Fast & Dirty Update

Hey all.

Dealing with some personal stuff.

Be back very soon.

HEROIC: D6 Supers - UPDATE!

So just to give you all a quick update, I WILL be finishing this project, I swear it, and I will be doing so by using the powers from SUPERS!.

Don't get too excited, as there is a caveat.

When I get around to the powers (which I am moving to later) I will ONLY be posting the changes you need to make to each power, not the full power description.  If you want that you will have to buy a copy of SUPERS!.

Which in turn helps me fund other projects and such, so all-in-all not a bad thing.

Once I do get back on-top of this little project (expect sometime in the near future) I will do Perks and Hindrances next, so stay tuned!

Cheers!

Dieselpunk, Retro-Futurism and the Superhero! - Revisit

It's like a damn demon inside me.

I can't fight it as a much as I would like to.

No matter where I go, no matter what I do, I am obsessed with Dieselpunk aspects and that whole 1930's/1940's/(early)1950's aesthetic.

Then, as really loyal readers know, I am also obsessed with the 1980's, specifically pre-1985.

It feels, and I am not kidding when I say this, like there is a boiling cauldron of ideas and thoughts relating to all these thoughts that will not let me go.

Can this;

Merge with this?

Or how about this;

Fuse with this?

It seems at first glance, the answer to both is yes!

The idea for me has always been this simple rule;

Another Time... Another Place

Those who know where that line comes from understand what I might be getting at.  If you need an explanation the only ones I can provide are Batman: The Animated Series and the movie from which that quote came, Streets of Fire.

Both share a retro-look but have anachronistic elements (Batman is set in a more modern world, but looks like a 1940s/1950s city, while Streets of Fire has a real early 1950s look but has 80s rock & roll and even video jukeboxes).  They never tell you exactly when they are, but allow for modern and retro elements to exist side-by-side.

So yeah, can I do an alternate 1984 where many 30s/40s/50s elements have held over, as well as many aspects of our modern tech has arrived earlier than now?  Cell phones?  Flatscreens?  Etc...

I think it will take one HELL of an artist, with a great design that can merger the elements with dynamic superheroism.

What do you think?  Let's talk about this one!

And in the meantime, for your viewing pleasure;

Cheers!

SUPERS! - Revised Edition Report

Hola!

I just read through the first 14 pages of the Revised Edition Supers! manuscript and I must say... I am so excited about this!

I mean this is just an outstanding effort by the two lads we hired to rewrite the game for us (not sure if I can say who they are at present, so I won't).

I may have to reconsider my D6 efforts, as this is just off the chain good!

More to come!

Cheers!

HEROIC: D6 Supers - Part 4a Powers

Hey all.

So as I sit down to look at powers I find myself at a crossroads.  70% (or so) of superhero rpgs use a "builder" system, where essentially they provide you clear categories and from there you build, like with Legos, your super powers.  Usually this is done via descriptors.  The best examples of this are Mutants & Masterminds and Champions.

The remaining 30% (again or so, this ain't science) use descriptive powers, powers that are already defined but sometimes via limits and such.  They can go from near builders (like BASH) to roll-and-prays (like V&V), but they tend to be much simpler than the others.

There is a 3rd type of power system though that usually gets very little love.  It is a modelling system.  In this system you have a base cost for powers, or a number of powers, and then assign them ranks after picking off a list, or better yet, defining what those powers do.

For example, the idea in the builder systems is that all power blasts are the same, and as such require only 1 power with descriptors to define.  I say no.  I say that Captain Mar-vel's power blast is not the same as Cyclop's eyebeams which are not the same as Superman's heat vision.  While they may all function the same way, they are not the same.

The thing I hate the most about builders is using a power like "telekinesis" to represent a dozen other powers.  "He can move metallic objects thanks to his magnetic powers?  Well that's just telekinesis with a limit; metallic targets only."

Ugh... how boring!  How bland!  How smashing through the 4th wall!

So how to fix this problem in a game that requires you do have defined powers to some extent?  Well my solution from back in my FASERIP days was to simply write down the power "Eyebeams" and then assign a rank, easy peasy.  Not going to work exactly in this D6 hack, since you need to pay for everything.

Now I do not want to sit here and write out an endless list of powers, that would bore me to tears and not be something that really appeals to me.

I could copy and paste the powers list from SUPERS! I would still need to tweak certain things.  See what I love about SUPERS! is that every power is open-ended.  There are no power stunts persay as there are only creative uses of power.  I would explain it, but Grubman did a much better job in this You Tube review.

Now while I love that freedom of powers, I am not as much of a fan of the system built around it.  Hence my adventures into D6, a basic core system I can get around.  The problem is how to make the powers work.

How to charge for powers beyond the 1D = 1D of power exchange, cause you shouldn't pay the same cost for Super Leaping as you do for Weather Control, no matter how much each can be used creatively.

So what remains is to create Tiers of powers, but to keep it simple, there would only be 3 Tiers of powers, the First Tier is 1D = 1D in the power (energy blasts, movement powers, armours, etc...), then there would be Second Tier powers that cost 2D = 1D in the power (Weather Control, Magnetism, Super Speed, etc...), these are the powers that have more than one obvious built in effect and really open the door for creative players to use their powers.  Lastly we have Third Tier powers, which cost 3D = 1D in the power, but here we are talking about crazy world changing powers like Omni Power, Wizardy, Reality Control, etc...

Of course some powers won't have dice in them, beyond what you just having the power (Invulnerability for example) so those I might make Perks instead.

I will provide the "Limits" and "Enhancements" aspects for power, but nothing too kinky.

This is going to take me a bit to get done, so expect it sometime next week if the writing bug grabs me, but it will be posted when it is ready.

Cheers!

HEROIC: D6 Supers - Part 4 - Statistics

Today you get 2 updates!

Statistics

Statistics are a series of calculated qualifiers that are used to determine various aspects of how the heroes interact with the campaign universe as well as a series of combat abilities.

Passive Defenses

Passive Defenses provide essentially target numbers for attacks against the heroes, with the exception of Soak.  What that means is that if the player does not wish to take an extra action to Actively Defend against an attack, the Passive Defense is the number of Successes that the attacked must beat to succeed against the hero.

Each Passive Defense is used against specific types of attack.

Evade

(Fighting + Intuition + Brawling/Martial Arts)/3 round up

Evading is the type of defense used in hand-to-hand fighting.  Against unarmed attacks, Evade is the target number the attacker must beat.  If the defender wishes to use an Active Evade, they use their Brawling or Martial Arts.

Dodge

(Agility + Intuition + Athletics)/3 round up

Used only for ranged attacks, Dodge is the Passive Defense against bullets, arrows, energy blast, etc…  If the hero wishes to use an Active Defense, they would use their Athletics skill.

Parry

(Fighting + Agility + Melee Combat)/3 round up

When engaged in melee weapon combat, Parry is the Passive Defense that must be targeted.  If the hero that is being attacked has no weapon, shield or bracer (or other form of armor that can be used) the armed attacker must go against the Evade of the hero.  The Active Defense of this is Melee Combat, but requires some sort of item with which to parry the incoming attack.

Active Defenses

If the character is hit in combat, Active or Passive Defense not withstanding, they must Soak the incoming damage.  The base Soak of any hero is the average of their 4 physical statistics as dice that are used to reduce the incoming damage of any attack.  This number of dice can be added to by powers or physical types of armour that help reduce the incoming damage.  For more on damage see the combat section of the Game Rules later in this document.

Soak

(Fighting + Agility + Strength + Endurance)/4 round up

Karma, Hero, & Villain Points

Karma Points are a number of points there hero starts with for use in play.  Later in play they will gain and lose them through play, but at start they receive a total number of Karma equal to the average of their 3 mental attributes.  For more on the use of Karma, see the chapter on Karma later in this document.

Karma

(Reason + Intuition + Psyche)/3 round up

Hero Points are used by the character in desperate situations or when all odds are against them.  All characters start with 1 Hero Point at the beginning of play.  For more rules on the use and how to gain Hero Points refer to later in this document.

Villain Points are the evil equivalent of Hero Points.  Normally heroes do not start with any, unless they have specific Hindrances that provide them.  For the gaining and consequences of Villain Points, please refer to later in this document.

Figured Statistics

FAME/INFAMY

Fame is a numerical rating that represents the hero’s standing with the general populace of the campaign universe. This rating is used as a guideline to determine how ordinary folks react to your character’s heroic actions. Some heroes are generally feared and distrusted and will have very low popularity ratings no matter what they do. Other characters, like patriotic ones, are revered as icons of truth and justice and generally loved by the people of their own nation, though may be seen negatively in other nations. Characters with a high popularity generally have an easier time of things when it comes to dealing with the media, police and other representatives of the normal population.

The rating of Fame/Infamy is used as #D to persuade others and can be combined with the Persuasion skill when appropriate.

Depending on the campaign, this can start higher than 1D, but that is a decision for the Narrator to make.  If he is not starting at a higher base level of Fame/Infamy, then all characters start at 1 and may increase it by purchasing Perks that increase your starting rank.  Otherwise Fame/Infamy can be raised or lowered through play with cost or benefit.

Heroes can have two different Fame scores, one in costume and one out, unless they have the Public Identity Hindrance.

Rank      Benchmark

1             Unknown, recluse

2             Known to local populace

3             Known to local media

4             Known to general public

5             Known to mass media

6             Household name

7             Megastar

8             Worldwide fame

9             Living Legend

10           Icon

RESOURCES

Your character’s Resources score represents his general wealth and his ability to purchase equipment he may need in his heroic activities. To better represent the availability of real-world funds we use an arbitrary system to represent your character’s ability to access funds.

All starting characters are expected to start with a 3 in Resources.  They may purchase higher ranks via Perks.  It may also be lowered from 3 by the taking of the Poor or Destitute Hindrances.  Though play events may raise or lower the Resources rank of the character and the Narrator is expected to provide these changes without cost (for raises) or benefit (for losses) to the character.

See the section on Equipment for more information on the proper use of Resources.

Rank      Benchmark

1             Unemployed or on social assistance/allowance

2             Freelancer, poor credit risk, students

3             Wage slave, lower middle class

4             Professional employment, middle class

5             Small inheritance, small business, upper middle class

6             Large business or chain of businesses, trust fund, lower upper class

7             Standard Corporation, millionaire, upper class

8             Large corporation, small nation

9             Multinational, government branch, major country, billionaire playboy

10           Super power nation, mega-corporation

Up Next: Powers

HEROIC: D6 Supers - Part 3 Skills

Skills

All skills start at the same rank as their parent Attribute, and then dice are added to them during character creation (they can be improved later).  Normally skills are added to the parent Attribute to determine the dice pool, though in some cases they might be added with a power.

Specializations are purchased at 1D higher than the parent skill, but can never be more than +3D over the parent.

Any skill with a * attached cannot be used untrained.

The following is the list of what Skill levels mean;

Die Code        Description

1D                   Below Average: untrained human average

2D                   Novice: below average human level

3D                   Average: average level of training for a human

4D                   Competent: above average level of expertise

5D                   Skilled: professional level of training for a human

6D                   Professional: considered among the best in a city or geographic 

                        area

7D                   Exceptional: considered among the best in a state, region or            

                        province

8D                   Brilliant: considered among the best on a continent

9D                   Nationally Renowned: among the best in the world

10D                 World Renowned: among the top few individuals possessing this 

                        skill in the world

------------------ Cosmic Beyond 10D**

11D                 Master: the world’s best seek advice from this individual

12D                 Sector Renowned: among the best in a star system

13D                 Galactically Renowned: among the best in several star systems

14D                 Legendary: stories of the individual’s skill will be passed down 

                        for generations

15D                 Mythical: the individual will be known for all time as one of the 

                        greatest in this skill

**Normally Cosmic ranks (11D+) are not available unless the players has taken the Cosmic Perk with Narrator approval.

FIGHTING SKILLS

Brawling – This is the raw untrained skill at fighting.  No technique, not style, just bash it until it stops moving.  Specializations would be chosen from the list of Combat Maneuvers found later.

*Martial Arts – Formal training that might include everything from Kung-Fu to Boxing to Street Fighting.  For every 2D in this skill a character has, they gain an extra Hand-to-Hand action per round.  This could be an attack or a parry and if they are capable even a dodge (see Master of the Martial Arts Perk later).  This is only given for every full 2D they character has in Martial Arts; someone with 3D would only gain 2 actions, while 4D would get 2, etc…  Specializations for this skill are chosen from the Combat Maneuvers list.

Melee Combat – This skill covers all handheld weapons, including improvised ones (such as mail boxes, cars, and street lights). It represents the ability to both attack and defend with such weapons.  Specializations include specific weapons or even Weapons of Opportunity.

AGILITY SKILLS

Athletics – Athletics is a catch-all skill for a lot of different physical abilities, but at its base it covers the character’s base ability to move their body.  Possible specializations include specific sports, acrobatics, gymnastics, etc… unless it is covered by an existing skill, if it is physical, Athletics covers it.

Ranged Combat – Need to hit that guy over there with a rock, a bullet, an arrow or an energy blast?  This is your go-to skill for such acts.  Specializations include specific types of weapons (pistols, rifles, bows), powers (Self) and hand-eye-coordination (thrown) attacks.

Piloting – This is the skill of movement without walking, running or swimming.  Aka, driving, riding, flying, etc…  Specializations include the previously mentioned as well as boating and self (for fliers).

Slight-of-Hand – Now you see it, now you don’t.  Need to palm that key card?  Follow the alien into thinking you threw the detonator off the roof-top?  Here it is.  Specializations include palming, juggling, pick-pocketing, etc…

Stealth – A hero who wants to move silently, leaves false trails and slips past surveillance devices undetected uses this skill. Sneak only covers the ability to be stealthy and quiet; its results affect all senses. Sneak is opposed by Awareness/Notice or Tracking.  Specializations include terrain type (jungle, urban, etc…), hiding and even shadowing.

STRENGTH SKILLS

Climbing - The hero knows how to scale a vertical surface. She can move up the surface at her normal movement rate (barring environmental factors) with this skill; otherwise she moves at half her normal rate.  Specializations include rock climbing, indoor wall climbing, rope climbing, wall-crawling, etc…

Feat-of-Strength– When a hero has to push themselves or dig down deep and get that burning car off their teammate, or hold up the crumbling building, etc… this is the skill that is used.  Note it does not increase the amount the character can lift, unless they are making a Push roll to increase their Strength for a specific action, then this skill would be used as well.  Specializations are things like carrying, dead-lifting and pressing.

Leaping – This skill governs leaping over pits, chasms, or other obstacle gaps, as well as jumping up and grabbing an outcropping. Specializations include things like long jump, high jump and such.

Wrestling – The only hand-to-hand style that doesn’t use Fighting as its base.  Wrestling is used primarily for grappling attacks (see Combat for more details) and specializations include specific maneuvers.

ENDURANCE SKILLS

Resistance – Need to resist the effects of a poison?  Need to see if that power nullifying field is stronger than you?  Need to hold out against an alien plague?  This is the skill.  Specializations are toxins, diseases and energies.

Running – When you need to go a little faster or last a little longer in the race, this is the skill for you.  Specializations include sprinting, marathon and pacing.

Stamina – When all else fails and you have pushed yourself to your limits, this is when stamina is called into question.  Specializations are Pushing and Exhaustion.

Swimming – This skill helps the hero float as well as move quickly through water. For every round the hero wants to float or cover some distance, she must make a swimming roll.  Specializations include long distance, short distance, diving and treading.

REASON SKILLS

Computers – This skill represents more than just using computers, but in fact programming them as well.  Specializations include programming, specific system types, or hacking.

Engineering – A must have for gadgeteers and inventors this skill relates to the hero’s ability to build new items and alter existing ones. Combined with sciences and/or medicine skills, the engineering skill allows the hero to create entirely new items, for buildings to spaceships to new life forms.  Specializations for this skill include mechanical, electrical, theoretical, etc…

Knowledge (Type)– If there is a type of knowledge or trivia that is not covered by another Reason skill, this is your catch all.  When taking this skill you must select a type.  There are no specializations for this skill.  Types include such things as Occult, History of, Area Knowledge of a specific city, nation, etc… cultural knowledge as well are part of this skill.

Language (Type) – Other than their native language (which they are assumed to speak at Reason level), any extra languages are covered by this skill and must be selected when taken.  There are no specializations for this skill, type examples are French, German, Japanese, etc…

*Magic – All spell-casters and sorcerers require this skill to perform magic castings.  Specializations include such things as summoning, alternation, protection, counter-spell, etc…  This skill cannot be used untrained.

*Medicine – More than just first aid, this skill represents a working knowledge of medicine and training in the field.  Specializations include first aid, diagnosis, surgery, etc… this skill cannot be used untrained.

Repair – This skill covers the hero’s general ability to fix things. The difficulty is based upon the hero’s familiarity with the object he’s trying to repair.  Specializations include electronics, robots, engines and other technologies.

Sciences – This skill covers knowledge and education related to hard science and theoretical technology.  Specializations include specific scientific disciplines and even theoretical ones such as the metaphysics and other things related to superheroes.

INTUITION SKILLS

Awareness – An all purpose noticing things skill, Awareness can be used to test for surprise, finding hidden things or even noticing personality quirks.  Specializations include; Search, Notice, Sense Motive, etc…

Disguise – Using disguise allows a hero to alter her features so that she is unrecognizable/recognizable as else. Heroes can use makeup, wigs, costumes, or whatever they have at hand to make the disguise. This skill is opposed by Awarness to attempt to see through disguise.  Specializations include, costuming, makeup usage, accents, body movement, etc…

Gambling – This includes a working knowledge of games-of-chance, odds calculation and how to manipulate these things.  Gambling checks are made mostly when trying to cheat or trying to detect cheating.  Specializations include, Bluff, Cheat, or a specific game.

Streetwise – This skill is used to find information, goods, and contacts in an urban environment. Typically, streetwise is used in large cities where a shadowy underworld element exists. Using streetwise, a hero can gain information not accessible through more conventional means of research.  Specializations include specific city, specific criminal organization, specific neighbourhood, etc…

Survival – A successful survival roll allows the hero to learn about his surroundings and its inherent dangers. In a situation where the danger is coming from a local source, the hero can roll to see if he knows how to handle the situation.  Specializations include specific terrain types (not that Urban is handled by Streetwise).

Tracking – A hero uses tracking to follow the trail of any person, animal, or alien being.  Specializations include specific terrain types (not that Urban is handled by Streetwise).

PSYCHE SKILLS

Animal Handling – This skill measures the hero’s ability to control common animals, though not to ride them. It is generally used to make animals perform tricks and follow commands. Specializations include specific types of animal, or specific types of tricks/training with animals.

Artistic Expression (Type)– The artist skill involves all aspects of creating a work of art, from paintings to sonatas.  There are no specializations for this skill.  A type must be chosen and can include drawing, painting, photography, singing, playing a musical instrument, journalism, creating forgeries, etc…

Persuasion – This is the overall skill for manipulating people through various means.  It is a catch-all skill that mostly benefits from its specializations, which can include seduction, intimidation, fast talking, command, charm, interrogation, etc…

Willpower – This skill measures the hero’s strength of will and determination. It is used to oppose mental attacks and coercion attempts (that is Psyche-based skills and powers related to Psyche if no appropriate power is present).  It can also be used as a last ditch effort to keep going.  A hero may also use this skill to continue to stand and fight, even after her Wounds have dropped to zero. (Note: Wounds cannot fall below zero; all extra damage is disregarded.) The hero makes a willpower skill roll during each round following the one in which she dropped to zero wounds. This roll counts as an extra action for determining multi-action penalties. If the hero fails her willpower roll, she falls unconscious.  Specializations include the specific kind of coercion to be resisted (bluff, charm, intimidation, interrogation, etc…), torture, mental attacks, pain tolerance, etc…

Summary

This is just a first run assortment of skills that I feel are most important for a game.  It was cobbled together from the D6 Legend document.  If there are skill missing that you feel are important to be their own and not just a specialization of an existing skill, feel free to add them to your games.

Up next:Statistics

HEROIC: D6 Supers - Part 2 Attributes

The most important part of any D6 game is deciding what attributes to use.  I say this, because one of my favourite parts of the D6 system is the lack of homogeneity between the versions.  There is no need for a "standard" set of attributes, each can have their own version.

So like the D6 MSH fan edit I found, I will use FASERIP as the basis for my stats.  

My first decision about these attributes will be that there will not be the normal Human maximum is 4D.  Instead there will be a limit based on each individual attribute what is the maximum normal human; but for the Superhuman the maximum will be 10D.  Anything beyond that is qualified as Cosmic and will require an advantage (Perks, more later) to unlock them for purchase (and of course the Narrator's approval).

So let's look at each attribute and see what we can see;

FIGHTING

A measure of raw hand-to-hand combat ability; this goes from infants swinging their hands right up to Martial Artists and highly trained Special Forces in the Human range and up to Gods of War in the Superhuman range.  This attribute is the base for any and all hand-to-hand actions.

Rank    Benchmark

1          No training or ability

2          Normal Human ability

3          Minimal Training or natural ability

4          Some formal training

5          Regular Formal Training

6          Superior talent

7          Superior talent with training

8          Maximum human potential

9          Superhuman ability

10        Superhuman with intensive training

AGILITY

Reactions, speed, manual dexterity, etc… all covered by this attribute.  One of the largest ranges for normal humans, it is the default attribute for all ranged combat and is also used for the defense of ranged attacks.  It is also used as part of the Initiative calculation (along with Intuition).

Rank    Benchmark

1          Physically limited

2          Clumsy, inaccurate

3          Normal human reactions

4          Some training in dexterity and/or accuracy

5          Intensive training in dexterity and/or accuracy

6          Olympic Athlete

7          Olympic Gymnast

8          Superhuman sense of dexterity or accuracy

9          Superhuman sense of dexterity and accuracy

10        Movement and reactions in a flash, rarely misses

STRENGTH

Raw physical power, unless otherwise stated this is the measure of how many dice a hand-to-hand attack does.  It also gives the range of lifting for determining how much a character can lift.  Please note there is a super power called Super Strength that makes modifications to the following chart, but otherwise this is the base.

Rank    Benchmark

1          Able to press up to 50lbs

2          Able to press up to 100lbs

3          Able to press up to 200lbs

4          Able to press up to 500lbs

5          Able to press up to 800lbs, limit of human ability

6          Able to press up to 1 ton

7          Able to press up to 10 tons

8          Able to press up to 100 tons

9          Able to press up to 1000 tons

10        Able to press up to 10,000 tons

ENDURANCE

The final physical attribute is the measure of constitution for the hero.  How long can he keep going before exhaustion?  Is she able to withstand the poison gas?  Can they hold their breath after getting thrown out of the air lock long enough for their teammates to rescue them?; all a measure of Endurance.

Rank    Benchmark

1          Reduced or impaired ability

2          Minimal ability or exercise

3          Occasional exercise

4          Moderate exercise

5          Regular exercise

6          Intensive exercise, limit of human ability

7          Enhanced ability

8          Enhanced and trained ability

9          Rarely tires, great fortitude

10        Never tires

REASON

Not a measure of how intelligent a character is, but instead a measure of how tech-savvy and scientifically inclined they are.  This attribute is used for making, modify or using technology, or the sciences involved in various aspects of said technology.

Rank    Benchmark

1          Grasp of native language and simple machines

2          Limited exposure to technology, can use complex machines

3          Operate contemporary technology

4          Repair contemporary technology

5          Modify contemporary technology

6          Understand cutting edge and theoretical concepts

7          Understand alien technologies

8          Create ground breaking technologies like star drives or time machines

9          Improve and modify alien technologies

10        In effect IS an alien technology

INTUITION

Awareness, perception and general pay attention is covered by Intuition.  It is used for noticing clues, blindside and surprise attacks and even aspects of others behaviour.  It is also used as part of the Initiative calculation (along with Agility).

Rank    Benchmark

1          Limited or impaired senses

2          A little slow on the uptake

3          Normal human awareness

4          Above average intuition

5          Fine eye for detail

6          Detective skills or background

7          Strong empathic sense, gut feeling

8          In tune with all surroundings, strong hunches

9          Senses beyond all normal limitations

10        In touch with the Universe and cannot be surprised

PSYCHE

Psyche is a measure of the raw spirituality and mental willpower of an individual.  Psychics and wizards alike rely on this attribute to help determine their base power with spells or psionics, it is also used to resist them.

Rank    Benchmark

1          Easily dominated or programmed

2          Shy, hampered in sense of will

3          Normal human willpower/presence

4          Resist ordinary mesmerism, stand out in a room

5          Some experience with mental control, leadership and/or mystic forces

6          Trained in resisting outside will-dominating force, natural born leader

7          Highly trained, great natural charisma or possessing great strength of will.

8          Indomitable willpower

9          Intense training in mental powers, experience in wielding those powers

10        A closed mind, nigh uncontrollable by outside means

So there you have it, the Attributes section.  I will explain later how many Dice you get at this point when I get around to the "Character Creation" post, but for now the ground work continues.

Up next: Skills

HEROIC: D6 Supers - Part 1 Origins

So for those of you who saw the post about my issues with all D6 superhero versions, I have decided to give in to my needs and work on a fan version.  Hopefully I will achieve my goal of getting this done, since there are MANY D6/Mini Six superhero projects, but none ever seem to come to fruition.  Wish me luck I guess.

I also need to get that cover finished at some point, but we can fix the barn doors after the horses come home.

So the first thing I am going to do is use the old D6 System corebook as my primary guideline, followed by Mini Six and the D6 Legend document.  In the end I have decided that I will make this a Legend based system, since that is the fastest playing, even at higher dice numbers.

Note moving forward that I will be using the following Attributes; Fighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, Intuition and Psyche.  More on these in a later post about Attributes.  Yes I love the old Marvel that much.

Moving on.

Origins

The first step to making a character is to chose an Origin.  Every hero (and villain) has an origin or source for their powers.  The following list is provided to cover most of them, though if your concept doesn’t fit into one of them feel free to come up with something (along with your Narrator) that fits;

Alien – You are an extra-terrestrial, a subterranean or even an extra-dimensional being.  Whatever the case you are a normal example of your species, with all the powers they normally have.  If you are not a normal member of your species, you should choose another category to reflect how you are different from your people.  In some campaigns Aliens are common place and no one bats an eye at their appearance, in others they are to be feared and mistrusted.  Most aliens are either technology specialists or warriors from beyond the stars and as such Alien characters start with +1D in either Fighting or Reason and a free combat skill or technology skill at +1D.  With Narrator approval you may change the Attribute and Skill bonus if you Alien is a little different than the standard.

Altered – Through either accident or design you are no longer a standard member of the human race (or other race if not human).  You have been given tremendous powers by your origin event and are well outside the norm.  The downside to this is that your powers can be nullified by technology or other powers designed to do so.  The commonness of these things is really up to the individual Narrators so check before assuming.  Altered characters start play with +1D in their Endurance and a free skill at +1D or +2D in any power, regardless of cost (with Narrator approval of course).

Construct – You were made, either through technology, science or magic.  You may or may not be a sentient being (if not you are no more than a robot or golem) and you may or may not be considered “alive” in legal, biological and metaphysical terms.  In some campaigns you may be seen as an abomination that is feared and mistrusted by normal people, in others you may be the logical evolution of technology or even a mix of both.  Constructs start play with a +2D in either their Strength or Intuition but may not have a Psyche higher than 1D unless approved by the Narrator.  Also, they automatically get the “Unliving” Hindrance for no benefit.

Magical – All of your power either comes from magical spells or magical items that you carry.  These are the only characters that use the previous mentioned abilities.  Those who were given their powers via magic are considered Altered and those characters that were made by means of magic are considered Constructs. Magical characters tend to attract Magical enemies and powers from beyond so choose this Origin with caution.  Magical Origin characters start play with either a +1D in their Psyche and Spellcraft skill +1D (if they are casters) or 1 free magical item at +1D, regardless of power Tier (If they are Artifact Users).  They also get, for no benefit, either the "Watched" Hindrance to represent that the Powers-That-Be have knowledge of the character, or "Enemy" to represent a particular rival.

Mutant – You were born with powers that are not the norm for humans (or your race).  Depending on the campaign you are in you may be hated, or even hunted.  In another campaign you might be seen as the saviors of the world or even mystical gods.  Best to ask your Narrator how they treat Mutants in their campaign before picking this origin.  Mutants start play with a +1D in any Attribute of their choosing and +1D in any Power of their choosing, regardless of power Tier.  They also must take one Hindrance, for no benefit, that relates to their status in the campaign setting.

High-Tech – Be it a power suit, a cool laser-sighted bow or even a series of ever changing gadgets, you get your powers from one place only, technology.  The upside to this is that you don’t set off any power scanners and nullifiers have no effect on you (on your tech is another question).  The downside is that your gear can get stolen, broken or even lost.  High-Tech characters start with a +2D in their Reason and a related Reason skill at +1Dif they designed their own tech.  If they are just the user/pilot they instead get a +1D in their Endurance, a related Skill at +1D and a +1D power, regardless of Power Tier costs.  All powers they have must have the “Equipment” Limitation.

Intense Training – The very definition of the self-made-man… or woman… or subterranean volcanic being… whatever the case you have trained your body to perfection, though you never stop pushing for better.  Intense Training origin characters have no true “super powers” and tend to rely on equipment or their own bodies.  Intense training characters start play with a +1D in Fighting, Agility, Strength or Endurance and +1D in a related skill.  They also get the “Normal” Hindrance for no benefit.

Afterthoughts

So it begins.  More to come as we move along, but up next will be the Attributes coverage.  This looks to be a long more fun than I thought, so hopefully that will come sooner rather than later.

Oh and one final note, I am NOT fighting for some sort of "balance" that modern gaming is obsessed with.  I am old school in that way and won't even address comments about it, though I AM happy to discuss anything else.

Cheers! 

I Got Bored...

So I made this.

It needs more work and I need to get the rest of the art for the main image (a guy that would be on the right with the female on the left.  Also debating running the Zenith Comics banner top to bottom along the left side... but other than that, I just like it as is :)

D6 Supers

So in my quest to find a D6 superhero game I like, I have had little straight up success.  It actually has been quite frustrating and disheartening.

First up, if you want to do superheroics in D6 you must look at the D6 Core System book.  This document, as I had stated previously, a revolution is how I saw gaming back in the late 90's and continues to be a massive influence on me.  That said the approach to superheroic gaming in this book leaves a bit to be desired.  It does what I feel is an unforgivable thing for a D6 system, it breaks out of D6 to cover the cost of superpowers.  This is jarring as it breaks the nice and smooth flow of D6 and forces me to adapt a whole other system, and then come back to D6.  It doesn't appeal at all to me sense of style.  Hence when the next game I speak about came out, I had reservations, which wouldn't be proven out, but a whole other set of issues would come up.

West End Games next foray into the superheroic gaming as the much lamented DC Universe roleplaying game.  At first I was most excited, they even purchased powers using d6s just like the rest of the system!  Slowly but surely though my enthusiasm waned.  The game was over complicated, broken on so many levels that it would take 4 supplements to fix all the issues and ultimately failed to find an audience.  The sad part is that it could have worked, had they not done what it seems EVERYONE does when making a superhero game.  More on that later.

So giving up my dreams of a D6 superheroic roleplaying system, I moved on and started playing other games and using old FASERIP for my super hero gaming.  Eventually I would try BASH (and love it!) and ICONS (not so much), as well as terrible multiple attempts at Mutants & Masterminds (do not want), but still longed quietly for a D6 superhero game.  Then I found D6 Powers, which was not to be my salvation either.

West End Games did a release run of D6 Fantasy, D6 Adventure and D6 Space.  These were given away for free as PDFs and then I saw D6 Powers!  At first I thought it was a legit WEG product, but it turned out to be 3rd party.  So what?  Let's dive in... wait what is this?  Oh this was based off another game and has its setting specific rules in it?  AND it uses a secondary point system to get my powers?  Le sigh...  While I respect what they did and they have had a great deal of success with it, it just isn't what I want in my superheroics from D6.

So it seemed that my quest had come to an end.  A D6 supers system had been made that seemingly made the fans happy and gave them what they wanted.  I didn't, but I accepted that I often go against the grain, that's just the way I roll.

While surfing the web one day I stumbled across the strangest thing I thought I would ever see.  Someone calling themselves Talon had made a fan version of my beloved FASERIP as a D6 port!  I digested it with great aplomb  and while there were some great ideas (Bad Karma as a sort of Darkside port was just exceptional!), it used the powers system from D6 Adventure, about which the less said the better.  I certainly did love that he used the Marvel SAGA rpg cover for his efforts, as I feel it is one of the best superhero game covers ever.

When Mini-Six came out, I was very excited to see that someone had picked up the floundering D6 and created something special, but alas there was just no rules for supers in it.  When I posted around and asked, I hear a lot of people saying "I'm working on it!" or "It's on the way!" but now 3 years later, nothing has manifested.  I did see this one post on rpg.net that gave me hope, but for the life of me I can't find it now.  Someone had stated up a bunch of published superheroes and it seemed rather simple, which is something I want to talk more about later in this post.  More on this, Mini Six supers thing when I get more details.

So pretty much having given up on D6 as a superhero game, I wandered around and eventually friends online told me to check out SUPERS! by Simon Washbourne.  First off let me say this, when I found out Simon was open to selling the rights to this game, I was so impressed I talked my partner in crime Walt Robillard into joining me in purchasing said rights.  As I type this, we are hard at work on a Revised Edition of the rules for release later this year.  It is that good a game.  Why do I mention it here?  Well it uses D6s and more so I remember when I was reading it the first time it would work perfectly as a D6 super power add on, with some tweaks of course.  It is just simple and focuses on the more comic book emulation, without being too gimmicky about it.  I highly recommend you check it out, not just cause I co-own it, but because it is just that good a game!

So why doesn't D6 have a supers system I like?  Well I think it has to do with what I call the Champions influence.  Champions was omnipresent and it influenced more than a generation of game designers and players, it defined what was a based for superhero roleplaying design.  Sadly I never got into it as I found it clunky, fiddly and just ripe for abuse and manipulation by clever character engineering.  That holds no interest for me, and to be honest of than FASERIPs more open powers and descriptive nature, SUPERS! is the first game that really gets how it works.  You have Fire Control.  Okay, how do YOU use it in this scene?  By having a more free-form style of using powers, players think more creatively and if they are comic book fans, they will hopefully think in those ways.

So why not just play SUPERS! and be done with it?  Well to be honest there are 2 reasons.  The first is that the system around the powers in SUPERS! is a bit too narrative for me, I want just a little bit more rules.  D6 gives me more structure  but doesn't got too far like Savage Worlds, GURPS or Unisystem.  While those are all great games, proven by their loyal fanbases, they aren't for me.

The second reason is that I simply LOVE D6.

So what now?  Well I have a side project for me and my players that may or may-not see the light of day here eventually, but I plan to take the D6 system and fuse it with SUPERS! (for the powers mostly) and get down to kicking some supervillain asses!

If there is interest, I might post bits and pieces of it here, but ultimately it is just for me and is not a publishing venture.

Either way, wish me luck!