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what could the next "Book of the....." be?


Bathawk1

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All "Book of" should be of and about a villain. It needs not exactly be about a mastermind, othoe it does help because you can easly get enough info for an entire book into it.

 

So...

 

Book of Archmago: A detail look about the life, death, and works of Archmago. Including his posable rebirth (lich-hood is not the only way a dead mage can come back from the dead).

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All "Book of" should be of and about a villain.

That's a fair point as far as the "Book of..." format goes. But I wouldn't mind seeing a collection of superheroes of the CU. After all the PCs aren't the only heroes running around, and I need stats for NPC heroes just like I need stats for NPC villains. (Especially given the tendency of heroes to fight one another.) That's actually one of the things I loved about Champions Worldwide, was it included heroes from each region as well as villains. But North America hasn't really gotten the same treatment, aside from CU News Of The World.

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The comments I've read from Hero Games staff over the years, even before DOJ bought the property, is that books collecting NPC heroes simply don't sell nearly as well as villains books. Most players want their own PCs to be the stars of the show, and the greatest need for NPCs in most campaigns is for foes for the heroes.

 

To be fair, Champions Universe includes the names and brief descriptions of many heroes and hero teams in the United States; but not full backgrounds and character sheets. As you say, Champions Worldwide and Champions Universe: News Of The World are two of the books that go into that degree of depth on NPC heroes. But if you're talking heroes of North America, don't forget Champions Of The North. After all, Canada owns more of the continent than the United States does. ;)

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The Book of Time.

 

Unlike Champions 3d which discusses traveling to alternate dimensions the Book of Time should discuss time travel and and effects of traveling through time.

 

Things in the book should include:

 

-A timeline of important dates or events a traveler may come across

 

-A master time villain: for example; a villain who has an army of soldiers and equipment plucked form different eras

 

-A society (i.e. Time Lords) who monitor and police temporal activity

 

-Maybe new mechanics or builds discussing things like removing yourself from the timeline so you won't damage it or yourself. A good example is the Grandfather Paradox often talked about.

 

I could go on but that would be some of the highlights in the book.

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The comments I've read from Hero Games staff over the years, even before DOJ bought the property, is that books collecting NPC heroes simply don't sell nearly as well as villains books. Most players want their own PCs to be the stars of the show, and the greatest need for NPCs in most campaigns is for foes for the heroes.

Rereading the original Strike Force the other day, it was obvious Aaron was aware of this fact even then - he made sure that every hero in the book had an alternate villainous background so that it could double as an Enemies book.  I don't see any reason that tactic still wouldn't work! 

 

Back on topic, I kinda like Book of the Shadow Queen (she/it has a few pages in Master Villains).  A full description of her faerie realm/minions would be different from previous techie Books, and could serve as a bonus resource for Fantasy Hero.

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Since we've gone a little farther afield than the "master villain" book concept, I've posted before suggesting a book expanding the fictional countries on Champions Earth, with the proposed title, Champions Universe: Rogue States. There are eight official ones -- Awad, Chiquador, Costa Azul, Guamanga, Larisagrad, Lugendu, Lurranga, and Taqiristan -- with a fair amount already described for most of them in Champions Universe and other Champs books. All of them are given potential for criminal and/or terrorist activities, mundane and super. Fictional countries are much freer to develop than real-world countries translated to Champions.

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The Book of Time.

 

Unlike Champions 3d which discusses traveling to alternate dimensions the Book of Time should discuss time travel and and effects of traveling through time.

 

Things in the book should include:

 

-A timeline of important dates or events a traveler may come across

 

-A master time villain: for example; a villain who has an army of soldiers and equipment plucked form different eras

 

-A society (i.e. Time Lords) who monitor and police temporal activity

 

-Maybe new mechanics or builds discussing things like removing yourself from the timeline so you won't damage it or yourself. A good example is the Grandfather Paradox often talked about.

 

I could go on but that would be some of the highlights in the book.

 

Time-Travel Hero was another book on the proposed publication schedule before the downsizing. IIRC it wasn't a specific Champions-line book, but a general source for time-travel campaigns.

 

BTW Darren Watts's Golden Age Champions is supposed to write up Korrex the Time-KIng, a Kang-esque temporal tyrant who has menaced several past eras of Champions Earth.

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Back on topic, I kinda like Book of the Shadow Queen (she/it has a few pages in Master Villains).  A full description of her faerie realm/minions would be different from previous techie Books, and could serve as a bonus resource for Fantasy Hero.

 

That's an intriguing suggestion. I'm not sure Brangomar warrants a full Book, but she could surely fill a chapter in the second-tier master villains compilation Steve Long suggested.

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BTW Darren Watts's Golden Age Champions is supposed to write up Korrex the Time-KIng, a Kang-esque temporal tyrant who has menaced several past eras of Champions Earth.

Is Golden Age Champions still a thing that's happening? I was really looking forward to it, but I haven't heard anything about it in awhile.

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Tyrannon the Conqueror. Yeah, the guy is a whole organization by himself, and rules a galaxy-sized dimension along with many other conquered territories. Quite a bit was done with him for his chapter in The Mystic World, and some of that was reprinted for CV 1; but if we got more write-ups for his more prominent minions, and more details of his domain of Thulkos, I could see a Book Of The Conqueror.

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Book of Archmago: A detail look about the life, death, and works of Archmago. Including his posable rebirth (lich-hood is not the only way a dead mage can come back from the dead).

Glad you like Archie. I was slightly put out when Steve Long made Takofanes the /cu's ;och-sorcerer Big Bad, but it led to deeper thoughts on using Archimago as a *dead* villain whose works nevertheless continue to influence the world. I think there's a special potential for horror and mystery with a villain who threatens you from beyond the grave. It's too late just to punch his face in; heroes need to think a little harder.

 

And yes, I have more ideas about what plots could be ongoing to fulfill Archimago's many obligations. (Some of which I managed to use in my campaigns.) So I can assure you, one can create enough material for a Book of Archimago.

 

Dean Shomshak

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Glad you like Archie. I was slightly put out when Steve Long made Takofanes the /cu's ;och-sorcerer Big Bad, but it led to deeper thoughts on using Archimago as a *dead* villain whose works nevertheless continue to influence the world. I think there's a special potential for horror and mystery with a villain who threatens you from beyond the grave. It's too late just to punch his face in; heroes need to think a little harder.

 

And yes, I have more ideas about what plots could be ongoing to fulfill Archimago's many obligations. (Some of which I managed to use in my campaigns.) So I can assure you, one can create enough material for a Book of Archimago.

 

Dean Shomshak

Hi Dean. I think Archmago could be the Hero equivalent of Lord Voldermont (i.e. "He Who Should Not Be Named"). The idea that he could rise again by various means at any time should scare the heros. And even if he doesn't, his plans are creaping along well without him.

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