Gen Con 2002 Report, Continued
Hello folks, and welcome to Theala's first Gossip Column in several years. This years DDC report is an exciting one because of the impending release of the 5th Edition of the Hero System Rules. I learned quite a lot at the convention from attending the Hero Games Open Meeting, and from talking extensively with Hero Games President Darren Watts and Line Developer Steve Long.
Steve and Darren opened the meeting with these simple words: "We're back. We've got a book."
5th Edition is has gone to the printers, and the "blue lines" or galley proofs have been returned for a final check by Hero Games. They will were to be returned to the printer by Tuesday, the book will go to press in late February or early March and be ready for stores sometime in early April. A specific date has not been announced.
Steve and Darren brought copies of 5th Edition to the convention with them to give fans a look at how the book was laid out. Andy Matthews, the Art Director at Hero Games, did a slick job. The text is easy to read. There are lots of easy to read and use reference tables. There is lots of great artwork. Some of the art if classic are from early editions of the Hero System, but much more of it is brand new, never before seen art from Greg Smith, Storn Cook, John Grigni, and Albert Deschesne, among others.
No radical changes have been made to the core rules. What Steve did was to revise Power descriptions, clarify how Powers do and do not work (the Great Linked Debate is dead, folks), and to add new Power Advantages such as MegaScale which finally allows you to teleport to the Moon without spending 700 points. Changes in the rules will be "grand fathered" in to allow players to continue playing old characters without having to make substantial changes. The new baseline hero has been changed from 250 points to 350 points (200 points + 150 points in Disadvantages). Darren Watts extensively tested the binding for the new book, even to the extreme of running it in a commercial dryer for 30 minutes before approving it. Last, but not least, the core rules will have a detailed index that Hero Games eventually hopes to turn into a searchable index for all Hero Games products on the Hero Games website (though Steve later did tell me he's making no promises at this point).
Getting the word out about the release has been a problem. A lot of fans have been told by their game stores that a new Hero release is "bullshit". To correct this problem, one Hero fan, Derek Hiemforth, went to every game store in San Francisco and Sacramento to pre-order copies of the book (he was up to nine stores if I recall correctly).
There was a lot of fun and anticipation at Dun Dra Con about the new book. An offhand remark by Steve Long in response to an online query is making its way into popular Hero culture. The question was, "What will we call the new book?" Steve's response was, "Well, I figured they could still call it BBB, for "Big Black Book." Or maybe GL, for "Green Lantern," our code name for that color scheme around the office. But heck, you can call it "Fred" for all I care, provided you buy one! :) " Some wit on the Hero Games discussion boards turned this into "Fifth Rules Edition" or FREd, and the name has stuck. Fans walked around the convention with T Shirts saying, "I want my FREd", or buttons with the Hero Hexman and "Got FRED?"
Steve and Darren have a comprehensive, long term view for the future of Hero Games. Other books currently in the works are the Champions genre sourcebook to be written by veteran Hero author Aaron Allston (basically, how to run a superheroic setting with the new Hero System-this is not yet the new Champions Universe setting), a Second Edition of The Ultimate Martial Artist with new Powers and martial arts, a new Bestiary, and a Hero Resource Kit with fold out maps, counters, and more.
For those waiting for setting material, Steve and Darren did say that no setting books will be published until a genre book has been released. That means no Fantasy Hero campaign settings like Broken Kingdoms until the core Fantasy Hero book has been released. The first genre to be tackled will be Star Hero. Hero Games has gotten a Campbell award nominee with a strong science background to write Star Hero, Jim Cambias. Hero Games will also continue to publish electronic books for those markets deemed too small and specific to warrant a paper book, but that the main focus of Hero Games will be to publish printed books.
Hero Games has plans for a continuous time line for all their products. Settings will fall into place within that time line, to allow for continuity between settings. San Angelo, the popular city setting originally published by Gold Rush Games, does not fit within the concepts designed by Hero Games. Negotiations are under way for San Angelo to return to Gold Rush Games. The official Hero city setting will be called Millennium City.
Hero Games will also continue Digital Hero as their online magazine. Authors guidelines for Hero Games should be available soon, and writing for the e-zine is being encouraged by Hero Games for new writers who want to eventually work on sourcebooks. The online policies and submission guidelines should be ready next week. "Our biggest asset is the loyalty and enthusiasm of Hero gamers," Steve Long told the audience at the Open Meeting. Digital Hero will be published ten times a year, and a subscription will probably cost $30/year or $5/issue. Each week one free article will be published to show viewers what they will be getting from the full issue. Subscribers also qualify for play testing draft material on the Hero Games website.
Hero Games will be sponsoring the Legion of Heroes to play test upcoming products. Guidelines for the Legion will be announced soon, and membership is free. Legion members who run demo games may also be granted playtester access, but the specifics have yet to be announced.
For those wondering about character creation software, Hero Games is currently in negotiations with software developers to create a new character creation software. Steve stated specifically that he wanted any new software to be backwards compatible with Creation Workshop files, so that fans won't be out hours of work. Any software for Hero Games will also have to follow the general writer guidelines.
Steve and Darren told the crowd that they don't plan for Hero Games to just be known as a superheroic game anymore. They want the Hero System to be the generic role-playing system, one capable of being the core rules for any genre the players want to tackle. For this reason, the cover to the 5th Edition Rules is the simple black cover with the green hexman logo (available on the Hero Games website, www.herogames.com). The first Champions Universe book will have cover art from a well known comic artist, but a specific artist has not been announced.
Things are looking up, Hero fans!
Just got back from Dun Dra Con 22, held in San Ramon, CA on President's Day Weekend. Had a wonderful time, as I did when I went to DDC two years ago. As with all Cons I go to, I have an official report of Hero related events.
Apparantly, Hero functions had a low presence at the last DDC. I can't confirm that, as I was not there, but from what I'm getting from the Hero Mailing List, the number of Hero related official games has jumped tremendously. There was only one official Fuzion event, however. I don't know how many pick up Fuzion games may have been held, although there seemed to be plenty of interest in the Champions: New Millenium products at the Hero booth. Although RTG was not there, they were repped by both the Hero booth and the Gold Rush Games booth. Both booths had brisk sales.
A number of new products were released at DDC, or just prior. Gold Rush released Usagi Yojimbo, a new Fuzion game based on the popular comic by Stan Sakai, who did the delightful cover illustration. See my new review section for a complete review of this new RPG. RTG showcased several products, including the new Bubblegum Crisis EX, the third BGC book in the series; and VOTOMS, another anime based Fuzion RPG. RTG is also producing a Fuzion product based on Dragonball Z. Hero gamers have for years been asking for an "Anime Hero", looks like we're getting it in spades. Fuzion isn't my bag, but I've been pleased with the quality of the source material in BGC, and VOTOMS is looking as good. I'll have a review of that one, too.
Please bear in mind that the opinions here are strictly my own, and I alone bear responsibility for them. My report is based on notes taken during the seminars--if the Hero Guru's feel I have made any factual errors, I hope they will feel free to point them out--and I will correct them asap. :D
Sales of the new Usagi Yojimbo are doing well. The popular Japanese manga by Stan Sakai is more than just funny rabbits playing samauri. It includes serious stories based on feudal Japanese culture balanced by humor. For example, the sourcebook outlines one of the stories from the comic, A Mother's Love. The author tells the prospective GM about the tragedy of the mother of one of Usagi's enemies--a greedy moneylender who abuses his clients. When Usagi refuses to kill him outright, she tricks Usagi into distracting her son--then stabbing her son in the back. She then convinces Usagi to kill her because she lacks the strength to kill herself. Usagi is caught between conficting values. As the author notes, "Heavy stuff for bunnies and kitties, huh?" The sourcebook includes an official timeline, and index of characters from the comic. It is lavishly illustrated with cuts from the comic. UY includes complete rules for running the game, based on the Fuzion system, with a handy reference sheet summing everything up for fast play. It's a quick read, and fun just on general principles.
San Angelo, GRG's new four colored sourcebook for 4th
edition, has been delayed. It should be released by the end of
February or early March. Key elements of SA include:
The author of SA, Pat Sweeny, helped rep the GRG booth at DDC. He's a soft-spoken, friendly sort of guy. His 250 page book will feature a new layout and cover style from previous Hero products, with a "contemporary" look (whatever that means--however, GRG has always had slick looking products, so I'm not too worried this will be bad news). It will feature realistic settings and characters, with photographic ilios, and newspaper style sidebars to elaborate on the universe--something Mark has done before (Heroic Adventures vol 2).
In addition to the San Angelo sourcebook itself, there will
be a complete line of future products to support it. These will
include:
There will be no Fuzion in the San Angelo universe. There may be some hints for converting to Fuzion, but these will be strictly 4th/5th edition products.
As part of the story continuity, SA provides one essential element: an explaination for how superpowers work. The SA universe contains an energy field called "The Flux". This energy field acts as a catalyst, explaining why superpowered origins work in the realm of modern day physics, making the impossible possible.
There have been rumors floating around that SA is a copy of Astro City. When Mark heard these rumors, he sent a copy to Kurt Busiak for his perusal. Kurt suggested some minor changes, and gave his thumbs up. He refused, however, to discuss a license for an Astro City rpg product. He said he didn't want to be tied down by a role playing game continuity, and wanted absolute freedom to direct his storylines as he pleased. Can't blame him.
GRG is also working on other Fuzion products, including Sengoku. This product will be the next GURPS Japan, allowing players to recreate chambara films and actual historical flavor. The author is Anthony Bryant, former editor of Dragon Magazine. Sengoku will also have a complete product line, including Shadows of Nihon, a complete ninja sourcebook from a traditional rather than a cinematic perspective; and Middle Kingdom, a China sourcebook from the same period.
For Traveller fans, no concrete news. GRG had originally negotiated with Mark Miller to produce a series of adventure anthologies for the game, which Miller was strongly in support of. However, Imperium Games has put the idea on hold, and said GRG will have to negotiate a license with them.
And finally, GRG has made a deal to distribute a new LARP magazine called Metagame Looked at a copy while I was at DDC--in all honesty it didn't do much for me, but then again, I don't LARP. GRG will also be distributing for Hal Shuster's new line of books, including the Unathorized Guide to Xena. Shuster is the author of the popular Unauthorized Guides to STNG and the X files.
The Hero Games seminar was well attended. Folks wanted to hear the latest on what's going on in the Hero Universe. The session started out with Ray Greer threatening to beat me with a long, knobby stick for asking him about the Champions Computer game. Don't get your hopes up folks: I asked the question in jest, to yank at Ray's chain. The Champions Computer game, for the many of you who've been asking me lately, is as dead as last weeks mackeral.
According to Steve Peterson, the market for RPGs has changed in the past couple of years to simper systems with coherent, planned storylines that are easier for GMs to plug and play. As with San Angelo, future Champions: New Millenium products will have stories that progress and change as the products come out. The latest CNM product is Bay City. You can check out my review in the new review section of Theala's Page.
Hero Games has given GRG a license to produce a 5th edition of Champions. This new edition will include rules clarifications and update the typos [snicker], but there will be no major Rules changes such as changing costs of Characteristics. There will be minor changes only, probably some changes to Hand Attack and increasing the cost of Aid from 5 points to 10. The Hero Guru's are taking suggestions: you can fill out their questionaire and give them your input. Better do it soon if you're going to, as Steve Long says he will start work on the project in the next couple of months so to have it ready for a fall release. As for those of you who have inquired about playtesting 5th edition, Steve Long had this to say, "You've been playtesting this for 10 years--tell us what you found out!" Material for the 5th edition will not include all material from the Ultimate Books such as The Ultimate Martial Artist, although some things may be included such as an expanded martial arts list. The 5th edition will focus on the core rules, not the Champions Universe. San Angelo will be the genre book. For Fantasy Hero fans, Broken Kingdoms will be a new FH genre sourcebook on Hero Plus for 5th edition.
For those spreading rumors of Hero's demise, the rumor is quite false. Fuzion related projects have been selling well. Champions: New Millenium has proven popular with those fans looking for Hero Lite. 5th edition is being pursued for the benefit of hard core Hero fans who like the complexity of the old system, but want minor fixes. "We're too stupid to die," said Steve Peterson at the seminar. New products besides the 5th edition will include more Digital Books for both 5th edition and Fuzion, tho no Hero Plus books are planned for CNM at the present. One future CNM book will be a complete timeline of the Champions Universe from the earliest part of this century to a futuristic setting, to allow GMs to easily run time travelling games within the same game continuity.
A Hero CD Rom is still being discussed, but the expense of producing the disks in volume has put the project on hold. The Hero Guru's have said that based on Hero Plus sales, they have noted that most players would prefer to own the same book in both a paper and electronic format. A Fuzion superpowers book will eventurally make it's way out to show people how to create their own unique superpowers, and include lists of powers for specific campaigns.
Hero has also produced a character creation program called Creation Workshop This program is a universal character creation program that uses templates to allow players to create for any system. Currently, only the Fuzion template is available. A Hero template is in beta testing, and hopefully will be ready for release in a month or two. Use of the templates will allow for seamless conversion of characters from one game system to another. As soon as licenses can be negotiated with other game companies, templates will be made for other games systems, such as AD&D, Storyteller, etc.
The Hero Guru's are also talking about a CNM comic from Dreamwriter's Workshop. Theala can only say she hopes it goes over better than the original Champions comic!
Some RTG products are being Fuzionised. Mekton is last on the list but will probably get done eventually. Right now the priority is being given over to Cyberpunk and Dragonball Z.
In the past, I've reported on this game, mostly because it's so zany. Unfortunately, two of our zaniest members were unable to make the con: Chris Avellone (Jenny Hen) was visiting his parents in Virginia that weekend (you loser!), and Sean Fannon (Mace) was unable to attend as well. We were joined by Pat Sweeny, Scott Bennie, Geoff ?, and Will Tharp, who added their own insanity to the group. As usual, I played the Biker Bitch from Hell and New Age flake, Nightsong. Currently, the SVTF is investigating the bizzare ritual murder of a Hudson City broker, and the possible connection of a collectible card game called Arcane: the ? Lt Cho (Bruce Harlick) had to make a sudden trip to the Old Country to check on his "investments" and was replaced by a poor sucker from Pittsburg who was considering starting an SVTF in his home town (god help them!) Will Tharp and I made up for the absense of Sean Fannon in that Will played a DEA agent only slightly less obnoxious (er, tough) than Mace, while I inherited all of Mace's bad dice rolls. [sigh]. It was a hilarious game, as the fleeing cultists led the SVTF on a merry chase through the city, turning the Christian Science Reading Center and the Monster Burgers into drive-thru's. Steve Peterson's bomb expert saved the day by blowing up the top of the van when the cultists refused to surrender. All in all a good time--stay tuned for Gen Con for the exciting conclusion. In the grand John Woo style, all of Nightsong's BODY will be miraculously healed for the conclusion. Thank the Goddess.
Created: April 21, 1995, Updated: February 20, 1998