RPGaDAY 2017 #23

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Which RPG has the most jaw-dropping layout?

Layout, huh? I can only interpret this question as meaning "jaw-droppingly bad," as there are only two kinds of layout: functional and dysfunctional. There's no such thing as mind-blowingly great layout. It's either adequate for conveying the game, or it's poor at doing so.

There are actually a few I can think of that had some poor layout. I didn't think much of HOL (Human Occupied Landfill), though I "get" that the RPG was supposed to be some kind of "joke." The Malkavian Clanbook for Vampire: The Masquerade was designed with a similar "joke" in mind (and was similarly un-funny)...but as it is only a splatbook, I don't think I can count it as bonafide RPG.

I don't own World of Synnibar anymore, but while I seem to recall it being a trainwreck in the layout department, I can't verify that's actually the case without looking at it (Synnibar had a LOT of design flaws already, so I don't want to "pile on" based on a memory from two decades back). Palladium games (Rifts, Heroes Unlimited, TMNT, Beyond the Supernatural, etc.) aren't any great shakes in the layout department; however, they are consistent in the way their books are laid out, so once you've figured out one, you've pretty much got them all. First edition Chivalry & Sorcery has fairly adequate layout, but the font for the text is sooooo small (they really wanted to save on page count, I guess), it's really challenging to read.

No, I think the game who's layout was the worst in my mind (that stand out, anyway) is the original Villains & Vigilantes RPG. I didn't actually acquire the game until a few years ago (long after V&V had gone out of print and then revived), so I was probably biased by 21st century sensibilities; still, I can remember opening the cover and being disappoint and slightly distressed at the haphazard layout of the game, the lack of (to my mind) adequate information, and the overall poor presentation of the rules (despite fine artwork).

Sorry to single you out, Jeff Dee.

No Hulk

Okay, so Superworld can’t really duplicate the Emerald Goliath…well, not anyway I can find that models the comic book character.

See, SW is a pretty darn good, but it still has a modicum of balance…and a bit of realism…that, while I like it, manages to stick itself in the eye. Regarding the Hulk we have two issues that torpedo the Jolly Green Giant…one technical and one practical.

The technical one is the real heartbreaker: boosting a character’s Super Strength or Super Size (remember, this is a Chaosium/BRP game so we have that nice little 7th attribute: Size) is limited by a character’s initial ROLLED attributes. Yes, Superworld combines random attributes with picked/chosen powers…a little combination I was using in my own super design.

So if one WANTS a character with a Size of 34 and a Strength of 80-something (this would model the Hulk of the Ultimates comic universe) your character’s combined STARTING strength and size would need to be in the 16 and 16 range. Since a Size of 16 is equivalent to someone that’s 220lbs (and Banner is about 120) that doesn’t work. Of course, you could put the Size down to 10 and still get the same limit on Super Strength/Super Size…if you were able to roll a 26 for your strength.

Now it is possible to purchase handicaps that reduce one’s ability scores…but by rule you are unable to apply a Super ability to an ability that has been reduced. Likewise, the handicap “non-super i.d.” seems custom-made for the Banner/Hulk…except that taking away the super-abs still leaves you with a 200+ pound weight-lifter as opposed to the skinny scientist (again, assuming you stick with the rule book's power level limits).

[as I said I LIKE the limitations in the game as they DO prevent the “breaking” of chargen found in certain other point-buy supers games (*ahem*). They just don't work for my Hulk-man]

Next we have the PRACTICAL limitations, specifically regarding energy expenditure. Similar to Villains & Vigilantes, Superworld gives every character an “Energy” stat that is a reflection of the characters’ spirit and fatigue level and acting as the battery juicing their powers. UNlike V&V, this applies to most every type of action a character takes, including lifting heavy objects and using one’s natural damage bonus.

Okay, I can get that actually…it should tire out behemoths to throw cars around and put their full force into those super-haymakers. Unfortunately the amount of energy required is determined by the amount of Strength being used…and the amount of energy available is NOT related to the amount of strength one has.

So, for example, if my Hulk character wants to throw a “full strength” punch (assuming size 34 and a strength of 85…strong enough that he has a 50% chance of lifting a medium tank without straining) his total damage bonus is +10D6 at a cost of 30 energy. Base energy is determined by one’s POW + CON. Now both these abilities have a “rolled” maximum of 18 and increasing them with levels of Super Power or Super Constitution has limits determined by their initial rolled amount (though slightly different from the STR and SIZ limits). The absolute maximum raise would be 24 and 36 respectively, making for a total energy supply of 60…giving the Hulk a two punch limit before he needs to sit down and take a breather. Most characters can make at least two punches in a single melee round.

Pretty lame.

Same holds true for any Mighty Thor-equivalent or Superman type character. Yes, you can give characters the power “Energy Source” which increases the amount of “juice” in their batteries…but all of these things (Super POW, Super CON, Energy Source) eat into the total number of points available for building a character’s super powers (we haven’t even considered how to do the damage resistance, bonus hit points, armor, leaping, regeneration, speed, etc.) all of which come from the finite limits set by the character’s initial, rolled characteristics.

Which in Banner’s case should be fairly limited (assuming you want to have the puny scientist alter-ego).

Superworld cautions against using the rules to create an “all powerful” character, but the limitations engrained in the system seem to preclude the building of any such character…at least, if one is trying to accurately model certain iconic comic creations.

Ah, well…I said EARLIER that I didn’t think Superworld was a “perfect” game. And by perfect I mean, “meeting the ideals I personally hold dear for any RPG involving the superhero genre.” But it’s definitely “up there.”

In fact, after semi-careful consideration, I think I need a new Top Ten list.

TOP TEN SUPERHERO RPGS
(ranked in order I’d be willing to play ‘em)

1. Superworld
2. Heroes Unlimited
3. Godlike/Wild Talents
4. Marvel (TSR edition)
5. Villains & Vigilantes
6. Mutants & Masterminds
7. Adventure!
8. Capes
9. Aberrant
10. With Great Power…

A couple caveats: Heroes Unlimited only gets played with a couple modifications, specifically my Karma rules converted from Marvel (not posted because, well, you know how Palladium is), and the junking of pretty much the entire skill system. Superworld might (repeat: MIGHT) need some modification if you want to model specific game universes.

Not considered: DC Heroes/Blood of Heroes, BASH, Silver Age Sentinels, and Truth & Justice…I’m just not familiar enough with these rules to make a judgment.

Waaaay out of the running: Guardians, Sketch!, GURPS Supers, and Champions (any edition).

***EDIT: Damn! Completely forgot about Mutant City Blues by Pelgrane Press. That game rocks and I haven't had a chance to play it yet. I'd slot it in at #3, #4, or #5 on the list above, depending on my mood (it definitely steps over V&V, but I'm not sure about Marvel or Godlike). Man...I forget that one too often!***

Old School Super Weaknesses & Powers

I was re-reading Villains & Vigilantes again today, specifically the power section when I came upon this particular section I had completely forgotten (give me a break - I've only ever read the book once, and have not yet had a chance to play it!):

When all powers and weaknesses [each player rolls one random "weakness" in addition to 3-8 (1D6+2) super powers] are determined, the player must select one of the powers to discard. It is better to drop a power which will leave you with a remaining set which are interesting and go well together, rather than simply getting rid of some ability which doesn't look very powerful.

Each character also has the option of dropping the weakness he received if he feels that it would hinder him too severely. However, to do so he must drop a second power as described above.

I know I was talking about my dislike of randomness in super power games yesterday, specifically with regard to Marvel, but V&V does a great job of making the random power generation coherent with these two rules. Discarding one power (especially when you only have a handful, many of which are open to radical interpretation) really gives you the ability to "tighten up" an otherwise incoherent bunch of abilities. And the "weakness" rule is good as well...if players don't want the weakness they don't have to have it. And the price they pay to drop it (abandon an additional power) simply allows them to tighten the character concept further. It's a win-win all the way around.

I was already considering adding weaknesses to my game...they are just such a trope of the comic book superhero. The kryptonite achilles heel, Daredevil's blindness, Tony Stark's drinking, Spiderman's numerous imperiled family members/love interests (as well as always being broke as a joke)...it seems like most every hero has something that makes him or her flawed (I'm not sure what Green Arrow's weakness is...that he's a libertarian? that he's an easy target for police trying to crack down on vigilantes due to his lack of "real" superpowers?).

However, I had been considering having the weakness as optional...a means of perhaps gaining an extra superpower. Now...well, I have to admit, I like V&V's take on it. Perhaps a list of minor weaknesses (mandatory) versus major weaknesses (optional)? I'll have to think about it.

I never did like the weaknesses in Marvel Superheroes RPG (I refer to the limitations found in the Ultimate Powers Book). As with many aspects of Marvel, I found this particular system lacked granularity...plus, I just didn't find it very fun.

Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of my day working on the Superhero game. Finished my sidekick rules which are, quite frankly, totally awesome. Also fleshed out most of combat and XP/advancement (some people might be disappointed to hear that - at this time - combat is going to be a variation of my attack-less variant combat system for B/X).

I also put together a list of as many general super powers as I could think of off the top of my head. I got 103, which according to the good Doctor is probably "three too many." He doesn't think there should be more than 100 (which interestingly, appears to be the exact number present in Matthew's random charts over at Wheel of Samsara).

And he may be onto something. V&V only has 70 powers in its rule book (NOT counting "weaknesses") while Mutants & Masterminds only lists 93 (not counting Feats and extras), Heroes Unlimited has 90 random super powers (not counting spells, psionics, bionics, etc.), Aberrant has 65 (plus 9 "mega-attributes"), and Guardians has only 97 total. Advanced Marvel Superheroes does have 120 powers, but the original, basic Marvel Superheroes only has 60 including some of my favorites to be left out of the Advanced edition (Unique Weapon, Unique Vehicle, Intelligent Weapon, and Sidekick).

So even though I was considering compiling a single comprehensive list of powers including EVERYTHING from EVERY supers RPG I've got, I think instead that I'll do what I can to cut down the list to something a bit more manageable.

On the other hand, B/X D&D does have more than 100 spells in it (though admittedly spread over two rule books). I think that if I could get the power descriptions down to pithy, B/X-like blurbs, I might be able to get a few more than 100 into the game. But as I said, it's something I'll have to think about.

Right now, France and Uruguay just started their match. Later Gators!

Fiddly Old School Games

One thing I HAVE heard about FGU games is that their particular fiddlyness out-fiddles all other Old School games of the fiddly variety. Aftermath in particular has this reputation, but I will say here and now that I am NOT a-feared of the fiddly.

And it’s a good thing as Villains & Vigilantes is EXTREMELY fiddly.

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game as specifically, mechanically crunchy and yet so friggin’ Old School Open-Ended as V&V. Truly a “what the hell” effort to read the rules.

First off: who says you need 64 pages to write an RPG? Did I say 64 was some kind of magic number? The Star Frontiers advanced rules contains only 60 pages, though it does have 4 additional insert pages of tables and such.

Villains & Vigilantes? It has 48 pages.

'Wow, that’s not a whole lot,' one might say. And 'damn straight' would be my reply. The game gives you just about the most basic chassis for superhero role-playing I’ve ever seen…while at the same time, it strives for a type of hyper-crunchy realism that is so different from the abstract color ranks of Marvel as to be the opposite end of the spectrum. It reminds me of DC Heroes except less elegant (which is REALLY saying something!). I have never seen a game that makes use of so many fractional numbers, pure and simple. Rounding? Yeah, there’s rounding…AFTER you worry about the tenths of a point from all the various stats [one-tenth your Strength CUBED + one-tenth your Endurance divided by one-half the character’s weight (in pounds) equals the character’s carrying capacity which in turn determines hand-to-hand combat damage and throwing ability…*whew!*].

And yet, UNLIKE the extremely specific and limited scope of powers in other Superhero games, V&V is about as Old School off-the-cuff and House Rule A-Rama as you can get. It’s f’ing schizophrenic is what it is. Powers are rolled randomly, then you read the power description and make shit up! Here are some examples:

Special Weapon: The character possesses some sort of unique weapon and may work with the GM to create its specific abilities. There are no limitations on what the weapon might do except those set by the GM. Range, attack type, damage, and/or other effects, number of uses per recharge, etc. must all be delineated. The weapon needn't necessarily look like a weapon, nor is it limited to entirely offensive capabilities.

Bionics: These are mechanical replacement or supplemental body parts. A character with this power may choose one to six (roll 1d6) parts to add or replace, and works with the GM to assign abilities to each of these...

[I love the ADD or replace clause!]

Magical Spells: The power to work magic, and to create new and unique magical forces. THe character starts with one beginning spell of his own design (the GM should work with the character to create a useful and reasonable power). From then on he may create new spells according to the Inventing procedure (see section 6.3). The effects, power costs, etc. of the each new spell must be outlined by the character, and the GM may modify its parameters or refuse to allow it if the character is asking too much. Each spell should be nearly as powerful as a regular super power.

[two interesting things: that the GM works with the CHARACTER rather than the player, and that these invented spells are "nearly as powerful as a regular super power" when the invention process normally creates effects "one-third to one-quarter as powerful"]

Mutant Power: The character possesses some sort of new, unique ability. The GM and character must work together to create this new ability, setting its range, duration, PR, action/movement cost, etc. This can be anything (within the limits set by the individual GM), so use your imagination

. [that's just plain ballsy to have on a random roll table]

Friggin' nutty. It puts a lot of power (and responsibility) in the Game Master’s hands, that’s for sure. In true OS fashion there’s nothing that balances powers against each other EXCEPT what balance is given by the GM, as extolled in the rules themselves:

From section 7.3 GAME BALANCE

...Whether you play the rules 'as-is' or not, it is important to maintain play balance. Take care that the game does not become either too hostile or too friendly to the players. The GM is responsible for the enjoyment of the players. Anything which makes the game less enjoyable should be avoided. A game where players breeze through events with no chance of failure can be as boring as one where they face odds against which they never triumph. Game Balance is the science of keeping things somewhere between these two extremes, for each individual as well as for the group in general. Player enjoyment is far more important that any individual rule in this book...

[!!! That's a LOT to put on the poor GM!]

Let’s talk about game balance for a moment. It’s a funny thing of course, but of especial importance to superhero RPGs. Why? Because you’re seeking to emulate a comic book genre...and comics, despite being visual in nature, are a literary art form. They tell stories through their pages. And sometimes, those stories necessitate some unrealistic match-ups.

Could Batman really go toe-to-toe with Superman? Should they be fighting the same power level of villains? Could Squirrel Girl REALLY defeat Doctor Doom?

In a comic book? Sure. It’s just a matter of the artist drawing the happy chance circumstances that lead to the under-dog heroically triumphing.

Some superhero RPGs model this in their game system. Marvel does (with enough good Karma points and a little ingenuity Hawkeye can take down most villains that should totally clean his clock…likewise Daredevil or any other “street level" superhero). Narrative games like Capes and With Great Power do as well.

Other games, like Heroes Unlimited do NOT (and woe betide the Stage Magician that is facing down a mega-powerful Immortal like Thor). Aberrant (and probably Champions) balances characters against each other in terms of overall points (somewhat), but nothing prevents some players from optimizing characters and others from making…well, rather worthless Joe Shmoes. Superhero stories told with these RPGs are more likely to look like the Marvel Ultimates imprint than a Silver Age story (complete with heroes getting shot down in a hail of bullets or villains having their arms pulled off).

Villains & Vigilantes has the “realistic crunch” of these latter games but talks the superhero talk of the abstract comic book games. It is also very much in the Silver (possibly Bronze) Age as far as comics are concerned. Heroes can come from a variety of backgrounds…magical, alien, technological, highly trained, or a combo…and are expected to capture opponents without killing them and have them hauled off to jail.

Yes, prison. In a game world that assumes super-powered characters are running the streets, it likewise assumes that prisons have been designed to contain super-powered criminals. Of course, it’s extremely difficult to hold a super-crook indefinitely; the very nature of being super means their escape is fairly inevitable, as is explained in the Super Prisons section (nearly pages...more than 10%!...of the book is devoted to crime, punishment, trials, and jail).

V&V characters have levels and gain experience points, but XP is only gained for defeating opponents and putting ‘em in the pokey. Killing a villain nets you exactly ZERO experience. Kinda’ makes you wonder why anyone would want to play a character with claws, huh?

Character creation deserves its own, separate post (along with an EXAMPLE!), so we’ll move onto the other rules. The game is definitely of the “descended from wargames” Old School variety, complete with movement and ranges in inches, lines of sight, and the assumption folks will be using miniatures or “chits” to a scale out their battles. That’s a sign of the times as far as I’m concerned. Combat (all important in a Supers RPG) is a matter of choosing an attack versus an opponent’s chosen defense and rolling under a certain number as determined on an attack matrix. For example, a villain decides to blast me with her flame power, and I use magnetism to defend (how magnetism actually acts as a defense the rules don’t really say…maybe this is narrative driven, like “I drag a metal trashcan from the street corner and intercept the incoming fireball with it!”). My opponent needs to roll a 13 or less on a D20 (with some modifiers based on ability scores, character level, range, and training power ups). Most of these bonuses or penalties are static and the only "search & handling" is cross-referencing the offense-defense matrix and looking at your character sheet…but it’s not what I’d call “intuitive” by any stretch of the imagination.

Against non-defending opponents, there is a straight number for each attack (interestingly, all animals and inanimate objects are considered 4^th level for defense purposes…for some reason, this seems perfectly reasonable to me). Some attacks also provide the defender with a “saving throw” (which completely blows…I have to make an attack to use my Mind Control power and then the guy might STILL resist? That sucks!). Otherwise, attacks generally do damage.

Characters have two separate resource pools for absorbing damage: Hit Points (duh) and Power Points. Hit points is the actual amount of damage you can take before dying, while Power is kind of fatigue/stamina/energy. It can be used to reduce damage (rolling with punches) or expended to use most powers on either offense or defense (the fire/magnetism roll). Interestingly, the more power you have, the harder you are to hit in combat if you take evasive action (you get a bonus of one-tenth your remaining Power…I guess it’s also your “hustle” ability). If both Hit Points and Power are 0 you’re dead…which can be kind of problematic due to the character creation rules (see next post).

After combat we have the section on Reaction (personality mechanics being exceptionally important…at least judging by the fact that it is the only other “system” in the game besides combat). Then we get rules for creating campaigns, including making “pedestrians” (any non-super character) and organizations. And the crime and punishment section.

The appendix has some rules regarding leaping tall buildings and throwing cars, a handy table of stats for animals (from the domestic house cat to the brontosaurus, it's all there on a half-page table, baby!), and an "equipment section" (a couple paragraphs telling you that superheroes don't need extra gear/equipment, and that your GM will have to make stuff up if you want to use it). Page 48 isn't actually much more than a big picture (unlike the cover leaf, which is blank).

Wow.

For 48 (or less) pages, Villains & Vigilantes is a complete game. Well, complete as long as your GM is good at making stuff up! Actually, it IS a lot closer to my ideal Supers game...I don't think an RPG needs hundreds of pages to be fantastic and "complete" even if one wants a good selection of super powers from which to choose (or roll!). The book could probably stand to have a bit more decent lay-out...but who cares? For being published in 1982, the book is still solid enough to use, and short enough that I can find most any rules I need fairly quickly after only a couple read-throughs.

And I have got to say, I love the name. "Vigilante" may carry a bit of negative connotation in our present-day society (and vigilantism probably should) but isn't the root of vigilante "one who is vigilant?" And isn't that what superheroes should be...vigilant against the terrible crimes of the super-villain? And the game IS called "VILLAINS & Vigilantes," implying that the villains came first, forcing the heroes to don the cape and cowl and fight the good fight.

I don't know...it's a weird little system, really. But I wouldn't mind giving it a go.

: )

Adding to the Collection

[FYI: sorry for the delay in posting; I won’t bother going into excuses for the several day lay-off as nothing was going on worth mentioning…I’m back for now]

Over the years I’ve played, owned, borrowed, and browsed many MANY role-playing games. To say I’m an avid gamer would be a bit of an understatement. “Connoisseur” isn’t too much of a stretch, especially over the last 20+ years when I’ve delved into various RPGs, analyzed, compared, and played them for my own pleasure.

But that of course is NOW. Prior to being a “connoisseur,” a better term might have been “game whore” as I went through a several year period of purchasing/collecting all sorts of RPGs with little regard for the actual game systems and nothing that could be called a discerning eye.

Which is fine and dandy. The point of games is to have fun playing ‘em, and though I may treat the hobby with a highbrow (or pretentious!) attitude these days, I feel I’ve cut my teeth on enough trash to be able to weigh in with my opinion. Some may not agree but, hey…it’s my blog.

Now having said all THAT, prior to becoming an eclectic collector I was an absolutely DEVOUT follower of TSR…I may have PLAYED other games but I certainly didn’t spend my hard-earned cash on ‘em. I know, I know…this sounds a little odd. Let me give you some examples.

B/X D&D was my first RPG. Pure and simple. It evolved into AD&D, a game I played for many years with a select circle of friends…up until age 14 or 15. However, even before I stopped playing AD&D (a hiatus that would last…well, I still haven’t gone back to 1^st edition AD&D really), I played a number of games with this same circle of friends, but generally games they were bringing to the table:

- Jocelyn had ElfQuest, James Bond, Twilight2000…perhaps a couple others I’m forgetting

- Scott had BattleTech/MechWarrior, Shadow Run, as well as GURPS and Beyond the Supernatural (these latter two having VERY short runs in our camp)

- Rob had Classic Traveller and James Bond

- Jason introduced us to Marvel Superheroes (which we all bought into big time, picking up the Advanced Set and playing the hell out of); he also had some Christian version of D&D called Dragon Light or some such

Now in addition to D&D, I had copies of Gamma World, Top Secret, and of course Boot Hill. These were as much for cross-genre exploration (via the DMG) as anything else. I also owned Marvel (Basic and Advanced) and Star Frontiers which we had fun playing…but you’ll notice that all of these games are all published by the TSR stable.

By the time I finally started investing in other games in the late 80s/early 90s (Chaosium, Palladium, White Wolf), I had missed out on a whole slew of RPGs that had been published, advertised (in Dragon and elsewhere), and gone down the tubes…all before I’d taken my “TSR blinders” off. Oh, some were still around in 2^nd editions (West End Star Wars for example) or under new flags of ownership (I picked up DragonQuest in its SSI incarnation). But others had dried up completely.

One such group was FGU: Fantasy Games Unlimited.

Aftermath, Bushido, Villains & Vigilantes…the ads for FGU games had always stood out for me from the pages of Dragon magazine as a kid. But with little disposable income and even less of a PLAN for getting my hands on new games (I was more interested in playing the games I already owned), I failed to get a single FGU system when they were in their heyday. Now, of course, I’ve heard ample good things about these games from the folks that cut their teeth on THEM as kids, but I dislike buying things off eBay and you just don’t see ‘em stocking the game shelves in the Used section.

Well, until a couple days ago. That’s when I was able to pick up the box set of Villains & Vigilantes for $5.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I am an absolute sucker for superhero games…the quest to find the perfect Supers RPG is a Quixotic one, and probably one that will ultimately prove impossible. And yet I keep trying (no, I have heretofore refused to purchase Mutants & Masterminds…sucker, yes, but there are some lines I try desperately not to cross). And V&V is a game I’ve been wanting for YEARS.

I’m sure it’s due to a couple different things, this hopeless yearning of mine. Reason one, of course, is “The Quest;” not ever owning V&V how could I know if my Grail search might end could I just get my hands on a copy? But the foremost reason is those damn little ads in the old Dragon magazine…little character blurbs, complete with cool little stat lines that made me say, “wow, why the hell aren’t I playing THIS cool game.” I should point out for the record that not one of my friends was interested in playing a supers RPG until the advent of Marvel…I was the only one that ever seemed interested in combining the fiddly stats of AD&D with comic book characters.

Well, fine…I’ve got it now and…hmmmmmmmm…

Full review of V&V follows.