Remarkable, Incredible and Amazing nerdiness
To capitalise on the Bat-movie craze at the time
Has a 22 page Character section
Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, Nemesis, Question, Pennyworth, Gordon, Vale
Calendar Man, Cat-Man, Catwoman, Clayface II, , Clayface III, Copperhead, Croc, Doctor Tzin-Tzin, Joker, Kobra, Mad Hatter, Man-Bat, Mikado, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Riddler, Scarecrow, Two-Face
so a couple of others of interest and notable for having more foes than friends
A simpler old style superhero RPG from one of the Villains and Vigilantes creators.
Athletics – Agility, MicroG
Burglary
Contacts – Bureaucracy
Crafts – Animal Handler, Computer, Demolitions, Engineering, EVA, Repair, Survival
Deceive
Drive – Aircraft, Navigation, Pilot, Vehicle
Empathy – Culture/Tech
Fight – Brawling, Close Combat, Tactics
Investigate – Communications
Lore – Archaeology, Arts, Medical, Profession, Science
Notice – Alertness
Physique – Stamina
Provoke – Intimidation
Rapport – Charm, Oratory
Resources – Assets, Brokerage
Shoot – Energy Weapons, Gunnery, Slug Throwers
Stealth – Stealth
Will – Resolve
An interesting game. Which you would expect from an experienced designer and more so an experienced superhero designer. See the Mutants and Masterminds Wild Cards books for an example.
This is what you get if you take TSR MSH Advanced game, trim it back a litle (or at least the 4CS public domain version) and add some parts of FATE.
The game mechanic is 1d6-1d6 (or 2d6-7) rather than 4dF or (4d3-8) to get a wider range of outcomes. Changing the dice result range would be a interesting genre tweak for superhero games I think.
The artwork is rather more cartoony than I like but would seem to be certainly fitting for a younger crowd, and the mechanics and writing is simple enough that it would work very nicely there, too.
Random power creation is included with the various character archetypes, so that is fun.
The FATE point and Karma pool for teams ideas are combined to be bit easier on the adding up front. The Leadership skill has a game function here.
Power levels are capped at 10 for the super mega cosmic type – or lift mountain ranges.
The strength of using a FUDGE type mechanic to replay the Universal Table is in ability opposition….a valid criticism of which is that the defense of both Daredevil and a thug as far as being punched by someone is the same. Which is great if you are a PC trying to hit someone and bad if the reverse.
Give I like FASERIP and FUDGE and FATE a lot.
So if any of those appeal, you will like this game, and could certainly hack a few bits into your preferred flavour. Suggests ‘reskinning’ the ability levels with your own favourite adjectives. Fantastic being a good and obvious one instead of Monstrous – especially given that is actually the Thing’s strength level.
Aspects for characters and teams completely fit superheroes with catchphrases, battle cries, mottos and more. So a natural. Compels also help to keep subplots and complications and disadvantages involved rather than forgotten about.
It is certainly good enough that I’ll have a look at some supplements.
Also, Cactus Man. Who actually gets used in a podcast game online!
There are print and digital versions.
4.5 out of 5
A different approach to running this game – collaborative improv with a ‘Lead Narrator’ rotating between the players.
The setting is basically Captain Future. Space Patrolmen adventure in an old school planetary romance setting a la Edmond Hamilton. Amazons of Mars, Venus madmen, robots, Lizard People, three eyed guys with big heads, all that sort of thing.
It uses the different dice for stats type idea, too, d6, d8, d10, d12 that you assign to a few basic statistics.
Character tag and cue ideas in an aspect type sense, the use of plot points to change things.
There are some sample NPCs and plot scenario ideas at the end.
So this would be cool seeing it is along those lines to already to lift as a FATE setting/adaptation too.
Ever think you would be stuck in a knock down drag out fight with a pair of assassins, one a mutant weasel, the other a mutant fox, both in body armor and ridiculously agile? Well, neither did I until I played this game.
A Dungeon World first foray
Played a Dungeon World game thanks to on Thursday night.
The first character that sprang to mind was a brute warrior. Then the twist entered my head. How about a reverse John Carter type move.
Thence was born Thark.
Thark being a Thark suddenly waking up in the body of a human Fighter in Dungeon World. Being a Thark the only thing he could remember, not his name, so that is what he called himself. Only minor problem as I discovered was that the GM’s gaming literature education is Burroughs deficient, so he didn’t know what a Thark was. He should rectify that!
His partners in mayhem were a halfling thief and the priest of a fertility goddess. He has a con type game with the former…who, being a Thark and having NFI what halflings or elves or kobolds are whatever thinks is just a little boy. Hence worthy of some protection. Adults of course, can look after themselves.
So they head for a tavern in a nearby town that appears of interest, as you do when looking for marks.
At the bar, Thark gets the complete cold shoulder and sneers from the local toughs. So the Thark solution is to punch the biggest toughest looking guy in the face.
The bartender is a dwarf, so Thark is a little annoyed at his complaining about the mayhem after one of Thark’s companions glasses a local. There’s also a rather more classily armed and armoured dwarf in the bar, too. The locals clear out on orders as as the barkeep calls for the guard.
No-one will get Thark a drink, so he grabs the bartender to lift him up bodily over the bar. At this point the other dwarf gets annoyed and comes over to inroduce Thark to his axe. Fast warning from friends lets Thark react in time to continue the grab the bartender from behind the bar turning him into a dwarven shield. The dwarf’s axe whacks the guy in the head a glancing blow, knocking him out and leaving said axeman outnumered three to one.
Thark tells him he should buy them drinks, but the dwarf declines. the ungrateful wretch, and leaves.
The trio grab booze and decide that police=bad and loaded with some halfling mead and proper man’s drink, get out of there.
They see something in the sky that Thark thinks might be something like a Martian airship, which they go to investigate.
As it turns out, it is a kobold pirate ship raiding party. They don’t take kindly to interruption of their looting and move to fight. Thark defends the boy and fights back, disposing of opponents outside. He cuts another couple in half.
They then decide to climb up to the ship, portly priests needing a bit of help.
On board they discover a much, much, larger pirate captain kobold.
And a dragon, clearly confined as part of the ship and rather annoyed. Tharks are not much for waiting around and he really wouldn’t mind a ship, so he decides to go and deplane or deship the pirate captain, forthwith. He manages to pin the trident wielding captain to the ground, while the halfling gets a surprise, a bit of dragon telepathy. Apparently big lizards like telepathy, but not assaults by fighters and biting and frying of Thark is tried. Again, he decides smaller people make good shields and avoids a frying after some horribly botched teamwork with his priest friend. He does manage to make the pirate captain go splat.
Separating him from his trident sees the grumpy dragon eat it. Apparently the controlling device enabling them to slave the dragon to the ship structure.
The dragon orders them off itself in no uncertain terms.
Thark doesn’t want the ship enough to be dead over it. Halfling Rook fancies some minor looting a little bit too much but they manage to talk him out of it, by leaving. By leaving the not enriched thief a bit annoyed.
Down on the ground the crew are a bit shocked at the captain’s dispatch. Thark considers crew possibilities having impressed the now leaderless and dragonshipless bunch. More unwisely decide to fight and don’t last long. Leaving Thark’s situation improved.
The halfling thief decides to drug Thark with a poison throw to the back of the head to get more of his way while his attention is on his possible new lizardmen type mates.
Drugged, suggestible and happy is Thark.
Therein ends this sword and sorcery tale lacking in drinking and robbing for now.
A PDF with some guides and tips for some of the many open ended powers in the game and a couple of tables on Armor Ratings, weight and Falling Damage.
http://www.fantasygamesunlimited.net/securefiles/V&VRulesOfThumb.pdf
The Agency is a roleplaying game of sixties spies and the supernatural. It has baked in Concept description and a shorter, similarish skill list with a few physical and mental skills. You just pick a couple you are particularly good at, being average at the rest. Also consequences levels and Karma points. It would make a great intro RPG for people where James Bond stylish monster hunting appealed. The Avengers meets Hammer Horror.
Want to fight mummies and vampires in The Agency? This would make a good Cryptworld organisation and setting, too, if you wanted to make it a little more complex, gaining the background flavour to go with the crunchier mechanics.
So we’ll go with something a little different:
Jim Grip
Concept : Singaporean plumber
Fashion: Suit or overalls
Mannerisms: Pretentious Scots accent
Props: Ya canna hand a man a grander spanner
Bonus: Vehicle
Flaw: Proud
Motif: Billionaire toilet fixing expert
1 Karma
3 Status
5 Technology
4 Drive
Fate Core
Jim Grip
High Concept : Singaporean plumber Agent
Trouble : Pretentious faux Scots monster basher
Aspect 1 : Ya canna hand a man a grander spanner
Aspect 2 : I really love my versatile car
Aspect 3 : Billionaire loo fixing expert
+4 Crafts
+3 Drive, Contacts
+2 Fight, Physique, Resources
+1 Athletics, Investigate, Lore, Will
PH: 3 MH: 3 Refresh: 3
Approaches
+3 Careful
+1 Clever
+1 Flashy
+2 Forceful
+2 Quick
+0 Sneaky
Shadow, Sword and Spell
A straight out humanistic Sword & Sorcery game that you can easily FATEalise. It actually has Aspects and Fate Points directly…Hooks and Action Points. Hooks and Action Points get you additions to rolls, or rerolls.
Skills are based on the Abilities with a maximum of 12, as this is the 12 Degrees System after all. You get 35 Ability Points and 45 Skill Points (cost increasing at certain levels, first three cost 1). Skill are based on an Abilty and to get them as Trained costs the Base Rank, or the Ability.
Therefore, we’ll take a Hyborian age nogoodnik, a tall, womanly bruiser.
There is also a defined culture background element, and from Shadizar the Wicked? We’ll call that Civilised and Decadent.
Avera
Hooks
Background 1 : Ex-Shadizar thug
Background 2 : Duped out of everything by Davo
Background 3 : Run out of town on an ass
Previous Life : Human punching battery
Personality : Always cheerfully optimistic
Culture: Civilised (Bureaucracy, Diplomacy at Base Rank, +1 AP) and Decadent (Bureaucracy +1, Streetwise +1)
Abilities
07 Brawn
04 Quickness
11 Toughness
03 Wits
10 Will
45 Vitality = (Brawn + Toughness)/2*5
30 Resolve = (Wits + Will)/2*5
50 Sanity = Will * 5
03 Initiative Base = (Quickness + Wits)/2
06 Action Points
Skills
Free
04 Bureaucracy
11 Diplomacy
03 Athletics
10 Brawl
10 Intimidation
11 Defend
Fate Core
Avera
High Concept : Ex-Shadizar thug
Trouble : Duped out of everything by Davo
Aspect 1 : Run out of town on an ass
Aspect 2 : Human punching battery
Aspect 3 : Always cheerfully optimistic
+4 Physique
+3 Provoke, Will
+2 Contacts, Fight, Rapport
+1 Athletics, Burglary, Empathy, Lore
PH: 4 MH: 4 Refresh: 4
Approaches
+1 Careful
+0 Clever
+2 Flashy
+3 Forceful
+2 Quick
+1 Sneaky