TheTemplar

Re: FH Racial Balance question for the GM's Hey, thanks for the feedback here, folks. Great stuff. The player actually came to me after reading some about the setting and decided he didn't really want to be the cause of every door in town being shut and bolted as soon as the party arrived in a town. So, he's decided to go with the still monsteresque (though in a more socially acceptable way) Drakine.

Anyone have any players that have used any of the TTA Lesser races for one of their PC's? I'm particularly interested in the Leomachi and Trolls. Any balance issues result from their STR being so high? I've got a PC that wanted to try a hand at Trolldom, but I can't help but wince at the +25 STR and +15 CON in the package deal. Obviously, the package deals aren't set in stone, and I can modify to my domineering little heart's content...just curious if anyone has experimented with these PC races as is and what they found. Thanks!

Re: A new take on "Deadly Blow" And, let us know how the "Deadly Spell" request works out for you! I was dreading that myself...especially after reading the Necromancy chapter in FHG. However, I have the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your POV) of not having any spellcasting PC's (for the moment, at least) which means I get to control the XP spending for the hired NPC spellcaster (which ever of the 4 that I've made that they choose to hire for that mission - They can choose from an Alchemist, an Elven Ranger/Wizard, a Druid, or a Priest/Sorcerer.)

Re: A new take on "Deadly Blow" True...allowing Deadly Blow to be used freely has tremendous potential to upset game balance. But, only if players are allowed to just buy it for no good reason or defining it with limitations. The only character types that I've allowed to purchase deadly blow are Thieves to simulate a "sneak attack." I did also have a Ranger PC who bought it with his swords vs. Goblins as a Racial Enemy simulator, but I'm pretty sure he was able to kill Goblins in 1 hit w/out it to begin with (I mean, hey...they're Goblins after all! ) It works perfectly well for use as a Sneak Attack. In my campaign, the thief has to make a successful stealth roll to sneak up on the victim, and the Sneak Attack can only be used in a surprise action phase, since the rest of the time, the enemy would be aware of his presence (barring any unusual circumstances, such as him being hidden at the start of phase 12.) So, essentially, he only gets 1 shot with it before phase 12, and if he misses, or fails to kill the target, it leaves him in a rather vulnerable position with the other group too far away to be of any immediate help. Anyway, I personally don't see adding an average of 3.5 body to an attack as being too terribly unbalancing, but that's just me. And, I do keep a pretty tight grip on it's use. I certainly wouldn't allow it to be purchased by a Greataxe wielding Barbarian simply because he wanted to do more damage with no solid IC reason for backing it up, and allowing more than 1 level of it to be purchased shouldn't even be considered until the characters (assuming a 150 start) are up to about 220-225 or so... in my book, at any rate.

Re: Turakian Age: Far East Style? Yeah...I had thought about Thon-Sa..the racial feel at least is more in line with what we're looking for. Problem is, it sounds like they're more a nation of Monks (like you said, Tibetan or Nepalese) as opposed to Samurai. Plus, they're not too keen on the outside world, which doesn't really fit with the concept of his character's mission in his backstory. Heh..funny you should mention the "gate" scenario. He had suggested that at one point, but when I advised him that would mean that he would have to start out with no knowledge whatsoever of his surroundings, any local languages, no interaction with his non-TA diety, etc., he decided that was a bad idea. I'm with you there, Markdoc. That one's always seemed cheesy to me, too. Anyway, thanks for the help folks. I think I'll go ahead and use Temirec. It only requires minor tweaking to fit his concept.

Hey Herophiles, So, I've got a player in my upcoming TA campaign who wants to play a character who is basically a Samurai warrior (based on a character from the L5R CCG whose name I can't remember.) We've managed to sculpt him (more or less) into a more suitable mold for the TA setting, but I can't decide where to suggest that he be from. I was thinking Termirec....given the Temirese Duelest code of honor and what not...sounds like it might be a good fit. Although, the Temirese Swordfighting style is likened to Fencing from TMA (TTA pg 97) and all that the TTA book really mentions about the warriors there are that they "wield slim-bladed swords with great skill" - which could mean a katana (which would be PERFECT)...or a rapier, or foil, or any other light fencing weapon (which would be not as perfect.) The TTA description of the country itself is "A land bound by strict rules of honor enforced by a complex code of duelling. Temirec finds itself in the uncomfortable position of having a virtuous king but corrupt court." Anyone have a better idea for a homeland for a feudal japanese-style samurai PC?

Re: Package Disads House Rules? I've actually found that my Human Players have enjoyed not having their points tied up by the Racial Package bonuses (which I do require if a player picks a non-human race - and they're straight from the HERO source materials as well.) Not having to spend the extra points on DEX for an Elf (for instance) gives them more points to use on CSL's, or Talents. Sorta gives them the freedom and flexibility that you'd expect from a Human. That said, the 10 point All-purpose skill level is a nice touch. *shrugs* Maybe I've just been extremely lucky with the people I've GM'ed for.

Re: FH Grimoire 2: Who has it? I just picked up my copy of FHGII at Gen-Con over the weekend. Since I also picked up Turakian Age and FH:Battlegrounds at the same time, I wasn't really able to give FHGII more than a cursory glance on the way home. I did see a few spells that might be too powerful for beginning to middle level PC's. However, both FHG books are outstanding resources for NPC wizard making. And, if something is too overpowered, just remove a d6 (or whatever) to tweak to fit your campaign guidelines. In my experience, players like making their own spells anyway for the most part, and don't want to just pick and choose them out of a book, so I wouldn't let the high powered spells steer me too far away from the Grimoire series if I were you. They're a GREAT DM timesaver...and that's time you can use to come up with far more creative ways to kill your play... ERRRR... Challenge your players.

Yaaaay!! Tornado is Awesome! I'm officially the envy of my gaming group now. Thanks, Storn! The Templar (A.K.A The Tornado...TTinker)

I assume you mean besides playing the "I'm the GM" card? ;-) No, in all seriousness, I've got a wizard in my campaign who I've had re-write spells for balance or mechanics reasons several times, and they're in a magic Multipower. I think as long as you as the GM have good rapport w/ your players and they understand that any changes you ask them to make to their character are for the betterment of everyone's gaming experience, then they won't have a problem with it. But, that's just my experience. In a way, it's almost easier to control power levels on spells by putting them in a MP. Sure, they can cast more spells because of the point cost break, but all of those spells absolutely have to be under a certain AP total, and that tends to keep balance in check. I'd personally recommend a 30 AP limit on the MP to start with, but go with whatever floats your boat.

The Tornado! wants to be SPD 8 DEX 36. No..seriously, I think he would probably want a sports car. Something that REALLY looks like he's overcompensating. I'm thinking a MacLaren F-1. He's a speedster AND a gear-head, so I'm thinking something really fast and loaded with expensive, hard to find parts would be right up his alley.

Well done, Keith! I like the Necromantic Healing pic particularly well myself. It reminds me of a wonderful quote a player once threw out in a Neverwinter Nights session of all places. He said, " Not all that comes from the Shadows brings death...and not all that comes with the light brings thy salvation!" I've always been partial to a "Neutral" concept for most uses of Necromancy myself.

Err...so as not to derail the thread... I THINK I see a copy of MMM under my Christmas tree...at least I HOPE I do.. I'm looking forward to the Invisible Creature pic. I like to show my players the pics of the monsters they are fighting...that should get a good laugh. I think I'll tell them that I personally commissioned Storn to draw an invisible stalker for our campaign, and then just show them a sheet of printer paper.

*Mention of Chain Mail Bikinis dredges up long suppressed memories of GenCon '02 and those who had NO business wearing the above mentioned garment* *Attempts EGO roll at -5...fails* *Begins convulsing on the floor while scratching at eyes.*

Ahhh....MUCH thanks, Toadmaster. I stand corrected. That piece IS by Mussorski. I KNEW it had to be one of the Big 5 in Russian Composers. Yes...Pictures At an Exhibition. I believe it's either the first or second movement...Standing at the Great Gate, or something along those lines. It's a wonderfully regal processional for giving the feel of a Royal Castle or something along those lines. (Not to throw this discussion on a tangent..but I dig the avatar, Toad. I keep my fingers crossed for a sequel to that game someday.....someday...)

I think Earen's on the right track with regards to DF being a racial disad. The bottom line for any disad that gives the player more character points is that it must actually be a disad in your setting. If being an Elf or a Dwarf is not an issue of some sort of conflict in your campaign, then it isn't really a viable disad. However, if there's (stereotypically) a great deal of animosity between, say, Elves and Dwarves, and your Campaign will journey into a great underground Dwarven kingdom, then I'd say that that it is definitely a disadvantage to the Elf that his features are obviously Elven. Now, in most Fantasy settings that I've played in, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and even Gnomes are integrated enough into most of the urban societies, that it isn't really a disad to have their distinctive features. However, if you have a player playing some sort of Half breed or monstrous race, where his distinctive features will make people hate, fear, or suspect him (Half-Orc, for instance) then I think that would warrant a DF on the package deal. But, as with all things in HERO, remember it really just comes down to how it fits into your campaign. If it's not something that's really ever going to pose a stumbling block to the player, then it isn't really a disad (or, at best, a 0 point disad.) Doesn't it say somewhere in FREd that "A DIsadvantage that isn't a Disadvantage isn't worth any points!"? Great one-liner.

Echoey in here? Yep. I also agree. I've set average "Normal" characteristics at 10 in my FH campaign, figuring that the slightly above (10-12) and slightly belows (8-10) should average out to 10. If the average Orc has a STR 12, then a slightly above average Orc might fall into a 12-14 STR while a slightly weaker than average orc would fall into a 10-12 STR range. I think Orcs are physically (in terms of STR and possibly CON) a little superior on the average to humans. Of course, there's also then the issue of Penalties associated w/ their race (Sub-average human INT, EGO, or COM for instance.) In the end, as long as your races (particularly the ones your PC's are choosing from) are pretty equally balanced, you really shouldn't have any serious gameplay issues to worry about and can customize the races however you see fit. My 2 Silvers

I'm running a 75/75 game right now, too. As it's my first venture into FH, I'm sticking pretty closely to the FH book for balance reasons. All of my weapons are built as they appear in the book. Same w/ Armor. My Wizard player's spells are limited to 30 AP, and he's got a Multipower for his spells. I've recommended he consult the Grimoire prior to making a new spell to see if they've got it built in there and if the Grimoire version will function in the same way he is wanting the spell to. I think our Ranger has the highest OCV at any given time. His skill levels w/ his Sword and Dagger make his total OCV 8. IIRC, his base is 6. Nobody is faster than the Rogue (SPD 4) and no one has over 50 silvers worth of equipment per the FH pricing guidelines (again...IIRC..I've been so busy making up monster and tracking down minis lately I haven't audited character sheets.) We play tested one time, and they smoked a group of orcs. (4 on 4...I would expect the PC's to win convincingly.) The Ogre that was with the Orcs MIGHT have given them a challenge...but the Wizard did something clever and the Ogre fell into some conveniently placed Lava. Don't you hate it when your own environment comes back to bite you? ;-)

Why "Scheherezade" (awesome for a desert or middle eastern style setting!!) and "The Planets" had not occured to me sooner I have no idea. Thanks for the tip. Those are going in the mix. "Jupiter" would be great for the Royal City theme. Very regal. Seems like Rimsky-Korsakov had another piece that would lend itself nicely to gaming...can't for the life of me think of the name of it though (And I've got a music degree, for crying out loud!!) It's a very regal processional type piece...the theme behind it was that the listener was progressing through a Great Hall, or perhaps a museum. Please....somebody throw me a bone on that piece before I bash my head into my desk trying to remember what it was called! Thanks!! Oh..and incase I forgot to mention it...gaming to Wagner is top-notch, too.

I'm curious how many other GM's and Players out there find that music can really help to set the mood while you're gaming. I know when I'm playing CRPG's like Neverwinter Nights for instance, that sometimes the music track can really add alot to the game. I've gathered a few CD's that I think will really add drama and feel to a FH game. The LOTR Movie Soundtracks. I've got both Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers and there's some GREAT tracks for an FH game on them. (Having "The Bridge of Khazad Dum" playing behind any battle makes it epic.") Conan The Barbarian. Obviously a wonderfully orchestrated movie. Great battle tracks here, too. Anything by Karl Orff. "O Fortuna" specifically comes to mind...but he's got a great Epic style. Any other good suggestions?

*Nods in agreement* It seems limits tend to be thought of as minimums as much as maximums. However, what I've developed for my FH campaign is a system of limits that are tailored to each player. For instance - My Elven Rogue can have a DEX of up to 22 before the NCM cost doubles. However, he can't have any higher than 16 CON. Also, no one else can have higher than 20 DEX (IIRC, the next closest is the Half Elf Ranger at 18 DEX.) Basically, I sat down with the players, went over their character concepts, and created their personalized limits to achieve: 1. Power levels stay under control 2. Not everyone flocks to the same STR,DEX, and CON values because everyone's maximums are different 3. Characters don't lose their "thing" that makes them special (DEX/SPD for Elves, CON/STR for Dwarves, etc.) by everyone else having the same characteristics values. I'll probably increase the caps by 10 AP or so once the characters all reach the 30 exp mark (kinda like a "level up" type thing.) The only character w/ "powers" that aren't just taken straight from the FH book is the Wizard/Cleric, and his AP limit is currently 30 AP - same as the Paladin's 2d6 HKA Greatsword. Now, the Paladin can add his STR for more DC's, but he can't do it at range and lacks the Wizard's versatility. Balance is one of those things that (ironically enough) really can't be universal for all campaigns. I really think it has to be tailored to each group. I consider myself a balance freak, and could probably talk about it for hours (and probably already have.) SO, I'll shut up now...but I'm curious to know what other GM's do to keep their games under control.

Dinofreak2000, This is very similar to what is happening in my Fantasy Hero campaign that is just in the opening stages (Just finished putting all the PC's characters into HD last Saturday, in fact.) It's based on a d20 Adventure I had created set in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from DnD. Alot of my players are from the "Old School" DnD camp and I've managed to convince them to switch over. So, as you might expect, a lot of the things they wanted their characters to have were Feats and Skills from DnD. Between Fantasy Hero and the Grimoire, I found every single Feat, Spell, or Skill they were looking for, translated into Hero terms, without even having to work hard at it at all. So, if you really want to try to convert the DnD format to the FH world, all you'll need are these two books (for character creation, that is - I have a stack of about 7 books on my GM table during game sessions! *Groan*)

KillerShrike, Great website! Question for you, though. Now that Negative Characteristics as Powers are no longer allowed by HD, have you found a way to save them in your prefabs and still count against the NCM for that race? My Dwarves and Half-Orcs are dying to know. Thanks!

I have a response of paralytic fear to VPP's in a fantasy setting for the MOST part (I could see it for an EXTREMELY powerful NPC Sorcerer type, though.) But, if used responsibly by a responsible player (IE: Not looking to take advantage of the rules) and was HEAVILY restricted, I could see that as being a pretty quick fix to the "Which Magic System do I use" question.

*shudders* Out of all the forces available in the Champions Universe...the two I would least want to piss off would be Mechanon and The GM. But this is great. Big props for creative use of a traditionally "non combat" power. Were I GM'ing it, I'd absolutely let it work once, even if it meant completely screwing up my plans for the session and having to improv the entire night. Of course, if you don't already have it, you'd also earn Hunted: Mechanon....but hey....how many solo people can claim that feat, eh?