6th Ed Champions Universe

[Greeter]

Greetings All,

Will the Champions Universe simply be updated to the new rules of 6th Ed, or will there be a new Champions Universe (such as the dramatic change from 4th to 5th Ed)?

[Steve Long]

We plan to publish a new Champions Universe for 6E. Changes/updates to the overall setting are primarily going to depend on reflecting the Champions Online MMO take on the setting, since Cryptic Studios now owns the Champions IP -- but of course, since an MMO can only cover so much ground, that leaves plenty of territory where we'll be able to do whatever we want.

[dsatow]

Follow up question

A while back you developed a timeline for the products for 5th Ed, going from Atlantean Age (or earlier) to Star Hero. Are you still going to adhere to that product timeline?

[Steve Long]

Yes, unless I see a reason not to.

[Hermit]

Another question. Is there a plan, as a Hero Plus adventure or otherwise, to have a Crisis style adventure so folks can play out changes in game if they wish?

[mvoncannon]

Thread Necromancy.....

That would be cool. Seriously.

[Steve Long]

No, there's no plan for anything like that at this time.

[Lord Liaden]

This is only my impression based on observation of information Cryptic Studios has released on their Champions Online website, and the post-Cryptic books published so far by Hero Games; but from that evidence I don't expect Cryptic to make more than minor changes to the established history of the Champions Universe. However, they look to be greatly elaborating existing elements of the setting that weren't developed before, and adding a bunch of new stuff.

[Steve Long]

To a large extent that is a fair assessment -- after all, why buy something just to tear it apart? There are certainly some changes; for example, in the 6E CU Shadow Destroyer shows up in 2001 and the "real" Dr. Destroyer is going to remain in hiding until Cryptic decides it's time for him to come out and play.

And believe me, that's not the only plot they have going on behind the scenes. They seem to be doing an excellent job of "metaplotting" the MMO, coming up with intriguing backstories to explain what's going on and eventually lead to expansions and updates and such. As luck would have it, some of them dovetail nicely with books we were already considering doing.

[Lord Liaden]

To a large extent that is a fair assessment -- after all, why buy something just to tear it apart? There are certainly some changes; for example, in the 6E CU Shadow Destroyer shows up in 2001 and the "real" Dr. Destroyer is going to remain in hiding until Cryptic decides it's time for him to come out and play.

Oooh... that's actually pretty intriguing. So Shadow Destroyer isn't just some "johnny-come-lately," but has been THE Doctor Destroyer of the new millennium. All the preparations and improvements Albert Zerstoiten has been making while he was presumed dead will probably come down on SD's head in a big way when he announces his return. Of course PC heroes (PnP and MMO) are likely to get caught in between them...

[bubba smith]

sounds good

[Lord Liaden]

And believe me, that's not the only plot they have going on behind the scenes. They seem to be doing an excellent job of "metaplotting" the MMO, coming up with intriguing backstories to explain what's going on and eventually lead to expansions and updates and such. As luck would have it, some of them dovetail nicely with books we were already considering doing.

Do you happen to know if the overarcing plot from DEMON: Servants Of Darkness is still on the itinerary? I'm not asking how Cryptic plans to run it or if the details have been changed, just whether they're going to put it in the MMO.

[Steve Long]

Sorry, but I'm not at liberty to reveal any details (and heck, I don't necessarily know any). I only mentioned the Shadow Destroyer thing because I'd think Cryptic's intent is pretty obvious from the contents of BotD.

[CorpCommander]

Will the new books be 6th edition compatible? How is that being handled? I'm sure there are people like me who don't want to invest in something that will be obsolete in 12 months time.

[Sketchpad]

I was thinking about CO and its relation to Champions PnP ... with some of the larger storylines in the MMORPG, are there plans to make these into adventures for Champions PnP? Or at the very least, some PDFs?