Introduction/ myself and to the Hero System

[Devistar]

First off, I'd like to say Hi to everyone. I've been scanning the boards over the past few days and I like what I see. Everyone seems eager to help and there are a lot of cool topics about this awesome game.

Like most people, I play D&D. Our gaming group(4 yrs) has played a number of games: D&D, Modern, Star Wars, Oriental Adv. etc. Frankly, I'm bored with d20. It's played out and out of control. Right now, our group is in a funk. Nobody knows what to run and everyones bored with the same old cliches. I've made comments about wanting to run a modern era game, but had no ambition to use d20 for reasons above. Our last gaming night (We are taking a break because of vacations, summer jobs, etc) we just sat around and talked about our future gaming plans. My friend reaches to his bookshelf and pulls off Hero5th and says "This is what we should be playing". He's played it a few times with another group. I started flipping the pages and I realized something. "Wait a minute! This is Champions!" He went on to explain how you can make anything you could think of, and so on. My interest and imagination just got a shot of adrenaline!

That night I went home and searched through my old gaming stuff and found it. First edition Champions in all its typed glory! I flipped through, trying to remember everything (I think I was 13-14 when I played) The following weekend, I pick up Hero5th and Ninja Hero (meant to get Martial Artist but took wrong one to the counter) Oh well, a couple days later back to the store to get MA and Champions. Yeah, I'm in to it now.

So here I sit, reading rules and scribbling ideas down. I'm planning a modern martial arts/techno campaign. As mentioned on the board elsewhere, It is a lot to take in at once. I may pick up the Sidekick as well to get started.

Well, that's how I came to the Hero System. I'm already pleased with it. Hi again, and thanks for reading.

[JmOz]

Welcome back, things have changed, but at the core it is the same (or so i understand, I came in on 4th edition)

[Boll Weevil]

Welcome aboard!

[Nyrath]

Welcome back!

I too cut my teeth on DnD back in the late 1970's. One constant annoyance was huge amount of "ad hoc" rules, that is, special rules for particular monsters, magic items, artifacts, etc.

The Hero system eliminates all that, by focusing on effects, not causes.

After playing Champions for a few years, I picked up the first Fantasy Hero game back in the 1980's. I turned to the Monster section and stopped short.

I couldn't believe it. The summary section had a complete description of each monster in a single line on the chart. Including the special attacks. Compare that to the paragraphs needed for most DnD monsters.

I was in love! :love:

Ensuring that a monster encounter was balanced was a snap as well. Total up the character points in the party, and make sure that the total points of monsters was in that neighborhood, and you are done.

Making new magic items is easy as well. Or new monsters. Or spells. Or whatever.

New scenarios can be challenging in any system, but changing to a modern campaign will help. Somebody on this board suggested looking through the supermarket tabloid newspapers to get scenario ideas.

I do suggest that you seriously consider getting the Sidekick rules, as the massive 5th ed rules can be a bit intimidating.

[KA.]

Welcome, Devistar!

I started playing Champions when the Boxed set came out (early 80's), was away from it for many years, and several years ago had some nephews that wanted to start RPG'ing.
I had remembered seeing a blue, hardbound, Champions book (4th Ed.), and started looking for it. Searching the internet brought me to the HeroGames site (which was under Cybergames at that time, and very close to fading out of existence completely) and I found a bunch of really nice people that were dedicated to keeping Champions and The Hero System alive.
Not Cybergames, but the posters on the bulletin board.

One of the major reasons there is a 5th Edition of the Hero System available right now, is the efforts of some of the "old timers" on this very board.

It never would have happened without Steve Long, Darren Watts, and the rest of DOJ, but, I think that even Steve himself has admitted that without the core of Hero "faithful" keeping things alive, no one would have considered trying to "revive" The Hero System.

I didn't mean to bore you with a lot of "ancient history", but I really loved Champions when I first played it. When I found the Hero boards years later, it felt like a homecoming. I was really touched to find people who loved Champions as much or more than I did, and who were "keeping the faith", despite what seemed like inevitable doom.

There were years of broken promises, missed deadlines, and no output whatsoever. There was a long time when the only "Hero System" was what existed in used books and the minds of a handful of people on the boards. And a few times, when the boards went out for a day or so, it looked like even that was all over. A few people even posted their email addresses on the boards so that we could try to stay in touch when the end came.

This may sound overly dramatic, but at the time, it was our reality.

Hope this wasn't too boring, but since I was "out of the loop" for so long myself, I thought you might want to know what has happened while you were away. ;)

As to the game itself. The core mechanics are the same.
All of the rules are in the 5th Ed. Book.
I don't know if you ever bought "Justice Inc." or "Espionage", way back when, but they added some skills and powers to the Champions rules.
Along the line everything got brought together by the 4th Edition (maybe earlier, I don't have the 3rd.)

The 5th Edition does have some changes. (Read those sidebars! Sometimes the power that you can't find ex.Instant Change is written out as a variation on Transform.) But you should be able to figure things out just fine. If you have any trouble, or want something to help new players get started, Sidekick is a great choice. It is just the basic rules, and leaves out some of the really complicated stuff. But the good news is, it is the Hero rules. They didn't make any changes that your players will have to "unlearn" when you move up to regular Hero.

Also, I can't recommend Hero Designer v2 strongly enough.
The main concern people seem to have with Hero is the amount of math, but 90% of that is during character creation. Not only does Hero Designer do the math for you, it enforces the rules during character creation. If you try to do something illegal, it will stop you, and usually let you know why it stopped you. Be careful buying it in stores, because there are still copies of version 1 still around, and while it is a good program, version 2 is more flexible. It can be purchased in the Online Store if you want to be positive you are getting Version 2.

Glad to have another "old school" Champions player back,
:)
KA.

[Devistar]

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention, I did purchase Hero Designer. I'm using it as learning device to get familiar with character creation. I put one thing in at a time and reference the book to understand where the numbers came from etc. (The little notes with a brief description and page numbers is very useful)

Thanks a lot, Nyrath! (blatant sarcasm) Here you talk about Fantasy Hero, I'm definitely going to check out. I will always love fantasy settings but the D&D rules are just getting too crazy. It'd be nice to try something new for a change.

[Kraken]

Welcome to the boards!

I recently posted a thread in the Player Finder area, looking for a gaming group near Wilmington... (I introduce my gaming background and interests briefly there.)

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18213

Assuming you're nearby (a good bet, in Delaware!), might you be interested in another (experienced but probably rusty) HERO player?

[yamamura]

Welcome to both the boards and Hero 5th edition

G

[Nyrath]

Thanks a lot, Nyrath! (blatant sarcasm) Here you talk about Fantasy Hero, I'm definitely going to check out.
Sorry about that. I wasn't trying to talk you out of abandoning fantasy, I was just trying to extol the virtues of the Hero system in terms you understood. The virtues are also present in a modern campaign, of course.

I'm not trying to make you go broke, the reason I mentioned Sidekick was not so much for you as for your players. Especially the ones uncertain about trying a new system.

Another goodie for your players is free. Pop over here (http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/freedocs.htm) and download a copy of the Two-Page Combat Summary. Then print copies for all your players and one for yourself.

[Steve Long]

Welcome back, Devistar! Good to have you among the Hero fans once more. :hex:


I think that even Steve himself has admitted that without the core of Hero "faithful" keeping things alive, no one would have considered trying to "revive" The Hero System.

Very true. Neither I nor any of the other partners would've put up the same amount of money to start an all-new game company. It was the existence of the Hero fanbase that made the whole thing a viable proposition.

[Lord Liaden]

Let me add my welcome, Devistar. I hope you find your time here profitable and enjoyable. :)

I'd like to add something else too: since you're currently puzzling out character creation, I thought you might benefit from the discussion-board thread linked below, which provides a couple of fairly detailed, step-by-step examples of how to create a HERO character. This may help clarify the process for you:

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3864