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Two thumbs up! I love the layout. The art is spot on. This really is a wonderful addition to the ICONS line!
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Great Power is an awesome product! I love the art and the layout is amazing! As always, Steve Kenson has put out the best material possible for the ICONS line. The only thing I can say negative about Great Power PDF is the lack of bookmarks and the Vehicle power is a little unclear as to what kind of vehicle you can get for your power level. Otherwise perfect!
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This add on neatly updates and simplifies an already excellent systems!
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I love this newest addition to my library. I had been reluctant to commit to the Icons system after reading the book. It seemed nebulous on too many details. Once I wrapped my head around it, though. It proved to be a system very ideally suited to me. It is in essence a simplified rendition of Marvel Superheroes tier system with the Aspect mechanic of the Fate system. Oh, and using an easier to acquire d6-d6 mechanic which was always my favorite equivalent to the FUDGE dice.
I still had problems with the system. The powers were too limited. Heck, they werent even listed alphabetically which really stunk. I didnt yet fully trust the range and movement systems. This book is like a patch filling in all the holes in the system. It makes Icons purr like a kitten. A lot of ideas I had been totting around from other systems, like a list of inter-related power listings from Alpha Chronicles, have been made redundant by this one book. Imagine how wonderful it is to just not have to concider and peruse three or more other books to get the feel you want from your setting or magic.
In one book is everything you need to really customize your character. If you are a FASERIP fan, this is like the 'Ultimate Powers' book. It adds a few twists to the system, twists which I at first resisted, like not having some powers be twice as expensive as others. Once you get the feel of the system, though, you start to understand. Instead of just rolling stupid powers on some list... you are developing and interweaving your abilities... almost effortlessly. The book showing you how even just with its listings which suggest possibilities and, as stated before, alphabeticaly listed for ease of use with symbols to help organize the seven different power catagories. It even has a Servent power... and listings under Summon. This is always wonderful for smoothe mechanics for making up characters on the spot.
If you are even the vaguest bit interested in the Icons system and if you have some knowledge of the basic system, this book is a wonderful read which really opens up the possibilities of this system. Of course, being a sourcebook, it doesnt cover all the basic rules like panel and page meaning and such. It assumes one has those rules in place. This book mostly just streamlines the power and stunt systems. It is much simpler than most crunchy type games, like the Hero system or even D&D. It still gives you a lot of variance, though, and a lot of options. To me, this system is an ideal hybrid of the story driven Aspects (called Qualities) with the very simple and direct 10 level mechanics. I could give no higher endorsement to a game.
I hope they keep making these kind of products, but could they vary the art a bit. Maybe in the next issues they make a remake of the Icons basic book without its power and stunt system... and just try a different tone or two from the Silver Age illustrations. They are exciting and evocative, but kind of childish sometimes. Id like it if they made a 'gritty' edition of thier next book or urban fantasy toned edition. Maybe even the same book with different tones so the rulebook can be matched with the tone of the game. Hopefullly at a reduced price, because its a reprint, of course.
I look forward to a future with even more Icons material.
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Great Power updates the ICONS power rules with more detail, more flexibility, and greater variety, while remaining true to the original game's rules-light sensibilities. Extras, Stunts, and Limits allow powers to be customized to suit just about any concept a player can come up with. More detailed information is provided for nearly every power, explaining how to apply it in game terms, and indicating which Extras and Limits work well with it.
The power list here is better organized than the one in the original book, so it's easier to find the specific ability you're looking for. Many 'constructed powers' like Prehensile Hair and Possession get their own entries in the alphabetical list which refer the reader back to the necessary Powers, Extras, and Limits used to build them. It's very easy to use as a reference during play.
The artwork is by Dan Houser, so the book has strong visual continuity with the rest of the ICONS line, but the updated layout and power-icons give the whole package a fresh graphic look.
Summary: If you play ICONS, you want this book!
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I give this highest marks on page layout and design. After nearly going blind from questionable font choices and page decorations, Iconistas are finally treated to a beautiful module. Dan Houser's art has also risen to the challenge. I'm taking this as a sign of great things to come for the line.
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SEAN'S PICK OF THE DAY: This isn't just a supplement; this is a complete revision of the game. It's just coming off the highly successful Kickstarter, and it's fully in the hands of the creator, the inestimable Steve Kenson. It's a must-have for any supers fan, period.
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Excellent resource to bang out a character in no time.
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Current ICONS players and curious onlookers wondering about the game will both appreciate this compact set of tables for character creation. The grayscale version that initially went up when this product went live has now been replaced by a new version that fixes a couple of small errors and, more significantly, reflects changes to the game introduced in the upcoming Great Power supplement from Ad Infinitum. If you’re running a pick-up or convention game or starting a new ongoing ICONS campaign, having several copies of these charts on hand will speed things along significantly. As a free product, it’s a no-lose proposition!
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It’s exciting to see a new release from Ad Infinitum Adventures supporting the ICONS line! This one, like the Hero Packs previously released by Adamant, presents a collection of superheroes suitable for use as PCs or NPCs in your ICONS games. If you’re looking for villains, you should be aware that only one appears in this pack (Sigma, p. 42); all the others are heroes. This makes HP4 less useful for ongoing campaigns, but a good source of pregens for cons or pick-up games. Twenty-two of the characters featured here were submitted by ICONS fans who backed the Great Power Kickstarter (in the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I am one of those backers); the others were created by Steve Kenson and/or Dan Houser, and are either updates of iconic characters from earlier publications (like the core rulebook) or are previews of new iconic characters featured in Great Power (and perhaps other AIA publications to come). There are plenty of cool superheroes in this pack; some are more similar than others to existing comic-book characters. One thing that stands out is the prevalence of characters grounded in Celtic lore—Boudicca, Ruadan, Lugh—although you also have one character each drawing on Norse (Greta Dammerung), Egyptian (Sekhmet), and Greek (Shepherd) mythology. The initial release contained some embarrassing cut-and-paste errors and typos, but Dan Houser acted quickly to repair the most egregious ones in the stat blocks. The character bios and descriptions still have some inconsistencies and mechanical errors, probably due to using backers’ text “as is” without substantial editing. On the other hand, the cover price of $8 comes out to less than a quarter per character, so you’re getting good value despite the writing errors. And, as always, Dan Houser’s artwork is flavorful and evocative. Aside from my own contribution, my favorite characters in this pack (whether due to artwork or stats and backstory) are the Blade (think John Constantine with a magic sword), Dr. What (a plot device, not a PC), Ghost Fox, Gerta Dammerung (for her name if nothing else), Megaton, Megavolt (admittedly kind of a cross between Captain Marvel/Shazam and Johnny Thunder), Ruadan, and Tesla.
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This is one of the best "simple" game systems I've ever seen. With nods to the old FASERIP "Marvel Super Heroes" system, but with a far better dice mechanic, it plays fast and fun, and avoids long dice-rolling exercises in an effort to keep the story moving in a fast and fun manner. I like that as a GM, I don't even have to roll - the players make all the die tests. The art is simple, clean and fun, with a "Saturday Morning Cartoon" feel. Sure, it lacks the "meat" of a game like CHAMPIONS, but in this day and age, I don't have time to run 8-hour combats. This is a great system for a 4-5 hour session!
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An excellent tool for rapid character generation, or creating slick and handsome character sheets for existing characters! The ability to import pictures and print them with the character sheet is a welcome one!
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I missed out on a chance to get to play this adventure at a convention when ICONS was first released, so I’m delighted that it’s available for purchase. Originally written as an introductory adventure for players new to ICONS, The Sidereal Schemes of Dr. Zodiac provides plenty of action and fun for any ICONS group. The story lets heroes experience the origin of a new supervillain, one who could easily become a recurring villain in your series. If you’re just starting to play ICONS, you could do a lot worse than to start with this adventure. Careful readers will trip over a few punctuation errors, but the adventure is well worth the price.
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Fun adventure that is easily adapted to your supers game of preference. A great choice for a Halloween session. The adventure's structure is set on rails, but these can be worked around. Expect to get one or two sessions out of it, depending on your group's circumstances and play style.
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I was very surprised to see the M&M writer as the author of this game. Now don't get me wrong, it is nothing like M&M and I think that's a good thing in terms of providing something to the gaming market that is different. Maybe I'm crazy, but I did not see that much new stuff in this game. This game looked to me, especially in terms of character creation, as nothing more than the old FASERIP Marvel system using numbers instead of names for the different power and attribute levels. And let's face it, saying that your Brick has "Monstrous Strength" was one of the cool things about playing the FASERIP system. Interestingly, the author even says that you can use names instead of numbers for the attribute and power levels, and even gives some examples and many of them are dead-on exact matches for the same power/attribute level in FASERIP. Go figure! In all fairness, there are some clever additions or changes to the classic FASERIP design, especially in terms of cleaning up and simplifying some of the powers. There is also a cool mechanism for creating super teams, but some of this information too is included in the old Marvel game. He even uses the terms "Slam" and "Stun" as combat outcomes. Really!?
It is not a bad game at all, and I actually like the artwork and presentation just fine. I'm sure it plays quickly, character creation is a snap, and it's a lot of fun ... but why wouldn't it do all these things, FASERIP sure did that! There are a couple of very clever game mechanisms and the author writes clearly and the text is to the point. My problem is that I wanted something new and different, and for $14.95 I was hoping to get something more than just FASERIP with numbers rather than the cool names for the powers and attribute levels, which is all this game looks like to me.
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