Sketchpad

As a side note, I REALLY dig your character sheet format! That's really nice looking.

Thanks Sketchpad. I created this sheet because I was tired to look at long form HERO character sheets with all the technical lingo. Character sheets in say Champions Villains, are ok but the ones in Larger than Life make my eyes bleed. I wanted to break up the wall of characteristics (from STR to STUN) thematically to make it easier to read and I also wanted to edited out all the clutter in the power write-ups. I don't find that writing "Reduced END (cost no END), -1/2" is helpful, "0 END" is sufficient. I also wanted most of the character sheet to fit on a single page, including a picture.
Section titles are Calibri Light, size 10, capitalised. Standard characteristic names are Calibri Light, size 9, bold. The rest is Calibri Light, size 9 with flavour names in bold-itallic. I have never printed it so it might look terrible on paper but it looks nice on the screen.
I export a character sheet from HD (can't remember the name but it's one where the real cost of abilities and values of advantages/limitations are not shown), copy the content of my MS Word sheet and edit out some more (like find-replace Active Points by AP). Like I said, I need to learn to create an HD export format 😊.
 
With a product like the one from Christopher, you can create a good number of Marvel inspired heroes in minutes. By dropping the HD file in my CS, I wanted to see how quick I could repurpose Chris' work into a full-fledged Marvel character. I'm pretty happy with the result.

I just wanted to give the nod to Christopher (@ Khymeria) regarding The HERO System Book of Templates. This is an excellent book to get people started quickly with character concepts that are very well-known. At 5$, it is great value and I want more of this. The fact that the HERO Designer files are included makes it even more valuable. If I may make two comments on the product:
 
1) It might not have been your choice but why name this supplement The HERO System Book of Templates? I believe it makes a disservice to your product and does not convey the flavor, nor the utility value it's due. I believe Champions Heroes: Volume 1 (assuming there could be more) would have been better at illustrating the goal of the suplement.
2) This book could be very useful for newbies and using the long form utilitarian character sheet format is a bit daunting for many. Having a short form character sheet excluding cost and advantage/limitation values and diving the stat block by functions (Characteristics, Movement, Offense, Defense, etc) would make the sheet more easily readable. Because you provide the HD file, we have all the detail anyway (well, for those who have HERO Designer). That being said, I understand it is a lot less work for you to use the formay that HD spits out.
 
Anyway, thanks again for doing this and I hope you will come up with more. Your supplement inspired me to do this right after I bought it (I am sure you will recognise the content of the characetr sheet ) 
 

 
Thanks again!

It needs to be  multiples of 4, for printing purposes, and for longer books they need to bound into groups of signatures and signatures are in multiple of 32 pages (i think). 

The BBB was great for its time. Many books appeared in a similar fashion back in the late 80s and early 90s. But the bar has been risen from a few companies, and not all of them use the techniques you've noted. Keep in mind, however, that most of your books out these days are being sold on two markets: physical and digital.
 
[WARNING - Design Geek Rant] Speaking primarily as a digital publisher, I've found that having a solid typeface like Arial around 10-11 points makes a simple compromise between the two formats. I've found books from Green Ronin to be clean for the most part and easy to read.  That said, there is something eloquent about Paizo's books.I like how they organize their stat blocks, and some of the borders they use around their pages. But the textures they use on some of their pages can make the text difficult. What's worse is when someone tries to do the same thing on a black and white product. The times I've seen this, the designer either hasn't made the white of the "readable section" opaque enough, or  the text isn't bled correctly on the page. In any case, it makes it hard to read. Another company that I recommend for their design is Modiphius. Their Conan line is gorgeous! The stat blocks are easy to read, and the books just look great. Unfortunately their STA line suffers a bit for folks that don't like white text on black backgrounds. But it does emulate some of the Trek style nicely. [End Design Geek Rant]
 
I've stated this before. Hero books should look less like text books and more like game books. This requires a few things to complete, however. First, its time to update the stat block. Sure it's nice to keep using a familiar stat block from the 80s, but it's time for a face-lift that is cleaner. I remember when I was starting out as a designer and I begged Dave Mattingly to let me re-do the stat blocks in Unkindness. Man, did I ever learn a lesson there. Second, lean into color more. 6th ed was nice because of the color, but it needs to be a standard these days. Most game books have at least some subtle color elements on glossy paper, and almost all modern PDFs are in color. Lastly, decrease the book sizes a bit. This goes back to the text book appearance. The main books should be a good size, but not necessarily "bullet stopping" in nature. Heck, a nice Champions Hero Guide and Champions Masters Guide would be great, but make them the around same size as the PHB and DMG. Need more powers? That's what a powers book is for. Need bad guys? Enemies. Wash, rinse, add some detergent, and repeat. 
 
 

The BBB was great for its time. Many books appeared in a similar fashion back in the late 80s and early 90s. But the bar has been risen from a few companies, and not all of them use the techniques you've noted. Keep in mind, however, that most of your books out these days are being sold on two markets: physical and digital.
 
[WARNING - Design Geek Rant] Speaking primarily as a digital publisher, I've found that having a solid typeface like Arial around 10-11 points makes a simple compromise between the two formats. I've found books from Green Ronin to be clean for the most part and easy to read.  That said, there is something eloquent about Paizo's books.I like how they organize their stat blocks, and some of the borders they use around their pages. But the textures they use on some of their pages can make the text difficult. What's worse is when someone tries to do the same thing on a black and white product. The times I've seen this, the designer either hasn't made the white of the "readable section" opaque enough, or  the text isn't bled correctly on the page. In any case, it makes it hard to read. Another company that I recommend for their design is Modiphius. Their Conan line is gorgeous! The stat blocks are easy to read, and the books just look great. Unfortunately their STA line suffers a bit for folks that don't like white text on black backgrounds. But it does emulate some of the Trek style nicely. [End Design Geek Rant]
 
I've stated this before. Hero books should look less like text books and more like game books. This requires a few things to complete, however. First, its time to update the stat block. Sure it's nice to keep using a familiar stat block from the 80s, but it's time for a face-lift that is cleaner. I remember when I was starting out as a designer and I begged Dave Mattingly to let me re-do the stat blocks in Unkindness. Man, did I ever learn a lesson there. Second, lean into color more. 6th ed was nice because of the color, but it needs to be a standard these days. Most game books have at least some subtle color elements on glossy paper, and almost all modern PDFs are in color. Lastly, decrease the book sizes a bit. This goes back to the text book appearance. The main books should be a good size, but not necessarily "bullet stopping" in nature. Heck, a nice Champions Hero Guide and Champions Masters Guide would be great, but make them the around same size as the PHB and DMG. Need more powers? That's what a powers book is for. Need bad guys? Enemies. Wash, rinse, add some detergent, and repeat. 
 
 

While I admire the artistry inherent in the page layout and design of modern RPG books like D&D and Pathfinder, I also find them difficult and unpleasant to read. All those background textures and small typefaces and random pieces of artwork create a wildly cluttered page. As spartan as it may appear, I still feel that the 4e BBB hits the sweet spot in terms of clear presentation and appealing aesthetics.

Unfortunately, you are in the clear minority, in that regard, as many modern textbooks are equally as cluttered. Two column with quarter page illustrations in black and white or worse, gray scale sketches look antique, or worse , boring to the modern audiences. For better or for worse, Paizo has set a high bar for appealing and attractive product for a young and modern audience. It’s forcing me to abandon ink line illustrations for digital painting so I can still get work. 

I should also note, this is one of the reasons why I have issues with Hero books. I've found them to be getting less like game books and more like text books. Look at the competition and see their layout, the color images, and the fancy structure of the book. 

I should also note, this is one of the reasons why I have issues with Hero books. I've found them to be getting less like game books and more like text books. Look at the competition and see their layout, the color images, and the fancy structure of the book. 

I managed to get in touch with him.  He's pretty sick with cancer, but he's hanging in there.  He's looking to see what he can find as apparently his art on is an old hard drive.

Ooo... I get to be rare AND mysterious. My wife will never be able to live with my ego now.

Ooo... I get to be rare AND mysterious. My wife will never be able to live with my ego now.

To me, this is where one book games would have dual benefit.  If the toolkitting info was online somewhere, then not only does everyone get a game they can play straight off the shelf, world builders (and proto world builders) can see how a published game went about it.
 
If I was HERO, and publishing these games, I would have a podcast with the designer, talking about the book and how they used the toolkit to achieve their aims.  This would be decent advertising for the game but also provide oxygen for the toolkit itself.
 
Doc

I agree with this, Chris. I believe we should have books that have implied settings in them, but also vague enough that someone wanting to worldbuild could easily take the setting out. Rather than a generic "Fantasy Hero" book, how about a book called "Mana Realms" that contains a chunk of the Hero rules that have been catered to a fantasy tone with setting info toward the back?
 
 
I think Hero could get that recognition, and for a time I think they they had it with Champions. But that was some time ago.
 
 
 
Yes,  worldbuilders may not need a setting, but it's handy to have some setting info to see how things are built and get some inspiration from. I also agree that not everyone has time to work on a setting, or to make their own adventures. 

As a fan of Cypher and having ran it a few times, it has as much similar to Hero as D&D does. Could you use Hero to emulate Cypher? Yup, just like you could with D&D. But Cypher uses a different resolution system, it has players making all of the rolls, difficulties are assigned in stages of 3, etc. 
 
 
One of the reasons Monte can do that is name recognition. He also worked on 2e and 3e D&D for quite some time, and built a reputation from Malhavoc Press, which, IIRC, originally co-produced Ptolus. Most of his books are Kickstarted, and make some serious money, allowing him to have a real art and design budget. I would love to see Hero have this kind of budget, but I believe  it would also require some serious design changes that may make some long term fans unhappy.  Stat blocks should change a bit and become a bit more organic, fonts may have to change in style and size, and book organization may be a bit different depending on the designer. On the other hand, art should emulate the genre, and the books should have a unified look that carries through a genre (fantasy books should have a similar branding that's different from supers, for example). Raising the graphic standards of the books would be a bit pricey, but the books would veer away from looking like a Word document and more in-line with what's on the market. Additionally, resources like design files, could be shared with the Hall of Heroes contributors like so many other companies do. 
 
 
I don't  think that that dumping vehicles/bases and the like is necessary. Instead, I think they need to be simplified and streamlined. In a book about zombies, it would be nice to have base rules to represent fortifications, or vehicles to use and modify in hopes of escaping an infested area. The power sections could also be simplified, having only what was needed rather than a bunch of listings that weren't needed. Again, in the case of a zombie game, give the basics of powers needed to create the zombie horrors you need, plus maybe a few powers that heroes might access (psychic/magic/etc.), but leave the rest as Talents that PCs can access. 

I think there are plenty of people who have learned using 4e, 5e or even 6e. Many of my players in the 90s were 4e players and only 4e players. They didn't know of the game's existence before they started playing. The same could be said about my current group. However, that said, players were also exposed to the game as part of a setting I designed. So some powers were off limits, and house rules were explained throughout the game as needed. So, in some ways, it ran much like the "Powered by" philosophy. 
 
 
I agree with this to extent as well. 4e Champions had some semblance of a setting within it. Sure, you needed Champions Universe and other books to enhance that setting if you didn't want to put a bunch of work in, but there was some Champions in the  Champions book. And I believe Champions: New Millennium was also an attempt to make such a game with setting built in. If a 7th ed of Hero ever occurred, I believe that going back to that design philosophy may work. 
 
 
It could be. But I believe that there needs to be less restrictions on a product to allow for House Rules and making a game using the Hero System. 

I think there are plenty of people who have learned using 4e, 5e or even 6e. Many of my players in the 90s were 4e players and only 4e players. They didn't know of the game's existence before they started playing. The same could be said about my current group. However, that said, players were also exposed to the game as part of a setting I designed. So some powers were off limits, and house rules were explained throughout the game as needed. So, in some ways, it ran much like the "Powered by" philosophy. 
 
 
I agree with this to extent as well. 4e Champions had some semblance of a setting within it. Sure, you needed Champions Universe and other books to enhance that setting if you didn't want to put a bunch of work in, but there was some Champions in the  Champions book. And I believe Champions: New Millennium was also an attempt to make such a game with setting built in. If a 7th ed of Hero ever occurred, I believe that going back to that design philosophy may work. 
 
 
It could be. But I believe that there needs to be less restrictions on a product to allow for House Rules and making a game using the Hero System. 

4th Edition Champions had some of the best covers of the game IMHO. I don't think photoreal covers will draw in any more people than having comic book artists on a cover.  

4th Edition Champions had some of the best covers of the game IMHO. I don't think photoreal covers will draw in any more people than having comic book artists on a cover.  

4th Edition Champions had some of the best covers of the game IMHO. I don't think photoreal covers will draw in any more people than having comic book artists on a cover.  

for me 4th ed Hero system rule is a complete game book
just pick a genre and set the dials

Don't even get me started on the layout of Hero System books. Character Generation should be toward the front of the book, but not the start of the book, and be complete in its own chapter. Give the players everything they need in one section, followed by rules on Equipment and Vehicles. Honestly, if put together properly, the first part of a rulebook could be separated to create a Player's Guide that could be marketed  on its own.  

While a great idea in theory, it can turn into a design a logistical nightmare for those working on it, particularly for a tome like Hero's been in the past few editions. Is it possible? Sure. But it might also slow things a bit more than needed.
 
 
Hi, my name is Sketchpad and I still use print products, as well as electronic ones.