Heroic fantasy hack...

[Doc Hydrogen]

Okay, so I have a big interest in using MHR for a heroic fantasy game. There are a few good articles floating around, and I have a few bits and bobs on my blog, but I'm curious what others think about MHR for fantasy.

Thoughts, ideas, rules hacks, what would need reworking, whatever...

One idea I have is starting characters with 8d8 for power traits, letting them organize these how they like, and only allowing 2 dice from their power traits. These would basically include things like race, class, and the like. Maybe allowing dice to be consolidated 2d8 for a 1d10, or split 1d8 for 2d6 for starting traits.

There would also need to be more use of explicitly mental and social traits to beef up that side of things.

[Mystrich]

I would say Rookie specialties could certainly be argued given heroes are sometimes better than average without being good at something. Specialties obviously need to be reworked

-Acrobatics still works
-Buisness could still work (seedy merchant character?) Appraise/Sales/Treasure Hunter might be a better name.
-Combat is obvious as well
-You'd want Covert still
-Menace is a yes
-Mystic could become arcane knowledge
-I'd rename Psych to somethin like Diplomacy
-And Vehicle becomes Ride

Besides that, you might want to add Thievery (or combine with Covert or Crime), a religious knowledge, and perhaps some sort of Herbology skill (easily mixes into magical knowledge as well).

I'm going to attempt making a character with the 8d8 to see how it works out sheet wise.

[Mystrich]

Name: Caladrel - Elf Rogue/Arcane Archer (based on a character in a DnD game I ran last year)

Affiliation:
Solo [d8] Buddy [d10] Team [d6]
-------------------------------------------
Distinction - 1d4+1PP or 1d8
-First Come, First Serve
-Charming Liar
-Magical Archer

-------------------------------------------
Power Sets

High Elf
Enhanced Reflexes [d8] | Superhuman Senses [d10]
Sorcery [d6]
SFX:
-Keen Ears: Spend 1 PP to add Superhuman Senses (or step up by +1 if already in your pool) to any pool.
-Healing: Add Sorcery to your dice pool when helping others recover physical stress. Spend 1 PP to recover your own or another's physical stress or step back yours or another's trauma by -1.
Limits:
-Elf: Turn any High Elf power into a complication and gain 1 PP. Recover by activating an opportunity or removing the complication.

A Thief with a Bow
Weapon [d6] | Enhanced Durability [d8]
SFX:
-Flame Arrow: Add a d6 to your pool for an attack action. Step back the biggest die in the pool by -1 and step up physical stress by +1.
-Focus: If your pool includes Weapon you may replace two dice of equal size with one die +1 step larger.
-Multishot: Add a d6 and keep an additional effect die for each additional target.
Limits:
-Gear: Shutdown A Thief with a Bow and gain 1 PP. Take an action vs the doom pool to recover.

-------------------------------------------
Specialties
-Covert Expert
-Thievery Expert
-Combat Rookie
-Mystic Rookie

-----

I was certainly able to get in just about every aspect of his character (assuming you aren't charging d8/d6 for SFX). If you are, I'd have to lower this character's stats a bit.

[Mouse]

I came up with a fantasy hack a few weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to using it.

Affiliations are out. Group dynamics aren't important to the way the game works as I envision it. So instead, it's got Competence. This is your base die which you add to every roll. It's rated as follows:

* d6 -- This is for mooks and non-adventurers.
* d8 -- The rating for adventurers and supernatural beings that aren't mooks. This is the default PC starting point.
* d10 -- Limited to powerful supernatural creatures and very experienced adventurers.

Distinctions work the same.

Power Sets and Powers work more or less the same, with a few exceptions. First, you get one Power Set. Second, every power starts at d6. SFX work the same. Limits work mostly the same, except that there's no Gear Limit, and the Mutant Limit is replaced by appropriate setting-specific ones (Child of Faeries, Godling, etc).

Characters are likely to start with some d6s and some d8s. Some few might have d10s here and there. I was mostly thinking something like 2d8+2d6 in powers as a base. I have a sort of freebie system that lets you buy more. (Details below.)

There's another added category: Equipment. Most gear is rated a d6. Some is d8. For magical tools, d8s are typically ritual tools. For weapons, d8s are generally big. Etc. Some magical stuff that's rated d10 or even d12 exists, but it's really rare; it also might come with special SFX or Limits.

Characters probably start with something like 3-4d6 in stuff.

Specialties work the same except that there's a Rookie rating and the list has changed. Characters mostly start with Expert and Rookie ratings, with only the occasional Master. On Expert and Master, dice splitting works the same way.

The Specialties lists is tentatively as follows: Academics, Athletics, Charm, Combat, Covert, Crime, Healing, Mystic, Presence, Urban, Wilderness, and Will. It might change a little depending on how things work out.

The freebie system I mentioned above is a simple point-buy thing. I haven't hammered it out completely, but I was thinking something like this:

You have 5 points. You spend them on stuff.

* d6 Power, 1pt
* d8 Power, 2pt
* d10 Power, 4pt
* Rookie Specialty, 1pt
* Expert Specialty, 2pt
* Master Specialty, 4pt
* SFX, 2pt
* d6 stuff, 1pt
* d8 stuff, 2pt

That's about it. It's just a few changes to make things fit the setting I have in mind and to click in with the genre a bit more.

[Doc Hydrogen]

One thing I think definitely needs reworking is the affiliation setup, to make it more in line with heroic fantasy rather than superheroes. Starting with the assumption of keeping a trinity there, and all the 5th Edition D&D hoopla going on, possibly combat, exploration, and interaction as the affiliations. Considering the "don't split the party" mentality so prevalent in most fantasy games, at the very least the affiliations need to change, not sure if the three I mention work best--or work at all--but solo, buddy, team just won't fly.

[Mystrich]

One thing I think definitely needs reworking is the affiliation setup, to make it more in line with heroic fantasy rather than superheroes. Starting with the assumption of keeping a trinity there, and all the 5th Edition D&D hoopla going on, possibly combat, exploration, and interaction as the affiliations. Considering the "don't split the party" mentality so prevalent in most fantasy games, at the very least the affiliations need to change, not sure if the three I mention work best--or work at all--but solo, buddy, team just won't fly.

Actually, don't split the party is rampant in RPGs in general. If anything, MHRPG lets you actually break that and I think it should be embraced.

O, part of the goblin stronghold is only accessible to small characters? Well, split the party. The halfling rogue and dwarf cleric go one way, the human and elf head the other. You need your human rogue to spy on a meeting and don't want the fighter's armor making noise? He goes off alone. Are the characters stuck in some sort of mystic maze spell patrolled by minotaurs? Pay from the doom pool and split them up because of its shifting corridors.

I don't think the genre of super hero really changes party dynamics. People think "I'm better off in a group." But in a fantasy setting, sometime the rogue uses his expertise in assasination to take down an entire group or a mage's spells are suddenly taking on an army when he's alone - something that's rarely replicated in systems like DnD.

So I'd say utilize it to get creative and make a fantasy game that breaks away from "The party has to fill each other's weaknesses 24/7" and enjoy "Each person is at their best when in X formation."

[MidnightBlue]

Considering the "don't split the party" mentality so prevalent in most fantasy games, at the very least the affiliations need to change, not sure if the three I mention work best--or work at all--but solo, buddy, team just won't fly.

Heh...whoever started using that phrase for fantasy games obviously never read the Dragonlance Chronicles. The main cast split up like crazy.




I think I'd feel comfortable running a fantasy game with MHR as written.

I'd probably just tweek names of traits for flavor purposes.

That is IF I were going to run a fantasy game outside of my 10 or so systems already flavored for fantasy.

But it is an idea...

Good luck with your concept!

[Doc Hydrogen]

"Don't split the party" is a table-top gaming trope, sure. It has practical purposes though, it's harder to keep players engaged when their characters aren't actually doing anything. In an online game this is certainly less of an issue, but for face-to-face games, it's still hard to pull off well.

[Mystrich]

"Don't split the party" is a table-top gaming trope, sure. It has practical purposes though, it's harder to keep players engaged when their characters aren't actually doing anything. In an online game this is certainly less of an issue, but for face-to-face games, it's still hard to pull off well.

Sometimes its good for a break. I get for some people it breaks the action too much, but other plays enjoy that they also have those chances to go solo. But for the same reason it's often good to let people do whatever at the beginning of a game (like go play video games or have wild fun) to get it all out, some players want to go check their facebook in the middle of the game and then return a few minutes later all the more in the mood to play.