Pyramid Review
Champions Universe (for Hero System)
Written by Steve Long and Darren Watts
Published by Hero Games
160-page b&w paperback; $21.99
I came to Champions during my freshman year at college, nearly two decades ago, and it didn't take me long to become a typical "Dork"-y "It MUST Be Mine!" Champions consumer. Part of the appeal was the implied background in the Champions books . . . this character was Hunted by U.N.T.I.L., that one was a former agent of VIPER, this one has a crush on that foe. It all resonated nicely to what I already felt about comic book stories, and the addition of the Enemies and Organization books contributed to that feeling. So when I heard that the Champions universe would get a full book treatment as part of the Hero Games Revival of 2002, I was quite pleased. Here, said I to myself, is a chance to revisit all those old friends and fiends and enjoy them once more. But for better or worse, Thomas Wolfe had it right. This isn't the Champions universe I remember and loved.
Champions Universe is a supplement to Champions, which in its turn is a supplement to the Hero System rulebook. This represents a pretty hefty outlay to get going in Champions Universe, even given the fine value you get for your investment in the two major books. Champions Universe takes full advantage of the groundwork laid in both the core rules and the genre supplement, giving new examples of applying the rules and seeing how the principles of the genre are implemented in the world . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: March 7, 2003
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