Dh25

[BobGreenwade]

I just want to mention that Derrick Thomas' depictions of the Fanboys in <i>The Helmet of Doctor Destroyer</i> are dead-on wonderful. :thumbup:

[Delthrien]

Er... Is this one actually out yet? I see the cover, was able to check out the TOC, but it doesn't even show up as an option to download when I log into Digital Hero (And, yep -- I've still got the credits to get it...)

Inquiring minds and all that,

Me

[Ben Seeman]

It is being uploaded this very moment.

[BobGreenwade]

As one of the authors (of the article in question, in fact), I got a preview copy from Dave.

[Ben Seeman]

Seems to be a problem with the upload.

Stay tuned. :(

[Delthrien]

Ah Ha! I was afraid I'd slipped out of sync with the rest of the universe again...

Thanks!

[Ben Seeman]

It is up now.

[Susano]

I'd love to hear if anyone gets any use of my article. Does anyone get a nuclear-powered flying base? Does Dr. D get a flying triangle? VIPER?

:D

[Nightfly]

From which [5E] book is the 24pt "Hotshot Pilot" talent derived?

[Steve Long]

From which [5E] book is the 24pt "Hotshot Pilot" talent derived?

From Star Hero. There's a less expensive version in Dark Champions, since the cost depends on the mass of the vehicles involved, and DC characters don't pilot megatonnage starships like Solo, Sulu, et al. might have to. :hex:

[BobGreenwade]

From Star Hero. There's a less expensive version in Dark Champions, since the cost depends on the mass of the vehicles involved, and DC characters don't pilot megatonnage starships like Solo, Sulu, et al. might have to. :hex: Or, in this case, Feldman. :D

[Killer Shrike]

Just pulled it down and skimmed it, but Surbrooks vehicles section really caught my eye and sucked me in.

Surbrook, you rule. {tips hat}

[Susano]

Just pulled it down and skimmed it, but Surbrooks vehicles section really caught my eye and sucked me in.

Surbrook, you rule. {tips hat}

Thank you. I hope to do a follow up on early, pulp-era tanks, and on German aircraft from WWII.

[Nightfly]

From Star Hero. There's a less expensive version in Dark Champions, since the cost depends on the mass of the vehicles involved, and DC characters don't pilot megatonnage starships like Solo, Sulu, et al. might have to. :hex:
Thanks :)

SH.51 (24pts)
DC.92 (16pts)

A very handy talent that'd escaped my attention. &nbsp;Big ups to DH25 for bringing it across my radar! :)
It's nice having both options to choose from. Nicely reflects the diff 'tween a helmsman vs. a fighter jock.

[death tribble]

You do realise there are going to be all sorts of single etendre jokes about the good Dr Destroyer's artifact, don't you ?

[BobGreenwade]

You do realise there are going to be all sorts of single etendre jokes about the good Dr Destroyer's artifact, don't you ?Uh.... No, not really, but I'm not sure I want to find out....

[BoloOfEarth]

Okay, it's time for my review. I thought I'd add it to this thread instead of starting a new one, since people have already had some good stuff to say about this issue.

Cover / Overall: The cover by Kerry Connell is very well done, though a bit darker than my printer prefers. ;) Actually, this picture is a perfect fit for a character one of my players created years ago. If I bring Dark Shadow back into my game world as an NPC, I’m stealing this picture…

The same number of pages as always, Digital Hero #25 seems a bit smaller at first glance at the TOC, since 4/5 of the issue is taken up by only two articles. Thankfully, they’re both good articles. The first is a complete adventure for Terran Empire, but it could be modified for other Star Hero settings. The second is a collection of unusual airplanes and other flying machines that could be useful in many different Pulp and modern genres (and is a good read even if you don’t use any of them).

Finally, a note about the “Invisible Man:” Dave Mattingly. Having received bare-bones electronic publications, I really appreciate the little things that show professionalism. When Dave adds bookmarks, for instance, they’re not just to the articles but also all the way down to the picture, write-up, and background for each individual character or vehicle. No need to page through the issue – a few quick clicks and you’re where you want to be. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I for one appreciate it.

When Last We Left Our Heroes: Again, two new products coming out, these geared for mystical campaigns. The first, Vibora Bay, is a setting book, while The Ultimate Mystic is on magic and mysticism for many different genres. I’ll leave it to HERO to sell their own stuff; suffice to say, these both sound interesting and worth a look-see.

I’m assuming that the picture is the cover art for one of the books, though it doesn’t have the book title and other text on it. Regardless, it looks great.

HEROglyphs: The oft-neglected Physical Limitations get a quick once-over, mostly expanding a bit on what has already been said in other HERO books. The sample Sensory Limitations are good, as is the Size/Weight Limitation list if you don’t already have the Bestiary. On the down side, the intro mentioned mental disabilities but not one is discussed. That might be a good follow-up article, since I’m sure it would take a few pages to do that justice (especially differentiating those that qualify as Physical Limitations from those that are a better fit as Psychological Limitations).

You Gotta Have Character (Toulouse-Lautrec): YGHC takes us into the cabarets and seedy underworld of Victorian Paris to meet the famous, quirky artist. Jason does a great job presenting historical figures (as useful NPCs) in an entertaining and instructional way, and this is no exception. With only cosmetic modifications, Henri could be dropped into any Dark Champions campaign city and fit perfectly.

Brad’s illustration of Toulouse-Lautrec is an excellent depiction.

The Helmet of Dr. Destroyer: From the title, I assumed this would be a superhero adventure (either Champions or Galactic Champions), but was pleasantly surprised to find otherwise. (Keep in mind that I only run Champions games.) Bob Greenwade has created something that reads – and likely will play – like a classic sci-fi show episode, suitable for stand-alone use in nearly any Star Hero campaign world.

As it stands, the adventure is a bit basic, so I would definitely include one of the suggested complications. My personal favorite would be using Devereaux and Redd, perhaps having one of them get the helmet first and the players having to deal with that.

The inclusion of such bits as “The Foxbat File” and “Zerstot the Destroyer” were fun and just the right nod to Champions, in my opinion. Too much of that stuff would have been counter-productive.

Character pics are by perennial Digital Hero artist Derrick Thomas (along with one Keith Curtis reprint from Star Hero), and all are very good. My favorites are the Fanboys, whose personalities Derrick seemed to capture very well in their facial expressions, stances, and clothing.

Look! Up in the Sky!: I’m an aviation nut, so I enjoyed this article immensely. Mike Surbrook gives us a veritable mini-sourcebook of vehicles, with an even dozen flying craft for various modern-era campaigns. He’s managed to pick a good selection from over 100 years of flight, suitable for use by (or against) player characters.

The suggestions for use are very good, including several suggested as flying bases for various genre player characters. My personal favorite is a nuclear-powered B-36 carrying a bunch of Goblins. Now if only I had a campaign to throw that into…

The art by Shawn Richter is, with one minor exception, great. (I wasn’t fond of the Black Widow’s background; it really killed that pic for me.) Some of them had great settings that caught me by surprise, in a pleasant way. (The War of the Worlds one was one of my faves.) Overall, these were very well done and added a lot to the article.

[BobGreenwade]

Thanks for the nice review, Bolo! :D As noted in my initial post, I definitely agree with you re: Derrick's illos of the Fanboys. I'd actually sent the adventure off to Dave long enough ago that I'd forgotten how hilarious they are (or how disgusting and scary the Hemalakites are).

As for it resembling something from a classic sci-fi TV show, that really was my hope for this. I actually lifted many of the plot elements from episodes of the various Star Trek series as well as Babylon 5 -- though the broadest TV nod was, of course, to The X-Files.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Though I've always found DH to be a quality product (and well worth the money!), this issue is possibly my favorite to date. Why? Because of the first-rate adventure "The Helmet of Dr. Destroyer" and an excellent article (with write-ups!!) on a subject near and dear to my heart: strange/unusual aircraft!

:love:

[BobGreenwade]

Though I've always found DH to be a quality product (and well worth the money!), this issue is possibly my favorite to date. Why? Because of the first-rate adventure "The Helmet of Dr. Destroyer" and an excellent article (with write-ups!!) on a subject near and dear to my heart: strange/unusual aircraft!

:love: "First-rate," eh? Thanks! :D

[Dr. Anomaly]

"First-rate," eh? Thanks! :D
I call 'em as I see 'em, Bob! :D

P.S. Have a little rep for your excellent DH work!