rjcurrie

Re: Should this be called Dark Champions?

As for someone who mentioned the Danger International name, I believe the current plan is to use that as the title of a new spy sub-genre book.

Re: Some suggestions for FRED revised.

I have to add my voice to the chorus in favor of "Temperature Level 0".

Rod

Re: Dark Champions

I believe (and Steve can correct me if I'm wrong) that the original Harbinger of Justice was from a normal superhero campaign with a lot of experience. He was designed to compete with superpowered beings. I suspect that when HoJ makes his appearance in the new Dark Champions books (I suspect the enemies book of the line -- can't remember the title off-hand), he'll be toned down a bit to fit the standard level of Dark Champions campaigns.

Rod

Re: Which comic?

Sorry' date=' have to quible here. GEORGE PEREZ

 

George Lopez is the comedian on ABC

OMG!!! I can't believe I would make such a mistake. Perez is one of my favourite artists. I feel so ashamed. I shall immediately begin self-flagellation.

Rod

Re: Which comic?

I like to think that my SuperSquad America convention games are somewhat similar in tone to the Marv Wolfman/George Lopez Teen Titans of the early-to-mid 80s mixed with the Roy Thomas Infinity Inc. of the same era. However, those of you who have played in it may differ.

Rod

Re: Powerfull Hero examples

My SuperSquad America convention team has what I think is a good mix of characters, all at about 400-420 points. You can see them at http://members.rogers.com/supersquadamerica.

Rod

As someone who has been playing and GMing Champions for over 20 years, let me put a vote in favor of conceptual stuff. I can whip up all the supervillains I need but I often find coming up with interesting scenarios tougher. Frankly, if I wasn't buying everything Hero, CKC would have been one book I'd likely skip. As another example, I'm a little disappointed about how much of Galactic Champions will be wasted with character write-ups. But some people like character write-ups, so I guess there should be some.

Rod

As for changing the names of Powers or anything, I doubt that Steve plans to do this and I would agree that it shouldn't be done. The main reason it shouldn't happen is that it would make other books in the line confusing to people who came to Hero with 5ER. After all, if the core book describes the Power as Blast, the newcomer is going to be curious about what this Power Energy Blast is that appears in older books of the line. Similarly, people who don't buy 5ER may be confused when the new terminology starts showing up in supplements.

As much as any of may want changes like this, they really are things that will have to wait until 6th Edition.

Rod

I'll echo the comments of my fellow Canadian. You will, however, likely want to look at the Dark Champions genre book, which despite its name, is supposed to cover all modern action genres such as spies, mercenaries, etc. as well as gritty street-level superheroes. That book is due out at Gen Con Indy (late August).

Rod

I'll also point out that the demo version of HD includes the full v2 manual available by selecting View Documentation from the Help menu.

Rod

It should be pointed out that in 5th edition, the Dark Champions genre book to be released late August at GenCon(and the followup product line) is going to cover pretty much all modern action genres including cops, spies, and mercenaries as well as gritty street-level superheroes.

Rod

Okay, the first thing you need is the Hero System rules. These are available in two forms: the full Hero System 5th Edition Rulebook (suggested retail: $39.95) or Hero System Sidekick (suggested retail: $9.99). Sidekick leaves out some of the more complex powers and most of the options but it is a complete playable version of the Hero rules and contains some things that are useful to newbies that are not found in the full rulebook.

So, assuming that you know what should be in a superhero universe, you can play "Champions" with just Sidekick. And in fact, that is what I would suggest you start out with. Then once you have played enough to know whether you like the system, you can look at other purchases, such as the full rulebook.

After the rules, there are several ways you could go. There is Champions, which is the genre book for playing superheroes with the Hero System rules. This book describes different types of superhero campaigns (many relating to different ages of comic book superheroes), outlines the basic superhero archetypes, and gives an overview of gadgets and bases for superheroes among other things including a random superbeing character generator. This book also contains the write-ups for the Champions -- a starting level superhero team -- and some of their villains.

There is also the Champions Universe which describes the world used in most of the Hero Games Champions supllements. This book contiains a number of fully written characters as well as an overview of the heroes, villains, and organizations that populate this world. After that, the Millennium City book gives you the details on that one specific city in that world if you want a more specific setting.

If you want a collection of supervillains to throw at your players, then Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks might be what you want. It contains ~100 fully written villains with histories, notes on campaign use, and plot seeds. Even if you don't use the Champions Universe, these villains can be used pretty as is in any superhero setting.

If you are looking for lots and lots of pre-built powers, then you should look at the UNTIL Superpowers Database. This book is useful for any Champions player or GM, as it shows how the rather generic powers in the Hero System rules can be combined with advantages and limitations to form several thousand specific abilities (divided by special effect). In my mind, this is one of the best books that Hero Games has published and has proven to be useful for both newcomers and veterans alike.

Finally, if you want to ease the burden of character creation (which can be a bit involved but will give you pretty much exactly the character you want), you might want to purchase Hero Designer, the character building software for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris systems. A free demo of this software is available at http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/HeroDesignerV2/demo/index.jsp.

There are also many other useful books for Champions campaigns. The Ultimate Martial Artist gives you expanded martial arts rules including dozens of real world Martial Arts styles in Hero terms. The Ultimate Vehicle gives you expanded vehicle rules and a number of pre-designed vehicles. The Hero System Bestiary gives you Hero System write-ups for animals and other creatures as well as a series of templates that let you create variations.

You can find a full list and descriptions of Hero System products by following the Our Products link to the left.

Rod

As someone mentioned Infinity Inc. earlier in the discussion, how a section on being a superpowered child of superbeings?

Oh, and while we're on the subject of Roy Thomas comics from the 80s, there was also the Young All-Stars, the post-crisis follow-up series to the All-Star Squadron.

Rod

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

As the sole Valiant Comics fan of old on these boards, I must suggest Harbingers at least as yet another example of teen supers.

Hey, KS, you are not the sole Valiant Comics fan on these boards. I myself have a fairly good sized collection of Valiant books. I should dig them out someday and reread them.

But yes, Harbingers is a great suggestion.

Rod

What is the special effect that justifies such a power?

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Why cant I ever find a GM like Edsel?

Because the Edsel was made by Ford and not GM? :)

In general, I pretty much agree with Lord Liaden's assessment of the books. The only comment I would add is that unless you really need the stuff in The Ultimate Supermage right away, you might want to wait until later this year when The Ultimate Mystic (about mystics in all genres except probably Fantasy) and The Mystic World (the mystic side of the Champions Universe) come out. These are being written by the author who wrote The Ultimate Supermage and are expected to contain a lot of the same information, but updated to 5th edition.

Rod

Originally posted by Dr.Device

Junior would be okay, but then all the sidebar powers would become Junior Samples[1], and I don't think any of us want that.

 

I vote for reFREd.

 

[1] No, I won't explain the reference. If you don't recognize it, consider yourself lucky.

Unfortunately, I do understand the reference.

First of all, this is not really similar to BOECV, which is a +1, by the way. When you choose BOECV, the attack becomes ECV vs. ECV and you have a chose of whether the attack will go against the regular defense or against Mental Defense (chosen when the Power is created and cannot be changed later).

With Derek's EGO Link modifier, the attack effectively becomes ECV vs. DCV and still goes against the regular defense. This implies a power created and targeted by a character's mind. In fact, this is how I've always felt Green Lantern's abilities should be modeled in Hero.

As to the cost, +0 is probably appropriate.

There is a demo version of v2 available at:

http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/HeroDesignerV2/demo/index.jsp

This demo has all the features (and can even be updated to the most recent version) and documentation of v2 with the exception of loading existing files, saving files, and exporting characters (and similar features).

Rod

Originally posted by rayoman

I'll tell you what, Ben, Steve, Darren, Tina, Allen (I feel like I am forgetting someone)

You're forgetting Andy, the layout guy, who like Steve and Allen is on the east coast although Andy's in Virginia while Steve and Allen are in North Carolina.

Rod

Originally posted by Chuckg

Edit -- unless it's something like Nazis. Or telemarketers. Everybody hates those. *g*

And those Nazi telemarketers are the worst. I can't tell you how many calls I have gotten promising me a free gift if I come to a lecture on "Aryan supremacy".

Rod

Originally posted by Monolith

I never said it was. There are 10 ways to do everything in HERO. Your 9 wrong ways and my right one way.

 

I actually tend to be one of the people who finds the "IDIC" ability of the HERO System to be a weakness. I'd much rather know what Captain America's shield is rather than have 50 different versions of it.

Well, of course, you're never going to get a definitive version of Cap's shield. Cap has appeared in what is likely over 1000 comics over the years written and drawn by hundreds of writers and artists. Unless you have sat down and analyzed every single appearance of Cap, you're going to miss something. And that something that is missed has a chance of being something that is important to someone else's interpretation of the shield. Not to mention, you're likely to include some aspect that is important to you but is not important to someone else.

I am on the complete opposite side of the "IDIC" issue from you. I love the fact that two characters may both be "nigh invulnerable" but have implemented that "nigh invulnerableness" in two different manners, leading to slight differences in how the powers work in game.

That is why I have somewhat mixed feelings about books like USPD and G&G. While I will admit that they are handy tools, I am a bit worried that they will lead to cut and paste character creation and we will lose the subtle differences created by each player creating his abilities in his own way.

Rod

Steve took one approach in Gadgets and Gear -- that does not mean that all other approaches are invalid.

Rod

I think the point Keneton is trying to make (and I'm not sure I agree with him) is that saying that the 5th Edition book contains no setting implies that there is no setting information in that particular book, while saying that it is settingless implies that no setting exists for the game at all.

Rod