New Combat Example...

After talking with Jeff, I think this might be a better example comic...

I hope I got it right, initially I wanted to roll again for Damage, but it reads as if you use the dice from the Attack & Defense Roll to determine Damage as well?

But anyway, Jeff, this is what I would have loved to have seen in the book. Obviously with the correct flow of dice during an exchange. Maybe I am just reading too much into it, but as you should be able to tell, I am still a tad lost as to when to roll, and what dice are retained from what rolls to get each score...

Can you HBO (Help a Brother Out) ?

TB

Visualizing HiLo Heroes Encounter

While talking with Jeff, in the comments section of this post, I explained that I would have grasped the HiLo Heroes game mechanic easier, or quicker, if there were visuals of actual play. Rather than try to explain what I meant, I decided that showing what I meant would work better.

This is a VERY rough example of what I had in mind...

Crap! I meant to 'un-fill' Debbie's start icon and draw a movement arrow showing her path to Doc Goblin and a flashy 'POW!' marker, though she actually missed her second action attack roll....

Hope this shows what I would have liked to 'see' in the combat section... might be more work than it is worth, but it would have helped me. Especially with when to roll and what Action Die to use; Move for initiative, To Hit and Evade for attack exchange, etc.

Best,
TB

HiLo Heroes Re-release Under CC

With the announcement of HiLo Heroes' re-release under a Creative Commons license, I have spent a little time thinking about what I would want to do with it. Obviously I would love to see a Fantasy Rules / Setting supplement, but do I have the time, drive, or ability to pull such a project off? Probably, but would it be of the quality that I would force upon myself? I hope so. I am not, nor have I ever been, the most articulate and persevering person in the world...

Now, with the self lamination out of the way, where to begin?

I think one of the issues that might arise is the granularity of Powers. What I mean by this is, within a Supers setting, everyone is... well Super. If you look at Dan's blog, Sword and Board, where he has been doing tons of awesome write-ups, you can notice that the Heroes/Villains range from about a +1 to +6, in what I have coined as a TL (or Training Level, which equates to advancements). In addition, there is seldom a single "Power" over a +3. This is not a dig on the characters that Dan creates, or re-images, but rather an unintentional design limitation, IMHO.

The +3 limit in any given power is kind of like a commonsense modifier limit. I think it harkens back to the days of the D6 rules set, where if you ever had a +3 pip modifier you added another die. And, by my way of thinking, you might as well, since it equates to something more than what the average would be on several d6 rolls. I don't know if that is a feasible option though currently with HiLo Heroes without making it a different feeling game. Which I have no desire to do! It's simplicity is it's charm. I have no desire to add more dice to the mix.

This gets me to wondering about simple fantasy staples like armor, or even ~shudder~ magical armor. Even in it's most minimalistic form, conventional fantasy has three tiers of armor; light, medium, and heavy. Just by giving something a heavy armor, presumably a +3 to Block Mundane, you have made an impressive foe.

When I have made fantasy characters / monsters in the past on this blog, I have kinda stuck to the mentality of, "What is this type of character / monster known for?" This approach, which may not be a bad thing, could have two characters, each with a +1 "armor" vs. Blocking Mundane, being differentiated by descriptions. Example; Heavy Plated Knight or Swift Footed Vagabond. Both legitimately getting a +1 to their Block Mundane. One using chitinous plates, the other using rapid footwork, to impose air between themselves and an attack.

I suppose the granularity could be expanded with d8s or d10s, but that kind of piddles on the spirit of HiLo Heroes in my mind.

Definitely something I am going to have to think about and address, should I want to move forward with such a project.

Thoughts?
TB

Over on Sword and Board, where Dan has been doing tons of HiLo Heroes write-ups, Jeff Moore (the creator of HiLo Heroes) said,

"I thought you might be interested to know that between your works here and The Bane's work over at his blog I have been inspired to do a rewrite of Hi/Lo Heroes. If nothing else, I want to get an editable copy of the game on my hard drive. I only have the PDF because I am awful at keeping back ups. I plan to change as little as possible, but I was thinking of changing the opposed roll mechanic to a fixed difficulty model. It means eliminating dice rolling from the referee side of the game and making everything proactive on part of the player? I would love to hear your opinion on this. Also any other suggestions are welcome. Finally, I will make this version "Creative Commons" allowing anyone to develop further for the game"

First and foremost, I really love that Jeff  is considering releasing HiLo Heroes under the 'Creative Commons' license.

Now, let me preface my response to the idea of making rolls "a fixed difficulty model" with; I haven't gotten to thoroughly play-test the current HiLo Heroes rules set, but I'm not sure I would change it. I am familiar with other fixed difficulty models, I have played them in the past, and they work. I can also see where it makes a little more sense for a Supers style resolution mechanic. You want your Super character, well, super. With the current mechanic there is the chance, though remote, that lowly Norm could take down a Super with a series of 'lucky' rolls.  

I hope to here more about this change, hopefully on Jeff's site, about why and how this change might come about.

I am interested to see what Jeff comes up with, though I personally would prefer to see both mechanics presented if at all possible because, given the chance (see CC License comments above), I would use the mechanics for a Fantasy setting.

Best,
TB

Vampires of the Underworld

Watched Underworld: Awakening while I was on my business trip...

Identity - Vampire
Hero Name: Various
Civilian Name: Various
Professional Career: Various
Hobby Career: Various
Charge: Other Vampire(s) Sired

Note
Vampires have a natural sever allergy to UV (sun) light. Vampires exposed to sunlight take a +3 Damage (Fantastic) attack per minute of exposure.

Template
Build:  [X] Quick  [  ] Powerful
Mentality:  [X] Logical  [  ] Intuitive
Temperament:  [  ] Bold  [X] Cautious

Action Dice and Powers
Move Die:  [X] High (Q)  [  ] Low (P)  [  ] Weak
    Movement Powers: Blurring Flash +2
To Hit Die:  [  ] High (B) [X] Low (C)  [  ] Weak
    Targeting Powers: Keen Sight +1
Evade Die:  [X] High (C)  [  ] Low (B)  [  ] Weak
    Evasion Powers: Experience of the Ages +1
Damage Die:  [  ] High (P)  [X] Low (Q)  [  ] Weak [X] Heroic +1
    Mundane Attack Powers: Strength +1
    Fantastic Attack Powers: Feast of Blood +2
Block Mundane Die:  [X] High (L)  [  ] Low (I)  [  ] Weak
Block Fantastic Die:  [  ] High (I)  [X] Low (L)  [X] Weak
    Barrier Powers: Toughness +1

Stats
TL: 6
Life: 16
Training: Various 
Doubles: 0

Update

Home at last, home at last. Back from my travels and hope to really get cranking on this blog now...

TB

House Rules

I really like what Dan is doing on Sword and Board. It has renewed my interest in HiLo Heroes. Okay, maybe not my interest, because I have always been interested in it, but maybe my passion.

Anyway, I have been thinking of some character creation House Rules, un-play-tested of course, for character creation.

• Degrading/Nullifying Powers - Instead of doing Life damage, they damage or nullify the opponent's power
• Life increases by a +1 with each 'advancement'
• Life can be purchased for 10 Doubles, out of combat
• Individual Powers can be advanced to a maximum of +3
• 'Add-on' Powers can be 'tagged' to Individual Powers, such as; Shadow Blast +3 (Heroic +1), designating a Heroic Shadow Blast for a total of +4, but can not exceed a total +5 modifier. (Still have to figure out the Doubles pricing for this.
• All 'advancements' are out of combat

More to come when I have a chance....

TB