HERO Crib Sheets

[BigJackBrass]

My gaming group is almost a victim of its own success, with at least nine regular players. As you might imagine, keeping everything running smoothly is not always easy and only works at all because they're a pretty good bunch.

I'm keen to run HERO for them, but I don't want the apparent complexity to get in the way of things. To that end I'm working on crib sheets to give each player, listing key abbreviations, options and mechanics so that people who can't see the GM screen and don't know the system - and that'll be almost all of them - have most of the answers they'll need right at hand.

Have any of you produced something similar? I'm interested to see what has proved useful - or not - to help me compile my own version (which is probably not going to be genre-specific, by the way, since I'm aiming at a dimension-hopping game.) Thanks.

[Steve Long]

There's the two-page Combat Summary PDF we give away in the "Free Stuff" section.

[Killer Shrike]

Ive made things like this in the past for the HERO System, using a photocopier and some basic layout skills. Kinkos is useful in this regard.


The document steve references is here:

http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/freedocs/Two-Page%20Combat%20Summary.pdf

It's useful as a primer, but you might want to construct something more gritty for in play use.

As a sidenote, many varieties of HERO System Character Sheets include a lot of generally useful combat info, such as manuever lists and a range increment crib.

[BigJackBrass]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not looking to duplicate anything already covered on the character sheet (and indeed I think that it does a better job than most at putting information right in front of the players) but for total beginners there are some things that look a bit daunting about HERO, even though these are experienced non-HERO gamers.

I'd like to get a few essentials down to a single sheet, including a quick characteristics glossary (I can picture having to answer "What's PRE again?" questions a lot) and include a further reduced version of the Combat Summary. With so many players I suppose I'm most concerned about play really slowing down once we have multiple characters taking actions. For general skill use and similar actions I don't anticipate much of a problem, but having played in games such as Fireborn with this group I've seen what can happen when you introduce a lot of people to a new system.

[BobGreenwade]

Try picking up a copy of Sidekick (or ten -- one for each player). ;)

[BigJackBrass]

Try picking up a copy of Sidekick (or ten -- one for each player). ;)

You trying to bankrupt me, man? :D

Sidekick will almost certainly be the version of HERO I'll be running, not least because these sessions are likely to be in the evenings of a Scottish hiking holiday we're all going on (Can you imagine this? I meet a bunch of people gaming and we get on so well we're off on holiday together... eight or nine of us... and even my resolutely non-gaming girlfriend likes them so much she'll be along too... Does this ever really happen with gaming groups, 'cause I'm starting to worry that I've walked into The Wicker Man) and I don't want to load the car down with the main book. Suggesting that everyone gets a copy of the PDF might be a good idea, though.

Edit: And for starters I'll direct them to the Introduction to the HERO System. Maybe I can avoid the whole need to compile a cribsheet.

[ghost-angel]

The HERO System Resource Kit has all kinds of helpful stuff on the "GMs Screen" and a booklet that covers Character creation, all sorts of cool stuff.

[Killer Shrike]

Make sure some relatives know where you're going. You could be the latest victim to a vicious pack of Scottish serial killers preying on an element of society that no one else cares about -- GAMERS!!!!!

;)


News at eleven......

[ghost-angel]

And suddenly he turned into a.... SCOTTSMAN

[bigdamnhero]

(Can you imagine this? I meet a bunch of people gaming and we get on so well we're off on holiday together... eight or nine of us... and even my resolutely non-gaming girlfriend likes them so much she'll be along too... Does this ever really happen with gaming groups, 'cause I'm starting to worry that I've walked into The Wicker Man)
My last game group and I did that sort of thing all the time, but then most of us were friends before we started gaming together.

As for crib sheets, I have a one-page combat summary sheet that I sometimes use:

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=917954#post917954

I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for or not.

PS - If you see Christopher Lee and Britt Eckland, say Hi for me. Then run. :winkgrin:


bigdamnhero
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because I have the gun!”

[Dust Raven]

Can you imagine this? I meet a bunch of people gaming and we get on so well we're off on holiday together... eight or nine of us... and even my resolutely non-gaming girlfriend likes them so much she'll be along too... Does this ever really happen with gaming groups,

It has to me, though not my regular Hero group. Granted, we've never gone on a Scottish hiking holiday, but we have run off to visit each others relatives out of state and go to the Renaissainse Fair together each year.

[Dust Raven]

Oh, as far as Crib sheets, I typically hand out the Intro and Combat Summary mentioned above to new players. If possible, I'll write a custom summary for each new players that explains in more detail what's actually on the player's character sheet. That way they've got something with the general idea, and something that tells them how their specific character applies to it all.