So, the first four pages are the title page, dedication, and two pages of the table of contents. Let's jump right into the next page.
First of all, there's the obligatory 'welcome' paragraph that promises that you can 'recreate the fanciful world of the comics books and pulp adventure novels.' That last part is interesting, since it implies that there's a lower-powered way to play as well. After all, the pulp heroes were not on the level of superheroes, not even the ones like the Shadow or the Phantom. Oh, and "Champions is not a game for the weak at heart. It takes guts, intelligence, and imagination to survive." I presume they are referring to the player characters, not the players themselves surviving. Although that would be quite the game, wouldn't it?
Next up is the 'what is a role-playing game' section that is part of every single role-playing game introduction since...well, not since the very first game (Dungeons & Dragons), since Gygax and company hadn't even coined the term 'role-playing game' yet. Anyway, this is a pretty bog-standard description of how a role-playing game works. The last paragraph promises that the mechanics will become easier to work with as you play the game so you can concentrate on the role-playing part of the game. Good to know.
Then we have the list of 'playing materials'. First, the necessary stuff. Obviously, the rules are important, as are paper and pencil for each player and at least three standard six-sided dice. We see the first instance of the '3D6' shorthand here. Oh, and we also need...a ruler or a tape measure. Gotta love the old 'clinging to the wargames' attitude of these earlier RPGs. Incidentally, I found out in an interview on YouTube that George MacDonald was in fact a wargame tinkerer before he started the Champions game. So it's no surprise that he's thinking in terms of inches and rulers.
Next, the 'optional' and very useful but not totally necessary stuff. 'At least 3D6' per player would be useful. Considering how the game works, I would suggest plenty more than three dice would be a good idea. Copies of the character sheets, inch-wide hex paper, and miniatures or counters to represent the PCs are also recommended. Pretty standard stuff for an RPG of the time.
Alright, now we get to the most interesting part of the introduction: The Glossary of Terms. Usually, this would be found at the back of the rules, but here we are getting everything right up front. The topics on this page are: Active Points, Agent, Attack Roll, Brick, Character, Characteristic, Cost, D6, DCV, Disadvantages, ECV, Energy Projector, Figured Characteristics, Game Master, GM, and Half Move. The Glossary will continue on the next page.
Of the things here, Brick and Energy Projector are just superhero archetypes (strong guy and ranged attackers, respectively). Agents are just what they say: Members of various organizations in the game, either good or evil. They're better than normal citizens, but cannon fodder for supers.
The DCV and ECV are 'defensive combat value' and 'ego combat value', the latter being for mental combat. DCV is how hard it is to hit you.
Active Points is an important term. It refers to a power bought with a limitation. The Active points are the amount of points of effect the power has, but not necessarily how much it costs to buy it. More details on the next page.
Disadvantages refer to problems the character has that hinders them in some way. Disadvantages are helpful to define the character, but more importantly give you additional points to buy more powers and the like.
Figured Characteristics are just characteristics based on other characteristics. Your Physical Defense, Energy Defense, Speed, Recovery, Endurance Pips, and Stun Pips are all figured from the other characteristics, such as Strength.
Finally, a Half-Move is simply a portion of a character's action. You can move up to half your maximum speed in a phase and still attack. Phases aren't defined just yet, but we'll get to that tomorrow.
So that's it, the first look at what Champions has to offer. Tomorrow we'll finish the Glossary.
**********************
I've got another blog project I'm working on that I just started; it's a retrospective review of the D&D 3rd edition game that came out almost exactly 25 years ago. And that's the name of the blog: 25 Years Ago. It's going to be a very, very ambitious project that would basically take over this blog completely, and since I'm finally getting back into this one I don't want to bury it with one long project. So, please check it out and let me know what you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment