Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Introductions, Greetings, Salutations, and other Noob Questions.

Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Dr. Miguel Contreras » Sat May 05, 2012 4:13 pm

Black Jack Rackham wrote:
Dr Van Stuben wrote:Mark,

I did everything as you stated and I could edit everything but my name. It was in bold and I couldn't change it. I clicked on it, I highlighted it, I tried deleting it, but nothing worked. Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?


Wow I sure am learning a lot about this board I never knew before. I have allowed name changes but the board minimum is 10 posts so you can't change it until you've posted that many times. So, tell us about your character, ask some forum questions and post an introduction of yourself (maybe even in character). You should get there in no time. Once you do change your name, the system should go and retroactively put it on your old posts.

Mark


Ok, I've posted 13 times but I'm still not able to change my name. What am I doing wrong?
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Sat May 05, 2012 8:22 pm

Dr Van Stuben wrote:Ok, I've posted 13 times but I'm still not able to change my name. What am I doing wrong?

Why don't you shoot me a PM telling me what you want your new name to be and I'll see if I can administratively fix it.

Mark
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Sister Sonya » Sat May 05, 2012 8:54 pm

Dr Van Stuben wrote:Ok, I've posted 13 times but I'm still not able to change my name. What am I doing wrong?

The ghost of the Internet doesn't want any changes. MMWWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
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Re: Noob Character Creation Question

Postby Dr. Miguel Contreras » Sun May 06, 2012 10:22 am

For the Age & Wisdom Advantage -- does the -1 kept dice on physical knacks apply to fencing? I'm guessing that it does apply to balance, climbing, footwork, leaping, swimming, etc.

By the way, I saw that Arson is in the Rilasciare book so I will drop that skill but keep the barn burning as part of the background storyline.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Dr. Miguel Contreras » Sun May 06, 2012 10:25 am

Sister Sonya wrote:
Dr Van Stuben wrote:Ok, I've posted 13 times but I'm still not able to change my name. What am I doing wrong?

The ghost of the Internet doesn't want any changes. MMWWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!


Where are those Ghost Busters when you need them? :D
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Re: Noob Character Creation Question

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Sun May 06, 2012 11:00 am

Dr Van Stuben wrote:For the Age & Wisdom Advantage -- does the -1 kept dice on physical knacks apply to fencing? I'm guessing that it does apply to balance, climbing, footwork, leaping, swimming, etc.


If the wording of that sounds a bit confusing, remember that the idea of all Trait + Skill mechanic was that you should be able to mix and match any from column "a" and from column "b". For example, want to stab someone, that's Finesse + Fencing. Want to know the quality of a certain fencing weapon, that's Wits + Fencing, want to impress the crowd with a show of your fencing style, that's Panache + Fencing, etc.

So in answer to your question, if you're trying to do something physical with your fencing, then yes it applies. If not, then no. Same with all the skills.

(I'm still working on the appropriate use of a Brawn + Calculus roll)
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Re: Noob Character creation: weapon skill

Postby salamanca » Sun May 06, 2012 1:56 pm

It will involve stopping a coach that leaves altamira at 7 am travelling at 6 mph before it collides with a coach leaving San Cristobal at 9 am travelling 4.3 mph. Age and wisdom: it nails you for all physical actions you roll including fighting, dodging, swimming, leaping from rooftops, and catching pretty girls in a chase. (and certain seduction checks). As for arson... I would venture one can do it without training, just not as well. But barns are full of flamable stuff like hay. So just add it to the backstory.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby salamanca » Sun May 06, 2012 2:00 pm

They are taking on the Mythbusters in a Smallworld tournament in Wil Wheaton's basement.
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Re: Noob Character creation: weapon skill

Postby Dr. Miguel Contreras » Sun May 06, 2012 9:25 pm

Cool.
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Re: Noob Character creation: weapon skill

Postby Dr. Miguel Contreras » Mon May 07, 2012 5:34 pm

I was finishing up my character working on the assumption that I had 140 pts (130 + 10 for my Hubris). But when I went back to re-read the character creation info to be safe it occurred to me that I miss read it earlier and that the 130 already includes the Hubris -- correct?
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Re: Noob Character creation: weapon skill

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Mon May 07, 2012 5:37 pm

Nope, you were right the first time. You have 130 HP to build your character. If you choose to take a hubris, you'll have an extra 10 HP to play with.

Mark

EDIT: we went kind of far afield with the weapon skill question, but these are all still good Character Creation Questions, so I merged the two topics.
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

kenderleech wrote:If the cows were not meant to be ridden, why would they be so close to the chase scenes?
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Re: Noob Character creation: weapon skill

Postby Dr. Miguel Contreras » Tue May 08, 2012 11:59 am

Black Jack Rackham wrote:Nope, you were right the first time. You have 130 HP to build your character. If you choose to take a hubris, you'll have an extra 10 HP to play with.

Mark

EDIT: we went kind of far afield with the weapon skill question, but these are all still good Character Creation Questions, so I merged the two topics.


Oh good, now I don't have to figure out what to drop. :D
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Corporal Marco » Tue Jun 05, 2012 4:36 pm

I have question about swords school knacks. Is it possible to use the advantage specialty to gain a knack such as disarm or lunge as an advanced knack?
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:53 pm

CM, first off welcome!

I didn't want you to think we were ignoring your question so I wanted to say, we got it, you're just the first to ask, so we're discussing it amongst ourselves. Be back to you with an answer soon.

Mark
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

kenderleech wrote:If the cows were not meant to be ridden, why would they be so close to the chase scenes?
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:07 pm

Ok, we've gone back and forth about this, but I think the answer is going to have to be "no, you can't use Specialty to get swordschool knacks."

Part of the reason is roleplaying (I can't imagine a situation in which a fencing teacher is going to be willing to share their most valued secrets without you putting in the effort to learn the whole thing). And part is mechanical (letting you do that opens the door to swordsmen grabbing up that 'golden' knack their school is missing on the cheap and its potential for abuse is legion).
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

kenderleech wrote:If the cows were not meant to be ridden, why would they be so close to the chase scenes?
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Corporal Marco » Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:37 pm

That makes sense.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Fri Jun 29, 2012 9:41 pm

Scott brought up an excellent point in the Backgrounds section I think bears repeating here. The only place on the forums where what you reveal becomes public knowledge is the In Character Forum. All other places (Backgrounds, character sheets posted in The "Heroes" of Altamira, rules questions, etc.) are considered for the poster's and GM's use only.
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby kenderleech » Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:11 pm

I know it doesn't apply here, But in my own games at home, I allow specialty to take swordsman knacks.. But you have to buy infamous teacher, debt or obligation backgrounds to go with it. For knacks that a lot of schools teach, or ones that are less then game breaking, its a 1 point. For extra damage knacks like lunge or riposte, 2 point, or for the biggies (corps-a-corps, pommel strike, and stop-thrust) a 3 or 4.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Sun Jul 01, 2012 1:25 pm

kenderleech wrote:I know it doesn't apply here, But in my own games at home, I allow specialty to take swordsman knacks.. But you have to buy infamous teacher, debt or obligation backgrounds to go with it. For knacks that a lot of schools teach, or ones that are less then game breaking, its a 1 point. For extra damage knacks like lunge or riposte, 2 point, or for the biggies (corps-a-corps, pommel strike, and stop-thrust) a 3 or 4.


In a home game where I had a lot more control (and focus on the players) I might be tempted. But here, I think that'd just be asking for trouble.
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby kenderleech » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:54 am

Oh definitely. I just thought i'd share my house rule for others to use at thier own homes.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Wed May 29, 2013 4:44 pm

We can blame Kenny for this one. In the PG (p.113 if you're interested) it says the following:

Criminal
Basic Knacks: Gambling, Quack, Shadowing, Stealth
Advanced Knacks: Ambush, Cheating, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Prestidigitation, Scrounging


THEN, further in on p. 140 it says:
Criminal
Criminals operate outside the law. They rob others, scam them out of their money and occasionally even set someone else up to take the fall. In short, they’ll do anything it takes to get what they want.

Basic Knacks
Gambling: The odds always favor the house. You know how to play those odds, placing careful wagers and studying the faces of your opponents. This Knack isn’t the same as cheating; you never actually break the rules of the game, you simply play the odds as closely as possible. Rules for gambling can be found in the GMs’ Guide.

Shadowing: You have been trained to blend in with crowds and unobtrusively follow your targets in a city or other urban setting. Done properly, the target will never even notice your presence. This Knack is commonly used as a Contested Roll against the victim’s Wits.

Stealth: Stealth is the art of going unnoticed. You can use it to go places you’re not allowed, hide from your pursuers, or avoid being caught in a compromising situation. This Knack is commonly used as a Contested Roll against the victim’s Wits.

Advanced Knacks

Ambush: blah blah blah

Cheating: blah blah blah

Lockpicking: blah blah blah

Pickpocket: blah blah blah

Prestidigitation: blah blah blah

Quack: Specializing in “invisible” cures (such as sugar pills and colored water) that do more for the patient’s ego than his body, you know how to make people feel like they’re getting better. If they get some benefit from this, wonderful. If not, you will likely have moved on already.


So in the first it appears Quack is a basic knack then later it's advanced. Since Quack is advanced everywhere else, and since the p.140 section goes into far more detail, I'm gonna rule that we will be assuming Quack is an advanced knack for Criminal.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Lady Grace » Wed May 29, 2013 5:45 pm

Yeah, I remember they made that change in the second printing of the Player's Guide.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby salamanca » Wed May 29, 2013 7:24 pm

I will confirm that correction as well. It was in the errata at some point.
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Fri Dec 06, 2013 5:21 pm

As we move our way into Year 4 (since Year 3 is now officially over) I just wanted to take a moment to reiterate for new players (and new players only) that when making the character you now add 30 HP and 8 XP to your character sheet.

No I am not trying to make life unfair for you, my loyal players who've been with us the whole time. I am simply giving the new folks a boost to make them somewhat competitive with you. They get the basic 4xp per adventure but don't get the beginning DD bonus nor do they get all the goodies (Reputation bonuses, contacts, backgrounds, money, gizmos, etc.) that you get.

We just want to make sure that new folks can play in the higher level games without getting slaughtered.
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

kenderleech wrote:If the cows were not meant to be ridden, why would they be so close to the chase scenes?
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Re: Heroes of Altamira Rules Clarifications

Postby salamanca » Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:25 pm

Black Jack Rackham wrote:We just want to make sure that new folks can play in the higher level games without getting slaughtered.


Clarification: We don't want the new folks to get MORE slaughtered than the rest of you.
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