I am a fan of Hero

[imported_Witchking20k]

Ok, I am an admitted fan of the Hero System.  I know its cumbersome and has its flaws (like all games), but I have seen the most marginal gamers become totally immersed in their characters because of the over the top customizability!  Any others like me?  Oh, and the 12 phase combat round is makes for some pretty cool combats!

[imported_Raf Blutaxt]

That's one beast I haven't yet tackled Always thought about it, but never got around to it. Also I'm not really into supers and that always seemed to be their main focus.

[Arioch]

Never played it, mainly because I found out GURPS first. I've heard they're similar so I never felt the need of trying it (I'm not a fan of GURPS, I mean it's nice but character creation takes too long, and there are too much options for my tastes).
So, what's great about Hero? What makes it different from GURPS?

[wilcoxon]

In general, I'm not a fan of universal systems but I do love Hero System for Champions.  I've tried GURPS but just didn't like it (and don't remember enough about the mechanics to give a good comparison).

[imported_Witchking20k]

Hero is a beast of a system.....no doubt about it.....but, its kinda like RM in the regaurd that its strengths tend to make up for its weaknesses.

In the case of Hero; uber versatility.  You can literally do anything you want with it.  The process is a bit clunky and math heavy, but its worth it when you have a fully customized character because of it.  GMs have a lot of options on how to run the game...making it deadly or heroic, making magic a Sword & Sorcery style or a High Magic style etc.

IMO the best thing is the character Limitations system.  Its Highly usable by the GM, and actually limiting to the Character.  You can have standard limitations like:

Barbaric Character: 
The character is easily flustered & frustrated by the workings of cities.  While in a city the character must roll 11- or suffer a -1 penalty for interactions.

[imported_Raf Blutaxt]

There's a Hero version of Day After Ragnarok, so maybe I should give it a look, since DAR is one of the coolest settings I've seen in the last couple of years...

One of the great things about RM or Hero or other more complex games is that they require a certain level of dedication from all players. If a group has enough time to get as involved in a system as is necessary for them, then the game is almost certainly going to be very involved with lots of player buy-in and participation.

On the other hand there are quite a lot of people who just can't put that much time into gaming any more, so they tend to use more light-weight systems, making their gaming over all more casual in nature.
There's nothing wrong with either approach, just an observation I have made.

Sorry, I got side-tracked there

[imported_Witchking20k]

Its definately worth looking at, but if you're looking for rules lite....don't bother!  Its a "toolkit" for those with enough time to dedicate to a game.  Some of the core concepts (similar to RM) have crept into other games over the years.  I am a fan of the 3-18 roll under though....it basically allows for 1 more beer before your brain becomes math impaired.

[imported_Raf Blutaxt]

Well, there need to be quite a lot of beers, before my brain gets math impaired

[imported_Witchking20k]

Meee tooo.   But every little bit helps right!

[Lucifer_Drake]

Haven't played it or GURPS , too many options . I'd prefer to play Heroes Unlimited as I'm really familiar with RIFTS & Palladium Fantasy (both editions).

[imported_Witchking20k]

LOL.  Rifts is terrifying. 

[Lucifer_Drake]

At it's core it's fairly easy to run but it's up to the GM to limit what goes in or it becomes unmanagible.

[imported_Raf Blutaxt]

I always thought the idea of Rifts sounded very cool, but the game does have a reputation that's possibly even worse than that of RM

[imported_Witchking20k]

I have played Rifts a bunch.  Its some really inspiring materail....but the system is akward IMO and character creation is a chore.....although a spreadsheet makes it much easier.