Black Ops

A rare picture of Thundrax youth ?
 

You are not. I've mentioned the same thing elsewhere on the forums, after privately raising the issue with the Secret Masters.
 
For me it isn't simply the length of the products, but also that their layout is very basic, not up to the standards of any previous Hero ebook; that they're nearly devoid of artwork and maps; and that some of them are even thin in providing NPCs. As one Herophile I corresponded with put it, we're paying professional-grade price point for amateur-grade product.
 
FWIW I have it on good authority that Hero considers these sectional ebooks to not be finished products, and more will be done with them when they're collected in a single volume. But if they're going that route I believe that should be reflected in the price. That also convinced me that I should wait for the whole book rather than buy any more individual chapters. Which really bums me out, because I thought the sectional book concept had potential, but IMHO this approach will torpedo it before it gets a fair chance.
 
 

I think you're all being too optimistic about "united Europe" already being accomplished. Look at the last few years. Not just Brexit, but the rise of right-wing nationalist parties across the continent; conflicting uncoordinated responses to the Middle Eastern refugee crisis; waffling over Russia's annexation of Crimea; rebellion by nations in debt like Greece to austerity demands from international banks in exchange for loans. Denmark just pulled out of Europe's treaty for accommodating refugees, which it was the first signatory to decades ago. The European Union has been unable to get its collective act together on a range of fundamental issues, highlighting that a lot of pan-European idealism is still wishful thinking.

All right, it is with considerable pain that I have to say, this first entry in the Champions International sectional book was a disappointment. Aside from the minimalist color cover, almost all the rest of the book's 16 pages is text giving background information about Lugendu. While it is pretty broad in the range of subjects it covers, as far as its style and focus goes it reads more like a travelogue than a gaming supplement. The text is laid out in a sparse two-column style that looks like a fan product rather than a professional one.  There are exactly two character sheets. Aside from the cover, "artwork" amounts to several silhouettes of modern weapons, and a "Top Secret" stamp at the start of the GM's section. The layout of the land in Lugendu is only described -- there is no map. There are a few suggestions for plots to be inferred from the text, but details are sparser than has been typical for Hero books under DOJ.
 
I've bought quite a few of the smaller PDF books published for Fifth and Sixth Edition, on a range of subjects. Every one of them provides considerably more game utility in an equal or smaller number of pages, and looks better doing it, while costing me less than Lugendu. I understand the company's need to make a decent profit, but I don't feel what I got was an adequate return on the $7.50 US I paid for it.

WRONG HAND

Personally I think the fixed timeline needs to go.
It sort of killed the 5th for me
 

I really like this as well.  6th Edition has lots of specific years mentioned throughout various character backgrounds and attached to big events.  Which gets weird when the Enemies books were all printed 12 years ago.

Personally I think the fixed timeline needs to go.
It sort of killed the 5th for me
 

I'd probably say that  previous History has occurred. continue forward. Milenium City was founded 20 years ago in the ruins of Detroit. Dr. Destroyer ist todt, so stop talking about him 😁.  I'd n up and convert as many of the villains (and Allies) as is possible, add some new ones. i'd rather not see CU history put through "The New 52". or some other current year bull.

Personally I think the fixed timeline needs to go.
It sort of killed the 5th for me
 

While I run my own universe these days, if I were to reboot the Champions Universe, I would tackle some of the following:
The Guardians: I would try and license them back into the CU as the predecessors of The Champions. Some of them may even still be active. The Champions: Sure, they're a sample group, but I'd give them history that takes the 4th ed group as the original members, through to the 6th ed group, who currently hold the title. In all honesty, I would also make a "Crisis at Homestead" style of module that could make the PCs the next heroes to take on the team name.  Villains: I'd update some of the villains, and bring a few more back from obscurity with some changes. Deathstroke would be back as the "anti-Champions" team, Doc Destroyer might have his "Kristoff Moment" where someone's become his successor for a short time. I would retire the Tree Monster / Elder Thing for something else. Genocide would return and I'd ditch the IHA. Demon would change pretty significantly, as would Viper. Magic Root: Never like the whole Magic is the root of power shtick. I would drop it in favor of more variable explanations.  Cities: I would keep the cities, but change some things up within them. Personally, I didn't find them as "living" as they should be.

Comments?
Hmmm?
Ok.
PC or NPC?  And how close to the original Fantasia do you want to play her?
If PC she needs either Access or Dimensional Travel to that Fantasy Realm she is from.
Some Languages could also help.
That aside she is deffinitley playable in my book
 
 

Until very recently I did not understand that the Fantastic Four represented the four classic elements....
 
 

Hmmm... needs Field Studys:
*punches a Nazi*
*punches a Lizard*
 
"Naaaah not the same. Nazi punching is more satisfying !"

Yeah we had a similiar problem a while back.
There was a Flyer with a clue in the city-marketplace.
All players were unable to read or write
.....

Yeah we had a similiar problem a while back.
There was a Flyer with a clue in the city-marketplace.
All players were unable to read or write
.....

I don't know why you would associate carnival with sin.   ...

So, finishing off the quotes from Return of Muerte:
 
One I forgot from earlier...  GM was talking about the vision where the heroes learned Muerte was restored to (un)life by Takofanes.
 
Maker:  Taco-face?
GM:  ... (head-desk)  No.  Takofanes.
 
As the heroes free Libertador and prepare to assault the unknown facility to shut Muerte down, they feel a slight tremor in the ground.  Maker uses her flyer bot to take a look outside, and sees a plume of smoke as an ICBM streaks skyward.
 
Maker:  Can my flyer bot chase after it and shoot it down?
GM:  Maker's an astronaut, so she'll easily recognize an Atlas, basically the same thing that launched Mercury astronauts into space.  Your flyer bot has exactly 0 chance of catching up to that.
 
Maker figures out she can gadgeteer a suborbital booster for own flight to allow her to catch up to the missile, plus a boosted clinging strong enough to attach to the Atlas.  After a brief discussion over whether to take anyone else along (other than Maker, only Shadowboxer has the necessary Life Support to survive the missile's suborbital phase, but he's one of the front-line fighters and will be needed against Muerte), Maker takes off alone after the missile. 
 
Meanwhile the rest of the team heads over to the other island, where they figure (correctly) that they can get into that section of the base through the now-open silo.  Maker's player will be running Libertador during the assault while her regular character is chasing the ICBM.
 
Maker:  What does he do?
GM:  (hands her character sheet)  Basically, he's Peru's version of Captain America.
Maker:  So I'm Captain Peru.
 
They quickly dispatch the trio of Hands of Death waiting there while avoiding being touched, and turn their attention to the blast doors leading into the rest of the base. 
 
Honey Badger:  I can try a move-through on them, but if I don't get through on the first try it's gonna hurt.
 
He slams into them at top speed -- and is exactly one BODY shy.
 
Circe:  When we get done here, can we take those blast doors home with us?  They have a pretty impressive Honey Badger-shaped dent in them.
 
HB did enough damage to part the blast doors a crack, through which he sees Gigante waiting.  The rocky brick peeks through the crack.
 
Gigante:  Wow.  Gigante impressed.  Is little man hurt bad?
Honey Badger:  (shaking off the effects of being Stunned)  Nah.  I heal fast.
 
Gigante rips open what remains of the blast doors, and the battle is on.  HB and Gigante trade punches, causing some damage to the rocky one but leaving HB knocked back into the silo - and ending up in the open area where the missile once stood.
HB:  Can't I just grab onto the walkway?
GM:  Sure, on your next Phase.  Of course, you may be a bit farther down the silo by then.
 
Libertador does a full-out shield-bash roundhouse on Gigante.
 
Libertador:  Sixteen dice?!  Maker needs one of those shields!
GM:  (thinking) Sure, if she gets some questionite and about 75 points.
 
After the heroes' concentrated attacks on Gigante take him down, they move into the hall to face Khemset (the metal-wrapped mummy), Espiritu, and a half-dozen Hands of Death.  Shortly afterward, a blast door down the hall opens to reveal Muerte and Mayan sorceress Bruja Balam.
 
Libertador:  MUERTEEEEE!!!!  (charge and shield bash)
 
Shadowboxer grabs and squeezes Bruja Balam.
 
GM:  Drop six dice from your attack.
Pops:  Why does he have to roll six less dice?
GM:  She has Damage Negation.
Pops: What the heck is that?
Shadowboxer:  It's what I have.  It's how I survive so many attacks.
 
Eventually the heroes have most of the villains down, including capturing Muerte.  So we finish with Maker catching up to the missile.
 
Maker:  Can I defuse the nuke?
GM:  If you make your Demolitions roll by enough. 
Maker:  I don't have that skill.
GM:  I'll give you an 8 or less.  I mean, sure, Muerte is a raving paranoid, but that doesn't mean he put any boobytraps or failsafes in.  You'll be fiiiiine.
Maker:  So, can I redirect the missile into orbit, and let UNTIL take care of it?
 
Using her electrical engineering and systems operation skills, she's able to fire the engines and direct it to a higher altitude.  Little knowing that Muerte had a failsafe in case the missile is redirected. 
 
GM:  (to the rest of the hero team, monitoring things from the launch control room in Muerte's base)  Maker's been giving you regular updates via the Mind Link, when suddenly she drops off.
Circe:  What, did Muerte rig some sort of dimensional travel?
GM:  No.  A moment later, you see on the screens that the nuke has gone off.  Looks like Maker just got nuked.
Honey Badger:  She's not dead.  You're smiling way too much.
 
GM:  [Maker's player name], please come with me a moment.  (once away from the other heroes)  One moment, you're clinging to the missile as it moves closer to orbit... and the next, you find yourself standing in a room with white walls.  Then Taurus walks in. 
Taurus:  We noted the launch and have been monitoring the missile's flight.  Our scans indicated the warhead was about to go off, so we pulled you up here.
Maker:  Oh.  Well, thank you.  (awkward pause)  Um, can you send me back to my team now?
Taurus:  Eventually, perhaps.  For now, though, you'll be staying with us.  Don't worry, you'll be made quite comfortable.  Zodiakos Kyklos, please prepare a room for our guest...