Is Hero still your "go-to" rpg system?

[fdw3773]

While updating various files in preparation for the upcoming Extra Life charity game event along with some conversations with people I know in the local rpg community, I realized that Hero System is no longer my "go-to" game of choice for superhero and fantasy as it was back when I was in high school and college. Since I now run sessions at local game events where players arrive and use a pregenerated character, player interest has leaned more towards rules light systems like ICONS that are easy to understand and pick up upon arrival. I haven't ran Fantasy AGE yet, but after some brief conversations with a few who are either new to RPGs or have played D&D, the impression I got from them was that Fantasy AGE was preferable over Fantasy Hero.

 

Does anyone else find themselves in the same situation? Or is Hero still your "go-to" rpg system? 🤔

[Sundog]

Not sure it ever was for anything other than Champions Super Hero roleplay and Star Hero. I've always played a wide variety of systems.

[tkdguy]

I haven't played or run HERO in a long time. Part of the problem is that I some of my players expect a superhero campaign when they hear about the HERO system, and I have no interest in that genre. I may do a one-shot fantasy or modern-day game just to give players a better idea of how the mechanics work, especially combat. I'd use the basic maneuvers listed in the core book, but nothing from the supplements.

 

Another reason is that my friends and I only play sporadically if at all, so I tend to prefer rules-light systems for my one-shot sessions.

[Scott Ruggels]

I still “think” in Hero, and have ideas for science fiction and modern campaigns in my head.  I intensely dislike minimalist systems, and I leave the table rather than playing them. 
 

The problem I have with Hero is not having any players close by.  Online, the player base skews younger, and anyone born after 1991 is going to have an aversion to crunchy mechanics, as for them, the computer handles the crunch. The dark times of when MTG sucked all the money out of the TTRPG industry broke the habit. 
 

So I do GM, but these days it’s Cyberpunk Red maybe Traveller (Mongoose), but there is only tepid interest in doing anything Hero. As a player, it’s 5e D&D, as that seems to be the only thing other people GM.  At least my Sunday DM homebrew the politics. 
 

But I am still thinking in Hero. 

[Christopher R Taylor]

Always, and would be still if I ran or played anything these days

[BNakagawa]

Typically yes. Hero presents a language for detailed character design and once you have the hang of it, learning a new language every time you want to design a new character seems like a lot of wasted effort.

 

On the other hand, the number of people that have fluency in said language are diminishing...

[tkdguy]

Has anyone considered offering a tutorial on HERO games? Nothing fancy, just a simple scenario to show how the basic rules work. Have a few pre-generated characters so people can start playing right away. Maybe you can find new players that way.

[Tech]

Has been Hero System and apparently always will be. I've played another system but Hero System beats it. When I think Hero System, I think Champions ever since I picked up Champions 1st edition, then 2nd, then 3rd, then...

[Christopher R Taylor]

Quote

Has anyone considered offering a tutorial on HERO games? Nothing fancy, just a simple scenario to show how the basic rules work. Have a few pre-generated characters so people can start playing right away. Maybe you can find new players that way.

 

You mean like this?

[tkdguy]

Why not? Maybe someone can run it in a game store or convention to let people try it out.

[Christopher R Taylor]

According to Jason, 100+ copies a month Champions Begins are being downloaded.  It was written as a collaborative effort by people here and in other Hero forums.  CB was even nominated for a gaming award.  Every review I've seen online was really positive.

[Scott Ruggels]

I am planning on running this on a friend’s v server around Christmas time.  We shall see if it takes. C

[Ninja-Bear]

Nope, not any more. If I play Star Wars, its WEG D6 with some modifications. I recently connived my sons and nephew into a Basic Fantasy game. And if I can find a better system for martial arts I’ll ditch Hero. 

[tkdguy]

Basic Fantasy is my go-to rpg at this time. I just played a solo game when the lights were out in my area today. I also wrote up a conversion from MERP, which was my go-to rpg when I was in college.

[Scott Ruggels]

Traitors! Traitors! 😁

 

I think the big problem is basically that’s hero as it is, is unattractive to the young group especially those that have no experience with off-line, tabletop, wargames. Even board games are a rare experience for the screen generations. I don’t mind playing Hero with only grognards , though. 

[tkdguy]

My biggest hang-up about HERO is how slow combat can get. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this, and a lot of potential players can likewise get turned off on the system. Speeding up combat will help new players get into the system more easily. You can add more combat options as the players get more comfortable with the game. The martial arts system in HERO is definitely among the best, if not the best.

 

Another is expectations. HERO can simulate any type of genre, but most people associate it with superheroes. If you can show new people how you can run a fantasy/espionage/sci-fi, etc. game using HERO, more people will appreciate it.

[Scott Ruggels]

I try to do my best, as I am not a superhero guy anymore.  I have two FH campaigns ready to go, and a desire to run Traveller Hero, and I used to rumbmodern Mercenaries or Fantady Hero at cons.  

[Ninja-Bear]

I also have the Retro clone FASERIP. And yeah it has warts and need some tweaking but man creating characters is a snap. (I just use the modeling concept from the original system.)

[Beast]

has been for the last 30 yrs

 

[Joe Walsh]

Of course it's my "go-to."

 

[Old Man]

As mentioned upthread, I still think in Hero, but have had little time for gaming.  Hero has ruined me for all other game systems; I'm in a monthly 5e campaign over Zoom and although it's the best version of D&D since Expert, it's still clumsy and janky by comparison.

[tkdguy]

I only tried FASERIP once, and that was just character creation. I didn't like the process. I ended up with an Average Joe with an alternate identity. The alternate identity also turned out to be an Average Joe for the most part, except with Aunt May level strength. I was hoping to make some kind of swordsman, but the rolls weren't with me.

 

One of my friends got the roll for a sword with a special ability; I admit to being jealous about that. He was just goofing off, so he decided the sword's special ability was that it could stick to the wall.

 

 

[Old Man]

 

2 minutes ago, tkdguy said:

I only tried FASERIP once, and that was just character creation. I didn't like the process. I ended up with an Average Joe with an alternate identity. The alternate identity also turned out to be an Average Joe for the most part, except with Aunt May level strength. I was hoping to make some kind of swordsman, but the rolls weren't with me.

 

One of my friends got the roll for a sword with a special ability; I admit to being jealous about that. He was just goofing off, so he decided the sword's special ability was that it could stick to the wall.

 

I really liked FASERIP.  Not as much as Hero of course, but it did a good job of capturing the comic book feel, and the advanced rules improved granularity a lot.  Its biggest problem was a lack of underlying rules framework--the same problem most game systems have, where you eventually wind up with a looong list of powers/spells/feats/class abilities and no way to handle interactions between them, or deal with the resulting loopholes.

 

Oh, and character creation.  Character creation in FASERIP was really... random.  It screams for a point buy system, and there are some homebrew point systems floating around cyberspace for exactly that reason.  I swear Gambit was created using FASERIP random character generation, he is exactly the type of powers hodgepodge you can expect.

 

MSH was also extraordinarily well supported in its day.  I have a big stack of slightly-damaged MSH books that I always meant to convert to Hero but obviously never did.  (The local Waldenbooks (remember those?) put their MSH stuff in a rotating rack near a wall, so it was always falling out and getting chewed up.  A friend of mine who worked there let me help her dispose of the unsalable merch...)

 

FASERIP is also one of the very few game systems I know of that scales well from skilled-normal to cosmic, Hero and BECMI D&D being the other two.  I still wouldn't use FASERIP for fantasy though, and regardless it seems to have an even smaller player base than Hero.

[Ninja-Bear]

Several months ago (perhaps even a year or two), I was on a Champions 3rd ed kick. I can see myself running that edition as long as I pay of my Pych Disadvantage: By the book. If I allow myself to add in or change Rules as needed (by me), I would gladly run that edition.

[Ninja-Bear]

@fdw3773, If I understand correctly, ICONs is a derivative of the old Marvel System. Do you find that you need to house rule anything?

 

@oldmanthere is an article from Dragon Magazine which you can find under Classic Marvel RPG website on how to make it a point buy system inspired by Champions.