You an' FRED

[Uruk]

I've never played, but it's my understanding that HERO breaks in a couple basic spots:
1) Drawbacks. Unlike M&M, HERO's only limits are the points you have to spend. With enough drawbacks, you can build insanley powerful characters at any 'power level'.
2) Super-Speed. Like many other systems, being fast is a God-trait. It's possible to have literally dozens of actions in a round, allowing a single character to do almost anything.
3) Old Familiar Places. The places M&M breaks (fully incorporeal, total invisbility, psychic blasts from hidden bunkers, etc) are places that HERO breaks.

Good luck and I hope this was what you were actually asking for.

Just to address your issues:

1.) Everybody has the same number of disad points though people don't *have* to use them.
2.) Speed is also the most expensive trait. You're not going to be doing dozens of actions as it's been pointed out that there are only 12 possible segments. Generally a speedster is going to get 7-8 actions to someone elses 5-6.
3.) Mental attacks are pretty pricey and don't do killing damage (unless you spend a ton of points). Attacks that effect corporeal beings while a player are incorporeal are really (really) expensive.

So in regards to items 2 and 3 because of the set number of points PCs are working with you'd end up as a one trick pony with tons of underdeveloped abilities. That's probably a better realm for an NPC or a villain built on an unlimited point budget.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Just to address your issues:

1.) Everybody has the same number of disad points though people don't *have* to use them.
2.) Speed is also the most expensive trait. You're not going to be doing dozens of actions as it's been pointed out that there are only 12 possible segments. Generally a speedster is going to get 7-8 actions to someone elses 5-6.
3.) Mental attacks are pretty pricey and don't do killing damage (unless you spend a ton of points). Attacks that effect corporeal beings while a player are incorporeal are really (really) expensive.

So in regards to items 2 and 3 because of the set number of points PCs are working with you'd end up as a one trick pony with tons of underdeveloped abilities. That's probably a better realm for an NPC or a villain built on an unlimited point budget.

Thank you for confirming everything I said. It's nice to have one's hearsay and informed speculation verified by someone who actually knows.

 

[pawsplay]

Fred will do what you ask of it. I've never had serious problems with characters or combat. However, if you go into it without knowing what you are doing, as a GM or player, it is possible to make some really unfortunate mistakes.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Don't be afraid to ask for help- most experienced players are keen to bring others into the cult...er...game.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I'm a HERO player from back when it was a slim book called Champions, and I enjoy M&M as a mutant love child of HERO and 3.X lite.e a 1 trick pony while the Speed 4 PC might more closely resemble Batman.

My experience is all from Champions days (which I loved), so it might be out of date, but with that proviso...

I loved including power limitations into the purchasing of the powers. Not the bonus points you got from being blind or flying into beserk rage, but the cheaper purchasing of limited effectiveness powers from accepting certain limitations.

e.g. the default energy blast would work anywhere (in those days), no matter how it was flavoured. But if my 'firework guy' took energy blast (fire) with the limitation that it won't work when he is wet, and he has to point his hands to use it (obvious inaccessible focus), it means that as a GM people can interfere with him by grappling his arms, using a fire extinguisher or setting off the sprinkler system, which seems genre-appropriate - and he ends up spending 25 points for his 10d6 firework blast rather than 50 points (made up numbers).

Cheers

 

[M.L. Martin]

My experience is all from Champions days (which I loved), so it might be out of date, but with that proviso...

I loved including power limitations into the purchasing of the powers. Not the bonus points you got from being blind or flying into beserk rage, but the cheaper purchasing of limited effectiveness powers from accepting certain limitations.

e.g. the default energy blast would work anywhere (in those days), no matter how it was flavoured. But if my 'firework guy' took energy blast (fire) with the limitation that it won't work when he is wet, and he has to point his hands to use it (obvious inaccessible focus), it means that as a GM people can interfere with him by grappling his arms, using a fire extinguisher or setting off the sprinkler system, which seems genre-appropriate - and he ends up spending 25 points for his 10d6 firework blast rather than 50 points (made up numbers).

Cheers

This remains one of the fundamental principles of the HERO System: It gives you the tools to, in theory, not only build just about anything, to just the level of detail you want, but to set a point cost relative to the rest of the game and be reasonably confident that it's an accurate measure of power and usefulness.

It's not perfect--you have to accept a fairly high level of 'minimum' crunch, there's more math than a lot of people want to deal with, there are some effects that require somewhat involved rules constructs, and the system is flexible enough that if you don't keep a close eye on some things, it can be broken--but it's very good at what it does, from my own reading and all reports.

The HERO System was the third RPG system I picked up, after (A)D&D and MERP/Rolemaster. I've never had a chance to play it, but I've owned and read the 4th and 5th Edition rulebooks and numerous supplements, can think in HERO terms, have a profound respect for it. It's too heavy for me in some moods, but it's arguably the best in the business if you want to replicate something in a mechanically-oriented way (as opposed to the 'story-oriented' way of games like FATE). And I'm intrigued to see what they do with 6th Edition next year.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I'm intrigued to see what they do with 6th Edition next year.

Hm? Looks like I'd better wait a bit longer again, before picking up a copy of HERO for myself. If I do. Hadn't heard about 6th ed, that I can remember.

The more I hear about it, on- and offline, the more it seems like I'll end up liking it for much the same reasons as M&M. As I thought, really.

Nothing else in particular to ask, at this point. But thanks to everyone who's posted their thoughts on the system - very much appreciated. It'll be a while before I get a copy anyhow - which will most likely 6e, as of now.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

HERO 6Ed?

Dang...looks like I'll have to start saving some $$ to allocate to that.

(And I haven't even gotten to actually play my 5Ed stuff yet.)

Yes, I love HERO that much.

Still, even if 6Ed is on the visible horizon, you should be able to pick up a used 5Ed copy somewhere at a decent price, since a lot of us HEROphiles bought not just that brick, but the revised one that followed.

I loved including power limitations into the purchasing of the powers. Not the bonus points you got from being blind or flying into beserk rage, but the cheaper purchasing of limited effectiveness powers from accepting certain limitations.

I was really a big fan of that aspect of the system, and MAN could I work it. I mean that not just from a powergaming aspect, but from making my powers fit my PC's theme. Some of my fellow gamers actually praised my build style and asked me for help with their designs. <sigh> Some of the stuff I came up with back in the day...

There is no system that better lets you tweek things like alien or mutant biologies. For instance, at least one of my alien PCs had to consume her body weight in food (daily!) to maintain her superhuman strength and toughness- she was a regular at places like Golden Corral! Yet she also had allergies to certain chemicals in terran foods. That meant every 24 hours of game-time, she had to eat a huge amount of food- AND risk illness- in order to survive & be super.

 

[Quartz]

Another Hero System fan chiming in. Get the GM to design your first character for you, before the game session. Balancing points is a very tricky business and will eat into a lot of playtime.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

OTOH, we could help out...

Got a PC concept?