Quick question about hero and setback points

Nightstoat · Post by **Nightstoat** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:54 am

Hi

I lent my copy of the rules to a player to design a character over the weekend and he emailed me back with his first attempt.

It's a 25pts game and he has spent 21pts giving him 4 hero points - but he's also put down 2 setback points and pushed his hero point total to 6 - so he has 6 hero points and 2 setback points.

Now I didn't think this was possible - basically excess points spend becomes setback points and underspend becomes hero points - I didn't think you could buy hero points and offset them with setback points.

But as he's got my rules I can't check - so am I right or have I missed something?

Cheers

Dustland · Post by **Dustland** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:04 am

Glancing at the rules, no, you aren't supposed to "buy" hero points by taking extra setback points. Whether or not you allow it, that's another thing entirely. I wouldn't when you consider players can buy Hero Dice with Hero Points which can radically alter how a scene is going.

BeardedDork · Post by **BeardedDork** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:54 am

I'm with dustland.

Nightstoat · Post by **Nightstoat** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:59 pm

Cheers for the responses - I'm with dustland too!

Post by **BASHMAN** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:29 am

By the Rules as Written, he can't do it. But it's your game, so you are the one who writes the rules at your table, not me.

1 or 2 setbacks may not seem like much... but when they run into an enemy with Attack Weak Point who rolls a 15 on his attack dice, they'll regret it.

Nightstoat · Post by **Nightstoat** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:18 am

Cheers for the answers - I think a character having hero and setback points at the same time could cause a few issues so I think I'd try to avoid it.

kevperrine · Post by **kevperrine** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:30 pm

Nightstoat wrote:I think a character having hero and setback points at the same time could cause a few issues so I think I'd try to avoid it.

I was rereading some old posts for errata and clarifications... I came across this one and I have to ask (to understand):

Why is this a bad thing?
If a player WANTS to "buy" Setback Pts why not allow it by the rules? What's the issue that I'm missing?

NOTE: I'm not looking to implement this as a House Rule for my games (I know I COULD do that if I wanted), I'm looking to understand WHY this isn't reasonable for the normal core base rules?
If I'm missing a balancing point or something.

thanks!
-kev-

Post by **BASHMAN** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 5:56 pm

Kev- I don't want to make the rule book 1,000 pages of bullet-stopping goodness. That is the antithesis of my vision that I wanted to create. By having a rule for everything, and a caveat for every exception, you'd be surprised just how fast a manuscript can grow from 60 pages to 100, etc.

I didn't put a specific rule for this issue because I didn't think of it at the time, but I wouldn't put it in now, not because I don't think it's a neat idea, but because I don't want to overload it.

Personally, I also want some things to be left up to the Narrator's own judgement and interpretation. I see some level of ambiguity as a feature in a system rather than a flaw. This is why I wanted to have some "catch all" type rules- hence the "Benefits & Hindrance" table. Instead of having to have a specific rule for fighting underwater, or on a tightrope, the Narrator could decide if he wanted there to be a Hindrance associated with it or not. Of course, this "catch-all" doesn't apply to "all" situations (the above mentioned issue w/ choosing to have setbacks) but it is pretty handy for Narrators to use to make rulings on the fly.

kevperrine · Post by **kevperrine** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:47 pm

BASHMAN wrote:Kev- I don't want to make the rule book 1,000 pages of bullet-stopping goodness.
...
I didn't put a specific rule for this issue because I didn't think of it at the time, but I wouldn't put it in now, not because I don't think it's a neat idea, but because I don't want to overload it.
...
Personally, I also want some things to be left up to the Narrator's own judgement and interpretation.

Perfect explanation.

Love it!
Sometimes great EDITTING is the best thing a designer can do. Sometimes I (and those reading rules to play) forget that fact. It's good to be reminded.

'nuff said.

thanks!
-kev-

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:33 pm

BASHMAN wrote:Kev- I don't want to make the rule book 1,000 pages of bullet-stopping goodness. That is the antithesis of my vision that I wanted to create. By having a rule for everything, and a caveat for every exception, you'd be surprised just how fast a manuscript can grow from 60 pages to 100, etc.

Well said, good sir. That's a great thing to hear, Especially for someone who's recently weaned off a Certain Well-Known Superhero RPG for pretty much that issue.