Sidekick

[Ozric]

So yesterday I picked up Hero Sidekick and it seems manageable enough for me to think about giving it a try. I also picked up Fantasy Hero, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to get full use out of it just using the Sidekick rules. So far both books seem really cool.

Any chance of a .pdf of the Sidekick character sheet appearing on the website?

[fredrik_nilsson]

I've only seen the play-test version of Sidekick, but as far as I've understood you use the same character sheet as you do for the full version rules set

... and yes, you can run a fully working Fantasy Hero game with Sidekick.

[Killer Shrike]

FH is a toolkit book, it just says here are a lot of things you might consider or find helpful when you run a Fantasy game. So if you run across something that it suggests that isnt in Sidekick, just skip it. No harm no foul.

[Ozric]

Cool...thanks, you guys

Yeah, there's a Sidekick character sheet in the back of the book. It's nearly identical to the one posted here:

http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/c...ts/H5c_sht.pdf

...so I'm sure it'll work just fine.

[i3ullseye]

Just wanted to add this. I have FREd, but I just picked up Sidekick.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

You nailed it! For years this is what this game has needed, a step back to simplify and streamline. With this in hand, and it only costing 10 buck, I am now ready to have my game group finally switch to the HERO system. the ease of use and cost of this product is enough to finally get some of those stubborn players to give it a shot. And we all know once they get the hang of it they will want more.

Bought it blind, not sure what would and would not be in it, and I could not be happier. With this I feel ready to do just about anything I need in half the time. I would love to see all the options added from FREd into this easily digested format, but it then becomes kinda redundant. Having both books I can now do whatever I want in a game, and I have a great resource for characters to make fully detailed PCs without worrying about some of the harder powers to build or run. If they DO have a concept in mind, and the power is missing, I can then assist them directly using FREd, and no one is slowed down by it or confused.

Again, I can not thank you enough. This is probably the best thing released for this entire game system since the first Ninja Hero.

[Celtic Cowboy]

You nailed it! For years this is what this game has needed, a step back to simplify and streamline.

Have to agree this is a great product, and one of the best and most useful items put out since FReD itself. Bought three copies from FRPgames, one for myself and two for the group. Laid out plans and ran some sample combats this weekend.

My only mistake with the sample combats is the characters I wrote up in HDv2, I didn't select just Sidekick for the source of options. Had two many options in play that didn't show in Sidekick.

[Lord Liaden]

There is just one point I want to remind everyone of about this great product: it wasn't even a gleam in Steve Long's eye until the requests from fans demonstrated that there was a desire and a market for such a book. I watched his comments to the discussion boards go from skepticism about its necessity, to entertaining the concept and discussing what form it should take, to full-blown commitment to creating the book. When the project was finally undertaken it was given the same thought and care as all other Hero Games products.

Another example of a top-flight company that listens and responds to its clients.

[Steve Long]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the book!

If sales justify, perhaps I can find the time to work on some more quick-start/easy-learning sorts of products. But given the razor-thin profit margin on SK, that's gonna take a lot of sales.

[Talon]

I'll just put my two cents in and say that a "how to balance stuff" resource would be a great help to new players; anything that helps in gaining that kind of experience is a Good Thing.

[Ozric]

Well Sidekick might not have a high profit margin, but it's directly responsible for at least one sale of Fantasy Hero--which I probably never would have bought otherwise. A while back I had purchased a copy of the Fifth Edition rulebook and thought to myself, "Are they kidding? I don't have the time to go through all this and learn it, much less teach it to other people who've never played Hero before either," and eventually sold it to a used book store. Sidekick has caused me to give the system another look.

[Steve Long]

Well, then, SK is doing its job, at least to the extent of Ozric. Now we just have to see if we get enough of that sort of effect to be statistically significant. That would definitely augur in favor of doing some similar products. Fingers crossed....

[SAVeira]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the book!

If sales justify, perhaps I can find the time to work on some more quick-start/easy-learning sorts of products. But given the razor-thin profit margin on SK, that's gonna take a lot of sales.

Well, I have already purchased three copies and plan to get at least two or three more

[i3ullseye]

I just bought my second copy today, forcing my local store to do at least a minimal reorder. For 10 bucks it is a steal.

[zornwil]

I'll just put my two cents in and say that a "how to balance stuff" resource would be a great help to new players; anything that helps in gaining that kind of experience is a Good Thing.

Personally, though I know I just brought this up in another thread a more detailed point belongs here, I would point out that I'd rather see something geared towards experienced instead of newbies on balance, or at least something on both ends of the spectrum. For me, much of the kinds of commentaries Gary and Hugh have engaged in illuminate great points regarding balance that would be nice to see on a list centralized somewhere.

[lazarus]

I really love Sidekick. I'd given HERO cursory thoughts over the past while (since I first saw the FREd book), but the cost and reading issue prevented me from purchasing it.

However, Sidekick was there for all of 13 Canadian $ ... so I picked it up. Read it cover to cover, it becoming the second gaming book I've done that with.

Another member of my gaming group has become interested in the system, and depending on the outcome of our "Test-Run" game, he may pick up FREd. I'm looking to eventually get HD2 and the Bestiary, at least, if it turns out to be as fun as it looks.

Laz is a student without much $$...