phoenix240 Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 I'm not certain how popular the Tool kit aspect of Hero System is right now. But I would love to see a book like GURPS Adaptations for Hero System. Would it interest anyone else? Ad blurb for the link adverse: Quote GURPS is a fun, flexible system, useful in every kind of genre. Now, GURPS Adaptations takes that toolkit and shows you how to build your favorite fictional settings. With six examples ranging from the Odyssey to Dracula, GURPS Adaptations will guide you and your players as you tell new stories in worlds you already know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 That GURPS supplement focused on The Odyssey, Dracula, The Wizard of Oz, Water Margin, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Pride and Prejudice. Are these all public domain works? The reason I ask is because if there were to be an equivalent supplement for the HERO RPG system, we would have to compile a list of public domain material which comprises content that is both relevant and exciting. By the way...how many superheroes are in the public domain? Are any of them noteworthy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Technically - Thor is in the public domain. So, yeah, there's a notable superhero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 1 hour ago, ghost-angel said: Technically - Thor is in the public domain. So, yeah, there's a notable superhero. Thor the real-life mythological figure or Thor the Marvel character who is based on the real-life mythological figure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Marvel's take on Thor is not public domain. There have been other companies that have done Thor. He turned up in The Elementals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 How would a court determine that your superhero Thor isn't infringing on Marvel's superhero Thor? Is it enough to just change the costume? Or would a court decide that nobody but Marvel can use the Norse pantheon as the basis for superheroes and supervillains? That would take something that was always public domain (mythology) and make it proprietary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Thor imitating Thor Cassandra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsatow Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 19 hours ago, phoenix240 said: I'm not certain how popular the Tool kit aspect of Hero System is right now. But I would love to see a book like GURPS Adaptations for Hero System. Would it interest anyone else? Ad blurb for the link adverse: Maybe. I think adaptations wouldn't be useful but more like the effects of scale and options and hows, whys, and dangers of house rules. Also how to set expectation in a campaign would be good. For instance, take the Negative End thread http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/96627-negative-end-and-charges/ Its a common house rule that ignores the minimum 1 end per basic maneuver. Is it catastrophic to implement? Not in most scenarios, but in a very gritty realistic game, it may matter. An uncommon house rule is using a d20 rather than 3d6 for skill rolls and to hit. It may make transitioning to the game easier but it also teaches a not commonly used mechanic to relatively new players and removes the effect of a bell curve. For scale, using NCM might be useful if you need to segregate the human from the super human or it might restrict concepts like the movie ninja, the fastest gun in the west, the olympic heavyweight boxer, etc. Having futuristic pistols doing 3d6K might seem like a logical jump in power for say Battlestar Galactica circa 1979, but a single hit from something like that will take out a player wearing on leather jackets and not make the game that much fun. For options, bleeding might add drama and uncertainty but it might also create an increase in players with high resistant defenses or healing/regen. This might not be an issue if it heroic level and those powers are limited to equipment, but in a supers world, even Batman would buy armor. Managing expectations is also useful. I've been in games where someone says magic is rare or psionics is rare. And based on the characters, less than 25% of them are. But on the other hand, if one villain (out of 4-6) in every session has that special effect, it really is more common than uncommon. Previous books did cover some of the above, but not in depth. So a better more nuanced explanation and possibly some examples of how this might happen (good and bad effects) would be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Who owns Doc Savage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 17 hours ago, Greywind said: Marvel's take on Thor is not public domain. Right, technically they have a Trademark on that specific iteration of Thor. But the Character himself is still Public Domain. 57 minutes ago, Ragitsu said: Who owns Doc Savage? I tried to figure that out with a short lived google search where the answer seems to be: possibly a bunch of people, possibly no one at all. DC at one point had rights to a comic book, but lost those, and various lawsuits over various media presentations have popped up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 21 hours ago, zslane said: How would a court determine that your superhero Thor isn't infringing on Marvel's superhero Thor? Is it enough to just change the costume? Or would a court decide that nobody but Marvel can use the Norse pantheon as the basis for superheroes and supervillains? That would take something that was always public domain (mythology) and make it proprietary. I'd suggest not having him wear a cape, not having those big circles on his chest, changing the design of Mjolnir, and not having him speak in pseudo-Shakespeare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 22 hours ago, zslane said: How would a court determine that your superhero Thor isn't infringing on Marvel's superhero Thor? Is it enough to just change the costume? Or would a court decide that nobody but Marvel can use the Norse pantheon as the basis for superheroes and supervillains? That would take something that was always public domain (mythology) and make it proprietary. 1 hour ago, massey said: I'd suggest not having him wear a cape, not having those big circles on his chest, changing the design of Mjolnir, and not having him speak in pseudo-Shakespeare. it might be wise to give him red hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/t/thor.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 2 hours ago, massey said: I'd suggest not having him wear a cape, not having those big circles on his chest, changing the design of Mjolnir, and not having him speak in pseudo-Shakespeare. Right, IOW, change the costume (the hammer is sort of part of the costume in this sense). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsatow Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 15 hours ago, Ragitsu said: Who owns Doc Savage? See https://boingboing.net/2006/04/08/conde-nast-sues-over.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 THor has shown up in other comic universes, you just have to avoid the blonde, beardless version with that costume. Mjolnir is probably pretty close to how it ought to look, but red hair, beard, and more nordic than old English is a good start. Have him use his chariot with the berserker edible regenerating goats pulling it is another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 On February 26, 2018 at 10:27 AM, Hyper-Man said: Thor imitating Thor With Claudia Black as Sif. Armory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 How about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court? Hank Morgan is both a Badass Normal and Gadgeteer Genius that happens to be stranded in the past. You could get a fair amount of mileage out of this literary work were you to adapt select parts of it to HERO 6th Edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 I was more thinking about a book that provided some advice and tips on adapting fictional settings for Hero System (or adapting the system, as the case my be...) than strictly a book of pre made settings. Having examples would enhance the value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 Isn't that what most Hero books already are? Honestly I'm not seeing much of a market for this beyond what Hero already does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 Massey, I think what Phoenix is saying is a book that not only give tips but a solid example from idea to completion on to how use Hero system create your vision. Yes Hero has many sourcebooks. The sourcebooks though gives many tools and sample game. However, the sample game doesn’t go in depth of many of the hows and whys and why nots with the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 Sentry's building an App using my 5th Edition Random Superhero Generator. Maybe it could be a book as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 12 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said: Massey, I think what Phoenix is saying is a book that not only give tips but a solid example from idea to completion on to how use Hero system create your vision. Yes Hero has many sourcebooks. The sourcebooks though gives many tools and sample game. However, the sample game doesn’t go in depth of many of the hows and whys and why nots with the rules. Yes, that was what I was thinking. Tips and guidelines on how to translate vision to game using Hero System, with a focus on extant settings but the advice would be usable for home brew as too. Sort of a how too get for using the tools offered for new comers combined with mini source book(s) in the example settings. It could also offer enticement in the wider range of source books in the form of "See X Hero for more details". Sort of a How To guide book for using Hero System to create a game, structured around implementing existing settings which would be applicable to home brew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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