Hidden Lands

Overview: Hidden Lands is a sourcebook for the Hero Systems Champions setting but bizarrely enough, it could be used in all of the settings from Turakian Age to Champions and even Galactic Champions. There are detractors of Hero’s meta-setting but a book like this shows off exactly what you can do with such a long contiguous line of settings. For those who don’t know, Hero System settings all use a modified history of Earth with several lost ages that occurred long before the recorded history available to us modern folks. The is a free PDF that gives the details:http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/freedocs/HeroUniverse.pdf The premise of the book is self-evident; inside you will find lands, which for one reason or another, have remained hidden from prying eyes.

The book covers three primary settings and four secondary or short settings. The settings are inspired by legends, fictional works, and comics. Of course, each has Hero’s spin and twists applied to make them an integral part of the Champions universe.

Layout & Design:
Cover: The cover is a nice piece by Storn Cook depicting members of the Champions super team who have crashed in some pre-historic setting.

Interior Art – The interior art ranges from some pieces that are fantastic to others that are very substandard. The work of Matthew Tito Cuenca, if I can decipher the monogram correctly, stood out but there were several other artists with good pieces.

Editing and Layout – There is little to note here. Editing is well done. Layout is standard two column with frequent sidebars. I did notice a few editorial gaffs but these were confined to a couple of proofing/spelling errors.

Chapter by Chapter
Atlantis – This is the bulkiest chapter in the book, coming in at 40 pages. Atlantis plays a pivotal part in the Hero Universe. The legendary water kingdom has an allure that extends far beyond the Hero System and has captured imaginations since the time of Plato. The Atlantis of the Hidden Lands takes that illustrious history of magic and hubris and extends it ever further back more than 35,000 years. This is everything you could want from a hidden power (well, it would be nice if it wasn’t sunk in the ocean but that is another gripe.).

After expanding on history and characters within the Atlantean Age, the book breaks down the culture and society of the modern city. This section covers language, religion, economy, and the strong history of magic associated with Atlantis.

The next section is a ten page primer on adapting Hero to the underwater environment.

Arcadia – The high point of the book for me. Arcadia is well written and evocative. Arcadians have hidden themselves in a mountain fastness located deep within the frozen wastes of Antartica since the dawn of time. The powerful immortal race awaits the return of their creators and teachers, the Progenitors. If only the world were so kind. Even these powerful beings find those who are willing to fight and kill for access to their miraculous technology. Unknown to all, the true threat to Arcadia grows within their fabled city while their once favored son has found a home with the spiteful and immortality seeking Lemurians.

Arcadian, or Empyrean as they call themselves, are monstrously powerful characters regardless of the genre. The lowest Empyreans are built on more a handful points in excess of starting superheroes. Powerful members of this race approach the 1,000 point mark but then again, these guys tussled with the Greek and Roman god’s way back when.

Other Hidden Lands - This is a hodge-podge of various reclusive locations that seem to be a staple in fantasy settings. There is the mystical martial arts city of Shamballah and its dark counter part the shadow-city of Agharti. The Well of Worlds is a neat location centered on Ayres Rock in Australia. The Well is a dimensional portal and a hook for dozens of different adventure types (Invasion, Alternate-Earth, and Dreamlands spring immediately to mind). The final installment in other hidden lands is a section on Beast Mountain and derives from the legends of Dr Moreau.

Game Mastering – This section contains the usual suspects, including few paragraphs on using Atlantis and Arcadia in other genres (Fantasy, Pulp, Dark Champions, and Star Hero). Next up is the GMs vault with plenty of goodies including half a dozen character write ups.

Lemuria – I have never "gotten" pulp inspired comic riffs like The Mole Men, so it comes as no surprise that the bizarre, pulp inspired magic-tech and dark gods of Lemuria don't get me hoppin. If pisciremes, ornithopters, and quattropedes seem like fun to you (I know you pulpish fans are out there) then Lemuria will sing to your pulpish little heart.

Summation
Hidden Lands is a good book that provides exactly what it shoots for – several mysterious settings that have remained apart from humanity. The great trick about this type of a supplement is that nearly anyone can use what they like and discard the rest, after all who says you have to find all these hidden kingdoms?

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