MORE ON THEMED TEAMS

 

I thought it would be fun to talk, some more, about theme teams.

A themed team can come in many forms. Whether is is a common origin, style, or focus the one thing they all have in common is that every member fits the theme in some way. Themes can be tight, like the Metal Men pictured along with this post, or loose like the X-Men who all adhere to the theme of "mutants" but are all over the place within that theme. Tight themes are, in my opnion, trickier to work with but ultimately mor satisfying from an artistic point of view but a looser theme can allow for much greater freedom for players to create their characters. 

Some themes are more stylistic, like the Serpent Society, which is a loosely themed team that relies far more on aesthetics and naming conventions than anything more concrete for its theme. The Green Lantern Corps is an incredibly tight themed team where all the members share pretty much the same power set with what variation there is based on their experience and whatever species-specific traits they might have. Power Pack has the theme of "kids" and, on the surface, that is it. But Power Pack also has a common theme in terms of the origins of their powers. There are some teams, like the Avengers, that have a theme that is so loose as to not really be a theme at all. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" is about the only real theme they have and that tagline seems relatively meaningless given the wide disparity it power level between the team's members. 

In my experience it is better to start with a tight theme and then loosen it as needed. If your theme is "mutants" but one player really has his heart set on playing an Iron Man type character then maybe work with him and let his mutant ability be something like hyper-intelligence, mechanical aptitude, or even some sort machine speech which allows him to make the suit and other cool stuff like the team's transport, training room, etc..Similarly, if the players were making villain characters who were members of the Serpent Society and a character wanted to make an Iron Man type character, you just need to make sure whatever battlesuit they make for themself adhered to the theme of "snakes". Just remember, tight or loose, the important thing is that every player makes their character fit the theme. 

When conceptualizing your character it is up to you, as a player, to make your character fit the theme. While this may seem chalenging at times, it is ultimately your responsibility, in an agreed-upon theme to make your character fit. 

A handy trick is to look at other themed characters and try to imagine them as something other than the themed character they are. When you realize that that spider-themed, web-slingers, could just as easily have been made as a battlesuit or commando with a handy bag of tricks rather than radioactive spider powers, this reverse engineering of theme can help you to realize that theme is really not all that tricky. 

So, next time you sit down to run or play a superheroes game, consider giving the team a theme. It can be challenging, creatively rewarding and in the end just plain fun.

THEMED TEAMS

When it comes to superhero teams, themed teams are a fun and quick way to establish a sense of place and character for the PCs in your game. It can be argued that almost all superhero teams are themed but for the purposes of this discussion we will be talking about teams that are perhaps a bit more specific in their theme. Yes, "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" might be considered the theme of the Avengers but as themes go this is very general and casts a very broad net when it comes to a sense of person and place in the universe. 

Whether you are talking about classics such as the X-Men or Fantastic Four or cult classics such as ROM and the Space Knights of Galador, or even new favorites like the Spiderverse, establishing a theme up front will provide your players with a shared connection between their characters while not necessarily limiting their character creation options. The theme of "mutant" or "cosmic energy derived powers" certainly hasn't limited the diversity of powers and in some cases we have seen crossover characters such as Cipher, Magik, Mr Fantastic, and Wolverine who combine their mutant abilities with other power sources such as technology and magic. 

A stronger theme can also be very fun and provide a sort of limited palette for creating characters. Great examples of this are concepts such as ROM and the Space Knights, The Spiderverse, or, in the realm of villains, the Serpent Society. In each of these cases there is a stronger sense of theme that extends beyond a simple shared origin. Each character is now a variation on a very identifiable theme and from this come myriad iterations on that theme. Finding new ways to come up with special powers for a Space Knight that distinguishes them from the other knights or a fun way to interpret the Spider-Man concept can be incredibly fun and worthwhile. 

So, next time you are starting a superhero game, consider picking a strong theme and running with it.

POSTING SCHEDULE

Howdy folks,

I seem to have forgotten to make any sort of attempt to let you all know just how frequently I'll be posting to the blog. So, let me remedy that.

The plan is to do two posts a week - one on Monday and one on Wednesday. Possts will hit the blog at 6AM CST. 

I have decided on this schedule as it seems like it best fits the schedule of most gamers, especially GMs for whom a lot of my material will be aimed at. Weekends are often game days and so releasing my posts at the top and middle of the week gives interested parties something to look forward to going into the week and something to read to get them through to games on the weekends. Those GMs and players who want to make use of the material I post here will have the week, in their down time, to think it over and perhaps apply it to their next weekends games. In my experience, weekdays are for prepping. 

So, there you have it. I hope to be able to keep up this schedule and have already set up many many weeks of posts to get started.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments. Also, if thee is anything you would like to see me write about, by all means suggest it in the comments. I'll see what I can do.

-Eli

WHY SUPERHERO RPGS ARE SOME OF THE BEST RPGS YOU CAN PLAY

When it comes to TTRPGs there is always that moment when you sort of hit that invisible wall where you feel you are either out of material or maybe you are just tired of playing the game you are playing. This is perfectly natural and is generally a biproduct of simple creative burnout or feeling the constraints of the genre into which your game is placed. Superhero games really don't suffer this and offer an incredibly free environment in which to play and here are some reasons why?

1) Easy Transition Between Characters

One of the biggest things to haunt players of TTRPGs is character burnout. We have all been there with that character that seemed like a great idea or was fun to begin with but is wearing thin. Comic books traditionally involve easy ins and out for characters without ever needing much in the way of plot or explanation. Between guest appearances, random team-ups, reserve team members, the seemingly flimsy barriers between realities, cosmic realms, and much much more, there are so many reasons a struggling player could swap out a character or take a break and divert to a different character for a bit.

2) Guilt-free Character Death 

One of the staples of comic book stories is that nobody really ever dies. Death and dying are handled pretty fast and loose and while character may be presumed dead or even dead for a while, they eventually come back in some fashion. Even if the original character dies, their costume and mantle is often picked up by another and the hero persona continues even though it might be a new person under the mask. Long dead heroes can be returned through all manner of means from mystical reanimation, fake or false deaths (in any number of forms). A hero may not have died but been kidnapped and brainwashed by a victorious villain, only to be rehabilitated by his former teammates or some well-meaning bystander.

3) Good Fun

Comic books, even at their darkest and grimmest (with a few exceptions) are still just great fun. There isn't much that doesn't feel right in a comic. Any character, any backstory, any event just feels right. Seldom is something objectively unfun in a comic book setting. The most mundane activities can easily be turned into amazing fun and adventure in the context of superheroes. A day at work, a trip to the mall, or a vacation can quickly turn into another action-packed issue.

4) Flexible Pacing

The wide variety of comic book stories spans such a huge array of topics and styles of storytelling. This is true not just across different titles but within the same title. We frequently see the same characters in action-filled romps and going through emotional and heavy stories and everything in between. For a tabletop game, this means being able to tell so many different stories with the same characters.

5) A Weird and Wild Universe

Superhero universes are generally huge, filled with all manner of exotic people and places. From fictional cities and countries to alien peoples and into god and cosmic entities a comic book universe is a vast, unending playground. Not only can you choose to start in any one of these amazing places, but you can freely transition from one to another without sacrificing the integrity of your characters and stories. The X-Men may have started in a posh mansion in New York but they have travelled the cosmos and visited lost worlds, travelled through time and dimensions. Characters from all over the multiverse can come together, interact, and even form up into the same teams. The Avengers have gods and aliens among them. The Justice League has several aliens as well as earthborn interstellar police officers.

6) Playing With, Outside, or Against the Conventions

A lovely part of comic books and superheroes is that they are so widely known and have such established tropes that they provide easily accessible frameworks upon which to tell stories. Whether you adhere to the traditions of comic book stories, work outside of them or blatantly work against them your players are certain to get it and enjoy the met knowledge of what you are doing. Because comic books are traditionally told from a very omniscient point of view, it is easier for players to be comfortable with metaknowledge and playing off of it.

7) No Pretense of Balance

Because the characters in comic books are traditionally depicted as have a very mixed bag of power sets and power levels operating alongside one another TTRPGs based around the genre do not suffer so much from the expectation that characters will or should be balanced nor is there an expectation that their enemies will be matched to them. This makes it quite easy for players to be happy with their characters regardless of their power level and for GMs to create stories that involve enemies with highly variable power levels. Part and parcel with this is the concept of teamwork and the struggle to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Characters with wide-ranging power levels have an opportunity to find new ways that their individual powers can be used together and weaker characters are encourages and often rewarded for finding unique solutions to defeating enemies well outside their power level. Let's not forget that Spider-Man has defeated Juggernaut despite having no powers that can match the unstoppable mutant.

I hope that I have demonstrated to you why I think that superhero TTRPGs may be the ultimate in TTRPG fun and freedom, perfect for one-shorts, short campaigns, or an ongoing campaign in an ever-changing cast of characters and stories.

WELCOME TO BULLPEN

 

Welcome to my new blog!

In the old days of comics, the various companies often maintained an open work area where pencilers, inkers, colorists, letterers, writers and editors would all work together, sharing ideas, collaborating and working the magic that created the comic books we grew up with, know and love. These spaces were often referred to as the "bullpen" and probably most famously the Marvel Bullpen.

This blog will be my attempt to capture the spirit if those old bullpens and put my various thoughts and ideas for superhero TTPG gaming in one dedicated place. While the vast majority of the content here will be directed at the system I play most - the classic Marvel Supheroes RPG from TSR, the game that inspired the name of the blog - a good amount of the posts will take the form of general advise, commentary and the examination of the tropes of the genre and how players and GMs can use them to better their superhero RPGs.

Folders full of decades of characters from the 80s and 90s

 As time goes by, I may start to share characters and art from my past playing this game. Many of the illustrations are dated and show just how long ago i started playing this but I feel the character stats, concepts and designs are all still worth sharing. I hav made, A LOT of characters back in the day and could likely continue to play Marvel Superheroes without ever having to make another.

If you have followed my original blog, I See Lead People, some of the early posts here may seem familiar to you as  will be porting them over to this dedicated blog. 

I hope you will enjoy the content here, follow the blog and comment freely as I love to discuss the hobby. I may not be the most knowledgible or well-read comics fan but I do love superhero comics and the games we play about them. 

-Eli