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Starting out with PnP

Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
edited June 2010 in Champions Pen and Paper RPG
So i got hold of some 5th edition books (core book, sidekick and champions core book) And decided to try my hand at some champions offline with some friends!
We've been playing roleplaying games for a number of years but admittedly this system is slightly more advanced than what we're used to.

My main concern is mainly the actual balancing of encounters, how many minions is enough, how do i build my archvillain, and so and such. I've been reading through the 600! page core book, but it seems woefully inadequate in that area, am i supposed to just wing it?

Are there any prebuilt adventures that are more pick up and play until we get a hang of the system?
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    TehSr0c wrote:
    So i got hold of some 5th edition books (core book, sidekick and champions core book) And decided to try my hand at some champions offline with some friends!...
    As a old school RP'er (you youngin's call it PnP, or "Pen And Paper") the above underlined word both shocked and saddened me :(
    Do you spend so much time ONLINE that you have to define your non computer activities as "offline" :confused:
    Dude(Dudette?), take some time and unplug....PLEASE! :eek:
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    TehSr0c wrote:
    My main concern is mainly the actual balancing of encounters, how many minions is enough, how do i build my archvillain, and so and such. I've been reading through the 600! page core book, but it seems woefully inadequate in that area, am i supposed to just wing it?
    Hero 6th edition is a complex, highly flexible game system. If you think balancing powers is hard in CO, well, it's order of magnitude harder in many tabletop games, because the available options are so complex. In the end, combat balancing is a matter of practice and knowing your PCs, and it's tricky to do even after years of practice (as a GM, I cheat somewhat -- often, I have 'possible reinforcements' penciled in who may or may not actually appear in the fight, depending on how its going).
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Well it was mostly a pun on the fact that this is the champions online forums, and we were playing champions the RP game. :P

    I've been playing roleplaying games for well over ten years now, but mostly in more familiar systems (D20, WW games) And like i said, this one kinda has me stumped. What I've read so far i really like, and it's going to be a blast to make some heroes and kick some villain butt. But its kinda hard to know where to begin.

    Should i just throw together some villains and mooks and hope for the best?
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    TehSr0c wrote:
    Should i just throw together some villains and mooks and hope for the best?
    I'd start by making sure you have your early adventures being low importance (things like danger room scenarios are good), because it means you don't have to do too much tap-dancing to deal with radically over or under estimating the PCs.

    The easiest sort of fight to balance, and thus used fairly often, is one villain per PC. Typical mooks are balanced at around 1 squad (~4) per PC, though there's a fair amount of variation there.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Thanks! that should nudge me in the right direction at least :D

    Another question tho, do you use miniatures and maps when you play?
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    TehSr0c wrote:
    Another question tho, do you use miniatures and maps when you play?
    For complicated fights yes (I usually use tokens rather than minis, but that's because I don't have minis). Be aware that fights in Hero system take quite a while, particularly if you don't know the system.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Yeaahh i read the blow by blow description at the end of the core book. Seems like we better bring some notebooks :D

    Really looking forward to the weekend now ^^
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    Archived PostArchived Post Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    TehSr0c wrote:
    Yeaahh i read the blow by blow description at the end of the core book. Seems like we better bring some notebooks :D

    A comment that appeared frequently in early DnD rulebooks but is still very applicable....

    "remember the game is about roleplaying, not bookkeeping"

    With any tabletop system the rules are a suggested framework, you can always simplify them to a level you're all happy with. Otherwise a session can end up being 5 minutes of Roleplay and several hours of combat-resolution....which may be fun, but is more likely just to make you realise that computers are MUCH better for certain tasks.

    The joy with a tabletop session is when players come up with completely off-the-wall crazy but genius suggestions, and as the GM you just have to decide the outcome on the spot. Something that's only possible with a human GM.

    Enjoy the weekend session :)
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