What kind of Champions adventures would you like to see?

[drrushing]

I would agree, but they are valuable resources for continued play.  My first group, and Nightstalker, started with the original Island of Dr. Destroyer.  Ultimately, we took the base, resources etc., and it spawned countless things after (with the help of a good GM of course)

[Greywind]

You know my collection. I've only added to it over the years since.

Some of the adventures need characters introduced beforehand, in order to (try to) build up any necessary relationships the module might require or swapping out the victim of the module with an already established ally (Target: Hero).

 

Some adventures need their seeds sown, in game time, before you start running (Shades of Black comes to mind).

 

Very few modules were actually one-off, pick up and start running. Which is why I'll borrow ideas and whatnot, but run with the game world as is.

[Christopher R Taylor]

This does bring up a good point: for a module to really be valuable it should include things that can be used for more than just a single adventure.  Good villains the GM can re-use, locations they or the PCs can take advantage of, follow-up and alternate storylines that the GM can plumb, resources introduced that the PCs can interact with such as NPCs, and so on.

Just a flat "here's the story, once you've done it, put it on the shelf" type modules aren't very valuable.  The trick is how to reach people with the fact that your adventures aren't like that.  I tried to set up a lot of options like that in my Lost Castle module, and the new ones I have coming up are definitely much more extensive in terms of opportunities as well.  I think there's a place for one-off adventures but they should be compact and not as expensive as the ones that have greater playability.

[Scott Baker]

Adventure modules tend to be limited use items. Run it once with a group and it's done.

While true, it also doesn't stop modules from selling for other systems.

[Scott Baker]

IMO, the main problem I see is that Hero is so wide open, especially when it comes to superheroes. Whatever someone builds or puts into a module is unlikely to work for many campaigns without modification. This leads back to Greywind's comment about module not being pick-up-and-go.

 

It was significantly easier to use modules back in the 1E/2E days because there just weren't as a many options. (Yes, there were still a lot, but not like today.)

[drrushing]

I think that is Hero's greatest strength, and to a point, weakness...for the beginning player, the galaxy is the limit, but it requires the hand of a Watcher or greater powered GM to rein in the entropy and chaos...

 

"With great power comes great responsibility"...and playability

[Enforcer84]

I'd ask Balabanto, he's been publishing adventures for the last few years through Blackwyrm games. I'm not sure what the sales figures are but he keeps putting them out. 

[bubba smith]

well balbatino what is you take on this ?

[Christopher R Taylor]

Given how relatively cheap it is to produce product these days, its not much of a risk to put out modules even if they don't sell spectacularly.  The way I do it, its just a matter of time and energy, since its all my work.  And superhero stuff is easy to put out because folks expect comic book art and I can do that.  I'd just like to unlock a way to get more sales and attention to adventures, particularly for Fantasy Hero which is sorely lacking in support material and always has been.

[pinecone]

I purchase and get good use out of "Adventure" modules. My best suggestion is to make it a little "open ended" so you foil the most recent ploy by Viper, and Project: Stein...but the super drugs are out there, and new villians are a spawning.

 

So you get to add something to a game long term. To this day the Blood are a part of my game universe, as are several other "bits" taken from "one shots". (Like the seven horsemen)

[IndianaJoe3]

IMO, the main problem I see is that Hero is so wide open, especially when it comes to superheroes. Whatever someone builds or puts into a module is unlikely to work for many campaigns without modification. This leads back to Greywind's comment about module not being pick-up-and-go.

 

Yeah, everyone seems to run their campaigns differently. Standardized campaign guidelines would help. I know there are suggestions in the official rules, but I find them too broad to be helpful.

[assault]

2e and 3e gave a pretty narrow set of guidelines for characters. Plenty of variation possible within them though.

 

Maybe published scenarios, especially those aimed at beginners, should assume a relatively narrow subset of the official suggested guidelines, with a set of suggestions for modifying the scenario for characters outside that range.

 

Of course, over time, that will tend to encourage new GMs and groups to build their characters within that range, making it a de facto standard, but that's too bad.

 

Of course the question is which range should be adopted.

 

The 2e and 3e suggestions would make a decent basis for this in my opinion, but a lot of the characters that get posted on this board seem to favour slightly lower Speeds and DEX. It might be worth taking that on board, although that might not quite jell with the existing published villains.

[Christopher R Taylor]

I think a properly designed adventure can be adjusted easily by GMs to fit a fair range of games.  I tend to target the lower end, because its easier to build up than strip down - and personally I prefer lower level games, at least to start with.

[CaptnStrawberry]

I think I would prefer that, relatively low-point, straightforward pre-builds (w. plenty of personality and complications).  A Teen Titans/Avengers Academy type team.   As discussed before, Hero products often tend to show all the gizmos under the hood before it finally gets to the fun part: example characters.  Reversing the formula by introducing a colorful pick up and play team, with recurring villains, dependants and NPC advisors/foils might appeal to a) new players b ) returning players who want to refamiliarize themselves with the sytem, and c) veterans who might use characters/locations as material in their own games (and there could always be designer notes .pdfs or somesuch with fully fleshed out builds for the grognards).  

 

I always thought a computer game with young supers starting out in a garage but gradually obtaining prestige, connections, vehicles, equipment, and  building a base would be completely addictive (Freedom Force took steps in this direction but something more like X-Com would be better).  Just a layperson's .02!

[Spence]

I think I would prefer that, relatively low-point, straightforward pre-builds (w. plenty of personality and complications).  A Teen Titans/Avengers Academy type team.   As discussed before, Hero products often tend to show all the gizmos under the hood before it finally gets to the fun part: example characters.  Reversing the formula by introducing a colorful pick up and play team, with recurring villains, dependants and NPC advisors/foils might appeal to a) new players b ) returning players who want to refamiliarize themselves with the sytem, and c) veterans who might use characters/locations as material in their own games (and there could always be designer notes .pdfs or somesuch with fully fleshed out builds for the grognards).  

 

I always thought a computer game with young supers starting out in a garage but gradually obtaining prestige, connections, vehicles, equipment, and  building a base would be completely addictive (Freedom Force took steps in this direction but something more like X-Com would be better).  Just a layperson's .02!

 

Ding ding ding ding!!!

 

We have a winner.  For the NPC's or pre-gen PC's show the in game play stats first, then later have a sheet that actually shows all the nitty gritty under the hood.

 

And have PC pre-gens.  Pick up the adventure and PLAY.   Then after a few sessions of actual play a new to hero gamer can tackle creating their own character. 

 

But to get back on topic.  A low powered supers adventure that can be played with your own PC or a provided set of supers would be great.  I still use my old Champs adventures (updated stats of course).  A series of "official" adventures would provide a common set of "standards" for new players to latch on to.  Once they are comfortable they will strike out and be creative.

[CaptnStrawberry]

Thanks!  Independent inspiration though, after posting I saw that similar ideas had been discussed in the 'introducing new players to Hero' thread.

 

I did come up with a possible name for the as yet unrealized, spunky new team though.  Since the Champions are the game universe's premier team, the new guys/gals could be: The Contenders.

 

(that's right, Defender et al. - you have to retire sometime!)

[assault]

Every edition of Champions from 2nd to 4th included scenarios. While they were generally pretty uninspiring for me, they did lay out a basic mini-campaign. 5th and 6th have lacked these.

 

I went through Champions Complete the night before last. It's definitely not 'ready to play'. There is space for a starter scenario/mini-campaign book. Preferably a freebie. "You've bought Champions Complete. Now here's one thing you can do with it."

[John Desmarais]

Just a flat "here's the story, once you've done it, put it on the shelf" type modules aren't very valuable.  

<two-cents worth>

They may not be valuable, but they are very useful if cheap. When I was younger and a much more active gamers I frequently found myself in the role of "permanent backup GM", running games when the regular GM was unable to make it. Mathis meant I was frequently running one-shot games on very short notice. I would have loved to have had available to me then the type of cheap one-and-done adventures that digital publishing has made prevalent now.

</two-cents worth>

[Christopher R Taylor]

This is true, although as a GM I almost find quick small adventures in a pack like Challenges for Champions to be more useful in that context.  Or as Assault notes, the sample adventures in previous editions of Champions books