Casting Shadows

They say that quality is more important than quantity, particularly if you are afflicted with too much or too few of something. Despite the large number of page reads for the Hollow Earth Expedition Character Creation Contest, there were few entrants. Fortunately for me, those few submissions were intriguing and serve as a fine demonstration of the breadth and depth of chargen for Ubiquity in general and HEX in particular.

One contestant submitted two characters, and both were of such stellar quality, that the three prize-winning places in the contest have been awarded to just two people. It was a hard decision at first, but the more time I spent reviewing the characters and thinking about a good group of gamers around a convivial heroic pulp adventure table, the easier it became to award the prizes.

I considered the initial charge in my pitch to create an interesting character which made good use of the options available in the rules. I also considered the suitability of the character for a classic Hollow Earth Expedition campaign run by anyone, anywhere. I then considered the investment of time and effort into the presentation and execution of the character for the contest.

The winners are asked to get in touch with me to send me their mailing addresses and I will get their prizes in the mail right away!

CONTEST RESULTS

Third Place Entry: Scott Rhymer‘s Trapp Sommers

This character represents a solid concept, good grounding in international affairs and experience, but with the devil-may-care, freebooting attitude that is destined to get a fellow trapped in the Hollow Earth or up to their ears in gang problems in Shanghai. The concept is built around mobility, concept, and working well with other like-minded individuals.

This entry earns its creator a brand new set of official Ubiquity Dice!

Second Place Entry: Sebastien Allard‘s Captain Rocket (Sabine Crawford Henry)

This character is not extreme as HEX goes, but does border on (or actively cross over into) the vigilante or super-heroic pulp archetypes of serials like The Secret Code, King of the Rocket Men, The Shadow, and so on. While Ubiquity has no trouble with super-science and dramatic characters like this (see TAG’s Rocket Rangers supplement for Daring Tales of Adventure). this might be higher on the scale of pulp action and invention than some might like to go for a regular game with a group of players. This character is ideal for solo or small group play.

This entry earns its creator 2 sets of official Ubiquity dice!  Check out the fantastic image of Captain Rocket in an authentically styled HEX archetype layout!

First Place Entry: Scott Rhymer‘s Lord George Paget Mace

This character hit all the criteria laid out in the contest. It is filled with hooks for moral, social, and occult action, provides a hint of the mystery and forbidden knowledge of far-flung empires still out in the shadows cast by the slowly expanding light of ‘civilization,’ and enjoys numerous ways to work with and support a group that could end up in Haiti one week and in the Hollow Earth the week after that…. complete with seducing any passing femme fatale.

This entry earns its creator the HEX screen as well as an official set of Ubiquity Dice!

3rd Place: Trapp Sommers and his Sky Rats

2nd Place: Captain Rocket

Captain Rocket, page 2

1st Place: Lord George Paget Mace

The Dilettante Seeker