Jason S.Walters
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Posts posted by Jason S.Walters
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Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
This brings up a question I have always had. Does hero even own the rights to old products?If so some old stuff could be used as a library of resources.
Yes, in most cases we do. And if we decide to include a "micro-setting," we might decide to mine some pre-5th Edition stuff for inspiration.
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Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
Jason' date=' is this helping?[/quote']Yes - it is helping a great deal. I've been reading everyone's comments with considerable interest.
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Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
What Lord Liaden said Spence: extremely thoughtful and constructive.
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Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
Actually, I meant that it would have no *new* interior artwork, not that it would have no interior artwork. And the page count is all about affordable print costs, and is thus far from arbitrary.
Some thoughts:1) Overall I want to say I like Champions Complete. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars at least, and kudos to everyone who worked on the project.
2) Nevertheless, I can't feel that a dry list of rules is going to work for a fantasy product. Fantasy gamers (and fantasy readers) are used to much higher production values.
3) Narosia was a cool concept and barely made its Kickstarter. This makes me nervous about fantasy and Hero overall.
4) I don't like the idea of no artwork, and trying to cram a book into an arbitrary page count. 300+ pages if you need too, but with art work and nice formatting. Reducing the rules is fine.
5) I also prefer to get a game world with my rules. Champions Complete was good, but I could have used about 60 more pages of game world.
6) The idea that (new) gamers won't buy Hero products is bullpucky. Monster Hunter International provides at least anecdotal evidence showing that idea is false.
7) Hero's problems are all in the advertising/marketing. It's getting the word out beyond the 200 odd folks that visit this website.
So what to do? I think you have to move beyond "Let's publish more rules" and come up with a cool product idea that people are enthusiastic to buy. Then stick your rules in that.
I don't think I'd purchase either product, personally. I have enough rules now where I could just "wing it" with any fantasy Hero game I'd care to run. I might be interested in a product that had "legs" (or mind-share, or popularity, or whatever it is that makes folks play it). But absent that, I'm sorry but I can't see a purchase.
(I hope this didn't come across as overly critical. I'm trying to provide constructive feedback. Unfortunately I see a new fantasy Hero product as very tough call right now.)
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Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
That sums up the problem very nicely I think.
See' date=' now here's a real crux issue. Those of us who already play Hero System likely own not only the 6E rule and genre books, but previous editions as well. Edition fatigue is a factor. A "Complete" book will likely appeal most to folks just getting into Hero, either through fantasy, supers, or any other genre that ultimately gets published. OTOH quite a few veterans already say they have or will buy [i']Champions Complete[/i] for the benefit of having more accessible rules in one book. How many of them would be reluctant to invest in a Fantasy Hero Complete which reproduces those rules, and would new Hero gamers offset them? That's a tough call.
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Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
Good suggestions everyone. Some of them had already occurred to me, some had not. Please do continue.
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I’m *tentatively* beginning to talk to our investors about a project that would be like Champions Complete, but would be for Fantasy Hero. Like Champions Complete, this project would be a “minimalist” 240-page, softcover, $40 MSRP black-and-white book with no original interior artwork but an awesome new cover. However, there are a couple of different directions I could see this project going in, and I would like your input.
Fantasy Hero Complete: A stand-alone book that contains “everything” you need to play Fantasy Hero. I've given some thought about how such a book might be crammed into 240-pages, and it would be a “very” tight fit. But I think it could be done if it were very, very crunch intensive, we removed *absolutely* everything that wasn't directly related to playing Fantasy (including some Skills, Talents, and so forth), and if we (for example) included spells and magic items as power examples, rather than given them their own sections.
(Also, if we used prose as sparingly as a samurai composing a Haiku.)
Fantasy Champions: We could basically take Fantasy Hero 6th Ed, compress it down to 240 pages, and replace any and all references to 6E1 & 6E2 with references to Champions Complete, making it a supplement book for Champions Complete. This would be a *significantly* easier book to do, and we could go into detail about ever so many more interesting and useful things like spells, magic items, equipment, and so forth.
It would still have to be very, very crunchy.
My guess is that no matter which approach we take, I would have to have the author create a pretty massive “second” PDF containing a fair number of commonly used monsters and generic sample characters to make such a book totally usable as a stand-alone game – though this could be done pretty quickly using existing material. I could bundle this document with the PDF of the book itself and include it with purchase of the book, both through the store and through Bits-and-Mortar.
Which approach would you favor? Do you have another suggestion entirely? Is there something glaringly obvious I’m missing here? Please let me know.
“The Management”
(Note: Fantasy Hero has always been our second most popular product line, and Champions Complete has been a reasonably financially successful product thus far. Also, we've just sold out of our last copies of FH 6th Edition. So this product would seem to make sense. But the investors may very well decide that this project isn't a financially viable one, so please don’t take this an announcement that we will definitely create this product. We may not. At this point I’m just looking for input from you all.)
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This free zip file contains errata and other material pertaining to Derek Hiemforth’s Champions Complete in PDF format. They are:
Combat Example
Converting Characters (From *all* previous editions going back to 1981!)
Example: Other Genre Characters (Action Adventure, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Pulp, SciFi)
Talent Creation (Describes how the Talents in Champions Complete were created.)
Animal Creation
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This free zip file contains errata and other material pertaining to Derek Hiemforth’s Champions Complete in PDF format. They are:
Combat Example
Converting Characters (From *all* previous editions going back to 1981!)
Example: Other Genre Characters (Action Adventure, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Pulp, SciFi)
Talent Creation (Describes how the Talents in Champions Complete were created.)
Animal Creation
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We've lost all website order data from between the 8th and the 11th. I have some backup records, but they don't tell me everything I need to know. If you ordered during that time (even PDFs), please contact me at jason@herogames.com. I'll need to know what you ordered, what your shipping address is, and the last 4 digits of your credit card to verify your identity.
Furthermore, all customers who have been inconvenienced by this data loss shall receive a set of six Hero Dice when that product becomes available in the near future. Thank you once again for your patience.
“The Management”
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We've lost all website order data from between the 8th and the 11th. I have some backup records, but they don't tell me everything I need to know. If you ordered during that time (even PDFs), please contact me at jason@herogames.com. I'll need to know what you ordered, what your shipping address is, and the last 4 digits of your credit card to verify your identity.
Furthermore, all customers who have been inconvenienced by this data loss shall receive a set of six Hero Dice when that product becomes available in the near future. Thank you once again for your patience.
“The Management”
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We've lost all website order data from between the 8th and the 11th. I have some backup records, but they don't tell me everything I need to know. If you ordered during that time (even PDFs), please contact me at jason@herogames.com. I'll need to know what you ordered, what your shipping address is, and the last 4 digits of your credit card to verify your identity.
Furthermore, all customers who have been inconvenienced by this data loss shall receive a set of six Hero Dice when that product becomes available in the near future. Thank you once again for your patience.
“The Management”
-
We've lost all website order data from between the 8th and the 11th. I have some backup records, but they don't tell me everything I need to know. If you ordered during that time (even PDFs), please contact me at jason@herogames.com. I'll need to know what you ordered, what your shipping address is, and the last 4 digits of your credit card to verify your identity.
Furthermore, all customers who have been inconvenienced by this data loss shall receive a set of six Hero Dice when that product becomes available in the near future. Thank you once again for your patience.
“The Management”
-
We've lost all website order data from between the 8th and the 11th. I have some backup records, but they don't tell me everything I need to know. If you ordered during that time (even PDFs), please contact me at jason@herogames.com. I'll need to know what you ordered, what your shipping address is, and the last 4 digits of your credit card to verify your identity.
Furthermore, all customers who have been inconvenienced by this data loss shall receive a set of six Hero Dice when that product becomes available in the near future. Thank you once again for your patience.
“The Management”
-
We've lost all website order data from between the 8th and the 11th. I have some backup records, but they don't tell me everything I need to know. If you ordered during that time (even PDFs), please contact me at jason@herogames.com. I'll need to know what you ordered, what your shipping address is, and the last 4 digits of your credit card to verify your identity.
Furthermore, all customers who have been inconvenienced by this data loss shall receive a set of six Hero Dice when that product becomes available in the near future. Thank you once again for your patience.
“The Management”
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Re: Champions Complete Sell Sheet
Nah. It's just supposed to be catchy advertising speak.
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]45076[/ATTACH]
Dear Herophiles: I've attached a copy of the Champions Complete Sell Sheet to this thread. Feel free to print it out and give it to the manager of your FLGS so that they have all the information they need to order Champions Complete.
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]45076[/ATTACH]
Dear Herophiles: I've attached a copy of the Champions Complete Sell Sheet to this thread. Feel free to print it out and give it to the manager of your FLGS so that they have all the information they need to order Champions Complete.
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]45076[/ATTACH]
Dear Herophiles: I've attached a copy of the Champions Complete Sell Sheet to this thread. Feel free to print it out and give it to the manager of your FLGS so that they have all the information they need to order Champions Complete.
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The ultimate super roleplaying game returns to reclaim its crown in *Champions Complete!* All the legendary flexibility and power of the renowned *HERO System* rules engine, plus all the superhero goodness *Champions* has been famous for over 30 years, now in one pulse-pounding, senses -shattering, heroic handbook of superpowered action!
At 240 pages, *Champions Complete* includes everything superhero gamers need, and nothing they don't. New players will love the unmatched freedom of *Champions* that allows them to create and play exactly the hero they imagine. Longtime fans will appreciate the tight, concise new approach, presenting the full game system in a fraction of its former length.
Note: This product (Champions Complete/HERO2000) is a stand-alone, moderately priced book for playing Champions: arguably the most popular and longest-running superhero game in roleplaying history. It contains all of the rules necessary to play Champions: The Super Roleplaying Game, with no other book required.
HERO System 6th Edition
978-1-58366-145-1
HERO2000
Author: Derek Hiemforth
Cover: Sam R. Kennedy
Layout: Ruben Smith Zempel
240pp B&W interior with color softcover.
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The ultimate super roleplaying game returns to reclaim its crown in *Champions Complete!* All the legendary flexibility and power of the renowned *HERO System* rules engine, plus all the superhero goodness *Champions* has been famous for over 30 years, now in one pulse-pounding, senses -shattering, heroic handbook of superpowered action!
At 240 pages, *Champions Complete* includes everything superhero gamers need, and nothing they don't. New players will love the unmatched freedom of *Champions* that allows them to create and play exactly the hero they imagine. Longtime fans will appreciate the tight, concise new approach, presenting the full game system in a fraction of its former length.
Note: This product (Champions Complete/HERO2000) is a stand-alone, moderately priced book for playing Champions: arguably the most popular and longest-running superhero game in roleplaying history. It contains all of the rules necessary to play Champions: The Super Roleplaying Game, with no other book required.
HERO System 6th Edition
978-1-58366-145-1
HERO2000
Author: Derek Hiemforth
Cover: Sam R. Kennedy
Layout: Ruben Smith Zempel
240pp B&W interior with color softcover.
-
The ultimate super roleplaying game returns to reclaim its crown in *Champions Complete!* All the legendary flexibility and power of the renowned *HERO System* rules engine, plus all the superhero goodness *Champions* has been famous for over 30 years, now in one pulse-pounding, senses -shattering, heroic handbook of superpowered action!
At 240 pages, *Champions Complete* includes everything superhero gamers need, and nothing they don't. New players will love the unmatched freedom of *Champions* that allows them to create and play exactly the hero they imagine. Longtime fans will appreciate the tight, concise new approach, presenting the full game system in a fraction of its former length.
Note: This product (Champions Complete/HERO2000) is a stand-alone, moderately priced book for playing Champions: arguably the most popular and longest-running superhero game in roleplaying history. It contains all of the rules necessary to play Champions: The Super Roleplaying Game, with no other book required.
HERO System 6th Edition
978-1-58366-145-1
HERO2000
Author: Derek Hiemforth
Cover: Sam R. Kennedy
Layout: Ruben Smith Zempel
240pp B&W interior with color softcover.
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Silverback Press' Champions: The Live Action Roleplaying Game is now available in the Hero Store.
Champions Live Action
154 Pages
1-934859-42-1
SPB0001
Champions: Live Action brings the excitement of superheroic adventure to the world of LARPs! Using the popular Champions Universe setting from the award-winning tabletop RPG and the Champions Online MMO, Champions: Live Action gives you all the pulse-pounding adventure while allowing you to play away from the table or computer. The groundbreaking PCD system uses a simple stopwatch as a randomizer so the action never has to slow down!
This book includes:
x) The complete rules for playing the game- nothing else needed!
x) Dozens of sample characters, including the Champions themselves and several of their most fiendish adversaries!
x) An introduction to the Champions Universe, including Millennium City, the City of Tomorrow built on the ashes of Detroit!
x) Extensive advice for how to LARP in a world of superheroes and supervillains, even if you’ve never LARPed before! Costumes, props, locations, and how to recruit and manage players!
So bust out your uniform, strap on your utility belt, and get ready to smash some evil, because it’s time to play Champions: Live Action!
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Silverback Press' Champions: The Live Action Roleplaying Game is now available in the Hero Store.
Champions Live Action
154 Pages
1-934859-42-1
SPB0001
Champions: Live Action brings the excitement of superheroic adventure to the world of LARPs! Using the popular Champions Universe setting from the award-winning tabletop RPG and the Champions Online MMO, Champions: Live Action gives you all the pulse-pounding adventure while allowing you to play away from the table or computer. The groundbreaking PCD system uses a simple stopwatch as a randomizer so the action never has to slow down!
This book includes:
x) The complete rules for playing the game- nothing else needed!
x) Dozens of sample characters, including the Champions themselves and several of their most fiendish adversaries!
x) An introduction to the Champions Universe, including Millennium City, the City of Tomorrow built on the ashes of Detroit!
x) Extensive advice for how to LARP in a world of superheroes and supervillains, even if you’ve never LARPed before! Costumes, props, locations, and how to recruit and manage players!
So bust out your uniform, strap on your utility belt, and get ready to smash some evil, because it’s time to play Champions: Live Action!
Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
in Fantasy Hero
Posted
Re: Looking For Input On Potential New Fantasy Product
Everybody:
First of all I want to thank all of you for contributing to this thread. It's been extremely enlightening (in fact, I've been taking notes). You will be gratified to know that the investors have been reading your comments and have commented favorably to me on several of them.
As many of you have already guessed, we are leaning in the direction of an all-inclusive project like Champions Complete. To be honest, it wouldn't really be a product aimed at those of you who have been playing the game for decades. Rather, like CC the purpose of the project would be to a) encourage new people to try out the system who have never played it before,
create an accessible book that could be used by new or inexperienced players in a gaming group, c) develop something the brick-and-mortar retailers would like to put on their shelves, and d) create something that will sell steadily over the long-term.
So here's the next step: give me three reasons why playing Fantasy Hero is superior to playing D&D, Pathfinder, and their ilk. Please try to be brief and concise. I will be compiling together all of your answers and taking them into account when and if this project gets the green light.