New to Champions and the Hero system...

Dr. Octashawn · February 27, 2004

Ok, some friends and I have been wanting to get back into roleplaying and were wanting to do a superhero game. I did a little asking around and kept hearing that Champions was the best. So I checked out the site and I'm thinking ok, this looks good, it's been around and there seems to be a lot of support and source material. So here's my question-

While I'm not new to roleplaying, I am new to the Hero system and Champions. What should I start out with as far as source material? Also, if you have any miscellaneous tips for a Champions newbie, they'd be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

RavensPath · February 27, 2004

Let me be the first to welcome you to what I believe is the best game out there with the best fan base ever. You will find lots of ideas, support, and just good natured humour on these boards and in the people that play Champions and the other Hero games.

What you need is FRED, probably Champions, a good group of gamers, and a very active imagination. Anything else you get only makes the experience that much better.

I will let others weigh in now with their thoughts on the matter.

devlin1 · February 27, 2004

Sidekick.

Buy Sidekick. You're the target audience: people new to Hero. It's custom-made for you, Dr. Octashawn. Forget the big black and green book for now. Go for the friendly blue book.

It's called Sidekick. It's ten bucks. Go buy it.

Prometheus · February 27, 2004

Most players would agree that you need to pick up a copy of either the 5th edition Hero System rulebook, or the recently released Sidekicks rulebook for a primer on the rules. After that it really depends on where you want to go.

Champions is the genre book for the setting. Basically everything you ever wanted to know about running a superhero game, but more of a primer than an example. If you've never been part of a supers game or don't no the genre convetions (or would just like a little help getting started) this is the book for you.

On the other hand, if looking for world building, Champions Universe presents the in-house superhero world, with lots of background and history, and some characters and plots to play around with.

I'd say those are a good start for anyone.

rjcurrie · February 27, 2004

Okay, the first thing you need is the Hero System rules. These are available in two forms: the full Hero System 5th Edition Rulebook (suggested retail: $39.95) or Hero System Sidekick (suggested retail: $9.99). Sidekick leaves out some of the more complex powers and most of the options but it is a complete playable version of the Hero rules and contains some things that are useful to newbies that are not found in the full rulebook.

So, assuming that you know what should be in a superhero universe, you can play "Champions" with just Sidekick. And in fact, that is what I would suggest you start out with. Then once you have played enough to know whether you like the system, you can look at other purchases, such as the full rulebook.

After the rules, there are several ways you could go. There is Champions, which is the genre book for playing superheroes with the Hero System rules. This book describes different types of superhero campaigns (many relating to different ages of comic book superheroes), outlines the basic superhero archetypes, and gives an overview of gadgets and bases for superheroes among other things including a random superbeing character generator. This book also contains the write-ups for the Champions -- a starting level superhero team -- and some of their villains.

There is also the Champions Universe which describes the world used in most of the Hero Games Champions supllements. This book contiains a number of fully written characters as well as an overview of the heroes, villains, and organizations that populate this world. After that, the Millennium City book gives you the details on that one specific city in that world if you want a more specific setting.

If you want a collection of supervillains to throw at your players, then Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks might be what you want. It contains ~100 fully written villains with histories, notes on campaign use, and plot seeds. Even if you don't use the Champions Universe, these villains can be used pretty as is in any superhero setting.

If you are looking for lots and lots of pre-built powers, then you should look at the UNTIL Superpowers Database. This book is useful for any Champions player or GM, as it shows how the rather generic powers in the Hero System rules can be combined with advantages and limitations to form several thousand specific abilities (divided by special effect). In my mind, this is one of the best books that Hero Games has published and has proven to be useful for both newcomers and veterans alike.

Finally, if you want to ease the burden of character creation (which can be a bit involved but will give you pretty much exactly the character you want), you might want to purchase Hero Designer, the character building software for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris systems. A free demo of this software is available at http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/HeroDesignerV2/demo/index.jsp.

There are also many other useful books for Champions campaigns. The Ultimate Martial Artist gives you expanded martial arts rules including dozens of real world Martial Arts styles in Hero terms. The Ultimate Vehicle gives you expanded vehicle rules and a number of pre-designed vehicles. The Hero System Bestiary gives you Hero System write-ups for animals and other creatures as well as a series of templates that let you create variations.

You can find a full list and descriptions of Hero System products by following the Our Products link to the left.

Rod

Monolith · February 27, 2004

Hello and welcome to the mad house.

As others have said I'd suggest you buy either HERO System Fifth Edition, called FREd around here, if you want he full rules (but be warned it is a big book and quite intimidating) or buy Sidekick to get the basic rules. Both sets of rules will work for you. FREd has more options but for starting players you really don't need all those options.

Now since you want to play a superhero campaign I'd recommend the following:

Champions if you are new to the comic book genre itself. Champions is full of information telling you different ways of playing a superhero campaign.

If you're already familiar with the genre then I'd suggest you buy:

Champions Universe and Millennium City. These two books give you a pre-made superhero world and city to game in. The Champions Universe is four-color so if that style of gaming appeals to you then you should pick up those books.

Conquerors, Killers & Crooks is a villain book with nearly 100 supervillains that you can immediately use in your game. All the characters were designed for the Champions Universe but you'll have no problem easily adapting them to your own game world if you so choose. Having 100 villains, plus the ones listed in Champions Universe and Millennium City, makes a GM's job much easier, as creating characters is the most difficult aspect of the HERO System.

One final suggestion would be the UNTIL Superpowers Database. This book has several thousand pre-made superpowers in several different SFX groups. You can see samples of this here: http://www.herogames.com/USPD/thedatabase.htm

At the bare minimum I'd suggest Sidekick and Conquerors, Killers & Crooks. That will get you started quickly and fairly cheaply.

Killer Shrike · February 27, 2004

Definitely Sidekick. It is purposely priced cheap at $10 to attract new players and is a quality piece of gaming material.

If you like the system but find yourself wanting more complexity/options, the GM and interested players can pick up the main rulebook later -- if you dont like the system you are out 10 bucks per copy of Sidekick. Not a big deal.

You'll also need a handful of d6's but you can probably raid a yahtzee set or something if you dont have any handy or pick up a "brick" of d6's from whereever you buy Sidekick from.

UNTIL Superpowers DB is right handy, though if you are using Sidekick some of the Powers or options used in UNTIL may not be in Sidekick -- just skip those Powers and you'll be ok.

CKC as others have noted is also a great starting resource, though again some characters might have abilities that are not explained in Sidekick -- but with nearly a hundred of them you should be able to find plenty that suit your needs.

You can also find a number of characters posted by players here on the boards, though it might take some searching around and filtering.

This is much more of a preference thing, but you'll need a setting and if you dont already have one picked out, the Champions Universe and Millennium City books are great resources for playing in the "Default" campaign setting.

As a point of reference, the CU is more like the Marvel Universe than the DC Universe (IMO) though it has occasional nods to both, and other comics continuities.

As far as setting It follows the Marvel tradition of having real world cities, but in a more DC fashion the principal "game focus" cities are fictional, such as Millennium City (which is Detroit rebuilt after a Dr. Doom-esque villain (Dr. Destroyer) wiped it out a while back; the sourcebook is published), Hudson Bay (site of "Dark Champions" -- a Punisher/Batman esque setting of high-crime and street-level vigilante's; the source book for this is not yet published for 5th Edition), and Vibora Bay (a Bayou-flavored psuedo-mystical southern locality; also not yet published).

Killer Shrike · February 27, 2004

Oh, one last thing, the HERO System has a pretty involved combat system. You can do it all "in your heads", but personally I would never try to run the HERO System without some kind of miniatures (or some kind of indicator of who's where) and optimally a battlemap.

So, you might find it useful to pick up a 1" Hex Battlemap -- both Crystal Caves and Chessex makes them and many gamestores carry them. They are a bit expensive, because they are made out of some synthetic substance that is pricey to make, but will definitely make combats w/ the HERO System easier to plot out.

Alternately, if you dont want to spend the dough on a battlemat initially, you can still measure everything out with a measuring tape.

Supreme · February 27, 2004

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Oh, one last thing, the HERO System has a pretty involved combat system. You can do it all "in your heads", but personally I would never try to run the HERO System without some kind of miniatures (or some kind of indicator of who's where) and optimally a battlemap...

Very true. Two cheap alternatives to buying this stuff in a store is drawing stuff out on the computer and printing. I make miniatures by printing out little icons for character (set inside a bordered table in Word) then cutting them out and taping them to pennies. Battlemats can be done by making a web page or powerpoint slide with a hex pattern as a background (see attached) and printing it out. Set your margins as narrow as possible, print several, and tape them together for BIG maps.

Combat also takes a LONG time. It's the single most common complaint about the system, in my Experience Supreme (20 years of playing the game). There are many tips and tricks, most of which will only confuse you at this point. So just be prepared to spend a long time on combat.

Also, keep coming back here for tips and advice, on more specific topics.

Finally, the best advice anyone ever gave me about making a Champions character was: make a character YOU would buy a comic book about.

Lord Liaden · February 27, 2004

Hi, Dr. O. Welcome to the Gaming Elite. The advice you've been given already is excellent, but there were a couple of points raised that I think could be elaborated on.

HERO System combat can indeed be very involved if you use all the detailed options that are available; but much of the system is modular, meaning that you can choose to use various rules elements or not, and the game will run just fine either way. This is especially true for superhero combat, which most people like fairly fast and furious. I'd suggest that you keep it simple to start with. If you buy the main 5th Edition rulebook, avoid the various Optional Combat Maneuvers, Hit Locations, Bleeding etc. Stick to the basics until you get a good handle on things. Most of the items labelled as appropriate to "heroic" rather than "superheroic" games should be avoided. I'd also recommend holding back on Talents and Powers in the book marked with a Yield or Stop sign symbol - those can be more powerful than they look if not used carefully, so you should be wary of using them until you have a better handle on the game.

Besides all the help available here on the discussion boards, there's quite a bit of free stuff that you have access to on the Hero Games website. For example, if you go to the FAQs link in the blue border at the top of this page, the links under "About the HERO System" will give you a basic tutorial on some of the conceptual assumptions of the game, and examples of how to approach creating various effects. Next to the FAQs link is "Free Stuff," a wide variety of useful game aids: everything from sample characters and advice on running various game genres, through character sheets, printable hex maps, cardboard standups, spreadsheets, and all sorts of other neat stuff.

Evil Toki · July 25, 2004