Hero Kids space heroes

This expansion for Hero Kids includes ten space heroes for use with space adventures (although these heroes are 100% compatible with all other Hero Kids adventures):

Brute - The pandian's strength and size makes him formidable in melee combat
Force-Binder - This alien Nadi can push enemies with his powerful magic
Merc - The merc's armor protects her from all but the most powerful attacks
Nadic Healer - This Nadic binds the weave to heal her allies
Scoundrel (Female) - Trained in gunnery, the scoundel is a cunning combatant
Scoundrel (Male) - And expert pilot, this scoundrel is as slippery as they come
Sharpshooter - This alien's ultra-spectral visor enhances his aim
Trooper - The trooper's armor protects him while he lines up his enemies
Warrior (Female) - The alien warrior's ion sword and quick feet get her in and out of trouble
Warrior (Male) - Years of training has honed the warrior's skill with his blade

Space Adventures Released!

The Hero Kids space adventures and heroes are now available on DriveThruRPG!  This brave new world of space adventure for Hero Kids includes:

•   Hero Kids - Space Expansion - Hero Cards - Set 1
•   Hero Kids - Space Adventure - Trouble At Threshold Station
•   Hero Kids - Space Adventure - Tyranny's Shadow
•   Hero Kids - Space Adventure - Secret of the Crystal Cave

Hero Cards

This expansion for Hero Kids includes ten space heroes for use with space adventures (although these heroes are 100% compatible with all other Hero Kids adventures):
•   Brute - The pandian's strength and size makes him formidable in melee combat
•   Force-Binder - This alien Nadi can push enemies with his powerful magic
•   Merc - The merc's armor protects her from all but the most powerful attacks
•   Nadic Healer - This Nadic binds the weave to heal her allies
•   Scoundrel (Female) - Trained in gunnery, the scoundel is a cunning combatant
•   Scoundrel (Male) - And expert pilot, this scoundrel is as slippery as they come
•   Sharpshooter - This alien's ultra-spectral visor enhances his aim
•   Trooper - The trooper's armor protects him while he lines up his enemies
•   Warrior (Female) - The alien warrior's ion sword and quick feet get her in and out of trouble
•   Warrior (Male) - Years of training has honed the warrior's skill with his blade

Trouble At Threshold Station

The Trouble At Threshold Station adventure finds the kids travelling Threshold Station, avoiding a deadly meteor shower, then attempting to sell spare parts to a merchant. However, once the trade is complete the kids are ambushed by raiders and must fight to escape.
•   Adventure with four encounters and three new maps
•   Includes four monsters: Raider leader, sawblade raider, gauss-gun raider, and stunner raider

Tyranny's Shadow

The Tyranny's Shadow adventure sees the kids investigating a mysterious cargo ship that has landed at the space port at Kali Outpost. The heroes discover that the ship is full of droids in preparation for an attack by the tyrannical Droid Authority. The heroes have a number of options to tackle the threat, including using droid control scarab equipment to take control of the enemy droids.
•   Adventure with six encounters and seven new maps
•   Includes four monsters: Recon droid, combat droid, battle droid, and dark binder
•   Includes equipment: Droid control scarab

Secret of the Crystal Cave

The Secret of the Crystal Cave adventure takes place in a branching cave system that presents challenges, both fierce creatures and dangerous terrain, before the heroes can claim a weave shard of their own.
•   Adventure with six-eight encounters and eight new maps
•   Includes three monsters: Spine rat, viperwing, water beast
•   Includes six new equipment: Shimmering shard, focus shard, fractured shard, faceted shard, shattering shard, needle shard

Here are those links again:

•   Hero Kids - Space Expansion - Hero Cards - Set 1
•   Hero Kids - Space Adventure - Trouble At Threshold Station
•   Hero Kids - Space Adventure - Tyranny's Shadow
•   Hero Kids - Space Adventure - Secret of the Crystal Cave

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Flat Plastic Heroes!

In addition to the upcoming space heroes (and adventures), I'm also teaming up with the guys at Arknight for their Flat Plastic Miniatures Kickstarter campaign!

We've just announced a set of 62 flat plastic Hero Kids minis, which includes 40 heroes (the three existing sets of heroes, plus the upcoming Space Heroes), 10 pets, and a selection of monsters, all for $25 as an add-on for any of their other pledges.

Flat Plastic Miniatures - Triple Update (Hero Kids)

Their minis looks amazing, here's a peek at some of their core set:

If the heroes pack goes well on Kickstarter, then we'll unleash monster packs too.

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

¡Hero Cards now in Spanish!

¡The Hero Kids hero cards are now available in Spanish on DriveThruRPG!

Grab them here: Hero Kids - Supplement - Hero Cards - Spanish

Special thanks to Imanol Bautista for the translations.

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Sneak peek at Space Heroes!

Work continues on the next big leap for Hero Kids, into a galaxy far, far away...  Here's a sneak peek at the heroes:

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Riotous GM's Hero Kids review

The titular Riotous GM from Riotous GM posted a long piece on running Hero Kids for his 8 and 15 year-old kids:

Riotous GM: Kids – Heroes, etc

Quotes:

"I decided that Hero Kids was worth picking up, at the ridiculously cheap price for the complete bundle even if I didn't like or run it I wouldn't have lost much."

"What I found quickly was how much of a joy the published adventures were to run. The layouts are very simple and each encounter simply lays out what changes are necessary depending on the number of players, anything from one to six is a doddle."

"While my fifteen year old (who plays in my regular Pathfinder campaign) unsurprisingly wasn't a huge fan the eight year old loved it."

"While we were on holiday my eight year-old not only reread the rules but also (at my prompting) Basement O Rats so that he could GM it while I played. While he still needed some guidance on the mechanics he improvised an attack by a giant lobster (which he reskinned from the character sheet and mini from a giant scorpion) at an appropriate point and messed around with the ending so that I got a bit of a surprise."

"We've loved boardgames and been playing lots but Hero Kids has really made me rethink my approach and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes."

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Work, work, work...

Ages ago Ted Arlauskas did a Star Wars hack of Hero Kids, which inspired me to start work on a sci-fi expansion for the game.  I'm not finished yet, but here's a quick look at the work that's gotten us from the original Hero Kids hero cards to sci-fi versions of the cards.

I'm sure you can all work out the various changes yourselves, but from here I need to create all ten of the sci-fi heroes, a bunch of monsters, and an adventure!  Easy!  :-)

The new sci-fi heroes (and monsters) are by Eric Quigley, as usual, and the custom border is by David Graffam.

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Hero Cards in Polish and Swedish!

The Hero Kids hero cards are now available in Swedish and Polish on DriveThruRPG!

Polish: Hero Kids - Supplement - Hero Cards - Polish

Swedish: Hero Kids - Supplement - Hero Cards - Swedish

Special thanks to Ulf Bengtsson and Filip Pawlicki for the translations.

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Need words for the next expansion...

Alright folks, I need a few sci-fi-ish words for the next Hero Kids expansions:

•  A mystical power source, and a wizardly type who channels it
•  A high tech sword, and a person who uses such a sword

What do you guys think?

Hero Kids review from Engaged Family Gaming...

Dustin Crewell from Engaged Family Gaming has just posted a review of Hero Kids:

Tabletop RPG Review: Hero Kids

Quotes:

"Like any good roleplaying game (RPG), there are plenty of supplements available: extra adventures, new characters, the ever-important loot, and even pets. Or, for those feeling adventurous themselves, you can create your own material, using the information that comes with the basic rulebook as a guide. This will likely come in handy later, as some kids may chew through the available pre-made missions faster than new ones come out."

"The most critical skill, though, is imagination and problem solving. Beginners can be guided and prompted, but there’s a good chance that parents will find themselves surprised by how fast kids pick up on this form of make-believe. As gameplay progresses, concepts like tactics and teamwork can be stressed, helping the young heroes face ever more difficult challenges."

"As with many independently published RPGs, Hero Kids does have some grammatical and spelling issues that you might need to watch out for."

Hmmm. I wish people would actually tell me what these errors are, 'cos I'd fix them! :-)

"For gamer parents wanting to introduce their kids to tabletop RPGs, at $6-$15 ($6 gets you a PDF rulebook, while $15 gets you a PDF rulebook, coloring pages, extra features & 9 pre-made adventures), Hero Kids is a fantastic stepping stone to future gaming."

"For non-gamers looking for a good outlet for their kids’ imagination, this system requires very little additional investment (just a couple of standard dice), and will give your kids hours of creative entertainment!"

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Hero Cards III - Heroes from out of town!

Hero Cards III - Heroes from out of town is now out on DriveThruRPG.

This expansion adds ten new heroes for your Hero Kids game:

•   Arbalest - The dwarf arbalest's powerful crossbow can shoot right through enemies
•   Blade Dancer - The scything blades of this dragon-kin can attack two enemies
•   Blade Dancer - With two blades, this drow blade dancer is a fearsome attacker
•   Brute (Male) - This unstoppable dragon-kin trades off armor for a heavy blade
•   Druid - This eld druid's magic allows her to entangle foes and protect herself from attack
•   Knight (Male) - This dwarf knight is dangerous with his shield and even more dangerous without it
•   Mancer - The halfling mancer's magic can topple enemies like leaves blown by the wind
•   Rogue (Female) - The halfling rogue's tiny frame deceives her enemies, to their surprise
•   Stonemaster - Dwarves are masters of stone, and this one uses magic to shape the world
•   Woodswalker - Raised in the forests, this elf is the master of the longbow

Get them here:
Hero Kids - Expansion - Hero Cards III

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Two more Hero Kids reviews...

Here are a couple of quick reviews of Hero Kids:

My Hero Kids And Their First RPG Session
"I recently introduced my board game loving boys, Josh (11 years old) and Evan (9 years old), to role-playing games. It was a fantastic experience..."

Board Games With Geeklings: Hero Kids
"I’m going to abandon my usual 1 to 5 scale for this game and say that if you enjoy RPGs and you have kids and an extra $10, this game is worth having."

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Hero cards option anxiety...

I'm just finishing up the next expansion to Hero Kids, Hero Cards III, and I took a few way too many moments to throw together this rendering of all forty-two of the heroes (and pets):

Can you name them all?

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

New stuff coming soon...

More like this, coming soon:

Hero Kids errata...

I've just updated all of the Hero Kids PDF files on DriveThruRPG to address all of the known errors and updates.  This also includes a small update to the Rogue to simplify her attacks and dice pools.  The rest of the changes are listed below.

Old Rogue:

New Rogue:

Hero Kids - Fantasy RPG:
•  Updated text, heroes, and monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Removed reference to 'advanced play' in the Glossary.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.
•  Changed Rogue character to simplify attacks.

Hero Cards II:
•  Fixed Storm Mage's standard attack to be a 'Magic Attack', not a 'Ranged Attack'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Equipment Cards:
•  Fixed spelling of 'Siege Longbow'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Pet Cards:
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Basement O Rats:
•  Fixed missing 'of' on page 3 of adventure.
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Curse of the Shadow Walkers:
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Escape from the Ghost Pirates:
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Glade of the Unicorn:
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Maze of the Minotaur:
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Mines of Martek:
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

The Lost Village:
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Adjusted the orientation of the Brecken Vale map.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Tomb of the Lost King:
•  Removed parchment background from some pages in printer friendly version.
•  Updated monsters to change singular 'dice' to 'die'.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Yuletide Journey:
•  Adjusted the orientation of the Brecken Vale map.
•  Updated metadata to list full document details.

Hacking Hero Kids...

A few industrious and creative parents have taken the time to hack Hero Kids into different genres.   Andrew Judge has created a beautiful Mouse Guard hack (borrowing some of the images from the real game), and Ted Arlauskas went the extra mile and created sweet new hero cards for his Star Wars hack!

With all this inspiration, I'm working on some new heroes...   :-)

Andrew Judge's Hero Kids/Mouse Guard hack

Ted Arlauskas's Hero Kids/Star Wars hack

Hero Cards now available in Dutch!

The Hero Kids hero cards are now available in Dutch on DriveThruRPG!

Grab them here: Hero Kids - Supplement - Hero Cards - Dutch

Special thanks to John van Schaik for the translations.

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG

Unicorn added to Pet Cards expansion

People! Due to popular demand, the Hero Kids Pets expansion now includes an additional Pet, the Unicorn:

•   Unicorn - The unicorn's divine glory wards nearby attackers

Here's the link to DriveThruRPG:

Hero Kids - Expansion - Pet Cards

Some old Hero Kids map sketches...

I was disposing of an old notebook, and found my holiday sketches for Glade of the Unicorn.   Here's a few 'before and after' comparisons...