I'd rather be a good bad gamer than an elite one

Anyone who's followed me online know the degree of disgust I hold for Forge style designers, i.e. those out to make the next big thing or change the hobby. Those who think of gaming as ART, the endless (and I hold destructive) search for GREAT things in rpgs.

Gaming isn't the only thing where this type of split occurs, indeed one may say that it afflicts any human activity. There are always those seeking great meaning, intelligence and art in ways that most people just don't concern themselves with- and thus in the end they will by any real measure fail.

Consider this article by George Orwell on Good Bad Books as an example of this. Here's what I consider the key statement:

"The existence of good bad literature — the fact that one can be amused or excited or even moved by a book that one's intellect simply refuses to take seriously — is a reminder that art is not the same thing as cerebration. I imagine that by any test that could be devised, Carlyle would be found to be a more intelligent man than Trollope. Yet Trollope has remained readable and Carlyle has not: with all his cleverness he had not even the wit to write in plain straightforward English."

Yes, I'd rather be a good bad DM, player and designer than in the end an overblown and in the end forgotten and useless artist- no matter how much the critical elite may look down upon the former and exalt the latter.

When I Use Random Character Generation

Zachary is singing the praises of random character generation over on his blog. I thought he was giving that up (the blogging, not the singing. I think Zachary must spend all his time signing about one thing or the other) or at least significantly cutting back. Hasn't happened, at least not to any degree I've noticed. But then again it's a classic to try and pull away from the waste of time that online interactions are only to fail. Sort of like trying to quit smoking, but without most of the health problems at least.

Where was I? Oh yes, random character generation. Personally I don't really like the method.

Or rather, I don't like it for one type of campaign and do for another.

I use random generation for long term campaigns where one would see family lines and multiple generations of characters. Mine are half-sand box and half epic fantasy arc (I've only done this in one setting), and given that players will over the life of the campaign run multiple characters (some of which are children of previous PCs)- a certain amount of random generation of stats and the like makes sense. You just don't always get what you want from the kids (vast understatement that, on the other hand you sometimes get more).

More common these days are concept campaigns because that's what my players are interested in. The one team of runners for Shadowrun. The one Morrow Project team that will either save or lose the future. The re-imagining of the Marvel Universe. And so on.

Concept Campaigns (which last a handful of years in real time for us) really demand concept characters- and thus full control over their creation.

So, partially random for sand box and designed for concept. This split in campaign types explains in a large degree why I use two rpg systems instead of one. It's not the only reason, but a it's a very significant one.

HERO System 6th: A question of skill

So I'm playing around with recreating some 5th edition characters in 6th just to see, and came across this jewel...

OCV and DCV were completely detached from DEX in 6th, a fact that neither greatly upsets nor to any degree excites me of and by itself. You start off with a default of 3 in each and buy them up at the cost of 5 points each.

With that in mind, an Overall Combat level costs 10 points (btw, this is not the 5th edition Overall which costs 10 points as that now costs 12). So for 10 points I can get a plus 1 OCV or DCV for any attack... meanwhile for 10 points I could a buy +1 OCV and +1 DCV.


But you say, that Overall applies to mental combat which OCV and DCV doesn't- nope. Seems 6th edition changed that rule and now all mental combat levels must be specifically bought and the standard Overall Combat Level does not apply.


Sort of makes Overall Combat Levels a poor buy unless you're in campaign with one cap for OCV/DCV characteristics and a different one for skill levels. But I had thought Long's entire reason for 6th was to make the points more balanced- not to make you buy stuff because of campaign caps...

Now the one thing the skill level will do is allow you to increase damage (using multiple skill levels) instead of OCV/DCV. So all is not lost- except I hate those rules and have long removed them from my campaigns. Not that they would have much effect even if I allowed them due to how expensive they are (in terms of lost OCV/DCV), at least for how I run my campaigns where I design the balance such that it's important to not be hit.

Default HERO is more like D&D in that respect (easy hits, each less dangerous), and so likely makes far more use of the ability to use skill levels to increase damage.

On such fine points does game design turn.

Review: HERO System Martial Arts 6th Edition

In the past various incarnations of the HERO System Martial Artist supplement (Ninja Hero, Ultimate Martial Artist) have always been the most useful book outside the main one.

That trend certain continues with the 6th Edition version Hero System Martial Arts.

Like those before, it presents the game system's mechanical versions of most of the major martial arts styles in the world, together with suggestions for fictional styles and abilities. On top of this are rules for making up your own styles.

There is little to dislike, expect perhaps for the genre advice which is as normal for HERO boring in its presentation and only useful to someone who has no knowledge of the movies or books that drive such settings.

Compared to 5th Edition, the various real world styles have seen some revision and additions. And of course the martial powers sections are built using the 6th edition renaming conventions. In general however, there is little here that wasn't in previous editions.

Even given that, if one is going to invest in the 6th edition books they should buy this one as well. Nearly usable in any setting, I've always consider it 'core' and a must have. Easily the best treatment of martial arts (with properly built characters) ever presented in a published rpg.

Review: HERO System Ultimate Base

The Ultimate Base is one of the latest supplements for HERO System and one of the first (if not the first) for 6th edition.

It shows all the typical Long styling- heavy cut and paste from other books (Ultimate Vehicle in this case) and very little value add.

He did make the attempt, there's a whole section on medieval castles and floor plans for a number of bases. There's even a section on how to in effect create 'Kingdoms' as characters and the play thereof. This is better than average for HERO Games as maybe as much as half the book isn't cut and pasted from elsewhere.

But half is and the half that wasn't just isn't interesting. So close, but a miss. The floor plans are boring, but usable for those who don't have the time to do better. There isn't anything here that really connects, coming across as something the author had to complete more than something he was interested in.


The cover actually reflects this. It shows the HERO Games' ripoff of Marvel's Helicarrier. Only one problem- it doesn't appear in the game book. That's because it can't appear- the rules inside quickly note that such a thing isn't a base but a vehicle.

Opps.

Growing the Hobby?

One of the blogs I follow is hosting the RPG Blog Carnival, with the subject of 'Growing the Hobby'. A timely subject when one hears of falling sales and hard times. People have been predicting doom for a while now, with even the former head of D&D claiming that the end of PnP RPG era is approaching.

Maybe they're right. Maybe they're not. Time will tell. I know I'll be playing them for a good while longer because nothing else does what they do for me.

Back to original question. Reduced to its basics, 'Growing the Hobby' means gaining new RPG players. While regaining older lapsed players add numbers to the current pool, its not new ground and does little for the long term. So, yes new players...

Not really a subject I care about much. Not when phrased that way.

Now I have introduced many new players to the hobby, but never considered it as anything beyond growing my own group. In fact, I'm rather certain it didn't grow the 'hobby' because I doubt they'll ever play in a campaign outside the ones we do ourselves.

Yes, we're that good. And yes, the play style we have is going out of fashion when viewed with respect to the hobby as a whole (if the current games being produced actually reflect that hobby). So much so on that last point that I really don't care of the 'hobby' dies, because it hasn't been supporting me for a while now anyway.

If I had a larger ego, I'd claim at this point that if the industry made games I'd like to use, the hobby would grow on its own. Beh, maybe it would. Maybe it wouldn't. I couldn't say either way.

I can say that all anyone who isn't one of the big gaming companies (and maybe that's only WotC, and maybe this is beyond even them) can do is grow one's own group. Anything more is wishful thinking. And the hobby's wishful thinking has brought us to where we currently are...

...given that track record, it may be best to work on those things we actually have our hands on.