Just out of curiosity, any of you guys pick up either Vol. 1 or 2?
And here's a quick review I posted when they were first released.
Each book consists of 64 pages with full color artwork on the interior. Each of the wrap around covers is printed on high gloss stock that’s reminiscent of the old Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (which is the look I believe both the artist and writer were going for). The first four pages of each volume cover the publishing information, table of contents, introduction, and overview of what the books seek to accomplish. The last two pages cover the OGL agreement.
On the content side of the house, characters are organized in alphabetical order, and each of the main characters receives a full-size piece of original artwork, an overview of their background, personality, tactics, a brief quote, and other information to help the GM get a feel for them. They also receive at least a full page detailing their powers/abilities and a description of exactly how their powers function within the game. If another character is mentioned in the write-up, there’s a sidebar briefly describing them. And Aaron has also provided information what specific role he envisions the characters being used in, and how GMs can integrate them into their games. Secondary characters don’t always receive art (something I’d actually liked to have seen), or the full blown write-ups, but they do get stated out.
The character backgrounds are interesting, and you can tell that quite a bit of thought went into creating this setting. And while I know Aaron’s stated goal is for these characters to be generic enough that they can just be dropped into any game, they just beg for a full on setting book at some point. I’ve always felt that if you don’t like the setting, as presented, you just change whatever you don’t like to suit you.
I do have a few minor nitpicks though. Some of the artwork isn’t as crisp looking. It looks a little faded, but I think that has to do with the paper it’s printed on. And a few of the write-ups tend to run together. The text is a bit “bunched up”. I would have preferred that there be more of a break. There are also few write-ups where the characters have some sort of base/lair or vehicle mentioned in their stats, but the way the page is laid out, it’s not quite clear, as neither is really mentioned. And lastly, and I know it’s just the way it worked out, due to the character’s names, there are a lot of magical/mystical based characters in the books. As the series progresses, I’m hoping to see more of a spread. More tech based, and straight up superpowered beings.
But this is all minor stuff. Overall, I enjoyed both books, and can honestly say I’d recommend them to not only GMs, but people looking to see how to build certain types of characters.
And here's a quick review I posted when they were first released.
Each book consists of 64 pages with full color artwork on the interior. Each of the wrap around covers is printed on high gloss stock that’s reminiscent of the old Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (which is the look I believe both the artist and writer were going for). The first four pages of each volume cover the publishing information, table of contents, introduction, and overview of what the books seek to accomplish. The last two pages cover the OGL agreement.
On the content side of the house, characters are organized in alphabetical order, and each of the main characters receives a full-size piece of original artwork, an overview of their background, personality, tactics, a brief quote, and other information to help the GM get a feel for them. They also receive at least a full page detailing their powers/abilities and a description of exactly how their powers function within the game. If another character is mentioned in the write-up, there’s a sidebar briefly describing them. And Aaron has also provided information what specific role he envisions the characters being used in, and how GMs can integrate them into their games. Secondary characters don’t always receive art (something I’d actually liked to have seen), or the full blown write-ups, but they do get stated out.
The character backgrounds are interesting, and you can tell that quite a bit of thought went into creating this setting. And while I know Aaron’s stated goal is for these characters to be generic enough that they can just be dropped into any game, they just beg for a full on setting book at some point. I’ve always felt that if you don’t like the setting, as presented, you just change whatever you don’t like to suit you.
I do have a few minor nitpicks though. Some of the artwork isn’t as crisp looking. It looks a little faded, but I think that has to do with the paper it’s printed on. And a few of the write-ups tend to run together. The text is a bit “bunched up”. I would have preferred that there be more of a break. There are also few write-ups where the characters have some sort of base/lair or vehicle mentioned in their stats, but the way the page is laid out, it’s not quite clear, as neither is really mentioned. And lastly, and I know it’s just the way it worked out, due to the character’s names, there are a lot of magical/mystical based characters in the books. As the series progresses, I’m hoping to see more of a spread. More tech based, and straight up superpowered beings.
But this is all minor stuff. Overall, I enjoyed both books, and can honestly say I’d recommend them to not only GMs, but people looking to see how to build certain types of characters.
