Super Kids Joins the Hero Kids Creator's Guild

If you're interested in creating Super Kids products or translating existing Super Kids content, you can do that! Super Kids is part of the Hero Kids Creator's Guild at DriveThruRPG. Once you've created your content (new adventures, expansions, heroes, pets) or translated the material, you can sell it through the guild. Check out the full content guidelines if you'd like more information.

Adventure Template. This pack includes everything you need to design your own original Super Kids adventure.

• Super Kids - Adventure Template

Translation Packs. These packs include everything you need to translate Super Kids products into another language.

• Super Kids - Translation Pack: A Superhero Expansion for Hero Kids
• Super Kids - Translation Pack: New Recruits Adventure
• Super Kids - Translation Pack: Super Kids Cards II
• Super Kids - Translation Pack: Supervillains, Henchmen, and Minions Cards

New Recruits: A Super Kids Adventure

Encounters: 5

Difficulty: Normal

Duration: 90+ Minutes

Capital City needs superheroes. The police are kept busy dealing with all sorts of problems. Criminals, monsters, aliens, and super villains pose constant threats. This is a city that can use all the help it can get. That’s where super kids come in!

This adventure (available at DriveThruRPG) takes place at the Linwood Academy for Extraordinary Children. The characters are at Linwood being tested for admission into this prestigious school. The school serves as a training ground for super kids. The principal has devised a series of combat challenges and a riddle to assess whether the kids are worthy of further training and missions.

Compatibility and Conversion. While designed for Super Kids—a superhero expansion for Hero Kids—this adventure is fully compatible with all Hero Kids’ products. Hero Kids’ characters, including those from the space expansion, can be used. Game Masters might want to make minor changes to the adventure text to capture a medieval or space setting.

This Adventure was written as a tribute to one of life's greatest treasures. I hope it will help your kids find theirs.

Super Kids: A Superhero Expansion for Hero Kids

Having grown up reading superhero comics and watching Superman (1978, 1980) and Batman (1989, etc.) take to the big screen during my early childhood and youth, I've been a fan of supers for quite some time. Admittedly, I didn't get to see the Superman movies until they were released on VHS.  I had a blast playing Champions (4th edition) as a teenager, with my favourite Champions character creation being Blizzardo!  Like so many others, I've enjoyed watching my favourite superheroes and their powers given awesome special effects life in more recent hits like the Avengers and X-Men series.  I'm currently listening to Drew Hayes' Super Powereds books via Audible. 

As a dad, it has now come time for me to pay it forward.  I have three little ones - 4, 8, and 10 - so all are in the sweet spot for Hero Kids gaming. And, boy do they love playing (Thank you, Justin!).  Plus, their favourite show right now is Teen Titans Go!  (If you pushed me on it, I'd admit to being a bit of a fan myself.)  Take these things and add in my love of role-playing, creating, using my imagination, and watching my kids have fun.  Result = Super Kids.

I enjoyed creating the Super Kids expansion material.  Kat Glidewell did a bang-up job on the artwork.  As I mentioned in the Discussions on the Super Kids' product page at DriveThruRPG, my aim was to do something similar to what Justin did in creating the Space Expansion for Hero Kids.  The focus was on introducing the supers genre to the Hero Kids system by way of 14 new superhero characters. The setting information has been kept light (for now), and a few new skills and descriptions were included.  One (unpublished) version of the product included details on character creation.  I didn't include it for two reasons: (1) I figured the core Hero Kids materials did a good job explaining the creation process; and, (2) I didn't have a long enough list of balanced powers (i.e., special actions and bonus abilities) for players to choose from.  Given the feedback I've received, I'm working on some options to bring character creation in.  This, along with what I've published so far, is being carried out mindful of balancing.  Warning! Supers can quickly break the game if not contained.  In an upcoming post, I will discuss where I'm at in creating new material.

A Character Advancement System for Hero Kids

In the fall of 2016, I became increasingly curious about what a character advancement system for Hero Kids might look like. This became a slight obsession as I developed version after version. The current iteration at DriveThruRPG was what I settled on.

It presents a complete character advancement system with the following new game concepts:

• 10 levels of advancement, with characters starting on level 1
• Awarding experience
• Level progression rate options
• Character ranks (novice to master)
• Character classes (fighter, archer, wizard)
• Talents (e.g., skill versatility, battle prowess, multi-classing)
• Feats (e.g., accuracy, critical hit, dodge, disarm, speedy, tumble)
• Character sheet for tracking level advancement

My goals in creating the system were three-fold: (1) present players with new character options as they complete adventures and advance in levels; (2) keep the ideas accessible and kid-friendly; and, (3) make the system compatible with - i.e., not break - current game mechanics and adventures.

As I write this post, and play catch up in writing about the products I've released, I'm nearly ready to update the advancement system to version 2.  Expect more details in an upcoming post.