Heroica RPG Rules & FAQ

[Sandy]

~This topic is meant for all discussion and questions about the rules of Heroica RPG. For other topics related to the game, see the

Heroica RPG Index.~

Player Character Creation
An aspiring hero needs to fill the following form and post it into the Hero Statistics topic. When it is done, the character must be introduced at the Heroica Hall topic in order to be officially eligible for quests and effectively play the game.

Picture: Build your own hero as a minifigure and add their picture in avatar size (100x100 pixels).
Name & Player: The character’s name should fit the fantasy setting.
Age, gender & race: You can choose any fantasy race, including something you made up yourself.
Job Class: Choose one of the basic six classes (Barbarian, Cleric, Knight, Mage, Ranger or Rogue; see Job Classes).
Level: All heroes start from Level 1.
Power: Write in your base power, i.e. your level and your weapon power added together.
Defense: If you are a Knight, write in your defensive power (SP) here.
Health: Write in your current and maximum health (see Job Classes).
Ether: If you start out as a Cleric or a Mage, write in your current and maximum ether (see Job Classes).
Gold: All heroes start with 10 pieces of gold.
Equipment: List your equipped weapon, shield and artefacts here. All heroes start with one weapon suitable to their job class that has the attack power (WP) of 3. Shields and artefacts are listed here too.
Inventory: List your other items here. Each job class also gets two specific items (see Items):
Barbarian: a Potion and a bottle of Mead.
Cleric: a Potion and a Remedy.
Knight: a Potion and a Shield with the defensive power (SP) of 2.
Mage: a Potion and an elemental Gem of their choice (see Elements).
Ranger: a Potion and a Smoke Bomb.
Rogue: a Potion and a vial of Venom.

Quest System
The champions of Heroica spend their time in the famed Heroica Hall of Eubric Freeport, where they can chat amongst themselves and hear rumours around the world. The Hall is also where they can embark on quests with varying goals, such as finding a specific item or a person, defeating a monster or fighting a group of enemies. Completing a quest will benefit a hero with either gold, extra levels of experience or rare items. Different factions within Eubric will also favour heroes that participate on the quests they have pitched.

Each quest has different requirements that the heroes need to fill. Usually a quest will require the heroes to form a party of varying size. Sometimes a quest is only available to heroes of a specific level of experience or class. The host of the quest (called the Quest Master or QM) will decide which applicants can participate into the mission.

The quests take place in their own topics open only to the heroes chosen for the quest. The players on a quest may not post in-character elsewhere (e.g. Heroica Hall, Marketplace or Training Room topics). One of the party members is assigned as the Party Leader by the QM. The Party Leader’s duty is to keep the other party members in order, and divide the found treasures among the party.

During a quest, the QM will present the party various options on how to advance. The Party Leader announces the party’s choices after appropriate discussion. The party may encounter traps, locks, shortcuts and dead ends along the quest, so they must be prepared for anything.

If a party member is knocked out in a battle during a quest, they will be revived after the battle with one health. But if the whole party is defeated, the quest fails and the heroes return to Heroica Hall without a reward. The quest can also fail by the QM’s jurisdiction.

If you want to host a quest yourself, please make sure you have a firm grasp of the game mechanics and a few quests under your belt before learning the ropes from the Quest Masters’ Lounge topic.

Battle System
During quests, the party of heroes encounter various monsters and other adversaries that they must battle. These battles are initiated by the Quest Master.

Choosing Battle Actions
Once the battle starts, the Party Leader decides in what order the heroes act. All members of the party choose their desired action and target, and what range they will fight in. If a player doesn’t choose their target within 24 hours after being prompted to do so, the Quest Master will choose for them.

Available battle actions depend on the job class of the player, but most classes can attack physically with or without a weapon (only sages are unable to attack physically). Other, job-restricted options include casting spells, healing and fleeing.

Rows
The players can choose between two rows in which to fight.

Front row: Heroes attack with full power and receive full damage.
Back row: Only ranged weapons, spells and healing will have full effect, other attacks have halved power, but heroes also receive halved damage (rounded up).
Battle DieEdit
The Quest Master will roll a six-sided die for each of the players’ actions. The die usually contains following options, but all job classes contain variations to them:

SHIELD: The hero uses the Shield Skill unique to their class.
CRITICAL HIT: The hero attacks with strength equal to double of their weapon power added to their level. (e.g. WP 3 x 2 + Level 2 = 8 damage)
HIT: The hero attacks the target with strength equal to their weapon power added to their level. (e.g. WP 3 + Level 2 = 5 damage)
MISS: Nothing happens.
DAMAGE: The hero is struck with the opponent’s attack.
SPECIAL DAMAGE: The hero is struck with the opponent’s special skill.
ItemsEdit
Optionally, the hero can choose to use an item at their disposal instead of rolling a die. These items include potions, bombs and scrolls. Using items is not affected by distance, so it is beneficiary to use them from the back row.

Free Hits
All enemies that are not targeted by an attack by anyone in a round of battle get a Free Hit after the heroes have acted, causing damage to one of the heroes. If there is one enemy that wasn’t targeted, it will damage the first hero in the order of action, if there’s another it will target the second hero etc.

Using items such as bombs and scrolls on an enemy does not negate it's Free Hit. Neither do attacks from evoker's elemental spirits, necromancer's undead minions or Decamon drafter's card monsters.

If several enemies get a Free Hit on the same hero, their attacks are combined, which means that the hero's Shield Power (SP) is only taken into a count once. For example, when two Level 5 enemies attack a hero with 5 SP, their combined attacks allow 5 damage to surpass the defense. This way even low level enemies have a chance of damaging a hero with high SP.

Ether
Clerics can choose to restore health their allies and mages can cast magic spells, but both of these actions are dependent on ether. One healing or casting depletes the hero’s ether by one, and once ether reaches zero, the hero can no longer heal or cast spells. Ether can be regained by consuming tonics or resting outside of battle with a bedroll.

End of Battle
If enemies remain after the first round of turns, the players will choose new targets and actions, and a second round begins. The battle ends when either all the opponents or all the heroes are defeated, or one side has fled.

Fleeing
Escaping a battle is only possible through using items like Smoke Bomb or Feather of Flight, or through the "Flee" job trait available to rogues and some other classes. When a player flees, they will gain no experience from the battle. Sometimes it is possible to restart the battle that the party has fled from, but it depends on the QM.

Defeat
If a hero’s health is depleted to zero during battle, they are unable to participate into it. Only certain items can revive fallen heroes during the battle, but they will automatically be revived with one health once the battle is over. If the entire party is defeated in a battle, the quest fails and the heroes will automatically return to Heroica Hall.

Victory
After a victorious battle, all heroes still standing will gain experience. Some opponents also drop gold and items that are shared among the party as determined by the Party Leader.

Leveling Up
Gaining a level increases the hero’s battle power, health and ether by one. Heroes of different level earn different amount of experience from victorious battles.

Level 1-9: one full level per battle
Level 10-19: 1/2 of a level per battle
Level 20-29: 1/3 of a level per battle
Level 30-39: 1/4 of a level per battle
Level 40 onwards: 1/5 of a level per battle

Changing Job Classes
At Level 15, the hero gains access to the advanced job classes, which combine the powers of two basic job classes. At Level 30, if certain special requirements are met, the hero can move onto expert job classes. At Level 40, the veteran job classes can be unlocked if the hero has successfully completed 10 quests or carries the item “Veteran’s Badge”. And finally at Level 50, the hero unlocks the master job classes. The hero can change a job class (except the basic one) in-between quests at the Training Room topic.

Second Characters
For most of the game, players are restricted to one hero each, so if they want to change their character they have to start from scratch. However, if a player has participated in 15 quests (no matter if they are successful, failed or cancelled) OR hosted at least 5 quests, the player can create a second character without losing their original hero. The character starts from Level 1 with a basic job class. Both characters are played independently and can even participate on the same quests.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Characters:

Q: When creating a character, what topic do I post it into?

A: Post the character's statistics into the Hero Statistics -topic, and make a link to that post in your signature (the link address can be found by clicking the number on the upper right corner of the post). Then introduce your character in the Heroica Hall -topic.

Q: When introducing ourselves, do we need a lengthy intro?

A: It's up to you how long and detailed you want your intro to be.

Q; Do I need my character picture up right away?

A: No, as long as you get them up eventually. You will not be able to go into a quest without a picture of your character, though. If you can't make one yourself, ask your fellow players.

Q: Can I change my character?

A: Yes, as long as you start over completely. No levels or items can be transferred to the new character. Note that you can create a second character if you fulfill the requirements listed on the rules above.

Q: I can't make a long-term commitment. Can I still play?

A: Heroica RPG is more of a game system than a single continuous game. You can create your hero character whenever you like, and wait for a good time to sign into a quest. You must be able to play for the duration of the quest you sign into, though.

Q: I am now at Level 15, how can I upgrade to the Advanced Job Class?

A: Congratulations! Simply visit the Training Room and follow the instructions found there.

Quests:

Q: How and when can I start a quest of my own?

A: First you should read the Quest Masters' Lounge-topic, which gives you insight about what is required from a Quest Master and a good quest. You can send your quest idea to Sandy, the game manager, via a private message when you think you are well prepared, but you have to have at least one successfully concluded quest under your belt so that you know how the game basically works. Even then, if your idea is not good enough or the game manager does not deem you ready to host, you might be turned down. In that case you should heed the game manager's feedback and try again later.

Q: If there are enough sign-ups to a quest and everything was ready, would the quest start early?

A: Not necessarily, we'd still need to give everyone time to sign up before the deadline. The sign-up deadlines can be changed by the QM's jurisdiction, though.

Q: Is it possible to change what quests you sign into?

A: Yes, you can change as much as you want until the sign-ups end.

Q: How long does a quest take?

A: It varies greatly, so you have to ask each Quest Master separately.

Q: When a quest starts, can the chosen players still post in the Heroica Hall topic?

A: Not until the quest is over, unless the Quest Master specifically allows it.

Q: Will my health and ether be restored automatically after I finish a quest?

A: Yes, since you can rest as much as you want in-between quests.

Q: When you lose a quest, do you keep the experience and items you earned in battles?

A: You get to keep the experience and items you gain during a quest, even if it fails. You just won't get the promised reward.

Battles:

Q: Can I attack without a weapon?

A: Yes, you can. In that case your attack power will only consist of your level. Technically speaking, your WP is 0 when fighting unarmed, so your Critical Hits and damaging Shield-skills will also do damage equal to your level in that case. Mages cannot cast spells unarmed, since they need their weapon to channel the spells, but clerics can heal (restoring health equal to their level on every successful roll). Note that Chi Monks are especially geared towards unarmed fighting, so their attacks work differently.

Q: If a hero is hastened, will he get two Free Hits where the other heroes get one?

A: No. Free Hits are divided as equally as possible among all the heroes, starting from the top of the battle order. The first hero listed will get the Free Hit from the first untargetted enemy, the second hero listed from the second untargetted enemy and so forth until all untargetted enemies have gotten a hit. However, if a hero is hastened or otherwise gets multiple turns in one round, only their first turn is counted when calculating Free Hits.

Q: Does using an item such as a bomb or a scroll on an enemy negate its Free Hit?

A: No, it does not. Items are not actual attacks, so the enemy is not "locked in a duel" like it is with normal attacks. That's why it is free to attack the heroes at the end of the round.

Q: What does it mean that when several enemies get Free Hits on the same hero, their attacks are combined?

A: It means that when two or more enemies attack one hero during the Free Hit phase, their damage input is added together. The hero's Shield Points (SP) are only taken into a count once. For example, when two Level 5 enemies attack a hero with 5 SP, their combined attacks allow 5 damage to surpass the defense. This way even low level enemies have a chance of damaging a hero with high SP.

Q: What about all the minions that heroes can conjure up, how does their attacks affect Free Hits?

A: The various minions such as Evoker's summons and Necromancer's army of undead cannot negate their target's Free Hit, because the target does not have a chance to attack them back. However, the monsters that a Sylvan Ranger has tamed can be damaged by their target, so they do negate the target's Free Hit.

Q: How can I damage undead enemies?

A: Undead enemies are immune to normal, non-elemental attacks. However, they can be damaged by all elemental spells and items as well as healing, including potions. Light-elemental damage is especially effective against them, causing double damage.

Q: If I heal an enemy, can I get damaged?

A: If you target enemy with a healing skill, you become susceptible to rolls of DAMAGE and SPECIAL DAMAGE, which will replace NO HEALING.

Q: If an enemy falls into more than one type, how are conflicting or aiding elements determined? For example, an enemy is both flying and mechanic, and is attacked by a wind element (sapphire). How is damage determined then?

A: In your example, the two types cancel each other out, so a Flying Mechanic type enemy would take normal damage from wind spells. If the enemy was a Flying Vermin type, though, the wind spell would cause quadruple damage against that enemy, since both those types are weak to the element. Note that if an enemy is listed as being "Immune to [Element]", then the type makes no difference for the specified element.

Q: What if an enemy is ethereal and some other type, like beast. Can I injure it with a spell or an elemental weapon then?

A: Ethereal enemies do not take damage from any elements, but other type of enemies do. That is why an ethereal/beast enemy takes normal damage from fire- and ice-elemental spells and weapons, but not from any other element. If the weapon has multiple elements imbued in it, remember that each 0x multiplier nullifies one 2x multiplier.

Q: How does it affect my attacks if an enemy is said to be fighting from the back row?

A: If you have a ranged weapon or can cast spells, there is no penalty. However, using a melee weapon you will only do half damage to that enemy from the front row, and a quarter of the normal damage if you are on the back row yourself. An enemy standing on the back row usually has ranged attacks, so it can attack both front and back row without penalty. If it isn't ranged, the same rules apply to its attacks.

Q: If I target an ally standing on a different row than myself with an attack for some reason (eg. in confusion, with a healing weapon), how will the damage be calculated? And what if "DAMAGE" or "SPECIAL DAMAGE" is rolled?

A: When it comes to attacking allies, the rows make no difference. You will always have full power against your allies. The targeted ally will not counter the attack, but rolling "DAMAGE" or "SPECIAL DAMAGE" will be counted as a miss.

Job Classes:

Q: What does it mean that the ether cost of cleric's "Miracle" is "1 ether per healed target", and mage's "Magic Burst" is "1 ether per damaged target"?

A: It means that in multitarget abilities ether is only consumed if the target is in need of healing or susceptible to the spell's element. In other words, ether is not consumbed on allies with full health or enemies that are immune to the element of the spell.

Q: What does stealing gold only from enemies that carry gold mean?

A: Rogues and other classes with stealing skills can only gain gold from enemies that drop gold. However, the stolen gold is not taken from the drops, but instead from a "hidden stash". So rogues can steal more gold from the enemy that it drops, and the enemy will still drop the designated amount of gold.

Q: How does a knight's "Sentinel" or a paladin's "Guardian Angel" work, exactly?

A: Yes, those "SHIELD"-skills protect the whole party from all physical damage caused by an attack (and in "Guardian Angel's" case, all elemental damage and negative effects as well), no matter who the attacker is. This doesn't include internal damage, though, like poisoning. Also, "Guardian Angel" does not remove existing effects. The skills do not protect from special skills that do not deal direct damage or negative effects, either.

Q: How does the ranger's Triple Shot work when the target is listed last on the enemy order? What about when there's only two enemies?

A: The three shots are always divided between the enemies if there's more than one of them. If the target is listed last or second to last on the list of enemies, then the remaining shots will be dealt to the enemies at the beginning of the list. If there's only two enemies, the target will get hit by two shots and the other enemy with one.

Q: The necromancer's "Raise an Army" and the sylvan ranger's "Tame" have limitations on the types of enemies that they affect. What about if the enemy has two types, one that is affected and another that isn't?

A: In the case of enemies with two conflicting types, it is up to the Quest Master's jurisdiction if that enemy is raised/tamed, or not.

Effects:

Q: What happens to the effects when a hero is knocked out and then revived?

A: Temporary effects - both negative and positive - all vanish upon getting knocked out. The same applies when the hero leaves a quest. Only permanent effects gained from equipment stick.

Q: Do the special effects and elements on weapons also affect spells? Like if a mage is carrying a wand that inflict sleep with each attack, does the mage's spells do the same?

A: No, the effects and elemental properties on weapons only apply to physical attacks made with that weapon. A mage's spell uses only the weapon's power, not the effects. Positive effects on the hero, such as encouraged and hastened, do apply to spells as well.

Q: How do the effects differ when applied to enemies?

A: Not all effects work the same way as they on heroes when they are used on an enemy. Here is a comprehensive list of the differences:

Hastened

- The enemy will perform a single Free Hit even 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.

Knocked Out

- Not usually applicable to enemies. Once their health is depleted to zero, enemies cannot be revived except where explicitly stated otherwise.

Stunned

- The enemy misses on the next DAMAGE or SPECIAL DAMAGE rolled for it. If nobody targets it, the enemy loses its Free Hit.

Petrified

- The enemy is unable to take a turn, and will be instantly killed when hit by an attack.

Asleep

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

Fast Asleep

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

Blinded

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

Sealed

- The enemy misses on every SPECIAL DAMAGE rolled for it for the next three rounds. This also applies to Free Hits that use the enemy's special skill.

Bound

- The enemy cannot flee until the end of the next round.

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 the next three rounds.

Enamored

 

- The enemy's DAMAGE and SPECIAL DAMAGE will miss against the hero that it is enamored with. In the case of Free Hits, it will skip the hero in question and hit the next one instead.

Slowed

- The enemy cannot perform a Free Hit even if nobody targets it, unless it is the last enemy standing.

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 the next three rounds, after which the values are restored, except any health or ether lost during the minimized phase.

Encouraged, Blessed, Transcended, Inspired, Reinforced, Nimble, Doomed, Poisoned, Bleeding, Cursed, Afraid, Enraged, Hexed, Weakened and Fragile have no difference when applied to enemies.

Q: What happens if an enemy has the "Immune to [Element]"-effect and is hit with a weapon that is imbued with that element and another element the enemy is weak to?

A: The immunity-effect overrides the elemental affinities that the enemy's type might have, so the weapon has no effect on that enemy.

Q: How does healing work in the case of the healer being encouraged or weakened, or the target being fragile?

A: Healing is not damage, so these effects aren't taken into account unless the target is undead, in which case healing actually causes damage.

Q: What about poisoning, is it affected by fragile, weakened or encouraged?

A: If a fragile target is inflicted with poison, they will lose twice as much health because of it for as long as both effects last. Encouraged or weakened do not have any effect to the amount of damage poisoning does, though.

Q: For Clerics and Mages, is the option to heal/cast decided before the dice roll or after it? Also, is ether depleted if they choose to heal/cast, even if the heal/spell fails?

A: The players choose their actions before the die is rolled. Healing and casting are also affected by the die roll just like attacks are. Ether is only depleted upon successful casting and healing.

Q: Does an unsuccessful casting of an effect from a scroll cost ether?

A: Yes, ether is deducted each time a scroll is used, whether successful or not.

Q: Can I stack damage-dealing effects such as poisoned, bleeding and cursed?

A: Poisoned-effect can be stacked after the change done to it in January 2014, since it now deals damage equal to the number attached to it. Using a Venom and a Deadly Venom on a weapon will make the weapon cause poisoned by 11-effect, and with each consecutive strike on the poisoned enemy the effect does 11 damage more. The same applies when poisonous enemies hit the heroes consecutive times. Bleeding stacks the same way, but cursed does not.

Q: What happens when a hero with "hastened"-effect is inflicted with "slowed"-effect, or vice versa?

A: The two opposing effects nullify each other, so the hero will return to acting once per round, as normal. The same applies to "lucky" and "jinxed", "encouraged" and "weakened", etc. Note that the effects are only negated, not removed.

Q: Do "lucky"- and "jinxed"-effects affect other rolls than the one for battle results?

A: No, they only affect what battle skill is used (numbered 1-6 on the rule pages for each job class). For example, the odds for SPECIAL GUARD, scroll effects, assassination and alchemist's mixtures are NOT increased or decreased by these effects.

Q: What about when a "lucky" hero attacks a "jinxed" enemy, what happens then?

A: The die is rolled four times in that case, and the best results out of the four is used. If the situation is reversed, then the worst result is chosen out of the four.

Q: How does the confused-effect work in the case of the confused hero targetting an ally or himself, for example with healing or an item?

A: The point behind the effect is that the confused hero becomes disoriented and has a chance of mistaking an ally for an enemy. This works the other way around as well - he might just as well mistake an enemy as an ally. To better phrase it, the confused hero has 1/2 chance of using their action to a random target on the unintended side. This does not apply when the confused hero targets himself, though, so he can use a Remedy on himself without care.

Weapons:

Q: What happens if you have multiple weapons?

A: You can only equip one weapon at a time, and that is the weapon that is listed in your equipment. Usually the strongest available weapon is equipped, but if a situation rises where you would like to use another weapon instead, just mention it to the Quest Master. Changing equipped weapons in a battle does not cost a turn, so it is often a smart strategy to carry spare weapons with different effects. However, you can only change weapons once per turn.

Q: Is it possible to stack special effects to weapons?

A: Yes, you can for example use a Venom on a weapon that already has a sleep-effect on it.

Q: Is there a limit to how powerful a weapon can be?

A: No, there is no limit. Quest Masters must be wary of the game balance when handing out weapons, however.

Q: What does "retrievable" mean in the case of the throwing weapons?

A: The throwing weapons need to be retrieved in order to use again, which means during a battle, if you roll any result from 1 to 4, you have to spend a turn to get your throwing weapon back. You can only retrieve from the front row. You cannot do anything else on that turn. If you have thrown several throwing weapons at the enemies, though, you can retrieve them all on the same turn. They are automatically returned to you once the battle ends, though. In any case, it would be smartest to hold another weapon ready if you have a throwing weapon.

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 two hits to one enemy upon a successful roll. Note that an enemy's defense reduces the damage from both hits. A shield can be wielded with any weapon that doesn't specifically negate its use.

Q: How does the Healing Staff work, exactly?

A: In most cases, it works like when attacking someone with a normal weapon, but instead of causing damage, it heals the target instead. It does damage undead enemies like all healing, though. Because of it's unique properties, the Healing Staff sometimes overrides some battle results. If it is used on another hero, for example, the healer will not be damaged even if DAMAGE or SPECIAL DAMAGE are rolled. Those rolls are counted as a MISS in that case. Using it on enemies does not affect the aforementioned rolls, though. The Healing Staff can also change some SHIELD-skills if you're using it on an ally. The main principle is that the Healing Staff never causes damage except to the undead. Consult your Quest Master if you are unsure how the Healing Staff works with your class.

Artifacts:

Q: You can only equip a certain amount of artifacts, but can you carry more? What exactly is classified as an artifact?

A: You can carry more than the amount of artifacts you can equip in your inventory, but only the ones listed in your equipment will have an effect. Remember that the equipped artefacts cannot be of the same category. The different categories of artifacts are headwear, bodywear, backwear, handwear, footwear and accessories (such as off-hand items and jewelry). If you are unsure whether some item is an artifact or not, ask the Quest Master that gave it to you. Note that if you want to change your equipped artifacts during a battle, it will cost you a turn.

Q: Can I use Bright Polish on any artefact?

A: No, the Bright Polish can only be used on shields and any artefacts that already give SP.

Q: How are artifacts that give bonus WP and bonus Power factored into battle calculations?

A: There is a distinct difference between those two values, even though they both affect the strength of the attack. Extra WP given by an artifact is added to the weapon's WP, and thus is doubled in a CRITICAL HIT and taken into account when AIM is rolled. If the artifact gives extra Power, it is simply added to the overall attack power, like the level of the player. For example, let's take a Level 10 hero with a WP:10 weapon, an artifact that gives +1 WP and an artifact that gives +1 Power. When that hero rolls CRITICAL HIT, his attack power is calculated thus: ([WP:10+1]x2+Level 10+1=33 damage)

Q: Can an Artisan equip artifacts that are specifically suitable only to some other character?

A: No, those are an exception to the Fashionista job trait, and the Artisan cannot equip them. There is usually a good reason those artifacts are character-specific.

Q: Artisans can equip multiples of the same artifact, so does this mean their effects stack?

A: No, the effects of the same or similar artifacts never stack unless specifically stated otherwise, even if multiple of them are equipped at the same time. Rather, the artifact with the highest benefit takes precedence - e.g. Medal of Glory (triple experience) overrides Medal of Valor (double experience).

Consumable Items:

Q: Consumable items can be used on anyone in battle, correct?

A: Yes, on yourself, on your allies, even on enemies.

Q: What happens when you use a Phoenix Essence or a Health Core on undead enemies?

A: Restorative items damage the undead like healing does. A Phoenix Essence will instantly kill the enemy unless it is immune to sudden death, but a Health Core will cause a maximum of 50 damage on it.

Q: Does Phoenix Essence restore ether as well as health?

A: No, it only affects health.

Q: What enemy types do bombs affect?

A: Bombs are like elemental spells, so they follow the same rules of weakness and immunity as the spells do.

Q: Can Smoke Bombs be used to allow only some of the party to flee from a battle?

A: Generally no, but the Quest Master can allow it on a case-by-case basis due to special circumstances.

Other items:

Q: How do Arc Scrolls (e.g. Arc Scroll of Blindness) work in terms of results and ether cost, exactly?

A: The results for an Arc Scroll is rolled once, despite the number of enemies. If the roll is successful, the effect caused is applied to all enemies that are not immune to it. As usual, using the scroll costs ether no matter if successful or not, but the ether cost is equal to only the number of enemies that would be affected by it if it's successful.

Q: Can I give items and gold or trade things with other players?

A: Yes, it is allowed as long as both of you update your profile accordingly. Cheating will not be tolerated.

Q: Can I give items to another ally during a battle?

A: Yes, but it will cost a turn for both of you. You can trade multiple items in one turn, but only with one ally per turn.

Q: Do you have to sell treasures you get on quests?

A: If you are on a quest, you can exchange treasure for gold at any shop. After the quest ends, you can just add their value to your amount of gold automatically.

[Scubacarrot]

Rule change Suggestion: Change the moneymaking abilites of Rogues, Raiders, Sorcerers, Assassins, Infiltrators, Beast Warriors and Paragons, as well as from items that make money. I believe the Overkill Gloves are the only relevant item. The Harlot's Shield and Alchemist's moneymaking abilites, as well as items that give a certain amount of gold after battles or rounds would be unaffected.

I would like it changed so that instead of gaining money from all enemies, one of the beforementioned classes can only make money from Humanoid enemies. The reason for this is that I think Moneymaking classes have a distinct advantage at the moment over all other classes. This change would not take that away and cause unhappiness, but rather make it less powerful than before. Not an argument, but the change makes sense from a roleplaying point of view, as well. As most other enemy classes are unlikely to be carrying gold around.

This will cause moneymaking classes to lose a certain amount of their edge over other classes. Don't get me wrong, making money will still be kind of the same in most cases. Most enemies in regular quests are humanoid. In Quests 34 and 58 ALL enemies were humanoids. I haven't done any actually looking up, but if I were to guess I would say that over 60% of enemies are humanoids. Effectively, this would mean rogues and the other moneymaking classes would lose 40% of potential gold they can make. Furthermore, since the Fields of Glory are mostly without humanoids, this would effectively render the fields unusable for moneymaking.

I believe this is fair, because as far as I am concerned, moneymaking abilites are a perk that is without any downsides, and it doesn't take away from other things to make it happen. People are always subject to nerfs and changes when playing games (with other people). After this change, I believe people are still strong enough to do what they got to do, and the classes are still powerful enough to be attractive.

A Raider's and Beast Warrior's Steal would be an useless ability when not targetting humanoids... And that's something I don't like very much. It will be treated as a regular miss from then on, I reckon, but perhaps someone could have a better suggestion of how to handle Steal if this change were to go through?

[Sandy]

Sounds like an excellent suggestion, Scuba. I consider it a fair compromise in this situation that's really starting to affect the balance of this game (not that I mind playing a poor druid who can only afford to buy one or two consumables between each quest ).

Going through the list, these following skills and items would be affected:

Mug (Rogue)

Gold Reaper (Assassin)

Ravage (Raider)

Steal (Raider & Beast Warrior) - Perhaps needs a change?

Magnetic Mojo (Sorcerer) - Would need a buff after this nerf.

Dirty Fighting (Infiltrator)

Veni Vidi Vici (Paragon) - Might not be included in this nerf, have to think about it.

Overkill Gloves (item)

Any opposition?

[Tachyon]

This sort of bankrupts me if it happens. I wouldn't like to see it happen but if everyone else wants this change, I'd guess I'd have to adapt to the change or find a new class.

[Flare]

I am also opposed to this idea. In my opinion its not really unfair. It also decreases the uniqueness and appeal for the class.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Flare

[Endgame]

Furthermore, since the Fields of Glory are mostly without humanoids, this would effectively render the fields unusable for moneymaking.

That seems a bit unfair, though. That rogue is fighting and contributing just as well as the rest of the party, why punish them for it?

The nerf just seems too limitting - a Rogue can easily get its income cut off if it signs into the wrong quest. 48, despite having somewhere around 150 enemies killed, did not have a single humanoid monster. Having no ability to gain gold throughout a long quest such as that would be almost intolerable.

A Rogue shouldn't have to pick and choose which quests to sign on to if they want to properly utilize the ability their class is known for.

[Sandy]

The nerf just seems too limitting - a Rogue can easily get its income cut off if it signs into the wrong quest.

What about the income of other classes? Where do you think they get their money?

Maybe this change will make QMs reward more gold in quests. Because rogues certainly haven't turned down any gold rewards before this. It's always been "we'll split everything evenly - except all this gold I've stolen, you can't touch it."

[Endgame]

What about the income of other classes? Where do you think they get their money?

Maybe this change will make QMs reward more gold in quests. Because rogues certainly haven't turned down any gold rewards before this. It's always been "we'll split everything evenly - except all this gold I've stolen, you can't touch it."

Thing is, a Rogue's effectiveness almost relies on us being doped up 24/7. Sorrow wouldn't be nearly as good as he has been as an Assassin if I didn't keep him on a constant drip.

Actually, I've noticed a trend of charitable-ness (Is that even a word?) among Heroica's rogue population. It is something I would encourage, and will do when the oppurtunity presents itself.

If a gold nerf must be implemented, my suggestion is an earning cap based on your level. For example, a Rogue can't earn more then their level times 5/7/8/10 etc. in a single attack. That way, they keep their gold garnering abilities, but it has a cap, and scales up as you level up. Thta way a Paragon doesn't have the same limitations as a Level 1 rogue.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Endgame

[Myrddyn]

I am personally fairly indifferent, but an alternative would be to have money-making skills add gold to the targets drops, which may cause the gold to be shared among the party more?

I will accept any changes, and I don't personally have plans to play a rogue anytime soon anyway, but this is a somewhat less severe change, and may be worth trialling before a larger, and therefore more controversial change such as Scuba's is implemented?

[Kintobor]

I don't mind it, although some enemies besides humanoids carry gold. Dragons and Trolls, per example, often collect and hoard gold, so having rogue and gold making classes steal from them makes sense. I really think it should be up to the QM's discretion which enemies do and don't drop gold. There is always an exception to the rule, which I think some may have overlooked.

As well, Steal is an issue on a whole other scale. I think it should act like Aim, perhaps? Against humanoids, it steals however many gold, on a roll of Steal against anything that doesn't create a pool of money when hit, it should deal damage equal to level. (or was it WP power? Hmm...)

[Waterbrick Down]

That seems a bit unfair, though. That rogue is fighting and contributing just as well as the rest of the party, why punish them for it?

The nerf just seems too limitting - a Rogue can easily get its income cut off if it signs into the wrong quest. 48, despite having somewhere around 150 enemies killed, did not have a single humanoid monster. Having no ability to gain gold throughout a long quest such as that would be almost intolerable.

A Rogue shouldn't have to pick and choose which quests to sign on to if they want to properly utilize the ability their class is known for.

However as Scuba has mentioned, there is no way to counter a rogues gold-making advantage as Scuba has pointed out (the same is true for Clerics, but we haven't really seen Clerics throwing the balance of the game off). Knights encounter SP ignoring enemies, Mages run up against Ancient or Etherial enemies, Barbarians are terrible against single strong enemies, and Rangers lose their primary advantage to enemies that ignore row. Rogues don't have a readily available counter.

A Rogue shouldn't have to pick and choose which quests to sign on to if they want to properly utilize the ability their class is known for.

Other classes I'm sure already sign-up based on their abilities. I specifically signed up for Brickdoctor's last quest because I knew that there would be tons of Humanoid enemies, which would be an advantage to a Hunter. We as QM's are also able to limit which classes sign-up for a quest anyways so how is this any different? If a party has a rogue in it, than just as it behooves a QM not to include to many SP ignoring enemies when there is a Knight in the party, then the QM should also attempt to not not include some Humanoid enemies in the quest, or give appropriate loot suitable to rogues.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

In the QM Lounge, when designing a quest, it specifically said to keep battle drops realistic. (And continued to say most beasts wouldn't drop gold.) Come on, it doesn't make sense to gain hundreds of gold magically after you stab a butterfly. (And Flare, no! Butterflies don't have scales like dinosaurs!) I think it is a fair compromise.

Also, it's funny how rogues are opposing and saying they will go broke. If we can do it, you guy can too.

[Tachyon]

Now how am I going to earn the the gold to which I pointlessly donate to NPC's for little benefit ?

Edited July 6, 2013 by Zakura

[Kintobor]

In the QM Lounge, when designing a quest, it specifically said to keep battle drops realistic. (And continued to say most beasts wouldn't drop gold.) Come on, it doesn't make sense to gain hundreds of gold magically after you stab a butterfly. (And Flare, no! Butterflies don't have scales like dinosaurs!) I think it is a fair compromise.

Also, it's funny how rogues are opposing and saying they will go broke. If we can do it, you guy can too.

It's only been until recently I discovered how much gold rogues make since I rarely ever roll Shield.

As for my opinion on this idea, it would definitely change the game, since a large percentage play rogue based classes. I'm curious if after all this happens, everyone switches their advanced class to something non-rogue related.

I'm honestly not here for the stats, I'm here to portray a character, so as long as it doesn't break my character's abilities, I'm fine. I would like to see it not limited to humanoids though, since like Endgame said, it really depends on the quest, and I as a QM, don't like to create battles for a specific party in mind. That's just not my style, and it's too time consuming if a rogue hops on board, and I have to create a whole separate encounter with humanoids just so the rogue can make some quick cash. I'd say QM discretion on anything that's not humanoids, since undead, beasts, and other enemies like unholy and holy monsters might also carry gold.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Kintobor

[Waterbrick Down]

Now how am I going to earn the the gold to which I pointlessly donate to NPC's for little benefit ?

As Scuba has said, you'll be taking a 40% hit to income, I'd like to see how the actual statistics play out, but I'm not sure it would be as bad as people think it would be. Sure you aren't going to be able to buy a Tricorne and imbue it with every single gem after your first quest, but you'll still be able to be generous if you want.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Why do you care for NPC's? You're a rogue.... If you're playing a selfish rogue, the last thing you would do is donate money to an NPC. If you want to play a good rogue, go ahead, but no one is forcing you to. It's your choice to give your money away.

[Endgame]

As Scuba has said, you'll be taking a 40% hit to income, I'd like to see how the actual statistics play out, but I'm not sure it would be as bad as people think it would be. Sure you aren't going to be able to buy a Tricorne and imbue it with every single gem after your first quest, but you'll still be able to be generous if you want.

A lot of the appeal from a rogue class comes from the gold income, though. Assassins are by no means powerhouses (I've just gotten incredibly lucky with my type-matching) and many enemies are now becoming immune to insta-kill. (That being said, you've done a great job balancing for me so far, joeschmoe.) Taking away 40% of the income is actually a pretty big hit to the class's overall appeal.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

It's still good when everyone else is making 0 income.

[Scubacarrot]

Taking away 40% of the income is actually a pretty big hit to the class's overall appeal.

Is that such a bad thing, though? I am pretty sure most players play rogue characters or rogue advanced classes. Losing a bit of appeal in favour of the other ones is a positive thing, I think.

[Flare]

But the thing is - there is no other appeal for rogue-related classes if the gold-earning ability is nerfed. It will become so much more useless than other classes, that less people will want to be it than cleric

[Kintobor]

Is that such a bad thing, though? I am pretty sure most players play rogue characters or rogue advanced classes. Losing a bit of appeal in favour of the other ones is a positive thing, I think.

I have to agree with Scuba. We only have one (two after 70 ) Witches in Heroica, the only Rogue based class that doesn't gain gold. I'm curious to see what happens after this if people branch out to try other classes, which is a good thing.

[TheBoyWonder]

I hate the idea of only humanoids being able to have gold stolen from. I much prefer Endgames level cap idea, with apart from Paragon, every rogue class having a limit. It is not how many times gold is stolen, but the amount which is the problem, so lets just go with a level/gold cap.

[Waterbrick Down]

A lot of the appeal from a rogue class comes from the gold income, though. Assassins are by no means powerhouses (I've just gotten incredibly lucky with my type-matching) and many enemies are now becoming immune to insta-kill. (That being said, you've done a great job balancing for me so far, joeschmoe.) Taking away 40% of the income is actually a pretty big hit to the class's overall appeal.

Assassins aren't supposed to be powerhouses, and the incredible amount of Gold rogue classes make is turning them into powerhouses.

But the thing is - there is no other appeal for rogue-related classes if the gold-earning ability is nerfed. It will become so much more useless than other classes, that less people will want to be it than cleric

I think less people play rogue for the money gaining aspect then you probably think. While the gold is a nice perk, I think we all know that people play rogues because they are the most bad-megablock class out there. They've got mad lock-picking skills.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Waterbrick Down

[Flare]

Assassins aren't supposed to be powerhouses, and the incredible amount of Gold rogue classes make is turning them into powerhouses.

I think less people play rogue for the money gaining aspect then you probably think. While the gold is a nice perk, I think we all know that people play rogues because they are the most bad-megablock class out there. They've got mad lock-picking skills.

The most "bad-megablock" class is barbarian. They can cause much more damage.

And I'm pretty sure that the lock-picking stuff was removed a while ago

Edited July 6, 2013 by Flare

[joeshmoe554]

Is there anything keeping a QM from specifying that an enemy cannot be stolen from? or perhaps giving that enemy a hidden coin-purse that limits the amount of gold that can be stolen to a theoretical maximum.