Zenith Comics: A Tale of 2 Universes

As I sit here tonight, working on my Zenith Universe campaign I realize that it is important for me to note there are actually 2 Zenith Universe (3 really, but let's not split hairs).

The 1st Zenith Universe is the one where the HEROIC comic (soon to be released) takes place.  It is a universe of conspiracies, deep plots and long running schemes.  It is not so much a roleplaying universe but more a story telling one.

Then there is the 2nd Zenith Universe (I suppose we could call it Earth 2, or Other Earth, or really whatever you like).  This one is more of a universe designed for roleplaying adventures.  It is a heavier populated one than the 1st and it is certainly more traditionally superheroic/comic book as universes go.

The third one is the one that I use for my homegrown campaign, but that one is somewhere between the two.

Why?

Well the first reason is that I always feel that storytelling universes have different needs and purposes than roleplaying ones.  Storytelling universes need to service the story.  Everything you show or do should have purpose and that purpose is to benefit or drive the story.  For example, while you can roleplay in say the Star Wars universe, it is really designed to tell the story of the Skywalker family.  Or how the Babylon 5 universe is designed to tell the story of its namesake.

Feel free to disagree, but this is how I see things.

A roleplaying universe is meant to be more of a sandbox.  A place where players can arrive and make their mark.  Maybe they will travel the world and meet heroes and villains from other places, or maybe they will stay home and just be the local super team.  All options are on the table.  As such the roleplaying universe should provide a jumping in point, with a nice history and a lay of the land for the players and narrator to explore as they move forward, changing the world through their actions.

Surprisingly both Zenith Universe have the same kicking off point.  The death of the Guardsman.

Will character from one show up in the other?  Probably as while writing I might have inspiration for a great character that I want to put in an RPG book, or perhaps there is an NPC that would perfectly suit a scene I am writing.

There are no hard rules here.

Anywho, just the musings of my mind.

Cheers!

Supers! Classic is Live

Hey guys, real fast, if you want to pick up the classic edition of Supers! The Comic Book Roleplaying Game, click here and pick up a copy.

Remember every sale of the classic edition helps push us towards the inevitable Revised Edition!

Cheers!

Zenith Comics to Shepherd SUPERS!

27 August 2012 – Montreal, Canada

Effective immediately, Zenith Comics has purchased the exclusive rights and intellectual property to "Supers! The Comic Book Roleplaying Game" from Beyond Belief Games. Simon Washbourne, creator of Supers! and owner of Beyond Belief Games had this to say;

"I'm pleased to have signed the deal with Andrew (Collas) & Walt (Robillard). These guys have shown the desire and commitment to continue the development and expansion of the SUPERS! line, to build on what I started and establish SUPERS! as one of the major super hero role playing games on the market."

Part of what Simon refers to is Zenith Comics plans to not only continue to offer the original game up for sale, but to create a Revised Edition, soliciting input from the fans of Supers! itself. Furthermore, Simon Washbourne will be acting as an Executive Producer to the creative team, steering his creation as new ideas improve and expand upon what he created. To which he said;

"I won't be stepping away from SUPERS! - in fact, I will be taking on a 'hands on' position to ensure that the SUPERS! line remains true to my original vision. Zenith Comics wants to keep the current fan base happy and reach out to new gamers who may not yet have realized what a great game they have been missing out on. I'm sure they will succeed in this and I'm happy SUPERS! is in the right hands to move the line to greater heights."

Zenith Comics and Hazard Studio (the official RPG arm of Zenith Comics) have a solid track record of working together and producing such hit lines as "Supervillains!" and "Type Casting" for other famous super heroic games.

"The time had come not only for Zenith Comics to have its own game," says Zenith Editor-in-Chief Andrew Collas, "but to have a game system that exemplifies fast paced comic book action, not one that gets bogged down in number crunching and minutia. Supers! was that perfect system for me. I fell in love with it the moment I countered a power blast with my eye-beams!"

While Zenith Comics has not revealed the long term plans at present, roster books, adventures and an eventual “Narrators Guide” are all on the drawing board.

- Zenith Comics

Get Us Out From Under!

So I just finished reading the first 12 issues of Brian Azzarello's Wonder Woman (part of the New 52).

I hate to be like every other blogger out there (though I don't consider myself a blogger really) and praise it and demand you run out and read it ... but...

HOLY FUCKING HELL THIS THING IS THE BEST WONDER WOMAN EVER!

Ahem...

Yeah... so there... go read it.

It's very very good.

Zenith Comics Art Preview

Testing out the Blogger ap on my iPad.

HEROIC News!

So I just finished a lunch/writing meeting with my editor LC, and I have to say it went better than I could have hoped.

As of this writing the plots for issues 5 - 6 of HEROIC are now concrete and we move to scripting stage (well except on issue 5, it still needs some brain workings).

It is interesting how I had originally had 3 different ideas and discarded 2 and chose the easier path for HEROIC and then one shower induced brainstorm later I saw how to seamlessly thread all 3 stories into one.

If nothing else comes from this venture, I have learned (and continue to learn) more about writing this past year than I ever thought possible.

For those who have been telling me for the better part of 2 decades that I was meant to be a writer, I officially say you were right and I was wrong.

Mark it on a calendar, 'cause you won't hear me say that too often. ;)

Now to take a much needed brain break for the rest of the day and maybe watch a movie.

Cheers!

Spread The Word!

Go to THIS link.

Read it.

Spread it.

Be a voice!

Okay... Podcast

Here's what I am going to do..

1] It will be the Earth Alpha Podcast.

2] It will be about things that I find interesting.  Comics, RPGs, movies, etc...

3] It will have guests.

4] It will have "actual play" sessions.

5] It will not have the "amazing" production value that the old Zenith podcast had, simply because the radio studios won't be available for at least 5 months... so... yeah.

That's what I am going to do.  That's how I am going to roll.

Yeah!

Podcast Fast & Dirty

So...

I think I am going to bring back my podcast.

Anyone other than me actually care?

Supers! A nice little surprise...

Hey there friends, So tonight the Protectors of New York (PONY) campaign tried a different system than the clunky homebrew I was using, called Supers! by Beyond Belief Games.

You may know them as the makers of Barbarians of Lemuria. The owner/writer of BBG is Simon Washbourne and let me tell you he has made one hell of a little super hero game here!

Caveat number one, if you like crunch of say Mutants & Masterminds, or even BASH levels, this game will not be for you. If you love a more creative and narrative game, tied around a solid core mechanic and room to house rule, well then I urge you to check this game out.

I won't go into a long description of how the game works, or review the rules, I will instead simply say it has no statistics in the traditional sense, uses pools of d6s and makes for a very enjoyable and fast paced evening of superheroic gaming.

I ran a session tonight with 6 players and 2 allied NPCs squaring off against 8 villain NPCs and it went smoothly, fast and furious with plenty of awesome fun and excitement! I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable time to say the least.

Did I house rule it? Natch'... but that's just how I roll in any game. I cannot think of a single game I have run over the decades that didn't have at least one house rule in it.

So again, head on over to RPGNow! and pick up this fantastically fun game, you will not be disappointed!

Supers!

And We're Back!

Hey all. Long time no talk. So after having a lovely meet up with my buddy Pat, I was convinced to start blogging again. So I will. Not right now though... but soon. :) Cheers!