Editing Hero System (section)

{{Short description|Tabletop role-playing game system}}
{{Infobox game
|title= Hero System
|image= [[Image:6E1 Generic Cover1.jpg|200px]]
|caption= 6th Edition Generic Cover
|designer= [[Steven S. Long]]
|publisher= [[Hero Games]]
|date= 1990 (4th edition)<br>2002 (5th edition)<br>2004 (5th edition, revised)<br>2009 (6th edition)<ref name="championspurchase" />
|genre= Universal
|system= Custom
|footnotes=
|website= [http://www.herogames.com/forums/forum/33-hero-games-product-line/ Herogames.com]
}}

The '''''Hero System''''' is a [[generic role-playing game system]] that was developed from the [[superhero]] [[role playing game|RPG]] ''[[Champions (role-playing game)|Champions]]''.  After ''Champions'' fourth edition was released in 1989, a stripped-down version of its ruleset with no superhero or other genre elements was released as The ''[[Hero System Rulesbook]]'' in 1990.  As a spinoff of ''Champions'', the ''Hero System'' is considered to have started with 4th edition (as it is mechanically identical to ''Champions'' 4th edition), rather than on its own with a 1st edition.  However, the first three editions of the game are typically referred to as ''Champions'', rather than the Hero System, as the game for its first three editions was not sold as a universal toolkit, instead largely focusing on superheroes.

The ''Hero System'' is used as the underlying [[game mechanics|mechanics]] of other [[Hero Games]] role-playing games such as ''[[Fantasy Hero]]'', ''[[Star Hero]]'', and ''[[Pulp Hero]]''.  It is characterized by point-based character creation and the rigor with which it measures character abilities. It uses only six-sided [[dice]].