WHY NOT BORROW A HERO FOR YOUR NEXT HERO? - USING SUPERHERO TROPES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

 

It is safe to say that nearly any concept for a superhero character has been tried, done, and likely done to death. This can often lead to a feeling frustration when trying to come up with a new character to play in TTRPGs but it doesn't have to.

The truth of the matter is that the massive body of comic book work has already provided you with all the character ideas you will ever need. Find yourself a character you like and ask the time-honored comic book question of "what if?". This what if can take any form but the idea is that you are going to remake the character in your own way. A new name, and a new take on the theme and Ben's your uncle and you have a new character. Even if you are making a new version of a very iconic character that exists in the game world you are playing in, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of cities, alien worlds, other dimensions, alternate timelines and kingdoms in hidden parts of the world to justify the existence of your character. How do you think the real comics folks do it?

If you're still not sold, just remember that the professionals have been swiping character from each other for decades, even duplicating characters that exist in their own comics universes. If that's still not enough, remember, David Kraft created Demon Hunter for Atlas Comics then recreated the exact same character as Devil Slayer for Marvel and then later Buckler, an artist who worked with Kraft on the previous two incarnations of the character, took the same character to his own own Galaxia magazine as Bloodwing.

Have you ever made your own version of an existing character?

Share some of your characters based on existing characters. 

THE POWER OF THE RETCON

  

Comic books function on their own crazy sorts of internal logic. Explosions and toxic levels of radiation, poisons and energy give you superpowers. Science and magic exist side by side and the cosmos is a never-ending collection of new species, places with Earth itself seemingly full to bursting with secret lands, hidden places and powered people. Even Death itself seems to be mutable and there is always a way out or a twist to it. Much of the magic of comics comes from their emergent storytelling but a lot of it has to do with the almighty retcon.

Retcons have always been used with varying degrees of success in comic books. Often they are used for genuine storytelling reasons while other times they are used purely for production and marketing reasons. Many times this has to do with the ever-changing creative teams assigned to titles and characters. Guy before you kill off a character you really wanted to write or draw? No problem, just pitch great comeback or a story twist that invalidates what waas written before or rewrites it as something that was believed but untrue. but the use of retcons isn't alway a bad thing. Sometimes it creates truly interesting and memorable moments.

When running superhero RPGs, the retcon can be a useful tool in a GM's arsenal. moreso than any other genre, the retcon not only seems allowed but even welcome. It can be used to bring back seemingless dead villains, revive lost heroes, or even change the fabric of the campaign should you choose to do so. You can even use the recon to fix mistakes you might have made along your way. Wrote yourself into a corner? Guess what, things never were as the players thought they were. Plot twists can sometimes be retcons though they are not always and the better ones avoid being such.

The key when using the retcon effectively, is to make it feel as right or appealing as what it is being used to replace. A clumsy retcon will always feel unsatisfactory but a well-orchestrated retcon will feel like a plot twist or plot development. Make your retcon meaningful, even if it's just there to correct a mistake. If the villain you threw at the characters died too easily, then have their death come about in a way that leaves some ambiguity. Even if the death is very obvious and undeniable, you always have the fuzzy logic and weirdness of comics to use to your advantage. A dead villain can come backfro mthe dead, be remade, be copycatted, make a deal with the Devil, be a robot, be a body double, etc, etc. The list goes on forever, but whatever you do, put a little time into the retcon so that when the players figure out what is going on, they get some story with it.

If your villain comes back as a copycat, figure out why this new person is taking up the mantle of the dead villain. Are they a relative, an admirer, maybe they are that same villain from another dimension or time? Why is the villain suddenly more agile and energetic? Do they look younger? Is the motivation of a relative returning as the villain simply revenge or is there more?

There is more to retcons than returning characters from the dead. Maybe you've created an organization or team for your game but you really don't like the direction they are going. You can change their nature or character by simply deciding what their new direction will be and writing some logic to explain it. Perhaps you have created an organization that relies on high technology but the campaign really seems to be moving more into magical, supernatural territory. You could shift this organization behind the scenes so that their "tech" is actually magical in nature and simply masquerading as machines in the mundane world of men. Imagine the surprise when the powersuited baddy is destroyed only to reveal that a spirit was housed inside that armored shell.

The most important thing to remember about retcons is that they aren't there to let you be a lazy GM. Yes, they can clean up messed and they can provide some unplanned changes or developmets in your game, but it is important to always be intentional with your retcons and not use them haphazardly. Retcons should never be used to be mean-spirited. Sure comic book retcons often come in the form of gotchas but you should always strive for "wow" reactions and never groans from your players.

Have you used retcons in your tabletop games before?

FROM THE FOLDER FRIDAY - COLD FRONT

 

Cold Front was a team that I made in the 90s as can be seen by the lovely 90's style random geometric shapes on Ice Age's costume. This was done, I believe, at  time where I was really playing with drawing whole teams at once, often with a strong theme. The theme here, of course, is "cold".

This team was never fully developed at the time I drew it as was often the case. I would draw random characters and save them for later, writing them up when I planned to use them or when I had an idea for how exactly I wanted their powers to work. What I will do here is attempt to present stats for them, based on my memory of how I envisioned them. These will be short form presentations so as to not explode the length of this blog post too much.

WINDCHILL 
Anya Bremitz, mystic altered human

F        GD (10)
A        Ex (20)

S        TY (6)

E        RM (30)

R        EX (20)

I          EX (20)

P        IN (40)

Health: 66

Karma: 80

Resources: EX (20)

Popularity: -20

Known Powers: 

Wind Generation/Control: Windchill has the ability to generate winds of up to Incredible (40) rank force. She can manipulate these air currents to move objects, push, lift and even mannipulate more rudimentry devices and mechanicsm such as levers or buttons. 

Flight: Using her generated winds, Windchill can lift and propel herself at Remarkable (30) speed. She can do this while using her wind powers for other effects. 

Shield: By focusing her winds into vortexes of cohessive air, she can create shields of air that provide Excellent (20) protection over an area up to 2 areas. 

Temperature Control: The air around Windchill is constantly cooled to Excellent (20) intensity cold. 

Cold Immunity: Windchill has Incredible (40) immunity to cold and cold-based attacks.

Talents: Martial Arts A & B, Occult, Pilot, Computers

Contacts: Numerous occult dealers the world wide as well as several occult circles. 

Background:

Anya Bremitz is an American born heiress and occultist with a lust for power and prestige. Using gathered mystical and occult knowledge she managed to attain cold and wind-based powers which allowed her to further her endeavors to amass the the required magic and resources to bring about the coming of an ancient ice demon. She used her knowledge to free and bind the prehistoric winter spirit now known as Ice Age to her service.

KILLCICLE

Gregor Petrovski, altered human

F    RM (30)

A    EX (20)

S    EX (20)

E    RM (30)

R    GD (10)

I     EX (20)

P    IN (40)

Health: 100

Karma: 70

Resources: RM (30)

Popularity: -40

Known Powers:

Adamantium Spear: Killcicle's primary weapon is his "Killcicle", a long, pointed staff made of pure Adamantium. The weapon is made of Unearthly (100) material strength material and inflicts. While the weapon only inflicts Excellent (20) damage, it ignores any sort of armor of Unearthly (100) or less. 

Admantium Pauldron: Worn on his left shoulder, Killcicle has a detachable pauldron made of Adamantium. He has trained himself to use this as a shield to great effect, often resorting to impressive acrobatics to do so. the pauldron is of Unearthly (100) material strength and can be used when blocking. It can also be detached quickly and used as a thrown weapon, inflicting Good (10) blunt damage. 

Insulated Bodysuit: Icicle wears an insulated bodysuit that gives him Remarkable protection from heat, cold, radiation, electricity, fire, and corrosives. It also provides a filter of Excellent qualitty against airborn toxins. 

Talents: Martial Arts A, B, C, D & E, Edged, Blunt and Thrown Weapons, Security, Pilot, Drive, Computers

Contacts: KGB, Black Widow, Darkstar

Background:

Gregor Petrovski, former KGB assassin, no operates as an independent killer for hire, spy, and operator. He has engaged in esspionage for governments, corporations and organizations across the world but now focuses most of his time on providing the security and skill for Cold Front. He has clashed with the likes of Black Widow, Omega Red, Wolverine, The Winter Soldier as well as the Soviet Supersoldiers

ICE AGE

Real name unknown, demon

F    IN (40)

A    EX (20)

S    MN (75)

E    AM (50)

R    GD (10)

I     RM (30)

P    IN (40)

Health: 185

Karma: 80

Resources: RM (30)

Popularity: -45

Known Powers: 

Body Armor: Ice Age's demonic body gives him Monstrous (75) protection from physical and energy damage. 

Immunities: Ice Age's demonic form Has Class 1000 resistence to cold, poison, disease, and radiation.

Ice Breath: From his mouth, he can disgorge a deluge of Amazing (50) intensity cold and ice that blow with Monstrous (75) intensity force and inflict Incredible (40) damage. Those hit by the flurry must also make Remarkable (20) intensity resistence check or be temporarily blinded. 

Weaknesses:  

Talents: Martials Arts L, N, Q, and R. Occult. 

Contacts: The demons of the Cold Realm.

Background:

The ancient demonic spirit, now known as Ice Age, hails from a Hell dimensions known as the Cold Realm, a place of endless, hungry, devouring cold and misery. He was trapped in stone ages ago in the steppes of what is modern Kazakhstan but freed and bound to service by Windchill. While he serves her obediently, he does not do so loyaly and is disdainful of being beholden to a mortal and only following her direction due to his bond and their shared goals of bringing the Cold Realm's lord to Earth.

Thermal

Dr. Poul Nakisos, altered human

F    PR (4)
A    RM (30

S    SH-0 (0)

E    UN (100)

R    RM (30)

I     RM (30)

P    IN (40)

Health: 134

Karma: 100

Resources: RM (30)

Popularity: 0

Known Powers: 

Energy Body: Due to his body having been transformed to pure cold energy, Thermal is unharmed by physical attacks (slugfest, blunt) and energy attacks, as they lack physical substance. He remains susceptible to magical, psionic, and plasma-based attacks. He can be trapped in special storage batteries.

Flight: As living energy, Thermal does not need to walk or even touch a surface to move. As long as there is an atmopshere, he may flight at Remarkable (30) speed. 

Heat Vampirism/Regeneration: Thermal must feed off the ambient heat of living creatures to sustain himself. He drains life away at Good (10) rate each turn her is in contact with a living creature. The Health he drains from them restores his own lost health. 

Phasing: His energy body has a limited ability to phase through solid objects. As thicker, more sturdy material often provide more insulation from temperature, he can only phase through materials of Excellent (20) Material Strength or less. 

Weaknesses: 

Vacuum Vulnerability: Thermal's living cold body requires an atmosphere to maintain cohesion. If he is subject to a vacuum, he will take Good (10) each turn until he either dissipates/dies or is freed. It is unknown if dissipation is a permanent death for Thermal or not. 

Talents: Cryonics, Bio-Physics, Energy and Particle Physics, Genetics, Immunology, Physiology, Radiology.

Contacts: Dr. Henry Pym, Reed Richards, Stark Industries

Background: 

Formerly and independantly contracted scientist working for Stark Industries, developing new cooling systems he secretly dabbled in strange sciences around cryonics with a goal of improving the human condition through the application of cold. Funding his personal projects was done by siphoning funds from his grants and endowments as well as the theft of key piecs of technologies from his employer.

His research went pourly and he realized too late that he had exposed himself to a degenerating sort of cryonic energy that was sapping the life from his cells and killing him. While he attempted to reverse the effects, his criminal actions had left him hesitant to reach out for aid and he eventually perished. What should have been death, however, was nerely the shedding of his physical form, leaving only living cryonic energy behind.

He was forced to live a live as a predator, feeding his need for thermal energy by preying on the homeless, unwanted, and forgotten. Often his victims appeared to perish from exposure and so these murders went unnoticed. He was later encountered by Killcicle while he was on a mission where the two clashed as heat vampire attempted to feed off the assassin. While they initially fought, Killcicle recognized the potential in the desperate being and recruited him to Windchill's team where his immaterial form has served them well.

TEAM BACKGROUND: 

Cold Front is a force of killers and criminals recruited by Windchill for the purposes of furthering her own lust for power and riches. It is Windchill who discovered and freed Ice Age from his mystical prison and who hired Killcicle as long-term muscle and expertise. Later, Thermal was discovered, having become hopeless and feral, feeding on vagrants to sustain himself. 

Most of the team's activities focus on thefts of artifacts and treasures that can further Windchill's mad pursuit to bathe the world in eternal Winter, making way for the coming of an ancient demon lord from a Hell dimension known as the Cold Realm. 

The team is based out of Windchill's Rhode Island estate where she maintains several civilian vehicles for use by the team or her agents. She also owns a private jet which se keeps hangared at a nearby airport. She has a small network of agents, paid for information, muscle, and other support roles. Each team member has their own room in the mansion, though Ice Age and Thermal have more utilitarian spaces in the sub-levels. 

FROM THE FOLDER FRIDAY - A NEW UNCOMING FEATURE

 

As I have previously mentioned, I have played superhero TTRPGs a lot. Most of that time was in the past, when I had more time and more regular available players interested in such. Most of that time was split between the Marvel Superheroes RPG by TSR and Champions. I dabbled in DC Heroes, Heroes Unlimited, Guardians and Icons. I even homebrewed a very basic system with a friend back in the early 80's, before Iknew about any of these games and had only seen Villains & Vigilantes. I haven't played much in recent years but my love of the genre and these games remains.

Most of my current interest lies mostly with the classic Marvel Superheroes RPG from TSR. The continued fan works for this game are outstanding and I cannot rave enough about the hard work being put in by fans of the comics and that game system. The Unofficial Canon Project is a massive storehouse of modern materials for this classic game. When I have ideas for superhero TTRPGs, I generally default to this game system for stats as I can practically build in it by memory after so many years binging this. Which brings me to the new feature.

Pictured above is a stack of folders which contains tons of art and character write-ups from my glory days of the MSHRPG. While this is certainly not everything I ever created - much of that was lost through various moves and the happenstance of bachelor life - they constitute a massive collection of useable material. The art in them ranges from some of my oldest, crudest work, to later works where i had gained skill and confidence though none of it is anywhere near commercial grade. In fact, much of it reflects how I learned to draw comics characters as back in the day , tracing body forms and outlines and applying our own customes and detail work over them was how we learned the basics. 

Starting tomorrow (Friday), my goal will be to dive into these folders, scan the images, warts and all, with minimal editing (I have not the skills or tech) and post them here each Friday. I hope to present each with game stats, some background information and commentary on my thoughts (as I can recall them) from when I made them. 

I hope you will enjoy seeing my work and that it might inspire you to tinker with your own. 

-Eli

MEGA TEAMS - THE SECRET TO FLEXIBLE GAMES

Tired of not being able to play when players don't show up? Worried that your campaign won't progress because of so much missed time? Do you have a player who's character dies all the time or who is fickle and never wants to play the same character? 

No problem, play a mega team! 

Mega teams are those teams that seem to have an endless membership. Justice League, Legion of Superheroes, Avengers, Defenders, or even The Green Lantern Corps. These teams usually have extensive memberships made up of an ever-changing, ever-growing roster of primary members, secondary and even back-up members. New members come, go and are and are not available as other missions take up their time or their own private lives keep them out of action. 

These sorts of teams allow for a nearly infinite flexibility in both individual adventures as well as campaign progression. They ccomplish this in a number of ways but it all comes down to allowing play to continue no matter who shows up. Three of the most common and useful to gamers are as follows - 

1) Guest Appearances

These are sessions where character who were not originally involved in the main campaign appear in one or more sessions. This can be done for a number of rreasons such as a new player joining the game or an occasional player being available on a given night. They are also useful for when a regular player has a character taken out of action. The popular Marvel Team-Up series is a great example of this but guest appearances are very common even in the main continuity of comics. 

2) Crossovers

Similar to guest appearances, crossovers have a bit more intent to them. These are best used when a GM know he's not going to have all of one or more of his regular players available for the game for a period of time allowing him to plan a crossover event that includes the characters that will be available. 

3) Spin-Offs

These games are most often played with completely new characters and are best used as palate-clensers, fill-in games, or ways to accomodate an influx of new players. Spin-offs can include characters from the main campaign but should not do so unless they take place at some other point in continuity or those characters are not involved in the main game anymore. They are also a good place to reintroduce returning regular players who may have been left behind by the main campaign. Good examples of this are Justice League International, The New Mutants, or West Coast Avengers. 

The main benefit to keeping campaigns going and enriching the overall campaign experience is that the game and thus the players' comic book universe is perpetually growing as each adventure and character comes with its own NPCs, settings, plots and world-building that grows the whole and creates feedback loop. It is also important to not get overly wound up on ironclad continuities. Comic book continuity has always been a bit loose at times using flawed logic, handwavium and retconning to explain things.

Can you think of any more benefits of mega teams?

Do you enjoy playing in mega teams?

SOLO HEROES - THE THING SUPERHERO RPGS DO BETTER

 

I have talked a lot about superhero teams and how they facilitate TTRPGs but there is one place that these games do better and easier than most other TTRPGs is solo games. 

When it comes to solo play (one player & one GM), superhero games shine. Superhero characters are generally quite powerful and capable on their own and do not suffer from systems requiring sinergy between a number of characters to function in play. This is further surpported by a vast collection fo inspirational materials showcasing countless heroes operating primarily on their own. Solo characters are also great for GMs as they often face a revolving door of enemies they face one-on-one, allowing creative GMs to constantly cycle through ideas and inspirations. Such characters can easily adapt to small groups of villains or even mobs of henchmen without needing much adjustment or forethought. 

Logistically speaking, these sorts of characters are great for players who may be isolated by real world availability, unable to coordinate with other players. A willing GM can run a solo character on the side and when the gaming stars align, set up a team-up for that solo hero to set out with - the regular group - or even other solo heroes. 

So, if you have a single player you can still run a very satisfying and meaningful campaign in a superhero RPG.

What sorts of experiences have you had running solo hero campaigns?

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.