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In 1987 TSR released the Ultimate Powers Book accessory for their then-popular Marvel Super Heroes roleplaying game. The book (which can be freely and legally downloaded from the 'net here) quickly became a legend in it own time and set the benchmark for all future premade superpower catalogs. Aspiring superheroes could then quickly and easily perform "drag and drop" character creation by selecting from among the book's hundreds of assorted superpowers, which were broken up into sub-catagories like "Defense Powers", "Fighting Powers" and "Matter Control Powers."
It's taken sixteen years, but the venerable Champions game has finally hopped on the UPB bandwagon. The results are well worth the wait.
Physical Presentation
The UNTIL Superpowers Database (USPD hereafter) is a hefty 272-page softcover volumn 8.5 inches wide, 11 inches high and 3/4 of an inch thick. Of the twelve HERO 5th books released in the last year, it lags behind only the hardbound core rulebook and the Star HERO science fiction genre book in size.
Brad D. Nault's wraparound cover depicts the fearsome four-armed manbeast Grond laid-out on a hospital bed unconscious. A quintet of blue-garbed UNTIL scientists conduct an examination on the tranqualized behemoth while two stern-looking military types watch the proceedings through an observation window.
Inside, the USPD is, in this reviewer's opinion, the best layed-out and illustrated of the HERO 5th releases thus far. A busy year of manuscript-formatting practice by the HERO Games staff and what looks like a steadily-increasing stable of talented freelance artists have contributed to quite a snazzy product.
The text and sidebars are logically arranged and well-written and edited. Everything is neat and readable and nothing runs awkwardly into anything else.
The interior art benefits greatly from some clever flavor text additions. Each image is presented as a photograph taken by a security camera, superhero battle bystander or UNTIL field agent and in-character commentary by assorted UNTIL bigwigs on the subject(s) of each "photo" fills the nearby sidebars. This renders what might be just a long list of dry Power descriptions surprisingly engaging. It would be nice to see this approach mirrored in one form or another in other Champions (and HERO System) products. Furthermore, the art is unfailingly appropriate in relation to the text it accompanies. In no case does the reader ask "Why is that here?"
USPD's considerable eye candy aside, however, a perfect rating for "Style" isn't really feasable as long as color interior art is still a no-no. USPD's color is entirely an external phenomenon, limited to its glossy cover art.
Gaming Content
USPD is presented as a field manual for agents of UNTIL, a special international police force dedicated to fighting "supercrime" in the Champions Universe setting. It's a decent gimmick that adds flavor without detracting from genericness or pure functionality.
The first chapter is a discussion of the book and how to use it. Noted here is the fact that none of the book's powers are overtly representative of martial arts, magic or superscience-derived abilities. The explaination offered is that these types of powers are so broad as to merit entire books of their own, and thus aren't touched on directly in this one. Players of martial arts, mystic and tech-themed supers shouldn't be too flustered, though. Adapting the USPD's power listing for such characters is mostly just a matter of changing the name for martial artists and mystics ("Fire Blast" to "Mystic Flame" or "Harmonious Phoenix Fist") and adding a simple Focus limitation for gadgeteers ("Flame Blast" with a Focus limitation simply becomes "Flame Cannon" or something similar).
Also included in the tail end of the first chapter is a helpful reminder that the powers in the book shouldn't be considered a complete "canon" treatment of the subject (there's always room for unique superpowers created by the individual player or GM).
The meat of USPD is, of course, its superpowers. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, if the often drastic variations on each power are considered. I don't have the patience to count them all, but trust me, this is 272 pages of relatively small, dense type, and not an inch of it is wasted.
The USPD's powers are divided into 41 catagories by "special effect." These catagories include "Acid Powers", "Cosmic Energy Powers", "Mental And Psionic", "Strength And Toughness Powers", "Time Powers" and virtually every other comic book staple theme. If you can think of it, it's probably here. The superpowers in each chapter are then further broken down into subcatagories like offensive, defensive, movement, sensory and miscellaneous.
An example USPD superpower listing, from the offensive section of the "Fire And Heat" chapter, looks like this:
"Fire Blast
Effect: Energy Blast 8d6
Target/Area Affected: One character
Duration: Instant
Range: 200"
END Cost: 4
Description: The character can project a blast of flame capable of inflicting severe burns and injuries on targets.
Game Information: Energy Blast 8d6. Total cost: 40 points."
Listed below this entry (on pages 88-89) are no less than seventeen fully-described variations on the basic Fire Blast, many of which alter its effect quite drastically: Strong Fire Blast, Weak Fire Blast, Lethal Fire Blast, Brightfire Blast, Fiery Forms, Multi-Fire, Mini-Fireballs, Everburning Fire Burst, Cutting Fire I, Cutting Fire II, Nova-Fire I, Nova-Fire II, Line Of Fire, Narrow Cone Fire Blast, Broad Cone Fire Blast, Dangerous Fire Blast, Firestarter Blast.
Whew!
Near the end of the book is a neat little chapter full of powers that didn't fit anywhere else. These are mostly cribbed from popular D.C. and Marvel superheroes with the serial numbers filed off. If you want to have Rogue's mutation-draining touch or Darkseid's omega beams (good luck convincing the GM) this is the chapter for you.
Finally, there's a brief chapter containing three newbie-friendly examples on how to use the USPD to create heroes in a hurry and a short dissertation on use of the Power skill to perform comic book-style "power stunts" on the fly.
The Good
Frankly, there's a whole lot of good to the USPD. Even without my HERO fanboy blinders on, I can recognize it as a long-needed book whose time has finally come.
For years, HEROphobes have balked at multiplying 40 by 1.5 to calculate the cost of an Armor Piercing Energy Blast or dividing 40 by 1.75 to calculate the cost of one that requires Gestures and has No Range. With USPD in hand, creating a Champions super's powers is no more difficult that selecting spells for a Dungeons & Dragons wizard, and that might just be the change that brings a lot of new players into the fold. This is a good, good thing.
On a lesser note, the USPD's countless powers are a godsend for Champions characters with Variable Power Pools. No more stopping in mid-game to make up a See Through The Earth, Kinetic Absorption or Time Stop power from scratch again.
USPD also has the potential to provide a great deal of utility to players and GMs of other superhero games. The writeups of countless superpowers along with plain English descriptions for each make it a near-bottomless idea mine. If you're making a fire-blaster or time-manipulating super in any system, an entire chapter chock-full of dozens of specific power ideas for your chosen niche can't fail to inspire. USPD has a certain GURPSian quality in this sense.
Being a HERO 5th book, the index is damn near godlike.
Finally, at an MSRP of just $24.99 (and often available online for less), the USPD is a tremendous bargain for its price.
The Bad
Nothings perfect, and that includes the USPD.
Firstly, there are a few typos and other errors:
a) The header at the top of page 217 mysteriously identifies the book you're holding as the Star HERO suppliment Terran Empire.
b) The Mist Control power's summery lists its Telekinesis effect at 24 Strength, a far cry from its actual Strength of 8.
Secondly, there are no guidelines whatsoever for adapting any of the book's powers to other genres. A clever HEROphile can very easily turn most of them into fantasy spells, sci-fi tech and such through liberal tinkering, but the book doesn't make any effort to assist such an endevour. As a clearly-labeled Champions suppliment, this is quite understandable, but with a lot of HERO 5th's appeal stemming from its status as a multigenre system, such advice certainly couldn't have hurt!
Third, there's the above-mentioned lack of support for technology, martial arts and magic-based heroes. It's true that modifying most of the book's power to fit those paradigms is relatively easy, but would it have killed them to devote just a page or two more to appeasing such a wide slice of the superheroic population?
Finally, the lack of color art is a major hit to the Champions line's eye candy appeal. I'm not too partial to flashy art myself, but I understand that many gamers are. The USPD's interior art is very good, but it's also uniformly colorless. Being the only major supers game on the market with no full-color products is a major stumbling block with a target audience as visually oriented as comic fans. I understand the many reasons why full-color interior art not a financial possibility for Hero Games now or in the forseeable future, but it's a bummer nontheless.
The Verdict
The UNTIL Superpowers Database is a fine and long-overdue product that promises to be the user friendly newbie bait that Champions gamers have been clamoring for. Furthermore, it's a comprehensive collection of inspiration for fans of any superhero system. If you love flying men in tights and have $24.99 burning a hole in your pocket, you won't regret snatching it up today.
Ratings:
Style: 4
Substance: 5
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