HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION 1

INTRODUCTION TO
THE HERO SYSTEM
Basic Rules And Concepts
W
elcome to the HERO System, a com-
plete set of universal roleplaying rules
that lets you create characters for any The HERO System uses six-sided dice (d6) to
setting or background, from fantasy, resolve combat, the use of Skills, and similiar situ-
to modern-day action heroes, to science fiction, to ations. The number before the “d6” notation indi-
cates how many dice to roll; for example, 12d6
comic book superheroes. Using the HERO System
means 12 dice; 2d6+1 means roll two dice and add
rules, you can create any spell, technology, power, one point to the total.
weapon, ability, or other effect you can imagine. Most dice-rolling in the HERO System requires
This volume provides you with all the rules you you to roll 3d6 and get a result equal to or less than
need to create characters and campaigns set in any some number. This is written in the text by a minus
time, place, or genre. Even if you don’t want to use sign (-) following the number. Thus, a Skill which
the HERO System rules to run your games, you your character can perform successfully on an 11
can still use them to create things for use in other or less roll is written 11-.
RPGs. Whenever you attempt any 3d6 roll —
Many of you are already familiar with the HERO whether an Attack Roll, Skill Roll, Characteristic
System; after all, it’s been about 20 years since it was Roll, Perception Roll, or other roll — a result of 3
first published as Champions, and about ten years (three ones) always hits or succeeds; a result of
since the last edition of the HERO System, the Fourth, 18 (three sixes) always misses or fails. The Game-
was released. This Fifth Edition expands, revises, and master (GM) should consider giving a character
clarifies the rules from the Fourth Edition. The result some advantage when his player rolls a 3 (perhaps
is a game system which is more fun and flexible than some extra dice of damage), and some disadvantage
ever. for rolling an 18 (perhaps reducing the character’s
Those of you who are new to the HERO System DCV for a Segment or two).
should read If You Aren’t Familiar With The HERO In the HERO System, you use Character Points
System immediately following this section. It provides (see below) to purchase all of your character’s abili-
a brief glimpse of what the HERO System is and does, ties and powers. Sometimes this requires calcula-
and shows how you can use it to create some of the tions involving division or multiplication. When
most enjoyable roleplaying games you’ve ever played calculating the cost of something, always round
in. After that you can dive into character creation or off to the next whole number in favor of the player
whatever other subject catches your fancy. If you get character. Numbers from .1 to .4 round down;
confused by any of the terms (like all game systems, numbers from .6 to .9 round up; and .5 rounds up
this one has a lot of its own “gamespeak”), look them or down depending upon what’s best for the char-
up in the Glossary (page 6) or in the Index. acter. The only exception to this rule is calculating
If you’re a reader who’s used the HERO System SPD — SPD always rounds down. A SPD of 2.9
before, skip on down to If You’re Familiar With The is still a SPD of 2, not a SPD of 3. If a calculation
HERO System, below. That will serve as a good intro- involves two or more separate parts (such as REC,
duction to the Fifth Edition for you. which is STR/5 plus CON/5), round up at each sep-
arate step of the calculation. Thus, a character with
BODY 10, STR 15, and CON 15 has a STUN of 26
IF YOU AREN’T FAMILIAR (BODY; plus STR/2 = 7.5, rounds to 8; plus CON/2
= 7.5, rounds to 8; 10+8+8=26). However, the
WITH THE HERO SYSTEM minimum cost of anything is 1 point; a character
The HERO System seems complex at first glance, cannot get a single point of END or COM “for free”
but don’t worry, it’s easier than it looks. Unlike many because it would round to a cost of 0, for example.
game systems, which have different types of rules Movement and maps in the HERO System use
for different parts of their games (combat, magic, hex-shaped inches which, despite their name, are 2
character creation, or what have you), the HERO meters (approximately 6.5 feet) wide. The text often
System has a lot of consistency and internal logic. refers to “hexes” or “inches” interchangeably; inches
Once you learn the important parts, it becomes easy are written 1”, 2”, and so forth.
to figure out how other parts of the system work.
You can always refer to the Glossary if you can’t
remember what a particular term means or how to
do something in the system.
2 HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
dice is less than or equal to your Skill Roll, your
Character Creation character succeeds; if it is higher than the Skill Roll,
The heart of the HERO System is its rules he fails.
for character creation. Using them, you can create
PERKS
any type of character, power, gadget, or ability you
want, subject to the GM’s campaign restrictions. Perks are special resources a character has
You build HERO System characters with Char- access to — money or property (like a really fast car
acter Points. Everything the character can do, from or headquarters), contacts, permits or licenses, and
his ability to lift heavy objects to his ability to use the like. The Perks which a character can purchase
magic or superpowers, is purchased with Character are listed and described beginning on page 55.
Points. TALENTS
Your GM will tell you how many points you
Talents are unusual abilities or attributes a
have to build your character with; the more points,
character possesses. They are usually better than
the more powerful the character, generally. Some
Skills, but not quite as powerful as Powers — in
of your Character Points are “free” (given to you
fact, they’re sort of a cross or “middle ground”
by the GM); you acquire others by taking Dis-
between the two. They include things like a natural
advantages, or complications for, your character.
sense of direction, a “sixth sense” for danger, having
The main purpose of Disadvantages is to simulate
extremely fast reflexes, or being able to speed read.
character conception, but they are also worth
Some of them involve rolls similar to Skill Rolls;
extra Character Points. For example, your character
others function automatically. They are described
might be Hunted by an old enemy, or adhere to
beginning on page 61.
a Code Of Honor, or be missing one eye. Each
of these Disadvantages give you extra Character POWERS
Points to build your character with. Powers are abilities possessed by some char-
There are five things that can be bought with acters. Typically they are abilities “beyond those
Character Points: Characteristics, Skills, Perks, Tal- of normal men,” though Powers can also be used
ents, and Powers. to create many abilities and devices which are per-
CHARACTERISTICS fectly appropriate for characters who are “normal
men.” Each Power costs a certain amount of
All characters have eight Primary Character-
Character Points, depending upon how powerful
istics (such as Strength and Intelligence), which
or useful it tends to be. Some Powers have an incre-
represent physical and mental capabilities; and six
mental cost, such as 5 Character Points per d6 of
Figured Characteristics (such as Physical Defense
effect. They are described starting on page 67.
or Stun), which are mainly used in combat. The
You can create any ability you can think of —
text beginning on page 19 defines these Charac-
flying, becoming invisible or intangible, changing
teristics for you. An average human has Primary
shape, firing energy bolts or mental blasts — using
Characteristics of about 8-10.
Powers. They can simulate a superhero’s powers,
Primary Characteristics all have Characteristic
a wizard’s spells, or a vigilante’s super-skills, just
Rolls equal to 9 + (Characteristic/5) or less. For
to name a few. You also use Powers to construct
example, a character with a DEX of 20 has a DEX
equipment and weapons.
Roll of 13- (9 + (20/5)=13). When the GM asks
you to make a Characteristic Roll (such as a DEX POWER FRAMEWORKS
Roll to walk along a narrow beam), you roll 3d6 Sometimes Powers are bought through Power
like normal. The more you make (or fail) the roll Frameworks — ways to group Powers so they cost
by, the greater your degree of success (or failure). fewer points. However, this savings entails some
The GM imposes negative modifers on the Charac- restrictions on when and how the character can
teristic Roll when you attempt particularly difficult use the Powers in his Framework. There are three
feats, making it harder to succeed. types of Frameworks — Elemental Controls, Mul-
SKILLS tipowers, and Variable Power Pools — which are
explained in detail on pages 203-210.
A character’s Skills represent specialized
knowledge or training he possesses. This includes
such things as knowing how to fly a plane, inves-
tigate a crime scene, or fire a blaster pistol, or the
Combat
character’s in-depth knowledge about any subject HERO System combat offers your character
you can think of (physics, Fire Demons, Great Brit- the chance to do just about anything you can think
ain, alien races...). Skills are listed and described of. The rules provide lots of options, but you don’t
beginning on page 26. have to learn them all at once. Instead, start out
A character can try to get information, per- with the basics, and learn the details as you play.
form a task, or gain other benefits from knowing The basics are:
a Skill by making a Skill Roll. Each Skill has a Skill INITIATIVE
Roll, typically between 8- and 18- (the higher, the
better). Most Skills are based on a Characteristic, Two of a character’s Characteristics — Dexterity
just like Characteristic Rolls, and all of them are (DEX) and Speed (SPD) — determine when he acts
rolled the same way: roll 3d6; if the total on the in combat, and how often. The rules divide combat
time into 12-second Turns, with each second referred
HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION 3

to as a Segment. The character’s SPD indicates which DOING AND TAKING DAMAGE
Segments he can take an Action in; these Segments are If your character hits his target with an attack,
his Phases. Thus, a character with 5 SPD has 5 Phases the attack does damage. There are two basic types of
— five times each Turn when he can act. The Speed damage in the HERO System: STUN damage and
Chart (page 232) indicates the Phases for each SPD. BODY damage. Taking STUN damage decreases
In each Segment, several characters may have a your character’s STUN and can knock you out;
Phase — for example, characters with SPD 3 and SPD taking BODY damage decreases your BODY, which
6 both act in Segment 4. All characters who can act in causes injuries and can kill your character. All types
a Phase act in order of DEX, from highest to lowest. of attacks cause one or both types of damage. Some,
Thus, a character with DEX 20 acts before one with such as Drains or Ego Attacks, only cause STUN
DEX 18; however, a character may Hold his Action damage. Most, such as Energy Blasts, punches, guns,
and act later in the Phase if he wants. and knives, cause both STUN and BODY.
ACTIONS Another important distinction is between
Normal Damage attacks and Killing Damage attacks.
A character may take an Action in each of his
Most attacks do Normal Damage, but Killing Attacks
Phases. His Actions may include Full Moves (which
do Killing Damage (which, as its name implies, is
require his entire Phase) or Half Moves, which require
deadlier). Normal Damage and Killing Damage are
only half of his Phase (in other words, he can perform
calculated differently and applied to defenses differ-
two Half Moves per Phase). Full Moves include using
ently. See page 273 for more information.
more than half of your inches of movement or recov-
Characters have defenses which protect them
ering from being Stunned. Half Moves include using
against damage. All characters have Physical Defense,
up to half your inches of movement.
or PD (which protects against physical attacks like
Attacks are a special type of Action. A character
punches and clubs) and Energy Defense, or ED (which
may make a Half Move and then attack; in that case,
protects against energy attacks like energy bolts or
the attack is considered a Half Move, too. But if a
fire). PD and ED are Normal Defenses; they protect
character makes an attack before making any Half
against Normal Damage. The character subtracts his
Moves, the attack is considered a Full Move. In other
defenses from the STUN and BODY damage done
words, once you make an attack, that’s all you can do
that Phase.
Some Actions take so little time to perform that
they are Zero-Phase Actions. Characters can perform
Zero-Phase Actions at the beginning of a Phase or
after making a Half Move, but not after making an
attack. Zero-Phase Actions include turning a Power
on or off.
Some Actions take no time at all, and can be
performed whenever a character wishes, even if he
doesn’t have a Phase or has already acted in a Phase.
No time Actions include making a Presence Attack,
speaking, or making a roll when the GM asks you to.
See pages 233-237 for more information.
ATTACKS
A character’s Combat Value, or CV, determines
his chance to hit targets in combat, and to avoid being
hit. A character’s CV is equal to his (DEX/3). Thus, a
character with DEX 20 has a CV of 7 (20/3=7).
CV is divided into two subcategories, Offensive
Combat Value (OCV) and Defensive Combat Value
(DCV). OCV and DCV are both equal to CV. Thus, a
character with a CV of 7 has OCV 7, DCV 7. Various
Combat Maneuvers, Combat Skill Levels, and other
factors may modify a character’s OCV or DCV.
To attack, roll 3d6. To hit, you need to roll less
than or equal to a number calculated with this for-
mula: 11 + Attacker’s OCV - Defender’s DCV. Thus, if
the attacker has OCV 6, and the defender has DCV 4,
the attacker must roll (11+6-4=13) 13 or less to hit.
Mental Attacks are slightly different. They use
Ego Combat Value (ECV), equal to (EGO/3). Other-
wise, making a Mental Attack is basically the same as
making any other kind of attack.
See pages 243-246 for more information.
4 HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
to him, and applies the remainder (if any) to his With the HERO System, you can be more precise.
STUN and BODY. If a character hit with a 22 STUN, Figure out how to create your new item or spell using
6 BODY physical attack has 10 PD, he takes 12 STUN the HERO System, then create a similar item or spell
(22-10) and 0 BODY (6-10). But Normal Defenses from that other game and compare the two. This will
offer no protection against Killing Damage; for that, give you a good idea of whether your new creation
characters need Resistant Defenses, such as Armor or a works well as-is, or needs some adjustment. Once
Force Field. See page 273 for more information. your new creation is effective and balanced, simply
convert it over to the other rule system, and you’re set!
THE EFFECTS OF DAMAGE
If a character loses more STUN from a single
attack than he has points of CON, he becomes Go Out And Be A HERO!
Stunned (dazed and unable to act). In the above
Those are the basics. Now you can start design-
example, if the character has a CON of 12 or higher,
ing your first character and get ready to play your first
he won’t be Stunned by that attack; if his CON is 11
game!
or less, he’s Stunned. A Stunned character must spend
a Phase to recover from being Stunned before he can
act again.
If a character loses all of his STUN from one
IF YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH
or more attacks, he’s Knocked Out (unconscious) THE HERO SYSTEM
and completely unable to act. However, he wakes up
when he regains STUN. Characters regain lost STUN You’ve waited for it a long time, and here it is:
by taking Recoveries. For each Recovery taken, the the Fifth Edition. You’ve been helping us playtest it
character gets back his Recovery Characteristic (REC) for ten years, and it’s taken months to pull together
worth of STUN and END. our notes and your suggestions and write it. It reflects
If a character loses BODY, he’s injured — he an additional decade’s worth of experience with the
suffers burns, cuts, bleeding wounds, broken bones, system, and incorporates new rules from Dark Cham-
and so forth. If he loses all of his BODY (down to pions, the Ultimate series, the HERO System Almanacs,
0 BODY), he begins to bleed to death. When he and other products published during that time. We
reaches his negative BODY (for example, -10 BODY think the new HERO System rules are at once the most
for someone who normally has 10 BODY), he dies. comprehensive and streamlined ever — the best we’ve
Characters heal BODY damage at the rate of REC in yet produced — and we hope you’ll agree.
BODY per month.
See pages 273-275 for more information. Where’d It Go?
You’ll find that some Skills, Talents, Powers, or
What Else You Need To Play rules have moved. For example, Fast Draw is now a
The HERO System Rulebook, 5th Edition contains Skill, Find Weakness and Luck are Powers, and Instant
everything you need to create characters and settings Change has been eliminated as a separate Power (it’s
for a roleplaying campaign. All you need is paper to now a type of Transform). If you have trouble finding
write your character down on and some dice. If you’re something, just consult the Index.
the GM, you’ll either have to create a setting and
adventures for your campaign, or use published ones. Converting Fourth
Edition Characters
The Ultimate Gamer’s Toolkit
Many of you have run or played in HERO System
Maybe you’re used to playing other game sys- games for so long that you’ve got dozens, maybe
tems. We hope you’ll switch over to using the HERO even hundreds, of characters. You’ll probably want to
System, but even if you don’t want to do that, you convert them over to Fifth Edition. In most cases, no
can still use the HERO System to improve your other substantial changes are needed. That was our inten-
game. tion; we didn’t want to make changes which were
The HERO System is the ultimate gamer’s toolkit. marginally useful but would require the revision of
It can be used to build anything, from characters, to thousands of characters.
weapons, to spells, to vehicles, to whatever else you If the cost or nature of some of a character’s abil-
can think of. Because of the system’s internal rules ities has changed, the GM can use several approaches
and logic, characters, spells, and other game elements to resolve the situation. Guide yourself by what the
which have the same or similar point cost have the player wants to do, what’s most appropriate for the
same or similar effectiveness or power, all other things character, and what fits the character’s concept the
being equal. This makes it easy to determine whether best.
a new item, spell, or power is unusually powerful and In some cases, such as Flash, the change is really
effective before you use it in game play. Few game only cosmetic. In that case, you simply double the
systems provide this sort of resource. GMs and play- number of dice of Flash you have, since the cost has
ers who want to create something new typically have been changed, but so has the way the Power works —
to “guesstimate” whether it will be effective and bal- you don’t have to buy more, or fewer, dice to achieve
anced, or unusually powerful (and thus unbalancing the effect you were already achieving. Just change the
within the campaign).
HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION 5

number on the character sheet and move on. their characters’ level of power. At his option, the GM
However, there are cases, such as Aid, where the might give them some free Character Points to buy
cost of a Power has increased, but the effectiveness has some other abilities or powers to make up for the loss,
stayed the same. In short, a Fourth Edition character or eliminate a Disadvantage or two.
with, say, an 8d6 Aid now can only buy a 4d6 Aid for Sometimes the Fifth Edition rules provide a way
the same points. Several options are available. The to do something easily which was difficult under the
fairest one is for the GM to “grandfather” the char- Fourth Edition rules. For example, a character might
acter, giving him the additional Character Points he have bought Summon with a Linked Mind Control
needs to keep the character at the same level of power effect to guarantee that his summoned creatures
for free. It’s not very equitable to cut a character’s would obey him. Now Summon can do that by itself.
power in half just because the rules have changed; if The character should reconfigure his power according
the character was doing 8d6 Aid before, he probably to the new rules. If the new power costs more, the GM
ought to continue doing 8d6 Aid. Penalizing the char- should consider “grandfathering” him, as discussed
acter because of a change in the game system isn’t just. above.
Sidebars throughout this book provide specific notes In any case where a change in the HERO System
on grandfathering characters. rules saves your character points, congratulations!
However, in some situations, many GMs would You have some additional points you can spend (per-
rather not “grandfather” characters this way for haps on new abilities from this book). GMs should
reasons of campaign balance or fairness between not deprive characters of saved points just because a
characters. In that case, players will just have to reduce change in the rules makes something cheaper.