Let's Review: HERO 6th Edition

What is it?:

HERO System is a (technically) universal system, but heavily focused on super heroes and related stuff.

The setting:

Technically, the HERO system has no setting as such. However, they have been known for their Champions setting for several years. You can use the game to create any sort of setting you want.

While designed for super heroes, the game can be used for other things and has been used for some different settings. The one that I have is called Day After Ragnarok. Yes, I'll be doing a Setting Showcase about it in the future.

The system:

Before I get too much into it, I need to mention the different versions of the current system. There's the “basic” version, which is only 134 pages. And then there's the “complete” version which is published in two hard back tomes that take up over 700 pages. Originally, I bought the “complete” version when it came out and I've never used it. I'll talk about that later. For this review, I'm going to be using the “basic” version of the rules.

And there's a lot of rules. Oh... Are there rules...

But, first, the HERO system is a point buy system and uses d6s for all rolls. Including 1/4d6 and 1/2d6.

Before you start making characters, you have to figure out which campaign type you're going to run: Heroic or Superheroic. There is a big difference between the two. In a Heroic campaign, your characters can go out and buy guns and flashlights, but you shouldn't be taking too many Powers. However, if you're playing a Superheroic campaign, your character has to pay points for everything. Pick up a gun and want to keep using it? You have to pay the points and design the weapon using Powers.

When it comes to spending those points, there's a lot to deal with. The first thing is Characteristics, of which there are a ton. There's six basic “stats;” Strength, Dexterity, Constistution, Intelligence, Ego, and Presense. Then, there's some combat related ones; Offensive Combat Value, Defensive Combat Value, Mental Offense, Mental Defense, and Speed. Beyond those, there's; Physical Defense, Energy Defense, Recovery, Endurance, Body, and Stun. To improve these, point costs are different. Of course, the more combat related ones are more expense ones to raise.

After that, you can spend your points on Skills (which are based on your stats), Perks, and Talents. These are more important for Heroic games, but still useful for Superheroic games. Just, not as much.

Skills get complex, as you have the number based on something like 9+(Stat/5), so you want to make sure that your stats are high enough to actually have an impact on your skills. They also say you want to reduce the amount of stat checks you make, increasing the importance of skills in the game.

To figure out what you need to roll for combat, you have to check a chart and compare the attacker's OCV and the defender's DCV. Rather than, you know, having both make rolls against their stats.

When it comes to the big part of the game, Powers. Not only do you have a GIGANTIC list of Powers, with variables in each one, there's a list of Advantages and Limitations to modify the Powers and their point costs. These point costs can become decimal points, so you have to figure out if you round up or down. Adding to the fun you're already having.

When you make rolls, any bonuses and penalties are applied to your stat or skill, not your roll itself. I've seen this done in other games and I can't understand it for the life of me. I can see why people think of things that way, but most people think about it the other way; meaning what the dice show.

So, you've read all this, and you're probably wondering “Okay, so how many points do I get?” Well, if you're playing a Heroic campaign, they suggest 175. Not bad. Enough to make a pretty solid character, from what I've seen. But, if you're playing a superheroic campaign, the bar is set at 400 points. Now, you can also get points by taking Complications, giving you more to your total. I tried making a Super Hero using the basic book and gave up after an hour. I'd estimate that making a character would take about two to four hours, depending on your experience with the system and the type of campaign you're wanting to play.

When it comes to combat, you get to act a set amount of times per turn, based on your Speed. For every point of Speed, you get to act that many times per turn (roughly) to a maximum of 12. And initiative is based on your Dex. The higher it is, the sooner you go. If there's a tie, you roll off. So, if you have a high Dex and high Speed, you're going to go first every time, twelve times per turn. And the first turn of every combat starts at the last segment, so everyone gets to go. Because you get to act during set sections of each turn, based on the Speed, but they kind of jump around. It's really damn confusing to look at, let me tell you. Of course, there are full actions, half actions, and zero actions you can take, so it looks like combat is going to chew up most of your time.

But, there's more. There's always more in this game... There's two kinds of damage: Normal damage and Killing damage. They're handled roughly the same, but if you're only designed to take Normal and you get hit with a lot of Killing, well, been nice knowing you.

Is it worth it?:

No.

I hate to be negative, but this game is needlessly complex. A friend of mine said that statement is “redundant” and he's not wrong.

My final thought is: This game is the bastard child of GURPS and Battletech.

However, if you want a very detailed system, that can handle any power you can imagine, this is probably the game for you. God help your poor soul.

Deadlands - The Ferner Five: The Road To Hell

Are you ready to start the Devil's Tower Trilogy? I hope you are. It all starts with The Road To Hell. And we all know what that's paved with...

Chapter One: A Journey Of A Thousand Miles...

If you're reading along in the book, you'll see that this chapter is for the Marshals (so you player types stay out). As such, I'm going to skipping over the information there as I don't want to spoil the ending for those who haven't read or played this adventure. And, as always, if you're going to be a player in this adventure, come back after you finish it so you can see how the professionals do it. Okay, I'm kidding, but these guys really did this one right.

Once again, I've run this adventure with more than one party and it's been a few years since I did it with these characters, so you'll have forgive any mistakes or gaps in memory. Let's get started, shall we?

We return to the Ferner Five arriving in Salt Lake City, having a nice quiet journey from the fair town of Baracho (translation: the Marshal wasn't in the mood for more sidetracks). As the train pulls into the station in Salt Lake City, the posse is beset by dozens of Mormon “Elders” trying to spread the good word of their faith. Penwood is dismissive, Ming kind of smiles and nods, Heinrich pretends to not speak English, and they take one look at Deiter and change their minds. Or he Overawed them. Or both. Meanwhile, Phil got off the train, grabbed his bags and just pushed past them, vanishing into the crowd. Phil had his own adventure and is Sir Not Featured In This Film. Sorry for you Phil Fans, but his does get more involved as the adventures continue.

Once they had cleared the platform and entered the city proper, they began searching for lodging for their visit. Ming made some money, and got an excellent cover, by being Penwood's valet and carrying his bags. With the standards and large stacks of cash they carried, Penwood and Heinrich put everyone up in the Salt Lake City Hotel, the best place in town. It's $12 a night, which is pretty hefty, but it's worth it. The only bad side is that people seem to have nightmares when they stay...

After figuring out their accommodations for their stay, I had the map spread out and let them where they wanted to go. Only Penwood's player had really read up on the town, but I would read the sections aloud when someone asked about it. They made their plans for the next day, as they were tired from their travels and the thought of spending a night in a real bed was appealing, so they retired early.

The next day, they broke up into teams and had them do what they wanted. There was a visit to Smith & Robard's, Hellstromme's show room, Warwick's Books & Manuscripts, and a few other places. Having noticed the soot covering most everything, and hanging in the air above the Junkyard, Penwood bought face masks for everyone. Awful kindly of him. But, it ruined some of my fun. Marshals, you know what I'm talking about.

After they did their exploring and shopping, they all returned to the hotel and sat down for dinner. And drinking. Thankfully, there were no “soiled doves” involved this time. This time... And they bedded down for the night.

Chapter Two: Sign On The Dotted Line

After a good night's rest (with everyone making their rolls, the bums), they sat down for breakfast in the hotel and discussed their plans.

And that's when an Indian man (as in, from India, not the misnomer the Native Peoples of the Americans were given, I know it's a little confusing) sat down at their table. He introduced himself as Mr. Hanuman and said that he represented someone who would like to hire them for a job. Instead of answering their questions right away, he pulled out some papers from his valise and I got to drop some information about each character's backstory in front of the group. All while trying to do the British accent of Hanuman. I thought I did alright, but you'd have to ask the players what they thought.

Anyway. After cowing the posse, he told them he would only tell them that they were to be hired to find a stolen item. The item was acquired legally and required the utmost confidentiality (even from law enforcement), thus they would need to sign an NDA before getting any more information. After a bit of hemming and hawing, they agreed and signed the forms. The promise of $10,000 in gold or goods also sweetened the pot.

And that's when Hanuman dropped his little bombshell. They would be working for the illustrious Doctor Darius Hellstromme. There were some worried looks around the table, followed by some questions. Hanuman explained that a very large black diamond, the Heart of Darkness, had been purchased by Dr. Hellstromme and then stolen. He gave the posse an article about the gem to read (which Penwood's player read aloud for everyone) and let them ask more questions. He explained that there was a dummy gem in Hellstromme's manor that someone had already tried to steal, but had been caught before it was taken. The thief didn't know very much and it was kept quiet. Meanwhile, the real gem was being held at Hellstromme Industries Plant #13, the luckiest of numbers as we all know, and it had been stolen not too long ago. At the posse's request, he set up a time for them to look over the plant and ask questions of the few witnesses. That being a relative term.

After Hanuman left the posse, they discussed what to do. They agreed that they would take a look at the plant. I believe the idea of talking to the sheriff as discussed, but they thankfully turned away from that idea (brief aside, the last group that I had went to the sheriff right away and properly fucked everything up).

Once they had picked up some last minute things, they arrived at Plant #13 and got to investigating. Thankfully, they all had a high Search skill, as well as doctor. They found several leads and got a list of the missing items. Their search turned up some unusually shell casings, the smell of methane, and the odd burn pattern. The autopsies turned some some more clues, mostly that one had his head smashed to pulp and another had been tortured with a knife for a bit before finally dying. All in all, they did a good job of collecting the information.

Sadly, there were no witnesses to the robbery, as a mysterious fire had broken out right before it happened. One of the guards did remember seeing what looked like a falling star right before the fire broke out...

The list of missing items included the MAXIS suit (a steampunk suit of power armor), the Clockwork De-Moler (I love this thing, by the way), the shooting knives, the Steamjack (a steam powered jackhammer), the Quadpiston (a rough and ready steamwagon), and, of course, the Heart of Darkness.

Chapter Three: The Hunt

With these clues in hand, they began the search. When they started, I told them that there were a few important places they could visit shown on the map. Ming's player said something about Cat's Used Goods and earned himself a Fate Chip for that bit of insight. I was actually surprised that he had guessed one of the places right off the bat. Since they went to several places, I'll detail them in separate sections:

Cat's Used Goods -

When the posse arrived, they found Cat to be a bit polite but a bit standoffish. They didn't look like her usual customers, so she was on guard. Thankfully, Penwood had quite the silver tongue and good arguments, so she told them that the Clockwork De-Moler was stolen and they didn't want to harm the person who took it. They did have the misfortune to deal with the “Well-Intentioned Louts” and got kicked out. But, not before finding out the most important information, that the items had been recovered from Sludge Creek.

Sludge Creek -

Following up on this lead, they found the remains of the Quadpiston, but not much else. Since they looked like they had money, some of the down and out folks offered to sell them some information. Penwood tried talking them down, but was still able to get the information they needed about who had pushed the Quadpiston into the creek. It was group of men (and possibly a woman) that pushed it in. One of them was really hairy (which the posse started to assume was a werewolf, which I didn't correct them of) and another looked like a pit fighter by the name of Zik with a big steampunk cyberarm. The two who took the stuff from the top of the Quadpiston, people down on their luck like the person they were talking to, left town with the money they got from selling the stuff to Cat.

As the posse had been so tight-fisted about their money, I didn't give them all of their hints. They had near $10k between them and these were the people who had to live near a creek so polluted, it would burn you. Call it karma...

Granny Smith's Arms Factory -

When investigating the odd shell castings (.44 Evens, for those of you who care), some of the posse ended up at Granny Smith's, as she's very well known for being able to supply rounds for the oddest of weapons. Penwood was there, because he thought he should pick up more rounds for his .454 revolver. He managed to slip in a question about the casings, talking about how it involved “murder most foul” or something like that. He got three names: Slimy Pete, Walter Hot Iron, and someone else I forgot. Only one of those names were a lead, but I didn't tell them that. I always use Slimy Pete and every posse chases that red herring. I don't know why.

The Monkeywrench -

When you're dealing with mad science, you need to go to where the mad scientists are. So, Ming and Heinrich (I think he was the one to go, being a mad scientist and all) went to this bar to throw some money around. While they were there, they heard that Dr. Brunhoff had finally completed one of his battlesuits and it was expected to be shown publicly soon. Asking some follow-up questions, they learned that he was part of a mad scientist Co-Op in a hacienda outside of Salt Lake City proper.

On the way out, Ming brushed up against one of the caulk boards that lines the walls of the bar and accidentally erased something. Thinking quickly, he wrote in something random in Chinese. As he hurried outside, he heard exclamations that the equation had now been solved. I have to say, I loved this little joke. And that earned him another Fate Chip.

The Co-Op -

As the posse arrived to this location, they were greeted by the sound of heavy gunfire and screams. So, not that unusual for the rest of the Weird West, but out of place in a mad scientists lab. Okay, a little out of place. As they got closer, they saw a man in a powered armor suit blasting away with a Gattling gun arm and smiling like a loon. So, we started combat. Ming went first and ducked into the first door on the right. This led to something that could distract the mad man, possibly giving them an edge. Then Penwood popped around the corner with his bolt-action rifle and fired. It was a hit. Head shot! The only place that wasn't armored, by the way. And then started rolling damage. And kept rolling. Because his dice exploded. All told, he did 30(!!!) damage to the poor bastard's noggin and it exploded like an over ripe melon. After this show of force, they were able to get all the information they wanted from one Dr. Brunhoff...

Dr. Brunhoff spilled his guts, telling them about how Dr. Gerlach (a former assistant of his) was working on something similar for Dr. Hellstromme. Then, Brunhoff was approached by Doc Snead of Marshal Rex's gang about how to deal with automatons so they could steal the Heart of Darkness. Turns out, it was the same the the MAXIS was being put together. In exchange for some rockets and information, they made a deal. When the gang stole the Heart, they'd give Brunhoff the MAXIS.

In a cop show, this would be the moment the “case broke wide open.” But, there was a bit more than that to it...

The Steamer -

Now, before I talk about this one, I've had this encounter happen twice, so my memory is a bit mixed up on what happened this time...

After doing a bit of investigating, the posse figured out that one of Marshal Rex's gang would hang out in the Steamer, a bar in the Junkyard. It's named that because of some leaky pipes that fill it with steam. Original, huh? Anyway, the posse tracked down Casper Zed, the hairy man from before. They confronted him and he told them he'd talk with them outside. They thought he was a werewolf, but he was a huckster. Well, he tried to put a magical whammy on them, but failed. Which was lucky for them, as the posse had no magical back-up of their own. Walter Hot Iron, the guy who used the odd rifle caliber, backed up Casper, but he was taken out without too much trouble from the posse. Gunplay was their forte, I guess you could say. They put a few holes in him and started making him talk. He squealed like a pig and told them where they could find Marshal Rex and the rest of the gang.

Which leads us to...

Chapter Four: The Showdown!

Time for the big, climatic battle of this adventure, folks! Now, given how fast things were going, I figured the gang was unaware of what was happening, but this posse was ready for some heavy combat, so I had Rex use his Unholy Host power to summon up four Walkin' Dead and give them shotguns. I figured I could always give them a boost if I needed it later.

Somehow, the posse tracked down Phil and roped him into helping. Which was another reason why I upped the encounter.

As the posse approached the old smelt works the gang used as a hide out, Dieter and Phil were up front. When the Walkin' Dead appeared, Deiter tried to Overawe them, but it didn't work. You can't scare something that's already dead. The fight was on. One of the zombies got a shot off before the posse took them down. The fight was over really quick. Even I was a little surprised by how quickly.

During the fight against the Walkin' Dead, Phil landed an axe blow right at the neck of one of the Walkin' Dead and cut it clean off. And it kept moving, trying to bite Penwood's foot. There were Guts checks all around. Thankfully, the succeed.

As they enter the works, the posse split up. Phil and Deiter took a set of stairs on the outside of the building to the second floor. Meanwhile, Ming and Penwood took the front door and Heinrich took the back. The fight went something like this:

Penwood squared off against Elvira Santiago, the lady who used the blades on the worker in the plant. He got stabbed in the leg pretty good.

Heinrich, after waiting for everyone else, got the drop on Zik and stopped him from putting on his arm, making the fight so much easier.

Ming helped take down Elvira. She hid behind some piles of scrap and threw knives. As there were six piles of scrap, I rolled a d6 and made a note that she was behind pile #3. I had Ming roll when he pushed one over, to see which one he pushed. He rolled a 3. Fuck me running... So, he was able to knock her down and do some damage. The wounded Penwood was able to put his gun on her and she surrendered.

On the second floor, Phil and Deiter (as well as Deiter's damn monster of a wolf dog, I'll explain later) went up against Marshal Rex himself. Phil's axes and Deiter's bullets were enough to make him throw down his guns so he could live to see another day.

All told, this whole battle took maybe an hour of play time, from start to finish. What could have taken a lot longer, and been a lot harder, was made easier because of dumb luck and good thinking. I'm not angry, not at all. It was still satisfying for everyone involved. I think this was when I started to figure out two things: Phil was their lucky charm and these guys wouldn't be blundering into too many stupid fights.

After taking down the gang, they did some searching. Again. They found some money and some notes. It turned out that the gang had been hired by a man named Stone (did you feel a chill? I hope so) to bring the Heart to Lost Angels. They sent Doc Snead to LA to turn the rock over to Stone. So, they never would have found it there. The sheriff turned up a short time later and hauled the gang away.

In the morning, the posse turned up to tell Hanuman what they had found. Overhearing a conversation, they get paid only $500 for their work. However, Dr. Hellstromme is willing to pay the remaining sum, if the posse is willing to travel to LA and retrieve the Heart of Darkness and bring it back. The posse, not being fools, took the offer. Which will lead us to the next part of the adventure: The Heart O' Darkness!

Brief note: The posse used their money from the gang, the reward money, and some of their own cash to buy a fully kitted out steam wagon, as well as a Velocipede for Deiter. As they got ready to leave the Junkyard, they found that Phil had been playing for a Skullchucker team and earned enough for Velocipede of his own. And kept the snazzy Worm Leather to protect him if he fell off.

Sources Say: Compendium of Weapons, Armor, and Castles

Name: The Compendium of Weapons, Armor, and Castles

Produced By: Palladium Books

System: Palladium system

Genre(s): Historical, Fantasy

This book is the reason why I started this series. Because this is a very interesting source book, but I didn't know what series I had that could accommodate a review of it. So, here we are.

This book has what it contains what it says on the cover. It details weapons, armor, and castles. So, review done!

Just kidding!

The book starts with weapons. It breaks them up into hafted weapons and clubs, maces, knives, miscellaneous and exotic weapons, polearms, spears, swords, and then a bit about rapier hilts. Each of these sections gives a brief description of what they define as belonging to each group, some history, and then some information about each weapon. Or most of the weapons. Explaining how they were used and by whom. While these are short, they're really interesting. The next part is a “spotlight on the Middle East” which is mostly a list of that was used by the Egyptian empire, as well as a map of the empire circa 1450 B.C. After that, they talk about bows and crossbows.

This chapter starts with a definition of the stats they give each weapons. These stats contain not only damage, but how many hands it takes to use them, length of the weapon, mass, and then things like durability, throwing distance, parry bonus or penalty, and all that good stuff. It's not bad, and clearly designed for the Palladium system, but might be converted to fit other games (probably D&D). These entries do contain a hand drawn picture of each weapon, but they're very small and not exact.

Next up, we have the stuff on armor. It goes into the history of European and Asian armor, talking about how they're made, and how well they protect. Now, the best thing about this section is the art. Several different types of armor are drawn, with the period and region of origin, and they are done very well. They might not be one hundred percent accurate (especially since this book was published many years ago), but they do enough of a job to get the point across. Even if they aren't perfect, I really do like them, and I can point to them and say “armor like this.” The book as a whole is very much centered on Europe, but I do have to give them credit for including some pictures of armor and warriors from Asia, the Americas, and Africa. There's not a lot of them, but it's nice to get some sense of the differences between the various nations of the world and how they armed and protected their fighters. There doesn't seem to be much of an explanation about why some nations had different things, given the resources, cultures, and other factors, but since I do my own research, I can live with it.

The final section is dedicated to castles. And siege weapons. But, first, castles! Quite a few castles. Of course, they're almost exclusively from Europe (noticing a trend?) but they cover tons of history. There's a map of a Roman Legion encampment and they go all the way to the last castles to be built. You know, after the cannon was built in mass.

Each castle has a picture of the exterior, a map of the interior, and a brief history. Since they cover the whole of most castle building, you can see the various ideas and concepts that were included and expanded upon as things went on. It is interesting to see how much things would change in a short amount of time. There's a lexicon of terms used, which is useful for all sorts of things. Sadly, the maps of the castles don't have a grid on them with a scale. So, they're not perfect.

All in all, this is one of those “maybe” books. I picked it up because it was cheap and I'd been curious about it since seeing it years ago. I do like the art and the history, but I'm not sure how useful it's going to be for me. I don't have any of the fantasy RPGs for Palladium, so that does eliminate some of the usefulness. And I don't really play fantasy games in general anymore. However, I know I will get some use out of it. They didn't just tear down all of the castles, you know? I could use it as a guide for something in a futuristic setting, like having to steal something from some rich jerk that has moved into (and modified) a castle.

The weapons, while not perfect, are cool and some of the pictures are really nice. The hilts for rapiers is a full page. It shows how they changed over time.

If you're curious, check it out before you buy it. If you play a lot of fantasy, you can use this to add some new things in and throw people off. Even if you don't want to use the stats, you can use the different designs to show how different countries do things. Just a thought.