Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

[Jamescuk]

I've just Ordered Hero system 5th revised, and the Champion universe thing, But have i made a mistake can some one help me out i don’t no if I have done the right thing or the wrong thing?

 

What products are more useful than others, I want to use it for the champion setting

 

help I’m a little over whelmed

[ghost-angel]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

5th Edition Revised is the Rules, what you need to play.

Champions Universe is the Superhero Setting written by Hero Games. It's a good start if you don't want to build a Campaign/World from scratch for Supers.

 

Chapions is the Genre Book, and is good advice for creating and running both Superhero Campaigns and Superhero Characters, but not needed if you already have an idea of what you want to do, or are familiar with the genre.

 

So - what are your needs? Genre Advice? Campaign World? Other?

 

At the very least, all you need to play if 5th Edition Revised.

[Beast]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

ultimate martial artis

ultimate skill

any of the city books if you don't want to make one up your self or use one you know

[ghost-angel]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

On the subject of books I find useful all the time:

 

Combat Handbook

Ultimate Skill

 

Books I find useful most of the time:

Ultimate Martial Artist

Ultimate Brick

Genre Book of game style I'm playing

 

Everything after that is based on needs at the time.

[Nolgroth]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

I've just Ordered Hero system 5th revised, and the Champion universe thing, But have i made a mistake can some one help me out i don’t no if I have done the right thing or the wrong thing?

 

What products are more useful than others, I want to use it for the champion setting

 

help I’m a little over whelmed

You cannot do the wrong thing by ordering HERO 5th Edition Revised. The single best gaming book ever published. It will bring you years of joy and happiness.

 

Champions Universe? Well if you want to run a super-hero game set in the Champions Universe, then I couldn't think of anything better.

 

At any rate, with HERO 5th you can create any setting. The setting (Champions Universe) and genre (Champions) books are helpers. They aren't needed, but they are packed with a lot of helpful advice.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

You need to get Ultimate Fish*.

 

Really**.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Not actually true, or even in existence

 

**Not really

[Sean Waters]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

Oh and, you know, welcome to the boards and all that

 

Please don't let me put you off. Most of them are helpful and entirely appropriate. I've got this delusion about a sense of humour*. Just don't order Ultimate Fish, OK?

 

...unless...Steve...guppies?

 

 

 

 

* i.e. that I have one.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

........

 

Everything after that is based on needs at the time.

 

 

You have no idea how heavily I've had to censor myself here.

[CTaylor]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

You came to the right place, if you have any questions, here is a great place to bring them. You have all the goodies you need (other than paper, dice, and an imagination) to get started. Good luck and have fun!

[Jamescuk]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

could some kind enougth give me a run down list of the supplements, like in a most useful order? like books i can't do with out?

 

Also what is Character Creation Handbook if you have a the rule book what is it use?

 

I could really do i knowing what to get and in what order?

 

thanks james

[ghost-angel]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

Okie...

 

There are close to 80 books so far. It's going to be a long list.

But to start, the Character Creation Handbook is good if you need a second book at the table for character creation or Power lookups, but don't want to spend another 50$ for it.

 

Books I believe are a must own:

5ER (Fifth Revised) - the rules.

Combat Handbook - all the combat rules from several books in one spot (this is what I take to games)

Ultimate Skill - I'm a skill junkie, this book is awesome.

Ultimate Martial Artist - using, creating and playing Martial Artists types. As well as Maneuver Creation rules.

 

After that, preference varies greatly. All the supplements are gearing one of several ways:

 

Power Builds (Equipment Guide, UNTIL Superpowers Database 1 and 2, Spacer's Toolkit, Fantasy Hero Grimoire 1 and 2, Enchanted Items, Gadgets And Gear)

Enemies/NPC (Betiary, You Gotta Have Character, Conquerors Killers And Crooks, Arcane Adversaries, Everyman, Evil Unleashed, Monsters Minions And Marauders, Nobles Knights And Necromancers, Predators, Masterminds And Mademen, Asian Bestiary 1 and 2)

Organizations (VIPER Coils Of The Serpent, UNTIL Defenders Of Freedom, Cops Crews and Cabals, DEMON Servants Of Darkness)

Adventures (Champions Battlegrounds, Sharper Than A Serpents Tooth, Reality Storm, Villainy Amok, Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds, Thrilling Places)

Settings (Champions Universe, Millennium City, The Mystic World, Vibora Bay, Hidden Lands, Champions Worldwide, Stronghold, Champions Unverse News Of The World, Champions Of The North, Terran Empire, Alien Wars, Worlds Of Empire. Turakian Age, Valdorian Age, Tuala Morn, Hudson City The Urban Abyss)

Genre Books Champions, Star Hero, Ninja Hero, Fantasy Hero, Pulp Hero, Dark Champions, Post-Apocalyptic Hero, Teen Champions, Galactic Champions, Dark Champions: The Animated Series, PS238 [this one is also a setting and rules book])

Rules Supplements (The Ultimate Books: Martial Artist; Vehicle; Brick; Mystic; Metapmorph; Speedster; Mentalist; Skill; Energy Projector, Vehicle Sourcebook, Character Creation Handbook, Combat Handbook, Resource Kit)

The Rules Themselves Hero System 5th Edition Revised - main rules; Sidekick- stripped down version of the main rules.

Fiction (Astounding Hero Tales)

 

....I think I got 'em all

 

For more information I suggest you hop over the Products section of the forum, along with information on all the books there's reviews of all of them (er, almost all of them) there. If any of those reviews don't answer your questions then ask away and we'll be happy to answer things more specifically.

 

It's hard to put together a list of "Must Haves" since that list will change depending on what genre your playing and what you want out of the system.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

Crud, and I missed all the PDFs.

 

There's 24 Hero Plus PDFs that include short adventures, organizations (mostly Pulp), and some other resources.

Not to mention the 5 PDF only Supplements (one adventure, two map supplements, one accompanies Hidden Lands, and the last is articles written by Steve from Digital Hero)

 

And then there's Digital Hero, 50 issues of even more Hero goodness.

[Doc Democracy]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

Well. If you are competely new to the system there are a couple of things I would recommend.

 

You have Champions - a must if you want the basic support in producing a superhero game via Hero.

 

I would get at least one supplement with pre-made viallains in it. You will have your own ideas about the effectiveness etc of teh builds but they are vital in providing you with a look at how some characters have been built and how you might go about doing that yourself.

 

Villainy Amok is a brilliant resource if you haven't run much superhero gaming as it leads you through the stock design principles of the superhero genre and how to put together the basic plots for your games.

 

Finally, for hardcopy resource, I would suggest one of the UNTIL Superpower databse books as these have really good suggestions on how to get look and feel for individual powers that you can modify or rip off wholesale.

 

My very last suggestion is that you pick up Hero Designer, the game software. It makes character creation a breeze and allows you to have a good soft copy of characters that you can then print out in a variety of forms. Hugely useful, especially if you decide you want to post a few characters on the boards for people to comment on.

 

 

Doc

[Jamescuk]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

So where do i get this Hero Designer from?

[Doc Democracy]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

So where do i get this Hero Designer from?

 

Here, from the online store.

 

 

Doc

[mikesama]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

As far as suggestions after the books you've listed the two I'd look at next are the Champions genre book and Conquerers Killers and Crooks for some instant baddies.

 

Next would probably be the Viper source book and a city guide to the city of your choice.

 

Ultimate skill and martial artist are both good books but as a new GM not necessary, they are mostly options and expansions on whats in the main book and you can wait to get them at least for a while.

[Jamescuk]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

so i need to get the Champion book as well? I thought that hd rules in it like 5thedtion?

[Nolgroth]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

so i need to get the Champion book as well? I thought that hd rules in it like 5thedtion?

The Rules are in HERO 5th Edition. Advice and guidelines for Champions are in the Champions book. You do not need Champions. It might be helpful, but you do not need it to play.

[jtelson]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

With the 5th revised and the Champions Universe you've everything you need to run in the Champions Universe (You have the rules and the world)

 

For next buys I would probably recommend (in order)

Hero Designer Software (Makes character generation and thus life a lot easier)

Champions (The Super Hero Genre book, Good advice on how to apply the rules to the genre)

 

If you don't have an experienced Hero player in your group and then you may want to consider

UNTIL Superpowers Databases (Many, many, build examples, just remember these are ideas and not set in stone)

Conquerers Killers and Crooks (For instant baddies also character examples are good to have early on in your Hero career)

 

For what it's worth I would recommend that you spend some time here on these boards. Reading people's thoughts and presenting my own for comment about the system and on gaming in general in a friendly online environment (Really wouldn't have thought that was possible) is not only fun but I truely believe has helped make the games that I run and play more enjoyable.

[Jamescuk]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

Whats the difference between regular Champions and the 25th anniversary editions?

Is Millennium City book useful?

[Edsel]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

The regular Champions book has been described in detail by various other posters. The 25th Anniversary edition is all that with some bonus material. It has introductions by various well known Champions authors, a chapter detailing the history of Hero games and Champions specifically and it includes a full length adventure, The Island of Dr. Destroyer, which is a reprint of the first ever Champions adventure updated to the 5th Edition rules.. It is basically the regular Champions book with a lot of added fluff.

 

Millennium City is a sourcebook for that city. It provides an exhaustive write-up of the city that was built over the ruins of Detroit (after that city was destroyed by Dr. Destroyer). If you intend to base your heroes out of a single city it is a convenient place to do so.

 

Personally I rarely play Champions, my group tends more toward Dark Champions (modern action using "normal" as opposed to "superhumans" and Fantasy Hero. I imagine that some of the other posters can give you a better low down on the specifics of Millennium City.

[incrdbil]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

ok, in therms of utility, cost effectivness, and getting you to play as soon as possibel with fewest hiccups...

 

5er. You have it.

Champions Universe--setting book, you have it. Has some characters. Enough to test things out with.

 

My next purchase would be Hero Designer: Ity will help you make characters, and you can tweak villains, NPC's, make your own for games. Plus the helpful things it can do like print out combat record sheets.

 

Honestly, the next choice I'd make is Conquerors, Killersm and Crooks before Champions. This book provides many more bad guys, plus a TON of plot seeds for the GM. You can look at the builds inside for inspiration on doing certain powers.

 

After that, its sort of up to you. If you feel you need for help, the Champions Genre book. Not required by any means.

 

Thats it--thats what covers the essential list. after that, just ask questiosn 'whats this product about' look at the description in the site, and decide if you would like it.

 

For a starting GM, I'd consider looking at Villany Amok, as described by anothe rposter above.

 

 

 

As you requested, quick info on Millenium City is a very detailed description of one city in the Champions Universe, background plot ideas, information on a fairly tyical NPC team of heroes, the Champions, who could be used as testbed characters for a few games before making your own, or used by your players. Of course, almost everyone wants to play their own characters, but still its nice to have allies for your heroic PC's...

[Jamescuk]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

Hero designer

Champions

Until superpowers database 1 and 2

Conquerors killers and crooks

[ghost-angel]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

The regular Champions book has been described in detail by various other posters. The 25th Anniversary edition is all that with some bonus material. It has introductions by various well known Champions authors' date=' a chapter detailing the history of Hero games and Champions specifically and it includes a full length adventure, The Island of Dr. Destroyer, which is a reprint of the first ever Champions adventure updated to the 5th Edition rules.. It is basically the regular Champions book with a lot of added fluff.[/quote']

 

The Anniversary book is actually Champions, Champions Universe, A full round of mini-essays from various people who have worked on the system through the years, and the adventure.

 

The adventure is Return To The Island Of Doctor Destroyer. It's not an update of the first adventure, it's a sequel.

 

There are also only 200 copies, and they are long sold out.

[gojira]

Re: Help needed, I new to hero system can someone offer me some advice?

 

I think you are doing well so far, James. I haven't seen you say which type of game you want to play. Champions Universe is great resource for playing in well, the Champions universe. It's a good, later Bronze age style campaign. It should be very familliar if you were reading Marvel comics in the late '70's and 80's. (It might work for more modern comics too, but I'm not reading any currently, so....)

 

You might want to tell us more about what you'd like to do or play. If you said already, I'm sorry I must have missed it.

 

Conquerers, Killers and Crooks is a great resource. I haven't read it through all the way myself, but I love books with NPCs. They give me ideas for my own characters, and lots of ideas to throw at players too.

 

I haven't read all the way through Millennium City but it looks like a perfectly serviceable campaign city. If you want to save some work and have a head start on a home city for a superhero campaing, it would be a good choice.

 

Another book I like is Villainy Amok. It's not an absolute must buy, but there are a lot of nice ideas for how to run an adventure. Books like UNTIL and Hidden Lands do a good job of fleshing out some of the world-wide aspects of the Champions Universe.

 

Personally, I think Ultimate Martial Artist is a little advanced for a starting campaing. The default martial arts rules are fine. You should probably wait a bit before picking it up. UNTIL Superpowers Database might be good. There lots of powers in the basic books, but USDB puts it all at your fingertips and makes it very convenient.

 

What you might want to do is wait for what you have ordered to arrive, then see what you think you actually need next. What you have so far is a great start, Hero 5th and CU will get you a lot of gaming. "Need" is a bit hard to judge. Trying out a campaign with players will let you know where the holes are that you might want to plug.