zornwil Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Originally posted by BobGreenwade Unfortunately, the Hero Plus line is being discontinued. And I don't think 64-page books would be economically feasable for DOJ, at least at this point. However, some historical books could be possible (IMO) as full-fledged setting books, or even as genre books (your Wild West information, for instance, probably will be a part of Western Hero -- there was some good information in the original, and with Steve's standards there would probably be quite a bit more). Though not on the calendar, there are many good historical spots in the Hero Universe document that I'd wager would be good setting books for 150 pages or so, and a few that were missed (such as ancient Egypt or ancient China). Yup, i know, this is a wish list though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted December 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Originally posted by archer Got some more. The Ultimate line of fantasy archetypes, one book for each (warrior, wizard, priest, rogue). Includes not just a bunch of Package Deals for each, but stuff on their organizations, notes on running a party full of them, running equivalents in other genres, and so forth. Does fantasy really need its own, separate Ultimate series? Ultimate books are (at least in theory) supposed to be genre-neutral. Wizards and priests in fantasy games will surely be covered in The Ultimate Mystic, for example. The Ultimate Warrior sounds like a good substitute title for Steve's The Ultimate Weapon (especially if he separates out ranged weapons, also giving us The Ultimate Marksman). I'm not sure about rogues, though The Ultimate Skill would seem to cover most of that. Dark Champions: the Real World. Characters are all 75 + 75, no Powers other than gadgets that exist in the real world, no Talents, no weirdness. Skills only. Mundane equipment is free. These are people in the real world who put on masks and pretend to be superheroes fighting crime. It can go anywhere from goofy ("Angle Grinder Man" and the woman in New York who befriends women who have too much to drink) to dark and grim (psychotic nutbars who put on masks and drive vans full of guns). I'm pretty sure Steve's vision of Dark Champions is exactly that -- in fact, I think he's stated that his original vision of the original book was along those lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Originally posted by BobGreenwade I'm pretty sure Steve's vision of Dark Champions is exactly that -- in fact, I think he's stated that his original vision of the original book was along those lines. I dunno. (a) It seemed to me that the original Dark Champions was linked with the Champions Universe in some way, hence not the Real World, and ( Harbinger of Justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by archer I dunno. (a) It seemed to me that the original Dark Champions was linked with the Champions Universe in some way, hence not the Real World, and ( Harbinger of Justice. Both of these, per Steve (and IIRC), were modifications that Bruce Harlick (and the other original Hero Guys) wanted him to make from Steve's own original concept, which (again IIRC) was closer to what you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Let me set the record straight right now so the pointless back-and-forth can be devoted to something else. When I originally wrote Dark Champions, it was envisioned as more of a Heroic sort of subject -- not entirely, mind you, but moreso than it turned out. But the company thought of DC not as its own "genre" (so to speak) but as a supplement for Champions, so I was instructed to rewrite accordingly (and to angle future books more in that direction; note the greater preponderance of quasi-superpowered villains in Justice Not Law, for example). I think gamers quickly grasped what I had in mind, though. It wasn't long after the book came out before I saw posts where people said things like, "I'm running a Dark Champs game where the players are all cops" (or soldiers, or spies, or whatever you want). They realized there was more to it than costumed crimefighting, though that was and is one of the cores of the concept. The new Dark Champions, slated for release this summer, is going to be more like what I originally had in mind (but again, not entirely so, since my experience and perceptions have changed in the past 10 years). It will cover the whole modern-day action-adventure sort of genre, ranging from vigilante crimefighters to spies to caper movies to technothrillers to ultra-nitty-gritty cop and military dramas. Where it intersects with Champions, it will cover the "street-level superhumans" subgenre into which the likes of Daredevil fit pretty handily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monolith Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by Steve Long Where it intersects with Champions, it will cover the "street-level superhumans" subgenre into which the likes of Daredevil fit pretty handily. The problem I always had with Dark Champions was that it never seemed to fit with Champions. While I certainly understand the "street-level" grittiness, the power levels never fit. It is difficult to use it within a Champions campaign where one street-level hero like Nightwind seems far more powerful with his 27 DEX, 6 SPD, 13d6 attacks than another who is 18 DEX, 4 SPD, 7d6 attacks. The power levels in question mean that the two can never really interact, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Thanks for the clarification, Steve. I was kinda wondering if you'd chime in and clear things up. I was also wondering if you'd make any mention of any of these book ideas being not quite as stupid as we think they are... but on the whole, I'd almost rather be pleasantly surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent X Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 I would like to see a book with about 3/4 the page count devoted to interesting bases each fully mapped out and the rest of the book being maps of various places that might be used in a modern setting such as Champions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by Agent X I would like to see a book with about 3/4 the page count devoted to interesting bases each fully mapped out and the rest of the book being maps of various places that might be used in a modern setting such as Champions. Yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 Originally posted by Steve Long When I originally wrote Dark Champions, it was envisioned as more of a Heroic sort of subject -- not entirely, mind you, but moreso than it turned out. But the company thought of DC not as its own "genre" (so to speak) but as a supplement for Champions, so I was instructed to rewrite accordingly (and to angle future books more in that direction; note the greater preponderance of quasi-superpowered villains in Justice Not Law, for example). I didn't know this. I've always thought of Dark Champions as a subgenre of Champions and separate from the nonpowered modern genre, but I can see where you're going with it (the other way around). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Got another one, which I know for a fact would never happen. DOJ gets the license to do the RPG adaptation of Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series. The Ultimate Dimension would be a great companion volume for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted January 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Originally posted by archer Got another one, which I know for a fact would never happen. DOJ gets the license to do the RPG adaptation of Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series. The Ultimate Dimension would be a great companion volume for this. I agree that this would be fantastic, and that it's almost certainly not going to happen (at least, not until Asprin's been dead for at least 75 years). However, I don't think a Myth Adventures RPG book falls under the header of "Useless Supplements" -- it has such great potential that it would surely be a hot seller! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Originally posted by BobGreenwade I agree that this would be fantastic, and that it's almost certainly not going to happen (at least, not until Asprin's been dead for at least 75 years). However, I don't think a Myth Adventures RPG book falls under the header of "Useless Supplements" -- it has such great potential that it would surely be a hot seller! Maybe. I've often wanted to do it myself, but I don't know how much sales to expect. Asprin has licensed out the series in the past, specifically to Mayfair Games (for both a board game and a D&Dish supplement back in the 80's). I don't think it would be too hard to contact him to ask, but whether he would grant permission and how much he'd ask for the rights would be another story (assuming Mayfair no longer has them). If I was going to form a company to produce it, unfortunately it would have to be OGL. There's no way a company could afford to pay two sets of licensing fees to make it feasible in Hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted January 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 The cost of the license is pretty much what I was getting at, as the barrier that would keep something like M.Y.T.H. Hero from happening any time soon. Hence my remark about 75 years after the author's death -- that's when current copyright laws place creative materials into the public domain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 Originally posted by Solomon Art of HERO . In full color. I'd Buy this in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 Looking at this stuff, I like the Ultimate Disadvantage Idea The Galactic Martial Arts Compendium Galactic Beastiary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 Another "vote" for The Ultimate Dimension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 I vote for historical middle ages hero. With a setting sourcebook for western europe during the time of the normans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 Hero-Hero! You can play Ben, Steve, Dan, Tina, Darren, Allen... Writing code, slaying board-trolls, mocking the LotR movies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 Originally posted by Blue Hero-Hero! You can play Ben, Steve, Dan, Tina, Darren, Allen... Writing code, slaying board-trolls, mocking the LotR movies... What about the Ultimate Steve Long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost who Walks Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 Hmmm... "Herophiles Unbound" Not only would it give gaming stats for all the millenial posters, it would also give their "greatest posts". A glossary would be in the back, to translate Hero Boards Jargon into English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNakagawa Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 many of these suggestions are entirely too useful. The most useless supplement I'd actually like to see is the Ultimate Catgirl. Special effects, schticks, perks, talents, disads and skills tailored for the femme feline. Nyan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 What about the Ultimate Steve Long? LOL. I'm not sure even I could write enough useful material about me to make a whole book. Heck, I could probably build me on less than 50 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 I would like a book on Western Champions, or CHampions through the ages, essentialy a book talking about running super heroes in the old west, and if not enough info there then include other historical periods (Victorian age, Iron Age Supers, etc...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Maybe not utterly useless, but good luck building the sales... The Ultimate Index - indexes every Hero product ever produced! [better make it an ebook so it can be updated with each new product published ] Think about it, Steve...even if almost no one buys (subscribes), you can give it away to guys like me and avoid having to tell us page references on the System Questions board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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