Is H.U better the Hero games,s Champions?

[gaby]

Tell me is Heroes Unlimited better the hero games,s Champions?

Tell me your Reasons?

What do you think is better H.U,s Power catagories or Champions Archtypes?

What do you think needs to be improve in H.U?

[taalismn]

I'll entertain this question; about the only thing the two games have in common is that they both deal with superpowers.

From a technical standpoint, Champions is the more comprehensive. It is also the more cumbersome if you're looking for quick set-up and fast roleplay.
Champions is POINT-BASED, allowing the players much more control and customization over what powers they possess and the characteristics they have. Being point-based, with growing experience, players can choose to throw points towards whatever aspect of their characters they wish to emphasize, rather than the fixed-rate, across-the-board power/skill advancement that you see in Palladium(where you can get extra proficiency in skills you never used while leveling up). In that regard, Champions is the better game system.
The downside is, Champions is cumbersome and slow as hell, especially when setting up with lots of starter points and if you're GMing a large group. It's comparable to real-time sports, where four minutes of game time can take HOURS(at least in my experience) of real time, during which those players not immediately involved in the action are obliged to twiddle their thumbs, eat cold pizza, and read War and Peace(the unabridged version, not the graphic novel edition).

Champions is also NOT for the detail-challenged. Misspell or miscalculate your numbers, and you're SOL disentangling your mistakes. It's not for people who make a habit of sloppy attention to detail or who aren't prepared to spend some serious time with the books.

Champions is heavy metal power-gaming for those who want to exercise serious control in playing; it's like what the similarly point-based Mekton system is to Palladium's robot combat, or what Warhammer war-gaming miniatures are to chess.

Which is better? Depends on how serious you take your game and how much attention(and time) you want to pay it for some entertainment.

[Lord_Dalgard]

Everything that taalismn said. Champions moves too slow me, and I played it back in the 80s and early 1990s when "crunch" in a game was normal. While the building one's character done to the last point is possible in Champions, it's almost unplayable. With the Powers Unlimited books especially, HU can model just about anything. Here's an interesting review by a blogger (not me!):

http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2009/10/ok-so-why-heroes-unlimited.html

An honest and accurate review by a non-Palladium fanboy.

[Reagren Wright]

I love the adventures, they are so detailed. They provide scenarios for what the npcs will do and
the maps are awesome. However, I really hate the game system. Like everyone said early,
way to complicated for my taste. I'd take the adventures, detailed npcs, background, and maps
and combine them with Palladium's game system and story telling. Hmm, or maybe for my own
games and players I already do that.

[Mediapig71]

They are both very different games... Champions undeniably has a more comprehensive power creation system, which allows you to create any effect you could imagine. Heroes Unlimited is more old school, but combat is simpler and moves faster, and since it doesn't really concern itself with balance between characters, it is easier to house rule and hand wave, in my opinion.

Also, one thing I don't like about Hero System is once you start creating things with points, it's hard to stop. Are handcuffs just things that hold people? Or are they a 100 pt entangle with a focus limitation, etc. Sometimes I'd rather just look at an equipment list and say 'OK, Night Wolf's restraining arrows work like handcuffs, so I'll give 'em the same sdc, done"

Both are great games, that have stood the test of time. I love making characters in Champions, but for actual gameplay. I prefer the loose freedom Heroes Unlimited gives me.

[gaby]

Well Champions did come up with some great Npc,s Heroes and Villains.
The Two cities they made wew Good.

[slade the sniper]

I love the adventures, they are so detailed. They provide scenarios for what the npcs will do and
the maps are awesome. However, I really hate the game system. Like everyone said early,
way to complicated for my taste. I'd take the adventures, detailed npcs, background, and maps
and combine them with Palladium's game system and story telling. Hmm, or maybe for my own
games and players I already do that.

I fully agree with this...I prefer mutants and masterminds for character creation, champions for pre-gen adventures and heroes unlimited for game system
-STS

[jaymz]

Honestly if you want high end accuracy and representation of major comic book like heroes then Champions wins hands down.

However it's a matter taste. I like the Palladium system for a variety of reasons. I can tweak it to my liking to get the immersion and accuracy I want. I cannot do that with Champions however.

In the end though I like them both depending on what I want to do.

[NMI]

I dont think either system is better than the other. I think each system is what you the player/GM make of it.

[DracoMagus]

I myself would say Champions mostly on the merit of it's what I started gaming on way back when. Mind you, I'm not saying that there aren't cons that go with the pros, this goes the same for Heroes Unlimited or really Any other game.

Taalsimn did hit many of the comparisons for both games on the head (at least good enough that I don't care to go splitting hairs by adding to it). Well, that's my two cents for this then, just figured I'd pitch em in to a thread that caught my eye.