Split Decision Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 I've recently had the pleasure to take a sneak peak at Inceptum Terminus, a new cross-genre sourcebook for HERO which is co-written by boardmate The Patriot. Set in a post-catastrophe North America, Inceptum Terminus uses a backdrop familiar to those of us who have used Shadowrun and RIFTS to tell stories which will fit into different genres such as western, Mad Max, Clockwork Orange, superheroes (Called 'Gifted'), Dark Champions, high fantasy with swords and sorcery, and so forth, and gives us an opportunity to mix genres in an immersive, descriptive world which lends itself well to varied and rewarding role-playing. As a sourcebook, much of the early chapters are devoted to developing the mood, which is overall dour and claustrophobic. Large social structures as we understand them today have collapsed and have been replaced by Corporate nation-state oligarchies represented by the various corporations. Much of the draft copy I consumed covered aspects of an individual's existence and the socio-political ramifications of the new social order. Presumably based upon what I have seen, the differences in totality, equality, freedom, and so forth will be delineated in various corporate territories in later chapters. I will be interested to see how the corporations relate to one another, but one thing is clear: regular human life has much less value in this apocolyptic world of the future than we are used to in the game worlds of most of the current genre sourcebooks. The highlight of what I've seen so far for HERO number-wonks is a great variety of Package Deals, fully detailed, that allow you to plug into the world with its varied archetypes immediately. There are literally dozens of well thought out packages to buy, such as: Media Star, Bounty Hunter, Vehicle Combat Specialist, Corporate Police, Netrunner, Gnag Banger, Street King, and Fence. Additionally, there have been no rule variants or conventions as far as I can see that would disqualify your favorite character from being imported directly into the Inceptum Terminus world. The only part that keeps me from recommending this book to everyone as a staple of their HERO library is that the background information seems a little stale. It is perfectly-executed, but I have a feeling that it could be done without too much ink, since we've basically seen it before- most completely in the Shadowrun books from the early 90s. But I will hold judgement on this, because there is plenty more to to be seen. Specifically in the chapter or chapters dedicated to the specifics of the various Corporations and their interrelation, there is great promise that this will not be a cookie-cutter world, but rather one with rich and valuable detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation so when will this be out? is there going to be a dead tree version or only pdf? how much will it cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation Thank ya for the preview review SD and I appreciate it. so when will this be out? is there going to be a dead tree version or only pdf? how much will it cost We're hoping for 9 months at the latest. There will be a pdf and paperback copy planned for the book and will hopefully be the first book of many from LCSB Publishing LLC. Prices haven't been determined yet since we need to finish the final draft of the book. There will be many, many things in the book that haven't been seen by anyone outside of the company, but I can tell you that this is only the tip of the iceberg that SD mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation I'm going to assume then they are going to wait for 6th ed so as to have any character builds done to those specs Thank ya for the preview review SD and I appreciate it. We're hoping for 9 months at the latest. There will be a pdf and paperback copy planned for the book and will hopefully be the first book of many from LCSB Publishing LLC. Prices haven't been determined yet since we need to finish the final draft of the book. There will be many, many things in the book that haven't been seen by anyone outside of the company, but I can tell you that this is only the tip of the iceberg that SD mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation I'm going to assume then they are going to wait for 6th ed so as to have any character builds done to those specs Right now that's up in the air, but currently the book is being written for 5E. Depending upon when 6E comes out will determine if it will be for that edition or 5E. In either case, we'll be committed to supporting both as soon as we finish the licensing of HERO System. The licensing will also determine which edition it's for as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation Sweet. I wanna keep my eye on this thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation Me four Keep us informed QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation One thing I can say is that there are plans for 65 Gifted characters presented in the book that encompasses all of the official Gifted in the United States. There will be Normals as well, but I don't have a definite number on them. There are a total of 11 factions in the first book with nine of them being corporations. The other one is listed in the title of this thread and will be the book title. The final one will be a secret. The 65 Gifted are the factions official superhero teams. The characters were built up from their childhood and the events are what made them into the people they are today. Their combinations are unusual with their powers and personalities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation Right now that's up in the air' date=' but currently the book is being written for 5E. Depending upon when 6E comes out will determine if it will be for that edition or 5E. In either case, we'll be committed to supporting both as soon as we finish the licensing of HERO System. The licensing will also determine which edition it's for as well.[/quote'] 6E is due out in August. Gen Con. So August 13th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation And remember... even if you´ve seen it all before... in the early 90s I was no more than five or six years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation this seems to be interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split Decision Posted February 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation And remember... even if you´ve seen it all before... in the early 90s I was no more than five or six years old. Hunh. With everyone so old on here, it didn't occur to me that some of this would be basically new to folks. I feel a little embarrassed now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation It covers old ground - but that's not a bad thing. Personally, I'd delete Chapter One almost completely and replace it with an actual game setting history and social dynamic. I don't need an explanation of moral, social, political, and religious themes in generic terms in a game book. I need what they mean to the setting if I need them at all. And in order to get what they mean to the setting you need a setting history. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Re: Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation It covers old ground - but that's not a bad thing. Personally, I'd delete Chapter One almost completely and replace it with an actual game setting history and social dynamic. I don't need an explanation of moral, social, political, and religious themes in generic terms in a game book. I need what they mean to the setting if I need them at all. And in order to get what they mean to the setting you need a setting history. . . To be honest, Chapter One exists because it sets up the ground work for the world and establishes the basic definitions that I'll be using in the book. Not everyone is well versed in these subjects as you and I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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