Meriquai Falls – Aaaaaand, It’s A Go!

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you may already know this. Verbal permission from Jason Walters, General Manager of Hero Games, has been granted for me to publish Meriquai Falls! While I will still draw up contracts for Jason and I to sign, based on his templates, in order to make sure everything is legally covered, for all intents and purposes we are a go on this project. This is wonderfully timed, as now I can focus on getting material together for the 10-year Anniversary of Meriquai Falls’ original publication in Digital Hero #2 (way back in July/August 2002).

Thus far, I have the following documents on the queue…

• Meriquai Falls: Crimson-Hawk (free; May) – This will be a teaser document, presenting some basic history of the city as it pertains to Crimson-Hawk, plus details about Crimson-Hawk himself. It will discuss how he rose to superstardom only to lose it all during the Fall From Grace and how he rose back from those ashes only to make the ultimate sacrifice in the Battle of the Myste.
• Meriquai Falls: The Imperions (price pending; June) – In the original 2002 article, the Imperions, led by the enigmatic Galvakar, were lauded as the most famous and dangerous of the villain groups in Meriquai Falls. The truth is far more complex than that. While other villain groups exist and can be just as dangerous, the Imperions move with a sense of purpose unlike any other. For what villain could be more dangerous than a man determined to become a god?
• Meriquai Falls: Primer to the City of Spirits (price pending; July) – In time for Meriquai Falls’ 10-year Anniversary, this document will consolidate all of the general information about Meriquai Falls, apply all known errata, and modernize the setting for 2012. In addition, full character sheets and backgrounds will be provided for 14 heroes and 14 villains of the setting, giving value to the book regardless of whether you intend to use Meriquai Falls as a setting or not.

Other books are planned for further down the line. There is so much about Meriquai Falls to discuss: the Totems of Retribution, the Servants of Darkness, FENRIS, the Genetech Network, Count Dredmaus, and much much more. Stay tuned as plans are solidified.

Meriquai Falls – Count Dredmaus

Last week, I discussed a villain team that is integral to the Meriquai Falls setting, the Imperions. Since they won’t be included in the Primer (they will instead be featured in their own supplement), I chose to at least discuss them and their history here on my blog. In doing so, I hope to drum up interest in Meriquai Falls.

This week, I’m doing it again. This time, it’s a master villain. In fact, he is considered the most powerful and most dangerous villain in the Meriquai Falls setting. He is Count Dredmaus, the Mystic Lord of Weather. Imagine if you will if you took Marvel Comics’ Doctor Strange, gave him Storm’s powers, then gave him Doctor Doom’s mindset. Yeah, you’re getting pretty close to Count Dredmaus.

But who is Count Dredmaus? He appeared from out of the blue in the year 2000, mere months following the Great Meriquai Falls Massacre. At that point, he was every bit as powerful as he is today. Only the fortuitous presence of the mentalist Amethyst, the metamorph Masquerade, and the martial artist Silver Phoenix, along with the tactical genius of Major Brian Davenport (who was piloting the R.E.V.E.R.B. mecha suit), prevented the master wizard from inflicting more damage than he did. Even then, Count Dredmaus merely chose to quit the battlefield… he was not actually defeated.

Why then did he not appear sooner? As terrifyingly powerful as he is, he would have surely moved to conquer mankind long before now, right?

You have no idea just how right you are.

The Kingdom of Meriquai

The truth is considered beyond belief by the scant few individuals who know it. Count Dredmaus is a fey courtesan who was born more than thirteen millennia ago.

Count Syllus Dredmaus was a minor noble of the Empire of Arcadia at the time that the Kingdom of Meriquai was at its height. Like many fey, Dredmaus was fickle and shallow. But few even amongst the fey knew how dark Dredmaus’ heart was. He had designs. Grand designs. He intended to rule the Empire of Arcadia as its rightful emperor. Even the upstart Prince Auberon would not be able to deny him his destiny.

Dredmaus, being the immortal creatures that fey were, patiently watched as the Kingdom of Meriquai slowly descended into decadence. The silly humans were so predictable. The natural spirits of the Middle World thought so highly of the creatures who couldn’t survive even a full century before dying of old age, let alone by natural dangers or even violence. So the spirits had given all of these gifts to the humans. And how did the humans thank the spirits? By exploiting the spiritual magic for their own selfish ends. Dredmaus couldn’t help but laugh… not only were humans every bit as bad as fey (or even worse), but humans also possessed the power to destroy their own world… something the fey did not have.

Without the Middle World to anchor them, both the Spirit Plains and Arcadia would spiral out into the multiverse and possibly into oblivion. Dredmaus saw his chance. If he could conquer the Middle World, he could claim he was preventing such a catastrophe (who knows, it could be true). Then, as a hero of Arcadia, he could claim the imperial throne for himself. And everyone would support him. Even that laughable buffoon Auberon.

With that goal in mind, Dredmaus began to slowly set all of the pieces into place. Turning certain powerful humans to his cause was so incredibly easy that Dredmaus almost grew bored with the play. But he entertained himself with the antics of one young human boy, Hania Spiritheart, and his erstwhile allies. Playing a cosmic chess game with Hania while the boy hero journeyed to defeat the terrifying Myste was just the sort of intellectual release Dredmaus needed.

But all good things must come to an end. So it was with Dredmaus’ game with Hania. The boy hero had tracked Dredmaus to his lair on top of Mount Darksky, just as Dredmaus was enacting a ritual to draw the Myste to him. Hania and his allies faced off against the Dredmaus, but the fey count’s incredible command of weather magic was more than they had bargained for. Hania and his allies were easily defeated. However, before Dredmaus could land the killing blow, something incredible happened. Dredmaus suddenly disappeared into a dark vortex of energy, never to be seen again. Hania and his allies simply assumed that Dredmaus’ attempt to control the Myste backfired and the Myste destroyed him.

For over thirteen millennia, there was no proof to otherwise.

Reappearance

In the year 2000 A.D., the recent Great Meriquai Falls Massacre had drawn the attention of national and international peacekeeping forces. The United States commissioned the formation of an ultra-elite anti-terrorist military unit called the Lambda Force. Lambda Force, in turn, jointly commissioned IRON and Impulses Unlimited to develop a powered armor suit that the Lambda Force soldiers could use against supervillains. In a record-breaking two months’ time, they presented the R.E.V.E.R.B. prototype. Plans were made to demonstrate the prototype to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a glad overlooking the Meriquai Falls itself (at the time far from any developed part of the city).

As Major Brian Davenport was demonstrating the basic mobility functions of the suit, a mysterious man with the powers of flight and weather control inexplicably attacked the gathering. To this day, the public at large assumed that the villain, who was later revealed to be called Count Dredmaus, had taken the opportunity to attack the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the hopes of crippling the American military and to squash the public image of the nascent Lambda Force. If not for the three heroes who had secretly been in attendance, along with Major Davenport’s leadership, the villain would have surely succeeded.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the truth wasn’t as clear-cut as that. In reality, Count Dredmaus had just emerged from the dark vortex that had stolen him away from the fight against Hania Spiritheart. Something, or someone, had pulled Count Dredmaus out of time. The good Count, unaware that he had been pulled over thirteen millennia into the future, assumed that a rival fey noble had teleported him away from victory. When Dredmaus did not recognize his surroundings, he lost his temper and lashed out at the world around him. He just happened to be near the R.E.V.E.R.B. demonstration when he did this.

After spending a few moments venting his frustration on foes who were admittedly competent, though nowhere near powerful enough to defeat him, Dredmaus quit the battle to cool down and think about the situation.

The Throne of Arcadia

Eventually, Dredmaus pieced it all together. He then traveled to Arcadia to find that the “upstart Prince” Auberon was now the Emperor. To add insult to injury, the ever-radiant Countess Tytania, who Dredmaus had been courting, had married the buffoon… and stood proudly at Auberon’s side when Dredmaus attempted to reclaim what was rightfully his. Dredmaus declared war on Auberon’s court and enacted a ritual intended to destroy Auberon’s palace. Only the timely sacrifice of the court wizard, Nastarius, prevented a cataclysm the likes of which Arcadia had never seen.

To Present Day

Count Dredmaus cut his losses and fled. During the Multiverse Wars, wherein the heroes of the Middle World sought the pieces of the Staff of the Phoenix in order to save reality itself, Dredmaus found a pocket dimension that had been left unclaimed. Naming it Cumulonymba, Dredmaus built a tiny kingdom he could rule as a base of operations while he conquered the Middle World, the Spirit Plains, and Arcadia.

For the most part, Dredmaus has contented himself with seeding plots within plots in order to undermine the heroes of the Middle World and to weaken the political power of Auberon and his loyal nobles. A few times, Dredmaus has committed more direct acts of villainy against the Middle World; these have always been feints and tests, not only to gauge the progress of his work, but also to misdirect heroes away from what he is really doing. More than once, Dredmaus has allowed heroes to believe they had defeated him so that he could fall back, reconsider his strategies, and reappear much to the surprise and consternation of heroes everywhere.

One day, Dredmaus will rule the multiverse under his iron fist. It is his destiny as rightful heir to the throne of Arcadia.

And when he discovers who pulled him away from his victory over Hania Spiritheart, so many millennia ago, there will be Hell to pay.

Meriquai Falls – The Imperions

Meriquai Falls – Primer to the City of Spirits will include 14 example heroes and 14 example villains (well, 15 villains, actually, but Flipside is just the villainous version of Vixen and is discussed in a sidebar in Vixen’s background). These are not the entirety of the Meriquai Falls pantheon, to be sure. In fact, the sample villains are unaffiliated to any villain group, except for Night Sparrow who is a master villain and commands the street gang alliance known as the GeneTech Network.

As such, the plan for the future is to produce eminently affordable supplements detailing the various groups and organizations found within Meriquai Falls. One of those groups will, of course, be the Imperions.

The Imperions were first introduced in Meriquai Falls (Digital Hero 02). Led by the enigmatic shapeshifter Galvakar, the Imperions have attempted one master villain plot after another for nearly three decades. But why do they do so? What motivates them and why has their membership changed over time?

In The Beginning

The idea for the Imperions actually began over a decade before their official introduction to the world. In 1974, the city’s first recognized supervillain, the Manitou, used his own group of villains, the Totems of Retribution, to assault the Silver Mines in an attempt to drive the white men off of Meriquai sacred land. Gregario Petropoulis, the majority shareholder of Lyncon Technologies, was present for the attack. During the chaos, Buffalo made a vague comment about “Grandmother Spider’s heart,” which promptly got him punished by the Manitou.

This got Gregario’s mind to thinking. What was this “heart” and why was it so important that its mention would prompt the villain to punish his men? For nearly ten years, Gregario researched for answers. Finally, in the early 80s, Gregario stumbled onto ancient Meriquai tablets that hinted at the answers. An ancient artifact that actually contained the essence of a goddess? And it could possibly be hidden somewhere in the Meriquai Falls region? Gregario knew he had to possess this power. To transcend humanity and become a god? What sane man did not wish for this… to possess the power to change the world for the better?

So, for five years, Gregario quietly assembled a team of villains who would be absolutely loyal to him and assist him in finding and acquiring this power. Along with his wife, the were-spider known as Arachne, Gregario found two solo villains sympathetic to his cause. The first was the super-strong photokinetic, Incandentus; his near animal-like intellect and pet-like loyalty made him a perfect servitor. The second was the gadgeteer Tripwire; while Tripwire was a bit more independent than Incandentus, his brilliant mind for technology nearly matched Gregario’s own vast intellect and made for a perfect match for the team. Gregario commissioned Tripwire to construct an android to round out the team. Thus, the beautiful archer-android, the Huntress, was created.

The Imperions made their official debut caper in 1987, attempting to construct a super laser weapon capable of destroying the world. After a hard-won struggle and several minor defeats, the hero team Legend Force managed to defeat the Imperions right before they could fire the laser off into space towards the moon. The Imperions all escaped except for Tripwire, who was rescued from jail shortly thereafter.

The Team Implodes

While the Imperions enjoyed quite a bit of success when compared to other villains, the team was not without its problems. Gregario and Arachnes, being husband and wife, were utterly devoted to each other and Incandentus was quite loyal (like the family dog), but Tripwire and the Huntress were still wild cards. Tripwire possessed ambitions of his own, which occasionally put him at odds with his teammates. The Huntress was programmed to be utterly loyal to Gregario… which may have been her (and the team’s) undoing.

As time went on, Gregario entrusted more and more missions to the Huntress. Gregario trusted her because she was emotionless, competent, utterly loyal, and hardly ever failed. His wife, Arachne, however, saw the Huntress’ flawless physical beauty and assumed less savory motivations from her husband. Arachne’s jealousy grew to a point that she decided to have the Huntress destroyed.

Simply destroying the Huntress would not do, though. The Huntress would have to be destroyed in such a way as to force Gregario to realize the folly of having another similar android created. So Arachne embarked on what was to possibly be the worst decision of her immortal life.

Over  the course of weeks, Arachne seduced Tripwire. It was very subtle at first. She did not want Gregario suspecting her activities. But as time went on, Tripwire’s resistance to Arachne’s overtures faded. Finally, Arachne felt the time was right and made her move. She confessed to Tripwire, lying to him about her unrequited desire for him. But she felt that the Huntress posed a danger to their affair, capable of reporting their dalliances to Gregario. So Arachne asked that Tripwire reprogram the Huntress to be loyal to Arachne rather than to Gregario. Tripwire, his resolve completely gone and desiring Arachne madly, readily agreed to Arachne’s demands.

That night would be the last night of the original team’s existence.

Tripwire tricked the Huntress into a “routine maintenance” session and quietly began to reprogram her. Unfortunately, the Huntress’ original self-evolving programming proved to be Tripwire’s magnum opus… and his end. When the Huntress realized what was really going on, she turned on Tripwire. She interrupted the reprogramming in mid-session, which caused some catastrophic code relooping that caused her to go beserk. She killed Tripwire and gravely injured Gregario and Incandentus before escaping into the night. Arachne got the two surviving villains medical attention, but never spoke of her involvement in the ordeal.

The Imperions, now down to three members, went on hiatus.

Rebirth

By the year 2000, Lyncon Technology’s research into nanotechnology had reached the point that it was able to save the life of Gregario’s daughter, Mellisa (albeit at a cost of some of her humanity). Heartened by the success nanotechnology had in giving Mellisa back her mobility, Gregario used specialized nanotechnology to transform himself into a genetic shapeshifter. Now calling himself Galvakar (after the Italian physicist Luigi Galvani), Galvakar felt he was ready to rebuild the Imperions and be a more hands-on leader.

Now with Arachne, Incandentus, and his daughter Cyber Dreamer, Galvakar reached out to more potential members. He found two who fit the bill perfectly.

The first was Walter Cameron. Walter was found blown clear of Count Dredmaus’ assault on the REVERB demonstration, nearly three miles downstream from the Falls. Walter had recently been rejected by a woman he had loved and now believed that the rest of his friends had abandoned him. Cyber Dreamer, smitten by his rugged looks and his fierce determination to live, convinced her father to give Walter some nanotechnological treatment of his own. Walter gained enhanced strength, speed, and claws, becoming Cougar.

A month later, a mutant named Tommy Flannigan inadvertently discovered his ability to create portals that could teleport anyone or anything over vast distances. Hearing that the Imperions were reforming, Tommy tracked who he thought was the leader down (Arachne) and petitioned for membership. After a series of grueling tests that Tommy barely survived, Galvakar begrudgingly allowed Tommy to join, dubbing him Nexus.

Up To Today

Over the course of the next decade, the Imperions enjoyed a string of successes and failures the likes of which they’d never enjoyed. The Imperions were instrumental in thwarting FENRIS’s first attempt to take over the city. But they were also the catalyst to the Multiverse Wars, where heroes and villains alike had to hunt down and reassemble the pieces to the Staff of the Phoenix in order to prevent reality itself from collapsing upon itself. The Imperions have made several attempts to assemble and activate one doomsday weapon after another. Although they have always failed, they have always succeeded in getting one step closer to realizing Galvakar’s true goal.

Into The Future

In Vixen’s future, the Imperions actually succeed. Galvakar finds the Heart of the Grandmother Spider. He kills Crimson-Hawk when the hero attempted to preserve the secrecy of the Heart’s location in one last desperate stand. Jackson Sullivan then leads the rest of the Omega Legion against the Imperions to prevent them from harnessing the Heart’s power. But the Legion is too late; they arrive to find the Imperions have already absorbed the Heart’s power and have been driven insane by its sheer intensity. The Legion is slaughtered to the last member, except for 12-year-old Vixen, who is somehow snatched by some unknown force and thrown back into the past.

Meriquai Falls - Inspirations

As any roleplaying game designer can tell you, a campaign setting is never created in a vacuum, not even one as "small" as the City of Spirits. Many people have inspired me, either by their impact in my life or by example through their writing. Many of these examples have translated directly into characters within Meriquai Falls.

Today, I've decided to compile a list of certain characters in Meriquai Falls and discuss briefly who inspired each one.

• Crimson-Hawk: Darren Davenport represents all of the positive traits I possess, magnified suitably for a superheroic campaign, with a sprinkle of my humility and low self-esteem.
• Backdraft: By contrast, Drake Roberts represents all of my self-centered egotism and need for attention, along with the desire to "do the right thing" in order to gain that attention.
• Reverb: Brian Davenport is based on my brother, William, in that he is more athletic than Darren, joined the Air Force, and is a natural leader.
• Shotgun Rider: Ronald Davenport is based on my father, Don. An adventurous soul with a gritty, get-things-done attitude, Both Ronald and my father share a past in the military as a small arms expert.
• Prairie Maid: Technically, Jasmine Davenport (nee Owlspeaker) is inspired by my mother, Jackie, though I took some creative liberties in constructing Jasmine's ethnicity and background. Jasmine does, however, share my mother's caring personality, determination to succeed, and the willingness to lay down her life for those she loved.
• Vengeance: Jackson Sullivan is inspired by the Silent Knight, a character created by Jody Slyman based loosely on himself. While sharing similar motives and skills, Vengeance and Silent Knight utilize vastly different tools and backgrounds.
• Amethyst: Lyssa Sullivan (nee Kellerman) is inspired by the Mind Mistress, a character created by Jody Slyman. Mind Mistress herself was originally based off of a person Jody knew, but since I have never met this person, it is safe to assume that Amethyst is completely fictional.
• Vixen: Trina Sullivan is based off of a what-if question... I'd asked Jody Slyman if he had a daughter, what would he name her? Then I constructed another what-if scenario... What if Jackson Sullivan and Lyssa Kellerman had a daughter, how would she grow up and what powers would she have. Vixen quickly grew to become a centerpiece character in Meriquai Falls.
• Nastarius: The fey archmage, the closest thing that Meriquai Falls has to a "Sorcerer Supreme," is based off of a character created by one of my best friends, James Rankin.
• Gracelynn Willow: Gracelynn Johnson is inspired by the mother of my sons, Dee Waugh, right down to her spitfire personality and never-say-die attitude.
• Phalanx: The powered armor wearing current head of IRON, Kristoff Jameson, is inspired by one of my best friends, Chris Jennings.
• Sworddancer: Kristy Angela Morales is based very loosely off of a girl I knew in college. Christine was a Wiccan priestess, sharp as a whip, and very easy on the eyes. Although I haven't seen Christine is quite a few years, her impact on my life continues on in the form of Meriquai Fall's resident mystical anti-hero.
• Live-Wire: For his birthday, I created a character for my cousin, Trevor. Based loosely on the hero of the Infamous video games, Cole MacGrath, Trent MacDailey is a survivor of the attack of the  Con Rắn Cháy on North Meriquai Falls in 2008.
• Professor Epoch: Professor Epoch is a gender-bending cross between the Timemaster from Classic Enemies and Tempus from Champions Presents.
• Refractor: To emulate Refractor's terrifying ability to alter reality around him, I drew inspiration from the character sheet of the Infinite Man, from Scott Heine's supplement, Alien Enemies.
• Short-Circuit: The cyberkinetic villain, Eddy Watts, is based off of a character created by one of my best friends, James Rankin.
• The Totems of Retribution: The concept of the Manitou and his spirit-imbued followers, Coyote, Eagle, Buffalo, and Bear, along with the concept of Grandmother Spider, are lifted nearly whole-cloth from the pages of Dean Shomshak's excellently written supplement, Creatures of the Night: Horror Enemies. I did take the liberty of modernizing the concepts... the Manitou has lived for centuries, resurrecting himself in a new body after each death, to become a much more cosmopolitan villain and the Totems themselves do not transform into beast-men, making them even more dangerous in that they can disguise themselves easily.
• The Black Dragon Clan: The Inner Circle of this mystical Vietnamese assassin clan with a blood feud with the Korean warrior Rising Moon clan is based loosely off of Yooso, the villain group created by Aaron Allston for his beloved 1990 supplement, Ninja Hero. The clan's leader, Shadow Fang, is inspired by the Classic Enemies villain, Black Claw (with a little bit of Dragon Master sprinkled in).
• The Mythos: The Celtic gods of the Mythos (Taranis, Lugh, Mabon, Mannanán, Morrigan, and Rhiannon) are adapted from the Pantheon from Scott Heine's supplement, Alien Enemies.
• Many Villains: Many of the villains in Meriquai Falls owe their existence to the many authors who have written for Green Ronin Publishing. More specifically, I drew inspiration from the many generic archetypes that were published for Mutants & Masterminds. Did I have an Unscrupulous Billionaire? Okay, let's create Sigmund Winters and his assassin daughter, Dominique Winters. Did I have an Evil Robot? Yeah, that's already covered by the Huntress, the android who went rogue from the Imperions. Did I have a Sinister Simian? Let's get creative, make him a powerful mentalist and call him Doctor Marmoset. Yeah, I said it... Doctor Marmoset! Grovel in fear at the superior intellect of Doctor Marmoset, you pathetic humans!

Meriquai Falls - The Writing

I've been spending the last week really cranking into my writing on Meriquai Falls.  Well, more appropriately, I've been sinking my teeth into learning MS Publisher so that I can make Meriquai Falls look halfway professional. I know people will insist that I should be using PageMaker or InDesign or Quark or whatever. But I'm jobless and "real" DTP software doesn't come cheap. MS Publisher is a lot less expensive (since I already own a copy) and is a lot easier to use than Scribus (the freeware DTP software).

I've been having a lot of fun learning how to work with text boxes, pictures, master pages and a lot more. But I know I could be doing a lot more. I kinda wish I could afford to take a class on DTP software, but... ah, well.

Now that I have the MS Publisher document set up the way I want, it's now time to buckle down and do the actual writing. And now that I've officially quit World of Warcraft, I can focus on that writing.

Right? Right?

Ooooooh!  Pretty butterflies!

Superhero RPGs

It's been a long while since I've posted here.  Too long.  I need to quit slacking and get to writing.

That being said, I'm going to try to ween myself back into writing by talking about the various superhero RPGs.

First off, I'll point out that, despite the almost generic use of the term "superhero" across much of the gaming industry, as well as the fan base of both the gaming and comic book industries, variations of term "super hero" are jointly trademarked by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.  This is true in spite of some contention from legal experts throughout the decades [quote].  But since the term has such a pop culture significance, there are few other terms to label the genre that can truly fit.  Thus, "superhero" and "superheroic" are terms generically used to describe the genre of these games.

Without further ado, I now present the games... in order of my favorites first.

Champions

First published in 1981 by Hero Games, Champions distinguished itself with its point-buy system for balancing characters as well as its use of character flaws (then called Disadvantages, currently called Complications). The system off of which Champions is based, the Hero System, has since been adopted as a universal system, applied to various other genres such as fantasy, espionage, pulp, science fiction, cyberpunk, horror, post-apocalyptic, and western. Champion's fourth edition, heralded by editor Rob Bell and an insane amount of playtesting, truly brought the game into the limelight of the gaming industry. During the latter days of the game's fourth edition, writer Steve Long would emerge to become one of the company's most reliable and consistent go-to writers.

After splitting with publishing partner Iron Crown Enterprises, Champions publisher Hero Games drifted during the 90s. For a short time, Hero Games partnered with R. Talsorian Games; the resulting brainchild RPG system, the Fuzion System, continues to enjoy a love-hate relationship with Hero System fans to this day. Online dot.com concern Cybergames then bought Hero Games (including the Fuzion-based Champions: The New Millennium), but saw little success, despite improved graphic presentation and Hero System stats for its iconic characters.

The turn of the new millenium saw a new renaissance for the Hero System. Steve Long, along with Darren Watts, Jason Walters, and a few other investors who chose to remain anonymous bought the assets for Hero Games from Cybergames and incorporated themselves as DOJ, Inc. (named after one of their pet RPG superhero teams, the Defenders of Justice). Steve Long, acting as Line Developer and primary author/architect, then heralded in the fifth edition of the Hero System. The fifth edition saw a grand amount of improvement from even the fourth edition as well as a mind-boggling amount of rules clarifications and rulings. The fifth edition proved very popular, in spite of the economic recession post-9/11, and enjoyed the success of several dozen supplements (the majority of which were for Champions).

Most recently, the intellectual property for the default Champions setting (centered on the fictional city of Millennium City) was bought by Cryptic Studios for the Champions Online mmorpg (when Sony left Cryptic Studios in the lurch by canceling the Marvel Online game). DOJ, Inc., heralded the mmorpg by publishing a sixth edition of the Hero System and a few Champions supplements to update the setting to match the mmorpg. The economic recession has finally got the better of DOJ, Inc., sadly, and it has had to ask Steve Long and Darren Watts to step down from direct employment within the company (although both continue to be co-owners of the company), leaving Jason Walters as the sole employee of the company. However, projects continue on, as Jason Walters has offered a royalty-free license to third-party publishers, of which individuals such as Steve Long and Dave Mattingly take advantage.

Mutants & Masterminds / DC Adventures

What happens if you add a point-buy character creation system to the d20 System (the system on which third edition Dungeons & Dragons is based) and then adjust the whole thing to account for the fact that you should only ever need one twenty-sided die for the whole game? You get Mutants & Masterminds.

The brainchild of game designer Steve Kenson, Mutants & Masterminds took the gaming industry by storm at a time when it had generally been conceded that it was impossible to use the d20 System for superheroic roleplaying. Other attempts had been made, to be sure. Most had kept to the formula of classes, levels, and hit points while trying to shoehorn superpowers into the mix. But Mutants & Masterminds didn't constrain itself that way. Steve Kenson took only the parts of the d20 System that he liked and then embellished it with elements inspired by other RPG systems, like Champions, GURPS, or MEGS. The result was elegant, awe-inspiring, and powered by the economic might of Green Ronin Publishing. Did I mention that Mutants & Masterminds benefited from some of the best artists in the gaming industry, since Green Ronin was willing to print its books in full-color?

Mutants & Masterminds is currently in its third edition. The second edition of Mutants & Masterminds enjoyed a spectacular run similar to the Hero System's fifth edition, with many useful and informative supplements detailing various eras of comic book history. And, like the Hero System's sixth edition, Mutants & Masterminds' third edition heralds a licensing deal. This time, the system is being used to present the latest iteration of roleplaying in the DC Universe.

DC Adventures is a four-book license that Green Ronin is masterfully playing out to its fullest. The core rulebook is exactly the same as the Mutants & Masterminds Third Edition Heroes' Handbook, except it includes sample characters and brief histories of the DC Universe. It will be supplemented by two books detailing a huge number of DC Universe's best and brightest as well as a fourth and final book detailing the DC Universe setting in and of itself.

MEGS

MEGS, which is short for the Mayfair Games Exponential System, is most famous for being the rules system off of which the first iteration of roleplaying in the DC Universe was based. The concept of the rules was deceptively simple. If your Strength was 3 and your friend's Strength was 2, you were twice as strong as your friend. And if your girlfriend's strength was 4, she was twice as strong as you. This simple "doubling per tick" concept was used for everything, from speed to time to weight to money to... well, everything. And skill contests used an easy to reference chart that used two dice to compare to two values being contested.

The DC Heroes Roleplaying Game enjoyed three editions (each with various and minor improvements) before DC Comics canceled Mayfair Games' license. A protracted legal battle ensued; Mayfair Games wanted to continue using the MEGS system to publish other games, but DC Comics believed that by license the MEGS system belonged to DC Comics. DC Comics eventually lost the legal battle, but by then it was too late. Mayfair Games, for various reasons including the legal battles, was forced to file bankruptcy and go out of business. Other companies have tried to use the MEGS system for their own game, but none of the games have enjoyed the level of success that DC Heroes enjoyed.

Fuzion System

As mentioned above, the Fuzion System came about while Hero Games as partnered with R. Talsorian Games. The Fuzion Labs Group, which at the time included the best and brightest designers from both companies, created the Fuzion System in an attempt to meld the best elements of both the Hero System and R. Talsorian Games' Interlock System together in a cohesive whole. The result was both elegant and flexible.

R. Talsorian Games went full-throttle into the Fuzion System, cranking out games licensed from popular mecha-based anime franchises such as Bubblegum Crisis and Armored Trooper V.O.T.O.M. as well as the insanely popular Dragonball Z. Hero Games attempted a renaissance of their own intellectual property with Champions: The New Millenium, trying to update their setting to the more mature sensibilities of the 90s.

While the Fuzion System enjoyed some success, it was not to last. The primary architect of R. Talsorian Games, Mike Pondsmith, took up full-time employment at Microsoft in order to pay the bills and Cybergames bought up Hero Games shortly thereafter. When Pondsmith finally did publish a Fuzion System-based version of his company's intensely popular Cyberpunk game, it met with poor reviews... Pondsmith attempted to update the flavor of the setting to modern sensibilities, which essentially killed the dirty, gritty, dystopian feel that made the Cyberpunk genre so popular. It didn't help that Pondsmith attempted to save money on artwork by photographing toy action figures instead.

Cortex Plus / Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

Okay, this one took me completely by surprise. So much so that when I adamantly confessed my confusion to graphic artist Fred Hicks, he nearly game me up as a lost cause in understanding the game's flavorful elegance. In essence, there are no "primary attributes" or anything like that. A hero's capabilities are an eclectic mix of circumstances, abilities, and fate. In essence, the hero feels like a comic book superhero rather than like a fantasy adventurer.

As mentioned, there are no "primary attributes." If the character is known for his superhuman level of agility, such as Spider-Man or Nightcrawler, of course it's noted in his power sets and can be used in die pools if appropriate. But if he only has an average amount of agility, it's never noted anywhere on his character sheet (known as datacards in this game) and is never bothered with. It is, however, extremely important how well he performs solo, with a buddy, or with a team. And distinctive traits, like Reed Richards being the smartest man on Earth, can be either an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the circumstances. And a metagaming currency known as Plot Points is spent and traded freely like poker chips in Las Vegas (in fact, poker chips might prove a useful way of keeping track of Plot Points).

The most interesting part of the game (which is either damning or liberating, depending on with whom you game) is that there is no structured guidelines for character creation. If your chosen hero has a particular ability, just give it to him and don't worry about whether it balances with the other heroes in the game. The balancing factor comes not from the rules system itself, but from the sense of responsibility displayed by you and your party mates. If your friends are telling you that you're just being stupid, odds are they're right.

The game is just in its infancy, having just been published by PDF a couple weeks ago and still awaiting physical shelf life. But the Basic Game includes some very interesting sample characters, including my beloved Shadowcat, and so its gearing up to be a great game.

BASH

Now, here's a pretty little game that deserves more attention. BASH is short for Basic Action Super Heroes. The mechanics are simple. Your attributes are rated as a multiplier. For a skill test, you roll two six-sided dice and add them together. You take that result and multiply it by your attribute's multiplier rating. You then compare that result to a chart to determine how well you succeed at the task. Thus, if you have a Brawn of 3 and you roll an 8 on the dice, the result is 24 (8 x 3); you succeed at a Tough (20+) task.

BASH takes a minimalist approach to character creation. There are only three attributes (Brawn, Agility, and Mind) and the list of powers is fairly short and inclusive. While attributes and powers are bought with points, how many skills you have is dependent on your Agility and Mind. What this all means is that given familiarity with the system, it's fairly quick to create a character and get adventuring. Fights tends to be speedier than other systems, as well. On top of that, the top-notch artwork of Moretti and Chiaramonte makes the book simple yet gorgeous, giving off a well-designed "Animated Series" feel.

I sincerely hope this system gets some more well-deserved attention. It's a gorgeous game.

Tri-Stat System

Speaking of minimalist systems (or at least systems that should have remained minimalist), I can't forget to mention the Tri-Stat System. First published in 1999 as the anime RPG, Big Eyes Small Mouth, it was extremely minimalist. As its name implies, the system has three stats, Body, Mind, and Soul. All checks are made against those three stats using two six-sided dice. You want to roll under the stat's value, so the higher the attribute and the lower the roll, the better off you are. Characters are further customized by Attributes, super powers like those seen in popular anime series.

While the game was an unprecedented success at GenCon 1999 (where Mark MacKinnon ran out of copies), it saw super-stardom when licensed versions of the game were published for Sailor Moon, Dominion Tank Police, and Demon City Shinjuku. The Tri-Stat system saw even more success when the system's publisher Guardians of Order partnered with anime distributor Pioneer for licensed versions of Tenchi Muyo! and el Hazard, where graphics designer Jeff MacIntosh truly got to flex his muscles with glossy full-color presentation.

The beginning of the end occurred when MacKinnon chose to enter the ring of western superheroic roleplaying. The Tri-Stat system got restructured for the Silver Age Sentinels roleplaying game, adding a level of complexity that was conducive to western superheroic roleplaying but was anathema to Tri-Stat System fans. While SAS saw some moderate success, even being featured in a crossover adventure module with Hero Games' Champions RPG, MacKinnon's ambitions soon outstretched his pocketbook. After a minimally successful showing of a Tri-Stat System presentation of G.R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire setting, Guardians of Order had to file of bankruptcy and sell most of its non-IP properties to White Wolf Game Studios.

If you do wish to use the Tri-Stat System for superheroic roleplaying, I actually recommend the iteration of the rules set presented in either the Tenchi Muyo! Role-Playing Game and Resource Book or the el Hazard Role-Playing Game and Resource Book. Game designer David Pulver did a fantastic job of balancing simplicity with flexibility and stability with these two books.

Other Games

There are other superheroic games, of course. The classic Villains & Vigilantes is known for it old-school level-based goodness and Jeff Dee's exquisite artwork. GURPS Supers, in any of its iterations, can't be forgotten. Aberrant, White Wolf Game Studio's attempt at dark and adult superheroics using a version of the Storyteller System, is a fine choice if you want to play a superhero in a losing battle with himself. And there are many others. I might get into them at another time.

In the meanwhile, I've rambled on long enough. Thank you for reading.

Fresh Blood

So, with the addition of two new players last Saturday, we move further towards party completeness.

Phil: The DM, who may or may not create another DMPC
Me:  Kalan, an eladrin paladin (divine defender)
Trevor:  Fredan, a human blackguard (divine striker)
Tony:  Ian, a human wizard (arcane controller)
Di:  Valandra, a genasi warlock (arcane striker)
Zac:  Galrithinol, a deva avenger (divine striker)
Kayla (new): a druid (primal controller) whose name and race I've yet to learn
Maria (new): Xara, a dragonborn barbarian (primal striker)

We're still short a leader, but at least my character can heal a little bit if need be. I might even multiclass into cleric a little bit.