Wiroki

Pretty positive I've broken 20k words. The origins of the Blood are pretty much as written in Organization Book 3. The fun begins when I start sorting out the existing Blood, their character sheets, and their histories. I've converted Aaron's most recent version of the Affrighter to 6e and wow... he's scary (no pun intended). The drawing is one I made of the Affrighter back in 1988.

 

14,184 words later, ARL (i.e. METE) is done. Next up is The Blood, which will take some time. Then The Circle, and then... The Wanderers.

The Wanderers are a team of cosmic level supers. The file is very complete (mainly because Aaron made them a Rogues Gallery entry)and I think they would make a nice addition to the other three groups.

Strike Force Update -- nearly 10,000 words were written and assembled over the weekend. ARL is at least 75% done, perhaps more.
As far as I know... there are almost no anime-inspired characters in Strike Force. The campaign started far before anime became popular in the US.

3150 words written! In fact, the background information for ARL is pretty much complete. Now, all I need to do is clean up the character sheets, build the base, a vehicle, and get some location keys polished.

Project Update!

I have written the introduction to the product. I have also created outlines for the contents for the various groups. I have even completed the first character sheet! (T't'shlr from ARL/METE.) T't'shlr has allowed me to develop a rough idea as how I want to present any characters who don't have complete background (searches of Aaron's data archive pulls up a lot of names, but not a lot of data).
 
BTW -- want a sense of scale as to Aaron's Strike Force universe? I have a spreadsheet showing ALL of Aaron's Strike Force characters (created by him and others). It has 4,000+ rows!

Greetings everyone. I wanted to announce the official start of my work on Strike Force Organizations, a sequel to 2016's Aaron Allston’s Strike Force.
  The book will focus on three groups, the Blood, the Circle, and METE (all previous presented in Champions Organization products for early editions of Champions. My intent is to combine the content written for the PDFs with content Aaron wrote for his proposed (but never complete) Strike Force Universe series of books.
  I intend to update the content to HERO 6e, update the text to correct any errors and issues, and update any references to current game mechanics. I will not fill in any gaps -- I am not so arrogant as to assume what Aaron would have wanted, but I will acknowledge areas where content is lacking (if such a need arrives). I hope to find updated character sheets for many of the early NPCs, but will work with what I have.
  I also intend to present bases, vehicles, scenarios, and villains, just as they all appeared in the early releases.
  I will change names (for example, METE will be called Alien Research Laboratories) in accordance to Aaron's wishes and per his list of corrections for setting names.
  This product will be released as a collaborative work between Surbrook Press and High Rock Press.
Finally, the book will contain stats for Prowlers & Paragons UE and I hope to have a P&PUE add-on detailing all of the characters from Aaron Allston’s Strike Force.

PS: that last item has already been discussed with Jason. I am seeking to support two systems that I greatly enjoy and I hope to draw both fan-bases together to support this product.

PSS: I will endeavor to provide frequent updates. Please bug me via this thread if I forget.

This is very exciting, Jason! I admire the creative ways you and the other Secret Masters try to advance Hero Games in these trying economic times.   These sound like very positive strategies, particularly the sectional book concept. Detailing the unique countries on Champions Earth has long been something I wanted to see, as well as full treatment for the Institute for Human Advancement.
 
I do have a few suggestions and recommendations, but I'll keep them to a practical minimum. I also want to offer a bit of assistance in relation to these and other projects.
 
Regarding fictional CU countries, I compiled a summary of details about them that have appeared in several Champions books, which can be read on this forum post.  It's possible that some of those details might have been overlooked.
 
I would also request that something be done with the Central African country of Lurranga, which as I note on that list is barely mentioned in 5E and 6E books. I know Steve wrote a description of it in Justice, Not Law for 4E Dark Champions, and is probably aware that it was the setting for an adventure in the 4E version of Champions Universe, which expanded Lurranga further. There are a couple of additional details about CU Africa in the current official setting that could add depth to it. Champions Universe: News Of The World p. 154 notes that in 2007 a meteor shower spread bits of kelvarite over half the continent. The Mystic World p. 51 sidebar describes a mysterious "occult dynasty," family or cult, called the Magambo whose origins are unknown, but who have malevolent magical influence across Central Africa.
 
(BTW I noticed a few details about the Caribbean in Cops, Crews, And Cabals and DEMON: Servants Of Darkness that might embellish Cost Azúl. Please pass on to Steve that I'd be happy to reference them when he gets around to writing that, as well as anything else I mention elsewhere. )
 
I have a suggestion for a future sectional book, which I would tentatively title Villains Beyond, kind of a sequel to Champions Beyond. That book names and briefly describes twenty-eight alien supervillains, sixteen enemies of the Star*Guard either free or in their prison, and twelve villains based in the Andromeda Galaxy. Details about Andromeda, and the Star*Prison, could flesh out the book even more.
 
Finally, it would be nice to see a book dealing with and updating ARGENT, like the book being done for the IHA. If it would help, I compiled and categorized all the published info I could find on ARGENT to the thread linked in my signature, and converted it to a PDF that's in the free Downloads section of the website. It's actually considerable.
 
Thank you and Steve again for all your efforts.
 

Hello everyone! We have a variety of projects going on at Hero Games right now, both for quarter one of 2021 and for the year as a whole. I wanted to let you know about them, get your input, and ask if there is anything you would like to see created by Hero Games in the coming year. Of course, I can’t promise you we will act on those suggestions! Only that we will listen and do what we can, given the limited time and resources that we have. Please feel free to comment.
UPCOMING NEW RELEASES
The following three projects have been turned into us, have been approved, and are in various levels of production right now. (If you have submitted a project to us and don’t see it listed here, don’t be alarmed! We simply haven’t gotten to it yet. These things take time.)
Western Hero: Rough and Ready Roleplaying – This is a joint project between Kestrel Arts and Hero Games. Written by Christopher Taylor and based on work by Matt Forbeck, it’s an exhaustive, rules complete 276 page Hero System 6th Edition book. It has already been through layout, editing, and (due to the subject matter) sensitivity reading, and will be made available physically and electronically through DriveThruRPG, Amazon, Indie Press Revolution, and the Hero Games store. A Hero Designer Character Pack for this product will also be available for sale.
Institute For Human Advancement: Pride & Prejudice – Written by Thomas Stadley, this book is a 50,000 word Champions 6th Edition source book detailing the history, structure, agents, and technology of the infamous Champions Universe villain organization known as the IHA. It is currently being edited by AC, and will be made available physically and electronically through DriveThruRPG and Amazon, and electronically through the Hero Games store. A Hero Designer Character Pack for this product will also be available for sale.
The Hero System Book of Templates II – Written by Christopher Hackler, this is the sequel to Chris’ popular Hero System Book of Templates. I’m editing this book myself right now, and it’s excellent. At 33,000 words it’s even better than the original, and extremely useful to new players. It will be available in electronic and physical form from DriveThruRPG and Amazon, and electronically from the Hero Games store. A Hero Designer Character Pack for this product will also be available for sale.
SECTIONAL BOOKS
Steve Long and I have come up with a new publication concept for releasing Hero System books, and we are going to try applying this concept to a couple of projects this year and see it works out, financially as well as artistically. I’m calling these “sectional books,” as they will be released in sections that stand alone as electronic products, but can be combined in the end and released as a complete print-on-demand book on DriveThru and Amazon. The stand-alone products won’t have any original artwork, but the final book they will be combined into will have an original cover and at least some original interior artwork (though they will be softcover black-and-whites).
Subject matter for these books will be selected in part based on their suitability for the format: meaning, they can be released in sections, then those sections can be combined into a unified, consistent final product (not a magazine or the like). The first two will be written by Steve, and will be Champions International – a collection of chapters about imaginary countries with exist in the Champions Universe – and Martial Enemies, which will detail a wide variety of martial arts characters suitable for Champions, Ninja Hero, Pulp Hero, or any of a number of other genres. He’s already turned in the first section Champions International: Lugendu, which AC is getting ready right now.
If the sectional book projects goes well, Hero Games will launch a Patreon account to support even more work in that vein, plus provide exclusive content to Hero System fans who choose to become backers. (But we’ll have to see how the project goes before I commit to that!)
KICKSTARTER
At this point I don’t have any plans in 2021 a Kickstarter project. I’m willing to hear suggestions if you folks have any. But please keep in mind that the Hero Games KS account is reserved at this time for “big” projects. By this I mean comparatively large, rules-complete works which require no additional books to play. So I mean projects that are like Champions Now or Fantasy Hero Complete, but not Book of the Empress or Champions Villains III. I’m open to the idea of licensed intellectual property projects; though, again, I can’t make any promises. Actually getting licensed IP is an extremely difficult and time-consuming undertaking that I have only succeeded at twice (once here at Hero Games, and once at my own imprint High Rock Press); though behind the scenes I tried one dozen other times over the years unsuccessfully. Success requires either a perfect alignment of circumstances, or large sums of money; and the former is by nature unlikely, the later - nonexistent.
HALL OF CHAMPIONS
So far you fans have contributed forty creations to our Hall of Champions DriveThruRPG community content program! Please continue, feel free to contribute to the creative legacy of Hero Games, and maybe make a few bucks along the way.
-Jason Walters, Publisher