From: akuma@netcom.com (Steven E Barnes)
Subject: Re: Streamlining Hero (was Re: marvel)
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 92 19:55:16 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 




Here's my sugestion for speeding things up:

1) Limit the speed of characters.  Actually, if all the characters
are about the same speed, this isn't a problem.

2) Discourage multiple characters.  Certain players will create
DNPCs or Followers and run them as second characters in combat.

3) Have all relevent charts handy.  This is expecially important
in Fantasy Hero.

4) Discourage healing and damage reduction.  Healing enables
characters to be awakened after taking massive damage, thus
dragging out battles.  Damage reduction is deceptive; it has
the effect of making it impossible to stun some characters,
and it enables them to wake up quicker when actually KOed.

5) Restrict "aiding recovery".  First, don't allow players to table
talk about their STUN situation ("I'm only at -13; if you aid
me now, I can recover").  Make aiding / paramedicing characters
an "attack action", and put them at DCV 0 while doing it.
Suppose a character is recovering once per minute; aiding him
will allow recovery on post-12.  In this situation, require
a character to spend an entire turn aiding him.  Otherwise,
players will simply wait until phase 12, run up next to the
character and shake him so he gets a recovery on post-12.

6) There are certain rules which make it easier to take out
characters; use them:
    x2 STUN vs characters who are suprised out of combat 
    (apply this rule to unconcious characters as well; don't use 
    this rule if you are using hit locations).

    If a character takes stun damage, any recoveries are lost.

Of course, if you are using hit locations, then characters can
target the head or stomach for x2 STUN.

7) Unimportant NPCs should be eliminated after taking lots of
body, or being KOed.

8) Limit delays.  One rule I've heard is to require
people to state specifically what they are delaying for ("I'm
waiting until X moves" "I'm waiting to shoot anyone who comes
thru the door").  Part of the problem with delays is that
certain types of characters need to delay or they get screwed.
(example: you cannot abort after attacking, so many people
will wait for a martial artist to attack, then hit him with
an area effect attack).  If you discourage exploiting these rules
side-effects, maybe players won't delay as much.

9) In Fantasy Hero, there are a lot of choices about how to allocate
levels; combined with hit location aiming, this can really slow down
peoples decisions.  You may want to ignore some of these rules, or
simplify them into some kind of critical hit system (the typical
one seems to be: do extra damage when rolling under half your
attack roll).

Personally, I think the game starts to behave strange when characters
have lots of skill levels (like in our high power Fantasy Hero game;
everyone has 8-10 levels).  You get these huge shifts in OCV and DCV,
and it encourages players to delay and take advantage of attack timing
side effects.  I think the number of levels should be restricted,
or maybe there should be some extra rules about how they can be
allocated.

-steve
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy