Key books

[BarryB]

Reading the discussion on the front page this week (8/31), I noticed the term "key book," defined as being one referenced by a number of other Hero books.

I would like to suggest that a note that a book is a key book be made in the description of the book in the online store. This can help those on limited budgets or newbies be able to prioritize their purchases.

Much more interesting, though more labor-intensive, would be a diagram showing which books reference which so that those who want to purchase a certain book (like Fantasy Hero) can know what others they'll need. Think of it as diagramming the dependencies of the Hero System books. This would appeal only to the true Hero System geeks among us. :D

[buzz]

Thing is, the bestiary is probably the only "key" book other than FREd. :)

Unless you enjoy rolling your own stats for, say, buffalo, that is.

[CourtFool]

Originally posted by buzz
Unless you enjoy rolling your own stats for, say, buffalo, that is.

...or llamas.

[Tom McCarthy]

The only reason I'd be hesitant to map the dependencies between books is because they aren't all equal weight.

Champions Battlegrounds uses several villains from Conquerors, Killers and Crooks. The book is virtually unusable without the preceding volume. It also references The Ultimate Vehicle, but on such a minor point you might never need to look up the reference.

[Tom McCarthy]

So far as I can tell, the key books by genre are:

Superheroic - Champions, Conquerors, Killers and Crooks, Bestiary

Fantasy - Fantasy Hero, Bestiary, perhaps Ultimate Martial Artist, eventually Monsters, Minions and Marauders

Space - Star Hero, Bestiary