Champions/HERO System Ruleset - FG 3.0

[Blackfoot]

Those who are interested can sign up here: https://www.fg-con.com/events/champions-warzone/

[[email protected]]

Hey Blackfoot I love to get a spot in this game but the FG-Con site isn't sending me my account registration confirmation to any email address I try... So is there a way in without going through the above link?

[Blackfoot]

You really 'SHOULD' work out your issue there. FG Con in general is pretty cool.. lots of games to play. There has been a con twice a year for the last.. 5 years?
So yeah.. try and get it to work.
If not.. are you REALLY using your email as your login name? That's probably not the best idea.
If you can't get it sorted ... I'll contact you off the forums.

[[email protected]]

Okay the FG-Con guys got it sorted. You should see my booking now. And yep I have no issues using my real email as my forum ID do it all the time from way back in the day before forums or (web pages for that matter) when we only had mailing lists... I have other ID's when places make you use something else for their false sense of security.

[Minethulhu]

Looks like there is still intention to get this released as a commercial product. Just add another +1 to the folks looking forward to getting this.

[Bidmaron]

Welcome to the boards, Minethulhu

[JennyRB]

Personally I have not played Champions, but I have played Heroes Unlimited a very long time ago. I'll keep a watch on this thread =^^=

[Michael Hopcroft]

Personally I have not played Champions, but I have played Heroes Unlimited a very long time ago. I'll keep a watch on this thread =^^=

Good luck on that, as Palladium are but a recent participant in the 21st Century but remain aggressively protective of their IP (and even of IP that isn't really theirs).

[Kevlyn]

Is there anywhere to get the Champions ruleset yet?

Thanks!

[Blackfoot]

I'm looking into adding a second PC portrait and a toggle for Name and Secret ID.. so that you can swap between identities in the chat window. I'm not sure how realistic this idea is at this point.

[Blackfoot]

So I got the name swapping to work easily enough. Now to try and figure out if I can swap portraits/tokens as well.

[Dayson]

Looks like there is still intention to get this released as a commercial product. Just add another +1 to the folks looking forward to getting this.
Add me to that list!

[DrakosDJ]

Add me to the list as well.

[[email protected]]

I would have been happy to pay for this rule-set anytime in the past 3 years so yeah +1

[Blackfoot]

We ran into some client side issues today that didn't quite seem right.. my code for both items is just a copy of the 3.5 code which tweaks CoreRPG.
The first was an issue with the combat tracker 'end turn' button not working after it was dragged to a hotkey by a client...
I tried it with the localhost and it showed the same issue. The code is just a placement of the template from CoreRPG...

The second was an issue with the 'Effects' window... for the clients, the 1st 2 columns got jumbled up on top of each other.. the 'apply' column seems to be dropping on top of the 'activate' column.. the code for this is utility_effects.xml which comes directly out of 3.5.. but this is only happening on the client side and not when I run the localhost.. localhost looks fine. Weird right? I don't understand why it would be any different between the host and the client.. much less the host computer and the clients.

And... after the game I got a friend to log in and he did NOT have the Effects window issue at all either... so now I'm really confused.

I'm thinking there is some privileges thing that is tweaked somewhere or something.

[Lallatwiddle]

Add me to the list please! I want this bad!

[Blackfoot]

I need a way to trick the combat tracker into NOT advancing when a PC goes immediately after himself. The tracker needs to do all the overhead of advancing, but remain on the same PC for another turn.

I really thought I had this one solved.. but it doesn't seem like I did.

[Valyar]

Is this ruleset available for download? I see a lot of logs in the first post.

[Blackfoot]

Is this ruleset available for download? I see a lot of logs in the first post.No it is not.

[Valyar]

No it is not.
Would you please shed some light on the topic - will it be available, in what form, when? Is this private project that will not be shared with the community?

A group is looking to play the Hero system, I want to advertise FG as VTT for online and F2F games tool and I would like to know, if possible, if this ruleset something that I can consider in the short or long term :)

[Blackfoot]

So a little update for those of you who are following this whole thing but aren't in the Champions group.
I have finally resolved the issue with the Combat Tracker skipping folks with high speeds who act twice in a row. Plus I've added a few other new features. I've slacked off a lot on my update/version info report postings... but I'll organize one and post it up. I'm just happy to be finally done with this particular problem.

Also.. all the varied issues caused by the CoreRPG/FG version update that happened last year seem to have all been cleared up.. so that's big too.. although I still need to finish fixing the unidentified PC thing.. which I guess is a cool feature.. but I miss the scaling numbers... and the code for the unID'd didn't come through transparently... so there is more code I need to add in order to make it actually work right.

[DrakosDJ]

Great to get the update. I;'m glad to here that you are still working on it and have made significant progress.

[Bonkon]

Good Day All :)
Blackfoot you have done amazing work on this project! I for one have always loved Champions since the original books came. I know you cannot share all your work, but is it allowed to share the character sheet you have made? I have no idea how to make one and would love to delve into it and learn.

Thanks and I hope you can get this authorized to sell and make a ton of cash, I know you would get some of mine :)

[Blackfoot]

I'm not sure that the Character Sheet would do you much good without the rest of the ruleset to back it up... everything is tied together.

The biggest and most awesome thing is the Combat Tracker that handles Champions segmented combat pretty much flawlessly at this point.
(I fixed a few more issues and added a few more features to it this past month)
OK.. so the character sheet functionality is very cool too.. but.. well.. at this point I wouldn't want to run Champions without the ruleset.

[Bonkon]

Good Day Blackfoot :)
Thanks for the quick reply :) I guess I will need to do more reading and YouTube searches for how to build the ruleset :)

[Blackfoot]

Good luck with that .. it has only taken me about .. 5 years and many many many hours for me to get mine to where it is. :)

[Bonkon]

I have seen that, it is impressive how hard you have worked and how dedicated you have remained :) I was hoping to see a Champions game at the FG Con and take a day off work to try it :)

[princeearwig]

So a little update for those of you who are following this whole thing but aren't in the Champions group.
How would one go about joining the Champions group?

I recently picked up my 6th edition ruleset and got reinvigorated for crunchy maths character creation

[esmdev]

Is Hero Games still the holdup on releasing the Champions ruleset?

[Blackfoot]

Is Hero Games still the holdup on releasing the Champions ruleset?Hero Games was never the holdup. They were interested when I contacted them.. 3 years ago.

[esmdev]

Hero Games was never the holdup. They were interested when I contacted them.. 3 years ago.

If that is the case is there a plan to actually make the ruleset available someday or are you doing this for yourself and just telling others what you are doing?

Considering how much I've spent on Hero through the ages, I'd be willing to drop $40-50 on a functional ruleset without thinking twice.

[Valyar]

If that is the case is there a plan to actually make the ruleset available someday or are you doing this for yourself and just telling others what you are doing?
+1 :)

[Blackfoot]

So I guess I 'could' run something HERO at FG Con next weekend..
I wonder if there would be enough interest at this point.

[Dayson]

So I guess I 'could' run something HERO at FG Con next weekend..
I wonder if there would be enough interest at this point.
I am sure you will have many requests, including me.

[Blackfoot]

I am sure you will have many requests, including me.
Apparently not so many as you thought.

[Trenloe]

Why not enter your event at FG Con, advertise it here, and then see? Not everyone who’s interested in playing Champions will regularly checking this thread. Time’s running out so better do it quickly if you’re still interested.

[wjpennington]

Woot. i just found this thread. as a diehard Champions/Hero system fan, I'm excited. The combat manager program that exists for Hero has left me less than impressed--I can run a game faster than I can make it through its clunk interface, so I hope this one s available soon.

[SFeanor]

Also very interested in this product. I hope there will soon be a first version which I can buy!

[Saz]

I was wondering if there was a Champions/Hero system module for FG in the works. Though I'm stupidly old school and it's 4th Ed for me. :)

I'm currently playing a Pirate game based on the 4th Ed system with my table group. Name escapes me though.

[rnadams2]

Another excited Hero System player/GM! I'd love to see what you've got, maybe help playtest if you're at that stage but not ready to release it yet.

[notdonwood]

Apparently not so many as you thought.

Add me as well. Just found out about this and have been reading all the pages to get an idea where things stand.

[GM_Champion]

Add me as well. Just found out about this and have been reading all the pages to get an idea where things stand.

Likewise - I just started running a face to face Champions 6E game a few months ago, and as it was much effort to put a table together here in the Raleigh-Durham area, I'd like to expand my own play opportunities.

Also with FG Unity underway, the timing is good to get some attention to HERO.

The only thing I ever thought HERO lacked was an ecosystem on par with D&D, Pathfinder, etc in terms of published adventures - even Traveller, another famous sandbox-style system, has as many or more adventures than Champions/HERO.

I want to believe that if FG gets a real (and easy to use) HERO implementation then individuals and Third Party Publishers would fill in the gaps with adventures - foes, NPCs, maps, locations, guidance on possible player actions, etc.

By way of comparison, I've briefly experienced a fairly decent fan-made HERO implementation over at FG's website-based competition, but the GM effort/knowledge required to get things going will be a barrier to some because only the most popular systems get staff-made implementations.

Whereas with FG, when a fan makes a ruleset, there's less technical knowledge required for the end user.

That competitor's implementation, btw, included clicking on a power on the character sheet to roll the correct amount of dice, etc. It didn't do the points math - you'd design a character elsewhere re: point costs, then just manually enter your powers etc in key areas.

Best of luck, and I'll be watching this thread!

Thanks for all your hard work this far!!!

[Blackfoot]

Also with FG Unity underway, the timing is good to get some attention to HERO.This is actually one of the reasons that I am GLAD I never released the ruleset. If previous experience is any indication, Unity will likely break it in a big bad way that will take me months to recover from.


The only thing I ever thought HERO lacked was an ecosystem on par with D&D, Pathfinder, etc in terms of published adventures - even Traveller, another famous sandbox-style system, has as many or more adventures than Champions/HERO.I can't disagree with you there. The versatility of HERO makes it possible to adapt to any setting really.. but it takes a lot of work to set it up and convert existing material. The ruleset helps a fair bit with this, but when running in FG things need to be a lot more concrete than when running FtF.. Running HERO can be pretty daunting at times. Once you become an experienced GM this lessens a bit, you realize that there are only certain key values that are important for enemies and you are able to create them 'on the fly' to some extent.. less easy to do in FG but still possible. When I run HERO I generally build everything well in advance. Generic 'thugs' or 'agents' run quite easily.


Whereas with FG, when a fan makes a ruleset, there's less technical knowledge required for the end user.This is probably true.. although it is generally better to understand the rules, not everything can be implemented easily as part of a ruleset and it is important to know when the GM needs to make a call.. or where the ruleset's limitations are.


That competitor's implementation, btw, included clicking on a power on the character sheet to roll the correct amount of dice, etc. It didn't do the points math - you'd design a character elsewhere re: point costs, then just manually enter your powers etc in key areas.The ruleset not only rolls the right dice for each power, it applies effects based on die rolls when the power doesn't do 'damage' as 'damage'. It has a ton of features attached to it at this point.

[GM_Champion]

Blackfoot,

Once FG Unity breaks things, and presuming you are motivated to fix them, do you plan to release it to the public?

Just curious - FG Unity is looking nice enough for me to take the plunge once it's out of beta, but HERO support would be icing on the cake!!!

Zanzibaran

[trechriron]

I'm also keen to see this done for FG. Would be happy to support a Patreon for someone working hard on this...

I need to learn FG better, but I'm happy to help (or QA...).

[trechriron]

Also, would you be willing to share what you have done thus far so we could use it on the current version? Unity is a ways off...

[Blackfoot]

The most current information (and lots of screenshots) is/are available in the HERO/Champions Group.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/group.php?groupid=3

[GM_Champion]

The most current information (and lots of screenshots) is/are available in the HERO/Champions Group.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/group.php?groupid=3

Blackfoot - impressive, and thank you!

Question - do any of the threads have a link for downloading, or is it literally only being used by your circle of HERO gamers and no one else?

(I.e. I'd download it and try it out if I could)

Thanks,

Zanzibaran

[rnadams2]

Blackfoot - impressive, and thank you!

Question - do any of the threads have a link for downloading, or is it literally only being used by your circle of HERO gamers and no one else?

(I.e. I'd download it and try it out if I could)

Thanks,

Zanzibaran

I second this.

[DangerVin]

I second this.

Consider this thirded. :)

[Nullcron]

Is there a .pak file somewhere to download? If it is not complete I can help complete it.

[Blackfoot]

There is no public release of the ruleset.

[Nullcron]

Is there a private release? Maybe for a play tester/developer/graphic designer who want to contribute to such a noble quest?

[DeviousHeart]

Yes, what he said.

[bawsr]

I agree. Have you considered doing a Patreon or kickstarter or something?

[GM_Champion]

There is no public release of the ruleset.

Blackfoot, Unity has been in thr wild for 8 months now - did it break your HERO implementation in a small way (fixed within a few weeks) or a large way (months to recover as you speculated earlier in this thread) ?

Thanks in advance!

[Blackfoot]

Blackfoot, Unity has been in thr wild for 8 months now - did it break your HERO implementation in a small way (fixed within a few weeks) or a large way (months to recover as you speculated earlier in this thread) ?

Thanks in advance!

I have only looked at it rather superficially so I am not sure. Unity doesn't really seem to be 'done' so I am still waiting to see.

[quirkygamer]

I have only looked at it rather superficially so I am not sure. Unity doesn't really seem to be 'done' so I am still waiting to see.

As others say. When it's finished would love to hear about it. You're doing awesome work from the sounds of this thread. And if there is a kickstarter (or equivalent) definitely let us know how we can help support you.

[Rhair3]

As others say. When it's finished would love to hear about it. You're doing awesome work from the sounds of this thread. And if there is a kickstarter (or equivalent) definitely let us know how we can help support you.

Would love to see this finished. But that being said I would love to get your feedback specifically playing hero on FG. Even without ur ruleset in use is FG a better platform vtt for a Homebrew post appocolyptic 5e hero game than say Roll20 that has permissions to use some hero stuff? Sorry I'm new to this stuff but love DMing champions. I have a lot of monsters made and drawn as well as maps and such that if I could I would love to add and start a new group to play. Which system would be easier to use do u think?

[Blackfoot]

The ruleset does a lot to make playing HERO easier. I have been running a game with the ruleset for... 3? years now? Compared to running tabletop or with another VT with no ruleset it is night and day.
I'm not going to say it does everything.. but it tracks Speed... handles most of the standard combat stuff and a lot of the special stuff.
It's pretty cool, if I say so myself. 😁

[Rhair3]

The ruleset does a lot to make playing HERO easier. I have been running a game with the ruleset for... 3? years now? Compared to running tabletop or with another VT with no ruleset it is night and day.
I'm not going to say it does everything.. but it tracks Speed... handles most of the standard combat stuff and a lot of the special stuff.
It's pretty cool, if I say so myself. 

But FG does not have ur ruleset yet so basically for me any vtt will do or possibly Roll20 which does have the Hero system loaded but is a monthly fee.... Yuck. Lol

[Cabbitzilla]

Jumping in to express quite a lot of interest in this. On a whim I ponied up for a Unity license since it was on sale, then went hunting to see what was available. I've read through 36+ pages of thread to be here. :) Champions 5th Edition is one of my favorite systems of all time! Somewhere in the basement of this house is the hardcover Heroes 5th Core book... when I had to do the panic sale of my place and move out, very little got labeled. Ah well. I have a PDF too. I've applied/joined the group as well, so I'm tracking updates there too. Hi there, Blackfoot! You're awesome! How goes your Great Work?

[corum Rask]

Are these Champions Ruleset read to download and play? I have been a Champions Fan for more than 20 years. I would love to play this game on Fantasy Grounds

[Dragonrose0]

I played champions first ed back in high school (ok I'm showing my age) and been a fan of the system ever since. I have both classic and unity and would love to be a beta tester for you. I hope you have some sort of release soon.

[Kingfish]

VERY interested in this ruleset. I ran an extended Champions 4th Ed campaign back in the early 90s...HUGE fun. I have EVERYTHING HERO games published for 3rd and 4th editions. I missed out on the 5th ed but I hope the best parts are still there and they fixed some of the glaring issues. To have the ability to run this via FGU, just wow!

[Zotman]

Just another post to express further interest in this rule set.

[Minethulhu]

Kickstarter. Sign me up.

[Vaughn Romero]

Count me in as someone interested in seeing this ruleset see release. Hopefully a Unity conversion is feasible.

[HWCarver]

Kickstarter. Sign me up.

Me too. Hero System is seriously underappreciated. Maybe online play can get enough activity among our small niche of RPG-land that more people will want to check it out.

p.s. A Unity conversion seems almost Necessary these days.

[Ryuson]

Another fan for the HERO/Champions rule set! Would especially be interested in something that allowed some options - 4e was my fave but would probably want a mix of 4e - 6e.

[Dragonrose0]

this all sounds fantastic on paper but you have been leading us on for nearly 6 years. it's starting to feel like a Blizzard release date always on the horizon but never coming to fruition. Don't get me wrong I hope it's as fantastic as it sounds but I have people that want to play now. so untell something is released I will need to cobble together a char sheet using the Ruleset wizard I'm not a coder so it will have little in automation and I hate to reinvent the wheel but until someone has something for HERO I have little choice

I hope there is a release soon

[Blackfoot]

Well.. the ruleset is currently a bit of a wreck in FGU..
I am trying to resolve the issues but there are a lot of them.

[LordEntrails]

I have people that want to play now. so untell something is released I will need to cobble together a char sheet using the Ruleset wizard I'm not a coder so it will have little in automation and I hate to reinvent the wheel but until someone has something for HERO I have little choice
I hope you start a new thread and share what you come up with!

[Dragonrose0]

im not a programer but will let you know

[Blackfoot]

Most of the FGU related issues have now been resolved. There were far too many to list... as well as the issues related to the most recent update... v4.1.12

I had a week off so I puttered with a bunch of new features and bugs.

BUG - The Status Bars on the Party Sheet are still displaying improperly on startup - FIXED (12-15-21)
NEW FEATURE - Weapon and Armor Lists in Item Window - ADDED (12-25-21)
ENHANCED FEATURE - Items now include more appropriate and useful information - ADDED (12-26-21)
NEW FEATURE - Functional, drop-able Maneuvers and Modifiers with descriptions and effects - ADDED (12-27-21)
BUG - FG is automatically adding words on the front of dropped links, these were often the WRONG words - FIXED (12-27-21)

[damned]

Nice! Any screenshots?

[Mr_Fixxit]

I am very much interested in trying out both the regular and unity versions of this, buggy or otherwise. Add me to the list of people willing to test and give feedback. Thanks :)

[Rose Claymore]

I have been looking forward to this for a long time, and I'm finding some of my long distance friends are itching for some online games of Champions. I'm willing to test, troubleshoot, beta or whatever is needed to keep this moving forward.

[jkagie]

I am very interested as well.
Will this be released here or somewhere else?

[Guzalot]

I have been looking forward to this for a long time, and I'm finding some of my long distance friends are itching for some online games of Champions. I'm willing to test, troubleshoot, beta or whatever is needed to keep this moving forward.

Ditto!

[JasonYarnell]

Please still be working on this

[Blackfoot]

Jason.
I remember you from the HeroCentral days.

The project is still a thing. The ruleset is very functional. I'm not really sure what a release looks like.

[JasonYarnell]

Jason.
I remember you from the HeroCentral days.

The project is still a thing. The ruleset is very functional. I'm not really sure what a release looks like.

Ah, the good 'ol days of HeroCentral...man, that brings back memories. That was my launching pad into the industry.

I am very glad to hear this is still a thing. I very much want to have this and will throw money at it when it is available to do so.

[Arrix]

I'm also looking forward to this. We recently switched to FG and really like the software so far. The only less ideal thing is the missing support for a many systems out there, the Hero system being one of them.

We don't plan on switching to another VTT anytime soon so when this is ready we probably gonna try it out and start tackling the character creation for the first time.

[rmilmine]

Is this ruleset available?
If so, how do I get it?

[rickyhunt]

Put it in the Forge and charge for it. I will happily pay a reasonable price for a 6e ruleset.

[Blackfoot]

Not 6e.. 5e.

[Rose Claymore]

5e or 6e, a lot of people are looking for exactly this.

[Ryuson]

Forge also allows donations. Just saying ��

[gbhenderson]

Add me to the "Shut up and take my money!" list. Looking forward to the day you can finally release this.

[Kingfish]

Add me to the "Shut up and take my money!" list. Looking forward to the day you can finally release this.

Same...

[wjpennington]

only 5e? Drat. Though it really wouldn't take much to make a 6e version once a 5e is finished really.

[GrizzledNoob]

Where do I get the 5e version? I don't see it in the forge or anywhere to download.

[bawsr]

Still very much waiting for this. Anything would be good. :)

[wjpennington]

Just release what you have, and maybe get community help. Its been ten years.

[Bonkon]

Good Day All :)
There is a MoreCore Champions here:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?77974-Champions-(MoreCore-Extension)
It is 6th edition and is just the bare bones but looks like it will work. :)