live_it_out Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I have written a campaign for superheroic level characters and want to run it with the HERO system. I have the BBB and the new character generation PDF with all the updated character rules. I am reading through it and relearning the system since I haven't played since 1988. I am looking for info on any major changes since publication the BBB and your thoughts on whether or not it will work fine along with the new character gen PDF. I'm open to ideas. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live_it_out Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? I'll add on that I just saw the HERO System sidekick on an RPG.net review. Anyone recommend it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? If by BBB you mean the 5th Edition book - it's all you need to play. If you want some good information on running a Superhero Campaign I recommend the Champions Genre Book (I think it's currently only available as a PDF, pending a reprint). Also, the Combat Handbook is an excellent at-the-table reference for what can appear to be a complex combat system (or at least, riddled with a myriad of choices). Beyond that I can make more recommendations based on more specific needs. But some generally good books to look at: Ultimate Skill Ultimate Martial Artist Ultimate Vehicle all have a wider application than most of the other books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? I'll add on that I just saw the HERO System sidekick on an RPG.net review. Anyone recommend it? Sidekick is the Rule Light version of the main book. It strips a lot of things out, without creating a completely new system. It's a good book to start with if you're just learning the system or want to ease your way into it. From there stepping up to the Main Rules is easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boll Weevil Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? The Hero Designer software available here on site is by far my favorite Hero tool and the one I absolutely could not live without (2nd to the core rulebook, of course). It's easy to use and resolves a LOT of my minutiae rules questions, especially where Multipowers and such are concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? live_it_out, this webpage summarizes all the changes form Fourth to Fifth Edition HERO System. With what you already have this should get you up to speed quickly, and enable you utilize the 5E material: http://theemerged.blogspot.com/HERO425.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? If by BBB you mean the 5th Edition book - it's all you need to play. Doesn't BBB often refer to "Big Blue Book," the hardcover Champions from the late 1980s? If that's the case then the link Lord Liaden provided will be a big help and Sidekick may be a very helpful purchase, but of course in many respects there's nothing hugely wrong with the older edition, it just grinds a bit when meshed with some of the new stuff. If it's the big black 5th edition book then you're up-to-date and the software will reflect the rules correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? Doesn't BBB often refer to "Big Blue Book' date='" the hardcover [i']Champions[/i] from the late 1980s? If that's the case then the link Lord Liaden provided will be a big help and Sidekick may be a very helpful purchase, but of course in many respects there's nothing hugely wrong with the older edition, it just grinds a bit when meshed with some of the new stuff. If it's the big black 5th edition book then you're up-to-date and the software will reflect the rules correctly. It used to. Over the last few years I've seem more references to BBB as Big Black Book. Besides, they want 5E anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live_it_out Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? Ah, yes, I have the The Big Blue Book not the Big Black Book. And here I thought I was becoming an insider and could talk the talk. I picked up Sidekick. I think it will help get us acquainted from the rules-light Savage Worlds setting we also use. Truly both ends of the spectrum now. For supers, I prefer a gritty and so far so good with HERO. Please feel free to keep the feedback coming and thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kdansky Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? The biggest differences are Layout and Explanations. It's much easier to find stuff in the new book (except Ablative), and nearly everything is very well explained. Also, there are a lot more (good) examples. Especially if you start out rather fresh, I'd recommend the newer book, because you will spend a lot less time searching for things and trying to figure out how it's meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live_it_out Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? Thank you everyone. I picked up the Sidekick and made an outline of the basics for everyone. I think between the Sidekick and Big Blue Book I'll be fine. Thanks a lot to Lord Laiden for the 5ER updates, lucky for me most of them seem to be to character creation and I have the new character PDF so I should be fine. Other changes seem to be to deeper rules that I don't expect to get to for a while. If anyone else has thoughts, please carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? Can you run a game out of the old BBB? Certainly. Many of us did for many years. Just because 5th edition is available doesnt mean 4th Edition isnt viable anymore. However, there is a tremendous amount of information, rules, clarifications, and example constructs you are missing out on by not getting the new 5th Edition Revised book. Not to mention the better part of two decades of evolutionary improvement between the two editions. You have Sidekick? Ok, thats a start, but honestly I don't really see what it will contribute over the old BBB itself; if anything it seems like it would just cause confusion around the few hard core differences between old and new. Where Sidekick comes in handy is for 5th Edition players who are more casually invested into the HERO System, so long as the GM (and probably the more hard core players) has the full book. Ultimately if you're really going to run a long-term HERO System campaign you want to get 5er sooner rather than later. The current iteration of character designer software for the HERO System, called HERO Designer, is also a winner and something that will help you out immeasurably. That aside, there are also some sites around that can help you out w/ content and characters to steal / borrow/ crib from / etc. Im sure others will be along eventually with links; here's the link to my site: http://www.killershrike.com -- the superheroic stuff is about midway down the page. Good luck with your new campaign! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? BTW l_i_o, if you go here you can download several free PDF documents that may help you as quick references, or make good handouts to your players; including an introduction to the basic concepts of the game, a summary of the combat sequence, and advice, guidelines and examples for using HERO to run various game genres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? Hang on. I'm still trying to think of a way to work "Buy all the books, support HERO, tell your friends, make them buy all the books" into a functional subliminal message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? [ size="1" ] Buy all HERO books! [ /size ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? ...a functional subliminal message. That seems awfully new-fangled and tricky... Wouldn't a good old threat of violence suffice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live_it_out Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? It's hard to explain, but after reading this all, I just feel like I should buy all the books and require all my players to buy them also. Odd that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? Hang on. I'm still trying to think of a way to work "Buy all the books' date=' support HERO, tell your friends, make them buy all the books" into a functional subliminal message.[/quote'] I loved it. It was much better than "Cats". I'd buy it again and again. JoeG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live_it_out Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? I laughed, I cried... it became a part of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Carman Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? It used to. Over the last few years I've seem more references to BBB as Big Black Book. Besides, they want 5E anyways Heresy! The massive black tome is FReD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? That seems awfully new-fangled and tricky... Wouldn't a good old threat of violence suffice? Hmm. Valid point, BJB. Okay, live_it_out. Go and buy all the books, tell all your friends to buy all the books, or I beat you about the head & neck with my Holy Ice Cream Cone of Smiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Re: New to Champions, is BBB good enough? To actually contribute to the thread a moment: I only started playing in September of '05, and to be fair, I came INTO the system with 5th Ed. Revised. I've seen 4th Ed., and to be totally honest, to me the difference is really incredible. I can't imagine 'going back' to the Big Blue Book (Champs 4th) because HERO 5th is really written as a massive toolkit system, no question. Additionally, you may find the following texts to be super-useful: Genre Book HERO (In other words, I would pick up the 'Genre Guide' for whatever you intend to play; Fantasy HERO, Dark Champions, whatever). HSEG & HSCH; the HERO System Equipment Guide and the HERO System Combat Handbook. These are with me 24/7, I never go to a game without them. The HSCH has been downright indispensible, from looking up how mounted combat works to all the rules for Autofire. It's just a great, great text. Many of us (and me specifically) thrive on the Ultimate series of texts, so that's where a lot of my funds go. The Ultimate Martial Artist and The Ultimate Energy Projector are two of my absolute favorites. The Ultimate Skill is also an excellent text which is really a 400 some page "side bar" for every skill in the game. It's bananas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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