A blog about sewing machine repairs,but mainly my hobbies which include old school role playing games, science fiction,films, horror, and general geekery. Sit down and stay a spell.
Showing posts with label Old School Super Hero Gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old School Super Hero Gaming. Show all posts
Let's pick up on the Ascendant Rpg from where we left off on the blog. And look at the Ascendant rpg system & dive into some of the ins and outs what makes game work. For me it's the combination of classic Marvel Super Heroes & DC Heroes rpg system goodness with an Autarch spin work.
Lurking below the surface of Ascendant is the setting conceit of the 'Gods & Champions of Old Returning' to the modern world. Make no mistake that this isn't 'the world's most popular rpg' even though Ascendant can do fantasy with little issue. Where Ascendant actually shines is in it's handling of squad level action. For those who own Ascendant notice how the militaries are protrayed in the game. This isn't a mistake on the writer's part. Ascendant is meant to handle small squad actions with super humans. Mercenary units, rogue nations, militaries, and even corporations are going to be very interested in super humans. And this is especially going to be true of PC's. Ascendant PC's are also going to be able to bring military assets of thier own this is especially true of mercenary units.
A band of Ascendant characters could well be able to handle both civilan and long term military contractors. The balance of power has shifted in the world of Ascendant. And I don't think that even the world of the supernatural is going to be ready for such a shift.
Ascendant has a very advanced form of necromancy and several other powers that mimic the rise of the supernatural within the world of Ascendant. And Autarch has indicated that there will be more supernatural supplements coming up. The supernatural factions within Ascendant have not been quiet at all. And in point of fact have been making waves in pop culture and the media. This puts the spot light deeply on to these factions in certain areas. And it's the Ascendant factions that Alexander Marcis dive into in this interview from 2022.
If we're looking deeper into the game the factional play is as complex & varied as Autarch's ACK's but we're comparing apples & oranges here. The bottom line is how Ascendant handles it's world & itself. But we'll get into more of that next time.
So over the weekend I had a chance on Sunday to take another look at the Ascendant Rpg. Now I'd swear everytime someone takes on an rpg someone else has to suddenly pick it up in the hobby zietgeist on social media or the internet.
So over the weekend I started rereading the Ascendant rule book. And it's a pretty clear & concise rules set up. I really love the mechanics of this game. If we look at the Drivethrurpg review of D.M. from 09/29/2022 he's got a pretty solid break down of the of the internal mechanic of the Ascendant system; "It looked complicated at first, but actually it's not a hard game to learn. The core mechanic is simple enough: AV + Hero Points vs DV + Hero Points = RV. Check that RV on the CHART, and roll a d100 to see what color result you get. Once we had that down it was very fast to use in play--by the end of the night a round of combat was going as fast as D&D, and we've spent years using d20 systems." And what this brings up is the fact that Ascendant is excellent for running squad level super hero rpg adventures. The secret too this is the way that the game handles it's mechanics and does it with a sly bit of maths & moving things right over into the hands of the DM. (Sorry I'm a dungeon master & not a game master. It's a bit of the OSR grognard in me folks). All of this goes deeply into the PC creation mechanics of the Ascendant rpg again referencing back into D.M.'s review here; "I liked that the system has both a simple and complex method of character creation. Half my group just sent me a concept and wanted me to make their PC for them since it was a new system, and the other two are the kind who enjoy the process of chargen as much as they do playing the game. (One of them is a recovering D&D 3.5 minmaxer.) I found character creation a bit complicated but was able to knock it out reasonably quickly with the simple method. The two players I mentioned said they had a good time diving through all the powers and perks and planning out their character designs--they liked the variety of powers and different ways to tweak them. Also important to me as the GM was that the complex method of chargen didn't mean that their characters were out of place in the same campaign as the ones I built with the simple method." So why are not doing more Ascendant rpg content Eric?! I'm glad you asked disembodied voice in my head. The real factor for me has been time. These days I have little of it. But after watching this actual play through with Alexand Marius I need to get back into Ascendant.
The real factor is that as a DM I wanna create my own super heroes and universe coming up. There's a ton of idea that are roiling through my head after watching this play through.
So over the past couple of days the mail has been a bit well weird because of the Nor Easter that we've been hit with. So checking on Drivethrurpg on two orders, something appeared and that was the Ascendant rpg by Alexander Marcus. And that the package was being delivered today by UPS. And yes I spent the extra money for fast delivery. And so the box that this came in was delivered this morning and this bad boy is thick!
The Ascendant rpg is one of those crunch heavy super heroes rpgs that I love. Did a ton of DC Heroes rpg & TSR Marvel Super Heroes rpg back in the day. So the Ascendant rpg speaks to me as a DM & as a player. The fact is that Ascendant rpg is a super hero rpg can of math in a book form. And that's fine with me. D.C. Heroes taught me higher math so this is game after my own heart.
So let's just take a second to bask in the superhero awesomeness! This game book might be able to stop a small caliber bullet & within are characters who are bullet proof! The Ascendant rpg has the meat & bones of a system that will bring tools & parts that you need as a player to run an entire world & campaign.
Ascendant Rpg By Alexander Marcis does a fine job of doing a ton of set up for their comic book world setting. But reading through this I find myself wanting to create my own campaign setting. That being said I'm speaking with several players now to see about getting a campaign off the ground.
I've spent the afternoon playing catch up with repair work and getting my sweaty hands on the Guardians rpg by David Pulver and Thomas Denmark. I've been waiting a month or more for this retroclone system ever since I stumbled across this game's announcement on the OE blog. So what if the originators of original Dungeons and Dragons had been inspired by the Golden age of comic books and superheroes? That's the question that the Guardians! retroclone poses and answers in spades. Faster then a speeding bullet the DM is plunged into a world of capes and crusaders where the party really is a bunch of super heroes!
GRAB IT HERE One might be thinking great another super hero game with moar power! More abilities and now they've added in ton more material! Well, yes and no. There are ton of PC racial options from exotic, mutant, robot, super alien, supernatural, human, and superhuman. All of these give limits, gifts, powers, issues, and powers. There are four primary character classes: Bruiser, Super-Agent, Power- Wielder, and Gadgeteer. (There is also a Fighter class used for non-super non-player characters. Everything is very carefully laid out here and ease to understand for any experienced OD&D player or DM. Everything in this game has a different scaling then traditional OD&D, adventurers and super heroes are powerful and very dangerous. This isn't simply in the traditional scale of things but also in their abilities. Think very carefully before mixing Swords and Wizardry or OD&D with Guardians!. This a complete system unto itself really. According to the authors; "Depending on your character's origins you will be able to roll a number
of times on the Power Table to determine what super powers your
character has. In some ways this is reminiscent of the Gamma World
mutations tables and how that endowed characters with unique abilities.
Though we've worked hard to make the system much more balanced so the
party will all have value to contribute to the adventures without 1 or 2
characters dominating every session because they are so much more
powerful than the other characters." That isn't a bad thing but it gets to the core of the gaming system and powers; Guardians is very well done and takes some of its nods from traditional OSR gaming but its really its own animal. Guardians is a complete supers game in 101 pages of system and super heroics but it strikes the balance as fun and very interesting while using a traditional approach to its subject matter.
PC's in this are going to range from anything resembling the Justice League or the Avengers to something straight out of Dead pool. The system is easily capable of producing all of this and much, much more. Here's what your PC's might look like from a recent OE blog entry. GHOST BLOODSupernatural Super-Agent (7th level)
Str 11 (0), Int 9 (0), Wis 18 (+3), Dex 28 (+6), Con 11 (0), Cha 20 (+4) Class Abilities: Assassin, Dark Fighting, Surprise Attack. Powers: Projectile Fire, Psychic Weapon, Super Charisma, Super
Dexterity, Superior Intangibility, Super Jumping. Features: Danger
Sense, Heightened Smell, +2 Wisdom. Gifts: 1 Gadget Point, Paragon. Limits: Bound (serve the Shadow Hounds); Depowered by Holy Symbols and Sanctified Ground. Issues: Duty Gadgets: “Shadowcloak” (wearable gadget: Teleport).
Equipment: Ballistic body suit, 3 smoke grenades.
HP 39. EP 9. AC 21.
Ghost Blood is a member of the Wraith Brotherhood, an order of magical
assassin/martial artists who walk the path between life and death. He
can walk through walls, track like a bloodhound and conjure a psychic
sword or fire darts made of his own blood!
But the question really is, is Guardians a playable and viable system, what is the differences between this retroclone and other super hero games on the market currently? Well, yes this is a system that has ton going for it. First of all this a one time game and download, everything you need to play this game is straight out of the gate in the pdf and print book that is coming from Lulu in the near future. The book has some amazingly nice systems built in that allows for a wide range of easily customizated PC super hero options. You can take a look at the sample of the Power Wielder class here
I think that Guardians! brings some very powerful tools to the table for a DM and his players to use, I can see this system being used for anything from old school science fiction to pure dungeon busting. The system is flexible, cagey, smart and easily used across the board. Guardians is well thought out and balanced within its own system. But its insidious like White Star in some respects because its too flexible and easy to slip into a campaign subverting adventures and well established games. That being said its well worth your time and download.
I don't want to like this game because it is far too easy to slip Guardians! into the back door of a campaign or an existing campaign to begin running a supers game. There are ton of random charts and tables as well as advice for running an on the fly game. This is a very well done gaming system and there's lots of room to DYI in your own favorite super hero setting or more. I think though that Guardians is its own self enclosed super heroes system and dungeon masters should be extra careful when using it. As they say with great power comes great dungeon master responsibility. Grab this game and then use it to run one shots and convention sets until you and your players decide how to use it. Guardians! is a great supers game and very well written with lots of great artwork throughout the game. Grab this game tonight or when it comes on sale, personally I'm waiting until this game crops up on Lulu. I want a print copy yesterday. There is already a G+ community with support right over here.
Some errata and errors are already being found but these are very minor issues.
So apparently today was DM appreciation day and my gang of nine players decided to drag me kicking and screaming to the movies to see Captain America Winter Soldier. This was an incredible film. The story line sets a new gold standard for super hero films while really taking in a stab at echoing the political thrillers of the 70's and 80's. The overtones are over arching in this one. Shield is center stage throughout and things may never really be the same again. Many of the elements of this film are tied directly into the first Captain America film. Re watch it before going to see this one
.
This film throws the audience in the deep end of the Marvel Captain America pond and doesn't let up at all. The theater was cheering at certain parts of the film and visuals are very well done. The action never stops with several key plots running at the same time even though this film.The movie is PG -13 film and the violence is pronounced and as extreme as we've seen perhaps a bit more then Avengers. This film stars :
Already we've got a seqeul scheduled for 2016 according to wiki: A sequel set to be directed by the Russo brothers is scheduled for release on May 6, 2016.
The Winter Soldier is a well crafted movie and the plot ideas here are not so much taken from the Winter Soldier Marvel Comic series as they are reworked into the movie Marvel universe to a very well done effect. So far as I've seen everything about this movie lives up to the previous Captain America movie and turns the volume up to eleven.
This film puts Steve Rogers in the driver's seat of the movie and then gives the action over the Black Widow and the Falcon. There's lots happening here and there's still more coming. I've got to see this film a second time to see every single thread in this one.
This is perhaps the best Marvel film that I've seen to date and there are some major tie ins to the other films especially the Avengers and the rest of the movie Marvel universe. The ideas here fly fast, the plot elements are bold and comic book like. This however is one of the darker Marvel films to date and it goes a long way toward capturing the air of paranoia and fear that is in the air right now. That fear is taken and turned into a very loud, fun, and one hell of a ride to take a date to.
The performances here are fun and gritty with just the right level of violence and mayhem to keep things moving very quickly. This is a film that your going to want to see again and again to get everything. This one opens cans of worms and the door for many more things to come from the world of the Marvel movies.
OSR Gaming In The World Of
Captain America The Winter Soldier
If you are playing an old school Marvel Super Heroes Rpg campaign using the Marvel movie assets of these films. There are years of plot hooks and ideas just waiting for a DM & players to exploit. This one has everything from ties at the end of Avengers, Iron man, to loose threads that tie directly into the Agents of Shield television series. The idea of everything from clean up crews of Shield agents to complete rogue elements of mercenary super heroes dealing with the blow back and events of this film are all there. After the events of Winter Soldier there are going to be a boat load of agents questioning their place in the world and Shield. This opens the door to many possibilities for DM's to exploit into full blown campaigns. The elements of Winter Soldier make the inclusion of individuals of exceptional abilities and powers not only a necessity but a need for this world. This is a world that needs heroes and capes like now. The state of things in the aftermath of Captain America is even more shaky and ill suited then the alien invasion of Avengers. While everyone was cheering on Cap and the rest of the cast. I kept looking at the destruction going on throughout the film and thought who besides heroes are going to be able to cope with some of this? Sure the police, military, and more are there but boy a group of PC's sure could get right into the thick of the destruction seen even in the trailers and help. The technology here is bleeding right along the edge of real world into the heights that we've seen in the Marvel movies before. There is some very cool hardware and many of the ideas here might need the touch of a group of super powered individuals to help balance the odds. Seems to me that there is more then enough room to open the door of a couple of Pandora's boxes on some other special Shield projects. Those that might release a couple of second stringers right into mix to help clean thing up and get the world right. All in all I think that Winter Soldier presents a unique opportunity for a DM to get right into the old Marvel Universe and get the ball rolling right away on a campaign in the 'Aftermath of Winter Soldier.' Sounds like a real catchy name for a campaign doesn't it.
This looks like the X men movie that we've been waiting for? Or is it? It's really interesting looking and with so many Marvel properties in the mix now a days things are very busy for an old comic book fan like me. It's nice to see Bryan Singer returning to the directing chair. The reason I say this is because from a cohesion of storyline stand point I've gotten a bit tired of redo's and recons of Marvel properties. I would love to see a tie in with Agents of Shield or some of the other Marvel properties but the problem is that these properties are scattered to the four winds by the various studios. A fact that seems to escape some folks. Here's a break down over HERE
Many of the players here are from the X men First Class movie and as we wander down the movie version of the Days of Future Past, things are starting to look up for this movie. I like what I see with this one. There's a vibe of the humor, pathos, and of a hint of a great movie or its it a great trailer? Hard to tell but I did enjoy First Class so we'll see what happens.
So we're going to get the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in this one and we get another round of Magneto and Charles friend ship tearing the whole tapestry of Earth apart. Will we see a Scarlet Witch tie in with Age Of Ultron? Color me curious to say the least.
My criteria for these films is that they should make me want to run an old school super heroes rpg campaign.
So far things are sounding really solid but I just can't seem to get into the design of the new Sentinels.
There's something classic about the comic Sentinels to me.
The Sentinels look like an I phone or tablet technologies not horrid cybernetic units that are capable of ripping PC's apart.
The one important point here is that the Xmen comic book is classic. And this is a movie and there are all sorts of issues putting onto screen a story line with this many comic fan's expectations. Will they nail it?
That's going to be the real heart and soul of the matter. TSR had a very nifty way of dealing with the marketing that appealed to the fans of the Marvel comic and the game. But it always falls back to this.
The comic book vs the movie is real the issue. The old school Marvel Superheros Heroes rpg had a very nifty time of marketing itself. Especially the Days of Future Past Adventures, they took place within your home town. The dystopianismwas knocking right on your campaign's front door and it was coming to kick your PC's teeth in.
As the adventure story line continued your PC's were hunted, exploited,humiliated, and almost sentinel bate at least a couple of times. That's only in the first adventure BTW and I ran the hell out of this one back in the nether reaches of my misspent youth. Surviving such a programme is isn't easy but the fact that these now classic adventures are available for free makes me very curious to run em and see how they hold up. They're all available right over HERE
To say I'm excited is an understatement for this film. The storyline has been kicking around Marvel comics for some time however. The movie looks hands down excellent and the vibe is very exciting to say the least. The vibe of the movie seems to follow a bit of the Marvel Ultimate's line. Given that Cap is such a fixture of the old Marvel Super Heroes Rpg it follows that this movie is going to pump a whole lot of juice back into that old school rpg.
The Plot : Steve Rogers resides peacefully in Washington, D.C., struggling to adapt to contemporary society. However, after a S.H.I.E.L.D. compatriot is assailed, Rogers becomes entangled in a mystery that may endanger the globe. Together with Natasha Romanoff, Captain America attempts to uncover the growing machination while fending off hired hit men. When the entire scheme is discovered, Captain America and the Black Widow must recruit the aid of the Falcon
Given the times that we live in this movie seems to echo the vibes that we've seen in Agents of Shield as well as much of the 70's nostalgia and paranoia. Given that Robert Redford is playing a senior member of Shield and its world council there are echoes of many of his roles in the writing and development of the film. According to Wiki :
Markus and McFeely decided the script would fall under the conspiracy genre and were heavily influenced by 3 Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, and Marathon Man.[43] Kevin Feige described the film as a political thriller.[65] Feige later elaborated,
In our attempt to make all of our films feel unique and feel different we found ourselves going back to things like [Three Days of the Condor]. Also the other political thrillers of the ’70s: The Parallax View, All the President's Men. This was a time that Cap existed in in the comics. He found himself in the swinging ’60s followed by the Watergate Era followed by the Reagan Era followed by where we are today. In the comics it was a hell of a journey for Steve. And we couldn’t take him through those years because in our cinematic universe he was asleep. But we wanted to force him to confront that kind of moral conundrum, something with that ’70s flavor. And in our film that takes the form of S.H.I.E.L.D
Much of this movie seems to be echoing down beat and weirdness of the 1970's Avengers, Captain America, and much of the Shield stuff from recent years. This is going to be a movie that takes no prisoners and I've played in a few Marvel Super Hero campaigns where this was the case. The system can and does echo the scope of this style of play believe it or not.
When we look into the Marvel Super Heroes Rpg there's a very dark undercurrent in the Avengers Box set and source books. This weird quasi governmental aspect to the Avengers including Captain America. Although we're not going to see Stats for the Winter Soldier. We can use the Avengers box set and source book.
Available Right Over HERE This Avengers Source book has quite a bit of detail about Shield and the background of the Avengers including most of the major players Right Over HERE
