Red Skies and Floppy Disks

As my 40th Gaming Anniversary month draws to close, I am kind of amazed at how much of it I spent talking about, and playing Superhero RPGs.

It shouldn't come as a surprise really, for as I've said, Supers is what got me into RPGs in the first place (in a manner of speaking). It's just that, with a name like 'Barking Alien' you'd think there would be a bit more Science Fiction in my celebration of the 40 year mark. 

Furthermore, when I look at the general gaming landscape, how things like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Numenera seem to dominate the market by leaps and bounds, I am once more reminded that is the bulk of the lot, the unifying factor, the common denominator...but it just ain't me.

This past Wednesday evening I ran the first session of my half of our Google Hangouts group's Ultra Mega Summer Super Crossover Event, DC Adventures - Crisis on Earth G+!

The first part, a Marvel Heroic mini-series, ended with a bit less bang, and a bit more whimper than we all would have liked. The Marvel Heroic system didn't turn out to be to most of the players' liking. Even, or perhaps especially the GM found the game cumbersome, and tedious, getting in the way of telling a Superhero comic book story instead of supporting, and enhancing it. 

I was personally a tad disappointed that we didn't get to 'see', or experience very much of the Marvel Universe. If I don't normally play in the Marvel milieu, and I get to for a limited run, I want the opportunity to encounter uniquely Marvel things. I wanted to feel why the atmosphere of Marvel is special - why it's not DC, or our homegrown Kapow! game. 

I tried really hard to make that a part of our DC excursion. To facilitate that, I made some tough choices. Not tough for me to make, but choices that I knew might not initially sit well with all the players. For example, I limited which characters they could choose to play, but I didn't do it arbitrarily. Rather, I did it to make the whole thing work. 

Here's what we ended up with...

The Silver/Bronze Age Justice League of America

Characters by Jose Garcia Lopez

Background by Me.

First, I told all the players that the story was set in the DC Universe in the year 1984.

Yep. 1984. The Bronze Age. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

I opened the game saying:

"The year is 1984. 
Ronald Reagan is the President of the United States.
Footloose and Beverly Hill Cops are raking it in at the Box Office.
Dynasty and Family Ties top the Nielsen Ratings. 
Just like the rest of Earth G+, Bonnie Tylor is Holding Out for a Hero."

That right there is the key to everything. 

Any character created by DC during, or after Crisis on Infinite Earths does not exist in our game. If the character was acquired by DC Comics, and first appears in a DC book during, or after COIE, such as Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the other Charlton Characters, they too are not available as PCs. 

The 'Satellite Era' Justice League of America, the Teen Titans (Dick Grayson is Robin, not Nightwing), the Doom Patrol (original), the Metal Men, and a number of independent heroes are all cleared for use. 

The group eventually chose a very classic Justice League line up:

The Flash/Barry Allen (played by Keith)
Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (played by Stephen)
Green Lantern/Hal Jordan (played by Tim)
Hawkgirl/Sheira Hall (played by Mark)
Superman/Clark Kent - Kal-El (played by Carl)
Wonder Woman/Princess Diana - Diana Prince (played by Melinda)

A day, or two before the session, I posted the following image, and caption to our Event page...

'Earth Time - August 29th, 1984, 12:00 PM EST - On the outskirts of Space Sector 2813, bordering the edge of 2814, Green Lantern Honor Guard Member, Tomar-Re, detects a disturbance in the Space-Time Continuum.'

The following morning I posted this...

'A series of strange events, some clearly villainous, some merely suspicious, have kept the Justice League of America rather busy over the past 48 hours.

Flash, and Green Arrow - In the wee hours of yesterday morning, Mark Mardon, AKA Weather Wizard, somehow escaped from the Minnesota State Correctional Facility that held him. Several hours later, a sudden, terrible storm blew over Star City just as a plane extraditing Count Werner Vertaygho of Vlatava, AKA Count Vertigo, had taken off. The aircraft, as well as Count Vertigo himself, have disappeared. 

Green Lantern, and Superman - Our heroes have been on the trail of Rudy Jones, AKA The Parasite, for at least twelve hours now. Jones recently escaped from a S.T.A.R. Labs facility attempting to cure his condition. As the heroes neared his last known whereabouts, the Metropolis suburb of Midvale, reports came through that a 'yellow-gold giant with purple clothes' had been sighted in the Delaware Water Gap National Park, about 80 miles Northeast of the city. 

Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman - Yesterday evening, Helen Alexandros, AKA The Silver Swan, stole an ancient, Greek salpinx from the Midway City Museum (The Midway Museum of Ancient History). She was aided by a mysterious man in a blue cloak. The two individuals vanished right before the eyes of stunned security guards. Early this morning, a man wearing a cloak of the same description was spotted in the Suicide Slum area of Metropolis by Ace O' Clubs owner Bibbo Bibbowski.'

A few hours later, I posted this last, additional entry:

'Update: Additional sightings of the Parasite, Silver Swan, the Blue Cloaked Man, and the mysterious Yellow-Gold Giant have been confirmed by various sources, and complied by J'onn Jonzz, The Martian Manhunter, back on the JLA Satellite. According to his findings, they are all headed for central Metropolis, likely the borough of New Troy.

Weather patterns there have begun to change rapidly, and a particularly intense lightning storm seems to be forming. Very likely, this is a sign that Weather Wizard, and perhaps Count Vertigo, are on their way as well.

Be ready Justice Leaguers!'

The important things to note here are that I tried to make sure I had certain vital (IMO) components established:

• Familiar super villains from the rogues galleries of the chosen PCs.
• A few mystery villains who could not be confirmed to add intrigue.
• Mention of key DC Comics locations related to the PCs.
• Mention of key NPC heroes or supporting cast members. 
• Everything culminating in the most well known location mentioned: Metropolis.

Also, I established that the Martian Manhunter was there to help in an advisory capacity. This enabled me to give exposition, helpful hints, and the like with an in-game voice (J'onn's) instead of a GM/Narrator voice.

Remember this is all before the first session. This is the prologue. It's...OMG...it's...

Pre-Crisis on Earth G+!

More to come...

AD

Barking Alien

Adventure Comics

As I think about today, and how amazing it is that I've been doing what I love [running and playing tabletop RPGs] in one form, or another for 40 years now, I find it curious how much of my current gaming revolves around Superheroes. 

It was Superheroes comic books that got me started in the hobby after all. 

Unlike a lot of people who came to RPGs from other games (particularly war games, and/or miniatures), or a love of fantasy literature, I came to it by way of wanting to create, and participate in stories of a heroic nature. 

The kid who taught me to play on that fateful day in Brooklyn, August 25th, 1977, was a year younger than I was, and learned to play the game from his older brother. He explained it to me by saying, "It's like playing out a comic book. You create a character, go on adventures, defeat villains, and save people."

For this reason as much as any other, I've rarely encountered the 'murderhobo' mentality in earnest. My fellow players, and I as GM, were simply never all that interested in the idea. Once in a blue moon perhaps, as a change of pace, we'd play people just trying to survive and make a name for themselves. Most of the time though, it was about bigger pictures, deep goals, righting wrongs, fighting for a better world, a better tomorrow.

The games that drew my attention, and won my favor were games in which you played heroes, fighting the forces of evil, toppling tyranny, and discovering the wonder of the universe. Games like Star Trek, Star Wars, and of course, various Superhero RPGs. 

These days I don't get to run, or play Star Trek, or Star Wars as much as I'd like (though I do get the chance once in a while. More about that another time). I do get in A LOT of Supers however. 

Why, just next week I will running a DC universe adventure as part of my Google Hangout groups Ultra Mega Summer Super Crossover Event!

I found this in the Dollar Bin of a Comic Book Store on a Parallel Earth.

It's in pretty good condition. What a bargain!

In addition to my ongoing My Hero Academia: American Ultra campaign, I am taking over the reins of our little online group for a few sessions (Muhuwahahahaha!) in order to run something very near, and dear to my heart - a Silver/Bronze Age DC Comics mini-campaign! 

Most of my friends were Marvel fans when we were growing up. For a while, I would've said I was too if asked. DC wasn't as cool as Marvel you see, especially when you're between 8-14 years old, and living in the 1970s and 1980s. 

At the same time, if asked who my favorite superhero was, I would usually say Green Lantern. My favorite team? The Legion of Superheroes, and the Teen Titans. (But, you know, I'm still really a Marvel fan. Shyeah. Right.).

Eventually I grew to be proud of my love of the bigger, bolder, more mythic comic book company, and it's larger than larger-than-life heroes, and villains. Of course, I came to terms with this just as DC's management decided to blow it all up, and start fresh in the landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series.

I now yearn for a simpler, yet more epic time. A time of four color heroes, threats to the world, and even the universe, Gold Kryptonite, Super-Pets, and Bat-submarines. I want to visit the Wild West of Jonah Hex, Batlash, and Cinnamon, and the ruined, mutant future of Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth. 

This campaign is therefore a celebration of DC Comics before 1984 - Before waves of anti-matter, and muted, red skies took away the true Earth-2, Earth-3, the original Superboy, and The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. It is the era of The Creeper, Ragman, Supergirl dating Brainiac 5 in the 30th Century, and a host of awesome forgotten villains, and heroes deemed 'not edgy', or 'extreme' enough to survive unmolested into later eras. 

Feh!

The Teen Titans Judas Contract, the Legion of Superheroes' Great Darkness Saga - these stories are worth a thousand times what modern DC is doing. 

Hold on to the Mobius Chair, unfold the Worlogog, and follow us on a journey through the space-time continuum to save an entire reality, or maybe two, in the...

I can't wait!

Stay tuned.

AD
Barking Alien

Hot Fun in the Summertime

For the next few weeks, my weekly Google Hangouts group (which is normally engaged in a Kapow! Superhero RPG campaign going on three years now) will be running...

THE ULTRA, MEGA, SUMMER, SUPER CROSSOVER!

It's a pretty crazy idea, the kind I've been wanting to do for some time now. 

For the first arc, our usual GM, Keith, will be running the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game, with the players playing established Marvel Universe characters.

When that arc ends, I will be taking the reins, and running a DC Universe story featuring established DC characters, and utilizing the DC Adventures Roleplaying Game (which is powered by, and introduced Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition). 

This will be followed by a Kapow! arc in which we pick our favorite Marvel and DC heroes from the two games above, and make them up in that system to face off against the ultimate cross-company crisis! Whatever it may be.

I've got goosebumps! How about you?

Summer Lovin'

We've already begun, having run the first session of our Marvel arc last night. 

The Boys of Summer

While the players aren't all guys, the super-team that assembles in the first session definitely was. It consisted of...

Doctor Strange (Melinda), The Falcon (Mark), The Human Torch (Stephen), Speed (Tim), Spider-man (Carl), and The Vision (me).

Cruel Summer

The story opened with a group of assorted villains meeting up in a dockside warehouse ("As they do", as Melinda noted), where the Kingpin, and Tombstone were preparing to sell a mystic tome to the highest bidder. The potential customers were M.O.D.O.K. of AIM, and Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, of Hydra!

By the end of the session, our heroes had taken some serious hits, mostly from the marauding missiles of the maliciously mad M.O.D.O.K., and the I (the Vision) from a clever, indirect attack by Baron Strucker. 

However, a good number of players rolled high enough on their defensive reactions to turn the tables on the villains, most notably Doctor Strange, and the Falcon. In the end, the criminals were defeated, though the mystery of the mystic book, and why they wanted it, remains unsolved until next issue...

Summer Breeze

The game went rather smoothly considering only one person besides the GM (me actually) had played Marvel Heroic before. The system worked, and I think the players largely got how the mechanics reflect the story, and vice versa.

It seemed a very straightforward adventure - really just a battle to claim the 'MacGuffin' - but it worked, and it did the job of setting us up for the next session. 

According to Keith, the entirety of this tale will directly relate back to our ongoing Kapow! campaign. Wow. I am curious to see how that plays out.

Alright team, big news coming soon. Until then, be Super to each other!

AD
Barking Alien

Easy Does It

Before I go deeper down the wormhole of Star Trek Traveller, I'd like to tell you about a some great gaming experiences I had over the holiday vacation.

Between December 24th, and December 31st, I got the chance to run a lot of games. How many you ask? I don't even remember. A LOT.

While they all went over well, two in particular were really fun, and I can pinpoint why quite reasonably.

They were easy.

Now when I say easy, what I mean is that it required very little effort on my part to get the games set up, started, and going smoothly. The players displayed no resistance to the genres, nor to any of the details of the setting, story, or rule mechanics.

Basically, in a very zen sort of way...I wanted to run a game for my friends. I did. They wanted to play a game I was running. They did. It was fun.

Um...why aren't all games like this?

Because in order for me to run a great game, I need players who want me to run, and want to participate in, a great game. Furthermore, it would be awesome if they want a great game from me more than they want to get hung up on their various individual, er, hang ups.

Wouldn't that be grand?

The first of the two games was a DC Adventures / Mutants & Masterminds 3E game with my ex-wife, my friends Luke, and Lily, and a bunch of  'alumni' kids from the Tutoring Center. Inspired by the DC Comics Holiday Special issues over the years, the Justice League, and some of their Young Justice proteges went up against the Penguin, Sinestro, Bizarro, The Floronic Man, and the wicked warlock Wotan! All in a desperate battle to save none other than Santa Claus!

The Justice League of Earth-602!

Why 602? That's the address of the Tutoring Center, LOL

The most amazing thing about this session was how well the players took to their characters when the vast majority of them aren't comic book readers. I've noted before that this group, largely middle school and high school students of Chinese decent, have never read American comics in their lives. Their only knowledge of and exposure to these characters comes from the animated and live action shows on television. Add in the fact that only one of the adults in the group was a huge comic fan (and more well versed in Marvel mythos), and it repeatedly astounds me how well they all nail these well-established characters. 

Each person's interpretation of their character was very much influenced by the individual players' familiarity:

Green Lantern was very much the GL of Justice League Unlimited.
Aquaman was Super Friends style.
Flash and Kid Flash were a mix of the CW show and Young Justice.
Martian Manhunter was a mix of Justice League Unlimited and the Supergirl CW show.
Aqualad was totally Young Justice.
Superman was classic Silver Age, if a bit powered down (JLU also?).
Supergirl was straight out of the CW show.
Wonder Woman was Super Friends/Silver Age, complete with Invisible Jet.
Batman was pretty much Batman: The Animated Series.
Green Arrow looked classic but was really more like the Arrow TV series. 

If you are asking yourself, "Wait...were there actually 11 players?!", then I can tell you the answer is yes, most assuredly. 

The second awesome game I ran was MACROSS - Return of the Blue Dragons!

A sequel to the 1986 MACROSS - Blue Dragons campaign I ran in high school. Two of my old high school buddies, David Concepcion, and Eric Flores, were on hand to revisit my version of the Macross universe 30 years later (both in game and in real life). 

David played the son of his original character, while Eric played a bishonen character whose gender is never clear throughout the scenario. 

Numerous upgraded elements from the original campaign were added including the PCs' base of operations - The UN Spacy Odyssey II replaces the previous Odyssey, upgraded versions of the variable space fighters - the VF-3 series - and both of A.J. DeLorca's kids following in their parents footsteps and becoming Valkyrie pilots. 

The VF-3J Crusader

(Based on Shoji Kawamori's VF-3000 Crusader design)

With a thirty year gap between the last session of the original series and this one-shot, one would think it might have been hard to get back into the swing of things. Nope. Not one iota. 

For Dave and I it was really just continuing the campaign as if little time had passed out of game. As if we've been meeting to run this every month for three decades. Eric, for his part, merged into our lane with ease and contributed an interesting character with good tactical skills and even better social ones.

Snappy dialogue, fast paced combat, and a classic science fiction plot made this so much fun we were bummed when the session ended and we realized, 'Crap. This doesn't continue next week or even next month.' Sad panda.

Dave, as I have mentioned in the past, now lives in Boston. He is a working single parent and though he makes trips back to NYC one to three times a year, he doesn't always know if and when he'll be visiting. 

Eric is a GM regularly running his own campaigns.

I have work six days a week (my own Dog Walking Company and one day teaching), yet still manage to run or play twice a week (online and Friday nights), as well as once a month (my monthly group campaign, which is currently my homebrew Superheroic Medieval Fantasy setting using Ars Magica rules). 

Sigh.

Still and all, I am looking forward to more gaming like these two sessions this year. For my 40th Anniversary I want - no NEED! - to get back to gaming like I use to. I'm looking for that immersive experience with players that buy-in and embrace the setting and their characters. I can't wait to see what happens next. Additionally, I'd like to do so without the deconstructed, meta-viewpoint so prevalent in modern gaming.

Easy does it now. Baby steps. Baby steps...

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Barking Alien

A Whole Lotta Supers Going On

What the heck happened to the month of March?!?

Seriously, this month just ran away from me like the Reverse-Flash running from Barry Allen. Like The Hand trying to skip out on a fight with Daredevil, and Elektra.

March came in all mild-mannered, and than changed it's clothes in a broom closet to take off faster than a speeding bullet!

Can you tell I have Superheroes on the brain?

What an amazing month it's been to be a Superhero fan, am I right? There has been a veritable butt load of Superhero TV shows, and events, movies, and gaming goodness. It hasn't all been astounding, but just the sheer volume, and scale of it is staggering.

I've been getting in on the four-color fun personally by running a lot of Superhero RPG awesomeness myself, and I couldn't be happier. Well, I guess I could always be happier [as I always think I can do better], but so far so good. Even great if I may be so brave, and bold!

A lot to discuss...Where to begin?

Gaming!

Masked Age '66!

I have run two sessions (Issues) now of The Masked Age '66 for Dan's Group, and it looks like we're going full on campaign mode with this one for sure.

The premise is 'Silver Age with a Twist', as the heroes, villains, and NPCs are modeled after the comic books of the mid-to-late 60s while simultaneously dealing with the real world issues of that turbulent time. We are definitely not going into 'Watchmen' territory here, but we won't be ignoring the political, social, and cultural elements that defined the era.

The system is a Japanese fan-made RPG my friend found at a convention over there not long ago called 'The Masked Age' (actually Masuku no Jikan, or 'The Time of the Masks'). See more about it in my previous post.

I am loving our team! We have..

Aegis (Experiment Paragon Epitome) played by Leo. A dove/Anti-Vietnam War Superman analog. He is quite political, and an avid supporter of Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is a legacy character, being the son of the Golden Age superhero Major Victory. He possesses the classic Epitome power set: Flight, Invulnerability, Super Strength, Super Senses, and Laser Vision.

Drifter (Cosmic Crusader Magician) played by Dan. A member of a mysterious group of interstellar, and interdimensional travelers, Drifter has decided to remain on Earth for a while. He is haunted by the knowledge of lost memories (that is, he is aware he has amnesia, and that the condition may be self-inflicted). These are memories of something terrible that happened, or that he did. Drifter can open portals, and gates to travel, attack enemies, or defend himself. With the help of a focus - such as a car, motorcycle, or other vehicle - he can teleport anywhere on Earth. Drifter is in with the scene man. He is hip, happening, and in the now daddy-o. A cosmic 'street level' hero, he is known and well liked by the lost, the looking, and the disenfranchised across the highways, and byways of the world. Far out brother.

Mummy Queen (Supernatural Obliged Adept) played by Alex. The spirit of a murdered, and mummified queen of Ancient who possesses, and transforms her host, a mousy Egyptologist working for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mummy Queen is played with the no quarter taken, no quarter given arrogance of Namor, The Sub-mariner, or the mighty Thor. At the same time, she has a nobility, and a sense of compassion that reminds me of the classic Wonder Woman. She can stretch, and manipulate her mummy bandages in order to snare, entangle, whip, or throw objects, and opponents. Mummy Queen also possesses enhanced strength, and the ability to make dramatic entrances, and exists.

Titan (Cosmic Obliged Gestalt - Metamorph/Epitome) played by Arthur. A Human agent of the Council of Galactic Order, it is Titan's job to protect the Earth from alien invasion, especially of the gigantic, Japanese movie monster kind. As such, Titan is able to grow to enormous size, as well as shrink down to just a few inches. At any height, he can fly, has Super Strength, and Invulnerability. He also possesses an Energy Blast that he fires from his hands, or the faceplate of his helmet. My favorite power is his 'Kaiju Sense' which alerts him when monsters are present, or about to attack.

Robogirl (Technology Genius Gestalt - Epitome/Magician) play by Erick. A young, Japanese woman who came to the United States to make her fortune, she is both an engineering savant, and a wealthy if reclusive CEO. She wears a suit of powered armor that gives her Flight, Super Strength, Armored Protection, and Blasts, but her real power is her unparalleled mechanical genius. She can build, modify, and analyze advanced technology in moments. Her political and social views, especially on the subject of military conflict, differ greatly from some of her teammates (notably Aegis, and Drifter). In addition, her background involves her parents adding the Nazis in World War II by building many of the diabolical super-weapons they used to battle the Golden Age heroes (such as Aegis' Dad!). The player noted that although she is called Robogirl, her 'comic book series' is called Robogirl Z.

Our initial plot deals with the team members assembling all together for the first time (though some of them knew each other prior to the start of the campaign) in order to thwart a plot by The Scarab Society, a mystic cult that has existed since the very beginnings of the kingdoms of the Nile. They are the Arch-Nemesis of Mummy Queen, and responsible for her mortal death.

I hope to have more soon, as we are due to run the third issue, and the end of the story arc tomorrow night!

Kapow! The Freedom Force of Earth-F-Omega!

The regular GM of the Google Hangouts group I'm a part of had to take a night off for some family stuff, so I returned the group to the alternate world of Earth-F-Omega, and their PCs in the new, and revitalized Freedom Force.

This is my second time using this particular Supers setting, which is why I say 'returned'. You see, the last time I ran Kapow!, it was also in this particular setting, which is basically a variant on the Freedom City universe of the Mutants & Masterminds RPG. That previous time I was also filling in, but only so our regular GM could recharge, and play for a change.

After dealing with his personal obligations our GM, Keith, was able to join in with his character from last time. As the story wasn't really finished in the one session, we decided to continue with me as GM until such time as the story is complete. I ran last week, this week, and we should be finished next week. Keith will then return for a one night adventure before he heads off on vacation (have fun Keith!).

While Keith is away from two weeks, we're going to...no wait...I'll save that for next month.

Trust me...it's going to be interesting.

Cosmic Handbook for Mutants and Masterminds 3rd Edition!

I've been waiting at least two editions for this book, and I finally got it as a belated birthday present from a good friend of mine.

A sourcebook/supplement on all things cosmic, from Alien Empires to Existential Entities, is right in this fantastically illustrated, and put together tome. I highly recommend it to any fan of Superhero adventures across Time, and Space.

Excellent.

OK, other stuff...

Film and Television!

Supergirl and The Flash!

This past Monday on the CBS live-action television series Supergirl (a series I am quite enjoying by the way), The Flash guest-starred! That's right, Grant Gustin appeared on Supergirl as The Flash/Barry Allen from HIS OWN TV SERIES! Wow! I don't know about you, but to me this is monumental.

This is a crossover, not just from one program to another, but a crossover across networks. A hero from Earth-CW has traveled to Earth-CBS! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! For an old school DC Comics fan like me, this is a dream come true.

Why?

Because the episode was charming, fun, action-packed, and very much like an old school comic book in many ways. At the same time, it was a modern, prime-time TV show, applicable to and enjoyable by a much wider audience. This is what happens when you get it.

The makers of Flash, and Supergirl - They get it.

Unlike...

Batman vs. Superman

I don't really want to talk about this...um...film. But...

If you saw it and enjoyed it, good for you. I'm glad. Honest.

I found it completely awful. I can't really tell you what the plot was, what the director, and writer were thinking, or why they made the choices they did. For me, the movie failed on all fronts. Most of all, it failed its two lead characters.

In all the ways I enjoyed Supergirl AND Flash, I hated Batman VERSUS Superman. The basic differences in approach aside, the main issue was the characters not acting to their established natures. While Supergirl acted like Supergirl, and Flash acted like Flash, Batman and Superman were barely recognizable in their movie.

You could excuse it by saying, "These are alternate versions of the characters you know". That would be fine if you had established this universe properly. Even better, if you had developed a film universe with the characters as they'd always been, depicted in the base forms essentially. Then a variation like this would be an interesting contrast. But no.

Daredevil - Season 2

Great! Extremely well done series. I did have some minor issues with the second half of Season 2 once Elektra is introduced, but overall I think the whole thing was pretty spectacular. Looking forward to a Season 3, and of course the upcoming Luke Cage Season 1.

There are other things of a Superheroic nature I would like to talk about, but right now it's getting late here in the Big Apple, and I need to get some sleep.

Rest easy citizens,

AD
Barking Alien

DC HEROES - EARTH-AD

I think that after including my one long-term Marvel Super Heroes campaign amongst this Campaigns I Have Known series, it's only fair I write up one of my DC HEROES ones.

Yes? So glad we agree.

I've run a good number of DC Universe campaigns. Not all of them using the DC HEROES game by Mayfair Games however. No actually, only a scant few of my DC oriented RPG campaigns actually used that system strangely enough. While I did enjoy the game quite a lot, I started running games in the DC Universe before it came out, and long after it went out of print.

My first DC game was a Teen Titans related campaign using Villains & Vigilantes in which we played new teen heroes joining the established Wolfman/Perez era group. Another was an Earth-2 inspired game using Golden Heroes in which we were a kind of alternate All-Star Squadron (I think we called ourselves The All-Star Society, or The Justice Squadron, or something).

Remember that when DC HEROES came out in 1985, DC Comics was producing it's epic, continuity changing Crisis on Infinite Earths series. This meant that a lot of the material in the game, which focused heavily on DC's Silver Age, was now inaccurate, or incomplete to the Bronze Age comics fans of 1986, the comics they were reading at the time, and the post-Crisis status quos to come.

I ran a few games using the 1st edition of DC HEROES, but most were short, used as a break from one of our other, longer, ongoing campaigns. It wasn't until Crisis on Infinite Earths was over that inspiration struck me for a great DC HEROES campaign.

Please note that a number of elements in this campaign description would later appear in published DC Comics. My friends and I came up with these stories years before they would see print by professionals. We were about 17. 

How's that for perspective. A group of 17 year olds came up with characters, plots, and ideas it would take adult comic book pros years to duplicate.

Heheh. Great minds think alike I guess. Don't be surprised if, as a DC comic book reader, you find you remember some parts of this story. It's not deja vu, until later.

Or something.

***

Campaigns I Have Known

Proudly Presents...

DC HEROES -

EARTH AD

First there was a multiverse,

an infinite number of separate, but connected alternate, parallel universes,

and in each universe, an Earth.

Then...there came a Crisis...

When it had ended, the multiverse appeared to be no more. Only a single, combined Earth remained.

But that was not exactly the truth. Not the complete truth.

I shall not reveal the greater truth to you right away, but rather just as I revealed it to the players. I shall reveal it...at the end.

Title: DC HEROES - EARTH-AD

System: DC HEROES (Mayfair Games), 1st Edition.

Circa: 1986-1987. There were approximately two dozen sessions give or take a few.

Player Base: We started with five male players, 16-17 years of age. By the end of the campaign we had added one more regular male player, and one female player who appeared often, but not every session. All were in the same age range. Occasionally, additional players would pop in for a few sessions playing 'guest stars'.

The grand finale had something like nine, or ten players/PCs.

Characters: The characters were created at a slightly higher point base than was recommended by the rules. Our intention was to have a team of heroes whose power levels were between those of the Teen Titans, and The Justice League of America.

The basic premise we started with was that Superman first appeared on the scene in 1938 (Action Comics #1, cover date June, 1938), Batman in 1939 (Detective Comics #27, May, 1939), and The Flash (Jay Garrick that is) in 1940 (Flash Comics #1, January, 1940).

If the first time a hero appeared in public on Earth-AD' was the same as their first appearance in comics, if the universe never 'rebooted', and if linear time were constant and the characters aged normally, what does 1986 look like?

Sound familiar?

Our characters for the campaign are the Justice League Infinity, and consist of...

From Left to Right...

In the air: Kroo Pan, Green Lantern of Sector 2814

On the ground: Wonder Woman, Flash, Atom, The Atomic Man (in the back),

Superman, Batman, Robin, and Amazing Man.

Amazing Man

The son of the original Amazing Man who operated in the late Golden Age, Owen Everett was one of the oldest members of the team, but not the most experienced when compared to the former Teen Titans in the group. Still, Everett took on the roll as the soul of the team, and the voice of wisdom more often than not.

Like his father, Owen has the ability to transform his body into any material he touched, gaining its properties. For example, if he touched steel he would essentially turn into steel (like the Marvel Comics villain Crusher Creel, The Absorbing Man).

Amazing Man was not the team leader, but no matter who was acting as leader at the time, they paid close attention to his council.

Amazing Man joined after session 10, and remained a regular from that point on.

The Atom

Sometimes referred to as 'Atom, The Atomic Man', Albert Rothstein is the grandson of the villain Cyclotron, godson to the Golden Age Atom Al Pratt, and a star pupil, and lab assistant to Ray Palmer, the former [Silver Age] Atom.

Rothstein possesses the ability to alter his mass, and atomic structure so as to become physically larger, or smaller, and more or less molecularly dense. He can, for example, become a super strong, four inch tall man, or a forty foot ghost by adjusting his density to pass through walls.

The Atom has a number of weaknesses, including being unable to attain his maximum, or minimum density, or size for more than a few minutes at a time. In addition, high level of radiation can destabilize his body.

Rothstein is the teams go to science expert, especially in the area of physics and nuclear energy.

The Atom/Atomic Man was a series regular.

Batman
 
Dick Grayson*, formerly the first Robin, becomes the second Batman, with Bruce Wayne, and Kathy Kane-Wayne's son Bob serving as the second Robin. All grown up, Bob Wayne is now Batman, often teaming up with his half-sister Helena, aka The Huntress.

Bob Wayne's personality, and style is more relaxed then that of his predecessors. He thoroughly enjoys being Batman, fighting crime, helping people, and being a member of the JLI. His gear is a little more advanced, but relatively the same as the traditional equipment familiar to Batman fans. He does possess a highly advanced, grav-car Batmobile, that is essentially a Batplane as well.

Around the 6th session he teams up with Miranda Harper, the daughter of Roy Harper/Speedy*, dressed in a Robin costume and equipped with Oliver Queen's/Green Arrow's old weaponry. She joins him officially soon after as the new Robin.

Batman was a series regular.

The Flash

Wallace West has taken over for the deceased Barry Allen, who perished during the recent 'Crisis' while saving the universe from certain doom. Wally has been a hero for years, operating as Barry's sidekick, and with the Teen Titans as 'Kid Flash'. Initially depressed over the death of his uncle, and mentor, Wally is given a pep talk by the Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick, and entrusted with Garrick's helmet.

Wally is romantically linked with Raven, but the feelings are not reciprocated due to her fear of releasing the inner demonic power she holds within her. When she departs this realm for worlds beyond, Flash is comforted by the heroine Green Flame (NPC), the daughter of Jade, and grand-daughter of the Golden Age Green Lantern Allan Scott. The two began a romantic relationship in the later part of the campaign.

Flash was a series regular.

Green Lantern 

Just as Abin Sur used his ring to find a worthy successor in Hal Jordan, Jordan used his ring to locate a worthy successor when he planned to retire and marry his long-time love, Carol Ferris. His ring chose a most surprising recipient - an alien of the  Klaramarian species, infamous to Earth's Superhero community due to their worst possible representative, the villainous 'Faceless Hunter of Saturn'.

The son of Klee Pan, the heroic Klaramarian who thwarted the evil Faceless Hunter Chun Yull on a number of occasions, Kroo Pan was initially greeted with some degree of mistrust by the other Justice Leaguers. Nonetheless, Kroo Pan proved himself time, and again a true hero, and a stalwart friend.

Green Lantern was series regular.

Robin

The daughter of Roy Harper/Speedy, who later became The Red Arrow, Harper was on a tour of the Hall of Justice, when it was attacked by the supervillain known as Ultimatum (secretly The Ultra-Humanite...and more! See below).

While attempting to find cover, she noticed several damaged display cases containing paraphernalia belonging to former Justice League members. Donning a Robin costume, and gear once belonging to Green Arrow, Harper joined the Leaguers on duty in the fight against the invader.

Impressing Batman (Bob Wayne), and Flash (Wally West) very much, Harper was offered additional training and a spot on the team as the new Robin.

Note that this makes Robin only five years or so younger than Batman. This proved a very interesting dynamic for the Dynamic Duo.

Robin didn't  really join until session 7. She appeared in about a dozen or so sessions total.

Superman

Grandson of Clark Kent, and Lois Lane, son of Jonathan James Kent, the current Superman of Earth-AD is Clark Kent Jr., sometimes nicknamed 'CJ'. He is initially shown to be less powerful than his predecessors, but later discovers he can temporary increase his abilities by prolonged exposure to increased levels of Yellow Sun Energy. He must be careful, as too much will harm him.

He is more resistant to Green Kryptonite, and Magic than his father, and grandfather, with the former causing him mild pain, and nausea only.

Superman is in an on again, off again relationship with Donna Troy/Wonder Woman. It's complicated.

Superman was a series regular.

Wonder Woman

The current Wonder Woman is Donna Troy, who recently took over the position from the original Wonder Woman's daughter Lyta Trevor, previously called Fury. Like Wally West, Donna Troy had grown up amongst the Superhero community as a sidekick to Princess Diana, and as a member of the Teen Titans.

Donna Troy's origin, a much convoluted, and retconned mess in the comics, was greatly simplified here, sticking close with the original tale, but making some key adjustments to reconcile with our timeline.

She is played as being in a rocky relationship with our version of Superman.

Wonder Woman is initially an NPC, and often called off on separate missions. She is taken over as a PC in session 12 (I think), and appears in the next dozen sessions give or take one, or two absences.

Guest Stars Included:

Aquaman - The son of Arthur Curry/Orin of Atlantis, Arthur Curry Jr. goes by the alias of Tom Waters when we first meet him. The undersea kingdom of Atlantis was under the rule of Black Manta, who had captured Garth, the second Aquaman (formerly Aqualad). The Justice League aided Tom, who revealed his true identity, took the throne, and took on the mantle of (the third) Aquaman.

Aquaman made three appearances.

Doctor Fate - Hector Hall, son of the Golden Age Hawkman, and Hawkwoman, and who previously had a career as a hero called The Silver Scarab. Kent Nelson, the original Doctor Fate, granted the Helm of Fate to Hall when he passed away.

Doctor Fate made two, or three appearances.

Hourman - Grandson of the original Hourman, Robert Tyler had vastly improved the compound that gave his grandpa his powers. Using minerals and chemicals extracted from a deteriorating Bizarro, Robert created 'Super-Miraclo', which essentially made him Superman for one hour every twenty-four hours.

Hourman made five, or six appearances.

Supergirl - The daughter of Clark Kent's cousin Kara Zor-El, aka Powergirl (later Powerwoman). In this reality, Powergirl first appears in the late Golden Age/early Silver Age. making her a contemporary of Jade, Fury, Hector Hall, and the like. Supergirl is therefore her daughter and a closer contemporary to the PC team. She is only a part-time Justice Leaguer as she spends a good deal of time in the future with the 30th Century Legion of Superheroes.

Supergirl made five, or six appearances.

Synopsis: Following a year long event known as 'The Crisis', the Justice League reorganizes to became Justice League Infinity, establishing a new, and improved Hall of Justice as their home base.

While the participants of the event recall that there was a 'Crisis', and remember certain key, dramatic moments during it (such as the death of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash), no one can seem to recollect exact details about it. There is some belief that their lack of memory about what transpired may be protecting them from allowing it to happen again (although they are not certain why they hold this belief).

That is all background however. Our story opens with the Justice League Infinity members in the middle of a battle against the forces of the evil villain Ultimatum! With the help of numerous other costumed criminals, and gimmick garbed goons, Ultimatum has been on a crime spree, stealing scientific equipment, and advanced technology from Wayne Enterprises, S.T.A.R. Labs, and others.

As the story progresses, the heroes discover that Ultimatum is not the only one stealing cutting edge tech. A mysterious female figure has been reported appearing out of nowhere at various sites, taking particular pieces of equipment, and then disappearing just as suddenly as she came.

Batman follows a hunch based on a clue at one of the crime scenes, and encounters an unknown individual with pale, purple hair, wearing a green, and white outfit at the site of the original Justice Society of America headquarters. The odd man warns him 'This world is coming apart...it is made of memories poorly reconciled...until now. Now there are no memories left..." After delivering his cryptic message, the fellow vanishes.

Several other villain plots, and hero/secret identity subplots follow, all the while regularly tying back into the overarching mystery. The man in green reappears with additional warnings, only to be drawn away again. As it turned out, this man was Kell Mossa, also known as Pariah, attempting to leave clues to help the Justice League against some coming apocalypse.

Finally the PCs discover that Ultimatum hasn't been stealing anything. Not exactly. The mysterious woman has been taking things, and Ultimatum is trying to stop her, even if it means taking, or destroying the item. The woman is found to be handing the items she steals over to her partner, who is assembling a Quantum Frequency Stabilizer. If he doesn't, reality itself will surely unravel!

Her partner reveals himself to be...Alexander Luthor of Earth-3! Actually, he is a dimensional impression of Alex Luthor.  He, and his ally Harbinger state that the universe the game exists in is merely a pocket dimension within the body of Alex Luthor. If he can not stabilize his powers, Alexander Luthor (the real one, not the pocket universe shadow that is conversing with the PCs) will die, and their entire continuum with him.

Ultimatum, originally described as a clone of the Earth-AD Lex Luthor, infused with Brainiac's technology, powered by Metallo's Kryptonite Heart, and possessed by the consciousness of the Ultra-Humanite is actually a vessel for a far more dangerous evil...The Anti-Monitor!

Hiding within Alex Luthor's pocket dimension, the Anti-Monitor has been slowly, arduously trying to repair, and rebuild himself. If Alex Luthor dies, the Anti-Monitor would be able to absorb the dissipating dimensional, and cosmic energy, and reform himself in short order.

After a few more episodes, battling a deteriorating cosmos throughout the pocket dimension of Earth-AD's space/time, the PC heroes enter a final battle against Ultimatum/Anti-Monitor, while Alex Luthor-3 races to complete his machine. Harbinger reveals that if Luthor-3 is successful, he and Harbinger will live, but the universe of Earth-AD could very possibly be rebooted beyond recognition. Of course, there will be at least three other survivors, specially protected by the dimensional abilities Luthor-3 possesses...

The original 1938 Superman, the original Lois Lane, and the Superboy of Earth-Prime.

You see, at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, [From the Wikipedia entry] after defeating the Anti-Monitor (with the help of Kal-L, the Earth-Two Superman and the Earth-Prime Superboy), Alexander reveals that he has saved Kal-L's wife, the Earth-Two Lois Lane, from
being erased from existence when the multiverse was destroyed. The foursome, no longer having a place in the Post-Crisis universe, retreat to a "paradise dimension" (which Alexander accesses with the last of his dimensional powers).

Earth-AD is the 'paradise dimension'.

Unfortunately, the entire universe of Earth-AD was 'constructed' out of the memories of the Golden Age Superman, Lois Lane, and the DC comic book reading Superboy of Earth-Prime. Discrepancies in their recollections of various DC continuity elements caused the ripples in space/time that were 'corrected' as best they could be. This explains the divergent history, ages, and other aspects that separate Earth-AD from the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity most comic fans are familiar with.

Made aware of their situation, and the possibility that saving the multiverse from a reborn Anti-Monitor may cause everyone, and everything they've ever known to cease existing, the PCs decide to give it their all, and ensure the defeat of the Anti-Monitor.

The final battle was brutal, and heart-wrenching. Dr. Fate, Green Lantern, The Atom, and numerous NPC Superheroes are killed. The Flash manages to power-up, and focus Alex Luthor-3's device, in much the same heroic way Barry Allen destroyed the Anti-Monitor's device, and saved the Earth in Crisis on Infinite Earths. The very last moments before the machine kicks in involve Batman, and Superman side-by-side laying a serious smack-down on Anti-Monitor.

THOOM!

The universe...no...the multiverse is reborn. This time the continuity is more like DC as it was before Crisis. It is a DC where Crisis never occurred, and the continuity of an infinite number of Earths lived on...

Perhaps someday, I will get to run in that universe.

Appendix N: Easily 50 years of DC Comics history, Crisis on Infinite Earths #1-12.

Bonus Features:

Sadly, while I can recall the players, I honestly can't recall them all, and I don't remember who played who. It's terribly embarrassing.

A special shout out, and thanks to Alfonzo V., Andres D., Buzz, Cynthia R., David C., Pete H., Will C., and several others.

Several comic books from DC have come out since we played this campaign that have had similar characters, themes, events, and other remarkably coincidences. Most notable to me is Superman/Batman: Generations by John Byrne. Some of the supporting cast, and background characters are not unlike those from Kingdom Come.

The primary focus was to create a modern comics world (well, modern for 1986) that evolved out of the Golden Age, not the Silver Age. Remember that the Silver Age essentially rebooted many of the Golden Age characters, and by 1986 those original versions were living on an alternate Earth (Earth-2). Earth-AD assumes a Silver Age that grew out of/descended from the Golden Age more directly, and then continued on from there.

Nearly every single DC character you can think of made some kind of appearance in this campaign in some form. A six session arc in the later half of the campaign (towards the end actually) sent the PCs tumbling out of control through time, encountering the likes of Wild West Heroes Jonah Hex, World War II heroes like Sgt. Rock, and the Justice Society, and into the distant future of the 30th century and The Legion of Superheroes.

While this was not my first DC campaign, not my longest, and not my last, it does remain a favorite.

*Some of the ages of the characters may seem off, but consider:

Dick Grayson/Robin, and Roy Harper/Speedy are often associated with the Silver Age Teen Titans, but actually Robin first appeared in 1940 and Speedy in 1941. Wally West, usually depicted as their contemporary, didn't actually make his first appearance until 1959.

The players decided that while Wally would make a viable Player Character, Dick Grayson, and Roy Harper would be too old.

Now get ready for Star Trek, Star Wars, Paranoia, Toon, and much more!

See you again soon!

AD
Barking Alien