Danska: Shadow Master

The thing I always forget about from gen 1 is the inevitable long waits between bits of story (especially in movie years). Because, let's face it, Bionicle isn't something that's going to get updates every week, so there's always going to be time when it seems like nothing's happening. Comics, books, films, animations, games - these things all take time and money, and given that a lot of story content has historically been free (excepting books. And films. Ok, and games. Shut up), there's only so much they can afford to put out.

The serials were a nice touch, of course, but rarely dealt with main story material.

I'm sure we'll start seeing more soon. In the meantime, I'm off to grumble over the fact that I still can't find sets in my local toy stores here in the UK.

Does LEGO.com have free shipping over a certain amount in your area? The threshold tends to be quite high, but if you're buying a few sets it's usually pretty each to reach as LEGO can be a tad pricey. If not, then if you buy a few of the sets at once, an extra £4/€6 isn't that much more? Bit of a pain if you only want to get one or two, though.

As people have said, it's Youtube. The place where anyone with a webcam can (and will) go to rant about every topic under the sun. Negativity gets more attention, and the more negative and angry it is, the more attention it gets. If you want to be angry and hateful towards something, it's the best place to get an audience. After all, someone turning up here or on the LEGO forum with similar views is unlikely to get the attention they want.

I didn't like the new sets at first. I was grumbling about how it's a different build system that I don't like, there's less variety etc. But the more I looked into it, the more I began to like it. CCBS is actually really good and a logical extension of what Bionicle as a buildable action figure line was heading towards. The fact that there are different sized, interchangable limbs is a huge step forward and you know what else? The sets don't break at the slightest touch! The addition of the gearbox for the Bionicle sets is also fantastic, not only providing a function but adding some much needed bulk to the sets. That fixed one of my problems with the system, which is the thin bodies (which was even worse during the Inika phase, admittedly). There are still things I don't like about some of the new sets, but I'm giving them a chance.

Like with anything different, so many people don't get past the initial "it's not how I remember it! Everything is ruined!" stage, so they refuse to look at it in any detail and ackowledge any merits it might have. And then they go to Youtube!

The Vahi didn't get any story significance until 2003. So, who knows? Perhaps it will get story significance, or perhaps in a few years time (when Bionicle is sweeping through the market ready to launch LEGO into a position of complete world domination) someone at LEGO will look back and go "heeey, that thing was pretty neat. Shall we go and do some storifying with it?"

Much too early to tell yet, basically.

I modified my Phantoka and Mistika somewhat, mostly to make their colour schemes better. Think I replaced most of the silver on the Mistika with their primary colour (dark red, dark blue, black. Was limited by available parts). I also replaced the bley on Lewa with Dark Green and, while I didn't change Pohatu's colours, I did modify him so I could stick one of his propellers on his back. I never liked that in order to fly, he had to put both hands out of action. Leaves him very vulnerable.

Oh, I also ordered a whole bunch of black pins and axles to replace the red/blue ones in Takanuva (2008).

In terms of story, I wasn't a huge fan of 2009. It took us to somewhere completely new with no links to the world we knew and had spent years becoming invested in, and took away the cool powers that made the line so appealing. I admit, I was getting somewhat tired of all the random powers and abilities every character/species seemed to have from about 2006 onwards. It made the Toa seem so much less special and almost underpowered in comparison to the many and diverse species of overpowered Titans the universe started filling up with. But then in 2009 they went too far the other way, and suddenly, no one had cool powers and abilities. They adversaries were also really boring and, supposedly, impossible to beat. Greg repeatedly said that any Skrall would beat any Glatorian in a fight ten times out of ten. Then what do we see in the film? Scores of Skrall being wiped out by a handful of Glatorian, some of which were rookies.

So I digressed slightly there. The thing I did like about 2009 was the sets. Finally, some colour! Sets that felt, for the first time since 2002, that they genuinely represented a particular element. So it was even more disappointing when they were all powerless. But yes, I particularly liked the Winter 2009 sets. Sure, they were a bunch of Inika builds, but each set felt unique and interesting and almost monstrous in some cases.

I think it was mostly the story that put people off. Suddenly, everything we knew and loved about Bionicle was gone. No powers, no Toa and the setting? A desert. Yeah, fascinating.

Though I still prefer it to 2006.

This is brilliant! I've been looking for something like this for a while now (hoping to one day introduce someone to the sprawling epic that is Bionicle). Thanks for making it!

Tahu, Kopaka and Lewa Mata. The cool ones with the weapons! That was a good Christmas.

I never liked the playsets much, either. I think my main problem was the attempt at minifigs. The 2006 ones were a bit better, but yeah, felt more like they belonged in a board game than a lego set.

Other sets I don't like. Um, off the top of my head, Kongu Mahri? Not necessarily a bad design, I just really didn't think it suited him at all. The mask was quite cool, though (again, going only by memory).

So, on the topic of the new sets, the things I don't like moslty boils down to the colour schemes. They have too many colours - it's mainly the metallic ones that I don't like. If you're going to have metallic colourings in a set, pick one and stick with it! Tahu doesn't come out too bad, though I don't like the silver too much, but the gold looks really out of place on both Kopaka and Onua. Gunmetal, they could have gotten away with, but the contrast between the gold/silver/main colour/secondary colour is too much.

By the same token, I'm not quite sure if I like the yellow on Lewa? As a colour scheme it's not too bad, but could have been handled better.

The other thing I dislike is the stickers/printed pieces. I'd have been happier with either plain chest armour parts, or plain ones with stickers so you can leave them off if you choose. Especially as I intend to replace Kopaka's chest piece with a gunmetal one, which will make him look a bit odd next to the others with their decorated ones.

Basically, yay for sets with interesting and standout colours, but they could have done with being a tad more restrained.

If it's sold by a third party seller, it usually says so. I noticed they had all the 2015 sets up a while back, though only Tahu, Kopaka and Onua seem to be listed anymore.

I seem to remember the old sets would appear in the US intermittently during December, but wouldn't appear in the UK at all until sometime in January. That may well still be the case, so we'll have to wait a while (but at least we'll know what to do with Christmas money!)

Edit: Officially, they're not released until January anyway, so we're not getting them late - other places are just getting them early!

 

I also prefer the idea of creating our own, free system. If Savage Worlds were unquestionably perfect for our intentions, I would consider using it, but I think we can very likely make a system specifically formulated to the needs of Bionicle.

I do think Savage Worlds is basically perfect for it. All it needs is to shuffle the rules around a bit (not really change them, even) so it's clear how it works for the setting. Character creation, for example, would need to be tweaked since Savage Worlds presents quite a universal way of building them, while Bionicle has more specific requirements.

 

Could Perception maybe be just covered by the GM's discretion? It seems like it would be easier to simply decide what, given their sensory abilities, a player can observe. And unlike in a fight, there aren't many unpredictable factors that could introduce a plausible randomness to the outcome, so rolling for it doesn't make much sense.

A perception check shouldn't so much be "what a character sees when they walk into the room". A character should be making a check when they're looking for something, trying to find something hidden or want to examine their surroundings in closer detail. A character walking into a big cavern with a pillar in the centre sees just that. A character wanting to pay closer attention would make a perception check and might notice, say, the not-so-obvious door at the other end of the cavern, a few bones to the sides/corners and the spiderwebs on the ceiling.

Perception, essentially, is trying to see what isn't obvious. It's an active attempt to perceive things rather than a passive one.

 

Sorry, Danska, I'm not sure I really understood your explanation. Here's how I was expecting that sort of thing to work.

So first, characters have their base stats, which are formulated by taking their race's default stats, adding elemental modifiers if applicable, and accounting for individual variation.

Then they have traits, which are strengths and weaknesses that apply roll modifiers in certain situations.

And finally, they have skills. Characters can begin the game with some slight skills, but as the game progresses their skills in many areas will increase. Skills will simply be awarded as they were used, so if you spend a lot of time throwing disks your Throwing skill will increase.

Seems quite neat and simple. Could you say a bit more about what traits would be and how you want them to work?

I've heard of a system called Burning Wheel that uses that kind of skill system. It's pretty obscure, and I'm not really familiar with it, but I know someone who has the rulebook. I could have a look and see if it has any useful bits and pieces on how to make that work? (I like the system in principle. I'm not sure how it works in a tabletop setting, since it can easily lead to characters only progressing at the GM's whim)

 

Danska: Shadow Master, on 06 Nov 2014 - 9:25 PM, said:

Keep perception simple. It's likely to be one of the most used abilities. Have one skill to cover all types of sensory perception. It gets too frustrating otherwise.

 

I'd also recommend something like passive perception from d&d 4th and 5th editions. After all, it doesn't make sense that players don't notice anything when they enter a room. They're not blind. Keep perception for noticing details and searching. Anything that goes beyond what you'd expect someone to notice normally.

 

Always try to keep things as simple as possible. If you can reasonably use fewer stats and modifiers, do so. Extra complexity is just that - complexity. It slows down play and is more frustrating to learn.

 

Also, resist the temptation to tie lots of stats into other stats. Again, it makes it harder to figure things out and means more modifiers.

 

At least Bionicle doesn't lend itself to the problem of some systems, which is an over reliance on equipment! (D&D 3.5, 4th Edition and Pathfinder are bad for this, where they expect you to load up with tons of magic items, though neither are as bad as Shadowrun)

 

Good ideas Danska. Simplicity is really important, although I would be fine with allowing a player to use one modifier with perception for variety. I think the key is to limit how many modifiers are allowed. I'd say the game should only allow one and only one modifier at a time (since I hate having to deal with adding up a ton of numbers). For example, let's say a character has a strength of Far Sight (+5 to perception) and a strength of Sharp Hearing (+3 to perception).  When the player performs a perception check, he can only use one of these to modify his skill.  Obviously, the player would want to use Far Sight more often, but there might be times when the GM says that it can't be used.  A dark room may be one situation where Far Sight can't be used and Sharp Hearing would serve the player well (even though it has less of a bonus).

I'm ok with using some modifiers. In fact, one of my new favourite systems is D&D 5th Edition. This has a nice balance between the typical D&D approach and simplicity. Off the top of my head, I don't think you'd ever be adding more than two modifiers. These modifiers will be

Ability score mod (e.g. Wisdom 15 = +2 mod)

Proficiency bonus (Starts at +2, increases as you level, adds to everything you're proficient in including skills, attacks, saving throws etc.)

Skills work like this. To use each skill, you roll the modifier from the corresponding stat. If you have Strength 16 (+3), Wisdom 15 (+2) and Charisma 10 (0) then your Athletics skill rank is +3, Perception is +2 and Diplomacy is 0

You can then gain proficiency in skills from your class/background/feats. This allows you to add your proficiency bonus to that score. And that's it. Your skill rolls are nothing more than Ability mod, plus proficiency bonus if you're proficient in it. So if you're at level 1, your proficiency bonus is +2. If you're proficient in Athletics and Diplomacy, but not Perception, your skills would be:

Athletics: +5

Perception: +2

Diplomacy: +2

Feats can give you extra skill proficiencies, but they don't add extra modifiers to skills. Magic...might, I haven't looked at that yet (I'm playing a Fighter).

This does limit how much better one person can be at a skill than another, but it makes it so much simpler to understand and really cuts down the numbers. I'd actually recommend 5E as a beginners RP system, whereas 3.5 or Pathfinder can be a bit confusing.

I'm not against the idea of feats giving extra bonuses to skills, but I'd say avoid circumstantial bonuses like bonuses just to sight or just to hearing. While it is something which makes perfect sense, it's so easy to forget you have these bonuses when you're not using them everytime you roll the skill.

 

Lol. You are persistent Danska! I like that!

 

I don't know Akavakuku's thoughts on this, but I really don't want to use a system already in existence because players would have to purchase the system. If we make up our own system, it will be free. I realize Savage Worlds is only $10, but everyone loves free.

 

The other reason why I am uncomfortable with Savage World is because there are only (from what I understand) three stat levels (d4, d6, and d10). This just seems to make our options more limited. I just can't see some creatures fitting within this. Take the Morbuzahk for example. The vines could devastate entire buildings. The strength of the vines was much stronger than any Toa could handle, and the only reason the king root was defeated was because of the power of the Great Disks. I just don't feel like this power difference between Matoran and Morbuzahk (and other Bionicle titans) can be faithfully represented within Savage Worlds.

 

Anyway, while I'm not so sure of Savage Worlds, I have really appreciated your feedback on the project.  It has been really constructive.  Even if we don't use Savage Worlds, I'd be happy for you to be our consultant or something and still work on the project with us (unless you can't stand me anymore  ).

On the contracy, there are many stat levels! Your stats can be: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d12+1, d12+2, d12+3 ad infinitum. (d12+3 means roll d12, add 3 to the result. A roll of 3 becomes 6 etc.)

Savage Worlds has stats for Godzilla type monsters, giant mechs/robots, spaceships etc. and does it flexibly enough that it can handle, simultaniously, players in giant mechs fighting alongside players without giant mechs. I don't think representing a power difference would be a problem.

I understand why the price point may put you off, though. It's roughly $10 a book, and you'd probably want the main rules, Super Heroes and Sci Fi companions. Maybe Horror if you want giant monsters.

They do actually allow people to create their own systems using the Savage Worlds rules, provided they stamp the logo on it and don't make any money from it. They also restrict you from copying anything from any of the official books, so whether you could include things like the core rules or powers I don't know. It might be something I investigate myself.

I'm very happy to keep poking my head in to offer advice, also provided people can still stand me! I've played quite a few RP systems (although didn't play many for that long, but I have a general knowledge of a few which is something) so I like to think I have some idea of what I'm talking about.

Keep perception simple. It's likely to be one of the most used abilities. Have one skill to cover all types of sensory perception. It gets too frustrating otherwise.

I'd also recommend something like passive perception from d&d 4th and 5th editions. After all, it doesn't make sense that players don't notice anything when they enter a room. They're not blind. Keep perception for noticing details and searching. Anything that goes beyond what you'd expect someone to notice normally.

Always try to keep things as simple as possible. If you can reasonably use fewer stats and modifiers, do so. Extra complexity is just that - complexity. It slows down play and is more frustrating to learn.

Also, resist the temptation to tie lots of stats into other stats. Again, it makes it harder to figure things out and means more modifiers.

At least Bionicle doesn't lend itself to the problem of some systems, which is an over reliance on equipment! (D&D 3.5, 4th Edition and Pathfinder are bad for this, where they expect you to load up with tons of magic items, though neither are as bad as Shadowrun)
 

Or use Savage Worlds =P

 

In Savage Worlds, you have Heat Vision. You can shoot lasers from your eyes. They have a damage value for attacking, but if you want to use them to heat, weld, melt, burn or just look flashy, you can! There are powers in the Super Powers Companion for pretty much any power you can imagine, and you can be as free and flexible with them as you like both in and out of combat. Some examples would be Matter Control (pick a type of matter), Invisibility, Super Strength, Super Speed, Super Attributes/Skills (spend power points to get more attribute/skill points), Flight, Telekinesis, and you can even spend these power points to get minions and sidekicks!

 

It seems to me you're saying that the powers in Savage Worlds are really flexible and that's why you like the system.  However, I don't see why we wouldn't have flexibility in our own custom system.  I don't think it would be very wise to say something in the rules something like, "Fire can only be used to deal 2d6 damage to an enemy".  This would be really restrictive.  When I GM games, I usually let players use skills for a wide variety of purposes (as long as it makes sense).  For example, let's say someone has a fire kinesis skill that is normally used for throwing fireballs.  If the player decides that he wants to create a screen with his fire to block a character's vision, I'd be fine with it.  I would just assign a difficulty level that I think is appropriate and have the player roll against it.  Or if the player wants to light a candle with his finger, I'd be fine with that too.  In fact, I probably wouldn't have him roll for that one.  I can do this all within D20, so I'm not sure why Savage Worlds is so crucial.  I think I missed your point Danska.

 

The powers are one of the big reasons I like it, yes. You can use them to create basically any kind of character you want.

Another reason in the relative simplicity of the system. Compared to most D20 systems I've seen, it has fewer rules and complications to remember while not really losing anything. I also love how easy it is to create characters.

Savage Worlds already has stats and details for super powers and sci-fi type vehicles/weapons/gear, which can be used in conjunction, and has details on how to create your own races, monsters, creatures and all sorts.

The way combat works in this system makes it quite fast, so you're not spending ages adding up bonuses for attacks or resolving all the effects etc. I think this really works for Bionicle, which has a lot of quite rapid battles with cool powers being used in various ways.

Basically it boils down to, I think Savage Worlds has done most of the work and heavy lifting that would be required for creating a completely new system. It still needs some tweaks to make it work exactly right for Bionicle (and the system is very balanced when it comes to races, so that would have to be undone (which would be easy)), but using it seems like far less work and entirely fit for purpose. Most of what you'd need for Bionicle is already there, it's just a case of customising it a little bit.

There would be balance problems in any game if players decided to play as different races (eg. a Matoran and Toa in the same group). Savage Worlds has suggestions for how to balance things, but if that's not appropriate for the setting then it doesn't need to happen. Matoran, for example, I would not give any super powers to. This makes them considerably weaker than Toa or greater beings. Turaga, maybe give a very small number of power points to that they have to spend on elemental control and a mask power. Toa and Skadki, around the same number of points and Vortixx, the majority of points can be spent on increasing attributes and skills (they're larger and stronger than Toa, so increasing strength would make sense).

You'd have to decide beforehand what races players are allowed to choose. It's the whole Star Wars problem all over again. You either play all Jedi or no Jedi, otherwise the non-Jedi characters don't get to do much. Similarly, having Matoran and Toa in the same party is a bad plan as balancing those races is, by their nature, impossible.

You can change the system to suit without much difficulty. Rather than power points, players who choose the Toa race get, say

+2 Strength, +1 Vigor

Matter Control (element) level 5

Choose 1 extra power (mask)

Optional 10 power points for extra attributes or skills if they're say, particularly fast or strong or skilled in some way, or these points could be spent on weapon abilities (ranged weapons, Inika lightning powers etc.)

Skadki would get:

+3 Strength

Matter Control (element) level 3, limitation: Can only be used in conjunction with another Skadki

1 Power (eyebeams. Either free reign, GM's discression or GM chooses a pre-determined list)

15 Points to spend on up to two powers, attributes/skill increases

These are just examples I came up with on the fly without much detailed analysis.

On the strengths to make up for weaknesses - I assume you're talking about the Hindrances? That makes sense in Bionicle, IMO. For example, Tahu might have a Hot-Headed/Impulsive Hindrance, that states he will rush into problems without due consideration and has a temper. That's the sort of thing Hindrances cover, and you don't have to take them if you don't want to.

Using powers outside of combat works how you like. There aren't exactly strict rules on that. So a player with control over Fire can use his power over fire to achieve anything that power might reasonably be used to achieve, from lighting a candle to starting a forest fire. If you want to use your power, you just have to say "I do this with my power" and as long as it makes sense, that's what you do. If you're overcoming a problem with your power that isn't combat related, you'd roll something to determine if you succeed, like a skill check (only you're throwing fire at it, so it's better!)

I'm not saying you should take Savage Worlds exactly as it is and use that, but it has all the elements needed to adapt it for a Bionicle setting without much difficulty. You can impose as many or as few restrictions on character creation as you like, tweak it for balance how you like - that's what it means when it says it's a universal system. You can tweak and adapt it to suit your own setting, and it gives you the tools to do so.

So I wrote up a nice, long, detailed post last night, pressed the wrong button and now it's gone. I shall try again.

First off, Savage Worlds is a universal system. It's designed to be used in whatever setting you choose (and has various companion books to help, such as Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror and Super Power settings/rules). Its focus is on fast pace combat, and it has fewer complex rules, stats and numbers than D&D. Character creation is remarkably simple. To make a character using just the basic rules, you:

- Pick a race

- Assign 5 points to attributes

- Assign 15 points to skills

- Choose (up to) two minor and one major hindrance (character flaws that give you bonus points to spend)

- Purchase equipment (not applicable to Super Heroes)

That's it! No classes, no levels. You do gain experience, and this allows you to select an Edge (feats), increase skills, buy a new skill or occasionally increase an attribute. You're free to make your character how you want based on skills, edges etc.

The value of attributes and skills is determined by dice size. You start off with all attributes as d4, which is what you roll when you use that attribute. Each point you spend raises it one dice size, from d4-->d6-->d8-->d10-->d12.

Skills are much the same. One point to purchase it at d4, another to increase to d6 etc. up to the level of its linked attribute, then it's two points. This is the only time the attribute has any effect on the skill. There's no [skill level + attribute level] in this, your skill level stands by itself. So if you have Strength d6 and Fighting d8, then beyond the additional points cost to push Fighting to d8, your Strength no longer has any effect on it.

Skills include things like Fighting, Notice, Stealth, Shooting and all manner of things. This isn't a game where you have lots and lots of skills (although you can with super powers. You can do anything with super powers), but the ones you do have you'll probably be using a lot.

There are rules for combat, the usual to-hit and damage rules, movement rules etc. You get one action and one movement a turn, and can take extra actions at a penalty to your rolls. You can definitely come up with strategic plans and decisions for combat, and how much control the GM has really depends on the type of game you're playing and how pro-active the players want to be. Think D&D with fewer rules and restrictions.

For Super powered games, you also get a pre-determined number of points to spend on powers and can take an additional Major Hindrance, provided the benefit you gain from that hindrance is extra power points. Now super powers are the reason I think this system works so well for Bionicle (that and a classless system just seems more appropriate). They are not like D&D spells at all. If you have a particular super power, you get to use it how you want and when you want. No limit. For example

A D&D version of Heat Vision would probably say something like "shoot beams of red hot energy from your eyes. Does 2d6 fire damage." and you'd be limited in your use of it by your number of spell slots/if it was prepared etc.

In Savage Worlds, you have Heat Vision. You can shoot lasers from your eyes. They have a damage value for attacking, but if you want to use them to heat, weld, melt, burn or just look flashy, you can! There are powers in the Super Powers Companion for pretty much any power you can imagine, and you can be as free and flexible with them as you like both in and out of combat. Some examples would be Matter Control (pick a type of matter), Invisibility, Super Strength, Super Speed, Super Attributes/Skills (spend power points to get more attribute/skill points), Flight, Telekinesis, and you can even spend these power points to get minions and sidekicks!

The system lets you build all the classics - mages, fighters, rogues, also martial arts masters, bandits, cyborgs, aliens, incorporeal spirits with possession powers, brains in jars, elemental specialists and the setting can vary from classic fantasy to deep space to the second world war.

Kooltone - I've never heard of Wushu, but it sounds very different. Savage Worlds in more rules light than D&D, but by no means rules free. It's simpler and more flexible and is, if anything, empowering to the GM. It has guidelines for creating your own worlds, races, edges, equipment etc.

TLDR: RP system that encourages you to build your own world with simple mechanics and character creation, any super power you can imagine and flexible enough to allow fast and inventive play. Includes rules for creating your own races/creatures. Very fun!

I recommended this in another topic, but I'd strongly suggest investigating the Savage Worlds system. It's fairly simple, though different from D&D. It still uses all dice types, but they're implemented differently. I'll try to give a brief rundown of how it works and why I think it would be good for this.

It has five stats, which are:

Agility (speed, nimbleness)

Smarts (how well the character knows the world, quick thinking etc)

Spirit (wisdom, willpower)

Strength (how hard you hit things)

Vigor (endurance, damage resistance and the like)

Rather than assigning a number to each stat, you assign one dice. They all start at d4, which means you roll a d4 when using that stat. Given that the base chance of success on any given check is 4, higher dice means higher chance of success.

You then have 20 points to spend on skills (various examples are given in the books, but you can make them whatever you want. Make your own list, works fine). For the Super Powers book (which is awesome. I'll explain why more in a minute), you start with one Edge and up to two Major and two Minor Hindrances. Edges give you something useful and unique to your character (think Feats), while Hindrances give your character a flaw of some kind (in exchange for more skill points, stats or powers). An example hindrance might be Ruthless. The character will do anything and everything to get their way or succeed in a goal.

Now the real reason I like Savage Worlds, and think it's almost a ready-made system for this, are the Super Powers. This contains things like Matter Control (all elemental powers), Super Strength, Speed, Armour (can be adapted for shielding), Invisibility, see where I'm going with this? You can also have Super attributes, meaning you can spend power points to give characters greater than normal Strength, Vigor etc.

Characters start with 5 points to spend on attributes. Each point raises it one dice. Eg. Spending two points in Strength would raise it from d4 to d8. One point, d6.

You could build Matoran with the standard 5 attributes, 20 skill points and either 2 major, or 1 major and 2 minor hindrances.

For Toa and more powerful beings, you can give them the Super Power rules. This gives them an Edge, and a certain number of points to spend on Powers (require Toa to take Matter Control for their respective element and choose from a pre-selected list of powers for masks), then they can spend the rest on maybe extra masks, weapon powers or increased stats.

The way combat and such works is, you say what you want to do (I use my power over fire to melt the roof above the Rahi and crush it), If you succeed on the roll (Agility roll for ranged attack, but I may be mistaken) the damage is calculated against the Rahi's toughness. Unlike D&D, you are not limited to specific magic spells, but can specify any action you like provided it is within the abilities of your powers.

The Savage Worlds system is a universal system, so can work in virtually any setting. It has a minimal emphasis on stats and remembering boosts or lots of numbers, making it quick and simple to learn/play and comes with a large selection of Powers, which can easily be adapted to a Bionicle setting. The 'dice as stats' mechanic makes stats easy to remember and gives them a definite meaning. I would highly recommend checking it out.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to hijack your system and shove my own ideas on you in its place. I've just been thinking about a Bionicle Tabletop system myself lately, and noticed Savage Worlds has a lot of what a Bionicle system might need already in place. Have a look or ignore it at your leisure!

As for your current system, I think the problem with statting anything is that, well, those stats don't exist. You have to make your best guess, based on any available sources (and there are very few for the Manas, say), then see what works through playtesting. If you want to check if something feels right, scribble down the stats you think seem appropriate, try a few combat rounds and see if it feels right. In the end, that's what it's about - what feels right to you and what you enjoy. I don't think you'll find any definitive canonical answers to "what are the stats of so-and-so", in which case make it up, try it out and see what sticks! I'd say playtesting really is key.

Hopefully I've helped in some regard rather than just waffling on for ages!

I've been thinking about this sort of thing recently, as it happens. I'd recommend having a look at the Savage Worlds system, in particular the Super Powers Companion. It's a universal system that's more rules-lite than D&D with simple, but also flexible, character creation. Using the super powers book, you could easily make someone with, say, elemental powers plus another power (mask), a variety of powers (Dark Hunter or similar) or just raw strength or agility (other species).

It would have to be played around with to fully suit a Bionicle setting, but it might be worth a look!

2001: Lewa (I liked the axe)

2002: Exo-Toa (owned two, sold them both. Curses)

2003: Lerahk (had to pick a Rahkshi, liked green sets at the time)

2004: Lhikan and Kikanalo (Ultimate Dume a very close second)

2005: Keetongu (really sturdy build, great fun to play with)

2006: Brutaka (gold, awesome swords, quite cool...?)

2007: Maxilos and Spinax (good build, poseable, really tall...fun!)

2008: Takanuva (possibly my favourite set of all time)

2009: Ackar (fairly typical Inika build, but he looked awesome)

2010: Tahu (not much to choose from)

Working gear functions and full posability? I never thought I'd see the day! Definitely looking forward to this!

It also looks like the build is a tad more complex than the average HF set, but I could be wrong there. I haven't really looked at them in detail.

I picked up a couple of HF sets recently, to see what the build system's like. And I think it's good. It's the logical development of where Bionicle was headed - from a more technic function based build to buildable action figures. It's simple, versatile and elegant.

Weirdly, while I like the system, I'm not much of a fan of the sets it's been used for. Admittedly my Knowledge of these is limited and may change but...*shrugs* I dunno.

I'm looking forward to Bionicle a few years down the line, with lots of Bionicle sets built with the system around. Should be some good MOCing potential!

 

2005 was garbage, it never seemed like the ending actually happened, because they never went over it in the comics.

they did the same thing with 2003 and 2004 and 2009, you know.

 

And don't forget 2001! Last thing we saw in the comics there was the Toa saying "yeah! We're totally gonna beat that Makuta creep!" (I might be paraphrasing a bit) but it was only the MNOG that showed it happen.

My least favourite was 2006. The Piraka were overpowered, kinda silly looking (especially for people attempting to masquerade as Toa) and pure Disney levels of evil. The Toa had weird masks, awesome colour schemes for Jaller/Matoro/Hewkii while the other three felt like an afterthought, and seemed quite different from their Matoran selves. They also seemed to get a surprisingly good handle on their powers very quickly - odd, given it was hot on the heels of 2004/05 which also featured new Toa who had no idea how to use their powers - and seemed largely to succeed at things for plot convenience rather than anything else. I still find it hard to swallow that they could beat the Piraka when the Toa Nuva - more powerful Toa with way more experience - were easily defeated.

The characters felt quite thin in the personality department and the setting was nothing more than a backdrop for the battles between the heroes/villains. No sense of exploration, mystery or deeper secrets which, up until then, had been a hallmark of the Bionicle locations. This then set the trend for future years, where very interesting settings had a single, unfulfilling year in which to be explored. Many of the battles, which became the main focus in this year, felt gratuitous, there to fill time until it was the right moment to actually further the story in some way.

2006 also introduced the Inika build which, while good, meant that future sets were largely built out of recycled limbs and torsos with mismatching armour styles and an increasingly dull and familiar build process.

The advertising for 2006 was also hilarious. Raps, dramatic, lightning-struck poses, gang-style motifs, I mean really? We're talking about a bunch of plastic toys here. And LEGO, of all things! Hardcore is not the word I would ever use to describe LEGO, yet that appeared to be what they were aiming for. Rather confusing.

Overall, 2006 just never really clicked with me. Oh, and I forgot to mention the Matoran builds! 100% recycled parts! Can I complain about that and the canister sets made out of mostly new pieces? Well, I'm gonna, so there.

Seeing a few familiar faces in here! I remember people!

And I appear to be back too! I mean, I sort of never really left, but it's also been a long, long time since I paid much attention to anything besides a brief glance at the news page. Can't guarantee I'll be exactly active - I'm all grown up with a job and everything - but I expect I'll poke my head in every now and then!

So yes, I am Danska: Shadow Master. Back in the day I wrote a few story things (I slightly dread re-reading them. I fear the quality may not be what I thought it was) and, perhaps more well known, I created the self-aggrandisingly titled Danska's Bionicle Builder! If anyone still pays attention to that, I recently shoved a more up-to-date version of the Toa Builder online. It's also just possible I'm having a poke at Hero Factory stuff (and if anyone knows where to find crystal clear images of the front of all the parts with some reference for scaling purposes that would be great!), but I make no promises.

Now enough of the self-advertising! Looking forward to seeing what the new Bionicle stuff is like, and may even pick up some of the sets. If I can work out where to put them. Seriously, I have no space for any of that stuff anymore.

Did I mention my habit of making posts go on for too long? I do that. So I'll stop now.