Our Golden Age

[Derek Raines]

As I am a rather new addition to the HA! world I lack a large amount of experience in viewing the games earlier editions. But I have heard stories...
Heroic tales of memorable characters! Moments of truly epic comic book proportions where not only were great story arcs and characters crafted...but from the nostalgic sound of it all...people had fun.

What is HA! really missing?

Is it Heroes? No, we've come up with enough interesting concepts to build a universe of our own. Is it villains? No, we've got enough foes to craft our own unique rogues gallery. Is it story? Plot? No and No. The wonderful thing about comics is that even if the stories are similar it is the heroes and villains within that truly set our nerd hearts hammering. And when WE get to play the heroes? Pure Gold.

What HA! is suffering from is an identity crisis. From what I can gather, the thing that made Gamedave's brain child so enjoyable is that it was freeform and cinematic! Sure, mechanics are needed to set our Supermen to flying, but the game pressed the boundaries of our imaginations and anything was possible! But, somewhere down the line it was decided by the Coastal Magi and the Lords of Ice Storms that balance is needed. Not just balance, but a surgical precision! A Point for point mathematical equation where all heroes are created one hundred percent equal! Don't get me wrong, balance is needed in gaming because there will always be the power monger who is more concerned with stroking his own RPG-Ego then coming up with memorable story and Role Playing experience, but does HA! have to fit into the gaming status quo? Was it ever meant to in the first place? If so, you might as well toss the D20 logo on it and go from there.

A. The game should be fun. Nothing else matters. If the players are having fun and the GM is having fun building the world and telling the story, the purpose of the game is served. No matter what your generation might be.

B. The game should have simple, quick and versatile rules. Trying to hit someone and tally damage shouldn't require a calculator. It takes away from A., the fun. This is Superheroes! The hitting and DMG should be second to the amazing series of cool powers and abilities that WE create! The genius behind HA!

C. The HA! Feat system is one of the coolest things I've experienced in gaming! A system where I get to custom make what MY very own super hero can do! Awesome! If you fear every new ability concept that comes up because It might not fit point-for-point into this WotC balance logic, then you strangle the very essence of what makes HA! unique and cool! I know it is frustrating to see the game worked over by power gamers and number stackers, but I believe gamedave said it in a previous post, perhaps the way HA! works isn't for every gaming group. If people want to exploit it and ruin it for everyone, they may want to stick to their D&D and WOW. Don't give up on your vision just because it doesn't work with every gaming group.

- If you fear that abilities are too powerful, simply only allow them to be used a certain amount of times in combat. This cuts down on a player spamming an abusive power over and over and frustrating the game and GM alike. After all, no exciting comic book hero uses the same move over and over again. You might even try a "Cooldown" system, where abilities must wait a certain amount of turns before being used again? And as for feats, sure, let us make them up as always, but maybe have us let the GM look at them before we try them in a game? This allows us the freedom to create our own personalized abilities and speeds the game up as the GM won't have to make on the spot rulings on quirky powers. Just some ideas.

I am not a game designer. I am a Gamer. I'm not posting this to brow beat or ridicule. I am posting this because I see Gamedave's big Gaming project going down the tubes when it happens to be one of the coolest gaming experiences around. It is what it is. Us Players want to play HA! feeling, well, heroic! It's got to be fun! The rest might just begin to fall into place!

Don't give up.

[bill909]

I have to admit, the best experiences I've ever had in role playing have been those in dave's system. While the mechanics have been important, the story and fairly unrestricted freedom made the game fun. Everyone of my characters has been fairly underpowered when compared with the rest of the party (except Wildcard, that was ridiculous) and i still had a blast. I was nerfed, hit by my teamates and FMVed...It was all great.

[darthorn]

But thats more story its always the story. Or better yet the DM's want to see the player's interaction with the world they have made and in it the craziness that it brings. My point being the DM/GM or whatever, needs to not be bound to the rules and the players should have some freedom to expand and personalize their characters. The game yes needs to be more streamlined over-all for general play like what do you roll and the basic building blocks for gaming; but, with a little bit of freedom here and there, or maybe i'm just sounding overly redundant. Sorry if this rant wasted to many spaces.

[Captain Monkeypants]

i think dave understands all these points, but you also have to look at our group. The free-form nature is the problem. I try to play obscure characters, mainly because they are fun, but also because I don't like hearing "oh so you're a (cable, batman, etc.)". But with that freedom there's a certain amount frustration. With the ninjew, it was very frustrating at first, but then i was given some advice and now he's one of my favorite characters. Along the same lines, During character creation, I think we need to sit down and talk more with the DM. A lot of our problems that I've seen stem from having different opinions of what a power should do (gravity control for instance). Honestly, my only concern with the game is the dice or die mechanic. Pools, Fudge Dice, or something else, All of them bring their own unique advantages and drawbacks. I like the fact that it's not a d20 and that it's a breath of fresh air.

Also, I want to thank Dave for all the work he's put in this. I know our dysFUNctional group can piss in cornflakes with the best of them, but seriously thanks for working on the system. It's clear that we all enjoy the system and want it to return as soon as you feel ready.