Jump to content

New player seeking book recommendations


Recommended Posts

I am new to Hero system and am trying to put together a solid collection of resources.

 

Books I've already picked up in one form or another:

  • Champions Complete
  • Fantasy Hero Complete
  • Champions Powers
  • Narosia: Sea of Tears
  • Star Hero
  • Hero System Martial Arts
  • Hero System Skills
  • Hero System Equipment
  • Hero System 6th Edition (both volumes)
  • Advanced Players Guide I
  • Advanced Players Guide II
  • The Ultimate Base

 

What's my best option for a 6E vehicle book?  I assumed The Ultimate Vehicle was what I was looking for, but I couldn't find it in the store.

 

Are there any other books that more experienced people have found useful?

 

How well put-together are the Darkwyrm Star Hero settings?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for general books, your list generally covers what I think are the important ones. Depending on your genre interests, or what you want out of the books, there are some other ones I might pick up, but as far as a "jack of all Genres" checklist, that's a pretty good list. I've found for Superheroes that the Champions sourcebook is fairly useful, even if you have Champions Complete. I don't own Fantasy Hero Complete, but the Fantasy Hero sourcebook may very well be similar in that aspect (but If I'm wrong, other posters, correct me on this), and the Grimoire can be even more useful than Champions Powers, if you want to run a Fantasy game with certain styles of magic systems (such as ones where each spell, or a handful of related spells, is treated in a similar vein to Weapon Proficiencies). The Champions Universe book, as well as others like Champions Beyond, Champions Villains Volumes 1-3, ect, are largely dependent on how much you like the champions universe as a setting, and how much interest you have in worldbuilding, so I personally don't get much use out of them, but I will admit that they are fairly well done, if not really my cup of tea. Really the only major Hero Games publications that I would say probably aren't worth the money are the Basic Rulebook (especially with the advent of Champions Complete and Fantasy Hero Complete), the Bestiary (Even running Fantasy games, I've found I rarely end up using it), and possibly even the Advanced Players Guides (I've used a few rules from them, here and there, but all in all, they don't see that much use). Otherwise, it's more of a question of "Do I need what this book provides?"

 

As for Vehicle Books, to my knowledge there isn't really a 6e Vehicle Book, even though it is mentioned in some 6e books. I assume there just wasn't a great demand for it, so it just wasn't economically feasible to do a print run of it. There is a 5e book (here) but I don't own it, so I can't speak to the quality of it, or the ease of adapting it to 6e, but it's an option.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I was going to say just search for "Vehicle" in the HS Store. I don't think there's any rule changes between editions for Vehicles. Perhaps Vehicle stats (no freebie Secondary Stats in 6e), but the stat numbers will be the same, just they way they are paid for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It depends a lot on what sort of games you are wanting to run.  For example, there are quite a few interesting Pulp books out there for early 20th century adventure like Indiana Jones.  I have a bunch of Fantasy Hero books available in pdf and in print, and Michael Surbrook has a terrific tall tales book called Larger Than Life

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a big fan of the Bestiary too; it's the only one not already on your list that I consider truly essential.

 

Don't neglect 5ed books: there are some good books there that require minimal adaptation to use in 6ed.

 

Vehicles: Ultimate Vehicle has more design theory on how to build your own vehicles, whereas the Hero System Vehicle Sourcebook has more sample vehicle; they're both good books, it just depends on what you're looking for.

 

If you play Champions, the 3-volume Champions Villains will save you hours of NPC creation, even if you never use any of them exactly as-written. Also 5ed Villainy Amok has great stuff on how to run common superhero tropes from bank robberies to alien invasions. I thought 6ed Champions Beyond was well done if you want your heroes to voyage beyond the stars. And if you like mystic superhero stuff, 5ed Mystic World has some good stuff. I'm also a fan of 5ed's DEMON Servants of Darkness, tho I know a lot of people felt it was too dark for their taste.

 

If you like sci-fi, check out Kazei 5 from Blackwyrm games; a terrific cyberpunk/anime sourcebook.

 

And not a book per se, but the Hero Designer program is some of the best $25 I've ever spent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recommend villainy amok by Dean Shomshak, who frequents these boards.

 

A cool resource for planning games, plotting and shaking things up.

 

Doc

I believe Villainy Amok is written by Scott Bennie. Still a good book but it has errata. Its missing some random tables which I believe you can still get from the boards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for the responses and advice. To answer some of the questions that have been tossed back at me:

 

I want to stick with 6e rules where they're available. I'm quite happy modding and homebrewing, but I'd like to get a better handle on the intricacies of the system before I start doing on-the-fly edition translations.

 

The main things I'm looking for are books that will help me understand the underlying principles of the system and get better at applying them. Hero System Martial Arts was exactly what I was looking for here, while the equipment guide was more of a simple catalog.

 

I also enjoy anything that talks about how to run a better game. I'll definitely look into Villainy Amok for this.

 

Genre-wise, the next game I'm involved in will likely be a space opera, but everything is on the table. I tend to world-build a lot, but sometimes like to use premise settings as a jumping-off point (especially in sci-fi).

 

Current take-aways:

 

Ultimate Vehicle sounds like my best bet for a vehicle book (assuming the theory it talks about hasn't changed from 5e to 6e.

 

I'll definitely pick up the bestiary and the grimoire before my next fantasy game.

 

Villainy Amok sounds like a good read on GMing in general.

 

And a couple follow-up questions:

 

What does the Champions book provide that Champions Complete does not?

 

Where should I get started on Pulp Hero and how compatible with 6e is it? I haven't played a good pulp game since Tales of the Aeon Society.

 

Can anyone recommend something for the heroic level (where most gear is bought with cash rather than character points)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I recommend for a Champions GM...

 

Champions Complete (The current version of the rules. Think of it as 6ed lite, since you only pay $40 for one book, as oppose to $80 for two.)

 

And and/or all three Villain Volumes (A GM needs a good list of bad guys to fill there world. And while you are probably going to fill your world with original creations, you need time to do so. The only downside, besides the cost in buying all three books is that they are created using 6ed, and a few characters [very few] will have to be modified because Champions Complete does things differently now.)

 

Champions Powers (To make up for lack of examples in Champions Complete).

 

Hero System Martial Arts (You NEED this book, cause the selections of Martial Arts is so slim. All campaigns can use this book. Do yourself a favor and get this book.)

 

Advance Players Guide 1 and 2 (You might not need all the options in either books, but it is good to know exactly what your options are. It is also helpful in reading some sheets on this board, so you don't scratch your head pondering what Expert or Item Creation means.)

 

Champions Universe (Provides you with a world to play in.)

 

Champions (Provides guide on the types of superhero comic books which are out there, and how to incorporate them into your campaign. This book is different from Champions Universe.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wolfrunswithfox I would say you actually have a lot of books now to start to grok the system. At this stage, I would say start creating a couple of characters and run a bunch of what if scenerios. In my experience, I used to think that if I have the next book, it would explain everything to me. It doesn't but thats ok. Just get alittle experience and then the rules will make better sense. At least it did for me. Not that im saying not buy more books, I enjoy getting new ones, just nothing teaches like experience does.

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe Villainy Amok is written by Scott Bennie. Still a good book but it has errata. Its missing some random tables which I believe you can still get from the boards.

You are entirely correct, Scott hangs out sometimes too. Am now wondering what book I have been picturing as Villainy Amok with Dean's name on the front..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can anyone recommend something for the heroic level (where most gear is bought with cash rather than character points)?

You know, I would not worry too much about that. If you want people to have stuff they can buy with money then there is no need for rules beyond how much money you give them and what access you give them to buy stuff.

 

In modern day you can manage money in the normal way and get price lists (where costs go up as they want things not in the shops).

 

The key rule that I use in heroic games is that anything that can be bought for money can be taken away from you in the narrative and for good narrative reasons and you have no reasonable expectation of getting it back. If, however, you buy a pistol with points then you can expect to find said pistol at convenient locations if you get it taken away from you.

 

So, you have a pistol, paid for by points, and get captured. You lose the pistol. When you escape, that same pistol or one at least as good, is available for you to pick up and use. It is yours and the points should stretch the narrative to give you access to it.

 

 

Doc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, I would not worry too much about that. If you want people to have stuff they can buy with money then there is no need for rules beyond how much money you give them and what access you give them to buy stuff.

Doc

 

Whether bought with points or not, whether written up as powers or not, "stuff" still needs to be defined in game terms.

 

Especially  if it's something like armor or weapons.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Okay, so you buy a palindromedary. What exactly does that get you?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The books I pull out the most are the Genre Books;

 

It's worth finding a copy of Fantasy Hero if you want it in hardcopy, the PDF is available in the store.

Same with Champions.

 

The 5th Edition Genre books are also good investments, even without the conversion of any included crunch, the advice and other genre-related information in them is an invaluable tool for any gamer emulating a variety of genres.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whether bought with points or not, whether written up as powers or not, "stuff" still needs to be defined in game terms.

 

Absolutely but I was thinking that the OP was looking for guidance on how to use the stuff rather than list of kit and equipment. If it is a set of shopping lists then there are multiple books or you can generate your own based on your campaign needs.

 

Okay, so you buy a palindromedary. What exactly does that get you?

Two views??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whether bought with points or not, whether written up as powers or not, "stuff" still needs to be defined in game terms.

For the most part, but you don't need to go overboard with this. There's generally no need to stat out mundane things like flashlights, radios, cigarette lighters and such. Sure, you can define a flashlight as Images, Sight Group, Only To Create Light, OAF etc, but 99% of the time you don't need to; it's just a flashlight, you turn it on, and now you can see better. If you're not paying points for it, who cares about how many points it's built on?

 

I know that's probably not what you meant, but I have heard that concern from newbies who felt they were expected to define all those sorts of mundane items in game terms, which makes the up-front GM work seem way more intimidating than it really is. So I wanted to make sure that was stated explicitly here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ineed, the trap is to avoid building mundane items, and just defining them.

 

Flashlight: Illuminates a cone in front of you for 6m (or whatever)

 

Gun: Does X Damage.

 

Body Armor: Provides Y and Z defenses.

 

SCBA/SCUBA: allows you to breath in unhealthy environments.

 

and so on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...