Boll Weevil

I would play in that campaign.

Yes! When I first started playing Champions our team looked very much like the A-team with superpowers. It was 1983 and I was 14

Hi, I am finally starting a Fantasy Hero game. As I've posted here before, I have been playing Champions since the early 80's but have never played Fantasy Hero. I've had the Fantasy Hero books but could never convince my group (even with D&D'ers among them) to play. I've got Fantasy Hero Complete, Turakian Age and I just ordered Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds and Monsters etc. As we begin to make our characters for the big game, I find myself falling back on the genre I know best. In a successful Superhero group, it is always good practice to have a brick, a mentalist, perhaps a speedster and a martial artist or similar nimble melee combatant. Does a Fantasy Hero group of adventurers benefit from having a diverse group of character classes that line up with this roster? I remember watching Conan the Destroyer in 1984 thinking, "Ha, this could be my old D&D group!" They had the titular barbarian strongman, mage, thief, cleric and a kickass female warrior with a staff. In your games, do you often have such obvious archetypes fulfilling the various roles or do your players just bring their favorite characters even if that means a group of four stealthy thieves storming the castle?

Thanks, Tasha, but I should have been more clear. A poster on the boards shared several starting point character templates. I do have the 6e Champs book and the templates in there are a good starting point. Interestingly enough, I thought you had posted them. Apparently, my memory has gone the way of my searchfu.

Hi, everyone. I remember a while back seeing a post wherein there were basic templates for 6E Champions characters (basic Brick, energy projector etc). I looked but I seem to have failed my search-fu roll. Since I play primarily in the CU, I'm afraid most of my characters have been unnecessarily padded over the years to match the Villains, especially in the SPD and DEX areas. I would like to start with a basic template and adjust to keep some balance to my characters.

Tricky as your situation is, I am jealous of your problem. I have not played Champions on the tabletop since the 90's. My advice is to encourage 4-5 of them to move to Cincinnati. I will provide snacks.

The artwork and layout is beautiful.

How did you come up with your 'handle' (forum name)? -Boll Weevil is one of my first Champions characters, a not-based-on-anyone character that can cling to walls and shoot webs that catch thieves just like flies. I have been on the boards here since 2000. I lurk frequently but haven't posted much lately. What was the first tabletop RPG you played? D&D boxed set in 1981. What was the first tabletop RPG you GMed? Champions. I think my first real game other than combat on the included map (with Rosie's Diner!) was the Target Hero supplement. I've never been great at GMing, to be honest, but many times it was the only way to get my friends to play. What are you currently playing/GMing? Nothing currently. My local gaming group broke up years ago and I haven't played since the demise of Hero Central.

I have nothing of value to contribute to this thread but I could not, in good conscience, let the sweet pun in the title go unacknowledged. Bravo. Slow clappy bravo.

The only writeups I recall seeing for UNITY were in the 5th ed UNTIL book. They are briefly mentioned by name in the 6th ed Champs Universe book but there were no character sheet updates. Sorry.

Essentially, a good adventure starts with a good story. A good story, whether it be a movie, book or superhero RPG comes in three parts. The first act sets the mood, introduces the characters and shows the viewer what the characters can do. You can start with a fairly simple conflict with mooks like VIPER agents. Let the players drive around in their heroes for a bit and end with a big win. The cleanup of the battle can reveal a clue to a bigger plan. Who sent the agents and what were they looking for? The second act will be less combat, more skills and detective work. Make them work for the prize but ultimately they should be able to figure out what they need to do next. The third act is the final confrontation with the big bad villain or villain group. If you intend to use this adventure as the springboard for a campaign make it mean something. How will success or failure affect the players and the greater campaign world? The three acts can take place over many game nights if your players are committed to the game. If not, the first act could stand alone as a fun game night with a reasonable conclusion. Most of all, have fun and let the players be heroes!! Champions Battlegrounds is a great supplement that follows this age-old story structure. It's for 5th ed but can easily be used with Champions Complete.

I have the book and have enjoyed every page of it. I just have never found a plot arc worthy of it, To be fair, most of the games I have played in and GM'ed have been short and combat-heavy. I did play in a game on HeroCentral where we played VIPER agents. That was a lot of fun but the game fell apart after a month. Bummer

LL, you never disappoint. I did find the Ragnarok writeup and the interwebs (particularly minecraft sites), are helping me pull together a rough play map. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about the turn of events in the Marvel CU as it undid everything the phase one built up to. Also, I think it ruined Marvel Agents of SHIELD but that is another story. It happened and it looks like it is here to stay. That said, I am intrigued by the SHIELD vs Hydra struggle. My group, The Abnormals, are very closely affiliated with UNTIL and as much as I like VIPER, I have never been able to use them much except for bank robberies and Hunted complications. This could open up a worldwide theater of power struggle that plays well with my team. Like Avengers Age of Ultron, the campaign can start with a mook fight and Mcguffin search and move toward a big finale.

Hi, Heroes. As one who mostly sets my campaigns in the established Champions Universe, I have been thinking lately about the events unfolding in the Marvel cinematic universe and how it could be reflected in my games. If UNTIL is like SHIELD (in my games, it is) and VIPER is HYDRA, how much effect on the rest of the world would it have to have a full-blown attack from within? Also, where can I get me a used helicarrier? Has anyone done something similar in your games?

Hello, heroes, and Happy New Year! I spent a portion of my end of year time off re-reading my Champions books. I started with the three Villains books and read through Champions Universe when I started to wonder: Have we seen the last Champions book covering the Champions Universe? Like a good comic book, I have been reading about Defender, Grond, Ripper, Black Paladin and a rich tapestry of stories for decades. My intrepid group of second-string heroes have been fighting Doctor Destroyer and Mechanon since the 80's. Occasionally I see Champions supplements in the Hero store or on Kickstarter but nothing in the Champions Universe proper. I'll be honest, the thought of never seeing another Champions U story makes me a little sad.

Thanks, LL!!

Well, crap. It looks like the 6th ed book is going to be hard to get. I can buy it on Amazon for $100 or buy the PDF here. Neither of those options are preferred. Oh well, it was a good thought. Amazon seems to think the 5th ed book is a cheaper paperback version of the 6th ed book. Curses!!

I just did, thanks!!

Hi, Fantasy Hero board. You're looking well. I have been playing Champions since 1984 and frequent the Champions forum. I usually play pretty high powered games (more Avengers, less Silver Age Spidey). I bought the 4th ed Fantasy Hero books back in the day but have never run a FH game. I would very much like to do that. I have the 6th ed core books as well as a recent purchase of Turakian Age. I'm debating buying either Fantasy Hero for 6th or Fantasy Hero Complete. Again, I have a pretty good grasp of the core rules but mostly in the lens of high-powered supers games. Any advice as to which book I should start with? I really feel like I am starting over but am reluctant to duplicate what I already have. I played D&D when I was in 9th grade (the big red box!) and I would like to capture some of the feel of that. Is the Valdorian Age closer to that experience than Turakian Age? Thanks in advance for your help. These boards have always steered me right

As a lifelong Cincinnati resident, I have based all of my campaigns here. We do have the Hall of Justice, after all . In Cincy, you can take tours of haunted places as well as a really cool tour of the old subway tunnels. In the pulp era (ok, today too...things move in geologic time here), Cincinnati was extremely conservative and very Catholic - especially on the West Side. To that end, the good Catholic boys would go across the river to Newport (KY) for their gambling, drinking and the ladies. If you ever visit Newport, stop by The Syndicate for a tour of the old speakeasy tour.

Well done!! Is this your first project in Campaign Cartographer? It looks fantastic.

I like this and the Avengers threads. I did a similar exercise when Watchmen came out. I would so play in these campaigns.

You are absolutely right. I have never bought any of the ones you mentioned. At least with those I wouldn't keep buying the same characters over and over again like a sucker . I am rather enjoying seeing the 6th ed updates on another thread.

I finally got a hold of Champions Villains Volume 3: Solo Villains! I had the other two books and the completist in me had to finish the collection. I bought the Hero Designer version a while back but having the write-ups in a handsome color book was more important to me than I had realized. I have now, in 30 years of playing this game, bought Enemies I, Enemies II, Enemies III, Classic Enemies, Conquerors Killers and Crooks and now these. So. Many. Enemies!! I spent my snow day (reason 1,125 to have kids) yesterday comparing characteristics in Excel and trying to solve for CU campaign power levels. I've always played a fairly high point total game and the Villains books do not disappoint.