Re: Any Suggestions for a Hero Newbie?
Sidekick is an intro to HERO 5 book. If you're not sure whether you'll like HERO or not, that's the book to get. I was amazed at how good the system is, and how clear the writing is.
Fantasy Hero is a really good book - a lot of the information (that I've read so far ... I'm only in the Combat chapter) is system independent. Plus, it's a _massive_ book.
The Bestiary I'm sure I'll find useful even if I never play HERO ... HERO seems to be the easiest to convert to other systems (well, it along with GURPS and BESM), so some of the ideas could be used. Plus, Jackalope.
I've seen it recommended (possibly by Lord Liaden) that characters should have 0-point Psych Lims just to define who they are. Psych/Phys/Social lims are, to me, the easiest and clearest ways of defining the character's personality. Of course, they're also one of the better ways of getting your disad points. As a general rule, anything about the character that's set in stone would be a Physical Limitation or a Strong or better Psych Lim. Anything that might change about the personality would be a lesser Psych Lim. A Phys Lim is used where a Mind Control would not be able to overcome that bit of personality.
Laz