This would be a number of points it would cost for the title of "King" (or equivalent) of that country. And lesser nobles would have commensurately lower costs. So for a major central power in the campaign world, the listed prices are probably correct, but for a much smaller kingdom, being king might only be a 5-point perk, and being a duke, only 3, and a baron maybe 1. If there's a world-wide empire with one supreme overlord in charge, noble titles might be doubled in value and price. Likewise, different fantasy races and their cultures might affect the value of this perk. Some races/cultures might have only a very loosely structured society, so that the king doesn't really have that much authority at all, so a noble title among them would be worth less. Or they might even view ranks of nobility differently, such as by giving top authority to a king, but almost none to any lesser noble.

Wow. Thanks for all that! It sounds amazing! It really didn't take me that long to write that outline, because I wrote it a long time ago. What took a while was finding it in the *old* section of these threads. My main problem with the old deendee DDG* was that even though it tells me that this particular god wields a +4 spear that does 4d10 of damage, it gives me no clues about what I'm supposed to do if I'm one of his clerics or worshipers. *I have the first edition, with Cthulhu and Elric and all the other copyright-violating stuff. It might be worth some money on eBay.

Hi. Remember me? I've been away a long time, and I probably wouldn't even have bothered to reply to this thread (I haven't read all 17 pages of it), were it not for the fact that it was this very topic that prompted me to come back to this website. I was looking for a post I made in the Fantasy Hero threads, called "Stuff to Make up about the Gods". The main concern I would have with a book like this is whether it will be too much like Deities & Demigods from that other system. IMO, it was a stupid book. All the gods statted out like characters? Are we going into combat with these guys? Meanwhile, all the actual information that would have been useful for the game was missing. How is this god worshiped? What does this god want from me? From his clerics? From the world? What are this gods goals and values? What's the structure and status of the religion? What am I required to do? What am I forbidden to do? What happens if I break the rules? How do I deal with members of other religions? etc. That's what I'd want to know about the gods, not their stats and combat abilities. Yes, I suppose it's possible to run a game where the players are gods themselves, or at least have god-level power, and might indeed go toe-to-toe with Zeus or Ra or Odin or maybe even Chuck Norris. And yes, Hero system would probably be a great system to do that with, but I don't think most players and GMs run "god arena" games. So anyway, I found the post I was looking for, and here it is, (with typos corrected) in case you haven't thought of this stuff yet: I. The pantheon A. Creation myth 1. Creation of the natural world 2. Creation of people B. Organization 1. Family tree 2. Command structure a) Rigid-fluid b.) Degree of authority/control 3. Relationships between deities a) Couples b.) Allies/Partners c) Rivals/enemies C. Reality 1. Form. Examples: a) The gods are all myth/superstition. b.) The gods are legends based on exaggeration of historical events. c) The gods are spirits of dead ancestors or other historical persons. d) The gods are abstract concepts with no actual consciousness. e) The gods are quasi-real with forms/attributes/aspect assigned by worshiping cultures. f) The gods exist on a different level of reality, which allows them to modify their aspects/appearance based on their own desires or the culture they interact with. g) The gods exist in a concrete sense and have true forms/attributes/aspects, which may be subject to interpretation/misinterpretation by worshipers. h) The gods (at least some of them) are natural forces/phenomena which may or may not have consciousness, e.g., there is no "god of the sun" - the sun *is* a god. 2. Power Level. Examples: a) The gods are nothing more than mere mortals that are worshiped. b.) The gods are mere mortals believed to rise to divinity upon death or other event. c) The gods are somewhat more powerful than typical mortals. d) The gods have great power that only the greatest of mortals could rival. e) The gods have incredible power beyond any mortal. f) The gods have cosmic power, incomprehensible to mortals. 3. Power Source. Examples: a) The gods' power is intrinsic. b.) The gods' power is granted by superior gods. c) The gods' power comes from external forces. d) The gods' power comes from natural phenomena related to the gods' portfolio. e) The gods' power comes from worship. f) The gods' power comes from mortals' deeds. II. The deity A. Symbolic 1. Name(s) 2. Epithets/Nicknames 3. Appearance/Typical depiction 4. Symbol/Icon 5. Associated items/animals/materials/colors/phenomena B. Intrinsic 1. Myth/Story 2. Portfolio/Sphere of influence 3. Differences/similarities to other deities 4. Stats/powers/abilities a) Possessions/Artifacts/Relics b.) Pets/Familiars/Mounts 5. Divine "rank"/Level of power 6. Home a) "Plane" where the deity dwells b.) Relationship of the deity to the "plane(s)" C. Psychology/behavior 1. Personality 2. Goals/desires 3. Degree of involvement in mortal affairs a) Manifestations/Avatars b.) Spells/powers/abilities granted to clergy/worshippers c) Signs/Miracles D. Social 1. Among the gods a) Reputation b.) Position/function/purpose 2. Among mortals a) Popularity/Obscurity b.) Purpose of worship/reasons invoked c) Abilities/skills typical/valued III. The religion A. Internal 1. Principles a) Values/Dogma b.) Obligations/expectations of clergy c) Obligations/expectations of laity d) Laws/taboos/restrictions e) Attitude toward heresy/disagreement/questioning of doctrine/theology f) Theology: What the gods are, their nature and aspects. g) Theology: Afterlife, other "planes" of existance. 2. Practice a) Rituals/Rites b.) Holidays c) Prayers d) Priestly Vestments/Raiment e) Temple architecture/layout/decor f) Expressions/idioms g) Equipment/paraphernalia used h) Resolution of disputes i) Punishment/penance/atonement j) Education/Indoctrination of the faithful k) Proselytism 3. Status of clergy/laity 4. Sects/factions/orders 5. Organization/hierarchy B. External 1. Position in the community 2. Relations with other religions C. Race/ethnicity/location/culture of worshipers 1. Alternate interpretations/aspects 2. Alternate names IV. "Divine Magic" A. Effects 1. Types of effects available/not available 2. Power Level 3. Special Effects B. Source/Method to acquire/use. Examples: 1. No actual divine magic exists. Priests don't claim any magic. 2. No actual divine magic exists. Priestly magic is all chicanery. 3. There's no real difference between divine magic and "arcane" magic. 4. Divine magic is an inherent force in the world, separate from wizardly magic. Priests access it by their own means. 5. Divine magic is a fragment of the god's or gods' power, which priests access by being priests or doing something that priests do. 6. Gods grant magic to priests directly and consciously, if they choose to. 7. Gods grant magic to priests through intermediaries or lesser divine beings, with occasional oversight by the god(s). 8. Gods grant higher-powered magic to priests directly and consciously, while lesser magic is granted more-or-less automatically. 9. Priests access magic through their own faith, without the god's direct involvement. Strength of faith determines success or power level. Not that you'd necessarily need to fill in *all* of these details for every single god/pantheon, or even any of them. It's just a list of things that might be relevant. I came up with this as a guideline for creating ones own custom mythos for a game world. I assume there will be some text devoted to how to create your own gods. And BTW, I lived in Hawaii for a while when I was a kid, and learned about the Hawaiian gods. I actually wrote them up way back when, when I was playing this other RPG system. The gods book from that system had me believing at the time, that gods needed full write-ups like characters or monsters. EDIT: And one other thing to possibly include about gods/religions is their eschatology. And if you don't know what "eschatology" means, don't worry about it, it's not the end of the world.

Hi. Remember me? I used to be very active on these boards some years ago. I remember some of you. Hi. I've been away a long time, and haven't been Heroing or RPGing at all. I don't have the group I used to have to play with. Then t'other day, the thought occurred to me to look up something I wrote on these boards way back when. And thoughts have been going through my head of my old fantasy campaign world. I don't know if I'll resume my former activity level here, but maybe I'll at least stop in to keep up-to-date. I have the 5th edition (FREd), but not the 6th, and many of the 5th edition books (and some earlier ones, too - 4th, 3rd). If you were around when I last e-roamed these e-halls, you may remember my avatar. I probably should change it, since it's source is no longer relevant. But I'll keep it for now in case it jogs your memory. How did you come up with your 'handle' (forum name)? My parents came up with it, actually. What was the first tabletop RPG you Played? Red Box DnD, like everyone else, followed quickly by 1st ed. AD&D. It was the only game in town. What was the first tabletop RPG you GMed? Module B1 - "In Search of the Unknown" A rather generic title - couldn't any module be described the same way? Was there ever a module called "The Place that We Already Know Everything About"? What are you currently Playing/GMing? Not currently playing/GMing any RPGs, but if I could, I'd love to start GMing Fantasy Hero again, or playing Hero in nearly any genre. I've been mostly playing board games recently, which I also greatly enjoy. When did you start to play Hero? I guess it would have been 3rd ed. Champions in the early '80s. Never went back to that previous system, except for a few isolated times when that's what they were playing, and it was deendee or nothing.

I thought the three rules of Hero System were: 1. Do not talk about Hero System. 2. Do not talk about Hero System. 3. Do not talk about Hero System. But I might be confusing it with something else.

Re: Fantasy Art Thread Brainstorming: Cyberferns Cybherbs (Gygax-style potmanteau word) Wirevines Plandroids Woodwires Cybergrass Wireweeds (derogatory term?) Botonics Bot-bots (BOTanic roBOTS) Of these, I like Plandroids, and Bot-Bots the best.

Re: New friction(less) power

Re: New friction(less) power It looks pretty good to me. My only problem with it is the starting with a CE. What if you just wanted to affect one focus in one person's hand? It seems to me, it would make more sense as a single-target power, rather than a Change Environment. (Unless of course, you want to lower all the friction in an area.) That way, you don't have to worry about the Illudium Q-36 Space Modulator. Don't use it on that focus.

Re: Math I'm still trying to figure out how "fud" means "female genitalia". And speaking of dice, I want to see a d12 that's a rhombic dodecahedron, instead of a regular dodecahedron. You could also make a d60 or a d120, but I don't think anyone has yet. How about a dPI?

Re: What are the chances of multiple sentient races to evolve/be created on one world Well, we do now. Historically, the environments where large numbers of humans could live and did live was more restricted. Sure, there were always exceptions, but with limited technology (and no magic) some types of terrain are just not very well suited to human communities living there.