Guest crassus Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 I have been out of RPG's for a while, but think its time to get back in and indoctrinate a second generation (my sons) in the process. I remember Champions as being the best system, but I thought the fantasy genre might appeal more. To play Fantasy Hero, however, do I need to buy the $50+ rulebook or will the Sidekick do the trick (or the genre book alone) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero Although the $50 book is chock-full-to-the-brim with Heroy goodness and very much worth the price, you should be able to run a good game in any genre with just the rules in Sidekick. The main rule you may want to cisnsider that is not in Sidekick is Megascale, for spells that can bring down castles. Spells work basically like Powers with certain limitations applied to make them look and feel like magic. The full book details many of these limitations -- I don't have a copy of Sidekick handy, but you should be able to replicate many of these with those rules. If you already have a clear idea of what you're doing, that's really all you need. You can certainly expand your game, and make it better, with the rules from Fiver and from Fantasy HERO, of course, but if funds are tight Sidekick will do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eosin Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero I will let others speak to Sidekick since I don't have it. Personally, unless I was really strapped for cash I would also pick up Fantasy Hero, Monsters, Minions, & Maurders [the monster book], and Fantasy Hero Grimore [the spell book]. Obviously, you can do without all three of these and I started my game with none of them but they have some great utility. Also check out The Question Man's XXX converted to Hero Thread for some quick links to various rules and campaign settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenixcrest Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero I seem to be doing alright with just FREd and the Bestiary, but you could probably do alright with Sidekick and book of choice. I reccomend the bestiary, unless you like coming up with all of your own stuff for summons and things. I'm too lazy for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero Unlike the 1st edition of Fantasy HERO, the current edition is "just" a genre book. It has tons and tons of cool stuff about playing and running fantasy games using the HERO System rules, but it doesn't contain the rules themselves in any form. You would need either HERO System Fifth Edition, Revised (5ER) or HERO System SideKick (SK) to play. Can you play Fantasy Hero with SideKick alone? Yes. Will you want to? No. It sounds like you're looking at going the SK+FH route because SK is much cheaper than the full HERO System 5th Edition rulebook, and you want to save money. If that's the case, I predict you will actually spend more money if you go that route. Why? Because once you get Fantasy Hero and see how many cool things it has that refer to concepts not covered in SideKick, you will eventually (probably soon) get frustrated with SideKick's limitations, and wish you had the whole rulebook. This is especially true if you pick up the Fantasy Hero Grimoire (or other sourcebooks) and see how many spells are built with options not available in SideKick. So, chances are, you'll eventually get the core rulebook anyway. And once you do, then it's no longer a case of having saved $40 by buying SK instead of 5ER... it's a case of having spent $10 extra by buying both SK and 5ER. Ya' might as well just cut to the chase and get the core rulebook right off the bat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero I would say the bare minimums needed to play Fantasy Hero for a new player, or someone not overly familiar with the Hero System, would be: 1- Sidekick for the basic rules and combat structure. 2- Fantasy Hero Grimoire for the thousands of prebuilt spells. 3- Bestiary for all the critters. 4- Monsters, Minions, & Marauders for the fantasy-specific critters. Additional books once comfortable with everything would be: 1- 5Er for the "advanced" rules. 2- Fantasy Hero for lots of cool genre information. 3- The Turakian Age because who has time to build a gaming world? Of course if a product like Fantasy Hero Sidekick existed I'd say buy it instead of all the above to get your feet wet. Ok, I'll go away now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendsmiths Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero Crassus, that is the hole that we are trying to fill. If you visit our website and signup we will notify you to download the playtest of our setting. Our product will only require Sidekick, so that should foot the bill. If playtesting isn't your cup of tea, Origins is the release date for our product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero I would get Sidekick anyway. If anything, it is a useful tool to help introduce new players to the HERO System. It's like the students' edition and 5ER is the teachers' edition of HERO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarus Posted February 12, 2005 Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero Sidekick's all you _need_ to run a HERO game. The Bestiary is awesome. Lots of useful critters already statted out for you. Fantasy HERO is an amazing genre book. Lots of package deals and ideas contained therein. Just got Fiver myself. I love it - you'll probably end up buying it and Sidekick anyway. Laz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero Well it all depends like mentioned. I dont have Sidekick so I cant comment on it. But you could pretty much get by with the rulebook if you are inventive and imaginative enough. The genre books and such just make it easier. Note: Dont let Steve Long know what I just said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Re: Requirements for Fantasy Hero All you really need is Sidekick, some imagination, and time. If you are lacking in the imagination department you can pick up a setting book, either Turakian or Valdorian Age, and if you are lacking in time you can pick up the various bestiary and "spell" books. Personally I would suggest that the GM might want a copy of the main rule book, but the players can all do just fine with Sidekick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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