Mark Taylor

Re: An EB by any other name...

Another one I'm not keen on the name of is Entangle. To my mind it's too evocative of a certain narrow range of special effects rather than the actual game effect, which bascially is to stop a target from being able to act. I don't have a great suggestion for an alternate name though. Anybody have an idea?

Re: An EB by any other name...

Energy Blast to Ranged Attack.

Ditto on that. Energy Blast can be agaisnt Physical or Energy Defense, so the name quite simply isn't appropriate. RA is consistent.

Re: Rapid Fire reality check

I don't see the point of the comparison. HERO System was never intended to accurately reflect reality! Having some explicit rules / modifiers for noncombat situations would be a nice idea though.

Re: 5eR in play

I very much liked the new alternative for attack rolls that resolve them as if they were skill checks. I find it easier to say how much one made a skill roll by than what OCV+11-3d6 is. The math is the same' date=' but the first method is more intuitive to gaming. Using it with the new to Hero player helped a lot.[/quote']

 

That's the way I have always done it!

 

 

I was also unable to determine what the facing chart on page 376 is for.

 

It's for rolling the direction of a missed AoE attack, as explained in the text of the last paragraph on page 375, carrying over to page 376. It's exactly the same as the diagram that appeared for the same purpose in 5E, on page 248.

Re: 5eR in play

I also have used 5ER at the gaming table. I'm quite happy for players to pass it around as I doubt the paper will be an issue. Also, although I obviously have not read the entire tome I did take the time to thoroughly familiarise myself with the layout beforehand, and I can tell you that it is definitely easier to navigate.

Re: Haven't been here in a while...

Thanks for the info' date=' you are a veritable treasure trove of information [/quote']

 

I'm a tool, but a useful one.

Re: Haven't been here in a while...

I quickly noticed the 5ER release, interesting, how much is it different from 5E? Any good thread on this?

 

How does 5ER and Sidekick line up, is Sidekick fully compliant?

5ER has:

• Much improved layout and artwork.
  
• Much improved organisation, making it easier to navigate.
  
• Corrected known errata.
  
• Inserted new errata (according to Steve this is because fans will have fun tracking them down).
  
• Features from Sidekick, making the system more accessible to newcomers.
  
• Expanded and clarified Power descriptions, incorporating much material from the old rules FAQ.
  
• Some new Power Modifiers and other material from some of the other books such as Fantasy HERO and Star HERO.
  
• An appendix containing the Size Templates which appeared in Fantasy HERO, Star HERO and The HERO System Bestiary.
  
• The HERO System Genre by Genre document as an entire new chapter.
  
• Extra coolness value!

The only rules "changes" as such are expansions of Extra Dimensional Movement and Trigger, so Sidekick shouldn't be affected in any way.

Re: Haven't been here in a while...

5th Edition Revised came out. After that' date=' Christmas is anti-climactic.[/quote']

 

If only that were just in jest!

Re: Haven't been here in a while...

Any particularly good releases since then?

Dark Champions!

5ER!!!

And a whole bunch of other stuff. Just read the list!

My personal favourites include The Turakian Age and Fantasy HERO Battlegrounds.

Re: Cinematic FH characters.

Hm... can FH be used for "Cinematic" fantasy - LOTR movies rather than books... action sequences' date=' impossible bow shots, etc...[/quote']

 

It certainly can. I like to run a semi-cinematic style in my Turakian Age game, but I could easily go at lot more cinematic by allowing more of the type of abilities the PCs have in my Ninja HERO game. As Mike suggested Ninja HERO and The Ultimate Martial Artist are good sources of highly cinematic abilities and optional rules, many of which would work just as well for fantasy characters as they do for martial artists. Some of the abilities listed in Fantasy HERO are already pretty cinematic. Talents like Combat Archery, Rapid Archery and Evasive spring to mind, and there are plenty of others you could come up with yourself. For example, an axe-weilding Leomachus PC in my Turakian Age campaign has 4 Penalty Skill Levels with Sweep, to allow him to carve up two or three enemies with one massive sweep of his battleaxe.

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

Also' date=' I see A LOT of people doing assorted D&D conversions. How far have some of you come with these, and where are your files kept at, and can I have them?[/quote']

 

Have you seen Killler Shrike's site yet? It has a bunch of D&D conversion material in the High Fantasy HERO section. http://www.killershrike.com

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

Interestingly enough' date=' that has the same cost, give or take the commonality of the attack, as a build based off 100% Damage Reduction.[/quote']

 

Yup. Although the official rules fix the value of the Only To Protect Against Limited Type of Attack Limitation for Desolidification at -1, I don't see any problem with varying it according to the commonality of the attack.

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

I just though of another reason why we shouldn't have DVLA. In the UK it stands for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Every time I saw it I'd be reminded of the runaround they put me through to renew my license when I lost it earlier this year.

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

That's a good point' date=' though it falls down with reference to Damage Reduction, since in that case you're paying a fixed price for a relative decrease in the damage you take.[/quote']

 

Sure, but damage reduction is not an absolute defence. Officially there is no 100% category.

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

Actually' date=' it was official in regular 5th Ed. page 99.[/quote']

 

Beat me to it.

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

The suggested method is Fantasy Hero' date=' IIRC, is too buy as much Defense as is required so that the maximum damage you'll encounter in the campaign can't get threw. Or the gm defines some level of Defense as "Invulnerable" for this campaign at whatever level he feels comfortable with. Its not perfect but its feasible.[/quote']

 

I remember reading that in Fantasy HERO. My main problem with it is that I have absolutely no intention of ever letting my players know in advance what the maximum amount of damage they are likely to encounter in my campaign is.

 

When I have needed an insurmountable defence against a limited type of attack in the past I have built it this way: Desolidification , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1) (120 Active Points); Only To Protect Against Limited Type of Attack (-1). Total Cost: 60 Points.

 

As it says on page 149 of 5ER (yes, all my page references will be 5ER from now on) "However, at the GM's option, a character with a limited form of Desolidification doesn't have to buy Affects Physical World; he can touch and affect the solid world automatically". As a GM I'm usually willing to take that option assuming the power is appropriate for the character and the type of attack it protects against is reasonably limited, because I don't think 60 points for total protection against a limited type of attack is unbalanced.

Re: If AVLD, why not DVLA?

If these defenses are supposed to be irresistable to certain types of attacks (i.e. no amount of damage can penetrate them), on what basis do you define how much defense you have to buy to apply the modifier to?

With attacks, the attack does as much damage as you buy. By contrast, we are talking about a kind of infinite amount of defense. I don't see how it's directly comparable.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings

I got one of these Lyfjacket things for my copy of 5ER. It's completely transparent and a nice snug fit so it looks great! I know these keep books in pristine condition for years because all the libraries around here use them. Don't be fooled by the fact that it says they're for paperback books, they work just as well for hardbacks that don't have paper dustjackets provided you get the size 2mm bigger than the measured size of the book. I don't know if you can get them in the USA, but presumably there is some equivalent.

A recurring theme I see in a lot of threads is the idea that COM should have some definite usefulness in game terms. Beyond the suggestion that a COM roll can be complimentary to some interaction skills the rules don't seem to offer anything. I agree, so let's have some suggestions.

Here's Mine: For every 5 points of COM above 10, characters receive +1d6 to Presence Attacks intended to impress persons of the appropriate gender and orientation.

Anybody else?

Re: Six stats, take 2.

I use COM rolls as complimentary to interaction skills where attractiveness could sway the result. If that were simply added to the rules' date=' COM would serve a purpose which should justify its cost.[/quote']

 

It is in the rules, at least as a suggestion. 5E page 23, under the heading COM Rolls: "COM Rolls are almost unheard of. However, in some instances you can use them as Complementary Rolls to some Interaction Skills."

Re: "Spell" Limitation in Grimoire

Hugh, I think you're referring to Repel the Undead on FHG page 250. Since this spell is considered an Attack Action it could be argued that without the Spell limitation it could be used as part of a Multiple Power Attack. I'm guessing that's why Spell is there.

Re: Fourth Age Hero

What about some stats for goblins' date=' orcs, or Cave Trolls?[/quote']

 

Now you're asking. Do you have The Hero System Bestiary and Monsters, Minions and Marauders? If so I'd start with the stats from those books and modify them to reflect whateve you can glean about the natures of the Middle Earth versions of these creatures. I'd really have to read the books again to make any firm suggestions beyond that.

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Also' date=' wouldn't it stand to reason that a new threat will eventually be born in the Fourth Age? What might it be?[/quote']

 

There is some stuff about the Fourth Age in the Appendix to the Lord of the Rings but I can't remember much of it.

 

Men from the South (perhaps allied with orcs?) might make a viable Fourth Age threat. It's implied in the Lord of the Rings that the lands to the South are vast and contain countless hordes of men, and given that many of them allied with Sauron in LOTR it's possible that they might decide to take for themselves what they couldn't get with his help. As for the Orcs, there must have been many of Sauron's Orcs left after the War of the Ring, and it would seem natural for them to flee South and ally with the men who had fought for their Master.

Re: Fourth Age Hero

If Psionics is the way to go... What game-mechanic would best be used to represent it?

Powers with very few limitations and frequently Invisible Power Effects.

Re: Fourth Age Hero

...I can't remember where Dain comes to the Lonely Mountain from' date=' but presumably it is from another Dwarf Kingdom...[/quote']

 

A little digging revealed that Dain came from the Iron Hills.