Darren Watts

Thanks for the plug, RoC, and we're glad you're enthusiastic about Sidekick- so are we! Early response from stores and distros has also been extremely positive, so we've got high hopes for this one! Just to be accurate on the dates, though (so nobody accuses us of being late!), the book itself should ship *from the printer* either the 6th if we're lucky or the 9th if not. From there, it's a week to 10 days before it's on most store shelves, depending on your FLGS' distance from and relationship with it's distributors. (Or, if you make it out to Dundracon, we'll have both Sidekick and Vehicle Sourcebook making their national debuts on Saturday the 14th.) dw

Straight Arrow is in fact a her, a former PC of mine who was later adopted by Riley McLaughlin as a PC for a long-term campaign. She's a trick-arrow-shooting archer with a strong set of Christian beliefs, a happy family life and a generally positive if straight-edge value system (strong CVK, tendency to "mother" and worry about her teammates, general assumption that all will work out in the end.) IRL she was a conscious effort on my part to try playing a character for whom religion was a positive influence, to cleanse my palate after playing a psychotic nutjob "on a mission from God" in a particularly dark Dark Champions game. I used the character again in our con game, "Counter-Clock Conspiracy," and Riley liked her so much that he took her over for a couple of years in our regular weekly game. She was part of an SF-based team then (which also included Proteus, Vigil, Tempest and Shadowboxer) but we moved her to Baltimore in the CU for what was no doubt a very good reason at the time. I'm sure she'll show up in a supplement at some point, but I have no idea when. dw

This is how we plan to handle every "Big Summer Book" from here on out. We'll guarantee quick follow-up with a setting or two, support books and enemies, and see where the line stands after we've givenit a few months. Then it either joins the permanent line collection or fades to occasional status, depending on sales. As far as we can see, after Dark Champions there are no "gimme" lines that are obviously-likely successes. Horror, Pulp, Western, Cyber- all potentially could be hits, but could just as easily fall flat. It's our job to keep close eyes on each. dw

Kenneth Robeson was the pen name for the prolific Lester Dent when writing Doc Savage and the Avenger. Other writers who "officially" continued both series after Dent also used that name, including Paul Ernst and Ron Goulart. dw

The Prince Valiant RPG, among a couple of others, basically uses this system. dw

Start with the classics- Doc Savage, the Shadow, Tarzan. Once you've got a few of those under your belt the various modern pastiches (like Aaron's excellent books) will make a lot more sense. dw

To an astounding lack of surprise to anyone who knows me, I am apparently the First Doctor and in love with Sarah Jane. Though I have to admit, a sizable amount of my adolescence was actually spent wondering what it would be like to tool around the universe in a phonebooth with Tegan and Nyssa... dw

Re: Hey Steve or Darren, Well, eventually we're going to do a setting book on the "Hidden Lands" of the CU, including Atlantis, Lemuria, Arcadia, Shamballa and Maine, so it'll probably be in there. There will also be an Atlantean Age fantasy sourcebook at some point in the not-too-distant future, too. Til then, Patrick Bradley's Atlantis is an excellent 4th Ed book and an entirely worthwhile acquisition on its own merits. I used it heavily in my own campaign. dw

Here's what I mean when I use the terms. YMMV, as always. The Platinum Age- all the pre-Superman heroes. Dr. Occult, Cosmo and the other notable Detective and More Fun characters. The Golden Age - begins in 1938 with Action #1. Ends when All-Star Comics turns into a Western in 1951. The Interregnum: 1951-1956. Apart from the biggest guns, superheroes are in a deep slump. Silver Age: Begins with Showcase #4, introducing Barry Allen as the Flash. Ends, depending on my mood, with either the death of Gwen Stacy or Speedy shooting up in Green Arrow's bathroom. Bronze Age: Begins immediately after the Silver Age and runs through to the release of Spawn #1. There are other choices for ending, but they all seem to center around Todd McFarlane. Iron Age: Piles of bad comics are released. Current Age, as yet undefined: I haven't settled on the exact borders, but it certainly seems we're in a distinct age different from that of the early '90s. The introduction of Astro City? Morrison takes over the Justice League? I'll let you know in a few years when distance gives us some clarity. dw

The 2005 schedule will be announced at Dundracon next month at the traditional "What's Up With Hero" seminar, then posted here a couple of days later. dw

This would probably make a better board or card game than RPG. Try to get the monthly books out while avoiding obscene posters, angry creditors, periodic attacks from D20 Zombies, Vanilla Coke Shortages and the dreaded "Printer Delay" card. dw

This book is on my dream project list. Supers from unusual historical periods, like the Revolutionary War, Old West, Civil War, World War I, and even more outre like Ancient Rome or Dynastic China. It probably won't be on our publication list very soon, but I will get to it eventually. dw

We got ours at the office Monday, and we're just across the bay from the printer. Delivery does seem to be unusually slow this week. dw

Actually, I'm both the writer of Galactic Champions (where the fate of the Star*Guard will be revealed) and their original creator, so it's me reading this with interest. Several of your ideas are close to what I had already planned, and I think you'll be pretty happy with what I've worked out. dw

UNTIL left the printer Tuesday afternoon on its way to distributors, most of whom won't get them til Friday or Monday. I wouldn't expect to see it in the earliest of stores until Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Hold tight, True Believers! dw

You also forgot Psychological Limitation: Comes In The Night.

In the "standard" setting, they concentrate on supervillainy ( and alien invasions, unnatural disasters and other facts of life in a superheroic universe.) UNTIL presumes a setting where there are largely unequivocal good guys and bad guys. There is a fairly extensive discussion of using UNTIL in other ways, including as rivals or opposition to the heroes, or in worlds where there are no heroes. dw

Wow, not one comment on Nick's cover for this fab book? You guys really don't know what you're missing over here... dw

Well, for several of those names there's a little too much baggage for someone unrelated to take on the name- I don't think any young hero is going to want to call himself "Kid Chameleon II" and face the press after the massive celebrity and tragic death of the original. And some of those guys you listed, despite having begun their careers in the Silver Age, aren't retired yet: notably, Dr. Scarab (who'll get more ink in "Vibora Bay") and Sea Hawk. And to be really technical, the Scarlet Archer with the restaurant is actually the second of THAT name, just to confuse the issue. All of this will eventually be made more clear, either in the pages of Digital Hero or the forthcoming Silver Age and Golden Age books. dw

Phoo. I haven't even really started thinking about DEMON, as I'm currently feverishly inventing villains for the 31st-Century heroes to worry about. I think Champions Universe gives a pretty strong overview of what the organization's about, as well as clearly defining where we need to add more detail for GMs (the Inner circle needs personalities and plans, sample Demonhames from different cities and mystical traditions, etc.) I hope to tie DEMON pretty closely to both the Mystic World genre/sourcebook and the Vibora Bay citybook, so that while all three are valuable on their own, between them you'll have enough info for a fully-realized and detailed supers subsetting. But all that's a problem for next spring. Back to the super sci-fi menaces! dw

Thanks much for the kind words, but to give credit where it's due, Steve (as our resident legal expert) wrote the parts about international law, and also designed the original versions of UNITY that I updated to 5th Ed.

They're straight conversions. The Guard themselves vary widely in point value. The conversion itself takes into account the "beginning character" levels of both systems, so more or less a character built on 125 points in TriStat will come out around 350 in Hero. As a rule of thumb, TriStat points convert at between 2 and 3 points in Hero. I don't have the numbers right here, but as I recall, Sentinel came out around 900 points, Red Phoenix around 650, and the other three were in the low 400s. All of the Champions translated between 110 and 170-something in TriStat. However, any conversion between systems based on different assumptions will have a few discrepancies. For example, foci-based characters will be cheaper in Hero because our system puts a larger value discount on the weaknesses of focus-based powers. On the other hand, skills are pretty cheap compared to superpowers in TriStat, so heavily-skill-based characters like detectives, martial artists and scientists are a bit more expensive in Hero. There's no END in regular TriStat, either, though there is an option to add the effect, so reduced END costs can wog up the numbers. dw

Umm, lessee. The five Champions, plus Dr. Destroyer and his two main flunkies, Gigaton and Rakshasa. Then the five heroes of the Guard, Kreuzritter, Alice and Iron Duke. The examples in the text I wrote go a long way towards figuring out Kinetik and Prometheus respectively, too, but they don't get character sheets. dw

The book includes a complete translation between TriStat and Hero. Also writeups of sixteen characters, eight from each setting, done as examples in the other company's system. dw

As a "roleplaying challenge," I once played an R2 unit in a Star Wars Hero game as a PC. I wasn't allowed to talk in character, so I had a little mini-droid figure that made R2-noises when you pressed its head and then handed notes to the one other PC who understood me. Even more fun, I had once belonged to a great Jedi who'd been killed by Vader, and I'd had my memory wiped and was re-sold. Except the wipe was only partially successful, so I still had access to secrets of the Jedi Academy and would occasionally think I was still working with the Jedi, which caused me to try to push my new owner, a fairly cowardly smuggler, into heroic behavior. We were all about 300 points in 4th Edition, and I had no problem spending all mine despite the obvious limitations. That was a great campaign that unfortunately never really got off the ground and petered out too quickly. Boy, I loved that character, though. dw