This book here (http://www.amazon.com/Monte-Presents-Heroes-Fantasy-Roleplaying/dp/1588467961/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1307426387&sr=1-1)
I frequently glance at it on Amazon or when I am at a used book store. I find myself WANTING it, but I always find reasons not to get it.
Thoughts on it?
Bad thing that jumped out at me.
Tokens....YAY MORE STUFF TO TRACK CONSTANTLY
Armor....LOL RANDOM DAMAGE REDUCTION WITH WEAPONS THAT DEAL RANDOM DAMAGE
Monte Cook. Great Storyteller, poor challenge ballancer.
I have it in PDF. It's kind of neat, but I don't see myself playing it. More because of human/time limitations on my part; not the book's fault.
I think that, if you have the kind of players and DM for whom the highlight of a tabletop RPG experience is the spectacular and visceral beheading of the dragon using only the Berserker's teeth while everyone tumbles down the flanks of an erupting volcano (granted, that's sort of the highlight of ANY game, but I digress), that seems to be what Iron Heroes is geared to help create.
If you want your character to basically be the guy from Shadow of the Colossus, play Iron Heroes.
Additionally, if you have a player who enjoys being the asshat Sorcerer whose area of effect spells have a nasty habit of roasting other party members "by accident", the Arcanist class is great for them. Magic in Iron Heroes has a chance for some kind of catastrophe to occur any time a spell is cast, the equivalent of fumbling your attack roll.
P.S.: I think the lead author/designer is Mike Mearls, not Monte Cook
Monte Cook = great resource, shitty adventures.
ah yeah, cook writes it, monty publishes it. I've got another book from Malhavoc Press ("Cry Havoc"), which was pretty good, though a little confusing.