So that’s the main scoop, straight from the horse’s mouth! But here are a few additional tidbits that I think will help explain the Champions Online MMO (“COMMO”) deal to current Hero/Champions fans.
1. What’s happened here is that Cryptic has bought the Champions and Dark Champions intellectual property — the characters, setting, history, events, and so on.
2. Cryptic
has not bought the HERO System rules. The Champions Online MMO is
not a “HERO System MMO.” You will not be using the HERO System to build your characters in the MMO, or anything like that. Under the terms of our agreement with Cryptic, COMMO will use many HERO System terms for its powers, abilities, and so on, but it does not use the HERO System rules.
3. Cryptic has not bought any of the rest of our IP (such as the Turakian Age, the Terran Empire, or Tuala Morn).
4. Under the terms of our agreement, Cryptic has licensed back to DOJ the right to produce Champions RPG supplements, though it has the right to approve those supplements. As part of the deal we get to use their artwork. This makes at least a few color books possible going forward, though when we implement a change like that has not yet been decided.
5. Because Cryptic now owns the Champions/Dark Champions IP, they can change it or tweak it as they deem fit so that it suits an MMO. For example, I’ve seen their illustration of Defender. It looks
nothing like any incarnation of Defender ever published by Hero Games. Similarly, I’ve seen their Dr. Destroyer. I’d bet that a Champions fan would realize it’s Dr. Destroyer, but he doesn’t look exactly like the Dr. D in CKC. The needs of an MMO are often different from the needs of an RPG, so Cryptic’s going to change things as needed.
However, that being said, Cryptic has no desire to run an RPG company; they have plenty of their own fish to fry. There’s a huge range of information about the Champions Universe that Cryptic generally isn’t concerned about since it has no direct impact on COMMO. Therefore I don’t expect any problems on this front. As we keep publishing Champions supplements we’ll be changing things as needed to reflect Cryptic’s vision of the Champions Universe, but that doesn’t mean our own views are going to get shoved aside — it’s a big sandbox to play in and Cryptic only needs part of it for an MMO. For example, Dr. Destroyer looks a certain way in COMMO, and that will be reflected when he makes an appearance in books — but it doesn’t mean we couldn’t come up with three or four more suits of armor for him as part of the RPG. So far we’ve had an excellent working relationship with the guys at Cryptic, many of whom are long-time fans of Champions, and I have no doubt that will continue as we move forward.
6. Going forward, we’re going to create Champions supplements that will help Cryptic in its production of the game. We’re going to cover subjects it would like to see covered, create things it would like to see created, and otherwise try to dovetail our goals for Champions the RPG with their goals for Champions Online. This helps us because we get to use their art (minimizing production costs) and can produce books that will hopefully be of interest (and thus sell to) fans of COMMO who aren’t fans of ours (yet!). It also allows us to have more of an impact on COMMO than it would if we just left it all to Cryptic.
7. When we come out with a new edition of CHAMPIONS for the 6E rules, or perhaps a distinct COMMO RPG book, we’ll include information about how to create your COMMO character using the HERO System rules, probably with a bunch of plug-and-play prebuilt powers to boot. But just to make sure we’re clear, COMMO does not use the HERO System rules in any way. I can build World Of Warcraft or Everquest characters with the HERO System too, but they’re not based on HERO either.
Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, I’ll conclude by saying how excited all of us here at Hero Games are to be working with Cryptic on this project. Not only is it going to be an awesome MMO based on our way cool Champions Universe, it’s a chance to expose the HERO System to a much broader audience than ever before. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming newcomer to the site, making them feel at home, and helping them learn the game.
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Originally Posted by Steve Long
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