Tom's Hero Games Blog

I've been asked numerous times to explain my devotion to this game system that we're here to support. "Why would you play the Hero System when you could get more players of the D20 system?"

The answer is a little more complex than I could give with a single answer. I give part of the answer here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/show...&postcount=115


Another portion of the reason is that the system just *makes sense* to me. I remember reading the D&D Basic Set (red box) when I was first introduced to RPing back in the day. The AC thing just really did not make sense to me then, and I still scratch my head about it now. Here is my issue in a nut-shell: Armor, IMV, doesn't prevent you from being hit; in fact, since it's heavy, it can actually make someone easier to hit. The benefit that Armor provides is absorption of damage.

There was also the problem that I had with the stacking of armor in D&D. There were no clear-cut rules for how to arbitrate what happens when I buy a steel breastplate with leather leggings. The steel breastplate would say something like 4AC, but the leather leggings would say 8AC. And what if I wore them both at the same time?

The Hero System (especially when 4th edition came out) answered many of the questions that I had. Not to mention that the OCV vs. DCV system made more sense to me than D20's (and D&D/AD&D before that) AC system.

Is the Hero System perfect? No; in fact, it is far from perfect. I don't like the fact (and this has been documented in several places) that there are more than one Skill system; there are two different ways of determining Damage (Killing Damage and Normal Damage) that are rolled by two totally different methods. Killing Damage to me is the system's biggest weak-point: it is too wild and unpredictable.

But, then I wouldn't be a Hero fan if I didn't have an opinion on these things: ask 50 Hero fans what they think the weakest points of Hero are, and you're bound to get 50 different answers.