High Fantasy Hero

What is it?

What it boils down to is playing D&D, but using the 5th Edition of the Hero System to do it. OK, maybe not exactly D&D, but sort of D&D. D&D-ish. No character classes or any of that sort of bollocks, but lots of monsters and magic, and PCs doing really, really strange things in an everyday fashion. Plus dungeons, of course — got to have lots of dungeons.

Character Creation

Characters are built with 100 character points, and up to 100 points in Disadvantages.
STR is costed at 2 character points per point of STR.
Base DCV is (DEX÷3)+10. For example, if your DEX is 13, your DCV is (13÷3) = 4, plus 10 is 14. (this minor change is to accommodate and ease the use of the inverted attack roll system)
Normal Characteristic Maxima is compulsory (and therefore not worth anything as a Disadvantage — dang!)
Characters can be of pretty much any race or species they like, as long as their base abilities don't exceed the 200 point limits for starting characters.
All characters must take the following character disadvantage:
Social Limitation: Adventurer (frequently, minor) 10pts

As an adventurer and person of no fixed abode, representatives of the law will tend to be suspicious of you, and it can be difficult to get credit. Innkeepers will want payment up front, for example, and substantial bonds will have to be posted to hire livestock. Persons of "good" society will tend to snub you (politely usually, depending on how dangerous you look), and those weaker than yourself will normally react with caution and even fear until they get to know you.

As time passes, you may gain a Reputation perk (and/or disad) which may help to mitigate this disadvantage. Then again, it may just make matters worse.
The equipment available to a starting character (in excess of one free suit of normal clothing) is bought out of starting funds, modified by any Money perks or disads (see Money).
Everybody gets Fast Healing by default, because I'm such a generous guy, and because — well, just because. What that means is that you heal naturally (i.e. without magical intervention) at the rate of your REC per week, instead of REC per month as normal.
Combat Luck is limited to no more than 2 levels (i.e. 6 PD/ED) and does not stack with any physical armour heavier than soft leather (i.e. 1 rPD). That still gives you the equivalent of wearing chainmail while dancing around in your jockstrap, which isn't too bad. Note that Combat Luck doesn't come into effect if you're taken by surprise, attacked in your sleep, or can't dodge around for some reason — if you're being crushed in a giant's fist, for example.

New Characteristic: MANA

I've created a new Characteristic, MANA, to deal with the problems involved in END use for magic.

It's base value is 10 and costs a ½ point per point to increase up to the Normal Char. Max. of 30, and 1pt per pt thereafter. The NCM goes up as you get older — to 45 in middle age, and 60 in old age.

You draw END for spells always in this order:

First, any available END Reserve that has been properly attuned to your character (i.e. that you've paid Character Points for)
Second, from your Mana characteristic
Third, from Long Term END that recovers at REC per 6 hours if resting, or REC per day if not
Last, from STUN at the rate of 1d6 STUN per END required (there is no defence against this). Like END, the STUN loss from last-ditch magic use is recovered at the Long Term rates.

Mana is normally restored fully by a night's rest, though the rate of restoration may be adjusted upwards or downwards by the ambient Mana level of the area you're lurking about in. Some areas are more magically potent than others, while some places are barely magical at all.

A character with a negative Mana total become magically inert, and cannot use or control magic in any way — there is no other effect, so the only relevance of a negative mana total greater than -1 is to determine how long it will take before it is restored if Drained below zero.