Suggestions for short first-time Star Hero adventure...

[jdm]

My sons are interested in doing a short Star Hero adventure during their summer break with me as their GM. I'm looking for something in the way of a good setting and adventure for their first foray into HERO. They've played a little D&D, so they get the idea of RPGs, but they're 10 and 12, so I'll be doing their character builds and whatnot (even with HD, it's probably a little much for the 10-year old, at least). I've GM'd D&D and Champions in the past.

 

I'm not adverse to buying PDF content off the HERO games site, but there's not enough to get a feel for the contents. My 12 year-old is familiar with some of the tropes of sci-fi, while both are familiar with the tropes of fantasy and superheroes.

 

Any reviews of the Star HERO content at HERO Games or pointers to some pre-written adventures suitable for beginning heroes?

[Grailknight]

Alien

[Nolgroth]

The first game session of my former long-running Star Hero campaign started with a ship colliding with the space station that the characters were on. It was a good "tutorial" adventure as the first session was mostly skill rolls to accomplish things like fixing life support or maneuvering in zero gravity. Later, the characters had to face up against some bad guys and that served as the "warm-up" combat session. There was a lot of role-playing as the characters helped each other and several NPCs survive a space station that was severely damaged and thrust out of its stable orbit into a decaying one.

 

For my game, I wanted some intrigue so there were some strong indications that the "accident" was staged to draw attention away from a clandestine raid. Not sure how serial you want your campaign, but the surviving the damaged space station scenario should be good for about three sessions. You can always flavor it how you want. Perhaps an exotic creature, formerly stored in stasis, is now loose on the station. Perhaps some of the good folk of Gotham Station have turned to looting and pillaging. Maybe there is no immediate combat. I can't imagine a 10 and 12 year old not wanting a bit of smackdown in their game though.

 

Anyway, that is my humble suggestion.

[BlueCloud2k2]

Have you seen Firefly?

 

If not, I highly recommend it.

 

And yeah, the Alien series (and Prometheus too)

[Lord Liaden]

If you wouldn't mind a suggestion written for Fifth Edition HERO System: boys that age, and with that background and interests, might have fun with Solar Smith And The Sky-Pirates Of Arcturus!, a PDF mini setting book for "pulp-era" sci-fi space adventures, reminiscent of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. While the PDF doesn't include full prewritten adventures, it does contain ten "plot seeds," synopses that can be expanded into full adventures. And it's dirt-cheap from the Hero Games website store.

 

Here is a fairly detailed review of the book.

[Burrito Boy]

I'm not sure if I'm too late but...check out this PDF: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/129829/Xplorers-QuickStart

 

It's free and has a short adventure.

 

 

I'd say more but they're about to kick me out of the library.

[NuSoardGraphite]

You could always go with a bug hunt. those are usually pretty fun and simple to run. space station with no power and no docked ships. Alien beasties on the loose killing the crew and the PCs have to stop them. give it kind of an Aliens vibe.

[Tasha]

I am definatly too late, but for a short set of adventures. Which you would have to convert to Hero. Try Daring Tales of the Space Lanes. Good set of adventures that when done in order are part of a whole campaign

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?cPath=4510_20074