fdw3773

Lindsey Stirling's Roundtable Rival

Thanks for your feedback! Yes, a challenge is that if too much is placed on the sheet, it's a giant blob of text that no one can understand. Generally, if the character sheet data carried over to a second page, I'd simply use the second page (e.g. Powers on page one, Skills and Complications on page two) and print it front and back to keep it all on one sheet since I'm using Microsoft Word. In the case of complex characters like Batman and character write-ups in general, here are a couple of my design notes that have come from my interactions with players at the conventions: 1) Players aren't interested in every little detail, so I strive to keep the character sheet easy to follow. Excessive details are kept off. Based on their feedback, the excessive data was what turned most of them off from the Hero System in the past. This is why points for each individual ability or power aren't listed or the hit location chart, along with everyman skills as you mentioned. The overall point total is listed for me to gauge power level and to give incoming players a basic idea for 6th Edition (e.g. Cyclops is 400 points as a standard hero, Wolverine is about 500 points, and so on since many played 4th Edition or earlier and previously used the basic factor that 250 to 300 points was a standard hero). For example, players like to see that Superman's Fortress of Solitude is listed as a base and that Batman is a contact. But, do they care how many points are invested in the base and the notes that Batman as a contact has extremely useful skills and has significant contacts of his own? Not at all. But, are they annotated as such on Hero Designer to determine point totals? Yes. Another example would be Green Lantern's Power Ring. I simply list it as "OAF - Power Ring" and one of the Complications is that it cannot directly affect anything yellow instead of listing every detail such as, "OAF, Extremely Difficult to Replace, etc." even though I checked those blocks when using Hero Designer. 2) In the case of Batman, his vehicle fleet are separate write-ups and I described the most common gadgets he's used in cartoons/animated and live action films, video games, and some of the comics I previously collected. Does it reflect every gadget he's ever used? Unfortunately, no. But, can players of different game experience levels readily get a feel of Batman and go from there? Yes. Here's a recent version of Batman I did for 6th Edition:

Thanks for your feedback! 🙂 My goal is to keep everything on one page, hence the split columns and combining of skills at times, but will see how it looks after I incorporate your recommendation. I'm simply using Microsoft Word to create the template, which is easy to fill in and edit as needed. Thanks again!

Nathan Evans - "Wellerman" Sea Shanty

Hi, Everyone! I've been revising/converting my 4th and 5th Edition stuff to 6th Edition as an on-again/off-again project and have trying to come up with a simplified format for characters. I modified a previous template to make it resemble what's published from Hero Designer but can fit on one page. Below is an example of a Power Girl write-up for your feedback in terms of presentation. While quite a bit resource intensive when I commit to printing, I think the final product looks sharp and more importantly, easy to follow for players showing up to my game table to play Champions since it lays out everything in a clean format. Thanks for your help (in advance)! 🙂

Off hand, two 4th Edition references come to mind: Alien Enemies: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207037/Aliens-Enemies-4th-Edition There's a variety of alien races that you can use or modify into a hostile swarm or invasion. Of particular note are also the Eliminators, a group of xenophobic bunglers who are really bad shots but have really powerful and unstable weapons. They're basically a variation of the Ghostbusters team taken to the extreme. I'm adapting them for 6th Edition to use at the next game convention event once in-person gaming resumes on a large scale (hopefully in spring 2022). Invasions: Target Earth https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/208565/Invasions-Target-Earth-4th-edition Some more alien and supernatural options for your consideration.

Yes, you are correct. The first, and arguably the best supported and received by fans, was the classic FASERIP system published by TSR that had a robust amount of support materials to go with it, followed by what you described that each flamed out quickly from lack of support or interest. 🤔 Will see how long this new system will last.

Here are write-ups for various Marvel characters in 6th Edition where the characters are in Microsoft Word format for easy printing and/or editing. Some of the files only have the Hero Designer File. The asterisk * indicates that only the Hero Designer File is included. Enjoy! 🙂 Beast Captain America Colossus Cyclops Hawkeye* Hulk* Human Torch* Iron Man Jean Grey Mr. Fantastic Namorita* Rogue She-Hulk* Thor Wolverine

Marvel Heroes 6th Edition View File Here are write-ups for various Marvel characters in 6th Edition where the characters are in Microsoft Word format for easy printing and/or editing. Some of the files only have the Hero Designer File. The asterisk * indicates that only the Hero Designer File is included. Beast Captain America Colossus Cyclops Hawkeye* Hulk* Human Torch* Iron Man Jean Grey Mr. Fantastic Namorita* Rogue She-Hulk* Thor Wolverine Submitter fdw3773 Submitted 06/01/2021 Category Characters Rules Version HERO System 6th Edition  

I've posted an updated version of the 6th Edition DC Heroes where the characters are in Microsoft Word format for easy printing and/or editing. Some of the files only have the Hero Designer File, so I've included a blank character template to create if you want. The asterisk * indicates that only the Hero Designer File is included. Aquaman Batgirl Batman Batwoman (Carrie Kelley) Black Canary* Blue Beetle* Booster Gold Captain Atom Firestorm Flash Green Lanterns: Arisia Rrab*, Boodikka, Hal Jordan, John Stewart*, Kilowog, Kyle Rayner* Huntress Martian Manhunter* Maxima Nuclear Man (foe)* Power Girl Supergirl Superman Wonder Woman Zatanna

Same here. The idea of being a member of the Q Continuum and the power levels they possess are pretty mind boggling when you think about it. Q was the one who first "introduced" the Borg to the U.S.S. Enterprise and was able to move about as he pleased despite everything happening, kept Vash alive throughout all of her interplanetary explorations, and so on. The fact that they can be near omnipotent yet ignore the proverbial, "With great power comes great responsibility," adage can be both interesting and quite disconcerting at the same time. 🤔

I updated some of the Marvel character write ups converted them to the Microsoft Word format consistent with the Champions/Hero System 5th Edition character templates depicted in the books. Enjoy! 🙂 Marvel Heroes 5th Edition

I finally updated the DC Heroes write-ups and converted them to the Microsoft Word format consistent with the Champions/Hero System 5th Edition character templates depicted in the books. Enjoy! 🙂

DC Heroes (5th Edition) View File This is an updated version of 5th Edition write-ups for DC Heroes in Microsoft Word format with supporting HDC files. They are the following: Aquaman Batgirl Batman Black Canary Blue Beetle Booster Gold Captain Atom Firestorm Flash (Barry Allen) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) Green Lantern (Jennifer-Lynn Hayden) Huntress Ice Martian Manhunter Maxima Power Girl Shazam Supergirl Superman Wonder Woman (Classic) Wonder Woman (Modern) Zatanna Submitter fdw3773 Submitted 05/16/2021 Category Characters Rules Version HERO System 5th Edition  

I'm referring to the original Guardians by Star Childe released in the early 1990s, not the more recent one that uses the D20 system based on the OSR.

League Of Super Evil-doeRs Legion Of Supreme Evil Rioters League Of Slimy Encephalopods and Ropers (Tentacled beasts and villains like something out of a crazy anime film, led by villains inspired by Kang and Kodoss from The Simpsons 😀)

It's funny you mentioned how once you started playing Champions, the other superhero RPGs sort of faded to the background. I've had similar experiences where after reading or even playing other superhero RPGs to try something new or because I'm a fan of the genre over the years, I find myself going back to Champions as well. 😉

Wow! I haven't heard the villain name F.I.S.T. from Villains & Vigilantes in YEARS!!! The villain team with comparable acronyms sounded like a fun concept to use. It also reminded me of how my friend built a villain team for DC Heroes called the "O-Squad" whose roster was Bizarro, Kanjar-Ro, Sinestro, Titano, Metallo, Amazo, Despero, and Starro to take on the Justice League and Justice Society of America. 😆

Based on what I've seen and read on various forums, "old school" gaming seems to be enjoying a bit of a resurgence in recent years across the different genres. Personally, I recently bought digital versions of Guardians and Mighty Protectors, which is Villains & Vigilantes 3rd Edition following decades of legal battle between creators Jeff Dee and Jack Herman and the owners of Fantasy Games Unlimited 😉. I never played Guardians but remember seeing it on display at my local comic and game store in the early 1990s and Villains & Vigilantes was my first experience in superhero RPGs in the early to mid 1980s before getting into Champions (Third Edition). There are definitely some fun memories playing V&V over the summer as a kid back then. After reading Mighty Protectors recently, it's nice to see the rule updates and revisions that appear to draw a bit from Champions in terms of game mechanics and character generation. I had heard of Super World, Marvel Superheroes (FASERIP), and later learned about Supergame that was first published in the early 1980s, but never had the opportunity to play any of them. Any old or recent memories of old school superhero RPGs? A part of me feels nostalgic enough to invest in either a pre-owned copy of Guardians or a new copy of Mighty Protectors for that old-school feel and nostalgia.

I nearly forgot about the difference between Big Eyes, Small Mouth that used a D6 system for the Tri-Stat while Silver Age Sentinels used D10 until you reminded me. That was extremely frustrating since at one point I had Silver Age Sentinels (Tri-Stat) with a digital copy of the BESM Bestiary to incorporate some of the monsters as possible foes and two different dice scales were maddening. 🤪

For me, the Tri-Stat system of Mind/Body/Soul didn't seem a good fit for the superhero genre. The Tri-Stat system was originally designed for the Big Eyes Small Mouth (BESM) system, and for that genre, it seemed like a good fit when I read through the core rules and some of the different genres I tinkered with at first (Fantasy, Sci-Fi with mecha robots). When I read through Silver Age Sentinels and did some character write-ups, it had a "square peg-round hole" vibe to it when compared to other systems like Champions, DC Heroes, or even Villains & Vigilantes that is also statistic light.

Yes, that's about as far as I went, also. I starting converting some of my 5th Edition write-ups using guidelines listed on Killer Shrike's website, but the desire soon fizzled out. 🙂

Wolf Hall, previously featured on Masterpiece Theatre on PBS and recently made available on Amazon Prime streaming. I've always been a fan of historical dramas since the mix of history, dramatic license, and director's perspective inspires me to research more on my own for additional insight. It was definitely a talented all-star cast depicting the political rise of Thomas Cromwell and his rivalry with Sir (later Saint) Thomas More during the reign of King Henry VIII in a first-rate production. 🙂