DreadDomain

Thanks, there are enough in the answers to confirm that I should hold-off buying the POD.

It explains a lot! My write-up of Superman comes at 800 points!!! I am only at Episode three but... Colonel Dick Rage... hilarious... At this point I get the feeling she has a fairly powerful or at least versatile VPP 🤣

Sure, but I am super perceptive... No doubt. In all the ideas that I had, this is easily the more far reaching. Actually, I am generally quite happy with how balanced HERO. I don't agree with everything all the time but it's close. The idea came really from the intersection of two very distinct notions. First, some people find building powers in HERO complex and, I believe, what raises the complexity are the power modifiers, where you need first to consider the advantage to get the Active Points (a value that is important) and then the limitations to get the Real Cost (another important value). Second, players in HERO need more tools to enhance their narrative control. Using Complications as HAP generators (instead of character points) is a fairly easy way to more more of it. Note that I do not personally feel strongly about these two notions but I was intrigued by a potential solution at their common intersection: using Limitations not unlike how Limits are used in MHR or Cortex Prime. The basic idea is to remove all the Limitations from the point calculation (aka Active Points = Real Cost) and use them as narrative tags instead, or as I put it in my post above, make them all Situational Limitations. Theoretically, it should make power building easier and it should enhance narrative control over the story but if these two notions are not important for a group of players/GM, well then, it's useless. Personally, I love the character creation mini-game and, as you point out, this idea may be a bit too far reaching for my taste but I'd certainly be willing to trying it out in play.

Clearly not a fan 😁

Clearly! I have yet to read how the heroes defeated him. I assume they are not built on 2,000 points (or are they? I may have missed that). Sounds like a lot of fun so far.

I was about to say just that. I am catching up but good write-up so far. Holey Moley!! This guy is seriously overpowered!!!

Yes, not sure what was the source file. On Drivethrurpg, there are four versions of the PDF. These three seem to be versions of the same scan (which is poor) (Champions4E-Corebook-20170410.pdf) - Based on the date, It's clearly the original file uploaded to Drivethru (Champions4E-Corebook_(bookmarked).pdf) - The file above but with bookmark (Champions_The_Super_Role_Playing_Game_Repaired.pdf) - Same scan but what was repaired? The bookmarks disappeared. And this one is a much, much better scan and has bookmarks. (Champions_4e_-_Christian_Fasy_Version.pdf). No clue if the POD is based on one of these versions but to avoid confusion, the first three files should be removed from Drivethrurpg as they are significantly poorer than the Christian Fasy Version.

Here is another idea, that expands the concept that Complications are used to generate HAP, by applying it to limitations: Limitations Limitations are categorized between hard limitations, clearly defining the limits of a power, or situational limitations, limitations that are triggered by event or story elements which players and GM can control and influence. Hard Limitations work as per the normal rules. They are used to define a power and determine the final cost. Situational Limitations do not factor into the cost of the power. They are activated by the player or the GM during play based on the narrative of the story. By calling a Limitation on him, the player gets 1 HAP and accept the consequences laid out by the GM and/or other players (note that the GM could turn down the activation of the Limitation). The GM can also call a Limitation on a player, with the same drawbacks and benefits stated above. A player could turn down the activation from the GM by accepting a harsher consequence later in the story or by paying 1 HAP (GM’s choice). The future consequence must be related to the Limitation. Which limitation is Hard and which is Situational is a campaign decision that GM and players must make. There are four modes: 1) All Hard: This is the default mode found in the RAW. All Limitations are used to build powers and factor in the final cost. 2) Mixed: In this mode, the limitations are clearly divided between Hard Limitations and Situational Limitations. Which falls into what category is a campaign decision agreed between GM and players. Here is an example below: Hard Limitations Duration - Limitations Power has a worse than normal duration Concentration - Character has reduced DCV and PER Rolls when activating or using power Extra Time - Power takes longer than normal to activate or use Inaccurate - Power is less accurate than normal Linked - Power can only be used when another power is used No Conscious Control - Character cannot control use of power Perceivable - A normally invisible power is perceivable Range Limitations - Power has no range, or less range than normal, or functions less effectively at range Reduced Penetration - Power penetrates defenses less well than ordinary attacks Requires A Roll - Character must make a roll of some sort to use power Requires Multiple Users - Two or more characters must use power for it to work Side Effects - If power fails to work, character suffers harm Unified Power - Two or more powers are affected simultaneously by negative Adjustment Powers Variable Limitations - Character can change Limitations on power as a Full Phase Action Situational Limitations (The players or GM can activate it when it makes the story more interesting) Always On - Power cannot be turned off, but it’s not necessarily always a problem Charges – No need to count charges. Endurance Limitations – Take a hint from HS6E1 pp46, remove END and replace it by the limitation Tiring. Pushing is automatically Tiring (or uses HAP instead). Focus - Power works through an object or device but it’s not necessarily always a problem Gestures - Character must make special, distinctive gestures to use power but it’s not necessarily always a problem Incantations - Character must speak special, distinctive words to use power but it’s not necessarily always a problem Limited Power - Power is restricted in some way defined by character Lockout - Using power prevents use of other powers Only In Alternate Identity - Power only works for one of the character’s identities Physical Manifestation - Power has a physical manifestation other characters can attack Restrainable - Grabs or Entangles prevent use of power 3) All Situational: In this mode, power construction is greatly simplified. All Limitations are used as narrative tag to be used in game to create the story and generate HAP. In this mode, GM and character should review and simplify the Limitations available and might even make some exceptions. A Limited Range limitation works well as a Situational Limitation, but a No Range limitation might not. It could be removed entirely or kept as a Hard Limitation. Another way to resolve this is to turn some limitations around. For some limitations, it makes sense that by activating a limitation a character increases their power instead of getting 1 HAP. Concentration and Inaccurate are good example of this. 4) Fluid: This mode leaves the decision in the hand on the players. Player A might create a power with a specific number of Charges, with the Hard Limitation factored into the cost and Player B might use Charge as a Situational Limitation. Player A might end up with a more powerful character on paper, but Player B might have a character with the ability to generate more HAP giving them a lot more narrative control. This mode requires the GM and players to experiment to ensure game balance.

Hugh, I must admit that I am surprised my two points above led you to this conclusion so I will attempt to frame my position a bit better. First, I will state clearly that in my views, both points are minor and yet, they are not about corner cases. The reason I bring them up is simply because generally, CC succeeds to clearly and succinctly repackage 6E in a tight book, in a well organised manner. CC definitely helps people "get" Champions. It makes it easier on newcomer and veteran alike to just jump in. The two examples above (specifically growth) in my mind stand-out. For Damage Shield, a slight rewording would make it super clear (it is super clear for Range and Mobile). For Growth it's about user friendliness and organisation. Cutting out a simple table to have people refer to more complex tables at the back of the book is in my view, not a good trade-off. I want to reassure you that I was not complaining. I was simply voicing my opinion about what I think are potential organisational and clarification improvements and doing so in a thread that seems to be created for it. Do I demand, or even expect, that they will be taken into consideration? Of course not. We're just a few blokes chatting here and I expect and respect the fact that people will have different opinions, and might even change them. Last point, both 6E and CC are product that I am very happy with. I always use CC first and when in doubt, I always refer to 6E.

Sure, I see your point but it could be read as if the modifier (+1/4) makes it constant. What makes matter worse is that it mentions right after "If a Damage Shield involves a Ranged power, it must take the No Range (-½) Limitation. A Damage Shield moves with the character as he moves; this doesn’t require the Mobile Advantage.". It's explicit, you need to add No Range, it's explicit it does not require Mobile but it's silent about Constant. It's not an error but it's unclear. For Growth, I understand why it was done that way. I just don't like it 🙂 Note that it's potentially the only decision I don't like about CC so it's not a train smash!

Anyone can confirm that the POD is now of good quality? Pictures would be appreciated!

Damage Shield on page 97 does not clearly state that Constant +1/2 must be added if the power is not already constant ( which should be quite often). Also, not an erreor but I find it annoying that Growth does not have is own effect table (like Density Increase and Shrinking) but instead refers to the Size Templates. It really isn't convenient.

And now you mention my second (bigger) pet peeve; the scale of a setting. Some settings are scaled way too small for the scope they cover; Aventuria (The Dark Eye) is an example of this. You look at the map, the breath of the geography, the diversity of cultures, the number of polities and you feel this place is big. Could it be as big as Africa? South America? Europe maybe? Nope, it's the size of Western Europe or India. Now I have no problem with a setting the size of India, it's a big area, but the scope of Aventuria with "endless" frozen wastes in the north, a "massive"desert in the middle and mainly unexplored steaming jungles in the south just doesn't feel like it all fits in Western Europe. Others feel like they are way too big. I don't know Exalted but Banestorm (GURPS) comes to mind. In this case, the continent is huge, the size of Canada, and the geography and climate are believable but the nations feel way too big and monolithic for a medieval level of development. The impact of scaling is worse than the length or stagnation of the history because it has a direct impact (travel time) in play.

When I am creating an adventure or setting and I am looking for made up name, I try to think about a characteristic of the language of the culture I am working on. Does it tend to finish in hard consonants? Do words generally have 4 or 5 syllables? Is it peppered with "w" and "z". Are "i" replaced by "j". Each culture will have a different characteristic. I then create random words with the characteristicv in mind. If I am stuck, I use a word in another language and modify it in accordance with the chosen characteristic. I always make sure to modify it so it's not a straight up translation or I mash up two words together. Say I am trying to name a mountain and I have decided slovak is a good base for this area of tropical jungle populated by hunter-gatherers islanders which are using long words, often hyphenated (note that I use a real world language that does not relate to the culture/area). I translate "accursed mountain" and google sends back "prekliata hora".... hmmm how about Prekathora or Preka-Thora? Obviously this is something that is difficult to do on the fly.

Thanks Duke, I was trying to frame my answer but you expressed pretty much what I wanted to say. In the end, as a general statement, I chose : They are annoyances in terms of damage but are very useful in tactics. (entangles, flashes, drains, etc.)They are annoyances in terms of damage but are very useful in tactics. (entangles, flashes, drains, etc.)

This is one pet peeve that I have, completely unrealistic timelines in a setting where stuff remains stables and static for way too long. Warhammer's the Old World is an example of that, not so much that it is static but that through change the Empire has been apparently always gone back to a similar status quo over millenniums. I had at some point a storyline where the players would discover that a lot of the history they knew about was a lie. That storyline never really played out while we were having a blast on the main plot.

It also makes me think that you need to give the player enough to understand the context and pique there interest and let them come with questions so you give add to their individual sphere of interests. Greywind the Rogue might start asking questions about the local authorities, local justice and who are the rich and powerful. Dread the Barbarian might be more interested in the martial world, the mercenary guilds and the local warlord... and taverns... where are the best spots for drinking and wenching.

I was thinking the same. Personally, there are two types of info I need to know about. First, the type of game we will play (power level, no/low/high magic, social/exploration/investigation/combat, non-humans races or not, etc...) which will enable me to build a character that fits the game. Usually it can be very concise and sometimes referencing something might make it easier. "We will play a standard heroic game set in world similar to the Hyborian Age..." covers a lot of ground in a few words. Second, a description of the setting itself that will enable me to create a character grounded in said setting. The length requires will depend a lot of the game. A game that is focused on one area might need a page to describe the world at a high level plus a map and a page to describe the area we live in in more detail (with map of city or region) with a who's who on the people we will interact with at the start. Three pages (more or less) is more than enough. If it is a homebrew, it could be less and we will discover the world as we play. For fully developed settings, I like to know more. RuneQuest seems to have the right about of detail amount the setting for a game set in Dragon Pass. A few pages (10ish?) to explain Glorantha as a whole including a bit of history and maps and a Homelands chapters of about 30 pages describing the 6 main homelands in Dragon Pass. More than enough to make me understand the dynamic of the region and inform me which culture I'd be tempted to play.

I don't think HERO needs a 7th edition as much as it needs a facelift to look a bit less cryptic. My next Champions core book would NOT really be a 7th edition but more a reskinning of the current rules with a focus on streamlining and removing the need for "clever" builds (like super running being built with Flight by removing the ability to fly or with Teleport by removing the ability to teleport). Also, I would review the layout of the character write-ups so they look a bit more functional and less blocky. HERO, in my opinion, doesn't have a "rule" problem, it has a "presentation" problem.

Following Sketchpad footsteps Why your username? True story. HERO System Almanach I. Super-Team name generator page 91. Two rolls. Dread. Domain. It stuck. Why your avatar or if no avatar why not? Never took the time to set one up What area do you live in? I am from Montréal Canada but I currently live in Brisbane, Australia What's your profession? Engineer but now in project management Are you Windows, MAC or Linux? Windows and Android Are there TV shows and/or movies you like to binge watch? Many! What drew you to the Hero System The George Perez cover drew me in. The system kept me going Which edition did you start with? 4 Which edition is your favorite? If I have to choose one, 6e. In reality, a mix of 4, 5 and 6. What have you used the game for? Mainly superheroes, but also Fantasy and Pulp. What point system have you ran or played?. My other love is GURPS What was your first Hero character? Hardstone, a street level bad ass. Or was it Holocaust, a super brick bad ass... What was your favorite Hero character? Either J.W Steel a golden age brick dilettante playboy or Masque X, a Spider-Man/Daredevil mash-up. Do you still play or GM the Hero System I haven't in the last 3 years. Would like to. Are there other games you play? GURPS, Call of Cthulhu, Dungeon Fantasy On an A to F scale how do you rate the system overall? As a system, I'd give 6th edition an A. What are some house-rules, if any, you use in the past? We usually played it as is. If you could put together a 7th edition what are some things you add, omit and/or change? I would start from Champions Complete, bring back Gliding, Transfer, Instant Change, introduce adders to run on water and vertical surfaces, drop megascale and reprice non combat movement at 2 points for ×2, use Complications to generate Hero Points instead of giving more points during character creation, review the cost of characteristics and skill levels. Make the book glossy full colour and include the Super Hero Gallery. It would NOT really be a 7th edition but more a reskinning of the currently rules with a focus on streamlining and removing the need for "clever" build. Also, I would review the layout of the character write-ups.

Don't get me wrong, I like the two Templates book but certainly not for the layout of the character sheets. Something I particularly dislike about 6E (and I like 6E) is the "wall of characteristics". If a sheet simply lists all the 17 primaries and secondaries in a big block with no attempt to divide them by functions, it's 2 strikes against the sheet in my book.

You probably have all you need in Champions Complete. You have the full rules in there although in a much more concise fashion (think Champions 4th Edition). Personally, as a second book to support it, I like Champions 6e (the genre book). It provides more examples for powers, gadgets, devices, vehicles, etc, discussed various superhero types and eras and such and I find the Superhero Gallery of great value. It's basically 20 classic character templates from which you can create a wide array of characters.

Hi Crayon, welcome aboard. The Basic Rulebook is a distilled down summarized version of the Character Creation and the Combat and Adventuring books and it probably contains everything you need. It does omit some skills, talents, powers etc. (each section has a sidebar stating what was not included in BR) but it's a safe bet you will not miss them. Aside from these extra elements, the "Big Blue Books" contain a lot more examples, toolkitting options and guidance. If what you read in the BR feels unclear, go read on the topic in one of the two big books. As others have said, you don't need to read it all start with the BR only. If you find character creation complex at first, don't worry too much. Character creation in HERO is it's own mini-game and the complexity is very much front loaded. Once in game it really isn't that complex.

Champions has always been in this strange zone where the basic idea is to reason for effect but it is not deconstructed enough to really work that way. Many powers come with a name that conveys a lot of pre-conceived ideas. Think of Flight, Running, Tunneling or even to a lesser degree Teleport or Telekinesis. They all come with some baggage that makes people intuitively assume they work in a certain way. If I want to build The Flash, I naturally go to buy a truck load of Running... to find out that what I need is Flight and/or Teleport with a bunch of advantages and limitations on top of them... I want to run fast but I am NOT going to buy Running... ok... Oh, and I want to run really fast when out of combat so let's buy several levels of Non-Combat Movement. Wrong again, you need to buy MegaScale as an advantage. But wait, don't just add the advantage on your Running Flight Power, that's not cost effective. Just create a second power with only 1 meter of Running Flight and then scale up the MegaScale advantage on it. So I want a lot of Non-Combat Movement but I am NOT going to increase Non-Combat Movement... uh...ok. All that to say that since the system has never been super consistent on how powers are built from effect and since I always saw TK as STR projected at range by the power of the mind, I never thought a TK punch was out of place within the context of how much TK cost per +1 STR. Now it doesn't have to be that way. TK is one on those powers doing what it is suppose to do (and by that I am mean the mechanics seems to align with the name) but damage does not have to be part of it (what is TK really?). But if it's not, I believe the cost needs to be adjusted. Apologies if it came off a bit rantish.

Here are a few ideas that I might have shared before. Characteristics Intelligence and Foresight Each full 5 points spent on INT gives 1d6 of Foresight. Foresight essentially works like Luck but is based on the special effect that the character has done previous planning and had foreseen how event could unfold. It has the benefit of making INT more interesting for other values than 13, 18 and so on. Complications Complications do not give character points but create story opportunities. During character creation select up to 6 Complications and select a Severity level, Moderate, Strong, Total. No need to select a frequency. Complications are generally classified into four broad categories (below). It is a good idea to pick complications in at least 3 of them. Physical (Dependence, Distinctive Features, Physical Complication) Mental (Enraged/Berserk, Psychological Complication) Social (DNPC, Hunted/Watched, Reputation, Rivalry, Social Complication) Special (Accidental Change, Susceptibility, Unluck, Vulnerability) Players and the GM can use Complications to generate HAP. By calling a complication on him, the player gets 1 additional HAP and accept the consequences laid out by the GM and/or other players (note that the GM could turn down the calling from the player). The GM can also call a complication on a player, with the same drawbacks and benefits stated above. A player could turn down the calling from the GM by accepting a harsher consequence later in the story. The consequence must be related to the Complication. By spending 1 HAP, the player can also use a Complication in a positive way if he can justify it thematically. A moderate Complication will give +1 to a roll or +1d6 to an effect or +5 to a PRE, EGO or Mental Resistance. Strong provides +3/+3d6/+15 and Total +5/+5d6/+25 respectively. Alternatively, 5 levels could be use (Mild, Moderate, Strong, Very Strong, Total) with Mild providing +1/+1d6/+5, Moderate +2/+2d6/+10 and so on. The ideas below aim at replacing funky builds that look and feel complex for no real benefits. Movement Movement powers are always bought based on the special effect desired. If a character is running, the Running power should be selected (not Flight or Teleport with advantages and limitation). Run of Vertical Surfaces and Run of Liquids are two new Adders for Running. A character can buy one for 3 CP or both for 5 CP this is roughly based on Clinging, must be running at high speed) While interesting, Megascale lead to funky min-maxing builds so I am tempted to scrap it. To achieve high speed, use Non-Combat Movement is repriced at 2 CP for each x2. Powers A few new powers (always built from others). Create Light 10 CP to Create a localized light. No Range. Use AoE and or Range to change size, shape and location of the source of light. Superspeed Tasks Each 20 CP moves the time required to perform a non-combat task by one level on the Time Chart. Each level also gives half a level of Rapid Sense (x3) for all sense groups. Note that using Rapid Sense only doesn’t cost endurance but by taking a full phase and paying 2 END per level of the power, A character can double his level of Rapid Sense for has long as he pays END for it. This power specifically replaces funky builds like Change Environment to clean areas. Superspeed Combat 20 CP per level, up to 5 levels. Superspeed Combat uses Multiple Attacks as its foundation. Each level: Allows a character to make an additional attack at no penalty (effectively to ignore -2 OCV from Multiple-Attacks). Counteracts 2 DCV penalty imposed by the Multiple Attack maneuver. It can never raise DCV above the character’s base value Gives Lightning Reflexes +5 Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively include Defense Maneuver I, II, III and IV Levels 5 includes Rapid Attack Superspeed Combat 5 allows the use of a Multiple-Attacks as a half-phase for up to 6 separate attacks at no OCV penalty, counteracts up to -10 DCV penalty (highly likely the character will be at full DCV despite the ½ DCV of the maneuver), with +25 initiative and fully aware of their surroundings (Defense Maneuver IV). A few other powers recreated for simplicity's sake: Boost 4 CP per 1d6. Constant Power Gliding 1 CP per 2m of Gliding Instant Change 3 CP to change into one set of clothes, 5 CP to change in any set of clothes. Suppress 7 CP per 1d6. Constant Power Transfer 12 CP for 1d6 Transfer if you can only aid yourself. 15 CP per 1d6 of Transfer if you can boost others