Hello, currently I run my games using 4E D&D. I play solitaire which means that I am the GM and only player, sometimes controlling multiple heroes.
For my games I custom build classes based on the official classes. This is very time consuming as there are no guidelines for creating classes in the D&D system. This is one of my primary attractions to the Hero system. It is essential a balanced (to a certain degree) system for creating custom characters. I believe this would greatly reduce the time it takes to create a class compared to 4E D&D. I'm also looking for a more complex combat system with more options (martial arts, disarm, special maneuvers, etc.) that encourages more roleplay in combat.
However, I am intimidated by the amount of time required to prepare an encounter and run combat in Heroes. I run my D&D campaign using Mythic's Game Master Emulator. Basically, I don't have to prepare anything before hand because the adventure is determined by my imagination and a few random dice rolls. When an encounter comes up I look at WOTC's online compendium to find a few suitable monsters. All I need to do to get combat started is copy and paste the stat block to a free 4E combat tracker app and I'm good to go. This usually takes 5 minutes or less.
I appreciate the added enjoyment that can come with custom built enemies but I'm worried how long it will take to design and balance them. Furthermore, as far as I know there is no combat tracking software for Heroes. This is very important in a solitaire game where I may be controlling several players and enemies on my own.
I'm wondering how much extra prep time this would cost once I learn the system? How easy/quick is it to manage combat? Do you think Heroes is the right system for me?
As I said I'm very attracted to the system but I'm worried about the time commitment.
Thanks
