a request for PDF bookmarks

[ringer]

Hi there,

First, thanks for this awesome game.  I am planning to make the pitch to switch my group from hero system to P&P.  I do have a request.  Would it be possible to have more in depth book marks added to the PDF?  When learning a new system, i like to do a bit of flipping around, going back to review rules when they come up, etc.  With the only bookmarks being chapter headings, it makes it hard to flip to specific rules and sections.

If time is an issue, i can take a stab at it and send it back to you.  

thanks!

[rune]

What are the reasons you are looking at moving over from the Hero System?

We are going to be trying P&P for a bit and see what we think in comparison with Hero.

[Nestor]

As a long-time veteran of the Hero System (I bought Champions 1st Edition back in '81 and have played every edition since) I can definitely see P&P as an easier entry for starting players.

Don't get me wrong, Hero is a great system for modeling and emulating the superhero genre, but the sheer mass of rules can be intimidating (these days, it almost requires a computer program to write up a character).

[rune]

Oh yeah.

I started in 4E in like 6th grade. Loved working with the system and playing around with various parts of it. Still love it to this day (computer program or not).

I have introduced a few folks to it over the years with various degrees of success.

I love it, but like playing around with different systems for fun. Who knows what I will stop on, I generally keep coming back to a D&D (Pathfinder or actual) and Hero System.

[ringer]

I have a couple reasons for wanting to move away from Hero system.  The major reason is the sheer prep time involved.  I run the majority of games fom my group at this point, and i just don't have the free time needed for making my own NPC villains from scratch in Hero.  The power of the system to build anything just the way you want to is a strength, but it is way more involved than i am interested in at this point.  I also like to have the ability to make some stuff up on the fly as needed.  (I know that contradicts slightly with prep time).  I have always had a hard time doing on the fly stuff with hero.  I feel like I end up cheating the characters, who build on a rigorous point structure.

Lastly, I am not a fan of the speed chart system of initiative.  I get it from a concept standpoint, but i really hate that the brick type characters end up sitting around a lot, waiting for a turn, while the faster characters zip around doing cool stuff.  i would rather everyone get to act in a turn, and let higher speed characters show off that speed in different ways.

I have introduced Savage Worlds for other genres, but i felt like the Savage World Superpowers Companion did not mesh with the rest of the system well.  It feels tacked on to me, rather than an integral part of the game.  I was looking for a game to specifically emulate supers.  After reading a bunch of systems, I am really excited to try P&P.  I think it will be just about crunchy enough to slide past my crunch player.  And will afford me the ability to tell stories without sitting at my computer for hours with a character designer to make NPCs.

I think the hero system is very good at what it does.  You can find a rule for anything and everything you want.  You can build your character down to the most minute detail.  You can get exactly the PC you want.  That's just not what I am looking for anymore.

Hope that helps.  I will post more thoughts later when the kids are not looking for my attention...

[LakeSide Len]

Hi,

Not sure if this will help, but the Table of Contents is tagged such that you are instantly directed to whatever you click on. Thanks!

[rune]

Thanks for the insight Ringer.

I know that when I run Hero, I am on the fly with most of my things. I have found that I can actually do that with Hero better than a lot of systems because so much is built on the exact same mechanic.

However, I know that myself and my group's approach to that with Hero goes against what so many people say about Hero System require tons of prep.

Speed Chart is something that I like, but the way that we run our games the higher speed characters often need to figure out if they abort to a defense or take the chance and take the hit. However, the way that the Champions book is built does not seem to support that.

We brought base stats in Hero down a lot so that mundane things are in the same realm as the heroes, but the heroes have powerful abilities. Kinda like X-Men stuff from my experience. While Colossus is not threatened by the mook with the knife while using his powers, Storm was. If she decided to use her wind powers directly to assault the guy, he would be dealt with.

Just some random thoughts on my experience. I know I am excited about trying P&P.

[LakeSide Len]

Any system works when you know it well. Hero is an awesome system, but I can also see how it can intimidate some. On the other hand, it's so good at emulating so many things in such nuance. Interestingly, my one issue with it was also the speed chart. Honestly, it's probably much more realistic in that (and many other) regards than P&P and a number of other games I enjoy, but we just didn't want to have slower characters sitting around playing on their iphones while the faster ones took multiple actions. However, the only way to do that is to be more abstract, such as in the way we handled Super speed. And while we like it, I can totally see how that level of abstraction might chafe some folks.

Honestly, we love these games. All of them.