HEROIC ENCOUNTERS - PDF Download

[Hellfire]

THE RULES

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Rulebook
Unit Cards

Designer's Note

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I love narrative. It is why I enjoy playing games, watching films, reading books, and telling stories. That is what brings me here.

As a continually passive visitor to Heroscapers, I feel like my connection to the community is becoming all the more distant. I’ve even started to type up a post or two to respond to commentary but then decide not to (“I don’t have time” ... “Most of the old C3Gers that’d be interested in my thoughts are gone” ... “This section of Heroscapers does not know me and probably would be shocked that I have one post, let alone a couple thousand.”) Indeed, I don’t think the faceless avatar people of Heroscapers know me all that well. Most of my community interaction went on behind the scenes in C3G Sanctums ... I was chasing release photos, writing release posts, making atrocious videos and posters, trying to establish a social media presence (Epic fail! I suppose there wasn’t much of an audience left at that point anyway.), testing my sanity by establishing some form of Organized Play with ongoing events and narrative, and even designing an unfinished magazine (Sanctum Access). And so it is that I routinely and unceremoniously convince myself to let go of Heroscapers.

But here I am again with something to share.

Last weekend, I went to my FLGS and saw a whole host of people playing Heroscape. It brought back memories of working with the C3G gang--playtesting, promotions, proposals, and all. That warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia hit me and subsequently reminded me of this ruleset sitting on my desktop in the form of an InDesign file. And so it is that I present this to all of you today ... or perhaps to an audience of one ... yeah, that’d be me.

This project started as a vague vision. At first, I thought that vision would be satisfied by simply designing some house rules that made use of existing C3G concepts. Anyone who followed this project in the early days got to see ability cards, distinction add-ons, and the like. Some found these spirited attempts to be ... interesting ... you know, similar to when you were a kid and telling your mom some amazing new pseudoscientific discovery that involves jumping over a particular rock in your backyard in order to acquire heightened senses, “That’s interesting, dear.”

Notwithstanding, I believe Heroic Encounters is better than “interesting.”

Heroic Encounters is a custom fan-made project that has taken a long, long time to create. As mentioned, it started out as a house rules project for playing C3G’s awesome variant of Heroscape. There is an inherant beauty in the C3G rules system--it builds on the elegant simplicity that is Heroscape but distinguishes itself as something super (yes, pun intended). In no way is the Heroic Encounters ruleset designed to be better than or usurp Heroscape, C3G, or any other custom project for that matter...I don’t think I’d dare be so audacious as to cliaim that what essentially became a one-man project is anywhere near perfected.

However, as this vision continued to develop it became something ... different and unique--Thereby, in my opinion, it is worth sharing. And that is what I present to you today. There are many recognizable concepts. Heroic Encounters makes use of Heroscape combat dice, similar rulesets for skulls, shields, elevation and the like. Even so, this is a very different game. Heroscape tiles are gone (although they could still be used, if desired), figures have more stats, skills and powers are differentiated, and each scenario’s objectives and subplots are essential as players carry out plans and acquire victory points in the process.

So what makes Heroic Encounters unique from say, Heroscape? My hope and belief is that the answer to that question is, “Narrative.” So please, go tell a story.

Happy Scaping,

Hellfire

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[quozl]

Wow! I just skimmed this and it looks incredible.

Good to see you post again!

[Hellfire]

Originally Posted by quozl

Wow! I just skimmed this and it looks incredible.

Good to see you post again!

Thanks Q. I've made a couple updates to fix a number of mistakes.

I'm glad the rulebook made a good first impression.

[L0B5T3R]

I can tell an Incredible amount of work went into this! Amazing job.

P.S. Some of those (what appear to be?) customs near the end look stellar, like Ego.

[Hellfire]

Originally Posted by L0B5T3R

I can tell an Incredible amount of work went into this! Amazing job.

P.S. Some of those (what appear to be?) customs near the end look stellar, like Ego.

Thanks, L0B5T3R. Always good to know that the work is appreciated ... the project took longer than I like to admit. I originally wanted a more "professional" look but as time continued on I felt it best to just post it and treat it as a living document rather than selfishly hiding it away until everything is perfect. My gaming group finds the game to be quite fun so I thought some here would also enjoy trying it out.

That Ego is indeed custom made. I made it as an experiment--using styrofoam balls, paper towels, glue, water, and toothpicks. As I have branched out to other games I've been doing a lot more customizing and hope to post more in the future.

Additionally, I'll be posting character cards here in the future (ASAP). A family emergency required my attention for the past few weeks and I just got back home yesterday (everyone is alive)

[IAmBatman]

How did I not know this existed until now? This should get front page and Codex treatment!

[Hellfire]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

How did I not know this existed until now? This should get front page and Codex treatment!

I suppose I never really finished the project (grad school sucked my life away) and I posted it in a kind of dead time on the forums. We did play a game of it last night tho ...

Justice League and Avengers Vs. Asgardian Villains and Justice League Villains. Evil took the day.

Spoiler Alert!

[IAmBatman]

Very cool. I see you ditched the hexes. Grishnak terrain, I presume?

[Hellfire]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

Very cool. I see you ditched the hexes. Grishnak terrain, I presume?

Yeah, the buildings are Grish designs. I built the streets with foam board (to sculpt the sidewalks), MDF, sandpaper, and paint. From there, we just measure distances like a traditional wargame.

[Tornado]

Like how far is a standard move in inches, in comparison to like a move of 5?
Did I as this before because I am getting a dejavu vibe?