Christougher

Back to school! 
 

It's easy as falling off a bump on a log! 
 

I bought it at GenCon 2017 and it's finally up on the wall! It only took five years. Don't ask.
 
Artist is Talon Dunning.
 

 

 

Don’t insult the aliens like that. I don’t know which species is worse. You don’t see them screwing each other over for a goddamn percentage. 

Takahiro Iwasaki

Her: "Daddy, I've been a bad, bad girl."
 
Him: "For the last time, the correct wording is 'Forgive me Father, for I have sinned'." 

I recently ran the rules-light superhero RPG ICONS at a local game convention and it worked out beautifully, especially since out of the two groups of players that participated in the sessions I ran, only one had actually played role-playing games before. For the others, it was their first time ever and it was easy to explain the game mechanics and character sheet layout to them as well. Looking ahead to the next game event, though, I was thinking about running Champions and Fantasy Hero, which both have a special place in my gaming heart since I have been playing them since high school and college, respectively. I've owned and played other games (e.g. Robotech, Pendragon, DC Heroes, Villains & Vigilantes) before them, but in the end, my preference is still Hero System.
 
Why, beyond sentimental memories of rolling lots of d6s over pizza in the college dorm? It finally hit me when I purchased Fantasy AGE and its Bestiary over the weekend, a worthy fantasy game system in its own right. The products are first rate and the rules are to easy to pick up, but then it hit me: how do I establish game balance between the players and their opponents? How do I design my own monsters? That's when I realized the "beautiful madness" of Hero System. The beauty of Hero's point system has always been, and remains, a great way to determine the relative power level of a character, whatever the genre, as outlined in their respective game and source books. The madness, of course, is all of the nuances and related rules that can affect point totals, and the rules heavy nature of the Hero System that often turned new players away or frustrated them. The source books themselves remain amazing academic references that as educators, my wife and I loved...but was that really the writers' intent? 🤔
 
So, I challenged myself with this question: how can I make Hero System "Easy to Follow" for brand new players? Here's what I've done to create what I call, "Easy to Follow Fifth Edition" for the character sheet layout:
1) All of the statistics are written out; virtually no acronyms are used. (The Hero Designer file exists, but players aren't interested in that raw data.)
2) After the statistics are listed, the next two major entries are "Offense" and "Defense" that list combat values, main attacks, and defenses.
3) Everything else is listed under Skills and Abilities, followed by Disadvantages.
4) Perks & Talents are minimized. The skills and powers are only the main ones that people readily know and pick up. Not every minute detail is listed, especially when it can get tedious.
 
My friend, who's only played ICONS so far and head was spinning when I first introduced Hero System to her a while back, is coming over to look at what I created with a fresh set of eyes. Here is what I've created so far for Champions and Fantasy Hero as samples. Constructive feedback is welcome to see if it answers the question, "Does this make Hero System easier to understand?"
 
Thanks!

 
 

You see a Mexican Indian dressed in historical garb including a red cape. He says, "My name is Kentlclarkl, but you may call me Super Mayan."

Hand-made graphite 
 
 

Pun strength is measured on a sighsmograph.

The answer seems simple.  The Cowboys have to marry J. Lo.

Manga Lisa?
 
 

You see a Mexican Indian dressed in historical garb including a red cape. He says, "My name is Kentlclarkl, but you may call me Super Mayan."

You see a Mexican Indian dressed in historical garb including a red cape. He says, "My name is Kentlclarkl, but you may call me Super Mayan."

Anthony Jeselnik tells this story about his neighbor who has Alzheimer’s.
 
"One of my next door neighbors is a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. And every single morning at 9am he knocks on my door and asks me if I have seen his wife.
Which means that every single morning at 9am I have to explain to a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s that his wife has been dead for quite some time.
Now I’ve thought about moving. I have thought about just not answering my door in the morning. But to be honest, it’s worth it… just to see the smile on his face.”

Did you ever notice all the prehensile hair types are female? Does nobody want to see long haired men? Call him Handlebar, maybe give him a mulletpower of various tricks...