Superhero Team Concepts

In the middle of the night, I was thinking about superhero teams, and how to build them with archetypes that fit roles. I started to think about re-framing this; instead of thinking about 'roles' (mentalist, tank, damage dealer, speedster...), I would think about building a team from a storytelling perspective, in terms of origins. I realized that part of the reason the New Teen Titans work so well is because they from things from an origins perspective, and it provides so many more storytelling opportunities. I haven't thought about this too deeply yet, but here are some examples:

• Technology (Cyborg). Bring in stories about technology and the impact of new technologies. 
• Supernatural (Raven). Stories focused on magic, other realms of existence, and supernatural powers.
• Mythology (Donna Troy). Ancient gods and monsters.
• Cosmic (Starfire). Other planets and alien races.
• The Sea (Aqualad). Stories set in underwater environments.
• Villainous Past (Beast Boy... kind of). The former allies now enemies hold a grudge.
• Under the Shadow (Robin). You were a sidekick, and are trying to establish your own identity, but a lot of the villains that your mentor has still hold a grudge against you.  

Having such a wide range of origins gives the GM a variety of hooks that personalize adventures to the characters while giving a grand scope to the game. If all of the characters are teenagers who were transformed in the same lab, you immediately have fewer options for built-in ways to progress the story. Conversely, if each character has a unique origin and also has three pieces of 'unfinished business' in their origin, all the better. For example, my technology character could have a rival inventor whose tech ended up in my cybernetics, a bug in my software that could be exploited (and which I'm trying to have fixed), and a previous participant who 'failed' to adjust to the cybernetics, and who went mad. Instant adventure seeds that are personalized to the characters.

This comes up because I have really wanted to start a solo campaign, and while I feel like it should be focused on Doc, I'm just as intrigued by starting a "New Teen Titans" or "New X-Men" sort of game. I also kind of want to go a little more Doom Patrol with weirdness and a little less prototypical heroes like Doc or a Justice League. I could see New Stalwart Press witnessing the success of the X-Men and Teen Titans in the early 80s and deciding to start a comparable series... something to ponder. I also like the idea of the whole team being 'under the shadow', as this team would replace a team from the previous generation who had disappeared. Rooting the campaign in an unresolved mystery gives an instant hook ("Whatever happened to the Force of Five?") and matches the vibe of both New Teen Titans and New X-Men, since both replaced earlier teams with the same moniker.

The Classics Campaign Idea Drop

I don't know why this is making me so giddy, but the more I think about this classics campaign, the more I like it. Here's how it's framing out so far... it's a huge quest to put together the Sword of Vengeance, which is the only object that can finally slay the demilich Alazar. His return would blanket the world in darkness, so it's kind of important that he's stopped.

Level 1: One Adventure

A1: The Frontier Fortress and the Dens of Discord. The heroes travel to fight some humanoids, delve a small shrine of chaos, and find out why an apprentice was sent here. Clues lead them to the House of Halazar.

Level 2: Two Adentures

A2: The House of Halazar. Halazar, who was the apprentice to Alazar, has risen from the dead, and his book holds secrets to Alazar's return. The heroes must travel through this mysterious house half hidden in the swamps and recover the book, which also contains clues on finding the rest of the sword.

A3: The Slavers of Reverie. The grandson of Alazar has taken on a role as slave master of Reverie. The heroes must travel to Reverie, infiltrate the slave group, and slay the leader. As the only living person in the bloodline of Alazar, he possesses the hilt of the sword. They learn of a distant land, the Desert of Despairing Souls, where the rest of the sword is in possession of a powerful genie that rules that land. 

Level 3: Three Adventures

A4: Stormwrack Island. On the way to Stormwrack Island, their ship is sunk in a cataclysmic storm, and they are marooned on a lost island inhabited by dinosaurs. The ancient people here have a magical skiff that they will need to earn through their help against a dark foe hidden in a jungle temple.

A5: The Desert of Despairing Souls. The heroes travel to a distant land to defeat three lesser efreeti (each entranched in a far corner of the desert)  to recover keys to free the greater genie who rules this realm. He will grant them an item that will allow them to slay Alazar: The Hallowed Sword of Vengeance. He also gants each hero one wish. He tells them also that three other powerful relics, which can be used by the other members of the fellowship, have been hidden in Greyspire Mountain, and he will send them there...

A6: Greyspire Mountain. The heroes travel to a mountainous complex where three hallways lead to three great treasures - and to a variety of strange challenges.

Consequently, they end level 3 each in possession of a powerful relic.

Level 4: Four Adventures

A7 (?): Hall of the Hill Giant Lord. The heroes travel to the hall of a hill giant lord who acts as the gatekeeper for a passage into a series of realms of shadow.

A8 (?): The Web of Secrets. Delving into an a pocket realm ruled by a spider demoness, the heroes must attempt to recover the soul gem of Alazar and pass to the even darker lands beyond. The spider demoness stands in their way. 

Need two more here... maybe inspired by Temple of Elemental Evil? Not sure... but I have lots of time to get there.

Level 5: One Adventure

A11: In the ultimate campaign adventure, the heroes delve the trap-filled and haunted tomb of Alazar the Demilich which sits at the frontier of the thirteen hells, attempting to put him to rest once and for all. This would no longer have the 'get out of jail free' option - characters who die here stay dead.

Abel's Vengeance Session 2

I finished the day with two emphatic negatives on the checks for encounters, so I feel like that should carry over into the night. I would normally check twice for an encounter, and I’ll still do that, but there’s only a 2 in 6 chance. So, about 2 am, Abel is coming in and out of sleep when he thinks he sees something moving in the shadows. 5. Nope. He manages to go back into his sort of half sleep. About 5 am, he is having restless dreams and wakes with a start. He looks around, but (5 again), there’s nothing. He tries to rest for another hour, but only gets marginal respite. 
Time to determine some things about Providence Gap. How long is it? 2D6 leagues again; I get 6 leagues, so about 18 miles from here to the temple, in whatever shape it’s in. I have already decided that this cuts through some mountains… does it follow a river? Heck no. Hm. Thought it would follow a river. Is there some other natural thing it follows? Yes. Not a river, but natural… is it some kind of river not a river of something other than water? Unlikely. So no. Is it an ancient stone path? Heck yeah. Okay. There is an ancient stone pathway. 

It just came to me. 

Backstory time: It’s called Providence Gap because a wandering group of pilgrims was trapped west of here in the wilds, set upon by all manner of foe and creature. They had run out of supplies, and were teetering on the brink of starvation. They called a prayer to their matron, the Seventh God (dess), and she answered them; they awoke to find that stones had appeared in the ground, leading away from their campsite and through a narrow valley. The stones formed a pathway that went through a gap that had supernaturally opened overnight, continuing for 18 miles before arriving at a hill covered in vines and wild sheep that were just grazing. They penned the sheep easily, and built a wall around the small, thick cluster of vines. This eventually became the grounds of the Bright Temple. That was three hundred years ago. Any follower of the Seventh Goddess who stands on the pathway receives advantage on all checks. Well THAT’S cool. That explains the name, too. I had no idea why it was called that. I literally just picked a cool word and went with it. This would make it a (super)natural barrier that evil creatures would avoid; they would move through the nearby mountains, even though it is harder travel, rather than set foot on this pathway that is offensive to them by its nature. It provides a barrier that the elves don’t have to patrol or really worry about - so they don’t.

So, Abel is feeling great about walking this. He would know this history, so this connection to his father and his forebears makes his heart lighter. He feels their hand upon his quest as he moves forward. He files this under ‘best day ever’, since things are likely to get much, much worse soon.

It’s only eighteen miles, so there are only three possible encounters. Early in the day, I roll 5, so no. Near mid day, I roll 6, so an emphatic no. Near dusk, I roll 5, so no again. If there is anything afoot, it is keeping a healthy distance from these magical stones. When he spies the spires of the temple over the next mountain, he stops to take stock. 

He has had a slow day of travel (he plans to investigate the temple in the morning), and is feeling quite refreshed. He should be able to rest more peacefully. I will say there is only a 2 in 6 chance of an encounter, and I’ll only check once. 6. Nothing wants any part of this Gap. Okay then.

I assumed that his battles in the gap would be session 2, but he crossed the entire gap without problem. I wonder if the goddess leaves him something special? Does she do something to help him on his quest? He prays for her guidance and strength in the days ahead, and hopes he is doing her will. Then he goes to sleep. It is likely that she does something. I roll a 2. Yes she does. Okay… how cool is this help going to be? I roll 1D6 and the lower the cooler; I get a 1. It’s going to be very cool. I am legit rolling these results… the main rule of the solitaire framework is no cheating. So, I am not going to cheat. If I had rolled a potion of healing, I would have been okay with it.

However, it’s going to be much cooler than a potion of healing. I rolled a 1!

When he awakes, his shield has been transformed into a relic. Hmm. How to roll up a relic? Well, it wouldn’t be redundant with his abilities; it would definitely grant +1 to Defense (it’s a shield)... I would think that a +1 to Resolve would be option one. Definitely not. +1 to Attack? Nope. +1 to Focus? That’s it. Okay. The Shield of the Final Templar is a relic that grants +1 to Defend and Focus. I actually like that a lot; his dad was a watchman, so having the Focus would be completely appropriate. However, he cannot get those benefits yet; he’s only a Hopeful.

However… he did cross the Gap of Providence (which was easy, but that doesn’t change the fact that he did it), and he received a blessed relic from his goddess at the end of the gap in an appropriate spiritual moment. I feel like this all qualifies as worthy of 7 hero points; the gap would be 3, and the prayer and intervention would be 3, so I’m only spotting him one. He’s going to need that. Well… he’s going to put that point into Attack, so here is our new and improved character at the end of session 2… and I love that he is now ‘notable’ instead of ‘hopeful’, because he is the one who bears the Shield of the Final Templar, and has received a special blessing from the Seventh Goddess herself. That makes him notable. People notice that. Here he is now:

Abel the Notable Human Paladin (Renown 1)

Attack 3 | Defend 4 | Focus 1 | Resolve 5

7 coins; potion of haste

Relic: Shield of the Final Templar (+1 Defense and +1 Focus)

On a Defend result of 13+ in combat, Abel can choose to either recover 1 Resolve point or receive advantage on his next Attack. 

Analysis: 

Is this my favorite game ever? It’s close. There’s not much I don’t absolutely love about it. I love playing it. Like, I’d rather do this than almost anything right now. I think making it a solo system rather than a traditional ‘group with GM’ system is the best thing about it, and has really pushed the mechanics in cool directions. I'm hoping to talk my wife and daughter into making characters just to try a three-person team and see how that changes things (if it does), but for now I'm happy with solo play. It's already far more rewarding and interesting than any solo play I've done with other games. I HAVE to view my character as more than just a pile of stats... because there aren't really any stats to consider. I also live that I'm not sitting here the whole time thinking something like 'if he had a longsword instead of a broadwsord, he'd deal 1D8+1 instead of 2D4, and he'd have probably killed that goblin in two rounds... and his STR 14 is really holding him back... I need to do something about that'... those are such meta game things that have always taken me out of the game itself and into the machinery that drives it. I want the machinery to fade into the background when I'm playing. This game does that so much better than anything else I've designed.

Session 3 Awaits

Abel's Vengeance Session 1

Having finished his duties to his mother, including three days of mourning and paying her funeral expenses, Abel is ready to set off. He has 1 coin left in pocket. He wishes the elves well, thanking those who have been kind to him. I think it is likely that one or more elfin scouts escorted him from the fortress to at least the edges of the Gap of Providence, since this would be their lands. I roll a 5; no. Some of the scouts apologize, saying they would like to provide some assistance, but there is growing conflict, and all patrols have been suspended. Abel understands, and sets off east on foot.

I’m going to say that it is 2D6 leagues (about 3 miles per league) between the Keep and the entrance to the Gap of Providence. I also don’t know what time of year it is… I guess I’ll just roll! Well… these are frost elves, so this is likely to be a northern area… nope. I roll 5. Is it moderate climate? Nope. 6. Is this actually southern? Yeah. Okay… we’re in the southern part, but there are still frost elves. Is this a mountain fortress? Yes. Okay, so the elves have built a fortress here atop an icy peak, despite the fact that the climate is quite temperate, and summers are quite warm - though this warmth never reaches the mountain top. I will roll for the season, basically starting at the beginning of the year and going every 60 days… I roll 1, so this is January/February… I roll to see where we are in this, and get late February. Okay, so it’s basically March 1 (or this world’s equivalent). There were twelve elder gods, and Abel has sworn fealty to the Seventh God, and that god’s domain is light… but I don’t know much else. This would not be that god’s month (since the seventh god would have the seventh month). Is there some connection here that is fortuitous? Yes. The Third God is related to the Seventh God. Brother? Yes. Okay, so this is the Month of the Third God, who watches over his younger sister the Seventh God (who is actually a goddess); it would be appropriate to start by praying to the Third God to watch over Abel’s quest as he watches over his sister.

That done, he sets off. I roll 10 leagues, so it’s about thirty miles. At three miles per hour of walking, he can get there in one day and then camp at the entrance to the gap. I am going to say there is a possible encounter every six miles; this would be five times. The first will be coming down the mountain. I roll a 3, so yes. I will roll 1D6 to see how friendly this might be (1 is the friendliest). I get 1. That has to be an elfin patrol. Abel will hail the patrol, and ask if they have any news of the lands to the east. He attempts a Focus check (CR 8) to see if they have anything to report. I roll 7; they apologize, but they cannot stop to chat - they must get back to the keep.

Concerned by their bruskness, Abel continues ahead. At the feet of the mountains, there is a chance of another encounter. Nothing. He reaches a flat stretch of broken land that wanders eastward towards the line of mountains in the east. He continues on for a few hours, and attempts another check. Yes. There is an encounter near noon. I roll for how friendly it is, and get 5. Not friendly at all. Is it a wild animal? No. Is it bandits? No. Hm. Is it a monster of some kind? Definitely not. Is it humanoids? Yep. Is it goblins? Yes. How many? 6. Ugh. Have they seen Abel yet? Definitely not. What are they doing? Camping? No. Finishing a hunt? No. Patrolling? Definitely not. Well, it’s daylight… and none of the obvious things is working here. Are they fleeing from something? Yes. Is it elves? Yep. Are the elves nearby? No. They think they lost the elves a little while ago, but are not sure. 

Do these goblins bear the markings of Parth Goldu? I said this was likely, so yes. Oh, it’s on. The vengeance tour has reached its first stop.

Abel wants to slip down into their path, and he thinks he can do it. He needs to make a Focus check to get into position. He rolls Focus and gets 8 against their Focus of 6. The good news is that, since they are in daylight, he has advantage against the goblins. That’s awesome. He gets surprise, and as they pass a large stone, he emerges from behind it, swinging his blade at a goblin’s head. He rolls 7 (even with advantage the die result was 3/2). Initiative. He rolls 5, so the goblins get to go first.

Round 1. He has to defend against six goblin attacks; 3 are in melee, while 3 draw bows and start firing. It is very likely that one of them is told to keep watch for the elves that are pursuing; a 1. Oh yeah. Is there a second sent as well? Another 1. Yep. Two fall back to watch for elves, moving to far range.. Hm. Let’s see how many rounds it might be before elves arrive; I roll 1D6 and get 6. Okay. After 6 rounds, there is a cumulative 1 in 6 chance that the elves who have been chasing these goblins catch up. This leaves 4 goblins here; three in melee and one firing arrows. Abel defends against four attacks at 7, getting 13, 10, 10, and 12. He easily avoids all four, as his sturdy shield holds up. He could either receive advantage on his attack or +1 to Resolve, but he already has advantage from being in daylight (a light which he thanks his goddess for providing), and he’s still at full Resolve, so he can just let it ride. He attacks and gets 12, slaying a goblin. Three remain.

Round 2. The goblins attack, and Abel Defends with 12, 10, and 13. Same as last round; no need for that bonus yet. He attacks with advantage, getting 9 and killing a second goblin. 

Round 3. The two goblins attack, and Abel defends with 11 and 9. No worries. He attacks, getting a 9 and killing the last goblin in melee range.

Round 4. The last archer attacks (calling for help from the two who went to watch), as Abel charges at it. Abel rolls 11 to dodge, so the arrows miss him, but he has to spend the whole round closing the distance to get close enough to attack with his sword. He could pull out his sling, but he really wants to see these die up close. Vengeance, remember? It's kind of in the title.

Round 5. As Abel gets close, the goblin drops his bow and draws his blade; Abel defends against this with a 13, and then attacks with 9, which is enough to kill this goblin. Abel’s face is streaked with goblin blood.

Round 6. Hm. Lots of possibilities here. Did the two goblins respond to the call for help? That is likely. Oh yeah. They have returned, and are now in medium range. Have the elves arrived? 5. Not yet… I feel like this would be a new initiative check, so I do that… Natural 12! I’m going to say that he can close this round and attack at the end… so he’s basically giving up his initiative in order to attack this round too.

Side Note: I don’t think he wants to win initiative; he wants to start the round by defending; I might make that a class feature; you don’t roll initiative; you always lose initiative, but do so to defend and have tactical options. That makes sense with the class ability.  

Back to round 6. The two goblins fire arrows, and Abel rolls 13 and 12. He swats away both arrows and gets to melee range. He swings and gets 13, which decapitates one. 

Round 7. Do the elves arrive? Nope. Not yet. Abel dodges with a 12 and then hits with a 13; he pushes the goblin against a tree and demands some answers. He attempts a Focus check (with advantage), and gets 11. Oh yeah, this goblin is ready to talk.

Round 8. Do the elves arrive? Yes they do. Okay… I’m starting to think the elves cannot be trusted, and I’m starting to think they have something to hide. Do these elves let Abel interrogate the goblin? It’s possible… NO. Ohhh. these elves cannot be trusted! Dang. They arrive and demand that he turns over the prisoner so that he can face justice at Winter’s Rest. Abel is not really happy with this idea. How many elves are there? 1D6+1… there are 5. They are all well-geared and higher level than (or at least comparable to) Abel. Let’s stat them up real quick.

Frost Elf Scout from Winter’s Rest (Renown 0)

Attack 9 | Defend 8 | Focus 9 | Resolve 3

These dour elves attack with either a blade or bow. They force disadvantage whenever frost magic is used against them.

Yeah. I do not want to tangle with these guys. Okay… maybe they are just following orders. Do I get a bad vibe from them? Focus check CR 8. Very bad vibes. This is what Abel suddenly suspects; the forces of Parth Goldu never campaigned further west than his father’s temple… they appear to have never emerged from the Gap of Providence or threatened the elves. Did the elves agree to allow them to capture the lands up to the temple in exchange for a promise to leave the elfin lands alone? Why did the elves never actively defend the temple, or go to push back? His senses are tingling. I don’t know if this is true or not yet (I suspect it it), but I don’t need to use the solitaire framework yet to prove or disprove it… it’s just a hunch until I take action to try and prove it. If these elves sold his dad out and allowed him to die, then they are going to be part of Vengeance Tour 2.

Okay. Abel is going to get a little snarky with a ‘you’re welcome for cleaning up your mess’ sort of thing… let’s see how that goes over. It’s a Focus check… I’ll interpret the results. An 8… not terrible. These elves know Abel, and they understand his frustration. One explains that they are under strict orders to kill or capture these goblins, and that all information regarding their movements is to be reported to the high elf commander only. They appreciate Abel’s assistance, but they can offer no more. I’m going to say that there is a chance (it’s unlikely) that one of these elves has a special bond to Abel, and lingers behind to offer something else… A 2. He does. This elf, who we’ll call Medwyck, offers to check the bodies with Abel while the other elves interrogate this goblin. Abel agrees to this, and they cross the few hundred feet to where the other goblins were killed. They are all dead, and from their bodies, Abel collects 2D6 coins; he finds 7 coins, so has 8 total now. I’m going with maybe (1-3 on D6) for each option here. Does Medwyck offer a potion? Yep. That’s it. Okay, he reaches under his cloak and draws forth a potion. Is it haste (Please be haste!) Yes. Awesome. He tells Abel to be wary, and it is best that he leaves these lands behind. Dark days are ahead. He offers no more than the cryptic warning and a potion, and the elves leave.

After cleaning the blood from his blade, shield, and face (but the stains in his tunic are not going away), Abel sets off continuing east, as the elves move west. I’ve checked for three encounters so far, and have two to go. About mid afternoon, I check and get 6. Definitely no encounter; in fact, I’m going to say that six makes another encounter today unlikely (so only 1-2 instead of 1-3). As daylight starts to fade and Abel spies the markings of the entrance to the Gap of Providence, I roll a check and get 6. Definitely nothing. Abel makes his camp, eats dinner, and prepares for a restless night ahead. Tomorrow, he enters the Gap of Providence.

Summary

This was awesome fun! I am shocked at the turn with the elves - I thought they were the good guys! My conspiracy theory is building steam here. I wonder who they might be in cahoots with, and why… I hope there’s a good reason, and not all of the elves are complicit. I guess we’ll find out…

I like my character. He had no trouble with the goblins, but there was still a lot of variety to the encounter. It wasn’t just fight six goblins, collect treasure.

The solitaire framework is awesome good. I feel like I’m playing with a game master who already knows everything, and is revealing a little bit to me at a time. I suppose that I’m possibly more creative than the average bear (see the thousands of pages of comics and games I have produced as exhibit A), but I would think most people would be able to get some mileage out of it, even if they don’t feel like they have all that much imagination. Anybody can ask questions, right? 

Abel now has 7 coins, a potion of haste, and I think he has definitely earned 3 hero points. Put those in the bank, son!

And seriously, if you read to the end of this incredibly long post, then give yourself a hero point, too. You deserve it.

Ready for Session 2?

Abel's Vengeance: Session Zero

Abel was nine when the attack came. They had warning; the eastern tower signaled with flame. Abel’s mother packed up the mule, and his father - the Captain of the Watch of The Bright Temple of the Seventh God -  told him to be a good man for his mother. The women and children then made a hasty retreat west, through the Gap of Providence and to the Fortress of Winter’s Rest, where they were welcomed among the Frost Elves.

That was ten years ago. Now, Abel prepares to return along that same pathway. All that’s left before he goes is to bury his mother. She has finally joined his father at rest. Having completed the oath he made to his father, it is time to complete the one he made to his mother on her death bed -  to avenge his father’s death, restore the Bright Temple to its former glory, and mete out bloody vengeance on those bastards from Parth Goldu.  

Abel the Hopeful Human Paladin (Renown 0)

Attack 2 | Defend 3 | Focus 0 | Resolve 5

On a Defend result of 13+ in combat, Abel can choose to either recover 1 Resolve point or receive advantage on his next Attack. 

Abel wears a suit of old chain armor and carries a shield that he bought at market; it was won from the hordes of Parth Goldu, and was at one time carried by a paladin of the Bright Temple. He paid three times its actual value, and would have paid a hundred times more. He fights with a broadsword but carries a sling and a pouch of stones; he made money as a youth hunting pheasant with the sling and selling these at market. Before setting out, he has shaved his head, which was a hallmark of the temple guards; his father had a shaved head for the entire time that Abel knew him.

Note: This entire campaign is going to use the solitaire framework from the core rules for Resolute. I will be making up many of the creatures and generating stats for objects and items as I go. I have no idea what any of this means… I don’t know what is in the Gap of Providence, what state the Temple is in, or who exactly is part of the hordes of Parth Goldu, or what their leadership might be like. I am going to let the dice tell me.

On to Session 1!