Marvel Game

I'd better start writing about the Marvel session we had, or I'll start forgetting details.

Nora and Dean were particularly strong role-players. David and Nick score highly on the entertainment scale.

One problem with the game is the length of battle. With a handful or robots versus relatively inexperienced players, it took quite awhile to resolve. I think if we played more, the players would get better at using basic tactics. I'll probably stop using antagonists with body armor too.

I had a few missed opportunities, as the game master: one character was separated from the rest of the group, alone with a mysterious NPC who they'd just met. I was playing that NPC down the middle, and generally prepared for him to be either an allie or an enemy. That would have been a perfect opportunity for the NPC to turn crazy and try to capture or subdue the Player Character.

Later in the session, a player activated a summoning ritual during the climactic battle. First off, I probably shouldn't have allowed that ability during combat. Then, when the player rolled a moderate success, a creature was summoned. That was sorta cool: I introduced a magic wielding mind flayer (inspired by Cthulu). The problem was, he wasn't that powerful compared with the player characters and robots. He had an Amazing level magic bolt, which is really pretty good, but so does the character who summoned him. Except, it took that player three rounds to complete the summoning. Then, the creature was killed a few rounds later. All in all, it wasn't very satisfying. It was amusing though, when Nick started doing Dr. Zoidberg impressions.

My players were a little reluctant to take action early on; in retrospect it was kinda funny. I nearly had to order them to go save the 10 year old from the Sentinels.

Vacation, Phase II

We didn't know what to expect when we registered at the Lazy Daze. I, for one, was unclear about how much of our own space we would have, and how divided our area would be from the rest of the house. Much of this comes from never having stayed at a bed and breakfast before.

It turns out that the house was very large, and technically not divided up at all. In essence, we stayed right in and amongst our hosts. For the most part, however, we camped out in their very nice basement / game room. They did a fabulous job of giving us room and privacy while also making us feel welcome, and going out of their way to add to our experience. Now, for a list of events:

• The last of us arrived around 7:30 (one had to put in a full day's work). There was dinner (mostly engineered, I believe, by Nora. There was then much drinking and settling in and eventually, we started Munchkin Cthulu around the inactive gas firepit, this time with the full complement of six players. The game went long into the night; afterwards, most of us took our first dip into the wonderful hot tub. Two of us even took a foray down the hill to the river; apparently one even hopped in.
• The next morning's breakfast was amazing and served at 9 a.m. Most of us had mimosas. Remarkably, no one was severely hung over.
• Our hosts then kindly boated us (along with some of their other friends) down to the China Bend Winery. After much wine tasting and purchasing, we headed home.
• We stopped off in a small bay to swim. Initially I had no intention of getting in the water... After a few minutes the sun's warmth really set in, and a handfull of us started jumping in and swimming around. After all the women went in (Nora was the second one over all!), I knew I had to go. I shucked off my shirt, tucked my hat and wallet safely beside and hopped off the end of the dock. I was wearing sunglasses at the time. They're gone now. David swims like a fish.
• That evening, Nora engineered dinner for the group, including our hosts. It was super tasty. There was more hot tubbing (I think only Nora and I this time around), and we tried a game called Spite. We were tired and the game was not a hit.
• We had waffles the next morning!
• Then began the day of Marvel Super Heroes. Unfortunately, Tony was pulled away due to family commitments. We can't complain about that, he did a great job of keeping it all balanced throughout the week. We played for 10ish hours, which was probably too much. I'll write more about the game later. It was definitely fun, and there were some take away lessons on all sides.
• At some point, the beer ran out.
• Nick, Dave and Nora prepared dinner for us, thankfully. We had eaten crap all day long.
• We got a late start and were walking along a dark country road when the fireworks started. We pretty much missed the whole show, and I don't think anyone really cared.
• After we got back, Art fixed the pinball machines, and we had a final flurry of pinball and video gaming. I packed.
• We said advanced good-byes.
• The next morning, Nick helped us load our car; everyone else was still in bed. After all, it was only 7 a.m.
• We stopped off for the volunteer firefighter's pancake breakfast in Northport, and headed home.
• We made great time, and were able to pick up our cats a couple days earlier than expected. Greycat seems to have taken the boarding more in stride, but both are doing well now.

Light Lord's Background

Here are the Nick's answers for Light Lord. I've [censored] bits that his character may prefer not to discuss with the others.

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Light Lord's Info:

> 1. What are your character’s thoughts on politics? Socialist / Liberal / Moderate / Conservative / Libertarian etc…
>
> Believer in getting rid of the oppressiveness - throw off the chains of the lower class and let all enjoy the fruits of our labor. Will take arms as necessary.
>
> 2. What hobbies did he or she enjoy before the robots came? What does he or she still enjoy?
>
>Camping, hunting. Would make makeshift snares and traps, work on "aim" of energy powers by shooting targets in woods.
>
> 3. What does he miss most from ‘before?’
>
> Interacting with "non-freaks," especially the girls.
>
> 4. What is the worst crime(s) imaginable to your character?
>
> Torture would be acceptable, so long as it's helping a mission. Would prefer not to kill, but will if it means survival for me or my friends.
>
> 5. What historic figures does she most admire? Despise?
>
>Became a big fan of Lincoln when the oppression came. Not a Communist exactly, but sometimes it makes sense. Really despise those who enacted the robot control. Also anyone who enslaved the little guy.
>
> 6. Does your character read much? What does she read most?
>
> Enjoy historical biographies, military history. Use that for strategic planning. Like pictures of the "before times."
>
> 7. What is your character’s biggest secret?
>
>[censored]
>
> 8. What was your character’s childhood like?
>
>I used to bully Shadow Master as a child since I was bigger and stronger. We remain close, but when he got his powers, I tended to work on my powers alone.
>
> 9. What is your character’s drink(s)?
>
> I like gatorade-type beverages, particularly high in electrolytes. [other comments censored]
>
> 10. When and how did your character’s powers reveal themselves?
>
[censored, just in case this is the sort of thing the character may prefer not to discuss]

Marvel Prep

It's less than a week before the vacation starts!

I have to get serious about my Marvel game prep.

First, I've decided not to use the karma gambling storytelling mechanic. I do want players to have some narration, and I will use karma rewards for that. However, since I'm trying to add incentive for them, it doesn't make sense to make them gamble for the 'privilege.'

I've averaged the starting karma for all the players, cut it in half, then added karma rewards for the last battle (for Type: X) and artistic contribution. Lightlord (Nick's character) gets 15 more than the others, because he was the first to submit answers to the questions I sent around a few months ago. Others will still get 10 karma for turning in their homework.

Another Experimental Marvel Heroes Mechanic

This rule activates when a player decides to use karma for a dice roll.

Normally, the makes this announcement, but doesn't have to decide how much to spend until after the dice roll. The minimum is 10 points.

With my rules hack, the character has the option to decide in advance how many points to use, and what level of success she desires. The minimum is still 10.

If the character succeeds with beyond the minimum required for the announced result, the player has earned the right to control the manner in which the success occurs. This is a 'yes and...' success. The player's creative control includes the ability to introduce a helpful non player character or affect with a maximum characteristic equal to the extra karma.

The player can also introduce additional obstructive NPC's or affects to receive a karma refund (or bonus) equal to that character's maximum characteristic.

Karma points are also refunded based on player creativity.

If, however, the player fails in spite of the karma use, one of two things happens. If the player would have succeeded had they used 1.5 times the amount of karma used, the character fails forward. This can be thought of as a 'yes but...' result.

For example, Benjamin is playing Thor for a session. Ben decides that Thor really needs to knock out his opponent during his next attack. In other words, he needs a 'stun' result on a Fighting roll. Thor's Fighting score is Unearthly, so he needs a roll of 86 or better for a red result.

Ben decides in advance to use 30 karma points on this endeavor, then rolls the dice.

If he rolls a 98, he has a total of 42 extra karma points ([98-86]+30) and has earned the right to control the scene. Since 42 falls in the 'Incredible' range, when Ben narrates the action, he may introduce new beneficial characters or affects with up to a max score of Incredible. He may also choose not to introduce anything. Either way, Ben is encouraged to be creative with his description. Have fun!

On the other hand, if Ben rolls a 73, Thor has trouble. While that normally would have resulted in a yellow fighting success, it misses the announced mark. The good news is, that if Ben had spent 13 more karma, it would have succeeded: this earns a 'yes but' success. The judge (GM) narrates "Thor hits Mega-thug, which slams the now unconscious villain into the pillar. The force of the impact shatters the load bearing pillar, and the building starts to collapse."

The character can not succeed beyond the announced result, and any successes less than desired are 'yes but' types of tainted success.

Marvel Heroes Homework

Below is homework I assigned to my player characters for our Marvel Game.
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Answer these questions in as much or little detail as you want. Karma will be awarded for creativity and thoroughness.

Feel free to skip or add questions, or to submit questions of your own to the other players.

Please forward your answers directly to me at ******** @ yahoo.com

What are your character’s thoughts on politics? Socialist / Liberal / Moderate / Conservative / Libertarian etc…

What hobbies did he or she enjoy before the robots came? What does he or she still enjoy?

What does he miss most from ‘before?’

What is the worst crime(s) imaginable to your character?

What historic figures does she most admire? Despise?

Does your character read much? What does she read most?

What is your character’s biggest secret?

What was your character’s childhood like?

What is your character’s drink(s)?

When and how did your character’s powers reveal themselves?

Marvel Super Heroes Power Stunts

As written, Marvel Super Heroes has a mechanic that forces characters to use large amounts of karma to use their powers in varied and interesting ways.

For example, Storm's mutant power is weather manipulation. To use that ability to create winds that permit her to fly is a 'power stunt.'

Since I want to use the karma mechanic to propel the story rather than encourage players to save them up, I need something else.

My thought is to break the rankings of powers into two categories: power and skill. At character creation, it would be assumed that both are equal; players could raise one at the expense of the other, if desired (at character creation).

Any power stunt would be assigned an 'intensity' ranking by the judge (aka, game master). Some stunts would be automatic (making it drizzle in Seattle with weather manipulation) and would only require the normal roll. The intensity ranking would go down every time the hero successfully uses the power in that way.

My Good Friend Nick's Picture

Posted completely without permission, but with all remaining rights reserved, here is a picture from my friend Nick. It may be a draft, but it's way more art than I've done lately!

Yearly Marvel Heroes Game

Here is some role playing stuff for my once per year game that won't make sense to most of you:

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In a rare discussion with the press, Nimrod stated "Mutant and mutant sympathizer incursions will not be tolerated. The Canadian government has been advised that harboring militants will not be tolerated and that they will be held responsible for such activities." European analysts suggest that this is in reference to the situation in the nation's Pacific Northwest...

Earlier this morning, the BBC reports that the federal government has declared a state of emergency in the three states which constitute its Pacific Northwest: Idaho, Washington and Oregon. An increased Sentinel presence has been confirmed at several points along Interstate 90 and Highway 2, specifically in the Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass areas.

Goooood Morning to the Liberated Northwest! Canadian Liberation forces are in direct confrontation with Sentinel forces

Attention citizens of Seattle! Mutants and mutant sympathizers have invaded your community, and a general curfew has been declared. Sentinel forces are here to help you. You are instructed to stay indoors until the situation has been stabilized. Violators of the curfew will be treated as enemies to the nation.
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Karma starting base:

Lightlord 50 (Sentinel battle), 20 (RP 'leadership' bonus and artwork submission)
Shadowmaster 50(Sentinel battle), 10 (RP 'my brother!' bonus)
Silverbrand 50(Sentinel battle), 20 (RP 'my people' and character refinement bonus)
Fool 50 (Sentinel battle), 10 (character refinement bonus)

Nora's character: 10 (character refinement)

Current Role Playing

My oldest friends and I always had a string of role playing geekery in us, but have never played seriously. Last year, we pulled out some of their Marvel Superheroes characters (last played over 10 years ago), which we had played a few sessions in something resembling the 616 universe. Then I plunked them into the Days of Futures Past timeline.

In story terms, the young characters my friends had played in the late '80s, early '90s continued adventuring, as their world went into decline.

My vision for this game is to play it somewhat convention style. We don't play often enough for a normal campaign, but even if we play once or twice a year, we can string some stories with continuity together and have a good time of it.

Here is the history these characters live in:

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In January of 2003, a mutant terrorist group attacked the Super Bowl, murdering dozens. A larger disaster was averted largely because of timely intervention by the Avengers. However, the press was terrible and wave of mutant hysteria began to boil.

Later that year, 1500 innocent civilians died during a battle between the Marauders and a group of young crimefighters. The majority of those crimefighters were mutants.

The anti-mutant hysteria continued, and began to spread to include all super humans.

In the fall of 2003 the U.S. military became involved in a Waco style incident surrounding Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Like Waco, it ended in fire and death. Unlike Waco, the besieged gave as good as they got. There were many deaths on both sides.

In the spring of 2004 a member of the Senate, Joseph McGrafton was revealed to be a mutant with emotion-control based powers. He hanged himself two days later. In his journals, a mutant conspiracy was revealed that spread throughout North America, whose goal was to create a pro-mutant apartheid state, with non-mutants serving as second class citizens.

That election led to a wave of anti-mutant extremists being elected to federal office. Most moderates were forced to resign; some grew silent, a few died under mysterious circumstances.

In January of 2005, the Sentinel Program was begun anew. By the end of the year, mutants were forced to live in special areas (ghettos) of cities. Camps were established for those who resisted, planned to resist or those deemed otherwise too dangerous to be free.

Resistance groups have sprung up across the country, most notably, a large group is based in Canada, not far from Vancouver. There have been cross border incidents, and the relationship between the U.S. and its neighbor to the north has seen better days.