Its handled somewhat differently for Magic and other skills. For magic, someone who gets a skill as part of their magic package(ie as part of their character concept defining keyword) should have better abilities than someone who has it as a sideline. So generally, Cancel any magic will not actually be allowed as something that you can just write into your character description, because its a major ability for certain character keywords/magic packages - though something like 'Cancel Darkness Magic' would be OK, as its a more limited version. So why did the posted character description have it? Because Cancel any Magic is a specific magical feat listed in the Hantrafal magic package (and a few others besides, Jakaleel for example), amd the posted character was a Hantrafali.
As for non-magical skills, there are suggested ability lists. If your skill is significantly wider that the listed ones (ie jack of all trades 8/12) then its probably illegal. If its significantly narrower, then its perfectly legal and its your choice (if you feel your character is good at quarterstaff combat rather than all close combat, then say so). Optionally, you could take a relatively general skill, and a bonus that is also a penalty when inapplicable. A mountain climber could really not be good at climbing anything but mountains, or could be a climber with a bonus in mountains (but that can take a better than average stab at a tree, a wall, etc). Its up to you to decide which when you create your character (generally the bonus form is better, but takes more words to describe).
>> Strong, hardy, agile and cunning are all valid, though a little dull.
>
>I disagree here. "Dull" is choosing "craft mud pies" and never
>using it in 100s of gaming sessions until a GM takes pity on you and
>throws you a bone by coming up with with some contrived situation where this
>is useful...
Being always sort of competent and always sort of incompetent are equally dull. There is nothing wrong with having strong, hardy, agile, and cunning as character traits - but they don't add to a game like 'incite vengeance', 'knows secrets from chiefs past', or 'summon dead grandfather' do.
>I wouldn't allow this in any form, myself.
Just bending over backwards to be reasonable.
>Pardon me, but a lot of GMs are just that, idiots...how you can refute
>this is
>beyond me.
Ah, but they're the ones in other peoples games, not mine. Sure, some of them will make an awful botch of it given the HeroWars mechanics - but then again, plenty of very popular and successful games have shocking mechanics with far worse holes than this. Amber, for example, has far more free form mechanics. Idiots will make a botch of anything - at least Hero Wars is full of lots of nice background info, campaign ideas, etc to at least give them some idea what they could be doing instead.
>Maybe sometime I'll tell you the story about the GM who gave my
>character 89 million platinum pieces and *2* of every magic item in the
>DM's Guide (except the artifacts, they're unique you know)...all for a
>single swing of a sword.
Did you get 440 million experience points too? Thats when you know you are in a real trouble. A seemingly intelligent friend once allowed a PC to telekinesis (Otilukes Telekinetic sphere I think) a huge sphere of gold out of a 'dungeon', and then gave him the ep for it, raising him to 83rd level. I even gave him a foolproof plan to knock the guy off (good old Trap The Soul, gets 'em every time), and he went all wimpy on me and let the guy eventually escape.
And what does as this foolishness mean? NOTHING - there will always be games full of munchkins, and if they are having fun thats fine. If there is a chance they will learn something at the same time, great. If the price of having a system that allows me freedom to use my imagination is also unlocking the rather limited imagination of young D&D playin' munchkins fresh from killing half the population of the outer-realms, with servants running after them to carry their collection of magic weapons, it doesn't bother me one whit. I trust Chaosium not to publish rubbish, and what consenting gamers get up to in their own homes doesn't bother me at all. At least hero wars will hopefully teach them a few things will they are at it.
One last Hero Wars comment (buried at the end where no one but the most dedicated will read it). Someone made a rather insightful comment about Hero Wars being analogous to more modern abstracted wargaming rules - I actually find Hero Wars rather reminescent of such things myself, and I think there is potential for a cracking miniatures expansion, for those that care about such things.
Cheers
David
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