I love superheroes. As a genre they are probably one of my favorite realms for gaming. That being said, two of my top three supers games were produced some time back and it takes significant and powerful acts of cosmic force to shake that up. I've also worked quite hard at creating my own supers engine, and that bias may shine through in this review.    
       However, I'm up front here in  saying that Truth and Justice has managed to to thrust itself unabashedly into my top three supers games and I hope to cover
the reasons below as well as addressing a few minor quirks and flaws it possesses that keeps it from reaching the coveted  number two slot on my list.

    Like my previous review I'll be using a bit of the system itself as a grading system for the game so we have from worst to best: Poor (-2), Average (0), Good (+2), Expert (+4), Master (+6).


    Truth and Justice is approximately 120 pages not counting character sheet, forms, and multiple full color advertisements-something I felt a bit obnoxious in the PDF, but fortunately relatively ignorable.
 
     The Cover Art is about the best art in the book. Most of it is rather uninspiring. In general it all has a peculiar "off-brand" flavor that might be charming if it were consistent (sort of reminiscent of the Tick).  The fact that it isn't very consistent  tends to diminish its charm. Many people don't buy games for there art, although super hero games often get hit hardest
critically speaking for art. To tell you the truth the art isn't really memorable or evocative, it is utterly forgettable and that is the worst thing for a reader like me because I use the art to quickly locate important rules text. I am not an art critic and so there will not be any rank or grade value for art. It has a certain flavor and feel of its own, for good or ill.




       A title page, then we get a two-page table of contents before a brief introductory page. The introduction covers  the PDQ system, the company, and the author's intro in short relatively brief bits, fortunately succinct and to the point.





     Starting out with the genre itself it jumps right in with both costumed feet giving us a sort of strange introductory bit about crazy pajamas (a rather off center and cartoonish take). Then we get to the gist of the game, superheroes. One of the big things however is that this section is a tad bit long winded, but that's ok. Lacking substantiative art, we are left with a need for a thousand words.  

      The chapter in general covers the ideas of Lies vs Truth, Injustice vs Justice, and Heroism as well as the Mad Beautiful Ideas that make up the basic genre that is superheroes. (Note the capitalizations!) Though chapter is very much an essay on the genre ans as such it doesn't quite address using them as gaming elements. It does get down to an important (one of two) game elements that come up again later--scale and style.
       Scale comes up first. In Truth and Justice there are two scales, normal scale and super-scale making the game a very broad strokes type right out of the bag. Scaling covers the "big stuff", massive damage, great distances, or not as needed. Style on the other hand covers a bit in part of the eras of comic books--from Golden and Silver Ages to Modern comics ages and everything in between. The chapter also addresses the differences between comic book era's which existed under the "Code" (Comic's Code Authority) and those outside of it. Covering it up right to the more modern takes lensed through  animated series (and their associated and unique differences from comics).


Though it doesn't stop with just general broad ideas, but digs deep into the details, deathtraps, crossovers, changes in continuity, killing in comics, monologues, and so on. It doesn't exactly create rules or rules support of any of this but it does provide a discussion of their existence which is a serious start to creating a knowledge base for somoene previously unfamiliar with the comic book medium. Perhaps even enough to fake being a long time comics reader for gaming purposes. That says a lot for the strength of the writing and material here.


While not perfect it deserves its Good (+2) Strength.





     Beginning here we get to the meat f the system. It explains the do-it-yourself elements of the system, as well as the scale of traits and target numbers from Poor (-2 as a Trait, 5 as a Target Number), to Master (+6 as a Trait, 13 as a Target number). The basic system is roll 2d6+trait to beat the difficulty rank assigned by the GM (or generated by an opposing force). There are some systems that come into play later that can make this a bit more exciting. Hero points can be used to modify dice roll for example, as well as well as Upshifts (bonus modifiers), Downshifts (penalties), or even stack when multiple traits that might ight come into play.

     The basic traits of characters are called qualities. They take the place of other games attributes, skills, hobbies, professions, basically any really notable and important capability, or relationship in the game. All characters get a choice of packages which they can assign so they don't always have the exact same numbers but they have roughly equitable value totals overall. Each package also requires a character to also take one drawback,  a Poor ranked trait. It is interesting to note when taking poor traits that how you look at the trait can matter.
      When I created a character for myself in a game, I gave my character a "Poor Teenager" trait, defining it as his actually being bad at being a teenager--people expected too much of him, even though he was a teen hero they often expected adult behaviors, decisions, heroics and so on because he projected an adult level of confidence, control, and will.    
       Another hero might take teenager at poor and play it perfectly straight--as a normal teenager, rebellious, limiting because people don't expect much of  them, and because they tend to behave exactly as a teen would.
       Both have the same drawback, defined differently under the do-it-yourself aesthetic of the game. 
       In the game I ran to test out the mechanics, one player took a trait that might be seen as a limit in other games but in Truth and Justice actually can be beneficial. He took his 14 year old daughter as a relationship. Since any trait can take "damage" in the game and can trigger setbacks/plot hooks it can limit him--but he can also draw upon it as a source of strength, knowledge, and ability. In the game he used this trait to help calm a panicky young girl, drawing on his knowledge of how he would calm his own daughter.

      Like most such games, any trait not defined is assumed to be Average (0), so that a character can in general perform tasks even if they've not defined something for themselves.         Some consideration between what makes a trait a strength or a weakness is given some discussion in this chapter as well as the game difference between weaknesses and vulnerabilities (but most of that is put off for a later chapter).

     Described in addition to game concepts, are the uses of time, range,and movement. The game uses basic real worlds measurements for most things with exceptions here and there being most notably for time: Scenes, turns, actions and reactions.

     Powers are given a paragraph as well as the difference between qualities ("traits") and powers (qualities are normal scale, and powers are super-scale as a rule of thumb).
     Stunts, and Hero points concepts again follow in brief order but they are only  covered in the most basic ideas here, although strangely we find a bit of an example for stunts even though we've not been fully introduced to the concept yet, nor how a character gets access to such abilities. That comes in a later chapter.


     Finally however we get to the important bit of the rules that matters early on, and that is task resolution.  The chapter goes into detail into such things as complex situations (where rolls are required), conflict situations (opposed rolls), Upshifts and Downshifts (modifiers), basic damage, super-scale damage, and zeroing out.
    We also get significant text box "sidebar" on what abstract conflict results actually mean. That "damage" (lingering failure ranks) are not necessarily health in the classic sense, but that loss  of effectiveness may be justified/explained in any number of ways as a result of  failure/damage as the fallout from getting hurt, or even, being in battle. For example: Getting hurt in combat may make you late for an important business meeting and cause your CEO Quality of Good to take a hit for a while as your company has some shakeups and an attempted take over--because you weren't there for the takeover vote and it was proxied.
     A rather interesting and evocative way to explain the strange emotional craziness of comic book life.
     In my game a hero took damage slid it onto his relationship with his daughter trait--he was too busy fighting the good fight, to be there for her. This will come up again when he tries to deal with her directly and their relationship will have sufffered for it. Its so brilliant I wish I'd thought of it.

    However, there are some mechanical hijinx here that create issues. The whole section on "Zeroing Out" discusses conflict taking some time. Though the resolution system rarely does nor does actual combat situation--they can finish too fast with lucky or unlucky results for given set of characters. My experience is the system can misbehave badly. Because of 2d6+Trait vs an opposed 2d6+trait in two fairly matched opponents CAN result in a hero or villain zeroing out with a single blow, simply by blind dumb dice luck. Hero points like most  games provide a mere stop-gap solution here, and feel patched on because they aren't more central to the core conflict resolution system.  Since damage in combat is the difference between defense and attack on a roll, that randomness (especially if superscale is involved) can take over the game and run rampant over the most elegant of the rest of the mechanics.  It won't in most Truth and Justice games, kill a hero, but it can put them out of the game for a while unconscious.
   Dice are simply more important to the outcome than the traits, which can in some instances seriously impair 'comic book' style play. Where drama can be added by unexpected results. Randomeness can can also add dramatic results without a sense of timing, making them fall flat. Due to the dice rolls being so central to the conflict outcome they matter more than the qualities most of the time. Some form of staged system that buffers this would be nice.



This chapter gets a Good (+2) Strength





     Now in chapter 3 we finally get to character generation. I must be from old school, but I always tend to be drawn to this first as I understand games better once I've a character to examine the rules through.
     Character generation doesn't do anything spectacular. It covers the basics name, background, etc. It briefly touches upon motivation (someday you'll find out why I feel this should be way more important in superhero games). Truth and Justice addresses motivation and gives it some decent level of weight in play.

     The assigning of qualities is one of the first true "mechanical" steps the game puts forth. You get a choice of 5 different  value sets ranging from: 5 Good (+2), Strengths and 1 Poor (-2) Weakness  all the way to 1 Master (+6) Strength, 1 Expert (+4) Strength, also with 1 Poor (-2) Weakness.  The specifics are chosen by the player so they can be as
broad or as narrow as one wishes. One could for example take "Cop" (an example used in the book) or even "Pistols" or both in the same character to represent a police officer who is good with pistols. The strengths can be hobby, profession, skill, attribute, relationship, or any benefit that they can draw upon from time to time.

     Powers come up shortly thereafter and follows a similar setup (but with different values) offering a choice of 5 different  schema for power selection from a single Master power down to 6 Average Rank Powers. While it might seem odd to some to have a power at Average "0" rank in a game, remember for the most part, the rule is that these are things are at super scale--even Average Super Speed is better than the fastest "Runner" mundane quality. (in theory anyway. In truth the lines are a bit more blurry). The list of powers comes later in another chapter, why its not part of the character creation chapter I don't know.)

     Hero Points are discussed again in more detail describing both the starting level, the "Max" (tied to advancement and permanent increases to a character). Both these elements are well presented and well thought out and a nice nod to the variable nature of  comics as well as the common desires of some gamers. While a bit of a step away from pure genre emulation, it is still a good solid way to handle it and create both an appropriate feel and give a bit of a rewards system for players. (Since rewards are
never really for the character in the first place).



Overall, I give this chapter an Expert (+4) Rating.





      Beginning right smack at the first of this chapter is a discussion of putting people on the same page with regards to capabilities. I am not sure I entirely agree with the sentiment. The GM and a individual player need to be on the same page, but not all players--so long as they are having fun. After all even in comics heroes don't always know what another is truly capable off. Flexibility of the outcome is often what makes comics exciting (it is the unexpexted you see that can thrill us.).

      The "Do-it-yourself" idealogy continues here you can create powers, modify powers, or tinker to your hearts content, although there is no shortage of superpowers to fill in the blanks. There are often some odd decisions in regards to having powers that are similar but simply visually different versions of the same fundamental effect or concept such as: Beam of (Something) vs Bolt of (Something), and Battle Suit vs Power-Armor they seem to pretty much be space wasted that could have been dedicated to more confusing, ambigious powers that are difficult  to adjudicate). Most of the basics are covered as well as the much needed "broadband" powers (Quasi-powers in this case) that let you do multiple things with a singular super-quality.
     Considering the basic concepts it is quite easy to simulate/emulate virtually any supers you can imagine except for those that requires rules specific quirks of other games.

     The powers chapter also discusses the uses of limitations as opportunities, and the "power" of Intense Training (which is simply a way to trade super power ranks for normal quality ranks.)


A sampling of powers

• Armor
• Body of (Something)
• Bolt of (Something)
• Gadgets
• Phasing
• Power Armor
• Shapeshifting
• Sorcery
• Superspeed
• Super-Strength
• Vehicle

     I think the number of powers is sufficient to give players sufficient concepts of how the rules work when creating their own new power, or alternately simply using them as is to create a number of interesting and evocative character types.
     Pretty much a jam packed chapter but that isn't all! We also  get even more on stunting and stunts including signature stunts:  those special maneuvers/bag of tricks a hero has, and spin-off stunts, those that lie outside his normal powers but might be
stretched to fit with enough creative comic book "logic." these ideas are covered in very solid detail and given a grounding in
how they work for the game.



This chapter rings in at as resounding rank of Expert (+4) strength.





      Expanding on the types of conflict and the system in detail this chapter covers all the more detailed uses in play elements. From combat pieces such as initiative, to using multiple abilities at the same time to dealing with multiple abilities against  multiple targets. Here damage at super scale is explained at well (Furthur aggravating the potential random pitfall from before).

     Delving into the depths of combat seems to be what this "conflict" is all about. Unfortunately, although damage is a strange flexible abstraction you'd think we'd get some more ideas of the potential uses of this in play. Instead the "super conflict" chapter is mostly about the normal outcome of super combat--collateral damage, impromptu weapons-of-opportunity, etc.


This chapter sadly gets only a Average [0] rating because of its lack of equitable time for all potential conflicts the system allows for.



 
      Beginning  with a caveat like  "editor's note" basically talking about the nature of high trust, and what that means in a game. It goes to the heart of any gaming for me. Why game with people who aren't your friends (or potentially your friends?) in that respect of friendship, trust is a given concept, and such terms as "high trust" gaming isn't really needed.
     High trust within the context of gaming means it is up to the players and GM to determine the best path for outcomes using the rules as a guideline not a straight-jacket. For me this is a good thing and its what makes a good supers game. I love the crazy wild ride of most comics, and I often expect that of gaming. Fun, that doesn't always make the same strict sense as long as excitement and drama flow on the center screen. (I expect a certian level of consistency too, but there is a give and take there.)

      The GM section here begins giving advice on check-listing what kind of campaign you might want to run in terms of theme, on helping players to create pc's, on setting up stunts, before switching gears to more focused setting creation elements. It provides some device ideas (Macguffins, red herrings, and the like), big lasers, power canceling igloos, suggestions for statting up animals, with several examples. It also gives some basic but not too involved adventure design advice, starting with a "splash" page. Very solid advice but nothing spectacular to most gamers.  Sample NPC's round up the last bit of this chapter. Nothing really moving here, a few bits of fun zaniness that ducks the often to dire and dreadful modern seriousness of most sample characters in superhero games.


Overall the chapter is a solid useful Good Ranked (+2) Strength quality!




One of three sample settings. I can't say much on these, as honestly when you get down to it my head is too crowded for anyone else's superhero settings most of the time. This one seems to be an homage of sorts to Mystery Men but perhaps taken a slight bit more "straight" in tone. Although the key lead hero is kinda lame (and in let's let your tag-along little brother make the main character kinda way.)


Solid enough it,  gets a Good (+2)  Ranked Strength.





The second sample setting. This one reminds me a bit of Supertemps and is a bit more interesting than Second String Supers Although still in the realm of been there and done that before.


This chapter is solid Good (+2) Strength







       A Third Sample setting, and sadly, lamentably the one which should have gotten the space the other two take up. This one has actually got a lot more spirit and verve to it. From the comment on the Tzaddikim taken from the Talmud and the obvious inspiration from Lensmen/Green Lanterns and similar "power object" heroes. Yet it is solidly got a spark that makes it a bit more unique. Maybe for me it is the tone of the writing. It actualy seems to address the subject matter as less of a lark or parody (which both of the above two seem to echo in sentiment to me). That just doesn't jive with the earnest love of the source the game seems to have.

This Chapter is a solid Expert (+4) Strength (biased by me muahaha)




    The game wraps up rather than winds down giving a huge list of source material all of it worth looking at for ideas, concepts, and artistic merit. I'm surprised at some of the things which did make it onto the list actually. My own not yet published superhero  game, for example, gets a nod since I shared an early draft with Chad when he was writing  Truth and Justice.

Master (+6) for the detail and depth

In summation:

      The adventure I ran "Stormfall", had heroes who'd worked together loosely before, responding to the damage done by hurricane to New Orleans, dealing with refugees, and the possibility of a second hurricane about to strike while some people were still not truly sheltered far enough away. The conflicts were many, crowds overcome with despair almost to riot for needs of water and food. Zombies summoned up by demon forces to feed on despair. The demons themselves, and a new hurricane about to crack a nuclear (fusion) reactor core (I love comics ability to play with reality.) It took three sessions via IRC to establish the various elements and play them out.

    The player-heroes consisted of Hiro, an alien "space marshall" hiding on earth from a bevy of  bickering alien lovers with high tech armor, weapons (sword and pistol), an aging superhero of the strong and two-fisted sort named Sentinel (with 14-year-old daughter, though that was a somewhat strained relationship, and a "Too old for this" attribute), and finally BladeStorm, a superfast force-manipulator with a blade fetish.

    Play was rapid, the first session threats were readily handled although in one or two instances rule flipping slowed things down, as with any game. The second session actually had the biggest issue of play. When a super-scale fire demon smacked our poor BladeStrorm, and with a single strike (and a in spite of HERO points spent) he was taken out because of the effect of a bad roll versus a good roll and applied scaling. The fact that it tied into  later part of the adventure was useful as plot hook, the nuclear reactor core  was not a planned event until he took a hit on his physicist/scientist trait.

  The game runs very quickly and very smoothly. It does expect a lot of give and take flexibility with plot outcomes based on how heroes take "damage" that can be good for some gamers and bad for others.

      In general I think its brilliant. It takes a lot for me to  say that about a game these days. I'm jaded perhaps. I find a lot of games that attempt innovation, trite, annoying or problematic.  I find few truly systemic issues with Truth and Justice, just the opposite in fact. Truth and Justice is an elegant, simple system that comes up to bat and knocks it into orbit. It takes its place in the honored and justly deserved number 3  spot on my top 3 super games. 
     It takes a  great amount of power to shake that list up, huge, super scale, earth shattering cosm changing power at that. It may only be nostalgia that keeps the number 2 game slot fixed as it is anyway.

      In fact, I'll say, in time Truth and Justice, with some support, it will reach number 2 in my list. Meaning only my own system near and dear to my hear remains number 1, and if you knew the blood, sweat, and tears it took to write it you'd forgive that bit of hubris.

     Truth and Justice is one of the best super-hero games available on the market. It surpasses many in terms of maintain playability, flexibility and style, without trying to be alien to most traditional gamers way of playing. It has a few hiccups, but no game is without a few warts.

    The fact that I can stat virtually any character I can imagine up in under five minutes isn't just a boon, its cosmic crossover
event!


The entire game deserves a rating (in spite of the chapter by chapter breakdown) of Expert (+4) Strength