Hero is an underappreciated RPG system here. Every time GURPS is brought up I think there is a lost opportunity to bring up Hero as a counter offer. So I hereby am starting a Hero general thread where we can preach the word of Hero, scratch that autistic itch that Hero is especially well designed to do, and build a trove so that Veeky Forums can know another way. Who's with me?
To kick it off the first question:
> What does the Hero System do and what is its appeal?
As a GURPSfag, here's a bump for a fellow detailed generic system.
Joshua Reyes
While I always had to help people make their characters, Hero is still probably my favourite superhero ruleset. The 5th Edition Champions sourcebooks were a lot of fun too.
Evan Miller
>using GURPS as a baseline Sell me on it over a good universal system.
Chase Kelly
Great system.
I've played in a high powet super heroes game (like 300 point build)
And a low power post apocalyptic game (10 points)
The system worked great for both. That's heroes true strength, it's versatility.
It's also really easy to build weapons and powers using this system. You can build exactly the kind of character that you want without having to settle for a class.
Or in the case of GURPS, you are forced to sift through lists of hundreds of abilities and powers. You just BOOM make your own exactly the way you want it.
Leo Sanchez
If you use the Hero System character creator App, it's a cinch to make PCs.
My GM helped the players build their characters to start with, after that we were intimately familiar enough with the system to adjust adjusts or characters or make new ones on our own.
Jaxon Richardson
> Character Creation/Campaign Construction GURPS is a restaurant that sources from Sysco or GFS. It has a hell of a menu and they let you custom choose your own meal item by item. Hero is like home cooking with a well-stocked pantry, freezers, refrigerators, spice rack, the works. You gotta cook it yourself but if you take the time you will get better and better at it and it will all have your personal touch on it.
Jack Phillips
>over a good universal system
Evan Green
It's like GURPS but even more hellishly complicated. Its appeal is a ton of rules that don't do anything particularly well. Even GURPS has its strong points in modern, down-to-earth games.
Easton Howard
Is it true that GURPS excs at gritty/low powered play but falls apart at higher power levels, while HERO can only do high powered games well?
Grayson Wright
Nice analogy.
It expresses exactly why I like the Hero System.
Elijah Jones
>hellishly complicated
Not really.
Also, the Hero System does low power games better than GURPS.
Asher Morris
Hero does it all, and well. See... In The post-apoc game we only had 10 points which if I remember is an average to below average person.
Every point counted
It was a high mortality game but each new character we made was better balanced.
It really helped me learn the ins and outs of the system.
Cooper Morales
I was surprised that The high death toll actually made me care more about each character. They didn't feel disposable. It felt like I needed to squeeze every last drop of life out of this character before his inevitable demise.
Josiah Powell
Can someone post the rule books?
Aaron Davis
I found GURPS easier to GM as the flash out things and Hero need a lot of prep time to GM. As a player I well always want to play hero over GURPS
Phonefag here. I would if I could. I'll see about starting a Mega trove though because I definitely have stuff to dump.
Hudson Clark
So why do you think it is that Gurps seems to be more popular than Hero?
Jordan Flores
I wish that there either was a system that tried to combine the scales of GURPS and Hero or else a system that was pitch perfect in between them.
Grayson Stewart
Hero was Champions first so GURPS got to stake its claim on being the first name in generic systems. Also important is Munchkin paying SJG bills to keep GURPS alive while Hero has withered on the vine due to the '08 recession happening right when 6e was fresh.
Jason Robinson
I have never played this system but it looks interesting. It also looks like the kind of thing that's a nightmare to play if no one in your group has played it before. Is anyone running a game that accepts new players and has an open slot?
Ryder Wright
Seems neat. What are the system's strong suits?
Mason Gutierrez
Customization. If you can think it, you can build it.
Ian Kelly
i love hero due to its flexibility, but i feel like people think its too complicated and people get turned off by it.
Jeremiah Green
>people think its too complicated That's because it is.
Colton Robinson
it avoids complications by using a d6 system and all of your points are counted together. i still find it to have a better core system than DnD or something similar
Joshua Davis
If anyone has Foxbat for President, I'd greatly appreciate a look at the map of the brownstone mansion, even a lowres screencap just to give me an idea of the quality.
Samuel Green
Dude, people still think GURPS is distilled simulationist autism; there is nearly no chance for a system that's "GURPS with even more customization/modularity" is going to get any love.
It's a real shame, but it's not a surprise.
Aaron Jenkins
Cool. A thread on Veeky Forums that isn't D&D or WH40K!
Tyler Clark
Say, how does the HERO system handles very high power levels? Like Dragon Ball "lol, I blow up the planet" levels of overpowered.
Lincoln Flores
> even more modularity That's an area that I think Hero is lacking in. The rules as presented, while flexible, are rigidly followed in every single book.
Colton Powell
It's certainly possible.
I only played a 150 point supers game.
A "cosmically" powered PC would have 700 points.
Luke Scott
As someone who literally runs a DBZ Hero game that gets retardedly high powered (by Hero standards) I will say that it was a road of trial-and-error but what I have going now is damn good. Someday I plan to compile all of the subsystems and builds and revise them to be comprehensible to others besides myself.
But until then here are some tips I can divulge: 1) Try a Superheroic Campaign with 400-500 Character Points (CP), 75-90 Active Points (CP), and 50 Complication Points to start. Character advancement should pay less attention to CP and more attention to AP and Damage Classes. Don't worry if your PCs don't all cost the same; how they are built is far more important. Let them suddenly know or learn techniques as gameplay progresses. 2) Power Ups can be handled three ways: Special Effect, Simple, and Complex.
> Special Effect Powering up has no mechanical basis. It is merely reflected in how powerful a character is built. When a character fires off that Blast Power of theirs their ki aura flares but that's it. This option requires no work on anyone's part, keeps the game moving, but it may leave dissatisfaction with Kaioken, Super Saiyan, etc.
> Simple Use the Aid Power. Make it affect Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Offensive Combat Value, Defensive Combat Value, Speed, Endurance, Body, Stun, and all Ki attack Powers. Use however many dice you find appropriate - it will go up with time. This summarizes that feeling of gathering energy to become stronger but it will make everything feel the same.
> Complex First, let your players possibly invent their own unique power up techniques. They are sure to come up with cool ideas. Second, watch and read the source material and try to actually model each power up technique to your satisfaction. Kaioken does not work the same as Super Saiyan for example.
I think those are the most important things to know if one wants to get started right now.
Tyler Adams
As anyone will tell you Hero is second to none in terms of customization. Most Hero character creation is simple - Characteristics, Skills, Perks, Talents, and Complications - but where it shines is in Powers. Most RPGs have you pick from a menu of abilities - Flight superpower, Kevlar Armor gear, Lightning Bolt spell, etc. Hero was the first to condense all game effects down to their mechanical essentials and give the player the means to build any of those powers by themselves. This is the cornerstone of Hero System character creation.
Hero Power building has a learning curve but once it all clicks into place you will start looking at everything with a Hero lens. How do I build The Flash's lightning bolt trick? How do I build a TARDIS? How do I build「Crazy Diamond」? In short, Hero is the original "Stat me" RPG.
Hero also sports a more than adequate Skill system (just find the book Hero System Skills), one of the better and more satisfying martial arts systems (see Hero System Martial Arts book), and the combat system is loaded with options that I argue make it an underrated tactical combat RPG.
1/2
Aaron Barnes
2/2
One last thing: the only two books you ever need are the two core books. Literally every book past that is a resource that shows application of the system. Where a Pathfinder Bestiary is a collection of monsters designed by Paizo, a Hero System Bestiary is a collection of character builds based on the rules from the first two books. Where D&D might provide a Spell Compendium, Hero System Grimoire is a vast collection of Power builds for all kinds of spells built from the rules contained within those two core books. And when you read the various genre books (Champions, Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, Dark Champions, etc) they will show you how to apply the Hero System to those genres rather than present a whole bunch of new rules. Hero System sourcebooks are teaching tools in the long run. Hero puts the power in your hands and it is up to you to learn its customization and versatility and when you do the Hero System ultimately liberates you from needing new content because you can make the content yourself.
