Markdoc

Re: Flash, Flash Defense, Cost Vs. Value I think the problem, Nestor, is not that Flash is too expensive, but that in this case you got caught by the change in the rules - expecting one thing and getting another meant that you couldn't take advantage of it. Even a "puny" 3d6 flash can still be very effective when used with a delayed action, so that you can act again while your opponent is still blind. And as noted, AP caps are generally a bad idea anyway - I regard them as a crutch for weak GM'ing. But Flash was overpowered before. At college I played a paladin-type with a power exactly the same as the one you describe (the infamous Sir Flanghall of Ferlecht ) and he would routinely slaughter his way through crowd scenes with a combination of Flash and then whack the blind guys. At the GM's request I toned him down because he was simply too effective. cheers, Mark

Re: Game of Thrones Yeah, it did, which kind of makes my point: not everyone likes the same books. I don't care for Eragon - but I like a Song of Ice and Fire. Other people probably feel the exact opposite. It doesn't bother me - nor does it make me enjoy reading what I like any less. Martin's gritty (you could say relentless) style turns some readers off: but he has a huge devoted following - probably in large part precisely because of that style. cheers, Mark

Re: Setting a real point limit, instead of AP limit I must confess, I've never tried it, but on the face of it, it sounds like a really terrible idea. It should be trivial to build spells that would be devastating for relatively few points - and you don't need devastating spells all that frequently. Still, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. cheers, Mark

Re: Game of Thrones You're not alone. I agree too (though that doesn't count for much) but the series is one of the (if not THE) most popular fantasy series being published right now. The last one - A Feast for Crows - went straight to the top of the New York Times bestseller list the week of its release and the next one, Dances with Dragons is in the top 5 bestselling fantasy novels at Amazon right now .... despite the fact that it hasn't even been released yet and probably won't be for months. So, obviously, lots of people like the series. Not everyone does, but that's cool. Often I start books recommended in glowing terms by other people and when I'm finished (it takes a really, really dreadful tale to actually stop me partway through) I think "God, that was a waste of paper". Different tastes and all. However, I'm buying each book as it comes out and I doubt that'll change cheers, Mark

Re: Guns in Fantasy

Re: Guns in Fantasy I can't do anything right now, because I fly back to the US tomorrow morning, but if you remind me of this thread in a couple of months. I'd be happy to go the national museum here in Copenhagen and take some photos in the "odd weapons" room. They have gun/bucklers, gun/swords, gun/spears, gun/daggers, gun/maces, gun/axes, multi-barreled flintlocks, wall guns, punt guns (like a wall gun, but boat mounted), etc. Basically, any HTH weapon you can imagine had a gun built in at some point. cheers, Mark

Re: Build this Spell... Probably I actually had a character in one of my games who had a similar power: he could consume some of a creature's brain and gain basic knowledge (defined as "RNA memory") He simply bought it as a small VPP into which skills could be put. Putting skills into a VPP is a stopsign approach, but in this case I felt it to be acceptable, since the potential for abuse was limited - as a GM I got to decide what memories were accessible and to acquire a specific skill or skills required a certain degree of work on the player's part ("I will kill an accountant and eat his brain....". cheers, Mark

Re: Romantic Complications

Re: Is combat in HERO strategic? You've frequently been married to non-native english speakers? Dude, you are the man! How frequently? English, she is the slippery language! Cheers, Mark

Re: Timm style Heromachine

Re: Weird Science, Chinese Rain Rockets Yep, cloud seeding is nothing particularly new - it's been used in the US and Europe since at least the 50's and I think its origins actually go back pre-war. Here's the US authorities on it. http://www.weathermodification.org/ cheers, Mark

Re: Sprit Whim Magic System If the VA magic system appeals, I pillaged some aspects of it for the magic system in my current game: Samadrian Heretic magic uses the following rules. Practitioners use multipowers for their spells. All spells are ultras and the first spell they learn is always a summoning. This is usually not the patron, who comes only to Adepts of the cult, but a familiar of the patron, who he will assign to the cult member as a teacher and assistant. As the mage increases in power, he can learn additional summonings, and learn more potent magics. Each Patron and his familiars can only teach spells within their area of influence and this is the only way mages of this style can learn spells. I've listed a few example Patrons below, but there are many more in the game. Spells in the multipower MUST take the following limitations: All spells must cost END. While it is possible to have spells that have the reduced END advantage, or even persistent spells, they must at least have the limitation "Costs END to cast (-1/4)" in which the END cost is only paid when the spell is cast All spells must take the "Concentration" limitation to at least the 1/2 DCV (-1/4) level All spells must take the limitation "Extra time" - to at least a full phase level (-1/2). All spells must take the limitation "Requires Mana" (-1/4). Mana is Long Term END , thus all END used to cast spells is LTE. All spells must take the limitation "requires a skill roll" (-1/2). This is an INT-based power skill "Cult Magic". The caster can always take extra time to make the roll easier, and may benefit from better conditions or tools. However spells do not benefit from concordances as cult magic of the Twelve does. Although spells are taught by patrons, a caster of Samadrian Heresy magic can use any spell he learns from that tradition - he is not limited to the spells his own patron teaches. Last of all, Samadrian heresy magic must take Side Effect (-1/4). This is a major side effect, reduced to -1/4 because it is tied to a specific act (spell failure). The side effect itself is a 1d6 (or more for powerful spells) Major Transform, which has the advantage "Difficult to dispel" at the +1 level, meaning each d6 has an active points value of 60, with regards to dispel or similar powers. It can affect either spirit, mind or body, so the mage must keep track of three transform totals. Body-affecting transforms usually warp the caster, giving him boils, scaly skin, red-glowing eyes, tentacles instead of hands, etc. Spirit-affecting transforms affect the caster's personality, giving him strange quirks, secret fears, unluck or an otherworldly and inhuman aura (to those who can detect such things), while mind-affecting transforms give him mental problems, bizarre (and generally useless) knowledge, or affect his ability to discern things. The caster may suddenly lose the ability to speak his native language, or start to think he is someone (or something) else. The 'damage' caused by the transform does not heal and if there was no way to avoid it, few would choose this style of sorcery. However, the patron can choose to reverse the process. Alas, nothing is free. The patron will request a service from the sorceror (the sorceror can even store up "credit" ie: have negative "transform points" by performing a service in advance of any transformations). However, the process can only be reversed during the transformation. Once it has occurred it is permanent, barring some miracle (ie: it is very hard to dispel or cure magically: typically it will take 6 or more d6 of transform to affect the target, meaning you would need 270+ points from dispel). Services are often strange or meaningless to the sorceror, but he can be sure they serve some implacable alien purpose, so sorcerors often have a reputation for "oddness" even if they have not been transformed. Patrons are not forgiving: to fail at a task means that the patron will typically refuse to intervene (condemning the mage to gradual warping if he uses his magic) unless the worshipper can persuade it to grant a second chance. It may also send familiars to plague or even kill the character. This is not guaranteed and the outcome of failure should be roleplayed, but if a second chance is granted, it will certainly be of a higher level than the failed task (ie: failure at a minor task can only be forgiven by doing an intermediate task and so on) although it will generate no more points than the lesser task. Finally, there is one other way to reduce the points accumulated from a transform. This is to find a scapegoat - one who agrees to accept the points. The scapegoat does not have to know *what* he is accepting, exactly. He can be tricked into it. But he must know that he is accepting a magical charge and he must accept it freely - torture or duress will not work. Transfer of the transformation "damage" requires physical contact. This can be done even if a transformation is complete. Since a scapegoat usually has no magic and no patron, they are generally stuck with the negative points, as they cannot "buy it off" by performing a service. Generally, if you want something from a sorceror, you will end up accepting some of his transformations. Sorcerors will sometimes accept another's obligation - especially within the same cult - although this is seen as a major debt. Type of service: Reduces transformation total by Potential services Minor: 2 points - Send a lost person down the wrong street - Place a stick in a trail - Give a certain beggar a silver coin - Whistle a certain tune at a certain place and time Intermediate: 5 points - Set fire to someone's washing - Make sure a man goes to a specific tavern at a specific time - Throw a gold bracelet down a well Major: 10 points - Drive some villagers out of their village - Scribe a certain symbol on the altar of a temple - Make sure a political alliance fails Life-Threatening: 20 points - Kill a specific person - Free an imprisoned spirit - Bring a living man to the patron's own dimension Each cult has its own Patron and each Patron associates with a single cult, although priests debate endlessly as to whether there are actually many or simply Twelve (or even one! Heresy of heresies!) since most (perhaps all) Patrons can take on many forms. Are they demons, luring the gullible in exchange for power? Are they simply another aspect of the Twelve? If not, why the association of powers? Is the corruption truly a sign or evil or merely the development of aspects that our limited minds cannot comprehend - much like the services the Patrons require? No one knows the answers, but most priests - and many lay people - have strong opinions. One thing is clear - unlike the Twelve, Patrons are clearly not caring beings and the welfare of their servants is of no interest to them. And that's putting it mildly - in many cases they seem to delight in human sufferings. Their names are unknown - their worshippers give them titles instead. Below is a partial list of potential patrons and the cults they associate with. The GM is encouraged to make more. For example: Cult: The Laughing God Patron A Man with leathery skin and a wide mouth full of teeth called the Duke of Stillness. He can teach any language and also all spells of Elemental Earth Magic. His magic brings physical change. The Earl of Furor is a man with fiery hair. He floats, never touching the ground, and teaches spells of Elemental air and those nature spells involving weather. Cult: The Crying Woman Patron A handsome woman with a star on her forehead, carrying a flaming sword, called the Duchess of Secrets. She knows all the things that men have done wrong and can grant favours to her worshippers (the Perk: favour or contact - which must be used by blackmailing the contact). She teaches all spells of Elemental spirit magic except Cleanse the Mind or Cleanse the Spirit The Changing Lord. This patron appears in many different forms and teaches spells from the school of Elemental Flesh. His magic usually causes physical transformation. etc. Some patrons have notes indicating that their magic most often affects a particular aspect. Normally when a sorceror of the Samadrian Heresy casts a spell, roll a d6 to see what sort of transformation it causes, 1-2 is physical, 3-4 is mental and 5-6 is spiritual. If a certain patron's spells usually cause a particular transformation, then roll 1-4 that transformation, 5 or 6 for the remaining two.

Re: Language Games and Fantasy Languages There's a game (land of Og, I think) which has this premise, leading to conversations like "Sun down, sun sun sun sun, you go big thing" It's a hoot to play for an evening, but I don't think I could deal with it in a RPG. As for languages, in one game the GM spoke spanish, which at that time, none of us did - so his foreigners all spoke spanish..... cheers, Mark

Re: Guns in Fantasy

Re: Game of Thrones

Re: Sprit Whim Magic System Something which has some aspects of what you are going for - but which is also a bit more punitive - is here. http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Grimoire/magic_systems.htm#Medieval%20Magic cheers, Mark

Re: The Death Note and How To Stop It That's the reason given in the Manga, where she considers killing Light, IIRC. cheers, Mark

Re: Odd Thought: Pulp meets Pulp Fantasy I've done the reverse. RE Howard wrote some nifty pulp stories collected in Son of the White Wolf and Swords of Sharazhar. They've been reissued, but used to be quite hard to find - a fact I exploited by shamelessly ripping them off for my FH game, aware that my players had likely never even heard of them The two-fisted, ripping adventure style of those stories translates very well to the kind of FH game I like to run, and translating "fierce Afghani warriors with rifles and khindjals" to "fierce mountain tribal warriors with bows and khindjals" was easy enough cheers, Mark

Re: Game of Thrones

Re: Game of Thrones Yep, one of the marks of success of this series is that it affects people so strongly: most readers care about the characters - enough so that when something bad happens to them, you feel outraged. You even care about the evil characters - if only that they get what's hopefully coming to them. I do expect, by the way, that the Lannisters are going to get what's coming to them (in fact, it's already started). But based on his past books, Martin likes to put his characters (and readers) through the grinder on the way to the conclusion. I don't recall any of his stuff that I have read having easy, happy endings. I don't mind: there are precious few fantasy series these days that can hold my interest as well as this series has done. cheers

Re: Shtick!

Re: Shtick! I haven't formulated things quite so neatly, but I also tend to run skill/non-combat heavy games and have been using the idea of "shticks" for a long time. We even call them that, inspired by the Feng Shui game The way I do it is that combat shticks are simply "combat talents" - powers bought with the special effect of being amazing skills. Examples are things like amazing climbing (clinging) and stealth (invisibility) for the thief shtick, or autofire or area effect HKA or HA for martial arts shticks, dice of healing for the gifted healer shtick. These are expensive enough that most PCs who have one, end up with 1 such shtick, and few if any get more than 3 (since you can't add your shtick to free equipment: a shtick by definition is personal). If the shtick is very cohesive, they can even put these powers into a framework (this replaces martial arts in my games, since a school of martial arts is by definition a "cohesive set of powers") For skills, I am simply generous with their effects. For "Creepy Death Brother Dude", Necromancer 18- is going to cover the bases pretty well. If the player comes across a forbidden tome of Pelnish Lore, then even if he doesn't have KS: Pelnish lore, I might say "That's pretty damn obscure - make a roll at -6 to know anything about it" or "This has been a jealously-guarded secret through the ages: it's virtually impossible to find out about - roll necromancy at -10". The same applies to sages or scientists: "Obscure lore, 18-" or "Superscience, 18-" covers a lot of bases, though if you want really obscure lore, or work with a lot of really strange alien technology, going higher might help (or buy appropriate complementaries). Again, based on experience, players tend to buy their core competency up high (we have at least one PC in the current game with skills at 18- and most have at least one skill in the 16-17- range), and then add a smattering of commonly-used complementary skills. The end result is experienced heroic level characters will often have 50+ points sunk into skills (not counting CSLs) but that will be 20-30% of their total cost. Last of all, I have long used a rule now often known as "Let it ride" or "He's fucken Tarzan, dude!" which is that skill rolls are for important situations. In a recent adventure, to take an example, Aquila (Stealth 18-, Concealment 16-) was sneaking into an enemy castle. At various intervals, I rolled dice behind my shield (so as not to tell the player when he was approaching something dangerous) and happily ignored them, simply giving the player a description of guards dodged, statues hidden behind and so on. Basically, under normal circumstances (and for Aquila, sneaking around an unknown castle in dead of night is normal circumstances) he's not going to stumble over things or make a huge racket. He was happy, since as far as he could tell he was being supremely stealthy, and benefitting from those points sunk into stealth (which I guess he was, in a way) and it let me get on with the game. cheers, Mark

Re: Jens, the Undying Head of the Thieves' Guild Couple of points - you should buy invisible power effects on his desolid, otherwise, it's obvious that he's desolid. Secondly, I wouldn't rate immortality as "not concealable" - in most cases it simply wouldn't be obvious at all, only really showing up when he takes what should be a major wound. cheers, Mark

Re: Comeliness based skills Exactly. There's multiple ways to handle such an approach, each with a different potential range of effects and modifiers. A slick con woman could use Persuasion, a bimbo with high COM would use a COM attack to try for the +10 "target will consider deeply what the attacker says" level, whils She-Grondha will use raw PRE for the same effect, and MindLass will use mindcontrol. The outcome of a successful (or a failed) roll is likely to be different as well as what's achievable by each approach To insist that they must all be handled the same way is similar to saying that EB, RKA, TK and HA are all really just the power "Damage", and should be replaced by it. You could do it that way - but it doesn't seem like a useful approach. cheers, Mark

Re: Comeliness based skills We have in fact, used COM attacks exactly the same way one uses PRE attacks in games in the past. It's basically a "Hey, look at me!" affect. Doesn't lend itself to many situations, but for things like "Will you carry this heavy box for me?" or "Really officer, I just didn't see the sign" it models the situation pretty well. cheers, Mark