tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post1250513144587981860..comments2024-03-22T02:46:36.248-07:00Comments on Playing at the World: A History of Hero Points: Fame, Fortune and FateJon Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09824427209908111302noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-77072036204468526182022-03-16T11:21:05.758-07:002022-03-16T11:21:05.758-07:00I know this is an old topic, but I am looking at m...I know this is an old topic, but I am looking at my TS game, thinking about running it and cannot find where it talks about Fame and Fortune Points. Where in the book can I find them (other than the PC sheet)?Randalthor66https://www.blogger.com/profile/04202373420628997098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-85075709196530778002021-01-27T07:49:14.113-08:002021-01-27T07:49:14.113-08:00I'd forgotten all about the Fame and Fortune P...I'd forgotten all about the Fame and Fortune Points in Top Secret. Great RPG history write-up. Hero Points are on my mind, as I'm learning Savage Worlds at the moment, and its "Hero Points" are "Bennies".Wayne's Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00439406526396527854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-23931709931475630462021-01-24T07:53:45.521-08:002021-01-24T07:53:45.521-08:00Yeah, it's really the history of these points ...Yeah, it's really the history of these points as a currency held by players I'm tracing here. I do think T&T's choice to make saving throws about the Luck stat is a meaningful one, as you may recall from the book.Jon Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09824427209908111302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-46616389146106635032021-01-24T07:52:40.202-08:002021-01-24T07:52:40.202-08:00It is covered in the Elusive Shift, yes. Well, Wix...It is covered in the Elusive Shift, yes. Well, Wixtead was too late on the timeline to make it in, but, the earlier material is mostly in the "Destiny's Mark" chapter.Jon Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09824427209908111302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-30996130621789549782021-01-24T05:27:48.400-08:002021-01-24T05:27:48.400-08:00Interesting stuff. Is this subject going to be cov...Interesting stuff. Is this subject going to be covered in your new book, as well? Venger Satanishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04447932700800930510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-73492502203719941262021-01-23T19:49:20.450-08:002021-01-23T19:49:20.450-08:00One thing that must be remembered about Rasmussen ...One thing that must be remembered about Rasmussen is his love of upsetting the status quo. This is not, in itself, bad but it does mean that he is an agent of controlled chaos as a default. (As opposed to xaos.) That is he want to upset any development towards harmony. This is actually a feature, not a bug. (Segue way to the boardgame "law vs. chaos" which was started in gaming convention in the early '80's.) Stirling Newberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08626207362076099371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-11724173065215670252021-01-23T16:15:42.506-08:002021-01-23T16:15:42.506-08:00Hi, Jon! I can't think of any earlier use of &...Hi, Jon! I can't think of any earlier use of "Luck" stats that you can spend, but there is one precedent for Luck that is "awarded" by the Referee, in a sense. Tunnels & Trolls, already in the first edition of '75, has saving throws based on the Luck stat (3D6) (and in the first edition, solely on the Luck stat). When player characters advance, they can raise a stat, and that stat can be Luck. Clearly this is not the same as a "Special" or gift for good role-playing, although experience points, which lead to new levels, can be awarded for good play. The T&T system did, however, emulate the idea that fictional heroes grow in good fortune and cannot be killed by simple traps or threats. This seems like a conceptual precedent to the Top Secret system, although it is assuredly not the same thing as a reward system parallel to and separate from experience points.<br /><br />For what it's worth, since you're talking about spy games, another early spy game that took the Tunnels & Trolls mechanics (on which it is based) straight over is the underrated Mercenaries, Spies, & Private Eyes by Michael Stackpole, 1983. There is no sign of anything like Hero Points here, but the Luck system is retained in it, along with the possibility of increasing in Luck with each level advancement.Tom Van Winklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498476328377801884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2688079707543352822.post-22464574442615170002021-01-23T13:22:16.237-08:002021-01-23T13:22:16.237-08:00This enters in the topic of who the player is. It ...This enters in the topic of who the player is. It too remember Top Secret's version of Fortune Points and as Peterson point out the "Hero Points did have their critics, who felt that a meta-game power yanked players out of character, but to those designers who hoped to grant players more 'narrative control,'" <br /><br />What was asked is is the player a writer, that is is he (or she, but at the time this was a male dominated activity which has changed) crafting a character or is he the person how has little control over what he gets. This is still present today, as one GM told his player to roll what their power was. E.G. he wanted player of a random character not writers who wanted control.<br /><br />This is a larger topic that first appears - a DoD wargame of the USA v CCCP halted because one player on the Soviet-side pointed out that her forces could not run out of infantry so soon. It might be garbage infantry but as long as the had Political Officers then they had the power to fill uniforms.<br /><br />Fortune Points is another aspect were "meta" asks the question "Who, exactly, is the player?" Stirling Newberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08626207362076099371noreply@blogger.com