DrFurious

Re: Transforming the NYSE? Some suggestions: Wealth, UBO, RSR: Stock Market Manipulation Suppress Wealth, Only vs companies on the stock exchange. Transform - Societal Change, Xd6 ??? To manipulate a company's financial standing. Strictly speaking, manipulating the stock price of a company has little effect on most companies - unless the company is actively trading in it's own stock. It *could* allow someone to obtain controlling interest in a company.

Re: "Fantasy HERO general comments & ?" pt.1

Re: Transforming the NYSE? AoE Mind Control, only vs. investors & brokers, limited effect - change perception of the stock market. The stock market is really based on the psychology of the investor "herd"

Re: Still new GM looking for long term spell answers... While spells don't necessarily need to cost END, I find it a good way control the effect of a mage on the game. I dislike charges for spells since it kinda forces you to decide how many times you're going to use that spell. For some styles of magic, this can be appropriate but is out of place in others. I guess this is more of a personal preference thing. I know that charges can control how often a spell is used but I prefer to have that flexibility to remain with the mage. I had it at one point but got rid of it for various reasons. Generally I prefer to use existing advantages rather than make up new ones - even if they are "official" but in another book.

Re: Still new GM looking for long term spell answers... Here are some ideas and musings that I've wanted to apply in some FH campaigns. The problem with using charges is that you then need to start worring about clips and then wanting to have END (mana) spend on the charge regardless. Well, it just seems a bit of a hack job to me to get the effect you want. For spell duration effects I use a Duration advantage; based on the 1/2 END and 0 END advantages. For a +1/4 advantage, spell effects that last for a phase last for a Turn. I prefer spells to last for this duration since it makes casting spells useful without sucking a lot of END from the mage. You might want to make the Turn as the default time period for all spell effects (excluding attacks of course). This tends to help make starting mages beefier without becoming crippled with END expenditures. For each additional +1/4 advantage, the duration extends one step on the time table. Note you are paying more for the power than a straight 0 END advantage but this allows you to set durations from minutes, hours, days, months, and years without having to make arbitrary rulings on time limits. I don't know how you're having mages pay for magic in you campaign but you'll need to carefully evalute how the various character types can spend their experience. Ideally, you want to give enough xp so that mages and fighter types can increase in power without overshadowing each other. You can do this by tweaking how much mages need to spend to gain new spell effects. If buying spell effects is too pricey, then the non-mage types will have a lot of xp to spend. You'll soon see their combat abilities maxed out to the campaign limits while the mage is still trying to buy fireball. Personally, I favor using multipower pools for the mage. You can get by with a relatively small pool and still have some good combat abilities. If you're worried about splitting spells between the pool points, the Uncontrolled advantage can be put to good use. Since defensive powers are quite cheap, I usually build them using uncontrolled with a few difficult to dispel levels. The added advantages bump up the costs to a reasonable level with similar attack spells. I'd stay away from continuing charges - they just complicate things with END costs per spells and the number of casting times per day, etc. You can avoid uncontrolled by using the duration advantage (see above). As for Uncontrolled's requirement of "obvious and easy to stop" part, if magic is common then a dispel should be good enough. This does mean that uncontrolled spells are a bit fragile - which can be neat in some games. A spell that has been tied off and left along by a magus can be easily dispelled by another magus. Alternately, you can use superstitions as the "turn off" condition. A gesture to ward off evil may cause a flight spell to die off. Folklore is filled with means and measures of various ways to remove a curse or spell. This can definitely inject a flavor to your campaigns.

Re: Change Environment and Time Dilation If everything in the bubble is slowed down, then no one in the bubble will notice anything different, right? They don't look at each other and say "hey, we're moving slow". You don't have to make up any power construct for the new dimension - no one in the bubble sees anything different. When you return to "normal time" from the bubble then you have to worry about what has happened. As Digitalgolem stated previously, we are in effect talking about time travel. EDM already has this option covered in the power description. Like you said previously, lets reason from effects. The time dilation effect slows or speeds up time in an area. It seems to me that the original intent of the time dilation effect is meant to be more wide-reaching than a simple SPD adjustment. The original description also mentioned high multiples of time passage 1:4, 1:8, etc. If the TD effect was also to be used as a cheapo-time travel mechanism, you don't get that with a SPD suppress. For the THIS effect, EDM seems the cleanest way to simulate the desired effect. A SPD suppress can work for other power ideas but it's going to take a lot more GM fait to get it to do what the player has envisioned.

Re: Change Environment and Time Dilation

Re: Question on flight and telekinesis I'd submit that tractor beams wouldn't be built with TK as described but as STR used at range or via Stretching. The game mechanics for tractor beams are much closer to a grab maneouver by an appendage. The starship uses the beam to "grab" the other ship and stop it from moving. If it is a bigger and more powerful ship, you'd be dragged along as it flies away. Personally, I'd allow TK to define one frame of reference in which it operates - depending on the sfx. One frame would be the world frame of reference; the other would be the character frame of reference. The latter would allow action/reaction effects while the former would not. I can't think of an sfx that would allow both off hand. If one exits, you may allow an adder or advantage on the TK to be able to switch between the two reference frames. !DrFURIOUS!

Re: Change Environment and Time Dilation Unfortunately the suppress effect only works if you consider characters or anything with a Spd to suppress. Subtler effects like those that depend on a fixed duration would not be effected. For example, a smoke grenade that lasts for 1 Turn would not be affected but should be according to the special effects.

Re: Other actions while holding some one? Isn't there a CV penalty for the grab that should apply to the grabber until the target is released?

Re: Change Environment and Time Dilation You really need to look at what the time dilation effect is supposed to accomplish. If you are talking about time dilation in the physics sense then this means that you perceive that time runns more slowly in a moving frame of reference. Conversely, the other frame of reference observes the same effect. How to build this? Change environment could do minor levels of this effect. Crossing the boundary between these two frames should have some potentially nasty effects tho not to mention handling apparent paradoxes. !DrFURIOUS!

Re: Aid and Drain I think he means when competing Aids and Drains are being used during the course of a combat. If you have more than 1 or 2 using these abilities, then the bookeeping may get quite complicated. !DrFURIOUS!

Re: Memory Stealing Power As written, I don't think that the RSR limitation would allow this. IIRC, the penalty to the roll is equal to the Active points being activated at the same time. Eg. If you're trying to activate two 20pt spells, you have a -2 + -2 = -4 penalty to your skill roll. I don't have my book handy so I may be in error !DrFURIOUS!

Re: The great armour race... I'd have to agree here !DrFURIOUS!

Re: Memory Stealing Power Hero doesn't really have a defined way to tie a skill roll to how how effective a power can be. You can do some stuff with partially limited powers (eg. extra STR with increasing x? END cost lims) but for your situation, you'll need to scrape together a custom limitation or get creative. To suggest something other than a Transform solution, you need to examine how you define INT in your game. From the description of the INT stat an INT-roll should be used when "[a character] attempts to remember something ...". By this reasoning, I'd say that draining INT would be a good candidate to simulate memory loss. The question becomes how much to drain - a drain to -30 INT should be sufficient although you could use a value closer to INT 0. So to remove memories for a standard 10 INT mortal ... Hazy Recall of the Mundane Mind 14d6 Drain vs. INT, Only affects conscious recall not skills(-1), drained points return all at once(-0.5?), All or Nothing effect (drains don't stack) (-0.5) 140 Active points, 47 Real points. plus naked advantage on drain: recovers point every 6 hours (+1.25), Requires a (partial effect)* Skill Roll (-0.25) 175 Active points, 140 Real points. (Note: each time step works out to about 35 active points) ( * : I just used the regular RSR limitation but at -1/4 less to simulate some effectivness for a power even with the Active point penalty. IMO, the lim is worth at least a -0.25 ) For the naked advantage, the skill roll determines how long the memories remain forgotten. To activate more of the advantage, you need to make the skill roll by a higher margin. Since each time step works out to 35 active points and using a -1 penalty for each 10 active points you get the following: Skill roll success margin -> memories forgotten by 00 -> last turn, by 03 -> last minute, by 07 -> last 5 minutes, by 10 -> last 20 minutes, by 14 -> last hour, by 17 -> last 6 hours. Looking back at this construct, you're probably cheaper off using a Transform of some type and adhoc'ing some limitation based on a skill roll. Your other option is to tweak the construct above. If the requirement for memory loss is 0 INT, then things become much cheaper and easier. Your GM may require that important events during the memory loss period may be recalled with a successfull INT-roll based on the current (drained) INT level. The above would make intelligent people less susceptible to this memory loss - IMO a good thing. You could also use few Drain dice, drop the All or Nothing (no stack) limiation and use repeated applications to cause a target to forget. The effect would be that the target would find his memory getting hazier as you ping away at him. I'm not a big fan of high active point powers but that's one of the bugs Hero has in building some effects. !DrFURIOUS! [edit: changed spell's name]

Re: The great armour race...

Re: The great armour race... A few suggestions: - Armour gets worn out - especially if it's being used heavily. Reduce the protection after major battles until repaired. Repair should also be expensive - an experienced armourer may be worth his weight in gold (not to mention his pay Also, armour needs constant upkeep, especially in damp weather. Imagine having to keep the armour cleaned and oiled every time it rains - otherwise rust sets in and it begins to fall apart. Lighter armours (like leather) are much easier to upkeep. - Characters wearing armour are expecting and/or looking for trouble. Bystanders, the city guard, and especially the nobles would definitely be suspicious of a group armoured as if for war. Keep in mind that armour is meant to be used in a pitched battle. Anyone wearing armour without a good reason can be either a brigand or up to no good. People will react accordingly. - Do the characters have a right to wear armour? Depending on your campaign, armour may be reserved for the very rich and noblility. The nobility would take a dim view on an armoured peasant stepping on their perogative. If they have permission, they must be under a noble's coat of arms. The PCs actions may have political and social ramifications on the noble - as the noble's men, they could reflect badly on him. - Fatigue, movement, and DEX penalties. Looks like you've got this covered. Hope this helps. !DrFURIOUS!

Re: I need help with a grenade launcher

Re: Too many stats in Hero A similar scheme is used in the Action! system: !DrFURIOUS!

I don't remember seeing a lot of d20 threads either !DrFURIOUS!

Playing with a different rules set for every game is a bit much, I agree. But sometimes, a rules system can greatly help (or hinder) the mood for a particular game. In the very least, the rules should not get in the way of the game. That said, not every set of rules is complicated to learn and remember. How often do you see the STAT + SKILL + die roll <= TARGET mechanic? Very often. In some games, the rules are very tightly linked to the setting because they help set the mood for the players. I used to think this way until recently. In one of my games, I spent too much time hammering a rules set to get the feel I wanted and not enough time developing mood and flavor. If a game designer has developed a set of rules suited for a particular game, why should I be re-inventing the wheel? In this situation, the rules didn't work well enough for what I wanted to accomplish in the game. !DrFURIOUS!

Perhaps I am making a distinction between a Hero gamer (as one who plays Hero among other games) as opposed to a Hero fan (as one who plays Hero almost exclusively). It seems to me that these boards are more a home of the Hero fan. I think that the highlighted portion above may be the source of some of the hostility toward Hero on the RPGnet boards. I do agree that there are members of both boards that purchase a multitude of game materials as inspiration - what good gamer can not? It is that fraction of people that seem intent on converting a game to Hero that ruffles some feathers. I don't think that a lot of people on the RPGnet boards are interesting in converting to Hero - for various reasons. In the minds of some who do respond to such threads about Hero, they're reacting as they would toward an elitist snob. I don't think that the perception is valid but those who do tend to speak up more and then you get a perception of hostility. !DrFURIOUS!

Just an observation: I don't feel that RPGnet is necessarily hostile to Hero players per se. Rather, Hero players and gm's tend to be concerned about the nuts-and-bolts building of the Hero system while the RPGnet boards are more concerned about the gaming experience. Hero fans will debate on the merits of power frameworks to simulate some effect. RPGnet'ers would debate using sources of inspiration from other games without allegence to a particular system. From my own experiences, a large poriton of the posts on the Hero boards follows the former trend while the RPGnet board posts follow the latter. The RPGnet boards have a large portion of discussions on doing different, neat, interesting, or even weird things with a variety of systems. Hero fans tend to want to do all of this in Hero - even if Hero is not the best fit. (Trust me, sometimes doing a particular game in Hero is not the way to go). RPGnet'ers are much more likely to buy various systems, using bits and pieces for whatever game they have in mind. Maybe the standard RPGnet'er doesn't find Hero inspiring - and maybe that is percieved as a flaw that makes them turn their noses down. A toolkit system in a vaccuum doesn't really get the creative juices flowing for most people. Sure you can do a lot in Hero but why do so if a game designer has already been inspired to produce a facinating game with another system? Whether all of this is true or not, I believe that groups of each side have a clash due to these percieved attitudes of the other group. !DrFURIOUS!

That's what I thought. Well, people think there must be something to port over so I'll shut up now.

To be honest, I don't know much about Action! - other than it's a supposedly cinematic/pulpy type game. My assumption was that the book describes two things: simple and fast game mechanics (suitable for a pulp game), and the appropriate advice for running the pulp genre. Are there some resources worthwile porting over or are we just talking about the system. If it's just the system, I don't see what you're really gaining over running a cinematic/pulp Hero game. If it's not the system, what neat bits are there to convert over? !DrFURIOUS!