Digest Archive vol 1 Issue 477
From: owner-champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 1999 4:04 PM
To: champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Subject: champ-l-digest V1 #477
champ-l-digest Thursday, July 29 1999 Volume 01 : Number 477
In this issue:
Re: Western?
Re: FH D&D Conversions.
Re: Idea: Scale Hero
RE: Western?
Re: FH D&D Conversions.
RE: Western?
Re: FH D&D Conversions.
Re: Western?
RE: Western?
Re: Defensive Strike ?
Re: Defensive Strike ?
Re: FH D&D Conversions.
Hero online store goes live
Re: Construction Workshop HTML output filter
Re: Hero online store goes live
Re: Construction Workshop HTML output filter
Re: Defensive Strike ?
Re: Hero online store goes live
Re: Adventure Idea: Millennium Bug
Re: FW: jammers... again
Re: Western?
Moving!
Re: Hero online store goes live
Re: Western?
Re: Construction Workshop HTML output filter
Re: Defensive Strike ?
Re: Hero online store goes live
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 08:41:37 -0700
From: "James Jandebeur" <james@javaman.to>
Subject: Re: Western?
> Sometimes a tad difficult to come up with plots for Western hero that
> weren't "The bad guys show up and try to shoot you."
And what exactly is wrong with that plot? :)
JAJ, GP
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 08:39:11 -0700
From: "James Jandebeur" <james@javaman.to>
Subject: Re: FH D&D Conversions.
> The overall topic of this posting is "WHY??!!!"
Why not?
> Most of these conversions are very slavish adaptions - including the
> class and level system.
>
> And hence we return to my original opening: "WHY??!!"
>
> One of the biggest benefits about leaving D&D behind is that you can
> ESCAPE all those class restrictions and the silly level concept. If
> you LIKE those things, then why have you changed games?
There could very well be a number of reasons. One of the most obvious is to
make the crossover to new rules less traumatic for the players, and why
waste all that work when you could put it up on the Web for everyone to see
(and possibly laugh at)? Sometimes, it's the GM who needs the transition,
but very often when this period is over moves on to the more flexible rules.
Another reason is to simply show it can be done, which for the most part it
can. Related to this is using it as a mental exercise to find anything you
like (or don't like) in the new system. Another would be to give your
players the flexibility of a point based system while also having the ease
of a class/level based system for those who don't want it. There may be
other reason as well.
This is not to say that converting for feel rather than to make the rules
about the same is not right, merely that frequently people have their
reasons for not doing so, at least not immediately.
> Or am I missing something?
I expect you are missing something (-;
JAJ, Gaming Philosopher
http://www.javaman.to/d&dplugin.html
(well, ok, it's not Hero, but nevermind)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:01:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com>
Subject: Re: Idea: Scale Hero
geoff heald writes:
> >
> >Damage: add 4*RS damage classes to all of the character's attacks.
>
> This is a tad high. By this method, a 3' halfling with a bow will be hard
> pressed to hurt me at all [Heavy Longbow, Str Min 17, would do 1/2d6] and a
> gnome (1 1/2') could not hurt me using any or the medeval weapons in the
> HSR.
Hm...you realize that a 'STR min 17' on scale -1 is 'STR min 2' on scale 0. Half a die is reasonable. Halflings are _very_ strong for their size; they have 20-25 STR on scale -1. I was actually thinking of making it 3 damage classes due to issues of concentration of force (lower total KE is made up for by it being focused into a smaller area).
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:58:16 -0400
From: Brian Wawrow <bwawrow@fmco.com>
Subject: RE: Western?
I think a western setting could be really interesting. If you push back the
boundaries set by the old western movies and include some native mysticism,
wandering Chinese kung fu masters and haunted gold mines you could come up
with all kinds of nutty plots.
The only real problem I see is keeping your PC's breathing. The number one
genre rule for westerns is that one shot usually kills you. Gunfighting is
the name of the game in any western story and nobody wears any armour
heavier than a leather duster. I guess you could let the PC's buy defenses
and have the special effect be that shots from banditos never really get a
good piece of them, but I think that's a cheesy way to go.
I ran into this same problem in a SF game I ran a little while back.
Everyone had these crazy guns and whoever scored the first hit, generally
killed their target or at least screwed them up pretty bad with the bleeding
and legs being blown off and so on. Some fights did take on a bit of a
western flavour because Fastdraw and initiative became major factors in how
the fights turned out.
However, if you're tired of your PC's being able to Regen or heal themselves
up to full health after every scrap, this might be the way to go, especially
if you use the optional damaging rules.
]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:13:47 -0500
From: Russ Harper <comix@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: FH D&D Conversions.
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James Jandebeur wrote:
> > The overall topic of this posting is "WHY??!!!"
>
> Why not?
>
I must say, I agree with James. In fact I wrote about 3 paragraphs that echoed
your sentiments exactly, James.
Or to rephrase the question: "Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest"
Answer: "Because it's there."
__________________________________________________________
|\ / \
| \/ \
| \
\ \
/----Russ the curmudgeon. owner, operator, and chief kibitzer, |
/ COMIX FEATURES - THE SERIOUS SILLY PICTURE COMPANY (tm) |
\ /
\ /
\ /
\____________________________________________________________/
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<html>
<p>James Jandebeur wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>> The overall topic of this posting is "WHY??!!!"
<p>Why not?
<br> </blockquote>
I must say, I agree with James. In fact I wrote about 3 paragraphs
that echoed your sentiments exactly, James.
<p>Or to rephrase the question: "Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest"
<p>Answer: "Because it's there."
<br> <tt></tt>
<p><tt> __________________________________________________________</tt>
<br><tt>|\ /
\</tt>
<br><tt>| \/
\</tt>
<br><tt>|
\</tt>
<br><tt> \
\</tt>
<br><tt> /----Russ the curmudgeon. owner, operator, and chief kibitzer,
|</tt>
<br><tt>/ COMIX FEATURES - THE SERIOUS SILLY PICTURE
COMPANY (tm) |</tt>
<br><tt>\
/</tt>
<br><tt> \
/</tt>
<br><tt> \
/</tt>
<br><tt> \____________________________________________________________/</tt></html>
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:16:41 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Dr. Nuncheon" <jeffj@io.com>
Subject: RE: Western?
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999, Brian Wawrow wrote:
> The only real problem I see is keeping your PC's breathing. The number one
> genre rule for westerns is that one shot usually kills you. Gunfighting is
> the name of the game in any western story and nobody wears any armour
> heavier than a leather duster. I guess you could let the PC's buy defenses
> and have the special effect be that shots from banditos never really get a
> good piece of them, but I think that's a cheesy way to go.
I'd ponder letting them buy (or giving them) 75% resistant Physical Damage
Reduction, on the theory that the heros get shot and suffer a flesh wound,
while the extras and the bad guys get shot and go down. Works a little
better than Armor - you don't ever get the 'bulletproof cowboy'.
J
"Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation" Jeff Johnston
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation. jeffj @ io.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:22:37 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Dr. Nuncheon" <jeffj@io.com>
Subject: Re: FH D&D Conversions.
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999, James Jandebeur wrote:
> > One of the biggest benefits about leaving D&D behind is that you can
> > ESCAPE all those class restrictions and the silly level concept. If
> > you LIKE those things, then why have you changed games?
>
> There could very well be a number of reasons.
<snip>
> Another would be to give your
> players the flexibility of a point based system while also having the ease
> of a class/level based system for those who don't want it. There may be
> other reason as well.
When I was working on my (now defunct, never-ran) Final Fantasy HERO
campaign, I made the choice to go with a sort of 'level'-like advancement
process. It fit the feel of the source material quite well, and also
allowed me to use the HERO metasystem to balance the different 'classes'
against each other far better than an AD&D-style game could let me do.
J
"Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation" Jeff Johnston
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation. jeffj @ io.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:21:33 -0700
From: "James Jandebeur" <james@javaman.to>
Subject: Re: Western?
> However, if you're tired of your PC's being able to Regen or heal
themselves
> up to full health after every scrap, this might be the way to go,
especially
> if you use the optional damaging rules.
The problem I see with this is it throws the Complexity: Lethality ratio
off. I don't mind losing a character that I spent 5 minutes rolling up, but
if I spend a half an hour or more building it only to get gunned down at the
opening of the game, I'm unhappy. Not that it takes me that long to build a
simple character, but there are others that aren't so fortunate that still
play the game.
JAJ, GP
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 12:26:04 -0400
From: Brian Wawrow <bwawrow@fmco.com>
Subject: RE: Western?
Yea, I could see why you might do this to keep your PC's alive but it
doesn't sit well with me. I'd rather see PC's with lots of combat levels who
rarely get hit. To make this affordable for characters, I'd cook up a
gunfighting maritial arts style with all kinds of fun trick shots like
disarms, running shots, sharpshooter shots and so on, then a real gunfighter
can buy levels w/ MA for 3 points per.
Even after all that, the PC's will want to keep their heads down because the
old town sawbones might not be able to stitch you up before you expire.
] I'd ponder letting them buy (or giving them) 75% resistant
] Physical Damage
] Reduction, on the theory that the heros get shot and suffer a
] flesh wound,
] while the extras and the bad guys get shot and go down.
] Works a little
] better than Armor - you don't ever get the 'bulletproof cowboy'.
]
] J
]
] "Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation"
] Jeff Johnston
] yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.
] jeffj @ io.com
]
------------------------------
Date: 29 Jul 1999 12:35:09 -0400
From: Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@peorth.gweep.net>
Subject: Re: Defensive Strike ?
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
* lorbaat <lorbaat@eskimo.thirteen.net> on Wed, 28 Jul 1999
| I have no desire to use two different maneuvers- especially since, as I
| said, even I can see that it's one single attack action.
Then I apologise for the misunderstanding.
You get +1 OCV, +3 DCV for the Defensive Strike. You get it once because
it is one maneuver, not two. You are -1 OCV for each hex you are "firing"
into (ie, -1 per target). You are -1 OCV (+1 Defensive Strike, -2 Autofire
spread) for both strikes, and +3 DCV.
Note that because your Autofire has only 2 "shots", your targets must be in
adjacent hexes. If there is an empty hex between them, you cannot strike
at both; you would need 3 shots to do that (and double check whether or not
spreading Autofire requires that targets be in a straight line. I'm not
certain off-hand; I might be remembering spreading of EB).
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- --
Rat <ratinox@peorth.gweep.net> \ Happy Fun Ball contains a liquid core,
Minion of Nathan - Nathan says Hi! \ which, if exposed due to rupture, should
PGP Key: at a key server near you! \ not be touched, inhaled, or looked at.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:45:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com>
Subject: Re: Defensive Strike ?
Stainless Steel Rat writes:
> Then I apologise for the misunderstanding.
>
> You get +1 OCV, +3 DCV for the Defensive Strike. You get it once because
> it is one maneuver, not two. You are -1 OCV for each hex you are "firing"
> into (ie, -1 per target). You are -1 OCV (+1 Defensive Strike, -2 Autofire
> spread) for both strikes, and +3 DCV.
>
> Note that because your Autofire has only 2 "shots", your targets must be in
> adjacent hexes. If there is an empty hex between them, you cannot strike
> at both; you would need 3 shots to do that
Actually, this depends on how he bought the '2 shot autofire'. The autofire advantage gives you 5 shots, a limitation that you can only hit twice might allow you to burn shots on empty hexes even though that would exceed two shots (GM call). I don't recall if burning shots on empty hexes reduces your OCV or not (I think the OCV penalty is per target, not per hex, when spreading autofire, but I don't have my books accessible).
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 10:16:10 PDT
From: "Jesse Thomas" <haerandir@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: FH D&D Conversions.
Thu, 29 Jul 1999 GAZZA <gazza@wantree.com.au> wrote:
>The overall topic of this posting is "WHY??!!!"
Character attachment. Here's the scenario:
You're the GM of a long-running D&D campaign. All your players have level
9+ characters that they've been playing for months or years. They have
grown attached to these characters, and have a lot invested in the abilities
that they have acquired, especially their relative abilities. Now, you want
to convert over to this cool new system. It's got all these great features,
like increased flexibility, and greater control over character development.
You're really excited about the potential, and you tell your players the
good news! No longer will they have to be restricted by artificial class
and level limits! No longer will magic users be required to die rather than
don armor or swing a sword! Isn't this great?!
You are answered by the sound of crickets chirping. Finally, one of your
players recovers from his shock and asks, "Does this mean I can't be a 15th
level Enchanter any more?"
The fact of the matter is, players love their characters. They are very
proud of the amount of time and effort that has gone into creating them.
They are fond of the abilities that they have selected for their characters.
Mages love to chuck fireballs, and players who play mages have probably
spent months anticipating the acquisition of a particular spell that they
couldn't use until they hit 11th level. Warriors and their players have
worked hard for the right to attack 3 times per round. They are pleased
with the progress they have made on the only terms with which they are
familiar, and to some, the benefits of a new system are unlikely to be
apparent to them when all they can think about is what they stand to lose.
Thus, the GM's of these groups, which are by no means the only groups, are
forced to convert their entire system over into HERO. Once they've played
under the new rules for a while, most players come to accept them, even love
them, and the thrill of making a level is replaced by the thrill of saving
up enough xp's for a new spell or martial maneuver, but that first step is
generally the hardest.
Jesse Thomas
haerandir@hotmail.com
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:17:20 EDT
From: HeroGames@aol.com
Subject: Hero online store goes live
Our online store is now up! Head to www.herogames.com to try it out (buy a=20
few things!). Please note: we=92re still having some problems with AOL=92s=20
browser; it=92s best if you use some other browser. If you have any problems=
,=20
please report them to bugs@herogames.com.
Our electronic books are now downloadable, so you=92ll save the shipping=20
charges on those. We=92re in the process of making our utility software=20
downloadable, too, but that=92s going to take a bit longer as we=92re got ne=
w=20
versions of the software going final in a few days (as we ready Legend of th=
e=20
Five Rings Creator for Gen Con release).
Also, more older Hero Games products will be added to the store, but this ma=
y=20
wait until after we get back from Gen Con.
Regular Digital Hero updates will resume after Gen Con, and we=92ll be addin=
g a=20
lot more content to the web site at that time.
We also have some new electronic books debuting at Gen Con; we=92ll be putti=
ng=20
them up in the online store after the convention.
Thanks for your patience!
=97 Steve Peterson, Hero Games=20
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:16:51 EDT
From: HeroGames@aol.com
Subject: Re: Construction Workshop HTML output filter
In a message dated 7/27/99 4:00:47 PM, johndesmarais@yahoo.com writes:
>Now, if those nice folks at Hero Games only had an on-line store.... :)
>
Your wish is granted!
See next post...
=97 Steve Peterson, Hero Games=20
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:25:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Hero online store goes live
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999 HeroGames@aol.com wrote:
> Our electronic books are now downloadable, so you=92ll save the shipping=
=20
> charges on those. We=92re in the process of making our utility software=
=20
> downloadable, too, but that=92s going to take a bit longer as we=92re got=
new=20
> versions of the software going final in a few days (as we ready Legend of=
the=20
> Five Rings Creator for Gen Con release).
What's the turn-around time for that?
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
"Never give in. Never, never, never, never."=20
Winston Churchill
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 10:25:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ben Brown <benbrown@primenet.com>
Subject: Re: Construction Workshop HTML output filter
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999 HeroGames@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 7/27/99 4:00:47 PM, johndesmarais@yahoo.com writes:
>
> >Now, if those nice folks at Hero Games only had an on-line store.... :)
> >
>
> Your wish is granted!
>
> See next post...
>
> Steve Peterson, Hero Games
>
>
Wow. He's a game designer and he grants wishes too!
(Maybe there is something to this "RPGs and the Occult" buisness)
Anyway, glad you've got the store up. I'll take a look at it. Been
meaning to snag a copy of Creation Workshop.
- -Ben
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:36:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: lorbaat <lorbaat@eskimo.thirteen.net>
Subject: Re: Defensive Strike ?
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999, Anthony Jackson wrote:
> Actually, this depends on how he bought the '2 shot autofire'.
Ok, *this* is where it seems my GM has strayed into house rules (I should
have known this would be the case, he and his older brother have been
playing Champions from the time he was around 8 or so). He said the
"seperate rolls and levels" limitation allowed for non-adjacent hexes, and
negated the minuses to hit (well, when combined with the "ambidextrous"
talent/perk/whatever, which I have).
In other words: Nevermind. Forget I asked. I didn't know we had already
strayed so far into house rules, and if I had I wouldn't have asked about
it, necessitating explaining our house rules to get help formulating
another. But thanks to all those who tried.
If anyone's interested, though, the solution we decided to use is treating
the +1 OCV as an additional level, so I can add it to one attack only.
eric
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 14:00:26 EDT
From: HeroGames@aol.com
Subject: Re: Hero online store goes live
In a message dated 7/29/99 10:25:18 AM, susano@dedaana.otd.com writes:
>> Our electronic books are now downloadable, so you=92ll save the shipping
>
>> charges on those. We=92re in the process of making our utility software
>
>> downloadable, too, but that=92s going to take a bit longer as we=92re got
>new=20
>> versions of the software going final in a few days (as we ready Legend
>of the=20
>> Five Rings Creator for Gen Con release).
>
>What's the turn-around time for that?
>
We're just doing final testing on all the templates right now. If nothing=20
untoward occurs (like finding a bug!) we should finalize them all this=20
weekend. However, there are more steps involved in getting the updaters=20
posted, and it really depends on the programmer's schedule. It may be we=20
won't be able to do it until after Gen Con; things get pretty hectic now.
We'll post a notice when we have the utility software ready for downloading.=20
Right now, you can buy it the old fashioned way (via shipping). We'll also=20
post a notice when new versions (and updaters) go up on the site.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:33:33 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Adventure Idea: Millennium Bug
At 12:05 AM 7/29/1999 -0700, Jim Dickinson wrote:
>I am working up thick plotline that will span quite a few adventures, and
>wind up in a HUGE one-shot session with some guest players, etc. Anyway,
>when the players asked about the adventure, I off-the-cuff replied that it
>was going to be called "The Millennium Bug" and gave them only about as much
>detail as the previous sentence. Of course, I had NO IDEA what on earth the
>adventure was going to be about, but over the past few weeks I have churned
>up a few interesting ideas that I thought I would share on the list (I am
>pretty sure that my players are not subscribed...) and solicit your feedback
>as well as more ideas. Quite probably, your ideas will be even better than
>mine!
>
>OK, here goes:
[snip the bulk of it]
>Well, there are the firstfruits of my brainstorming. What did you like?
>What sucked? What other ideas came to mind? I like the idea of stripping
>most of the heroes of their powers. This can obviously be very unnerving
>for the players, but this is going to be a mature group of people who will
>likely take advantage of the role-playing possibilities. I like the idea of
>forcing the heroes to have to face Mechanon (the evil wizard) by
>infiltrating his tower and overcoming him...then taking him to location X to
>invoke ritual Y powered by artifact Z before he wakes up...
I did like Option 1 and Sub-Plot 2, though I didn't care too much for
Option 2 (the whys and hows would be too complicated) and Sub-Plot 1 (even
Oregon voters aren't *that* grisly).
I do have some suggestions for your Option 1, where all the world
becomes rebooted to 1900. Not all of the heroes' high-tech powers would
necessarily *have* to be removed. Many could probably be redefined by SFX,
into their low-tech or "steamtech" equivalents. A ray-gun would translate
into a regular gun, probably with ahead-of-its-time ammunition; a
battlesuit could probably have many of the same devices, but much less
streamlined (of course, most special sensory stuff would probably have to
go); the team jet would become a propeller plane; and so forth. This could
also affect Mechanon himself, as he becomes a "steam-tech" robot (a la "Mr.
Hero" from the comics).
What I'd suggest specifically would be to make new character sheets for
all the PCs, making them all low-powered, low-tech versions of their more
familiar forms, as befits the period. You mentioned that they're currently
at 350+ total points; reduce them to 75 base points, halve their
experience, reduce their physical and campaign Disasdvantages to minimum
levels, cut attacks to no more than 8 DCs (and defenses to comparable
levels), and eliminate anything that just plain can't be explained with
reasonably logical extensions of 1900s technology (similar to the
extensions of modern technology to explain superhero science).
Sources for ideas for this include the recently-discussed Wild Wild West
movie (as well as the original TV show, though to a lesser extent), the
above-mentioned Mr. Hero, the novels of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, the
game Space 1888, the (unfortunately short-lived) TV program "Legend," and
probably a bunch of other things that other members of this list will
gladly add when quoting back this paragraph. ;-]
Something to consider is exactly how completely the world goes back to
1900. Of course, the people will be the same, and will remember it being
1999 (after all, if nobody notices the difference, why change?). Will the
published calendars reset to 1900? Will history books remember the two
World Wars? (They'd take place in the 19th Century, of course, with the
Civil War in the 18th, the American Revolution in the 17th, Columbus
landing in 1392, and so forth).
>So what 5 or 6 decent scenarios can we drag out of these ideas? And what id
>eas of yours can you offer to make this even better?
If DEMON is involved, you might consider something placing a scenario
with a preparatory ritual around Halloween. This could be a big ritual
where they're imbuing some of the important equipment that will be used on
New Year's Eve. It might include several separate gatherings; give the PCs
a chance to disrupt one, but there will be others, meaning that the
disruption of the one will only be an inconvenience. On the other hand,
the inconvenience might be something more than minor; the damage done by
the PCs might be against the very thing that would have prevented the
time-shift!
Here's another thought: is there a temporal policing agency or entity?
Golden Age Champions includes a Captain Future; perhaps a version of this
character shows up a session or two before Mechanon's big ritual, with his
neo-tech gadgetry, intent on preserving the timeline. (Oddly, when the Big
Change happens, he's virtually unchanged.) Alternately, he could show up
right after the Big Change, with a mission to set things right.
You also mentioned, I think, that you're still trying to work out the
details for this ritual. In Oregon, the old Trojan nuclear power plant
seems fitting; like an abandoned masion, it has a "ghost" of technology. I
understand that there are still people working there for general
maintenance of the stuff there, but since when has that stopped either
Mechanon or DEMON? (I've also heard a rumor somewhere of some mystical
connection to the plant's site, though I don't know whether there's
actually something to that story or it's just something someone made up
recently.) Even if you don't use it for the site of the main ritual, it
could work for the above-suggested Halloween ritual.
Something else that just struck me, which would make for good
foreshadowing, would be the unexplained, uncontrolled appearance of
techno-magical hybrid creatures. A smog elemental, a cyborg griffin, or a
ghost haunting one of the cable TV systems are all possibilities.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:35:53 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: FW: jammers... again
At 08:46 AM 7/29/1999 -0400, Brian Wawrow wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I sent this out yesterday but I haven't seen any replies to it. So, either
>it didn't get sent out to the list for some reason or everybody would rather
>discuss Will Smith than game mechanics. Is this possible?
>
>I don't recall anybody getting stunned down to -200 or anything like that,
>in my game, if you're taking that much Stun, you're likely to be dead from
>the BOD. One of my PC's did nail an NPC for 21 Body to the head during our
>session last night. We didn't count up the Stun since he was decapitated.
Good call. :-]
I didn't respond to the original "jammers" post, because I couldn't
think of anything helpful to say (or even a smart-aleck remark). Darkness
does seem like the way to handle it, or Suppress in an Area Effect; I'm not
sure.
BTW, to whomever came up with the Long Term Stun idea: I rather like
this, and may introduce it in a game somewhere. :-]
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:41:03 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Western?
At 03:03 AM 7/29/1999 -0700, jayphailey@juno.com wrote:
>
>Actually this could be quite a good topic. Western Hero, Anyone? I was
>running a game until recently when my Gaming group fell apart. I even
>had a character who was a former Buffalo Soldier (For the deeply rare
>events when other people GMed.)
>
>Sometimes a tad difficult to come up with plots for Western hero that
>weren't "The bad guys show up and try to shoot you."
Yes, it certainly can be, especially since Westerns are almost as varied
in tone as superhero stuff.
For a more flighty Western, I like the "Wild Wild West," "Legend," and
"The Adventures of Brisco County Jr" (at least, the post-John Bly stories)
for ideas.
For something more down to Earth, I'd gladly lift stories from movies.
There are the classics (many of which were lifted from other sources, like
"The Magnificent Seven"), and even some more unusual stories such as
"Hawmps!" (based on a true story about an experimental cavalry regiment
that used camels instead of horses).
To my mind, for as nice as the Western Hero sourcebook is, it does have
two significant weaknesses: it doesn't give a big help in coming up with
story ideas, and it focuses so much on the traditional and historical
Westerns that it virtually ignores other styles.
- ---
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:24:07 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Moving!
If I'm a little slow in responding to things for the next few days (such
as to private emails, or questions about vehicles), please be patient;
right now I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment. :-]
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 12:07:51 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Hero online store goes live
At 01:17 PM 7/29/1999 EDT, HeroGames@aol.com wrote:
>
>We also have some new electronic books debuting at Gen Con; we’ll be putting
>them up in the online store after the convention.
Would you care to identify these books, or is that a Trade Secret? :-]
- ---
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 12:16:35 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Western?
At 09:21 AM 7/29/1999 -0700, James Jandebeur wrote:
>> However, if you're tired of your PC's being able to Regen or heal
>themselves
>> up to full health after every scrap, this might be the way to go,
>especially
>> if you use the optional damaging rules.
>
>The problem I see with this is it throws the Complexity: Lethality ratio
>off. I don't mind losing a character that I spent 5 minutes rolling up, but
>if I spend a half an hour or more building it only to get gunned down at the
>opening of the game, I'm unhappy. Not that it takes me that long to build a
>simple character, but there are others that aren't so fortunate that still
>play the game.
My solution to this would be to run it as a High Western. The bad guys
might get gunned down mercilessly and allowed to bleed to death, but when
the PCs get hit they're only Hurt Real Bad. With time, they'll heal. :-]
Playing villains with poor tactics is another way to keep the PCs alive.
I think just about every Bad Guy in Westerns has Psych Limit: Arrogant,
and this lends itself quite well to stupidity.
(Of course, you could also let the PCs buy extra BODY, and Damage
Reduction vs BODY only, through an IIF -- they'll never die with their
boots on!)
- ---
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 12:50:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Desmarais <johndesmarais@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Construction Workshop HTML output filter
- --- HeroGames@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 7/27/99 4:00:47 PM, johndesmarais@yahoo.com writes:
>
> >Now, if those nice folks at Hero Games only had an on-line store.... :)
> >
>
> Your wish is granted!
>
> See next post...
So, was I the first customer?
- -=>John Desmarais
_____________________________________________________________
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------------------------------
Date: 29 Jul 1999 15:59:17 -0400
From: Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@peorth.gweep.net>
Subject: Re: Defensive Strike ?
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
* Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com> on Thu, 29 Jul 1999
| Actually, this depends on how he bought the '2 shot autofire'. The autofire
| advantage gives you 5 shots, a limitation that you can only hit twice might
| allow you to burn shots on empty hexes even though that would exceed two
| shots (GM call).
One hex, one shot. If the limitation says "2 shots", you get 2 shots, and
you cannot shoot into 3 hexes. If you make an exception, the limitation
bonus just dropped by a quarter.
| I don't recall if burning shots on empty hexes reduces your OCV or not
It does. -1 OCV per hex fired into, whether or not there is something at
which to fire. If you do not want to suck the penalties, buy Area of
Effect.
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v0.9.9 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org
iD8DBQE3oLKVgl+vIlSVSNkRAgdeAKDD8NHEFXaj4UEh+zxpiNN6KvAEcwCgoO2+
JsIra/13pDjpzCcWooWYzQo=
=GgrW
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- --
Rat <ratinox@peorth.gweep.net> \ Ingredients of Happy Fun Ball include an
Minion of Nathan - Nathan says Hi! \ unknown glowing substance which fell to
PGP Key: at a key server near you! \ Earth, presumably from outer space.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 16:03:14 EDT
From: HeroGames@aol.com
Subject: Re: Hero online store goes live
In a message dated 7/29/99 12:15:45 PM, bob.greenwade@klock.com writes:
>Would you care to identify these books, or is that a Trade Secret? :-]
Ultimate Supermage Bestiary, by Dean Shomshak
and=20
Unknown Eagles Adventures by Meridien Designs
More info will be posted on the web site, later...
=97 Steve Peterson, Hero Games=20
------------------------------
End of champ-l-digest V1 #477
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Date: Monday, September 06, 1999 10:48 AM