Power Creep and 1985

I'm working on Stalwart Phile #7, which is dedicated to technology and gear. I'm formalizing some bits about trick weapons and utility belts, and providing an alternate system for battle suit generation... I'm also creating a specific list of gifts that would be just for generating battle suits, and wanted to make sure I left no stone unturned. Therefore, I decided to check out the abilities of Iron Man's armor, and see what he can do (in current comics), to see if there was anything worth adapting. 

And... wow. The question isn't what can Iron Man do, it's what CAN'T he do? He has as much magnetic control as Magneto did in 1985. And he has as much strength as Hulk did in 1985. Maybe more. I mean, he's basically got everyone's powers from all of 1985 in one suit. I don't read any current comics, but I see this in online debates in the superhero groups on FB... can Flash beat Superboy Prime? Well, Flash can move faster than thought and can travel the Multiverse in a few seconds, but Superboy Prime can lift the entire universe and is strong enough to bend reality to his will, so it's a tough match.

I mean, really? Is this what we've come to? Thank goodness I don't read current comics. That's just stupid.

And it is impossible for gaming. I mean, you're trying to put Captain America on the same sort of scale with someone who can reshape the multiverse to his will in a heartbeat, and somehow they are on the same team? I'm glad that I set the game in 1985, because power creep was only beginning to set in. Back then, 100 tons was a LOT of weight to pick up. The heavy hitters like Thing and Colossus could lift about 70-80 tons. Now, Solomon Grundy can lift "200 quintillion tons". 1 quintillion has 18 zeroes. Mm-kay.

Plus, I just Googled this - Spiderman once held up the Daily Bugle. Um. I remember when Gladiator picked up the entire Baxter Building, and it was one of the greatest feats of strength that the world had ever seen. Now Spiderman can do that. Yeah. No. Sorry.

Anyhow, back to game design. I just needed this reminder that Stalwart '85 is set in 1985, which means that the power scaling is also set in 1985 (and specifically Marvel Universe 1985, because DC had already given itself over to ridiculous power creep, which was part of the reason for Crisis on Infinite Earths - to scale Superman back a bit, and to make him the upper benchmark going forward - that didn't last very long). Good for me, it's 1985 forever.

First of all, Stalwart Phile #6 is now available for download, so you might want to head over to DrivethruRPG and check that out...

In other news, my good friend Rob came over last night, and we had a grand time playing HeroQuest. It was my first experience with the game, and I really enjoyed it. It made me hanker for some solid solo play rules for Stalwart '85, but as I started to think about that, I immediately ran into the old bugaboo of supers RPG adventure design - the wide variety of powers that characters could have immediately puts up barriers towards concrete design. In a fantasy game, the heroes can ignore the trap, disarm the trap with a thief, or use magic to foil the trap; in a supers game, there are dozens of ways the trap could be foiled or even exploited, and a GM needs to be present to adjudicate the creative use of a power. HeroQuest always presented me with two or three viable choices in each situation, but it was only two or three - I could quickly sort through my options and pick one from a limited menu. Supers gaming theoretically blows that menu up and gives you an infinite number of options depending on your power set. Rob and I talked about cards, and maybe having a series of event cards to guide you through the adventure, but even there a supers game is wider in scope and scale than dungeon crawling; dungeons by their nature are limited environments with limited choices. 

It's something I'll puzzle over more, but it was great to sit with a friend for a few hours and roll some dice.

Aldo's Character Building Walkthrough

Aldo did a fantastic job of walking us through character building for Stalwart '85. I really appreciate the time he took to make and post this. It's really helpful, if you've had trouble wrapping your head around how character creation works.

Thanks, Aldo! 

Stalwart Phile #5

The Stalwart Phile #5 is now available, and it expands Doc's world into a new location, Port City, with a new central hero, the Skarab. While Echo City is a street-level city that is largely controlled by the criminal empire, Port City is a more 'normal' city, with a more garish and motley collection of villains. I was tempted to give Messenger a sidekick and expand Gap City, but decided instead to add a whole set of new comics to the mix. 

Creative Cycles

I've written before about how I tend to do the bulk of my creative work (gaming and comics stuff) between about April and August... because my job as a teacher, and especially my work directing plays and musicals, has demanded the vast majority of my creative energy, leaving me sort of tapped out when it came to gaming-related stuff.

This year, obviously, is different. I was forced to retire in July due to my prognosis and treatment, so as the school year has gotten going, it's been doing so without me. I have to admit that the first few weeks, and a few benchmark events along the way, have been a bit rough. This last weekend was the high school's fall play, and that was my 'baby', so it was a little rough that the show must go on without me.

But... that also means that I have all of this bottled-up creative energy that is suddenly springing forward. First on the docket was a revision of my Army Ants game, and then it was back to Stalwart '85. Over the weekend, I put together Stalwart Phile #4, and I've already almost finished Stalwart Phile #5. I am really, really happy with my work on this, and with where my drawing is at. I put together this cover this morning, and thought I'd share it, since it's going to be nestled on page 1 of SP #5. I just have to draw a helicopter and do an editing pass, and I'll be releasing Stalwart Phile #5 in the next day or two... 

And I've already got plans for #6, which is going to be Christmas themed. I mean, you're not really a hero unless you've saved Christmas at least once... 

Next Stop... Port City

I spent some time today going through and organizing random ideas I had scattered across documents, putting them in one place so that I have my master brainstorming list together. I ended up with QUITE a list of character ideas. I mean, I have names and a quick blurb for 30 characters that I want to add to the game. The concern I have with many of them is that they don't 'fit' nicely into the world I have right now. Many of the characters are sort of odd street-level villains. I don't have a good hero to put them against; they are too low-brow for Doc. They fit scale wise in Echo City against Zealot, but he's a bit more serious in tone (more Daredevil I guess), and many of these belong in Spidey's rogue's gallery. So, I decided to create a new hero, and a new city for this hero. 

My meta backstory is going to be that this is the second generation of the PD character the Scarab, and he inherited his uncle's ring (although it gives him slightly different powers). This adds to his strength and coordination. He's also very smart and wealthy (he is an inventor who inherited his uncle's fortune), so he can have a secret lair, a cool vehicle or two, and gadgets. I picture him as a hybrid of Spidey and Blue Beetle, with a strange gallery of foes. He'll probably end up in the next Stalwart Phile or two, along with several of his villains. I can then expand them and their city over time. The meta comic hook is that his series was short-lived and published by another small publisher; Stalwart Press bought them out in the early 80s and rolled Skarab and his rogues into a background feature in Doc's book.

And, as you can tell, he uses my 'trick' of changing a letter in the name of a character to make him a little more copyright-proof... I probably do that a little too much :) 

 

Stalwart Phile #4

Stalwart Phile #4 is now available, providing an overview of the Circle of the Serpent and their base of operations. I already broke with my plan of alternating releases between PD characters and my own world; I think I'm going to lean towards expanding Doc's world more and on PD characters less, but we'll see. Some Christmas-themed write ups might be fun for next issue... hmm...