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Champions

Steve Long

By Steve Long
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Steve Long Grand Master

Steve Long

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Here's our back-cover text for Champions:

 

SUPERPOWERED ROLEPLAYING!

 

There’s nothing more fun than roleplaying superheroes — battling crime, possessing amazing superpowers, saving the world. And whatever type of superhero game you like to play, and however you like to play it, Champions is your ultimate guide to superheroic adventure using the HERO System! It includes:

 

—a complete review of the Superhero genre, from the earliest Golden Age comics to today’s cutting-edge graphic novels, with guidelines and suggestions for simulating the styles, themes, elements, and features of the genre using the HERO System rules

 

—detailed information about creating superhero characters in the HERO System, including a thorough look at origins, sources of powers, game elements, and prominent superhero archetypes

 

—an entire chapter on creating and running Champions campaigns — the nuts and bolts of setting design, how to set point totals and power levels, suggestions for building great villains, and much more

 

—the Champions Sourcebook — example gadgets, powers, vehicles, and secret headquarters to get you started, plus a Superhero Gallery that lets you generate a ready-to-play hero or villain in minutes

 

—example character sheets for the Champions, the premiere superhero team of the Champions Universe, and some of their major enemies

 

So get your cape ready, prepare to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and be on the lookout for supervillains — it’s time to play Champions!

 

 

DOJHERO1100

ISBN: 978-1-58366-125-3

$44.99 US

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Guest dan2448

Guest dan2448

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Re: Champions

 

I received my copy of 6e "Champions" in the mail last Friday afternoon. I've only had a chance to glance through it so far (what with the Final Four on Saturday, and Easter today). But I thought that I'd quickly offer a few (largely favorable) initial impressions:

 

1. Content Vs. 5e. While I thought that 5e "Champions" was perhaps the best survey of the super-hero genre ever published for an RPG, I wasn't planning to buy 6e "Champions" so quickly after its publication because I interpreted Steve Long to indicate elsewhere on these boards that he didn't plan to change all that much from 5e. But I was very surprised by and impressed with the quality of the 6e-ish "Book of the Machine," so when I saw an online retailer selling 6e "Champions" for (what I deemed) a sufficient discount, I jumped and made the purchase anyway. And I am glad that I did. While I haven't done a page-by-page comparison with 5e "Champions," I could tell, just by skimming, that a very substantial amount of new content had been added in 6e. And that seems to be borne out by their respective page counts. There's 295 pages to the index in 6e and 212 in 5e, and they both seem to have about the same font size.

 

2. Format. I can't say enough about the improvement in the format of the 6e books published to date versus the 5e books. I was very skeptical last year when these were announced that I'd care much about improved presentation of the books themselves. But it has really wowed me, to be honest. The hardback cover and the color interiors are what most immediately stand out. But I also think the formatting is much improved in 6e as well. One of my pet peeves with various 5e books were the small "marginal notes" on many pages. Don't get me wrong, I liked the content of those "marginal notes." Many of the ideas therein were very insightful and/or thought provoking. But the way they were formatted really broke up the reading experience and I found it annoying to be stopping to go back and read them every couple of pages. That's gone with 6e. The marginal notes are now more like "blurbs" in the main text. Much, much better.

 

3. Artwork. The interior artwork in 6e "Champions" is a very significant step up from the lackluster interior art of the later 5e books, in my opinion. And the color interiors really make the text "pop" without (crucially) making the text difficult to read. Though to be honest, some of the interior art in 5e "Champions" was quite excellent, and it may be better than some of the interior art in this 6e book. It seems to me like I can easily tell which art in 6e came from Cryptic artists for the MMO (dynamic, very professional-looking) and which art was specifically commissioned for the game (which is more "flat" and less polished-looking line art, even in color).

 

4. A Couple of Small Criticisms. My main criticism so far is that the book tries too hard to cover too many super hero genres and time periods. I may be mistaking my own personal preferences for those of the broader public audience for 6e "Champions," but I really think that the vast majority of people will use 6e to play modern-era "Champions" games (whether they be influenced by current comic books, or blockbuster movies or the MMO), and are far less likely to play Golden Age campaigns, and even more unlikely to play Silver Age Campaigns or Bronze Age Campaigns. Now please understand that I bought 2e "Champions" in the early 80s to play what on hindsight was a Bronze Age campaign. So I love that era. But would a substantial number of people want to do that today with 6e? I would have preferred more detail about how to run a modern era "Champions" campaign than extensive discussion of the various eras of comic books and a discussion of how "Champions" can fit in with "Pulp Hero" and "Star Hero" and "Post-apocalyptic Hero." I also would think that the 30 pages devoted to "The Champions" in each of 5e and now 6e (which I've always felt were a lackluster bunch of super-heroes going back to the comic books from the mid-80s based on the 3e version of the team), would have been much better used to provide an introductory scenario or two. I still think this section would be more at home in "Champions Universe."

 

But those are relatively small quibbles, and issues of which I was already well aware before I bought the new 6e "Champions" (because of prior discussions on these boards). Overall, I would characterize myself as very impressed after my initial glance through this book. Very well done.

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The Scarecrow Newbie

The Scarecrow

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Re: Champions

 

Hi Steve, in the Background/History of the Champions (page 186 of the core book), you talk about several adventures occurred before and after the foundation of the group:

1) destruction of Detroit by superpowered beings and subsequent reconstruction of Millennium City;

2) notable victorie against VIPER and Firewing (???) in 2001;

3) encounter with the minions of Takofanes the Undying Lord during the Halloween season of 2001;

4) defeat of master villains as King Cobra and Interface, Black Paladin with Talisman;

5) defeating Mechanon's attack on Millennium City in a fifthy foot-tall body;

6) battle with the evil mentalist od PSI;

. attack by Cimermind on Defender;

7) dimensional battle against Dr. Destroyer during the "Reality Storm";

8) the invasion of Millennium City by alien Qularr (!!!);

9) "Blood Moon" plot (Takofanes who want to use the spirits of the thirteen heroes died in the Battle of Detroit)...

 

Are there any references in Champions sourcebook for these adventure/plot seeds or Hero Games has produced adventure modules for each of these notable events?

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Lord Liaden Grand Master

Lord Liaden

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Re: Champions

 

Hi Steve' date=' in the Background/History of the Champions (page 186 of the core book), you talk about several adventures occurred before and after the foundation of the group:[/quote']

 

All of these are at least briefly referred to in the sourcebook for the official Champions Universe called, appropriately enough, Champions Universe, which describes the history and present status of the entire setting in general terms. However, a few of them are discussed in greater detail in other places I will specify below.

 

4) defeat of master villains as King Cobra and Interface' date=' Black Paladin with Talisman;[/quote']

 

These are extended adventures/story arcs fully detailed in books published by Hero Games: Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth (King Cobra), Champions Battlegrounds (Interface), Shades Of Black (Black Paladin).

 

5) defeating Mechanon's attack on Millennium City in a fifthy foot-tall body;

 

That incident is one small part of Book Of The Machine, which describes all things Mechanon -- history, personality/motivation, followers, bases, plans, etc.

 

8) the invasion of Millennium City by alien Qularr (!!!);

9) "Blood Moon" plot (Takofanes who want to use the spirits of the thirteen heroes died in the Battle of Detroit)...

 

These are missions from the MMORPG, Champions Online, using the official Champions Universe as background, which have since been incorporated into the Pen and Paper game's continuity. The Qularr invasion of MC is part of the introductory tutorial and can still be played; while the Blood Moon has been a special event on CO around Hallowe'en for several years.

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