Hollow Earth Expedition
- Thread starter dm4hire
- Start date
Never heard of it till you said something, but found this about it... Exile Game Studio
Has an example of play and characters for free download
Has an example of play and characters for free download
dm4hire
Explorer
Thanks. There was also a PDF version of their Free RPG demo mod available so will check it out. At first glance though I'm not to keen on their system, but that could be from it being something completely different than normal. A down side already standing out is their push of special dice and poker chips to play the game. That's one of the turn offs to 4e I'm not liking, all the extra stuff to keep track of whether you use tokens or just write it down.
Reading the Demo the system is pretty stream lined except for all the dice rolls. You roll of pool of dice and count successes, which is getting an even on the die. Doesn't seem like much but in combat you also do defensive rolls against attacks which probably could have been cut out.
The dice I mentioned now make sense in saving time. What they've done is categorized three types of d8 so that they represent one die roll up to three with the numbers on the die being 0 - 3, representing the number of successes you got. Since you're normally rolling for evens it works to simplify and can see how it works now. The poker chips keep track of your "Style Points" which are like action points, but you can burn as many as you want at any given time.
Will read some more of the module and see how it looks. So far it isn't too bad for a pulp game outside of the unnecessary dice rolling I mentioned.
Edit: I've decided to go ahead and purchase the game. I'll house rule it to fix the issues I have immediately noticed.
Reading the Demo the system is pretty stream lined except for all the dice rolls. You roll of pool of dice and count successes, which is getting an even on the die. Doesn't seem like much but in combat you also do defensive rolls against attacks which probably could have been cut out.
The dice I mentioned now make sense in saving time. What they've done is categorized three types of d8 so that they represent one die roll up to three with the numbers on the die being 0 - 3, representing the number of successes you got. Since you're normally rolling for evens it works to simplify and can see how it works now. The poker chips keep track of your "Style Points" which are like action points, but you can burn as many as you want at any given time.
Will read some more of the module and see how it looks. So far it isn't too bad for a pulp game outside of the unnecessary dice rolling I mentioned.
Edit: I've decided to go ahead and purchase the game. I'll house rule it to fix the issues I have immediately noticed.
Last edited:
Crothian
First Post
There is a lot less dice rolling then you think. At any point instead of rolling you can just take average. So if you have 10 dice you can just assume that you get a 5 and you'll only need to roll for things that need more then 5 successes. It plays very fast once people get used to it.
Qualidar
First Post
You don't need either of those 2 add-ons, and the game plays fine without them. The Ubiquity dice aren't necessary, but I did find them entertaining. I didn't touch the fate point chips, as I have some nice poker chips for just such mechanics.
It's a good game, and in my experience plays better than it reads, mechanically. Speaking of which...mechanics?!?! It's a game with nazis, amazons, magic, super science, and dinosaurs!! Focus on the important stuff, people!!
Actually, if you're planning on running it, I do have some advice: I think the starting characters are too green. I like to advance them a bit to get up to a more heroic level. If I were running an ongoing campaign I'd possibly go with the raw, but I've used it for 1-shots.
It's a good game, and in my experience plays better than it reads, mechanically. Speaking of which...mechanics?!?! It's a game with nazis, amazons, magic, super science, and dinosaurs!! Focus on the important stuff, people!!
Actually, if you're planning on running it, I do have some advice: I think the starting characters are too green. I like to advance them a bit to get up to a more heroic level. If I were running an ongoing campaign I'd possibly go with the raw, but I've used it for 1-shots.
FATDRAGONGAMES
First Post
HEX is a really fun system, I've had a blast playing it at Origins and Gen COn. As for the dice, all you need are standard dice (any sided). They just sell their 'special' dice as an add-on, they're not necessary at all.
Psion
Adventurer
I don't like it as much as I like Spirit of the Century for wide eyed pulp action, but it is a very solid, well put together traditional RPG. It's takes a solid (mechanically well conceived) skill based system and adds a fate-point type mechanic and a feat/advantage type mechanic.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
I've had great fun playing HEX. Course I've had some really top notch GMs running it (Hi, Qualidar!) so that probably helps. I think the Ubiquity dice are a nice addition. If I were running the system regularly then I'd definitely pick some up.
If you like the system and later want to try a fantasy game out, they've put out an adaptation for a fantasy setting called Desolation. It's got the mechanical adaptation and setting info all in one book and it is very cool. I made a point of picking it up at GenCon.
If you like the system and later want to try a fantasy game out, they've put out an adaptation for a fantasy setting called Desolation. It's got the mechanical adaptation and setting info all in one book and it is very cool. I made a point of picking it up at GenCon.
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