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Math classes are hard!
-Talking High School Barbie
The original Hero Games began in 1981 with Champions, one of the first and most innovative Superhero titles in the role-playing game industry. Champions' modest success allowed Hero Games to produce several other game lines, like Fantasy HERO and Star HERO, all under the loose framework of the "HERO System." In 1987, new publisher Rob Bell realized that the various titles needed a revision, and planned Champions 4th Edition, allowing the game to work as a truly universal system, in which fantasy wizards could use the full Powers rules from Champions for spell design, and in which Champions heroes could use the detailed Martial Arts styles from the other game lines. So it was written. And it was good.
However, the original owners never could get their financial house in order. In 1995, Hero ended its longtime publishing relationship with the similarly plagued Iron Crown Enterprises, and spent the rest of the decade in limbo, working with various publishers on a Fuzion version of Champions while the existing 4th Edition game was effectively orphaned. But around 2000, the Hero Games rights were bought by DOJ Inc., a company led by Steve Long, a veteran game writer and longtime Hero contributor. Under Long, the new Hero Games had two priorities. The first was to release a new edition of the universal rules from 4th Edition (thus, 5th Edition) with clarified rules examples for combat, Powers and the like. The second goal was to expand the game's audience beyond the hardcore fans who already knew the system. This required putting out products with simple examples of how the game actually works so that gamers can get into the system quickly without needing to absorb the whole thing at once.
The Basics/Character Generation
Character generation in HERO System is completely diceless. Players get a certain number of points to buy ALL aspects of a character- characteristics, skills, certain miscellaneous advantages like Wealth, and superpowers, if they exist in the genre used. Characters furthermore get extra points for taking on Disadvantages, whose value is relative to how bad the Disad is for the given character ('Hatred of Orcs' is a bigger problem for the fantasy Dwarf than for the Champions superhero). If this system seems familiar, it's because Champions was one of the first systems to use a point-based chargen model at a time when its contemporaries (Traveller, Villains & Vigilantes, the Chaosium titles) were still using the D&D model of dice-rolled stats. In addition to familiar Characteristics like Strength and Dexterity, HERO includes Body (hit points), Ego (effectively Wisdom or mental strength), Presence (Charisma or strength of personality) and Comeliness (basically a vanity stat that is rarely used in play). These "Primary Characteristics" all have values of 10 (equivalent to a D&D 10) and can be bought up on a ratio depending on how valuable they are. Strength, for instance, is bought on a 1 for 1 point ratio, but Dexterity costs 3 points per 1 point of DEX- in HERO, more than most games, you're either quick or you're dead.
In addition to the Primary Characteristics, characters use Figured Characteristics based on fractions of certain Primary stats. These include Physical Defense and Energy Defense (how well you take a punch vs. how well you take a burn or other energy attack), Speed (how many times you can act in a 12-second combat Turn), Recovery (how well you bounce back from injury), Endurance (how long you can go without exhaustion) and Stun (how much damage you can take before getting Knocked Out- note that Stun is a trait partially derived from Body, which determines how much lethal damage you can take before dying. In terms of Star Wars D20, BODY is wound points, and STUN is vitality points.)
In Play
Combat and skill use in HERO also require use of derived stats. HERO System uses d6 for all rolls; as a basic rule, every 5 points you have in Strength (or every 5 base points you have in a generic ranged attack Power) gives you 1 damage die. The damage total is compared to the relevant defense, and if it doesn't bounce off, the remainder is taken from STUN. (I hit you with a 5d6 punch and roll 17; you have a Physical Defense of 8; you take 9 STUN.) If a single attack does a higher STUN total than your Constitution score, you're Stunned and lose your next action- if you were punched for 12 STUN but had only 10 CON, you'd be Stunned. If you lose all your STUN, you're Knocked Out.
This is simple enough. Actually rolling to hit is a bit more complex. Your base stat for both attack and defense is Combat Value (CV), which is based on Dexterity over 3. (DEX 20 would yield a CV of 7.) When attacking, this figure is called OCV (Offensive Combat Value) and when defending it's DCV (Defensive Combat Value). In combat, you want to roll 11 or less on 3d6, modified by your OCV minus the target's DCV. For instance, if your OCV was 6 and the target DCV was 5, this would be one in your favor; you now need a 12 or less. If it were the other way around, you'd have to roll 10 or less. There are many more modifiers beyond this (Martial Arts manuevers modify OCV and DCV, a Prone or Stunned character is at 1/2 DCV, etc.) but that's the gist of it.
Non-combat Skills use a similar system. Most of them cost 3 to 5 points, and are based on a Characteristic Roll, said stat usually being Dexterity, Intelligence, or Presence. The formula for this roll is: 9+ [CHA/5]. Thus, if your DEX was 18, your DEX Roll and base DEX-Based Skills would be 13 or less (18/5 = 3 3/5, round up). Obviously, the higher your Skill Roll is, the greater your chance of success in normal circumstances. More difficult uses of the skill apply penalties to the roll.
cal-cu-lus[L, pebble, stone in the bladder or kidney, stone used in reckoning] 1: a concretion usu. of mineral salts around organic material found esp. in hollow organs or ducts 2 (archaic): CALCULATION 3a: a method of computation or calculation in a special notation (as of logic or symbolic logic) b: the mathematical methods comprising differential and integral calculus
-Webster's Dictionary
If one is creating a HERO character in a "realistic" genre, you really don't need anything more than Characteristics and Skills, and all this requires is addition and some multiplying on the CHAR ratios. And again, the point-based chargen is now used in enough systems that it should be familiar to most. What trips a lot of people up is the concept behind building superpowers. Most other games (including the MEGS/Blood of Heroes system) start with the origin/special effect of a power first, then determine what it does. Right from the first, Champions recognized that since powers in a superhero universe could have an infinite number of origins, it made more sense to start with the effect (what the power did) then fit that in terms of the power's origin and special effects.
For instance, HERO doesn't have a list of "Ice Powers." Instead, you think of what your character's Ice Powers would logically do and proceed from there. For example, the Ice hero could attack by throwing solid ice balls, or he could throw ice in such a way as to entangle his enemies. You therefore build two Attack Powers based on Energy Blast (the ice balls aren't *actually* energy, but that's the name of the generic ranged Attack Power) and Entangle (which creates barriers and restraints). Furthermore, the nature of one's Powers also imply that they can work differently based on their special effects, even if another character with different powers (special effect) has built them using the SAME Powers (game mechanics). In this case, your ice Entangle would logically be more vulnerable to heat and fire attacks than an Entangle based on (say) rock. In this game system, that's a Limitation that makes the Power cost less. By the same token, you can think of ways to make your generic Power more effective than someone else's similar power. Maybe your ice hero has figured out how to conjure multiple ice balls and lob them at once as an autofire volley. That's an Advantage that makes the Power cost more.
HERO simulates this with a set of Advantages and Limitations that are measured as a fractional value; in the cases above, Autofire (for 5 shots) is worth +1/2, while an Entangle that takes double damage from heat is given a generic "Limited Power" Limitation that is given a -1 value (heat being an obvious and common way to thwart the attack). The formula in both cases is (1+ total value of all Advantages OR Limitations). The Base Power with any Advantage multipliers is the Active Cost; the Active Cost divided by any Limitations is the Real Cost that the character ends up paying. NOTE: The way this works, you still have to count '1' as a factor- so +1 in Advantages doubles the price of a Power (1+1) and likewise -1 in Limitations halves the cost.
Each of these factors in themselves are not difficult. In total, they can be very intimidating to newbies and irritating to a lot of veteran players who think the complexity is not worth the effort. Moreover, for play balance reasons, characters in a superhero game are obliged to buy ALL their effects, including equipment, as Powers, given that it's already fairly easy to buy effects similar or superior to the weapons and devices that exist in the real world. This has led to a lot of reductionism, which in turn leads to HERO-haters claiming that the game requires you to build stat blocks for things like bathroom towels. While that is a gross exaggeration
Towel : Transform 1d6 minor (10) wet object to dry, OAF (-1), Extra Time/ Full Phase (-1/2), 2 Recoverable Charges (before towel gets soaked, recover by wringing, -1), No Range (-1/2), Real Cost 2 points
it's still understandable. The game doesn't present a given effect as only working a certain way (unlike most games on the market) but it does oblige you to determine how it works in your game. It doesn't enforce play balance through arbitrary restrictions of classes and "levels", but the absence of those factors means that all characters have to be examined more closely, especially since the players also get to determine how their powers work unless you decide exactly how things work in YOUR game. Contrary to the popular slander, HERO does not require knowledge of calculus, but it does require you to do basic math. A LOT of basic math.
Sidekick
Again, the staff at DOJ were quite aware of HERO System's problems in making the brand competitive again, and they've been working to address them. First, Hero Games released a couple of books, UNTIL Superpowers Database and The Fantasy Hero Grimoire, which present ready-made examples of comicbook superpowers and fantasy spells respectively. This gives a GM something concrete to work with when determining how to design new powers or other effects using the HERO rules.
That in itself doesn't address the "learning curve" that a new player or GM encounters in grasping the core system, that is, the need to deal with all the various details at once. Thus, Hero Games developed Sidekick, effectively the 'junior' version of the full HERO System Fifth Edition rules. The company obviously intends the buyer to pick up Sidekick as preparation for the full game, yet the book is essentially complete in itself. They explain the difference on page 5: "The core mechanics of the two systems- how you make an Attack Roll or Skill Roll, how characters take damage, how you create characters- are identical. But where the HERO System might include ten paragraphs and four special Power Modifiers to explain a particular Power and provide ways for gamers to customize it, Sidekick has only a couple of paragraphs. It leaves out a lot of the details and options of the full HERO System. The intent is to pare the HERO System down to its most necessary rules- so you can easily learn them before diving into the much more complex, but much richer, rules of the full system."
There have been several other reviews of the Fifth Rules Edition ('FREd') on RPG.net, and this particular article is an attempt to review how Sidekick compares to the original 5th Ed. and how well it accomplishes the goal of creating a useful introductory version of HERO.
What Sidekick Doesn't Have
* Several of the more complex Skills (especially the new Autofire Skills brought into 5th Edition)
* Most of the Perk descriptions, and the greater details required for Contacts in 5th Edition
* The rules for reverse-engineering Talents as Powers
* Some of the more complicated Powers, like Duplication and Shape Shift
* Variable Power Pool
* All of the new 5th Edition combat options, like Multiple Attacks, Hurry, etc.
* 30 bucks of price compared to the full hardcover
What Sidekick DOES Have That FREd Doesn't
* A detailed example of character creation (Randall Irons, an example 'Pulp Hero' referred to at least as early as 4th Edition)
* A detailed character sheet for the energy hero 'Firebrand' showing where each block of stats goes and what each means
* In addition to the new edition's effective use of sidebars, Sidekick also includes lessons on how the game is played (e.g. page 7, 'How You Want to Roll the Dice' reminds you that attack and skill rolls are low, but for damage you want to roll high). The Powers section includes step-by-step instructions for how to build a Power under the effects-based philosophy.
* On page 66, there's a quick-reference table for the value of certain base costs as multiplied or divided by the value of an Advantage or Limitation. So a 30 point Power with +1 1/2 in Advantages becomes 75 points. (NOTE: The figures are organized in multiples of 5; for totals that don't divide evenly by 5, the bonus as applied to the number 100 makes a percentage. Thus, if a 100 Active Point Power has -1 1/2 Limitations on it, and this results in a 40 point Real Cost, any other figure with -1 1/2 Limitations will likewise cost 40% of its Active Points.) This, incidentally, is a very handy table that has been in most editions of Champions but for some reason was not given in FREd.
* Likewise, page 90 has a quick-reference table for what number you need to hit a certain DCV with your OCV. Cross-reference OCV 9 with DCV 7 and you see '13' in the box. Simple. This is also a feature of earlier editions (and a table I've seen home-made by other players) and it makes it MUCH easier to get the gist of combat.
* A detailed combat example featuring Champions characters Defender and Pulsar.
Overview
Sidekick goes a long way towards addressing the 'it's too much' reaction a lot of people feel in dealing with HERO System. By stripping the game down to its essentials, it compares favorably with Mutants & Masterminds, with greater options available by adding in the full rules of FREd. Furthermore, because Sidekick only costs about $10 US, it can be picked up in volume if the GM needs to give a 'use copy' to more than one player and doesn't want to give up his own core rulebook. This is something that can't be done with (say) Conan or Angel. In my review of Conan I'd mentioned that the price was prohibitively high, even in an economy where 40 bucks now seems to be the standard for the game. The industry really does need an equivalent of Cheapass Games, and Sidekick is a good example of how to make that work. So on both objectives- creating a simple game that a GM can easily master, and creating a user-friendly game that can be easily distributed among players- HERO Sidekick is a success.
Style: 3
Champions/HERO always did play up the 'generic' feel of the system, and in 5th Edition especially, the look is very utilitarian. Basically, FREd and Sidekick are to Conan what Pong is to Tomb Raider. In fact, Hero Games does have a fine art staff (ranging from veteran Storn Cook to newcomer Andrew Cremeans) and they do get to create some really impressive wraparound covers for the sourcebooks, but the basic rulebooks are rather minimal- especially Sidekick. Since the core rules don't reflect a specific setting, all art is pretty much used as random scene examples.
Substance: 5
On the other hand, if a game like Starchildren IS Style, then HERO System IS substance. If the game system can't do ANYthing, it's as close as any design has even attempted. Unlike most systems, the design features are out in the open and available for GMs to use, as opposed to say, D20, where you can only guess the play-balance of a custom-built class by published examples that may or may not *be* play-balanced, because you don't know how the designs are made. It is, in fact, less math-intensive than several other games (like Palladium) yet remains precise. Even the much-maligned combat system can be sped up immeasurably by cutting out all the optional rules, and if those rules are added back on, the result creates a fine balance of playability and realism.
Most people who do play HERO System tend to prefer it to everything else, but it's still a matter of grasping the mindset required to build characters and run them in combat. Once that's done, the game becomes a breeze. Sidekick helps get people across the mental hurdles that made previous editions of HERO so intimidating, and is thus recommended not only to new players but those who may have felt burned by the game before.
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