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Presented below are Career Packages suitable
for converting existing Warhammer characters
into the HERO System, or creating new characters
in the HERO System. The Careers can be mixed
and matched pretty freely, though some have
restrictions based on Career. The Career
Entries and Exits from Warhammer are also
listed in the Options and Misc category
for each Career Package both to facilitate
Conversion and also as an optional "flavor-aid"
allowing GM's to mimic the Career pathing
from Warhammer in the HERO System if they
want.
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OPTION GROUPS |
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Several of the Career Packages below contain
option groups, indicated by bordered sub
tables with the caption "Select One".
The intention is that an individual character
selecting the Package gets any one of the
abilities in the boxed group. |
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TRAPPINGS |
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The Trappings, if any, listed under "Options"
are intended primarily as flavor. They indicate
the sort of useful things a character starting
play with a given Career might be expected
to have on average. Individual GM's might
prefer a different means of determining
starting equipment, and vice versa individual
players might prefer that their character
be less typical than others and start off
with a different array of stuff. Confer
with your GM during character creation to
establish an accord on this matter.
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For existing characters entering into a
Career after play has begun, the Trappings
are a good indicator as to what kind of
equipment the character should have in order
to be either successful at their prospective
new career, or taken seriously by other
members of that career, or both. It wouldn't
be a terrible idea to acquire some approximation
of the listed Trappings before attempting
to start the Career. |
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Most of the ability conversions between
Warhammer and the HERO System should be
self explanatory. However, some require
a little clarification, as follows. |
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CHARACTERISTIC INCREASES |
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Many Warhammer abilities map to characteristic
increases in the HERO System. When annotating
these characteristic increases on a HERO
System character sheet, they can be added
directly to the relevant characteristics,
or tracked separately if desired. However,
whichever way they are tracked, they are
intended to be direct adjustments to characteristics
and not Characteristics bought as Powers
(which have a subtlety different relationship
with Normal Characteristics Maxima in the
HERO System). |
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The amount of characteristic increase shown
assumes that the character is below Characteristic
Maxima. If the character is already over
Characteristic Maxima, or the addition of
the increase would take them over Characteristic
Maxima then usually it is preferable to
take the point cost indicated and buy however
much of the characteristic in question that
many points will cover over Characteristic
Maxima. |
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Example: Joe is converting his character
from Warhammer into the HERO System. By
the time he gets to converting abilities,
his character already has 18 STR via his
characteristics conversion. Joe's character
has the Very Strong ability, which maps
into +6 STR in the HERO System, but 18+6
= 24, which is over Characteristic Maxima.
Instead Joe buys 6 points worth of STR,
which brings his character up to 22 STR. |
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MARTIAL ARTS |
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In several places below a Warhammer ability
will map to an option of a Martial Maneuver
or some other ability in the HERO System,
giving the player the choice of which to
take. Generally speaking the Martial Maneuver
versions of the ability are better, but
special rules apply to the purchase of Martial
Maneuvers that might prevent a given character
from taking such an option. |
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A character must have 10 points in Martial
Maneuvers in order to have any Martial Maneuvers.
If the character cannot comply with that
restriction, then they must take the optional
ability given. Some starting careers offer
enough abilities of this nature to allow
a character to meet the 10 point minimum
if they choose enough of the Martial Maneuver
options together, while other careers don't
and thus the character must take the lesser
option (unless they already have enough
Martial Maneuvers from previous careers). |
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In general, a GM should be lenient about
allowing characters to consider all of their
Careers when converting into the HERO System
for purposes of qualifying for Martial Maneuvers.
For instance, an experienced character that
has been through several Careers might have
picked up Strike Mighty Blow, Wrestling,
and Dodge Blow, which all have Martial Maneuver
equivalents; they should reasonably be allowed
to opt for the Martial Maneuvers during
character conversion. |
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Example 1: Joe is converting a Bodyguard
character into the HERO System. The Bodyguard
Package gets Streetfighting and Strike to
Stun, which both have Martial Maneuver equivalents
in the form of Defensive Strike and Martial
Strike. However those two Maneuvers cost
5 and 4 points respectively, which doesn't
meet the 10 point minimum required for Martial
Arts. Luckily, the Bodyguard Package also
offers the option of Disarm or Quickdraw.
Disarm has a Martial Maneuver equivalent
in the form of Martial Disarm which costs
4 points. If Joe opts for Disarm, then he
may take all three Martial Maneuvers since
their total cost exceeds the 10 point minimum
required for Martial Arts buy in. |
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Example 2: Later Joe converts an
Agitator character into the HERO System.
The Agitator Package also gets Streetfighting,
but doesn't get any other ability that offers
a Martial Maneuver equivalent, and is thus
forced to take the lesser +1 HtH Level version
of Streetfighting. |
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REPUTATIONS |
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Several of the below conversions offer some
concrete ability, and also give a one point
Reputation Perk relative to that ability.
This is primarily done for accounting purposes,
in an attempt to make as many of the Talent
conversions as possible cost 6 points each
so that "Select One" groups in
Packages can be consistently priced rather
than set to variable (var), which prevents
the entire Package from being totaled. A
one point Reputation Perk is an easy fit
to pad out abilities that come up short
at 5 points, so there you go. |
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However, it is still a real ability and
can be quite useful. Presence Attacks and
Interaction Skills are a very important
part of a lower powered campaign in the
HERO System and should not be discounted.
When any violent confrontation has decent
odds of resulting in at least one character
death, non-violent solutions get a significant
boost in attractiveness and utility.
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In this particular case the Reputations
are defined as a +1 or +1d6 boost to Interaction
Skill Rolls or Presence Attacks for a small
group that are aware of the character's
Reputation on an 11-. Despite the roll associated
with this, GM's should exercise common sense
as to who is and is not aware of the character's
Reputation. Generally strangers off the
beaten path with no common background with
the character are not going to know of the
character regardless of what is rolled,
while putative strangers that live in the
same small town that the character has resided
in for a while are more likely to know the
Reputation.
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A character can also buy up their Reputation
over time so that eventually they are well
known. Also, a player could fine tune their
Reputations a tad so long as they remain
relevant to the abilities they are paired
with in some way. Finally, a player that
had several Reputations of this sort from
various abilities could merge them together
in some combination to make a more personalized
Reputation, with GM Permission. |
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Example 1: Joe is later converting
another character that has Dodge Blow. If
the Martial Art version is taken it comes
with Martial Dodge and Reputation "Hard
to Hit, Small Group, 11-". Those who
have seen the character in action tend to
be impressed by his dodginess and word of
it has spread in the surrounding areas via
bar talk, gossip, perhaps a local skald
or bard of some sort, or even self promotion.
Either way, if the character's ability to
avoid being hit can ever benefit a Presence
Attack or an Interaction Skill then the
character would get +1d6 or +1 to the resulting
roll if his Reputation was known to the
other involved parties. |
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Example 2: Later in play Joe is using
his new dodgy character, who gets involved
in a confrontation which is looking to turn
into a duel. Joe says in character words
to the effect of, "You couldn't hit
me on your best day", and makes a Presence
Attack in an attempt to get the opponent
to hesitate and maybe defuse the situation.
If the GM determines (either via an 11-
roll or just common sense) that the opponent
has heard of the character's penchant for
avoiding blows, Joe gets to roll an extra
+1d6 on his Presence Attack thanks to his
Reputation. |