Dark Champions review posted

[arcady]

Enworld:
http://www.enworld.org/reviews/index...dy&product=DC2

Sent to rpg.net as well, but it takes forever to go live there...

[Starwolf]

Nice review, it gave me an itch to get the book soonest, AND gave me an idea for a craetive project of my own.....

[CourtFool]

A very detailed and critical review. I now feel I know exactly what to expect from this book. Thank you, Arcady.

[James Gillen]

I was getting set to write an RPG.net review myself.
Then again, they usually take multiple reviews.

JG

[CourtFool]

I was getting set to write an RPG.net review myself.
Then again, they usually take multiple reviews.

You should. Multiple reviews gives you a better idea of the product. Everyone brings their own bias. With multiple reviews you can see what is just bias and what is actually product.

As excellent as Arcady's review is, he and I approach roleplaying from different perspectives. Things he may see as a flaw, I might see as an advantage.

Consider also that some people may not like Arcady or his reviews. They may have no interest in the product from just the title and do not read his review. How will they ever know that DC is not just costumed vigilantes anymore? (assuming they are not loyal Hero board denizens)

[James Gillen]

I'm still thinking about it. I still haven't seen Arcady's review up there yet.

JG

[arcady]

There's a very signifigant backlog right now on rpg.net...

I've got three reviews in their queue actually, dating back to the 22nd of August. They really have no, in my opinion, valid excuse for the delays.

They say they don't want to diminish reviews by overloading the readers, but this is the time of year that gamers go out seeking reviews of all the new products that came out at Gen Con.

[Talon]

I'm sure what they really mean is that they want to have reviews for the months following Gen Con when no one submits reviews to them...

[arcady]

People are always submitting reviews though. rpg.net never has a shortage of them. It may have trouble at times with getting good reviews or reviews in anything I personally want to read about, but not reviews overall.

I was told here that they were behind by 36 reviews.

[James Gillen]

36, huh?

Well, I posted mine. It may be a while before it gets up then. I'll just put it up here for reference. (I'm not sure if there's a proprietary matter involved, but it's not like they're paying me...)

-

PRODUCT: Dark Champions
AUTHOR: Steven S. Long
COMPANY: DOJ/Hero Games

STYLE: 4
SUBSTANCE: 5

SUMMARY:
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The Book of Infinite Guns is updated for HERO System 5th Edition.
--------------------------------------------------

REVIEW:
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Background and Introduction

In 1993, Hero Games published Dark Champions: Heroes of Vengeance as a sourcebook to its Champions superhero line. It was the
first RPG book written by Steven S. Long, a lawyer-turned-part time game
author. DC:HOV detailed the "realistic" universe of vigilante heroes
like Batman, the Punisher, and most of the Watchmen. The book instantly
became a classic part of the Hero Games catalog, attracting praise for
Long's highly detailed overviews of the law enforcement world,
organized crime, and real-world guns and equipment, things given short shrift
in Champions' energy-blaster world. Dark Champions also served
as the definitive Champions guidebook for the increasingly popular
"take-no-prisoners" kind of vigilante- the guy who, unlike Batman or
Daredevil, wouldn't just capture the psycho killer and send him back to the
asylum so he can plot yet another escape.

Long wrote several other sourcebooks for the Dark Champions line and
branched out to become a full time game writer, contributing to White
Wolf, Last Unicorn and other companies. In 2001, he and his business
partners formed DOJ and bought out the star-crossed Hero Games company,
putting it back on its creative and financial feet with solid products
like the mammoth HERO System 5th Edition and sourcebooks like
Fantasy HERO. Yet it wasn't until now that Long was able to update
his original project for 5th Edition.

Between 1993 and 2004, a lot of things changed. In comics, the wave of
"adult" superheroes (what's now called the "Iron Age") crested and
broke for the same reason that the Dark Champions line of products started
to get stale: Basically, once you've seen one gun-toting sociopath,
you've seen 'em all. At the same time however, the "action-adventure"
genre- normal people in a realistic universe going through
larger-than-life adventures- has become more popular than ever, especially in this age of terrorism. So DOJ announced that the new Dark Champions would be more devoted to the broader action genre and would not be a superhero sourcebook. This caused a minor controversy on the Hero Games Discussion Boards, with a lot of people thinking that a more appropriate title
would be Danger International (Hero Games' pre-4th Edition
action-espionage title) or even Action HERO (going with the 'Hero' theme).

In the Introduction to the new Dark Champions, Steve Long
distinguishes "Dark Champions" (the superhero sub-genre as presented in the
original book) from the broader action genre and explains why he stuck
with the original title:

"It quickly became apparent that the [original] book was a hit. It
sold well, and the fans really seemed to enjoy it. Before long, gamers
were talking about playing or running in "Dark Champions" campaigns.
While many of these were just variations on the Champions theme, what
interested me most were people who created games and characters with no
real connection to superheroes or comic books. I heard things like "I'm
running this Dark Champions campaign where all the characters are cops"
or "I'm using Dark Champions to revive my old Danger International
campaign." In effect, I'd accomplished what I'd set out to do- write a
book that stood on its own as a genre book- despite the inclusion of
"Champions" in the title. The term "Dark Champions" came to stand for a lot
more than just characters like Batman or the Punisher; it encompassed
the whole action-adventure genre, even though the book wasn't written
that way."

The Introduction, which in many ways is Long's professional
autobiography, concludes: "And now I get to delve back into the genre that brought me to game writing, with a dozen years of experience and the authority and resources to the book the way I want to. Man, I have a great job."

The Book

Dark Champions is one of the more massive HERO System 5th
Edition sourcebooks, at 372 pages (the same as the hardcover rules
themselves, not counting end pages). At $31.99, it's substantially more massive-
and more detailed- than the entire basic hardcover for Mutants &
Masterminds, although the fact that DC is a softcover also means it's
not as durable as the M&M books. The cover of the book features Dark
Champions' iconic character, the Harbinger of Justice, doing what he
does best- blasting into a room and killing everybody in it. The cover,
by artist Storn Cook, is loaded with detail: Harbinger has just crashed
into a skyscraper office via a lanyard attached to his belt, he's armed
to the teeth, slug casings litter the ground, light reflects off his
night goggles and clips eject from the pistols in his hands as the slides
pop back. It's a vast improvement from the cover Storn did for the
first DC, and in many ways it's symbolic of the book as a whole.

However, the interior art isn't nearly as detailed or exquisite, with
some of the better pieces actually being the bits Dan Smith, Greg Smith
and Storn did for the first DC. The newer bits are well-produced in
greyscale but just aren't that well drawn for the most part.
The text is organized in a manner similar to other 5th Edition books,
with chapters separated by black title pages.

Chapter One: Action and Adventure- The Dark Champions Genre

This title starts by defining what is being discussed by the "Dark
Champions" genre. First, it's realistic- characters automatically start
with Normal Characteristic Maxima (you pay double to get stats above 20,
to reflect their rarity), but you don't have to pay Character Points
for mundane equipment. The genre is also "Action" oriented- which means
that it's actually MORE violent than the real world, with plenty of
plots and mercenary activity going on around the globe.

These things mean that the game is going to be a LOT more lethal than
even a Fantasy or SF game, since characters primarily use guns and
knives, and don't have cure wounds spells or "mutant healing factor." It
also means that the GM needs a lot of stats for real firearms and other
adventuring equipment. The new Dark Champions certainly doesn't
disappoint in that regard. (See below.)

Chapter One continues with overviews of various subgenres like
"Vigilante Crimefighting" (what the Dark Champions brand traditionally refers
to), "Caper Hero" (think Ocean's Eleven or The Sting),
Espionage, Law Enforcement ("Cop Hero") and so on. Like other
sourcebooks, DC also goes over "meta-genres" that can be used in a campaign like
Comedy and Horror. Then it determines how well DC mixes with other
HERO System lines. Champions, for instance, produces either "Iron Age
Champions" (think The Ultimates or The Authority), or a
four-color heroes meet street crime approach (described as "Dark Champions:
The Animated Series"). Daredevil, for instance, has superpowers and a
four-color morality, but is definitely a street-level hero.
The chapter concludes with an alphabetical list of "genre bits" like
amazing escapes, car chases, dead relatives, and of course GUNS.

Chapter Two: Vigilantes, Spies & Soldiers- Character Creation

This chapter first goes over some of the logical backgrounds for a
character in the action genre (cop, martial arts student, etc.) and some
archetypes like The Avenger and The Gun Nut, with appropriate
Disadvantages suggested for each.
Next is a large list of Package Deals organized by category of
Criminal, Espionage, Law Enforcement, Military and Miscellaneous. Note that in 5th Edition, Package Deals don't give you any kind of "cost break"-
they're just lists of what Skils, Perks and whatnot the character ought to
have to be considered a "member" of the group in question. There is
some detail given to worldwide espionage agencies, but the Military
packages focus entirely on the US forces.

After the Package Deals there's an analysis of what Characteristics a
PC needs to fill a given archetype and some tips to help the GM avoid
HERO's problem of "stat duplication."
Then there's a very useful overview of Skills, including a list of what
you get on a roll of Analyze Combat Technique, detailed rules for
Bribery and Bureaucratics, VERY detailed rules for Bugging, the "Zen
Riflery" Martial Art, a new Skill for Parachuting (basically 'Combat Piloting'
with Parachute use) that also includes a HERO writeup of how a
Parachute actually works (that way when Seeker falls off a building, he doesn't
have to make it up on the fly...) and other such useful bits.

There is a new Skill Enhancer called "Expert." Whereas other Skill
Enhancers give point breaks for Skill type (like Linguist for Languages)
Expert gives breaks for subject. For instance "Russia Expert" would
give you a 1 point break on Russian Language, and on Knowledge Skill:
Russia, and Area Knowledge: Russia. It's an interesting option.
There are also rules listing the costs for certain Perks, which are
necessary to serve in certain organizations and thus a place for
experienced characters to invest their XPs. Note that in the main rules, "Head of State" is 15 points; in this book, that only applies for a "minor"
nation. Being Head of State for the US or another major power is 25
points. Just in case you were thinking about it.

Next there is a list of Talents, many of which are duplicated from
Fantasy HERO (Deadly Blow, Rapid Healing) or Star HERO (Hotshot Pilot).
Then the book lists Powers. Given that characters are supposed to be
realistic, Powers are used mainly for equipment (with the Focus
Limitation) or to simulate extraordinary human abilities- what this book calls
"super-skills" and what the old DC:HOV gave the ungainly title
"non-powered Powers." There is also a "new" Power called Piercing. Anyone else remember Piercing? It was introduced way back in Champions III
and attached directly to an Attack Power by subtracting points off a
target's Defense *before* attack Advantages like Armor Piercing were
applied. Piercing was never used in 4th Edition rules... probably because
it's SO DAMN NASTY!!

After an overview of Disadvantages (including a discussion of why most
characters do NOT want to be Hunted by the authorities) the book begins
a list of the aforementioned "Super-Skills." These are organized in
the format first used in The UNTIL Superpowers Database. These
example Powers provide a lot of flavor, with titles such as "Corridor of
Death" (Area of Effect Advantage for use with an Autofire firearm) and
"Son of a Bitch Must Pay" (Skill Levels usable only to get revenge on
the people who beat you up).

Chapter Two concludes with a very interesting new optional rule for the
GM: Resource Points. This concept reflects the fact that characters in
action movies go through a great number of vehicles, weapons and other
gear that gets destroyed or otherwise needs to be replaced. "Normal"
characters don't need to pay for these things, but the GM may still want
to keep track of them, and give PCs a break on other "Resources" like
their Contacts. If the rule is used, the GM decides how many Resource
Points PCs get in each category (the example is 60 points for Equipment)
with options to buy more on a ratio (1 Character Point per 5 Equipment
Points, 1 CP for 2 Vehicle/Base Points, etc.). This is a very neat
idea, although I don't think it serves well for all campaigns, like (say)
the Watchmen comics setting. It works best for a character who's
independently wealthy, a team supported by someone who's independently
wealthy (like the one in the back of the book) or- most likely- memb
ers of an organization, ranging from the police force to MI-6.

Chapter Three: Traces of Crime- Forensics

Chapter Three goes over various types of evidence analysis. This
subject was one of the strong points of the original Dark Champions, and
that was before the CSI TV shows. The new DC covers many new
technologies and methods, such as DNA "fingerprinting" and Computer
Forensics (analysis and repair of data on storage disk). As with the first
Dark Champions, this section is short but extremely detailed. For
instance, because oil mixes with other chemicals in a car engine, it's
possible to "type" a recent oil sample to a particular automobile. Another
example, from Forensic Pathology: "Different stages of insects are
attracted to a corpse at different stages of decomposition. Scientists can
use the rate of development of their young to determine the time of
death." Mmmm... maggots....

Chapter Four: Combat & Adventuring

This chapter begins by emphasizing the difference between "Dramatic"
and "Realistic" combat. The HERO System default, in which it's difficult
for characters to die, already stresses the Dramatic side. Stressing
Realism requires use of the game's optional rules, such as Hit
Locations, Wounding and Bleeding. The first part of the chapter reviews the
standard Combat Maneuvers and how they apply to the genre. Some optional
rules (like Critical Hits) are presented, but were also used in other
books like The Ultimate Martial Artist; of particular interest is
the optional Healing rule allowing characters to heal wounds that are
only 1 BODY, which prevents people from being nickled-and-dimed by minor
wounds in a setting where healing superpowers are nonexistent.

After that section are special "Gunfighting" rules, including an option
for "Blowthrough" (if half the attack's damage exceeds the
thickness of the barrier, it provides no defense to the target behind it,
similar to how strong PCs can use Casual STR to push through barriers).
The most useful rule for simulating Realism would be Recoil (an
additional -1 to-hit penalty for each shot after the first as the gun 'rides
up').

Chapter Five: The Arsenal- Weapons

The first time I saw the original Dark Champions, I looked at the
equipment section, and thought: "God Christ, does this book have a lot of
guns." In fact, I and my gaming group called it the "Book of Infinite
Guns." Dark Champions is a more than sufficient update for 5th
Edition.

After reviewing the physical properties of the various firearms and
ammo types, the book lists sixteen pages of guns. I counted to make sure.
No wait: That's just sixteen pages of generic ammo types. Then after
listing Firearms Accessories, the book lists 11 pages plus notes for
firearm brand names. The generic table is useful mainly for games using
the Resource Point rules. For instance, if a PC uses a handgun with 9mm
ammo, he can see what it costs with 7-8 shots, and then see what it
costs with an extra clip (13-16), then takes the difference to see what
the extra clip adds to his equipment allowance. Similar adjustments can
be made by taking the character's basic gun and buying it with Armor
Piercing ammo, and so on.

There's a fairly detailed section on explosives, which are mostly
normal damage (concussive) weapons, but of such high Damage Class that they
ought to kill most people. This section also includes experimental but
real devices like sonic cannons and sprayfoam riot weapons.

Note that most of the weapons are not given any picture examples or
other illustrations. This is a weakness in the book, but understandable
given its space limitations. It will probably necessary to consult one
of the reference books listed in the back (like Edge of the Sword), especially if you, like me, can barely tell the difference between
a "bullpup configuration" and a sawed-off shotgun.

Chapter Six: Field Kit- Dark Champions Gear

As if the last chapter weren't enough, Chapter Six lists real-world
non-weapon equipment, namely body armor and communications gear. Bugging
equipment and other sensory devices are detailed in HERO System terms.
More exotic stuff like superhero Utility Belts and spy gadgets (both
'Cinematic' and real) are detailed here also.

Chapter Seven: The Enemy- Dark Champions Adversaries

This is the chapter focusing on various types of organized crime. This
was another strong point of the original book, analyzing the American
and Sicilian Mafia, the Yakuza and even street gangs. Not detailed
originally (but presented in Long's Justice, Not Law, 1993) is the
Russian Mafia, re-presented here. The original book presented these
overviews with fiction pieces and character examples; the new book is more
utilitarian. After listing the real-world organizations and their
activities, DC goes on to mention other "genre" threats, namely criminal
masterminds, robbery crews, serial killers and costumed criminals.

The book then devotes a section to real-world terrorism, including, of
course, al-Qaeda, but also several organizations that committed
domestic terrorism in the '70s and '80s, like the Aryan Nation and the
Japanese Red Army. Which demonstrates that this issue has actually been a
problem for quite some time, however much Islamic terrorism is an issue
now.

Chapter Eight: Running the Gauntlet- Gamemastering Dark
Champions

This chapter is of course the GM's guide to properly running a Dark
Champions game in genre. Tips are given for how powerful characters
should be for a particular sub-genre (superspies can get away with more
stuff than realistic cops or soldiers, for instance). A special section is
given to crossing supernatural themes with the Dark Champions genre, a
la The X-Files. The general advice is that paranormal abilities
need to be kept rare, sinister and unprovable- which means they
shouldn't be possessed by PCs.

This chapter also devotes a section to the tone of a campaign,
particularly stressing the idea that the world is dark, but the characters are
still heroes: "Characters who can't see beyond themselves,
beyond their own thoughts and desires, are death to any vibrant, active
Dark Champions campaign. What a GM really needs, even in a dark
campaign, is PCs who leap to meet a challenge, do a good deed or
accomplish something worthwhile- heroes, in other words. Even if the PCs go
about this in dark ways (like shooting gang punks or a dictatorial
government's goons) they're still taking part in something worth doing."

This is the kind of advice that would have been much appreciated in the
original Dark Champions line; as I said earlier, the moral grayness (or
'mature subjects') presented in those titles made the material
depressing and ultimately repetitive and stale. Whether it is heroic to shoot
gang punks is another story, but the subject can serve as a source of
drama between characters.

The book next goes into how to create a plot for each game story (with
a Random Plot Generator written up). As in Aaron Allston's
Champions, this book has a section detailing how certain genre bits don't
really work in a role-playing game (e.g. it's usually a bad idea to
split the party). The chapter then goes over "Disadvantages and How to Use
Them." For instance, since an action hero's friends and family tend to
die with great regularity in the media, players may not want to give
PCs Dependent NPCs. The book suggests a gentleman's agreement not to
kill the DNPCs ('at least, unless the injury is somehow directly the PC's
fault'). The book next goes over how to design Villains and other
NPCs, going through certain Archetypes like "The Corrupt Cop," "The
Likeable Crook" and "The Uptight Commander."

Chapter Nine- LIBRA

The first part of this chapter details a party of five NPCs or
potential sample PCs, each built with 200 points including points spent for
extra Resource Points. The five were recruited by the Harbinger of
Justice as potential successors and aides in his one-man war on crime. Note
that whereas the original DC:HOV presented Harbinger as a "force of
nature" with enough points and high-tech to attack Galactic Champions characters, Harbinger isn't statted here at all. Possibly he may be
given stats in the upcoming Dark Champions sourcebook Hudson City:
The Urban Abyss ('come for the pie, stay for the killing').

The second part of the book gives stats for the villains Abaddon,
Caliber, Crossbow, Fenris and Triggerhappy. These villains (and several
others) were listed in the original DC:HOV, but here they're written with
this sourcebook's rules as Heroic-level characters. They serve to
illustrate the versatility and potential of the system; Fenris, as a
Colombian drug lord, has the Resource points to back his status, while
Abaddon uses the Deadly Blow Talent in conjunction with Martial Arts
maneuvers and Skills to crank out up to 4d6 Killing with a 1d6 combat knife.


Bibliography: Compared to Fantasy HERO, this section is sparse, mainly
because it has no author comments and simply lists a large line of
mostly non-fiction reference materials. One of these is a treatise on
worldwide crime and terrorism called The New War, written by John
Kerry. I shit you not. By the way, did you know Kerry served in
Vietnam?

SUMMARY
Dark Champions is a book with vast potential for any sort of
modern-day roleplaying, perhaps not AS detailed on a particular subject as
say, GURPS Cops, but serving as a strong base for the entire
action genre. Its detail on detective work and real-world military gear
will also make it an invaluable sourcebook for many superhero games.
The original DC was already a superb resource in these regards, and the
update, like other 5th Edition products, is a great step forward from
what was already a high standard.


Style: 4
The book earns a "Classy and Well-Done" mark mainly because of its
layout and ease of use. It could stand some improvement in terms of art,
however, even given the limitations of Hero Games' budget.

Substance: 5
Actually, Dark Champions requires more than a 5 in substance.
It needs a 6. Or an 11.

"Well, why don't you just increase the volume threshold on the
amplifier and make that the new 10?"
"................ Well, this one goes to 11."

[arcady]

My review went live on gamingreport.com today as well:

http://www.gamingreport.com/modules....ontent&id=1198

Sam review as before, different website.

[Ben Seeman]

In the future would it be at all possible to have you email me the links to your reviews? That makes it easier for me to update the Reviews page on the site since I don't always catch the announcements in the boards.

[arcady]

My review is now live over at rpg.net:

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10626.phtml

'bout time too.

[James Gillen]

In the future would it be at all possible to have you email me the links to your reviews? That makes it easier for me to update the Reviews page on the site since I don't always catch the announcements in the boards.

Okay.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10639.phtml