tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28897126824800188082024-03-05T21:50:54.441-04:00Spiralbound StudiosTabletop roleplaying posts and publications from Spiralbound, A.K.A. Adam Bragg.Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-12347424940137576572017-11-28T22:11:00.001-04:002017-11-28T22:11:37.140-04:00Releasing a Plague<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/227212/Plague-City?affiliate_id=304533&" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzSIXtq_lGCOFaSWn__hQDYLLPmDUOfFYGLalCqds5uZrTcYYDEoZrkK0e02JV7wdSUuzTh-s2aAbDdG3a1Mh1yBH7P3gj4Dr8_Y3fJOQxZETNZXpvx9FnJKQId8-SpeGQ2n7k_JgA3SW/s320/plague+city+cover.png" title="Plague City cover" width="246" /></a></div>
The book <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/227212/Plague-City?affiliate_id=304533&" target="_blank">PLAGUE CITY</a></b>, another project from <b>Stuffer Shack Press</b> was released today. I'm responsible for the layout, PDF production, and some of the art design. This is an <b>ANY RPG</b> side-plot, essentially that means it's a series of related scenes designed to be shuffled in amongst the events of a primary campaign. It takes advantage of this "background events" presentation style to attempt to sneak a few things past the PCs. Ultimately, it's a small mystery with a supernatural cause. A clever little item coming in at 26 pages. Of course, everyone on Earth should <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/227212/Plague-City?affiliate_id=304533&" target="_blank">own a copy of Plague City</a>.<div>
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For me personally, it is yet another notch in my belt for being involved in the indie RPG publishing scene. I'm a cog in the machine! :-) Seriously though, I'm having a lot of fun and this is step by step leading me to more and more involvement, so it's all good stuff.</div>
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On the technical front, I'm continuing to use the free and open source DTP software <b><a href="https://www.scribus.net/" target="_blank">Scribus</a></b>. I've been using the latest stable release version, but I'm going to upgrade to the <a href="https://www.scribus.net/scribus-1-5-3-released/" target="_blank">latest "stable" beta version</a>. There is a further version under development, but rumours of it's eventual release are now many years old so I'm not going to wait on that. Just the features of the beta version are enticing enough at present. I'll be using it to lay out my own upcoming RPG project, an adventure for the <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106605/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-RPG" target="_blank">Hero Kids™ RPG</a>. It's an adventure I began writing two years ago, set aside, forgot about, lost due to an external hard drive failure, recovered from the HD this past Summer, and am now finally free to resume work on! I hope to be releasing it within the next 2-3 weeks so people can check it out on DriveThruRPG before Christmas. Fingers crossed!</div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-15166882608655164122017-06-18T17:50:00.000-03:002017-06-18T17:50:21.759-03:00I've been busy...As it's been quite some time since I've posted anything, here's is an update of the pile of things I've been up to since... October? last year? Yeah, I need to post more often...<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">Novel Writing</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi81wnieECbDbllIfix0thJuqDDHHNyV5TWAFrTun_shMvU-RaTWLwUG897OtpadF2raulFltNXXZhuII_yuX8WXXXLqfEG92zGOul_xy-E537EnCeECKJBbTzsziBOhQt0gq0tf6FFRR1/s1600/The+hard+part+is+finishing+it.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="359" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi81wnieECbDbllIfix0thJuqDDHHNyV5TWAFrTun_shMvU-RaTWLwUG897OtpadF2raulFltNXXZhuII_yuX8WXXXLqfEG92zGOul_xy-E537EnCeECKJBbTzsziBOhQt0gq0tf6FFRR1/s200/The+hard+part+is+finishing+it.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything looks easy from the outside</td></tr>
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I started a novel. Yep, I'm checking off an item from my bucket list. I'm writing a science fiction novel and will self-publish it on Amazon and other places online. I won't subject you to a litany of what my novel is about, but I may devote a future post to talking about this project, as there is some cool <i>(to me at least)</i> setting development I've done which leaves room for additional stories in the future about these and other characters, and some people may find my methods interesting and or useful.<br />
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I've always wanted to do this and like a lot of aspiring authors I've had my share of dreams of writing many novels, making mountains of money, and having scores of fans. Right now, I just want to finish this novel. I have too many started novels, and no completed ones. This one is different though, I swear! :-) I'm further along than any previous novel attempt, I know 90% of the plot, including the ending! I have almost half of it written. It's a slow process, far slower than it needs to be, but we Humans do tend to throw obstacles into our own paths.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">Board Game Design</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHGXXMjvvYPpuEGg3Kq_ItHMrBsNoD4S9hRbULcrUM9BceXFDl0OSs5-ny70YfhzCvcI48jj9BhcMVsjFzp9BvAIZktlVa8zn97yxVr_F6rot7Jy2fQ-GvIflc41PPiNYc3TNh8kjNbH1/s1600/Potion+Makers+board+prototype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="551" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHGXXMjvvYPpuEGg3Kq_ItHMrBsNoD4S9hRbULcrUM9BceXFDl0OSs5-ny70YfhzCvcI48jj9BhcMVsjFzp9BvAIZktlVa8zn97yxVr_F6rot7Jy2fQ-GvIflc41PPiNYc3TNh8kjNbH1/s200/Potion+Makers+board+prototype.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>prototype board w/ no graphics</i></td></tr>
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I designed and prototyped a board game. The original concept was created by my 5 year old son. The basic gist is each player is a Potion Maker, searching the land for ingredients with which to produce various potions. At the end of the game, the player with the most valuable potions produced wins. There's a lot more to it with exploration, monsters, equipment, special locations to visit, set collecting, unique player abilities, and so on, but it's a workable one sentence description.<br />
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I've played it with my son and with a couple of adults and they all enjoyed it. There are two levels of play, making it playable in either "kid" or "adult" settings. I made cards using the free <a href="http://www.nand.it/nandeck/" target="_blank">NanDeck</a> software <i>(a powerful program, but the learning curve is somewhat steep)</i>. I'm not sure if I want to publish it though. It's a fun game, but I'm concerned about spreading myself too thin. I have an account at <a href="https://www.thegamecrafter.com/" target="_blank">The Game Crafter</a>, so I could make it available, but I'm also busy with other projects right now so who knows...<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">Hero Kids Products</span></h3>
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<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="684" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3ZNfqRg7fM96QdL6PmvINLSEJQSFsX8d3En231I5ZwklOEnlMnrQSabg34ZQIzISuHORGTCgpV8PD06FuRX3BOKzK_2PLIPenYw2m65AqmGOcYL-MUuZ-JM2fkNdu9XSmJe9wXqOVPJN/s200/Corvids+-+cover+preview.jpg" width="154" /></a></div>
I do intend to produce more <b>Hero Kids</b> material, however... my external HD died recently, taking with it all my working files for everything I was working on last year for <b>Hero Kids</b>. Yes, you may freely deride me for my lack of data protection. I was dumb and I can own up to that. Next time will be different though, I swear! :-)<br />
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Anyway, I do have some ideas of what to make next. For example, I want to produce some adventures to go with <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" target="_blank">Corvids: A Racial Supplement</a>,</b> which has been selling rather well <i>(thank you!)</i> considering it has no supporting adventures and I haven't promoted like I should. I have other ideas too, but any Hero Kids product has to stand in line for a little while longer until I finish some OTHER other projects...<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">Customisable and/or Expandable Card Game</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHTz-evZzr3o1w3Hfo_7BfM4jKOTiFebprEEVRjYlxIFgyeBErVXm21D_dJCkMe58AyvQtWwKZtg8Bhum0Mie0ew-ce-vRcf3xZEQGuI1pnZs4_sdCaBGOi8iozuc2GF1zvN6bCQsocmk/s1600/Sovereign+Empires+files.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="607" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHTz-evZzr3o1w3Hfo_7BfM4jKOTiFebprEEVRjYlxIFgyeBErVXm21D_dJCkMe58AyvQtWwKZtg8Bhum0Mie0ew-ce-vRcf3xZEQGuI1pnZs4_sdCaBGOi8iozuc2GF1zvN6bCQsocmk/s200/Sovereign+Empires+files.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not exactly visually exciting yet...</td></tr>
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I'm making a card game with a friend. It has deck building, CCG like elements, and a handful of design choices we've not seen done in any other game to date. Hopefully people will like it. We are planning on professionally publishing it - probably with a Kickstarter and all the bells and whistles. We're still at the designing stage though, so it'll be at least a few months before version one is ready for internal play testing and then we're allowing 1-2 years of external, blind play testing with play groups and the further re-designing before we'll even consider publication. We want this to be a polished and fun game, so we're putting the time in to do it right instead of rushing a half-baked idea to market. I've designed about 20 or more board and card games over the past 20 years, I even self-published about a dozen of them around 1998-2001, so I'm comfortable in completing this project. It's my friend's first game though, so he's pretty excited about it all.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">Contract Graphic Design</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunMCuhCL3U0uFHJIfqgckrMsXCm-t7-Hw-mJZyF312LtndBTfkMVNHGWDcfYTOSbWV2VgAAqFvoTr4D21Zm7t8JkJGPVmUbWMIlszcvXY6Ljr3ormPVKahDtHpj9eF7RdOuGv_KjDm9M7/s1600/TTV-+layout+tease.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1000" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunMCuhCL3U0uFHJIfqgckrMsXCm-t7-Hw-mJZyF312LtndBTfkMVNHGWDcfYTOSbWV2VgAAqFvoTr4D21Zm7t8JkJGPVmUbWMIlszcvXY6Ljr3ormPVKahDtHpj9eF7RdOuGv_KjDm9M7/s320/TTV-+layout+tease.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Definitely NOT a staged screenshot... ;-)</i></td></tr>
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Most of my readers won't know this already, but during the tail end of the 1990's I was a graphic design professional, doing all sorts of work for small to medium sized clients - everything from business cards, to brochures, catalogues, books, magazines, comic books, and web sites, I even did corporate branding for a few clients. Then the "Dot Com Bomb" struck, the small design house I worked at shut down, and I refocused, heading in a different direction for over a decade <i>(ironically enough, co-founding a successful online custom clothing business, but that's a story for another camp fire)</i>.<br />
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The upshot of this preamble is I have "mad skilz yo" with layout - I am the shizz nizzle and various other silly, self-aggrandising statements. So, when my good friend and owner of <a href="http://www.stuffershack.com/" target="_blank">The Stuffer Shack</a>, Chris Stevens asked if I would do graphic design and layout for his new publishing imprint <b>Stuffer Shack Press</b>, I was happy to oblige. That was about a month ago and now <a href="http://stuffershack.com/write-a-plot-seed-earn-5-drivethrurpg-credit/" target="_blank">he's willing to talk about it</a>, <i>(check it out, he's offering cash prizes!)</i>, so I'm able to show you a little as well. I'll be talking about this project again, so stay tuned.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCScCkGxkqd_Z33QU9fG0gLaJbHIE8KP2x6A6IqxfN3hQ3sSOcvCu9UKik8Gq1PSvP3d0p4-SXaqIGPQRXAzVodyF98yeo2LJqoeMlzKpdDYetdUxmpqG_Y8E03XU64DdArnmeRVRK12A/s1600/mountain+goat.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="650" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCScCkGxkqd_Z33QU9fG0gLaJbHIE8KP2x6A6IqxfN3hQ3sSOcvCu9UKik8Gq1PSvP3d0p4-SXaqIGPQRXAzVodyF98yeo2LJqoeMlzKpdDYetdUxmpqG_Y8E03XU64DdArnmeRVRK12A/s200/mountain+goat.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>They totally should compete, they'd rule!</i></td></tr>
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It's been a really fun project for me as he bravely gave me pretty much free reign to design and reorganise his work, allowing me to bring my creativity to the table. Obviously, anything I did had to be approved by Chris, but overall I was free to come up with whatever I felt would work best. It's given me a welcome opportunity to further develop my software skills with <b><a href="https://inkscape.org/en/" target="_blank">Inkscape</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.scribus.net/" target="_blank">Scribus</a></b>. I was already pretty good with Inkscape, but in truth only a novice with Scribus. Luckily DTP skills, even old ones, are very transferable though, and I've been scaling the Scribus learning curve like an Olympic quality mountain goat - er, if mountain goats were competitive climbers in the Olympics that is... You know what I mean! Of course, I have tonnes of things still to learn, but I'm quite pleased with being able to take my ideas and realise them on the page.<br />
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Will Graphic Design for Food?</span></b></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwRjoIbHgwfAN8ZvTR-PFiAZg42LRTqqvgWPbOB9fMR-eYTX6bW450CIPKt4advd0x7Hv_3j-nMYA7AQl9mwrwWD4zKLduQJataKE-htUGP2BlzitsW9zifSClLLXUyB_ZCuDAN9qCYyb/s1600/Hanging-shingle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="250" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwRjoIbHgwfAN8ZvTR-PFiAZg42LRTqqvgWPbOB9fMR-eYTX6bW450CIPKt4advd0x7Hv_3j-nMYA7AQl9mwrwWD4zKLduQJataKE-htUGP2BlzitsW9zifSClLLXUyB_ZCuDAN9qCYyb/s200/Hanging-shingle.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can make stuff look great.</td></tr>
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This project reminded me I <i>REALLY </i>enjoy working on graphic design. It's creative, puzzling, and has a zen mantra like aspect to it - basically, it feels like combining artistic painting, Sudoku, detective work, and meditation into a single activity. Hey, that's what it feels like to ME, okay? Back off and get your own sammich! :-) My point is, I like doing it, and without being boastful I think I'm pretty good at it. So, if anyone out there in internet-land is looking to take their Word docs, napkin scribbles, or whatever and turn them into something professionally publishable, hit me up and we can talk turkey, or some other meat if turkey's not your thing. I can produce in multiple styles, and I have at least one very recent reference for RPG graphic design I've done for someone other than myself.<br />
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<br />Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-4922311159341862432016-10-21T18:35:00.001-03:002016-10-21T18:35:48.456-03:00An Endless Supply of Adventures for Hero Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/191378/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-Expansion--Monster-Compendium" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm56putLarCuvpNLxMSkokZ5cQVRg0NyuSAGd2Wm6YNja6lRV3LYMenWVcPFXCC3b_Rz-GCgUw2tQAS6hNeiMLjWkPInoe6yG8eanBtqX-a0xNzn59ZE7eJoCeOg1sAMZanCgRjw_2Wr38/s200/Monster+compendium+cover.jpg" width="136" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/191378/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-Expansion--Monster-Compendium" target="_blank">HK Monster Compendium</a></td></tr>
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Hi roleplaying fans, I've been out of touch for the last few months, but thankfully I've just been busy doing a bunch of other things, not actually having a difficult time. One of my blog readers, Josiah approached me with a wonderful tool he crafted for use with the <b><a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/191378/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-Expansion--Monster-Compendium" target="_blank">Hero Kids - Fantasy Expansion - Monster Compendium</a></b> inspiring me to make this blog post.<br />
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Josiah has compiled all the monsters from the compendium, assigned them relative challenge ratings, and cross-referenced them by region or terrain to create a system for randomly generating an encounter's-worth of monsters, adjusted to match both the area you're in, the number of players in your party, and the difficulty you're looking for - and he has produced it as an automated Excel spreadsheet and a PDF of random dice tables for those who want to manually roll. Josiah has generously allowed me to present this delightful tool on my blog. He calls it a Monster List, but as you'll quickly find out, it is so much more powerful than that! By pairing up this encounter generation system with Justin's Monster Compendium, you can now effortlessly create any number of monster encounters for your Hero Kids games.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5WmdsV0hobHhwMTQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggn7IGh-1nLoVB-QkrZvJ3jJ3jsiC_m623NI8BHUWN6ekpZ5chgaoGWGjEX0QPvFOEvuYvSuukN-jjVOTfx4nLWx5bqsReySiPP7divuSXwMXdMrwvHdvlAMQDgEWcxtAvyyjezGcarDWG/s200/monster+list+excel.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5WmdsV0hobHhwMTQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Josiah's Monster List - Excel</a></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5M2ZPZG41eVNCT0k/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYUalyhFrc87xjG5sRgp1i8bqCAD0Y_t8TOfkwmar4v9RSocr8iJ4gxYRfM6oCoJiDtJsfCQjr795aNT3_S30iE4HTGjPCZAS5celaP67CduqJwUCJE0Bu6D3-xMBUDXZxFY9xsv6Y3Hb/s200/monster+list+pdf.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5M2ZPZG41eVNCT0k/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Josiah's Monster List</span> - PDF</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>The Monster List Encounter Generator in Action</b></span><br />
I believe this system is so robust it can create the foundation for a whole adventure as well. To prove this, and to satisfy my gleeful exuberance for Josiah's extremely cool encounter tables, I'm going to show right here how easy it is to use and how it's output can then be fleshed out into a full fledged adventure. I will assume two Heroes for my adventure, thus each encounter needs 8 points of Monsters. Also, I've decided my adventure will have five encounters with varying location types to mix things up.<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Encounter One</b> will start with an "Any" location. I roll on the chart until I meet or exceed 8 points of Monsters. I get a <b>Brigand Archer</b> <i>(3 pts)</i>, and a <b>Knight Blaggard</b> <i>(5 pts)</i>.</li>
<li><b>Encounter Two</b> is in a Forest, giving me a <b>Weasel Warrior</b> <i>(4 pts)</i>, <b>Hissing Snake</b> <i>(2 pts)</i>, and a <b>Coot</b> <i>(5 pts)</i>.</li>
<li><b>Encounter Three</b> moves into the Mountains with a <b>Tengu Slinger</b> <i>(3 pts)</i>, <b>Tengu Groundling</b> <i>(2 pts)</i>, and a <b>Tengu Archer</b> <i>(4 pts)</i>.</li>
<li><b>Encounter Four</b> takes place in a Castle, so we are facing a <b>Guard </b><i>(4 pts)</i>, and two <b>Guard Nightwatch</b> <i>(2 pts each)</i>.</li>
<li><b>Encounter Five</b> is also in the Castle and is the Big Boss showdown, so we're upping the points total to 13, and our opponents are a <b>Guard Sharpshooter</b> <i>(4 pts)</i>, two <b>Guard Nightwatch</b> <i>(2 pts each)</i>, a <b>Guard</b> <i>(4 pts)</i>, and a <b>Guard Spear Bearer</b> <i>(3 pts)</i>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
All of this is just a skeletal framework for an adventure though, now we need a story to hang it on and some story-based motivations to entice the players to take part in it. So let's spin a story to tie this together...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">The Duke's Family Jewels</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A Hero Kids adventure for two players</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The players are approached by the local Duke who tells you that a handful of days ago a number of priceless family heirloom jewellery were stolen from his manor. He is fairly certain these criminals were hired by a larger unknown group as several other Noble's manor houses in the area were robbed at the same time and none of the thieves have been apprehended, nor have the stolen goods shown up anywhere for sale. If you can find out where this controlling group is located, the affected Nobles will reward you handsomely.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKLtYBlLdviteb2Fa45BdM7iHJkjHDxot8GQ80Z6OdrsCWyRZW6SuNzNHbuYUFMmmMdwjTm1NmKhfzBde9U_98j05wjIeB4x0gHbbHQHV4fo6_hzpZmvZz-tMvvm7lRwh6kYtPQLxhmHl/s1600/inn+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKLtYBlLdviteb2Fa45BdM7iHJkjHDxot8GQ80Z6OdrsCWyRZW6SuNzNHbuYUFMmmMdwjTm1NmKhfzBde9U_98j05wjIeB4x0gHbbHQHV4fo6_hzpZmvZz-tMvvm7lRwh6kYtPQLxhmHl/s1600/inn+scene.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rusty Nail - inequity on tap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All the Duke knows is the pair of thieves whom he suspects stole from him are known to frequent "The Rusty Nail", a local eatery near the lumber mills and carpentry workshops. Once the players reach The Rusty Nail they immediately recognise them sitting at a table, one is a man known to have no reputable income and be good with a bow, and a Knight who recently moved into the area and has done nothing every day but drink and boast of the many conquests he's had - elsewhere. The situation will quickly turn into a fight should the Heroes approach them. After defeating them, the Knight Blaggard confesses he works with a large group of thieves based in an abandoned keep in the mountains north of the forest surrounding this town. If the players are more lethal in how they deal with combat encounters, this information can be discovered from a letter in the Knight's clothing.<br />
<br />
Journeying through the forest towards the mountains, the party is beset upon by a Coot, his pet snake, and his Weasel Warrior companion. They aren't associated with the thieves, but they aren't friendly to anyone travelling through "their" woods either. Defeating them doesn't provide any useful information, although some food or healing potions might be suitable loot. If the players are KO'd by the Coot and his companions, they will awaken at the edge of the forest near the mountains, minus any food or healing potions and with a note pinned to their chest warning them to stay out of the forest.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLqWmv3xNnPjQqDBaZw78u_oDgeDBg_7N4sRGZeoiLg537guxkvhizizxdazppERpD2HLHCsOw2oJ1oS1B0vqaVgOgfaIWoXK_2ba4Mw7I5jrrRkJDwiOeVATE1O3hVL_xbSBhxdg5sV_/s1600/forest+glade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLqWmv3xNnPjQqDBaZw78u_oDgeDBg_7N4sRGZeoiLg537guxkvhizizxdazppERpD2HLHCsOw2oJ1oS1B0vqaVgOgfaIWoXK_2ba4Mw7I5jrrRkJDwiOeVATE1O3hVL_xbSBhxdg5sV_/s1600/forest+glade.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I swear I saw something moving up ahead...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Leaving the forest behind, the party travels up into the mountains in search of the abandoned keep. The PCs have never personally been there, so they aren't completely certain of it's location. If you'd like to introduce some non-combat skill use, you can have the players make tracking skill rolls at a difficulty of 5 or 6; success allows them to skip Encounter Three and arrive at the Keep, while failure results in them being attacked by a band of Tengu who are patrolling their territory. Defeating them could have two different results - you could simply beat them and gain some loot and possibly directions to the abandoned keep, or you could make them submit to you and agree to assist in storming the keep.<br />
<br />
If the Tengu join forces with the Heroes, then they will conduct the advance attack on the keep, allowing the players to skip Encounter Four and go straight for the leaders of the whole thieves organisation. If the Heroes reach the keep on their own, they are faced with a small stone keep whose gatehouse tower has collapsed long ago, leaving a simple walled courtyard with essentially a large archway as the entrance. In the courtyard is a two story keep which has its upper story half ruined, leaving just the ground floor usable by the thieves. The courtyard itself is guarded by two Nightwatch Guards and their Guard leader. Obviously, they won't welcome you with open arms...<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-zytZbn3FTVzfvLHEFdWf8fEIorShRjgchApqDj2D7FUqDcoHq4gIuzFVMxmD32NyTOsKyRJ5mt5XjRuwSWYmRC0X2qkNDEfDzIaDdVpCmzI_9jngJlJBjh2_7ndvxYHEoZXohJwwixT/s1600/Keep+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-zytZbn3FTVzfvLHEFdWf8fEIorShRjgchApqDj2D7FUqDcoHq4gIuzFVMxmD32NyTOsKyRJ5mt5XjRuwSWYmRC0X2qkNDEfDzIaDdVpCmzI_9jngJlJBjh2_7ndvxYHEoZXohJwwixT/s1600/Keep+entrance.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once this was a nice place I'm sure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once the Heroes are past the courtyard they are faced with a stone keep which is essentially just a great hall with stairs leading up to the mostly ruined second floor. Inside, next to a cooking fire is the leader of the organisation, a Guard Sharpshooter, his Guard Spear Bearer companion, and the second shift of courtyard guards in the form of two Nightwatch Guards and their Guard leader. Upon defeating them, the Heroes will discover not only the missing jewellery from their Nobleman patron, but the stolen valuables of six other Noble families of the surrounding countryside and a journal listing the contacts for buyers for all of these goods who apparently are wealthy Nobles from a neighbouring kingdom. Returning home with all of this will see the Nobleman very appreciative, possibly even setting up a valuable contact among the local nobility who could be a source of further adventures.<br />
<br />
There you have it, add in a few maps, npc names, and other such details and you have a nice little adventure for two players, courtesy of Justin's Monster Compendium and Josiah's Encounter Generator. All you need to do is spin a plausible yarn to connect the dots so to speak! Try it yourself, you'll have a blast coming up with explanations for each of your encounter results.Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-9368760588571564102016-07-22T14:04:00.001-03:002016-07-22T14:04:54.536-03:00Goods and Services in Hero Kids<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-qZyH5wQ4m5aWllVS1JTzA4M0U" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6e42-VarDOpH9t9Np5gTC5_Ao0Yi8v-FQBkDnu1ITqQbBTo-uBI7S2rg4dimV85cJPwcFNlB5eC8T8w5dCtpU-luEnnRoa9MhsGcTwX417j76XL-TjH1MVLpIltv43h6f8E3YhquL7D1X/s1600/item+equip+list.jpg" /></a></div>
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Just the other day I was contacted by Josiah Fiscus who, after reading my July 8th post, <a href="http://spiralboundstudios.blogspot.ca/2016/07/a-way-to-use-loot-and-gold-in-hero-kids.html" target="_blank"><b>A Way to Use Loot and Gold in Hero Kids</b></a> was inspired by my <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5NHlIVng2MVpqUlU/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Item and Equipment Pricing Chart</a></b> to create his own chart for randomising Items and Equipment one could find in a treasure hoard. He arranged it in an interesting way, grouping the entries by their cost as outlined in my prior blog post. He and I discussed it back and forth and after some further tweaking by he and I, here it is as a downloadable PDF for your reference: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5aWllVS1JTzA4M0U/view?usp=sharing" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Hero Kids - Item and Equipment list</a>.<br />
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I'll take a moment to both thank Josiah for his generosity in allowing me to share this on my blog, and to encourage anyone who finds themselves similarly inspired to submit it as well.</div>
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Josiah's input and creative interest in my blog spurred me to make a set of companion charts for detailing what one could find at various businesses in a typical fantasy town. Rather than attempt an exhaustive listing of every conceivable business one could encounter, I instead created a few generic examples:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Armorer</li>
<li>Bowyer & Fletcher</li>
<li>Weaponsmith</li>
<li>Eatery/Inn</li>
<li>Livery Stables/Saddlery</li>
<li>Herbalist/Alchemist/Magic Shop</li>
<li>Tailor</li>
<li>General Store</li>
</ul>
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My charts aren't configured for randomised results, instead, they are grouped into categories, combining both the Items and Equipment pricing system outlined in my Loot and Gold post as well the default arms and armor ranking system outlined in my July 15th post <a href="http://spiralboundstudios.blogspot.ca/2016/07/naked-hero-kids.html" target="_blank"><b>Naked Hero Kids</b></a> wherein I theorise on the stats of unarmed and unskilled Heroes. Thus I have grouped the entries into the following ten categories, each with their own purchase price:</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Items - Mundane, Minor:</span></b> The most basic of consumables. A meal, or a potion. Simple services are also covered by this category. <b>1 Gold Coin</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Items - Mundane, Major:</span> </b>Consumables which last a set time instead of just an instant effect. I also included extended services here. <b>2 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Items - Magical, Minor:</span></b> The same as Minor Mundane Items, but with a magically conferred benefit. This would cover a simple magical service too. <b>4 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Items - Magical, Major:</span></b> The same as Major Mundane Items, but with a magically conferred benefit. This covers extended magical services too. <b>5 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Equipment - Simple:</span> </b>The "lesser" of the default equipment a Hero starts play with. Their sword, bow, or shield. <b>2 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Equipment - Advanced:</span> </b>Conceptually the same as Simple Equipment, but are more advantageous things such as a full suit of armor or a large two-handed weapon. <b>3 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Equipment - Mundane, Minor:</span></b> Equipment with a simple or specific use, or offering only a limited usage benefit. Rope, a lamp, or a weapon with a situational benefit like the Raider's Battleaxe. <b>3 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Equipment - Mundane, Major:</span></b> Equipment with constant beneficial abilities or uses, usually applicable to multiple situations. The Hunter's Longbow, Heavy Shield, or a Pony. 4 Gold Coins. <b>4 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Equipment - Magical, Minor:</span></b> The same as Minor Mundane Equipment, but with a magically conferred benefit. <b>4 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Equipment - Magical, Major:</span></b> The same as Major Mundane Equipment, but with a magically conferred benefit. <b>5 Gold Coins</b>.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5Zzl2YV93SFlQNzg/view?usp=sharing" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDG4EjzoywxO-bxpwHQYQrX5YrcugAsnXpo69xGBn68li353us7LMRFUQb85vdVfa9-IaE-Xd53MxsLounAJonsx1K3_J2qGwBNGAQw2NJpj_A9gWxN0IevuS8IJKicm-rqESw5sDvMzh9/s1600/sample+fantasy+shops.jpg" /></a></div>
One could easily regroup the goods and services to represent a different type of venue, such as a Blacksmith, a Potion Shop, a Fish Market, a Fur Trader, Rug Merchant, Gem Seller, or whatever else you wanted to include in your game. All you need to do is assign the goods and services accordingly, adding any new entries into the appropriate category.</div>
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Speaking of new entries, in populating my charts, I ended up creating almost half a hundred of Items, Equipment, and Services which were not previously detailed elsewhere. I may compile them into a set of equipment cards in the future, complete with category and pricing info as per my previous systems. I have included the eight example Fantasy businesses as a printable PDF for in game reference: <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5Zzl2YV93SFlQNzg/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Hero Kids - Sample Fantasy Shops</a></b>.</div>
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Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-128596376620909262016-07-15T14:00:00.000-03:002016-07-15T14:00:01.848-03:00Naked Hero Kids<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEMt1_a3DwmFPhvkAvy6ifspIlIdeP6k4NKhQYWEAyetIo6_X8mgzLQh5ldPU7LWS9T6gBLk6Dm1yrDy2D53u7-xs9HM2qbag4PX95d2pXqexZS8PtZ-FyDi20b1PoDrk9pNTjHnBnMWw/s1600/Naked+Hero+Kids+Warrior.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEMt1_a3DwmFPhvkAvy6ifspIlIdeP6k4NKhQYWEAyetIo6_X8mgzLQh5ldPU7LWS9T6gBLk6Dm1yrDy2D53u7-xs9HM2qbag4PX95d2pXqexZS8PtZ-FyDi20b1PoDrk9pNTjHnBnMWw/s320/Naked+Hero+Kids+Warrior.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No weapons, no armor, no training, no dice!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, so not actually </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PLAYING</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> naked, but what are the stats of a completely unequipped and untrained Hero? I spent some time comparing various Heroes and it appears they would be zero dice in their Melee, Ranged, and Magic Dice Pools, one die in the Armor Dice Pool, and three Health Boxes. The Melee/Ranged/Magic Attack, Special Action, and the Inventory and Items sections would be empty, and the Bonus Abilities section would almost always be empty. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(There are a few abilities representing inherent abilities that would stay, but most are part of their hero type.)</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2f0dfbc5-e670-0a04-6357-370f8d30cdff" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, no one would want to play this Hero, he's basically a blank slate, but by stripping away the weapons, armor, and training of a Hero, we can see some interesting "under the hood" workings of the </span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">™</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> system. One such discovery was a loose set of preassigned or default unnamed weapon and armor types as well:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simple Weapon:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Single handed weapons or spells which are the source of the Hero’s basic attack. These grant two die to the appropriate Die Pool </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Melee, Ranged, or Magic)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, permit a basic attack dealing one damage, and are the prerequisite for the Special Action. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Example:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The short sword used by the male Warrior.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simple Advanced Weapon:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Large two handed weapon employed by Brutes (or equivalents) which are the source of the Hero’s basic attack. These grant three dice to the appropriate Die Pool and permit a basic attack dealing one damage, and are the prerequisite for the Special Action. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Example:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The two handed maul used by the male Brute. As depicted, the female Warrior’s two handed, double-headed axe should grant three dice instead of two, or give her a one handed axe - Maybe her clothing is simple advanced armor?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simple Armor:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Partial armor or shield worn by a Hero. They grant one additional die to the Armor Dice Pool, and can act an alternate prerequisite for the Special Action. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Example:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The medium wooden shield used by the male Warrior.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simple Advanced Armor:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Full armor or large shield worn by a Hero. They grant two additional die to the Armor Dice Pool, but reduce the Melee, Ranged, and Magic die pools by one die, and can act an alternate prerequisite for the Special Action. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Example:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The “pots and pans” piecemeal armor worn by the male Knight.</span></div>
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</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Incorporating this method with the standard Hero creation guidelines can suggest ideas for new Heroes. There is an opportunity for an Archer who uses a longbow of the simple advanced weapon type, conferring three Ranged dice. Or an armored bowman with one ranged die and three armor dice. Alternately, if you have an idea for a Hero, you're unsure of how to allocate the dice, but you do know what kinds of weapons and armor they have, then this system can guide you.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, as I have said previously regarding other systems I’ve introduced for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Hero Kids™</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, this one isn’t perfect. No reverse-engineered, post-production, bolt-on system will 100% fit the pre-existing rules. As noted above, the female Warrior and her two handed axe are short one melee die, similarly the female Healer has a large staff and she has no melee die. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(Although in this case you could easily assume a Healer has no weapons training.)</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lastly, this system doesn’t make any allowances for wielding two weapons or weaponless attacks, however neither does the core rules, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(see the male Rogue with two daggers)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, so I’m not going to bother addressing it.</span></div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-7918634814758218562016-07-12T15:00:00.000-03:002016-07-12T15:00:32.984-03:00Have We Been Looking at Hero Kids Dice Pools All Wrong?<b id="docs-internal-guid-ce6ae72c-c396-9039-2dd2-364d6b16c21b" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-ce6ae72c-c396-9039-2dd2-364d6b16c21b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are Dice Pools equivalent to Attributes or are they more akin to Skill bonuses? Is a Warrior with a Melee Die Pool of 3 dice stronger than one with 2 dice, or are they more accurate? Their attacks both deal only one point of damage, yet the Warrior with 3 Melee dice will have more successful attacks than the other Warrior over time. If so, then how can we more accurately portray a physically stronger character?</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-ce6ae72c-c396-9039-2dd2-364d6b16c21b" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOHdeQtxkSnuhorfrDljVrQi5b6yeLeL8cI350sMSeTSvu8fLP0Jzu3qjC7cS61oi_PsJGH2L_ueX435iVQ8Via8S2oO0b0G2-eZ9erfHrErXJtmSaVJ09RH_PRzDLvhI8aFpW0xdmp8O/s1600/arrow_split_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOHdeQtxkSnuhorfrDljVrQi5b6yeLeL8cI350sMSeTSvu8fLP0Jzu3qjC7cS61oi_PsJGH2L_ueX435iVQ8Via8S2oO0b0G2-eZ9erfHrErXJtmSaVJ09RH_PRzDLvhI8aFpW0xdmp8O/s320/arrow_split_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Having 3 Ranged dice makes you hit more often, not harder.</b></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simply making their attacks deal two damage each would be an obvious and simplistic method, but it isn’t ideal. The damage/health granularity in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids™ </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is rather coarse, thus each damage point meted out or received is a large amount. If we measure strength by how much damage one can effect, then the Hero who always does 2 damage with each strike due to their strength alone isn’t just a bit stronger than average, they are twice as strong. This is the difference between being able to lift a person and being able to lift a refrigerator! Such an approach doesn’t address any other aspect of being stronger than how much damage you do with your specific weapon. Thus, the “strong” Hero who always deals 2 damage would NOT be able to lift any more than the “weaker” Hero as Skills reference the Heroes die pools. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to give stronger Heroes a bonus which mimics </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(even approximately)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the effects of being stronger in the real world, without granting a bonus which is too large or too specific. One could give stronger Heroes a ”Strong” Ability granting a bonus die for any strength related skill test. This addresses the issue of stronger Heroes being able to lift heavier things, but still leaves attack unaddressed.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only complete method of addressing a stronger Hero dealing more damage would be to increase the damage/health granularity. If we adopt a finer granularity, say double for the purpose of discussing this, then your average Hero has six health boxes, a normal Attack does two damage, and pre-existing Abilities or Items/Equipment which previously granted a +1 damage will now grant a +2. Die Pool modifiers remain unchanged as we aren’t altering that. Technically this would work, allowing a Hero with the “Strong” Ability to also gain a +1 damage to their Melee Attacks without it being an overwhelming bonus. However, the amount of effort to update all your game material could be daunting…</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2d4M3lRvjMV5t4hBZx9AU8-is4-I-AnmH_1VWgk7N4oA8RDps739idrFtL3-l-JS30gEu0Vqu8beAl0i3I1FqUPKMH6ff40RnPvh3cD185I_iJWsHpzr0hciSTdJvFSCflSyok0lW0NjC/s1600/revised+Brute+Hero.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2d4M3lRvjMV5t4hBZx9AU8-is4-I-AnmH_1VWgk7N4oA8RDps739idrFtL3-l-JS30gEu0Vqu8beAl0i3I1FqUPKMH6ff40RnPvh3cD185I_iJWsHpzr0hciSTdJvFSCflSyok0lW0NjC/s320/revised+Brute+Hero.png" width="220" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here is the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brute </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero from the core rules, shown in its original and revised forms. Adding the extra Health boxes, the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Strong </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bonus Ability, and modifying the damage amounts in the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hammer Smash</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Melee Attack and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Retaliation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Bonus Ability isn’t a massive change. Even if you’re not skilled with graphic design, a sticker over the appropriate spots could get the job done. Still, this degree of change would need to be effected to every Hero, every Monster, every Item, and every Equipment.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not all changes would be mathematically uniform either. In some cases, to better serve the intent of the original ability, a different phrasing or an adjusted numerical change would serve better.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plus, as the Brute example shows, one could make a case for altering other details to better serve the original intent, as I did when reducing the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">accuracy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the Brute’s Melee attack via a smaller Melee Die Pool when I increased the damage.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given the total amount of change this solution requires, it is more accurate to call this </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-ce6ae72c-c396-9039-2dd2-364d6b16c21b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">™</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b> 2nd Edition</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or some such thing. While an interesting mental exercise in game design, unless it were combined with other desired system changes, creating a 2nd edition of this game may not be needed. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids™</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> already passes the primary test for any game - children enjoy playing it in its current form. Still, such things are fun to consider.</span></div>
</b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-60952172557021065382016-07-08T04:00:00.000-03:002016-07-08T04:00:08.175-03:00A Way to Use Loot and Gold in Hero Kids<b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you’re running a longer adventure then you might reward the heroes with some gold or extra potions and allow them to rest and recover some health.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> page 14 (v1.6) or 17 (v2,0), </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids™</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> rules.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The above quote packs a lot of implied content into one sentence. Unfortunately, this is the extent this concept gets in the rules. Perhaps Justin plans to one day publish an expansion, or maybe he felt this was enough to say about it. However, one question remains: what do our Heroes DO with said gold rewards? There are no prices attached to anything in the game. If they want to buy a sword, shield, armor, pony, or just a meal at the local inn, what is the cost? If they try to sell any loot gained in an adventure, what’s it worth? First, let’s establish just what is meant by gold in this game.</span></div>
</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gold! Gold!! GOLD!!! ...what’s it good for?</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUrLXgRLgGjx2-I68UtnBPNuD8E1d8hLR8IkjaHv_h36ZZ1VIGQdQLbVHXUeNnY1zp6LNjdDHaoC9_n5pArOqdE6NUYXRaK1lekrMp7wbPtXs2emRjWM98qMT_C0GpzJYSNXy7Jwl0eEdl/s1600/chest+of+coins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUrLXgRLgGjx2-I68UtnBPNuD8E1d8hLR8IkjaHv_h36ZZ1VIGQdQLbVHXUeNnY1zp6LNjdDHaoC9_n5pArOqdE6NUYXRaK1lekrMp7wbPtXs2emRjWM98qMT_C0GpzJYSNXy7Jwl0eEdl/s200/chest+of+coins.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids™</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> currency? Given the intended audience and the simplicity of the system and setting, we need to strongly enforce the KISS method, so there is just one currency used by everyone and it consists of one denomination - the Gold Coin. Names of coins and details of appearance may differ over time and from place to place, but the value is unchanging. We could get into debating the value of rare gold coins from an ancient lost kingdom, but in such a scenario they technically are being treated as rare art pieces then, not simple coins. If they’re used to buy a sandwich, then they are the same as any other coin - if they instead go to a museum of the lost kingdom of Tra-La-La then they are no longer considered simple coinage.</span></div>
</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For everyday purposes, the prices of goods are small and don’t differ between like items. Treat it like an intermediary, trial coinage system for a world just beginning to progress past the barter economy. In fact, despite this post’s topic, one shouldn’t avoid having Heroes barter for simple goods and services. The restaurant owner may offer a meal to a Kid in exchange for a simple chore like fetching water, delivering a letter, or cleaning out a dirty back room. This could even be an entry point for an adventure…</span></div>
</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Item and Equipment Price Categories</span></span></h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rather than create a price list for hundreds of purchasables one could have in the game, lets create a simple system which can quickly and easily assign a price to anything one could want to buy or sell in game. One approach is to divide all purchasables into categories with a single price per category:</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minor Mundane Items:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>1 gold</b></span></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Non-magical, single use objects.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Food (per portion), Gold (per coin), Herbs (per single potions-worth)</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Major Mundane Items:</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>2 gold</b></span></b></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Non-magical, single use objects which grant a clearly defined bonus (usually combat oriented).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Bomb.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minor Magical Items:</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>4 gold</b></span></b></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magical, single use items whose effects do not last beyond one turn past their usage.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Healing Potion, Sandman’s Dust*, Haste Potion*</span></div>
<span style="color: orange;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: orange;">Major Magical Items:</span></span><b id="docs-internal-guid-1d2ffca0-c36b-4c48-fe5c-5bb7eb8fdc8d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>5 gold</b></span></b></span></b><b><i><span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></i></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magical, single use items whose effects last for “5 minutes” or the duration of a single encounter.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Potion of Strength, Potion of Invisibility, Fee-Fi-Fo-Fungus*, Four-Leaf Clover*, Shrink-A-Drink*.</span></div>
<span style="color: orange;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minor Mundane Equipment:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>3 gold</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Non-magical, multiple use objects which only function under specific conditions, for a limited duration, once per encounter, or are otherwise limited in their usage.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Trickshot Bow, Speed Bow, Unfailing Bow, Sharpshooter’s Bow, Bandit’s Bow, Deepwood Longbow, Throwing Axe, Heavy Crossbow, Throwing Dagger, Swift Sword, Thirsting Longsword, Vorpal Longsword, Lucky Longsword, Raider’s Battleaxe, Brigand’s Axe, Thundering Hammer, Strikers Spaulder, Light Shield, Everpresent Shield, Guardian’s Shield*.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Major Mundane Equipment:</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>4 gold</b></span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Non-magical, multiple use objects whose function can be enacted every turn, or which feature a continuous effect once equipped.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Footman’s Pike, Defending Weapon, Club of Earth-Shattering*, Hunter’s Longbow, Siege Longbow, Binding Bow*, Boomerang Buckler, Guard’s Shield, Heavy Shield, Defender’s Shield, Wrist Bracers, Vault Pole*.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minor Magical Equipment:</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b><span style="color: orange;">4 gold</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magical, multiple use objects which only function under specific conditions, for a limited duration, once per encounter, or are otherwise limited in their usage.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Magic Wand, Vicious Wand, Explosive Wand, Wizard’s Staff, Magi’s Staff, Lucky Charm, Vengeful Pendant, Wild Hunt Hat, Diabolic Mask.</span></div>
<span style="color: orange;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Major Magical Equipment:</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>5 gold</b></span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magical multiple use objects whose function can be enacted every turn, or which feature a continuous effect once equipped.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Faerie’s Wand, Staff of Protection, Yew Staff, Chaos Pendant, Cloak of Invisibility, Sack of Useful Items, Conjurer’s Hat*.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * Featured in the Hero Kids Compatible product </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Armory 1</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Travis Legge of Aegis Studios.</span></div>
<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5NHlIVng2MVpqUlU/view?usp=sharing" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvisHIP5inx8F6DFVDtlNT8ELIMTk23mITtK0fAGRy2HeZBunkwkgqxg3OQ4rAPZjrDXd0qFdoYDFge-N-DLagz6LZRFU7GEafDP50lwzLZhnHyv8lD8jtr-LlYOU13Jet944dTv8hrsum/s200/pricing+categories-sm.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5NHlIVng2MVpqUlU/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b>free one-sheet reference pdf</b></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prices do NOT directly relate to their intrinsic material value, construction complexity, or damage/protection potential, instead they are a rough measure of their availability, versatility, and ease of use. Equipment dealing more damage, but which can only be used under special conditions or once per encounter will cost less than a lower damage Equipment which grants its bonus with every use. Correspondingly, an Item costs less than an equivalent effect Equipment since it is expended upon a single usage. Lastly, magical Items and Equipment are intentionally higher priced, even when their effects are identical to another mundane Item or Equipment. This is done to simulate the fantasy trope that magical things are rarer, more difficult to acquire, and generally more expensive than non-magical things.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is this a perfect system? No, far from it. It makes even one gold coin potentially worth a lot, thus awarding a chest of 500 or even 50 gold coins is an enormous degree of wealth. However, this also means if you’re playing with young children, you can award them amounts they can readily conceptualize. While one could tweak this system with more categories, higher gold piece costs per category, and so on. In all likelihood once your players are ready for more complex in game economies, they will also be ready for a more advanced game all together. As nice of a game as <b>Hero Kids™</b> is for younger children, it does have its limitations. In the meantime, a system such as this one can provide an introduction to the concepts of buying and selling things in game without requiring advanced understanding of mathematics or economics.</span></div>
</b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-8291526727557335462016-06-30T15:56:00.001-03:002016-07-07T01:39:58.388-03:00Inventory - The Junk Drawer of Hero Kids<h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: justify;">
</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvzec3AnVgeMUNrJxWLVCNZvC6ot-I_h4mo5tJPTP6quDgii0wkxQTdEZcOjpzMNFKimRg4DdTBirDaVGKadk9i0Bg2A7175_3iCSmPh3WRMLlAMaEyO0wG-EJtuDXMT-jC94h3SIUr3n/s1600/junk-drawer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvzec3AnVgeMUNrJxWLVCNZvC6ot-I_h4mo5tJPTP6quDgii0wkxQTdEZcOjpzMNFKimRg4DdTBirDaVGKadk9i0Bg2A7175_3iCSmPh3WRMLlAMaEyO0wG-EJtuDXMT-jC94h3SIUr3n/s320/junk-drawer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At first glance, the Inventory and Skills section of a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Hero Kids™</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hero Card contains only </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Items</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skills</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. However, there are actually four categories of “things” in the Inventory and Skills section - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Items</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Equipment</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skills</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abilities</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Further confusing this is when the rules refer to Skill use as an </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ability Test</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Despite the fluidity of system terminology though, there are very real differences between Items and Equipment, and between Skills and Abilities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Items</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Objects which are expended once used </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(food, gold, bomb, a healing potion).</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Equipment</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Objects which remain for multiple uses </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Rope, Staff, Raider’s Axe)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skills</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Character specific and conceptually thematic activities one learns to perform </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Talking, Knowledge, Herbalism, etc.).</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abilities</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Inborn or inherent traits usually assigned to all creatures of that type, although they can be possessed by an individual alone </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Such as Dwarves with Dark Vision allowing them to see in darkness or a bird with Wings granting flight)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline;">Inventory Abilities are not to be confused with the “</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline;">Bonus Ability</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline;">” listed elsewhere on the Hero Card, which is usually more of a thematically specialised Skill </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline;">(Such as the Knight having the Bonus Ability “Defender”)</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inventory Abilities</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One opportunity presented by recognising just how the Inventory Abilities differ from Skills or other Hero-specific Abilities </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(The Melee/Ranged/Magic Attack, Special Action, and Bonus Abilities)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that it provides a ready made location for us to intentionally place unique abilities which aren’t associated with the primary theme of the Hero, thereby creating a secondary theme which can become an alternate grouping for these Heroes </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(or Monsters, for that matter)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Cards III</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> expansion for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids™</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, there are non-humans such as Dwarves, Halflings, Elves, etc. They aren’t labelled as such, but their provenance is obvious. The </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knight</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stonemaster</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> appear to be Dwarves and they both have the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dark Vision</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ability. One could also envision a group of cultists to some dark god of the ocean, and regardless of the role each member has </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Fighter, Cleric, Baker, Candlestick Maker, etc.)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you could give them all a “Breathe Underwater” ability.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are some ideas for Abilities for Monsters or Heroes: Breathe Underwater, Mind Reader, Shape Changer </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(specify form, such as”Shape Changer: Wolf”)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Venomous, and Climber. Each of these would need to be fairly simple. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climber</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for instance could grant the ability to move up or down vertical surfaces like trees, cliffs, or walls as easily as walking on the ground. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Venomous</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> could deal repeating damage, paralyzation, or some such effect with a bite or sting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we to want to give Heroes or groups of Heroes Abilities more complex than a single static competency, the Inventory Abilities section isn’t really the best spot for it as it uses a symbol to denote the Ability with no room for text. I would advocate removing the iconized Abilities from the Inventory completely and moving them to the Bonus Abilities section, but that’s just my personal opinion. Adding such things as granting all Elves an Ability like </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Woodland Walk</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Plus one movement and no terrain penalties within forested environments only.)</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> would be better suited to the Bonus Abilities section of a Hero Card. Racial templates for </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids™</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has occurred to me previously and I do have some thoughts on how I’d implement it, but I’ll leave that for a possible future post.</span></div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-5246521324108120752016-04-25T15:50:00.000-03:002016-04-25T15:50:52.527-03:00Keeping Focused On Your Audience<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDtmEXJ-y6PbEVwZnGfph-AURDiDS1G7OkisYFZgwal4rzqE0_eGzlquvEQEuZk93csVOAjp-6QuPzIiMKt0Bit6u0Ugv0BXdoqIquf-c60zXKsp3zx7m1ZJoIRjxUHHCxbjh7pQpmhQY/s1600/see-hear-speak-monkeys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDtmEXJ-y6PbEVwZnGfph-AURDiDS1G7OkisYFZgwal4rzqE0_eGzlquvEQEuZk93csVOAjp-6QuPzIiMKt0Bit6u0Ugv0BXdoqIquf-c60zXKsp3zx7m1ZJoIRjxUHHCxbjh7pQpmhQY/s320/see-hear-speak-monkeys.jpg" width="320" /></a>It was brought to my attention some people may have reservations towards my Hero Kids supplement <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" target="_blank">Corvids - A Racial Supplement</a></b> due to the presence of the work "fuck" in the Introduction. Its inclusion was due solely to it being in the title of the Imgur gallery which inspired this product. My original reasoning was the Introduction wasn't aimed at children, but their parents.<br />
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However this premise is flawed as most kids over age 5 or 6 would be more than capable of reading the Introduction and thus see it. Well, fudge! That wasn't my intent, so out it comes. The revised Introduction still references the Imgur gallery, but leaves out the potentially offensive swearword.<br />
<br />
Since I was rebuilding the pdf anyway, I've added another Monster to the product - a common <b>Crow</b>. Not a huge addition, but more usable content all the same. Existing customers can re-download the supplement to get the revised Introduction text as well as the extra monster. Future purchases will receive this revised version. Now back to writing my long-overdue adventure... ;-)Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-14292386084023013952016-04-04T20:30:00.000-03:002016-04-04T20:30:36.436-03:00How I Make Monsters For Hero Kids<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want to make your own Monsters for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hero Kids</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, there isn't much in the rule book to guide you. Not that there is any obligation for such guidelines to exist, but all the same, they aren't there. The closest you'll get is the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Creating Heroes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> section on page 19 for things like the difference between Normal Attacks, Special Actions, and Bonus Abilities, and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health and Damage</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> section on page 11.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-538764c0-e399-7eb6-defd-8c69762e0da6" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Health and Damage section mostly details how a Hero records their Health, takes damage, the Knocked Out condition, and methods of Healing. Buried within though is also a simple ranking system for categorizing Monsters.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Basically, all Monsters fall into one of four power levels:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weak:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "One Hit Wonders". This Monster has only a KO Health box.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Normal:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "One-Two Punch". This Monster has a KO and a Hurt box.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tough:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "Three Times You're Out". This Monster is equal to the standard Hero with three Health boxes - KO, Hurt, and Bruised.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boss:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "The Springsteen". These Monsters have four Health boxes, KO, Hurt, Bruised, and Grazed.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Theoretically, one could extend this to five or more Health boxes and have even more powerful Monsters, but I feel this would harm the playability of the game by placing an undue emphasis on a stats-oriented arms race. D&D style RPGs already fill that niche, so there's no need to add such a focus to Hero Kids.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In studying different Monsters from many official Hero Kids Adventures, I noticed a trend towards corresponding numbers of Attribute Dice per power level as well.</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weak:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Most Weak Monsters have two Attribute Dice with an average of 2.2 dice.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Normal:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Most Normal Monsters have four Attribute Dice, although the average is 3.47 dice.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tough:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Almost every Tough Monster has four Attribute Dice. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(average 4.16 dice)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boss:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Boss Monsters are highly variable in their Attribute Dice, yet the average works out to 5.5 dice.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've taken these two correlations and worked them into an expanded system I use to create my own Monsters. I hope you'll find it helpful too.</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #660000; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Points System for Hero Kids™ RPG Monster Creation</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve assigned each power level of Monster a number of points, which are distributed among four areas, with a limited number of starting slots for each area. Once the “base form” is created, one can customize the Monster further to suit their needs. The point distributions are:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="57"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="82"></col><col width="80"></col><col width="54"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #999999; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #999999; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Power Level</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #999999; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #999999; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Attribute Dice Slots</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #999999; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #999999; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health Box Slots</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #999999; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #999999; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inventory Slots</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #999999; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #999999; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Total Points</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #d9d9d9; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #d9d9d9; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weak</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #cccccc; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Normal</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #d9d9d9; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #d9d9d9; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tough</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #cccccc; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boss</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #cccccc 1px; border-left: solid #cccccc 1px; border-right: solid #cccccc 1px; border-top: solid #cccccc 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13</span></div>
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</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It should be noted that these points are not applied towards the normal compliment of Melee, Special, and Extra Actions and Abilities which all Monsters and Heroes receive. They are so standardized in occurrence, yet so highly variable in composition that I didn’t feel they would benefit from being incorporated into this system.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The starting slots for Attribute Dice do not 100% match pre-existing Monsters, especially in the Normal power level, but I'll address that in a moment. Health Box slots remain unchanged from the core rules. Inventory slots are for those iconized things like Skills </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(ex: stealth)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Abilities </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(ex: see in dark)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and actual Inventory </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Items and Equipment)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now this system isn't intended to be a rigid set of laws one MUST follow, but a means of guiding the design process. Once one has applied all of the the above, don't hesitate to then tweak them as much as you see fit, adding or removing things until they look the way you want them to. Let’s work through a few examples to show what I mean.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here is a Corvid Piercer </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(from my book</span><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Corvids: A Racial Supplement</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which is a Normal Monster with three Attribute dice (spent on two Str dice and one Def die), two Health boxes </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(KO and Hurt)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and two Inventory slots which I've spent on a food Item and the Tracking Skill. To complete this Monster I gave it a Melee Attack Action, a Special Action, and two Bonus Abilities.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="60"></col><col width="57"></col><col width="211"></col><col width="273"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 38px;"><td colspan="3" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Corvid Piercer</span></div>
</td><td rowspan="5" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Attack Action: Piercing Spear</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Melee Attack (Str) at an adjacent target.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Special Action: Butt Strike</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">After making a successful Attack against an adjacent enemy, you may make an additional attack at a 2nd adjacent target at 1 fewer die.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bonus Ability: Fearless Under Pressure, Nimble</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">When you are attacked by more than 1 enemy, or by an enemy larger than you are, your attacks gain 1 die. You can move up to 5 spaces on your turn, ignoring obstacles, enemies, and allies.</span></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 50px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">STR</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐☐</span></div>
</td><td rowspan="5" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="222" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vKyUDLji664ExtFwAFDoo0CDuryVfyw9XZvrqxydukQkkDs8R1wL_dp6jBfMAGy5pqlnPH5trlEHsJT0fuOKUCawd_NBJHC8evT7d0Eag2WS0ywmXOLJhGnsOTasdMP-NjZ_nOvG" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="120" /></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 55px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEX</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">X</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 50px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">INT</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">X</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 38px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEF</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 27px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐☐</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inventory: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Food, Stealth</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Corvid Piercer is an intelligent Humanoid Monster though, so it makes sense for them to have Skills and Inventory. What if I were making an animal as a Monster? An animal wouldn’t necessarily have Skills, Abilities, or Inventory. This is where the points within the starting values can be redistributed.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s make a Badger. As a Weak Monster it has four points divided between two Attribute Dice slots, one Health box slot, and one Inventory slot. We give the Badger one Str die and one Def die and a KO Health box, but we don’t need the Badger to have any Inventory, so let’s repurpose that Inventory slot into an Attribute Dice slot to give our Badger another Str die, resulting in two Str die and one Def die. Give him an appropriate Melee Attack, Special Action, and Bonus Ability, and you’re done!</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="60"></col><col width="57"></col><col width="211"></col><col width="273"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 38px;"><td colspan="3" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Badger</span></div>
</td><td rowspan="5" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Attack Action: Brock Bite</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Melee Attack (Str) at an adjacent target.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Special Action: Cornered</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Gain +1 die to Def if you were attacked on your last turn.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bonus Ability: Cooperative Combat, Digger</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Your attacks gain +1 die if an ally has damaged a target on their current or previous turn. You can move through small tunnels and loose dirt without penalty.</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 50px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">STR</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐☐</span></div>
</td><td rowspan="5" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="badger.jpg" height="135" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8bDqhevTHUIegoDWLUxxuwBJbACB6pLSGwYUv_0G0Fga6bawYtQoD68Oh_NXFJ87JBARQZgZail40WC0IGy_BVxsBLpb4c_UsiWp-vTvnXgdWLQD3JKhzKVuWcKs1ch6JN0aO6XM" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="190" /></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 41px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEX</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">X</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">INT</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">X</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 33px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEF</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 27px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inventory: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lastly, let’s make a Wild Boar. For this example, we’ll start with a Normal Monster and then boost it beyond the base amounts. As a Normal Monster it has seven points; three slots in Attribute Dice, two slots for Health, and two slots of Inventory. We’ll go with two Str dice and one Def Die, two Health boxes, and the See in the Dark and Tracking abilities under Inventory. Boars are known for being really tough though, so let’s boost the Health up to three boxes for an adjusted total of eight points. Not enough to qualify as a Tough Monster, but certainly meaner than a typical Normal Monster. Complete this with some Actions and a Bonus Ability, and you have a fearsome Wild Boar!</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="60"></col><col width="57"></col><col width="211"></col><col width="274"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 38px;"><td colspan="3" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wild Boar</span></div>
</td><td rowspan="5" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Attack Action: Tusk Gore</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Melee Attack (Str) at an adjacent target.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Special Action: Charge</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Gain +1 die to Melee Attack if you move your full movement before attacking.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bonus Ability: Hard To Kill</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">When you take damage that would KO you, you can still act on your next turn. If you’re still KO’d at the end of your next turn, you are knocked out.</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 39px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">STR</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐☐</span></div>
</td><td rowspan="5" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Boar.png" height="127" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SpLZy5_Y8cqJRqFfc1nq6Wb70BG69O-nOyyM8DIHd4_PnUOX4T3Z1-9Ky-Fjt4oYTQqStFzZNzOkRXv3aE4j7XHfNu7bY4Upq2p5B92QSM6PrfWYvbkRaO3ewch05q_0U2Qpai_Q" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="197" /></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 38px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEX</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">X</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 36px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">INT</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">X</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 33px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEF</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 27px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☐☐☐</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inventory: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See in the Dark, Tracking</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can see, this method is both structured and versatile, enabling one to create Monsters for Hero Kids with an understanding of how much of a challenge they may present for your group of Hero Kids. I don’t recommend boosting a Monster more than two points beyond the power level limits charted above, however if you do so, consider giving the Monster a meaningful limitation or weakness to counterbalance their massive power level.</span></div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-35002868457631287532016-03-11T11:16:00.000-04:002016-03-11T11:18:14.010-04:00Corvids. Available for Hero Kids<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/FEBtz" target="_blank"><img alt="Literally no fucks are given by corvids. Ever." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeRYaiL-L1OLWe62Mm7k08CFOk7PcHkx932o943DIEpqcvWNMi3rZR66Whv-6qbeumI-otTUanMoep7eQD2Ex3DRPJ-DVx1zRak2leFHotwIkLLkDaSC6Yed-aUL46Q_7uu_l0GsP4Wed/s200/imgur+-+corvids.png" title="Corvids riding Eagles" width="183" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/FEBtz" target="_blank">I'm riding an Eagle like a Boss!</a></td></tr>
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Sometimes an idea steps in front of you and demands attention. A few weeks ago I was reading my Google+ stream and Justin Halliday posted an <a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/FEBtz" target="_blank">Imgur link</a> about really ballsy corvids <i>(the bird family for crows and ravens)</i> doing things like pecking at dogs, and <b>riding eagles to the ground while screaming at at them from their perch between their shoulder blades!</b><br />
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Let's put that into perspective a little, it's roughly equivalent to you or I running up to a 25 foot tall giant, jumping onto his back, and boxing his ears until he falls down! That impressed me a little to say the least, and I couldn't shake the image of a group of Corvid based humanoids taking on a bunch of Lizardkin, or Minotaurs, or whatever they felt like because apparently they don't ever consider the odds to be against them in a fight!<br />
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Today I released on DriveThruRPG.com "<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" target="_blank"><b>Corvids: A Racial Supplement</b></a>". It's five different types of Corvids, eight items and equipment with a Corvid slant, a Raven pet, and four scenario ideas to use as a jumping off point for introducing Corvids to your Hero Kids game. I tried to design the Corvids so they could be used as either Monsters or Heroes. Let me know how I did.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" target="_blank"><img alt="Corvids: A Racial Supplement" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLuL3cBtAhdaeDO5g68YumUf-JaKh6DHAil0BUU2szfkbQ7usBQvxA0jnGmfsnN4Knrvn8asgxZEQdxLm4C7kg07QeC9M-gAJAtQy59Apo6BxfMaWEIoveF_AhHoMv4k_c0kjmKoJIUSi2/s320/Corvids+-+cover+preview.jpg" title="Corvids: A Racial Supplement" width="247" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177271/Corvids-A-Racial-Supplement" target="_blank">Corvids: A Racial Supplement</a></td></tr>
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I made sure one of the Corvids was included in the product preview. The <b>Corvid Piercer </b>is a spearman who will jab at his opponents and then spin the spear around and strike them with the butt end of the spear for good measure. Like all Corvids, he doesn't get intimidated, instead he gets even more aggressive if he's outnumbered.<br />
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Like most people who've just tossed their creative efforts out into the wild, I'd love to get feedback on what you think of this little item. Even if you don't want to part with your $2.99 and only use the preview Corvid Piercer I'd like to hear from you <i>(although if you do that you're missing out on the other equally distinctive Corvids, plus some pretty neat gear too)</i>. If there's enough demand, I'll make more types of Corvids and even an adventure or two about them instead of just quick scenarios.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofm0k2t6767-bY-xC4130BQBgMT33r79TqRKCKQAeggFgl0upyU919GxNeFNN7NZWq6k20Jb6n5N4RrHOwVPCEpDDgqjDTZmn-GbqNYUS6k-hKLNw3PwxiiCqGR-Vh3dEVed5b4Q3PnoK/s1600/Frogling+Warrior+01+-+quarter+size.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofm0k2t6767-bY-xC4130BQBgMT33r79TqRKCKQAeggFgl0upyU919GxNeFNN7NZWq6k20Jb6n5N4RrHOwVPCEpDDgqjDTZmn-GbqNYUS6k-hKLNw3PwxiiCqGR-Vh3dEVed5b4Q3PnoK/s200/Frogling+Warrior+01+-+quarter+size.png" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frogling Warrior</td></tr>
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Now that the Corvids have stopped incessantly cawing at my mind, I can get back to working on my OTHER project, "<b>Return to Frogling Marsh</b>" a full adventure involving the Froglings from the official Hero Kids adventure <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/155049/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-Adventure--Wizards-Tower" target="_blank"><b>Wizard's Tower</b></a>. It's meant to take place after the Heroes have completed Wizard's Tower, but doesn't actually rely on anything from that adventure so it can be run as a standalone too. I've made a bunch more types of Froglings, some monsters, treasure, and a cool Frogling stilt village in the deeper parts of the marsh, the maps are tiling so you can rearrange them to make different villages.<br />
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I hesitate to make timing predictions as something always happens to delay me, but I <i><u>hope</u></i> to have this ready for release in about a month. I'll be posting preview material over the next few weeks as I work at teaching myself to post more frequently on this blog! :-)<br />
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Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-56213079628391574562016-01-09T12:01:00.000-04:002016-01-09T12:01:48.893-04:00Smart Wizards, Dumb everyone else?<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-3ba53981-26ed-adb3-cd6c-eddddd62b315" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I like the simple approach to defining a character in Hero Kids. It’s mostly elegant, however there is one aspect which doesn’t quite work smoothly for me, and that is the interaction between the Attribute die pools and Skills. Due to how the idea of a character is presented in the core rules, I suspect the designer first approached character design from the perspective of what is the minimum needed for fantasy combat and branched out from there. Skills behave as though they were added after the die pools had already been codified as skill use is somewhat hampered by the established combat-centric purposes of each die pool.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The spot in the system where attributes and skills are the most dysfunctional is in the dual nature of the Magic/Intelligence die pool. Due to those two purposes, one specific and one generalized, being linked into the one die pool, the ONLY way one can create an intelligent character who is exceptional at any Intelligence based skill is if they are also a magic user of some kind. This creates the possibly unintended side effect that any setting built using this system as its foundation will result in all smart people also being magically endowed and anyone who doesn’t also practice magic is kind of simple minded as they have a hard upper limit of one die for any base intelligence ability test, max of two dice if they have a relevent specific skill. There are no brilliant military strategists, unless they are also capable of hurling spells on the battlefield. Leaders of society and industry will almost always be magic users too. There is an alternative though, and it requires only two simple changes.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKXv-_nX-9cqQ6Go4k9sSakTZbO1QNqgxVsE63vevFrdGxWiZXI-wwhQCmuYG83tXlccpV2pud-NvaK7sMj4YIe_QW3nO-eERqWSIY_avD2fgC0w_RVxHPJjlDuyJ9aAZIVJZ2X0_AUYL/s1600/Intelligence+on+Hero+Card.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKXv-_nX-9cqQ6Go4k9sSakTZbO1QNqgxVsE63vevFrdGxWiZXI-wwhQCmuYG83tXlccpV2pud-NvaK7sMj4YIe_QW3nO-eERqWSIY_avD2fgC0w_RVxHPJjlDuyJ9aAZIVJZ2X0_AUYL/s200/Intelligence+on+Hero+Card.png" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Braaiiinnss...</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One, rename the “Magic Die Pool” to “Intelligence Die Pool” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(one could even change the Magic Icon to a Brain on a Hero Card)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, it’s usually referred to as Intelligence for skill use already as it is. This shifts the die pool away from a specific usage and makes it applicable to any character.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Two, give all magic users this new </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "Goudy Bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bonus Ability:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Magical</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: You can perform magic, using your Intelligence Die Pool to power a Magic Attack, magical Special Action, or magical Bonus Ability.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These two changes may seem like a game of semantics at first, but when you consider what else changes when you do this it is actually a big deal.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Take the two Hunter Heroes from page 26 of the core rules: they have two Ranged/Dex dice and one Defence die, yet they also are depicted wearing plain clothes without armor and each have a skill which could benefit from more Intelligence </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(Knowledge for the girl and Tracking for the boy)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. What if instead, they had one die each in Dex, Int, and Def; or two dice in Dex, and one die in Int? Then when they made an Int (Knowledge) or Int (Tracking) Ability Test they would be able to use more than the minimum number of die.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This change also allows the creation of Intelligence focused Heroes who do not bend their mind to magic by default. As a rough example, one could create a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Scholar </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "Goudy Bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hero </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">who has three dice in Int, plus a Special Action and a Bonus Ability to grant either a very minor combat ability </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(Distract: can use Int Die Pool to make a Ranged Attack which deals no damage, but prevents an opponent from attacking on their next turn),</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> or grants them non-combat bonuses </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(Linguist: Knows two additional languages to be determined at Hero creation, and on an Int Ability Test roll of 6 can decipher an unfamiliar language, written or spoken)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Sure, such a Hero isn’t powerful in a fight like a Warrior or Brute, but the existence of non-magical, Intelligent characters encourages gameplay which isn’t so heavily focused on combat </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZjuDWf-v2RgBtO3eYTM8K2bczZqjzGvKBPktAmG9gs6-fvEY41DV5DuPpojDQBoqT5ak61x4gH4smGFADzxnVhC1_-XNJFOpuyQaPySFmQOexaTwlp-nJ_lXCO1HPLns00aQLMKM1DPA/s1600/kid+detective+-+sm.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZjuDWf-v2RgBtO3eYTM8K2bczZqjzGvKBPktAmG9gs6-fvEY41DV5DuPpojDQBoqT5ak61x4gH4smGFADzxnVhC1_-XNJFOpuyQaPySFmQOexaTwlp-nJ_lXCO1HPLns00aQLMKM1DPA/s200/kid+detective+-+sm.gif" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this a clue before me?</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Imagine Hero types such as the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Apprentice</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Archaeologist</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Detective, Explorer</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>, </b></span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Investigator</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span>and so on being used in more Exploration style adventures </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(More like Indiana Jones, Sherlock Holmes, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and less like Conan the Barbarian or Harry Potter)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> where players are deciphering clues or puzzles, and unlocking tombs to gain treasure, solve the mystery, or rescue the Macguffin instead of simply killing their way to the goal. Such Hero types could be one Str and two Int, one each in Dex and Int, or one each in Str, Int, and Def, plus a set of applicable Attacks, Actions, and Abilities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How about an Intelligence focused Hero who has abilities centered on negotiation or manipulation </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bard </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">or a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Leader </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">type of Hero)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> giving a party the option of parlay instead of always drawing weapons first. Instead of killing the Goblins who kidnapped the Princess </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(or Prince)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: 'Goudy Bookletter 1911'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, the party discovers why they kidnapped in the first place, what they really want more than a hostage, and exchanging for that. A less murderous solution, but the adventure is resolved and the person rescued, so everyone should be just as happy with the result.</span></div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-50834391711855510612015-12-30T16:44:00.001-04:002016-01-09T11:06:46.665-04:00My review of Yuletide Journey for Hero Kids and free stuff for youA couple of days ago Connor, Mommy, and I played the Hero Kids adventure, "<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/123882/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-Adventure--Yuletide-Journey" target="_blank"><b>Yuletide Journey</b></a>". Overall, it went well, although there were a couple of bumps along the way. One big omission was in the NPC Elven characters. There is an encounter where the Heroes compete against three Elven "Fledglings": an archer with a bow, a fighter with a sword, and a Magic user with a large spellbook. The group are quickly joined by a child Elf of unspecified abilities and equipement. However, the adventure only includes a card and standee for an Elven Arher with a bow and an Elven Druid with a Staff.<br />
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Now technically none of the encounters actually needed full stats or standees for the three Elven competitors, but this is a game for young children - EVERY scene is an opportunity to place and play with miniatures on the table, needed or not! :-) Luckily, I had previously purchased all the Hero Kids expansions, and had an Elven character with two wooden swords. Another Human Hero Kid stood in place of the unspecified child Elf. It worked, but wasn't ideal - ESPECIALLY later in the adventure when the Elven child tags along and the party gets attacked by wolves. The lack of any stats for this NPC were handwaved by simply using the stand-in Hero's stats for the combat encounter, but ideally I wouldn't need to compensate for an unfortunate defeciency.<br />
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On the plus side, the encounters with Odin and Sleipnir were highly engaging and greatly enjoyed by both mother and child, with no one under the age of 40 noticing the lack of stats or standees for either of them. Eh, what are you gonna do? Kids aren't consistent! While, there is room for improvement in this adventure, I would still recommend it as a fun holiday-themed adventure. If you're running it though, give it a full read through and be prepared to wing it and fill in the blanks occasionally.<br />
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My next adventure will actually by a non-Hero Kids one for a different, kid-friendly roleplaying game. Full disclosure: the author graciously comped me a copy, although I didn't promise a biased review either. I am looking forward to it, as the theme of the game is different and I'm curious to how Connor reacts to a different set of rules. I'll post a play report once we've run through it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVzYCYFbxRfo2MTvSMWG5JQwAJilHjXNHV8hCwnsh1FKD6A6Ya33glG4OAlx57zdLvloF61O24WsLOhSlRomdjW8cOQSPP3AZyS269aYsQa0ajDjCw8IYZ5OXLn8UEKPXZ2T20qDxHtEg/s1600/Non-Combat+Equipment+Cards.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVzYCYFbxRfo2MTvSMWG5JQwAJilHjXNHV8hCwnsh1FKD6A6Ya33glG4OAlx57zdLvloF61O24WsLOhSlRomdjW8cOQSPP3AZyS269aYsQa0ajDjCw8IYZ5OXLn8UEKPXZ2T20qDxHtEg/s320/Non-Combat+Equipment+Cards.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free non-combat equipment cards.</td></tr>
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One thing I have been thinking about in Hero Kids is equipment. I've bought the official <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/116614/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-Expansion--Equipment-Cards" target="_blank"><b>Equipment Cards</b></a> expansion and the third party <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/165589/Armory-1" target="_blank"><b>Armory 1</b></a> from <b>Aegis Studios</b> both sets of equipment are really good and add a lot to the game. I've used them several times as extra rewards in the published adventures I've run, as well as in a couple of ad-hoc adventures I've made up. I have a bunch of ideas on the the distinctions between Items, Equipment, and Inventory items <i>(note the lower case "item"),</i> but I'm saving those ideas for a future post where I'll also talk about a way of making use of those bags of gold some Heroes carry around. In the meantime, I've made some equipment cards a Hero Kid can use outside of combat. Download them for free here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5T3o1MzNJZTZZY2M/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b>Non-Combat Equipment Cards</b></a>. Hopefully, inventive GMs will be able to use them to come up with encounters where they can assist with various Ability Tests.Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-18297876630314340822015-12-15T19:07:00.001-04:002016-01-09T12:02:21.496-04:00Skills in Hero Kids, part 2<br />
In <a href="http://spiralboundstudios.blogspot.ca/2015/12/skills-in-hero-kids-part-1.html">part one</a> of this two-part posting on my alternate Primary and Speciality Skill System for the Hero Kids™ RPG, I introduced the concept of the Primary Skill and the Speciality Skills which are grouped within each Primary Skill. Please<a href="http://spiralboundstudios.blogspot.ca/2015/12/skills-in-hero-kids-part-1.html"> read part one</a> for the full explanation of both types, but to recap, having a Primary Skill adds an extra D6 to your Ability Test, while having a Speciality Skill within a Primary reduces the difficulty of the Ability Test by one - in addition to the extra D6 granted by the parent Primary Skill.<br />
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Let’s continue now with some further details on this system, how it combines with the Hero Attributes, a detailed listing of the skills themselves, rules for adding to and improving a Hero’s skills, and some guidelines for converting existing Hero Kids™ material to utilize this alternate skill system.<br />
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<h3>
Pairing Attributes and Skills</h3>
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Skills can be used with any of the three Attributes, providing the usage is appropriate. Pairing a Skill with Strength signifies a forceful use of the skill, pairing it with Dexterity implies a more precise use of the skill, while pairing it with Intelligence indicates a thoughtful or studied use of the skill.<br />
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For example, a Strength (Climbing) Ability Test may represent exerting yourself to climb a physically demanding surface, while a Dexterity (Climbing) Ability Test may refer to a technically challenging climb requiring a lot of agility, and an Intelligence (Climbing) Ability Test may be confirming your ability to recognise the best method or equipment to use in performing a climb so as to avoid a particular hazard.<br />
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<h3>
Expanded Skills List</h3>
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This is the “expanded” listing, not the “comprehensive” or “complete” skill list. It should be edited and reworked to suit your personal tastes. Want a “Jumping” Speciality Skill within Athletics? Feel Herbalism should be a Primary Skill separate from Medicine? Want to add “Healing” as a Speciality of Medicine? Want to remove the “Barter” Speciality? Need a “Programming” Speciality of Technology? Want to add the Primary Skill “Courage”? Any of these and more are valid for YOUR game. This is my proposed starting point. Adjust to taste, and please share the results with me.<br />
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<b>Athletics: </b><i>(Primary) </i>This is for anyone who excels at movement focused physical actions. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Acrobatics, Climbing, Running, Swimming, Throwing.<br />
<ul>
<li> <b>Acrobatics: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This covers gymnastic actions such as tumbling, jumping flipping, hanging upside down, tightrope walking, etc.</li>
<li><b>Climbing:</b> <i>(Speciality) </i>This is used when climbing a tree, cliff, wall, or rope.</li>
<li><b>Running:</b> <i>(Speciality) </i>The art of moving your legs as fast as you can.</li>
<li><b>Swimming:</b><i> (Speciality) </i>Moving gracefully and quickly in water without drowning.</li>
<li><b>Throwing: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This covers throwing (and catching) an object accurately at an intended target.</li>
</ul>
<b>Currency: </b><i>(Primary) </i>Appreciation of and experience with the handling and value of money and trade. <b>Speciality Skills:</b> Bartering, Bribery, Trading.<br />
<ul>
<li><b> Bartering: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>When to trade goods and how to turn a profit doing it.</li>
<li><b>Bribery: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>When it’s safe or appropriate to pay off someone and how to recognise WHO to pay and how much to pay.</li>
<li><b>Trading: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>How to recognise what goods will sell best in one place or to one customer, and which goods are best to buy for resell elsewhere, where best to sell gained goods, and how to turn a profit in all of this.</li>
</ul>
<b>Gunnery: </b><i>(Primary) </i>Skill in the use of heavy weapons such as spaceship weapons, tanks, castle artillery, siege weapons, etc. where the weapon’s use emphasises accurate operation of the device rather than the precise body mechanics of a sling or a bow. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>none at present.<br />
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<b>Knowledge: </b><i>(Primary) </i>This represents being learned about things of the world around them. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Animals, History, Lore, Magic, Nature.<br />
<ul>
<li><b> Animals: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>Knowing details about the animals of the world. Their lifecycles, strengths, and weaknesses.</li>
<li><b>History: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>The scholarly study of past events based on archival recordings.</li>
<li><b>Lore: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>The accumulation of socially shared knowledge.</li>
<li><b>Magic: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>The study of magic; its history, practitioners, and capabilities. This does NOT confer any ability to perform magic, this comes from having dice in one’s Magic Die Pool and having magical Attacks, Actions, and Abilities.</li>
<li><b>Nature: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>Knowing details of life and the ecosystems of the world, how all plants and animals contribute to the functioning of the world. Recognising specific plants and animals, and their abilities and uses.</li>
</ul>
<b>Mechanic: </b><i>(Primary) </i>Being skilled at working with your hands and using tools to perform specialized tasks. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Build, Repair, Traps.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Build: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This skill focuses on creating a new object, sometimes from blueprints and custom parts, sometimes cobbled together from random materials on hand.</li>
<li><b>Repair: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>You have training and practice in restoring proper form and function to things which have been broken or simply cease to function.</li>
<li><b>Traps: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>You know all the dirty tricks used to ensnare, imprison, entomb, mangle, or otherwise impede people who are going where they’re not wanted. Making, finding, and disabling all manner of traps is your speciality.</li>
</ul>
<b>Medicine: </b><i>(Primary) </i>You’ve learned about the illnesses and injuries one can suffer, and have become skilled in treating them as best you can. This covers everything from first aid, to surgery, to prescribing medicinal substances, to making your own cures, to even using magical restoratives such as potions. This skill does NOT confer the ability to cast healing magics, or to craft magical potions. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Herbalism, Potions.<br />
<ul>
<li><b> Herbalism: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This covers an in depth ability in identifying and gathering medicinal plants, where they can be found, the crafting of herbal remedies with specific effects, and when to apply which remedy.</li>
<li><b>Potions: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>You can recognise different types of magical and non-magical potions, ascertain their effects, and determine when or if to use a given potion.</li>
</ul>
<b>Negotiation: </b><i>(Primary) </i>You know what to say, how to say it, and who to say it to so as to get what you want, or to reach an agreeable solution for all involved in a dispute. Sometimes a Hero will use this skill for virtuous purposes, sometimes for nefarious ones. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Bluff, Intimidation.<br />
<ul>
<li><b> Bluff: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This is the art of convincing someone to go along with what you are saying or doing as though it is valid, when it may not necessarily be so.</li>
<li><b>Intimidation: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This is the art of imposing your will upon someone else to do or agree with what you want.</li>
</ul>
<b>Perception: </b><i>(Primary) </i>Did you notice that? If the answer is usually yes, then you have the Perception skill. It represents one’s ability and training in picking up on the details that others often overlook. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Search, Tracking, Navigation.<br />
<ul>
<li> <b>Search: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>If it can be found, then you’re the one to look for it.</li>
<li><b>Tracking: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>Everything that moves leaves a trail, and you can find and follow it.</li>
<li><b>Navigation: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>Knowing how to determine where you are, and how to get to a specific other location is the foundation of this Speciality. Whether used by woodsmen, sailors, or ship captains, the methods of “reading” and plotting a course through one’s chosen terrain are much the same.</li>
</ul>
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<b>Pilot:</b><i> (Primary) </i>This is everything pertaining to controlling methods of getting from place to place via some form of conveyance more involved than your own feet. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Driving, Riding, and Sailing.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Driving: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This focuses on vehicles such as horse carts, automobiles, and other surface vehicles where one must manually steer.</li>
<li><b>Riding: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This is applied towards any creature one guides to have them carry you elsewhere, whether the creature be a horse, dolphin, dinosaur, or dragon.</li>
<li><b>Sailing: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This covers all the specialized skills relating to controlling a sailed watercraft.</li>
</ul>
<b>Stealth: </b><i>(Primary) </i>This is the art of sneaking around, concealing oneself, and otherwise using such things as your surroundings, your attire, and other methods to evade detection of yourself or an object. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Disguise, Hiding, Traps.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Disguise: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This is the ability to make one thing look like another. For example, making yourself look older, or making a trap look like an ordinary section of the floor.</li>
<li><b>Hiding: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>This skill focuses on making something or someone go unnoticed. Effectively using the shadows, or knowing just how to best hide behind a group of trees comes under this.</li>
<li><b>Traps: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>You know all the dirty tricks used to ensnare, imprison, entomb, mangle, or otherwise impede people who are going where they’re not wanted. Making, finding, and disabling all manner of traps is your speciality.</li>
</ul>
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<b>Technology: </b><i>(Primary) </i>The word “technology” usually connotates such things as computers, rayguns, robots, and spaceships. However, the workings of a crossbow, drawbridge, trebuchet, or a pressure-plate triggered pit trap equally involve the development and application of technological skill. This skill grant familiarity and skill in identifying and using the technology of your time, whether it be satellites or water wheels. <b>Speciality Skills: </b>Hacking, Traps.<br />
<ul>
<li><b> Hacking: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>Everything that has a function has a method to its function, every method has rules and you know how to circumvent them to gain unauthorized access. This covers everything from lock picking, to breaking into computer systems, to circumventing security systems, to accessing functions in machinery or electronics beyond their intended or normal usage.</li>
<li><b>Traps: </b><i>(Speciality) </i>You know all the dirty tricks used to ensnare, imprison, entomb, mangle, or otherwise impede people who are going where they’re not wanted. Making, finding, and disabling all manner of traps is your speciality.</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Skill Advancement</h3>
The easiest way to add new Primary and Speciality Skills is to simply award <b>Skill Points </b>to each Hero when the players successfully completes an adventure. How many Skill Points to award is a matter of personal taste, but I wouldn’t recommend more than 1 or 2 per adventure.<br />
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If you’d prefer linking the number of Skill Points to an external source, you could award 1 Skill Point for Easy or Moderate adventures, and 2 Skill Points for Hard adventures. Another way would be to award a Skill Point for every 5 or 6 encounters, this will result in Heroes sometimes not getting a new Skill Point at the end of an adventure, and other times getting one part way through an adventure. Plus, you will need to track your number of encounters leading up to the next Skill Point. These are all minor concerns, but you need to have your preferred method settled upon before introducing this system to your own little Heroes.<br />
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Once they have some Skill Points, they can redeem them for new Primary Skills at a cost of two Skill Points, and new Speciality Skills for one Skill Point. Also, I wouldn’t allow the gaining of new skills in the middle of an adventure. Heroes need the time in between adventuring to learn new things, attend their training, and practice new skills. Of course, your players will grumble the first time they are told they can only gain new skills after the adventure is done, but if you’re consistent from the beginning, they’ll just accept it as the “new normal”.<br />
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<h3>
Hero Translation Guide</h3>
Great! We have all these shiny new skills, now how to represent them on our existing and future Heroes. Also, what are the new starting skills for all the canon Heroes? Have no fear, here are the conversions for the Heroes included in the core rules:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Male Warrior: </b>The Perception Primary Skill and Tracking Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Female Warrior: </b>The Negotiation Primary Skill and Intimidation Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Female Hunter: </b>The Knowledge Primary Skill and Lore Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Male Hunter: </b>The Perception Primary Skill and Tracking Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Male “fire” Warlock: </b>The Knowledge Primary Skill and Magic Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Female “water” Warlock: </b>The Knowledge Primary Skill and Magic Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Male “Hammer” Brute: </b>The Negotiation Primary Skill and Intimidation Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Male Rogue: </b>The Stealth Primary Skill and Hiding Speciality Skill.</li>
<li><b>Female Healer: </b>The Medicine Primary Skill and Herbalism Speciality.</li>
<li><b>Male “Kitchen” Knight: </b>The Negotiation Primary Skill and Intimidation Speciality Skill </li>
</ul>
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The additional Heroes featured in the Expansion series can easily be translated using the same guideline of granting them one Primary Skill and one Speciality Skill. There is one Hero from the Fantasy Expansion, Hero Cards III I will include here, the <b>Dwarven Knight </b><i>(he has “Hammer Strike” as his Melee Attack)</i> as he has no actual skill listed, just two healing potions, some money, and the Darkvision ability. I recommend giving him the either the Perception Primary Skill and the Search Speciality Skill, or the Currency Primary Skill and the Trading Speciality Skill.<br />
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<h3>
Adding This System To The Game Table</h3>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKK6ZzHx51KYN-ePv_s-r9Je-np4xlI_pkCOjb3OYdlEONWzG6gZQ_w10V6M3q9gQ2-8nrOwnQ-uktmq6hYswZYX1IErrAoKDs9DhWpuyVM7wg4rl8ccOvUJYRiwiIPx2Y8Qyavk2hjwA/s1600/Sally+-+Healer+-+Extension.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKK6ZzHx51KYN-ePv_s-r9Je-np4xlI_pkCOjb3OYdlEONWzG6gZQ_w10V6M3q9gQ2-8nrOwnQ-uktmq6hYswZYX1IErrAoKDs9DhWpuyVM7wg4rl8ccOvUJYRiwiIPx2Y8Qyavk2hjwA/s200/Sally+-+Healer+-+Extension.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Hero with the Hero Card Extension.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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To show these new skills on your Hero Card, you could just write them on the back of the card, although you then may need to keep flipping your Hero Card to make sure you don't forget what skills your Hero does or doesn't have. Alternately, you can download and print the one-page <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5TGZTMHZlel9oRVU/view?usp=sharing">Hero Card Extension</a></b> I’ve made and attach the Hero Card to the top of the sheet. This gives you a convenient place to write down both their new Skills and any new Inventory they acquire from their adventures. If you're strict about the use of inventory cards, then you can simply use the Inventory section as a place to put them instead.<br />
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<h3>
Conclusion</h3>
Whew! This system became much larger than I expected it to be when I started my previous post. My original intent was just an expanded list of skills to add to a Hero Card, but the more I wrote the more it all fleshed out in my head. Now it is a full blown system of advanced skills. I probably won’t be introducing this to my son's game until he’s a couple of years older, but I’d love to hear what other people think of it.<br />
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For ease of reference, I’ve compiled parts one and two into a pdf, formatted to be printed and used with the Hero Kids™ RPG. You can get it here: <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qZyH5wQ4m5Q015cHNHMEVndkU/view?usp=sharing">Primary & Speciality Hero Kids Skill System</a></b>. If you try this out let me know what you think.Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-25744290618865957762015-12-14T10:45:00.000-04:002016-01-09T12:02:08.693-04:00Skills in Hero Kids, part 1<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-07fca982-9ee3-3545-1152-966a25564a7b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The other day my four year old son Connor and I were preparing for a Hero Kids™ adventure and I asked him to pick out the Kids who would be going on the latest adventure. It’s just he and I playing, so I tell him to pick three Kids from the stack I have. This involves him in the set up, and gives me a few moments to sort out the maps and gather the needed monsters for the adventure.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRYtsHWoE0ShV3kPAZZX1YN5rplSsxiNUW901f6bemnUMjNMN41NKs-X0A75HevrKX4XxZxrZ89Bv7FjpoVthNtsCpgca-nkvZfGnDt38gry4xF8nfUZlwOJgcSNvUCgb7_nFi2BeH1FR/s1600/Sally+the+Hero+Kids+Healer+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRYtsHWoE0ShV3kPAZZX1YN5rplSsxiNUW901f6bemnUMjNMN41NKs-X0A75HevrKX4XxZxrZ89Bv7FjpoVthNtsCpgca-nkvZfGnDt38gry4xF8nfUZlwOJgcSNvUCgb7_nFi2BeH1FR/s200/Sally+the+Hero+Kids+Healer+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't forget the Healer!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Connor went through them all and was talking to himself as he selected each, espousing the comparative merits </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(as he saw them)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> of one Hero over another, at one point I was rather amused when he declared, “...and we need Sally the Healer. You have to have a Healer in case a monster attacks because she can use her magic to heal you.” Apparently, the gamer trope of always including a Cleric in your party is quickly learned, even at an early age!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Speaking of learning things, Hero Kids™ has a pretty fast and loose skills system. It works, but it’s not an exact system. Even the game’s designer, Justin Halliday often inserts new skills in the Ability Tests of his adventures. Sadly, there is no official method for a Hero to acquire new skills.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now, for the occasional one-off game, this isn’t really an issue. If an Dexterity (Traps) Ability Test is called for, the absence of of a Traps Skill isn’t really THAT big of a deal - for your average 4-6 year old you can simply hand-wave it and move on. However, if you have a gamer who is a bit older or more experienced, they may start asking what Skill relates to Traps, or to Swimming, Climbing, Acrobatics, Riding, etc. Perhaps they are using the same Hero repeatedly and want to learn a new skill not covered by the default handful or the single starting Skill each Hero has. Thankfully, the skills system is easily expanded to include any new skills that come up, and can even be further expanded to permit long-term advancement in a variety of ways.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Recently, I went through the adventures </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">from both the fantasy and the Space Expansion</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> published as of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dec 2015,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> gathered all the skills mentioned by name from every Ability Test, and added a couple of my own as inspiration struck. Out of the almost 40 different skills I found </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(plus the handful I added)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, only 19 are mentioned in the rules, with many of them grouped under a single icon - the “book” icon serving as the indicator of the skills Knowledge, History, and Lore, the “mask” covering both Disguise and Sneaking, etc.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Also, there are several skills I found which are overly similar for the intended low complexity level of this game: Herbalism & Herbs, Stealth & Sneaking, Speaking & Talking, Driving & Piloting, and so on. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a definite opportunity to expand on skills. </span>I propose the following replacement Skill system:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alternate Primary & Speciality Skills System</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heroes have two kinds of Skills to draw from to perform various tasks during the roleplaying adventure, Primary and Speciality Skills.<br /><br />A <b>Primary Skill </b>covers a broad range of actions and add one extra die to Ability Tests involving that skill. Thus, if performing a Dexterity (Stealth) Ability Text, a Hero would roll their Dexterity die pool, plus one die for the Ability Test, and one die for the relevent Primary Skill.<br /><br />A <b>Speciality Skill </b>covers a more specific focus of actions relating to the associated Primary Skill, and reduce the difficulty of a test by one. Thus, a Hero performing a Dexterity (Stealth/Traps) Ability Test at difficulty 6 would roll their Dexterity die pool, adding 1D6 for the Ability Test, one die for the Primary Skill, with a reduced difficulty of 5 from havng the Traps Speciality Skill.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To use the example above, each Skill Listing would look like this:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-07fca982-9ef1-beb7-da75-af9e07ad1b81" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stealth:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>(Primary) </i>This is the art of sneaking around, concealing oneself, and otherwise using such things as your surroundings, your attire, and other methods to evade detection of yourself or an object. <b>Speciality Skills:</b> Disguise, Hiding, Traps.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Disguise:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>(Speciality) </i>This is the ability to make one thing look like another. For example, making yourself look older, or making a trap look like an ordinary section of the floor.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hiding:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>(Speciality)</i> This skill focuses on making something or someone go unnoticed. Effectively using the shadows, or knowing just how to best hide behind a group of trees comes under this.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Traps:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>(Speciality)</i> You know all the dirty tricks used to ensnare, imprison, entomb, mangle, or otherwise impede people who are going where they’re not wanted. Making, finding, and disabling all manner of traps is your speciality.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Technically, one can still perform the tasks of Disguise, Hiding, and working with Traps without the Stealth Specialities, but they wouldn't gain the difficulty reduction. I went with assigning a difficulty reduction to Speciality Skill instead of an additional dice as I didn't want to have too many sources of dice pool increases, plus this method should work out to be a lesser bonus than a full extra D6.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I'll follow up </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in my next post </span>with
a full treatment of this alternate skill system, complete with all skills, rules for assigning them to a Hero, and a means of skill-oriented character advancement. This post is rather long enough right now, and I just want to get the idea out there first. Let me know what you think so far, and soon I'll post part two.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889712682480018808.post-90026739758526555062015-12-07T14:09:00.000-04:002015-12-07T14:09:16.848-04:00Hero Kids™ - My New Favourite Simple Game<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve played tabletop roleplaying games for almost 25 years and the more I explore this hobby, the more ways I find to enjoy it. My wife is also a gamer and enjoys tabletop roleplaying too. This has allowed us to share a very rewarding hobby instead of it being something which separates us, or causes resentment and arguments. I know not all gamers <i>(male or female)</i> are so lucky.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Four years ago, we were also very fortunate to have our first child. We had been trying for almost 10 years and had given up when we were surprised with a son. Having grown up in our gaming household, he is quite accustomed to seeing our friends come over to play board games, card games, or tabletop roleplaying games. At age four, he now wants to play a “miniatures game” with Mom and Dad. Unfortunately for him, he’s not mature enough to understand the rules of most of our games. Thus began my search for a kid-friendly tabletop RPG.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I found several, but many of them assumed a lower age limit of 8 to 12 years old. I could have simply played with no rules, but he wanted a character sheet, a miniature, and use dice to fight monsters - just like Mommy and Daddy. So, I needed to use SOMETHING he could understand. I was about to make my own simple system which I felt in my gut was going to be a big exercise in reinventing the wheel when I found the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hero Kids™ RPG</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Justin Halliday of Hero Forge Games. (</span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://herokidsrpg.blogspot.ca/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">http://herokidsrpg.blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">) It was just what I was looking for.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGfxSQxMSi7aJ85JSRvgPVa9ZXnqmzzp02mI1rEbtXNRLH2GAL1iQrl9i7JjZnrrUHjZ-S-bGi4ejcnmtO8zwW2QTGNaE3X0rwtuwaMBIDfJt1SKyIxUgTJzcF0eC7pzULkCfsBvplYMi/s1600/Hero_Kids_2012_10_22_05_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Hero Kids rpg game in progress." border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGfxSQxMSi7aJ85JSRvgPVa9ZXnqmzzp02mI1rEbtXNRLH2GAL1iQrl9i7JjZnrrUHjZ-S-bGi4ejcnmtO8zwW2QTGNaE3X0rwtuwaMBIDfJt1SKyIxUgTJzcF0eC7pzULkCfsBvplYMi/s320/Hero_Kids_2012_10_22_05_resize.jpg" title="Hero Kids tabletop rpg for ages 4 to 10." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hero Kids RPG, for your youngest gamers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">First off, it is designed for kids aged four to ten, which suited my situation to a tee. Secondly, it is fun to play, both for him and I. Thirdly, there is a decent amount of material available. Play aides, game expansions, and adventures. Characters have four attributes, each of which use a pool of D6s to rate them. Action resolution is measured by comparing the highest number rolled to task difficulties of 4 to 6. The more dice you have, the more likely you are to have a successful die roll. Combat is a simple opposed roll of the attacker’s attack roll versus the defender’s armor die roll. This makes for a simple, low math approach to dice resolution that is entirely appropriate to the youngest players while still allowing variety for the older ones.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Characters also have a number of health boxes, each successful attack removes one box of health - reach zero Health and you are knocked out. Each character also has three special abilities they can perform either in or outside of combat, and a handful of skills and equipment. Characters aren’t intended to advance under the core rules, however long term character advancement isn’t the focus or intent of this game, simply having an adventure is the purpose. By the time your child is ready for system supported character advancement, they are likely also ready for a more complex system anyway. Is it a perfect game? No, of course not - no such thing can exist. But Hero Kids™ is very close to the perfect young child’s tabletop roleplaying game. Even if you find there is some aspect of the game which is missing for you, it is a very easy game to house rule or expand upon.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "goudy bookletter 1911"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As a parent and an experienced gamer introducing a young child to RPGs, I do caution you before you add anything to THEIR game. Seriously evaluate if what you’re adding to the game is for your kids benefit or yourself. It’s easy to keep adding to the system until it becomes as full and versatile as an adult’s rpg, at which point it is no longer playable by your child… If they are having fun and all their needs are being met, then the game is fine. This doesn’t mean nothing could ever be added to Hero Kids™, in fact over the next few posts I will be showing some of my ideas and additions. Just be sure it is something they will appreciate the inclusion of.</span></div>
Spiralboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01058997643317547694noreply@blogger.com0