 Goto [ Index ] |
Truth and Justice is a 133 page pdf (though the back few pages are adds) available on RPGNow. It is written by Chad Underkoffler who is the one-man-show that is Atomic Sock Monkey Press and also a regular columnist for Pyramid magazine. The game uses the PDQ system (Prose Descriptive Qualities), which was previously featured in Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot. It's worth noting that both MNPR and the PDQ core system are available for free on Atomic Sock Monkey's Press' website so if you're not sure this game is for you it's possible to check out the core rules before you buy Truth and Justice.
First the downsides of the book. The art is iffy at best. I think the worst piece is on the cover. While that's an odd choice (it's the only color piece, but presumably Mr. Underkoffler could have gotten a different piece colored) it at least lets you know what you're getting. Don't buy Truth and Justice for the art but it's not so bad it distracts from the rest of the book.
Next that very, very simple PDQ system. Since there's a free version available I won't go into too much detail about it since I'm not sure I can do it justice. In a nutshell, everything is rated with a descriptive term (poor, average, good, expert, master) and each term has a numerical value that modifies a 2d6 roll. The hitch is that you can describe your character with any terms you want. You can decide you have Magnetic Control Powers, are a History Professor and suffer from Hedonism. How is that different from a character with Electro-Magnetic Generation who is a Student of the Past and a Thrill-Seeker? Well, that's up to you and your GM. Any time one of your descriptives might apply you get a roll. As a result characters may end up being very similar in play, as creative players can make any description apply somehow to nearly any situation.
If that makes you think you don't want to play Truth and Justice you're probably right. If you shrugged off that concern and just want to know how cool a story you can tell with such a simple set of rules, buy the game. The author describes it as a :"high-trust" game which requires the GM and players accept they're all working towards the same goal. I think that's a fair description. An adversarial relationship between players and GM will destroy Truth and Justice in a second.
In all fairness, there are lists of powers, with guidelines on how to run them. But there's also an option for coming up with a new "super quality," so you could add anything you wanted to the game. The existing guidelines are solid, but even with the warning that new qualities need to be written up to forestall arguments I suspect only groups not prone to arguments should try it (or the game at all).
The major upside of the book is the details Mr.Underkoffler fits around this basic mechanic. There are rules for superhero-levels of abilities vs normal-human level, power stunts, hero points, and drawbacks, so if you download the free PDQ rules and wonder how to apply them to a superhero game Truth and Justice has you covered. But all those rules are completely secondary to the important part of Truth and Justice. Most of the book's prose is taken up analyzing just what the superhero genre is and explaining how to use the genre's conventions to build a satisfying rpg. This is done in part with examples (including a few very different campaign examples) and part in a more freeform, conversational tone. Mr. Underkoffler clearly has a great joy for the idea of superheroes and it shows in his work. Much of this discussion would be of use to anyone considering running a supers game no matter what system they were going to use.
Plus, the writing is intelligent. Know what jingoism is? Good... so does Mr. Underkoffler. Despite the very simple game mechanics the book is in no way dumbed-down. The discussions about what makes a superhero game, how to accept genre conventions and the campaign examples themselves are well-done and interesting. The influences listed in the back of the book show a scholar's appreciation for good superhero fiction and anyone who read or watched the whole list would be ready to run a supers game. In fact I think Mr. Underkoffler should make that section of his book available for free online - it's a great example of what feel he's going for with this rpg, and I think more people would buy Truth and Justice if they saw his bibliography and filmography.
While the PDQ system is very simplistic there are people who will appreciate its speed and simplicity. Creating a character shouldn't take more than 5 minutes no matter how complex an idea the character is based on. The rules won't keep powergamers in check but I'm not sure anyone would get much out of powergaming in the PDQ rules. There's a lack of mechanical guidance for how to be good at specific kinds of things but at the same time there's a lack of mechanical limitations. Anything you can imagine, you can make. Similarly everyone exists at the same power level. This is both good as it encourages batman and Superman to be on the same team and weird because it means batman and Superman can take out the same villains and overcome the same problems.
In the end I think the book is better as a review of the very idea of superhero gaming than as a stand-alone game. But it's certainly playable and I suspect will work very well for groups of friends who just want enough rules to have a game rather than a free-flowing narrative group-story. The system would also make a great introduction to roleplaying for newcomers since there's really nothing to learn or get confused about. This game is not for people who want a wargame or a realistic simulation of an imaginary world, but then again such systems tend to be too inflexible to support a wide range of superheroic campaign styles.
