Revisiting an old game in my mind

Today I posted a link to Margaret Weis Productions’ new Marvel Superheroes RPG on Facebook. I stated that it sounded interesting, and even though I know none of my current gamer friends would play it with me, I still might get it, because…what the hell? It’s looks way cool!

This sparked a brief discussion about previous Marvel RPG’s, including my beloved Marvel Superheroes (TSR, 1984), wherein one friend proceeded, within the span of a single paragraph, to destroy it with hate and, frankly unfounded, assessments. His opinion is fine, though on one point (that it was unsupported) was flatly wrong. I’m fairly certain that D&D is the only TSR game that got more support than MSH.

That being said, it got me thinking. Was it really a good game? Is my love for it tainted by the ever-present spirit of nostalgia that often seems to run my life (as far as my tastes go)? Would it stand up today? And is there room for an “OSR” for MSH? Hmm…

Was it really a good game?

I had this boxed set.



Well, that depends on your definition of “good” I suppose. For me, that means “Is it fun?” It is, after all a game. And games are implicitly meant to be fun. So, if a game is fun, then it is, by definition, good. MSH did a good job of evoking the larger-than-life feel and grandiose characters of four-color comics. It had a standard set of stats for the characters, and each was given a rank described by a Stan Lee-ism, rather than just a number. Your Strength could be Unearthly, your Fighting Amazing, your Psyche Remarkable, etc. And each of these related to a column that you rolled a percentage die against to test for success. True, it had an inherent fault, mathematically. There was an argument that, according to the rules, “Aunt May could kill Galactus with a spoon, if the player rolled well enough.” Well, that would just be shitty story-telling, wouldn’t it? Any referee who allowed that roll on principle should be taken out back and shot.


 One assessment my friend made was that it was inflexible (which I would highly debate), and only allowed you to play characters similar to those who already existed. Ok. Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that he is correct. My character can only be a Captain America or Spiderman or Thor rip-off. How is this different than any other RPG? It could be argued that every D&D fighter is a rip off of Boromir, only slightly tweaked and given a new name and look. Personally, I think that’s the biggest strength of RPGs. The fact that I could say “I love Spiderman, I wish I could play someone like him” and then proceed to make Feline, who shared many similarities with Spiderman, but had my own unique spins on him.

Would it stand up today?

Probably my favorite
supplement.



Depends on who is playing, I suppose. It would probably stand up for me, personally. Those with differing views on what makes an RPG “good” would most likely have differing results. But, I think if the players came in expecting to play MSH, and not something else, it would stand up fine. And like any other RPG, the result would depend highly on the quality of the players, and less on the quality of the game.

And is there room for an “OSR” for MSH?
For legal reasons, probably not. However, if someone were so inclined, and if WotC were willing to let it go, I bet a generic Supers game, or one based on some other company’s property, could be made from the framework of MSH. The fact that the system is often referred to as FASERIP (named after the seven attributes; Fighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, Intuition, Psyche), indicates that someone has given the idea some thought. I may have to do to some digging online just to see how far it went.

All I can say is that I LOVED this game back in the day. And I probably created about a hundred characters of all sorts with it. So, even if it was limited in flexibility, what it CAN do is very cool.

As an end note, while posting this and searching for links and pics, it became readily apparent that there is a large following for this game on the net.  Some sites may be out of date, but it's still out there.  And with Weis' version coming out, the older versions will no doubt be getting some new attention.

Been a bit...

I want this for my desk.

Just realized it's been a bit since I updated all of my loyal minions on my shenanigans.

Not really much to talk about.  Which, of course, begs the question "Why am I doing this?"  I don't know.  Maybe I just like the illusion of minor fame that being a regular blogger gives me.

I have had a plethora of doctors' visits lately.  My shoulder is sore from getting shots of cortisone yesterday.  And I get to get shots in the other shoulder in 2 weeks.  I have an unrelated procedure next week.  And I even had a mole removed.  I'm kind of a mess, but I'm feeling better.

Anyways, enough of that. 

Writing
I've been chipping away at my orc story for Scott Oden's anthology.  It's coming along nicely.  I really only have one more major scene, and some connecting details.  Then there will be some re-reads and edits before I show it to The Man.  Also been thinking about and working on a Sword & Planet story with a twist.  With John Carter in my near future, that genre has been on my mind.  And finally, with the help of my wife, I managed to polish up a good story and will begin shopping it around.

Some of you may recall that a while back I had an idea with a couple of friends to do an e-anthology of S&S stories set in a shared world of my creation.  Well, it's still in process, though probably still a ways off.  I have one story complete, and probably publishing-ready.  The other two friends have been busy with lots of other things.  But one is planning a surge in the project soon, setting himself a due date.  The other had started his stories, then fell out of love with the concept and characters, and decided to scrap it in favor of something else for the anthology.  Haven't heard from him in a long while on that.  We'll see how it all turns out.

Gaming
Finally getting back to our regular D&D game tomorrow night.  It's been a few weeks, and I really miss my Half-Orc Barbarian/Favored Soul/Fighter.  Tomorrow starts another short arc, and I am eager to see where we go from here.  Also, still looking forward to the AD&D game in April for my friend's birthday.

Been playing a lot of Star Wars online.  Really enjoying my Sith Marauder (dual lightsabers).  Started a new Trooper last night, just so I could play with my wife and her Smuggler.  We're only 4th, but it's still fun to game with her.  Last night I also realized that DCU Online is now free-to-play, so I updated it and logged in for a quick mission.  Still a very pretty game, and fun to play.

Reading
Recently finished Outworlder by Lin Carter.  Not a "bad" book, it just seemed too brief.  Like it was a rough draft that had potential for so much more story.  But, it was a product of the short fantasy books that were popular in the 70's, so I guess it works.

Got a Kindle Fire recently, and now that I have a really nice cover for it, I'm using it more.  Currently reading Hunters of the Red Moon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Paul Edwin Zimmer.  Really cool book.  It's apparently the first in a series (trilogy?), so I may have to track down the others if they are available as Kindles.

Also on my Kindle, I recently read Scott Oden's short story Amarante (also available at Smashwords and DriveThruFiction).  Holy cow, what a great story.  My only complaint after reading it was that it was over.  I am eagerly looking forward to his Orc novel.

Other stuff
Speaking of Kindle, despite my love of their services, Amazon is irritating me.  Rather I am irritated on behalf of authors like Scott Oden.  I'm sure a quick Google search will enlighten you to their latest BS better than I can.  Suffice it to say, they are screwing authors and publishers.  They really need to back off.  Or other e-tailers need to step up and take a bigger chunk of the market.

On a brighter note, I started my next class: "The Wars of Ancient Greece and Macedonia."  It's pretty interesting, and much more relaxed, as far as the format of the class.  It's straight up learning about and discussing history, rather than the mechanics of studying and reporting on it.

And finally, I have been oddly obsessed with Marvel's Hercules lately (hence the picture at the beginning of this post).  No explanation given here.  Just thought I would throw that out there.

Huh.  Well, I guess I had more to talk about than I initially thought.

Btw - If it seems like I talk about Scott a lot, it's because he's such a great guy, and really great writer who deserves much more attention than he is getting.

Your mom is derivative!

This whole thing started when we watched Real Steel last weekend.  This was a movie that I had wanted to catch in the theaters, but was unable to.  So, we watched it on Blu-Ray, and I was not disappointed.  Suffice it to say, this movie is AWESOME!  I am a sucker for boxing movies, and this one delivers.  Starring one of my man-crushes, Hugh Jackman, it has a familiar, yet timeless story, excellent performances, and FREAKING BOXING ROBOTS!!  If you don't think that concept alone is cool, what are you doing in my country, you pinko commie slime!?!

All that being said, after watching the movie, my wife and I were talking about the similarities to Rocky, and I wondered aloud what Stallone thought of it.  If I were Sly, I'd be flattered.  After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  However, in the world of film critics (both professional and armchair), they prefer the word "derivative"; it's not meant as a compliment.

I see this word thrown around a lot when it comes to works of fiction.  And usually it's written with an uppity sneer, as if taking elements form someone else's story, and making them your own is some kind of cheap shot that somehow lessens the original work.

Excrement.

I have a reproduction of this
poster hanging in my house

Personally, I prefer the term "homage" when talking about these kinds of things.  Rocky will always be a classic.  Nothing could ever take away the brilliance of that film.  Not even a shot-for-shot remake (which, thankfully, Stallone would never let happen).  So, the fact that Real Steel borrows many elements from it (and from Sly's critical stinker, Over the Top), speaks more on how much of an iconic film Rocky is, and how Real Steel was made, at least in part, for fans of Rocky.

But the oddest thing I noticed about ALL of these reviews who use the word "derivative" with all of its negative connotations, is that they still give the film a thumbs up/four stars/etc.  They readily admit that it's a very fun, entertaining, and heart-warming film.  They all applaud the great performances, the superior special effects, and the "humanity" in the robots.  For all intents and purposes, it's (almost) universally seen as a great film.  Except, it's derivative.

You people need to get over yourselves.  A good film is a good film.  Watch it and enjoy it for what it is.  And keep your high-brow criticisms to yourselves.

I love Cat people!

No, not that crappy Stephen King movie. I’m talking about the long tradition in Sci Fi of having feline-esque alien races. I have to admit, I have a soft spot for these kinds of species. After a quick internet search, I found a really cool article on this subject over at Tor.com. So, I won’t bother re-listing the ones I know of.

Ok, I will mention David Gerrold’s Morthans (as in “more than human”) from his most excellent novel, Voyage of the Star Wolf, and sequels. Probably among my favorite cat-races.

So, if I’m not going to list them, why bring them up? Because I am making my own, of course! Not that this is something new. I’ve actually made or played cat-races in numerous RPG’s. I remember my very first superhero was for the old DC Heroes RPG back in the 80’s. I made Feline, a dude whose genes were accidentally mixed with his pet cat’s in a freak science accident (pretty standard fare for comics, no?). Feline has been made for every Supers RPG I have ever played to date since then. I’ve also made cat-races for different editions of D&D, and even adapted one from a 3rd party company for use in the Farscape RPG.

And now I am creating one for a Sword & Planet story I am working on. This one is inspired by the cover of the April 1985 issue of Epic Illustrated magazine (which I plan to acquire a copy of ASAP). Cat dudes fencing in John Carter fashion, with a hot, mostly naked princess in the foreground. That’s just freaking cool! Weird alien races are a staple of S&P, and its sister genre, Space Opera (Star Wars, anyone?). And I plan to embrace that tradition.

Speaking of Star Wars, in SW: The Old Republic, if you play a Trooper, your first companion is a Cathar soldier.  He's very cool.  And if you play an Empire character, you eventually go to that planet and get to fight a bunch of them.

Anyways, just thought I‘d throw that out there. So, do you have a favorite alien type? What are they?

D&D: Tom Edition

Ok, here are my thoughts on the creation of my own variation of the 3.5 rules.  These are just some brainstorming ideas, and I have no idea how much of this would work within the framework of the game as it exists now.  Of course, all this may be moot if 5E turns out to be something I like.  Still, as of right now, 3.5 is my favorite incarnation of D&D, so I'm going to start with that.

Attributes
Same six from each PHB, plus Comeliness from UA.

Races
Same as 1-3.5 PHB, plus sub-races from UA

Classes
Same as 3.5.  Though I may include a couple of "optional" classes.  Additionally, 2E had a cool set of rules for creating balanced classes, so I may include something like that as well (I actually had an article in Dragon Magazine about using that rule for creating "humans only" classes).

Multi-classing
Same as 3.5.  I considered going the route of previous editions, where you chose your multi-classes at creation, but I think the open method of 3.5 works much better.

Levels/XP
Same as 3.5; I may put in Level limits for Demihumans, per 1E, but I would double the level listed in most cases.  I'm not sure though.  I can see how some races would be limited in their natural ability in some classes, but it could unbalance the game, and make the rules more complex than they need to be.

Armor Class
Same as 3.5.  I like the "higher is better" as it is more intuitive.  As a possible alternate: 1d20 + Dexterity Bonus + Base Combat Bonus*.  If I do this, I would probably create an "armor as damage reduction" system.

Base Combat Bonus
Change the name of Base Attack Bonus, and allow the player to choose how to divvy up the points each round.  Add some or all to attack, defense (AC), or damage.  This would negate the need for the Power Attack feat, so Cleave and other feats that have PA as a prerequisite would need another prereq.  Probably a minimum BCB.

Saving Throws
Same as 3.5, plus the following:

Resilience – 1d20 + (Con Bonus + Wis Bonus/2)
To be used when a combination of willpower and physical stamina are needed. Such as when pushing past pain and/or discomfort to continue on. Most commonly used when the character is wounded (75/50/25% hit points; see Wounds)

Awareness – 1d20 + Int Bonus
To be used passively (rolled by the DM) or actively (rolled by the Player) to determine if a character notices something out of the ordinary, hidden, or otherwise not in plain sight.

Magic Resistance – 1d20 + Caster Level/Arcane Knowledge Skill (whichever is higher)
To be used when Arcane knowledge might provide some insight as to how to resist a magical effect. Commonly used versus Enchant/Charm spells and effects, and magical Hold effects.

Hit Points
Same as 3E.  If I use the "Damage Reduction" rule, this might be altered to something with a smaller range.

Wounds – When a character’s hit points reach a certain percentage of his maximum, he suffers possible penalties for Wounds. At the beginning of each Combat Encounter, or when attempting a Skill Check, the character must make a Resilience Save. The target number is based on the percentage of his Max HP he has left, in 25% increments:

• 75% - 10
• 50% - 15
• 25% - 20

Failure means the character loses any Attribute bonuses for that Combat Encounter (Strength for To Hit and Damage, Dexterity for AC) or Skill Check.

That's pretty much all I have right now.
 
On a side note, I like the idea of this being a single, all-inclusive book.  Something relatively short (less than 150 pages), and probably a softback.  Looking at the original Basic D&D book as an inspiration:
 

I am a blank slate

Because he still makes everything awesome.
Even this stupid blog post.
I will visit this statue some day.

Today I find myself once more devoid of ideas and creativity. I have opened several writing projects, hoping that something strikes me. I have read and surfed and searched for things to inspire ideas. All I am getting out of it is frustration. I don't even have any work-related things to do right now. So, I figured I would scribble (metaphorically speaking, of course) some crap here.

Sunday was the Super Bowl. And frankly, I just didn't care. I have no interest in either team that played. I'm not really a fan of the game so much as I'm a fan of certain teams. I love my Steelers, and I like my wife's Packers. If neither team is on, football isn't on.

Originally we had planned to (attempt to) do a marathon viewing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Special Extended Editions, of course. That's over 11 hours of movie. I've done it a couple of times, myself. And we have discussed the need we feel to do it again soon. However, that didn't really pan out either. Which is probably fine. Connor would not have let it go without protest.

Instead we got the gaming group together and played out some chaos and mayhem. There was a lot of build up to what amounted to an anti-climactic battle with a giant. But, that was just the beginning. We moved away from the keep that the giants and orcs had been occupying after we had freed the hostages. The rescued villagers were sent on with my commandeered troupe of men-at-arms, and we stayed back in the abandoned village and awaited the inevitable attack of 50 orcs, led by a demon-possessed shaman with the head of a boar.

Now THAT was fun! Lots of carnage, explosive spells, sneak attacks, and massive weapons hacking orcs to pieces.

[random direction change #1]

In other news, I started my next term this week. After some tap-dancing involving my undergrad transcripts, and some screwed student aid, I managed to get registered for "Warfare in Ancient Greece and Macedonia." I'm really looking forward to this one.

I ended up with a B+ and a C+ last term the C+ was a 79.4%. Yep. 0.6% away from a B. You'd think...oh, never mind. Suffice it to say, this term should be much easier. One class.  Regular homework/reports/tests/etc. And an interesting subject!

[random direction change #2]

D&D Tom Edition has kind of stalled. I was all gung-ho for doing it at first. But then I sat down and figured out how much work it would be. Ugh. I'm not motivated enough to do that much for no payback other than personal gratification and a few comments. I do have some notes on what I would like to add/change about 3.5E, which is essentially what TE was turning out to be. Maybe I will post those ideas here soon, just to gauge reactions.
 
Did I really just ramble like that?  I need to go home.

Here, have some video that my son loves.