Best/favorite Champions product

[Dominique]

OK people, I've been gone for a while and figured I'd jump back in with something fun. What do you think is the best Champions poduct and why?

My personal favorite is The Zodiac Conspiracy with Psi coming in close second. The villains in the Zodiac Conspiracy are well developed and function better than some of the player teams I've known. The background info can be easily dropped into any campaign, and the color artwork is great.

[assault]

Strike Force.

It's just a good all round how-to-do-it guide to running a campaign. It's got pretty much everything you need, from NPCs to plot ideas, and frankly, it's just a plain good read as well.

Alan

[Sketchpad]

Strikeforce was indeed awesome! :) I also liked the Circle/METE, Blood & Dr. McQuark, the Champions Presents with The Coil and The Island of Dr. Destroyer :)

[Dominique]

Originally posted by Sketchpad
Strikeforce was indeed awesome! :) I also liked the Circle/METE, Blood & Dr. McQuark, the Champions Presents with The Coil and The Island of Dr. Destroyer :)

The Island of Doctor Destroyer was for Villains and VIgalantes, but it was a fun little adventure.

[Sketchpad]

Originally posted by Dominique
The Island of Doctor Destroyer was for Villains and VIgalantes, but it was a fun little adventure.

No ... the Island of Dr. Apocalypse was for V&V ;) Preceeded by the cool module Death Duel with the Destroyers ;) The Island of Dr. Destroyer was a module that was updated to BBB in the GM Screen pack ;)

[Keneton]

My favorite Champions product is the new Until Super Powers Database. As for old products. . . hands down it was the Primus and DEMON supplement. I STILL use that ultra cool PRIMUS HQ map.

:D

As for adventure type supplements Allen's Shades of Black is by far the best ever usurpin Battlegrounds (#2) and the VIPER adventures given in 2nd and 3rd edition.
:)

[Dominique]

Originally posted by Sketchpad
No ... the Island of Dr. Apocalypse was for V&V ;) Preceeded by the cool module Death Duel with the Destroyers ;) The Island of Dr. Destroyer was a module that was updated to BBB in the GM Screen pack ;)

Whooops...This is what happens when you try to read things before you are really awake. :o

[DoctorItron]

#1: My single favorite Champions product of all time is the BBB. It fixed copious rules problems in earlier editions and got everything into one book. I forgive the self-destructing binding.

#2: Strike Force. Great info for GMing (even for non-super or non-Hero games).

#3: Zodiac Conspiracy. I was just looking through it the other night gleaning some ideas for my current campaign.

All of the "Ultimate" books never did much for me...

[JohnTaber]

If you count the Champions book (the FREd Alston version) that is my favorite.

As far as the suppliments go...ooh...that is tough...the ones I used the most included:
Normals Unbound
Viper

Um...MC is pretty kick butt too... ;)

[Crusader108]

I gotta say that my faorite is Day of the Destroyer with Mind Games (the 4th Edition intro to PSI) a very close second.

[MrWolf]

Strike Force, VOICE, Ninja Hero, BBB.

[Glen Sprigg]

We do this topic every couple of months, don't we?

Anyway, my favorite books (I'm still missing MC, VIPER, and Battlegrounds), and the ones I would consider 'core' for a ready-made campaign:

* FREd (duh!)
* CKC (gotta have bad guys to fight)
* Classic Organizations (4th edition)
* Normals Unbound (DNPCs galore!)
* VIPER (4th edition for now)
* Ninja Hero (4th edition, still the best)
* Justice, Not Law (4th Edition Dark Champions setting, a city in a book)
* USPD (more powers than you can shake a stick at)

I'll probably be updating this list as I get caught up (which may take time)

Glen

[aylwin13]

StrikeForce, The Blood (& Dr. McQuark), The Coriolis Effect and the covers of the BBB (George Perez is a god).

[tiger]

Mine in no particular order

Mindgames
Viper
Classic Organizations. Had many favorites of mine, Demon, Clown, Neutral Ground

[Agent X]

I liked Champions Universe, 4th Ed. It had a good description of a haphazardly themed universe which is exactly what comics universes are supposed to look like. The Strands Adventure in the back was absolutely intriguing.

[bcholmes]

Originally posted by Dominique
OK people, I've been gone for a while and figured I'd jump back in with something fun. What do you think is the best Champions poduct and why?

That's a hard question because I like so many of the products in different ways that aren't really comparable.

At the moment, I think <cite>Champions Universe</cite> is the most evocative thing supplement. It gives me lots of ideas for stories -- especially the "filler" pieces. It has piqued my interest in Vibora Bay, and I've used the back-story of Canada's Northern Guard as the basis for my campaign.

So I guess that's my favourite.

Having said that, I can't imagine not having <cite>Conquerors, Killers and Crooks</cite> or <cite>UNTIL Super-Powers Database</cite>. Those two books are hugely helpful.

I also use a lot of characters from <cite>Champions of the North</cite> (which feels comfortably Canadian to me).

[bryanb]

Originally posted by tiger
Mine in no particular order

Mindgames
Viper
Classic Organizations. Had many favorites of mine, Demon, Clown, Neutral Ground

Could someone clarify for me exactly what organisations are covered in this book - I was thinking of buying it but VIPER is out and the new Primus is scheduled for release...someday.

Thanks

PS - My vote so far would be the Zodiac Conspiracy - just for the colour artwork

[Enforcer84]

To tell the truth, I have liked almost every Champions Product I have purchased. My favorites are probably:


UNTIL Superpowers Database
VIPER
Strike Force
Coreolis Effect
Villainy Unbound
CKC
Watchers of the Dragon
The Ultimate MA (either edition)
Champions Universe

[Magmarock]

I known I'm in the minority here... my favorite sourcebook IS The Ultimate Mentalist!

Not for the villains, mind you, but for taking an archtype and giving enough ideas on how to keep a mentalist fresh and new. (I know they did the same with The Ultimate MA , but with all the manauvers and different styles out there, I think it was extremely necessary to expand on MA maneuvers.) But The Ultimate Mentalist was the first of a kind sourcebook that focused on powers, advantages, and limitations for a single archtype and I thought that was incedably cool.

I hope there will be an updated version for 5th Ed.

Mags

[winterhawk]

My favorite is Champions 1st edition. Despite the bad typeset and archiac rules, it gave this kid (I was 11 at the time of its release) the chance to play comic book heroes rather than fantasy characters, and ones I created rather than rolled up. So props to the one that started it all.

[zornwil]

I found 4th to be the most readable. But I'd have to say 5th is overall my favorite, it sets a standard that although exceeded by subseqent books is still excellent now that time has allowed for more reflection. And I like rulebooks best, way more than supplements and mostly more than sourcebooks/genre books.

[Ghost who Walks]

"V.O.I.C.E., of Doom", without a question.

Not only was it one of the early scenario modules (1987!)

But it presented not only an outline of a Hero team, but a large villain team as well! While the scenario itself was a little basic, back then I didn't really have a good idea of how to make characters (early Champions books had almost no examples)

Even better, they were mostly foreign metahumans. I liked International enemies, for the same reason.

Many of the villains inside it are stil lactive in my campaign, in particular Photon, Black Raven, and Blue Eel. Szybko was altered so that he could teleport naturally. When he was killed by a police sniper, the villains cut out his brain, and built the "Syzbko Box", so they could continue to teleport...

Recently though, I picked up two of the "San Angelo" books, used. I love the detail they have, and urge anyone to pick them up who can find them, and needs a campaign city.

[Redmenace]

Strikeforce, it was a wonderful sourcebook but it taught me a lot about what I was doing wrong as a gm and gave me an example on how to do it right. I don't think I ever used any of the npcs or crunchy bits but it was, for me, the absolute turning point.

Watchers of the Dragon, great fun adventure that made everyone in the campaign want to play a martial artist. Lots of characters and a great ongoing subplot.

As to the new line, hmm, Strikeforce did for me what i suspect Champions is designed to do for 5th ed. so I'll skip over that and say the USPD for overarcing utility in every Champs campaign I'll ever run and Viper-cots for elevating a longtime favorite group into an even better position.

[Phraze]

I don't know that it's the best, but I have a soft spot for Champions II. At the time it came out, I was really divided between Champions and V&V. V&V seemed to have all the advantages: slicker production, more adventures, more intuitive for D&D players to cross over to. I had played Champions enough that I was getting over the initial culture shock of the point-based system, but the two games still seemed pretty evenly-matched to me.

And then Champions II came out and expanded Champions in every direction. More powers, more combat options, bases, vehicles, campaigning tips. All of it fit in well with the existing system, it added genre flavor, and there was enough advice for players and GM's that our games became much more enjoyable. I think it was the first step that really began to put Hero ahead of the rest of the pack.

And as much as I hated Mark WIlliams's art when I first saw it, I really miss the guy now. I thought the Foxbat bit on the opening page was hilarious ("Send me your extra experience points").

[Edited for grammar]

[Starcorp Man]

Hmm Strikeforce and Champions of the North are my equal favorites, Strike Force as a guide for DM's and how to create story arcs and such, helped spawn Blue Booking in my game and Champions of the North for inventive rules use, really defined characters and great source material.

V.O.I.C.E. of Doom is probably my third with the 4th edition BBB.

I have to echo the Mark Williams comment, I miss his work honestly, to me it really helped define Champions for me and the Champions II comic was funny as hell, combined with the power ring guy/Anklysaur "Are you on drugs?," comment.

[Theron]

Strike Force
Champions II
VIPER (the older one, haven't gotten the new one yet)
UNTIL Super Powers Database
Champions: The New Millenium (Which was saddled with a terrible rules set, horrific art, a layout that looked like the DTP guy was trying to use every feature Quark had to offer, and yet, was a whale of a four-color setting once you scraped away the Image-isms. I truly think that if it had been released with 4th Edition character write-ups and more conventional layouts and artwork, it would have been a fan favorite. Then again, I'm proud of my small part in the death of CLOWN, so your mileage may vary.)

edited for clarity

[Polaris]

In terms of Champions, I would say it is a tie between Strike Force and the Until Super Powers Database.

In terms of Hero supplements, I would add Star Hero and Terran Empire for reading enjoyment. I have not had Viper for very long, but am quite pleased with what I have read so far.

Polaris

[Southern Cross]

Actually,Classic Organisations featured the future villains Red Doom starting a mammoth super-brawl in Sanctuary (which forced Santuary to relocate to Destruga) and killing the defected heroine Tokomak and Sanctuary's disguise expert.When the truth came out,the Soviet superteams were split up into the heroic New Guard (led by Ivan) and Red Doom the ruthless supervillain team led by Colonel Vasalov (who was wearing the Tokomak armor).It also presented new versions of DEMON and CLOWN.