From: cassidy@cps.msu.edu (John J Cassidy)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy
Subject: Re: Streamlining Hero (was Re: marvel)
Date: 30 Aug 92 19:12:34 GMT
Reply-To: cassidy@cps.msu.edu (John J Cassidy)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University
Originator: cassidy@indian.cps.msu.edu

In article <1992Aug29.090939.13438@ecst.csuchico.edu> tdunn@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tim Dunn) writes:
>Laura Mollett writes:
>>I'm a beginning Hero GM (we're playing FH) and I can't seem to figure
>>out exactly how to speed combat up without losing anything.  I'd really
>>appreciate the info if ya don't mind.
>
>A few simple rules:
>
>1) Don't merely be the referee, be the Gamemaster....
>   a) Corollary: You must be consistent with both the established rules
>      and any house rules you've set before.
>   b) Corollary: You should decide effects in a way so as not to penalize
>      the players for being creative.... .. 
>2) Know the rules. You need not memorize them....

	Although you should memorize the more important rules.  And ther
more rules you memorize the faster will be your combat.  My Fantasy Hero
combats usually take place in under a half-hour. 
 
>   a) Corollary: ...you can make up rules that are very close to what
>	book allows.
>   b) Corollary: Don't page through the rules unless it is a matter of
>	PC death....
>3) Know the characters. You *should* memorize them....
>   a) Corollary: Try to be there for character creation....
>   b) Corollary: When in doubt, question the action based on the character
>      conception....
>4) Be organized. [ Stuff deleted]
>5) Keep things short. NPCs go down to stay when they lose all Stun. They
>   go into shock, run around with blood spurting from limbs, etc when they
>   take their Body in a single attack, before or after hit locations.
>   You can even rate minor NPCs in 'attacks' that they can take before 
>   going away.

	If you are confused about the last statement above, Hero says
that to speed combat up, when the heroes are fighting a bunch of simple
combats with minor characters, and the fights really don't mean anything
to the final outcome that you should rate opponents on how many hits it
should take to bring them down.  Ordinary thugs in a bar, you might
decide, are three-hit foes.  Three hits, regardless of the damage, will
bring them down.  Tougher foes could be four-hit, five-hit, etc., and
weaker ones could be less.  If you want to use something like this,
remember that there are no absolute standards, and no systems by which
you decide the "hit" value of non-critical foes.

	( Now to anti-Hero people out there, before you
strike, realize that Hero Games and I know that sometimes you have to
fight a bar fight in detail, sometimes you want to fight one in detail
and that thugs aren't always to be glossed over: so I don't want to hear
any bs about how Hero Games said that "Thugs should always be played as
two or three hit foes.  I don't want to hear it about how you would not
want something like that in your games... )

>
>6) If your willing to lose things (your header indicated that you weren't)
>   a) The hit location chart and the system in general allows for a Conan-
>      esque "I've waded through a hundred plebes, and I'm going to wade
>      through a hundred more" style high fantasy. I've found increasing the
>      damage modifiers on the hit location chart better simulates whatever
>      'reality' means. I use it to mean whatever the source material I'm 
>      working from indicates.
>   b) The Speed chart is nice and all, but you can condense it down to a
>      4 SPD being max (or 6) with a minimum of work. It will still allow 
>      the same ordering, but it will be a lot simplier to work with. Just
>      make each impulse 2 or 3 seconds instead of one. Better yet, you can
>      probably do most combats with only a minimum one, one that you can 
>      keep at hand and nearly memorize.
>   c) You can reveal the NPC's DCV's (and ECV if applicible) for the public
>      record. When the time comes for a player to act, the player should have
>      already figured the to-hit number. If not, the character holds until 
>      the player is ready.
>   d) Lose the map. Just assume that a normal moving character will move
>      a few meters (about 6) in a half-action. Keep track of who is how far
>      from whom, and narrate to the players what they see, aided by a sketch
>      map (not drawn to scale, nor intricately detailed.) It should look like
>      a football strategy session when it's done.
>
>Hope these help!
>
>-- 
>"A witty saying proves nothing."
>		-- Voltaire

	Letter "d" is the one that I most strongly agree with.  Players
in my game didn't know that Hero could be played without a combat map,
until I did it.  Once again if its going to be a run-of-the-mill run-in,
then you don't need to use the map.

7) Make decisions, don't labor over them, and if you mess up, screw it.
Hero is one of the more complete combat systems.  Such completeness can
be cumbersome when it is not required.  Many of the faster systems are
less complete, this is why they are faster.  I consider Hero to be
capable of handling as much detail as I want to put into the conflict.
Broad Brush anything that doesn't require a lot of detail.  It is what
GM's do as regards non-combat all the time anyway.

	John J Cassidy		cassidy@indian.cps.msu.edu
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~