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HERO System newb...What books to buy?


pming

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Hiya!

 

Question: If money was no object, what books would everyone recommend for an experienced RPG'er looking to get the "Full Delux Experience" of the system?

 

Thanks!

 

PS: I'm a very experienced RPG'er with 38+ years under my belt (and about 38+ pounds above it!... ;) ), mostly as DM. I'm just a newb with the HERO system is all... :)

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

 

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Deluxe experience?  It depends on what you want...

 

i would want want the full sixth edition, both blue books.  That is the key starting point.  I would then decide if I wanted to learn by playing superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi, or pulp.

 

I would get the relevant book for that, Champions, Pulp Hero, Star Hero etc.  I would then buy a campaign book.  I would go superheroes and get the Book of the Machine to give you a core for a campaign.  That is all you “need”.

 

All kinds of stuff you might “want”.  

 

I would get the 5th edition ultimate books (brick, speedster, etc) to get the feel for different archetypes and how to model them in the system.  I would also get a villains book - you learn a lot by seeing how other people build stuff. 

 

Finally I would buy Villainy Amok.  That is a treatise on building a superhero adventure.

 

Lots of folk will recommend Hero Designer.  I would wait until I had learned the system, really internalised how the system works.  After that I think HD is a great tool that takes effort out of GMing.

 

Doc

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I would suggesting, for a bare minimum a Complete book and one of the martial arts books.  My suggestion for a supers game would be Champions Complete and the Ultimate Martial Artist.  

 

I suggest the Ultimate Martial Artist because it has several maneuvers not in the Completes/6e1/6e2 and a lot of real world styles that players gravitate to.

 

For a deluxe list, BUY EVERYTHING!  Muahahahahahaha!  :snicker:

 

 

Seriously, beyond the two, buy what you think you might benefit from.

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5 minutes ago, Doc Democracy said:

Deluxe experience?  It depends on what you want...

 

i would want want the full sixth edition, both blue books.  That is the key starting point.  I would then decide if I wanted to learn by playing superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi, or pulp.

 

I would get the relevant book for that, Champions, Pulp Hero, Star Hero etc.  I would then buy a campaign book.  I would go superheroes and get the Book of the Machine to give you a core for a campaign.  That is all you “need”.

 

All kinds of stuff you might “want”.  

 

I would get the 5th edition ultimate books (brick, speedster, etc) to get the feel for different archetypes and how to model them in the system.  I would also get a villains book - you learn a lot by seeing how other people build stuff. 

 

Finally I would buy Villainy Amok.  That is a treatise on building a superhero adventure.

 

Lots of folk will recommend Hero Designer.  I would wait until I had learned the system, really internalised how the system works.  After that I think HD is a great tool that takes effort out of GMing.

 

Doc

I would add the following

Strike Force (for more campaign goodness)
Hero System Martial Arts (pretty much every genre has some kind of hand to hand fighting)

now depending on what genres you want to play I would recommend the following
Hero system Equipment Guide(works for just about any genre)
                        Grimmore(spells for fantasy)
                        Super powers(for a supers game
 

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My 'Get All The Important Stuff' list of Hero Books:

 

6E1 and 6E2 - main core books with all the options, explanations, and concepts.

Advanced Players Guide 1 & 2 - lots of extra pieces to help with some of the more esoteric and/or complex ideas.

Martial Arts - expanding and adding onto the combat aspect, creating even more variety.

 

Equipment Guide, Grimoire, and Bestiary - these are just time savers, really.

 

Find the following Genre Books as they are some of the best guides to tropes, archetypes, and story telling you can find:

Fantasy & Star Hero (either 5th or 6th Edition, it's not the builds that matter, but the advice)

Pulp Hero - this is just too comprehensive a guide not to have it. (5E Book, advice still goes, builds still work)

Post-Apocalyptic Hero - just an all around good guide on how to run a game after the world ends.

Teem Champions (5E book, but still some good stuff in here)

 

Some books I just really enjoyed as resources:

Worlds Of Empire (time saver on planets)

Lucha Libre Hero

Ultimate Base (for when you really need more information on buildings and Very Large Vehicles)

Tuala Morn (great setting)

Book Of The Empress (I just think she's the best villain Hero Games has created)

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The thing about HERO System is, it’s all there in the core book, or it’s stuff made using the core book, or it’s someone’s extrapolations from the core book, or it’s generic info you can get from multiple sources (like a treatise on a given genre).

 

All you need is the core book. The current core book is Champions Complete (or you can get Fantasy HERO Complete if you’re more likely to start with the fantasy genre than the supers genre).

 

If you want official rulings on the various questions that inevitably come up about any system, get 6e1 and 6e2. If you want more extrapolations, get the Advanced Player’s Guides. If you want an exploration of the martial arts system, with more edge case stuff covered, get Martial Arts. If you want prebuilt powers and equipment, get the Powers and Equipment books. And so on.

 

Me? I’d just get Champions Complete and start there. You’ll know what you need next (if anything) once you’ve read and used that for a bit.

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18 hours ago, ghost-angel said:

Why Champions Complete? Why not Fantasy Complete? Why choose that one over the other?

 

Most of everything that is in Fantasy Complete can be calculated with Champions Complete.  Originally, the game was not a tool box of genres but the original game was Champions, a super hero game system.  IIRC, in the 90s, it became a generic role playing game.  So by default, a lot of us will say Champions Complete or the 2 big volumes 6e1/6e2 either because it is the basis for everything and everything can derive from those rules or from just plain favoritism.  But really, if you are just using the HERO system only for fantasy, by all means just get Fantasy Hero Complete.  I will still suggest Ultimate Martial Artists just for the expanded martial arts package.   (Side note: If you do just do Fantasy, I would also suggest the HS Beastiary to save you some work.  Not necessary but time saving.)

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On 2/26/2018 at 12:24 PM, pming said:

Hiya!

 

Question: If money was no object, what books would everyone recommend for an experienced RPG'er looking to get the "Full Delux Experience" of the system?

 

Thanks!

 

PS: I'm a very experienced RPG'er with 38+ years under my belt (and about 38+ pounds above it!... ;) ), mostly as DM. I'm just a newb with the HERO system is all... :)

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

 

 

23 minutes ago, pming said:

Hiya!

 

Thanks guys! I think I got myself a nice, fat Check Out Cart from RPGNow.com of...well... a lot of things (about $615 worth; multiple copies of a few, all in Print). I figure that should do it for now. 

Thanks again!

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

 

:jawdrop:

... I guess "money's no object" wasn't hyperbole.

 

Congratulations! I hope you find your Hero gaming experience to be everything you want. :yes:

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16 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Let me add that I just got Champions Powers. Worth the money! 

 

Btw feel free to ask any questions about the system but be prepared for about a dozen different answers ?

Yes. Hero System is the home of "there is a million ways to do special effect x".

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10 hours ago, Doc Democracy said:

He has bought a LOT of words guys, not sure he will be in a position to read more for quite some time....

 

He just needs to buy speed reading.  At 4 points for x10 and 2 pts for each x10 multiple, its a steal. :D

 

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On 3/7/2018 at 3:14 AM, pming said:

Hiya!

 

Thanks guys! I think I got myself a nice, fat Check Out Cart from RPGNow.com of...well... a lot of things (about $615 worth; multiple copies of a few, all in Print). I figure that should do it for now. 

Thanks again!

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

 

We would love to see pics of what you got.

 

:)

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