Champions RPG

[Erekose]

Back in the day . . . some twenty odd (25?) years ago I used to play Champions 1st edition with my gaming group. I've never been near it (or any other superhero RPG) since and believe it is now part of the Hero system (?).

So my question is what gaming books would I need to play a Champions campaign using the current ruleset?

And as a bonus question - how much does the rule system today differ from 1st edition?

Many thanks!

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Fifth Edition is a stand-alone book. Having gone through 2nd, 3rd and 4th, I can say that there are notable differences in places from 1st, but the same basics are still there. Stats are calculated the same way, combat works the same way, etc. There are differences in the way EBs, defenses and martial arts are done, but all the principles are the same. (I wish I had time to do a 5th Ed game myself!)

 

[mmadsen]

Back in the day . . . some twenty odd (25?) years ago I used to play Champions 1st edition with my gaming group. I've never been near it (or any other superhero RPG) since and believe it is now part of the Hero system (?).

Yes, the Hero system is simply Champions expanded out to other genres.

So my question is what gaming books would I need to play a Champions campaign using the current ruleset?

I believe you would only need the single core rulebook.

And as a bonus question - how much does the rule system today differ from 1st edition?

The game has hardly changed.

Also, if you're looking for something like Champions, but you already enjoy d20, you should look over Mutants & Masterminds.

 

[coyote6]

I don't know about the 1st edition -- we started with 2nd -- but 5th edition seems largely similar, at least as far as the basics (points-based, the characteristics, etc.) are concerned. Details of powers are different, costs are changed, and things are generally more generic & effects-based, but the core seems the same to me. Of course, the differences might be enough to trip you up, especially if you really remember the details of the version you played.

I think all you would really need is the Hero Fifth Edition Revised book, but Champions[/b is pretty swell (even if you don't play Champions!), and they have plenty of other books (villains, organizations, etc.).

 

[Theron]

You might want to take a look at the Hero Games Forums , if only to hook up with an active community of Hero System and Champions players.

 

[klofft]

I had a single Champions game that has spanned all the editions on and off over the years. The longest consistent stretch was 5 years beginning in 4th and ending in 5th edition.

I have to say: I love Champions. In many, many ways, I think it will always be the best superhero RPG. (I do really want to try M&M though).

That being said, however, I am not a big fan of 5th edition. I understand the reasoning behind the design changes and they all make sense. But 5th edition takes an already complicated math problem that it all calls a character and takes it way overboard. A lot of individual superpower builds written for 5th edition are paragraphs of text alone! I don't like the trend of adding a half-dozen -1/4 Limitations to a power when those mods should just be determined in game and worth nothing (M&M's mechanic works very well in this regard). There has also been a steady increase in power levels over editions - villains as written for 2nd edition will NOT hold their own without vast modification.

But to answer your original question, you need the 5th edition rules and that's really all you absolutely need. A copy of Champions 5th edition is helpful but certainly not essential.

C

 

[Eosin the Red]

I'd say that Hero System has changed about as much as D&D between the editions. Yeah, the core is the same but the game in general has evolved buckets of detail. The characters are right in the same ball park as far as powers go (same DEF & d6 of attacks), but like D&D, they are expected to now have something besides combat stats.

You only need the Hero System 5th Revised but getting a villains book and the champions book would go a long way towards easing the GM burden.

 

[Glyfair]

I don't know about the 1st edition -- we started with 2nd -- but 5th edition seems largely similar, at least as far as the basics (points-based, the characteristics, etc.) are concerned.

1st to 2nd fixed some power gamer issues. The one thing I remember was that entangle used to just have body, even Aunt May could break out. 2nd halved the amount of body, but gave it a DEF.

Also, multipowers and elemental controls changed very significantly. Adding a disadvantage to a slot used to increase the effective amount of points usable (an 250 pt. archer character often had 30d6 attacks). 2nd limited the power of a slot. This was the most important change, IMO.

There were other changes, but most were relatively minor.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

HERO is my favorite system of all time.

I think the smallest changes in HERO were between 4th and 5th- the latter mainly cleans up a few little things here and there, and expands on sections that were a bit skinny before. Either system presents you with a game for which you only need one core book, and whatever setting/gear books you want. Coming at it from an experience with 1st Ed, you'd see more rules clarity, a few more powers and a more flexible system, with fewer loopholes. It is also slightly more complex than the 1st Ed.

I also agree that if you're a big fan of D20, you should take a look at Mutants & Masterminds 2Ed. Like HERO, its flexible, but its more streamlined than either HERO or D20.

 

[WayneLigon]

If you're a player, you probably only want to look at the Hero System Sidekick rather than the newsprint phone book of the main rules book. It contains the vast majority (but not all!) of the rules with most of the explanatory flavor text and such cut out. It's a nice reference work to have by your side, especially if you have a Variable Point Power Pool or something like that. What it leaves out is fairly minimal, and it at least tells you what it leaves out.

Otherwise, your character sheet is going to have 80% of what you need on it. Or it should. The various common combat maneuvers and their OCV/DCV effects on you are fairly important.