A few weeks ago I might have said "Savage Worlds" but I'm fixing that particular problem so I'll say it's this:
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| The Original |
I've owned this game since 1982, picked up every version except the latest, have a ton of supplements for it, and haven't run or played it in at least ten years. Why?
- It's a fairly complex game that rewards "system mastery" but not many people want to take the time to "master" it nowadays.
- Combat is complicated, though I don;t think it's much more complicated than most 3E/4E/Pathfinder D&D games and like those it smooths out a bunch with experience
- Champions books were everywhere in the 90's during 4th edition. Most RPG'ers knew about Champions/Hero System. Then the company that published it hit some hard times and it took a few years to get the game back on track with a new publisher. I think this put it behind the curve of the 3E boom when a lot of people came to/came back to RPG's circa 2000 and it never really caught up in "mindshare". Now it's on a 6th edition and it still almost non-existent in game stores as the company again has had some rough times the last few years.
- It covers a lot of genres but it was always best known for Superheroes, and in the last 10-15 years a bunch of superhero RPG's have come along, from Mutants and Masterminds to ICONS. Not all of them have survived, but going from 3 or so popular superhero games to half a dozen or more really segmented up what was already a niche genre.
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| The Peak |
It's big advantage though is that it models anything you can dream up with a system that is pretty crunchy and uses a point system that has 30+ years of actual play behind it so when they say "balance" it's not just a bullet on a list of design goals. It's also pretty fun to play (and run) based on my more-distant-than-I-would-like memories. There is also quite a bit of supporting material developed over the years and even more from hardcore fans on the internet.
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The Current
(and wow that is not my favorite cover) |
I really need to find a way to work this game in to the rotation.
2 comments:
I love Champions, as you well know, and feel it's one of the rare games where the crunch and complexity is worth it.
wholeheartedly agree champions always has a place in my heart i was lucky enough to be in a long time campaign that went on for several years every other weekend I am always jealous of some of my friends who stayed local and were able to play together while i was away.
It is really something that i would like to get into again but it is really really hard to get people interested in the system
they see the math and their brains just crash.
Remember returning home for a vacation and visiting with friends I had commented that it'd probably be easier to put idea he had in a VPP. He said, "Damn, I miss having someone who understands the system around...
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