Introducing Astral/Conduits

So in comics, animes, and beloved childhood cartoons, there are tons of characters that are inexorably linked: if one goes down, both go down. Favorites include but are not limited to small yellow zappy rabbits, gender-bent Arthurian legends, and spinning blue tops. Yes, Japanese books and animes are weird: but that’s why we love them.

Astral Conduits bring this dynamic to life in Project: Champions. The Conduit is not capable of much, but the Astral is able to keep pace with some of the toughest characters this game has to offer. With ridiculously good bonuses and decent ability selection, your Astral/Conduit duo will become a force the be reckoned with.

Astrals, in this world, are magical beings who lack the ability to maintain corporeal form without a connection to a Conduit. Conduits tend to be… less than physically fit, and this is due to the resource drain applied by the Astrals. the Astrals repay this kindness of their Conduits by keeping them safe and working for them. While some Conduits bind their Astrals and make them terrifying creatures of unspeakable horror, some Conduits are simply along for the ride, accepting a change in the mundanity of everyday life.

Of course, there ARE Astrals which do the enslaving-and-evil-turning bit, but they tend to be a rarity since the other Astrals descend on them and annihilate them without hesitation or remorse.

This dynamic is one of my favorite, and I am super happy to be able to introduce it to you all.

Character Build Throwdown: Range vs Tank

I’m unsure how many of you all watch Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. Essentially it sees a ranged-heavy character facing off with a very powerful melee combatant. It inspired this little contest: Tank vs Ranged.

For this Character Build Throwdown, one Character will be Empowered and one will be Magic.

Tank: Powerfist

Empowered Hero

45HP

Movement: 4

Attack Speed: 3

Rolls and more: 2+ADJ/ 3+D, +4 Damage per Hit (Wielding Heavy Armor and Blunt Melee Weapon)

Ability Loadout

Durability

Super Strength

Meteor Slam

Ranged: Deathrain

Magic Villain

25 HP

Movement: 6

Attack: 3

Rolls and More: 3+A/4+D (Focusing Wand Weapon ideally, but any old thing’ll do. As long as its ranged.)

Spell Loadout

Elemental Well

Elemental Bolt

Hurl Light Projections

Entangling Cable (Hybrid)

RESULTS

This is the standard Tank vs Range matchup, although in this instance I tip my hat to Range. While Powerfist has a ton of HP and a very good set of Bonuses, it all comes down to whether or not you can connect, and I don’t think He can get close enough to our ranged character in this instance. Granted, if He gets even two good hits in, Deathrain is screwed. Two 6s at +4 each is 20 Damage to the teeth, and Deathrain has no way to heal from anything. Plus, the knockback on that could be potentially devastating since Elemental Well Wizards HAVE to place themselves properly or face certain annihilation.

However, by Hybriding out for Entangling Cable, Deathrain can make Powerfist’s one weakness much worse: you take away his ability to move, and Powerfist is a sitting duck while Deathrain just hammers away.

Meteor Slam is the main thing for Powerfist. If he can get it off, he’ll automatically close and deal 10 Damage to Deathrain. But if he fails, he’s sitting in range of Deathrain’s #$%@tonne of ranged attacks, or worse yet, substitute Hurl Light Projections for Elemental Burst and 45 Damage is suddenly easily attainable. But, the curse goes both ways: if Deathrain tries to pop her ultimate and fails, she’s suddenly sitting across the table from a very powerful, very angry Powerfist who can advance into almost striking range.

It’s a really fun matchup that, honestly, comes down to luck of the roll and placement. If Powerfist can get Deathrain in striking distance, they’re toast.

Cheers, and see you next time!

Jacob Snow.

Any Hero from Any Time – Bringing Historical Characters to Life!

Hi, everyone! A very tired Dakota Love here (research paper…ughhh…). I’m here to talk about how COOL historical characters are in superhero settings!

We all love Captain America, the awesome guy swept through time to the modern day. He is, basically, a historical figure drawn into another setting. And there’s something about him that’s just amazing.

Other writers have employed this concept, as well. The hit anime series Fate featured everyone from Joan of Arc to Gilgamesh. I’ve also written a novel, “The Guardian of Freedom,” which has George Washington as the main character.

And why not? We all grow up learning such amazing history. Washington and the guys were my heroes before I ever picked up my Captain America book. And I loved Cap because he was like the founding fathers – so full of faith and courage, the kind of guy the bad guys just couldn’t stop.

Who is your favorite historical hero? King Arthur? St. Francis? Shaka Zulu? Sun Tzu? Crazy Horse? Grace O’Malley the Pirate Queen? St. Martha? Siegfried?

There are so many historical characters out there. And they’re not bound by copyright rules. These characters belong to all of us, and their stories are just waiting to inspire others. So, why not? Go out there and write about your favorite hero, and what they mean to you. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just write from the heart.

It’s easy to make historical characters for Project: Champions, too! Now, your heroes can face off against dark historical villains in the fight of the century! Some say that heroes never die. What do you think?

God Bless!

Dakota Love

Stan Lee: 1922-2018: The Legend Behind The Legends

It was… 2007. I was 10 years old and sitting in front of my TV with a Duke X-Box controller in my hand. Booting up for the first time was X-Men Dimensions, a fighting game featuring the well-known group of Mutants that are a popular culture phenomenon.

I had no idea who they were, of course: I hadn’t had much interaction with Superheroes at that point: They hadn’t truly hit their stride yet in the mainstream. But as I played that polygon-rendered Tekken-With-Mutants video game, I fell head over heels in love: I wanted more.

While I came to love DC’s comics, I felt like Marvel’s comics (and Characters) were closer to reality than the others. When I found out almost all of them were the offspring of one man, Stan Lee, I was amazed and inspired: what if I could create characters like that? Up to that point I hadn’t really made my own characters, but that sparked a creative surge in my mind: I wanted to create.

As time went on I continued watching Marvel’s projects and their comics, and when rumors of a Iron Man movie coming to the big screen began to circulate, I though “hey, that could be cool.”

It was. And so was Iron Man 2. And Captain America, Thor, AND Avengers. I loved it, and I loved seeing Stan Lee cameo across the movies.

Of course, I was still tinkering with my own Superheroes, including a lightning-powered hit man that could go toe to toe with Thor and come out ahead. When he was made, my knowledge of what all Thor was capable of was somewhat limited: I thought he was just a strong dude with lightning and a hammer.

Stan Lee inspired me to create superheroes, and that would lead to several game iterations, Fan Fiction for one, and this for another. I have my favorites of Stan’s comics: Spider-Man vs. Fancy Dan, came out in the 60s and featured a riverboat swindler with a cane and a really, painfully purple suit and his cronies stands out in my memory. My favorite character Stan would come up with is Captain America. A weak man who wanted to serve his country getting incredible powers and serving as the bumbling Private Rogers and Captain America.

If we’re honest, we owe the Superhero as we know it today to Stan Lee. People with power, but just people: they’re not perfect, but they’re doing the best they can. Without Stan Lee, the superhero would have faded into obscurity after the close of World War Two. Stan Lee getting tired of writing Cowboy, Detective and Romance comics would lead to the creation of Spider Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the rebirth of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and The Avengers (featuring Ant Man and The Wasp.) But without the catalyst of Stan Lee’s comics, others would not have come forward with their own superheroes as well.

I owe Stan Lee for Legends of Albadyn, for Project Champions and for Fan Fiction The Game. I owe Stan Lee for bringing my creativity forward to the point that I would create Characters of my own.

I’ll miss you, Stan The Man. Excelsior!

Hey, Everyone! Manga Writer Dakota Love joins Project: Champions!

Hey, everybody! I’m Dakota Love, manga writer, and you may know me from TheForwardsBackwardsBlog. I love writing, and superheroes!

I also owe a lot to my buddy, Jacob, who started this awesome game.

See, I’m disabled. I have a terrible tendon injury to both my hands. Thank God, my hands have recovered a lot more than they should have. But I can’t play video games like Soulcalibur or Street Fighter (or even most superhero games like Ultimate Alliance) because the button mashing makes my arms hurt all the way up to my elbows. It’s annoying. I really wanted to get into Overwatch. But I can’t.

But, Jacob isn’t the kind of guy to see someone depressed without doing something about it. If necessity is the mother of invention, than love must be the brother of invention, ’cause my best bro Jacob invented a game for me to play that has all the coolness of a video game, but with none of the pain. It was like, five in the morning, and he whipped out a notebook and figured out Project: Champions. It was so much fun! We did a few missions, and I didn’t miss the video games so much.

Thanks, Jacob. You rule, man!

Additionally, here are the stats for my main character in the game, The Patriotic Avenger and his Star-Spangled Shield:

Normal Type Hero

HP 25

Movement: 6

Speed: 3

Throw Weapon: Make r5 attack with shield. But, you have to pick it back up.

Magnet: Picks up your weapon for you! Can use 5 times!

Ultimate Burst Attack: 5 damage to every adjacent enemy, or 10 damage to only one adjacent enemy. Crowd fighting, baby!

God Bless!

Dakota Love