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Old 10-14-2016, 11:12 AM   #1
WaterAndWindSpirit
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Default Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

Hello all!

So, an idea I absolutely love is the Zero to Hero. You know the drill. The heroes start as ordinary people, and grow in skills and powers until they get to the point where they can save the world from a very big threat.

It's not a superhero game where someone suddenly gets superpowers. More like a D&D progression from lvl 1 to lvl 20, only instead of starting as lvl 1 character classes with decisive powers, they would start as an NPC class. Not complete idiots, maybe the starting characters can hold hold their own in a one on one fist fight against some street punk and maybe come out victorious, but injured, or they have the medical skills of a typical EMT, or minor magic they could use to scare off the superstitious cowardly lot and maybe hold their own on a one on one fight against a street punk, or minor ESP granting them situational awareness, and they would start small, but learn to become a massive force to be reckoned with over time. The guy who could hold his own against a street punk? He can now hold his own in a dummy round training fight against a Marines squad. Not necessarily win mind you, but give them a decent workout all by himself. The EMT? Now they have healing spells and can be decent with a shotgun. The wizard/witch? Now they use their ability to win fight against trained forces who don't know enough about his magic to mount proper counter strategies. The ESP guy? Now he's got enough power to be the ultimate scout.

What could I use to make such character? Giving them the trait from Social Engineering: back to School allowing them to learn twice as fast as regular people sounds like a good start, but how to run that kind of campaign? What should I watch for? What pointers could you give me for that?

Thanks!
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Old 10-14-2016, 11:33 AM   #2
Ottriman
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

Depens on some extent to how tightly you are hewing to D&D tradition in the powerscaling. For D&D 3,5 based scaling I know that one level is roughly equivalent to 50-100 gurps points most of the time.

Anohter important question is how rapidly you want your characters to advance. Regular gurps advancement rates are ok as is for this kind of game if you are willing for it take a long time. If you want them to improve in power at a rate closer to regular d&d assumptions you might want to go with the equivalent of 3-10 points per session, depending on some things.

Have you checked dungeon fantasy? It has some examples of how to build classic archetypes for such a game and how advancement might be handled in such a combat centric game.

My advice will be of less use to you the further you hew from D6D, I just jumped on my conversion experiences thereof since you mentioned it.
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Old 10-14-2016, 12:53 PM   #3
Kalzazz
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

In DnD, attributes are a prime measure of a person that does not (depending on edition) vary with level or class

So someone can beefy or brilliant or nimble etc as a level 0 cashier at McDonalds

Further starting characters tend to be indifferently equipped (much better than GURPS but still indifferently)

So my suggestion . . . let them have a goodly sum of points, but encourage spending on things like attributes and advantages that indicate 'innate potential', rather than things like skills and advantages that indicate honed experience

And give them light clubs instead of broadswords and other cruddy gear they will desperately want to upgrade from
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Old 10-14-2016, 01:06 PM   #4
Captain Joy
 
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Heartland, U.S.A.
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

Quote:
Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit View Post
What could I use to make such character?
Use the usual templates, just nerf them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit View Post
Giving them the trait from Social Engineering: back to School allowing them to learn twice as fast as regular people sounds like a good start, but how to run that kind of campaign?
I wouldn't mess with back to school. Just be gennerous with character points such that they are improving at the rate you want.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit View Post
What should I watch for?
Niche protection. As they improve, don't let them encroach into other player's bailiwicks. E.g. don't let then genius character end up with an IQ so high that his social defaults render the face man useless. An easy way to do this is with ability caps.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit View Post
What pointers could you give me for that?
Consider allowing them to borrow points from skills to bump up basic attributes (e.g. IQ, DX) and Talents. Be flexible in allowing the addition of Advantages after character creation.
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Old 10-14-2016, 06:55 PM   #5
dripton
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Northern Virginia, USA
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

It's tough, because GURPS is deadly and Zeroes are squishy. And decent GURPS characters take a while to make.

On the surface, it's pretty easy: start the PCs with fewer points than normal, and give larger than usual rewards per session.

In practice, balancing things is tricky. Wimpy PCs are always a couple of bad rolls away from a total party kill, unless you give them really wimpy opponents. So: do you want to start with fights against bugs and rats?
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Old 10-14-2016, 07:21 PM   #6
Kalzazz
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

Small foes like big rats can nuke low skill characters hard. While a skilled character might not really feel the SM penalty much, a Zero level character will be in major trouble
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Old 10-14-2016, 10:44 PM   #7
starslayer
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

My favorite foe for our own zero to hero game has been giant rats- but giant in this case means 'larger than 1 foot', between high rat DX and the SM they have been persistant threats to the party all along, even though there tiny bodies are really only capable of inflicting a point of damage or two at a time (and being all but completely useless against Armour)

But there is another problem: You want to create enemies that don't TPK on a single hit, this means low damage BUT any armour makes low damage turn into 0 damage. Its a tough tightrope to walk. Remember to have things that can't get through armour switch to swarm and targeted attacks; this makes the armoured PCs much harder to damage than there unarmoured counterparts, but not completely invincible.
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Old 10-14-2016, 10:52 PM   #8
Kalzazz
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

I remember my armored character trying to use herself as bait for the rats

In the Zero to Hero game, Florina has fought rats at least 4 times

Twice she was pretty well mangled through her armor
Once she took a decent bit of damage through her armor from the rats, but overall she succeeded in tricking the rats into thinking she was a target so they didnt escape
The last time the rats didn't want to fight the party, so she took modest damage (through armor) due to the party setting off a nice explosion in an enclosed area to try to prevent the rats from escaping


I actually haven't gotten to DM very many Zero Quests lately so I am not sure on DMing advice to specifically

One thing is that low point value characters as they gain CP and loot will become seemingly scarier than their point value indicates, due to said loot
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Old 10-14-2016, 11:32 PM   #9
NineDaysDead
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Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

Start them with 25 point characters and hand out 15 points at the end of every session, after 15 sessions you'll hit 250 points, 25 sessions 400 points, 45 sessions 700 points.
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Old 10-15-2016, 04:43 AM   #10
CraigM
 
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Default Re: Pointers on running a "Zero to Hero" game?

Instead of giant rats, I'd be sticking to humans for their early foes. Street gangs, drunken guardsmen, small-time highwaymen. Encounters where fighting is not the only option, where even winning may have difficult consequences, and where fights don't necessarily have lethal outcomes.

Losing to giant rats gets your face eaten off. Getting thrown in jail or kidnapped by bandits is more interesting than that.
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