One word summed up the book for me: businesslike. The pictures did not seem obtrusive, and their quality seemed pretty reasonable on average. Sure, you’ll want a decent light to read by as the contrast is not as high as bleached paper, but other than that, the paper looked fine.Ī quick flick through the book revealed illustrations maybe every 3 or 4 pages, of varying quality, and depicting images from a variety of genres. For me, the issue was not “is this book too big?” but “is reading the thing going to be worth my while?” It is that last question that this review tries to address.Īs far as the paper goes, well, I didn’t experience any technical problems in that department. The book is the size it is, you can squint at it all you like and it’s not going to get any smaller. Well, if you insist on a maximum size in inches, pages, or words for an RPG product and HERO is over these limits, then there’s really no point in reading on with the review. I know that some people just flat-out refuse to buy or play HERO because of one or more of the above points- namely, that the book is just “too big” or the paper “unacceptable”. Pages are printed in black and white only, on what looks like unbleached paper, and the font is small. (I’ll just refer to the thing as “HERO” from this point on.) It is, in fact, a whopper of a rulebook- a 592-page tome. It’s been said by many people before: the HERO System 5th Edition Revised book is a big rulebook. Hence, I picked up the core rulebook and started reading it, with the specific application above always at the back (and often the front) of my mind. I read a number of reviews of HERO products on rpg.net, and basically did not see many bad words written about the product line. It should be stressed that at this time I had never played HERO or Champions, and I was not looking for a product which placed any emphasis whatsoever on “superhero” gaming. I own GURPS 4th Edition, but I was finding some elements of the rules and organisation a little frustrating, so the question of which game or generic rules product to use for my new campaign was still open. O an array of cross-genre thematic elements, including conspiracy, guns, magic, demons, and science fiction components O a wide variety of power levels, starting with low-powered characters (“normal” people- bus drivers, insurance salesmen etc.), through competent professionals, and culminating in a low-powered superheroic power level similar to maybe 15th level D&D characters Said system would have to accommodate the following: Having played D&D and Exalted, I was looking for a change: a new story idea had begun to form in my head, and I knew the story would require a new game system to realise. I came to the HERO System not having any idea what to expect.