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Thanks for the feedback, although the topic was more about the visual presentation versus game mechanics/rules since there will always be campaign or scenario-specific nuances. Guinevere is a player character in the scenario I run that players could select and not an NPC (players could select a version of her as a noble as portrayed in the stories or as a knight as depicted in a storyline I developed). Morgan le Fay was designed in the scenario to be a rival and had her own retinue and followers. I think I omitted "Value" in Mental Combat because I couldn't fit it in the Microsoft Word template, but may tinker with it a little more to squeeze it in if it will help new players. My goal is also to avoid acronyms as much as possible, even things that seem basic like NPC. Based on previous experience, to a brand new player, all of the acronyms, especially in Hero System, were a major turnoff (OCV, DCV, OIF, IIF, DNPC, etc.) Recurring questions that keep coming up for me regarding Hero System is, "What good is a game if no one wants to play it because of the excessive data?" and "What good is a game if everyone fixates on minutiae of what should be added/omitted/altered instead of playing it?"

My goal is to keep it simple. Breaking it up into different sections and omitting characteristic value would likely confuse new players or ask, "Where do these rolls come from?" Previously, I reviewed the character with the player before we started and described how the different abilities are connected. Previously, this is where it got challenging with all of the acronyms (OCV, DCV, ECV, OIF, OAF, etc.) At the conventions players who participated were those who played Hero System before but getting turned off by the excessive rules in later editions and I seldom got brand new players willing to try it out. Those that did enjoyed the scenario but did not enjoy the excessive data on the character sheet.

I've been painting various miniatures lately in my spare time, so I've been watching a b-movie festival while I paint, although it could be considered a cinematic poop-fest of sorts. These were films that required a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief to watch: Wild Wild West (1999) - I briefly caught a glimpse of it while waiting in an airport years ago while I was deployed overseas around 2008-2009, and finally saw the whole thing. Yes, it was as awful as my friends described. It's hard to believe that actor Will Smith declined to star in The Matrix in favor of this film. He later disclosed that it was among the worst decisions he made as an actor. Scorpion King 2, 3, 4, and Book of Shadows - I caught a few minutes here and few minutes there while overseas in 2012 for a couple of these films, and finally sat down and watched them while painting figures. It was b-movie/SyFy channel stuff at its purest, campiest form, and reminded me of the campier Xena: The Warrior Princess episodes at times. It was kind of nice to see UFC/WWE stars get their shot at acting, though (Randy Couture, Kimbo Slice, Dave Bautista). Of note was Bautista, who during an interview mentioned that one of the directors gave him some negative feedback on his acting ability at the time. Bautista took that feedback to heart and enrolled in professional acting lessons afterwards, which really improved his craft and enabled him to excel as a film actor (e.g. Guardians of the Galaxy, My Spy, Dune: Part Two, Glass Onion, etc.)

No, the template used is on Microsoft Word. I type in the information after I use Hero Designer.

One of my ongoing goals/challenges is to introduce Hero System to new players at game conventions, who often feel overwhelmed by all the data and game details. Here's a character template example that I've tinkered with that has all of the information on one sheet. Some design notes based on previous player feedback are the following: 1) There are no acronyms and everything is spelled out as much as possible. OCV was modified to "Total Offense Value" that includes all OCV bonuses from skills. The applicable modification was done for DCV. 2) Skills, Talents, and Perks were consolidated and I only covered the main skills and attributes. If I covered every aspect as much as possible as before, the excessive data would be a major turnoff to the prospective players. 3) The points invested per skill/statistic/ability is on the Hero Designer file and not listed on the character sheet. Players, especially new ones, were not interested in seeing that data granularity. Here's a screenshot of the final product, using the example of King Arthur that I had previously written before. The font is Arial, 10 pt. Attached is the PDF version if you want a closer look. If there's interest, I'll post the template for download. Arthur.pdf

I have Mac Sonoma 14.5. Last night, I was able to install HD on my daughter's PC which is Windows based and didn't have any issues. 🙂

The trackpad is part of the computer itself and the mouse is connected via USB-C. I've reconnected it multiple times and have not had success, even though the mouse works fine for everything else. Yes, I've also rebooted the system since updating Java and reinstalling Hero Designer still have the same issue. Thank you for responding and trying to correct the issue.

I checked Java permissions and security settings multiple times and there's nothing related to using a mouse/touchpad. If there's something specific I should select on those menus, please let me know and will go from there.

Both the mouse and touchpad on the Mac are not being recognized when I use HD; it'll remain one of those computer mysteries.

I uninstalled Java and then installed the latest version (April 2024) and still have the same issue as before.

Ever since my Mac received a software update (Sonoma), Hero Designer no longer works correctly. I can open it via Java, but cannot use the mouse to go to each entry and at best, tab from Characteristics to Skills via keyboard but not back. I've deleted the previous version, and then downloaded and reinstalled the latest version (dated March 2024) and still no success. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

In movie theaters, Despicable Me 4, which I found more enjoyable than the third one. The villain cameos at the end of film that connected all of the previous Despicable Me and Minions films together was a nice touch. Vikings: Valhalla. I watched History Channel's Vikings since the beginning and the follow-on series featured on Netflix. Netflix announced that this is its final season and it definitely has the feel of closing out the life-paths/story lines of the major characters. Blood of Zeus. I watched seasons one and two and love the storytelling with the mythology I read about since I was a kid. The different interpretations of the various characters that followed, combined with its beautiful animation style and story development are amazing. My Lady Jane. This is a campy, tongue-in-check reinterpretation of history following the death of King Henry VIII with some magical elements involved featured on Amazon Prime.

Thanks! The change was made for the final print. Thanks again, everyone! 😀

Thanks for everyone's input...I blended some of the comments with the Jackalope in the Hero System Bestiary (5th Ed) and notes from a D&D Homebrew to come up with my version of the Killer Rabbit of Caebannog for the upcoming game convention. 😀

Has anyone written up stats for the Killer Rabbit featured in the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail (clip link included as a refresher)? In one of the scenarios I'm developing for an upcoming game convention, the players bounce around the multiverse in the pursuit of an evil wizard who's stealing magical artifacts. Along the way, they come across a fleeing King Arthur and his knights ("RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!") who are being pursued by the Killer Rabbit and can't stop him because the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch was stolen. I'm starting from scratch with the write-up for a rabbit in the 5th Edition Bestiary, so some ideas about the ballpark of his abilities and stats (e.g. SPD, Physical and Energy Defense) would be helpful. 😄