Category: RPG

Posted on

4C System Breakdown Review

4C System Breakdown Review – Phil Reed

Public Domain, Free from Multiple places in multiple formats

e.g. there are character sheets, Master Tables etc., look for those too

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/50837/Four-Color-Syste…
https://archive.org/details/4cSystemSuperheroRoleplayinglibr…

4C SYSTEM – Page 1

A toolkit rather than a complete game system. Notes for gamers and publishers, emphasising the public domain aspect.

Hall of Heroes – Page 2

The Really Cool People that donated several years ago so that Phil could take the time to write this. Notes on Dice and Advanced breakouts.

Contents – Page 3 – Table of

Text is public domain, not the artwork.

CHARACTERS – Page 4

Character Origin – Robot, Alien, Skilled Human, Changed Human, Mutant, Technologically Enhanced – with Advanced Options that modify Traits.

Let’s create an example while going through:

Roll 54 = Superhuman.

Traits – Page 5

Primary – Melee, Coordination, Brawn, Fortitude, Intellect, Awareness, Willpower. MCBFIAW = FASERIP
Secondary – Damage, Fortune, Lifestyle, Repute = Health, Karma, Resources, Popularity

9 Rolls = 80, 25, 22, 39, 56, 41, 63, 33, 56 and 54

M: Incredible (40)
C: Good (10)
B: Good (10)
F: Good (10)
I: Excellent (20)
A: Remarkable (30)
W: Good (10)

D: 70
F: 60
L: Excellent (20)
R: 18

Rank Values – Page 7

Giving several examples…e.g. Extraordinary, Remarkable, Super for 30-39.
Points out that Advanced game uses 18 different ranks counting 0 compared with 12 for the Basic.

Skills – Page 7 – Number of and their use.

Roll 78 = 3 Skills

Contacts – Advanced option to replace a Skill with a Contact

Powers – Page 8 – Number of

Roll 32 = 3 Powers

Power Types – Page 9 – Includes Description

There are Basic and Advanced Power Selection Tables

Using the Basic Table

3 Rolls = 69, 67, 11

Shapeshift, Regeneration and Claws

PLAYING THE GAME – Page 20

Details how to use the Master Table and the results for various colours.
Black = Failed, Red = Minor Success, Blue = Success, Yellow = Major Success.
Then the Advanced Table and Row Steps for when you get bonuses and penalties to actions.

Altering the Dice – Spending Fortune – 25 points moves the result one colour for one roll.

Combat turns and Initiative which is optional…the side’s highest Awareness is a bonus to the roll. Melee attack description.

Movement – Page 21

Governed by Coordination rank – Advanced options on Page 22 with Swimming and Exhaustion.

Combat Tables – Page 23

What the colours mean for Melee, Slashing, Ranged, Rushing, Wrestlng, Dodging Attacks.

Multiple Attacks – Page 25

For Melee attacks – get a Yellow and affect everyone as if a Red was rolled. That is a Minor Success on everybody needs a Major Success roll.

Damage – Page 25

Explains damage and the additions from small and large weapons of +5 and +10.
Pulling punches – you can reduce damage or the result. e.g. aiming for someone’s leg with a gun so you won’t kill them by accident.

Advanced Combat – Page 26

Block, Evade, Catching and Waiting

Material Substances – Page 27

How hard it is to break things and Combat results from the above.

GAMEMASTERING – Page 29

A toolkit, so no lengthy digressions. Advice on using the table, character Health/Vitality, Fortunes/Karma and Lifestyle/Resources and how they are gained and lost. Tables and modifiers for Repute/Popularity interactions and modifiers.

Vehicles – Page 30

Handling, Durability and Combat. e.g. what happens if a character with Body Armour runs into your vehicle? Also a very short sample list.

Character Advancement – Page 32

A slightly out-of-genre thing for superheroes, it notes. The spending of Fortune to increase Traits, Powers and Skills. Even gain a new power at random with 1000 points if something happened in game to warrant it.

Master Table – Page 34 – A one page colour version to print.

Genre Suitability: Any. Street level is perhaps the weakest point for FASERIP games and would need the most tweaking. Colourful heroics are fine.
Artwork: Very basic minimal black and white.

0 0ut of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
1 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
3 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
6 out of 10 Playability
5 out of 10 Artwork

6.5 out of 10 Overall

A free public domain gaming toolkit is an excellent thing for the community to have available. So bonus points there. Even more so when it is from one of my favourite games. For such a short game it covers the basics in old school fashion. None of the lengthier playing the game or gamemaster sections exist.

A very simple descriptive percentile dice Universal Table mechanic with great freedom of action that can easily be taught to people as an introduction. The table enhances superheroic flavour in its nomenclature. An admirable thing. The game plays quickly. There’s a nice free character sheet available that actually has the table on the Character Sheet as well.

One day soon hopefully I can do a fleshed out version and have 4CSERIP and FATERIP mirroring each other. Genre rules a la DC Heroes is something I have in mind.

There is of course all the http://classicmarvelforever.com for all the old gaming material.

4CS is simpler than MSH so it is definitely in the lower complexity range while offering some tactical type options for those that like that sort of thing. Games in this moderate range appeal to me most as far as ratings bias goes. Plus I was a backer.

Posted on

Capes, Cowls And Villains Foul Breakdown Review

Capes, Cowls And Villains Foul Breakdown Review – Barak Blackburn

$5.99 – http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/104477/Capes-Cowls-and…

163 pages

Opens with a comic page or two.

Chapter 0

Introduction – Page 5

Genre, Nuts and Bolts.

First! – A resource based game with traits diminishing over time. Declare action with a trait and link others to the Primary Trait for a higher value before rolling. You have to record when one is used, power, skill or whatever. Bookkeeping alert. Characters will likely have 5-12 traits. Traits refresh between scenes.

Second! – Setback tokens, not hit points. They represent taking a girder to the chin and wincing in pain!? Yes, you have detected that the designer’s grasp of English is a bit shaky. They are fatigue, hit points!? and exhaustion and frustration.

Chapter 1

Character Design

Traits, Complications, Editorial Control, Factoids.

One way – write down all the traits they might have in a big list. Then narrow.
No, not my ideal way to do things, really. Obviously very open-ended and descriptive this game.

Editorial Control? That’s from the Energy Supply school of naming boredom.

Suggested Design Points 100 for street and beginners to 200 for Big Guns.

Three tiers of Ranks: Human 1-4, Superhuman 5-8, Cosmic 9-12. Page 12 has the Trait Cost table. 1 for Human, 2 for Superhuman, 4 for Cosmic.

Modifiers – bonuses like Hint and Auto-Defend, Incapacitate, Link and Power-Up. Also Restrictions like Situational Setback.

Page 22 gives a cost table with some of these.

Page 23-25 Has a few Trait suggestions and Trait design hints.

Editorial Control – Page 27 – the use of the Hero Points in this game. Includes a Random Table for stuff that can happen.

Complications – Page 32 – Archenemies, weaknesses, etc.

Factoids – Page 36 – Character Quirks

Sample Characater Design – Page 38 – Afterburn

Plus and Play Templates – Page 42 – for 100, 150 and 200 points characters.

HEROES & VILLAINS – Page 48 – Hero and Villain color coded examples. Very good.

Americana,
Boy Frog, [Frog-Man could have a sidekick? ]
Breaker,
Deathstalker, Doctor Moonlight, — Deadeye, Death Star,
G33k Girl,
— Lillith,
Monolith, Moon Girl, Muse, — Mathemagician, Mime,
— Professor Prestige,
Red Phoenix, — Rat King,
Superball, — Scarab, Slavedriver, Supermodel,
Terrapin Man, Tiger Lord,
Vector,

CHAPTER 2 – Page 72

The System

CC&VF In Action

d12 exclusively. Apparently they don’t get enough love. Roll d12 and add Trait and compared to opposed Trait Roll or difficulty. Apparently no kickbacks from d12 manufacturers to these guys, either. Ties give players the advantage.

When you use a Trait, mark it off. You get Detriment Dice and they get less effective.

Combat example – Page 75 and 76 has a Combat Synopsis

Scenes – Page 77 – Three types, Action, Extended, Contested.
Initiative – Page 80
Difficulties and Penalties – Page 83 – from fastball specials to multi-attacks.

CHAPTER 3 – Page 92

Villains

They get Editorial Control from the Narrator – 6 plus the number of players.

Traps, speeches, C-Listers.

CHAPTER 4 – Page 98

Options

Editorial, Fleeing, Team-Ups, Training, Injuries, LARPing.

Too Many Dice – Page 109 – As written, CC & VF is guilty of the Death Spiral Effect. Yes, we know that when Traits were defined as getting worse by use…so options to avoid this and bookkeeping is that they only ever get 1 Detriment Die worse.

Experience gaining ideas.

CHAPTER 5 – Page 114

Example of play

CHAPTER 6 – Page 140

Creating Issues

Adventure design and pacing and construction, with some samples.

APPENDIX – Page 152

Afterword

Another superhero game?

A longtime superhero rpg fan and GM decided that the others weren’t working exactly how he wanted and were too absolute.

GLOSSARY – Page 153

CHARACTER CREATION CHEAT SHEET – Page 155
EDITORIAL CONTROL CHEAT SHEET – Page 156
MISCELLANEOUS CHEAT SHEET – Page 157 – Combat options
BLANK CHARACTER SHEET – Page 158-159 – second page is for Usage

INDEX – Page 160

Genre Suitability: Good guys win heroics of the lighter four-colour variety is the designer’s intent. That would be my opinion, too. Doc Savage types or Silver Surfers should be ok as long as that is the aim.
Artwork: Colour, quite reasonable tending to the top heavy.

3 0ut of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
6 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
5 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
5 out of 10 Playability
7 out of 10 Artwork

5.5 out of 10 Overall

The layout is attractive, the writing isn’t but is understandable. Needs some editing. Not sure what comics the author reads where heroes get continually less effective with all their abilities as they are used? Sounds more boardgamey, that one.

The design your own approach is one some will like, but needs more space on character creation guidance and less on play examples given it is a bit different. Creating a couple as these rules went step by step would have been helpful. I am the complete opposite of a novice to this and I probably wouldn’t have done one on first readthrough. Some more templates, too. Experienced genre fans or players will cope, but not a game for new players as a first go I suggest. Editorial control, factoids, detriment, not really superhero fun Hulk Smash flavour abounding in that lot.

Fans and experienced players of a more narrative ad-libbing style or those with an experienced GM guide may find this one useful.

Posted on

Bulletproof Blues Breakdown and Review

BULLETPROOF BLUES BREAKDOWN AND REVIEW

253 Pages

The game is Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0 United States Licence except for the Basics part by Greg Stolze and GM Advice.

There is an SRD here :- http://ogc.rpglibrary.org/index.php?title=Bulletproof_Blues

Genre Suitability:
Artwork: Very basic black and white, mostly look like villains.

Introduction

Page 2 – a rules light game set in the world of the Kalos Comics. A four colour universe but similar to the real world. Somewhat dubious about rules light and 253 pages appearing in the same document, however.

Posthumans – Appeared after WWII

Fall of Paragon – Justifiers killed by their former teammate. Atlanta destroyed, Singapore sunk. Mentioned a non-US place in the first page. Bonus points for them. Bulletproof Blues is set just after this crossover.

What is a Roleplaying Game? – Page 4

Why write Bulletproof Blues given many other games. Wanted something more like The Authority or Planetary… BASH, Capes, Icons are too light for this when the tried them. That is certainly true. They tried Mutants & Masterminds and Wild Talents. A bit odd they didn’t try the obvious Hero, GURPS Supers and Superworld…for Authority type brutal. Or DC Heroes with one more realistic genre rules. Not ‘lite’ rules of course any of those three, so that could be why.

Ground Rules – Page 5

Don’t abuse the system, common sense, avoid arguments, respect genre conventions, no running out of bullets or cosmic gadget recharges. Super science doesn’t get to the marketplace.

Core Mechanics – Page 7

Roll 2d6, count the dots and add the result to a relevant attribute. This is compared to a difficulty number…often 12. A guideline table is given with some probability examples from Impaired Human to Godlike. Nigh-impossible is 21.

Plots Points – Page 8

Start with one, get more for being entertaining or interesting or when GM goes fiat or makes things more difficult.

Benchmarks – Page 8

Table for lifting, throwing, breaking, moving. Rank 14 Strength can lift 10 million tons and break Kirbium. Marvel Super Heroes Unearthly would be 8 on this scale. 100 tons.

Glossary – Page 11

BASICS – Page 13

A Greg Stolze gaming overview about what the RPG thing is. On what to do, fun, troublemakers, setting, behaviour, etc.

CREATION – Page 25

Making a character…there is a free helper at drivethrurpg. You can send yours in to their wiki.

Sobriquet – Name/catchphrase ‘Smartest Woman in New Zealand’
Background – Personality, Description, History
Origin – Alien, Altered, Artificial, Aspect, Engineered, Equipped, Zenith
Archetypes – Beanstalk, Calculator, Cannon, Clay, Dolphin, Elemental, Gadget, Hammer, Mirror, Rocket, Shadow, Sword, Tank
Motivations – Adventure, Anger, Audacity, Control, Curiosity, Enthusiasm, Faith, Glory, Guilt, Honor, Individualism, Justice, Love, Materialism, Mentoring, Nobility, Passion, Pride, Protection, Rebellion, Responsibility, Serenity, Traditionalism, Vengeance,
Complications – Enemy, Gruesome, Outsider, Uncontrolled Power, Vulnerability

Points and Power Level – Page 43

Characters are made with character points. Then there’s a Power Level table.
Normal Joe is 20 points – Rank 2 benchmark
Global Guardian is 70 points – Rank 8 benchmark …the Unearthly MSH level from before.
Nightblack would be in the City Defender 50 point range.
Page 45 has a Villain counterpart to this.

Improving – Slow, as per the genre. Experience is given at the end of a story arc of a few sessions. Gives a table, 1 for playing enthusiastically, 1 for roleplaying, 1 for being clever…and suggests awarding these to different players.

Attributes – Page 46

Brawn, Agility, Reason, Willpower, Prowess [Fighting], Accuracy [Ranged Shots], Endurance

Modelling Nightback, we’d take:
5 Brawn
5 Agility
4 Reason
4 Willpower
6 Prowess
6 Accuracy
3 Endurance

33 points.

Skills – Page 49

Background, Expertise Areas. A Table of Typical skill groups is given, including the associated attribute. Examples like Survival group or Deception group.

Advantages – Page 57

Another game with the in-betweeners like Mental Calculator or Unsettling.

Powers – Page 62

Typical powers, with Activation and Task Roll and Range information with the character creation cost. It is a quite short list with some generics.

Looking like one of the generics would be used for Darkness if building Nightblack again…and Strike is a Prowess power. Take 5 ranks of Darkness for 15 and one rank of Strike for 1.

So Element Mastery: Darkness and is 3 Character Points per rank.
Strike does mention Sword in the description and does Brawn +1 or the Power Rank whichever is greater.

Powers Modiers – Page 125

Enhancements like explosive effect, area, increased range. Advice on New Powers you make up and meta roleplay type powers.

Equipment – Page 129

A list of weapons, including a Nausea-inducing pistol and Speech-suppression pistol and a Pacification rifle. Vehicles include Aircraft Carrier and Dirigible.

Actions – Page 133

Time and benchmarks (never seen anyone use a hawksbill sea turtle as a weight benchmark before!), range bands for the various ranks.

When your movement action starts talking about standing up from prone positions and things of that ilk you aren’t too light, either.

Four kinds in a round – free, movement, task and roleplay. Actions also have reactions.

Rolling Dice – Page 142

Unopposed task difficulties and modifiers like trying to hit a fast moving target.

Opposed Task number is 8 plus the defender’s relevant attribute, including modifiers.

Tasks can be Extended. Failure paragraph suggests success at a cost rather than grinding things to a halt if tasks are failed, which is good advice.

Taking the Average and Taking the Max…an automatic 7 roll if under no pressure for difficulty 7 or less tasks and an automatic 12 if you have no time limit. Either require no penalty for failure. Don’t be boring add-ons…very good.

Extreme Success if if you beat the Task Number by three or more. If fighting, you may take it as an Overwhelming, Smashing or Staggering bonus.

Combat – Page 147

This is simulataneous, basically and depends on what makes sense…where determination is needed, use Perception, Agility and Willpower in order to break ties. Then the usual Delay, Attack, Combining attacks into one to increase damage and Co-ordinating to asssist someone with an attack to make it easier. Good rules to have. Some other manoeuvres as well, Ram, Slam, Taunt, Distract. Defensiev as well like Block and Dodge.

Damage – Page 155

What if it is explosive, penetrating, stunning or that sort of thing. Protection ratings, recovery and death. A rating of the negative of your current Endurance is likely dead, with a more four-colour possibility for return than something like The Authority.

Plot Points – Page 157

Automatic success, Inspiration, Power Boost, Power Stunt, Rally, Retcon.

The Environment – Page 160

Breathing and not, burning, the usual. Darkness, Dehydration. Earth’s core is hot Rank 14. Pathogens and Poison for if you want to know what Rank VX Nerve Agents are. Pressure, Radiation, Sleep, Starvation. Vacuum.

THE KALOS UNIVERSE – Page 168

Part of a larger Kalos multiverse. Earth-0, this one. To shorthand its existence in 196,883 dimensional space.

Atlantis and Lemuria, Extraterrestrials.

Posthumans – Page 170

Fewer than 800 posthumans worldwide. 200 in North America. 100 in the USA. Let’s see, 300 million of 7 billion. 4-5% of the world population and 12.5% of the lot. That’s a much greater than slightly more average tendency to migrate to the USA. No reason for which is given?

Corporations – Page 171
Governments – Page 174
Subversive Organisations – Page 176 – Aegis, ASGARD, GORGON, Jade Moon Society, Project Genesis
Technology – Page 180 – Armour, Energy, Genetics, Time/Dimensional Travel,
Magic & the Supernatural – Page 182

GM ADVICE – Page 185

Again by Greg Stolze, hence not being Creative Commons again.
Basic Duties, Plot, The Hook, Rising Action, Paper Tigers, Climax, Falling Action, Conflict, Keeping the Villain Alive, Rules Resolution, Character, Description.

GM’s Advanced Duties – Page 200

Tone Control, Leadership, Fair Conflict,

Characters – Page 203

A few to get you started. Always a good idea to get into a game straight away.

Blueshift,
Grimknight,
Manticore, Monolith,

Villains – Page 218

Chthyra, Crocolisk,
Ganyeka,
Karen X,
Master Sin, Miasma (and the Fume Troopers),

Creative Commons License – 240
OGL – 242

INDEX – 244-249

Genre Suitability: A wide variety of superheroics from Mystery Men to Cosmic. Suggests that it is going for The Authority or Planetary. There’s isn’t really any in-game evidence to support that this is the specific frame of reference. The Kalos Universe appears to be a standard US four-colour slightly more modern setting. Doesn’t remotely read Titans punching the heads off despots in the way that Brave New World does. This is an absolutely good game for running any of the usual variety of superhero games…you could Wildstorm tweak it if you wanted, certainly. Maybe they will have some genre rules or suggestions in their upcoming mentioned second edition. Bulletproof Bumblers, Brawlers, Blues, Bastards, etc. or something like that. For a range form comedy through to nasty.

The name definitely suggests more of a downer than you get when reading it.
Artwork: Colour, sparse, basic with a little public domain.

2 0ut of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
8 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
7 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
8 out of 10 Playability
5 out of 10 Artwork

8 out of 10 Overall

This is an attractively designed game, Creative Commons with a great value price. Any fan of superhero games can certainly risk their not quite 5 bucks and be very happy with the results. I don’t agree with the rules light mention. Neither is it overly complex though. Somewhere right around DC Heroes with benchmarks and target numbers with some additional rules on top of that. I’d call it moderately complicated. The rules section takes up the first 160+ pages but the Kalos setting has a little in it, too. You get a feel that is somewhere between DC Heroes and Marvel Super Heroes with the ranks and tables I think. The example setting would be useful for someone new to the type of game.

Definitely recommended for those that like the moderate level of gaming complexity or crunch a la Villains & Vigilantes, Super Squadron, Golden Heroes/Squadron UK, Icons, Marvel Super Heroes, DC Heroes, Brave New World etc.

Fans of superhero games in general will definitely find it a worthwhile and very cheap investment.

Posted on

Superworld Breakdown and Review

Superworld

$12.07 – http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/82099/Superworld-Rolep…

The box set has 3 books and game aids.

Superheroes Book

Introduction

What is a game, dice.

Page 4 – Handwritten character sheet for Stormbolt.
Page 5 – Superhero creation. Secret identity, yearly income roll including details of professions. Origin.

Characteristics – Strength, Constitution, Size, Intelligence, Power, Dexterity, Apperance. Roll heroes and villains on 2d6+6. Normals use 3d6.

You get skill points based on the average of the characteristics. Her total is 86. The average of which is 12ish. Hero points is this total of 86. You can reroll lowest characteristics until you get 91, but we won’t worry about it.

The most important Superpowers are Energy Supply and those listed under Super Characteristics. Powers are in the Superpowers book not the Superheroes book though. You can take Power Advantages, Disadvantages and Handicaps.

Characteristic Rolls – Idea (INT * 5), for working stuff out. Luck (POW * 5) and Agility (DEX * 5)

Let’s generate one. How about :

Indira Nguyen, Plumber. 27. Not on the list of sample occupations.

STR 15
CON 11
SIZ 10
INT 11
POW 14
DEX 12
APP 13

Currently Indira has a Damage Bonus of +1d6 from STR+SIZ that costs 3 EP to use.
Action Ranks are based on Dex. Hers are 12 and 2.

Being a BRP game if you make a critical roll you check the thing and you might get an increase. Additional Hero Points can be gained by experience and can be spent as above.

Let’s give her
Gas Projection – the ability to summon toxic Sewage gas. 4d6 at 9 metres radius is 20 points.
Poison – Killer sewage – 7 levels is 21 points.
Extra Hit Points – 10 levels is 20 more hit points. Plumbers are tough, here.
Energy Supply – 25 points. Gives 250 energy points to use on powers, extra.

Personal Energy is CON + POW or 25 and PE/10 is the Recharge Rate for Resting.

The Sewer

Indira Nguyen, Plumber. 27.

STR 15
CON 11
SIZ 10
INT 11
POW 14
DEX 12
APP 13

HT 33
PE 275
RR 2.5

Powers

20 Gas Projection – 4d6 at 30m with 9m radius
21 Poison – Killer sewage – 7 levels
20 Extra Hit Points – 10 levels
25 Energy Supply – 10 leves

Skills Increases

Plumbing – 99%
Drive – 49%

GAME MECHANICS – Page 15

Time, tactics and actions in rounds. Melee Round, Full Action, Semi-Action, Quartermove and Instantaneous varieties. Page 18 has the resistance table, that is Characteristic 10 Active vs Characteristic 10 Passive is a 50% chance.

Crucial Rolls – special, critical, fumble.
Boosting – spend extra energy to do more with powers.
Damage – surviving asphyxiation, combat, electricity, fire, etc.
Lifting and Throwing – impact damage.
Breaking Things – Material resistance and SIZ table. SIZ 100 is 159 tons.

COMBAT – Page 25

Movement – three types
Quartermove – which is only 1/5 for flight!
Normal – 3/4 of movement is a semi action.
Straightline – no deviation and you can go 4 times as fast!

Flight – Harder to manoeuvre in air apparently as very little friction. Use agility rolls to determine it actually says when the statistic is Dexterity. Oddball physics more than usual in Superworld.

Attack – manoeuvres, weapons, crucial rolls. Shockwaves and Stomps, Hulk. Passing attacks. Aura Attacks – Social type intimidation but : Youth – If you are a teenager you get POWx1% bonus to a resistance roll.

Defending and Danage. Knockback.

GLOSSARY – Page 31 then Character Sheet and Contents.

SUPERPOWERS BOOK

Introduction

Overview of breaking down each power type and Energy type.

Page 4 – Superpowers Tables
Page 8 – Superpowers Descriptions
Page 25 – Power Advantages
Page 29 – Skills table
Page 30 – Skills Description
Page 35 – Power Disadvantages – sure, why not have skills in the middle of Advantages and Disadvantages?!
Page 37 – Handicaps – like bad luck, clumsiness, psychological problems, etc. Gaining Hero Points.

GAMEMASTERS BOOK

You also get an Operatives Control sheet in this box and a Character Control Sheet and an Action Rank sheet. Along with Errata and Notes and various character sheets. And GM Screen type reference sheets with powers, weapons, etc and the useful Resistance Table, SIZ, Impact, Action Times, that sort of thing.

Page 3 – Introduction

GM Obligations – Screening and overhauling heroes, Campaign Control – Incomes,

Various short note sections on these :-

Supervillains
Bystanders
Rationale
Organizations – details of FORCE and Omega, briefly.
Law – Several pages on felonies and misdemeanours by Dee and Herman.
Animals – Something more useful and less boring than the above. Includes an allosaurus.

Page 17 – Adventure – Deadly Devices of Doctor Dread

For 3 to 8 new superheroes. Cut back if fewer than 5 it tells the GM.

Characters

— Absorber,
— Blackflash, Black Maria, Brainwave,
Captain Wonder, — Cerebella,
— Dynaman, Doctor Dread Snatch Team, Doctor Dread,
Fury, — Fire Operatives,
— Killer Bee,
Maestro, — Mighty Mauler,
— Pile Driver,
— Rapidfire,
Stormbolt,

Page 34 – Adventure – The Haunting

For 3 to 5 beginning superheroes.

— Arch-Ghoul,
— Dark Spawn,
— Seeker,
— Poltergeist,
— Leviathan,

So these adventures give at least a few heroes for people to use and some opponents done up as examples.

Genre Suitability: Lower level and powered games and certainly Wild Cards and the more brutal or lethal subgenres of superheroes are better suited to this system with too many holes. See Runequest or CoC. Can be dead super types aplenty, here. Realistic/real world + powers.
Artwork: Very basic black and white, mostly look like villains.

6 0ut of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
5 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
7 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
4 out of 10 Playability
4 out of 10 Artwork

5 out of 10 Overall

There are certainly some WTF bits and pieces in here and the organisation isn’t very good. I doubt you’ve ever heard anyone say: the superpower I’d most love to have is Energy Supply. And it is necessary as you otherwise have mostly Deuces in a Wild Card sense who will get one or two shots and be exhausted. And if using multiple powers? If you love Basic Roleplaying this may be for you. Otherwise there are better games. You could nick the skill system for another game using the appropriate attributes for that one for those that don’t have them as such.

Posted on

Bif! Bam! Pow! Breakdown Review

Bif! Bam! Pow! Breakdown Review

Click to access BBP.pdf

110 Pages – says Beta Test 8 2001. Therefore take it into account that really this is a draft.

Introduction

Explains the general idea and that of character classes. Heroes, Unsung Heroes, Fallen Angels, Mercenaries, Villains, Normals.

Character Creation

Abilities. 3d6 style Strength, Will, Constitution, Personality, Dexterity, with Vitality rolled as 5d20 being your mental and physical energy. Then 3d10 for Bonus Points to add to abilities – or higher if greater powered game. Combat Bonus is (Dexterity – 9)/3 rounded down with a minimum of zero. So oddball already.

POWERS

Roll of the Offense, Defense, Special and Limitation Powers and on the Money table. There are free powers with pluses and minuses you can take and minor powers to get later.

SKILLS

Everyone gets some common skills then 15 chosen skills. 1000 XP lets you train a new skill. Yet another game that assumes USA here.

EQUIPMENT

There’s a list of stuff to buy but suggests equating to real life, so guns, kevlar, infrared goggles, etc. A bit Superhero 2044.

A character sheet overview on page 12 and some suggestions on Backgrounds.

RULES OF PLAY

Page 14 leads with a saving throw explanation. These are on 3d6 versus an ability. Rules for movement. Jumping broadjump is your running speed in MPH – 1d4 minus encumbrance in pounds plus Strength. Movement and expending energy like lifting heavy things.

Money – rewards and expenses.

COMBAT

Initiative is 2d6 that some things can modify like Super Speed. The Combat Table has a defense class from powers and different columns based on level. This is a d20 table, not a 3d6 one. Various combat manoeuvres like the Champions Brace, Charge, Called Shots and other usual suspects a la Champions or d20. Carrier attacks, Intimidation for some variety. You are allowed as much Patter or snappy dialogue as you like in a fight as long as it doesn’t drag on too long.

Some examples of others:

Multiple Actions – The maximum you can perform is 1/5 of your INT. -1 penalty per extra action.
Second Wind – make a save versus PERS + WILL. On d100 this time.
Seize Initiative – go first in a fight if you say you are doing so.
Synchronize Attacks – combine attacks as one to overcome invulnerability for example if you both Save vs DEX on 4d6.

Costume Effect: This is different – attack a person dressed more strangely than you and get a penalty! -2 if a bit stranger, -4 if a lot!
Multiple Attack Powers: If defined as linked, can both go off at once.

Vitality is Hit Points but damage greater than CON may stun you. Also start taking serious CON damage depending on degree of overs.

Multiple Defenses and Powers and penetrating attacks that can bypass some is rather complicated.

There’s the 50% chance to hit the wrong person Pacesetter firing into combat rule.

Healing – Vitality is recovered at 1/5 of CON per rest minute. CON at one per day.

Page 26 starts a weapon table which leads into breaking things.

ADVANCEMENT

There’s an experience gained table, with modifiers like 0-20% off for Gross Stupidity and 0-50% for contributing to Good Story. Bad guys get experience in reverse manner to good ones.

Then a level table. Only one gain allowed per adventure.

When you go up a level, get Vitality equal to half CON + 1d4. You get a minor power every two levels like Athletic Physique or Tough Hide. Skill gains, too.

POWERS LIST

Starts on Page 31 and goes to 50 with the various details and Limitations possible.

SKILLS LIST

Page 51 start. Renaissance Man is one of them. Helps you out with others, so an interesting one. There are skills related to powers like Insta-Change. Several tables of Skill Packages for different occupations start on page 61. e.g. Detective, Soldier, Smuggler, Ninja, Knight. Law abiding and criminal varieties – so these are a useful addition.

APPENDIX A

Advanced Rules

Power description special effects, linking two to create a new power. e.g. Teleportation, Laser Attack and Insubstantiality to go all Monica Rambeau.

Additional Skills
Long-term Disabilities
Power Devices
Combat Options

APPENDIX B

Inventing Powers

Advice and a table of modifiers for Advantage/Disadvantage for these like Disintegrate or Target must Save vs Disability. Don’t do Instant Death powers is the suggestion.

APPENDIX C

Optional Rules

Appearance, Armor Piercing Weapons, Body Armour, Breaking Things, Collision Damage, Experience, Falling, Hit Location
Game Colour – gain Virtues per level like being put on a Pedestal by the public.
Coming back from the dead, super metals, combat options.

APPENDIX D

Glossary

APPENDIX E

Sample of Play – 3 pages.

APPENDIX F

Designer’s Notes

Rationale on design choices, low early power, making it too D&D like. A page on being a good refereee and another on designing adventures.

APPENDIX G

Care and Feeding of Super villains

Design them…personality, how tough they are.

INDEX

Three pages.

A one page Power Table for printing. Weapon, experience, combat and other tables designed it appears to be printed and possibly GM screened. With a blank character sheet to finish.

Genre Suitability: Lower level heroics to start with, being a level growth and power growth game, increasing later unless you raise the defaults.
Artwork: Black and white minimal amateurish.

0 0ut of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
5 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
8 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
3 out of 10 Playability
3 out of 10 Artwork

This is one person’s ideal game it would appear. The criticism that is levelled at it for being very D&D like would be correct. With strange chunks of other things thrown in, too, to make it an oddball hodgepodge that doesn’t really gell. See Scott Lynch’s Deeds Not Words for throwing rather all in the d20 way and being more coherent, independent and also containing ninja.

Set category random power generation is a different way to do things, but not as much fun in general. A useful option though.

You could certainly play this game but I am not particularly sure why you would want to.

Posted on

BASH Ultimate Edition Breakdown Review

BASH Ultimate Edition Breakdown Review

$9.99 – 137 pages http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/65882/BASH-Ultimate-Ed…

Introduction

The overview gives the motivation and changes. No more energy points and changes to range and area. Key terms are defined again.

Chapter 1

Character Creation

Scale has been added into the point buy system…so suggestions for 20 point Mystery Men or 60 point Cosmic Heroes.

The three statistics are still from 0-5 and tables give benchmark descriptions for the levels.

Then power costs, levels and types, Skills and Descriptions, Advantages & Disadvantages with longer desciption.

Hero points and setbacks and mental malfunctions!

Chapter 2

Page 15 explains the 2d6 dice mechanic where if you roll a double you roll an extra d6 and add it to your total. If you have a triple, do it again, etc. Difficulty numbers and Hero Point use brings up the fact that rolls and numbers should be transparent to encourage their use. Then explains the multiplication by statistic in more detail listing modifiers and hindrances on a dice penalty level.

Basic Combat Rules

Per panel actions, appropriately comic flavoured titling. Move, attack, all that sort of thing. For example: Run, Spring, Swim, Climb, Jump, Creep. Not your usual heroic adjective. Unless your name is Jack Ryder. Half movement rate sneakiness possible speed that one. Knockback rules, which are always fun. Damage taken reduced by how tough you are and a multiplier.

Setbacks

The Narrator has points to use in the Hero Point economy as well. Some characters have them at creation but the Narrator gets two per Hero per issue to be used against any character. Earning Hero Points and the use of Hero Dice is also detailed…basically a Big Hero Point that has a variety of uses in a DC Adventures type fashion, automatic roll success number, recover damage, dodge, etc.

Special Rules

Called shots, wrestling, throwing people, teamwork and more advanced manoevures and tactics. Again, collateral damage and weapons appear as per the first edition. With tables for when you want to look up what whacking someone with a monkey wrench will do for you. Or with an evil monkey in the Improvised Weapons section.

Beyond Combat

Healing, exetended actions like inventing or social repartee, noticing, environmental conditions for when things get extremely toasty. Vehicles and headquarters.

Chapter 3

Powers

Starting on page 36, Limitations, Costs, Enhancements etc. Guidelines on Reading Descriptions in a table. Then you get the breakdown by type such as Movement and the details for each. Several times longer than the original edition this one.

Narrator’s Section

Chapter 4 Starting on Page 59

Running a Campaign advice, including let the players help. Setting, scale, created vs established.

More specifically, then Focus of the Issue: Mysteries, Brawls or subplots. With advice for each. Then Random Events table. Apparently people enjoy this sort of thing. Where you might even have a Monster Movie being filmed. Guidelines for your own random tables.

Villains

Motivation and type breakdowns, advantages. Villains have Villain Points. Minions have nada. No luck for them. A special use for villain Dice: Deus Ex Machina. This is a good one, actually codified as a rule for what it is for the miraculous escape move.

Minions and Gangs

Always useful for the Narrator, rules for use singly and together. Even if Eldritch Horrors. Includes some animal favourties as well.

Chapter 5

Detailing various settings and tropes.

Pulp Heroes, Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Super Teens, Science Fiction, Fantasy.

Cosmic – The other settings are as expected, giving archetypes and notes of usefulness. The Cosmic setting gets more inventive. It includes rules for high levels of statistics and power and the multipliers. Cosmic Knock-Back! How far you go if hit in space by someone with Cosmic Might. Using grid ranges at this level. Excellent flavour. How many Hits can a planet take? Moving Planets. Any superhero GMw ould like to take a quick look at this if interested in this setting.

There are also notes on scale crossover.

Appendix

Page 108 gives Hero & Villain Archetypes by scale. So you can quickly make Barbarian Warrior Mystery Men level to World Class Amazons or Cosmic Harbingers of Doom.

Appendix A

Page 128 gives Alternate Game Mechanics. Cards, d12, d10, d6 pools, Fudge Dice for BASH! which involves changing multiples to modifiers.

Map & Miniature alternatives…using hexes instead of squares. Ranges. Advantges & Disadvantages and Static Defenses & Soaks.

Fame – how to put in a popularity rating and use it. Plus Experience Points.

Index – 2 pages

Character Sheet

BASH Quick Build Sheet for character scope and creation.

Genre Suitability: Many, see settings. Nasty and brutal is not its thing though. Definitely for brighter heroics.
Artwork: Colour, cartoon. Danilo Moretti shares a style with Dan Houser here.

5 out of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
5 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
5 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
6 out of 10 Playability
7 out of 10 Artwork

7.5 out of 10 Overall

I could even go towards 8, this is really a quite charming Advanced update. With a couple of innovations and four-colour flavour. This is somewhere between Villains & Vigilantes and Marvel Super Heroes Advanced I suppose in terms of difficulty. And length, too although considerably larger font style than either there. The artwork style certainly friendlier fun heroes compared to a later Champions or Heroes Unlimited variety in the original game. Lacks a random generation system that wouldn’t be hard to do at a basic level. Lacks any completely done and named characters, just having numerous archetypes.

In fact, speaking of Marvel, they have a table at the beginning for resolution lookup to prevent people who are multiplication challenged from having problems. This is definitely Universal Table Style with the resolution having a bit of the Pacesetter (Chill etc) with the extra check for the column instituted.

Overall well done and would also be a useful introductory game but also enough depth that people that like the style should be happy with it for ongoing play.

Posted on

BASH Original Edition Breakdown Review

BASH Original Edition Breakdown Review

$1.99 – 30 pages http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/19178/BASH-Basic-Actio…

Introduction

The overview says it was designed to be a game for kids, but others liked it too. Key terms are defined.

Character Creation

On page 3, assign 7 points between Brawn, Agility and Mind, get extra by taking a weakness or fewer powers. Ranked from 1-5.

Spend 9 points on powers or vary by changing with stats as above. Choose an origin and a power limitation to make them cheaper if you desire. Or power enchancments, which make them more expensive. You can take a bad weakness.

Types of Powers

Listed on Page 4-9 – a short but reasonable selection.

Skills

Starting on Page 9, a list of other things characters can do.

Advantages

From Page 11, even a short game like this has this nebulous other section. Things like Appeal, Celebrity, Contacts, Dumb Luck. Then the Disadvantage counterparts on page 13 and 14.

Dice Mechanic

Page 15 details the 2d6 multiplied by ability mechanic, trying to beat a difficulty number from 10 (easy) to 50 (nigh-impossible). With a tweak that if you roll doubles, you roll another d6 and add to your original 2d6. If you then have a triple, roll another one,e tc.

Combat Rules

Highest agility wins initiative and heroes win ties. All except Mental attacks are Agility vs Agility. Not a good sign when a writer can’t use loose and lose correctly, generally but this is better than the usual left-end of the curve type, thankfully. Damage is based on Brawn and you make a defense roll similarly. If the attack is higher than the defense, then damage. A bit Tunnels & Trolls style, but even simpler perhaps.

Page 16 is detailing what actions you can do, movement, attack, wrestling, knock-back. Energy points are spent on powers a la Villains & Vigilantes or Champions. A simple number in that heroes have 10 and different powers have different cots. Then rules for falling, water, shooting and blowing up, improvised weapons, collateral damage and chase scenes on 17-18 with the Vehicle list on 19.

Minions

Ratings and rules on page 20, with a listing that follows, cops, ninjas, robots, aliens.

Sample Story Arc

The Gauntlet on page 22 to 25. Sample characters on pages 27-28.

Advice for Running Bash

A page on this, experience and more powerful characters with a character sheet on the final page.

Ratings

Genre Suitability: Four Colour Heroics
Artwork: Black and White

5 out of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
2 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
2 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
4 out of 10 Playability
6 out of 10 Artwork

3 out of 5 Overall

This is a solid, deliberately short and even old school type game that would indeed make a decent introduction for people. Also it would be quickly put together and explained one-shot. Somewhere in the area of the original Marvel Super Heroes Basic Game. Definitely good for kids.

People that want a bit more granularity and variety and options are likely to quickly become bored. There is certainly room to build a BASH Advanced though.

Posted on

White Picket Witches

A New England USA island setting with five supernatural families and one defunct. Which means they still might be supernatural. Emphasis on playing the conflict as per tv soap opera drama, with explicit rules for Face Offs that could be conflict from basketball to teary accusations to drowning. Required some clever media analysis to come up with this.

Also deserving of taking this and making a more meta supplement for applying this to any particular setting, the various drama/tension/places of power type mechanics so that you can Soapy Drama up whatever you like.

Similarly for horror which obviously this rather more Practical Magic style urban fantasy has elements of. FATE Core could use a horror toolbox like the crime one and like this could one could . So a couple of possible spinoffs.

A really very interesting expansion, showing again that the people putting together FATE Core have an eye for the interesting and different in the broad range they have come up with here for inclusion.

4.5 out of 5

Posted on

The Fate Freeport Companion – Elegant

An elegant adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons flavour with an interesting setting. Taking FATE Core type Skills and using a FATE Accelerated minimal list that are the classic six D&D abilities brings this rich setting to life.

Full of evil cults and Hobgoblin bartenders for some classic low fantasy possibilities along with the pirates and sea monsters.

An explanation of how to do the various classes with archetype builds, magic guidelines and a very nice beastie and flavourful NPC section make this a book well worth the time. Enough so I have now read it twice.

As has been suggested, a fine FATE gateway for d20 fantasy players as well as a good game.

The only thing lacking perhaps…although the downloads of FATE core and Accelerated are easily had: is a quick cheat sheet style ladder/action/outcome summary guideline page or four in the back.

9 out of 10

Posted on

Super Squadron Rules Updates

From this online magazine and from Joe Italiano himself :-

I will go through in detail later, these are generally older ones. Although he says he is working on a second edition!

RPG Review – Super Squadron Rules Updates

Includes an Enhanced Charisma table.

Proudly powered by WordPress
%d bloggers like this: