Space Sci-Fi adaptation?

[el_octogono]

Hi everyone!
I'm planning on running my first HeroQuest game set in a Sci-Fi world similar to Aliens, the Expanse, etc.
Has anyone done some adaptation or rulings on using HQ for this setting? Any advice from the more experienced HQ narrators? Thx.

 

 

 

[jrutila]

The beauty of HQ is that you can play without different setting rulings and modifications. On the other hand you can add them but I would start with vanilla. Do you have the HQ2 core rules (instead of HQ Glorantha)?

[Noita]

I played in a Firefly HQ2 game a long while back and there were no changes made.

[el_octogono]

12 hours ago, jrutila said:

The beauty of HQ is that you can play without different setting rulings and modifications. On the other hand you can add them but I would start with vanilla. Do you have the HQ2 core rules (instead of HQ Glorantha)?

Hi! Yes, I have HQ2! 

 

10 hours ago, Iskallor said:

I played in a Firefly HQ2 game a long while back and there were no changes made.

Did you stat any spaceship? I don't know how I'll manage a combat between two spaceships, for example. If one of the two is clearly better equiped for combat how do you handle this? Add a bonus to the apropriate ability? Stat the spaceship with a Keyword and use it as augment? or perhaps the other way around, using the ship's keyword and make an augment with the PC's ability?

I can think of multiple ways of doing it, but maybe some are better at the table. What  do you suggest?

[The Tweaker]

All of the options

39 minutes ago, el_octogono said:

Did you stat any spaceship? I don't know how I'll manage a combat between two spaceships, for example. If one of the two is clearly better equiped for combat how do you handle this? Add a bonus to the apropriate ability? Stat the spaceship with a Keyword and use it as augment? or perhaps the other way around, using the ship's keyword and make an augment with the PC's ability?

I can think of multiple ways of doing it, but maybe some are better at the table. What  do you suggest?

I think all those options are valid. My preference is to stat the spaceship as a Keyword and use it to augment the abilities of the PCs, but that's only an option.

Also, you don't really need to change anything, but if you Google "Heroquest Star Wars site:forum.rpg.net", you will find a wonderful Star Wars adaptation for HQ (First Edition) by Mark Humphreys from which you can steal quite a few ideas on how to stat up aliens, starships and such in HQ. As an example, here is what an X-Wing would look:

Quote

Incom T-65 X-Wing (Rebel fighter)
Astromech Droid Socket, Combat Maneuver Wings, Deflector Shields, Hyperdrive Engine, Navicomp, Proton Torpedoes, Quad Laser Cannon, Sensor Array, Sublight Engines, Targetting Computer. 
Common Flaw: Blind Spot at Rear of Belly

Note that most of the rules modifications explained in that thread no longer apply to HQ2, which has very few rules exceptions compared to HQ1.

[Joerg]

If you want to do something space-opera like with HeroQuest, you ought to buy the pdf "Men of the Sea" (written for HQ1). Much that is said about Gloranthan sailing is eminently sensible for a setting where people move about on space vessels. The concept of the ports of call is brilliant for spaceports, too. Even if the spaceport is the open landing area behind the main barn.

[el_octogono]

Thanks for your replies. I'll read the Star Wars conversion and check "Men of the Sea"!

Also, if a PC gets enough credits to improve a spaceship or other important equipment, would it require a hero point investment? If not, I suspect a Credit roll or a Technical skill roll would do the trick... but is there anything in the HQ2 rules for that situations?

[JonL]

5 hours ago, el_octogono said:

I don't know how I'll manage a combat between two spaceships, for example. If one of the two is clearly better equiped for combat how do you handle this?

This is an area where I would clearly separate the ship's in-fiction capabilities from its ability rating. If the PC's ship is clearly over-matched by an opposing ship, factor that into the resistance.

2 hours ago, el_octogono said:

Also, if a PC gets enough credits to improve a spaceship or other important equipment, would it require a hero point investment?

Spending money or elbow grease can improve the ship's in-fiction capabilities. Spending hero-points can increase the problem-solving power of the ability, represented by its rating. Those can go hand in hand, or not. 

You don't even need to have the ship represented in game mechanics if you want. You can just take the fiction surrounding it into account when assessing plausibility, stretches, and resistance for contests with the characters' relevant abilities (pilot, engineer, etc). 

Another approach would be to treat the ship as a community. This makes sense for bigger ships with larger crews and facilities. Choose 3-5 resources that fit the style of scifi you want. The interval for resource fluctuation might be a single voyage, a week, a deployment, etc. depending again on your needs.

[soltakss]

On 5/9/2019 at 8:57 PM, el_octogono said:

I'm planning on running my first HeroQuest game set in a Sci-Fi world similar to Aliens, the Expanse, etc.
Has anyone done some adaptation or rulings on using HQ for this setting? Any advice from the more experienced HQ narrators? Thx.

I've not run HQ SciFi, but it should be easy.

Professions are Keywords, with appropriate Breakouts, so you could have Space Marine, Ship's Engineer, Mentat or Psi Cop as Keywords.

Equipment plays a more important part in Sci Fi games than other games, so you might want to work out what equipment does. Is it just a Tool (Hand Scanner), an Enabler (Blaster, allows me to shoot using my Space Marine keyword), an Enhancer (Specialised Scanner, gives +3 to Scanning) or a Thing (Eye of Knowledge, Is a Keyword by itself).

Ships should be NPCs, with Keywords and Breakouts. Ship to ship combat is just a Simple Contest or Extended Contest, using Ship abilities, perhaps with PCs enhancing or replacing ship abilities. So, a ship with Scout 18 could be crewed by a PC with Crew Member 10M (Ship's Gunner +5), so they could use Ship's Gunner instead of the standard Scout.

Rather than listing all the things a ship has, I would have the type of ship as a Breakout and then have those things listed somewhere as information. So all Ranger Class Scout Ships might have Life Support, Stealth Mode and Silent Jump, so I'd have Scout 18 (Ranger Class +1) rather than Scout 18 (Life Support +1, Stealth Mode +1, Silent Jump +1) and, yes, I know that everything is Silent in space, but Silent Jump sounds better than Undetectable Jump.

Increasing ship abilities, or abilities of any technology, should cost Hero Points, where the PCs can spend Hero Points to enhance various parts of the ship. Some things could be enhanced just by buying things. So, a ship could have AI 5M (Navigation +1, Scanners +2, Entertainment +1), but the PCs could buy or find a special programme that boosts Entertainment to +3.

The great thing about HQ is that you can make it as crunchy as you want. If you want every piece of equipment to give a bonus, then list it as breakouts on Keywords. If you assume that all Space Marines have armour, weapons and weapon skills, just have Space Marine as a Keyword and only have important differences as Breakouts.

Also, the beauty of HQ SciFi is that you can take any SciFi supplement and rip things out as Keywords or Breakouts. This works with Traveller, Mythras Star Wars, RQSciFi or any other SciFi RPG.

Edited May 11, 2019 by soltakss

[Noita]

The ship could have it's own hero points.

[el_octogono]

7 hours ago, Iskallor said:

The ship could have it's own hero points.

Ooooh... that IS interesting...

[Noita]

Our ship was statted up using the 100 word description and was treated like a character. I might have it somewhere so will go look after work.