thewomble

Western Shores has. let's say, very limited appeal. It's the most generic of 80s-style settings.

Will this material be available in downloadable form e.g. from DriveThruRPG? Or just as a CD?

I do think that D&D/Pathfinder has simpler building blocks - class, level, HP, roll d20 against armor class. Certainly in its more elaborate forms (Pathfinder) it has a lot of complexity, but it's still easier to sit down for the first time and play than Hero. And the network effects mean a lot more support in learning the game, both in terms of products and other gamers. D&D is successful because it suits people clustered around average IQ or slightly higher, rather than Hero which appeals most to people a standard deviation above 100.

The simple truth is that Hero is a game for and by high-IQ people. It sounds elitist, but I'm convinced that is the case. People with IQs below 100 struggle to grasp key concepts and usually hate it, those at around 100-120 can learn it, but need to be guided or particularly motivated to get over the hump, and over 120 IQ folks pick it up easily, and tend to be the ones who love its possibilities. I gave the 6e rules to one of the smartest guys I know, who is not even a gamer, and he digested it over a weekend and was totally enthused. It was quite eye-opening. I'd put his IQ at 140-150.

I wonder why there is no preview at DrivethruRPG. Virtually all other companies manage this accomplishment. Does Hero Games not want to sell their product? My guess as someone in online sales is that this alone could increase sales by 10% to 30% or more. Similarly, the product descriptions at the Hero Store don't offer previews or even PAGE COUNTS. You don't know if you're buying a 100 or 300 page book. Seriously - I ask the question, does Hero Games not want to sell their products?

I suggest a stretch goal to get the excellent Fred Hicks to do the layout! To me the layout of 5e and 6e really adds a lot to the game (makes it manageable in fact).

Really regretting I let my copy of FH6E go a couple of years ago...wish it could be made available as a POD.

I certainly can't fathom some of the decisions made by Hero Games either...I could speculate but there would be little point. Already I have two warning points because I questioned why the 6E errata pdf was at one time pulled from download.

Just sticking my head in to say I'll buy Traveller Hero 6e in a heartbeat. Godspeed!

I don't remember many straight up fights or heroic warriors in the original Tales From 1001 Nights, which is the major source for what we think of as Arabian fantasy. There is a lot of sneakery and outwitting going on, though. Djinn are more prominent than evil sorcerers. My memory is a bit hazy as I read a translation (not Burton's famous one) more than 20 years ago. But definitely worth a read to get some authentic flavor after all of the Howard, Al Qadim and Disney that give us a watered-down fantasy Arab world.

Great stuff quozaxx. Warms the black old cochlea of my heart!

FH 6E is a huge compendium of options and tools for fantasy. Given that FHC will also contain the Hero rules, all in 260 pages, it's a fair guess that there will be much less material than you would have by combining FH with Champions Complete or another source of the rules. I like to use FH with the two core 6E volumes, but that is a truckload of rules and options, no doubt about it, which might be a disadvantage e.g. for a new Hero GM seeking to get a game off the ground quickly.

Yep I got a very good deal with discount codes. Best thing with setting up something like that on Lulu is that anytime in the future, as long as Lulu is still in business, you can replace a book with another mint copy.

I have combined the two core 6e volumes into one book and had it printed by Lulu. Results were spectacular. The (FULL COLOR) interior is perfect, and the cover is passable but next time I'd hire a graphic artist to do a better job than I did. This is the true bullet-stopping tome.

The fact is that complications don't balance out in the way that other aspects of the game do. Otherwise more players would be willing to forgo taking their full complications along with some character points. But as it is, pretty much every player is willing to take the full complications because it's so obviously worth it to get max points. 6e went some way to recognising this but 7e should take it further.

I don't see why the two core volumes couldn't be put up as POD. It's simply a choice for Hero Games and as I understand would involve only a small amount of work to format them as softcover black-and-white.

And that folks is part of the reason the Hero fan base is shrinking...very sad to see.

So, that was a "sorry, you guys just don't get to know the reasons for this stuff" type response, Simon. It comes across as condescending and rude. We're a small fan community here, there's no need to act like a faceless corporation with a very poor PR department.

Thanks Simon, but I remember some documents that were previously available on the official site. As I recall there were a LOT of entries for the two core books. Would be nice to have access to this.

Hey that's interesting about the cover, Narf. So it was updated to fit in with the rest of the line! Is it possible for you to upload an image of the new cover? Just a simple phone snap would be fine. As for the "flimsiness" it's good to know too. I do make allowances for POD, those books never feel quite the same as a traditional offset-printed book, but that's a worthwhile price to pay for having titles perpetually in-print, and it's not due to anything Hero Games can control.

Where can I find the 6e errata?

Skills isn't a setting/genre book. It's the only 6e rules book without the blue cover. And the only one with the same cover as the equivalent 5E book.

I'll definitely buy it when the cover has been updated to 6e trade dress. I wonder why of all the 6e books this is the only one without the blue cover...?