Hero System (Champions) 6th Ed?

Otterscrubber · Jun 20, 2011

So I get the urge to play champions every 3-4 years. It has begun again and I was surprised to see that there is a new 6th Edition available. Being $50 just for the rulebook i was hoping to get some feedback on whether it was a significant enough change from 5e to warranty purchasing. I noticed 5e didn't seem to cover much new ground (or any actually) and if 6e is like that then I'm going to save myself $50.

Thoughts?

Also I notice there is no thread prefix for champions or hero games? Why is that?

pawsplay · Jun 20, 2011

I've been holding off. The main changes are decoupling all the Secondary Characteristics from Primary Attributes, and taking another stab at some of the fiddlier modifiers. Numerically, little has changed. I got a chance to page through a copy of the basic rulebook (the $20 one) and I had trouble spotting the differences until I took a closer look.

Crazy Jerome · Jun 20, 2011

If you like what Steve Long did going from 4th to 5th edition, you'll probably also like 6th--because it just keeps going down that same road. It is all tinkering around the edges for clarity and streamlining, while leaving the core elements untouched as much as possible. Multipowers are probably one of the biggest changes in 6th. Whether that's worth the cost, will depend on how much you value those kind of changes.

Me, I wanted either more flavor put back (ala 4th), or I wanted a more fundamental restructuring of the game from core Hero principles. Neither of these is something that will likely happen to Hero while Long is in charge. I'd just as soon stick with 4th, as long as the underlying fundamentals remain the same.

So it depends on what you want out of the system.

M.L. Martin · Jun 20, 2011

Otterscrubber said:
So I get the urge to play champions every 3-4 years. It has begun again and I was surprised to see that there is a new 6th Edition available. Being $50 just for the rulebook i was hoping to get some feedback on whether it was a significant enough change from 5e to warranty purchasing. I noticed 5e didn't seem to cover much new ground (or any actually) and if 6e is like that then I'm going to save myself $50.

Thoughts?

Also I notice there is no thread prefix for champions or hero games? Why is that?

$50 is for the genre book--the playing and campaigning advice--not the game rules. I think the only substantial update in the 6E Champions genre book, beyond bringing it from 5E to 6E rules, is the Quick Superhuman Generator, which allows you to build a starting Champions character with a few picks or random rolls.

The rules proper can be found in the two-volume $70 set for the full, ultra-comprehensive rules set, or $20 for the 'covers all the bases, but not as detailed and leaves out some of the most challenging powers' Basic Rulebook. (Both are available in PDF format for cheaper, and I think the 6E MegaBundle--the full rules in both hardcopy and PDF for only $80--is still available from Hero Games.)

A summary of the mechanical changes in character creation between 5th and 6th edition can be found here.

Otterscrubber · Jun 20, 2011

Great link! That sums things up and does at least look like some thought was put into changing some mechanics. A lot seems to be cosmetic name changes but there are some material ones like Elemental Controls are gone. I do like to own the books, but $70 for the rules and another $50 for basically a campaign book is way more than I'm looking to spend. Sorry Mr. Long.

M.L. Martin · Jun 20, 2011

Otterscrubber said:
Great link! That sums things up and does at least look like some thought was put into changing some mechanics. A lot seems to be cosmetic name changes but there are some material ones like Elemental Controls are gone. I do like to own the books, but $70 for the rules and another $50 for basically a campaign book is way more than I'm looking to spend. Sorry Mr. Long.

Glad to help. The pricing objections are reasonable enough, but I would note that for the core rules, at least, you do get what you pay for--two full-color, hardcover books with a total page count of nearly 800. It may be too much money, but it's hard for anyone to call it a ripoff.

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 20, 2011

Since all the othe questions have been answered...

I notice there is no thread prefix for champions or hero games? Why is that?

1) This is predominantly a D&D and related games website, and

2) Nobody has asked for or designed one & submitted it yet.

There was a thread in Meta about them a while back- if you can find it, pipe up and one will surely appear!

pawsplay · Jun 20, 2011

Matthew L. Martin said:
Glad to help. The pricing objections are reasonable enough, but I would note that for the core rules, at least, you do get what you pay for--two full-color, hardcover books with a total page count of nearly 800. It may be too much money, but it's hard for anyone to call it a ripoff.

In the abstract, it seems like a good deal to me, but from a practical standpoint, I lean toward not liking Steve Long's approach, although he certainly does write well.

Richards · Jun 20, 2011

I wasn't aware the editions were that high already. I just recently dusted off my 1st edition boxed set and started up a solo campaign with my son. We're both having fun relearning the basics (How much END do I burn for a full move again? Wait, I can recover on purpose besides the freebie at the end of phase 12?), and it's definitely worlds apart from the D&D 3.5 campaigns I'm also running.

Johnathan