drunkonduty

Yeah, I'm just glossing over the "normal" 400 point'ish characters, as they really can't hamper the PCs too much.  I basically stop to roll dice when it's a bad guy I've built, or it's a mob of "normal" super-bad-guys.  If the PCs doing something silly, I'll roll that out.
 
It's been working fine; I've got mature players, who are in it for the story, so they don't need to play out stomping some henchmen.
 
I haven't decided how I'm going to play out the "war" against the Empress completely - likely, I'm going to focus on some specific battles, "turning points" in the war and story tell the rest...  We'll see.

In actual game play, they are "points of interest" for a moment or two.  If the Players are forced To interact with them, then they just want to get through the exercise and hop back off the rails as quickly as possible.  If players take an actual interest or bother to remember the existence of such creatures, the use them as libraries, but even then, they tend to focus on the hear and now and what is immediately relavent to the plot at hand.
 
I have never had inquiries like "tell me about the dynasty seven generations before this one" or "who lived here before the great wizard of the last age  raised the  mountains from the earth?"  I have never even had the question "was there a time before these mountains?"
 
Effectively immortal beings get questions like "have the elves ever been defeated?"
 
Ah, yes... Back in the days of Etrofian, there was a master tactician in the armies of the hill people-  some say he was connected dir--
 
Yes or no, Dude.  Have the been defeated?
 
Yes; they have.
 
Great!  How was it done?  What took them out, and can we adapt it to this situation?
 
 
And that's about it.
 
 
And really, it doesn't bother me.  They didn't sit down to read a book; they could stay home and do that.  They didn't come hear to listen about ancient politicians and geological events and mighty warriors buried in time.  They sat down here to be their own kind of hero, and to live their own story.
 
I get it.  Sure: it's always disappointing when some of your favorite material never comes to light, but I totally get their point of view.  Besides, I tend to view all that un-uncovered (it's a word!  Probably.) material is just a leg up on the next build anyway.  Recycling and all that....
 

I read it a few years ago and it fits very nicely with the heroes M.O. of preferring sneaking around and cons to combat. I think it'll go well.
 

Dude!
 
I remember that one!
 

 
 

I've never had Writer's Tears.  My absolute favorite is something you can't get any more except from the kind of place you order specific years of wine from.  Knappogue Castle put out some dated whiskeys about a dozen years back, dated 1992, 1994, and 1995.  They then went to a subtly different product that's undated and IMO not as good.  I have four or five of the dated bottles squirreled away that will await very special occasions (like my daughter graduating, me retiring, etc.).
 
(FWIW, I essentially only drink my Irish neat, and no matter what impression I leave around here, I am not much of a drinker.)
 
Clontarf 1014 is pretty good.  I am OK with the Big Three (Jamesons, Bushmills, Tullamore Dew), in their standard varieties.  Jamesons has been putting out some "Black Barrel" products -- whiskey aged in various other casks, like bourbon or stout casks -- that aren't bad but I prefer the main variety.  2 Gingers isn't bad but doesn't sparkle for me.  Teeling Whiskey is an Irish aged in rum casks; you can taste the rum/sugar in it as a pleasant note. 
 
I have a bottle of Proper Twelve that I have only just opened and don't have an opinion yet.  Don't like Redbreast.  Only tried Green Spot once (hard to find around here) and I remember it was better on ice than neat.
 
 

Quite a lot of time for characters I want to use in campaigns - I can give you the addresses for the homes my super hero owns as well as her IMDB credits...  Affects in-game stuff?  nah...
 
My google search history would look really suspicious without the context of research for a fictional game.

The original concept can come from a fictional character, or a need in the group, wild imagination,  or from a power gaming desire to work the system.   The character concepts and powers usually take several day-dreaming moments followed by number crunching.  Total time,  an hour or two.  

Uhm, probably far more than I'll actually ever use. If based on real life, I like to have read at least two history/biographical book on the subject, establish a time line, photos spanning their life time. Add in a brief blurbs about the education, religion, family and major events. Fictional character I like to be fairly comprehensive with as well, trying to flesh them out as completely as possible. If they're going to be a feature character and I can afford it at the time, I have a one or another artist friends do a reference sketch for me. Then create a character sheet in one or more game systems I expect to use and file it, for the day I may need it.
 
*closes the walk-in closet filled with plastic bins of hanging files with all my research notes in them*
 
I swear I don't have a problem!

If I can bring some fictional insight into the discussion, I have postulated a micro-cosmology shown to my readers by an Angel character in a different world. At one point, she describes in some detail the funeral rits fo an alien culture, and the religion behind them, then dismisses them, saying "It's a lie, of course.". It is a matter of record for her that her Goddess is the true Goddess and the others are "lies" oir "untrue".
 
Maybe she has only experienced that single deity, or maybe that being is also lying to her, about possibly many things. In the Western worldview of today, the idea of a God who lies is almost inconceivable.  So too with this angel -- she cannot concieve of her Goddess deceiving her or anyone else. At ther same time, she views otherfaiths as false by definition.
 
But it is possible -- likely, in fact -- that she may be wrong. Perhaps there are other true gods she has yet to encounter. Perhaps her Goddess can be a bit flexible when it comes to telling the truth.
 
And even though there likely won't be PC Angels, the reality or unreality of the various pantheons your PCs experience could be interesting.
 
The original Pantheon, by the way, was a Roman structure where images of all the officially-sanctioned deities from across the Empire could be worshiped. Of course, Judaism and Christianity were excluded. When the Chiristians came to power in the 4th Century, they took all the idols out of the Pantheon and replaced them all with images of the Chiristian Saints. I do not know what happened to the original statuary, but I doubt any of it survived.

Which is why "scr*w these guys" is an appropriate response. You can't negotiate with them without enabling them, so violence becomes an option.

During WW2, say, you could differentiate between a committed Nazi and a Wehrmacht conscript, but not while they are shooting at you. These days, there's no such excuse.

Well, sometimes about...


 
...and sometimes about...

I guess, like 2/4... teams of agents that are trained & kitted out to take down supers, especially to deal with a specific super, can do so with sufficient numbers.  But mostly they're there to overwhelm normal security or provide security against anything short of supers (and raise the alarm if it is supers) or provide cannon fodder/specific tactical support ("when Cpt Everything enters the room, throw this switch, then that switch, you'll be fine, I promise... no, really, there's an invisible force field....") or commit well-orchestrated crimes be it for gain, terror, or whatever else their masters' objectives may be.
 

In our 7th exciting episode -->
 
The heroes discussed plans with Col. Rage and the Peacekeepers.  Col. Rage described Project Citadel, and how UNTIL was working with various groups to prepare for the coming invasion.
 
The heroes decided to start by speaking to the Milky Way's Core Lord (who they saw in the memories of the bands, as he created them).  They flew to the center of the Milky Way and encountered Laktarian (in my gameworld, Laktarian looks like a baby Buddha).  As wielders of the bands, Laktarian did speak to them; however, he also explained that he would not help them, as invasions by conquerors were not something he troubled himself with.  He explained that the bands were created, to be wielded by heroes, and that if he ever needed aid to protect the very integrity of the Milky Way, he would call on them.
 
He did offer that there were many ways to tip the balance, and that the heroes should go to Somewhere to find more information.  Capt. Force realized that "somewhere" was an actual place, so asked where it was; Laktarian put the place into their brains.  After some more discussion, the heroes left to find Somewhere.
 
When the heroes arrived at the coordinates, they found the head of an ancient android, the size of a small moon (akin to Nowhere in the MCU).  They landed and were astonished at the plethora of alien species walking around...  Acting like tourist and walking around in awe, they also saw some aliens in uniform; eventually seeing what appeared to be a human.  They approached and asked his name (they both have Universal Translator) - he introduced himself as Bin-Dar'in, a Marshal in the Inter-Galactic Quasar Corps (the IGQC; my analogy to the Star Guard - are cross between the Nova Corp and Judges from Judge Dredd).  He also shocked them when he explained that he was a human from earth, from 500 years ago!  When the heroes started peppering him with questions, he offered to buy them a drink at a bar.  The heroes sat and spoke with him for some time, learning about his history, the IGQC and the larger galactic community.
 
Eventually the heroes explained that they were trying to make contact with rebel forces aligned against the Empress, so they could learn intel from them.  Bin-Dar'in explained that all three major factions (The Exrandal’rian Revolt, The L’sandron Army, and The Ta!ra Freedom Fighters) all had agents in Somewhere.  The heroes asked about each, and he explained what he knew, which was only the basics.  Capt. Force felt that the L'sandron's sounded like a good place to start, and Bin-Dar'in explained that a Pawn Shop owner up the way, was a good place to start.
 
The heroes went and spoke to Mandron, the owner of the Pawn Shop.  After some discussion, and Solar taking offense at his surprise that she was an Earthling, he eventually offered to reach out to the L'sandrons, and that they should stay at a hotel a couple levels up, and they would contact the heroes, if they chose to.
 
The heroes went to a money exchanger - who explained that Narrai money could be exchanged for 1000 to 1 in galactic credits, Earth dollars were almost worthless, and he might exchange them for 10,000 to 1, as Earth was not part of the galactic community, and thus their money was of little value...  Capt. Force went into an alley, gathered some trash, and used his band to transmute it into Narrai dollars - with that they went back in and exchanged it for 1000 galactic credits.
 
They then went to the hotel and got a couple rooms - they also ate at the hotel restaurant; after Solar called Bin Dar'in and asked what she should eat (since she had no idea).  The scene played out with their food was pretty entertaining in itself...
 
After a couple days of them milling about, using the IGN (Inter-Galactic Network) computers in their rooms to read and learn about much of the galaxies history and various aliens, including the Empress; they were eventually contacted by the L'sandrons.  They went to meet, and after some discussion, offered to help the L'sandrons with their efforts, in exchange for intel and learning about how they fight the Empress.
 
As a test, the L'sandrons offered that if the heroes would transport a shipment of arms to the L'sandrons, they would have the chance to speak to one of their cell leaders.  Capt. Force used his band to shrink the huge shipping contained down, so it could be put in his pocket, and they flew to the coordinates, with Solar making them invisible.  Meeting with the cell leader, the heroes accompanied them on several raids and assisted them in a couple battles, in order to see what the inner workings of fighting the Empress entailed.  They also collected samples of D-Soldier armor and weapons, along with a computer and communications equipment from the Empress' Legion, and teleported it back to Project Citadel for study (especially by Silvercloud, as he could use it to make effective weapons against it).
 
After basically conducting a successful reconnaissance; the heroes returned to earth, with ideas and thoughts on how they would use this information to begin to counter the Empress' invasion plans.
 
And that, is where this exciting episode ended!
 

In our 6th exiting episode -->
 
Our heroes (including The Aqua Man NPC) spend the beginning of the game, with Wuxing - training and learning how to control and use the bands.  The result to symbolize their training is that they spend some of their points and purchase CSLs for using the bands.
 
The PCs then approach the UN through Col. Rage and the Peacekeepers.  After much discussion, they eventually get a "Red Notice" (warrant) from the UN for the capture and arrest of Khan Manas II.
 
They work with the UN's intelligence agencies to learn what they can about the Khan and Kyrgyzstan.  What they learn is that Khan Manas II has a powerful team of henchmen; The Forty (based on Kyrgyzstan history), The Leaders of the Orda (which means Horde) of Manas:
Led by Battle Steel - his most decorated soldier, who the Khan has bestowed a suit of very powerful Z-rad powered battle armor. The Knight of Chains - a Z-rad powered individual with armor that provides great defense, and animated chains that surround his forearms, which can be used for various attacks and defenses Crag - a Z-rad mutated mountain of a man, who is incredibly resistant to damage and hyper strong - but, he is a well-trained warrior (martial-brick) Baba Yaga - the most powerful Witch on Earth - able to wield very powerful Z-rad powered "magic"  
The PCs decide that a surprise frontal assault on his palace is the simplest approach.  So, they fly down from orbit at max speed and land at the palace front door.
 
As they begin beating the Khan's normal henchmen, they are initially confronted by Crag, and battle him.  The battle raged for a while, as Crag is hard to damage; eventually, Solar used her VPP to gate Crag to a desert in China.
 
The PCs then entered a large room, with two sweeping stairs around half the parameter (the big fight scene from Matrix 2, with the Merovingian's henchmen).  Suddenly they were assaulted from an unseen assailant, who was attacking them with magic.  Eventually, Solar turned the air into a blue gaseous substance with her band, allowing the PCs to "see" Baba Yaga, even though she was invisible.  With a single strike, Capt. Force knocked her unconscious (injuring her as well).
 
At which point the Knight of Chains and Battle Steel entered through the upper double doors and began to battle the heroes.  This battle raged for some time, but both were eventually defeated as well.
 
Finally, the heroes entered a large super tech room, with Khan Manas II sitting behind a desk.  He was supremely confident...  Capt. Force scanned the Kahn and learned that his suit was actually a containment suit, and that he was a being of pure Z-rad energy.
 
The heroes started to approach, and Khan Manas II tapped an icon on his desk - at which point two huge nullifiers dropped from the ceiling and drained the heroes of several hundred points of Z-rad.  Both heroes were severely crippled, with only Solar having a small portion of her VPP still at her disposal.  However, both bands were only at about half their power.
 
Solar used her air band to hit both nullifiers with a powerful blast of air, destroying them.
 
Capt. Force used his band and began transforming the Khan's containment suit into lead, in order to trap him in his suit.  It took two phases, but he was able to do so and eventually the Khan was trapped!
 
The heroes used the Khan's own defenses to hold off the Orda of Manas, while their Z-rad powers returned; then simply turned invisible and flew away with the captured Khan.  They even saw Crag returning (via great leap) as they were leaving...  Eventually turning the Khan over to the UN.
 
While they were in the Khan's systems, they learned that he learned about the Empress from his moles in the UN.  He eventually contacted a Herold for the Empress, who gave him a frequency to communicate with her.  He had agreed to be her Vassal, ruling Earth; in exchange, he would work against earth's defenses, sabotaging the earth's chances to resist her.
 
The heroes then decided that their next move would be to investigate the rebel forces that are against the Empress.
 
And that is where our last exciting episode ended!
 

So now I want to run a campaign where the PCs are all Elves or some other long lived types and there's an adventure once a century.
 
The PCs get to not just deal with the adventure but also the changes in the landscape (political, technological, geographical.)
 
"I swear there was a teeming human metropolis round here just a century or so ago. And a river."

Hinduism is the name of the religion practiced by the majority of Indians. Or at least it is the largest religion in India, I'm not completely certain that Hinduism is more than half the population. There's a lot of religions in India.
 
 
 

For place names I just take them from a map.
 
For people (and related things) names I have no hard and fast rule. I do frequently end up with a lot of multisyllabic mouth full of nonsense. Or people called Jim.

So now I want to run a campaign where the PCs are all Elves or some other long lived types and there's an adventure once a century.
 
The PCs get to not just deal with the adventure but also the changes in the landscape (political, technological, geographical.)
 
"I swear there was a teeming human metropolis round here just a century or so ago. And a river."

What's the subgenre and tone?  
 
Is there a specific fantasy world the GM is trying to replicate? 
 
What does this world have that you wouldn't expect to see in a typical fantasy world?  (The printing press?  Railroads?  Airships?  Anything else?)  
 
What does this world not have that you ordinarily would expect to see in a typical fantasy world?  
 
Some basic notes about the world and its geography. 
"It's a flat disc carried on the backs of four elephants who live on the back of a giant turtle."  "It's a pretty normal world with a sun and moon and stars."  "There are giant floating islands all over the place.  You might come from one of those."   "The world is a giant floating cube in space, and each face is a different fantasy world with its own races, magic systems, etc."  Are there elves, dwarves, hobbits?  Are there other nonhuman races (catfolk, wolf people, winged ones, greys, etc.)?  Are there any "typically evil" nonhumans as playable races (kobolds, goblins, orcs, etc.)?  Are there racial animosities (i.e. elves and dwarves hate each other, catfolk hate orcs, etc.)?  
 
Are there gods?  Do they empower clerics with divine magic?  
 
What magic system(s) are there?  
 
What kinds of magic items are there?  How many?  How are they generally created?  
 
What country/ies are the PCs from?  How do those countries feel about one another?  
 
What other countries are there?  Name of ruler, type of government, are they "good" or "evil"?  A few other bits of detail about them. 
 
What organizations are there, that either the PCs might belong to or that might be hunting one or more of them?  You don't need detailed notes about a dozen; evocative names and a basic note about their goals and membership is probably fine.  
 
A rough basic timeline with a dozen or so entries and maybe information about the current "age" if there is one.  
 

While mainly geared for comic books - Nate Pei kos over at Blambot.com has some wonderful fonts for use.
Some are pay fonts and some are freebies, you just need to go through the store and get them.
 






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Just some guy who I stumbled upon in YouTube. I think the videos are several years old now. The premise of the Running the Game was to entice NEW people into GMing because a lot of people will play but not GM. Now of course some of the advice was geared specifically for D&D 5th however he has wonderfully ideas that could be used in any game. The other thing is you may not like D&D but his enthusiasm makes you still want to get a group of players together and PLAY!

And there is a prime example of what we are talking about.
 
It starts well, and then jumps into silliness.

And since Hero combat is suppose to be a cinematic style, here are some examples:
 
Stunned & Knocked out ~48 seconds in this clip it sure looks like Aragon is stunned and knocked out. Stunned (and we think he has been killed) at ~1:11 and at 1:38 he looks dead or at least knocked out Lots of Body (and a poor Stun multiplier) - might be stunned ~1:20 1:51 More body and better stun multiplier 2:36 < 0 body and he is dying but not stunned or knocked out

Instead of trying to explain BODY, STUN and END in game terms try explaining it in real terms.  Hero system does a better job at defining the character than D&D does.  D&D abstracts things so much that the terms only make sense within the context of the game.  What does a HP actually represent?  Why does the frail old man (high level Wizard) have 10 times the HP of the big beefy farmer?  How many HP does it take to break someone’s arm?  Why does it take days after being knocked out (reduced to 0 HP) to recover? 
 
Compare that to the Hero System and it is a lot easier to understand.  BODY is a measure of how tough something is.  When a creature or object is reduced to negative of their positive body they are dead or destroyed. An Object reduced to 0 body it is broken, when I creature is reduced to 0 BODY they are dying.  STUN is how much damage you can take and still remain conscious. Most attacks do both STUN and BODY.  That is a lot easier to understand than abstract HP system.
 
There are a lot of optional rules that usually end up getting used in Fantasy Hero that rely on BODY and STUN so without those the game is probably going to be a lot less fun.  Hit Locations, impairing and disabling wounds are often used to make the game a lot more realistic, but without both stats they don’t work.   
 

I found that this was not really necessary in my games. From my perspective, wizards had neat powers, but they, like the warriors, were limited by the total amount of energy available to them: END. Wizards do not put points into physical skills, they put them into spells. Warriors put points into physical skills. Both are capped by game and campaign DC maxima (at least at first) and they both specialize in their own particular way of doing damage and avoiding it. It just comes down to flavor.
 
In my observations, the rapidly increasing power curve of wizards observed in traditional D&D systems does not exist in Fantasy Hero. A wizard with a lot of points simply has more spells and skills available, but they are still capped at the game's Active Point maxima. What they do have in their favor is the flexibility of spells which give them many alternative courses of action or even neat tricks, where warriors specialize in dealing and absorbing damage almost exclusively. Both can be enhanced with Magic Items, which may increase their ability to do damage, add to their durability in a fight, or add to their total energy, in addition to giving them all manner of bonuses, benefits, and buffs.
 
But I don't see warriors competing for power or getting overshadowed at all.