Gerbera Tetra:  The imminent arrival of Champions Online has promoted rumor of 6th edition[s] of Champions and Hero System itself. While I really only heard a rumor at a game shopIs really going to happen and it has got me thinking. There are a few things Hero could do to make itself better. And by better I mean more user friendly.. and that means it might live to see it’s 30th anniversary.

Before I go on I have to lay down my Hero geek cred. I can use the system, I can run this system like a well oiled machine, I can make it my bitch. I love this game. It is in my top five and has been my personal favorite game since I first played it. The main reason I don’t play it as much these days is because it causes other people headaches.

Seriously.

People who I know damn well are above average intelligence can really find it frustrating. I attribute this in large part to some core mechanics in the game and a sheer overwhelming number of choices. The first I’m going to help with here and the second is really a feature that is not a bug but a price for unrivaled flexibility.  So here are my suggestions-

One- Change the to hit mechanic. This is laughably simple [and frankly very D&D] but trust me- Each characters DCV is as normally calculated plus 10. Now all to hit rolls are the same 3D6 but now you add the OCV. If you beat the DCV total [DCV + 10] you hit. The odds are exactly the same and die rolling for combat becomes consistent, you always want to roll high to hit and damage. I know this puts skills at odds with combat now [ i.e. skills roll low, combat roll high ] but damage/effect has always been at odds. But I don’t see this as a problem.

I suggest this in particular because this has always been the one place that combat slows down for new players and even many experienced players have to stop and think about what DCV they just hit. Explaining this over and over again to people who can do their own taxes makes me sure that there’s no really good reason to not change it. Since the bell curve effect and die rolling aren’t something that needs changing.. why not just change a bit how the numbers are used?

Two Shorter turns, more to do. Essentially: lower Speeds, more you can do in an action. Players new to hero always want to be able to Move their full move Attack or do something else interesting. It might be other games, it might be movies. I’ve seen the same thing from veteran games who are new to hero and totally newbie gamers. The way things are now is just counter intuitive to them. I think they’d be fine getting half as many action is they could do twice as much in them. So, speed cost twice as much but you can do a full move and something else, Attack, Move again or anything else equivalent to an attack action. This should also go along whit a smaller speed chart. Say only Six Phases. Those playing super speedsters should get powers that let them simulated doing bursts of activity during their action; that’s pretty much how it always works in the movies/comics anyway. This would make turns go faster and combat smoother. [let the turn stay 12 seconds though, no sense shooting up the time chart.]

Three- Mooks. While I know D&D has jumped on the mook bandwagon rather late with minions I think Feng-Shui had it right. A with Viper agents wouldn’t take all f*cking day if they only took one hit to k.o.. So.. something like and NPC only Disad -

Glass Jaw [Physical Limitation; Frequent, Greatly]- As soon as this character takes any Body Damage at all they are considered knocked out* and at -20 Stun.

Paper Tiger [Physical Limitation; Frequent, Fully]- As soon as this character takes Stun Damage equal to the character’s Con in one turn stat they are considered knocked out* and at -20 Stun.

*In some genres the NPC could also be considered dead in the attack that triggered the Disad was a Killing Attack.

Speaking of Killing attacks… The whole mechanic for Killing attacks and the ‘stun lottery’ is really damn annoying. One damage mechanic, one! (to rule them all and one to bind them). This is another mechanic that has casual players of Hero scratching thier heads a lot.  While I don’t care for how Fuzion turned out overall.. this ideas time may have come again. I know a lot of grognards are grousing but frankly having played enough other games that skip this kind of thing I don’t feel I’m missing anything when it’s not there. One could substitute some other kinds of damage mechanics to make up for it but why? More realism? Feh.. it’s not a simulator and we know that. I didn’t put this as a numbered suggestion because I’m not sure how best to deal with it but I think it has to go. I’d be more than happy to just be done with Body and call Stun Hit Points. “But it’d be to D&D!” Well so what? Hero is so far and away from D&D in every other way who cares? It’s not like D&D hasn’t caught a bit of the point buy bug [in the stats any way] So give me a really good reason why we should make combat slower and more complicated? Go on.. lie to me that it’s a better trade off for an action adventure game.

Cross Posted at Hero Discussion boards.