When Would You Place H&H?

[Adminenkainen]

It was my concept from the start that, if I was going to go back to the original role-playing game for inspiration on my own superhero role-playing game, that I should go back to the original superheroes. That's why the core rules were written specifically to emulate the comic books of 1938 and, even since then, little has been published for H&H that takes it beyond the range of 1935-1941.

But that's not to say you couldn't. There were some articles in The Trophy Case, including one I worked on, that talked about moving H&H into the 1960s. The upcoming Supplement V: Big Bang covers a broader range of gaming in that universe from 1938 to 1973. I honestly don't think H&H emulates modern-day comic books well -- but you could make a modern-day H&H campaign.

So when would you choose? When would your H&H campaign take place, or has taken place?

[order99]

Well, this one is Black Anne's fault-

That upcoming game I mentioned in General, with the two of us trading Editor duties because of the dreaded "why can't I play?" burnout? The one i'm pulling Player teeth to get some PCs tossed at us and some schedule conflicts worked out?

Well, it all happened because Black Anne caught me attempting to convert TSR's Masque of the Red Death into Swords & Wizardry Whitebox format, with some spells from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and developing a 'Saving Throw' Skill system that would rid me of NWP-phobia forever...when:


Anne: I KNEW i'd find you with an RPG in your hands, you just can't stay away, can you Dead Man?

Me: C'mon Anne, I love games...i'm just, y'know, trying to recharge my batteries. I mean I like GM-ing, but two years running Gangbusters for you guys, fours years running Tunnels & Trolls with my old crew, a few Palladium RPGs in between...I need a break-or at least some Player time, okay?

Anne: Here's the deal. I have an idea for a new campaign. You and I tweak the rules to fit the setting, we brainstorm different patches of campaign, we make two PCs each and rotate them out...i'll run the first 10 sessions, hand off to you for five, alternate back and forth every five unless one of us hits a hot streak and yells "mine!". So are you in?

Me: UMmmm...maybe. I'll need to know what Rules you want and what setting to start with-generic fantasy is Right Out and i'm a little tired of the 1920's, so that leaves-maybe some Mutant Future/Thundaar the Barbarian stuff? I could at least kick the tires on it and-

Anne-NO.BETTER. Better than Thundaar.

Me-HERESY!   But I am listening...

Anne-Got your undivided attention? Good. HERE is the system! (slides copy of H&H onto the table) And HERE is the setting! (slides copy of Masque off my lap and onto the table) Well? C'mon...

Me-Give me a minute, let me think about this..H&H is a little on the powerful side for Gothic-

Anne-Shhhhh. Listen. Invisibility serums, Alchemical transformations, The Secret Notes of Victor Frankenstein up for auction at Lloyd's of london. Sweeney Todd making pies, rumors of merchant vessels sunk by an underwater submersible, while Paris is afire with stories of aerial bombardment by a cloud that moves against the wind...a rain of meteorites fall to Earth and certain areas become Strange, certain persons become Stranger still! Dracula blackmails Stoker into releasing a fictionalized account of his defeat at London in order to render him a fictional Bogeyman-

Me: -all the while breeding a small army of Lesser Revenants, Giant Sumatran Plague Rats and has begun assembling a new Scholomance to teach black Sorcery to a new cadre of corrupt mortals-and if this Challenger lunatic is right about his theories, he may soon have a herd of Velociraptors to experiment with. This time he will invade England in STYLE!

Anne- That's the spir-wait, Velociraptors?

Me- And he will need them-because, deep in the heart of Serbia, the mad alchemist Carlos Rossum has used a newly-discovered precipitate that turns fine silk thread into an artificial nerve! Fifty pigs are slaughtered, preserved in brine and remade into the first of Rossum's Vat Men! Once the first few dozen are trained properly the first of the Flesh Looms will be raised, and within a generation all of Europe will WAR NO MORE!

Anne- Oh Carp, he's Heterodyning! Listen Sweetie, Dayspring's parked outside with a gallon of Kenya Roast and some Agave Nectar, why don't I let him in, 'kay?

Me-but little to they know that they are all pawns of the DERRO, subterranian slave race of the Dead Lords of Mu and heir to forbidden Black Sciences...soon the planet will be a vast Hive Mind of Mmmmph! Errmph MMmmmmph! RRRRgggmmph!

Anne- Bite down on this, i'll be RIGHT BACK...

Me-UUUuummmmph Ummmgll PTUI!!-and when that upstart foreigner Cthulu rises from his prison it shall taste the Twin-Powered Hellfurnaces of the mecha HMS Thunder Child and its Magnet-cannon, then we-oh Hi Dayspring, is that Kenya Roast? You shouldn't have!

Dayspring-Hey Zombie, ready to feast on some Beans? You and my wife quit seducing each other and grab some mugs!

Me-Seduce? Please, Day...the lass and I are in too pure a cerebral relationship to care about such things as mere sex!

-and then Anne gets coffee up her nose and we start to hammer out some rules.

Long story short(too late)-if this game doesn't implode on the launchpad, H&H might just be pressed into the Neo-Victorian Gothic Superpulp Genre-and if it isn't a genre yet, well....we'll see what happens.

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[archersix]

The game I ran was 1942-ish. I deliberately kept the exact time vague, and luckily nobody asked!

[finarvyn]

The advantage to doing an older game (1930's - 1950's) is the absence of cell phones and technology like that. The advantage to doing a modern game (2000-now) is that it's more familiar. I think I'd pick one of those two eras, but not sure which one is "best".

[Adminenkainen]

Hmm? Sorry, Order, I read "Gangbusters" and got distracted. I only picked up a copy of that, finally, this year and really wish I could add stuff from Gangbusters to the next edition of H&H. I also need someone to run it for me.

It will be very interesting to hear how far H&H can be stretched without breaking!

[finarvyn]

Aug 6, 2015 20:46:58 GMT order99 said:

...attempting to convert TSR's Masque of the Red Death into Swords & Wizardry Whitebox format, with some spells from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and developing a 'Saving Throw' Skill system that would rid me of NWP-phobia forever...

[total threadjack]

Whatever happened to this? As a Whitebox fan, I'm always curious as to what other rules sets get stapled into it....

[end threadjack]

[order99]

Aug 7, 2015 21:02:26 GMT finarvyn said:

Aug 6, 2015 20:46:58 GMT order99 said:

...attempting to convert TSR's Masque of the Red Death into Swords & Wizardry Whitebox format, with some spells from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and developing a 'Saving Throw' Skill system that would rid me of NWP-phobia forever...

[total threadjack]

Whatever happened to this? As a Whitebox fan, I'm always curious as to what other rules sets get stapled into it....

[end threadjack]

 In theory it isn't hard:

1) Use the Whitebox Rules as is. The Fighter is now the Soldier, the Magic-User is the Adept and the Cleric is now the Mystic...The Tradesman will be invented whole Cloth using Masque and/or Lamentations.

2) Switch out the Spells from Whitebox for some of the more flavorful ones of Lamentations of the Flame Princess (Demon Summoning is a Lvl 1 spell! Oh, such opportunity for personal overreach... ) and/or other games as I see fit. Adepts start out with Detect Magic, Read Magic and one other of Player Choice, Mystics have Bless, Detect Magic and Detect Evil as per MotRD. In order to make Adept and Mystic castings of a different flavor, I still keep the Mystic magics subject to the Slow Casting rules on Page 56 (as befits long prayers in Latin etc) but no Proficiency Checks. The Adept however do not cast at all and have no Spell Slots-they use the Holmes Scroll Creation rules to make scrolls, potions, talismans, bullets etc. and activate them as needed. A  PC with tremendous amounts of money and time can stockpile quite the arsenal-but it can be stolen or destroyed, and the Corruption rules for Magic are still in place...

3) Skills, Ability Checks and NWPs-while LotFP has a decent Skill System on its own (and the Expert makes a decent Tradesman) I wanted something a touch more integrated:

A) Every check against Ability is also a Saving Throw, with any relevant Ability and/or Class Modifiers (a full day of searching a library for clues could rate Modifiers for both Int and Con for example, while a  Seduction could use both Wis and Cha mods). Proper equipment should always grant bonuses when applicable (Crowbar for Open Doors frex) and a failed Save might sometimes be a partial success rather than a dismal flop (a failed Seduction likely gets a 'perhaps another time' rather that a 'You Bounder!' unless a '1' was rolled).
 B) Backgrounds-Each Class gets one Background to explain a pre-adventuring career, with the exception of the Tradesman who gets three. These are highly open-ended and may cover a wide variety of 'skills'. Examples:

-Doctor of Sciences (Chemistry, Biology, Botany)
-Engineer (Physics, Engineering, Electricity)
-Sailor (Navigation, Gunnery, Seamanship)
-Mad Occultist (Forbidden Lore, Ancient Languages, Astronomy)
-Unhinged Psychic (Sixth Sense, Psychometry,Prognostication)
-Raised by Shaolin Monks (Blindfighting, Pugilism, Weapon Specialization)
-Cowboy (Lasso and knots, Riding, Quick-draw)

 etc, etc...a few quick points on Ability Checks, Backgrounds and Saving Throws 1) If anybody can attempt it it's a Saving Throw (First Aid frex). If it is something a professional routinely does, no Save needed (again, First Aid, but the PC is a Doctor). If it is something daunting even to a Pro (brain surgery in a tent in Africa) a Save is needed. If a Save pits a Professional against an Unskilled individual (Cat Burglar vs bored guard frex) The Pro rolls two Saves and takes the higher one.


  ....and that is as far as I got before I was interrupted by two Cultists and a giant mug of COFFEE (score one for bribery!), and started on this 'League of Extraordinary Gentlebeings' riff.  PM me with any more questions concerning my S&W mashups or this Thread may wind up in Cuban airspace...

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