Random Descriptors for Super-Five

 Feel free to ignore the picture. Just an early experiment with GiMP that I discovered on my harddrive. 

I continue to work on Super-Five. In fact it demands enough of my free time that certainly this blog has been greatly neglected of late. But, I wanted you to know why, and to know that it was hopefully with good reason.

I intend Super-Five to be my next "official" RPG release. I have shown some hints here at what Super-Five might look like through the Super-Five Fast Play and my recent: How we play Five by Five article. But my ambitions are far greater than these for this project.

I have learned a few things over the past many years of writing my little games. One is I like to keep things simple. I like Five by Five's "choose your trait" structure because that's the way I like to work as a GM. If I need something, I'd rather just make it up and start playing straight away. I don't want to have to look things up in a book.

Another thing I've learned is that, many players (I dare to say, most players) would rather have a schmogas board menu of options to choose from than a blank slate. Players like to browse through options, they like to roll things on random tables to gain the Christmas-morning-like surprise of results.

HiLo Heroes was popular because it had random tables for hero creation. That's fun. When it comes to Superhero RPG's players want lists of powers. I personally think that: The Supercrew by Tobias Radesäter is one of the best supers RPG's I've ever read. I feel very fortunate to have a print copy of the comic, because unfortunately that option seems to be gone now. Still, as good as it is, The Supercrew was a hard sell to my players because, like Five by Five, it leaves the specifics of your character's traits (powers) to your imagination.

What I am hoping is that by taking the Five by Five framework and adding a bunch of examples and fun random tables for character creation and putting these things together I can strike a perfect blend of both worlds. I am providing examples, but still keeping things largely undefined to allow for player interpretation. And I am not taking away the "create your own trait" aspect of the game. It's still there in addition to the tables. What I am really hoping for is a happy place where the two techniques come together ... where players use the tables for inspiration, then create their own ideas based on that inspiration.

So, Super-Five is ongoing, and I am very hopeful that when it takes it's final form it will be well received.

Here, as a teaser are the Attack Descriptor tables from the section on character creation.

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		Table A - Attack Types
0		Elemental blast (roll on table a-a)
1		Elemental control (roll on table a-b)
2		Super strength (roll on table a-c)
3		Mental attack (roll on table a-d)
4		Weapons: forged (roll on table a-e)
5		Weapons: inherent (roll on table a-f)

		Table A-A (elemental blast)
0		Bolts of lightning arc from my finger tips to shock and stun my foes.
1		Balls of Burning Flame erupt from the palms of my hands scorching my enemies.
2		Waves of optic energy shoot from my eyes to dazzle my enemies and send them flying.
3		blasts of frigid ice bombard my enemies freezing them in their tracks.
4		I invoke mystic forces to zap, charm, or bewilder my foes.
5		Blinding flashes of light can burn, stun, daze or disorient my foes.

		Table A-B (elemental Control)
0		I summon gale force winds and torrential rains to assault my enemies.
1		I control plants, causing thick vines to burst forth and grab my enemies.
2		I can cause the very stone and clay of the earth to burst free and fly at my enemies.
3		I influence Gravity, making things Lighter than air or heavier than lead.
4		I can control water, causing it to swell in waves through the air to pummel my foes.
5		I summon the darkness of shadows to envelop everything around me.

		Table A-C (Super Strength)
0		I look muscular, but I am much stronger than I look.
1		my incredible muscles make me look every bit as inhumanly strong as I am.
2		I can grow to the size of a giant which is what makes me so strong.
3		I take the form of a beast, a monster of incalculable strength and fury.
4		I wear a Belt (ring, amulet, armor, exo-skeleton) that makes me super strong.
5		My body is elastic, able to stretch to any shape. This makes me inhumanly strong.

		Table A-D (Mental Attack)
0		I can push others with the power of suggestion causing them to act as I wish,
1		I Create irresistible emotions in others that they believe to be their own.
2		I create Illusions my enemy can see, Hear, Feel and Believe, But it's all in their mind.
3		I can Move things with my mind, and create powerful waves of Psychic Force.
4		I can read another person's thoughts and attack their mind with Psychic Backlash.
5		I see glimpses of the future, Anticipating my enemy to find openings in their defense.

		Table A-E (Weapon: Forged)
0		I fire trick arrows from my bow (crossbow) to disable my enemies.
1		Stun Blasts from my PISTOL (RIFLE, SHOTGUN) leave my enemies reeling.
2		I brandish a sword (axe, hammer) of ancient Magical power to vanquish my foes.
3		I throw Projectiles (Boomerang, Daggers, Shuriken) to strike my opponent.
4		I dual wield a weapon in each hand to outmaneuver and dazzle the enemy.
5		I effortlessly wield an unnaturally gigantic weapon to devastating effect.

		Table A-F (Weapon: Inherent)
0		I am an expert in unarmed combat. My bare hands (and feet) are deadly weapons.
1		I have sharp claws that I use to cut through my enemies.
2		I have a tail that I control with precision to grab, strike or throw my enemy.
3		I have a beast's fangs that I use to savagely bite at the flesh of my enemies.
4		My hair is Mysteriously Alive. It Grows and moves by my will to entangle my foes.
5		I have a horn (or horns) growing from my head with which I ram my enemies.

As I continue to work on this my plan is to provide full sets of tables for 8 traits providing 288 unique example descriptors that players can use and modify as they see fit to create their characters.

It's some of what I am working on ... in case you were wondering.

Jeff