From: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Subject: Re: Faerie Folk (more pedantry that has nothing to do with gamin
Reply-To: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 18:40:02 GMT

elandal@archtwr.tower.nullnet.fi (Ismo Peltonen) writes:
>  OK. I usually make intelligence oriented characters that are good with
>computers, math, phys, electronics, and so on. I've heard (never played
>HERO) that it's very cheap to create a nobel-price scientist in HERO. Is
>this true? Could my characters be created with fewer points than the
>combat oriented ones?

	OK - here's the scoop. In Hero, competant people typically have 
50pts + 50pts in Disads. (GURPS has 100pts + 40pts in Disads). 

	Assuming average Intelligence, a scientist character will pay for 
a typical science (M/H in GURPS): 

GURPS: 2 GURPS pts for a 9 skill, 2 points for each +1. 
Hero: 2 Hero pts for an 11 skill, 1 point for each +1. 

	So it would appear that Hero is somewhat cheaper (remember that 
the points are not the same - I would estimate that 1 Hero pt = 1.5 GURPS 
pts). However, Hero does not have a fixed list of sciences: that is 
determined by the GM based on the genre and setting. If there is a focus 
on sciences in the game, the GM may decide to make a more 'finely 
grained' list - distinguishing nuclear physics from particle physics 
from general relativity, etc.  Whereas in a true four-color game, he 
might just have 'SCIENCE'. 
	Both Hero and GURPS make it really easy to build a character 
with ridiculous levels of a science (20+), which should qualify for 
the 'Nobel-prize winning' level. 
	
>
>: It has a bias towards starting characters at ages 20-30, as that seems 
>: to be the proper balance between buying stats and buying skills.
>
>  Depends on the GM. And, with normal 100pt chars I usually spend less
>than 40 on skills (I buy advantages also). It isn't a valid rule in
>special-ops, high-point, or other campaigns where cicumstances are
>totally different.

	Special Ops recommends a rules change restricting how many points 
players may put into attributes, and also changing the rule of maximum 
points in skills (= 2*Age). The bias is decreased by doing this, but it is 
still there. 

>
>: Of course, the supernatural power system isn't universal like Hero.
>: In Hero, you have one set of rules, completely described in the main 
>: rulebook, and you can create magic rules, psionic rules, superpower 
>: rules, alien ability rules, cyber ability rules, and everything else 
>: from it. 
>
>  Since I haven't played HERO, I won't comment on this. But I believe
>there is some drawback you didn't mention (why isn't hero as popular
>here as GURPS is? I don't know a single HERO player but know many GURPS
>players).

	The main reason is probably supplements and marketing. There are 
some good Hero supplements out there, but they are dominated by Champions 
stuff, and are generally catered to a less mature crowd than GURPS does. 
GURPS stuff emphasizes role-playing and realism much more than Hero, and 
there is alot more GURPS stuff published, covering a much wider variety of 
settings and genres. 

	The main drawback of the universal power system is that it is quite 
complicated. There is a real skill to designing powers well, so that they 
do what they are supposed to. It is much more complicated than, say, Magic 
in GURPS, and somewhat more complicated than Supers and Psionics (but 
remember that it does the work of all of these). 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kim                    | "You're on the cutting room floor, Chaplin.
jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu | Not a good place to be."
Columbia University         |                  (from the movie 'Chaplin')
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives