tiermanm Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Hello, I'm new to Champions/HERO system but my RL friends want to play it. So i need some suggestion on the Basic books NEEDED to play champions. I need info on Creating Characters and Running Campaigns. My RL friend said I only need the first book, but he didnt know the name of it. Thanks in advance Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvoncannon Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info You need the Hero System Rules 5th Edition Revised. You can get it here at the store in either book form (it will be shipped to you) or in PDF which means you can download it. This is the only book you need. That and about 20 six sided dice and you are ready to go. You might also want a genre book as well. You can get Champions as well. This covers the super genre. I would also suggest a setting book too. There is Millennium City and Vibora Bay which are settings in the super genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Hello, I'm new to Champions/HERO system but my RL friends want to play it. So i need some suggestion on the Basic books NEEDED to play champions. I need info on Creating Characters and Running Campaigns. My RL friend said I only need the first book, but he didnt know the name of it. Thanks in advance Mark The only book you need is called Sidekick: this is a introductory version of the main rule book called Hero System 5th edition revised Don't let the introductory version throw you off, sidekick is a full system in itself, you will find a few things sidekick can't do, but it should get you started and it is only ~$10. This assumes you know a bit about what super heroes can do and the common tropes of their stories, etc... In time you will want to upgrade to 5th Revised, but I can not stress this enough SIDEKICK is the book to get while your learning the system, the difference is about 450 pages of OPTIONS in 5th edition revised, the size of the 5th edition book is daunting and can make it hard to learn, opposed to the (I think) 96 pages of sidekick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info The only book you need is called Sidekick: this is a introductory version of the main rule book called Hero System 5th edition revised Don't let the introductory version throw you off, sidekick is a full system in itself, you will find a few things sidekick can't do, but it should get you started and it is only ~$10. This assumes you know a bit about what super heroes can do and the common tropes of their stories, etc... In time you will want to upgrade to 5th Revised, but I can not stress this enough SIDEKICK is the book to get while your learning the system, the difference is about 450 pages of OPTIONS in 5th edition revised, the size of the 5th edition book is daunting and can make it hard to learn, opposed to the (I think) 96 pages of sidekick... i agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreBrute Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info While they are right, and the sidekick will teach you the rules, if you want more genre specific stuff, like secret ids, and how to deal with super villains and the sort in a super campaign (as well as plot hooks and ideas) you could also buy Champions (or whatever genre your going for). This is more specific stuff to help both you, can the players themselves since they don't appear to have the books either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Agreed with JMOz. Also, remember that, until you're experienced with the system and understand how all the options fit together, you won't be able to do "everything" you read in the comics (unless the GM allows it just for the fun of the game that its). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Like the others - I'll weigh in that Sidekick is a good way to get into the system pretty inexpensively (15$ for the book, 7$ for the PDF). Unless you really just want to go the whole hog, then the Fifth Edition Revised rules are all the rules, options, advice and general gaming mayhem you could need in one volume. the Champions book is Genre info for Superhero games, and can have a lot of valuable info for new HERO Gamers. If you need to save on prep time or just want a bunch of examples to work off of then pick up "The UNTIL Superpowers Database" for a couple hundred prebuilt Superpowers and "Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks" for a ton of NPC villains written up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info HERO System Sidekick http://www.curufea.com/hero/doku.php?id=reviews:doj:106_sdk KillerShrike.com - General HERO http://www.killershrike.com/Default.aspx?tab=3 Hero Adaptations, Conversions, & Resources http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63848 Champions (Super) Hero Resources http://herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31865 Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info See? if you ask it, he will come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Actually, they'll sell you Sidekick cheap. Then, it slowly becomes an addiction and you need to keep buying Hero books to sate the hunger. Meanwhile, Steve Long sits back, laughing maniacally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Certified Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Well there seems to be a consensuses that Sidekick is the way to go. So let me buck that trend. Go ahead, start with Hero System 5th Ed Rev and pick up the Hero Designer. The program is a great tool for getting around a lot of the laborious math needed to create a character and with the extras you can download gives you a healthy look at flavor skills and interesting powers. This will allow you and the players to focus just on the core rules of play since Hero Designer will hand hold you through character creation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Well there seems to be a consensuses that Sidekick is the way to go. So let me buck that trend. Go ahead' date=' start with Hero System 5th Ed Rev and pick up the Hero Designer. The program is a great tool for getting around a lot of the laborious math needed to create a character and with the extras you can download gives you a healthy look at flavor skills and interesting powers. This will allow you and the players to focus just on the core rules of play since Hero Designer will hand hold you through character creation.[/quote']As long as you realize the software is only a tool and you can build things that aren't legal. "The software let me" isn't a valid excuse for not reading the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Certified Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info As long as you realize the software is only a tool and you can build things that aren't legal. "The software let me" isn't a valid excuse for not reading the book. Hero Designer should prompt you for most big breaks, but yes I'm saying use it in conjunction with the book not instead of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psybolt Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info I agree with Certified. Hero Designer is a major aid in creating characters. It allows the math to be done for you, and there is a lot of math involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTaylor Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Allow me to muddy the waters a little: the reason the software lets you build things that aren't strictly by the book is because Hero specifically is designed to let you break the rules as a GM with careful consideration and build things the way you want or think they ought to be according to how you want your game to work or think they should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Re: New to Champions/HERO need Startup Info Allow me to muddy the waters a little: the reason the software lets you build things that aren't strictly by the book is because Hero specifically is designed to let you break the rules as a GM with careful consideration and build things the way you want or think they ought to be according to how you want your game to work or think they should.Some how, I don't quite think that's the reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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