[davidlhsl]

Part I: Initial Questions You May Have

Before we begin with the guide proper, you probably have some questions. Some of your questions will be described in more detail later, but here are some I anticipate that I'd like to answer out of the gate:

Q: Will we ever see the stats on the Marvel Wave 1 figures that were promised but never released?
A: This question gets asked a lot, and I simply don't know. The stats would be interesting purely from a curiosity perspective. If the information was released, that would just bump the "official" Superhero count from 10 to 20. I don't know about you, but that's hardly a full and satisfying collection for me. Besides, you'd only get three of the Fantastic Four.

Once you've seen the vast collection of customs provided here, I hope you will see that these customs have expanded the Superhero universe far more extensively than if we had relied on the official release.

Q: Are superheroes compatible with classic Heroscape?
A: This is a very touchy subject. Griffin has a really great read here that addresses that.

Still, there are some people who do play Supers with Classic, even though other people keep them separate. There have been some Supers, such as C3G's Jonah Hex, which have been designed with some Classic figures in mind while still maintaining a stance of separation.

Basically, it's important to understand that while some Supers were designed with specific Classic figures in mind; my understanding is that most, if not all, Superhero customs were designed to be played primarily within the Superhero universe and not with Classic. As a result, Superheroes are not as extensively designed with Classic in mind, so balance issues and unforeseen synergies may actually lurk. One of the biggest items I see is that Classic is squad-centric, while Superheroes are hero-centric.

But you will have to be the final word on whether you decide to mix the two. If you do, you can always tweak problem areas as needed. It is, after all, YOUR game.

Q: What figures are used for customs? Are the customs figures difficult to find? Are they expensive?
A: As more people find their way to Superhero customs, there will likely be a greater demand for those figures. You should expect availability of those figures to drop. The cost can vary anywhere from 50 cents per figure up to over $50 per figure.

In my own experience, I've been able to toss 30 figures into my shopping cart and reach a total of less than $50. That varies, but isn't atypical for the most common units. The great news is that the most iconic Superheroes tend to have a wide variety of figures available, and tend to be the least expensive.

The figures selected are from a Superhero game system produced by WizKids called HeroClix. HeroClix is its own game system with its own set of rules. The figures are the same scale as Heroscape, making them ideal of use with your Heroscape terrain. I will go into more detail later, but there are online companies where you can purchase specific singles without having to pull your hair out with blind booster purchases.

If you can't find the unit you need, you can resort to proxies. That really isn't as bad as it sounds. Consider this: even chess players use proxies. That's why you have Civil War Chess Sets, Lord of the Rings Chess Sets, and Star Wars Chess Sets, just to name a few. I'll discuss proxies in more detail later.

Q: I notice that there are multiple Heroclix figures that have the same figure, but have titles such as Rookie and Veteran. Which do I buy?
A: The Heroclix game system releases superheroes at different power levels. Examples are Rookie, Veteran, and Experienced. This is part of the collectible aspect of Heroclix, and this is how they get you to buy more booster packs. You may have bought a Rookie Batman, but he will have less powerful stats than an Experienced Batman. For use as customs in Heroscape, we don’t have to worry about those designations, because we won't use the Heroclix stats. So you can purchase whichever is available and least expensive without worry.

Q: I’ve noticed pictures of these figures have different bases, and I’ve seen discussions about rebasing Heroclix figures. I really don’t want to do this, because I might damage the figure or want to use them to play Heroclix. Is rebasing necessary?
A: No! I will discuss this topic in its own chapter, but the main reason people rebase their figures is to make the figures look like they are a part of the official Heroscape set. The only figures I’ve rebased are figures on flying stands.

Another reason people rebase is to allow the figures to be used on ladders. I’ve actually come up with a handy method where figures using their original Heroclix bases can still climb ladders. Please see my chapter on rebasing for details.

Q: Do I need to know the rules of HeroClix to play?
A: No. The customs created here are designed with the Marvel Heroscape rules in mind. Some customs, such as C3G, even provide their own rulebook with information pertaining to their units. And that rulebook is really rules for equipment glyphs, one optional rule set for knockback, and a bunch of scenarios. You're basically playing the Heroscape you already know and love. HeroClix only provides the figures that you need to play.

Q: Do I need the Marvel Master Set to play?
A: Honestly, no! You can download the rulebook from Heroscapers.com, but you can play with whatever you have. If you want to build some of the maps that are here, you might want a couple of Master Sets for the terrain. But the castle set is probably used more heavily with Superheroes than the Marvel stuff.

Q: Are Superhero Customs balanced?
A: Unfortunately, not always. Customs designers simply don't have the time or resources necessary to perform the testing that is essential to properly cost and ensure abilities aren't broken in a gameplay sense.

One major exception to this is the C3G Project, which I will discuss later. C3G employs a very rigorous design and testing process, which produces units that are very well balanced.

Other customs creators do provide and receive feedback from each other. This collaboration does catch some potential problems during the design phase. Furthermore, many in the customs community now have extensive experience of a year and even longer. This experience is able to catch the most common design pitfalls.

It's also important to know that a customs designer will primarily design his or her units with each other in mind. When mixed with figures outside their set, you may find conflicts or synergy breaks. I will discuss how to deal with this when I discuss tweaking.

Complicating this issue is that some customs designers actually design customs more for the joy of realizing their favorite figures in card form rather than actually putting them into play. Also, there are customs creators who design figures as a prerequisite of designing for C3G. Finally, some creators design customs faster than they are able to put them into play. In all cases, there are usually ways to tweak these units for actual gameplay.

There are some projects that I will discuss later in more detail that do offer more than just casual feedback.

If you'd like an example of how customs play, please check out my Battle Story thread. These are from actual games that I've played. I've written these battle reports in the form of stories to make them more interesting.

Q: If there are balance issues with Customs, then should I avoid them?
A: That's for you to decide, but I think you're missing out on a really fantastic gaming experience if you do. Many conflicts are easily resolved through some tweaking. For example, I saw one designer's version of Commissioner Gordon that establishes synergy with his own Batman. However, his Batman has a different personality than the personality many others use for Batman. Solution: Change the reference on Commissioner Gordon's card to refer to the Batman you use if you decide not to use his Batman. I'll go into this in a lot more detail later, but do know that there are ways to deal with these issues.

Another possible solution is to pick one creator's customs set, and play within just that collection without combining with other customs. But there are advantages to mixing that you should consider. The main advantage is that you likely have interests in specific comics areas (e.g., X-Men, Spiderman), and branching out allows you to complete the figures you're most interested in playing.

Finally, let me offer these things that I hope will put the issue in perspective and ease any concerns you have:
(1) Even the official game has errata. Nobody's perfect.
(2) Customs designers do not get paid for this. They provide their talents free of charge to the community at large.
(3) This is your game. You do not have to complete anyone's collection. You can pick and choose any figures you want. Nobody is going to kick down your door if you lower a figure's attack or give a character flying. If you have a regular group of friends you play with, you have a great collaborative resource.

Q: I'd like to play X's customs, but X doesn't have a card for a favorite Superhero of mine. Do I just have to wait?
A: For customs created by individuals, some will gladly take requests depending on their own workload and your own laundry list. But customs projects, and many individuals, are usually too busy for this. Most customs creators are actually involved in several projects. So you should expand your reach beyond just one customs collection.

Example: As of this writing, the C3G project is working on the Fantastic Four. Now I'd love to play with the Fantastic Four figures. Thanks to the extensive collection of customs available, I actually have! So I've gotten play from Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and Thing while waiting for C3G. Once C3G releases their set, I'll add theirs to my collection.

Finally...
You probably have many more questions, but I think it's time to move along. Once you have been introduced to the other topics, some of those questions may have been answered.