rjcurrie

Re: The Unusual Suspects I have a couple of mixed types among the SuperSquad America team: Fast Track (formerly Whiz Kid) -- speedster/genius Nightingale -- sonic powers/healer with a reasonable knowledge of mysticism My favorite mixed archetype character of all time is DC Comics' Kilowog. He is a brick/gadgeteer with a Green Lantern ring.

Re: What are you working on? 1. Updating my SuperSquad America web site (still a bit to go before it will be posted). 2. Deciding on the basic storyline for this year's SuperSquad America convention event. 3. Refining this year's Friends of Justice event before Origins and Gencon. 4. Working on a possible Fantasy Hero convention event. 5. Working on a possible SuperSquad America spin-off team for a possible future convention event.

Re: Stray "critical hit" thought

Re: Flipped Die Rolls Shouldn't any decent game have a mix of high-low requirements (that is, sometimes you want to roll high and sometimes you want to roll low)? Otherwise, why wouldn't the players invest in loaded dice that always roll high or always roll low?

Re: Stray "critical hit" thought To be honest, I treat a three just like any other hit -- and an 18 like any other miss, but then I'll admit I'm not much of a rule tinkerer.

Re: Paying points for Falling damage Well, of course, the benefits of equipment only cost point if the character is using them as a regular part of his schtick. If you pick up Dr. Cold's freeze ray and use it to freeze the villain in his tracks then it doesn't cost points, it's just a tactic. But if you decide that you want to carry the freeze ray around with you and use it as a normal part of your crimefighting equipment, then you pay the points. As to the original question, perhaps you should at least threaten to charge points for the falling damage if the player is using it that frequently (say, in every fight or every second fight). Or at the very least, something should be done to make the player be more creative in his tactics. After all, comics or TV shows would be very boring if every fight scene looked the same. Rod

Re: The Trophy Room I'm not sure I'd make the players pay for anything stored in the trophy room unless it was being used on a regular basis. The occasional "Wow, you know, we could use Dr. Destroyer's Dimensional Disintegrator to ..." use of the object is pretty well balanced by the fact that Dr. Destroyer (or some other villain) may occasionally try to steal it back or simply trash your base for taking his toy.

Re: HERO system observations and beefs

Re: HERO system observations and beefs That may be true for some people, but I know people who were using Champions for non-superhero games even before Espionage (the first of the heroic level games) came out. And people who used Danger International for Science Fiction games before Star Hero came out. Or people who used Justice Inc. for Victiorian era games. And you just have to look at rpg.net (hardly a bastion of lovers of generic games) to see dozens of people using games for genres other than the ones that they were written for. And I agree that people are unlikely to just pick up the Hero core book on a whim. However, poeple who have read reviews of the book, read people relating their experience using Hero for interesting games, people who have tried Hero games at conventions, or people who have been shown Hero by the friends are all possible buyers.

Re: Herogames: The Sportscar Product

Re: Idea: Sidekick Deluxe Given that the whole purpose of Sidekick is to let people try out Hero for a low cost, this seems to be a completely contradictory idea.

Re: HERO system observations and beefs

Re: HERO system observations and beefs Actually, I will probably ask if they want if they want suggestions on what they might do. If they say no, then I'll sit on my hands. As for the company swallowing its pride, they ask a percentage of their fan base (that is, those on the boards -- my guess would be less than 25% of Hero fans) to consider buying direct to put a few more dollars in their coffers. This is hardly the equivalent of saying the company can't stay afloat in its current form. No, I don't work for WOTC. And if Hero wanted ideas, they'd ask for them. They've shown no shyness about asking for feedback before.

Re: Scavenging game materials This isn't going to be terribly useful to the original poster, because it is mainly a list of abbreviations used to refer to various Hero products and to supplement the glossary in the rule book.

Re: Scavenging game materials Part of the problem is that a full list of these is included in the rule book, and I'm not how much of a copyright infringement it would be to produce such a list here. If you asked about a few speciific ones, we can answer them for you safely without risking reproducing too large a chunk of the rule book.

Re: HERO system observations and beefs Criticisms by a few. There are many, many people who are happy with the current approach. Yes, Champions was a bit of a risk when it was brought out. But it was a risk taken by a couple of guys who were doing it part time and not by people who have a significant amount of money invested in IP and have full-time employees that they need to pay. It was also at a time when customers were more receptive to things like new systems. But the "all-in-one" idea is a risk because there is no guarantee that such an approach would work and could easily fail to meet the almost guaranteed sales level of the standard Hero book that would have taken that publishing slot. As a result, it could mean less money for Hero to produce other books and slow down their whole cash flow, most likely leading to the downsizing and possibly the end of the company.

Re: HERO system observations and beefs Yes, but is it worth running a company that is producing products that aren't what you want to do? If so, then the gaming industry is a poor place to do it. They'd be further ahead to go into a dozen of other fields which are more profitable. But both Darren and Steve prefer to work with something they have passion for. Let me ask you something, when you play a game, are you constantly telling the GM how he should be running the campaign?

Re: HERO system observations and beefs True, but did you tell those people how they should run their companies? And yes, you're right. But the smart people in any project or company pay attention to what is being done by others and can see how those jobs are being done and what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, occasionally, some people who haven't paid attention also try to start their own companies. True, but Steve Long is also a veteran of the gaming industry who has worked with many companies, large and small, and has friends at many levels in other gaming companies. He and Darren talk to people from other companies about the industry and where it's going. They see first hand at conventions and such what is selling and what is not. From my talks with them, I think that they have a better idea of the industry's pulse than most of the posters on this board, who are often basing their ideas on themselves and the five or six other games they know. But you're making the assumption that Hero wants to move into that third category. I haven't seen any indication that they do, but I could be wrong. Right now, when they sell a book, they have a pretty good idea of what the minimum sales will be on that book and thus the minimum return on their money. Moving into an untried area is a big risk and unless you have the funds to safely gamble, then you're gambling your whole company and, effectively, the jobs of your employees. Well, you can pat yourself on the back for the idea if you want, but I have little doubt that it had already occurred to Steve and company before you posted it. It's a rather obvious one done by many companies that produce books or PDF documents in many fields. Obviously, until the shift to the emphasis on the online store, they did not feel it was worth the effort. But, as I said before, it's their company and their right to do what they want with it.

Re: HERO system observations and beefs Well, there's a third possibility: "What are those zanies on the boards going on about now?" Like watching a car crash. I guess part of it is my general assumption that if someone wants help or feedback, they'll ask for it. Just like Darren, Steve, and Allen do when they post "What do you want to see ..." threads for upcoming books or when Steve posted the poll for the 2006 GenCon book. But I don't remember seeing any posts from the Hero gang about "what can we do to increase our market profile?" And, of course, if you don't think the Hero gang reads threads like this, what is the point of posting them?

Re: HERO system observations and beefs You know, it really doesn't matter what any of us think. Hero Games belongs to Darren Watts, Steve Long, and the rest of DOJ. It's their company and they can do what they want it with it. Of course, if we don't like what they do, then we don't have to buy it. With that being said, I am pretty sure that Darren and Steve have a better idea than any of us as to what may or may not work in the role-playing game industry. They also have a better idea of what Hero Games can afford to risk gambling on a different approach. You also have to remember that they have access not only to their own experiences in the industry but to the experiences of other industry professionals who they talk to regularly. In some ways, large parts of threads like this come off as an insult to the Darren and Steve, as they appear to be saying "you don't know what you're doing -- let me tell you the right way to run your company". I really doubt that there has been anything suggested in this thread that the Hero gang has already considered. I've got to admit if I owned a company and people kept telling me how I shoud be running it, I'd be as likely to shut it down to be rid of the pests as I would to listen to them keep telling me things that I have likely already thought about and rejected.

Re: Art for my Friends of Justice Pulp Hero Convention Game For those who've asked about sepia. Here's the set again with a touch of sepia courtesy of Paint Shop Pro's "Aged Newspaper" effect. Rod

Re: Art for my Friends of Justice Pulp Hero Convention Game

Re: HERO System question If you're giving out a lot of magic items in your game -- then probably the good old D&D methods of divying up treasure (and ignoring the points) works just as well in Fantasy Hero, because there is a lot of stuff out there and it balances out in the end -- or at least as well as in D&D. As for characters paying twice -- one can argue that the d20 method results in characters being rewarded twice for the same actions -- once in XP and once in treasure. Using a Hero method where you pay character points for all magic items, get rewarded once in XP. Some of that XP then goes to pay for the new abilities you gained through the items you've acquired, but it's still only a single reward. So, it's not so much that characters are paying twice for their gains in Hero, but that they are being rewarded twice in d20. Rod

Re: Art for my Friends of Justice Pulp Hero Convention Game That'd be the last one on the top row and the first one on the bottom row? Rod

Kerry Connell who did the art for my SuperSquad America Champions convention game has started to do some art for my Friends of Justice Pulp Hero convention game. He has sent me the first character picture with six different looks. I know my favorite. Which one do you folks prefer?