borbetomagnus

I got into HERO with 5th edition revised, and now use 6th. I did purchase the Early Champions and Champions 4th edition Bundles of Holding and from those bundles I read the early editions and discover the origins of what would eventually evolve into the generic, universal system we all love. HERO truly is the same game throughout all editions. There's been tweaks with every edition, and while I only have limited actual play exposure to two (later) editions, I'm immensely impressed with the foresight, deliberate thought, and play testing  that was put into Champions 1st edition. It set the foundation for all subsequent incarnations, except for Fuzion, which I have no experience with.

I'm not familiar with the Bubba The Monster Hunter books, but they sound like something I'd enjoy.

1 hour ago, Chris Goodwin said:

 

It's really more about campaign feel, character guidelines, and campaign setup.  

 

And I've proven, at least to myself and five players, that a no-powers military campaign can work just fine.

I completely agree with your point and how you've proven it, @Chris Goodwin

I'll even say that regardless of game system, having fun in a game is primarily "about campaign feel, character guidelines, and campaign setup."

Enthusiastic fan quotes for some of the San Angelo sports teams and events, especially super sports would be a great addition. How about Super Major League Baseball or Super Rugby Union? Super Soccer (Football), Super National Football League, Super NBA.... Maybe some non-realworld sports specifically for superheroes: Furious Psionic Fights, or Eldritch Arcane Duels, Around the Moon NASCAR...

21 hours ago, John Desmarais said:

 

Well with regards to #3, my preference will always tend towards “the currently available version”.

Agreed.

13 hours ago, Tjack said:

 

 

    Not a series, just a made for TV movie.  It was a CBS movie, maybe it’s on that CBS online channel.

Do you know the title of the made for TV movie?

I wasn't aware there was a reunion TV movie produced in the 80s. Is it available in the series DVD boxset?

On 3/13/2019 at 10:16 PM, Brian Stanfield said:

 

Not a full rewrite or anything, just a reliable PDF that hasn’t been available yet. We’re almost done with the second read-through. 

I'm looking forward to Western HERO in PDF. I used Western HERO in the 90s for a short Western campaign that was a great success with the players. 

Unfortunately, I'm not able to find any local gamers that are interested in Westerns, regardless of the system used for the game.

The version of Hero Designer that I'm using, which I think has the latest update, only has options for 5th edition revised or 6th edition (the two volume Blue Books).

I'm totally looking forward to the new edition of San Angelo: City of Heroes. I was just browsing through my original copy yesterday for a planned Champions game.

On 3/21/2019 at 7:30 PM, archer said:

 

That's very striking. But it's a bit distracting that the IRL one is a mirror image.

The picture must have been taken with a Smart Phone. What I call "Fauxtography" ?

Use actual camera, and buy film not pixels.

I like what you're doing with the media stations and channels. Nice logos! 

How about adding a list and short description of some programming on the channels and stations. Live talk shows, or podcasts, of interest to local superheroes. Also, perhaps a local online newspaper (site, media outlet -- I'm not sure what it's called these days) with some example "headlines" and "newspaper clippings" that can be used as short scenario ideas or rumors for GMs to incorporate or use as jumping off points to start adventures and campaigns.

This is a great thread @PamelaIsley

Thank you!

On 1/7/2019 at 9:45 PM, assault said:

I'll try to post a 3e character in the next day or so. First I need a concept. Some art might be nice too. The concept should provide the disadvantages, which is the part of the mechanics I find hardest to come up with.

I'm enjoying this thread and the 3e characters so that I can see how they compare with 5/6th edition characters (the only HERO versions I've played). I do have a copy of the Champions 4th edition BBB that I picked up used in the early 90s. I read it, created some characters, and never got a chance to play HERO until 5th edition Revised.

I just ordered HERO System Skills POD + PDF from RPGNow. It was the only "blue" HERO System book I was missing.

Update (edit): I received my hardcopy Print-On-Demand (POD) HERO System Skills in the mail today. I have to say that the DriveThruRPG / RPGNow quality has improved immensely. The binding seems stronger than before, and the text is clear, not fuzzy (seemingly out of focus) like I've experienced with prior POD books from DriveThruRPG.

I'm still not satisfied by the POD quality of DriveThruRPG / RPGNow hardcovers. I think the binding leaves lots of be desired for books that are handled and used very frequently. However, I don't believe that any of the current HERO titles available for POD are offered in hardcover editions.

I'm happy to have a copy of HERO System Skills in softcover (and accompanying PDF). It was the last 6th edition HERO System book that I needed to complete my library of 6th edition titles.

I love Western Hero. I have the 4th edition version and used it many times.

Coming from a post-human, singularity angle, make the jacket sentient. Give it a personality. Let it be the navigator for your ship (sorry, Chewie). Let it provide climate/weather protection by projecting a field that encloses the wearer in protective environment that allows the wearer to explore toxic environments. Let the protective field act as a bio-recycling station that takes the wearer's waste and transforms it into forms that can be reused by the environment that the wearer currently is in. It could also act as a shield against weapons.

On 8/20/2017 at 12:15 PM, bigdamnhero said:

 

Fair enough. To some extent you just have to come up with new names for them.

 

But it's still an interesting question. One of the reasons I got burned out on high fantasy, especially in RPGs, was to some extent they all feel like the same game world I've been playing in since I was 15, with at most 10% variation for "My elves are different..." Gaming aside, I think that sense of YATRO* is a big part of why the fantasy genre has always limited mass-market appeal (ie - outside of core fandom) compared to SF. So personally I like the fact that most SF universes feel a little more distinct/unique, particularly when it comes to alien species. Even if you're just stealing everything from existing material, there's enough variety to choose from that you can mix & match into something that feels unique.

 

But OTOH, to what extent does the "commonality" of fantasy races (and other tropes) make it easy for players to jump in to a new game world and feel like they already know what's going on? But does that recognition factor help sell games? Does that lowering of the learning curve help players to learn & immerse themselves in the setting quicker?

 

* Yet Another Tolkien Rip-Off

I have the same thoughts on most fantasy, and most fantasy RPGs too. And that's why I enjoy non-traditional fantasy like Tekumel, or urban fantasy. Swords and sorcery is fine in the right group as it can blend with science fiction or horror elements.

But really, I prefer modern, near-future, or far future RPGs. Whether supers, cinematic action, space opera, etc. I'll take Westerns over typical high fantasy.

You had me laughing at YATRO! ?

3 minutes ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

 

While directing is uneven and acting can be bad, and as screenwriting can be very unreliable, the one area that is rock solid amazing and perfect in almost every Hollywood film is the set design and costuming.  Those guys break their backs trying to get every single detail right, even things you barely notice or will never see.  That's where the real professionals work.  All that CGI and the explosions just distract everyone from the solid, excellent jobs by unsung heroes.

I hella totally agree with you about the real professionals in the film business who put in the hard work are the set designers, costumes, et al. It's truly a craft and an art. I know someone who did costumes for Chicago theater productions and was the only costumer in the crew. It's very hard work even when you may start from existing pieces of clothing and make modifications.

The things that inspire the type of science fiction campaigns I like to run are primarily cultural, societal, and philosophical. I like to explore ideas (science fiction is the literature of ideas) that push the envelope of our current conceptions of the universe, our place in it, and how we interact with each other and the alien or unknown. For inspiration, I tend to draw from: 

Ursula K. LeGuin (Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness, et. al)

Philip K. Dick (Valis, Ubik, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, many others)

Samuel R. Delaney (Dhalgren, or Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand)

Jack Vance (Planet of Adventure, many others)

I'm less interested in military sci-fi as influences for my science fiction campaigns, even though I've read it. A focus on technology and gadgets, even though a staple of science fiction, doesn't interest me. The use of tech from a transhumanist perspective is intriguing, but I'm skeptical about how it would help society as a whole.

On 7/22/2018 at 6:11 PM, Vondy said:

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. It was a visual feast and had some intriguing ideas for aliens and future-tech. Yet, this is 100% a popcorn film. Enjoyable if you sit back and just take it as a spectacle, but the plot is way thin, the dialog is boilerplate, and the acting is unremarkable (neither inspired nor cringe-worthy). There is stuff to steal of a space opera game, if one were looking.

I saw it at the cinema and didn't mind paying extra for the 3-D version in IMAX. It was a very thrilling and wondrous visual tapestry. The plot had holes but I can live with that. The main characters were 2-D however, and that was the biggest let down for me. Overall, I still think it was on of the best sci-fi films I've seen in quite a while since it didn't rely on military might or vanquishing foes via force as a way to resolve conflicts or drive the story.

Goonies is a very pulp genre film. After Raiders of the Lost Ark, there was a plethora of pulp-themed films, mostly B-movies. Just like there were many Mad Max pastiche films in the 80s after Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

On 10/5/2017 at 10:43 PM, SteelCold said:

The Adventures of Brisco Country Jr. series was as close to the Wild Wild West feel a couple of decades back.

The Adventures of Brisco Country Jr. may be the only series that's close to Wild Wild West (TV series) in theme. Though it wasn't influenced by spy series,  The Adventures of Brisco Country Jr. did have mad inventions, mad inventors, dastardly villains, and steampunk technology. It was good mix with the Western genre and I enjoyed it very much.

Perhaps you could draw inspiration from the Flash Gordon movie from the 1980s. The various cultures on Mongo reside on floating islands in the planet's atmosphere.

I'm rereading the Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novels - I just finished the 1st, The Big Sleep, and I'm half-way through the 2nd, Farewell, My Lovely.

Every few years I read a few Robert E. Howard stories: Conan, Kull, Steve Costigan, Solomon Kane, et al. REH's writing is filled with action in every sentence and just jumps off the page. Very pulpy!

I also enjoy Karl Edward Wagner's Conan pastiche, Kane.