Everyman Review on RPG.Net

[ghost-angel]

Linky (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12577.phtml)

In Brief:
(RPGNet Scale)
Style: 4
Content: 4

77 NPC characters for your Champions (or any Superhero) game Players to interact with. Including a chapter for GMs of nothing but plot hooks for each character.

If you need a quick set of NPC Personalities for your players to interact with this is definitely the book for you. Well prepared, well organized and easily utilized.

[Shaft]

The review is too short- doesn't really do the supplement justice, IMHO.

[FenrisUlf]

To those fo you who actually have the book (six weeks and I'm still waiting), just how good is it?

[CandidGamera]

I haven't quite finished it, but I like it. I particularly like the write-ups for Judson, Butler to the Champions (who has Hunted : Foxbat) and Witchcraft's cat.

[ghost-angel]

The review is too short- doesn't really do the supplement justice, IMHO.

In retrospect, you are correct. However, it was the second book review I'd really ever written. It was actually done some time in early November but got caught in RPGNets cogs somewhere and wasn't posted until now.

Were I to rewrite it I'd imagine it'd clock in at around 1000 words, not the 400 it is now. Learning curves, get ya every time.

[ghost-angel]

To those fo you who actually have the book (six weeks and I'm still waiting), just how good is it?

The book is good stuff. It covers a good cross section of NPC types that surround a Superhero presence, from worshippers to disenters and the whole bit in between.

[Shaft]

In retrospect, you are correct. However, it was the second book review I'd really ever written. It was actually done some time in early November but got caught in RPGNets cogs somewhere and wasn't posted until now.

Were I to rewrite it I'd imagine it'd clock in at around 1000 words, not the 400 it is now. Learning curves, get ya every time.

I didn't realise you were the author, otherwise I would have given you more feedback (I also thought the decision to keep it short was done at the editor's level, not the writer's).

I would have suggested:

1) A mention that Everyman is the evolution of Normals Unbound from 4th ed, but that it's not a rehash of that book since almost all the characters are new, and the ones that are carried over were given new elements (good way to plug the old product to readers who end up liking it, and to appease the ones who have the old product and dismiss the new product as something they already have). Mentioning Normals Unbound indicates that HeroGames has done this sort of thing before and that the decision to release a follow up has a precedent.

2) Expand a bit about each chapter, or at the very least put some focus on the hero and villain DNPC chapters. It's good that you mentioned that each NPC receives a full page, and you did list the chapters, which are very self-explanatory. You also did warn the reader that the games is tailored to Champions Universe, but that it is easily adapted, but I would have liked to have heard more of your opinion on that.

3) A comparison to GURPS Supporting Cast is not neccesary, but it might have been a useful comparison.

I wrote these suggestions as if my goal was actively getting people to pick it up (pitching it effectively), but I'm not sure how objective RPGnet wants its contributers to be, even when the reviews are favourable.

Don't get me wrong- It was a good review- as I said though just too short. I'm glad you agree. I look forward to any future reviews you might be writing. Please let us know the next time you have one up.

[Shaft]

To those fo you who actually have the book (six weeks and I'm still waiting), just how good is it?

It's very good. The NPCs are very detailed, and they cover a wide range of society for the people to meet. It's written primarily with established Champions Universe characters in mind, but that adds to the appeal if you already have a familiarty with those characters. The NPCs can easily be rewrittten to fit in with other non-specific heroes/villains/PCs.

Each NPC receives three plot hooks the same way a villain or NPC hero receives three plot points in the various supplements. Also the write ups include suggestions for introducing the NPCs, which in turn can be used to introduce them to the heroes/villains they are associated with.

My only criticism is that the book feels too geared towards NPCs in a Supers game. The NPCs have a four colour feel to them that is hard to shake off. Mind you, that is also a good thing if Four Colour is what you are looking for. (I'm a little biased towards Normals Unbound in that respect since most of those NPCs felt like they could have been in a modern non-superheroic game as well).

[ghost-angel]

Don't get me wrong- It was a good review- as I said though just too short. I'm glad you agree. I look forward to any future reviews you might be writing. Please let us know the next time you have one up.

I have several up on RPG.Net, there's a list in the Company Questions forum, the thread is a sticky at the top.

RPGNet requests reviews be as objective as possible, but ultimately a review of a book is a subjective viewpoint anyways.

Of your suggestions, I'd follow the second. 1 and 3 are not the angle I take with reviews. I don't feel comparing the book to older editions is helpful, or even pointing them out. Fifth Edition stands on it's own. And I don't own other gaming products as I only play hero so I can't compare them to another companies similar offerings. And both those ideas are, for me and how I see a review as being helpful, counterproductive.

Either I give decent enough info in the review that someone goes "Ah, I could use that." or I don't. In this case I could have provided more info and details on the books contents.

[moquif]

To those fo you who actually have the book (six weeks and I'm still waiting), just how good is it?
It's good. I think they give you examples of many of the archtypes with labels. (Except for pg 76, what is his archtype?) Many are put into context by having them connected to an established character. Some of the plot hooks are a bit obvious (marked by "the classic X plot"), the anti-superhero media mongol is kidnapped, the archaeologist finds something he shouldn't, etc but some are interesting. My one complaint is they don't give their most likely frequency of appearance, mark which ones have useful skills, and which are incompetent. In most cases it's obvious, but a standard "taking this NPC as a DNPC is work X points" would have been nice.

[ghost-angel]

(Except for pg 76, what is his archtype?)

Superhuman Defense Expert. Listed in the ToC, if you're wondering where I pulled that from.

[FenrisUlf]

anti-superhero media mongol

For some reason that sounds like the name of a Silver Age villain. That or someone who should have showed up in I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League -- Media Mongol, ravager of the late-night news!

[bigdamnhero]

To those fo you who actually have the book (six weeks and I'm still waiting), just how good is it?
Great book. I admit the concept of a book of non-superpowered NPCs didn't exactly have me sitting on the edge of my seat. But I hadn't counted on it being so well done. It's not just 77 NPCs -- it's 77 good NPCs!

It also has what get's my vote for Single Best-Written Disad Ever: "Psych Lim: Loves her big dumb brother despite the fact that he's a millstone around her neck." :lol:


My only criticism is that the book feels too geared towards NPCs in a Supers game.
True, but after all it is billed as a Champions book. So is that a bug or a feature? ;)

[ghost-angel]

My only criticism is that the book feels too geared towards NPCs in a Supers game. The NPCs have a four colour feel to them that is hard to shake off. Mind you, that is also a good thing if Four Colour is what you are looking for. (I'm a little biased towards Normals Unbound in that respect since most of those NPCs felt like they could have been in a modern non-superheroic game as well).

Er, that's because it IS a book geared towards NPCs in a Supers game. It's part of the Champions line.

As for the 4-color issue, that's usually pretty easily solved with some creative thinking. It is, after all, a Champions Universe Sourcebook.

[Shaft]

Er, that's because it IS a book geared towards NPCs in a Supers game. It's part of the Champions line.

As for the 4-color issue, that's usually pretty easily solved with some creative thinking. It is, after all, a Champions Universe Sourcebook.

Yes, I freely admit I was letting my personal bias/preference colour my review of your review.

I still maintain that I would have liked to see a longer review, but I also maintain that your review was good and that Everyman deserves the 4/5 you gave it. ;)

[Shaft]

True, but after all it is billed as a Champions book. So is that a bug or a feature? ;)

It's a perk and a disad, kinda like Reputation. ;)

I lean more towards Dark Champions than four-colour Champions. I guess I'd like to see the equivalent for Dark Champions (Dark EveryMan?), but yes, that desire of mine should not have been responsible for putting down EveryMan in anyway.

[ghost-angel]

It's a perk and a disad, kinda like Reputation. ;)

I lean more towards Dark Champions than four-colour Champions. I guess I'd like to see the equivalent for Dark Champions (Dark EveryMan?), but yes, that desire of mine should not have been responsible for putting down EveryMan in anyway.

It's a tentatively planned book for the DC line, "The Man On The Street."