Guest steamteck Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I've been thinking of running a game inspired by Sten, Stainless Steel Rat, Matador, and Warlock In Spite of Himself. No costumes, but both biotech and cybertech, borderline-super martial arts, and some psi (including one world with really remarkable psionics). I'd probably throw in some Four Lords of the Diamond and Well World as well. And Tuff Voyaging, and A Planet for Texans. The challenge is setting a story in a setting like that without going unbearably grim. mine is pretty upbeat but has lots of similar elements. lots of psionics, biotech ( Ultraviolet anyone) cybertech , crazy high level martial arts, cool micro bondy gadgets, worlds influenced by Burroughs and leigh Brackett, secret sci-fan type organizations, ninjas, a post holocaust world that got made so in game time as well as highlander style immortals secretly running around. Oh yeah, and Sun Koh future adapted to give the PCs fits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? mine is pretty upbeat but has lots of similar elements. lots of psionics' date=' biotech ( Ultraviolet anyone) cybertech , crazy high level martial arts, cool micro bondy gadgets, worlds influenced by Burroughs and leigh Brackett, secret sci-fan type organizations, ninjas, a post holocaust world that got made so in game time as well as highlander style immortals secretly running around. Oh yeah, and Sun Koh future adapted to give the PCs fits.[/quote'] Sounds like great fun. High Power Space Opera is one of the cooler and less explored sub-genres outside of Star Wars campaigns, which considering the importance of books like the Lensman series is really a shame. I probably should put something together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? If you like a really good Space Opera series try the Mageworlds books by Debra Doyle and James D Macdonald. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? If you like a really good Space Opera series try the Mageworlds books by Debra Doyle and James D Macdonald. The first three books were excellent. I haven't read anything written after those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? The first three books were excellent. I haven't read anything written after those. Let me see: The Price of the Stars, Starpilot's Grave, and By Honor Betray'd was the first trilogy. The Gathering Flame is the prequel. The Long Hunt is a stand alone that take place after the Trilogy. They all take place mostly in the Republics side of the galaxy and never really touch on the Mageworlds except in passing and are more tech based. The Stars Asunder and A Working of Stars is from the view point of the Mageworlds and unveils the Adepts, the Eraasians, some of what their "magic" is. They also reveal a little of what caused the Sundering of the Galaxy. All in all great books and I really wish the next would come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I've been thinking of running a game inspired by Sten, Stainless Steel Rat, Matador, and Warlock In Spite of Himself. No costumes, but both biotech and cybertech, borderline-super martial arts, and some psi (including one world with really remarkable psionics). I'd probably throw in some Four Lords of the Diamond and Well World as well. And Tuff Voyaging, and A Planet for Texans. The challenge is setting a story in a setting like that without going unbearably grim. I dunno, I thought that the Warlock Books were not too Grim. The Series about his eldest son was a bit depressing; but the last hurrah with his children followed by the Warlock's last ride did a lot to make that less so, if only appearing as a harlequin romance novel series occasionally, but all in all left me very very pleased with the Life, Legacy, and Death of Rodney Gallowglass. And I might commit small crimes to play in this game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I should be specific but when I say Galactic Champions I'm not just talking about high point games (another issue) But specifically the Space Gods, loaded with planet busting powers, Green Lantern Corp, Silver Surfer, etc, level of power. Not so much Champions in Space (though there are similarities of coures). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I should be specific but when I say Galactic Champions I'm not just talking about high point games (another issue) But specifically the Space Gods' date=' loaded with planet busting powers, Green Lantern Corp, Silver Surfer, etc, level of power. Not so much Champions in Space (though there are similarities of coures).[/quote'] Green Lantern / Silver Surfer / Superman in space games can be fairly cool solo campaigns. You set up a sci-fi premise that can't be solved with one punch, then let the player go through it. Tougher with a group, though. That said, if you come up with an entertaining Fatal Five equivalent, you can get a fairly nice Legion of Super Heroes style game out of it; only the backdrops and stakes are really that different from a standard Superhero campaign. I did manage a good Amber inspired campaign at one point, with PCs who were close to the limits of power levels that can be simulated without pure hand waving, pitted against factions in their own families and other groups powerful enough to face them without being simply wiped out. It worked well, but the key was the social role playing and family dynamic. Actual combat got very little screen time, in part because at that power level it was either totally one sided or because the party that realized it had been out maneuvered could withdraw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisawa Takumi Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I should be specific but when I say Galactic Champions I'm not just talking about high point games (another issue) But specifically the Space Gods' date=' loaded with planet busting powers, Green Lantern Corp, Silver Surfer, etc, level of power. Not so much Champions in Space (though there are similarities of coures).[/quote'] See? That sort of power level is not necessary for me. They CAN be fun, but Starjammer/X-Men in space can be just as fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I should be specific but when I say Galactic Champions I'm not just talking about high point games (another issue) But specifically the Space Gods' date=' loaded with planet busting powers, Green Lantern Corp, Silver Surfer, etc, level of power. Not so much Champions in Space (though there are similarities of coures).[/quote'] Well I find there's a certain appeal to having the ability to traverse interstellar distances under your own power but along with that comes the need to match interstellar vessels in combat capability. Fundamentally it's no different than flying through the air and taking on jets, except you go to more exotic places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transmetahuman Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I'd never even given a Galactic Champions campaign much thought until I read this thread, but you guys have sparked some ideas. Part of the (new-found) appeal for me would be my sheer love of science fiction, and the way a GalChamps campaign would open up aspects of that that an Earthbound game doesn't lend itself to. World-building, culture-building, alien-building... 21st century Earth can seem kinda small sometimes. No matter how many Hidden Lands and Lost Races you stuff in, they've all gotta be small and have some reason for staying hidden. Even as a player (assuming a non-control-freak GM) you can try your hand at some of that. It gives a feel that we haven't had since the Americas were mapped - takes humanity back, in a way, to the most romantic age of exploration. No matter how big your Empire or Known Space or whatever is, there can be BIG stuff waiting to be found. The characters can go through shifts of perspective where everything they thought was important (except their ideals) becomes a drop in an ocean. You can also explore possibly influencing developing cultures (colonies or the ways in which First Contact affects a newly discovered established culture), without the baggage of an Authority-style military takeover. Your characters can have historical importance, not just be about returning things to the status quo, without having the game focus on contemporary politics. I guess I'm picturing a more exploration-based game than the typical "crimefighters in space" thing, and that might not be to everyone's taste (though you can certainly have both - look at the FF). Anyway, just some thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Posted this elsewhere, but if you want something to make you think 'Galactic cop' this should do it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evd_cdEocBE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I should be specific but when I say Galactic Champions I'm not just talking about high point games (another issue) But specifically the Space Gods' date=' loaded with planet busting powers, Green Lantern Corp, Silver Surfer, etc, level of power. Not so much Champions in Space (though there are similarities of coures).[/quote'] Part of the appeal of the supers genre for me is the empowerment fantasy element. The sheer vicarious thrill of imagining or pretending to be capable of feats far beyond those of mortal men. And at that level the fantasy is about as "empowered" as it gets. I think one either finds that prospect viscerally exciting, or does not. If not IMO there's no amount of explanation or persuasion that will cause some one to "get it." That doesn't mean that the person who doesn't get it is somehow unintelligent or unimaginative. They just get their mojo going through different means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted January 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Off topic but this has been bugging me for awhile. I think I’ve gotten enough distance to reply without getting snarky but if I do I apologize in advance. But I'm nitpicking, I guess. It does seem like if normals are all built on -20 points or less, then the whole setup scales down("competent" becomes 25+25, "heroic" becomes 75 or 100 points, and "superheroic" becomes 150+ points), which doesn't really mean the characters are less powerful; you just made the rest of the world less powerful to make the characters more powerful. The “rest of the world” stays where it was. Modern equipment doesn’t change; soldiers don’t become average joes (with 6-8s). It means that not all agents have elite level stats match up to the “typical super”. The scale hasn’t been shifted, the ceiling has been lowered. Where did I say Normals were built on -20 or less? Normal people, meaning average Joes and Janes walking down the street don’t have characters sheets. They have stats of 6-8 with Everyman skills including their professions at an 8- or 11-. Cops. Soldiers, government agents, etc have attributes according to their profession with most being standards and “named characters” so to speak having more points as needed. There's no reason one can't have some concept-based stat limits in a high level game, either. The agents could still have normal-range DEX and SPD but have fancy-shmancy targeting systems for their blasters, and maybe some hefty area-effect ordnance as well. They could have minimal body armor but maybe some heavy vehicles for support. This doesn’t seem to really change anything. The agents are not “normal” their extremely high CVs, defenses, etc, have the focus limitation. It might be easier on S.O.D but it’s really the same thing and it introduces cheap mass producible supertech as small armies of can be equipped with it. Well, power is certainly relative. How powerful are Green Berets with full body armor and weaponry in the Teen Champions game? If well-trained "normals" with military hardware can take down the most powerful super beings on the planet without too much difficulty, then how important, special, or consequential are the PCs exactly? Perhaps a harsh or unfair question, but if the scenario is "we're the only ones who can take this guy out", then there needs to be a grain of semi-realism in there that supports that, imho. See, this illustrates the exact idea I hear constantly from the “other side” so to speak; the implication that low point/power PCs are “useless” because they can’t take on powerful military units head to head without worry. The PCs are special because one, they’re PCs aka, the stars of the show, not some random group of nameless soldiers. Two, they have superhuman, supernatural abilities this opens a range of adventures and scenarios that the military and police can’t handle even if they are by no means helpless. The characters deal with those problems. There’s a world of scenarios that don’t deal with kicking the crap of Green Berets. Being a hero doesn’t mean being the ONLY guy that can do something, IMO, it means being THE guy that does something. Elite special forces units armed with the latest in bleeding edge technology just don’t appear out of thin air whenever there is trouble. In most campaigns, there are more powerful heroes than the PCs, sometimes MUCH more powerful; that doesn’t make the PCs unimportant or inconsequential. Also the campaign involves more than just smacking around the villain of the week. The players have their own issues to deal with, things they want to investigate, goals they want to accomplish and most of them don’t’ require they be able to take a Green Beret in hand to hand combat. I guess the other thing would involve a little introspection on why you're "not that into" higher level games, and what might make them more fun or interesting for you. Generally, a good GM with an interesting setting, compelling story and a group with great character interaction will do a lot to overcome reservations about genre. Well I’ve tried to avoid making an itemized list of why I don’t like the genre (Or really high point games) since that usually comes across as hating on the genre and gets people understandably defensive. OTOH, that ship seems to have sailed in this thread. Galactic Superheroes, to me, is when I want to play 'Star Wars' but not have it BE Star Wars with all the baggage that would come with it. On a vaguely related note, while I like playing in the Star Wars universe, I never want to play a Jedi or anything like that. I like playing free traders, mercs and other sorts having adventures and poking the galaxy. See? That sort of power level is not necessary for me. They CAN be fun' date=' but Starjammer/X-Men in space can be just as fun.[/quote'] Champions in Space could be fun for me, for a short campaign. It avoids many of the issues I have with “Space Gods” There are a few others but I could see playing it as a short campaign or a change of pace in a “regular” Champs game. Part of the appeal of the supers genre for me is the empowerment fantasy element. The sheer vicarious thrill of imagining or pretending to be capable of feats far beyond those of mortal men. And at that level the fantasy is about as "empowered" as it gets. I think one either finds that prospect viscerally exciting, or does not. If not IMO there's no amount of explanation or persuasion that will cause some one to "get it." That doesn't mean that the person who doesn't get it is somehow unintelligent or unimaginative. They just get their mojo going through different means. Yes, that’s certainly true. There are more than a few people that feel supers at any level are over the top. I do want to hear what positives there are about the genre and why people get into it but you’re right maybe “Sell me on….” was a bad choice for a thread title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisawa Takumi Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I once had an idea for a superhero Champions game set in the 'far' future in an alternate galaxy. Where all the people in it are actually 'Humans', a sort of Transhuman place, where back in it's history humanity found that the Galaxy had no other sentient life form, so they decided to use mechanical and genetic modifications to adapt themselves to other planets. But after some major disasters, most of that history has been forgotten. Like the Robot Crusades of the 22nd Century, the Nanoclysm of the 30th. Most of the common powersets would be available, just no Magic or Chi as a power source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I once had an idea for a superhero Champions game set in the 'far' future in an alternate galaxy. Where all the people in it are actually 'Humans', a sort of Transhuman place, where back in it's history humanity found that the Galaxy had no other sentient life form, so they decided to use mechanical and genetic modifications to adapt themselves to other planets. But after some major disasters, most of that history has been forgotten. Like the Robot Crusades of the 22nd Century, the Nanoclysm of the 30th. Most of the common powersets would be available, just no Magic or Chi as a power source. Sort of a more cinematic Transhuman Space setting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisawa Takumi Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Sort of a more cinematic Transhuman Space setting? Kinda, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Yes, that’s certainly true. There are more than a few people that feel supers at any level are over the top. I do want to hear what positives there are about the genre and why people get into it but you’re right maybe “Sell me on….” was a bad choice for a thread title. CONVERT! Err... I mean, it's cool. Like I said, to each their own. For example, I'm not really into the dark and gritty 'realistic' iron age stuff most of the time and others are, and sometimes I can enjoy it short term if the players are good. Though all this talk of cosmic level stuff and the Sinestro Corps War have both put me in the mood for a space faring champs game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Kinda' date=' yes.[/quote'] I've wanted to run something like that too CONVERT! Err... I mean, it's cool. Like I said, to each their own. For example, I'm not really into the dark and gritty 'realistic' iron age stuff most of the time and others are, and sometimes I can enjoy it short term if the players are good. Though all this talk of cosmic level stuff and the Sinestro Corps War have both put me in the mood for a space faring champs game A friend of mine was way into the Sinestro Corp stuff. He's one of the reasons I brought this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I've wanted to run something like that too A friend of mine was way into the Sinestro Corp stuff. He's one of the reasons I brought this up. You know I was confused by the Sinestro Corp. At first I thought you were talking about The Incredibles villain Syndrome (I couldn't remember the exact name) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Of course, the Sinestro Corps is about as "high powered" as it gets--they have Parallax, the Anti-Monitor, Evil Superboy Prime and Cyborg Supes all on the same villain team. Rumor has it, though, that yellow power rings are powerless against the color plaid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Of course, the Sinestro Corps is about as "high powered" as it gets--they have Parallax, the Anti-Monitor, Evil Superboy Prime and Cyborg Supes all on the same villain team. Yup. Though some of them seem a little less powerful than in they have sometimes been presented in the past. Nothing new about varying power levels though. Rumor has it, though, that yellow power rings are powerless against the color plaid. Another reason Scotland will never fall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Another reason Scotland will never fall! That. And I don't know where you've been my boy, but I see you've won first prize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenn Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? Ring-ding-diddle-eye-oh. Ring-ding-diddle-eye-oh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Re: Sell me on "Galactic Champions"? I could derail this thread further, but instead, I'll refrain: Ring-ding-diddle-eye-oh. Ring-ding-diddle-eye-oh! I! Don't know where you been mah boy but I see you've won first prize! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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