Saturday, June 21st is Free RPG Day ‘14 and with it comes a slew of new and interesting little releases. They can usually be divided between tasters for new games that will be released at Gen Con this forthcoming August and support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera. In general, the tasters for the new, ‘hot’ games are highly anticipated and on the day itself, in high demand, but come the day, it would be remiss of us to ignore the less-in-demand titles. Many of these it should be made clear, are worth your time and effort to make it to your friendly, local gaming store to get hold of a copy.
One such title is the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules ‘Experience the Harbinger Wars’, part of the taster series for Catalyst Game Labs’ forthcoming Valiant Universe RPG. It presents an introduction to the rules, four pre-generated characters from the Valiant Universe, and a complete four-part scenario that can be played through in a session or two. Founded in 1989 by Valiant Entertainment, the Valiant Universe has always been the subject of a very tightly focused number of comic book titles, which along with the various characters have proved to be very popular.
Mechanically, the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules are very simple. Known as the Cue System Game, they are very similar to those used for Catalyst Game Labs’ Cosmic Patrol, except for some extra additions to account for the fact that the Valiant Universe RPG is a superhero game. To undertake an action a player rolls the Base Die (always a twelve-sided die) plus a die appropriate to the situation. This can be a Stat Die—either Brawn, Brains, Charisma, or Action, the latter handling combat or any physical action not handled by a character’s Powers. The total of the two dice, plus any modifiers, is compared against the Lead Narrator’s roll of a twenty-sided die. The highest roll wins.
Powers are treated in a similar fashion, except that a character gets to roll the Base Die and add the result to the best roll out of the die for the Power and the Stat Die. For example, Peter, one of the four pre-generated characters in Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules, is a Harbinger, a psionic superhero who has several Powers including Mind Wipe (D12). In combat he uses this to temporarily force an opponent to lose his next action. To make an attack with it, he would roll the Base Die (D12), his Action Die (D6), and Mind Wipe (D12), choosing the better result from the Action Die (D6), and Mind Wipe (D12) to add to the result of the Base Die.
In addition, every character has a Luck number. When this is rolled on any die when attempting an action, the character succeeds. Peter’s Luck number is 3.
Like Cosmic Patrol, the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules differs from most traditional RPGs in that it is written to be played without a GM. Instead, the narration or refereeing of the game does not remain with the same person. This is not to say that Valiant Universe could not be run as a traditional RPG with a single GM, but as written, the players take in turn to be the Lead Narrator for each Scene. During his Narration the Lead Narrator controls and rolls for all of the actions undertaken by the NPCs. His own character gets to act, but it is always after everyone else has acted.
Inspiration for narration comes primarily from the events of a previous scene, but it can also come from ‘Cues’, the suggestions and descriptions, such as “Vegas feels… empty” or “Great… more jackasses with guns.” that each Mission Brief, NPC, and character has. Players can also expend Plot Points to add to the current Narration as well as to modify die rolls, regain health points, and of course, to add a plot twist! Naturally, the role of Lead Narrator has its own fund of Plot Points to spend. Player input is further encouraged by elements such as the setting’s equipment, none of which is defined, but merely named so that the players are free to determine how each item worked according to the needs of the situation. The overall tone of the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules is intended to be inclusive and positive, and that includes accepting plot twists suggested by the players, though this is accepted and continued with a “Yes, and…” rather than a simple affirmation.
As the subtitle suggests, the scenario in the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules ‘Experience the Harbinger Wars’ involves the characters in the war fought between Harbingers, the psionic super-children born since World War Two. On one side is Toyo Harada, the Japanese business mogul and extraordinary telepath who, through the Harbinger Foundation, is attempting to build an army of psiots and forge his vision for a better world. On the other side are the Renegades, psiots who oppose Harada. They include Peter Stanchek, a powerful telepath; the optimistic flyer, Zephyr; Flamingo, a pyrokinetic; and Torque, who psionically projects his strength. Togther, they are the player characters in ‘Harbinger Wars: The Renegades’. The scenario sees the Renegades come to a Las Vegas under lockdown after a helicopter crash in an attempt to rescue a group of psiots fleeing the Harbinger Foundation and prevent them falling back into Harada’s clutches. Divided into four parts it is quite a detailed scenario, so will require careful reading to work out what exactly is going on before play.
Physically, the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules ‘Experience the Harbinger Wars’ are very nicely presented in full colour with various pieces of art drawn from the comics. The rules are clearly written, though in comparison, the scenario is more densely written.
The rules presented in the Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules ‘Experience the Harbinger Wars’ are a nice upgrade from those in the similar Cosmic Patrol RPG. Already simple and action orientated, the addition of an extra die to handle a character’s powers gives each an edge without either overpowering them or making the game unnecessarily complex.
The Valiant Universe RPG Quick Start Rules is a good introduction to forthcoming RPG. As a fan of the comics and the Valiant Universe, I am looking forward to seeing the Valiant Universe RPG.
