Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

[humantorch101]

I thought I would start this thread as a handy little place that people could post their reviews and recommendations on superhero products old and new from both champions and Hero games history and other games and companies.

 

PLEASE - Do not derail the thread into edition or game wars, although base game reviews are welcome, even better would be supplement recommendations and reviews that get spoken about less and receive less spotlight.

 

Also please feel free to talk about the older gems from your collection and why you love them so, Was your favourite scenario The Great Supervillain Contest? or did you prefer To Serve and Protect?

Maybe you Loved Freedom City? or maybe San Angelo did it for you? Or maybe you love a particular scenario from the old Marvel or DC games?

 

Whatever it is share it here, It can be as in depth as you like or as brief as a two liner.

 

What products do you recommend and why?

[psyber624]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Well, so far I only have 5 books outside of the Main rulebooks

APG1 & 2: I think these are pretty common and they have tons of great stuff in them. However it seems alot of it is reprinted from old material so if you have an extensive collection of 5th edition stuff the value is reduced somewhat. ***** 5 Stars

 

HSMA: Just got this one and I really love it. Lots of info on dozens upon dozens of real world martial arts, a "Create your own Martial Arts Section", an exploration of various archetypes, all really great stuff. It does suffer a bit from Bloat (see Ultimate Speedster below) but not overly much and it really doesn't detract from the book as a whole. ****^ 4 1/2 Stars

Ultimate Speedster: I have really mixed feelings about this one. It has some great stuff about archetypes, interesting ideas about how to create speedster like effects with other powers, and a take on the Speed Zone. However, I have two main issues. 1. The Speed Zone power is a cool concept however in all honesty the way it is designed it is really too powerful for pretty much any sane GM to allow it into a campaign. I get that this does a decent job of reflecting what speedsters in comics can do with a power like this, but I really wanted to see something more useable. 2. Bloat. This book should really be only about 75% the size it is. There is so much repeated information, and while there are literally dozens on top of dozens of example powers listed, with multiple options each, most of the powers are really similar to each other, and the VAST majority of "options" are "Add more effect dice/STR/whatever" or "Weaken effect". I really don't feel that they need to spell out, time after time, on EVERY power they list, that you can reduce or increase the power level of a suggested power. A quick bit about that at the beginning and that should be all you need. *** 3 Stars

 

Reality Storm: this came free with my first order and is a quick adventure supplement featuring a crossover with HERO System and Silver Age Sentinels System. Decent adventure I guess, but somewhat barebones in its presentation, of course this can largely be attributed to the amount of space dedicated to how to convert from one system to the other (and the conversions are listed going both ways). However each of the characters are only presented in their "other system" forms so you are not presented with the characters "native" writeups and have to have them available from other sources. If you are a huge fan of one of the two systems involved but are considering moving systems the conversion information could prove invaluable as that is what this book REALLY is. Otherwise it's probably a pass unless you just want a quick and easy adventure with characters you don't know anything about. **^ Two and a half stars.

 

I have DEMON, The Mystic World, Arcane Adversaries, and The Ultimate Mystic on the way right now (*&^$ real world shipping times) so if this thread seems to be surviving I will put my impressions of those books here once they arrive and I have a chance to read them.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

i'm fond of the HERO book lucha libre HERO

[megaplayboy]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Strike Force, by Aaron Allston(for 3rd or 4th edition).

Classic Organizations(4th Edition)

Books of Magic(Marvel Superheroes Advanced), the DC Heroes supplement on magic(name escapes me), and of course all the Hero stuff on magic in supers campaigns(Mystic Masters, Ultimate Supermage, Mystic World, Ultimate Mage, Arcane Adversaries, etc.)

Ultimate Powers Book(MSH Advanced), Until Superpowers Database I & II, APGs, all the Ultimate series books, Champions Powers, Hero System Grimoire books, gadget books--pretty much gives you everything to create any kind of power, spell or gadget you might need

Mayfair Underground, Aberrant, Necessary Evil, maybe Brave New World--good materials for creating an Iron Age campaign

Any cosmic stuff--the Cosmos Cubed adventures for MSH, Alien Enemies, Galactic Champions, Champions Beyond, the LSH and Green Lantern and Superman sourcebooks for DC Heroes

All the Dark Champions stuff is probably the best ever for running a vigilante game. I don't think any other company has matched it

 

Really, there have been hundreds of games, adventures, sourcebooks and supplements for the genre--it's pretty hard to touch on most of them.

[Kirby]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

The following are books that I like grouped into similar sections. First are my most preferred types: Short adventures that introduce new or stat up established characters (WotD is longer, but it's a gem).

 

Wrath of the Seven Horsemen

VOICE of Doom

The Zodiac Conspiracy

Target Hero (great Hunted story; drawbacks are the author's incessant comments and an underwater DEMON base)

To Serve and Protect

Mind Games

Day of the Destroyer (great for 4th Ed and before)

Watchers of the Dragon

 

 

The next are source books, which I prefer, especially when they include numerous characters! There are generally some short plots listed in the organization books as well.

 

Enemies: The International File

Enemies: Villainy Unbound

Enemies for Hire

Classic Enemies

The Olympians

Normals Unbound

Champions (4th & 5th)

Champions Universe (4th & 5th)

VIPER

Allies

The MUTANT File

Golden Age Champions

Champions Worldwide

Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks

DEMON: Servants of Darkness

Millennium City

VIPER: Coils of the Serpent

Teen Champions (enjoyable, despite numerous proofreading and some continuity problems)

 

The next ones I enjoy are books that provide multiple plot seeds that aren't too intricate nor too long (in case you don't like one, you can hop to another).

 

Challenges for Champions

Champions in 3-D

Villainy Amok (A must if you like books that give inspiration!)

 

I have many more books, but some wouldn't be initial recommendations.

[esampson]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I think one of my all time favorites was Organization Book 3: The Blood and Doctor McQuark. I didn't always like the way a lot of the character's powers were defined but there was just something interesting about the idea of this loosely knit extended family of super-people with common yet distinctively different abilities with their highly in-depth history. (I have long suspected they were inspired but Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber but Bradley did a great job of capturing that feel without making it feel ripped off and updating it to the superhero genre).

[death tribble]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I have an awful lot of products relating to this so I will have to go back and have a look.

 

For Champions

 

Strike Force is very good both for the heroes and villains and the background to Aaron Allston's campaign.

the Villainy Amok book with all its ideas is priceless.

I have all the Enemies books and love them for the pictures as well as the ideas.

To Serve and Protect. I liked the heroes and the fact that one of them was connected to Firewing.

I like the Zodiac book. Yes there are problems with it but the colour villain are great especially Leo and Sagittarius.

 

The Gestalt book which has a new method of origin creation is good but also tells you what the Blood Red King is all about.

 

For Villains and Vigilantes

 

Organised Crimes is a good little number. You have a small group of supervillains and their boss. Possibly good for a solo hero or a small team.

I also like Crisis at Crusader Citadel as you have a nuce bunch of villains.

 

I'll add in more later.

[Midas]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I have a fondness in my heart for the old V&V scenario "Crisis at Crusader Citadel". I like Mocker and the V&V "Shrinker (real name unrecalled)" characters, better than Mechanon or (our) Shrinker.

 

I also think "Bad Medicine for Dr. Drugs" was a good starter scenario for a Teens campaign, though many of the heroes presented were downright weird. That one also wins the "Clark Kent Glasses" award. Think about it, one of the superheroes is wheelchair bound - amazingly enough, his secret identity is the Kid in the Wheelchair at the local high school.

[Kirby]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Ack! I forgot to include these:

 

San Angelo: City of Heroes

Enemies of San Angelo

Denizens of San Angelo

(The Dragon's Gate: San Angelo's Chinatown)

 

The first three are great if you want to start an Astro City-like campaign or a fresh campaign without aliens and keep a lot based on the story of the characters. What I really like about the Enemies book is that each enemy entry had an NPC normal that accompanied them, such as a villain's wife who thinks he's dead to a law enforcement agent who's been affected by the villain's crime or hunting them. Denizens contains fleshed out NPCs ripe for interaction and The Dragon's gate was a source book with plot seeds. I think it's a shame San Angelo didn't succeed more.

[Greywind]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I have a fondness in my heart for the old V&V scenario "Crisis at Crusader Citadel". I like Mocker and the V&V "Shrinker (real name unrecalled)" characters' date=' better than Mechanon or (our) Shrinker. [/quote']Marionette.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Strike Force by Aaron Allston

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/65887-Aaron-Alliston-s-Strike-Force-Campaign-Sourcebook

 

The Blood & Dr. McQuark

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/84897-The-Blood-6e-%28Created-by-Aaron-Allston-and-Reimagined-by-TheQuestionMan

 

San Angelo: City of Heroes

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/65273-What-happened-to-San-Angelo

 

To Serve and Protect (The Protectors) by Scott Heine

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/53587-To-Serve-and-Protect-%28The-Protectors%29-by-Scott-Heine

 

VOICE of Doom by Steve Perrin

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/27274-VOICE-of-DOOM

 

[Review] Gestalt: The Hero Within

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/60560-Review-Gestalt-The-Hero-Within

 

Gestalt: The Hero Within by Scott Bennie

http://www.blackwyrm.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=34&osCsid=5c625c5066d1e06bbb07ef76569e90c6

 

Gestalt: Player`s Guide.pdf

http://www.blackwyrm.com/index.php?module=Pagesetter&type=file&func=get&tid=2&fid=document&pid=6

 

Red October BBS by Bob Quinlan - Gestalt Campaign Files

http://www.mactyre.net/october/Campaignf/Files.html

 

 

Database of DOOM!

Hero Games Server - Database Error

 

 

QM

[Greywind]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Think you need to recheck and update some of your links. Finding 404.

 

Looks like it's just the Blackwyrm links.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Oops! I cannot find the extras so I left them on the editing room floor.

 

Cheers

 

QM

[Zen Archer]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

the DC Heroes supplement on magic(name escapes me)

 

The one I have is just called "Magic". It's a good book.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Magic : Sourcebook on DC Magic

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mayfair-Games-DC-Heroes-Magic-sourcebook-/300651987391

 

 

Cheers

 

 

QM

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I got a lot of long-term campaign use out of the classic pre-4E Champions adventure, Wrath of the Seven Horsemen. The adventure itself is solid but only good for two to four game sessions, but there is just a ton of stuff left at the end of it for a GM to exploit subsequently: a team of colorful, powerful villains to use as recurring foes, singly or as a group; various Lovecraftian alien horrors loose in the world; an NPC heroine with a mystery in her past; the Worm Scepter, one of my favorite artifacts for generating villain or hero origins or radiation accidents; the Stone Crown, another malevolent artifact to augment your favorite mentalist villain (or turn a hero bad). You also get a complete alien spaceship, with an initially-leaky drive for literal radiation accidents, and containing other tech items for useful gadgets, MacGuffins, or origins. If repaired it can even let your PCs journey to the stars and explore the source of its creators.

[humantorch101]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

"To Serve and Protect"

 

This module contains for me one of the best rpg superhero teams in "The Protectors" that I have ever seen. Each character on the teams membership is a very usable compelling character and they all seem to fit together in a very nice "Avengers" type way.

 

The module and story line itself is also veryy nice. But for me the NPC heroes of the Protectors are the icing on the cake.

 

Very recommended.

[Kirby]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

 

"To Serve and Protect"

[...]

The module and story line itself is also veryy nice. But for me the NPC heroes of the Protectors are the icing on the cake.

I ran a campaign out of San Francisco precisely because of To Serve and Protect. One player (who also GM'd and had his own copy of To Serve and Protect) made a teen character who was the Huntsman's (Wayne Savage) niece. The Huntsman (whom we cast as Tom Selleck) was his favorite Protector and he thought the tie-in would be great for whenever I ran that adventure; I agreed.

 

My roommate at the time created a character with the last name Savage, had a few points of wealth, and asked for help fleshing out his background. He knew nothing about the Protectors. I created a small family tree for both of them without telling the other about the connection. (The Huntsman's wife was the sister of one of the niece character's parents, my roommate's character was the Huntsman's younger brother.) Both PCs had Secret ID and both of their character concepts involved a shape change; the niece's skin armored over in a silver metallic color, like Captain Atom. She also was "new" to the superhero scene. The brother (roommate's character) grew about a foot, sprouted wings and wore a helmet, so it wasn't like Superman/Clark Kent at all as far as super/secret ID's went.

 

The first adventure was getting the PCs together and then introducing them to the Protectors. When the two PCs realized that the Huntsman was related and the players realized their characters were related, we all had a good laugh. (And the other players wished they had done something like that, too.)

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I'll chime in with one of my favorite Champions supplements....Champions in 3D. This 4th edition book covers extradimensional gaming and offers several campaigns worth of adventures. It has a very nice random alternate dimension generator to start things off along with some general information on using alternate dimensions in the gaming setting. Then the book goes into an exhaustive list of alternate dimension ideas. Most are described in a page or two....but the author does an excellent job of packing in useful information into that space as well as setting the tone for that particular dimension. Five dimensions are described in detail...

 

Dreamzone: Dimension of dreams and nightmares...with complete rules on how chracters can alter the stuff of dreams. Adventure ideas included involve a nice take on Alice in Wonderland and a Freddy Krueger inspired bad guy.

 

Nazi World: Just what it sounds like. Even darker in tone than it sounds. A great alternate timeline was invented for this scenario. And Nazis make great villains.

 

Horror World: Even darker in tone than Nazi World. Lovecraft fans....this one is for you. The horrors from beyond....won. Another great alternate timeline...and written in the style of Lovecraft. Never ran this cause it's almost too dark...but for the right group...highly recommended.

 

Fantasy World: For the LOTR and D and D lovers of the group. Magic, elves, orcs, and.....DRAGONS! Tech heroes are going to hate this place.

 

Back World: Heroes are villains and villains are heroes. Want your group to meet their evil opposites....here you go. One interesting thing to do here is to have their opposites eventually come to the campaign world and cause all sorts of trouble.

 

I can't say enough good things about this book. if you don't have it...go find it. If you do...go back and read it again.

[IndianaJoe3]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

You forgot Wimp World.

[assault]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Horror World is available (free and legally) online.

 

GMs: do yourself a favour and kill all your PCs.

Players: Mwahahahaha!

[Cassandra]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

5th Edition Hero Games Rules

 

I found them to be a logical evolution of the original game system. The only thing they missed was to make Gliding a variation of Flight as they did with HA and STR.

 

One problem I had with all virtually all the Hero Products with the exception of Champions of the North was that the characters were built on too high point totals. Every villain, hero, and NPC seemed to have been gaming for a good decade compared to the Player Characters.

[Kirby]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

Every villain' date=' hero, and NPC seemed to have been gaming for a good decade compared to the Player Characters.[/quote']Well, ya know, some of them have been around since 1st Ed. But I know what you mean. I prefer some lower powered characters myself, which is why I use some of the 250-300 villains from 4E for my 5E games.

[Greywind]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

I use characters. Some are more points than the PCs. Some are a lot fewer. It depends on the concept of the character and the needs that entails.

[Zen Archer]

Re: Recommendations and Reviews of Superhero products both old and new

 

One problem I had with all virtually all the Hero Products with the exception of Champions of the North was that the characters were built on too high point totals. Every villain, hero, and NPC seemed to have been gaming for a good decade compared to the Player Characters.

 

Which is kind of true, given the nature of the Champions Universe. I figured it was up to the GM to ease the players into things if the CU was going to be used.

 

But then, I also thought that the idea was that the CU needed better heroes, and that the PCs would be that, if they wanted to.