Eldos

Re: Anyone working on a Fallout 3 conversion? Mudpyr8, I really love what you've done for equipment. Have you tried stating out any of the creatures like supermutants, radscorpions, etc.? My plan is to create and then run a Fallout 3 style campaign set in Melbourne Australia. I'll share here if/when I get going.

Re: Anyone working on a Fallout 3 conversion? Dude!! I thought that I just had this thought now and am sure glad that I decided to check first. You've just saved me a heck of a lot of work. Pops to you man! Although, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your stuff.

Re: Real Costs for spells and how you handle them? The big problem I have with spells in a fantasy campaign is that spells cost while swords don't. In a standard heroic game - which I'm guessing most fantasy campaigns would be - you don't pay for gear. So even by limiting a 2d6 ranged killing attack spell up that wazoo it will still cost, buying a crossbow costs NO points. So the fighter can spend those points on something else.

Re: Build a Pleasure Planet I think what Ragitsu is looking for here is what he can put on a pleasure planet he is designing for a game. Thus, my suggestions are as follows:- 1) Several accommodation complexes near the starport catering from budget to extravagant. This should probably be set up in something like an idyllic beach area where people are comfortable in shirt sleeves ect. 2) A casino – what better way to separate the tourists from their money than games of chance. 3) Beaches – Holiday goers love quiet beaches and this doesn’t cost the management anything. 4) Sporting events – A few stadiums with major sporting events (or even minor ones that the guests can participate in) could be a drawcard and could create plot devises for you to use later on. 5) Historical sites – Another thing to bring tourists to your planet is if there are some sites of historical interest. Old battlefields, ruins, etc all bring academics to come and look at them. 6) Adventure – There could be other areas on the planet where adventure tourism could take place. Hiking, skydiving, white-water rafting, skiing, etc. Could take place. There are other ideas for food tourism, eco-tourism, etc. But these would probably not be on a specific ‘pleasure planet’. Hope this is helpful.

Re: Star Hero campaigns? If I could make a suggestion it would be Traveller. One of the first settings, the scope of the known universe is truly vast and only in a small section of the galaxy. It's in Hero form (granted 5th Ed if you can find the books) and there are numerous adventure books you can poach ideas off of.

Re: Secret Wars Campaign Log My next chapter for my D&D is at http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5989105/3/Tobarra

Re: Secret Wars Campaign Log Taking a leaf from Manic's book I've started writing my own game log. However, as it's D&D couldn't pollute the Hero forums with it so if you are interesting in reading it, you can find it here http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5989105/1/Tobarra

Re: Secret Wars Campaign Log So is there anything going on with this? I just started reading and was enthralled. The best campaign log I've read in a long time and reminiscent of Eosin's 'Weekend Warriors'. It's great, I'd love to hear more.

Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Hi all Sadly it doesn't look like I'm going to get my K5 game going. My gaming group has shrunk quite a bit recently and *sigh* the thing they really wanted to do was play some D&D. Yes, I know, it is the cross I carry. Anyway, my idea for an adventure, since I probably won't have time to develop it went something like this. · PCs take on the role of private investigators in Melbourne (this could be any city though). It works on the premise that the Federal police don’t really have the rescources to do much. Fast response mercenary units are employed to keep the peace on the streets and private investigation companies provide justice by finding guilty parties. · They receive a call from a private hospital that has noticed that it has had some data thefts recently and would like to hire them to find out what is behind it. · While the PCs are meeting with the hospital director, the hospital is attacked - the aggressors are using bean-bag shotguns so as not to kill anyone. They manage to kidnap one of the hospital’s leading surgeons (specializing in cybernetic replacements) and his portable computer files, but leave one or two of their people behind (either killed by the PCs or an NPC security guard). · PCs must then find clues which will point them in one of two directions. This will mostly consist of work with PCs skills, contacts, etc., as well as rewarding clever ideas from PCs. The idea for this was to reward the PCs for thinking and investigating. o Through investigating the body and equipment they discover that the raiders are most likely a mercenary group in Sydney and they will have to go there to find more answers. o If they manage to track the kidnapped surgeon (there are a couple of ways such as CCTV cameras for traffic, the rented vehicles the raiders used, etc). They find that he is being held in a warehouse in Canberra. · Whichever place they go to, they must get in somehow (stealth, direct gun play, bluff, etc). If they successfully do this they will learn that a politician is behind the kidnapping and is forcing him to work for them. They must confront this politician to find out why. · His plan is to create a new cyborg body for himself, the same as the body made for the CEO of a large bank (I was going to use the ANZ). Then, the politician would disable the real CEO’s body and assume his identity for a massive heist. The PCs must get past bank security (or clever ones will just know that they just have to trip it at the right time) to confront the corrupt politician wearing the CEO’s cyborg body. That’s basically it. If anyone wants to use it, they can feel free.

Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition My suggestion would be to give a bonus for a skill. At the moment it just seems to be power of device A Vs power of device B with no player interaction. The rules could also be improved by some curcumstance bonus' such as access to a secure terminal, access codes, etc. Finally, I'd also suggest a good list of what someone gets for various levels of success ie. power +2 allows you to see file titles, +5 lets you open but not edit, +10 gives you full access. These are just suggestions mind you.

Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition I haven't seen one . . . so I wrote one. It's at RPG now under the game but here is the text here. I recently purchased Kazei 5 for a couple of reasons. I’m a hero system player and aspiring GM but don’t really have the skill in the system to work out the true crunch of the system – so I need a framework to hang things off of. Secondly, with the new Hero 6th edition I don’t want to go through and try to convert things from 5th ed. Finally, I’m a little tired of the generic fantasy settings and wanted something more modern. Kazei 5 works on all of these and does so very well. Considering that the book has been created more by fans and freelancers as opposed to a company of paid staff, the professionalism of the book is even more impressive. I have the bookmarked PDF version through choice – I live in an isolated area and prefer to receive things quickly rather than waiting a week. I also like the ability to search for text. But a hardcopy version is available for those that prefer. After the introduction, which explains a few of the setting assumptions and concepts, the book goes into specifics concerning many of the powers and abilities that will effect characters; namely Cyberware, Cyborgs, Cyberspace, Espers and Mecha. While I consider cyberware and cyborgs merely an extension of the same thing, this is probably going to be a major part of the game so extra coverage is justified. The cyberspace rules could use a little work in my opinion but are innovative in approaching what could be a problematic rules area. The book also explains that you can remove any or all of these concepts and the system still works. In my campaign, since I’m not a big fan of Mecha, my plan is to change (nerf) it to more powered armor rather than giant robots. The real meat of the book comes next where it talks about character options, how skills can be customised, etc. It then goes into specialist equipment characters (and NPCs) can have. It uses the system described in the Hero book Dark Champions and it is very useful to have access to that as the list provided in Kazei 5 is not comprehensive and even suggests that Dark Champions supplement this. However, the equipment that is included is definitely well thought out. The next section, also very meaty, contains details of the future timeline for Kazei 5 as well as details of what has happened on each continent. It does include a great deal of detail on what has happened in the US and South East Asia – Japan and China specifically but there is plenty of scope for a GM to set campaigns elsewhere. Indeed, I plan on setting my own game in Melbourne, Australia. This is my favourite section of the book and I can’t help thinking perhaps it should have been earlier in the book which would have helped me make sense of some of the things that came before. Still, this is a minor quibble and doesn’t really detract from the book itself. Finally there are some NPCs which help expand the US and SEA sections of the world as well as providing me the vital templates I’ll need to fashion my own NPCs. As well there is a GM only section which reveals many of the secrets of the campaign as well as a ‘future timeline’, a feature I haven’t seen before but I find very useful and intriguing. All and all, Kazei 5 is an excellent book for anyone who wants to start or play in a cyberpunk, anime or even a futuristic Dark Champions setting. The permutations are somewhat endless – the concepts of zero zones could be expanded into a post apocalyptic campaign. For myself, I’m not terribly keen on the anime elements like ‘cat girls’, but they are easily edited out without getting rid of other game elements. It’s given me pretty much everything I want.

Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Okay, only one of the guys showed up last night but that's okay, I was only expecting to have two PCs at most anyway - I pitched the game to him and he's specking up a character. We'll probably be starting up in about two or three weeks - I'll post up how the game went afterwards and after the complete adventure I'll put up the adventure notes that I have so if anyone wants to crib from me, they can.

Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition Alright, I'm going to pitch my game to my players tonight. Even if they aren't interested, I'll probably create a couple of adventures and post them up here. The following is my intro to Kazei 5 in Australia Australia in Kazei 5 The Australia of 2030 has faired far better than the US. There has been no civil war and the bird flu which killed millions in Asia has left Australia virtually untouched. There are now 30 million people in Australia, however, nearly 4 million of those are 'Genies' employed almost exclusively in far flung rural areas working on farms and in mines. There have been many changes and much upheaval though. The Federal government has less power than many of the mega-corporations that exist in the country, often being forced to agree to terms it normally wouldn't consider. The state governments no longer exist (along with the state borders) but local councils have more power and are usually either bloated with corporate donations or impoverished because of the lack thereof. Crime is rife! Although the Australian Federal Police swelled their numbers when the state governments disappeared, they had no way to cope with the influx of crime syndicates fleeing the hard hit regions for the relatively lush pickings of the Australian environment. This has led to the hiring of large numbers of private security contractors, known colloquially as 'peace keepers' (as well as many other, less flattering names) they act as a deterrent against street crime but are really little more than mercenaries and engage in little or no investigation. There are also large numbers of private security firms willing to protect those that can pay. Private investigation companies are also popular and range from large scale investigation companies that promise to track anyone or anything to smaller companies geared toward servicing the standard Salaryman. These often work closely with the overworked Federal Police presenting them with evidence of crimes committed. When this occurs, prosecution usually occurs quite swiftly and has even caught out several high ranking executives who’s corporations almost always just as quickly disown them and leave them to their fate. Punishments for crimes have also changed. The death penalty for almost all major crimes has been reinstated, a new form of electrocution is used, dubbed the 'Electric Bed' but is considered far more humane than the old fashioned electric chair. A more common and popular form of punishment though is 'Indenture'. Termed 'limited slavery' by civil rights groups, the convicted party loses most of their rights under the law for a specified period and is forced to work for a group appointed by the court. There are several corporations that exclusively use labour from such sources; one such corporation, 'Unitex Industries', is known for extremely harsh conditions and will even, for a fee, send footage of a convict suffering to interested parties. The major cities have grown larger and are sprawling urban jungles dotted with large Archologies. Some suburbs will be neat and prosperous where corporate interests ensure that the council has a budget to work with. Others are run down ghettoes, largely lawless where even large groups of heavily armed peacekeepers look nervously over their shoulders. In rural areas company farms with Genie workers labour to pull resources from the land. It is this work that has kept Australia prosperous. Square kilometers of crops and solar array's provide food and power for the rest of the country and sell their excess to the world. Most of these farms are tightly controlled, the term 'Open Archology' has been coined as they have their own security, communications and their isolation means that their is little outside influence on them. While this might seem quite authoritarian, the vast majority of the Genies that work on these farms report that they are happy with their lot. Although some say that with nothing to compare their lives to they quite literally don't know what they are missing. Under Australian law though, all of the Genies are regarded as human, with all the rights and responsibilities. Most of them are even Australian citizens as caps were imposed by the government of how many non-Australian labourers resource companies were allowed to employ within Australian borders. While it might be suspected that these farms and mines rape the land for resources, they mostly practice quite renewable or at least, low environmental impact methods. The Global environmental change has led even the greediest corporate executive to realize that harsh, quick harvesting leads to diminished profits in the future. Investors have certainly learned this. While the farms and mines are well regulated, outside their carefully monitored borders true anarchy reigns. Bands of outlaws, often heavily armed, raid where they can for resources. Alongside cracked and pitted old roads one will often find craters, spent cartridge cases and burnt out, rust covered vehicles. These bands are usually people who have fled from the urban areas before they were forced to accept whatever justice people felt they deserved. They are known to possess the ruthlessness of people with nothing to lose and a massive desperation for resources. Along the coast and up to the mountains exist the domains of the privileged. When many of the coastal towns were flooded by the rising ocean, the wealthy acquired property on higher ground and built modern day palaces. Spectacular views are the order of the day with every convenience and luxury at the touch of a control, or often just a thought into an electronic synapse. Many dream their whole lives to live in such a place and some that finally achieve that goal, never venture back to the city that allowed them to live this dream. Character Creation 250 points Max Stat: 50 Max Spd: 6 Max CV: 10 Max DC: 10 Max Active pt: 70 Skills: 90-150pts Max Def: 15/15r Perk Private Investigator License – 2 points Registers the identity of the holder of the license with the Australian Federal Police as someone entitled to investigate crimes it also allows them to carry a concealed weapon. It also allows a PC access to purchasing the Military Gear Perk (5 points). The Street Level Gear (3 points) is open to all PCs. Resource Points 60 equipment and 10 contact. These points can be pooled between party members. Equipment points will change with successful/unsuccessful professional skill rolls so PCs may not wish to allocate all of their points as they will have to remove some equipment. Equipment from Kazei or Dark Champions can be used. PCs will also start the game with a vehicle (Honda Plex) and a base (office and accommodation in Ormond, Melbourne). Background PCs will be old friends who have finally scraped enough together to start their own business as Private Investigators. They have recently opened their office in Ormond, Melbourne. Ormond is a poor suburb with aging but still functional infrastructure usually inhabited by older corporate workers and younger factory workers.

Re: Announcing Kazei 5, Second Edition I bought my pdf the other day and am pretty happy with it. Layout is good, the contents is logically set out and the setting seems pretty good. Although I’m not really an Anime fan this really filled a niche as I was looking for a 6th ed campaign setting that I could do something with without having to work up a whole bunch of rules for the setting. My (exceedingly small) group meets in a couple of days and I’m going to see if I can generate interest, I’m hopeful. If all goes well, in a couple of weeks I’ll set up another forum here with a game log and adventure guidelines. All in all, well done and wish me luck.

Re: Star Trek HERO Sounds like a cool game Shaft - I hope it all goes well for you. My only suggestions go to what your players are like. Hard core Trek fans, Hero fans, just friendly gamers? If found, much to my chargrin at times, that knowing your players is primary to pretty much everything.