Dark Champions

Review


Title: Dark Champions
Company: Hero Games/I.C.E.
Category: RPG Supplement
Reviewer: Mark Asrenault

Ever get tired of flying into scenarios, cape waving, ordering the bad guys to surrender? Ever wish you could just hit first, and hit HARD? for those of you whose favorite comic characters include The Punisher, Silver Sable, The Batman, or Bloodshot, this supplement is a dream come true.

The subject of vigilante characters in Champions was deserving of its own book, since it deals with such a different aspect of heroing than the traditional four color campaign. Fortunately, the people at Hero Games felt the same way, and have released Dark Champions.

The book, written by Stephen S. Long, covers all aspects of the street level campaign, from character creation, to campaign creation and game mastering, to the law and how it affects paramormals. This last section gives and in-depth consideration to the Constitution and how relevant articles apply to super-powered beings. It also defines "superhuman" (also known as "metahuman"), "trained paranormal", and "normal" from a legal point of view. There are also notes on legally sanctioned and unsanctioned heroes, and the limitations and advantages of each. There is also an excellent overview of the criminal justice system, which is accurate and interesting reading all by itself!

All in all this is an excellent sourcebook that contains something for every campaign! Whether or not you're wanting to run a gritty, street level campaign, this book will bring a wealth of information.

My recommendation? Of all the supplement books that Hero has published since Champions' 4th Edition, this book is far and away the best ever released. Not only does it provide an incredible amount of information and detail, but it also inspires, and deals with many of the issues that have likely arisen in your campaign! If you buy only one supplement for Champions, I suggest this one!

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