Shoug

I think you're right. My point is that, as "Realism" is already being taken further in TTRPG than in fiction, why push more into Realism than the game already is structured for. It would be very tedious to write up complications for riding animals that make you roleplay out realistic horse handling (even if you didn't have to write up the complications and instead decided to just roleplay it out), when in almost no genres are those details relevant. My point is, it is neither relevant to the genre nor easily supported by the system. So it's not a matter of "TTRPGs just tend to be more realistic than fiction," when such compunctions don't necessarily originate from the system, and also aren't represented by source material.

I think at this point it would be worth giving OP and many others in this thread a new name for their genre, "Historical Fantasy." Almost every single piece of source material that inspires my generation diverges completely away from historical precedence. In none of the video games, shows, movies, or books that I consumed growing up did anybody ever worry about a horse throwing a shoe, or having a chamber pot emptied onto their heads, or getting poisoned by heavy metals in the food and water and dying around 45 from it. These things just don't come up. We're trying to emulate the genre we acquired The Taste for when we grew up, which is largely based on video games and anime. This is what's so great about Hero. Me and my friends can build the Rage Meter from WoW, or the Assassin's Rush spell from Fable, or Mana that's limited but recharges quickly, or whatever. 

If I want to play some lowdown fantasy where my players' characters are dying every few sessions from a lucky arrow to the heart, I'll play TFT thank you.

I think at this point it would be worth giving OP and many others in this thread a new name for their genre, "Historical Fantasy." Almost every single piece of source material that inspires my generation diverges completely away from historical precedence. In none of the video games, shows, movies, or books that I consumed growing up did anybody ever worry about a horse throwing a shoe, or having a chamber pot emptied onto their heads, or getting poisoned by heavy metals in the food and water and dying around 45 from it. These things just don't come up. We're trying to emulate the genre we acquired The Taste for when we grew up, which is largely based on video games and anime. This is what's so great about Hero. Me and my friends can build the Rage Meter from WoW, or the Assassin's Rush spell from Fable, or Mana that's limited but recharges quickly, or whatever. 

If I want to play some lowdown fantasy where my players' characters are dying every few sessions from a lucky arrow to the heart, I'll play TFT thank you.

In my setting, any dwarf younger than 30 years old you'd look at and say "That's a hobbit." As they age they become denser and denser, until finally in their late 300's they finally become entirely stone. These statues called Elderstones comprise the walls of the inverted spires they build religiously downward into the earth. It can take years for an Elder dwarf to walk to his position in the   mausoleum of his Hall.
 
You take that back right now! Fairy tales are so underused! I find that folklore and mythology lend an ominous yet familiar vibe to whatever I do with fantasy.
 
I quite like this. I mean, I highly recommend trying out Endless Legend. It has a really fleshed out fantasy work that all fundamentally depends on it's "ancient futuristic tech". The world is full of "Dust" which is this golden dust that can be used to do anything (like magic (up to and including instantly finishing buildings that you're building for your empire)) and it has become the defacto currency of the whole planet. It's awesome.

I agree with you here, but I'd like to point out the hypocracy of the double standard we're respresenting. Why, when in capes settings strength great enough to lift cars is practically an "Everyman Power", should barbarians not get to wield "unrealisticly large" weapons?

Honestly, the superhero model is a good one to use as the foundation for a generic system like Hero. Supers have come to have an enormous influence on Anime, and therefore Fantasy. In superhero settings, everybody has a few powerful and unique abilities of enormous implication, unlike fantasy where everybody for the most part shares the same abilities and the story is about characters and plot surrounding those abilities and how they're concentrated. Fighters do violence, rogues have skills and backstab, wizards have magic. But Anime has bridged the gap with increasing success over the years with shows such as Naruto (where Ninjas are warrior mages with completely unique magical Jutsus), Demon Slayer (where Demon Slayers are warrior mages who use breathing techniques to empower themselves until they are strong enough to cut through boulders and use special moves mostly unique to each character), and JoJo (where Stand users are able to exercise the physical manifestations of their own fighter spirits to be warrior mages). 
 
The days of the "Warrior, Mage and, Rogue" are over, Hero system has ushered forth unto me the dawn of taking a character concept as far as you want to go mechanically with no restrictions. I wanna be a pyromancer? I don't have to look through the spell tome and find all the fire themed spells, pick all but one them because that one basically sucks, and I'd rather just have something useful like misty step or greater illusion. I want to be a battlemage? I don't have to multicast and then just be a mediocre fighter who can sling a few spells that a wizard could use since lvl 3. EDIT: In Hero, I'm able to make a barbarian who accidentally goes berserk, which turns him into a "whirling devil of burning red elemental rage" granting him fire breath and flight. 
 
It's awesome.

In my setting, any dwarf younger than 30 years old you'd look at and say "That's a hobbit." As they age they become denser and denser, until finally in their late 300's they finally become entirely stone. These statues called Elderstones comprise the walls of the inverted spires they build religiously downward into the earth. It can take years for an Elder dwarf to walk to his position in the   mausoleum of his Hall.
 
You take that back right now! Fairy tales are so underused! I find that folklore and mythology lend an ominous yet familiar vibe to whatever I do with fantasy.
 
I quite like this. I mean, I highly recommend trying out Endless Legend. It has a really fleshed out fantasy work that all fundamentally depends on it's "ancient futuristic tech". The world is full of "Dust" which is this golden dust that can be used to do anything (like magic (up to and including instantly finishing buildings that you're building for your empire)) and it has become the defacto currency of the whole planet. It's awesome.

I love to see Hero Effortlessly miming TFT. The power of this system is astounding.

I honestly think this is the best way to do this, assuming the GM is keeping it more or less strictly balanced (everybody remains within 10 points). In fact, I think I'll take it a step further. Not only can you essentially find CP on the ground by finding a magical item, any magical item may be upgraded with XP at your leisure. You can choose for the magic item to become part of your character, like Excalibur or Mjolnir, and thereby earn the right to discover new abilities (much like a new use for one's powers in comic books) or just improve its current abilities.

If you're looking for a more condensed version of the rules, you can either read Champions Complete, which gives you all the rules and the Champions genre information.  Or you could get the HERO System Basic Rulebook, which is a 100 page version of the rules and is great for getting a basic grasp of the rules. I'd recommend the Basic Rulebook as an introduction. You don't have to read every Power and things, so it's an even shorter read if you're just looking at the combat rules and stuff. Character creation comes with experience, and familiarity with the Powers comes with practice.
 
So, in order of recommendation:
Read the HERO System Basic Rulebook, excluding all the Powers/Advantages/Limitations (except only to become familiar with them). Use pre-gen characters from the big 6e rulebooks, or some other source other than Satran's characters. There's lots to choose from. Jump right in and do some skills challenges first, and then some combat. Use the 6e1 and 6e2 books for reference, just as you have been, when you need clarifications. Once these things make more sense to you, then create your own characters. Here is when you really need to learn about the Powers and how they are built. Ask lots of questions here in the forums section. Most importantly, have fun and keep things rolling along. Don't be a slave to the rules yet. Just wing it, keep track of what you need to look up, and do it after the game is over. Keep things moving for now and study later. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Sorry, I didn't realize there were so many books. I decided to go with 6e first because, despite it being criticized for being a slog, I wanted the ground zero of my experience to be the most comprehensive version with the least ambiguity (I play a lot of MTG where the rules are basically computer code).
I've got the PDFs for the two core 6e books (vol1/2). Searching the terms I find in the game rarely makes it much easier to find what I'm looking for. Usually what I find are the keywords being used within examples of other concepts or I find situations where an exception to the keyword had to be explained (like in the case of Autofire, which has a few special meanings in the cases of Powers like Environment Control and the like). 

I'm considering picking up the hardcopies because I figure it would help me by 1) Providing yet another page that can be open simultaneously with other pages, 2) Making it possible for me to memorize the physical locations of specific sections and chapters. The price tag is just a little out there for me, considering that I've already bounced off of the system a few times.
Thanks for the suggestion, 100 pages is 100% accessible. I'll check it out.

Sorry, I didn't realize there were so many books. I decided to go with 6e first because, despite it being criticized for being a slog, I wanted the ground zero of my experience to be the most comprehensive version with the least ambiguity (I play a lot of MTG where the rules are basically computer code).
I've got the PDFs for the two core 6e books (vol1/2). Searching the terms I find in the game rarely makes it much easier to find what I'm looking for. Usually what I find are the keywords being used within examples of other concepts or I find situations where an exception to the keyword had to be explained (like in the case of Autofire, which has a few special meanings in the cases of Powers like Environment Control and the like). 

I'm considering picking up the hardcopies because I figure it would help me by 1) Providing yet another page that can be open simultaneously with other pages, 2) Making it possible for me to memorize the physical locations of specific sections and chapters. The price tag is just a little out there for me, considering that I've already bounced off of the system a few times.
Thanks for the suggestion, 100 pages is 100% accessible. I'll check it out.

Sorry, I didn't realize there were so many books. I decided to go with 6e first because, despite it being criticized for being a slog, I wanted the ground zero of my experience to be the most comprehensive version with the least ambiguity (I play a lot of MTG where the rules are basically computer code).
I've got the PDFs for the two core 6e books (vol1/2). Searching the terms I find in the game rarely makes it much easier to find what I'm looking for. Usually what I find are the keywords being used within examples of other concepts or I find situations where an exception to the keyword had to be explained (like in the case of Autofire, which has a few special meanings in the cases of Powers like Environment Control and the like). 

I'm considering picking up the hardcopies because I figure it would help me by 1) Providing yet another page that can be open simultaneously with other pages, 2) Making it possible for me to memorize the physical locations of specific sections and chapters. The price tag is just a little out there for me, considering that I've already bounced off of the system a few times.
Thanks for the suggestion, 100 pages is 100% accessible. I'll check it out.

Sorry, I didn't realize there were so many books. I decided to go with 6e first because, despite it being criticized for being a slog, I wanted the ground zero of my experience to be the most comprehensive version with the least ambiguity (I play a lot of MTG where the rules are basically computer code).
I've got the PDFs for the two core 6e books (vol1/2). Searching the terms I find in the game rarely makes it much easier to find what I'm looking for. Usually what I find are the keywords being used within examples of other concepts or I find situations where an exception to the keyword had to be explained (like in the case of Autofire, which has a few special meanings in the cases of Powers like Environment Control and the like). 

I'm considering picking up the hardcopies because I figure it would help me by 1) Providing yet another page that can be open simultaneously with other pages, 2) Making it possible for me to memorize the physical locations of specific sections and chapters. The price tag is just a little out there for me, considering that I've already bounced off of the system a few times.
Thanks for the suggestion, 100 pages is 100% accessible. I'll check it out.

I’ve been admiring Hero System from a distance for some time now. Over the course of a few years, I’ve started and stopped reading the rulebooks, occasionally intending on “Buckling down to RTFM cover-to-cover this time, then I’ll know it!.” Each time I stopped because I couldn’t maintain interest, gleaning only the most elementary understanding of the rules of the game.

I recently tried kickstarting a game with my friends by reading both a 2 and 3 page version of the rules and then just finding premade characters on the internet to do a mock-combat with. The idea was this: after being forced to look up things we were seeing on the character sheets enough times, we’d have a high enough resolution gestalt of the game to start digging around and making our own characters (and playing quickly and smoothly). We were using these premade character sheets:
http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsvideogame/hl2/combine_overwatch.html
http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsvideogame/hl2/antlion_soldier.html
http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsvideogame/hl2/weapons.html
We acknowledge the possibility that these character sheets are the overwrought brainchildren of a theory-wanking grognard, and might feature extravagantly avant garde applications of the rules that are satisfying only to the “clever” guy who thought of them. It’s a scenario we hadn’t much opportunity to avoid, so we opted to treat them as fine examples of character sheets. Nonetheless, there are certain concepts that are used on these character sheets that we can’t find anything about by CTRL-Fing through each of the core rulebooks. The shotgun’s damage is “reduced by range”, which is a string that we just literally couldn’t find in the rulebooks, and the pulse rifle utilizes “autofire” which we couldn’t find a core definition for (everything we found was an explanation of how “autofire” works for specific Powers and how it affects the strength requirements of melee weapons, it wasn’t listed at all underneath “Firearms”). Most of the terms we searched could be found in either books' glossary, but those definitions were often too abbreviated and none of them directed us to a page that would give us the full scoop. In addition to this, when we tried to use our best judgement about how these rules should be applied, we couldn't find a way to produce a result that seemed sensible. What I mean is, we couldn't figure out how these Antlions were supposed to penetrate the seemingly very strong body armor of the Combine Overwatch. This is just an example of the problems we have been facing.
 
So what we want to know is: What are we doing wrong? Is this whole “trial by fire” technique just a bad technique? Is there a video or series of videos that we could watch that would connect the dots for us? Should we actually just read the books cover to cover before attempting to play? We can’t seem to find many straight answers to the questions we have just by digging through the rulebook, and so we’re kind of stuck.