HERO

A friendly correspondent (who, like me, is working on a home-brew game system but isn't ready to release) asks me about ideal implementation of "log ST" in a system. Log ST is the name commonly given to a game feature that sets levels of character Strength to an exponential progression, so that every extra +1 Strength mutliplies the previous level of power by some amount.

Typically, that'll be expressed as every additional X levels of Strength multiplying lifting power by some easy-to-grasp multiple Y. An example is in the HERO System, in which every +5 Strength multiplies lifting power by 2. Read more...

More on the subject of attack time and pacing in RPG combat systems, focusing on a couple of old home-brew efforts.

Continued from part I: http://www.gamesdiner.com/about_time_part1

On to another round of writing. I planned to wrap this up, but it looks like there's going to be a Part III as well. (One note: With occasional digression, I'm discussing melee, not ranged, combat.) Read more...

Log ST. You know, ST schemes under which every +X points of ST equate to some multiple of lifting power. Typically, this would be x2 lifting power per +5 ST, per the HERO System. ST 15 would lift twice as much as ST 10, just as ST 105 would lift twice as much as ST 100.

Log ST was the choice for the original superhero game that became HERO, and is often labeled a great fix for GURPS' troubles with four-color action. But could it work in GURPS? Some recent emails and forum postings on the topic follow. (My text is in black.) Read more...