Heroica: Glory Amongst The Stars - General Discussion

[Waterbrick Down]

1 hour ago, Zepher said:

Yes, it looks interesting and pretty different! I'm super into support classes and battlefield control, so I'm thinking something with religion/occult (Healing Light, Mystic Binding, Purging Font, Quantum Transport, Restful Sleep) and maybe focus on the health/armor/spirit stats? I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the point buy works. And proficiencies seem to level up with both the base stats, and also we can buy them directly? Is that right?

I'm also seeing a mention of "at rank 1" is there something that explains what that means that I'm missing?

This is what is confusing to me? Is survival something that is acquired thanks to having 2 smarts, OR do you gain any one proficiency (your choice) by virtue of having two smarts?

You can spend points on Attributes:
Vitality
Velocity
Strength
Skill
Smarts
Spirit
(2 points per increase)

You can also spend points on Proficiencies:
# of points per increase is dependent upon what the score you're raising it to. So to raise Survival from level 0 to level 1 it would take 1 point, to raise it from level 1 to level 2, it would take 2 points, etc.

Certain Attributes also grant extra bonuses for every 2 levels:
For every 2 levels of Strength you get +1 Vitality for free
For every 2 levels of Skill you get +1 Velocity for free
For every 2 levels of Smarts you get a new Proficiency that starts off at level 1 for free
For every 1 level of Spirit you get a known (prepared) spell

All the Attributes have a starting level without any point investment. You also get 3 free level 1 Proficiencies without any point investment.

1 hour ago, Devcon101 said:

Another question for the group while I think this character through:
I may be thinking long term but how will character progression work in terms of advancement? I was interested in playing a scientist or maybe an inventor, and so was interested in if I could develop experiments or devices as I advance (for example, make stronger and unique potions if I was an alchemist)?

Characters can of course increase their Attributes or Proficiencies to become better at certain things. We're still working on the class system, but right now it's Proficiency based, so you wouldn't be able to take a "class" unless you meet a minimum Proficiency level. Certain classes may have "creation" type features. You're also always free to have your character create something as part of role-playing, it may simply not have a mechanical benefit. You're also free to be semi-creative with your description of weapons and armor (what matters is the categories for mechanical purposes). You can try creating something with a mechanical benefit (invention/potion/etc.) in a mission if you have the right Proficiencies and the Mission Master thinks its appropriate to create such a thing with your current resources and time and mission objective.

37 minutes ago, samurai-turtle said:

I have an odd question can I have a Spirit of 10 but only have two Spell(s)? 

Sure. You're not required to have 10 spells prepared.

33 minutes ago, CMP said:

My character's been done but I'm waiting to get back from a family visit so I'm not missing out in nonsense in the Hall. 

Can't wait! 

[Duvors]

2 hours ago, Zepher said:

Yes, it looks interesting and pretty different! I'm super into support classes and battlefield control, so I'm thinking something with religion/occult (Healing Light, Mystic Binding, Purging Font, Quantum Transport, Restful Sleep) and maybe focus on the health/armor/spirit stats? I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the point buy works. And proficiencies seem to level up with both the base stats, and also we can buy them directly? Is that right?

I'm also seeing a mention of "at rank 1" is there something that explains what that means that I'm missing?

This is what is confusing to me? Is survival something that is acquired thanks to having 2 smarts, OR do you gain any one proficiency (your choice) by virtue of having two smarts?

Okay, let me see if I can explain it more clearly:

• Your basic stats are called Attributes, they determine the capabilities of your character in a general sense. They are Vitality, Velocity, Strength, Skill, Smarts, and Spirit.
• Attributes that begin with a V grant something to the character (Health/Speed respectively) equal to their score.
• Attributes that begin with an S grant something indirectly to the character as well as their direct benefits.
• Strength, Skill, and Smarts give you a free point in something for every 2 points the Attribute is increased by. Strength gives you 1 free Vitality, Skill gives you 1 free Velocity, Smarts gives you 1 new Proficiency of your choice that you automatically have one point in (the 'rank 1' you saw).
• Each of those three also give you access to better weapons at various levels (3 points, 5 points, 7 points) with each damage type being associated with a different attribute (Strength-Kinetic, Skill-Energy, Smarts-Elemental). The weakest quality of weapon requires no score.
• Armor of all types requires a Strength score that increases at the same rate, with the difference that you need at least 2 in Strength to use the weakest quality of armor.
• Spirit is different in several ways, you start with 0, you can know 1 Spell for every 1 Spirit, and you spend varying amounts of Spirit to cast spells at different levels.
• Proficiencies are your D&D style skills, though they aren't associated with specific Attributes.
• You can either buy a Proficiency at rank 1 for the appropriate amount of points, or you can get it for free by increasing Skill, but spending CP is the only way to increase a Proficiency above 1.
• The currency you spend to upgrade Attributes and Proficiencies is called Character Points. Increasing Attributes costs 2 CP for every +1 to the Attribute. Increasing Proficiencies works the same way spending Gold to improve Armor and Weapons worked last game minus the 'multiply by 10' part.

1 hour ago, Devcon101 said:

Another question for the group while I think this character through:
I may be thinking long term but how will character progression work in terms of advancement? I was interested in playing a scientist or maybe an inventor, and so was interested in if I could develop experiments or devices as I advance (for example, make stronger and unique potions if I was an alchemist)?

While the concept of an alchemy subsystem was discussed briefly in the Discord, currently no such system exists and likely won't for a while. You can certainly role-play as a scientist, but any inventions and concoctions you make would have no mechanical effect. The closest thing to what you're describing is the grenade system in the Bazaar, and you could certainly fluff buying things in the Bazaar as buying individual components and building the final product yourself.

As for advancement, aside from increasing Attributes and Proficiencies and learning spells, there's not a lot at the moment. The class system is still under construction in the Discord. If anyone would like to involve themselves in that process directly, PM WBD.

Somewhat unrelatedly, I definitely want a vehicle combat system at some point. I have some vague ideas related to movement and turning, but I intend to wait until the first three missions are over before diving into development.

41 minutes ago, CMP said:

My character's been done but I'm waiting to get back from a family visit so I'm not missing out in nonsense in the Hall. 

Excellent!

And @Waterbrick Down has already beaten me to the punch. 

1 hour ago, Devcon101 said:

Another question for the group while I think this character through:
I may be thinking long term but how will character progression work in terms of advancement? I was interested in playing a scientist or maybe an inventor, and so was interested in if I could develop experiments or devices as I advance (for example, make stronger and unique potions if I was an alchemist)?

In light of WBD's response, I should probably clarify that what I was talking about was creating items between missions.

Edited June 14, 2021 by Duvors

[Khorne]

On 6/12/2021 at 2:34 PM, Waterbrick Down said:

The Chimeran race was “created” fully formed approximately 85 years before the current setting. They won their recognition as a sentient species 30 years ago.

I’ll try and get a timeline posted to the library for general events.

Oh wow, that is very recent. This is very helpful in terms of background. If Chimerans have a lifespan similar to humans, that makes that the youngest ones are only 3rd (or 4th generation)? That's an interesting angle for the species.

[Waterbrick Down]

27 minutes ago, Khorne said:

Oh wow, that is very recent. This is very helpful in terms of background. If Chimerans have a lifespan similar to humans, that makes that the youngest ones are only 3rd (or 4th generation)? That's an interesting angle for the species.

Exactly. Probably only the newest generation has grown up recognized as a "sentient" species.

Character Creation Calculator added to the Rule & FAQ section, also here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q8ul1skWZEDzqRMRO7p-nVDEoWEZtcODYleuNC1Jloo/edit?usp=sharing

Hopefully this helps folks figure out their stats more easily.

General timeline added to the Library topic.

[Duvors]

@Waterbrick DownWhile you're doing things, do you think you can update that FAQ thing I submitted to reflect the existence of a proper artificial life entry in the Library?

[Waterbrick Down]

7 minutes ago, Duvors said:

@Waterbrick DownWhile you're doing things, do you think you can update that FAQ thing I submitted to reflect the existence of a proper artificial life entry in the Library?

Done.

[Peppermint_M]

So time for me to blunder about trying to figure out how to play!

Hence why I have created a young character, just escaped her parents to explore the universe! The names are Turkish, I liked how they sounded and what they mean, so I will be throwing smatterings of Turkish words into what Aysu says and thinks. My plan is to go for sniper meta; throw points at range and accuracy skills once I get rolling.

Did I get everything right in character creation?

[Waterbrick Down]

10 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

So time for me to blunder about trying to figure out how to play!

Hence why I have created a young character, just escaped her parents to explore the universe! The names are Turkish, I liked how they sounded and what they mean, so I will be throwing smatterings of Turkish words into what Aysu says and thinks. My plan is to go for sniper meta; throw points at range and accuracy skills once I get rolling.

Did I get everything right in character creation?

Yep, stats are correct. You're definitely on the right track for a sniper build. I like the newness of Aysu, it's always good to have a mix of veteran type character who have experienced a lot of things and fresh idealists just making their way in the world.

[Kintobor]

@KotZ At this point I'm so used to getting an entire thread dedicated to me in the technic forum that I thought the alert I got from you was an alert from that whole debacle.

[KotZ]

11 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

@KotZ At this point I'm so used to getting an entire thread dedicated to me in the technic forum that I thought the alert I got from you was an alert from that whole debacle.

I'm sorry that I flagged you then haha.

[Kintobor]

4 minutes ago, KotZ said:

I'm sorry that I flagged you then haha.

Nah, it's good. Hopefully this is the end of that whole fiasco.

[Classic_Spaceman]

@Peppermint_M: What damage type (Kinetic/Energy/Elemental) is Aysu's rifle? 
 

[Peppermint_M]

Currently, I think Kinetic. Not exactly bullets fired, but something like it (Hence, Environment Safe Ammunition. Damage what you want to, not the wall between you and the void of space). If I get anything to give it an elemental upgrade I might, but right now it is the space equivalent of something to go sport/trap shooting with.

[Duvors]

58 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

Currently, I think Kinetic. Not exactly bullets fired, but something like it (Hence, Environment Safe Ammunition. Damage what you want to, not the wall between you and the void of space). If I get anything to give it an elemental upgrade I might, but right now it is the space equivalent of something to go sport/trap shooting with.

It's kind of important to list your weapon's type in its stats, and weapons can only have one type at the moment.

[Classic_Spaceman]

2 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

Currently, I think Kinetic. Not exactly bullets fired, but something like it (Hence, Environment Safe Ammunition. Damage what you want to, not the wall between you and the void of space).

Are you thinking of something that breaks apart on impact, like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s I.C.E.R. rounds? 
 

[Khorne]

I tried walking the entirety of the Belgian coast on Friday, so I needed the weekend to recuperate and found some time to do a bit of computer work. Seeing as I (and perhaps some other newcomers) struggled with the Attributes and Points system at first, I figured I'd try my hand at a visualization. While the system itself is not that hard in the end (still harder than 1.0 though), I think it might be the constraints of a text-based explanation that confuses people? I know I have difficulty with long texts and understand stuff more easily in a visual explanation.

Here's my first jab at it. It's not in full Heroica:GATS visual style yet, because obviously spending time on that would be a waste of time if the base isn't right yet or if nobody thinks this might be a good addition to help character creation.

Click for the large version, this one's only a preview for the forum.

I color-coded the different aspects of a character's stats:

• Yellow: base Attributes
• Red: base modifier Attributes
• Blue: "Perks", the stuff a character learns and is governed by the overarching Attributes
  • The list of Spells and Proficiencies + their explanations I'd put on a separate graphic, as not to clutter the main visual

The typography was legible enough in Illustrator, but compression made the small white text in the black square nigh legible now. Especially on mobile, probably. I'll increase the font sizes for those.

[Duvors]

12 minutes ago, Khorne said:

Things.

 Great stuff! I should note though that Proficiencies granted by Smarts start at 1. Having 0 points in a proficiency is equivalent to not having it at all.

[Khorne]

13 minutes ago, Duvors said:

 Great stuff! I should note though that Proficiencies granted by Smarts start at 1. Having 0 points in a proficiency is equivalent to not having it at all.

Haha, whoops! That's a typo on my end . I'll fix it! It obviously makes no sense indeed to have a skill start at 0.

[Waterbrick Down]

2 hours ago, Khorne said:

I tried walking the entirety of the Belgian coast on Friday, so I needed the weekend to recuperate and found some time to do a bit of computer work. Seeing as I (and perhaps some other newcomers) struggled with the Attributes and Points system at first, I figured I'd try my hand at a visualization. While the system itself is not that hard in the end (still harder than 1.0 though), I think it might be the constraints of a text-based explanation that confuses people? I know I have difficulty with long texts and understand stuff more easily in a visual explanation.

Here's my first jab at it. It's not in full Heroica:GATS visual style yet, because obviously spending time on that would be a waste of time if the base isn't right yet or if nobody thinks this might be a good addition to help character creation.

 

Click for the large version, this one's only a preview for the forum.

I color-coded the different aspects of a character's stats:

• Yellow: base Attributes
• Red: base modifier Attributes
• Blue: "Perks", the stuff a character learns and is governed by the overarching Attributes
  • The list of Spells and Proficiencies + their explanations I'd put on a separate graphic, as not to clutter the main visual

The typography was legible enough in Illustrator, but compression made the small white text in the black square nigh legible now. Especially on mobile, probably. I'll increase the font sizes for those.

Now that is just beautiful. I think it'll be of great help! Thanks!

I've also updated the character builder: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q8ul1skWZEDzqRMRO7p-nVDEoWEZtcODYleuNC1Jloo/edit?usp=sharing
It now includes a whole new host of options for character information and equipment. It also keeps track of points spent and generates a "character sheet" that can be copy/pasted right to the Hero Stastical Registry thread.

Hopefully between these two tools, character creation should be more straight forward. :)

[Duvors]

@Classic_Spaceman, please do not ask for tangible resources outside of a mission. You can buy things at the Bazaar and ask for information in the Library, but asking to be given tools for the mission when it hasn't even started yet is outside what's permissible - especially as you don't even know if you've been chosen to go yet. You can trust WBD to already have methods lined up for you to get on the train, considering that the mission wouldn't function otherwise.

[Waterbrick Down]

2 hours ago, Duvors said:

@Classic_Spaceman, please do not ask for tangible resources outside of a mission. You can buy things at the Bazaar and ask for information in the Library, but asking to be given tools for the mission when it hasn't even started yet is outside what's permissible - especially as you don't even know if you've been chosen to go yet. You can trust WBD to already have methods lined up for you to get on the train, considering that the mission wouldn't function otherwise.

@Duvors is correct. Don't jump the gun quite yet, @Classic_Spaceman.  You'll have plenty of time to plan, once you're actually on a mission.

[Dutch Thriceman]

I am really interested in joining, however honestly I have never played any kind of RPG, like D&D and the likes, ever before. So I am seeing a LOT of information and feel a little bit overwhelmed looking at this but also I'd love to dive in and learn.

I'll start reading the Rules and FAQ for now

Edited June 21, 2021 by Dutch Thriceman

[Duvors]

2 hours ago, Dutch Thriceman said:

I am really interested in joining, however honestly I have never played any kind of RPG, like D&D and the likes, ever before. So I am seeing a LOT of information and feel a little bit overwhelmed looking at this but also I'd love to dive in and learn.

I'll start reading the Rules and FAQ for now

Thank you for expressing interest! We put so much effort into this, so it's always nice to see we've piqued someone's interest.

[Dutch Thriceman]

28 minutes ago, Duvors said:

Thank you for expressing interest! We put so much effort into this, so it's always nice to see we've piqued someone's interest.

Yes it definitely looks that way, seems like a really cool passion project

[Classic_Spaceman]

8 hours ago, Duvors said:

@Classic_Spaceman, please do not ask for tangible resources outside of a mission. You can buy things at the Bazaar and ask for information in the Library, but asking to be given tools for the mission when it hasn't even started yet is outside what's permissible - especially as you don't even know if you've been chosen to go yet. You can trust WBD to already have methods lined up for you to get on the train, considering that the mission wouldn't function otherwise.

6 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

@Duvors is correct. Don't jump the gun quite yet, @Classic_Spaceman.  You'll have plenty of time to plan, once you're actually on a mission.

OK - I was not exactly sure what I could and could not do to prepare for a mission. Thank you for letting me know. 👍
BTW, is it acceptable to make a habit of gathering information in the Library prior to quests, or would it be better to ask these questions in the actual mission thread?