Heroica RPG General Discussion

[Masked Builder]

The pictures have been added! Everyone go and appreciate how I cheated not making a real set.

Nice. Now everyone should see why I didn't recognize them.

[Endgame]

So the Master Chaos Beast is a Chaos Beast with a cape, huh? Seems legit.

Nah, just messing with ya. I've liked a lot of your sets, Zepher, particularly your NPC aesthetic design.

[Zepher]

He also has a black helmet, and the other ones have silver ones... so, ya know...

And I like a fair amount of my sets too (they've gotten better from quest to quest), but sometimes when you're in a park and you don't have barely any green pieces, you just have to cheat it. :grin:

EDIT: Christmas festivities run wild, but there will be an update by the end of the night!

Edited December 24, 2012 by Zepher

[Flipz]

EDIT: Christmas festivities run wild, but there will be an update by the end of the night!

To that end, I've posted one last action summary. I'll see you after Christmas is over!

[Palathadric]

It's pretty nice seeing Sylph's darker sides coming out this quest. Proggs do that to ya.

Now, just as a little gift to try to put a smile on your face, I prepared a one-panel funny for you guys and gals:

Merry Christmas, everybody! It has nearly been a year for me in Heroica RPG, and what a year it has been!

Don't want to ruin the merriment, but there is a size limit on pictures, I believe. They're supposed to be 800 x 600 or smaller.

:laugh: I could not help but laugh, I also take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas to all guys to pass even with a nice set LEGO and playing Heroica

It's also generally not necessary to quote add the whole picture to your quote when replying to someone.

Don't mean to be all "moderatey" but...

By the way, merry Christmas everyone!

Edited December 25, 2012 by Palathadric

[Fugazi]

"Killii the red-nosed progg, had a very shiny nose! ...And a appetite for children that followed him wherever he goes.

All the other Proggs used to regard him with disdain and curiosity. That is, until they saw their leader Aquos, that guy was a atrocity.

And then one misty night, Aquos came to saaayy... "Oh, Killii, with your nose so bright, can you turn it off? My eyes are sensitive to light!"

Killii responded to Aquos with a jab of a tail and a slash of a claw. The red-nosed progg went down in history... as the goriest Progg pancake ever saw."

Galen hopes to spend Christmas in a Progg family some day, and live to tell the story!

[Dannylonglegs]

Galen hopes to spend Christmas in a Progg family some day, and live to tell the story!

A Galice Christmas.

~Insectoid Aristocrat

[Flare]

Oh you, know, we just make it up as we go along.

Yup!

Or, you know, we read the rules.

Oh... um... yeah... right....

[Waterbrick Down]

Merry Christmas all! Flipz, I'm sorry to hear things are a little tense right now. Deal with what you have to we'll see you on the other side of the holidays.

I've been curious as to why we have armor/artifacts that protect from elemental damage as opposed to protection from a certain type of monster? For instance the Aurora Helmet provides immunity to fire elemental damage, yet how often have we actually seen a monster that does fire elemental damage? Maybe once? Now from a PvP perspective this makes sense as weapons are imbued to do elemental damage, however I do not see their usefulness very far beyond that. Do we need to start seeing monsters that do passsive elemental damage or do we need to change from nulling elemental damage to nulling damage from a certain type of monster or am I just beating a dead progg?

Thoughts?

Edited December 25, 2012 by Waterbrick Down

[CMP]

I've been wondering the exact same thing, WBD. Enemies with specified elemental attacks are very rare.

Of course, if it was done this way, it wouldn't be too difficult to become immortal.

[Brickdoctor]

Of course, if it was done this way, it wouldn't be too difficult to become immortal.

[swils]

I see elemental immunity as more of an anti-special-damage protection and I think that it serves that job just fine.

While we're on the topic of imbued immunities, I do think that flat immunity is incredibly strong. In my mind, elemental damage should be halved and negative effects should have a 50/50 chance of being inflicted (calculated in addition to any other reductions they might have, like a cleric's special guard might fail, but a cleric with resistance to a certain negative effect would get a second 50/50 roll after the SG roll). I know it wouldn't be a change embraced by many (looking especially at folks who have already invested in it, and those who are planning to), I can only imagine that, at some point down the line, it will become a QM'ing nightmare. Will QM's just have to come up with new effects, or will negative effects become a memory for all but the newest (or poorest) of heroes, with mechanics devolving to simple damage?

[Sandy]

While we're on the topic of imbued immunities, I do think that flat immunity is incredibly strong. In my mind, elemental damage should be halved and negative effects should have a 50/50 chance of being inflicted

It might not be that clear to you since you haven't hosted a quest yet, but remembering to calculate all variables in a battle is very demanding. That's why even I (who wrote the rules) make mistakes constantly and have to edit the battle results. The reason for it is that this game is run by humans, not computers. This is not a videogame, so keeping the required calculations to a minimum keeps the game fun for everyone, even though there might be some balance issues from time to time.

I know that there are people who have grown up with Dungeons & Dragons or other tabletop RPGs who are very familiar with crunching the numbers, but I believe Heroica RPG has attracted many people who have never even seen a tabletop RPG before. While I understand the need to fine-tune this game constantly, we also have to remember to keep it accessible to new players as well.

As for the matter at hand, I for one have used elemental damage in enemy specials often, but I guess I should start adding elemental affinities to their normal attacks as well, so that those with elemental immunities really benefit from them.

[swils]

Oh, no, I'm quite aware of it. I dread the day I have to take that many factors into account. You're right though, I do have a tabletop background that makes that sort of thing seem second nature and I suppose I do tend to take the idea of minimizing calculations for granted (and I definitely recognize the appeal of the pick-up-and-go style that you've given us with Heroica). I still feel as though, eventually, the "end-game" will be even simpler than what a new player will face: new players won't have the funds to gain full immunity, while established characters will have a multitude of resistances and have less to worry about from standard mechanics than the newer players.

[Sandy]

I still feel as though, eventually, the "end-game" will be even simpler than what a new player will face: new players won't have the funds to gain full immunity, while established characters will have a multitude of resistances and have less to worry about from standard mechanics than the newer players.

But isn't that the purpose of roleplaying games? To develop your character into a lean, mean killing machine? Would there be any incentive to participate in the battles if at Level 50 you would be just as vulnerable as you were at Level 1? I quite like the idea that the players aim to become as powerful as they possibly can, while the QMs create new ways to challenge them. It's the circle of life (na nah!) and it moves us all (na nah naaah!).

On another issue, here's a comprehensive list of how the effects affect enemies differently, to be added to the FAQ:

Hastened - The enemy will perform a single Free Hit if it is targetted during the round, and two Free Hits if it is not targetted.

Lucky - Everyone targetting the enemy will roll twice and perform the worse result of the two.

KO - Not applicable to enemies. Once their health is depleted to zero, enemies cannot be revived.

Stunned - The enemy misses on the next DAMAGE or SPECIAL DAMAGE rolled for it. If nobody targets it (or if the enemy is hastened), the enemy loses its Free Hit.

Asleep - The enemy is unable to act for three rounds unless it is woken up by an attack.

Fast Asleep - The enemy is unable to act for six rounds unless it is woken up by an attack.

Blinded - The enemy misses on every DAMAGE rolled for it for three rounds. This also applies to Free Hits.

Sealed - The enemy misses on every SPECIAL DAMAGE rolled for it for three rounds.

Bound - Not applicable to enemies.

Afraid - Not applicable to enemies.

Enraged - Not applicable to enemies.

Confused - The enemy has a 1/2 chance of hitting a random ally instead of the target with every DAMAGE or SPECIAL DAMAGE rolled for it or with Free Hits for three rounds.

Slowed - The enemy cannot perform a Free Hit even if nobody targets it.

Jinxed - Everyone targetting the enemy will roll twice and perform the better result of the two.

Minimized - The enemy's level, max. health and max. ether are reduced to 10% (rounded up) for three rounds, after which the values are restored.

Encouraged, Blessed, Inspired, Petrified, Poisoned, Badly Poisoned, Cursed, Enamored, Hexed, Weakened and Fragile have no difference when applied to enemies.

[Palathadric]

So in essence, Flare's "Paralyzing Venom" deals the slowed effect. What is the final result on "Stunned" though? It goes into effect immediately or only for the first strike of the next turn? From this description it seems like it goes into affect immediately. Also, if two heroes target a hastened enemy, I think it makes sense that it can't deliver a free hit.

[Sandy]

So in essence, Flare's "Paralyzing Venom" deals the slowed effect. What is the final result on "Stunned" though? It goes into effect immediately or only for the first strike of the next turn? From this description it seems like it goes into affect immediately. Also, if two heroes target a hastened enemy, I think it makes sense that it can't deliver a free hit.

All effects (except the Shield-skill specific "Sentinel" and "Guardian Angel") are applied immediately.

And no, it does not make sense for an enemy's hastened-skill to be negated simply by having two heroes attack it. That would make the effect on enemies pointless, actually. Remember that an enemy can already attack several times on a round, if many heroes target it and roll poorly. A hastened enemy is even more devastating, since it also gets a Free Hit.

[Palathadric]

Okay.

[Zepher]

Do we need to start seeing monsters that do passsive elemental damage or do we need to change from nulling elemental damage to nulling damage from a certain type of monster or am I just beating a dead progg?

When issues are raised, they are often addressed. I agree that there aren't enough elemental attacks, so they will be featured at least a little in my current quest, and probably more and more as I go along.

EDIT: Merry Grogmas all!! I can't promise an update today, but hopefully tomorrow!! Hope you all enjoy the holidays and family/break from work that are associated with them.

Edited December 25, 2012 by Zepher

[swils]

But isn't that the purpose of roleplaying games? To develop your character into a lean, mean killing machine? Would there be any incentive to participate in the battles if at Level 50 you would be just as vulnerable as you were at Level 1? I quite like the idea that the players aim to become as powerful as they possibly can, while the QMs create new ways to challenge them. It's the circle of life (na nah!) and it moves us all (na nah naaah!).

Haha fine, fine, you've got me. I've got to admit, QM creativity has led to a slew of new and interesting effects already, and I'm sure will continue to do so in the future. I guess as long as there's something new to strive to overcome, being immune to everything else isn't that bad

[Flare]

Sandy, can you clarify the rules of dual strike weapons, please.

[Sandy]

Sandy, can you clarify the rules of dual strike weapons, please.

But I just did, not many weeks ago... Here's the blurb from the FAQ (which everyone should read regularly):

Q: How do weapons with a "dual strike" effect work, exactly? And can a shield be carried with "twin weapons"?

A: "Dual strike" deals damage to either the targetted enemy and the enemy next in the order OR double damage to one enemy upon a successful hit. A shield can be wielded with any weapon that doesn't specifically negate its use.

[Sandy]

To properly celebrate this "Grogmas", a new event has begun! Everyone can participate in suggesting gifts for those players they consider worthy of giving gifts to.

Kudos to Skyrimguy for inspiring me to come up with this event!

[Waterbrick Down]

To properly celebrate this "Grogmas", a new event has begun! Everyone can participate in suggesting gifts for those players they consider worthy of giving gifts to.

Kudos to Skyrimguy for inspiring me to come up with this event!

Looks neat, are the replies to be given in character I assume?

[Masked Builder]

I would assume these are in-game gifts?