Lord Liaden Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Just a few days ago I finally managed to find a copy of the HERO edition of Blackwyrm Games' The Algernon Files at a LGS, to complement my HERO version of its sequel book, The Fires Of War. Like TFOW, TAF is a large collection of supers characters of diverse power levels, with rich backgrounds and often fresh concepts, and fine illustrations. The overall style of the book is very much that of the comics mainstream, predominantly "four color" but with both lighter and darker shadings. Anyone running a HERO supers campaign within that range will find a great deal of useful material here, and I don't hesitate to recommend it. What struck me as I was reading it was how much of AF would be readily compatible with Hero Games' Champions book line. I think because the Champions Universe is based on the same mainstream comics themes and conventions as the world of TAF, they seque into each other quite smoothly. This goes beyond easily transplanting characters from one world to the other; as a GM who likes to run a modified version of the CU, I'm seeing lots of AF stuff that I can utilize to flesh out villains and organizations from the official Champions world. Just a few examples: The Covenant can easily stand in for the Trismegistus Council, adding detail and diversity to that body. Moreover, the Covenant's super-level "strike force," the Seraphim, lets that group become more pro-active in fighting supernatural evil. The Prometheans make perfect artificial "children" for Teleios, adding power to his forces and interesting personalities for PCs to interact with in conflicts with him. The followers and devices of the Praetorian would fit very well as forces serving Istvatha V'han. Praetorian himself makes a marvelous general over Istvatha's armies. Also, Magog's superhuman augmentations can be attributed to V'han, and Magog himself left behind on Earth after V'han's last failed invasion. I admit that I wasn't that fond of the "absentee landlord" nature of the serpent god Nama as the power behind VIPER in Fifth Edition; but it would be easy to substitute the Serpent Queen for Nama, which IMO adds a whole new level of potential complication and menace to conflicts with VIPER. There are obvious parallels between the Acathii and the Rha'Zha'Keth in AF, and the Progenitors and Edomites in the CU. The conflict between them could be translated mostly as presented to the Champions Universe, explaining the disappearance of the Progenitors and the imprisonment of the Kings of Edom, as well as the creation of the Empyreans (as soldiers in their war with the Edomites, just as the Acathii augmented other races to help against the Rha'Zha'Keth). And of course the Lord of Mirrors makes a splendid and terrifying King of Edom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes Glad you liked the book, LL. Nice to know that it still makes its way into game stores. Be sure and tell the shopkeep that he should order several more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metaphysician Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes Appropo of nothing, I've stolen the Black Knights as the resident "Scariest Supermercs Around" for my campaign, with possibly some elements of the Dominion Conspiracy thrown in. I expect my players will find *that* upcoming conflict unpleasant, whatever form it actually takes. And thats with me *not* exploiting innocent bystanders mercilessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Goradin Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes One of the best non HERO made Champions supplements ever..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes We have a retailer locator up on the BlackWyrm website. If you want to find a store that sells our books, go to http://www.blackwyrm.com/retailers.htm to find a place near you. If your store sells BlackWyrm books, but is not on the list yet, have them contact us at the bottom of that screen, and we'll send customers their way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes I'm a fan of both the book and the world. Heroes, Villains, Bases, Vehicles, Plot Seeds and a timeline in one package; a fantastic one book resource. I'm currently using Fires of War as one of my main HERO resources for a WWII campaign. As to merging the CU and AFU, most organizations and NPCs are portable either way. Personally I like to use DEMON as my umbrella Evil Organization, and would fold the AFUs mystic villains under its umbrella, with the Hell's Belles as a group putting out CDs on the Morningstar Studios label; moves them into their natural position as both potential foes and allies, depending on how the PCs handle them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mhoram Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes One of the best non HERO made Champions supplements ever..... The only other one in contention is San Angelo. But I am sure Gestalt will be up there too. I consider it one of the best Champions supplement no matter which company (I felt it better than about 90% of the CU stuff for 5th.) It's the best NPC book out for Champs period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes The Fires Of War struck me as a particularly cool book. The only thing I could wish for would be a full setting book to go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes The best part of the Algernon Files books is how well they fit into every four color superhero universe. There's a big thread over on the M&M forum [when it's not crashed due to free rpg day] combining the FCU, CU, and TAFU into one big whole. I use plenty of the TAF information in my own Legacy Universe game without problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Re: Champions/Algernon Files Universes The Fires of War has a section in the back that may as well be titled. Where are they now? A history of supers from WWII to the Present. I loved it. It reminds me fondly of Champions Universe 4th Edition Champions Team, the Destoryers, and the Listing of Supers in the Index. 4.9 out of 5 QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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