Re: The Death of Hero Central
Bad luck for me was mostly on Hero Central, those GMs on that site, I think I played in four different games, all of which had different flavors, but each committed a major sin of GM, if not rules incorrectly applied, then NPC shadow over PC.
Which of course leads to the great debate of Magic in Hero, as near everyone wants to have Magic. My theory is everyone just wants to use the system for more than just skills or CSLs.
Which leads to Gritty v High fantasy. I think Game of Thrones has influenced a lot in gaming, at least as a reference point.
I like gritty, however I also like high concept. As GM I am a big proponent of Package Deals, but not in the small way of most. I don't care about racial or professional package Deals , I am talking about package deals for things the players may try to attain, not knowing the full results of attainment.
My guess at preference, veteran gamers like gritty, new players like High Fantasy, with a big influence from the campaign history/description by the GM.