Sveta8 Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 No, for once, this isn't a question about building a good background for a character. Rather, I am new to Champions, and have fallen in love with it's universal system. Not the system of it's universe mind, but how the system allows generation of nearly everything under and inside of the sun. And probably more if you put your mind to it it. Lacking either a group to play with yet, or a world to delve into either, I am curious about the universe as a whole. Or rather... There seems to be a collective set of history and information about Champions that is garnered both through experience and understanding. Currently lacking both, I am trying to figure out where I might look to start building understanding of the world. Or rather, the traditional systems for Champions. Millennium City. VIPER, UNITY, Dr Destroyer, so on. While each campaign I've seen mentioned seems to have a fair bit of build up upon the root world described, there seems to be a base underlying... system. Game World or such. Where can I find information about it? How deep in the rabbit hole does it go, and how can I find it? Yes, there is variation between editions, but I hardly know what it is varying, let alone what the consequences of what is varied. Forgive me for being inexperienced, I have never dealt with Superhero... media in any real sense beyond a casual viewing of movies or such. But, I want to dig deep and see what is there. Where should I go? I have no doubt there are a multiplicity of options and sources, such is the nature of superhero media, and the end result varies wildly depending on such, but at least that would give me an idea of where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 If you're looking to purchase some Champions books, there's a large variety of books on this site's store and several of the authors are regulars in these forums. You can browse through the list and ask for recommendations out of the books which seem likely. If you're looking for free information, you can search through the forums here using VIPER, UNITY, Dr Destroyer, etc. as keywords. I know there's several people here who can link you directly to certain discussions in these forums about the history and general information about the Champions Universe setting. If you don't see a discussion about some topic you wish to discuss, start a new conversation about it. There's a lot of opinionated and informed people who will supply you with endless fandom and bickering about details. There's a number of free downloads on this site, some are in the established Champions Universe and some are not. If you can't tell which is which, you'd have to ask someone. There's an archived bunch of free stuff which used to be listed on this website before it changed servers and/or management. I don't remember the link to it but someone will probably eventually read this discussion and give you a link. I know there's several people who can point you to other websites which talk about the established Champions Universe, organizations, villains, and such. The problem with waiting on people to find and read your request is that not everyone who is knowledgeable about such things reads the forum every day or even every week...so you might have to be patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 If what you're interested in is gaining an understanding of the official setting that Champions heroes and villains, organizations, adventures, etc. are set in, my recommendation would be to purchase the book entitled, Champions Universe. This is the foundation that all the other setting books build from, touching at least in some detail on nearly every subject relevant to the Champions Universe, including substantial info found nowhere else. It includes a detailed historical timeline, a summary of who's who and what's what in the Superhuman World subculture, survey of world geopolitics, how society has changed to adapt to the reality of superhumans, extraterrestrial and extradimensional worlds, races, and entities, the underlying assumptions behind how superpowers, supertech, magic etc. function in this universe, some sample NPCs, and more. It introduces this material in an organized, subject-by-subject fashion that's clear to follow, and includes a very thorough index that makes finding pages on any subject easy. I recommend picking up the edition of CU that's written for the current (Sixth) edition of the Hero System, which is the most complete and up-to-date version, as of its publication in 2010. (P.S. Ignore the one book review. It's from someone with a complaint about the Hero Games website store, not the book.) If you're looking for some other type of information, please specify. BTW the "rabbit hole" can go pretty much as deep as you want it to. The current official setting is elaborated on in literally dozens of published books; and that's not even counting previous editions of Hero System and incarnations of the CU. Outside of DC and Marvel Comics, no superhero setting has as much history, diversity, or coherence. It's not necessary to know that to understand the CU, but if you want to explore any subject we can usually suggest a source that treats it much more thoroughly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Now, if you'd like to sample an absolutely free and legal intro to the world, one of Hero Games's foremost freelance authors, Scott Bennie, created an abbreviated "lore primer" PDF for players of the setting's MMORPG brother, Champions Online, which you can download from here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzHmfdC4jXPpVmxGd1ZxcHVfbFk/view There are a few differences between the pen-and-paper version of the setting and the MMO, which Scott notes, but for the most part they're the same. This primer only skims the surface of what's available (Champions Universe is like this on gamma-powered steroids) , but it would quickly help you get up to speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeroGM Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 I believe there is a genre by genre history in the downloads. If you're looking for a full campaign world also look at Strike Force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sveta8 Posted September 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Most wonderful! No, while I am looking into seeing how the official setting of the world is built at a very in depth level, ala what will likely be provided by the Champions Universe, the lore primer you indicate is at the core, what I am looking for at the moment. Simply something equivalent to a History 101 of the world. Given my current state, alternating nightshift, I highly doubt I will be able to play anytime soon, but the setting and world seem fascinating to me. So, my mechanical exposure will likely be limited to simply seeing what sort of characters may exist, which by definition, requires an understanding of the history to see how they would fit in, or would crop up. While I will begin to dig deeper when I am able to, and almost certainly ask both about how people have used specific characters in their campaigns as well as how they may wish to use them, I at the moment, lack the information about them to even start. Once I figure out all the features of this forum, I have no doubt I will begin plumbing it's archives to see what is there too! Thank you all kindly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Sveta8 I would recommend the Hero System genre by genre and the Hero Universe timeline. Both in the downloads sections under miscellaneous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Ninja-Bear said: Sveta8 I would recommend the Hero System genre by genre and the Hero Universe timeline. Both in the downloads sections under miscellaneous. The free Hero Universe document would be particularly relevant, in that it not only describes the meta-reality of the universe, but also shows when and how all the antediluvian fantasy settings, and futuristic sci-fi ones, published by Hero Games, fit into a single unified timeline. A number of present-day Champions places, things, even people, have their origin in those ancient past eras; and a number of them persist and evolve into the far future. (A few details changed in the published books since that document was created, but most of it still applies.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 3 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said: The free Hero Universe document would be particularly relevant, in that it not only describes the meta-reality of the universe, but also shows when and how all the antediluvian fantasy settings, and futuristic sci-fi ones, published by Hero Games, fit into a single unified timeline. A number of present-day Champions places, things, even people, have their origin in those ancient past eras; and a number of them persist and evolve into the far future. (A few details changed in the published books since that document was created, but most of it still applies.) LL , Thanks for posting the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sveta8 Posted September 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 Have been, and will continue reading these. Thanks kindly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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