Brian Stanfield

Once you learn to use the program (definitely read the documentation) and write up a few characters, you’ll never go back to paper and pencil. Seriously. It’s that useful!

By way of an explanation, and not an excuse, I’m pretty sure Jason Walters is working on getting a final edit done on a new Champions book, so I’m sure he’s preoccupied with that. Contact him directly, if you haven’t already. I’ve found that just when I’m about to give up, he responds. Good luck.

Not a wet blanket at all, but perhaps misunderstanding my reason for posting (or not caring). I totally share your pessimism about the product line. I just thought I’d offer up a writing that I know offers some insight into the discussion at hand. Does it solve the problem with HERO System? Not one bit, unless Ron is planning on offering up a bunch of supplemental material next. But it does answer to the debate for the last couple of pages.

So I’m just going to throw this out there: Ron Edwards’s new Champions Now project goes into great depth on character creation, development, as well as setting development so that they can all integrate and also grow together. I’ve read the rough text, but he’s added a lot more. I even did a character creation session with him in he early development phase. The book should be coming out soon, and will be announced on this site for sure. You may want to take a look at it just for another thoughtful way to bring all these themes from the last few days together.

A couple 0f years ago High Rock Press had posted that it was planning a new edition of Danger International, but nothing has come of it so far. I was really looking forward to it.

@Duke Bushido and a couple of us worked on remastering Western HERO, and I’m expecting the HERO Store to be releasing it any time now. Any ideas when, Duke?

It’s funny you guys bring this up, because I had a friend create a noire-type anti-social asshole character for a globe-trotting Pulp HERO group. He kept trying to say, in character (not as the player), “I’m antisocial and I don’t really like people,” or “I don’t really care or need anyone else.” They were all a bit over the top and a bit too obvious. Everyone rolled with it in game, but I felt compelled to pull him to the side afterwards and remind him that his character is in a group in the game, and he should think of a really good reason why he’d even be in a group, and why that group would even want him in it in the first place. A little conflict could actually be fun, but it had to make sense. If that didn’t fit his character, I suggested he save that character for another time and rethink a different character for this particular in-game group. I don't want to force my players to do things they don’t want, but I think it’s only fair that they at least have some kind of reason for playing with the group of characters. As players, they’re all cool with each other. It’s just that this particular character conception needed some tweaking.

Duke, you may find Ron Edwards’s new Champions Now book (coming out soon?) to be right up your alley. He has an entire blog devoted to anti-canonical thinking, especially when it comes to game worlds in Champions. Check it out when it’s released.

Understood. Upthread I was really just responding to your confessed simulationist tendencies. But I’m totally with you on this. Storytelling is the point, otherwise we’d be playing tabletop war games.

If only you had been there to save us! I had a couple of sessions, two years running at Origins, where the GM's goal really was character development of characters he'd been using for 20 years. What we did became part of the running story that he had spent an hour relaying to us before we played. Maybe it was only low grade character development, but it was really, really not fun! So when I say "no character development, combat only" in the description, I'm dead serious. Although you bring up a good point: my claim really should have been "no role playing, combat only." Regardless, my experience has run the gamut, not always for the best. I think that what @RDU Neil suggested about "The Plan" would make for a perfect one shot at a convention. Start with the backdrop, describe the scene, let them do the "montage" version of setting everything up, and then get right to the combat (if that's indeed what you're looking for). It also works perfectly for one shot simulations. How would a samurai stand against a Medieval knight? Let's set it up! James Bond vs. Jason Bourne? Do it! This is one of the reasons I was drawn to HERO in the first place back in the '80s. As everyone started to figure out the "universal" nature of the rules, and more games came out to flesh out the "system" with more games (Justice Inc., Danger International, Fantasy HERO, etc. ), the possibilities became limitless. Perfect for "roll playing" simulations.

It depends on the game. Some games are nothing but character development and role playing. I should have said “combat, not nuanced role playing” instead. But in all honesty I’ve been in some really horrible game sessions where we spent the first hour learning about the characters’ histories, and then were railroaded through some “role playing” in order to get to some fight scenes leading up to the big climactic confrontation. Totally bogus. My point was simply to cut through to the fight. Forget all the other fake role playing, and get to what the session was obviously designed for: the final combat.

I think more people ought to put in their convention description: “This is about combat, not character development.” It would help people know what to expect, and then you could get right down to the dice rolling.

I’ll add that to my to-do list when I take over the world.

Luckily, they put a huge sticker right on the cover so you couldn't miss it!

Jason Walters is bogged down on final revisions for a book that's set for release soon, so he may not have checked his email this week. But he always gets to it and fixes the issue. You may have to send a second email to remind him though.