sentry0

This is true, that's how I got into HERO

Has anyone ever bit the bullet and run an entire game using a "Roll High" approach for action resolution? Asking for a friend.

There's not enough users on my free app to come even close to recouping the costs of development. A paid app would have even less users depending on how much you charge for it.

Welcome to the forums

I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at but my app is designed to work with HERO Designer and not step on either Hero Designer or Hero Combat Manager's toes. I develop the app for free and give it away to a marginalized gaming community as a way of giving back.

The BR is actually a pretty good attempt at trimming down the rules, I'm quite fond of it as it's written. Yes, it's missing some power write ups but it's a great soft entry into the system and clocks in under 140 pages and can be purchased for $15. Writing this theoretical product to introduce players to the game could be based around the BR instead of the encyclopedia heroica. Slightly off topic; I don't think that many people will pick up HERO as their first gaming system with things like Critical Role and the massive popularity of D&D. Going after virgin gamers like that is a losing proposition instead I would focus on people who already have a game system or two under their belt.

We also have Hero Designer which does what it's supposed to do: make characters for 5th and 6th edition. While it's true that it doesn't work on phones or tablets it still runs on desktop and laptops which gives it a lot of device share. Theoretically, I could add in the ability to actually make characters in the HERO System Mobile app but that does 2 things: 1. Reinvents the wheel; for better or worse, we have Hero Designer 2. Takes money out of Hero Games pockets as my app is free The current experimental work I'm doing for reading in HD files could be expanded to write as well. I'm just not super interested in doing it for the above reasons. If there's a big demand than I would consider it but I've literally only had one person ever mention it.

Look like @JmOz is ahead of the curve for pre-gens... https://jawedel01.wixsite.com/kountry-gaming/copy-of-hero-games Perhaps these could be used?

That's very true but let's dig a bit deeper... why is it so flexible? is scales well you can run low level action games to cosmically powered games in one system it has a finite set of powers you build with... it's a lot like playing legos Application of advantages and limitations turn this finite list into infinite possibilities it separates SFX from mechanics it has no class systems; build what you want, how you want the only constraints are your points and imagination it's a genre chameleon Can any of this be shown in an effective way via an introductory adventure scenario for Champions? I mean, one could tell people this but I think it's more effective to show them if at all possible. Just asking the question at this point mostly because I think it would be a disservice to not show people the strengths of the system. The last thing that I would want to see is some homogenized set of pre-gens that make the system look boring or like an academic exercise. I'm advocating for both getting them in quickly and showing the strengths of the system. I want it all! I think it's achievable with a bit of carefully placed advantages and limitations on the pre-gens. Just enough to show a new player that there's something interesting going on here... nothing too fancy. Like I said, tease them with some of the more interesting build concepts not necessarily lecture them about it or make a character so complicated that it's unapproachable for a new player.

I don't think I expressed myself cleanly in my post. Let me say like this: what's the competitive differentiator for HERO? If you had one chance to show people why this system is the best (I know, I'm biased ) then how would you do it? You can make a Brick or an Energy Blaster in M&M and any number of other superhero games. If I can do that in those other systems why would I bother looking at HERO? What's the hook for a new player to play Champions vs M&M? A friend of mine gave me some good advice about a project I was working on; show, don't tell. Again, I'm not suggesting making mind melting exercises in creative accounting... it's about showing them enough of the system that it actually grabs their attention. It's a very delicate and challenging proposition but I think it's achievable.

You can both get people in the door and showcase the system, I don't believe they're mutually exclusive concepts. The trick is finding the right balance between crunch and simplicity. I would suggest that modern gamers aren't afraid of complexity... there are plenty of video games out there that require you to build characters using levels, skill trees, action bars, and gear. Even D&D and pathfinder have quite a bit of complexity especially when you are planning out a character. Extending my theory that modern gamers are actually quite sophisticated but uninformed about the strengths of HERO then doesn't it make sense to cater to them in a way that can engage them in a meaningful way? Why hide all the good stuff from a new player? They're uninformed not stupid... show them enough of the good stuff to entice them to dig deeper. Anyways, it's all theoretical but if you don't play up to the systems strengths then what's the point? There's a bunch of super RPGs out there that are good... why bother with HERO?

Thinking out loud here after I had a talk with a fellow gamer in the office. Is making comparatively dumbed down pre-gens really a good strategy for attracting new players? I'm not saying they need to be overly complicated but what about making characters with some depth as well. Have a mix of pregens, some comparatively simple and some with a little more crunch. Show how you would make a mutant vs a person in powered armor. Don't be afraid to add some interesting Limitations into the mix so people can see the depth and range possible in a HERO character. What about someone who has OIAID on their powers? I once made some pre-gens for a game and they were all fairly straightforward but I made sure they all had one power that was more complex then just a simple Blast. I was trying to showcase on each character that you could do some really cool things with the system. I guess my train of thought here is leading me to think that having a range of complexity in characters for pre-gens is a good thing. Stopping well before you reach Hyperman's John Wick level of write-up for complexity of course. Sure, some simple characters are good but you want to leave an impression on a perspective player that the system has depth, lots of it. Don't overwhelm them but tease them. It's a feature after all and one that I suspect we all love on some level.

I feel like I need to echo ScottishFox's last post... D&D starts innocuously enough but quickly degenerates into a soup of modifier addition, rules, exceptions to the rules you just learned, spell interpretations, and don't forget GM house rules. The more levels you get get the worse it becomes and the more laborious actually playing it becomes. Sure at first level it seems pretty damn easy but it spirals out of control quickly once you get a few levels under your belt. My GM literally has a flowchart that we use to tell if our rogue can use his backstab. And it's not a trivial flowchart... I don't think a canned adventure with pre-gens is a magic bullet but I think it's one giant leap forward from where we are. Actually breaking down the characters and showing you how to build would be another huge step forward for new players. It's giving a man a fish and teaching them to fish... best of both worlds. Put it in the HoC and make it "Pay What You Want" to get the best effect. Someone needs to step up and do it... maybe a collaboration between people on this board needs to happen.

This is probably one of the most underrated docs in the download section right now... If someone were to take the same approach for Champions I would think it would go a long way to teaching people how to build and think in HERO.

An Usagi Hunt is this boards Salem witch trials.

I think it entirely depends on your SFX if it's recoverable or not. A claymore could be recoverable theoretically but maybe not so much for a fire rune trap.

I don't have the books in front of me but it sounds like you would be talking about a RKA with a trigger advantage. Add in a recoverable charge and focus limitation and you would have what you're looking for.

I should point out that I was never able to get the application Icon to work. If anyone has any luck with it please post here and let us know what you did.

Here's a quick overview of how to run Hero Designer on a Chromebook. My testing was done on an Asus C434 running Chrome OS 78. I personally ran into a number of issues with Java on Debian Stretch that took my some time to track down so I figured I would share this with others. The magic ingredient for smooth running Hero Designer on Stretch was to pass in -Dsun.java2d.opengl=true as a command line argument... after that all the slowness, artifacting, and UI flickering went away. Assumptions Minimal proficiency with Linux and the the command line Linux (Beta) enabled under Settings Debian Buster installed under Crostini (this is the default Linux distro installed, assume this is the case unless you know you installed another distro) Get Hero Designer Get yourself a copy of Hero Designer from the store and put the zip into your home directory. Make a directory to put the unzipped Hero Designer files into: mkdir ~/Hero\ Designer Unzip your Hero Designer into the directory you just created: unzip ~/HeroDesigner.zip -d ~/Hero\ Designer/ Install Java Update your packages: sudo apt update Install Oracle Java: sudo apt install openjdk-15-jdk Verify your version of Java: java -version You should see something like the following: java version "13.0.1" 2019-10-15 Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 13.0.1+9) Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 13.0.1+9, mixed mode, sharing) Create an Application Launcher Start by creating a .desktop file for Hero Designer: sudo touch /usr/share/applications/hero-designer.desktop Make the launcher executable: sudo chmod +x /usr/share/applications/hero-designer.desktop Cut and paste the following text into the desktop launcher file you just created: [Desktop Entry] Name=Hero Designer Comment=Create characters for the HERO System GenericName=Hero Designer Path=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/Hero\ Designer Exec=sommelier -X --scale=0.8 java -Xms32m -Xmx64m -Dsun.java2d.opengl=true -jar HD6.jar Terminal=false Type=Application Icon=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/Hero\ Designer/hdlogo.png Categories=Utility; Please note that you MUST replace the YOUR_USERNAME text with your actual username... very important! That's it, after the desktop launcher has been created you should be able to launch it like you would any other app.

Damn, that seems like a lot to expect from a player lol. Maybe he would be nice enough to point out the parts that would be pertinent to you as a player instead?

I start small and build from there these days too. I'm in the process of building an all mutant campaign world where the players are literally the first major group of mutants to exist. There will be other mutants in the world but the vast majority of them will be ages 11-21. The players will be able to have a profound impact on the game world and their choices will decide where the world goes and how it evolves. The general public won't even be aware if the existence of mutants, although that will be changing very quickly. I'm not planning on basing this in the CU, I don't want the baggage and want to start small. Players will tough but near human and be vulnerable to more powerful conventional firepower like shotguns and heavy arms. 300 points with a 40 AP cap, some mandatory limitations and complications... and off we go. Anyways, that's my current project. I'm employed full time in a demanding job, married, etc. I don't know the numbers so I won't speculate on where I am on the GM spectrum. I think a lot of us who gamed when we were teenagers simply had no choice but to roll-your-own because money was tight. I never abandoned that mentality.

I'm guessing some combination of a stretching to grab the opponent, a trigger on stretching for the initial damage, a trigger on the HKA when the grab is broken. It could probably all be built in a MP. You could probably substitute Linked for Triggered on Stretching too.

I think you and your Herculean strength need to find a lower PD/BODY coffee table if stubbing your toe is causing you to be stunned. That, or invest in Nightvision, it's dirt cheap when bought through a focus. Maybe buy up your CON too while you're at it.

I hear what you're saying but I've always been a DIY kind of GM. Although I certainly appreciate a good setting book crammed with NPCs and plot seeds to use as a playground. HERO is great system for DIY, I've gone on the record stating my fondness for the setting books like Turakian Age... it fits in nicely with my mentality. Weaving in player backgrounds into the world and giving people freedom to explore their characters in a big sandbox is where it's at for me. I also realize that not everyone appreciates this style of play and there is plenty of demand for canned modules. Hopefully the Hall of Champions will provide some cool adventures for those types of GMs.

I was very fond of the unpronounceable dog men of that setting myself.