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In the brief Introduction, the author states that the "wargame-based inheritance of RPGs" interferes with the story-based elements of the superhero comic, such as the ability of trained but "normal" costumed heroes to work in the same group as true superhumans, the motivations of the hero, and the improvisational feel of the source material. "Truth & Justice (T&J) is my stab at encouraging gaming that supports and enhances those qualities." The game is based on the Prose Descriptive Qualities (or PDQ) system, which "has been designed for evocative speed, simplicity and flexibility in play", and the Introduction page includes several links to the company website for the basic rules of the game, and its support materials and sister products, such as Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot: The Roleplaying Game.
Chapter 1: The Superhero Genre gets off to an awesome start with an "in-character" view. It specifically emphasizes "T&J's take on the supers genre" over any rules. It emphasizes Truth over the danger of lies and the need for Justice to prevail. A protagonist (hero) has these noble qualities and "possesses abilities in greater measure than the typical person," allowing him to perform amazing or noble acts. Superhero stories in particular are full of what Alan Moore once called "mad and beautiful ideas", and if something sounds neat, it probably works, providing the story allows one to suspend disbelief.
In this regard the book reviews the style of various subgenres and examines them in terms of both the various ages of superhero books (Goden Age, Iron Age, etc.) and in terms of literary analysis, dropping words like "mimetic." (This is a very, VERY, RPG.net kind of game book.) Thus on the book's scale, most hero books are of four types: Grim n' Gritty (not necessarily unheroic but relatively realistic or even fatalistic - Spider-Man and Captain America are both counted as examples of heroes in this genre... as is Ambush Bug), Cinematic ('Life is hard but fair'), Four Color (a term that is already synonymous with a romantic and even mythic approach to storytelling, though the book points out that a lot of that approach in Silver Age comics was dictated by a Comics Code Authority that steered comics away from negative or realistic stories, and thus toward fantastic material, which is why you had Batman and Robin discovering aliens and traveling time) and finally the Animated, including all examples of cartoons, which rapidly improved in quality as anime influences were acknowledged and even Disney films grew up a bit. The Animated style is dictated by the physical demands of the medium, obliging filmmakers to draw on the best elements of all the comicbook Ages (brilliantly explained in a sidebar about the design philosophy of Batman: The Animated Series) - which might explain why the best superhero cartoons are doing a better job of presenting the comicbook genre than the actual comics these days.
This discussion leads to mention of the various comic book tropes, including the "retcon" and also including the potential impact of superheroes on a modern society, such as in the area of religion. These subjects are dealt with in some detail in the later chapters.
Chapter 2: T&J Rules Overview goes over how the PDQ system works for this game. The basic task resolution is done on 2d6. This is on a scale where a "straightforward task" is a difficulty number of 7 (average roll) and a task that is hard even for trained professionals is a target number of 13. Character Qualities add (or possibly subtract) from this roll, on a scale where Poor (the lowest) is -2, Average is 0, Good is +2, Expert is +4 and Master (the highest rank) is +6. (Thus a Master of a certain skill would still need at least a 7 or better for a skill challenge with target number 13.) A Quality is not unlike a Fate Aspect, in that it could refer to practically anything from martial arts to Laser-Eye Beams to "Loves Bobbi Sue" but the penumbra (or scope) of the Quality needs to be defined fairly broadly so that the player can use it at any point where it *could* apply. Unlike Fate, the Quality must either be a Strength or a Weakness, with the Weakness being a Poor Quality (-2) in mechanical terms and a Strength being 0 or greater. Depending on how it's defined, a given Quality could be either; if the character's Love for Bobbi Sue gets him through tough times, it's a Strength but if Bobbi Sue (or the character's obsession with her) causes problems, it's a Weakness. Generally character creation obliges the player to pick between different packages of Qualities where the choice is between more Qualities of a low level or fewer Qualities of higher level.
Basics of time and space are handled in similar "story-based" fashion. Scenes are "however long it takes" for a distinct set of actions (like a combat) to occur. A Turn is "the set of all characters' actions and reactions." When one character gets an Action, other characters can only take a reaction in response. Range is defined as Near, Middling, or Too Far (where Too Far is usually over 60 yards). In "concrete" terms a character's movement rate per Turn is 4 yards "plus the sum of all Quality Modifers" and can only use half on their action and up to half in reaction - thus someone with a Good (+2) Jogging Quality would add 2 to 4 and get 6; he can move 6 yards per Turn, or move 3 yards on an action and 3 yards on a reaction.
In this game a Power is mechanically like any other Quality except that where the game usually assumes a default rating of Average (0) on "unskilled" skill use except in really technical situations, a player cannot attempt a default use of a Power; it must be something listed on the character sheet. Given this fact, and the potential range of tasks a given Power could be used for, the game allows the use of Stunts: A Power of any rank (or a Quality of Master rank) can be used to accomplish a stunt normally outside the ability's penumbra, but still feasible. Mechanically a "Spin-off Stunt" (spontaneous use of an ability) is at two ranks below the usual Quality (so that using a Quality of +4 for a stunt is at +0). If it's a "Signature Stunt" that he paid points for, you add the full ability plus the rank of the Stunt itself, minus the two ranks. To boost the roll you have to use Hero Points. Hero Points are reflective of the true hero's ability to temporarily surpass his limitations and get the odds in his favor. The more often a character "acts heroically" the more points he gets, which increases a trait called MAX - MAX reflects how many Hero Points a character can have at a given time, but it is also used in character development. For instance, a Spin-off Stunt the character has used can be turned into a Signature Stunt by spending a point of MAX.
In task resolution, the game assumes for brevity's sake that there are simple situations where a character succeeds on a task automatically if its target number is less than his Quality rank; thus most people with a default Quality of Average succeed at "trivial" tasks with a target number of 5. Complicated situations are where the character has to roll, either for dramatic reasons or because success is not assured. For instance if a task has an Average difficulty of 7 and one's Quality rank is only Average, the character has to roll 7 or higher on 2d6. A conflict situation is what other games would call an opposed roll - the contestants roll against each other with all modifiers applied and the loser applies the difference between his roll and the winner's as damage ranks (see below). One can also get a one-rank Upshift for describing his action in an entertaining or amusing way, aka "Being Badass." A Downshift occurs mainly if the character has to use a Weakness Quality in a task, like an Ugly character trying to use seduction. (In a sidebar it's also mentioned that the GM could inflict a Downshift for "Being Lameass" or not participating, but since the player isn't really involved in the game in the first place, it's somewhat redundant, so the book advises counseling the player outside the game session instead.) Damage here is defined as "the loss of capability" be it physical, mental or social - thus damage ranks are actually applied against Qualities. In most non-combat situations these are defined as "Failure Ranks" and recover at the end of the scene. Damage Ranks in physical combat are often longer lasting than that. Thus a character with two Average (+2) Qualities who takes three Damage ranks has to reduce each to 0 and still needs to apply another rank, dropping one of those Qualities to Poor. Dropping a Poor Quality (including your Weakness) another rank means getting "zeroed out" of the combat or losing the noncombat contest. In taking damage, the player always chooses what Qualities are taken down, and in what order. This is important because when a PC takes damage, the first Quality "hit" creates a Story Hook against that Quality. Usually, because superheroes can take their noncombat Qualities as "soakers" in combat before taking damage to their Powers or other combat-effective Qualities, this leads to complications in one's personal life. For example a character with Wealthy as a Quality may face a hostile takeover on his business if he takes that Quality down as a Story Hook.
Chapter 3: Characters gives us the rules for creating heroes. In addition to the obvious stuff like name, costumed ID, costume, etc. the player should define his character's Motivation, like "seeks justice." Where events trigger this Motivation the hero has to spend a Hero Point to *avoid* getting involved, but if he gets into action, he earns 1d6 Hero Points immediately. Mechanically, the new PC gets a list of Quality rank combinations, effectively 10 points of bonuses; thus you could get five Good (+2) Qualities, one Expert (+6) and one Expert (+4) or any other combination or ranks adding up to 10. Each PC must also take a -2 Weakness. These are distinct from Powers, and a superhero gets 6 points of bonuses for these, counting Average (0) as a rank- thus you could get six Average Powers, one Expert Power, or any combination within these levels. The game presents the option for trading in one Average Power for two Powers of Poor rank, but these are inherently defective, so that Super-Strength for instance causes the character to break everyday objects by touching them. A character can also take Intensive Training as a Power to reflect a non-powered hero whose gadgets and skills allow him to operate at a superhero level (what the original DC HEROES called 'The Batman Option'). Characters start with 5 Hero Points and a Hero Point MAX rating of 10.
Characters get more Hero Points in the following ways: Following Motivation (as above), doing properly heroic acts, through Limitations or Vulnerabilties (see Chapter 4), accepting a "Revoltin' Development" that hoses the character or plot-railroads him, or acting with "Espirit de Corps", adding to the spirit of the game. After explaining this the book finally tells us exactly how Hero Points work; to "discover" (i.e. create) a new detail in a situation, create a similar coincidence in combat (2 points for 'plausible' coincidence or 4 for an implausible coincidence), announce a contact with useful information for 2 points ('I Know A Guy'), Upshift one rank on a roll per 2 points, add one Upshift to damage per Hero Point *after* a successful hit as a "haymaker," spend 3 points for 1d6 to add to a roll, resist Motivation (as above), retrieve and use a Trophy one received from a previous adventure, or recover from damage (one Hero Point and one action to recover 1d6 Failure ranks, or 2 points and a full Turn for 1d6 Damage ranks). In earning Hero Points, a character will increase his MAX once the current reservoir of points goes over MAX, which causes the MAX to go up one and resets the current rating to zero. You can "Dig down deep" to scrounge for more Hero Points by sacrificing MAX, but this is a one-for-one trade. Again, you spend one MAX to get a Signature Stunt. You also spend MAX to do character Improvement: 4 MAX increases a Quality one rank up to Master; spending 8 MAX at the time a Power is used allows the PC to increase the Power one rank; spending 4 MAX *and* creating a related Story Hook allows you to add a new Good rank Quality (e.g. learning Accounting might cause you to get involved with someone from your accounting class). Buying a new (Average rank) Power requires 8 MAX and a Story Hook AND an in-game justification (what Champions players call a 'radiation accident').
Chapter 4: Superpowers lists T&J's superpowers. Such as they are. In measuring their effects, page 34 presents a T&J Intensity Chart that is based off the basic rank chart. There is a decent list of powers here but the game doesn't attempt to list every conceivable power, nor does it take the HERO System route of going over each generic effect that you could build a power with, such philosophy being anathema to the loose approach of this game. Instead, Truth & Justice endorses a "Do-It-Yourself Aesthetic" in coming up with guidelines for making your own Powers. Using the Intensity Chart, you see what properties a Power would have for a given rank; for example on the table, a Good rank Power would give a value of up to 1 Hour for Duration, 100 yards for Range, or 500 mph for Speed. If used for damage, its "force" is equal to a hit from a baseball bat, and its energy is on the same level as a bonfire. Obviously not all Powers have all these traits, but the table provides a base for extrapolating on the capabilities of (say) a Giant Humanoid Cockroach Power.
In terms of "Powers Jazz," taking Limitations on a Power doesn't affect its cost, rather it creates what Mutants & Masterminds would call a "complication" that earns the PC Hero Points. T&J refers to this as "painting a 'Please kick me' sign on the character's forehead for the GM to read." A Vulnerability (like Kryptonite or sunlight for a vampire) causes damage ranks equal to the Vulnerability level per Turn for physical Vulnerabilities or per Scene for non-physical ones. The reward is that you gain 1d6+ the rank in Hero Points immediately for that scene. It is also possible to take a Meta-Power, being a "Power with an extremely broad or idiosnycratic penumbra" that could be used for a whole bunch of applications even beyond Stunts. This is similar to the Power Frameworks in HERO System, but obviously has to be applied more broadly. Examples include comicbook magic, being a vampire, or being a member of a specific alien race- thus the Meta-Power is something of a "package deal" that the GM has to approve and define, with the condition that it can also be used to design enemy NPCs.
After reviewing the Powers, Chapter 4 elaborates on the use of Stunts. Stunts are based on the premise that "heroes must push themselves beyond their limits" but that if a comicbook superhero comes up with new Power applications every issue, then Stunts must not be all that difficult. Only Powers and Master rank Qualities can be used for stunting. Again, a Spin-Off Stunt is normally 2 ranks below the base Power, with escalating Hero Point costs to boost the rank (2 downshifts with no HPs, 1 downshift for 1 point, base rank for 2 Hero Points, 1 upshift for 4 points, etc.). A Signature Stunt is like a special technique, finishing move in pro wrestling, etc. Generally if a character uses the same Spin-Off Stunt in play more than three times he can spend a MAX to turn it into a Signature Stunt that is part of his regular "bag of tricks". However the rules at this point aren't especially clear- the example on Chapter 2, Page 19 implies that while a Spin-Off Stunt uses the base Power rank minus 2, the Signature Stunt uses the base Power rank *plus* the Stunt's own rank, which is usually Power rank -2. The confusion is that in most cases this means that the Signature Stunt is going to be of Average (0) level or less. The book does point out that this means that stunting off a Power that is based at Average rank or lower is really expensive in Hero Points, for little benefit.
Chapter 5: Super-Conflict points out that "superheroes are the poster-children for resolution through conflict." Amen. But the game points out that conflicts need not be physical, and the conflict mechanics are intended to work in non-physical contests as well as combat.
The Conflict Outline is based on three parts: Initiative, The Moment of Truth, and The Damage Done. Initiative (in cases where there is no surprise factor) simply assumes that the first person who declares an attack wins initiative. If for some reason the two parties "bump into each other" they roll 1d6. However, the party without initiative may try to pull a suprise maneuver (like finding cover and then striking from surprise) which will effectively seize initiative from the original attacker. The Moment of Truth is the attacker's declaration of action; the defender then gets to declare a reaction with his own abilities. Both parties roll 2d6 plus their modifiers and if the reaction roll is higher, then the attack is blocked. If the attacker wins, he deals damage ranks equal to the difference between the rolls. If the contestants *tie*, they both "muss each other up a little" and take 1 Failure Rank each. In The Damage Done phase, damage refers to "the general term for the loss of wherewithal to continue a conflict." In most physical combats, the ranks are Damage Ranks, but in non-physical contests they are Failure Ranks representing frustration, mental fatigue, etc. This can also be done in a physical combat where one combatant is incapable of doing real damage to his opponent but might be able to outwit or outmaneuver him (which is very in-genre). These two categories of damage are effectively the same thing, but again Damage recovers more slowly than Failure, specifically if the character is in "Continuing Danger" from one scene to the next, he rolls 2d6 to recover lost Damage Ranks, and so may or may not get back up to snuff if he continues on to next scene. If a character's Weakness is applied in a conflict (like Glass Jaw in combat or Sucker for a Pretty Face vs. seduction) then he must take two extra damage ranks the first (and only the first) time the Weakness is targeted. "Any Story Hook generated from the influence of a Weakness should be more intense than a typical Story Hook."
Chapter 5 also gives various combat options and permutations. If more than one ability can be brought to bear on a situation, the character can combine all modifiers (like adding your Claws rank to your Interrogate Quality roll). Attacking multiple targets can be done by doing a Downshift for each target attacked after the first. Some Powers in Chapter 4 are "Armor-like" in their protection ability and the character gets the option to Downshift the protection Power once per combat in order to ignore ALL damage for one action; the game says this can also be done with miscellaneous abilities like Iron Will Quality versus mind control, for example.
The chapter concludes with a fairly detailed example of a combat between one hero and two fairly tough goons, one of whom has low-level Super-Armor and Super-Strength. It's valuable mainly as an example of how the PC has to do some quick thinking to beat the latter character.
Chapter 6: Gamemastering first emphasizes that T&J is "A High-Trust RPG." One way that this trust can be built is by having the GM and players cooperate in creating characters and some of the details of the setting. The GM needs to determine some setting factors, in addition to the Style (Grim n' Gritty, Cinematic, Four Color or Animated). He also needs to determine the Period (modern day, 1930s, etc.), Additional Genre Inclusions (e.g. Western, Space), any rules changes from basic T&J, any genre conventions that are honored and any that are to be avoided. In collaborating with players on setting, the book advises not fleshing out the setting until the GM has the concepts for PCs, so that he can tailor the setting to the players as needed. The GM is advised to work intimately with players in PC design; for example if the player wants "Talk to Fish" that might be too narrow but the concept would justify the general power "Aquatic" with Talk to Fish as a Stunt. On the other end "Make a Wish" is too broad, but could be Limited by focusing the effect through a magic Djinni lamp (bought as a magical 'Super-Gadget') and the further Limitation "must give verbal orders to the djinni."
In developing the setting, the GM is advised to use Props, one of which would be the team Headquarters (with players getting to design its Qualities such as Trophy Room, Security, etc.). In certain cases the PCs get to loot the bad guys and take their stuff; in superhero settings this usually means setting up the stuff in a Trophy Room. In T&J the rules allow you to set up a Trophy Room with a maximum capacity up to the Target Number of the room rank (an Average room would therefore have a capacity of 7 trophies). A PC can spend a Hero Point to use one of the trophies in the room, although the book advises telling the player to buy it as one of their regular Powers if they're going to make a habit of it. The price for all this is that the Trophy Room is a major Story Hook, namely in the sense that some of the villains may want their stuff back. It's also noted that you don't need to roleplay the actual encounters where the PCs originally got these trophies.
Props also include Vehicles. In game, a Vehicle is defined as "a limited type of character". The penumbra for a Vehicle's capabilities is defined by its type: Car, Motorcycle, Boat, etc. A Vehicle is considered an Average Quality at base. Characters can take Vehicle as a Quality or Super-Vehicle as a Power, the latter also allowing actual Powers to be built into the craft. Alternately the GM can give characters access to a Team Vehicle in the same way they are allowed a Team HQ.
In terms of NPCs, given how spare the PC character sheets are, most NPCs will be even simpler, with Average writeups and occasional individual descriptions. More specific NPC types include Minions, Sidekicks/Super-Sidekicks ('Subcharacters of a player's main character), "PC-Grade" NPCs (heroic and villainous contemporaries) and World-Class NPCs (Superman, Magneto, and similar types, bought as having certain extra ranks of Qualities and Powers over the current PC level). This section also gives a short list of Animals - a given animal has its species as a Good Quality with certain traits in its penumbra also as Good or higher (Shark has Good Swim and Expert Bite).
In designing adventures, T&J advises encouraging PC characterization through action, in particular through obstacles (against the hero) and opportunities (making contacts, attending promotional events, etc.). Both types of situation offer examples for each PC to display their particular personalities through reaction and roleplay. Several storytelling elements from comics themselves are suggested for gamemastering - like the Splash Page (introductory scene), the Two-Page Spread (central action scene), the Cut Scene, and so on. Another option is to "retcon" game history by elaborating on what was not known before, although the interpretation here doesn't seem to be the same as the comic company "trope" of taking whole sections of history and starting over. In any case, the book wisely states: "When used with a deft hand, retconning can add to the depth and texture of a setting. When used clumsily, it can be utter crap, and drag down things that were formerly fun or interesting. Be warned!"
In actually running the game, the GM is advised to rely on his senses: Not only Common Sense but Game Sense (i.e. should the situation be rolled out or resolved with rules?) and Comics Sense (would this situation make sense in a comic?) One is also advised to know how to moderate between Mapmaking (laying out clues for PCs to find their own way) and Railroading (forcing them along a certain path). The "Revoltin' Development" like villains capturing the Hero or his Sidekick is an example of the latter, and one reason railroading is usually resented by players. In Truth & Justice however, the mechanics of Hero Point rewards tend to justify playing "in genre", but the players also need to be willing to go along. It's ultimately advised to lean towards mapmaking with experienced players and toward railroading when players have little experience with the rules or the setting. After all this, Chapter 6 concludes with writeups of some of the game's iconic characters like Ultrawoman and Zipzoom.
Chapter 7 is Second-String Supers. It's perhaps telling that everything from this point on is setting material. In this case, Second-String Supers is a sample of an Animated Style campaign. The premise is that the most powerful threats to Earth are actually alien civilizations that want that magic "something" that makes superpowers possible in the setting, thus Earth's Mightiest Heroes have to defend our planet in space. Thus they need your PCs to mind the store back here. Example characters include the Dragon Knight (the preeminent hero of the city and main patron of the PCs) and the Ratburglar (a petty thief who became a wererat from handling a magic artifact but still uses a burglar mask to hide his identity). As with the BUFFY RPG, story seeds are framed like TV episodes over the course of a "season."
Chapter 8: Supercorps is the Cinematic setting, "20 minutes into the future." The premise here is that while superhumans themselves haven't changed the world that much, in this setting multinational corporations (multicorps) are much more powerful than in our world- therefore while some supers are traditional heroes and villains about three-fifths are official employees of a multicorp or other institution. Most of the iconic characters from Chapter 6 are the primary supers here, two of whom run a "superconsultant" firm. Campaigns usually center around superconsultants that contract out, or supercharacters who have to deal with the complications of being under contract.
Chapter 9: Fanfare for the Amplified Man is the Grim n' Gritty setting, based on the idea that certain virtuous people (like the Tzaddikim of Hebrew lore) have been granted wondrous power rings or jewels that allow them to be heroes, much like the Green Lantern Corps. Or the Planeteers. The premise here is not the matter of having powers, but rather the issue of what an ordinary person would do once he has them. Thus this is an example of what T&J calls a "Player-Driven" setting. While the general tone is very moral, the setting intends to be realistic in exploring the consequences of actions.
After this is the Chapter 10 Bibliography and a Chapter 11 composed of various tables for random personality traits/backgrounds/origins/powers, along with handouts for the PDQ charts, character build list, and character sheet.
SUMMARY
In my review of Starblazer Adventures, I'd said that those rules almost reached the Holy Grail of making Fate a useful system for superheroes. Truth & Justice is about as close as anyone's come to making a superhero game that works along the same narrativist lines, avoiding the "crunch" of Champions and even Mutants & Masterminds. In my opinion, it doesn't come across as well as Fate, because the mechanics aren't as unified, and the presentation of things (namely powers) is more vague than in the Fate games, making the rules a bit harder to grasp. It is however even more simple, so that one can get the hang of it very quickly, and the mechanic of using traits as "hit points" together with the Story Hook concept creates a built-in structure for campaigning, and like Fate, the conflict resolution rules work just as well for social contests as combat. Although taking a hit on your Power when you lose at a Seduction attempt doesn't make too much sense. Or maybe it does.
T&J's saving grace is that it accomplishes its main intent, unabashedly promoting a true love of superhero comics of all types (emphasizing the 'classic' style) and presenting a system that is tailored around the genre first.
Style: 3
Below-average art and average layout, but presented with a lot of heart.
Substance: 3
A system designed for simplicity, although it may be so "open-ended" that it would take some getting used to.
