Neverway Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 It's here! I got the pdf, straight from Hero Games a little bit ago. I can't say I like having to download a program to get the file (dropbox), but I can't think of any good alternatives so I'll just have to cope. Also, I think my attempts to get a copy of the file onto my computer caused everyone who got it before me to be notified of two extra copies. Sorry guys. Enough talking, now I need to read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neverway Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress All right, I've finished the Introduction and Chapter 1 "A Crusade Across Realities: The History Of Istvatha V’han." I'm not a superhero fan, but there were a couple of things that almost made me want to squee in glee. Admittedly, one was pretty close to a "Take That" for a few posts on this board. Specifically, the bit in the Intro about "Realism." That aside, the first chapter being presented as excerpts from the official V’hanian histories as well as rebel tracts was fun, even if it did leave me wondering what "really" happened. My favorite bit by far has got to be the following: She became convinced she could could manage peoples’ lives better than they could manage them themselves — an attitude that in anyone else would seem to be the height of arrogance, but which in future Empress Istvatha was merely the first stirrings of her career. On the other hand, we seem to have been given the Empress's entire history without any illustrations of Istvatha V’han as a petulant 16 year old. I am disappointed. Very, very disappointed. EDIT: Unfortunately, that's as far as I am going to get tonight as I have to get up early for work tomorrow. I'm sure someone with less need/desire for sleep than me will post more by the time I get up. tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Cool. I downloaded it, but I'm booked for a few days. Already had Dropbox for a photo project, so no issue there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawksmoorSD Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Yeah I got mine today too but haven't had a chance to really get into it yet. Does anyone know when the paper versions will ship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickael Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress I've managed to download the file without having to install the software on my computer: You have to read the lines under the "Download Dropbox" button. Haven't had time to read it yet, but it seems to be very interesting. Just a little disappointment when I found only black&white pictures in the book, but I guess that delays and costs would have been totally different... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neverway Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress I've managed to download the file without having to install the software on my computer: You have to read the lines under the "Download Dropbox" button. Haven't had time to read it yet, but it seems to be very interesting. Just a little disappointment when I found only black&white pictures in the book, but I guess that delays and costs would have been totally different... Cost. Apparently going to full color raises costs by almost an order of magnitude. It seems artists want to be paid more to break out the crayons. I'm now regretting not loading BotE onto my Color Nook as I would have been able to sneak reading it while at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress That aside, the first chapter being presented as excerpts from the official V’hanian histories as well as rebel tracts was fun, even if it did leave me wondering what "really" happened. I loved the 'Dueling Dual sources' angle Steve went with as well. It shapes things up nicely, but still leaves plenty of room for the GM to do his own take on 'the otherside' . Good touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Specifically, the bit in the Intro about "Realism." To be clear, I wasn't takin' a poke at anyone or any post specifically there -- I've used that exact same text in multiple books, dating all the way back to the VIPER sourcebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Just a little disappointment when I found only black&white pictures in the book, but I guess that delays and costs would have been totally different... There was no way Hero Games could make BotE a color book. Color printing has just gotten too expensive, particularly in light of the psychological "ceiling" many gamers have re: the price of supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress I've gone over the book superficially to this point. Extremely interesting. I see a lot that I was expecting, but also quite a few surprises. I must say that from earlier descriptions of V'han I didn't expect her to have made such extensive use of her time-travel abilities as her history here reveals. In particular, the fate of Korath startled me with her temporal ruthlessness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendsmiths Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress I can't say I like having to download a program to get the file (dropbox) I clicked on the link and downloaded it from the web. I do have an account already with DropBox, but I didin't have to install software to get it (in fact I typically access DropBox via the web). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress In particular, the fate of Korath startled me with her temporal ruthlessness. ::insert fiendish chuckle here:: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neverway Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress I've managed to download the file without having to install the software on my computer: You have to read the lines under the "Download Dropbox" button. I clicked on the link and downloaded it from the web. I do have an account already with DropBox' date=' but I didin't have to install software to get it (in fact I typically access DropBox via the web).[/quote'] Yesterday Jason sent out Dropbox links to everyone we had e-mail addresses for so they could get the BotE PDF that way. As several of you have already found out' date=' it seems to be possible for you to use that link and get the PDF without having to install and download the Dropbox software itself.[/quote'] I be unsmart. That said, Chapter 2 (written as I read): Largest! Character Sheet! Ever! Although it's probably on par with other Book of the es. There's nothing really surprising in the first part, most of it was covered in various forum conversations about Her Empressness, but it goes into a lot of nice detail. Minor typo, the sidebar on her time travel ability on page 23 uses the phrase "The second, representing precise control over short-term time travel, allows her travel back in time up to a week day and start the events of that period all over again..." a quick look at the actual power write up shows that it's supposed to be "week". Hmmm, her Replay ability (and her near constant use of it) and her general desire to have only one V'han at a time seem at odds with each other. I wonder how that works out. Also, I find it odd that she schedules her time by the objective clock. Work from 6 Am to midday, Replaying those hours over and over again to get all her meetings etc in, then going to leisure time. As opposed to dividing work and play in subjective time, attending (for example) three meetings (all happening at the same time thanks to her Replay ability) then heading off for some fun before coming back for a couple more meetings during the same hours. There's some interesting bits on her time travel that make me eager for Time Travel Hero to come up on the Kickstarter rotation. While the Other Genres section doesn't really have too much to offer (what are you going to do with a dimensional conqueror?) I do like the idea of using her instead of your bog standard Dark Lord in a Fantasy campaign. "Why are you trying to stop someone who is trying to make the world better for everyone? Because she doesn't have the right relatives?" Art: There's a nice Storn piece on page 23 that I like, which is odd since I generally find his work to stiff and "posed" for my tastes. Other art in the chapter is... not up to the same level (imo, of course). Now, on to Chapter 3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress That said, Chapter 2 (written as I read): Largest! Character Sheet! Ever! [chorus] How long is it? [/chorus] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress See...the only thing about her Replay power that gets me is that replaying everything would be mind numbingly dull....no matter how much "objective" time is used....I mean....she still actively does things....so my take is that she still feels the passage of time. So...having 1000's of meetings per day is stilll having 1000's of meetings per day...even if she crams it into a tiny span of objective time. I can't see her wanting to go through that much tedium on a near constant basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Empress Avatar Robots (Doom Bots) Hmmm... QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamashii2000 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Just got it myself after being a total idiot on kickstarter (I.. put in the wrong email address.. was wondering why I never got any of the updates to project...) So far looks great and thanks to Steve for helping me out when I realized my mistake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress The only thing you need to know. I'm in the credits section. BWAA HA HA HA HA ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress See...the only thing about her Replay power that gets me is that replaying everything would be mind numbingly dull....no matter how much "objective" time is used....I mean....she still actively does things....so my take is that she still feels the passage of time. So...having 1000's of meetings per day is stilll having 1000's of meetings per day...even if she crams it into a tiny span of objective time. I can't see her wanting to go through that much tedium on a near constant basis. Which is why every work day for the Empress includes several "objective" hours of leisure time. Based on her schedule described on p. 26, she may spend more of the objective part of the day on leisure than on work, although her subjective time is very much skewed the other way. OTOH Istvatha is dedicated and driven, a workaholic, and borderline obsessive/compulsive. Granted, the situation still stretches credibility, but not as much as many other comic-book conventions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neverway Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress The weekend got kind of busy, but I finally managed to finish BotE. I must agree with LL about both the Empress and Kharrl Korathon; I was reading along, dismissing most of the "destroy everything" and "kill everyone" bits as unfortunate by-products of war, then hit that. She can be one stone cold %@%^# when she needs to. The sections on V'ehicles made my eyes glaze over, it's invaluable for someone running a game where V'han's starships will be assaulted or for a Star Hero GM to lift, but that someone isn't me. The sections on how the multiverse is put together and how to make your own are from The Mystic World (including the art) but Edited For Content and to Fit on Your Screen, though I'm too lazy to do a side by side comparison to see what new stuff was added other than mentions of Istvatha V’han. The various example dimensions , old and new, were all well done and fun. All-in-all it's a good book, well up to Hero Games' standards and a good read. Even if I won't use most of it I don't feel like a chump for kicking in $25, even without the "Support Hero Games today so they'll be here tomorrow" factor. I only have one major complaint: Given its overwhelming importance to both the CU and the world in general, why did Foxbatworld receive such a small write-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armitage Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Something tangentially related to Book of the Empress... I recall discussions in the past about the PD/ED of military vehicles and how it was almost impossible for superheroes to destroy tanks. In 4e and 5e, an M-1 tank had 20 DEF front, 16 DEF sides. In 5ER and Ultimate Vehicle, it became 30 front and 20 sides, which is where the problem started. 6E retained the same higher numbers. Now I read Book of the Empress. Invictor Imperious, the 4 kilometer long, 800 megaton flagship of the V'hanian fleet has 30 PD and 30 ED (without its shields active). So a human tank weighing 6 tons has the same armor as a massive alien interstellar warship. It makes you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Just out of curiosity, how many points is the Big V built on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Just out of curiosity' date=' how many points is the Big V built on?[/quote'] 1,357 CP, but her character sheet doesn't even try to cost out her Bases, Vehicles, and Followers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Re: Book of the Empress Lots. The version you're likely thinking of: 1, 357. One of the many cool things about the book is that there are several different takes of the character, adapted for different genres like Star Hero and Pulp Hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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