 6th Edition Generic Cover | |
| Designers | Steven S. Long |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Hero Games |
| Publication | 1990 (4th edition) 2002 (5th edition) 2004 (5th edition, revised) 2009 (6th edition)[1] |
| Genres | Universal |
| Systems | Custom |
| Website | Herogames.com |
The Hero System is a generic role-playing game system that was developed from the superhero RPG Champions. After Champions fourth edition was released in 1989, a stripped-down version of its ruleset with no superhero or other genre elements was released as The Hero System Rulesbook in 1990. As a spinoff of Champions, the Hero System is considered to have started with 4th edition (as it is mechanically identical to Champions 4th edition), rather than on its own with a 1st edition. However, the first three editions of the game are typically referred to as Champions, rather than the Hero System, as the game for its first three editions was not sold as a universal toolkit, instead largely focusing on superheroes.
The Hero System is used as the underlying mechanics of other Hero Games role-playing games such as Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, and Pulp Hero. It is characterized by point-based character creation and the rigor with which it measures character abilities. It uses only six-sided dice.