Spes Magna Games

Last week, I got my print-on-demand copy of Alan Bahr’s Tiny Supers, published by Gallant Knight Games. (Nota Bene: The first link in the previous sentence is an affiliate link.) In my last post, I offered my initial thoughts, praises, and criticisms for Tiny Supers. I also presented the heroic Shaolin Beaver as a Tiny Supers character.

Speaking a superheroes, if you’ve never seen The Pumaman, you have missed one of the worst movies ever filmed. The plot is jaw-dropping. You see, a really long time ago, aliens visited the Aztecs, became the Aztecs’ gods, and, it would seem, one alien took a human wife. Their son was the first Pumaman, a demigod with superpowers and a mind-controlling mask made of gold.

Fast forward to the late 70s/early 80s. The evil Dr. Kobras (played with minimal investment by Donald “I Won Four Lead Actor Tony Awards” Pleasence) has acquired the mind-controlling gold mask and a collection of crude mannikin heads resembling important men. Kobras plans to use the mask and the heads to mind control his way to world domination.

Meanwhile, American Tony Farms gets chucked out a window by Vadinho, the hulking yet wise Aztec who is the last high priest of the alien Aztec gods. Vadinho knows that Tony is the only living descendant of the first Pumaman. With the aid of a magic belt and Vadinho’s coaching, Tony learns to use his Pumaman powers in order to save the world. The Pumaman’s powers? Well, just like a puma, he can fly and phase through solid objects. Also, he’s got really good eyesight and is super-strong.

As ridiculous as all that sounds, it’s ridiculouser watching it unfold on the screen. How ridiculouser? Well, Pearl forced Mike and the bots to watch The Pumaman on Mystery Science Theater 3000 back in 1998.

Which, of course, brings us to Pumaman for Tiny Supers.

Pumaman
Real Name: Tony Farms
Belief: “I am the Pumaman, guardian of the world!”
Weakness: “I’m a ladies’ man. No, really! I am.”

Archetype: Paragon
Archetype Trait: Extra Power. Select an additional Power from the Power List.
Stress: 7

Powers:
Armored (Tier 1). You reduce all damage by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
Flight (Tier 1). You can fly, moving to near the speed of sound at your peak. It takes you two actions to reach your top speed.
Phasing (Tier 1). You may become incorporeal. You may not interact with physical objects and cannot be harmed by physical attacks, although energy attacks are still effective. You may only move at half your normal rate while you are incorporeal.
Super Senses – Sight (Tier 1). You ignore any penalties for having your sight impaired or reduced (such as ignoring blindness).
Super-Strength (Tier 1). If you don’t have it, you gain the Strong Trait. Your Melee attacks do +1 damage.

Traits: Educated, Strong
Mastered Weapons (3d6): Puma Claw Strike
Proficient Weapons (2d6): Punch

Tags: superhero games, Tiny Supers

A hodgepodge sort of post today as I wind down my first work week of remote teaching and prepare for the first Saturday d20 Modern game GMed via some sort of videoconferencing thing. First up, two items for 5E D&D.

Cnagaire’s Thunderous Transposition
3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

You and another creature teleport, switching spaces. You appear in the creature’s previous space. The creature arrives in your previous space with a thunderous explosion. Choose a creature within 60 feet that you can see. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails the saving throw, you and the creature both teleport, switching spaces. When the creature appears, a wave of thunderous force sweeps out from it in a 15-foot cube originating from the creature. Each creature in the cube, including the creature that teleported must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 3d8 thunder damage. Creatures that fail the save other than your original target are also pushed 10 feet away from the teleported creature. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and isn’t pushed.

In addition, unsecured objects that are completely within the area of effect are automatically pushed 10 feet away from the center of the effect, and the spell emits a thunderous boom audible out to 300 feet.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd.

Cnagaire’s Knocker
Wondrous item, rare (attunement required by a sorcerer, warlock, or wizard)

This somewhat grotesque brass door knocker weighs 1 pound. It has 10 charges and regains 1d6+4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the knocker corrodes into powder. With a command word as a bonus action, you can affix the knocker to a door or wall. You can then use an action to knock on the door or wall for one of the following effects.

Door Effects. You cast one of the following spells: unseen servant (1 charge), knock (2 charges), or conjure minor elementals (4 charges).

Wall Effects. You cast one of the following spells: clairvoyance (3 charges), stone shape (4 charges), or passwall (5 charges).

And now that tiny review mentioned in the post title.

This week, I got my print-on-demand copy of Alan Bahr’s Tiny Supers, published by Gallant Knight Games. (Nota Bene: That’s an affiliate link in the previous sentence.) It’s a lovely book. The cover features a quartet of brave heroes unconcerned that they’re surrounded by an army of robots. The first 15 or so pages cover the rules of play. The next 23 or so pages describe how create a hero (or villain), including descriptions of powers (called Power Traits) and traits (called Traits). Character creation starts by selecting an archetype (such as Defender or Gadgeteer). The player then customizes the archetype. It is all very rules-light, which fits the TinyD6 way of doing things. Pages 44-260 of Tiny Supers describe and explain various settings, including stats for several heroes and villains (although, in my opinion, not enough stats for the latter).

I’ve read the sections on game play and character creation, and skimmed the settings material, pausing to read a page or two here and there. Regarding the game play section, I think too much of it is cribbed from Tiny Dungeon, pretty much word for word. This is all perfectly legal, of course. Alan Bahr wrote Tiny Dungeon; it’s his to use and re-use. Still, I found the explanations a bit jarring at time.

For example, the rules for Obstacles in Tiny Supers mention “bartering with shopkeepers”. That’s something that comes up a lot in fantasy games (such as Tiny Dungeons), but, in my experience, that sort of thing never really comes up in a superhero game. I got this same disconnect in the sections that talk about weapons and magic, the latter even talking about how “Spell Readers may find magic scrolls out on their adventures”. Again, this makes all sorts of sense in a fantasy setting, but, in all my years of playing all sorts of superhero games, finding magic scrolls (or treasure of any sort) rarely if ever comes up.

Now, to be fair, this is a minor complaint. What I perceive as a disconnect between what’s described and the genre of the game doesn’t take away (or add to) the playability of the game. It just sort of niggles at me a bit.

So, with all that out of the way, here’s the amazing Shaolin Beaver for Tiny Supers.

Shaolin Beaver
Real Name: Edward
Belief: “I wander the land, doing good.”
Weakness: “I must find my people.”

Archetype: Expert
Archetype Trait: Mastery. You may not select more than 1 Power. You must trade out the rest of your Powers for Traits from the Trait list. However, you gain 2 additional Traits.
Stress: 6

Powers: Super Movement – Swimming (Tier 1). You do not have to Test to swim (treat it like normal movement).
Traits: Acrobat, Brawler, Cleave, Detective, Insightful, Martial Artist

Mastered Weapons (3d6): Tail Slap
Proficient Weapons (2d6): Unarmed

Tags: 5E D&D, magic items, spells, superhero games, Tiny Supers

A bit more than six years ago, I presented Shaolin Beaver, illustrated by the phenomenal Darren Calvert, as a hero for the second edition of Mutants & Masterminds. You check him out at this link. Here’s the short version: Edward is a humanoid beaver with remarkable kung fu skills. He’s not sure if he’s the last of his people, and so he travels the land, doing good deeds and searching for others of his kind, all the while trying to avoid the xenocollectors.

Here’s Shaolin Beaver for M&M‘s third edition. (Nota Bene: That’s an affiliate link.)

Shaolin Beaver
Strength 1, Stamina 3, Agility 5, Dexterity 5, Fighting 11, Intellect 0, Awareness 5, Presence 0

Powers

Humanoid Beaver
Shrinking 4 (Extras: Continuous, Innate; Flaw: Permanent) [Cost: 2/rank, 9 points]
Speed 1 (Array, 4 MPH) [Cost: 1/rank, 3 points]; Swimming 3 (Alternate Effect; 4 MPH) [Cost: 1 point]

Shaolin Strike
Strength-Based Damage 4 [Cost: 1/rank, 4 points]

Advantages: Agile Feint, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Evasion 2, Favored Environment (Aquatic), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Languages (English and Mandarin), Power Attack, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics), Takedown 2, Uncanny Dodge, Well-Informed

Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+15), Athletics 9 (+10), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+15), Expertise: Philosophy 5 (+5), Insight 5 (+10), Perception 10 (+15), Treatment 5 (+5), Stealth 6 (+15)

Offense
Initiative: +9
Unarmed +15 (Close, Damage 5, Crit 19-20)

Defense
Dodge 13
Parry 13
Fortitude 10
Toughness 7 (3 without Defensive Roll)
Will 10

Power Point Totals: Abilities 68 + Powers 17 + Advantages 20 + Skills 27 + Defenses 18 = 150

Tags: Mutants & Masterminds, superhero games

Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I got me a copy of the Mutants & Masterminds Deluxe Hero’s Handbook by Green Ronin Publishing, LLC. (Nota Bene: That’s an affiliate link.) It’s a lovely book. Great art throughout, easy-to-read double-column format, et cetera. It’s got some neat stuff, including a spiffy Quickstart Character Generation section, which I’ve used to help me figure out hero creation. The MMDHH is the third edition of Mutants & Masterminds, and it bills itself as “The World’s Greatest Superhero RPG!” It’s not, but it’s still a solid system that I’d love to play, but probably less-than-love to GM.

The first and second editions of Mutants & Masterminds are both too fiddly and too slow (in my opinion) to be a really enjoyable superhero RPG from a GM’s perspective. Those editions aren’t as fiddly and slow as Champions, but few games I’ve played over the past four decades can match Champions in slow fiddliness.

The third edition Mutants & Masterminds resembles the first two editions in big ways at first glance. It’s still sort of a d20 System game, but it deviates from that system enough that it’s closer to its own system than not. It feels like gameplay would be faster than the earlier editions, but only once the differences are learned. I’ve only run a short trial combat with one player to try to get a feel for the new edition. We both had plenty of questions about how to do this, that, or the other thing. Thus, our brief playtest had numerous interruptions, but, like I said, that’s more due to the newness of the edition as compared to what we’re accustomed to with Mutants & Masterminds.

One thing that’s still the same is how much I enjoy making up heroes using the system, and I do think the third edition improves on the earlier ones in this regard. There’s still more math and accounting than I’d normally want to bother with to make up a character, but it’s math and accounting that’s kind of enjoyable. It’s fun to come up with a character concept, to take 150 points, and then to figure out how to turn those 150 points into that character. This is, I think, the strongest feature of the system in any edition, especially when I consider the system as a GM.

I am not a fan of having to crunch numbers in order to come up with adversaries and what not for a group of players. That sort of ciphering is the major factor that turned me off on GMing Pathfinder. It’s too much like work, and, for me, the simplicity of an AD&D stat block wins the day against the complexity of a Pathfinder stat block. I’m also not a fan of systems in which adversaries are built using the same rules used for player characters.

But, because I enjoy making up Mutants & Masterminds characters, that sort of number-crunching doesn’t bother me with Green Ronin’s superhero game. Taking a villain from concept to finished product with Mutants & Masterminds both amuses and relaxes in ways that creating a level-appropriate NPC in Pathfinder ceased doing months before I retired from that game system.

I want to play the new Mutants & Masterminds. If that happens, it probably means I’ll end up having to GM the game. My gaming group’s track record with superhero games is spotty at best. The most success we had was with the excellent Marvel Heroic Roleplaying. That campaign went on for a good while (and then we lost half the players). Our two or three attempts at superhero campaigns using earlier editions of Mutants & Masterminds and even my own Four Color Hack all fizzled out pretty quick.

But I digress.

The main point of this point is show off that great picture of Double-Header. The artist is Chris Schweizer, who graciously agreed to let me use the piece for this post. This sentence is a link to Mr. Schweizer’s Patreon site. This sentence links to an article about Mr. Schweizer with links to places related to his work.

Double-Header stands out in the category of wannabe superheroes. He had the will but not the ability. Among Double-Header’s liabilities? In addition to his complete lack of superpowers or noteworthy skills, Double-Header was a member of an alien race who “twin” as they mature, eventually separating into two adults. Double-Header isn’t a guy with two heads. He’s two guys sharing a body until such a time as they reach a level of maturity resulting in separation. Among Double-Header’s people, twins love and help each other. Not in Double-Header’s case. They couldn’t stand each other.

My version of Double-Header can function as a superhero. They’ve got powers and abilities suitable for the gig. While they’re not terribly fond of each other all the time, they do get along well enough to function as a team. Also, my version isn’t an alien. They’re human mutants, super-powered conjoined twins.

If you click on the pic of Double-Header, it opens up a PDF of their character sheet.

Tags: Mutants & Masterminds, superhero games, TFCH

I’m going off-topic again today. I have to. My favorite NPC of all time isn’t a D&D NPC. (Yeah, yeah. I know I could write about my favorite D&D NPC instead of my favorite NPC, but I don’t feel like it.)

Way back when, we played a lot of TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game. Pretty much from the get-go we decided we’d play our own heroes rather than established comic book heroes (although such heroes did make cameos once in a while). Established comic book villains were used more often, but we also enjoyed facing our own villains.

Which brings me to Volt.

When I first introduced Volt, he was an electrical martial artist loosely patterned after the Shang-Chi villain Shockwave. Volt was one of a baker’s dozen of street-level bad guys who figured what they lacked in individual power they’d make up for in numbers. This gang of villains initiated a city-wide crime wave intent on overwhelming first responders in order to bring the metropolis to its knees.

Their plan didn’t work. The heroes captured all of the villains except Volt.

A couple of adventures later, I decided Volt needed to show up again. I reworked his powers a little, making him a bit tougher. I also made him the leader of a group called the Sinister Six: Mastermind (wicked mentalist), the Clown (high-tech prankster), Ogre (mentally challenged muscle), Blindside (mute speedster), and Raven (bird-winged feral woman, who later reformed and became an ally of the heroes). The Sinister Six staged a daring public abduction of the U.S. President, snatching him from his motorcade en route to a conference. Again, the heroes defeated the villains, and Volt escaped once more.

More adventures passed, and then Volt came back again, rebuilt to be more formidable and with a richer background and personality. He’d morphed from a small-time villain to a mercenary with an international reputation for ruthlessness and a warped sense of honor related to his current contract. He had a new Sinister Six. The Clown was replaced by Gravity’s Angel (gravity manipulator) and Raven was replaced by Machine (psychopathic technopath). The Sinister Six had been hired by an evil wizard known as the Evoker. Evoker was attempting to assemble the fractured pieces of an ancient artifact, and the Sinister Six were doing his heavy lifting, robbing museums, et cetera.

What Volt didn’t know was the Evoker’s real plan was to assemble the artifact and then sacrifice the Sinister Six in order to achieve god-like power and rule the Earth after it had been transformed into a hellscape. The heroes uncovered this plan, and they confronted Volt and the Sinister Six with the full truth. Volt did not take kindly to being hoodwinked by his employer, so he joined forces with the heroes in an epic smackdown against the wizard and his demon horde. During the fight, the Evoker and Volt were both sucked through an interdimensional vortex, and the Earth was saved.

More adventures passed, and Volt returned again, mutated by his exposure to alien worlds so that he was powerful enough to no longer need a team for back-up. At this time, Volt entered semi-retirement, but the damage to the heroes’ psyche remained. The mere hint that Volt might be up to something was enough to put the heroes on high alert.

Volt made appearances in other game systems as well. I had a Champions version. Volt tore up parts of the DC universe in Mayfair Games’ DC Heroes when I was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. No matter what the game system, Volt remained the villain who was never caught.

Tags: 30 Day D&D Challenge, NPCs, superhero games