Man of Steel = Awesome, All-Star Superman = Sucks

So I saw Man of Steel opening night, and I loved it. I haven't enjoyed a superman film since Superman II (ok, I'll admit it, when I was a kid I thought the one with Sun Guy Nail Clone was ok). I, reluctantly, also enjoyed the cartoons of the late 90's. But in general I've never been a fan of DC (contrary to Batman being the greatest superhero of all time), and especially not of Superman.

This is likely due to the fact of; how often he is depicted as a red-caped Jesus, how he's never had a decent game, ever (name one, I dare you), and how every movie since Superman II has been complete totalsuck. I mean there was even a time when Nicholas Cage was to play Superman!

M&M2e Action Cards

These were created by a fan over at the Atomic Think Tank. They are printable cards that list all (or most) of the actions in the game. Some plucky young player should print up a copy or two of these on card stock so we can be all cool and official.

There are also condition cards for statusi, and blank ones for filling in your own.

Action Cards
Condition Cards
Blank Action Cards

Theme and Niche

Here is where we start to really get to define our character. In the iHero campaign, I've imposed a "niche" rule where all player characters must have a mostly unique theme and fit into a unique niche. This is to promote variety and dynamics amongst the heroes. It is, however, not to say that different characters cannot have similar powers.

That being said, once a niche is established, another hero won't fit into that until the original is killed or retired. This will disallow Supergirls, Guy Gardners and 50 mutant telepaths. At least as playable characters. The idea is to give each character a unique place in the story.

Where to Start

If you are unfamiliar with the Mutants and Masterminds rules, Green Ronin (the developer) has released the first chapter of the rule book for free. This both basic rules, character creation, and a set of archetypes.

After becoming familiar with the basics, the next step to come up with a character concept. For the scope of the iHero campaign, practically any hero you can imagine is possible. So, the question is, how do we scale it down?

You can of course simply pick a favorite superhero and play a facsimile of them. You could also find a power and build your character around that. Failing any other sort of inspiration, you can read through the various archetypes provided in the M&M source books and customize the character to fit your idea. Iron Age, Instant Super Heroes, Book of Magic, and to a lesser extent Mecha and Manga, Golden Age and Silver Age are all loaded with information and archetypes.

Finally, if you do decide to create a character based off an existing super hero, please check with me as I may have analogues to many heroes and hero organizations within the iHero gameworld.


Additional Resources

Chapter 1: http://grfiles.game-host.org/2e_files/MM2eCh1.pdf
Errata: http://grfiles.game-host.org/2e_files/MM2e-errata.pdf
           http://grfiles.game-host.org/2e_files/MM2e-errata3P.pdf
FAQ: http://grfiles.game-host.org/2e_files/MM2eFAQ.pdf

iHero background information.

The iHero campaign will be set in present day. The rule set will be Mutants and Masterminds 2nd edition.

Power Level: 10 (150 pp) Standard heroes. Standard Power Level restrictions apply unless otherwise stated. Players are required to establish a niche for their character. This means all player characters will be relatively unique, there won't be 3 "fire-controllers" or 6 "hulks". This doesn't mean that powers must be unique, just theme and niche.

Comic Era: Modern Age with Iron Age leanings. Use of super-powers have lasting and "realistic" effects, but within the confines of comic physics. Humans are not crushed when caught from a falling building by Duperman, but Flameo needs to be careful where he throws fireballs. (Those names are free to use btw)

Real world issues exist and may not always take a backseat. Villains and criminals are just as likely to strap a victim to a buzzsaw machine as well as torture and kill (or worse) a loved one. Corruption winds its tendrils through all aspects of life.

Setting: Modern Day Emerging Heroes. There is a history of a few costumed crusaders, but far as anyone knows, superheroes and superpowers are new to this setting. In fact, the majority of powers were caused by a planet-wide meteor event called Second Impact.

Scale: Local, takes place in Big City, USA. A fictional metropolis, and a city under siege. A rising crime rate, plummeting property values, and corrupt politicians belies a city with a rich cultural history. Big City is home to one of the finest universities and two of the largest and most profitable technology firms in the country (in large part due to lopsided tax policies).

Tone: Grey scale - The lines may be blurred between good and evil, but this will mostly be left up to players. Will they toe the line of the righteous or succumb to the techniques of the villains they hope to thwart?

It begins

The purpose of this blog will be a collection of information on the various games that I master. It is designed as a place for players to come to locate both game pertinent and background/color information. All the characters, names and places containted within are copyright of their respective holders or are the intellectual property of Ian Foster.