GMB Hard to find in my area.

[xirr2000]

Most Book Stores in my area are not carrying the GMB, saying it has been discontinued by the publisher. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I bought the sidekick book to tide me over till I can find a copy near me, but it is missing several powers I seem to remember from the last time I played Champions(10 years ago or so). Has this book been discontinued or is this a temporary halt in printing?

[Lord Liaden]

I'm afraid I don't recognize the initials GMB, but I get the impression that you're referring to the HERO System Fifth Edition rulebook. If that's the case, it is temporarily out of print, but Hero Games is preparing for another print run in the very near future. In the meantime, quite a few retailers still have copies, and there are several avenues open to you to get one.

If you check the "Hero Retailers" link in the banner at the top of this page, you'll find a list of stores in many parts of the United States and other countries who carry Hero products; one of them is likely to have the book in stock. If you don't mind ordering online, FRP Games ( www.frpgames.com ) has this and most other Hero stuff at some of the cheapest prices around, but only for shipping within the United States. The book is also available here on the company website and can be shipped internationally - just click on "Online Store" at the top of the page.

If you meant some other book, or you have more questions, please post a followup.

[Darren Watts]

A quick note- 5th Edition is not in fact out of print or even out of stock. We've still got a few left ourselves, and pretty much every distributor in the country carries it. If anybody is having difficulty finding it, please direct them to us. Thanks! dw

[Hugh Neilson]

"GMB" - Game Master Book?

Hero has never had a separate GM's book, but it's the only abbreviation I can think of.

[SkyKnight]

GMB means "Green Man Book". It is a heretical acronym from before the council of FREd. Burn him.

[Lord Liaden]

A quick note- 5th Edition is not in fact out of print or even out of stock. We've still got a few left ourselves, and pretty much every distributor in the country carries it. If anybody is having difficulty finding it, please direct them to us. Thanks! dw

Quite right, Darren, my apologies - bad choice of words on my part.

GMB means "Green Man Book". It is a heretical acronym from before the council of FREd. Burn him.

I suspected it was something like that, but the term didn't circulate much before the Age of FREd began. If that's what xirr200 means I'm surprised to see it.

[xirr2000]

Well the book store in question was Barnes and Noble. I was surprised to hear them say they could not order it, but perhaps I was talking to an employee who didn't get his coffee break or something. I also checked a local gamestore that usually has anything I'm looking for and they did not say it was out of print but that they could not order it at this particular time for some reason. I'll keep looking or just order it online if I can't find it local.

Yes, GMB stood for Green Man Book a name for the Heroes 5th Edition book. I've seen it in a few places and just didn't want to type Heroes 5th Edition Rules Book. What is this FREd you speak of? I am a bit out of the loop I guess. Please don't burn me though.

I haven't really looked at Champions or the Hero System in about 10 years and want ot get back into it as it looks pretty cool again.

[Chris Goodwin]

Well the book store in question was Barnes and Noble. I was surprised to hear them say they could not order it, but perhaps I was talking to an employee who didn't get his coffee break or something. I also checked a local gamestore that usually has anything I'm looking for and they did not say it was out of print but that they could not order it at this particular time for some reason. I'll keep looking or just order it online if I can't find it local.

Frequently, when the big book chains are asked about roleplaying games they don't carry and can't or won't order, they'll tell customers that the book is discontinued or that the company is going out of business because that's what their distributors tell them. Barnes and Noble probably doesn't and won't carry any Hero products.

Yes, GMB stood for Green Man Book a name for the Heroes 5th Edition book. I've seen it in a few places and just didn't want to type Heroes 5th Edition Rules Book. What is this FREd you speak of? I am a bit out of the loop I guess. Please don't burn me though.

FREd is the 5th edition rulebook. Old, old joke.

[Darren Watts]

Ah, well. The problem here is Barnes & Noble, which does not in fact carry any Hero product. Primarily this is because, as discussed elsewhere, they insist on buying product on a returnable basis without giving up any of their discount rate, sales terms which we and pretty much every other medium-sized and smaller game company finds unmanageable. Most B&N or Borders stores will special order from us if you're lucky enough to find a clerk willing to take the time. Otherwise, if there's no actual game/comic/hobby shop near you, you're probably better off ordering directly from us or one of the many fine online retailers, or Amazon.

[BobGreenwade]

What is this FREd you speak of? I am a bit out of the loop I guess.

To expand a bit on archer's explanation: back in '02, when Hero System 5th Edition (the official title) was still on the way, there was some discussion in these forums as to what the new book should be called -- the old Fourth Edition Champions was the BBB, as short for Big Blue Book, but if Fifth Edition was the Big Black Book it'd still be BBB. Somewhere along the way someone asked for Steve Long's input, and he said something very similar to: "You can call it Fred for all I care, as long as you buy it." Well, as we "net nerds" are prone to do, the folks in the discussion latched onto that immediately and it took on a life of its own.

FREd: Fifth Rules Edition.

We've even already come up with a nickname for Sixth Edition: SHREd, or Sixth Hero Rules Edition.

[Chris Goodwin]

We've even already come up with a nickname for Sixth Edition: SHREd, or Sixth Hero Rules Edition.

In that case, seventh edition should be SVEn, for SeVENth edition.

[Dust Raven]

I am very, very upset with Barns & Noble these days. It does seem that employees are instructed to say that any book not currently in inventory is "out of print" and cannot be ordered. I've recently found out that several books I've been looking for for years, only to be told they didn't even exist by B&N because they never made it to print, had actually been in print but were published by a small company they didn't deal with.

They don't even have decent discount program anymore.

In any case, to help you on your way to find a store that's actually worth shopping for RPG products at, check out the following sites:

http://www.spotlightongames.com/list/bayarea.html
This is a web page I found after a search for San Francisco Game Stores on Google.

or

Amazing Fantasy
This I found searching for Games in the San Francisco Yellow Pages on Yahoo!.

Not sure if either will be of help, but you know your area more than I do (there's kinda a real big canyon between here and there).

[xirr2000]

Well a game store near me got them in yesterday so I am currently busy reading up on FREd at this time. Thanks for all the input.