HB Demo Pack

8/13/2019 HB Demo Pack

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Heros Banner : The Fury ofFree W

Demo PackThank you for your interest in running a Heros Bannerdemo. Although HBanneris of course designed for extended play, I believe that it also fairs wthe short run. Whether you just want to experience the basic mechanics oBanneror else have a desire to prime your creativity for long-term play, ithope that this demo pack will act as your guide.

Caveats

Unfortunately, this demo pack does not stand alone. You will need to eithcopy of the Heros Bannerrulebook, or at least be familiar enough with theHeros Bannerto run a game on your own. Lucky for you, however, Heros is readily available1via Indie Press Revolution2and other ne retailers for

$16plus shipping and handling. That said, lets get started.

Overview

The Heros Banner Demo Pack contains guidelines for three separatedemonstrations. Each of these demos is meant to cater to groups with eithdifferent time restrictions or else a desire to see different parts of the Hero

rules in action.

First, the Heros Banner 15Minute Demo is the most basic and takes the leamount of time. The demo is meant for use with 1-3(perhaps even 4) playa game-master. The rules have been stripped down to exhibit only the baswithout any breakdowns, connections, or generational mechanics. Whatseach group of players will only control a single character by working togetaking turns. If you want to teach the game to a group of new players in ashort amount of time, the 15Minute Demo is your best bet.

Second, building off of the 15Minute Demo is the Heros Banner ExtendeThe Extended Demo is really a full-blown episode of Heros Banner, but insample characters to get things moving very quickly. Its meant to be playwith 1 4 players plus a game master and with 4 players takes roughly 5 h


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Generational Demo is on speeding up play so that everyone will have theopportunity to create and play though two characters the second buildi

the rst.

Included in the Demo Pack are ve pre-generated and partially pre-genercharacters, blank character sheets, and a list of sample inuences all of whave seen actual play. With a little luck you should be able to deliver a satHeros Bannerexperience, but if you do run into trouble or have any questiplease feel free to write me. Id be happy to lend additional assistance.

t.c.k.

[email protected]://tckroleplaying.com/


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The Heros Banner 15Minute Demo

The Character

The Heros Banner 15Minute Demo is intended for play with one gmandanywhere from one to three players. The players will all take on the role oRyeic, Prince of the Kingdom of Ryeic on the western spoke of the realm. normal Heros Bannerplay each player would create and direct a character

own, here, for the sake of time and leaning, everyone will contribute to thcharacter.

Ill be assuming from here on out that you, the person running this demobe serving as game-master. Im also assuming that you have at least a genknowledge of the Heros Bannerrules. Speaking of rules, let me suggest a fvariations that you should use for this demo only. First, no breakdowns. Sno player may take less than three passion checks following a re-roll. Thir

connections should be used for color only. The idea is to show off the coremechanics of Heros Banner.Nevertheless, I think youll nd that even themechanics alone can lead to some very rewarding play in a very short amtime.

To begin, show all of your players the included character sheet and introdSir Silviu generally. Talk a bit about life on The Cross (the realm). Explainplayers what an inuence is and how inuences are usually transformed simple paragraphs into numbers and other statistics (e.g. ideals, goals, pasThis is also a perfect time to introduce the core theme of Heros Banner nthat while a character begins with three possible directions in which to talife, in the end he can only have one.

After everyone has become familiar with Silviu in a broad sense, assign ea turn. The rst player will have control of Silviu for the rst scene, the se

player for the second scene, and the third for the nal scene. Explain thateveryone is always welcome to contribute to the current scene throughoudemo, its the player whose turn it is that is given nal say in what actualtranspires. Pass the dice and the pencil to the rst player; youre ready foropening scene!


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Turn to the rst player and in your own words describe the following situSure, this opening scene involves some pretty heavy-handed framing. Th

you only have 15minutes and you really need to grab everyones attentio

Nighttime. It is the middle of winter and your fathers kingdom is frigid. Not is the snow wisping against the fallow elds, but your people are also starvinghave climbed to the ramparts of your fathers keep so that you might better takin the mood of the people. From up high, you can see dim lanterns and a groupeasants enjoying the celebration below. Your father has decided to hold a festOpening up his treasury to gift even the lowliest class, there is both food and

to be had.

While contemplating the fate of the kingdom in the months to come, the great that leads from within the keep to the ramparts swings open. Baron Nicu striinto the cold air and his boots scrape against the stone as he approaches you.

Good evening Prince. Are you so troubled that even a festival wont bolster ymood? No matter; I have something much more important to discuss.

With a gleam he continues, Join me good Prince! Your father has grown weaYou know it to be true. I can sense your discontent. The cold has made him fohis duties. Let us truly care for these people. They starve and your father onlythinks to waste his money on parties.

But together we can put a stop to his madness. I need coin. You have access

kings treasury. I beg of you, take what is by right yours. Fund me and I will bto command an army great enough to invade the south. The kings guard is awith me. Now I need only your support. What say you?

As gm, you should pose the same question to the active player: What do do? The active player has many options open to him. For example, he couthe Baron off the Ramparts, he could confront his father, he could join wiBaron and attempt to steal the money from his fathers treasury. No matte

the active player chooses to have Silviu do, your goal as the gmis the pusscene towards a conict as soon as possible. If the player wants to see the ung from the Ramparts, then explain the conict system and have the acplayer roll the dice. There is no need to dawdle. Of course, depending on outcome of the conict, youll also want to make sure that you deal with pincreases and other mechanical consequences


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things up. You, as gm, just leave them wanting more. Id humbly suggest tyou explain where the game could take off from the ending point. What s

could come next, what could Silviu end up doing with his life, and nallyhero could take up the banner after Silviu dies? Unfortunately, the Heros15Minute Demo doesnt show off the systems generational mechanics. Budoesnt mean that you cant entice the players with a short rundown of whbe. With a bit of embellishment you might just leave the players clamorinmore, which could in turn mean that youve hooked them for a longer andrewarding session in the future.


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The Heros Banner Extended Demo

For the extended demo, the most important thing that you can familiarizeyourself with is the sample characters and the initial situation surroundincharacters. Each player will choose one of the sample characters at the stathe session. Then, as each sample character has only two of his three inulled in, youll have to guide the players through a small sampling of chacreation. I also suggest having a few sample inuences handy. If players ahaving difculty coming up with a third inuences of their own, show th

samples either as a springboard to create new inuences or else simply asfrom which to choose. Make sure, however, that if players are choosing sainuences, that they also customize the inuences to better suit their partcharacter.

Its your job as game-master to help the players along during character crBe careful, though, because its easy to spend too much time worrying abo

characters third inuences and not enough time playing. If things are drI suggest choosing an inuence for the stumped player and moving on asas possible.

As far as actual play goes, the Extended Demo should play out as any norHeros Bannerepisode from start to nish. The only modications you shomake to the rules are as follows. First, only allow breakdowns once a playreaches 50passion. Second, only allow a player to use his connections to s

off passion increases in the later stages (50-75passion) of the game if at almodications will speed up play and allow new players the chance to getfor the basic game before introducing some of the more nuanced rules.

The Characters

Although most of the characters are somewhat self-explanatory, in that th

basic motivations and abilities are already listed on the pre-generated chasheets, its important that you be familiar with the setting and situation thcharacters exist within. The setting, rst of all, is the basic setting as descChapter 1of Heros Banner.Specially, the Extended Demo takes place withof the major realms on The Cross: Ryeic and Uran.


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On the other hand, Uran is also faced with growing unrest to the far nortfrontier lands known as the outreaches. The ousted King Yinosh ed after

successfully invaded. Now, Yinosh is facing another long winter without land or food to shelter and feed his decimated household and followers. Hyet nd refuge by forming an alliance with the Baron of Carna Woods. Ththough, still has a heart to march his army south and retake the homelanUran.

Turning to specic characters, lets start with Anca Ryeic. Shes basically aprincess. Her primary method of inuence is through force. She has spen

life ghting in her fathers army and has the skill to lead an army to victoagainst even the most hardened of foes. On the other hand, she also has aof regret. With all of the blood that she has spilt over her short life to dateharbors a secret desire to retire to a life more traditional.

Next, Razvan Lockreen is a nobleman of Uran. Although he has none of tbloodline owing in his veins, he does have a cruel nature unparalleled i

realm. Now that the people of Nahrie have chosen to ally themselves withRazvan has the perfect opportunity to claim control of an inuential city kingdom. Paula, King Urans chief strategist, supports Razvans plan to lato any and all opposition in Nahrie. In contrast to his war campaign, Razidolizes the fallen King Yinosh. Nurturing a loving relationship with the Yinoshian peasant, Ioana, Razvan sympathizes with the exiles to the nort

Third, we have Fane Touriac. Fane is a diplomat hailing from the kingdom

Ryeic. His mission is to negotiate a treaty with King Uran for control of thsouthwest border. Under the impression that Urans chief strategist, Paulais a great diplomat and lover of peace, Fane wants to end the conict betwRyeic and Uran. Still, Fanes diplomatic mission is somewhat undercut byfor King Urans daughter, Ruxana. While he does love her, he also hopes tmarriage between them will ultimately lead to a lasting political alliance.

Finally, Marian Yinosh is the prince of the exiled King Yinosh. Marian, alhis father and whats left of his fathers army, are currently living in exile of Uran in the borderland outreaches. Marian is torn between his desire trevenge against the usurper Uran and simply putting an end to what has a lifetime of ghting. Kropin is the capitol city of what is now Urans kingMarian houses a deep desire to retake the city. Turning away from war, thth B f C W d l dil id t d k i th d i t


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Dont be afraid to help the players nd a third inuence that both takes thcharacter in a new direction and further complicates the political situation

the players are stalled, you can also feel free to suggest an inuence or tw

Sample Inuences

Aside from the smattering of inuences included in the Heros Bannerruleyou and your group can adapt any of the inuences on Silviu Ryeics sheeshort list below for use in the Extended Demo.

Hero

I idolize my father as a leader. Although I may be forced to live a life in exsister deserves better. Her delicate nature and keen intellect would be washe were to deny the people, any people, her royal heritage.

Ideal: Pride

Goal: Properly marry my sister off to a king.

Hero

I have already killed the greatest warrior of my time. While he fell in battlis no erasing the memory of his bravery. No one of my own family has shsuch dedication.

Ideal: CourageGoal: Defect to the Kingdom of Uran.

Conscience

I can only stand to see bloodshed for so long. While I seem to revel in warAlmighty comes to me in dreams. He tells me that I should feel guilty; I w

follow the voice of compromise.

Ideal: DiplomacyGoal: Bring my house and all of its enemies to the table for peace talks.

Blood


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Finally, for an example of how the Extended Demo might play out, you cabrowse my actual play report3from the Chicago GameDay Convention in

of 2006. You should notice some similarities between the inuences listedand those used in my actual play report.


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The Heros Banner Multi-Generational D

The key to multi-generational play in 4-5hours is speed. Unfortunately, ysimply wont have time to develop fully realized characters. But you will htime to show off the potential of Heros Bannerto support rewarding long-play. When everyone at the table knows exactly what the previous generastruggled with to become the idols that they are, youll have a glimpse of possible over the course of many sessions.

Modifcations

Start with the pre-generated characters from the Extended Demo. You miconsider plugging in a third inuence for each character so that you can gto play without any character creation delays. Either use your own creativelse mine the sample inuences above. As this is a multi-generation demoplayers will eventually have to come up with new characters of their own

now dont spend too much time explaining the character creation process

Next, youll need to signicantly speed up the pace of an average Heros Bgame in order to run through two generations. To gain this speed, changenormal passion rules as follows.

First, every time the players role for passion increases double the end resuexample, if a player rolls three passion checks and comes up with a total o

9= 18, double that total to 36. Even though this change seems extreme, Ivthat players tend to react enthusiastically to rapid passion increases. Too qfor normal play, doubled passion increases certainly up the ante in the cosingle session. Suddenly every decision becomes one of life and death.

Second, if youre playing the demo with a full four players, you may needmore speed. I suggest (1) not allowing for less than three passion checks o

re-roll and (2) either ignoring breakdowns completely or at least requiringplayers to roll a full set of three passion checks regardless of whether or n

roll a breakdown. And as with the Extended Demo, you should also introconcept of breakdowns slowly: ignoring the breakdown rules until the chreach at least 50passion.

h h


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do not try to reconstruct the course of events. Instead, evaluate the situatistands, and just move on.

The Next Generation

After making it through the rst generation of charcters in the Multi-GenDemo, I suggest rst of all taking a ve minute break. When everyone retto the table, youll have to begin by explaining character creation. Start wHero inucence. Remind the players that their previous characters will in

live on in the memory of the next generation. The rst order of business shbe to create a new set of characters based around each players previous Hinuence.

Allow the players to revel in the memories of what their previous charactjust accomplished (or failed to accomplish). The creation of the next generpart of the fun of Heros Bannerand even if you have to sacrice play timethe latter half of the demo, let the players fashion a second group of chara

that they care about.

At some point, however, youll probably have to move things along. If chacreation is taking too long, again point the players to sample inuences. Osuggestions yourself and eld assistance from other players at the table walready completed their own characters.

Character creation complete, your task is the same as its always been. Lo

rst player and push him into a scene that seriously implicates whatever icatches your fancy.

For more suggestions on multi-generation play in a short timeframe, takeat Polaris4author Ben Lehmans Heros Bannerdemo discussion.5And if yoany suggestions on this demo pack or any of the individual demos, feel frstart a new thread over at The Forge,6or else write me an email.7Id love tfrom you. But you have my thanks merely for playing.


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conscience

blood

hero

nuenceW

orksheet

H

erosBanner

the

furyoffreewill

opyright2006,TimCK

oppang

Findoutmoreathttp://tckroleplaying.com/

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Ideal & Goal

Rating

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Ideal & Goal

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Ideal & Goal

her

o

blo

od

con

science

ame Silviu Ryeic, Prince of the Kingdom of Ryeic on the western hub of The Cross eros Banner

the furyo free will

Politicsaretoo

disingenuousforSilviu.Nic

u,alocalBaron,has

informedSilviuofhisplanstofundaperso

nalwaragainst

hispoliticalen

emieswithmoneypilferedfromtheKings

coffers.Silviu,

ontheotherhand,willhave

noneofitbecause

heidolizesthe

HighOverseeroftheChurchofOurAncestors,

FatherIlianreBelvicarII,andcannotbring

himselftobetray

theidealsofth

echurch.

WhileSilviuis

convincedthathewantstofulllthevery

courtlygoalofproducinganheir,hisheart

tellshimtoseek

hisgoalviathebondsoftruelove.Standinginhiswayishis

motherwhois

determinedtomakeanarra

ngedmarriage

regardlessofa

nypassionatedesires.

Prodanishold

inReicsland.Thetookthelandtofarmand

tofendoffstarvation,butSilviuseesitonly

asaninsultagainst

hisfamily.

1. Bogdana Nostiva

LoveProduce an heir

1. Vindictive brother, Vlad2. Scepter of Prodan

1. County Overseer, Oarista Melnoty

JusticeExpose Baron Nicu as corrupt

RevengePunish the invading Prodanarmy for taking Ryeics lands.


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conscience

blood

hero

nuenceW

orksheet

HerosBanner

the

furyoffreewill

opyright2006,TimCK

oppang

Findoutmoreath

ttp://tckroleplaying.com/

Rating

Connections

Ideal & Goal

Rating

Connections

Ideal & Goal

passion : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2 2 30 31 32 33 34 35363738

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her

o

blo

od

con

science

ame Princess Anca Ryeic, warrior champion of the Kingdom of Ryeic eros Banner

the furyo free will

Givingupthedeathanddestructionofwar

forthetranquillife

isanidealwor

thghtingfortoAnca.Shecannotescapeher

dreamsofalifeathomewithhusbandand

childrentoseeher

throughtoold

age.

Accordin

totheteachin

sofAncasancestors,masterof

oneselfisthem

asteryofmilitarystrength.AsAncasearches

forperfectionofhertechniqueshealsorisesthroughthe

ranksoftheRy

eicarmy.Somehavealready

predictedthather

rightfulplacei

sasrst-rankinggeneral.

Queen Ryeic, her mother

SimplicityRelinquish the sword forever

King Ryeic, her father

Martial DisciplineBecome general of Ryeics armythrough mastery of technique


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conscience

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hero

nuenceW

orksheet

HerosBanner

the

furyoffreewill

opyright2006,TimCK

oppang

Findoutmoreath


Rating

Connections

Ideal & Goal

Rating

Connections

Ideal & Goal

passion : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2 2 30 31 32 33 34 35363738

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her

o

blo

od

con

science

ame Razvan Lockreen, a proud and somewhat cruel Uranian nobleman eros Banner

the furyo free will

Razvanidolize

sKingYinosh,theveryman

hispeople

conquered.He

seesYinoshasamanwhotr

ulystoodupfor

whathebelievedin,anddefendedhispeop

leevenasthewalls

ofKropinwere

crumbling.Yinoshshouldn

othavebeenforced

tosufferthedi

shonorofcompleteexileand

extermination.

The

owerofa

nnationrestswithits

eo

le.InRazvans

mind,andinthatofhisfather,theRyeicinv

asionisbeyond

annoying.Toq

uelltheuprising,Razvanmu

stmakean

exampleofthe

peopleofNahrie.Underthe

thumbofastrong

rulerthepeoplewillgiveuptheght.

Paula, court strategist Ioana, Yinosh peasant nowliving in Uran (love interest)

Honor of kingsArrange for the people of Yinoshto gain a portion of Uranian land

Power through forceEnslave the border rebels


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conscience

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hero

nuenceW

orksheet

HerosBanner

the

furyoffreewill

opyright2006,TimCK

oppang

Findoutmoreath


Rating

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Ideal & Goal

Rating

Connections

Ideal & Goal

passion : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2 2 30 31 32 33 34 35363738

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her

o

blo

od

con

science

ame Fane Touriac, diplomat of the Kingdom of Ryeic eros Banner

the furyo free will

FaneadmiresP

aula,strategistforhouseUra

n,becauseshe

iswidelyknow

nthroughoutthekingdomo

fRyeicforher

unwaveringwillingnesstoseekapeacefulcessationtoconict.

(Ofcoursewhe

therornotPaulaisasshesk

nownhasyettobe

seen.)

FanelovesRux

ana,daughterofKingUran.

Theirsisasecret

lovenurturedoverthecourseofmanydiplomaticmissionsto

Uran.Itcannot

lastsaveforapassionunhin

deredbyfamily

feud.

Princess Ruxana Uran

UnityMarry Ruxana to form a lastingalliance, even if supercial

Father Horea, temple priest

PacismStop the Ryeic/Uran killings


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conscience

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hero

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orksheet

HerosBanner

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opyright2006,TimCK

oppang

Findoutmoreath


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Ideal & Goal

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Ideal & Goal

passion : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2 2 30 31 32 33 34 35363738

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her

o

blo

od

con

science

ame Marion Yinosh, prince of the fallen kingdom of Yinosh eros Banner

the furyo free will

Thoughreveng

eissweet,Marianisalsodrivenbyfearand

realism.Hekn

owsthathispeoplewillsufferagreaterlossif

facedwiththe

longyearsofbattlenecessarytoreconquerhis

ancestrallands.Perhapsanalliancewithth

eBaronofCarna

Woodswouldsufcetostartagainfresh?

Afamilshon

orissacrosanct.Withoutland,Marians

eole

areworthlessintheeyesofhiselders;andnothinglessthan

thesoundofsteeloneshwillsatisfythem

.Mariansdesirefor

revengerunsd

eep.

Baron Carna

PeaceAlly Baron Carna with hispeople for what lands its worth

Lucian, captain of the Yinoshroyal guard

RevengeTake back the city of Kropin


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doutm

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ttp://tckrole

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eros Bannerthe furyo free will

Documents

HB Demo Pack