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Community Content Program: Hall of Champions


Jason S.Walters

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Hero Games will be launching a fan-driven community content program on DriveThruRPG in about a month, similar to Dungeon Masters Guild and Storytellers Vault. It’s going to be called Hall of Champions, and it will allow you to publish your own work on DriveThru for profit under the banner of being a Hero Games product. (Though solely for commercial purposes on DriveThruRPG.) You’ll be allowed to publish using any version of the Hero System you like from 1st to 6th, including Champions Now. You will also be allowed to use both intellectual property that belongs to Hero Games, as well as the Champions Universe, which belongs to Cryptic Studios. The program will supply artwork and templates to work from to make the entire process as easy as possible.

 

To being with, what I’m looking for are some initial fan contributions from you guys so that we have a certain number of products ready to go at launch. I’ve already received commitments from two of our third party publishers, but could use a bunch more from fans. There are (of course) significant rules governing the community content program, which I will share with you should you contact me. If you have work you would like to contribute, it needs only be in PDF form and have a JPEG cover image available. (This can simply be a copy of the front page.)

 

Thank you as always for playing the Hero System, and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Jason Walters, Publisher

jason@herogames.com

Hall of Champions Logo 5.jpg

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DriveThruRPG has asked me only to release the exact terms of the upcoming program to a select few fans for the purpose of getting some material ready before launch.  So, by-and-large, this *is* the press release - though I will  "front page" it as well, and also post links to various groups. Basically, if you contact me by email because you wish to participate in advance, I'll provide the exact information. 

 

The rest will become public mid next month when they bring it live. 

 

Jason@herogames.com

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3 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

Valley of the Night! 

 

Can't do that one, I'm afraid. I've offered it for free on this website for years. But I do have another CU-based concept I've been tinkering with for a few months, in a similar vein. It's a question of whether I can lay it out in whatever time frame Jason sets.

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Best thing to happen to HERO System in a long, long time. Thank you, Jason!

 

(It's funny. I was just looking over the events at Gen Con 2019, and noticed that HERO System was the eighth most popular game there, if you aggregate games run for Champions, HERO System, and Justice, Inc. It had more events than Savage Worlds. Far more than FATE. HERO's a good system that people enjoy. It just needs some love. Hopefully this new program will do it.)

 

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1 hour ago, GM Joe said:

Best thing to happen to HERO System in a long, long time. Thank you, Jason!

 

(It's funny. I was just looking over the events at Gen Con 2019, and noticed that HERO System was the eighth most popular game there, if you aggregate games run for Champions, HERO System, and Justice, Inc. It had more events than Savage Worlds. Far more than FATE. HERO's a good system that people enjoy. It just needs some love. Hopefully this new program will do it.)

 

 

Hero isn't the fashionable flavor among the self-proclaimed new wave of gamers, but it has name recognition and proven longevity. It's unlikely it will ever return to its past popularity, but gamer taste will swing back sooner or later.

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23 hours ago, Jason S.Walters said:

Hero Games will be launching a fan-driven community content program on DriveThruRPG in about a month, similar to Dungeon Masters Guild and Storytellers Vault. It’s going to be called Hall of Champions, and it will allow you to publish your own work on DriveThru for profit under the banner of being a Hero Games product. (Though solely for commercial purposes on DriveThruRPG.)

 

This exciting news and thanks. However as the Hero System is a generic system as well has having specific setting information. I respectfully ask that the licence be patterned off of the Genesys Foundry not the DM's Guild. 

The DM's Guild style license restricts the work from being published anywhere else other than the CCP program on DriveThruRPG. However it also restrict the use of derivative works. This restriction is reasonable when the use of original setting material is used, like Forgotten, or Traveller's Third Imperium, the World of Darkness, and of course the Champions Universe.

 

The non derivative clause not reasonable when it comes to content that is original except for it use of a system. As it precludes an author from using their own original content elsewhere using a different system.

 

For example I have written the Scourge of the Demon Wolf an adventure using the Swords & Wizardry rules. Due to my familiarity and fondness for the Hero System, I would be interested in converting into something usable with Fantasy Hero. However the DM's Guild style license preclude me from doing that. Nor would I want to lock up everything about the setting that Scourge of the Demon Wolf uses inside Hall of Champions.

 

Luckily there is a CCP program that has not only a license but a situation similar to that of Hero Games. Fantasy Flight's Genesys Foundry. The same issue was raised by the Genesys when the Foundry was setup and Fantasy Flight did the work to come up with a second version of the license that allowed author to publish derivative works of their original content elsewhere. As well as bring in existing content and re-purpose it for Genesys. The Genesys Foundry also offers several Fantasy Flight settings.

 

An example that had a negative outcome was The Travaller Aid Society for Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition. A small but thriving third party community grew around Mongoose Traveller 1st edition using the OGL license and material that was provided. These publishers focused on their own original science fiction settings as the Third Imperium was not part of the OGL material provided.

 

They were excited about making the switch to TAS despite the lose of the OGL however when various publishers realized the issues that no derivatives clause caused they aborted their plans and stuck with open content of Mongoose Traveller 1st edition. Given the history of the rise and fall of various Traveller editions, none of them was willing to put their original material under such a restriction.

 

I hope Hall of Champions does well, I think by allowing derivative works it will be far more appeal for people to put their products within the program. I know I would be interested.

 

Rob Conley

Bat in the Attic Games.

 

 

 

 

 

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Rob,

 

I recommend expressing your interest to Jason via email. If I understand your concerns correctly, the program doesn't appear to be as you fear. There's a FAQ available to creators that goes into some detail, and Jason has been patient in answering my own questions along the same lines.

 

Best,

Joe

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14 hours ago, GM Joe said:

Rob,

 

I recommend expressing your interest to Jason via email. If I understand your concerns correctly, the program doesn't appear to be as you fear. There's a FAQ available to creators that goes into some detail, and Jason has been patient in answering my own questions along the same lines.

 

Best,

Joe

Thanks for the suggestion, I emailed Jason.

 

 

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Currently helping to pitch ideas about a three part adventure path for newcomers called, well I call it Domed City. I am more of an idea guy than a detail guy (Duke is more of a detail guy). I hope that the final product (which I am not going to write) will be one of the shining games in Drive Through's Hero shop.

 

But I'm sure others are going to write there version of the "starter's box set".

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