Lord Liaden Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! ...once Cryptic has their Moon zone ready (alas' date=' not a priority; from what I gather, probably late next year at best), that will probably spark extra interest.[/quote'] Thanks in no small part to contributions from Cryptic Studios, the Moon in the Champions Universe (as portrayed in Champions Beyond) is a very busy place. You don't have to travel very far into space to encounter all manner of aliens, interesting locations, and super-level threats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! You mean... Steve is giving us Amazon Women on the Moon? To be fair, the idea of putting these beings on CU Luna comes from Cryptic Studios, but their specific origin is Steve's concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specks Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! I'm curious if there are villains that even Doc D would have to use the F word for.... FEAR!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! While the majority of the book is appropriate to lower levels of power, there are several "cosmic beings" statted (and others of the same class named) who could twist Doc D like a pretzel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! There are a few stats in there that made Hero Designer cry a little bit. Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! I'm curious if there are villains that even Doc D would have to use the F word for.... Just to follow up on what LL said -- yes, there are some mighty powerful villains in there. There pretty much have to be; we are, after all, talking about adventure on a cosmic scale! However, the majority of the characters written up are perfectly appropriate as standard opponents for standard-level play. This includes the various super-gladiators written up in the Moon and Malva chapters, Revenger and his Lunar Amazons, the Selenites, various alien super"humans," Mordace, and so on. But for those times when you need super-mondo-uber-level cosmic power, you can throw a Galaxar, Astron the living asteroid belt, Xarriel, or the like at your PCs. And there are plenty of other such foes hinted at in comments here and there. I could easily fill a villains book just with various villains mentioned in the book but not written up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! However' date=' the majority of the characters written up are perfectly appropriate as standard opponents for standard-level play.[/quote'] And as I mentioned earlier on the thread, some of the material about alien races and tech could readily be adapted to Heroic-level games. Notable among these are the Hzeel, who are given their first in-depth treatment for the time when they are a power in the galaxy. The Hzeel material could be translated to most Heroic space-opera campaigns with scarcely any modification. What I particularly appreciate about Steve Long's treatment of the Hzeel, is how skillfully he hews the line between making them humorous and making them a serious threat (a feature of them from the Star HERO line), so they can be used either or both ways without strain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Here's another glimpse of what I think is cool in CBY: there's a whole chapter devoted to the Elder Worm, including details of their ancient past and their long war with the Malvans. It also describes those hiding in the Galaxy elsewhere than just on Earth, including different classes of Worm, their technology, and even their starships. And if the Slug ever gets in touch with them the Earth may be in big trouble, because he's not just the leader of the Worm on this planet -- he's the rightful ruler of all Elder Worm everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balabanto Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Uh, except that the Slug is nothing but shake and bake in a box and fire projectors are a dime a dozen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Two things I'm looking for in there, Gadroon (I have a character who was one of the sleeper agents talked about in CU) and The Eldar Worm(for my Fantasy HERO game though, The Elves have returned to my world and they have been corrupted by/serve the Eldar Worm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Uh' date=' except that the Slug is nothing but shake and bake in a box and fire projectors are a dime a dozen.[/quote'] Read the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Two things I'm looking for in there' date=' Gadroon (I have a character who was one of the sleeper agents talked about in CU) and The Eldar Worm(for my Fantasy HERO game though, The Elves have returned to my world and they have been corrupted by/serve the Eldar Worm)[/quote'] You will find tons of Gadroon stuff in this book, an entire chapter in fact, including some underlying plots you may not have seen coming. Elves and Eldar Worm? Is that a Freudian slip? See my comments above re the Worm info, to which I'll add that there's a moderate range of examples of Elder Worm magic, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Uh' date=' except that the Slug is nothing but shake and bake in a box and fire projectors are a dime a dozen.[/quote'] As LL said ... Read The Book. Slug may be the leader.... but that doesn't mean he's the worst trick up the Elder Worm Sleeve.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! As LL said ... Read The Book. Slug may be the leader.... but that doesn't mean he's the worst trick up the Elder Worm Sleeve.... As varied and nasty as the classes and servants of the Elder Worm statted in CBY are, they sound like pikers compared to the monstrosities described as fighting for them during their terrible war with the Malvans, when the Worm were at the height of their power. If you want a few of those to have survived to the present day, you can really let your imaginations build awesome terrors out of the details in the book. That actually brings up a point that I think is worth emphasizing. As many beings, creatures, and artifacts as there are given full game stats in Champions Beyond, there are nearly as many that are named and briefly described, but not statted. If you prefer to build your own villains rather than have them made for you, you'll find lots of inspiration for alien and "cosmic" baddies here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Time for another Cool Tidbit from CBY. While whole chapters of the book are devoted to those alien races and organizations which have the most impact on present-day Champions Earth, CBY also describes many other alien species in a much more abbreviated format. Most of the sapients from Alien Wars and Terran Empire are represented, although at an earlier stage in their historical development; but there are quite a few others, all-new or drawn from Champions sources, which presumably will have declined by the eras described in the Star HERO setting books. A few of the great interstellar empires and confederacies of the future have already begun to form, but they're a lot smaller -- the Milky Way is much more balkanized in the present day. Many of these racial descriptions include character Templates to aid in generating NPCs (or PCs). Most of them also note whether or not the specified race can manifest super-"human" powers; if there are any restrictions on the type of powers they can have; and how common and powerful they are on average compared to Earth supers. Since it's a genre convention that Earth's superhumans are our great equalizer against alien invaders, almost all other races are inferior to humans in one or more of the abovementioned categories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted May 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! the Milky Way is much more balkanized in the present day Mainly this is because I like to use the word "balkanized." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! The great number of alien Templates makes the book useful to Star Hero Players too, I'd like to point out. Steve pacjed a ton of aliens into this ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GestaltBennie Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! Definitely hoping you can get the book out soon, because background on Revenger would be very helpful for the scenario I plan to run next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! The hints for the Worm and the Hzeel (and possibly the Malvans) indicate this book will come in very handy for where I'm planning to take my Hero Central game. Probably not 100% (That would mean either Steve is reading my mind, and scary as that might seem I'm sure he's got better things to be doing, or he and I think way too much alike -- which I'm sure any number of people would find terrifying), but more than useful enough to justify the purchase... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! What in particular would you like to know about the Malvan coverage in CBY? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! The great number of alien Templates makes the book useful to Star Hero Players too, I'd like to point out. Steve pacjed a ton of aliens into this ship. True! To be fair, though, most (not all, but most) of them come from existing Star Hero supplements like TE and AW, so a fan who already has those won't get as much use out of that aspect of CBY (though of course the Templates have been updated to 6E, which is helpful). However, I know from sales figures that most Champions fans didn't buy TE or AW, so for many people every alien in this book will essentially be all-new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! I got my copies of AW and TE second hand. Sorry, but they were right there! What was a boy to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! I bought mine, but am happy to have the easy updates for 6th Ed anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! That cover is the absolute drop dead awesome, and beautiful, to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: CHAMPIONS BEYOND Sneak Peek: The Cover! True! To be fair' date=' though, most (not all, but most) of them come from existing Star Hero supplements like TE and AW, so a fan who already has those won't get as much use out of that aspect of CBY (though of course the Templates have been updated to 6E, which is helpful). However, I know from sales figures that most Champions fans didn't buy TE or AW, so for many people every alien in this book will essentially be all-new.[/quote'] Note that the backgrounds of alien races -- history, culture, homeworlds, etc. -- in Champions Beyond are quite abbreviated compared to relevant entries in the Star HERO line of books. So if you find yourself interested in learning more about them, the SH books are the place to go. And since those books are all written for Fifth Edition, they are all now half price in the Hero Games Online Store. Just look at all the amazing bargains: https://www.herogames.com/browse.htm?keywords=&categoryID=220005&releaseDate=-1&available=Y&book=Y&pdf=Y&characterPack=Y&multiBook=Y&other=Y&damaged=Y . (I was astonished to find a bundle of Terran Empire, Alien Wars, Worlds Of Empire, Scourges Of The Galaxy, and Spacers Toolkit for only $37.50!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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