The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Well I finally got Sidekick (a supplement for Blood of Heroes, which uses Mayfair's MEGS (DC Heroes) System) and I thought I would try to do some kind of review. I have only looked at the first half of the book and will not be commenting on the adventure or characters.

General Comments

Art: The Art itself is poor to average. It is not so bad that you want to burn the book but none of the images are memorable. The addition of word balloons to the picture actually made them worse as they were often attempts at humor that did not match the illustration's style

Lay Out: Here I want to say that the lay out was pretty good. The text is easy to read and headings for individual sections clear. There is no index, but appendices that list powers and skills also list their page numbers. I would also have to say that editing is still something that need some work. It is not that there are many errors (There were not) but the errors that did exist were so obvious that even I found them. (A power's heading in the middle of the power's text. Repeated sentences. )

Style: This I would put at above average. There was a lot of information here and the author successfully presented it in a manner that was not too dry. (Sometimes difficult when explaining rules additions) I would have liked to have seen a couple more examples of the more difficult concepts but they were usually understandable with a couple of readings.

Individual Sections.

Advantages / Disadvantages - This section was mostly clarification/expansion of existing material. (Such at Connections) This material seemed well thought out and provided a good base from which to expand. There was a good balance between detail and playability so that the character creation process overall was enhanced and not bogged down.

Powers - Here we also have clarification/expansion of problem powers but we also have a good selection of new powers that adds the game. This section looked good as far as balance goes. You will have players that want to play the new and cool powers but not because they are better or more powerful than what has been previously written.

Skills - This is the section that I had the most problem with. First let me state my bias in the fact that I think that skills is the place that MEGS most falls apart. This is not from a usage standpoint but from a cost/utility standpoint. I think often the skills cost too much for the utility received. (Not all skills but many) This section added a number of subskills and generally added cost without adding much utility. An example would be the addition of the graphic artist subskill. (Making the FC of Artist = 9) How much additional utility is this skill going to give? (And why is not covered by Artist and Scholar (Computers)? which is still needed to use the skill properly)

Another big change is the rewrite of martial arts - This skill has been parsed into it's sub-components (each a different subskill) and the amount of damage has been dropped. This is going to have a big effect on the ability of skilled normals to run with the big boys. Effect Value ( in bashing combat) is now limited to about seven AP's. (Strength +1 CS if MA is higher) This is below the total RV values in most campaigns I have played. ( When talking to the author, who has been very helpful, I was reminded that strength can be raised through powers and gadget's. )

Gadgetry - This was a good addition to what was previously written. Some gadget specific advantages and disadvantages were given as well as answers to common questions about the gadgetry rules.

New Rules / Advanced rules - These seemed well thought out with a pick those you like feel. (Which is good) Some of them give much more detail to the game but with the penalty of slowing the game down. In all it will come down to GM option but now at least, the GM has different options to choose from.

Also of note are guidelines for creating new powers. Once again a good thing to have that was missing from the MEGS system.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Sidekick Sourcebook
Author: Joshua "JD" Marquart Category: game Company/Publisher: Pulsar Games Line: Blood of Heroes Cost: $20.00 Page count: 184 ISBN: 0-9665280-1-8 SKU: 1159 Playtest Review by Adam Stein on 07/24/99. Genre tags: none	Well I finally got Sidekick (a supplement for Blood of Heroes, which uses Mayfair's MEGS (DC Heroes) System) and I thought I would try to do some kind of review. I have only looked at the first half of the book and will not be commenting on the adventure or characters. General Comments Art: The Art itself is poor to average. It is not so bad that you want to burn the book but none of the images are memorable. The addition of word balloons to the picture actually made them worse as they were often attempts at humor that did not match the illustration's style Lay Out: Here I want to say that the lay out was pretty good. The text is easy to read and headings for individual sections clear. There is no index, but appendices that list powers and skills also list their page numbers. I would also have to say that editing is still something that need some work. It is not that there are many errors (There were not) but the errors that did exist were so obvious that even I found them. (A power's heading in the middle of the power's text. Repeated sentences. ) Style: This I would put at above average. There was a lot of information here and the author successfully presented it in a manner that was not too dry. (Sometimes difficult when explaining rules additions) I would have liked to have seen a couple more examples of the more difficult concepts but they were usually understandable with a couple of readings. Individual Sections. Advantages / Disadvantages - This section was mostly clarification/expansion of existing material. (Such at Connections) This material seemed well thought out and provided a good base from which to expand. There was a good balance between detail and playability so that the character creation process overall was enhanced and not bogged down. Powers - Here we also have clarification/expansion of problem powers but we also have a good selection of new powers that adds the game. This section looked good as far as balance goes. You will have players that want to play the new and cool powers but not because they are better or more powerful than what has been previously written. Skills - This is the section that I had the most problem with. First let me state my bias in the fact that I think that skills is the place that MEGS most falls apart. This is not from a usage standpoint but from a cost/utility standpoint. I think often the skills cost too much for the utility received. (Not all skills but many) This section added a number of subskills and generally added cost without adding much utility. An example would be the addition of the graphic artist subskill. (Making the FC of Artist = 9) How much additional utility is this skill going to give? (And why is not covered by Artist and Scholar (Computers)? which is still needed to use the skill properly) Another big change is the rewrite of martial arts - This skill has been parsed into it's sub-components (each a different subskill) and the amount of damage has been dropped. This is going to have a big effect on the ability of skilled normals to run with the big boys. Effect Value ( in bashing combat) is now limited to about seven AP's. (Strength +1 CS if MA is higher) This is below the total RV values in most campaigns I have played. ( When talking to the author, who has been very helpful, I was reminded that strength can be raised through powers and gadget's. ) Gadgetry - This was a good addition to what was previously written. Some gadget specific advantages and disadvantages were given as well as answers to common questions about the gadgetry rules. New Rules / Advanced rules - These seemed well thought out with a pick those you like feel. (Which is good) Some of them give much more detail to the game but with the penalty of slowing the game down. In all it will come down to GM option but now at least, the GM has different options to choose from. Also of note are guidelines for creating new powers. Once again a good thing to have that was missing from the MEGS system. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Sidekick Sourcebook