Superheroes on the Brain

I am currently in the process of watching all of the Arrowverse television shows in broadcast order from Arrow Season 1, Episode 1 to Superman & Lois Season 4, Episode 10. At one time, not all that long ago, the CW was overflowing with DC Comics superhero shows. They crossed over with one another and inter-connected. It was awesome!

I have decided to revisit all the shows, but it is necessary to watch the shows in a specific order because of the way that they occasionally crossover. The episode order information is available out there online, but it's not in the most accessible format. I decided to compile my own list and format it into a PDF document that I could easily reference from my phone at any time.

While that might not be the sort of stuff that I share here, I spent a lot of time on this document. So, I thought, "Why not share it?" If you decide to try to watch all of the Arrowverse shows in order, I promise, you'll thank me.

Included in the document are: Arrow, Flash, Constantine, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Stargirl, and Superman & Lois. -- You're welcome.

Here's the link to the PDF optimized for phone use!

I seem to have superheroes on the brain. I'm also watching Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney and am enjoying that (but am only 3 episodes in.) I'm working on my own superhero themed RPG that uses trick-taking mechanisms, and reading a superhero RPG called, We Can Be Heroes that I plan to write a review for here in the not so distant future.

Feel free to join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and superheroes!

I'll be reviewing this book soon!

Start With Moments, Not Mechanics

My latest project is yet another superhero RPG. Continuously pursuing these designs begs a few questions. Paramount among them is why? 

Why did I create Hi/Lo Heroes, and eXceptional, and Hero DxD? Why am I back at the drawing board doing it again. 

My answer is simple. I'm still not playing these games. The game among all of my designs that hits my game table is Five By Five. That's why it gets so much of my attention. However, it's still not my ideal superhero RPG. I keep telling myself that if I get it right, I will play the game. 

As a designer, I like fiddling with different resolution mechanics. Dice, cards, whatever … I love playing with the numbers, and I perceive this as "game design." That's okay; I guess. I've enjoyed the process of making games as I have done it over the past 30 years. 

But for all that effort, I still haven't found the RPG that I want. Recently, Biff! Bam! Kapow! came very close. I could "house rule" BBK and I might actually find the experience that I'm looking for. My recent post was a mechanical approach to recreating what Biff! Bam! Kapow! does using some (mechanical) ideas of my own. I playtested these ideas, and I think that something good might be discovered here. 

However, I think I might again fail to create a game that I want to play, because I think that my approach has been wrong. I always begin with mechanics. Always. It's just how I've always thought about RPG design. Recently, I watched a video on YouTube that said something that really struck a chord with me. 

"Start with moments, not mechanics." 

What kind of "moments" do I want my game to create at the table? I think that Biff! Bam! Kapow! comes very close to creating the kinds of moments that I have been looking for. Which is why I have been drawn to it. It's possible that emulating some of what Biff! Bam! Kapow! does is going to produce exactly what I am looking for, but going forward I need to be clear about what that is. 

I need to change my focus from mechanics to moments. So what superhero moments have I been unsuccessfully grasping for? 

That's the magic question that I believe will set me on the right path. I've been mulling it over, and I believe that I have the answer. 

Super Friends

I want moments like there were in the Super Friends cartoon where Batman and Superman and Aquaman and Wonder Woman could all work together and function as a super team despite their radically different power levels. 

So, what do Super Friends moments look like? 

The heroes cover a wide range of power levels and abilities. 

Each scene sees the heroes separated and solving an individual challenge tailored to their abilities. 

Scenes are separate but simultaneous and all apply to the same end goal. 

Superhero comic books tend to be solo affairs. Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman all have their own comic books. 

Upon taking a closer look at a Super Friends' story, it seems like each hero is solo and has a moment in the spotlight while still being part of the team. 

Can I create moments like that? 

I don't know. I haven't tried. Maybe that's why I haven't found my game yet. I'm pretty sure that other superhero games have never taken this approach. Maybe that's why I haven't found my game yet. 

Comic Books Were My Comfort Food

I've dropped the ball when it comes to writing entries for my blog. The act of writing is just for me. The act of sharing that writing in a blog is, I suppose, a bit of ego stroking. I'd like to think that there are people out there who care about what I have to say and who share my point of view. This might even be true. The problem is, I'm getting old.

I turn 60 this year. People my age aren't generally "computer" people. They don't read blogs. Heck, almost no one reads blogs anymore. So, maintaining this practice of writing and sharing ideas in this space begins to feel more and more pointless with every passing year. But, I'm still going to do it.

I like expressing my ideas out to the nebulous expanse that is the internet. I pretend that I'm speaking to friends who can understand and empathise with my points of view, and that is somehow comforting to me. I know that I'm deluding myself to a great extent, but that doesn't matter. Call it the "placebo effect" if you must. Just getting words out of my head and organizing them helps me.

When I was going gangbusters on this blog for several months last year, I tried to share entries about board games and RPGs during the week and a sort of personal life story during the weekends. If you were reading along during that time, you know that my childhood was a little bit turbulent. (See how I'm addressing you, the reader like there's actually someone there? Placebo effect.)

I'm working on yet another superhero RPG. I love superheroes. As a kid, comic books were my comfort food. As a teen, RPGs were my saviour. As an old man, both of them seem to remain just out of reach. Something that you don't think about when you imagine getting older is how your world will change.

 

Sure, everyone struggles with their mortality, and fears growing more frail and eventually dying. I realize now as I glance to my right at the walker that I now need in order to move around the house…  I realize now as I look in front of me at the healthy breakfast that includes cholesterol free egg substitute and an orange, which is a direct result of a recent heart attack…  I realize that dealing with my own mortality is the easy part. 

The part that no one talks about is how the world continues to grow and evolve and change while we as human beings tend to stall. We learn to value certain things. We settle into a personality and a pattern of expectations and beliefs based on our past experiences, and then the world moves on, and everything that we believe crumbles away. Oh, I still believe what I believe. It's not actually belief that crumbles away, it's relevance. 

It doesn't matter what I believe because my world doesn't exist anymore. I was so excited to see the new James Gunn Superman movie. He seems like a man who comes from the same world that I come from. I'm still excited for the film. I have plans to see it on my birthday in July. But, I realized today that it won't be what I want it to be.

I just finished watching the season 1 finale of James Gunn's Creature Commandos. It's good. It's really good. It's not what comics were for me in my youth. It's certainly not "comfort food." If anything it's "discomfort food." Creature Commandos is disturbing, sad and dark. It's a good example of why the world isn't for me anymore. 

If you aren't a 60 year old man with a 10 year old kid from 1975 living inside of him, you might like it. Hell, I "liked it." As I said, it's very good. But it's not part of the world that I remember or that I yearn to revisit. It doesn't give me what comic books used to give me. Those comic books don't exist anymore.

Deeds - Dastardly & Heroic - A trick taking Superhero RPG

This is an idea that I am playing with for a scene based RPG resolution system inspired by Biff, Bam, Kapow and trick taking card games.

Deeds: Dastardly & Heroic

Mood

Cards are used to determine the mood in a scene. Think of mood as the lighting, the camera angles, and the music that permeates the scene. The mood can be Calm, Suspenseful, Dastardly, or Heroic. (Alliteration is used to tie mood and suit together: calm to clubs, suspenseful to spades, etc.)

Calm (clubs)

• Fail: +0 Progress
  
• Succeed: +1 Progress
  

Suspenseful (spades)

• Fail: -1 Progress
• Succeed: +1 Progress
  

Dastardly (diamonds)

• Fail: -2 Progress
• Succeed: +1 Progress
  

Heroic (hearts)

• Fail: -1 Progress
• Succeed: +2 Progress
  

When a character succeeds when taking an action, they gain Progress. When a character fails when taking an action, they may lose Progress. The amount of Progress lost or gained is based on the Mood for that round in the scene. 

 

Every scene will last five rounds. The GM will have chosen a selection of five cards depending on the Dominant Mood of the scene. Three of the cards will match the selected mood and the other two could be anything. Here are some suggestions:

• Calm Scene: 3 clubs, 2 spades
• Suspense Scene: 3 spades, 1 diamond, 1 club
• Dastardly Scene: 3 diamonds, 1 club, 1 heart
• Heroic Scene: 3 hearts, 2 spades

With the mood deck assembled, the GM shuffles the cards and flips one. Interpreting the mood of the card within the context of the current scene, the GM describes the actions and events taking place within the scene and then asks the players, "What do you do?"

• Every scene should have a defined goal that carries some importance to the outcome of the story.
• Progress moves the story forward.
• All scenes begin with 0 Progress.
• Actions taken by the players may increase or decrease Progress. 
• At the end of a scene if the players have accumulated 2x the number of players worth of total Progress then the scene is resolved in the players' favor.
• At the end of a scene if the players have accumulated less than the required total Progress then the scene is resolved to the players' detriment.
• Generally, scene types are played out in order in a circular fashion: calm to suspenseful; suspenseful to dastardly; dastardly to heroic; heroic to calm, etc.
  
  

Trick Taking

Players play a card from their hand on their turn in order to attempt action and influence the scene.

• The GM will inform the players of the Dominant Mood of the scene when the scene begins.
• Players draw a hand of five cards at the beginning of the scene, and do not redraw cards into their hand. (They will end the scene with no cards.)
  
• A player's action succeeds automatically if they play a card from their hand that matches the suit of the current mood for the round.
• Players may follow suit to be guaranteed success, but they are not forced to do so.
• Alternatively, a player may play a card for its value, ignoring its suit.
• Playing a card with a value that is equal to or lower than the score of a relative trait on their character sheet will result in a success. (See "Using Traits" below.)
  
• Each Trait can only be used once per scene.
• Each player has a personal deck of 52 cards.
• All cards without numbers (A, K, Q, J) have a value of 1.
• Trait Scores range from 2 (average) to 9 (legendary).
  
  

Character Creation

Roll or select one trait from each of the following 8 trait categories. (You can even make up your own trait for a given category if nothing meets your fancy.)

1. Origin Trait (How does your journey begin?)

1. Mutant (You were born different – very different)
2. Augment (Science changed you)
3. Alien (You're not from around here)
4. Enchanted (Magic changed you)
5. Rigor (You learned, trained or developed your natural abilities)
6. Robotic (You are what you were built to be)

2. Value Trait (What do you care about?)

1. Love (You do it because there's a special someone that motivates you.)
2. Duty (You must do it because you took an oath.)
3. Justice (You do it because it's the right thing to do.)
4. Glory (You do it to gain recognition.)
5. Power (You do it to get stronger.)
6. Truth (You do it because you have a need to know.)

3. Method Trait (How do you solve problems?)

1. Dynamo (You use your power)
2. Bruiser (You use your fists)
3. Investigator (You use your mind)
4. Diplomat (You use your words)
5. Seducer (You use your beauty)
6. Investor (You use your money)

4. Physical Trait (What about you physically do you depend on?)

1. Brawny (Your muscles have muscles)
2. Nimble (You can move your body with surprising speed and precision)
3. Tough (You can take punishment that would cause others to crumble)
4. Small (You can squeeze into tight places and are often underestimated)
5. Large (You can be quite intimidating even when you don't want to be)
6. Beautiful (Your physical appearance is pleasing to any who gaze upon it)

5. Intellectual Trait (What about you intellectually do you depend on?)

1. Resolute (You stick to your guns)
2. Creative (You think outside the box)
3. Wise (You have the experience of years)
4. Vigilant (You notice things that others don't)
5. Technical (You understand all kinds of technology)
6. Knowledgeable (You are full of interesting facts)

6. Personality Trait (What about your personality do you depend on?)

1. Courageous (You won't hesitate)
2. Witty (You can always bring a smile)
3. Persuasive (People find you convincing)
4. Empathic (You understand what others are feeling)
5. Endearing (People want to love and protect you)
6. Unapproachable (People know not to mess with you)

7. Superpower Trait (This is the power that makes you a superhero)

1. Speedster (You strike fast and hard)
2. Elementalist (You blast with bolts of power)
3. Shapeshifter (You change your form to something else)
4. Ninja (You strike from the shadows)
5. Mentalist (You possess psychic abilities)
6. Paragon (One of your Physical, Intellectual or Personality Traits has evolved into a superpower)

8. Civilian Identity Trait (This is what you do when you aren't hiding behind the mask)

1. Doctor/Paramedic
2. Lawyer/Law Enforcement
3. Celebrity/Politician
4. Student/Teacher
5. Working Class
6. Scientist/Engineer

Fleshing Out Traits

Take some time to add personal detail to your traits so that you can envision the character that you want. D&H leans heavily into narrative resolution and "theater of the mind." Add any details that you like that will give you the sense of the character you are creating and help you to describe their moments in the story.

Trait Scores

All traits start with a score of 2. You have 4 points to assign to improve your traits. Improve traits as you wish, but no trait can ever be more that 5 points higher than your lowest trait, and no trait can ever have a score greater than 9.

Using Traits

Try to save lower valued cards in your hand to use with your Traits as you are trying to play equal to or lesser than your Trait Score. One important rule to remember is that once you use a trait to perform an action, that trait is exhausted and cannot be used again in this scene!

Scenes

All scenes should be defined with clear goals and consequences relating to both success and failure. Combat is resolved like any other scene. The Players and the GM can describe exciting exchanges of blows between combatants to match the mood of the scene, understanding that the final resolution only occurs at the end of the fifth round after the last card is played and Progress is tallied.

Advancement

At the end of each game session players can make one change on their character sheet. They can increase a Trait Score by +1 (subject to the restrictions listed under "Trait Scores" above.) They can swap a defined Trait out for a different one in the same category. (This doesn't effect it's score.) They can change their character's name, description or anything else about them that makes sense within the context of the story and roleplay that has been shared. Every session: One Change.

  

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