Well, first pick a rule set. 5th is still doable, 6th is the current "main" set. It is the size of two phone books, and I do not like it at all, so tastes may vary. Also Champions now! is coming out soon, based on 3rd ed. and there is a champions complete that is a thinned down version of 6 (200+ pages) that I use and like just fine. You will likely want to poll the locals to see if there are preferences, then pick one. After that pick a locality, I always use the closest large city, and use highway maps etc.getting a collection of villians may be a time saver as well. Good luck! And good gaming!