If you want a basic system for playing a superhero having to convert another system and without the overhead (and cost) of more complicated systems and do not need glossy full-color pages to be inspired, you cannot go far wrong with Truth & Justice.
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Thank you very much for this review!
I think you did a good job being even-handed about what you liked and disliked about the system, illuminating those things for possible purchasers in a fairly unbiased way.
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Nice review. I must admit, I do like the way that the PDQ system works in ASM's other game "Dead Inside" for which a free and open ability to come up with unconventional solutions is an absolute boon, but I am a little unsure as to how well its various methods would translate to superhero style gaming. After reading this review... well, I'm still unsure to be fair, but I'm much more inclined to give it a chance, should I ever feel like running a superhero campaign.
Now all I need is a local game club that I can comfortably attend
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Good review. I feel more informed now than when I read previous reviews, though the net effect is that i'm a little more nervous about the order i placed with my FLGS.
After getting the PDQ free rules pdf, i've been intrigued by how i can implement this system into a good game. Looking over Dead Inside, Truth & Justice, and Zorcerer of Zo, i decided to start with T&J because 1) it'll probably be easiest to get some interest in a superhero campaign, 2) i suspect that the super-power rules can translate to some of the more fantastical campaign ideas i've had (like a Masters of the Universe-style scifi&sorcery campaign, or something like the illegitimate mutant child of Swamp Thing and HorrorClix), and 3) the reviews i've seen have indicated that this does a great job of capturing the tone of superhero comic books, something that disappointed me in Silver Age Sentinels and other places.
Once my FLGS gets the hardcopy I ordered, I'll put it to the test and maybe post a review of my own.
A couple of things this review brought to my attention: if a hero has some kind of web-slingin' power, couldn't stunning an opponent be handled as a stunt just as easily as blinding the opponent (with the assumption that the non-stunt use would be more for brachiating around the city)?
Also, as a fan of Dr Strange and similar characters, i must ask: how much attention is given to this sort of hero? The review mentioned meta-powers, but was a little unclear about how they're meant to work as well as how much attention is given to them (apart from indicating that the game itself seems a little unclear).
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhikku
Once my FLGS gets the hardcopy I ordered, I'll put it to the test and maybe post a review of my own.
Awesome! Hope to see it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhikku
A couple of things this review brought to my attention: if a hero has some kind of web-slingin' power, couldn't stunning an opponent be handled as a stunt just as easily as blinding the opponent (with the assumption that the non-stunt use would be more for brachiating around the city)?
Absolutely!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhikku
Also, as a fan of Dr Strange and similar characters, i must ask: how much attention is given to this sort of hero? The review mentioned meta-powers, but was a little unclear about how they're meant to work as well as how much attention is given to them (apart from indicating that the game itself seems a little unclear).
There's a decent amount of discussion in the book in general, and there's also some specific discussion of Sorcery as a Meta-Power.
ALSO of interest to folks who have read this review -- there's a new podcast interview with me, focusing on T&J up at:
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhikku
A couple of things this review brought to my attention: if a hero has some kind of web-slingin' power, couldn't stunning an opponent be handled as a stunt just as easily as blinding the opponent (with the assumption that the non-stunt use would be more for brachiating around the city)?
Yes, but...
"Stunning" in T&J does not work like "stunning" in other games. In MnM, for example, being stunned means "The character loses any dodge bonus to Defense, takes a –2 modifier to Defense, and cannot take actions other than reactions." In T&J being stunned means you suffer failure ranks, which may or may not affect your defense and certainly will not prevent you from taking actions (unless it uses up the last of your available ability ranks). The same is true with paralysis, blindness and all other non-damaging attacks. The players really have to shift their brains from a "this attack has this specific effect" to "this attack does failure ranks, which we can describe as a specific effect, but it is only flavor text and does not have a direct mechanical effect."
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Oh. I guess I misunderstood the Stunts thing - i thought that was for achieving, like, special effects outside the normal damage track. That's maybe a little disappointing, but I guess I'll have to see how it plays out for myself. Anyway, I can see it fitting into play pretty well. Spidey shoots webbing at Doc Ock, but the Doc catches it with his mechanoid claws - it hinders him, but it doesn't defeat him. I kinda would have liked something that would have a temporary effect, though, like making a villain waste a turn or so freeing himself from the effect... well like i say, I'll just have to see how it actually plays.
Re: [RPG]: Truth & Justice, reviewed by xenongames (3/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhikku
Oh. I guess I misunderstood the Stunts thing - i thought that was for achieving, like, special effects outside the normal damage track. That's maybe a little disappointing, but I guess I'll have to see how it plays out for myself. Anyway, I can see it fitting into play pretty well. Spidey shoots webbing at Doc Ock, but the Doc catches it with his mechanoid claws - it hinders him, but it doesn't defeat him. I kinda would have liked something that would have a temporary effect, though, like making a villain waste a turn or so freeing himself from the effect... well like i say, I'll just have to see how it actually plays.
The temporary effect you're talking about is contained mechanically within the overall damage abstraction, but should have narrative special effects. Stunts or specific actions -- using webbing to blind or trip, judo-flipping a foe, attacking a limb -- are definitely intended to have a special effect, but one of description by either players or GM.
Say the Riddler blinds Batman with an exploding sudoku puzzle.
Mechanically, that's a Failure Rank, and Batman needs to pick which of his Qualities is decreased due to it (probably Millionaire Playboy).
Narratively, Batman's blinded for the moment, so Bats' player should take that into account when describing how Bats still kicks the Riddler's ass though blinded (listening for footsteps, using the prototype sonar in his cowl, seeing spots but otherwise unimpaired, whatever) -- which permits the player to earn Upshifts through cool-ass details. Of course, if the Riddler leaves the conflict at this moment, he might have an Upshift (+2) to his roll to sneak away, at the GM's discretion.
Batman's overall efficacy in the conflict is the same as if the explodo-sudoko had done physical damage. But if it had simply been a Damage Rank, you wouldn't get all of the extra opportunities for both Upshifts from description and ways that the overall conflict could go differently.
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