Platinum seller, thanks to you!

Thanks to you, Hero Kids is now a Platinum Seller on DriveThruRPG.

This means that it is among the top best-selling RPGs on the site, in the hallowed company of games like Numenera, Fiasco, Pendragon, Eclipse Phase, Legend, Vampire, Legend of the Five Rings, and more...

DriveThruRPG - Platinum Metal Products

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New adventure - Fire in Rivenshore!

A new Hero Kids adventure is now available:

The Fire In Rivenshore adventure takes place when a fire breaks out in Rivenshore.   The kids are asked to help battle the blaze and find its source.   After rescuing Roger in the burning tavern and battling looters, the kids discover that a bullied street urchin (Bree) is responsible for the fires.   But do they choose to arrest her or let her go?
•  Adventure with five encounters and seven new maps
•  Includes a full set of Brigands and Bree the Firestarter (both monster and player versions)

Fire in Rivenshore is designed by Brian Benoit from Roving Band of Misfits and mixes a heap of adventuring and role-playing with the combat encounters.   It even comes with a new playable hero, the Firestarter!

Here's the link to DriveThruRPG:

Hero Kids - Adventure - Fire In Rivenshore

This adventure includes a bunch of new maps, including the common-room and upper floor of the tavern, as well as a number of town maps for Rivenshore.   As ever, the new encounter maps from Fire In Rivenshore are modular, so you can mix and match them to create your own adventures.

Hero Kids from out of town?

Meanwhile, behind the scenes our art-elf (actually Eric Quigley!) is beavering away on more heroes for Hero Kids...

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New Free Hero Kids Coloring Book!

A new set of heroes means only one thing; a new coloring book!   

Get it here:
Hero Kids - Supplement - Coloring Book - Heroes II

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Great Kid-Friendly RPG = Hero Kids!

Someone possibly called CJ Chand at the Chandland blog has posted an epic review of Hero Kids:

Great Kid-Friendly RPG: Hero Kids

The review is huge, and looks at many aspects of our little engine, so here are some quotes from this extensive review:

"Hero Kids nails its target demographic perfectly."

"Hero Kids is exactly what you would expect it to be: Cartoony, but not overly so, young kids tackling big challenges."

"Both sides roll their pools worth of d6s, and the side with the highest number shown – not the highest sum – wins (with ties going to the attacker).  This means even the really young ones can count the pips on each die and get what’s going on.  No modifiers, no addition. Given the target audience, Justin has designed this well.  It is quick, simple, and fun."

"These (the combat mechanics) are all gentle, yet very 'big-boy', concepts that will help your kiddo transition from Hero Kids to other, more complex RPGs when the time comes."

"Best of all, each adventure comes with full-page 1″ grid maps for that adventure, ready to be printed.  It also comes with character sheets for the various types of bad guys, each with their own cutout pawn."

"I could go into a lot of details, but the best way to put it is this: My son has never done his chores and expectations as quickly – and without prompting – as since we started playing Hero Kids.  He wants to play a new adventure each night."

But it's not all perfect, the reviewer picks up on one of the issues I've talked about in this blog post, that Hero Kids is not suited to traditional advancement techniques (adding modifiers or extra dice):

"On the downside, this system does not leave much in the room for character advancement.  As discussed on the link immediately above, simply adding a +1 modifier significantly affects the success rate, much less adding a die to the dice pool.  That said, while I am not a game designer, I have some ideas for how we can add some character growth that I will bring up in a bit."

My solution to advancement in Hero Kids was the inclusion of Equipment Cards, which the review notes here:

"There are some limitations with character development that do crop up.  Namely, there is no real character development.  There is no leveling.  There is no XP.  There is no ability to change your dice pools, gain modifiers, etc.  (at least not without the Equipment cards, which I’ll try to use as salvation for this limitation in a bit)."

In the end, the discussion about advancement doesn't prevent the reviewer from giving Hero Kids a sensational review:

"Two thumbs up, 5/5, goes to 11… whatever you want, but it’s a must-buy if you’re in the market."

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

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Hero Kids wins Silver ENnie for Best Family Games!

Imma let you finish whatever you're doing, but first I want to thank you all for every single vote that landed Hero Kids a silver ENnie award in the Best Family Game category!

Congratulations to the rest of the ENnie winners:
2013 ENnie award winners

If you're wondering what game won Best Family Game, I'll save you the trouble and tell you here; it was the Doctor Who: Adventures In Time and Space - Eleventh Doctor Edition, which:

1: Costs US$60 dollars (hardcover)
2: Has a great brand
3. Has a 96 page players' book
4: Was (arguably) released outside of the eligibility period, but that's a gripe for another time...

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Pet Cards expansion released!

I warned you they were coming!  The Hero Kids Pet Cards are now available on DriveThruRPG.

This expansion for Hero Kids includes ten new pets for your game:

•   Pixie: The pixie's small frame holds powerful magic
•   Hound: The hound fights even more fiercely when hurt
•   Eagle: Eagles attack their targets with swooping attacks
•   Fox: The tiny fox responds to attacks with a vicious bite
•   Bear: The bear's best defense is a strong friend at its back
•   Lynx: This large feline transforms into a fearsome attacker when hurt
•   Pegasus: The pegasus can bite and kick at nearby enemies
•   Dragon: The dragon's flaming breath can burn multiple enemies
•   Wolf: The wolf fights best when working with a friend
•   Owl: The owl's diving attack is dangerous to even the strongest enemy

Get them here:
Hero Kids - Expansion - Pet Cards

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

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