Full disclosure: I proofread for this author on a different product, but purchased this product myself well afterward without any hand in its creation.
I enjoyed The Dynatron a lot, and have used it in my Champions campaign to quite good effect. The PDF provided plenty of details on the Dynatron (both its Hero writeup and history) as well as the difficulties / dangers of learning to operate it, and the ramifications of such a device. The result is something that has its own distinct "flavor" rather than just being a "MacGuffin of the Week." I found everything well thought-out enough that I didn't need to expend a lot of effort to tie it into my game, while still being able to add my own tweaks where I needed with little difficulty.
The sample characters were an eclectic bunch, running the gamut from the low-powered (the Rainbow Cartel, with all four members clocking in at 300 points) to moderately high-powered (Red Giant at 538). I kinda wish more were at the 400-500 point level, but understood the reasoning for some (particularly the Rainbow Cartel) to be lower powered. All characters had PC-learnable facts (availability based on appropriate skill rolls) and story seeds.
I especially liked the inclusion of short side pieces, such as "Super-Pets?" and "Names, Names, Names..." I've found that things like this, brief (but related) side trips from the main thrust of a gaming product -- be it adventure, character collection, or as in this case a general game supplement -- give depth and enjoyability to that product.
On a technical aspect, I found this well written. (I get very irritated when I find myself tripping over bad spelling or pitiful grammar - things like that can spoil an otherwise good piece of work for me.) The only glaring error I recall was the heading for Purple Haze's facts said "Yellow Fever Facts" instead. Layout was similarly well done, with character artwork and the aforementioned side pieces interspersed throughout to keep it from looking like endless boring blocks of text.
Shared Origins: The Dynatron PDF
in Champions
Posted
Full disclosure: I proofread for this author on a different product, but purchased this product myself well afterward without any hand in its creation.
I enjoyed The Dynatron a lot, and have used it in my Champions campaign to quite good effect. The PDF provided plenty of details on the Dynatron (both its Hero writeup and history) as well as the difficulties / dangers of learning to operate it, and the ramifications of such a device. The result is something that has its own distinct "flavor" rather than just being a "MacGuffin of the Week." I found everything well thought-out enough that I didn't need to expend a lot of effort to tie it into my game, while still being able to add my own tweaks where I needed with little difficulty.
The sample characters were an eclectic bunch, running the gamut from the low-powered (the Rainbow Cartel, with all four members clocking in at 300 points) to moderately high-powered (Red Giant at 538). I kinda wish more were at the 400-500 point level, but understood the reasoning for some (particularly the Rainbow Cartel) to be lower powered. All characters had PC-learnable facts (availability based on appropriate skill rolls) and story seeds.
I especially liked the inclusion of short side pieces, such as "Super-Pets?" and "Names, Names, Names..." I've found that things like this, brief (but related) side trips from the main thrust of a gaming product -- be it adventure, character collection, or as in this case a general game supplement -- give depth and enjoyability to that product.
On a technical aspect, I found this well written. (I get very irritated when I find myself tripping over bad spelling or pitiful grammar - things like that can spoil an otherwise good piece of work for me.) The only glaring error I recall was the heading for Purple Haze's facts said "Yellow Fever Facts" instead. Layout was similarly well done, with character artwork and the aforementioned side pieces interspersed throughout to keep it from looking like endless boring blocks of text.
Overall, I recommend this product.