General Hero Question..comepletly new to the system

[Tony]

Hey everybody! Just joined up and I had a few questions.

The game I am looking at running is a Streetfighter(Videogame) themed game.I hae decided to get the Hero system to run this game. I am going to get the ultimate martial artist and ninja hero, however someone on another message board mentioned that the Hero sidekick would be just as useful to me as the hero core book. If I am looking at running that type of campaign...could it be done with Hero Sidekick, Ultimate Martial Artist and Ninja Hero? or would I be better off getting the hero 5th edition core book?

Thanks. =)

[Lord Liaden]

Welcome aboard, Tony. I hope you enjoy your visits here. Glad you stopped by to ask - we're generally a pretty friendly and helpful bunch to HERO newcomers. :)

That's actually an interesting question. HERO System Sidekick is one of the best sources from which to learn the system, especially if you're picking it up on your own - it was specifically designed for that purpose. The great tome that is HERO System Fifth Edition, Revised can be rather intimidating to a first-timer. There is a lot to absorb. SK really is a complete playable game in itself; for the most part its smaller size compared to the full Fifth Edition rulebook is just the result of the many optional elements and detailed clarifications being trimmed out... most of which you wouldn't be using just starting out, anyway. However, there are a very few elements appropriate to a martial arts game that were left out, probably because they were either too complex or potentially unbalancing until you're more familiar with the system.

Overall I would say that Sidekick, Ultimate Martial Artist and Ninja HERO would be very serviceable for the kind of game you plan to run. There might be a few references in the latter two books that you won't find in SK, but I wouldn't expect any of those to be crucial. If you do decide you want to explore the full potential of the ruleset later, you can always upgrade to Fifth Edition, Revised at that time; it will likely be easier to grasp with experience under your belt. SK is a pretty small initial investment, after all, to get in on this great game. :thumbup:

BTW you might be interested in looking at these HERO writeups for various characters from the Street Fighter video game: http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptionsvideogame/videogamechar.html#SF

[ghost-angel]

As LL said, you could run a Martial Arts game in Sidekick pretty easily.

And as you get into the system and start to run games I'm sure you'll run into rules or things you would want to add on for various reasons. And I can with some confidence they're probably going to be covered in the main book.

But starting out with the system brand new - Sidekick will probably serve you just fine to get the base mechanics of play down.

[Eosin]

Ditto on what the two gurus said... Sidekick, Ultimate MA, and a little Surbrooks Stuff to keep you on track. Mike is pretty much the king of martial arts and all things Asian.

[Lucius]

If I'm not mistaken, you can download the PDF of Sidekick for something like $7.00

I don't have it, but I have looked at it, and I think you can get by with Sidekick, Ultimate Martial Artist, and Ninja Hero for what you're looking for. Biggest thing I remember Sidekick not having is Multiform, but it does have Shapeshift.

Check out the writeups of characters people have pointed you to, once you have Sidekick or FREd Jr. in hand and have read through it. If you still don't understand something about the character writeups, ask - someone will doubless explain it.

Lucius Alexander

Palindromedary Enterprises

[Checkmate]

Welcome to Hero. One of the BEST tools for learning how to make a character Hero Designer. This thing is awesome. It's a software program you use to make your characters. All the rules are built right in. I can't reccomend that thing enough.

[John Desmarais]

Hey everybody! Just joined up and I had a few questions.

The game I am looking at running is a Streetfighter(Videogame) themed game.I hae decided to get the Hero system to run this game. I am going to get the ultimate martial artist and ninja hero, however someone on another message board mentioned that the Hero sidekick would be just as useful to me as the hero core book. If I am looking at running that type of campaign...could it be done with Hero Sidekick, Ultimate Martial Artist and Ninja Hero? or would I be better off getting the hero 5th edition core book?

Thanks. =)

Sidekick as a great way to dip your toes into the Hero pool without making a big initial investment/commitment. The nature of the game you're describing though would lead me to say that you will eventually want the full rules as Sidekick does not include all of the optional combat rules. It has more then enough to get started, but I would think that with a Streetfighter themed game you will eventually want to be able to pull out all of the combat "bells and whistles".

[Dust Raven]

I've got Sidekick and think it's more like taking the plunge than dipping your toes. For such a small book (compared to the full rulebook) it packed with everything most players need to play using the Hero System rules. It's missing mostly optional rules, examples and the most complicated mechanics, but everything else is in there.

Granted, once you've become familiar with how the rules work and you are comfortable with the system, pick up 5ER. A lot of those options, examples and complications can help enrich a game's flavor and style.

And always remember, if you have a question, this is the place for it. My rule of thumb: If a rule doesn't make sense, seems unbalanced/unfair, or looks like it doesn't work logically, chances are you've missunderstood something about it (which is likely, happens to me all the time). Just ask about it in the Questions board or hear and draw on the collective experience of Hero System playes across the world (including the authors/designers of the rules themselves!).

[Blue]

What sidekick lacks are optional rules, all the esoteric explanations of all the things you can do with those powers (beyond the obvious options), and I believe, a few powers.

Martial Arts games tend to be less power oriented, more about skills and martial arts packages, so I think SK should work fine.

[Thia Halmades]

I can also recommend the... curses! It's a... HERO Kit... someone with a less sieve like memory than mine will now what I'm talking about. Has a screen, maps, and super-condensed rules for easy handing out.

Mike's Ninja Hero has some really great research material, and while I don't have his chops and website, I'm a huge Street Fighter fan and I'm familiar with Wuxia & just about every console fighting game out there. So should you need any assistance, I'd be happy to provide it! Welcome to HERO, have some Rep!

[Captain Obvious]

Hero System Resource Kit.

Not really a set of super-condensed rules so much as a quick reference for point costs. Still, the maps are kind of cool, and the GM screen is a lifesaver, especially for a new guy. It's double-sided, too, so the players can look up pertinent information without the rulebook.

[JmOz]

Ditto on what the two gurus said... Sidekick, Ultimate MA, and a little Surbrooks Stuff to keep you on track. Mike is pretty much the king of martial arts and all things Asian.

At this point it should be noted that he wrote Ninja Hero (that includes Video Game Martial Arts as a sub genre) and the Asian Beastiaries (I & II)