BoloOfEarth
Sep 12th, '03, 06:41 PM
Yes, it’s that time again (a little late, but hopefully not horribly so). The MC8 has already generated a lot of buzz here, but you’re getting my review anyway. ;) It’s a bit long because I wanted to get a bit more into the contest characters. After all, the authors obviously put a lot of thought into them.
Cover: Blaine’s cover treatment of the MC8 was stunning, IMO. Exceptionally well done.
When Last We Left Our Heroes: The VIPER organization book is one that I’ve been awaiting since Champions came out. I have no doubts that Scott Bennie and Steve Long did a bang-up job on it. I only got to glance through part of the playtest version, but what I saw I liked. Put it on my shopping list!
HEROglyphs: While I understand the metagame issue, I’d have to take a longer look at the optional changes to AP before I adopt any. I could be wrong, but it seems to me the whole thing is a bit moot. Yes, cutting defenses in half seems to hurt the high-defense character more than the low-defense one. However, a high-power attack with AP in either normal or optional formats seems like it would reduce defenses fairly similarly. A low-power attack probably won’t do much, if anything, to a high-defense character no matter which way you do AP. It seems to me that the optional way of doing AP adds the potential to completely remove defenses from the low-defense character, which could get icky.
HERO Universe (Sentinels): I like the way the intro was written as an excerpt from the “Official Sentinels Handbook.” The characters themselves were good, and the accompanying pictures were great work by Derrick Thomas. Of the three, Rocketman is my favorite, both for his history and his writeup, though I’m not keen on having enhanced senses in a Multipower.
You Gotta Have Character (Reynard the Fox): This was interesting and entertaining, but not one of my favorite YGHCs. I think it’s that the character is fictional (albeit historical fiction), and fictional characters can do or get away with whatever their authors decide they can. One of the things I really like about YGHC is being amazed at nearly unbelievable things that real people actually did or unlikely things that actually happened. (I still think that, if Jason wrote textbooks, schoolchildren would be eager to learn.)
That doesn’t mean this article was bad; on the contrary, Jason did his typical thorough job of researching combined with a great job of writing. It just didn’t “wow” me like past YGHCs did.
Optional Maneuvers: I’m not normally one for modifying or adding to the rules, but this article seems to do a good job of working “within the system,” even though it has the sidebar note that these aren’t official HERO rules. I think I might go with some of these, but I’m leery of having my players draw up new maneuvers on the fly.
Millennium City 8 (Intro/Sidebars): A good story, showcasing each individual without overly highlighting any one character. The one thing it needed was dialogue, although adding that would have either made it too long or required cutting some action. Tough call, but I probably would have trimmed some action to include a few quick quotes. The sidebars, particularly the Most Amusing Quotes, were a great idea.
Millennium City 8 (Art): I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll be able to keep on saying it: Blaine’s artwork rocks. The individual character pics rank up there with the best I’ve seen in HERO books and other superhero RPGs. My only (minor) qualm was with Lady Liberty, whose wide smile clashes with the “no-nonsense” attitude listed in her disads. But since the character writeups came after Pat Zircher’s original CU cover, Blaine may not have had Lady Liberty’s character writeup when he drew her.
Millennium City 8 (Lady Liberty): Never in a million years would I have come up with a magical cop character, either from the illo or from my own mind. Truly a great, unique concept Geoff has here. Having her don a more traditional robe to appear and warn others magically is a nice touch. Her writeup looks nicely balanced, allowing good roleplay whether superheroine or cop.
Millennium City 8 (Psiphon): My favorite part of Psiphon’s background was the inside look at PSI’s “recruitment” practices, though his giving villains a chance to repent fits well. Also, I liked his head swelling as he absorbs or transfers powers. I’m guessing that, since PSI knows his identity, that PRIMUS’ witness relocation didn’t work too well. Big surprise there. ;) All in all, a nicely done mentalist getting away from the Standard Mentalist Multipower (my term for the normal Ego Attack / Telepathy / Mental Illusions / Mind Control suite seen with many mentalists).
Millennium City 8 (El Aguijon): His background has lots of neat bits (events in the Amazon, his brother, etc.) and they work well as a whole. I’m not sure why, but I had a minor problem that his ex-wife was an expert in size-changing technology. Other than that, I like. His writeup had a great set of powers relating to insect swarms (the Images is my favorite).
One “tiny” question (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun): is “The Minstrel” secretly part of The Choir mentioned in Stalker’s background?
Millennium City 8 (Stalker): This is, IMO, the best-written text of the MC8. Favorite bits: “When they pulled the sheet over his son’s body at the E/R, that faith was shattered.” and “… in this case, it is indeed the clothes that make the man.” It was a very entertaining and compelling read. The writeup is also well done, especially the Luck. Stalker would make a great character to play: plenty of personality, skill, and capabilities.
Millennium City 8 (Raaktor): I enjoyed Raaktor’s background a lot, especially with its built-in archnemesis. It was well written and interesting. (I’m guessing the Raaktor is a distant cousin to the raccoon.) Definitely not a Wolverine clone, which was something I feared would win.
The character writeup is good, too, though there’s one thing I don’t like as much as the rest. It’s just a personal preference thing, but I’m not keen on having lots of characteristics in a Multipower, especially DEX and SPD. Arguably, some of the characteristics (PD, ED, and STUN) are really only applicable in combat, so the Limitation “Only in Combat” is questionable to me. Personally, I’d like to see this outside the Multipower, replacing the “Only in Combat” with Limitations for Extra Time (Extra Phase) and a set duration, kinda like psyching himself up for battle. To me, an instant Berserker Fury doesn’t fit as well with Raaktor’s more thoughtful nature. Again, this is just my personal preference.
Millennium City 8 (Steadfast): Denver gave us another very entertaining text. (My personal favorite was the spit take.) It manages to present a religious character without getting preachy or overpowering, which fit the character very well. The character is a pretty straightforward brick, though I like the “Heavy Burden/Blessing” name on the Density Increase.
Millennium City 8 (Megeara): I liked the background presented and wonder if you’ve drawn up Tisiphone and Alecto, her sisters. At first, as I was reading this I thought the three were going to mystically combine into one heroine, which I thought might be neat but hard to play. She’s a nice “living goddess” character.
Millennium City 8 (Commando Rubberbando): This is the winner of my own “favorite name” contest. It makes me wonder whether Ed watched Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers years ago. Making him a serious character, with Stretching, is a bit of a departure from normal. (No, I wasn’t going to say it was “a stretch.”) The background was well done, and the character writeup was pretty complete. (I like the points spend for Military Retirement and his Settlement.)
Cover: Blaine’s cover treatment of the MC8 was stunning, IMO. Exceptionally well done.
When Last We Left Our Heroes: The VIPER organization book is one that I’ve been awaiting since Champions came out. I have no doubts that Scott Bennie and Steve Long did a bang-up job on it. I only got to glance through part of the playtest version, but what I saw I liked. Put it on my shopping list!
HEROglyphs: While I understand the metagame issue, I’d have to take a longer look at the optional changes to AP before I adopt any. I could be wrong, but it seems to me the whole thing is a bit moot. Yes, cutting defenses in half seems to hurt the high-defense character more than the low-defense one. However, a high-power attack with AP in either normal or optional formats seems like it would reduce defenses fairly similarly. A low-power attack probably won’t do much, if anything, to a high-defense character no matter which way you do AP. It seems to me that the optional way of doing AP adds the potential to completely remove defenses from the low-defense character, which could get icky.
HERO Universe (Sentinels): I like the way the intro was written as an excerpt from the “Official Sentinels Handbook.” The characters themselves were good, and the accompanying pictures were great work by Derrick Thomas. Of the three, Rocketman is my favorite, both for his history and his writeup, though I’m not keen on having enhanced senses in a Multipower.
You Gotta Have Character (Reynard the Fox): This was interesting and entertaining, but not one of my favorite YGHCs. I think it’s that the character is fictional (albeit historical fiction), and fictional characters can do or get away with whatever their authors decide they can. One of the things I really like about YGHC is being amazed at nearly unbelievable things that real people actually did or unlikely things that actually happened. (I still think that, if Jason wrote textbooks, schoolchildren would be eager to learn.)
That doesn’t mean this article was bad; on the contrary, Jason did his typical thorough job of researching combined with a great job of writing. It just didn’t “wow” me like past YGHCs did.
Optional Maneuvers: I’m not normally one for modifying or adding to the rules, but this article seems to do a good job of working “within the system,” even though it has the sidebar note that these aren’t official HERO rules. I think I might go with some of these, but I’m leery of having my players draw up new maneuvers on the fly.
Millennium City 8 (Intro/Sidebars): A good story, showcasing each individual without overly highlighting any one character. The one thing it needed was dialogue, although adding that would have either made it too long or required cutting some action. Tough call, but I probably would have trimmed some action to include a few quick quotes. The sidebars, particularly the Most Amusing Quotes, were a great idea.
Millennium City 8 (Art): I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll be able to keep on saying it: Blaine’s artwork rocks. The individual character pics rank up there with the best I’ve seen in HERO books and other superhero RPGs. My only (minor) qualm was with Lady Liberty, whose wide smile clashes with the “no-nonsense” attitude listed in her disads. But since the character writeups came after Pat Zircher’s original CU cover, Blaine may not have had Lady Liberty’s character writeup when he drew her.
Millennium City 8 (Lady Liberty): Never in a million years would I have come up with a magical cop character, either from the illo or from my own mind. Truly a great, unique concept Geoff has here. Having her don a more traditional robe to appear and warn others magically is a nice touch. Her writeup looks nicely balanced, allowing good roleplay whether superheroine or cop.
Millennium City 8 (Psiphon): My favorite part of Psiphon’s background was the inside look at PSI’s “recruitment” practices, though his giving villains a chance to repent fits well. Also, I liked his head swelling as he absorbs or transfers powers. I’m guessing that, since PSI knows his identity, that PRIMUS’ witness relocation didn’t work too well. Big surprise there. ;) All in all, a nicely done mentalist getting away from the Standard Mentalist Multipower (my term for the normal Ego Attack / Telepathy / Mental Illusions / Mind Control suite seen with many mentalists).
Millennium City 8 (El Aguijon): His background has lots of neat bits (events in the Amazon, his brother, etc.) and they work well as a whole. I’m not sure why, but I had a minor problem that his ex-wife was an expert in size-changing technology. Other than that, I like. His writeup had a great set of powers relating to insect swarms (the Images is my favorite).
One “tiny” question (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun): is “The Minstrel” secretly part of The Choir mentioned in Stalker’s background?
Millennium City 8 (Stalker): This is, IMO, the best-written text of the MC8. Favorite bits: “When they pulled the sheet over his son’s body at the E/R, that faith was shattered.” and “… in this case, it is indeed the clothes that make the man.” It was a very entertaining and compelling read. The writeup is also well done, especially the Luck. Stalker would make a great character to play: plenty of personality, skill, and capabilities.
Millennium City 8 (Raaktor): I enjoyed Raaktor’s background a lot, especially with its built-in archnemesis. It was well written and interesting. (I’m guessing the Raaktor is a distant cousin to the raccoon.) Definitely not a Wolverine clone, which was something I feared would win.
The character writeup is good, too, though there’s one thing I don’t like as much as the rest. It’s just a personal preference thing, but I’m not keen on having lots of characteristics in a Multipower, especially DEX and SPD. Arguably, some of the characteristics (PD, ED, and STUN) are really only applicable in combat, so the Limitation “Only in Combat” is questionable to me. Personally, I’d like to see this outside the Multipower, replacing the “Only in Combat” with Limitations for Extra Time (Extra Phase) and a set duration, kinda like psyching himself up for battle. To me, an instant Berserker Fury doesn’t fit as well with Raaktor’s more thoughtful nature. Again, this is just my personal preference.
Millennium City 8 (Steadfast): Denver gave us another very entertaining text. (My personal favorite was the spit take.) It manages to present a religious character without getting preachy or overpowering, which fit the character very well. The character is a pretty straightforward brick, though I like the “Heavy Burden/Blessing” name on the Density Increase.
Millennium City 8 (Megeara): I liked the background presented and wonder if you’ve drawn up Tisiphone and Alecto, her sisters. At first, as I was reading this I thought the three were going to mystically combine into one heroine, which I thought might be neat but hard to play. She’s a nice “living goddess” character.
Millennium City 8 (Commando Rubberbando): This is the winner of my own “favorite name” contest. It makes me wonder whether Ed watched Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers years ago. Making him a serious character, with Stretching, is a bit of a departure from normal. (No, I wasn’t going to say it was “a stretch.”) The background was well done, and the character writeup was pretty complete. (I like the points spend for Military Retirement and his Settlement.)