Champions (5th Edition)

by Steven S. Long and Aaron Allston

ANY SUPERHERO... ANY POWER... ANY ADVENTURE

Champions is back This latest edition explores the superhero genre more thoroughly than ever before, delving into all the subjects you need to know about to create incredible characters and campaigns. It includes:

- a complete review of the superhero genre, from the earliest Golden Age comics to today's cutting-edge graphic novels, with guidelines and suggestions...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1583660046
• ISBN13: 9781583660041
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Hero Games
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.3" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A genre guidebook to Superhero Gaming.

The Upside: Champions is the Hero System guide to the Superhero Genre, emulating comics from their first days in the late thirties up to modern comics and characters. Unlike previous versions of the system, this Champions is just a guide to running Superpowered Roleplaying Games - and much welcome look at the genre. One thing to note about this book is that it is jammed packed with information, even most of the side bars in the book margins are full of useful advice. Chapter One - The Superhero Genre. Opening with a good bit of history and discussion on just what Superhero's are, and how they differed from previous generations of superhuman fictional characters, mainly the adherence to a higher code of morality. And from this the basis of playing a Superhero is presented. The book goes over the major Comics Book Periods so often used in discussion, with the caveat that there are still many disagreements over what falls in what period, it takes on a generalized look at the four main accepted periods of the Comic Books: Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Each section starts with a look at the overall feel conveyed by the different eras, how to deal with them in a game and providing common ground for a group to work from. They also cover major types of stories and events (such as the dominance of World War II in the Golden Age, the rising Red Scare in the Silver Age, and so on). At the very least this provides common ground of a group of Players to start from, even if they disagree with the specifics. It's also an excellent short guide for those who don't normally read comics. Some other time frames are touched on at the end of the section, such as Galactic Champions and Fantasy Champions as well as alternate histories and simply transplanting to other periods in history. Timeline focuses on helping to set up a Superhero Game, what kinds of things to think about and go over. Common knowledge aspects such as how long Superheroes have been around, how many there are in the world, how they are treated by the world, and similar concerns that are important to think about when setting up a Superhero Game. Mood And Meta-Genre covers the aspects of Comedy, Drama, Horror, Romance, and Teen games, and how to use them to best effect, when to switch to a different kind. Sources Of Superpowers covers where superpowers might come from in general terms (mutants, aliens, magic, extra-dimensional energy, genetic manipulation, and several others). As well as the pros and cons of using any and all of the possible origins, or restricting your campaign to just a few or even one; for instance a campaign where all Superhumans gain powers through Psionic Ability, and no other source, without restricting what kinds of abilities (Superpowers) you can use. The chapter finishes out with a good bit on the Elements Of The Genre, going over the common tropes of secret identities, costumes, nonsensical villainy, days jobs, going to far away places, magic and my