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Champions Online brings RPGs mainstream...or does it?
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Courtesy Aeolean
Back when most role-playing games were still largely Dungeons & Dragons clones, the debut of the Champions RPG brought point-based character creation, a huge amount of customizability, and buckets of dice. Now it's back and better than ever with Champions Online. Or is it?
Champions was first published in 1981 by Hero Games founders George MadDonald, Steve Peterson, and Ray Greer. As the game expanded, it eventually became the HERO System, which in turn spawned a variety of subgenres, including modern action games and Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy games. After languishing in the late 90s, the license was resurrected by Steve Long, who created the Fifth Rules Edition (FRED) of the HERO System. FRED is massive, numbering at over 500 pages, but well-loved by fans who consider Long's updates a much-needed improvement on the original system.
Characters are built with character points, with the amount of character points determining the style of play. Every power you can conceive of is classified by a broad category, which is further customized by defining the power or ability. This system is largely like a form of code, in which larger variables provide a template for the application of smaller variables. A superhero that can shoot fire from his eyes doesn't just have an entry on his character sheet titled, "shoots fire from his eyes." He has an Energy Blast power with a defined range, a specific damage type, and an expression of the power's ability to harm an opponent. Does it slice through doors? Knock people out? Cut them in half? Set them on fire? Each change to the power has a character point cost modifier, with packages of powers and modifiers costing less character points at a discount. For example, a "fire" package might include the ability for the flames to spread, inflict continuous damage, and cause heat damage.
Champions involves a lot of math, both in character creation and combat. At the higher levels of power, bucketfuls of dice can be necessary to represent the awesome power of say, Superman punching a building. Fortunately, the Hero Designer software solves the character creation problem by automating the process for you.
When I played Champions, our game master handled all the math. We told him what we wanted and he created the character for us, a 1980s version of Hero Designer if you will. And thus Brenkin Kree, Lord Humongous, the Golden Gladiator, Cap. T, and Lady Kat were born…and eventually died horrible, heroic deaths.
With all this number crunching and code-like efficiency, Champions seems like a perfect fit for a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). So it makes perfect sense that Champions Online would leverage the HERO System. Unfortunately, that's not the case, according to the Hero Games web site:
…the Champions Online MMO is not a "HERO System MMO." It doesn't use the HERO System rules, and the full rights to those rules are still owned by DOJ, Inc. Players of the MMO won't be able to use the HERO System rules to design their characters, for example.
The reality is that when Marvel Universe Online fell by the wayside, Cryptic needed a new superhero license. Cryptic wasn't shopping for a new rules system, they were looking for a new license and Champions, a superhero license strong enough to merit its own comic book series, fit the bill.
Champions RPG fans can at least take heart in knowing that once the MMORPG is available, the sixth edition of the HERO System and Champions will include rules on how to recreate Champions Online characters and scenarios.
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