Theron

When I was playing actively, I either made cardboard heroes using online tools like Hero Machine and DTP software, or made counters using headshots from the internet or online tools, punched out of label stock and stuck to 1" wooden craft disks.

4e remains my favorite, with a few house rules.

4e remains my favorite, with a few house rules.

Hey, Tryskhell! Welcome to the world of superhero gaming.   I realize that if a gamer is coming from a fantasy background, the conventions of superheroes may seem a little foreign. Particularly if you don't have much experience with comic books, which are the best examples of what playing as a superhero should be like. But it's really not that much of a stretch to go from one genre to another. I'm going to give you a few bits of general advice, before directing you to more detailed sources of info.
 
To start with, a team of superheroes is really not that different from a fantasy adventuring party: a group of like-minded individuals united in a common cause. Although in the supers genre, that cause is usually more altruistic than the "kill things and take their stuff" attitude that still pervades a lot of fantasy games (unless the whole group are playing mercenaries or outright villains). Their perspective is more "knightly" or "paladin-like" -- a dedication to promote justice, protect the innocent, uphold the law. For beginning superhero PCs, the area they protect is typically their local city, the campaign's base of operations. Their foes are criminal groups (sometimes costumed and using gimmicky weapons, if that's the tone of a particular campaign), as well as the heroes' opposite numbers, the supervillains. As the PCs gain Experience and become more powerful and versatile, that area may expand to a state or country, the whole world, even other worlds.
 
Regarding the campaign world, the commonest convention -- which is followed by the two mainstream comics companies, DC and Marvel, as well as the official universe detailed in Champions source books -- is that the world is, for the most part, the same as the one we live in. History, society, and geopolitics are mostly unchanged. The only significantly different factor is the existence of superhumans, but by convention they haven't changed the world to the point of being unrecognizable. (The likeliest explanation is that the heroes and villains tend to balance each other, cancelling out most of their net influence.)   That means you don't have to create everything -- you can just look out your window, or watch the news, or search the Internet for particular subjects. Maps? You can mostly use any present-day building floor plans, modified for who you want to be in it; or search for maps of any city you plan to adventure in. That said, various books, like ones published for Champions, include maps of specific locations, or entire fictional cities. We can direct you to some examples if you're interested.
 
The "secret identity" is merely one convention of the genre. It's for characters who want to have as normal a life as possible outside of their hero role. When Clark "Superman" Kent or Peter "Spider-Man" Parker want to spend time with their family and friends, without looking for crime to fight or over their shoulder for enemies attacking them, they put aside their costumes and give themselves the appearance of normalcy. You might consider equating it to a police officer or soldier taking off their uniforms so they can blend into civilian life and do everyday things. OTOH many superheroes don't have a secret idea; being a hero is their full-time profession. Some of those may actually be very well known to the public, so they're treated like celebrities, unable to go anywhere without drawing fans (or critics), photographers and autograph hounds, etc. (Champions calls that a "Public Identity," kind of the opposite Complication to "Secret Identity.")
 
Now, Hero Games has published books specifically devoted to exploring all the conventions of the supers genre: various types of campaigns, character archetypes, scenarios and plotlines, tone and style of games, common issues a Game Master may encounter, and so on; as well as the Hero System mechanics most appropriate to those games. Foremost among those books is the Champions genre book, delving into all those areas and more in great detail: https://www.herogames.com/store/product/52-champions-the-super-roleplaying-game-pdf/.
 
A different approach is taken in the book titled, Strike Force, written by the late great Aaron Allston, best-selling author and game designer, and one of the major early influences in making Champions and Hero System the game it is today. SF is written as a chronicle of Aaron's campaign, not just from the events within the game world, but also by what was happening among his real-life game group, what challenges they faced and overcame, and how Allston evolved as a superhero game master as a consequence. Although written for an earlier incarnation of Hero System, SF's place as one of the seminal influences in subsequent GMing across the entire hobby can't be overstated.
 
You may also benefit from another specialized Champions book, Villainy Amok. It describes in detail a number of classic comic-book scenarios, and summarizes quite a few others. It outlines how to run them, vary them to suit your purposes, and integrate them into a larger campaign.
 
I hope all that was of some help to you. Feel free to post followup questions on any point.
 
 

Dude.  I missed the black and green ones.  Tha KS for the photo: even at the large size and with the Hexman on them, they are _much_ more attractive than the chrome yellow on medium blue.... 
 
Widh I'd been around when they were. 

I'm playing with mine right now that I went ahead and updated my Hero Designer (it was waaaaaaay old) so I can plug in the Prefabs. I agree that the card numbers (not the numbering on the cards, but their numbers in the set) can be hard to read, depending on the background color (yellow is particularly challenging).
 
Will let you know how it goes.

Well, I don't see ANYTHING in the way of Skills. None. Given his complications, I would be tempted to make the "power armor" mystical in nature and not entirely understood by the wearer. So, some familiarity with the occult, some basic social skills, maybe some CSLs.

I saw the announcement over on Facebook and was just gobsmacked. Such a great guy. I'll miss him.