Time Out! is designed as a way for players to step away from the game for a minute and think about strategy and teamwork. Like a coach advising his team from the sidelines, I hope that the people reading this will gain a mental edge as they head back into the game. In each installment I will dispense my sage advise by comparing an in game situation to a real world situation. Sports analogies will be used often but not exclusively.
The purpose of this particular column is to help us look at a gaming standard, the super team, from a new perspective so that we as players will be able to make better characters. I remember one day that it struck me how readily the starting positions on a basketball team lined up with the standard roles you see in a super hero team. The team size is about right at five. Bigger super teams generally either have a second or third string or they divide their main talent into separate strike teams. Also there is something about the energy and razzle-dazzle of basketball that smacks of a high-octane super brawl. After all, you’ve never seen a comic book where the heroes and villains stop after every play to talk about what they’re doing next, have you? Hopefully by taking a few lessons from a basketball line up we will be able to create a winning super team.
Creating a character is a personal process. You make decisions about your character based on a concept from your own mind. You base your character on your own personal tastes and playing style. However, we must not forget that role-playing is a social activity. Whether we think about it or not, every time we start a new game we are also forming a group. This gathering of individual characters almost always ends up cooperating with each other to achieve a common goal. The standard "adventuring party" has an equivalent in every genre and it is a mistake to ignore this formula when putting together a game. A successful group is usually one that has clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each player to fill. If one character carries too much of the load then the others will get bored. If everyone has the same abilities then the whole crew ends up fighting each other for something to do. Diversifying team positions is the key to making sure that the group functions well together.
We’re going to look at a starting five line-up for examples of how a character can better fill his or her role. Whether your team is athletic or super heroic there comes a time when a player has to stop saying, "What’s in it for me?" and start saying, "What can I do for us?" The terminology I here use is universal and should translate easily enough; offense is offense, defense is defense, an assist is something you do that helps a teammate get the job done.
Team Positions
The Big Man (center): As the most physically dominant member of the team, the big man is a central figure in both offense and defense. His sheer power and size makes him nearly unstoppable when he gets in close. The big man’s job on defense is to muscle the other team around, tie up their movement and take the big hits when necessary. The big man lives to block someone’s shot and power it back down at him. It always helps when a big man can bring something to the table besides a zero-range offense. Mobility is a key concern and it couldn’t hurt to have a decent mid-range offense to compensate. A big man provides the most help for his teammates when he "directs traffic" to get someone else into offensive position. With a good head on his shoulders the big man can easily assume a take charge role and lead from the front but his best contribution comes when he pairs up with another player for a team attack.
The Forwards: The starting line-up has two forwards and they play in the front court with the big man. Like their domineering counterpart, forwards are expected to be tough and wreak havoc at close range. The two forwards are split between power and small. The names do a fairly good job of explaining themselves. The power forward is expected to have the physical capability to blast through an opposing defense while still having the speed and agility to hustle on defense. It’s great when a power forward has an effective ranged offense as well but it’s not needed. A power forward assists his comrades by drawing the defense away from position. A PF does little things to throw off the opposing team and set up his own team’s offense. The power forward shines when he comes in to finish off someone else’s play and gets in an easy dunk. A good power forward can swing the momentum back in his team’s favor but he’s too much of a workhorse to take on other responsibilities.
The small forward is supposed to be faster and more versatile than the other muscle players. A good small forward can do a little bit of everything. He is consistent on defense and has so many offensive options that the other side never knows what to expect. The right balance between grace and brute strength makes the small forward a dynamic contributor to the team. The small forward assists his teammates with his mobility and ability to draw attention away from other players. The small forward does his best work by making the other side look foolish and sapping their morale. As a leader the small forward can take command from anywhere on the court and lead the charge in spectacular fashion.
The Guards: The back-court is filled in by the guards who, as the name suggests, are positioned to take a lead role in defense. The two guards are called point guard and shooting guard. The point guard is primarily a defensive player who also contributes with mid and long-range offense. The point guard will contribute the most defensively by dogging the opposing offense. He also helps by creating scoring opportunities for other players. It helps when a PG can hold his own when it comes to up close offense but it’s not unknown for a point guard to get by on just his defense and assists. As a leader the point guard favors smart, well-coordinated play based on mobility.
The shooting guard is a long-range assassin who pairs his offensive ability with good defensive skills. He backs up the PG to slow down the other side’s offensive moves and then turns around to launch an offensive barrage from a distance. The shooter works best when he has time to pick his shot and line it up perfectly. Going to the shooting guard for offense is risky but effective. A shooting guard needs a lot of help from the team for his long-range attack to be effective. When a shooter can back up his marksmanship with physical power he becomes a force to be reckoned with on both offense and defense. The shooter helps the team most when he keeps himself open so that he can always be the weapon of last resort. As a leader the shooting guard favors a balanced offense and he helps his teammates develop their own long rang attacks.
The Sixth Man: This unofficial position refers to a reserve player who gets a decent amount of playing time and is often used to back up a star player. The sixth man has to produce on both offense and defense but his main job is to assist other players. Because he plays less, the sixth man can afford to go for broke and burn himself out a little faster than most players. A good sixth man can slip into more than one role, playing either forward and center (big man) or guard and forward.
The Super Team
So how does all this help us put together a better super team? By filling the above positions we can ensure that the team has a good combination of abilities and isn’t overly specialized. We also make sure that every character has something to do. Each role I described contains enough flexibility and variety to allow for player expression while still meeting the needs of the team. In order to demonstrate how it works, I’ve applied the starting five strategy to an imaginary super hero team. Since the size of a group may vary some heroes might be pressed to take on two roles, perhaps playing both of the guard slots or both forward positions.
The Big Man: Some would fill this spot with a tried and true mix of strong and tough with perhaps a ranged attack or movement power thrown in for good measure. However there are other options for a big man than just maxing out his physical stats. Most super hero games have powers like growth, alter structure and density increase that increase a character’s strength and resistance to injury. A big man character doesn’t necessarily have to be strong at all. Any devastating attack power allows him to do his job. A big man does need the ability to take it as well as he can dish it or he simply won’t survive.
The hero BIG MAN has the power to increase his size dramatically. He is incredibly tough and strong when he gets bigger and can take on multiple foes easily. His large step allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly. He likes to close in fast and go straight for the most powerful villain. His only ranged attack consists of lugging heavy objects at people and he’s not particularly accurate. He works hard on defense by drawing attacks to himself and pinning the enemy down.
Power Forward: The power forward needs a nasty offensive power like the big man. He also needs to have some kind of defense so he can take his share of hits. Having high physical numbers is an easy way to go about things but you can also get creative. Powers that give a character claws, an acid touch, extra limbs or a powerful melee weapon provide him with the offensive punch that he needs. Force fields, armored skin or a form altering power can make the difference in terms of defense. A power forward who is limited in his mobility isn’t much good to anyone so a movement power should be something to think about. You should remember that this a specialized character so focus on a few core abilities.
The hero POWER gets by with a very tried and true mix of features. He’s strong and tough. He flies and shoots ray beams. While his flight isn’t super fast and his energy blast isn’t incredibly powerful he knows how to use them both. What he’s really good at is bashing it up hand to hand. He mostly uses his flight and blast powers to back up other characters. This character believes that the best defense is a good offense and he always tries to keep the momentum on his team’s side.
Small Forward: Filling out this spot is easier that you might think. This is a good position for a jack-of-all-trades type of character, provided he has the ability to strike hard offensively. This character makes the best use of a movement power or a sneaky power like invisibility. Defense doesn’t have to be this character’s strong suit but I’d suggest a healing power at the very least because this hero is going to get hurt. An inclusive power that gives the character several abilities is something to think about. Something that allows the character to mimic the abilities of others or change form would fall into this category. A small forward doesn’t have to be the "little bit of everything" type but if he chooses a more focused approach then the hustle factor will count for more than anything.
The hero FAST FORWARD is a stick of dynamite wrapped in lightning. His super speed keeps the enemy guessing and he can unleash a sonic barrage from mid and long range as well. He’s not quite as tough as Big Man or Power but he’s a lot harder to hit. He contributes a lot to the team’s offense by taking out weaker opponents quickly. This hero can draw a lot of enemy fire to himself with little risk of getting hit. This tactic gives the other heroes a free shot at the bad guys after they use their attack against speedy.
Point Guard: Your primary goal here is to balance tough defense with some useful offensive abilities. The concern here is a solid mid-range offense. An offensive power that works at any distance is a sound choice because it gives the hero flexibility. The point guard needs a lot of defensive ability but offensive powers and the ability to help out other heroes might make the difference. Force field powers, ice powers, etc. are good choices because they can be used to protect the character as well as other heroes and innocent bystanders.
The hero GUARDIAN is a magic man. His armor makes him nearly invulnerable and his skill with the mystic arts gives him a number of offensive and support options. He wades fearlessly into battle using both ranged and melee attacks. His magic gives him a number of "dirty trick" attacks that target the mind or bypass the target’s armor. He can also use his magic to directly help his teammates by boosting their abilities, healing them, etc.
Shooting Guard: If you need me to tell you that a good super team needs a big gun who can unleash eye beams, plasma blasts or bolts of magic lightning then…well I guess I’m telling you now. Creating this character should be an absolute snap. Your only real decision will be what else to give the character after he has an awesome ranged attack. Any other ability the shooter brings to the table will be a back up for another player’s strong point. He could have anything from super strength to clock manipulation as a secondary ability and still play his primary role well. However, whenever you’re stuck for a power look to defense and mobility first.
The hero SHOOTER does what his name suggests. His power is a super charged energy blast. He’s the weakest defensively but he has the best ranged attack and can settle some fights with one shot. He’s not afraid to move in close either, he simply hits more often when he can fight from a distance. This hero may be a one trick pony but he’s got one hell of a trick.
Sixth Man: This is a good place to experiment with an off the wall power or a skill/gadget character. If the game has an option where you save points from character creation to use during game play then this is the character who will benefit the most from it. This character is someone that the heroes call in for back up. Not every gaming group has six players or even five for that matter and this creates room for someone to run a reserve character once in a while. A good sixth man needs to be able to do whatever the team requires of him. The sixth man does the little things that help out the team. Rescuing bystanders, dragging injured comrades to safety and sneaking into the enemy fortress while the team battles outside are typical tasks for the sixth man.
The hero SIXTH MAN has the power to create up to five duplicates of himself. Each of these clones has all of his varied skills and peak-human physical abilities. Individually none of them is tough enough to go toe to toe with powerhouse villains but as long as one of them remains conscious then the fight will continue. He typically tries to outlast an opponent and wear him down with team attacks. He understands that he doesn’t pack the power to get in on every fight and accepts the fact. He’s 100% team and never complains that he doesn’t get the glory. His teammates will be quick to tell you how many times he’s come in to save the day when they were running out of rope.
Building Your Character
You may be thinking that applying this strategy to an actual character would require the cooperation of the other players and/or the GM but that’s not the case. You can set your own character into a team position even when you don’t have a chance to discuss strategy with the group. Just by paying attention to what other players are doing with their characters you can look for gaps and try to fill them.
Remember that team positions are relative to each other and nothing is set until every character has been made. Sometimes other people’s characters seem to fit into several of the previously discussed roles. For example, what if the team’s best melee fighter is also the fastest? Or the character with the most effective ranged attack also has the best defense? You solve this problem by clearly defining your own character’s abilities.
For instance you could create a character who was clearly stronger and tougher than his teammate but not as fast or vice versa. This would make your character the big man and the other a very fast power forward or the other way around. Either way what you’re doing is playing off of another character’s strength so you can back each other up. Even if one of you gets knocked unconscious the team still has a brute or a speedster.
I do think it’s beneficial for the group to get together and discuss their characters for a super hero game. Mostly this has to do with the story structure of a super hero game, which tends to be more character oriented than other genres. However, this is also a chance for the team to work out the kinks in combat strategy. If each player picks a starting five role to fill, he or she might only need to devote one or two abilities or powers to that end. It is likely that the character will still have room for a unique twist, such as a telepathic strongman or a blaster who is also able to teleport.
You can apply this line up to a number of super teams for examples of how various roles might be filled. For instance, the Teen Titans cartoon has this starting five: Cyborg (C), Starfire (PF), Beast Boy (SF), Robin (PG), Raven (SG). The iconic super team, the Fantastic Four, has the Thing quite clearly as the big man, Mr. Fantastic playing both forward spots (he’s dope like that), Invisible Woman as the ultimate point guard and Human Torch coming in obviously as the shooting guard. Batman is an excellent example of a sixth man on a super hero team, a regular person who keeps up with major super heroes through sheer effort.
All right, now get back in there and play!
