zslane

In my experience, this is rarely the case. There are a lot of lazy GMs out there.

Invader Zim also showed how being small (really small) can even be a special effect for Mind Control...

Yes, it looks very promising.

Or play Champions.

Pretty much all of Aaron's work is excellent, but Super Agents in particular is stellar. Possibly the best thing he ever wrote for the Hero System. It is a shame it is so difficult to acquire these days. It's an even bigger shame that Aaron is not around to update it for 6e. It would be cool if Hero Games could get the rights to that book and then use it as the basis for a new 6e-compliant version of Dark Champions, rechristened Action Hero Complete.

Hmm. I'm not sure that qualifies as pulp. I mean, PKD didn't write in the pulp idiom and the story itself takes place in the 1950s. It strikes me more as a post-noir, post-war, paranoia thriller than as any form of pulp-era adventure.

It's hard to say what held/holds Traveller back more, Miller's preoccupation with 18th century maritime romance or an inability to envision a technological (far) future. By now I think we all realize that just about any "rubber science" you can concoct today has a reasonable chance of becoming reality three to four centuries from now (never mind two millenia from now when the Third Imperium takes place). What seemed like absurd space opera in the 70s is our not-so-absurd near future today, so maybe our sci-fi RPGs need to be considerably more open-minded, fanciful even, in their pursuit of a "hard sci fi" pedigree.

Random encounter tables were invented in an age that predates the notion that RPGs are supposed to be some form of deliberate "storytelling". Back then, RPGs were a form of extended wargaming for the most part. So of course they don't fit so well in a game where literary concerns like plot and narrative take precedence over verisimillitude. It is also worth noting that good encounter tables are supposed to be populated with creatures one would reasonably expect to encounter in a given region, at a particular time of year, and with a probability that strikes an acceptable balance between realism and drama. Encounter tables that don't do a good job of this are either poorly constructed or improperly utilized (maybe even both). Sometimes it just comes down to knowing when a mechanic isn't appropriate for the campaign style. You'll notice a distinct lack of random encounter tables in the Storyteller System, for instance.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I have neither the time nor the talent to produce the quality nor the quantity of material needed to achieve the goals stated (by me anyway) in these threads. What I envision is not something just anyone with Hero System experience and an itch to build worlds and write content can do competently, myself included.

That's very encouraging. Now imagine how many more FRPG fans would be attracted to a killer product line that fits the Read & Play Setting structure described earlier. FHC may reach a handful non-Hero gamers, but I don't expect the numbers to be substantial. And to be "substantial," I feel the numbers need to be close to whatever fantasy game is coming in third behind D&D and Pathfinder. Anything worse than that is still getting lost in the noise of the myriad marginal players in the industry.

They certainly deserve credit and acknowledgment. But their products need quite a bit more than that. They need updating to 6e standards (yes, I am aware that one of them has a conversion document, but that means even more work for people trying to get into the setting from scratch). They also need to not be buried in the HG store where they languish in almost complete obscurity. The question of how to get the word out about the Hero System came up elsewhere, and the answer applies equally to any 3rd party product line (setting) with ambitions of reaching a wider gaming audience (and if that is not its ambition, then it doesn't really qualify as part of this particular discussion, IMO).

I think you will see Fantasy Hero Complete appeal to the existing Hero System fan base, but I won't be surprised if it fails to substantially reach the non-Hero audience out there. I'm not even sure it is really intended to do so. At the end of the day, FHC is of the Read & Build tradition and not really aimed at the Read & Play crowd.

The system itself remains "the Hero System," and should be labelled as such in the books. The new books (product lines really) in question would be called things like Dark Nova Overdrive and Empires of the Dragon Kings and Guardians of Justice. I don't think there is any need to call out the fact that the game system has a streamlined, Read & Play format with a special label. Doing so would just confuse potential new customers who might worry they wouldn't be getting/playing the "real" Hero System.

When talking about the success of Savage Worlds, I think it is worth pointing out that it began as a new set of mechanics for Deadlands. I suspect that more Savage Worlds Deluxe books get sold to players who are fascinated by the Deadlands setting(s), than for any other reason. To my mind, the system's ongoing success is a tribute to the wealth of settings available, not primarily the mechanics. I doubt very many players read a brief summary of the game system and thought, gee I'd love to play with that system! I do, however, believe that lots of people read the brief summaries of settings like 50 Fathoms, Deadlands Noir, Weird Wars, Hell on Earth, and East Texas University and thought, wow I'd sure like to play in those worlds! The fact that learning the Savage Worlds game system was the intellectual price of admission was, I'm sure, entirely besides the point.

It certainly isn't the only way, but I feel it has the greatest potential to attract new players than the approach taken for the last decade or so. First, one has to acknowledge that the non-DIY-obsessed player has never been Hero's target demographic, and that needs to change if the Hero System is ever going to expand beyond its meager, albeit passionate, following. Appealing to the Read & Play crowd requires a very different approach than the Read & Build approach traditionally taken by Hero products. So, in order to provide a Read & Play experience, there needs to be a product line that a new player can pick up, read, and dive right into adventuring. That means pre-made stuff for a pre-made campaign world. But if the provided setting isn't interesting, players will give up on it rather quickly, assuming they give it a try at all. So the setting is a key component to attracting initial interest as well as maintaining it. Furthermore, a non-DIY presentation of the Hero System necessarily requires a presentation very different from what we've seen before. Whether we call it a "lite" set of rules, or what-have-you, it would not resemble traditional Hero products much at all. The mechanics don't need to change, but the way they are presented needs to change for easier consumption by Read & Play gamers. These are players who are now accustomed to, for instance, buying the Savage World of Solomon Kane core book and having a complete set of mechanics, a game setting, and everything needed to jump right into adventuring. And if they dig that experience, well, the more comprehensive Savage Worlds Deluxe rulebook is available should they get the urge to tinker with their campaign. The "Complete" books are a step in the right direction, but they don't go far enough. They don't provide a setting (one that will see ample and ongoing support in the way of gazettes, bestiaries, gear books, adventures, etc.), and they don't distill the mechanics down to a Read & Play form. Granted, they weren't designed to do these things, and therein lies their weakness as vehicles for bringing in new players.

I never meant to suggest it was the easiest way. But I do feel it is the best way. I think it is unrealistic to expect Hero Games to do it all on their own. In fact, I think they've already done their part by creating the system and providing a very reasonable licensing path. The task of coming up with the killer setting falls upon third party creators. By spreading the endeavor over a broad base of writers, we increase the odds of scoring the "lucky hit". Look how much enthusiasm third party writers/publishers have for Savage Worlds. The number of licensed settings is staggering. Not all of them are stellar works, but that's to be expected. But out of sheer volume comes higher chances of producing a "hit". Hero Games needs to find a way to cultivate that sort of third party excitement for the Hero System, and push heavily for new, unique settings.

(Looks back at subject of thread) I think it is a tad disingenuous to suggest that the best way to sell Fantasy Hero to new players is to get them into Champions. That strikes me as avoiding the challenge and admitting defeat without even trying.

When talking about fantasy, any product that wants to draw new customers has to address the basic question any potentially interested gamer will have: Why choose Fantasy Hero over D&D? So how do you get the answer out there? Well, that's basic Advertising 101. What sort of advertising muscle does Hero Games have for such an endeavor? Even if they knew how to effectively answer that question, I'm not sure they have the resources to maximize all the available advertising vectors. But aside from that, telling gamers that the Hero System lets them build the character they want using a complex point-buy system may only appeal to a select minority. I feel a different strategy is needed. One that does not rely on convincing gamers of the merits of the Hero System itself. The strategy I propose is to "pull a White Wolf," if you will, and come up with a fantasy setting so compelling that customers will buy into the system just to experience the setting. And while we're at it, give the core book a setting-focused version of the Hero System rules, a bunch of pre-made characters, and at least one starting adventure. As for adventure structure, I think we might borrow from the Savage Worlds concept of Plot Point campaigns. It provides an overall epic storyline into which published or homebrew adventures can be inserted as desired.

So here are the results of my feasibility study. My cost, not counting shipping: Vol 1 - $9.19, Vol 2 - $6.60.

"Hard science fiction" also has a tendency to discard emerging technologies whose futures are too hard to imagine without getting "fanciful". A good example would be nano-technology. I sort of feel it is a mistake to label Traveller hard sci-fi just because it uses some real-ish math here and there and the technology doesn't stray too close to magic (Jump drives aside). I think of it more as nostalgia sci-fi, where the game has more in common with 18th century naval warfare romances than with 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Analyze is a skill that only gives you information about another character and what is on their character sheet. With a good roll, you can also get DCV and CSL bonuses during a fight against that particular character. Tactics is a more amorphous skill that is used to help figure out what to do on a more general level. It is basically, "I'm not Capt. America, but my character is. GM, tell me what the best thing to do is in this situation for me and my team." It helps in deciding where to position teammates, what powers to use and when, how to best coordinate attacks, etc.

Well, IndianaJoe, perhaps you're on to something, of sorts. Instead of putting those two books in one box, how about putting those two books under one cover. Perhaps that is what CC should have been from the start, particularly if it was aimed at newcomers to the system. Actually, it probably should have been something like CC+CU, but also featuring a chapter providing a set of starting characters and a quick adventure mission.

A possible counter-example (to the Boxed Set For Dummies approach) is the first edition of Vampire: the Masquerade. That book, and the World of Darkness that it introduced, did more to spark the greatest influx of new roleplayers into the hobby since AD&D 1st ed. And it was just a single volume that had the core rules, a rich gothic setting painted in fairly broad strokes, and tons of inspiration and adventure seeds thrown in. It oozed with atmosphere and potential. The books that followed after it fleshed out the bones of a skeleton that was more or less fully constructed in the core book. You didn't just get a set of mechanics and some advice on how to make spooky adventures. You got the World of Darkness. And even if you didn't like it, you had to respect its depth and richness. More RPGs should aspire to the kind of product launch V:tM had. But the goal of such a book for the Hero System should be as a launch pad for a particular setting, whether its for the superhero genre or something else. Because setting is king. People will put up with mechanics they don't love in order to play in a setting they do love. But people won't flock to a system if the mechanics are highly complex and there isn't an awesome setting to make them overcome their aversion to math.

You can avoid most of the hype by not watching ABC, ESPN, or the Disney Channel. If you can't avoid them, well, at least the hype machine so heavily pushes this stuff on such a tight repeat cycle that after a while it just becomes so much white noise.

I'm glad I'm not a product manager. Trying to capture the fickle, unpredictable attention of the youth (of any generation) would burn at least 60 SAN...