PaladinAg Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 After many years playing with 4th Edition, I've finally moved over to 6th edition with a purchase of "Champions Complete". I've also just joined the forum, so I suspect this subject has been covered before (and possibly more than once!) I've got a lot of the old 4E books so I can convert any characters etc that I want to, but which setting books, guides etc do people recommend that I should purchase and why? I should note that due to the distance from a FGS (no local for me!) that they should be PDF available. Any help welcome. PaladinAg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Easiest way to SEE the full line up of HERO 6e/ Champions 6e stuff would be to follow this link: http://rpggeek.com/rpg/11085/champions-hero-system-6 Virtually everything is available from the Herogames store. Champions 6e, Champions Universe 6e, The 3 Villain Books and Champions Powers are probably the best stuff to start with. Then maybe the full 6e1&2 books. HM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 You'll need the three Villain Volume books. And you'll need Champion Universe for 6ed. Beyond that, your on your own. I also sergest the 5ed books on VIPER and DEMON, since 5ed and 6ed Champion Universe is the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Available in PDF format that is. HM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I know it's not a book, but I HIGHLY recommend Hero Designer. It's a Java Character Gen Program. You can buy packages that have Character files from the various books. Just the program alone is a huge timesaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 ...which setting books, guides etc do people recommend that I should purchase and why? ... Any help welcome. PaladinAg Champions 6e, Champions Universe 6e, The 3 Villain Books and Champions Powers are probably the best stuff to start with. Then maybe the full 6e1&2 books. Here are my why's: Champions 6e is the best Superhero Genre book to date and was co-written by the late Aaron Allston. Champions Universe and the Villain books are just a great resource if you don't want to have to build everything yourself. Champions Powers is a great list of pre-built abilities that are designed to help with the heavy lifting for players new to the system. The full set of 6e1&2 core rules have so many more examples than what are included in Champions Complete. It is the core rules for ALL genres, not just Champions, but is 99.99% compatible with Champions Complete. If you or your players enjoy pushing the system then the Advanced Players Guides (1&2) are a good investment as well. HM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinAg Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Thanks for the advice. I can see that the Champions Powers and Champions 6e would be very helpful and that the Universe and Villain books would be beneficial. What is on the 6th edition core books that isn'going to be in the Complete,Powers or Champions 6e books if I'm only going to be playing Champions? PaladinAg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I also recommend the Hero System Martial Arts book. Great material in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 Thanks for the advice. I can see that the Champions Powers and Champions 6e would be very helpful and that the Universe and Villain books would be beneficial. What is on the 6th edition core books that isn'going to be in the Complete,Powers or Champions 6e books if I'm only going to be playing Champions? PaladinAg The core books have more examples for each individual Power. The Powers book is organized more by special effect. It's essentially the equivalent of the HERO System Grimoire (Fantasy HERO spell lists for schools of magic) except it's types of superpowers instead. HM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I also recommend the Hero System Martial Arts book. Great material in there! This is a great book (and is in fact one of my favorites) but it is not as essential 'up front' for a new game for new Champions players. The same goes for the HERO System Equipment Guide and Bestiary books. All are excellent resources but are primarily targeted for heroic instead of superheroic games. HM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjack Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 Get a hold of Strike Force. The best instructional book (for any game system or genre) on how to run a long playing campaign, types of players and the care & feeding there of. In either the original version or the new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 This is a great book (and is in fact one of my favorites) but it is not as essential 'up front' for a new game for new Champions players. The same goes for the HERO System Equipment Guide and Bestiary books. All are excellent resources but are primarily targeted for heroic instead of superheroic games. HM That's where we differ, HM. The Martial Arts book is essential for any superhero game that I run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 Nothing wrong with that at all. I'm guessing that the tone of your game leans a little towards realism so making distinctions between different styles of Martial Arts pays off. My previous answers were intended for players unfamiliar with 6e. Just learning to deal with all the possible interactions of the basic combat maneuvers can be daunting. Learning all the various flavors of Martial maneuvers as well on top of learning the powers might overwhelm some players new to the system. If the players are already familiar with the 4e Ninja Hero and Ultimate Martial Artist books then the 6e Martial Arts book is probably the least beneficial since the degree of change in the martial arts mechanics from 4e through 6e is minor compared to those in the powers system. HM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 The HSMA includes the martial arts maneuver construction rules, one of the few design elements not contained in the core rules. It also includes ranged martial arts (for those Blasters, Archers, etc.) I don't know about "essential", but I don't know that there are any other books that contain actual rules, rather than applications of the existing rules in 6e/CC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantriped Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 After many years playing with 4th Edition, I've finally moved over to 6th edition with a purchase of "Champions Complete". I've also just joined the forum, so I suspect this subject has been covered before (and possibly more than once!) I've got a lot of the old 4E books so I can convert any characters etc that I want to, but which setting books, guides etc do people recommend that I should purchase and why? I should note that due to the distance from a FGS (no local for me!) that they should be PDF available. Any help welcome. PaladinAg As a fellow user of Champions Complete/Fantasy HERO Complete: I suggest you start by acquiring Champions 6th (almost entirely for the Superhero Gallery), followed by the Expanded Superhero Gallery (available in PDF in the store). Champions 6th also contains a gallery of minions and minor enemies, and several very useful optional rules for running a superheroic campaign. Second, pick up HERO System Martial Arts. This book contains the most useful bang for your buck in my opinion of any of the 6th edition supplements. If you need more prebuilt materials, I suggest Champions Villains 1-3, HERO system Bestiary, Champions Powers and the HERO System Equipment Guide (in that order). If you need setting information, I suggest Champions Universe, and Champions Beyond. Finally, if you plan to run a Fantasy HERO game, pick up Fantasy HERO Complete, and (this will sound strange but...) Fantasy HERO 5th edition. I suggest Fantasy HERO 5th because 90% of the 6th edition version is simply cut and pasted whole cloth from the 5th edition version (I've actually gone through it page for page and checked), and lots of useful material was omitted from the 6th edition version in favor of referencing other 6th edition books (making it far less valuable as a standalone product), but did not actually change between editions. For example, the Armorsmithing chart was moved to HERO System Skills, and the Bind maneuver was moved to HERO System Martial Arts. The only thing that is actually better about the 6th edition version is the formatting; The art and examples are actually worse in my opinion. The PDF of Fantasy HERO 5th is for sale on the store for 10$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinAg Posted October 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Thanks again all. I've now got Champions 6e and Champions powers. Whilst the former makes several references to the Advanced Players Guide and the core rules I think there is enough there to keep me going for a while. Champions 6e in particular helped fill a few holes in the campaign set up etc that wasn't in CC. PaladinAg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 What is on the 6th edition core books that isn'going to be in the Complete,Powers or Champions 6e books if I'm only going to be playing Champions? About 546 pages. [rimshot] Jokes aside, CC is a great book and covers all the core rules, but if you want more guidance on how things work and how X interacts with Y, then the 6ed Core Books are the graduate-level course in Heroing. Depends on how much crunch you want/need in your games. Personally I wouldn't bother with the APGs until/unless you've read and digested the Core Books and still want more. As far as other Champions books, others have already mentioned Champions Villains, which will save you hours of creating NPCs. I rarely use them as written, but just as starting points they're invaluable, especially if you use Hero Designer. The Equipment Guide and Bestiary are similarly great time-savers. Champions Universe is a good setting book, again whether or not you use it as written. And Champions Beyond is a great look at outer space adventuring. Some 5ed books to consider (minimal conversion required): definitely grab Villainy Amok, a terrific book that explores some common genre adventures from simple bank robberies up to alien invasions. I would also recommend VIPER: Coils of the Serpent and/or DEMON: Servants of Darkness if you have an interest in either of those organizations. I really like Mystic World as well. And I thought Hidden Lands had some great ideas. I wasn't crazy about Millennium City frankly, but Vibora Bay has some good material if you want something with a New Orleans-flavor. And even tho it's billed for Dark Champions, Hudson City is a terrifically detailed city book you can use bits from regardless of what city(s) your campaign is set in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 Other books: Hero System Martial Arts: If your going to have martial artist in the game, and the limited styles in CC and/or 6ed 1 and 2 frustrate you by the not enough problem, this is your book. You might be forced to get this if your players ask "where is the maneuver list for (martial art not in CC)?" Various 3 Party Adventure Books: They are great for times when your brain shuts down. And, since DOJ is not going to publish many more adventure books till there monitary problems are fixed and the economy is fixed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 By the way, don't underestimate your 4th edition books. Most of their content is still relevant. For example, people are talking about HERO System Martial Arts. Do you have 4e Ninja Hero? Because if so, you've already got a whole bunch of Martial Arts coolness right there, and most of it won't need to be changed for 6e. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinAg Posted October 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 Indeed, I've got a lot of old 4e stuff (including Classic Enemies, Day of the Destroyer, Zodiac Conspiracy, Viper, Classic Organisations, Kingdom of Champions, Champions Universe, High Tech Enemies and the Mutant Files), so I'm pretty up on various opponents at least in terms of concepts and power levels etc. I tend to operate in a non-standard universe so a lot of stuff doesn't get used in the original form. Paladin Ag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 By the way, don't underestimate your 4th edition books. Most of their content is still relevant. For example, people are talking about HERO System Martial Arts. Do you have 4e Ninja Hero? Because if so, you've already got a whole bunch of Martial Arts coolness right there, and most of it won't need to be changed for 6e. All of the Mechanics from Ninja Hero are in HSMA updated to work with the Martial Arts already in 6e (6e1&2/CC/FHC). The MA element builder is fleshed out better in HSMA, and there are way more prebuilt Martial Arts Abilities. The setting stuff for running a MA campaign is in Mike Surbrook's 5e Ninja Hero (available in the Online Store). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 If you get into Fantasy Hero or other 6e Heroic Games (ie Fantasy Hero). Picking up HS Equipment Guide is also nice. It's cool for Champions too to show how "mundane" equipment, armor and weapons are built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 I used a lot of 4ed stuff in my last 6ed Champions game. The players never even noticed the difference. And since I tend to "tweak" everything anyway, tweaking something from 4ed isn't a significantly-larger time investment that tweaking something from 6ed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Aside from everything already mentioned, among 5th edition stuff, the Ultimate Books should still be quite useful for 6th edition. Plus they are full of great ideas for innovating the various common superhero archetypes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 In my view, the two Vehicle books from Fred are especially valuable since the planned 6e Vehicle book never saw print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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