needo Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 I've been looking around for a "Superhero" RPG. I've been reading up on the new Marvel RPG, but Im not too impressed. If I would like to start GM'ing HERO, knowing that I have never played it before. What books do you recommend I pick up first? The Hero 5th Edition Rules I know is a given. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadeFox Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 The 5th Edtn Book, FREd, is really all you need to run a supers game. Picking up the UNTIL Superpowers Database book is a good way to familiarize yourself with the many ways powers can be worked into various frameworks, and mix 'n matched with various advantages and disadvantages. If I had to give a desert island castaway GM who'd never played HERO before only two books, those would be the ones. Good luck!!! PS: This is a great place to get info, dont be afraid to ask questions. Most of these guys dont bite, and the ones that do, well, we'll take care of them.... heehee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needo Posted July 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Originally posted by RadeFox The 5th Edtn Book, FREd, is really all you need to run a supers game. Picking up the UNTIL Superpowers Database book is a good way to familiarize yourself with the many ways powers can be worked into various frameworks, and mix 'n matched with various advantages and disadvantages. If I had to give a desert island castaway GM who'd never played HERO before only two books, those would be the ones. Good luck!!! PS: This is a great place to get info, dont be afraid to ask questions. Most of these guys dont bite, and the ones that do, well, we'll take care of them.... heehee Great! Thank you. I plan on heading to the local comic book store tomorrow and picking them up. From reading the forums it sounds like I will be more impressed then I was with the Marvel RPG books I bought last week. What is FREd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needo Posted July 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Two more questions Two more questions... In Shadowrun there is a program called NSRCG to help charecter's and the GM create charecters quickly. Is there such an application for HERO? Also, has any one attempted to run a HERO game over OpenRPG before? If so, what were your thoughts on it, and how did it go? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Welcome aboard, Needo! You're in for quite a ride. If you're looking for a computer program to help ease character generation, I recommend "Hero Designer" available through the Online Store on this website (the link is at the top of this page). You can find out more about it by clicking on the "Our Products" link to the left, then on "Other Products". I second RadeFox's suggestion of getting the UNTIL Superpowers Database; it's full of ideas and will save you a lot of work. Unless you're confident in your ability to GM a supers game (you know the major genre conventions, plot elements etc. and how to translate them to a RPG) you might also consider picking up the Champions genre book, which is filled with sound advice on these subjects, examples of how to use the HERO System to simulate classic comic book effects, pre-generated gadgets, vehicles and bases, and sample characters both heroic and villainous. It also has a pretty solid and flexible random character generator, to help with creating characters for your players until they're comfortable with the process, or generating villains on short notice. There's also a lot of free help available on this website. For starters, I'd suggest going to the FAQs link at the top of the page, and exploring the links under "About the HERO System" - they'll help clarify a lot of the basic concepts and assumptions. You could also download the "HERO System Genre by Genre" PDF available via the Free Stuff link (up top again) under "HERO System Documents." This file discusses using the system for several common genres including supers, and has sample characters written up for each genre. There used to be a project to run Hero games over OpenRPG, but that seems to be defunct now; perhaps someone else will have further information. However, there are quite a few Play by E-Mail (PBEM) games being run right now by people who post to these boards. You can find several of them via "HERO Links" (guess where). Oh, and FREd is a common nickname around here for the HERO System Fifth Edition rulebook. It sort of stands for "Fifth Rules Edition"... there's a story behind that name, but we can save that for later. By all means come back anytime you have more questions. We love to show how much we know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Re: Two more questions Originally posted by needo In Shadowrun there is a program called NSRCG to help charecter's and the GM create charecters quickly. Is there such an application for HERO? I use Hero Designer, which you can get from the Online Store at this site. It makes life a lot easier, especially since I GM most of the time so I need to build a lot of characters and monsters. However, I'd recommend that initially you get used to building characters the old-fashioned way, out of the book. It's useful to know how to do the work, and how the character creation system works in some detail, before getting used to a tool that protects you from all the arithmetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 The story that Lord Liaden mentioned can be found on the OLD BOARDS but to save you the trouble of finding it, let me present it here for you: The origin of Fred: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3 but Page 1 is all you need to read it contains the most important part of the story. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Welcome aboard, Needo! We look forward to hearing what you think about the system and the books. I'll leave it to the rest of Herodom Assembled to recommend useful books, but I definitely want to second what one previous poster said: make use of the resources here on the message boards. We have one of the friendliest and most enthusiastic gaming communities around, and most of us are eager to help someone learn the system and understand its wonders and glories. If you have a "how to" question, or a rules question, or want to seek out ideas and resources for Hero, a post here on the message boards is definitely your first, best hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Archer Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Kicking in two cents . . . I'd also recommend Champions. Its superbly written and extremely useful to a new GM. Just the random character generation charts make it worth the monetary outlay. As for OpenRPG, I've been using its online rival, WebRPG for something like five years and have been very successful and comfortable with it. It seems to be dying a slow lingering death now because the webmasters were forced to start charging for the service when they moved over to the UGO server. I have experimented with OpenRPG and will probably move my game over there soon as not all my players can afford to pay for WebRPG and I get tired of paying for three accounts so I can loan two. I've found OpenRPG a bit more difficult to work with when it comes to mapping and character sheets but then I must admit I haven't had a driving need to learn the program more thoroughly. Hmm . . . my group is in a lull at the moment, perhaps its time to put a little effort into OpenRPG. Another thing you might want to do is surf a bit and check out the websites of the posters on this board. I'd recommend: Surbrook's Stuff or The Wild Hunt Check out the links page here too. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needo Posted July 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Well, I threw my two cents in... if only it was that cheap. I bought FREd, Champions, and UNTIL Superpowers Database. My girlfriend even bought me one. Im only 20 pages in to FREd and I've flipped through the other two books. All I can say is "Wow." I can't wait to GM this game. I already have a couple post-apocolyptic Superhero ideas involving ghouls, ghosts, and zombies. It's a good thing I have three weeks before I will have a chance to GM the game. It will take me a bit to go through all this material. As I have never GM'ed before does any one have any hints, tips, etc? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent X Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Originally posted by needo Well, I threw my two cents in... if only it was that cheap. I bought FREd, Champions, and UNTIL Superpowers Database. My girlfriend even bought me one. Im only 20 pages in to FREd and I've flipped through the other two books. All I can say is "Wow." I can't wait to GM this game. I already have a couple post-apocolyptic Superhero ideas involving ghouls, ghosts, and zombies. It's a good thing I have three weeks before I will have a chance to GM the game. It will take me a bit to go through all this material. As I have never GM'ed before does any one have any hints, tips, etc? Thanks! I don't know if you need to hear this but: Keep it simple at first. It also would be good if you could find anyone nearby who has played in Hero before and get a chance to be a player before you GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needo Posted July 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Originally posted by Agent X I don't know if you need to hear this but: Keep it simple at first. It also would be good if you could find anyone nearby who has played in Hero before and get a chance to be a player before you GM. I fully agree, the problem is finding someone. In my opinion it is *always* better to learn the system as a player and then if you like it enough move to GM status. Unfortunatley it doesn't seem I have this luxury at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Blues Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 I'm always impressed whenever a new player shows up with a question, and the head writer / designer of the game posts on the board to answer it. Steve, you continue to be a credit to this fantastic system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Originally posted by needo Well, I threw my two cents in... if only it was that cheap. I bought FREd, Champions, and UNTIL Superpowers Database. My girlfriend even bought me one. Im only 20 pages in to FREd and I've flipped through the other two books. All I can say is "Wow." I can't wait to GM this game. I already have a couple post-apocolyptic Superhero ideas involving ghouls, ghosts, and zombies. It's a good thing I have three weeks before I will have a chance to GM the game. It will take me a bit to go through all this material. As I have never GM'ed before does any one have any hints, tips, etc? Thanks! I recommend starting slow. I would suggest taking a character out of the Champions source book (Ironclad pg 184 is good) and run some battles slowly exploring the different maneuvers. Looking up all of his powers and seeing how they work. I would then mix it up playing different members of the champions against each other seeing how their powers work. Then after you have played in a few battles, then I would attack the character generation rules. Again the Champions are great for figuring out power levels and what powers go together. Don't worry about making complex characters, that will come with experience with the system. Welcome to the Hero System! Tasha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitchhiker Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Howdyho Needo! I suggest you take a look here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4990 However, these tips are mostly for players...not for the GM. Might help you anyway. And listen to the guys. They know more than they'll ever tell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farkling Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 and most of the guys have known them for so long, they think they are obvious thiings... And forget they need to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorVonDoom Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 He i am new too He i am new too You can put any question about Hero Fifth Edition rules on the board where Steve Long will gladly pay a visit and answer them but he is short and you can't answer back... (maybe that might be changed > winking a eye to Steve) It says "Fifth Editions rules questions" ... I have been there a couple of times and the amassed Hero-community has PM me already couple of times I am glad i am part of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Hey, needo. I would recommend a few things for you to consider as a new HEROs GM: Keep it simple at first. You can make extremely intricate characters in the HERO System, but it can be very overwhelming to many new players without some mentoring. Simple characters are sufficient and will whet appetites for more intricacies. Remember a basic tenant of the HERO System. Many paths lead to the same destination. Or, if you are an American, there is more than one way to skin a cat This can put some people off as well, as it can be intimidating to people that are used to having one way to get to where they want to be with thier characters. Id encourage you and your players to just pick one method and move forward with it rather than obsessing for a few hours over the "best" way to do this. Now, some power constructs are simply wrong/illegal, but if you read the book carefully you should avoid falling into this trap. Dont overburden the players with character creation at first. Collect thier input and either coach them thru the character creation (with you doing the writing), or just design the character with thier concept in mind and then "refine" it with them to get it to where they are happy with it. The math and intricacies can be a big turn off to people used to happy-snappy laundry lists of abilities. In line with this, consider making 2 versions of each character initially; a full character sheet with all the details, and a "user-friendly" version that contains abbreviated mechanix and a short descriptive blurb of what the power or ability does. Its more work for you, but can really help get people past that initial hump. If you have a Windows computer that is fairly powerful and has a good amount of RAM (256 or more), get Hero Designer as soon as your wallet can take the hit. Use the rulebook in conjunction with it so you understand what it is doing, but make use of the software and let it do the math for you. Let it be your mentor; it will ease your journey into the mysteries of HERO . On a more mechanical side, get used to the idea that in the HERO System 11- on 3d6 is treated as 50%, even though statistically it is really 62.5%. Ive seen some math heads getting really twisted by this in the past . Everything revolves around the idea that all else being equal, 11 or less is what you need to succeed. Skilled, talented, or characteristically advantaged characters have better chances of success. Positive and negative modifier influence chances of success. Opposing characters negatively influence chances of success and assisting characters can positively influence chance of success (for some tasks and if they are qualified). But under the hood, the 11- bit is there. Another thing to keep in mind is that becuase resolution is on a bell curve, negatives have more impact than positive. A 14- is around 90%, and an 8-is 25%. Once you get to 14- there is a serious flattening of odds. A 16- is 98%, a 17- is 99%. Once you get past 8-, your chances of success are marginal; a 7- is 16%, a 6- is 9.3%, a 5- is 4.6%, a 4- is less than 2%, and a 3 is half a percent. Thus, a +3 can take a basic 11- roll from a 62.5% chance (6.25 out of 10) to a 90% chance (9 out of 10; virtually guaranteed), and a -3 to a 25% chance (1 in 4 or 2.5 out of 10). The idea here is that small modifiers have an impact, and aggregate together to make a serious statistical impact. On a d20 base each +/-1 is a flat 5%, but on a bell curve the closer you are to the center the more impact a modifier will have. From a 10- to an 11- is huge (12.5%) but from a 15- to 16- is not much of a big deal (3%) if you can, try to hook up with some experienced HEROs players. Check out the Player Finder forum and the Legion of Heros forum and see if you can hook up with a vet. Its always easier to learn with the help of someone who already knows the material. One final piece of advice: keep this foremost in your mind. The HERO System tries not to outright restrict things which might be abused by unscrupulous players. It leaves things in place which can be turned to nefarious ends by powermongering players. The control filter is assumed to be the GM. Its left to the GM to decide what he will or wont tolerate. Some of these bits, the most obvious or easiest to abuse typically, are clearly marked by Stop and Yield signs. However dont be lulled into a sense of security by this. There are plenty of other abusable constructs in the game. As time goes on, you'll learn to spot them and to detect cheesy characters, just like with any other system. The difficulty with the HERO System in this regards is that because it is so flexible, and becuase the mechanix are exposed, its possible to build such abilities rather than just exploit existing ones. Dont be afraid to say "NO" to a power-crazed player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needo Posted July 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Wow, thank you for all the info! Does any one have any screenshots of the Hero Designer. I would like to purchase it but I would also like a sneak preview. Since I am short on cash. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Originally posted by needo Wow, thank you for all the info! Does any one have any screenshots of the Hero Designer. I would like to purchase it but I would also like a sneak preview. Since I am short on cash. Thank you! Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.herogames.com/Products/HDScreenshots.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Forgot a couple of things: 1) Dont be afraid to post questions, character write ups for review, and how tos on this forum. You will get a smorgasborg of input usually. The disconcerting thing is you wont often get a unanimous response -- that whole "more than 1 way to skin a cat" bit insures that there will often be multiple viewpoints on how to accomplish what you ask for. 2) Check the FAQ (link in the title bar) and/or ask on this forum if you have a rules question before you pester Steve with a question on the Hero System 5th Edition Rules Questions forum. Remember, he is the lead developer, and every second he spends answering questions is a second he isnt working on new product . He amazingly answers every question asked of him (aside from how to's and design contentions), but try to limit your questions to him to actual rules incongruities and unusual circumstances requiring systemic interpretation to adjudicate correctly. 3) Understand the concept of Special Effects (SFX). Read up on it, realize its implications. Its a middle layer of 'icing', body paneling, packaging, however you want to think about it. Its the same thing that makes Coke different from Pepsi, a Cavalier different than a Sunfire, a yellow cake with chocolate icing different from a white cake with yellow frosting. At its most extreme you can have 2 different Powers that have the same exact mechanical effect, but seem completely distinct if thier SFX are defined well and described evocatively. Further, apply the correct options when dealing with a construct to correctly model it SFX. Dont get wrapped up by the labels applied to powers and abilities; for example an "Energy Blast" doesnt have to be comprised of Energy, or be a "Blast"; it can be a Concussive Grenade that must be primed (Gestures: Pull pin) and effective versus Physical defenses. "Armor Piercing" attacks may not function by "Piercing" at all, and affect all standard and exotic defenses, not just the power "Armor". Etc. -- Just pay attention to the EFFECT, not the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentor Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Originally posted by Agent X I don't know if you need to hear this but: Keep it simple at first. It also would be good if you could find anyone nearby who has played in Hero before and get a chance to be a player before you GM. Agreed. It far easier to GM after you played in a few (hopefully well run) games. You learn what works and what doesn't as well as expanding your list of possible players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beowulf Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Take two premade characters from the books and have them fight. Then a couple others and have them fight. Then make one of your own to try against one from the book. Then have a couple of your own fight. Go through all of that and you will be as prepared as possible for not having played previously before you GM, and the session has a good chance of going smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorVonDoom Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Originally posted by Beowulf Take two premade characters from the books and have them fight. Then a couple others and have them fight. Then make one of your own to try against one from the book. Then have a couple of your own fight. Go through all of that and you will be as prepared as possible for not having played previously before you GM, and the session has a good chance of going smoothly. nice advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Originally posted by Killer Shrike You will get a smorgasborg of input usually. The disconcerting thing is you wont often get a unanimous response -- that whole "more than 1 way to skin a cat" bit insures that there will often be multiple viewpoints on how to accomplish what you ask for. Plus you'll get the musings from those, like myself, who never want to take the most straightforward result. There's got to be way to build an energy blast besides just buying "energy blast", don't you think? Before 5e, I had one player try to buy a Hand Attack with Range as an advantage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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.