Heroica RPG General Discussion

[Yzalirk]

Hello everybody,

I just wanted to stop by and hello.  I have not posted here in a while nor have I been keeping tabs on the last quest but I hope everything is going great.  I am relatively eager to see how everything ends when the occasion should occur.  If it leaves space for a second game, perhaps I will return if I have the time.  Best of luck to you guys!

Cheers!

[Lind Whisperer]

2 hours ago, Goliath said:

Hello everybody,

I just wanted to stop by and hello.  I have not posted here in a while nor have I been keeping tabs on the last quest but I hope everything is going great.  I am relatively eager to see how everything ends when the occasion should occur.  If it leaves space for a second game, perhaps I will return if I have the time.  Best of luck to you guys!

Cheers!

Hello! 

Well, I don't want to risk spoiling anyone else's experiences, so I won't say if our third is going well or not, but I think it's safe to say there's been some awesome RP. Lot of old characters meeting/talking - all kinds of great intersection!  Can't wait to read the other two threads - it's ending sooner than any of us wanted, but it's a satisfying ending.

...I don't think, though, that it's leaving much room for a second game.  Well, no, there's definitely room for a second game - but I don't think it's really leading to a second game. It could only really be a Heroica 2.0, or Heroica+Sci Fi/etc...and although I might be alone, honestly, I'm satisfied with this being the ending. Heroica was magical, but I don't think repeating everything, even with "new flair," can capture that magic.

In theory, it would just be better to do something new - strike out in a new direction.

In practice...that's going to be difficult. It's hard to realize just how much time and effort Sandy poured into this game, until you actually start reading the old threads. Not to mention the additional time he had to put in, before that, playing a notable number of RPGs, to get the experience necessary to kitbash this system - which, when you compare it to other systems, is really incredible for how it manages to be both incredibly stream-lined and accessible, while also making it possible to create meaningful, in depth stories and unique and memorable gear collections.

Seriously - Heroica is positively masterful when it comes to gear. Yeah, it suffers from problems, but I haven't really seen a system that quite captures the "uniqueness" of the Heroica system. There's no "one way" for "the best gear". Other systems may be similar, but again, there's just something unique about Sandy's system, that's hard to capture... 

Trying to replicate that...would be difficult. The amount of time needed, just to create something new/appropriately rework the Heroica system to a new setting...that would take a while. And on top of that, you then have to either spend a tremendous amount of time hosting, or have a tremendously dedicated host team. The second...difficult, the first...less difficult, but the sheer amount of time necessary...not possible for me, and I imagine, not for most everyone else here.

Oh, well.

Whatever happens, Heroica was magical, and I'm thankful for having gotten to take part in it.  

[Palathadric]

Yep!

[Cutcobra]

On 5/9/2018 at 10:18 AM, samurai-turtle said:

I just noticed this and seeing a ticked off Heckz is just 

I know this is old, but it's not really a ticked off Heckz. He just has an item that's called "burning eyes" so I thought I'd modify him appropriately.

[Waterbrick Down]

I can't express how excited and proud I am watching you guys unravel everything, you're getting so close, you just need the piece from the oracle party. 

[Zepher]

Sorry, busy busy work week, very much still here! Excited to get the gang all back together. After Eric went... silent... Boomingham didn't actually know anyone in his party, and this is the ultimate crisis, so there wasn't a lot of time for fun chit chat. . Made roleplaying a little difficult occasionally.

[Lind Whisperer]

On 7/12/2018 at 8:17 AM, Zepher said:

Sorry, busy busy work week, very much still here! Excited to get the gang all back together. After Eric went... silent... Boomingham didn't actually know anyone in his party, and this is the ultimate crisis, so there wasn't a lot of time for fun chit chat. . Made roleplaying a little difficult occasionally.

Same here!

Yeah, I'm having a bit of the same with Lind(though for different reasons).

I didn't intend for him to have a character arc initially, but I think the #103-#122-#138-#147 route* actually made for a decent one:

(#103 introduction, #122 character development/grappling with morality, #138 first serious conflict with other people, poor reactions, build-up for the future, and finally #147, with an ultimate fall from grace+first steps on the path to redemption).

(#159 is basically the final chapter - having taken steps to fix himself, he's now proving to everyone else that he really has changed.)

It's a good ending to his character, but it kind of makes for quiet roleplay, since I'm trying to stay away from anything that might spoil the 'happiness' of the happy ending.

 

(I know this post might be better placed in the Theatre, but no one's posted there since...*checks* 2016! )

Edited July 13, 2018 by Lind Whisperer

[The Legonater]

I definitely think in a medium like this, the unintended, natural character arcs are the best way to go. People are shaped by the things they experience and the choices they make, and Heroica provides plenty of opportunities for that. 

I will absolutely talk more about Dyric and character stuff once everything wraps up, but I do want to say that this has been a really great finale, warts and all. I'm excited for the final push!

[Duvors]

I'm sorry about this everyone, but I may be away for a day or two.

[Rider Raider]

I gotta say, watching how strong you guys are making your characters is really crazy. I can’t wait to see some of these builds in action!

[Palathadric]

Ha, ha! We shall see...

[Waterbrick Down]

On 7/24/2018 at 10:21 AM, Rider Raider said:

I gotta say, watching how strong you guys are making your characters is really crazy. I can’t wait to see some of these builds in action!

We shall see, trying to balance for this is a nightmare and I'm trying to err on the side of easier rather than overwhelmingly difficult, but with a party this big it's almost impossible to expect every possible loophole that might be exploited.

[CMP]

It's like two Baltarok final battles with 1/3 the number of GMs.   You never cease to impress, WBD.

[Palathadric]

1 hour ago, CMP said:

It's like two Baltarok final battles with 1/3 the number of GMs.   You never cease to impress, WBD.

 

Let's hope he's not scarred for life.

[Waterbrick Down]

Here's hoping. Thanks for your patience folks, Round 1 just clocked in at 3hrs to run everything. 

[Alfadas]

sjees that's a lot of work. thanks a lot for your hard work

[samurai-turtle]

I kinda wondered if @Waterbrick Down got cold sweat just thinking about running a round.  Here is hoping the rest of rounds runs smoothly too, if not easier. 

[Zepher]

9 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Here's hoping. Thanks for your patience folks, Round 1 just clocked in at 3hrs to run everything. 

I don’t know if we’ve settled on starting another game or not, or if it’s time to do a dissection of Heroica, and I know also this has already been said but this is exactly why the game sort of fell apart! I loved QMing but my life does not frequently have 3 hours to spare.  

[The Legonater]

1 hour ago, Zepher said:

I don’t know if we’ve settled on starting another game or not, or if it’s time to do a dissection of Heroica, and I know also this has already been said but this is exactly why the game sort of fell apart! I loved QMing but my life does not frequently have 3 hours to spare.  

I would be so down to see a full discussion on the system of Heroica and what went wrong or not. I will definitely attest to the battle system being something that made me hesitant to QM repeatedly. 

[Zepher]

The battle system is actually pretty elegant, I would say. It’s the artifact system that made things not work, and how quickly folks leveled up. I have a potential fix I will run one day, either here or just in life .

[Waterbrick Down]

Lots of thoughts on my end, but I want to hold off, otherwise I’d feel bad about not implementing them now.

[Kintobor]

38 minutes ago, The Legonater said:

I would be so down to see a full discussion on the system of Heroica and what went wrong or not. I will definitely attest to the battle system being something that made me hesitant to QM repeatedly. 

25 minutes ago, Zepher said:

The battle system is actually pretty elegant, I would say. It’s the artifact system that made things not work, and how quickly folks leveled up. I have a potential fix I will run one day, either here or just in life .

12 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Lots of thoughts on my end, but I want to hold off, otherwise I’d feel bad about not implementing them now.

Personally, Heroica's postmortem discussion is something I think needs to be done, not out of a place of malice, but as a means to look back and improve what didn't work and acknowledge what did. 

[UsernameMDM]

31 minutes ago, Zepher said:

The battle system is actually pretty elegant, I would say. It’s the artifact system that made things not work, and how quickly folks leveled up. I have a potential fix I will run one day, either here or just in life .

The artefacts and upgraded weapons really threw things out of whack.  Uncontrollable power creep.  

[Palathadric]

Yeah, I remember the days when I treasured getting at artifact that granted me +1 HP.

Droppings broke this game...and rogues, or was it rouges?

Rouge droppings!

[CMP]

We'll have to setup a discussion thread once this quest is over. I may not be into LEGO as much these days but I've never been more experienced with RPGs.  The system's got a lot of advantages and disadvantages, that's for sure.