Hercules in Deities and Demigods

[Barendd Nobeard]

Re: regarding Herc

Oh I think it was very conscious. It was quite refreshing to have the hero actually be a nice, reasonably well-adjusted person after the whole slew of 80's angry, angst-ridden anti-heros. (KS even reffered to Herc as "Minnesota nice" once in an interview. I lived there for a year, and I agree!) Of course they reverted to form with Xena, but that's another thread....

DDG looks very promising!

But KS got sick of that "Pollyanna nice Herc" and they tried to give Hercules some "darker stuff" to deal with (e.g., the Golden Hind arc, where he killed his (latest) wife). Then, he left anyway.

And I think KS is from Minnesota, hence the "Minnesota nice" description.

Beside, the only true Herc was the cartoon one With the strength of ten / ordinary men ..... who had the annoying little fawn sidekick with the high-pitched voice. Gosh, Herc, what are you gonna do now?!

 

[frankthedm]

HARM

So Any Bets on whether or not HARM gets altered for the Epic Rules and Deities and Demigods

 

[Moon_Goddess]

Re: Re: Re: Re: GRRRRRRR

Hercs divine immunities are: Ability damage, ability drain, acid, cold, death effects, disease, disintegration, electricity, energy drain, mind-effecting effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stunning, transmutation.


Glyfair of Glamis

So wait, Hera driving him into a rage isn't mind-effecting? HUH?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi there!

I dunno, it looks fine to me.

Perhaps I was being a bit facetious. But one of the fundamental purposes of providing stats for deities is to promote interaction which bestowing immunity to nearly everything doesn't exactly do.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Re: HARM

Hi frank mate!

So Any Bets on whether or not HARM gets altered for the Epic Rules and Deities and Demigods

I would...or do to be more precise!

 

[GravyFingerz]

Hi there!

Perhaps I was being a bit facetious. But one of the fundamental purposes of providing stats for deities is to promote interaction which bestowing immunity to nearly everything doesn't exactly do.

I see your point and I agree. But bestowing immunity to nearly everything is a good way to keep PCs from "accidentily" destroying a pantheon of gods.

"Oops, I used a push spell to send Thor spiraling off a wall, and now I have his famed hammer!"

Btw, I look eagerly to your system

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey kkoie mate!

Makes me wonder if they might've used some sort of conversion system similar to yours when they were working on the dieties. Time will tell I suppose.

Well Hercules is comparative, though Hermes isn't (pending an understanding of exactly what Divine Rank is).

I wonder if Divine Rank might be like a class?

Its possible, it could also be a modifier of some nature?

The power of the diety (aka number of worshippers) deciding on the Rank or level? We can gather part of that from Herc., Hermes, and Hera.

Thats not conclusive, deities have always been rank based. The difference here is that Hercules and Hermes are roughly comparative (?) but for Divine Rank. Yet Hercules is a Demigod and Hermes is an Intermediate Deity.

Hera has a higher rank from the other two, and is a more powerful more often worshipped diety,

Hera has been previously detemined as a Greater Goddess - which would seem to be conducive to her higher Divine Rank.

where as Hercules has the lowest of the three, and is more of a tale or legend than he is worshipped as a God.

Compares to the perception of Demigod status.

Is Heras Divine Rank 20?

If so you could assume:

Demigod: Divine Rank 5
Lesser Deity: Divine Rank 10
Intermediate Deity: Divine Rank 15
Greater Deity: Divine Rank 20

Too bad they don't give us the stats to Zeus or Hades or something, their divine rank would add more insight, like if either of those two had a divine rank of 20, then that would make divine rank sound a lot like a class.

I am sure we will find out in due course.

Maybe it's the Divine equivilent to an Epic Level? No hitpoints BAB, saves or anything awarded, but a list of powers and immunities etc etc to choose from with each level.

More akin to a Divine Template then...but who would ever come up with an idea like that!

Is Hera also comprised of only 40 levels or is that information extreneous to the magazine preview I wonder?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello again Talath!

I see your point and I agree.

But bestowing immunity to nearly everything is a good way to keep PCs from "accidentily" destroying a pantheon of gods.

"Oops, I used a push spell to send Thor spiraling off a wall, and now I have his famed hammer!"

I don't mind gods being powerful or having immunities when there is a reason for it.

Obviously Zeus should be immune to electrical attacks, Surtur fire attacks etc. But you have to draw the line somewhere and rather sooner than later.

But if you look at the list of Hercules immunities there is no reason for most of them...in fact they actually made him immune to poison with is hilarious to anyone familiar with the demise of Hercules.

With these sort of lists they would have been better listing only vulnerabilities rather than invulnerabilities.

'...immune to everything except...etc.'

Btw, I look eagerly to your system

Thanks! I appreciate the interest.

 

[Staffan]

Remember that in the legends, Hercules wasn't adopted into the pantheon until *after* he died. So making him immune to poison and mind-affecting stuff despite the legends makes perfect sense - after all, he got those abilities when the legends ended.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Staffan!

Remember that in the legends, Hercules wasn't adopted into the pantheon until *after* he died. So making him immune to poison and mind-affecting stuff despite the legends makes perfect sense - after all, he got those abilities when the legends ended.

You can assume he got those abilities as part of the whole immortality package, sure, but to what end!? Why should Hercules be immune to acid or poison or energy drain or any of the other myriad defenses he now seems to sport.

I'm not necessarily against it; I'd just like to understand the reasoning behind it, which I would hope was more than...'well hes a god'.

No doubt they sorted out Achilles niggling injury too...assuming he made the jump to Hero-deity?