Welcome to a site dedicated to John's Champions campaign!
[Author's Note: Latest copies of all files and information presented in this email can be downloaded from Kingbeast's Lair.]
This campaign is four-color superheroes in the world of current day Reliance. The games will take place in the Bay Area. For those of you who have never heard of Reliance this is the name of the superhero team that I ran games for in the early 1980’s using the first set of Champions rules. These games ended around 1985 although some games that I ran at Cal Poly arguably took place in this universe. I decided it might be fun to use the same world again but make the assumption that the last 18 to 19 years have not gone smoothly. (Note that a high-level summary of the events that have transpired in the Reliance universe over the last 20 years is presented below.) By letting these years elapse in the game world I am able to do some things to make the setting more exciting and frankly…a bit more adult. In 1984 during the peak of the campaign we were only teenagers and dealing with mature themes was not “desired”. One small note…the difference here is mature themes NOT Dark Champions graphic novel style play.
I want to run something light and fun while I complete work on a longer Heroic level Star Hero campaign. I’ll announce details about this other campaign when I am a lot closer to completing it. Right now it is simply lots of scratches in a left-handed notebook. Depending how this goes I may run Reliance Reforged for a while…depends on if you guys and I are still having fun with it. J
Another reason I want to run Hero is simple. After working on articles, templates, and beta design code for FREd I am hurting to run Hero! This was a quick way that I could accomplish both of these goals.
As the TV clicks to life NBC global news appears. Tom Brokaw sits behind a small desk giving his nightly discourse. In the middle of his oration he is suddenly halted…
Tom Brokaw: “Welcome to February 3rd, 1984. Tonight…the presidential race. We will speak to the two front running candidates, Mr. Reagan and Mr. Mondale. Hold on a second…we have an important interruption. There appears to have been a series of strange explosions over many parts of the globe. Apparently these explosions..oh my…god help us.”
Tom Brokaw: [With that the experienced news anchor pauses and takes a deep breath.] “It appears that many of our superheroes have perished in these explosions. Currently at the Reliance headquarters in New York is NBC reporter Jimmy Dugan. Jimmy…can you give us more information…”
With that the screen changes to a shinny control room. On one wall is a huge video screen displaying a global map. At several equal positions on the map bright red lights pulse. In the foreground is a blond reporter with piercing blue eyes. Jimmy is wearing a dress shirt and tie with the sleeves rolled up. Pinned to his shirt pocket is a security badge with his picture and the letter “R”. Holding one hand to his ear the reporter begins to speak…
Jimmy Dugan: “Dan? Are we on??? Ok. This is Jimmy Dugan reporting from the Reliance headquarters in New York City. Behind me on the M.A.X. computer screen is a map depicting locations around the world where several explosions of a near nuclear power that have occurred. Apparently these explosions are part of some master plot for world domination by the arch-villain Doctor Destroyer…”
Tom Brokaw: [Quickly Tom interrupts the younger reporter.] “Jimmy, can you please start from the beginning?”
Jimmy Dugan: [With that the young Jimmy Dugan who has gained a reputation as an expert in the field of superhero activity takes a deep breath then continues.] “Late last night heroes from our own superhero team, Reliance, uncovered a sinister plot being hatched by the evil mastermind Doctor Destroyer. This plot was bigger than any they had detected in the past. Doctor Destroyer had devised a device that would project a sort of dark force field around the Earth. Using this field the Doctor would be able to extract limitless power as countries would have to meet his personal demands if they expected to see any sunlight on their country.”
Jimmy Dugan: “To pull off this amazing feat the madman enlisted the aid of several villain groups from around the world. Apparently raising this shield would require several global sites to be in synchronization. There were two sites in the Americas. One was in the Andes and the other was in the Rockies. Once our friends in Reliance got involved they contacted superheroes in these other countries and begged for their assistance. In a massive show of strength heroes from around the world rushed to these locations to stop the evil Doctor.”
Jimmy Dugan: “As the heroes arrived at these sites they found heavily defended strongholds. After fighting their way into these bases the heroes were met with villains from around the globe! It was during this time that these horrific machines were activated. Instead of projecting this screen of darkness as the Doctor threatened the various locations exploded! The death toll is not confirmed but currently none of the current Reliance team who responded to the threat in the Rocky Mountains has responded.”
Jimmy Dugan: [With that the young reporter sags his head and grabs the console in front of the large monitor. Slowly Jimmy Dugan turns towards the camera. No longer does the young reporter seem so vibrant. With a fragile voice he continues.] “Dan…this is an event of apocalyptic proportions from which our world may never recover…”
Here is a brief history of what has transpired over the last 19 years of game time.
|
1984-1985 |
· February 3rd, 1984 – The Apocalypse – In an attempt to stop Doctor Destroyer from projecting a strange darkness field around the Earth heroes from around the globe band together to attack the various projector sites. As the heroic battles reach a climax the sites explode! To this day nobody is sure if this was part of the evil Doctor’s master plan or just a fowl up of some type. This event spells the end of about 90% of the super beings on the planet. The only Reliance member known to live through the event is Survivor. In a live news report of the tragedy Jimmy Dugan would coin the name of the event, “The Apocalypse”. This would send the world into a state of grief that would continue for several months. · Reagan easily defeats Mondale in the election of 1984. Reagan’s strong military presence seems to console the populace during this time of grief and sorrow. · Survivor would try to rebuild Reliance but the lack of supers causes unforeseen delays. People begin to wonder if Reliance is needed. |
|
1986-1987 |
· Lack of a “super presence” is seen by many as a good thing. The world seems calmer for some almost a year. · In a successful attempt to give himself superpowers renowned physicist, Gregori Krinkov, creates a massive nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Hundred die in the “experiment”. Taking the name Reactor he tries to join Reliance. In an epic battle Reactor is defeated by Survivor and imprisoned at Stronghold. · The public is outraged by this display. Frank Carlucci, the newly appointed Security Advisor under Reagan, urges Congress to act. Congress responds by pulling funds and backing from several projects including Primus and Reliance. |
|
1988-1991 |
· Primus assets are incorporated into UNTIL. Most of the Primus Silver Avengers and the Golden Avenger join UNTIL. · The Golden Avenger speaks privately with Survivor and convinces him to join UNTIL. Survivor becomes the UNTIL base commander in the Bay Area. |
|
1992-1995 |
· After having gained considerable notoriety Frank Carlucci positions UNTIL as not only a global force for peace but as a global police force. The public embraces the idea as do many other NATO countries. · As part of their attempt to controller rogue supers UNTIL, now led by the Golden Avenger, starts imposing stronger enforcement of the Hero Registration Act. The enforcement includes mandatory disclosure of all secret identities to UNTIL. Most supers either enlist, go underground, or get imprisoned. |
|
1996-1999 |
· Insurance laws change as the only supers are now UNTIL sanctioned. Instead of providing end user protection heroes are granted personal insurance similar to that given to doctors. A requirement of getting the insurance is full registration. This leads to many “malpractice” claims. · Stronghold, which has already had several layoffs, starts using sensory depravation tanks to hold prisoners. This allows the bureaucracy to layoff almost the entire staff. |
|
2000-2003 |
· In 2000, Frank Carlucci runs for President and beats the incumbent, Bill Clinton, to become the new leader of the United States. · By this time public opinion has greatly swayed. Heroes are regarded with disrespect and/or simple apathy. Even UNTIL supers are considered by many as a “necessary evil”. · Government changes reckless endangerment laws to include superpowers. Instead of getting more leniency new laws strictly enforce the unlawful use of super powers. |
Rules: Hero System 5th Edition (i.e. Fifth Rules Edition (FREd)).
I know…I know…can’t you use 4th edition? No. J I want to use the new rules and get a feel for the changes. You should be able to borrow books to get started. If you want to buy books I would recommend eBay as a good source. Often they are on the boards starting around $19. This is a LOT less than the cover price.
For those willing to purchase Hero Designer (HD) I have customer templates that can be used. They even have a spiffy Reliance Reforged logo! OH! AAH! If you don’t want to use HD I also have character sheets for FREd on Excel that are very nicely done. These will be posted to a Geoff's Game site.
If you have any questions about the rules please ask me. I must approve all PC.
Starting Power Level: Superheroic Standard.
This chart will give you an idea what I am after. Note that the top 4 are set but the bottom entries can vary. I would appreciate keeping Limitations to a “dull roar”. With 350 points you don’t need to be a “focus face”. Note that Megascaling is not allowed unless specifically cleared by the GM.
| Base
Points |
200 |
| Max
From Disadvantages |
150 |
| Max
Points From One Disadvantage Category |
50 |
| Max
Total Points |
350 |
| Speed |
4-8 |
| CV |
7-13 |
| DC |
8-14
(focus on 12) |
| Active
Points |
45-75 |
| Skill
Points |
25-80 |
| Skill
Rolls |
11-15- |
| DEF
/ rDEF |
20-30/10-20 |