| Good Idea | 4d6 Transfer. |
| Bad Idea | 4d6 Susceptibility. |
| Good Idea | A primary attack which is a 12d6 Energy Blast. |
| Bad Idea | A primary attack which is a 1-1/2d6 RKA, Armor Piercing, Penetrating, AVLD which does BODY, Fully Indirect, No Range Modifier, Half END, Concentrate (Half DCV), Extra Time (Full Phase), Bulky Fragile OAF, Gestures, Incantations, Not in Intense Electromagnetic Fields, Requires Magic Skill Roll, Side Effects (full power—31d6+1). |
| Good Idea | Favor by Doctor Destroyer, 14-. |
| Bad Idea | Hunted by Doctor Destroyer, 14-. |
| Good Idea | Hunted by Green Dragon. |
| Bad Idea | Hunted by the Gweenies. |
| Good Idea | Playing a comically half-baked gadgeteer with Dave Mattingly as GM. |
| Bad Idea | Playing a comically half-baked gadgeteer with Steve Long as GM. |
| Better Idea | Playing an Indiana Jones type in a FH game with Bob Greenwade as GM. |
| Worse Idea | Playing an Indiana Jones type in a FH game with Bob Greenwade as GM. |
| Good Idea | Giving the Golden Avenger a hot tip. |
| Bad Idea | Giving the Golden Avenger a hot foot. |
| Good Idea | Meeting the President and giving him a firm handshake. |
| Bad Idea | Meeting the President and giving him a noogie. |
| Good Idea | Apprehending CLOWN. |
| Bad Idea | Apprehending CLOWN. |
| Good Idea | Saying, "Beetlejuice!" three times. |
| Bad Idea | Saying, "Hastur!" three times. |
| Good Idea | Calling Aaron Allston one of the big men of the Hero world. |
| Bad Idea | Calling Aaron Allston one of the really, really big men of the Hero world. |
| Good Idea | The Spirit rules from HERO System Almanac I and Horror Hero. |
| Bad Idea | The Spirit rules from HERO System Almanac I and Horror Hero. |
| Good Idea | Updating your favorite NPC organization, the way you like it. |
| Bad Idea | Updating someone else's favorite NPC organization, the way you like it. |
| Good Idea | Referring to your readers as those kind and intelligent individuals who provide you, the author, with livelihood. |
| Bad Idea | Referring to your readers as half-wits and lunatics. |
| Good Idea | Coming up with an inventive new way of applying an old game mechanic. |
| Bad Idea | Sharing your idea with the Hero Mailing List and asking, "What do you think?" |
| Good Idea | Going after the enemy Gadgeteer with the VPP, Limitation: Only change in lab. |
| Bad Idea | Going after the enemy Gadgeteer with the VPP, Limitation: Only change in lab—in the lab. |
| Good Idea | A DNPC who's an ex-cop. |
| Bad Idea | A DNPC who's an ex-enforcer for a Colombian cartel. |
| Good Idea | Roleplaying your characters' origin scenes in detail. |
| Bad Idea | Roleplaying your characters' sex scenes in detail. |
| Good Idea | Filling in for Defender as the Champions leader. |
| Bad Idea | Filling in for Seeker on the cover of Champions books. |
| Good Idea | Trading quips with Seeker. |
| Bad Idea | Trading quips with Seeker (the New Millennium version). |
| Worse Idea | Trading costumes with Seeker (either one) |
| Good Idea | Facing VIPER with the Champions for backup. |
| Bad Idea | Facing VIPER with Little Angel for backup. |
| Good Idea | Dating Quantum. (Hubba hubba!) |
| Bad Idea | Dating Quantum. (Owwwwww....) |
| Worse Idea | Dating Pretty Poison (urkk...) |
| Even Worse Idea | Dating a woman named 'Howler'... |
| Good Idea | Buying your 13-year-old son a copy of the Fifth Edition HERO System Rulebook and Champions genre book. |
| Bad Idea | Buying your 13-year-old son a copy of the Fifth Edition HERO System Rulebook and Champions genre book. |
| Worse Idea | Buying your 13-year-old son a copy of the Fuzion rulebook. |
| Good Idea | Being praised by the Champions. |
| Bad Idea | Having to be bailed out by the Champions. |
| Good Idea | Hardened Defenses |
| Bad Idea | Ablative Defenses |
| Good Idea | Taking a summer vacation to Sanctuary. |
| Bad Idea | Taking a summer vacation to Stronghold. |
| Worse Idea | Taking a summer vacation in the Image universe. |
| Good Idea | Density Increase, Always On, 0 END Persistent |
| Bad Idea | Desolidification, Always On, Increased END Cost |
| Good Idea | Getting your main attack from a Cosmic Pool. |
| Bad Idea | Getting your main attack from a swimming pool. |
| Good Idea | KS: VIPER, 17- |
| Bad Idea | KS: CLOWN, 17- |
| Good Idea | Publishing an adventure idea in a Hero Games supplement. |
| Bad Idea | Publishing an adventure idea on the HERO System Mailing List. |
| Good Idea | going into some detail about your characters' history and background |
| Bad Idea | going into immense and daunting detail about your characters' pet rock collection |
| Good Idea | getting a few extra skills to flesh out the character concept |
| Bad Idea | spending half your points of 'ancient clog-dancing techniques' |
| Good Idea | Modeling your unique mystic artifact as Restrainable as it always returns to your hand, along with all of your powers being Only In Hero ID |
| Bad Idea | Modeling your unique mystic artifact as an Independent Fragile OAF with all of your powers in it while you have a Public ID, many high DEX Hunters, and a Reputation for having an Independent Fragile OAF |
| Good Idea | Being a villain hunted by a local Police force (Less Powerful, limited geographic area, to imprison) |
| Bad Idea | Being a villain hunted by Mechanon, Doctor Destroyer, and The Harbinger of Justice |
| Good Idea | Characters you love to role-play against, like Howler and Stalker |
| Bad Idea | Characters you hate to role-play with, like Foxbat and Crusader |
| Good Idea | Reasonable stats and a good balance of power with a well thought out history |
| Bad Idea | Disproportionate stats and powers like No Conscious Control Multiform into a house plant, raged discriminatory 360 degree taste Always On, LS: Breathe Soup, Instant Change UAO, etc., with a history written on napkins with crayon |
| Good Idea | Telling the Harbinger of Justice all you know about organized crime. |
| Bad Idea | Telling the Harbinger of Justice anything you know about organized crime. |
| Good Idea | Privately resolving to bring Doctor Destroyer to justice. |
| Bad Idea | Publicly resolving to bring Doctor Destroyer to justice. |
| Good Idea | Accepting a character sheet printed by computer. |
| Bad Idea | Accepting a character sheet written in crayon. |
| Good Idea | Running an adventure with Foxbat as the main villain. |
| Bad Idea | Running an adventure with Foxbat as the main villain. |
| Good Idea | Meticulously planning all plot possibilities for your game of Champions. |
| Bad Idea | Meticulously planning all plot possibilities for your game of Saturday Morning Hero. |
| Good Idea | Wearing a costume to your Danger International game, then going straight to an unrelated function. |
| Bad Idea | Wearing a costume to your Champions game, then going straight to an unrelated function. |
| Good Idea | Player props for a game of Danger International. |
| Bad Idea | Player props for a game of Horror Hero (Lovecraft style). |
| Good Idea | Taking prisoners in Champions. |
| Bad Idea | Taking prisoners in Horror Hero. |
| Good Idea | Having a character that can absorb energy attacks and then throw them back at the villain. |
| Bad Idea | Not giving this character any defenses!!! |
| Good Idea | Helping a teammate to defeat a most vile enemy |
| Bad Idea | Helping the enemy to defeat a most vile teammate |
| Good Idea | Having a secret identity job |
| Bad Idea | Having a secret identity job that requires 80+ hrs a week |
| Good Idea | Pose a heroic pose for press shots |
| Bad Idea | Mooning the camera |
| Good Idea | Helping a girl retrieve her cat from the tree |
| Bad Idea | Ripping down the tree to get to the cat |
| Good Idea | Having a girlfriend in the campaign |
| Bad Idea | Having your real girlfriend find out about your girlfriend in your campaign grin |
| Good Idea | Having food at your game |
| Bad Idea | Using the food to demonstrate your insult to Dr. Destroyer |
| Good Idea | Saying a few jokes at your game |
| Bad Idea | Having your characters being the jokes at your game |
| Good Idea | Rounding out your characters by using the disad Dependability |
| Bad Idea | Making that Dependability impossible to get to |
| Good Idea | Capturing Foxbat |
| Bad Idea | Capturing Foxbat |
| Good Idea | Becoming a GM |
| Bad Idea | Becoming a GM |
| Good Idea | Sacrificing your character to save the other PCs |
| Bad Idea | Sacrificing your character so that the PC's can finish their Happy Meals |
| Good Idea | Having lots of D6 |
| Bad Idea | Using these D6 to show how you can hit the other PC without him dodging |
| Good Idea | Having a thief in your fantasy party |
| Bad Idea | Calling him a thief when you are in a tavern standing by people who he has just swindled at playing cards. |
| Good Idea | Turning your defenses on before going into battle |
| Bad Idea | Turning your defenses off in battle |
| Good Idea | X-Files Hero |
| Bad Idea | XXX-files Hero |
| Good Idea | Space Opera Hero |
| Bad Idea | Soap Opera Hero |
| Good Idea | The Ultimate Super Vehicle |
| Bad Idea | The Ultimate Super Vegetable |
| Good Idea | The Ultimate Battle Suit |
| Bad Idea | The Ultimate Law Suit |
| Good Idea | Justice INC.; G-men fight gangsters in the 1920s and 30s. |
| Bad Idea | Justice Ink; paralegals search for evidence for a special prosecutor. |
| Good Idea | Psych Lim; slightly Paranoid |
| Bad Idea | Hunted; Whole world 14- |
| Good Idea | A SPD 6 character. |
| Bad Idea | A DEX 6 character. |
| Good Idea | A DEX 20 character. |
| Bad Idea | A SPD 20 character. |
| Good Idea | 5d6 Luck |
| Bad Idea | 5d6 Unluck |
| Good Idea | Playing a Conan clone in Fantasy Hero. |
| Bad Idea | Playing a Groo clone in Fantasy Hero. |
| Good Idea | 4d6 RKA, No Range, AoE Radius, Personnel Immunity |
| Bad Idea | 4d6 RKA, No Range, AoE Radius, and NO Defenses |
| Good Idea | DNPC; Wife |
| Bad Idea | DNPC; Mother-in-Law |
| Good Idea | Modeling your character on someone in a comic book. |
| Bad Idea | Modeling your character on someone in prison. |
| Good Idea | Highlander: the series |
| Bad Idea | Highlander II: the Sickening |
| Good Idea | Mary Jane Watson-Parker |
| Bad Idea | the Mary Jane girls. |
| Good Idea | Creating the woman of your dreams using a computer and a Barbie doll. |
| Bad Idea | Creating the woman of your dreams with neck bolts and dead bodies. |
| Good Idea | Meeting someone who owns a 1st ED. HP Lovecraft novel signed by the author. |
| Bad Idea | Meeting someone who owns a 1st ED. HP Lovecraft novel signed by Cthuluth. |
| Good Idea | Scaring your players in a game of Horror Hero. (as GM) |
| Bad Idea | Scaring yourself in a game of Horror Hero. (as GM) |
| Good Idea | Hitching a ride on the Batmobile |
| Bad Idea | Hitching a ride on Tee-Hee; the CLOWN car. |
| Good Idea | Using Animaniacs-type cliches for Hero Mailing List posts |
| Bad Idea | Using Animaniacs-type cliches for Dark Champions adventures |
Return to HERO System Source Material