Champions

[Datt]

A friend of mine has invited me to play in his Champions game. They use the Hero system and I was wondering if anyone here knew of a program like E-Tools or a website like the SRD so that I could find information about it. My friend is going to loan me his book so I can check it out next week while I am at work. The game starts in Feb and I need time to learn the system and create me a character.


edited to remove OT from subject.

 

[Darkness]

(Note: Other RPGs aren't OT for GD. )

 

[Larry Fitz]

Champions? You're starting a champions campaign? So you need to be able to create a Champions character? Do you have a degree in advanced mathematical theory? Just personal bias, I hate that system, I like Villains & Vigilantes, but I seem to be in the minority, I understand d20 Modern can be adapted for superhero gaming.... I just hate the Champions character creation system and I'm not particularly reasonable about it...

 

[Intrope]

www.herogames.com is the home for HERO games (including Champions). They've got character maker program for sale (HeroDesigner), which works well.

And Champions requires no math more advanced than what they'll teach you in Elementary school, either.

 

[Dr Lucky]

Champions is a lot of fun. It's not so hard, but it does take some getting used to. 3d6, trying to roll low for most stuff, Xd6, trying to roll high for damage (Or effects.) More complicated than d20, but nothing you can't figure out with an average IQ.

 

[nHammer]

As a LONG time Hero System player (around 15 yrs), I agree with what Intrope has said...and at most the system may be a little bit more complicated than D20, but not by much.

 

[Churchill]

Ah, Champions and the Hero System...my absolute favorite! Now, if only I could convince the people in my gaming group that it's the best thing since sliced bread, I might actually be able to play it.

Random Character Generator - and some other goodies

Dunno if that'll help you or not.

 

[bolen]

The math does not bother me but I heard it takes two hours to run a combat. Is that true?

What are the advantages (other then history) does it have over Green Ronin's Mutants and Masterminds

 

[HellHound]

While I am ALSO a HUGE fan of Villains and Vigilantes, I like Champions a lot also.

I feel that the "math is hard" angle is overstressed by a lot of people. Math ins't that hard (for me) and I've never had a problem with the system or character creation. I also LOVE the way you can twist and tweak a character. We ran a game that was a LOT like Mystery Men or many of the minor heros from The Tick using Champions, since the game system allows for playing effectively nromal humans witha quirk and a VERY minor super power...

"Hey baby, got anything in that poodle gun for me?"

Although, really, I have not had enough experience with the game or system to keep up to date on software and websites for the game. Honestly... I don't even have the latest two editions of the game.

 

[Tratyn Runewind]

Hello!

Posted by bolen:
The math does not bother me but I heard it takes two hours to run a combat. Is that true?

Don't sweat it. It's a generalization that has little to do with the system itself.

Superheroes generally have powers and combat options akin to those of Epic-Level D&D characters, and an all-out brawl between superhero and supervillain groups shouldn't take any longer than a fight between two similarly-sized parties of Epic-Level D&D characters.

Fights between superheroes and groups of lower-powered thugs or agents are also common, and tend to go fairly quickly - think the same Epic-Level party versus a horde of low-level orcs/goblins/other humanoids. A few rounds of blast-splat-done...

The Speed chart also gets some grief from newbies. It's just a method of allocating combat actions proportionally between characters with widely varying speeds. It's not hard to get used to, especially on the player end - GM just tells you when your turn comes around.

And pretty much all of the math people gripe about comes during character creation. Only characters with Variable Power Pools (a game construct used to simulate certain highly versatile power concepts) will be doing any of it during combat, and even they should have their typical uses for the pool pre-calculated.

As for comparisons - I've never seen Mutants and Masterminds. I've barely glanced over other superhero systems since the first few I saw proved nowhere near as cool as Champions/Hero System (the last edition of MEGS DC Heroes was Hero's closest rival, to me, in terms of pure system coolness). Hero Games, though, is having a friendly rivalry with Guardians of Order over whose iconic characters are cooler, those of Champions 5th Edition or those of Silver Age Sentinels. They're both writing story fragments, with the classic "superhero groups meet and mistakenly fight" theme, at Superhero Showdown, and letting their fans decide who comes out on top. There's been some friendly boasting on each others' message boards, as well. As one observer put it, "If we ever doubted these guys were gamers as well as game designers... "

Anyway, hope that helps!