I received this pdf file for free with the promise of a review. Here it is.
Writing Style
The writing style is somewhat breezy, but usually not unclear. In that sense, it is relatively inoffensive. However, I feel that excessive use of slang does sometimes make the material harder to read than it could be, and might turn off foreign readers or more fastidious ones. Anything that hinders comprehension should be jettisoned. A good example is the use of the term "screwed the pooch". How bad is that, exactly?
Character Creation
Character creation proceeds similarly to that of a standard d20 game, but certain changes are made to better model the superhero genre. Abilities are not rolled, but instead are purchased with Ability Purchase Points (APPs). The cost of a certain ability score is linear, so that to get a 14 Dex, one must spend 5 APPs and to get a 19 Dex, one must spend 10 APPs. This point cost seems to be much better than the suggested in the DMG. Since the benefits of ability scores are completely linear, so should the costs of purchasing them be. A standard superhero begins play with 25 APPs and must use them all - they are not transferable. As a final note, all ability scores of 24 or higher are considered to be super-heroic and have special properties (Super-Strength allows one to do a lot more damage in melee combat and allows one to jump much farther, etc.)
As an example, I will be creating two characters in the course of the review: Titanium, a strong hero made out of living metal; and Der Seitenwind, a German speedster who specializes in disrupting his foes.
Titanium we want to be tough and strong, so we buy up Strength 18 (9 APPs), Constitution 20 (11 APPs), Dexterity 10 (1 APPs), Intelligence 10 (1 APPs), Wisdom 11 (2 APPs), Charisma 10 (1 APPs) for 25 APPs total.
Der Seitenwind should be dexterous and clever, so we buy Dexterity 20 (11 APPs), Intelligence 14 (5 APPs), Constitution 13 (4 APPs), Charisma 12 (3 APPs), Wisdom 10 (1 APPs), and Strength 10 (1 APPs).
After abilities are picked, one must pick an origin, that behaves like a race in D&D (setting base speed, which powers can be taken, which classes are possible, etc.). The available origins are Human, Mutant, Transgenic, Experiment, Avatar, Supernatural, Channeler, Aquatic Humanoid, Superhumanoids, Xenomundanes, Xenosupers, Androids, Mechanoids, and Demi-Divine. In addition, a character can choose to play a minor character as a template over some of the other races.
For Titanium, I pick Transgenic, since he was created by a secret governmental program, while Der Seitenwind is a Mutant.
The next step after origin is to pick Complications - essentially flaws that a character must deal with. Each Complication allows one to take a single Advantage, a single Feat, 4 additional skill points, or 2 additional APPs. The rules limit characters to a total of 5, though one may take none. Some complications are restricted to certain origins. Some are mechanical and some require role-playing. The GM is encouraged to remove complications that are not being used and replace them with an Experience Tithe (more on this later).
Titanium is a normal guy unless he turns into his living steel form, so he decides to take the Form-Shifting complication. In addition, because of his creation and subsequent accidental destruction of the government lab that created him, he has Nemesis: Government.
Der Seitenwind has come over from Germany to the relatively more tolerant America. Unfortunately, no one here can pronounce his code name correctly, and he is constantly mistaken for Sidewinder, a relatively feckless villain, so he has the Mistaken Identity complication and suffers a -5 to Reputation at 1st level and must constantly deal with the media confusing the two. In addition, because of his super-speed, he suffers from Accelerated Metabolism and gets fatigued more easily.
Both characters will store their complications up and spend them later.
After this is Advantages, the opposite of Complications. This list is far shorter (as it almost always in in role-playing games). Every character gets one Advantage for free at 1st level. Titanium takes Connection (local police) for his advantage. He has a friend in the local state house who helps him out. Der Seitenwind takes Cultured Upbringing. He came from a rich old family in Germany.
After this is choosing a class. This is where things start to get complicated. There are many classes: Adventurer, Armor Adept (owns a Battlesuit), Champion (iconic fighter), Martial Artist, Mercenary, Mystic (master of ancient lore, think Dr. Strange), Operative (secret-agent), Playboy (Bruce Wayne), Psion, Rogue, Savage, Sleuth (super-detective), Sidekick, Tech (master of quirky technology), and Vigilante (someone taking the law into their own hands).
I can see where Batman might come in: multi-classed Playboy/Vigilante. I have a harder time thinking of what to do with Titanium and Der Seitenwind. My first thought for Titanium is Vigilante, but many of the powers of the Vigilante class come from using weapons, and I thought of Titanium as more like Colossus, someone who only uses his fists. Champion might be the best fit, but I'm not sure exactly what ideal Titanium is supposed to be upholding. Adventurer doesn't seem appropriate, since excessive luck doesn't seem like part of the character.
Der Seitenwind I think of as a crafty character who trips up his foes. So Rogue seems like a good fit - it gets sneak attacks and lots of skill points. Unfortunately, it also gives the character abilities to defuse traps, which in my mind doesn't go with the character. So things already seem to be a little muddled, just with a 1st level character.
It seems like Adventurer is sort of the jack-of-all trades character, and then certain characters who require it will take Armor Adept or Savage. It would be better if this had been clearly explained in the rules.
So I decided to make Titanium a champion of the little guy against the powerful government. This seems like it will actually work. For Der Seitenwind, I decided on Adventurer. Making him lucky seems like a reasonable compromise, and frankly I don't want him to be really good at disarming traps. Both of there are compromises that I don't particularly like, and I feel like other character classes are also plausible. I'm making them at first level, which seems to be the preferred option.
So Titanium gets a bonus feat and a +5 bonus to Fame, along with d12 hit points and d8 Power points. He also gets 4 skill points per level and has BAB +1, +1 to all saves, and +1 AC bonus at first level.
Der Seitenwind gets Fabled Luck once per session and d8 hit points and d8 power points. He gets 6 skill points per level and has BAB +0, +1 to all saves, and +1 AC bonus at first level.
I don't really feel like the classes are terribly balanced. Except for the lower skill points, it seems like the Champion is better than the Adventurer in most ways. It's difficult to render a more detailed judgment on this until we get to the end of the character creation process.
The next part is determining derived characteristics. These include Hit points, power points, armor class (AC), damage reduction (DR), ballistic damage reduction (BDR), Initiative and Movement, and the saving throws. Armor class governs how easy you are to hit, and damage reduction subtracts from damage done to you after you are hit. BBR is an interesting innovation, in that it specifically models that some armors are better at protecting against blows than energy attacks or what not. I find it somewhat strange that the game worries about bullets and not energy attacks or other forms of damage. After all, superheroes can attack each other with almost anything.
For Titanium, we then get 17 hit points, 8 power points (modified by Wisdom), AC 11, Initiative +0, and Fort +6, Ref +1, and Will +1. Der Seitenwind has 9 hit points, 10 power points (modified by Int), AC 16, Initiative +5, and Fort +2, Ref +6, and Will +1.
It is interesting that you can choose what ability modifies your power points based on your conception of your character: force of will for Intelligence and relaxed contemplation for Wisdom, but this doesn't make sense from the description of abilities. Wisdom is force of will. After all, it modifies the Will saving throw.
The next step is Alignment. I don't see any reason for including alignment in a super hero game, and even if there is, I don't see why the standard nine 3e alignments were used as opposed to something more creative. After all, what does Lawful Neutral mean in a modern superhero setting anyway?
After this is selection of skills and skill ranks. Both class and cross-class skills have the same maximum number of skill ranks, character level+4. Other than that, the skill system is very similar to 3e. Most of the skills are not changed from 3e and a few ones are modified or added, mostly pertaining to modern-day skills or situations.
Titanium has 16 skill points, and puts all his skills into class skills, so he has Bluff +2, Sense Motive +2, Spot +3, Listen +2, Drive (Automobile) +1.
Der Seitenwind has 34 skill points and 2 bonus language points. He gets Language: English (Speak and Read/Write), Climb +2, Drive Automobile +5, Gambling +3, Hide +5, Listen +5, Move Silently +2, Search +5, Spot +5, Streetwise +3, Swim +1.
The next section is Backgrounds. These include Fame (how well known the character is), Reputation (how well viewed the character is), and Resources (how much wealth the character has).
Fame is based on a roughly 100 point scale. Starting characters are at Fame 0. (They haven't done anything.) Titanium gets a +5 to his Fame for being a Champion.
Reputation is graded on a -80 to +80 point scale with the negative scores meaning a villain in the world's eyes and the positive a hero. I like the name for the position at 0 - suspicious enigma. If you have a secret identity, your secret identity has a separate Reputation score from your super identity, usually on order of 10-15 for a law-abiding citizen. In this case, Titanium has a Reputation score of 0 and Der Seitenwind has a Reputation score of -5, because he is frequently mistaken for the Sidewinder.
Resources goes from 0 to theoretically any limit. The scale is roughly a factor of 10 in money for every 4 to 5 increases in Resources. Both characters elect to take 11 instead of rolling 3d6 and have Resources of 11 for Titanium and 12 for Der Seitenwind because of his Cultured Upbringing.
The next part is Feats. Every character gets a feat at first level and may get additional feats for other backgrounds. There are a lot of feats, ranging from ones with tongue-in-cheek names to class-specific ones. I actually like many of the ridiculous ones, from Tactical Nude Advantage (shedding your clothes improves your AC) to Amazingly Fortuitous Ammo Reloading (can specify what type of ammo is in the gun before making a shot). These type of feats would make this game very useful for simulating over-the-top action movies.
For Titanium, I chose Power Attack and Toughness. Both work the same way in this game as in 3e, but there are big chains of feats that require Toughness with names like Very Sturdy and Shake it Off. Der Seitenwind only gets one feat, so I gave him Dodge, hoping to develop more interesting feats for higher levels.
Also, since both characters got two complications, I decide to spend them on feats. Titanium takes Awesome Toughness, which gives him 5 more hit points, and Turn out the Lights, which gives him a +1d4 subdual damage when using subdual damage. Der Seitenwind takes two more feats in the Dodge tree: Improved Dodge and Mobility.
One problem with the feats is that a short one line description of the feats in the main listing would have made it much easier to pick them, as opposed to constantly flipping back and forth looking up feats that sound interesting. Because there are so many feats, this constant referencing can take a fair amount of time.
The next part of the game describes the Experience Tithe. This is a mechanism meant to provide some game balance between characters with powers and those without. Every power gained increases the character's experience tithe. As the character gains XP, half of it is used to pay off the experience tithe and half is used to level up the character. That way, characters with fewer or no powers gain levels more quickly.
I think this mechanism is a very bad choice. It is very similar to old mechanisms in earlier versions of Dungeon and Dragons that were supposed to equalize different character classes and races. Frankly, a much better system is used in Mutants and Masterminds, where an overall power level is agreed on, and the players just create the character they want within those limits. It doesn't matter if the source of their powers is training in a Tibetan monastery or getting zapped by a radioactive weasel, they are built the same way. I don't think forcing PCs to choose between having powers or not having powers and enforcing it through a baroque experience point system is the way to go. Just give the players the limits and let them create their characters the way they want them to be.
I also don't like the implementation. Each power raises the experience tithe by an amount not easily calculated. One must refer to the chart. It is much easier to have some kind of mathematical formula, as was used in the XP requirements for classes in 3e. It comes very close, but there is a strange sweet spot right at the beginning. To get one power costs nothing, two cost 1000, but three only cost 1500. You get more bang for your buck going to three powers instead of sitting at two. After that, the power costs follow a formula of the previous jump + 500. I don't understand why these costs are what they are.
One good point here is that the DM is reminded to set a maximum number of powers for a PC to set the power level of his campaign. The suggested range is 1 to 20.
Next comes super powers, which is undoubtedly what we all have been waiting for. Powers are organized three ways: granted powers, general powers, and transgenic powers. These divisions are based on origin. Granted powers are those given by higher beings. General powers anyone can take, and transgenic powers are only available to those who have been experimented on. In addition, powers are treated two ways: either as fiat powers that operate "by fiat" or a simple formula, or super skills that must be improved by skill points and have variable effects based on the skill roll.
Some powers have prerequisites. The power prerequisite must be purchased before that power can be taken. Powers work on the basis of power points, and the cost of the power in power points is in every description. Since a 1st level character only has a few power points, that means they probably won't be able to use their powers for a long time or a repeated number of times. Frankly I find this puzzling. Most superheroes in the comics can shoot ray beams or fly all day long. Why are limits put on all powers, instead of giving a character a stronger power if it is taken with a reduced cost?
For Titanium, I want him to have an armored alternate form that doesn't need to breathe, makes him relatively invulnerable to damage, boosts his strength and constitution, and allows him to leap greater distances. So the powers that seem appropriate (after much hunting) are Amazing Leap I (gives +20 bonus to Jump checks), Enhanced Ability (+4 to Strength), Enhanced Ability (+4 to Constitution), Natural Armor I and II (DR 10, metallic form), and Need Not Breathe (can go without air for 24 hours). That's a total of 6 powers. All of these are linked to his metallic form based on his Form-shifting complication.
For Der Seitenwind, I want him to be inhumanly fast and agile and have a danger sense. So the powers I choose are Super Reflexes I and II (+12 to Initiative, +4 to Ref saves, and +2 to AC), Super Speed I and II (+2 to Initiative, +2 to AC, Base speed is tripled, and Running speed is tripled to x12), Danger Sense, and Metabolic Surge (bonus standard action, +4 to Initiative, +2 Ref saves, +2 to Strength checks, +10 to base speed). That is also six powers.
The problem comes from when I look at the costs in power points for these powers. Let's just look at Titanium. It costs him 2 power points to shift into his metallic form. Natural Armor costs nothing to maintain, Enhanced Ability also costs nothing, Need Not Breathe costs nothing, and Amazing Leap costs nothing. So he doesn't really need power points at all, except to shift to his armored form.
For Der Seitenwind, Super Reflexes costs nothing, Super Speed costs nothing, Danger Sense costs nothing, and Metabolic Surge costs 1 power point a round. So he also almost doesn't need power points, except for metabolic surge, which makes sense, since he shouldn't be able to use that all the time.
What powers do need power points? All the powers that generate energy attacks, like Energy Attack, Energy Burst, Energy Cone, etc. This seems strange. I can build an armored superhero who can batter people to pieces with his hands, but if I want an energy projector (like Cyclops), I have to burn power points every time I want to use my power. The Energy powers are also instructive for a basic design of the powers. Many powers have levels, denoted by Roman numerals, with each power level dependent on having the one below it. So if I want an exceptionally powerful energy attack, I might take Energy Attack I, II, and III. In that case, my energy attack will do between 3d4 and 3d10 damage, depending on whether I want to restrict the range or not. If I make it a melee attack, I do an extra 3d10 for that attack at a cost of 3 power points. That means I am effectively a two to three shot wonder (unless I take the attack at a reduced power point cost). Meanwhile, Titanium can batter supervillians into the ground as long as he likes. This sort of system seems to inherently create balance problems, and I don't really understand its rationale, since in the comics most heroes don't have a limited number of uses of their power.
There is a wide variety of powers, and care was taken to represent some of the odder residents of comicbookland. Matrox the Multiple Man is covered by Multiply Self, for example.
I didn't like the implicit structure that the power system built around. Instead of having a simple number of powers and buying the powers for a specific cost, each power costs exactly the same, and one must buy multiple levels in a power to get the effect you want. In addition, energy attack, energy burst, and energy cone all seem like they could have been the same power, effectively, with various choices of effects, not limited to those three types.
After powers, there is a short one page suggestion of explanations for new powers gained during play, though this is suggested to only occur with GM approval. This structure also is strange. The difference between a 1st level and a 15th level character is vast, but they are supposed to have the same powers at the same strength? This seems like a crazy design. After all, Energy Attack II is a lot more useful at 2nd level than it is at 15th level.
In addition, there is a one page description of power-stretching, also known as power stunts in other games. This is meant to cover cases where a player wants to use an ability in a new way.
After this is specific character design rules, like Armor Modifications for Armor Adepts, explaining how much they can add to their suits. These are much like powers, but they are bought with Suit Points gained in the Armor Adept class. So, while characters gain all their powers at first level, Armor Adepts slowly increase in power with level. Why have two different power level models in the same game?
After this is Psionic Powers, which lists the Psionic skills and talents available to those who took the Psi class. There are two types of Psionic powers, talents and skills. Talents are inherent powers that the psi can use to improve his skills that vary in power with the level of the psi. They are much like feats that improve in power with level. Psionic skills cover all of the typical Psionic powers, like Telekinesis and Telepathy. In general, the higher the skill roll, the more damage or better success the psion has with the power. Each skill use costs a certain number of power points, usually a low amount, like 1. This is another system that is distinct from the basic power creation system and also represents increasing power with level. As a skill and pseudo-feat system, I consider it superior to the one in the Psionics Handbook, but it is strange to see psions set off from general powers this way.
After this is yet another different system for a given character class, governing the Mystic who casts spells. The spell system is much like the one in 3e, except all spells costs power points equal to their level. Most of the spells are straight out of 3e, though some have been invented for this game, like Summon Bruce Lee, which does exactly what you think it does.
After this is a system for handling Super Science and the invention of amazing gadgets. Basically it is a system for putting certain powers into devices and seems adequate.
Following this is a number of smaller sections, which I will just list. Super pets and familiars. And then weapons and equipment. And then rules for vehicles. Rules for Superstrength and Super constitution. Rules for melee and gun attacks. Mayhem tables to give lists of things lying around to hit people with. Advice on running the game, hero points, XP awards, running without experience tithes, etc. Alternate feat progressions. Martial arts naming system. Omega class characters multiply everything by five. Super hero teams, and aging characters. Pet and familiar stats.
Look of the Game
I liked the look of the game and felt the artist did a good job. Illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book and do a good job of expressing an iconic character or action scene. All the illustrations are black and white and have a comic book feel, which is entirely appropriate in a superhero game. I'd like to see more of Darren Calvert's work in the future.
This is also a good place to talk about the organization of the game, which is excellent. The table of contents is comprehensive and the page numbers are large and visible, unlike in many White Wolf products for example. The index is skimpy, but the table of contents will take you generally where you need to go.
Innovations
There are a few innovations I would like to draw attention to. One important one is allowing characters to roll more dice if they have super powers. Instead of rolling one d20 to make checks, instead you roll two or three and keep the highest. Ballistic damage reduction is also an interesting idea, mentioned above. I liked the two different scales of ability scores, which also appears in other superhero games.
Conclusions
This product is very complete and provides rules for almost anything that you could think of to do in superhero role-playing. However, I didn't like many of the rules. For example, there are a number of character classes, but it is difficult to fit standard superhero tropes into them, and there is no guidance in the rules for this. In addition, the character classes don't seem balanced. Another problem is the use of a number of different systems for things. Psionic powers and magic work differently from powers which have several different rules, depending on the power. Something like Mutants and Masterminds where powers are uniform and modified in the same way seems much preferable. In addition, I don't understand the rationale behind which powers require power points and why power points exist at all. The experience tithe seems like a mechanism from AD&D and feels very wrong here.Ultimately, I think the author sacrificed fidelity to a genre (superheroes) to fidelity to the 3e system. The intent all along seems to have been to create a system that deviated from 3e as little as possible. I think it does that well, but in the process shows certain faults, like the classes being close to 3e classes in many ways, but not fitting in with superhero archetypes. Ultimately, the game feels like shoving a round peg into a square hole. Unless being as close to 3e as possible is of paramount importance to you, I can't recommend this as a superhero game and would instead suggest Mutants and Masterminds or Silver Age Supers as superior games.
