RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books King Snarf's Natural 20!: Hero High!

Hero High is the Mutants & Masterminds sourcebook dedicated to teen heroes and their zany shenanigans. Info is included for both players and GMs alike on playing and running teen hero games. But does Hero High pass the test? Let's find out!

Before I do a chapter by chapter breakdown, I'd like to talk about the general tone and presentation first. Each chapter begins with a bit of (very) short fiction starring the new Freedom City campaign heroes, the Alterniteens (more on them when I talk about Chapter 4). This is the kind of thing that used to be in more than a few rpgs for a time (White Wolf's various publications come to mind), then fell out of fashion for a time. I'm glad to see this kind of thing make a comeback for this book. First, every fiction excerpt in this book is quite well written and entertaining. Second, this is the kind of thing that helps set the tone for the chapter at hand in an engaging way. So that's always a plus.

The other thing about the presentation is the tone. The book's author writes this in a very informal, humorous fashion, with many jokes, running gags, and teen vernacular. Aside from making for a fun read, this helps set Hero High from some of the other superthemed sourcebooks on the market. After all, teen heroes are more likely to get sucked into zany schemes or have life impact them in a humorous fashion, and the style presented herein helps capture that often light-hearted tone found in those books. On the whole, it's very reminiscent to the writing style used in Eden Studios Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, and trust me, that's not a bad thing, given the high quality of that book.

Chapter 1 is an overview of the teen hero genre and the kind of styles of play that can result. Instead of starting off with a history lesson of the genre, like many other M&M books, Hero High stands apart in that it kicks off with interviews with several comic creators, including Tom Brevoort, Paul Jenkins, Robert Kirkman, and Stan Lee, among others. It's a nice touch, and very enlightening at times. It then seques into a brief discussion on the various styles of campaigns that can be played with teen heroes, including a short look at teen heroes through the various ages of comics. A Golden Age game starring teen sidekicks is going to be rather different than one set during the Grim 'n' Gritty era, after all.

Chapter 2 is all about the basics of making teen heroes as opposed to adult heroes. Modifiers for skills and abilities are suggested (as kids generally grow into their powers more than adult heroes), and several new teen-appropriate feats and drawbacks are presented. The chapter concludes with several PL8 archetypes. While the archetypes are good, many are clearly pastiches of famous characters, and no notes for customization or modification are given. For example, one of the archetypes is The Kid & Mystic Ally, which you can guess is comparable to DC's Jakeem Thunder. While the default Ally is clearly magic, some notes on converting the ally to something else appropriate to the genre, like a robot or a giant monster, would've made the archetypes more useful. Overall, though, they provide solid templates for inspiration.

Chapter 3, the largest in the book, is all about running a teen game. Everything from general issues like theme and setting to specific aspects of teen life, like family, school, and free time, and how those aspects can be incorporated into a game, is detailed here. This whole section is incredibly thorough, and numerous notes and suggestions for plot and adventure hooks are given. This whole chapter is useful for player and GM alike, and since the bulk of it is rules and stat free, it's useful for games other than M&M.

When they do have stats, it's awesome. Several example supervehicles and super-pets are given. Also, no superhero book would be complete without a discussion of villains, and Hero High is no exception. Villains for teen heroes are broken down into three broad categories, the Ages of Innocence, Escalation, and Maturity. To use an example from comics, the zany Mad Mod is an example of a simple villain that doesn't cause much drama, Deathstroke raises the stakes, and when Trigon shows up, the Titans had better get their act together or the world's toast. Three sample villains are then presented for Gamemaster use, one for each age (more villains are presented in a pdf spin-off production, which I'll discuss after the main review).

This is a solid, fun, idea-inspiring chapter. Basically anything you could think to throw at teen heroes, from peer pressure to weird families to that jerk teacher, is mentioned. Altogether a great look on how to bring in many disparate elements that comprise the genre.

Chapter 4 is all about Freedom City's heroic teen residents. Claremont Academy, the setting's stand-in for the Xavier School and home of the Next-Gen, is described in detail. Stats for various staff members are given, and a list of prominent students is also found herein. Instead of actually statting the kids out, though, general guidelines for powers and skills are given, allowing player or GM to stat said students as PCs or NPCs. After that, the Alterniteens are presented. A group of dimension-spanning teen heroes who crash at Claremont, the Alterniteens are a fun addition to an already fun setting. Hands down, my favorite of these is Whoop-Ant - imagine Hank Pym as a hyperactive teenage boy and that pretty well sums up the character. This chapter concludes with some of the secret history of Claremont (and the FC setting as a whole) providing ideas for any kind of Freedom City campaign, not just ones focused on those meddling kids.

The art in Hero High, even given M&M's usual standards, is phenomenal here. All the artists tapped for this book deliver an engaging, light-hearted style that's a perfect fit for the subject material.

Overall, Hero High is a phenomenal supplement for the M&M game system, and darn good book as far as rpgs in general. Simply put, Hero High makes the grade with honors!