Champions Character Creation Cards KS Project

This is the proposed text for my Champions Character Creation Cards Kickstarter project. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

- Jason Walters, Publisher

Create your Champions character in less than one minute using this versatile deck of 54 cards. Pick one Characteristics card, one Complications card, and three to ten Abilities cards to make your point-averaged superhero! Then upload the card numbers to the Hero Designer software to print your character sheets. Electronic files will be made available through Bits & Mortar for retail store customers.

Ever want to play Champions but can't because your friends feel that the character creation process is too long? Champions Character Creation Cards (or CCCC) are here for you! This deck of cards is designed to make the process fast, fun, and simple. The deck consists of the following 54 color-coded and numbered cards which also have helpful archetype symbols to help make coherent character creation more intuitive. The deck contains the following cards:

6 Characteristics Cards (Blue)
10 Complications Cards (Black)
10 One Hundred Point Ability Cards (Red)
13 Fifty Point Ability Cards (Yellow)
13 Twenty Five Point Ability Cards (Purple)
2 Information Cards

These are further distinguished by informative symbols, suggesting to a novice player how a coherent character might be made by matching cards symbol-to-symbol. They are:

Weaponmaster
Brick
Blaster
Martial Artist
Speedster
Mystic
Mentalist
Gadgeteer
Metamorph
Everyhero (meaning universal)

Additionally, cards are numbered to allow the game master or player to select matching numbered files from the CCCC Hero Designer Character Pack (or CCCCHDCP) and plug them into Hero Designer to create their hero! This character can then be customized, balanced, or otherwise altered to more specifically meet the player's needs.

It's worth mentioning that this deck is designed to produce a point-averaged 400 point standard superheroic 6th Edition Champions character. This means that the actual point value of the Ability assigned to a card may be, in actuality, slightly higher or lower than the card indicates. Don't be overly concerned. Roll with it! This problem can be solved later using Hero Designer. Or not at all, as it won't affect game play in any measurable way for a novice player.

And speaking of novice players: this product is really for them, as well as for more experienced players and game masters looking for a tool to help convince reluctant gamers to try Champions. To help those who are new to the Hero System (Champions) jargon, one side of the card contains a simple explanation of what the card does, the other statistical rules information (or “writeups.”) In cases where the writeups are too large to fit on the card, additional information is provided by card number in the electronic portion of the product.

AND speaking of the electronic portion of this product, it contains not only additional, expanded card descriptions and HD files, but also a print-suitable version of the card deck so the purchaser can print additional decks or cards at home when needed.

Additional Notes:

1) All Characteristics cards are built at 150 points for the sake of simplicity. They can, of course, be modified in Hero Designer to match the tastes of the player.

2) All Complications cards are built at 75 (or -75) points, as is standard for a 400 point 6th Edition Champions character.

3) While playtesting this product in my Strike Force Nevada campaign, once a player has selected his or her cards, we simply copied them four at a time on our office copier to a create a crude initial character sheet. This served us well in an introductory game, and took barely any time at all!

4) If a new player wants to avoid math entirely, they can simply build using color coding. After selecting a black (Complications) and a blue (Characteristics) card, they can use any of the followig potential builds to complete their character:

2 Red, 1 Yellow
2 Red, 2 Purple
1 Red, 1 Yellow, 4 Purple
1 Red, 3 Yellow
1 Red, 2 Yellow, 2 Purple
5 Yellow
3 Yellow, 4 Purple
10 Purple
4 Yellow, 2 Purple

These builds are helpfully provided on one of the Information cards.

5) Whenever possible, the builds on most of the cards are kept deliberately simple for new players, sacrificing the elaborate modifications which so fascinate experienced Champions players. But Fear Not! You can always add additional Byzantine levels of complexity using Hero Designer later.

STRETCH GOAL ONE: The Champions Character Creation Expansion Deck (or CCCED) contains an additional 54 Ability cards! These include 16 one hundred point red cards, 19 fifty point yellow cards, and 19 twenty five point purple cards.

STRETCH GOAL TWO: The Dark Champions Character Creation Deck (or DCCCD)! Create Dark Champions characters with this entirely new deck designed in the same manner as the original CCCC deck. These include 9 Archetype cards, 9 Package Deal cards, 18 Super Skill cards, and 18 Equipment cards.