Laundry Knight Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 I am thinking of buying 2 or 3 more supplements with my income tax. I am in the process of designing my own supers world but using material from Champions, DC, and Marvel to flesh out the edges. I already have the two core books, Champions and the Martial Arts book. I have already decided I want the equipment book. What are the one or two best choices to include next on my list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Re: Essentials Grimoire and the Bestiary. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndreare Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Re: Essentials I would say Bestiary is a must. The supernatural and and robot bad guys in it will save you alot of work on your Supers game. If you have trouble thinking up good ideas for powers or just want some inspiration on powers I would also suggest Champions Powers. If not then any of the three villain books would be useful especially for inspirational use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Re: Essentials For a Champions game, I would recommend Champions Powers next; even if you don't have trouble thinking up good ideas for powers, it can be a great time-saver (especially for characters with Variable Power Pools). After that you could go for one of the Champions Villains books; even you intend to use your own setting, you can always file the serial numbers off and use villains in a different setting than the one they were written for. HERO System Skills is also an incredible resource, but possibly of more value in Heroic games. Personally, I think I'd be inclined to go for the HERO System Advanced Player's Guide. I like a lot of the options in there for Champions games, particularly the idea of splitting DEX into Agility and Reaction, and the additional "Universal" Talents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndreare Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Re: Essentials Personally, I think I'd be inclined to go for the HERO System Advanced Player's Guide. I like a lot of the options in there for Champions games, particularly the idea of splitting DEX into Agility and Reaction, and the additional "Universal" Talents. The APG also has Probability Manipulation a essential pwr for fiction in general and Supers in particular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Re: Essentials Ultimate Skill, Ultimate Martial Arts, Advanced Players Guide will all extend the tool set of the game for you. If you have your own imagination, you don't need books full of pre-made material. That's one of the awesome things about the HERO System...its the ultimate DIY rpg system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Re: Essentials What do you think would be most useful to you? Pre-generated villains and/or other NPCs? Pregen super-powers? Weapons? Vehicles? Setting elements to adapt? Expanded rules options? Emphasis on magic or technology? All are available, but recommendations would depend on your priorities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials I'm in the same boat here. And, forgive my ignorance, but in regard to "the two core books" is that "Character Creation/Combat and Adventuring"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials I'm in the same boat here. And' date=' forgive my ignorance, but in regard to "the two core books" is that "Character Creation/Combat and Adventuring"?[/quote'] Yes, 6E1 and 6E2 are the Core Rulebooks right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials Yes' date=' 6E1 and 6E2 are the Core Rulebooks right now.[/quote'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Watts Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials For me the most useful would be Bestiary and Powers, though I'd really make it three and throw in Equipment Guide too. dw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials For me the most useful would be Bestiary and Powers' date=' though I'd really make it three and throw in Equipment Guide too. dw[/quote'] HERO System 6th Edition: Character Creation HERO System 6th Edition: Combat and Adventuring HERO System Advanced Player's Guide Champions Powers All purchased. Looks like much of the rest is PDF only. This is a good starting point. Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndreare Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials Excelent choices. APG also has Probability Manipulation which should be a core power it is so cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: Essentials Excelent choices. APG also has Probability Manipulation which should be a core power it is so cool. I'm intrigued. I always have been a fan of probability controllers. Scarlet Witch comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laundry Knight Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Re: Essentials Based on recommendation and personal interests, I like gadgeteers; so the equipment guide is a gimme. For the second, I would go with the powers book. As a new player, power builds can be someone confusing, and some short cuts would handy. If I go with a third, APG makes a lot of sense as I see a lot of folks refer to it, but I think the bestiary is definitely fourth on my list. What's a traditional comic book series without the occasional use zoo or circus animals running amok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Re: Essentials The Bestiary has a great deal more to offer than animals running amok, although it includes a huge selection of real-world critters of all descriptions. It also contains a wide range of creatures, and sapient races, from fantasy (both "generic" i.e. D&D-esque, and specifically Oriental and Celtic beasties), and from science-fiction (including various robots), plus quite a few dinosaurs and other extinct megafauna. Many of these are suitable as foes for superheroes just as they are, and many others are easy to upgrade. Perhaps best of all, the book features a large variety of pre-statted ability templates you can graft onto any creature to quickly and easily customize it for your unique needs. I found the 5E Bestiary to be one of the most broadly useful books in my HERO library, and the 6E version packs in even more stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Re: Essentials Excelent choices. APG also has Probability Manipulation which should be a core power it is so cool. This power is unfortunatley part of the APG Nr. 2, not the Nr. 1 And all the power really does, is giving your re-rolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Re: Essentials I blame all of you, but I got mail yesterday: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42366[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]42367[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]42368[/ATTACH] Now to get to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laundry Knight Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Re: Essentials I went with Equipment, Bestiary, and Powers. I got Equipment and Bestiary in PDF form. I really like the Equipment guide. It looks like it will push my character creation up a notch or two. Bestiary does look interesting and useful though not as immediately useful for my purposes as Equipment, but when or if I ever get to running games, I think it will prove to be a gold mine. I accidentally ordered the hard copy of Powers; so, I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but based on Equipment and Martial Arts, I expect it to be supremely useful for character and campaign creation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Re: Essentials The first thing I cracked open was "Champions Powers" as I feel that the examples are an excellent tool for (A) getting me up to speed on character creation changes and ( will reduce the intimidation factor for the players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Democracy Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Re: Essentials One of the books that rarely hits these essential lists that I think is a fantastic addition for the hard-pressed GM is Villainy Amok! - it is a brilliant starter volume to get the adventure creation process started, to provide hints when you hit a creative block and for new GMs gives a decent breakdown of what a superhero scenario might look like. Good review here. And how can you not own a book that has Amok in the title? Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Re: Essentials The first thing I cracked open was "Champions Powers" as I feel that the examples are an excellent tool for (A) getting me up to speed on character creation changes and ( will reduce the intimidation factor for the players. Just want to make sure that you found the Index for Champions Powers, downloadable from the "Free Stuff" section of the website: http://www.herogames.com/freeStuff.htm?category=Champions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Re: Essentials One of the books that rarely hits these essential lists that I think is a fantastic addition for the hard-pressed GM is Villainy Amok! - it is a brilliant starter volume to get the adventure creation process started' date=' to provide hints when you hit a creative block and for new GMs gives a decent breakdown of what a superhero scenario might look like. Good review here. And how can you not own a book that has Amok in the title? Doc Very good suggestion for Champions campaigns. The many subplots and variations included also give VA high reuse potential. VA author Scott Bennie also followed up the book with a free PDF of even more plot seeds. It used to be offered for free on the website but no longer appears to be; but I see no reason not to Attach it here for interested parties: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Re: Essentials Just want to make sure that you found the Index for Champions Powers' date=' downloadable from the "Free Stuff" section of the website: http://www.herogames.com/freeStuff.htm?category=Champions[/quote'] Grabbed. Thanks LL. *grumble* "must spread rep around..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterVimes Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Re: Essentials I got more mail today: Advanced Player's Guide II Champions Universe 6Ed Pulp Hero 5Ed Masterminds and Madmen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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