tomasina

Thanks to everyone who has been helping me (and my group) become familiar with the Hero System. We made characters the other day, and although it was challenging at times... we got the first few characters done. The flexibility of the system became very apparent to my players, and they are very excited about playing the system in an upcomming adventure. At the suggestion of many of you, I purchased the Hero Designer... which I am slowly getting used to. Although I think I have figured much of it out, I am stuck on trying to figure out how to create combined spells in the system. For example, recently I had a long post regarding how to create a flame strike spell. After much discussion, it was suggested that I create it as follows: Energy Blast 2d6, Area of Effect(+1) plus Energy Blast +2d6, Area of Effect(+1), Only versus evil(-1/2) 40 active points, 33 Real points 10*(1+1) + 10*(1+1)/(1+1/2) The problem is, I am not sure how I create this spell in Hero Designer. I figured out how to use linked... but not how to create a combined spell (as in above). Any ideas? Tom

Re: Turakian Age Questions Thanks for the answers, I appreciate the help! I must have totally missed this in the core book... I will go and look it up. Thanks, Tom -- Update -- I found the Energy Reserve Power. I had been looking in Sidekick (it is easier to maneuver through) and I do not think it is in there (at least I couldn't find it). I found it easilly in the main 5ER book. Thanks again!

I just got my books today and decided to tear into The Turakian Age, as it seems that this would be the easiest way to run an adventure (since the the world/rules are already designed for me). After reading it for the last hour or so... my head is spinning! That book has a TON of information in it. I finally decided to just try and soak up the primary points... and then learn the rest as it is needed (I am hoping that this rule of thumb will help me remain sane in the long-run). I was ecspecially interested in how the Turakian Age handled magic use... and was very excited to get to that section. While there was some cool stuff in that section, I was left with some blaring questions that I am sure you will all know the answers to. So, without further adue, here are some of my questions: In creating a magic user, a character must take the Power skill in the desired arcana (which makes complete sense to me). Thus if a spellcaster really wants to cast a certain spell... they should make sure that they have the power skill in that school of arcana. I am assuming that you do not have a power skill in a certain arcana, you can not cast spells from the school... is this correct? While Wizards, Mages, etc. all have a number of schools, clerics and paladins (if I understand it correctly) only use a single power skill called Faith when casting spells. It seems that this would give more power to a cleric or paladin (as compared to an arcane caster) since they can alot all of their points in a single power skill. Am I understanding this correctly? I feel like I am missing a balance factor. There are a number of deity based spells in the back of the book... can you only cast these spells if you follow that particular deity... or do you need to a take a Faith power skill specific to that deity? The spells in the book have a Total Cost and a Final Cost to Caster - where the second is cheaper. I am assuming that the Final Cost is what it costs to actually by the Power... but I do not understand why there is a difference in the costs. What is this difference? It mentions that casters can buy END reserves. Does this apply to both arcane and divine casters? And where can I find the rules on how to purchase an END reserve (as well as find out what this exactly is). Thanks again to eveyone, I really appreciate the help!

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Unfortunately... or fortunately... I am the GM. We are not trying to keep strictly with DND at all... we are switching to HERO in order to get away from it actually. Although there was a TON of info in this thread... and I would not pretend to have understood all of it... I think I got what I needed. I often speak in DND terms simply because this is my background. Tom

Re: Fantasy Hero

Re: Fantasy Hero Thanks everyone... I really appreciate the warm welcome and great support. I just ordered: Turakian Age Fantasy Hero Beastiary Asian Beastiary Ultimate Martial Artist Minions, monsters and Mauraders (or something like that) Later this week I will be purchasing: Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds Hero Designer v3.0 Due to this initial investment... there is a lot more pressure to learn and make the system work . In all actuality, we have been reading the core book, sidekick, and Fantasy Hero sourcebook for the last couple of weeks and we are amazed at the flexibility and common sense of the system. I am looking forward to reading the Turakian Age and having a base world to start with... then once we are comfortable with that we can begin to tweak as desired. Thanks again for all the help and advice! Tom

I have been able to begin to make a few powers... and scary enough, much of this is beginning to make sense. Our experience with MURPG system has actually been a great preparation tool for this system as it is based (as far as powers are concerned) upon many of the same principles. I am kinda stuck with trying to figure out the two following powers, however, which two of my players want. I have a player that is playing a Armadillo-Folk (don't ask). We brainstormed and were able to put together a fairly basic racial package for him. Both of these powers relate to his character. Power 1: Roll-Up He wanted a power in which his character can roll up into a ball in order to increase his PD/ED against attaks... but while in this form he is unable to do anything else. I looked at powers and concluded I could do this with force field or armor... we chose force field, and he bought 10 points to both PD and ED (cost of 20), but I can not figure out how to assign a limitation indicating that while in this form he can do nothing else. I read through all the limitations, but could not find anything even similar to this... any idea what I should do? Power 2: Roll Attack He wanted a power that he could roll up into a ball and hurl himself at an enemy... kinda like Blasting in the MURPG system if you are familiar with it. Basically it is just an attack where he would hurl himself at an enemy... and perhaps get a plus to his OCV in this attack form. I am confused at which power to use to do this... I looked at the various attack powers, but could not figure out which to use. The second power brings up an additional question... my original thought was that his roll attack would be an improved charge attack... but I can not find out how to do a charge attack in this system. I found in the Fantasy Hero book where I can set against a charge... but I can not find out how to charge... any ideas where I can find this... and could I somehow use this for his roll attack (if it exists)? Thanks as always... we are getting quite excited as we get closer to completing all our characters and are preparing to do a sample adventure to play-test the system. Coming from the background that we do (DND. MURPG) there is not a night that goes by in which while we are reading the rules, I hear "this makes so much more sense than DND or MURPG". The system seems like it will be well worth this initial ramp-up. Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation So I can use the partially limited power for my example above (which is basically what I did... without knowing what it was) --- and if I want to use two different powers combined, I would want to use the linked limitation to create a single effect. Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation OK, I think I have the basics... and just need to practice making some powers. I will work on some additional powers and if I get stuck I will start a new thread... as this is quickly departing from the original topic. Thanks a TON everyone. I will also look into the Hero Designer. Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Ahh... I looked up partially limited power and that makes sense... I had missed that section. Can I combine powers to create a single power if a single power does not reflect the exact effect I am hoping for? For instance (and I am speaking off the cuff here) if I wanted a fireball that dealt damage to everyone in an area, and also created an illusion as well... could I create a single Power that included both powers? Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation So to make sure I understand this (and how to cost it) it would look as follows: Energy Blast with 2D6 of Damage (5 points per D6 of Damage = 10 Points) + Energy Blast with 2D6 of Damage to Evil (5 points per D6 of Damage = 10 Points / 1 + .5 (due to the Limited Power limitation that states that if a power loses a third of its power (since evil is one third of the available allignments this made sense) you get a -1/2) = 6.66 points = 7 Points Thus the overall power would cost is 10+7 = 17 Points. I could then assign whatever description I want... such as Flame Strike: Flame suddenly appears around enemy resulting in damage to all characters, and extra damage to characters with an evil allignment. Energy Blast 2D6 (10 Active Points) + Energy Blast 2D6 (10 Active Points) to Evil Alligned Characters (-1/2). Assuming I got this correct (I would be kinda surprised) I now understand that powers can be combined to create a single power... something that I did not before understand.

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Thanks guys... that answer makes complete sense! My character is pretty much done... I just have one last power that I want to create... and I am hoping that you can help me figure out how to do it. I want to create a Flame Strike that does 4D6 of Damage to Evil characters and 2D6 to everyone else. I found a power named something like Energy Blast that could create the 4D6 points of damage... but I am still new and unsure of how to apply the limitiation of only 2D6 damage to non-evil characters. Can someone walk me through how to do this so that I can hopefully figure out how to do other powers in the future. Thanks! FYI - I have the Main Heroes Book, Sidekick, Fantasy Hero, and both Grimoire books. I am trying to make this from scratch in order to figure out how to do it. - Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Thanks, I will look up invisibility. The part that has us all confused is the following: 19 Hide in Shadows: Invisibility to Sight Group, Normal Hearing, Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2) (34 Active Points); In Poor Lighting Only (-1/2), Requires A Stealth Skill Roll vs. PER (No Active Point penalty to Skill Roll, RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests -1/4) So when I am invisible a character can use their perception to see me? When does this roll come into play? If I have to make stealth roll to hide... then I do not see what benefit this gives me since I can use stealth for that anyway. Or does this roll only apply to hearing me... the roll is what is confusing us. Tomasina

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Not being very familiar with the stealth skil... I will go look it up in a sec ... is there an advantage to this power as opposed to just using the skill? I just do not understand the power... maybe this is because I do not understand the skill. Tomasina

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Alright... I got it... the trick was to realize that it was not a power. I was searching through the lists of powers forever for that one. What does IIRC stand for? I am assuming that you mean If I Read Correctly... but with the accronyms in this game, I just want to make sure. Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Alright, I have assigned all of the characteristics, talents, skills, and perks... and am now attempting to understand the powers that are assigned to the Drow. Here are some of the ones I have questions on: 10 Elven Mind: +30 Mental Defense vs. Sleep & "Charm" Effects Only (-2) Since the cost of mental defense is 1 per number of of defense... the cost is 10 = 30/(1+2). But in the description it states that you can also add your EGO/5. Therfore, if I have an EGO of 10... do I get two more points of Mental Defense for free? 10 Spell Resistance: +3 DCV Only vs Magic (-1/2) I can not figure out what this power is based on in order to understand its structure and cost. Anyone know how this was built? 1 Reputation: Dangerous And Evil Elves Of The Underdark (A medium-sized group) 11-, +1/+1d6 I located the section on reputation and read it a couple different times... but I still do not quite understand what the numbers represent... (obviously the 11- is a roll, but I do not understand what the +1/+1d6 represent). Any help in this area would be very helpful. 19 Hide in Shadows: Invisibility to Sight Group, Normal Hearing, Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2) (34 Active Points); In Poor Lighting Only (-1/2), Requires A Stealth Skill Roll vs. PER (No Active Point penalty to Skill Roll, RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests -1/4) I kinda understand this power... but the "requires a stealth skill roll vs. PER" part confuses me as the racial package does not include a stealth skill roll. Does this power give me a benefit to hiding in the shadows with stealth roll... couldn't I do this without the power? Lastly, I cannot figure out what RSR stands for. I know this is a lot of questions, but I really appreciate the help. I am really struggling to get my mind around the powers concept. Thanks as always - Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Great... thanks for the help. I just may get this character made yet. Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Alright, I started applying the Drow package to my character... and I already have another question. In looking at all the items in the package, I am unsure of where to put these on the character sheet. Some of them are obvious, but others are a bit more vague to me. The following I just added to the characteristics section: 3 Graceful: +1 DEX 9 Graceful: +1 SPD 1 Quick-witted: +1 INT 2 Attractive: +4 COM -1 Slight of Limb: -1 STR -2 Frail: -1 CON -2 Frail: -1 BODY These I put in the disadvantages section: -15 Distinctive Feature: Drow (Concealable w/ Magic, Extreme Reaction, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures) -15 Reputation: Cruel Slavers, Evil Humanoids 11-, Extreme -15 Physical Limitation: Light Sensitive (-3 to all rolls in Intense Light) Do all the rest go in the powers section... including things like longevity? Also, why would the following be both included in the package? 1 Reputation: Dangerous And Evil Elves Of The Underdark (A medium-sized group) 11-, +1/+1d6 -15 Reputation: Cruel Slavers, Evil Humanoids 11-, Extreme How is my reputation good and bad at the same time? Thanks again - Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation OK, I found the answer to my second question in the following quote: "Any DEX that doesn't end in a 0 ... ends up with a fractional SPD remainder. He can't sell this off, but if he wants to buy up his SPD to the next point, he only has to pay the difference between the fractional SPD and the next full point of SPD. In other words, to increase SPD after rounding off, characters must buy the remaining fraction of a SPD point. Each 1/10 of a SPD point costs 1 Character Point." So thus, since he had a DEX of 11 which equals a SPD of 1 and 1/10, he only has to pay 9 points for the remaining 9/10's of the SPD point. Thus the total cost of 9 points for SPD and 3 for the increase of DEX. Thanks for the help on this one... I totally missed this before! Tom

Re: Understanding Drow Creation Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Do you know where I can find this in the books for future reference?

Our group is beginning to attempt to make our first characters... which has been a somewhat daunting task. In attempting to make characters we have run into the following two questions (for now): 1 - In the Sidekick and Hero System books there is a sample character sheet in the front of the book. He has a number of skills listed including Computer Programming. He has Computer Programming listed with a cost of 1 and roll of 8-. How is this possible since the cost of the skill is 3 and results in a higher roll (according to his stats). I can not seem to find in the books how he can buy a skill for 1 point... and am hoping some of you might know how the character accomplished this. 2 - I love the drow race and want to create a Drow character. I went to the Killershrike page that was mentioned to me earlier and found a racial package for a Drow (is included at the end of this message) - but I have a couple questions regarding the package... from my first glance. - How was he able to purchase an additional point of speed for only 9 points (instead of the normal 10)? - He has Normal Characteristic Maxima listed as a disadvantage (which is not included for any of the raced in the Fantasy Hero book). Doesn't this apply to everyone in Fantasy Hero? (I am assuming this is the power that says once you reach a certain limit, cost for abilities double.) If so... should all the racial packages in the Fantasy Hero book get this as well... or should it be removed from the Drow? Thanks, I am sure I will have more questions... but I appreciate the help. - Tom Cost Ability 3 Graceful: +1 DEX 9 Graceful: +1 SPD 1 Quick-witted: +1 INT 2 Attractive: +4 COM 3 Alert: Lightsleep 3 Elven Senses: +1 PER All Senses 5 Elven Eyes: Nightvision 10 Elven Mind: +30 Mental Defense vs. Sleep & "Charm" Effects Only (-2) 4 Longevity: LS: 1600 Years 1 Reputation: Dangerous And Evil Elves Of The Underdark (A medium-sized group) 11-, +1/+1d6 10 Spell Resistance: +3 DCV Only vs Magic (-1/2) 19 Hide in Shadows: Invisibility to Sight Group, Normal Hearing, Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2) (34 Active Points); In Poor Lighting Only (-1/2), Requires A Stealth Skill Roll vs. PER (No Active Point penalty to Skill Roll, RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests -1/4) 18 Darkness 10' Radius: Darkness to Sight Group 3" radius, Personal Immunity (+1/4) (37 Active Points); 1 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-1) 5 Faerie Fire: Sight Group Images, Usable As Attack (+1) (20 Active Points); Only To Create Light (-1), Rings Target in Glowing Light (-1), 1 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-1) 5 Dancing Lights: Sight Group Images, Usable As Attack (+1) (20 Active Points); Only To Create Light (-1), Makes small floating globes of light Only (-1), 1 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-1) Value Disadvantages -20 Normal Characteristic Maxima -15 Distinctive Feature: Drow (Concealable w/ Magic, Extreme Reaction, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures) -15 Reputation: Cruel Slavers, Evil Humanoids 11-, Extreme -15 Physical Limitation: Light Sensitive (-3 to all rolls in Intense Light) -1 Slight of Limb: -1 STR -2 Frail: -1 CON -2 Frail: -1 BODY Total Cost of Package +25

Re: Fantasy Hero Thanks for the quick replies... I appreciate it. It looks like they currently have a bundle for sale that includes the Battle Ground, Monsters, and Turkarian Age books... I will just grab that. Thanks again, Tom

Hello All, My group and I are extremely new to the Hero System after many years of DND and the MURPG systems. I have purchased the Hero System main bood (5th edition revised), Sidekick, and Fantasy Hero. While we are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of content and rules... we are very excited by the apparent improved gameplay, character freedom, and game format. We have decided that the best way to get a grasp on the system is to simply create characters manually and play a simple adventure. As we prepare to begin creating our characters, I am wondering if any of you know of any available basic adventures for Fantasy Hero that would enable us to 'test drive' the system? I am sure I will have questions once we start playing... but for right now I am just trying to find an adventure that is simple enough to allow us to get through as we learn the basics. Thanks, Tom

Re: Segments Question So really the only turn in which the "all combat starts at segment 12" applies is the first round... since at that point it basically starts a normal cycle. Thus it could be seen as follows: First turn of Combat Segment 12, Post-Segment 12-Recovery Futures turns of Combat Segments 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,Post-Segment 12-Recovery Is this correct? Tomasina

Thanks again to everyone who recently helped me out with the attack roll question... it was greatly appreciated. While I am sure I will have future questions (ecspecially about Combat Skill Levels) I am still working the system out in my mind. As I continue to read and slowly comprehend this new system, I have ran into a question regarding segments. I understand that there are 12 segments in which characters can act (and that a segment in which a characters acts is called a phase)... but I am confused at the order in which segments are used. I would naturally assume that the order of segments would go: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,Post-12 But the book states that combat always starts on segment 12, which makes me think that the segment order goes as one of the following: 12,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,Post-12 12,Post-12,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Is one of these correct? And if so, why in the world is it like this? The book says that it is because everyone gets to go on segment 12, so by starting with 12, it make sure everyone gets to go (before they are outright attacked). If this is the case... why not just make the current segment 12 segment 1 instead? Overall I think you can sense my confusion... and I would love some clarification here. I read both the SideKick and main book, but both had no real examples of a turn in combat... they just included the same statement that all combat starts in segment 12. Thanks, Tomasina