Jump to content

BobGreenwade

HERO Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,955

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by BobGreenwade

  2. THE HERO SYSTEM GRIMOIRE: What Do *You* Want To See?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: THE HERO SYSTEM GRIMOIRE: What Do *You* Want To See?

     

    Cantrips (Mini-spells?)

     

    Well' date=' there are varying levels of power for the individual spells presented in the Options. Beyond that I think that defining "cantrips" would be a magic system- or setting-specific thing for the GM to define.[/quote']I've generally thought of a "cantrip" as being a very minor spell of highly specific utility, such as collecting a pile of papers into a neat sheaf, igniting a fire to start a torch or campfire, or putting a book back to its spot on the shelf (or any object back to its normal storage space). These would typically cost no more than 1 point in Hero System terms. Perhaps a dozen or so such spells could be included at the beginning of the Wizardry section as examples?

  4. THE HERO SYSTEM GRIMOIRE: What Do *You* Want To See?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: THE HERO SYSTEM GRIMOIRE: What Do *You* Want To See?

     

    I believe you're thinking of Theurgy from pages 231-40 of The Turakian Age. That's a possibility' date=' but tricky (and not much fun) to pull off without a specific pantheon to refer to. But it's worth considering, particularly if I expand it to include "celestial magics" based on stars and such.[/quote']That would be very cool. Maybe you could use a "generic" pantheon of sorts, incorporating elements of Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, and even Turakian Age gods, with notes in the section's introduction on how it could be adapted to specific pantheons.

     

    (I was captivated by the idea enough that I incorporated it as an element -- albeit a very minor one -- in my novel.)

  5. THE HERO SYSTEM GRIMOIRE: What Do *You* Want To See?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: THE HERO SYSTEM GRIMOIRE: What Do *You* Want To See?

     

    Now that I've told you what the HSG is' date=' let me be clear what it is [i']not.[/i] The HSG is just a collection of spells, and that's it -- no more, no less. It will not contain magic systems, enchanted items, expanded rules for magic, guidelines for creating your own spells, or any other such thing. (Most of that's covered in FH anyways.) It's just spells, spells, and more spells. :hex:
    I agree with this decision, but I would suggest giving specific page references in the Introduction for these other things.
    So, with all that in mind... what do you want to see in this book? Is there a category of spells you think I've left out? Are there particular options you want to see touched on? Let me know! :)
    Wasn't there a category of magic that consists of "stealing" power from the gods -- called Theurgy, or something like that? I'd rather like to see that. (Or would that be a subcategory of Divine Magic?)
    If a spell could fit in more than one catagory' date=' will you list it? For example the classic Fireball would obviously be listed in Elemental-Fire, but you could also have it under Chaos (fire can be considered chaotic energy), Divine (if the caster is a servant of a fire diety) or Black Magic (if your definition of Black Magic is magic that can harm). If you have the spells listed by the categories you listed above that any reasonable alternative be listed.[/quote']It would be very cool if some way could be devised to cross-reference specific spells with alternate categories. This could be something like a sidebar listing other categories for each spell, an Option fitting the spell into a different category, or a Text Box listing other spells that could be adapted to the category. It's probably an extremely complex proposition, so I won't be horribly disappointed if it doesn't happen, but it would be, as I said, very cool.
    What I would like to NOT see is a book of spells where virtually all have the same "options"' date=' such as "Silent [u'] [/u]" with the entire spell written up again without Incantations, "Still " with the entire spell written up again without Incantations, and "Silent Still " with yet another repeat of the whole spell, this time with neither Gestures nor Incantations. Just toss a comment at the start of the section, or the start of the book, on removing common limitations to create a slight variance on any or all of the spells. I'd much rather have more unusual spells, and customize them for the general limitations I want them to have, than have half the book be reprints of the entire build, with a limitation or two added, removed or altered slightly.
    In the past, the alternate builds have been along the lines of "build it the same way, except for X," followed by the new Active Point (if needed) and Real Point values.

     

    I don't have the new FH book, but if different Options can be presented like this that presents most or all spells in alternate forms to fit alternate magic systems, that would be a boon -- though again this may be something too complex to work.

  7. THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

     

    This will probably be a good candidate for Best Suggestion That Ain't Gonna Happen. :)

     

    It would be fantastic if HSEG could get a treatment to make it the 6th Edition equivalent of The Ultimate Gadgeteer.

     

    Other than rules suggestions already made, there are some specific ideas:

     

     

    • Different kinds of gadget pools -- inventions on the fly, prescient equipping ("happening" to bring along exactly what's needed), the "walking department store" (having a virtually unlimited supply of common, everyday items), and so forth. These can all be served with different flavors of VPP.
    • Various treatments for how a character can have the ability to "summon" an item out of thin air (or the effective equivalent, like pulling it from a parallel dimension). Transform is one way to do this, at least for mundane items, but I've also seen it with VPP, Entangle, the Create Object Power presented in Digital Hero (I forget which issue), and reduced value on the Focus Limitation; under 6th it could probably be done with Barrier.
    • The different types of gadgeteers, as with other character archetypes in the Ultimate books.

    Like I say, I don't have too much hope that these things will actually get into HSEG, but perhaps at least the "summon from thin air" discussion can get into APG2. :)

  8. Create a Villain Theme Team!

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Create a Villain Theme Team!

     

    Master planner, master cat burglar, master martial artist... "Jimmy" Chow Yun-Fat, better know by his alias Black Tiger, was not the leader of the Seven Syndicate, but he was an invaluable right hand man.

     

    His very brilliance is what made him the perfect target as the first of the Seven Syndicate to go.

     

    For all his stealth, for all his vaunted mastery of kung fu, for all his careful planning against every contingency... he could do little about being ambushed by the Hired Guns. Killdeer fired the first shot, Howitzer the second, OSOK the last, and the other Hired Guns each got at least a couple of hits in between. In fact, when Black Tiger's body was found, there was more bullet metal than bone left within.

  12. Excerpted PDFs

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Excerpted PDFs

     

    There's something to that idea. Under 5E, I certainly wouldn't have minded having a PDF booklet with all the extraterrestrial racial package deals from Terran Empire, Alien Wars, and Worlds of Empire, even after I already owned all three books. (And having a few extras, like some of the aliens and enhanced humans that appeared in Digital Hero, would have been just gravy.)

  20. Create a Villain Theme Team!

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Create a Villain Theme Team!

     

    Veronica Pepper is eight years old, and she always gets what she wants.

     

    If she doesn't she'll scream.

     

    And boy does she scream... ear-shattering, glass-breaking, nose-bleeding screams. Literally.

     

    Veronica's screams have been known to cause permanent deafness. Once or twice she's caused an older person to have a stroke. Even with earplugs and other protection, anyone nearby experiences severe pain. Cats and dogs run from her, and birds fly away.

     

    Most frightening of all is the physical damage. It's not just glass that shatters, either, though that almost always occurs. Cars have stopped running in their tracks. Tires may pop. Metal poles warp and deform. Once, a stack of newspapers spontaneously combusted.

     

    And what lungs... she can hold one of her screams for well over a minute, nonstop.

     

    She didn't start out as such a brat. Her father is a Baptist preacher, and he has five other children -- three older than Veronica, and two younger. All of Veronica's siblings are genuinely happy, model citizens, taking age into account. And, until Veronica's ability started to manifest, she was no different.

     

    Her father explained to her that she had a choice in how to use her power: she could use it for the fleeting pleasures of selfish, instant gratification, or she could use it to be a productive, helpful, and respected member of society.

     

    Veronica decided on instant gratification.

     

    Now, as Hellscreamer, she helps make sure that she and the other Bad Seeds get what they want... because if they don't, she'll scream.

     

    What's really scary is that her power is only starting to develop.

  21. THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

     

    What if HSEG had a section like Pulp HERO's "Weird Science" but dedicated to Steam/Diesel/Clockpunk? Thing is, a lot of Steam/Diesel/Clockwork Punk equipment really is a matter of SFX. So what if such a section didn't list very many original builds so much as it refers to others and simply "converted the SFX?"

     

    Alternatively, what if many individual equipment entries suggested Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Clockpunk, and/or Weird Science SFX alternatives under "Options?" where appropriate?

    As I think you were indicating, a lot of this can be done the same way as I mentioned earlier for enchanted items: just give a couple of paragraphs in the Introduction pointing out that many such devices could be the same, with just a change in SFX and perhaps some shifts in Limitations.

     

    Nonetheless, a few small steampunk gizmos like James West's boot daggers and sleeve holsters would be cool.

  23. Technologically advanced Neanderthals?

    in Other Genres

    Posted

    Re: Technologically advanced Neanderthals?

     

    This one does seem to cover the same ground as the original article, and no less informatively.

     

    That article is still not back up, but I did find where someone clipped a few paragraphs:

    For decades scientists believed Neanderthals developed `modern' tools and ornaments solely through contact with Homo sapiens, but new research from the University of Colorado Denver now shows these sturdy ancients could adapt, innovate and evolve technology on their own.

     

    The findings by anthropologist Julien Riel-Salvatore,assistant professor of anthropology at UC Denver, challenge a half-century of conventional wisdom maintaining that "They were far more resourceful than we have given them credit for." His research was based on seven years of studying Neanderthal sites throughout Italy, with special focus on the vanished Uluzzian culture.

     

    About 42,000 years ago, the Aurignacian culture, attributed to modern Homo sapiens, appeared in northern Italy while central Italy continued to be occupied by Neanderthals of the Mousterian culture which had been around for at least 100,000 years. At this time a new culture arose in the south, one also thought to be created by Neanderthals.

    So it's made me start to imagine modern Neanderthals using high-tech devices... like I said, maybe the Geico commercials aren't so far off the mark. But we could have alternate timelines where Uluzzians fly spaceships, get around in rocket-packs, perform microcellular surgery, and know how to get the VCR to stop blinking 12:00 all day long.

  24. Help Me Populate A Creepy Island

    in Dark Champions

    Posted

    Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Island

     

    A new one just came to me.

     

    Eric and Bethany Heatherton are fraternal twins, brother and sister. They share an apartment at the edge of the island's main town. Each is incredibly good looking -- Eric is a 6'2" major hunk, and Bethany a 5'5" curvalicious babe. And neither is shy about advertising his or her physical assets.

     

    Nor is either of them shy about making use of those assets. Each is quite fond of flirting with members of the opposite sex, and both are well known for their love of sex with strangers -- including, or even especially, visitors to the island. Neither of them, in fact, has ever had anything remotely resembling a long-term relationship.

     

    It's a funny thing, though: nobody can remember ever seeing them both in the same place at the same time... or even in two different places at the same time, for that matter.

     

     

    Yes, Eric/Bethany is just one person, a cross-gender shape-shifter. This is something that someone who has slept with one of them usually only vaguely begins to suspect -- though it could be a shocker to bed down with one and wake up in the morning with the other.

     

  25. THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: THE HERO SYSTEM EQUIPMENT GUIDE -- What Would *You* Like To See?

     

    If time and page space permit' date=' I’d like to expand what I’ve got to cover other things — for example, additional/optional rules for Foci, a timeline of inventions/technology throughout history, Wild West/Victorian weapons, and so on.[/quote']Since seeing this part of the original post, I've been trying to contemplate if there's much more that needs to be done on the Focus rules. Not much comes to mind:

     

     

    1. I've been hankering for Focus Of Opportunity to be a completely separate class of Focus from OIF. (I'm not sure such a rule really belongs in HSEG, but what they heck.)
    2. There have been rules for "Concealable Foci," but it seems to me that something that is kept concealed or disguised until it's used, but whose function is easy to tell afterward, is better than a fully Obvious Focus but not as good as a truly Inobvious Focus. Perhaps a Concealable Accessible Focus could be -3/4?
    3. I think I already mentioned size/weight rules, particularly what was in the first edition of Star Hero, to better facilitate the Range Based On Strength Modifier.
    4. The rules on targeting and damaging Foci could use a bit of streamlining. This doesn't necessarily need any substantive changes; just getting everything in one place would be helpful enough.

    Of these, the first two should be worth just a couple of brief paragraphs; the other two may be a wee bit of work (and at that #3 may be better reserved for APG2).

×
×
  • Create New...