How to Run a Game of Champions

Champions, the flagship game of the HERO System, first appeared in 1981 and has become the foremost superhero role-playing game. Running Champions requires many of the same skills as running any other role-playing game, but there are considerations to the superhero genre that distinguish it from other games.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Preparing for the Game

1. Develop the ground rules for running the game. This means defining your style as the game master (GM), as well as establishing what you expect from your players and what they, in turn, can expect from you.
2. Pick an adventure setting that interests both you and your players. You need something that your players will be interested in, but also something that you personally are interested in running so you can convey that interest to your players. You can choose from either a pre-existing adventure scenario or make up your own.
3. Immerse yourself thoroughly in the HERO System rules. This is not so much to force the rules down your players' throats, but instead to understand where and when to adapt those rules to your style as GM. Some Powers, Skills, Advantages and Limitations may not be appropriate for what you plan to run; be upfront about this.
4. Lay down guidelines for how players should create their characters, unless you are providing characters you have created for them to play. Many GMs restrict Powers by either the number of Active Points in the Power (base points plus Advantages) or the number of Damage Classes the Power has (Active Points divided by five). Evaluate each character on a case-by-case basis, as some interesting abilities may not fit with an absolute limit. See the related eHow "How to Create a Champions Character" for character creation advice.
5. Get copies of the players' character sheets after they create their characters. Look for adventure hooks in the characters' Limitations and origin stories. Verify that the character, as created, fits with what you want to run; if not, discuss it with the player.

Running the Game

6. Decide if your adventure will be a stand-alone adventure or part of a story arc that will run across several game sessions. Stand-alone adventures have no effect on subsequent adventures and can serve as breathers from long campaigns, while story arcs allow for more substantial stories to be told.
7. Determine the theme of the story behind the game, as well as the plot. The plot is the story being told; the theme deals with the reasons for the story and the goals for the player characters (PCs) to achieve.
8. Convey the mood and atmosphere of the setting through the use of props and handouts, music, lighting, acting and narration. Be as detailed as appropriate and as clever as possible.
9. Make the player characters the focus of the story. Give each character the spotlight where appropriate.
10. Incorporate your players' ideas into the game where possible. Sometimes, their ideas might be better; other times, they might be more fun.
11. Mix role-play with combat. The best stories mix drama with conflict; so should yours.
12. Assign experience points to the PCs at the end of the game according to the nature of the adventure and how well the players participated.

Tips & Warnings

• The first time you run a game, consider having a more experienced GM sit in as one of your players.
• One way to encourage role-playing is through bluebooking, where the GM and players write out their actions and dialogue instead of acting them out. This is also a good way to pass information between the GM and only one or two players.
• Arbitrate the rules in a fair and balanced manner. When in doubt, err on the side of fun.
• Be aware of the conventions of the superhero genre. While high-fantasy role-playing adventures often revolve around quests for treasure and killing monsters, most superhero adventures involve stopping the villain's plans without bringing serious harm to anyone.
• In some games, the GM plays a non-player character (NPC) hero as well as the villains the player characters will encounter. While an NPC can be more powerful than any of the PCs, don't make them subservient to the NPC or use the NPC as a deus ex machina.