Halo TTRPG?

[LoyalPaladin]

Howdy, everybody.

I was looking over the old PBP threads and came across this game (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?413536-Halo-Fireteam-Eclipse-OOC-III). It seems like it was pretty successful, but I'm unsure what system it was using? Perhaps I didn't look hard enough. Does anyone have an idea? The AI's appear to be using D&D 3.5's classes, but the spartan gear has unique attributes that didn't line up with anything I found.

Thanks!
-LP

[Lvl 2 Expert]

My best guess would be it's based on D20 modern (or future, technically). But in that case there's quite some homebrew stuff, including a Spartan class used for all the PC's and a whole bunch of equipment and special armor abilities. Something like this (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Halo_(D20_Modern_Campaign_Setting)), only I don't think it's that one exactly.

[LoyalPaladin]

My best guess would be it's based on D20 modern (or future, technically). But in that case there's quite some homebrew stuff, including a Spartan class used for all the PC's and a whole bunch of equipment and special armor abilities. Something like this (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Halo_(D20_Modern_Campaign_Setting)), only I don't think it's that one exactly.
Thanks for the reply! I messaged one of the players, and it does sound like there was no shortage of Homebrew involved. Pretty cool, though.

[leoryff]

An official Halo RPG would be pretty cool. There's enough classes and subclasses of human and Covenant soldiers to make a pretty expansive PC list. And just about any sort of creature could be formed by Flood infection or Forerunner alteration.

Most of it wouldn't be CANON, but the Halo expanded universe has been needing a rework after the Kilo-5 trilogy anyway.

Though there'd have to be some pretty expansive rules and... demerits(?) needed to keep Spartans from being OP.

[The Glyphstone]

An official Halo RPG would be pretty cool. There's enough classes and subclasses of human and Covenant soldiers to make a pretty expansive PC list. And just about any sort of creature could be formed by Flood infection or Forerunner alteration.

Most of it wouldn't be CANON, but the Halo expanded universe has been needing a rework after the Kilo-5 trilogy anyway.

Though there'd have to be some pretty expansive rules and... demerits(?) needed to keep Spartans from being OP.

Sounds like you could make a functional hack of the Warhammer 40K RPGs pretty easily. Instead of trying to make Spartans balanced against regular humans/grunts/whatever (because that would, as you said, require extensive nerfs to the Spartan assuming equal experience), just assume Spartans only do missions with other Spartans and use the Deathwatch Space Marine rules with some modifications. One batch of supersoldiers shouldn't be hard to convert into another batch of supersoldiers once you rewrite all the fluff and get rid of some of the weirder implanted organs that Astartes have. Between Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, you've got humans and plenty of different sorts of aliens you can 'count-as' for whatever Covenant subspecies is needed, or structure your own with the rules provided.

[LoyalPaladin]

An official Halo RPG would be pretty cool. There's enough classes and subclasses of human and Covenant soldiers to make a pretty expansive PC list. And just about any sort of creature could be formed by Flood infection or Forerunner alteration.
There's a fan made one! (https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/92b5c5cfee994e7299608301a6b2eb11/topics/halo-mythic-fan-made-roleplaying-game/6ea1ce3c-7072-461e-99d5-c133b8fcc281/posts)


Sounds like you could make a functional hack of the Warhammer 40K RPGs pretty easily. Instead of trying to make Spartans balanced against regular humans/grunts/whatever (because that would, as you said, require extensive nerfs to the Spartan assuming equal experience), just assume Spartans only do missions with other Spartans and use the Deathwatch Space Marine rules with some modifications. One batch of supersoldiers shouldn't be hard to convert into another batch of supersoldiers once you rewrite all the fluff and get rid of some of the weirder implanted organs that Astartes have. Between Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, you've got humans and plenty of different sorts of aliens you can 'count-as' for whatever Covenant subspecies is needed, or structure your own with the rules provided.
I like the idea of using 40k. That might work. I'll poke around the system a little, as I have a friend who knows the system well. Thanks, Glph!

[Knaight]

There's nothing official, but there are games that come close, and there are Halo adaptations for generic systems (some of which are older and thus found on websites with a very 90's feel). Notably:
Fudge (http://dsg.neko-machi.com/halo.html), and in the form of a complete game on its own.
Savage Worlds (http://gunrocksgamingrules.pbworks.com/f/Savage+Halo+v1.6.0.pdf), in the form of an adaption.
GURPS (http://tradwiki.foxxtrot.net/index.php/GURPS_Halo), in the form of some basic advice.

Generally I'd recommend adapting a generic game, and any of the above would work, with the work basically being done for you in the Fudge version. I couldn't find anything for Open d6, Cortex, or HERO, but those are also options.

[LoyalPaladin]

There's nothing official, but there are games that come close, and there are Halo adaptations for generic systems (some of which are older and thus found on websites with a very 90's feel). Notably:
Fudge (http://dsg.neko-machi.com/halo.html), and in the form of a complete game on its own.
Savage Worlds (http://gunrocksgamingrules.pbworks.com/f/Savage+Halo+v1.6.0.pdf), in the form of an adaption.
GURPS (http://tradwiki.foxxtrot.net/index.php/GURPS_Halo), in the form of some basic advice.

Generally I'd recommend adapting a generic game, and any of the above would work, with the work basically being done for you in the Fudge version. I couldn't find anything for Open d6, Cortex, or HERO, but those are also options.
Interesting. All those ideas could do the game justice. I also looked into FATE, which is pretty universally applicable... though maybe lacks the feel I want.

[leoryff]

Sounds like you could make a functional hack of the Warhammer 40K RPGs pretty easily. Instead of trying to make Spartans balanced against regular humans/grunts/whatever (because that would, as you said, require extensive nerfs to the Spartan assuming equal experience), just assume Spartans only do missions with other Spartans and use the Deathwatch Space Marine rules with some modifications. One batch of supersoldiers shouldn't be hard to convert into another batch of supersoldiers once you rewrite all the fluff and get rid of some of the weirder implanted organs that Astartes have. Between Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, you've got humans and plenty of different sorts of aliens you can 'count-as' for whatever Covenant subspecies is needed, or structure your own with the rules provided.


The only real problem with that is that Spartans were trained for teamwork, with other Spartans and regular humans. Kinda like how Captain America always had the Howling Commandos at his back if he could help it. Gameplay-wise it would work, but there'd be no in story justification.


Unless they were all Spartan-IIIs. S3s rarely if ever interacted with other soldiers. And there's enough of them that you could make multiple classes out of them. (Medic, sniper, heavy, etc.)

[The Glyphstone]

The only real problem with that is that Spartans were trained for teamwork, with other Spartans and regular humans. Kinda like how Captain America always had the Howling Commandos at his back if he could help it. Gameplay-wise it would work, but there'd be no in story justification.


Unless they were all Spartan-IIIs. S3s rarely if ever interacted with other soldiers. And there's enough of them that you could make multiple classes out of them. (Medic, sniper, heavy, etc.)

The rulesets for the two characters aren't incompatible, there's just no way to make them balanced against each other. Captain America did have the Howling Commandos, but he was by definition superior to them, they were his sidekicks rather than co-protagonists. You could run other Space Marines Spartans alongside temporary NPC human sidekicks, but making a regular PC party out of them would be a problem because the Spartan can just do everything the human can except better. That's more of what I meant, so imprecise wording on my part.

[leoryff]

You could run other Space Marines Spartans alongside temporary NPC human sidekicks, but making a regular PC party out of them would be a problem because the Spartan can just do everything the human can except better. That's more of what I meant, so imprecise wording on my part.


NPC minons could work too. I haven't actually had any experience with the minion or sidekick systems, so the specifics are still lost on me.

[An Enemy Spy]

I feel like Spartan-IIs shouldn't be available to a level one player at all. Give them some Level Adjustment and maybe add Spartan-IV as an option for higher level human characters to take.

[AMFV]

I feel like Spartan-IIs shouldn't be available to a level one player at all. Give them some Level Adjustment and maybe add Spartan-IV as an option for higher level human characters to take.

To be fair the balancing in the systems that people are discussing here is pretty different from standard D20. I mean in Deathwatch you're a Spehss Marin right off the bat, and that isn't that far different from a Spartan (depending on which variation you're looking at).

[Blue Duke]

in D20 i'd go with starting at much MUCH higher level then level 1, have the levels before you start be considered 'Spartan Recruit' and that covers the training from hell and the augmentations - then at what ever level you really start at they get 'Armor Proficiency: MJOLNIR' (along with Weapon Proficiency: yes) and can start being real Spartans. though i wouldnt recommend D20 (in general....for anything other then runing D&D) i'd wholly support Cortex since you can hack that to do what ever you want - Spartans are just a racial template (with an absurd cost)....actually now you people have me wanting to figure out Halo in Cortex.....thanks guys.