PamelaIsley Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 I am currently playing the Champions MMO and I find myself very curious about the background of the universe that it is set in. The game offers very little incentive to pick up on this information, but I can see that the villains and the world are very fleshed out. What book would be the best to get a primer on the superheroes and villains of the Champions universe? I'm particularly interested in the main Champions like Witchcraft, Sapphire, and Defender, as well as a few of the villains. I'm not really interested in the rules, because in terms of PnP I use Mutants and Masterminds. But I am interested in a book like M&M's Freedom City supplement that has that same kind of background on the Champions Universe. Thanks all. EDIT: For people searching for this same information, the Champions group is ONLY detailed in the Champions Genre Book and is just UPDATED by News of the World. The Champions Universe book contains NO INFORMATION about the main Champions heroes, such as the ones I listed, and most of the more common villains are also only in the Champions Genre book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information As a good starter point, go to the main page of the site and click on some of the links on the right-hand side; they have good summary information about the CU in general. In terms of books, here are the main ones that detail the setting: Champions Universe: The basic primer for the CU. Got a sort of "story update" a couple years ago in Champions Universe: News Of The World. We're planning to publish a new CU book in a few months that will "retcon" the setting as necessary and advisable to make it follow better what Cryptic did with the CU for the MMO. Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks: The main villain book for the CU, containing all the best-known and most-used villains. We're planning a series of three new 6th Edition villains books for late spring/summer of 2010, but this is a good "one-stop shopping" place to get the lowdown on Dr. Destroyer, Grond, Foxbat, and more. Millennium City: The book describing the main urban environment of the CU. Re: the Champions themselves (like Defender, Sapphire, and Witchcraft), they're all described in basic in the Champions genre book. They got a story update, and an upgrade to 500 Character Points, in Champions Universe: News Of The World. There are plenty of other books you can get to learn the background and lore, but those are all a good start. We have a couple of "bundle deals" in our Online Store aimed at newcomers to the CU that would let you get several books at a discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Thank you for the quickly reply. I'll try to track these books down. It looks like they are only available as PDF's from the online store. I'm a bit old-fashioned and prefer the actual book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Steve Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Try local gaming stores, failing that, all the regulars here could recommend their local gaming store for mail order (if your local store doesn't have it). Pick and choose based on your location. Oh, and welcome to the boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information try www.FRPgames.com thats where i get most of my game from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Wow, FRP does have about everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Well, I just checked the store and several of the books Steve listed are available in hard copy. Champions Universe: News of the World, Millennium City, and Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks are all still available, in book form. Granted, Champions Universe is only in PDF. Perhaps those just weren't the ones you were interested in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information If this is the same Pamela Isley as on the Atomic Think Tank, then we have one of the accomplished statters from the Roll Call section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Ops Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Looks at the Avatar. Naaah can´t be. Looks completly different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information she could use different poiso ivy avatars on different boards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information I'm pretty sure that was a joke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Yes, yes. I'm PamelaIsley on the M&M boards as well (though they've stopped working this week). Though over there I'm not even using Poison Ivy anymore. I've moved on to other redheaded characters. The basic book seems to be the Champions Universe book. It would seem kind of pointless to buy others without buying that. For shipping purposes, I wouldn't want to buy them from many different vendors if I can avoid it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Fair enough. I didn't know if you planned on buying 1, 2, or all the suggested books, and just didn't want anyone happening upon the thread to think things weren't available that actually are. Oh, and welcome to the Hero Boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roth Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Which other red headed characters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information The basic book seems to be the Champions Universe book. It would seem kind of pointless to buy others without buying that. If you're interested in CU background but not the game rules, Champions Universe is definitely the first book you should buy. The game-mechanical information and character stats are actually a fairly small part of the book; the bulk of it describes the state of Champions Earth, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Multiverse at the start of the millennium (when the book was published), the major super individuals and organizations, and how the presence of superhumans has affected modern society. It also includes a detailed timeline of significant events from prehistory onward. While Cryptic Studios has changed a few details of subsequent events from later PnP game books for the MMO, and added quite a bit to parts of the setting which weren't detailed previously, for the most part they've stayed pretty faithful to the info in Champions Universe, so that book should give you most of what you're looking for. Other books delve more deeply into specific elements of the setting, but this is the best one-stop overview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Fair enough. I didn't know if you planned on buying 1' date=' 2, or all the suggested books, and just didn't want anyone happening upon the thread to think things weren't available that actually are. Oh, and welcome to the Hero Boards.[/quote'] I bought them all. On the Atomic Think Tank (M&M), I've used Veronica Vreeland, Fairchild, Barbara Gordon, and Giselle from Enchanted as avatars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GestaltBennie Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Hidden Lands and Champions of the North (5e) will get you some info on zones in the game, as will Monster Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information And, as a nice gateway between M&M and Hero, I suggest Scott's Gestalt ... available for both systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information I'm back. I got my books yesteraday (FRP is a bit slow). I must say, I feel a touch mislead. I bought the 2002 Champions Book, the News of the World Update, and Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks. The 2002 Champions book featured exactly nothing on Witchcraft, Saphire, and Defender. However, the 2005 News of the World book is written like it is updating some information, somewhere. I asked before where I could get information on the heroes featured in CO, and the Champions book was what people said. The characters I specifically referenced, though, are only mentioned in the timeline! The only hero I even recognized was Kinetik. So, did I misunderstand what I was told? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information The original 5 champions, (which doesn't include Kinetic, and are only "original" as of 5th ed) are in the Champions book. That is to say, Champion, not Champions Universe. It's a genre book which consists mostly of "how to run a supers game" and "how to use Hero System for supers" type info. The Champions are the example characters. Everything else is supplimental to that book, though it sounds like you don't really need anything else in that book other than those 5 character sheets. Perhaps you could pick up the PDF for cheap and print out those few things you would actually use from it. EDIT: I think the main reason no one mentioned the Champions book itself is because you specifically stated that you were trying to avoid the rules and because the characters you asked about are all in the CU:News of the World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Well, I own a pretty worthless book now since News of the World kind of has all the same info, plus the characters I wanted. I must not have been clear, I guess. I thought I was. Edit: Steve Long was pretty clear that I should get Champions Universe, and that News of the World updated it. News of the World didn't update anything on the Champions in Universe, because there was nothing to update. They aren't in it. Oh well. Let this be a lesson to never stray outside things you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information I'm back. I got my books yesteraday (FRP is a bit slow). I must say, I feel a touch mislead. I bought the 2002 Champions Book, the News of the World Update, and Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks. The 2002 Champions book featured exactly nothing on Witchcraft, Saphire, and Defender. However, the 2005 News of the World book is written like it is updating some information, somewhere. I asked before where I could get information on the heroes featured in CO, and the Champions book was what people said. The characters I specifically referenced, though, are only mentioned in the timeline! The only hero I even recognized was Kinetik. So, did I misunderstand what I was told? It sounds like you may have. The book people were recommending for an introduction to the game universe is titled Champions Universe, which covers the history of the setting until 2002. To a large extent Champions Universe: News Of The World updates the information from that book with CU developments after 2002, often referring to events covered in books published after Champions Universe. However, if you were looking specifically for the Champions themselves they're not included in that book; please see below. The book called simply Champions is primarily a "genre book," focussing on how to use the HERO PnP game system to runs supers-genre games. If you have that book you'll find the full background information for the members of the Champions hero team, plus a number of official CU villains, toward the back of the book. News Of The World does feature the Champions team, as they would be after several years of experience, and describes what happened to them in the interim; but not their basic backgrounds and histories. Earlier posts may not have spelled out these distinctions as clearly as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information This seems to be the key bit of info that was misinterpreted: Re: the Champions themselves (like Defender' date=' Sapphire, and Witchcraft), they're all described in basic in the Champions genre book. They got a story update, and an upgrade to 500 Character Points, in Champions Universe: News Of The World.[/quote'] From your remarks it sounds like you may have confused the Champions genre book with Champions Universe, which is understandable if unfortunate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaIsley Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information This seems to be the key bit of info that was misinterpreted: From your remarks it sounds like you may have confused the Champions genre book with Champions Universe, which is understandable if unfortunate. The second post in this thread is quite clear on what books to buy. Coincidentally, I bought all three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Champions Background Information Steve's second post clearly stated which book the champions superhero group was in (Champions) and what each of the books did and handled. He also mentioned a total of Five books in his post. The Champions Universe book itself does contain the baseline information to get started with for the CU. There are currently over two dozen source books dealing specifically with the CU Setting. The three you picked up do in fact lay the groundwork that the rest build off of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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