Entry Campaigns for HERO Newbies

[KawangaKid]

Even though I started with a Champions campaign to introduce players to HERO here in the Philippines, I suddenly realized that it may not have been the best choice.

While the systems strengths ARE highlighted, newbies tend to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of characters you can create...

Perhaps a STAR HERO with Psionics, or a Low-Powered HERO (150pts) ala Misfits of Science, or a Fantasy HERO approach would have been better. Everyone can start off (mostly) human, and the flexibility is showcased by magic spells / psionics / personal schticks.

[Fitz]

I think the best way to start newbies is to keep their characters as simple as possible -- maybe only one or two powers, no power modifiers at all.

Likewise with combat: maybe strip down the list of combat maneuvers to just Block, Dodge and Haymaker (plus the old standby, Punch).

Inevitably your players will want to expand the capabilities of their characters, and then you can start adding abilities, power modifiers, and combat maneuvers. Over a surprisingly short time they'll become quite capable at manipulating the system, and because they're learning in small chunks, they'll feel confident in what they're doing rather than being overwhelmed by all the possibilities of the Hero System.

One thing that springs to mind to compliment this sort of learning campaign would be to have the players playing some sort of Elemental team -- so you might have Fire Lad, Water Girl, Air Boy and Earth Maid. Let them choose a very limited set of abilities, ("I want to be able to fly and throw balls of fire! Cool!") and then build the characters with the whole group to that point, so everyone gets to see how the generic powers can be applied to specific abilities.

In no time flat, you'll have them mini-maxing and finessing Power Pools to squeeze tha last ounce of power from their character points. :)

[tiger]

One thing you can do is you want to do supers is find out what comicbook characters they like and you build them clones of that character.

This will get them use to the system as well as the way some powers can/are worked up and ran. After they play the characters for awhile you can then have them build their own.

[JohnTaber]

n my mind Tiger's last comment is the best. I would recommend starting with pre-gens then move forward when they are comfortable with the rules.

[Vondy]

I've found heroic games set in the real world are often the best way to go. Build the characters on 100-150 points, put them in a setting their familiar with (i.e. sengoku japan, regency london, 1930's chicago or new york) and let them have at it.

[GreyGuardian]

amen on the pregen's for newbies. OR sit down and write up the characters they describe as simply as possible and allow only a few powers.

[Bartman]

Two things I have found to be vital when introducing new players to Hero are to help them design their character and have a program handy. If you use Hero Designer there is suddenly no math at all. And with you to guide them the players can get the charcater they want. I do agree that characters should be kept fairly simple, but I have found that Champions is generally the easiest genre to teach.

[Delthrien]

In the past, I've had players new to the hero system describe what kind of character they want, and then do the number crunching myself. If they're also new to gaming in general, I simplify it a little more. I'll build the character and then "strip it down" to the bare minimums, eliminating all point costs and advantage/limitation values from the sheet. Time permitting, I'll even add a short description of what the powers are.

I've found it makes easing new players into the game a lot easier. It has the side benefit of engaging their curiosity -- they've seen the end result, now they want to see how it came about...

[Mutant for Hire]

1. Build the characters for the players. Ask them the sort of characters they want to play, even have them write out the background and then work with them a little bit. Keep the concepts as simple as possible. If they can't be summarized in one line, the chracter is too complicated for an entry campaign.

2. Build simple characters for the players. No VPPs or VarAd/VarDisad modifiers. One Multipower per character max. Don't futz around with END Reserves either. One END pool makes life simpler. Keep the Advantages and Disadvantages down to a minimum as well as the total number of modifiers on each power.

3. One possibility is not to use all 350 points, and instead leave some unspent for the characters to spend and tune themselves as they start to get the feel of the game. The GM builds the frame and then the players can fill in the detail work with time and can flesh out the characters to match the campaign.

4. Create a "source code" character sheet and a "compiled" character sheet. The latter sheet doesn't have anything but a flat out description of the relevent character numbers. No CHAR scores, only 9+CHAR/5 plus relevent entries from all the CHAR tables such as throwing. No skill points, only what each skill roll is, etc. They get their line from the SPD table to tell them when to move.

5. Give the PCs an NPC patron who is also their mentor. Spend an evening doing a Danger Room session (or having the characters spar one another) and have the mentor give suggestions about how they can use their powers more effectively and tactics they should be avoiding.

Note on #3, is that it actually works fairly well in genre. When you look at the very early Marvel heroes, you often notice they didn't have many powers to start but developed rapidly. Look at the very early Fantastic Four, fresh after the accident. The Human Torch was not doing nova bursts in the first issue. Sue Storm was not creating force fields in the beginning either.

As for #5, it helps the GM guide the players along, having an NPC mentor who is in position, in-game, to give advice to the characters.

[Captain Obvious]

I would think that a SuperAgents campaign would be the best bet for a bunch of newbies. You have 75+75 point unpowered characters, so character creation is pretty easy. You have the superheroic rules set, so combat is pretty easy. You have super equipment and occasional superpowered enemies, so the powers are introduced gradually.

By the time you've played these characters up to 75+75+50 experience, your newbies are experienced Hero players, and practically able to GM their own campaign....

[KawangaKid]

Originally posted by Mutant for Hire
4. Create a "source code" character sheet and a "compiled" character sheet. The latter sheet doesn't have anything but a flat out description of the relevent character numbers. No CHAR scores, only 9+CHAR/5 plus relevent entries from all the CHAR tables such as throwing. No skill points, only what each skill roll is, etc. They get their line from the SPD table to tell them when to move.
This actually works quite well for me at the HERO demonstrations that I've done locally.

[Agent X]

Originally posted by Mutant for Hire
1. Build the characters for the players. Ask them the sort of characters they want to play, even have them write out the background and then work with them a little bit. Keep the concepts as simple as possible. If they can't be summarized in one line, the chracter is too complicated for an entry campaign.

2. Build simple characters for the players. No VPPs or VarAd/VarDisad modifiers. One Multipower per character max. Don't futz around with END Reserves either. One END pool makes life simpler. Keep the Advantages and Disadvantages down to a minimum as well as the total number of modifiers on each power.

3. One possibility is not to use all 350 points, and instead leave some unspent for the characters to spend and tune themselves as they start to get the feel of the game. The GM builds the frame and then the players can fill in the detail work with time and can flesh out the characters to match the campaign.

4. Create a "source code" character sheet and a "compiled" character sheet. The latter sheet doesn't have anything but a flat out description of the relevent character numbers. No CHAR scores, only 9+CHAR/5 plus relevent entries from all the CHAR tables such as throwing. No skill points, only what each skill roll is, etc. They get their line from the SPD table to tell them when to move.

5. Give the PCs an NPC patron who is also their mentor. Spend an evening doing a Danger Room session (or having the characters spar one another) and have the mentor give suggestions about how they can use their powers more effectively and tactics they should be avoiding.

Note on #3, is that it actually works fairly well in genre. When you look at the very early Marvel heroes, you often notice they didn't have many powers to start but developed rapidly. Look at the very early Fantastic Four, fresh after the accident. The Human Torch was not doing nova bursts in the first issue. Sue Storm was not creating force fields in the beginning either.

As for #5, it helps the GM guide the players along, having an NPC mentor who is in position, in-game, to give advice to the characters. I like these ideas. I think another thing for campaign play is to get an idea of what your player's interests are and tap into that. Don't have them play characters they will rapidly lose interest in once the novelty of the system wears off.

[ShelleyCM]

I agree with the posters who've said heroic level campaigns (or super-agents) are the best for newbies. I've had good luck starting people off that way -- they get a great feel for the system while not struggling with the mechanics of the powers. After they've got OCV/DCV, damage, speeds, etc. down, then you can make it more complex.

IMHO, sitting down and making the character up with the player is the best thing for new players -- not only is it nice for them to have a hand in making the decisions, but they have more of an understanding about what each skill does. Half the time I make up characters for my husband (an experienced player) who often forgets what the PC does, just because he didn't make it up.

I also do little mock-combat tutorials with newbies when they're starting out, just for a half-hour or so, so that they know how to hit, dodge, dive for cover, take a hit, calculate damage, etc., before it happens in the game. It's not in character, but it's GM to player (or player to player, as this is a great thing to have an experienced player do with newbies while I'm working with someone else).

I like the suggestion of the 'source code' and descriptive character sheets. That's a cool idea for newbies to Champs scenarios.

If you want to keep the Champs game going, you could run a few sessions where the PCs' powers are taken away -- let them get into the swing of things before getting their powers back.

-Shelley

[Captain Obvious]

Mock combat beforehand isn't a bad idea. Maybe even work it in as a Danger Room bout (for supers) or basic training (for agents or something similar) to get that whole in media res thing going.

[dei1c3]

I'm actually in the process of ramping up for a campaign with all newbie Champions players (though all are at least semi-experienced RPers). And yes Champions/HERO is definitely one of the more complex systems out there when it comes to character creation. Here's what I am doing to help my players:

A) Character creation - I've given each player 3 options for character creation:[list=1] Do it themselves: Some of the players are familiar enough with similar games (like GURPS) that they are just reading the rules, asking questions and making the characters themselves. Of course, they have to submit it to me for confirmation of balance and recommendations/cautions.
Work together: They come up with an concept then we sit down and write it up together. This ends up being a half teaching/half helping experience...but it has gone well so far.
I do it: Basically, they come up with a concept and I write it up and then explain how to use the character. I offered this because I didn't want to scare off some of the less experienced players...but no one took me up on it so that's good.[/list=1]B) Solo pre-adventures - Once each character gets finished but before we get together for the first full game session, I plan to run a mini solo adventure so the players can get used to how combat goes, how their powers work and even a general intro to my campaign (for example, I plan to do a lot with mysteries and "leads" to get the characters from one scenario to the next).

C) Repeat as necessary - If after any part of A or B, the player doesn't like how the character turned out...we start over. No problem. One player has already discarded his original character after he realized he wasn't going to have much fun except in very specific circumstances. I basically said I would repeat steps A and B as often as they need to feel excited about and comfortable with their character.

D) Free "redo" - I haven't told them this yet, but if we get 6 or 8 sessions in and a player just isn't liking his character...I will let him redesign (completely if they desire) but keep any experience accrued. I plan on writing any such change into the story line. Example: player A has grown tired of his character Ultra Man, a flying brick with super senses who is noble and righteous...said character is captured by the evil (and sadistic) supervillain, Malice, who tortures the character, exposing him to physical and mental stresses beyond comprehension...when the hero's teammates finally rescue him, he is not the man they once knew...Ultra Man is gone and in his place...Avenger, master of pain and darkness...and let the unjust BEWARE! Actually, the more I think about it...I kind of hope one of the players desires this. Heh heh.

Chris

[Hitchhiker]

In my very first HERO campaign, I also had a limit of 100 points per character. In addition, I used this:

1) Keep the world simple, but don't make it obviously. A small world with few locations can help.

2) Don't tell the characters where to go, but give them at least one NPC as a helping hand ("I would suggest this"-NPC). Don't overuse him, though.

3) Create a lot of "thugs". One hit, they're dead or knocked out. This way, the players can learn to fight easily and get used to the Phase-System.

4) Reward them often. Be generous with experience points, otherwise they might be disappointed or even bored when accomplishing something. Although if you're a good GM, they'll be hanging on your lips...:D

5) Have at least one location where they can get food, shelter, help and equipment. A small town or a base, for example.

I'm sure that there are more points to write down, but these are the most important ones to me.

Feel free to correct me if you don't agree with my tips.