Top Superhero RPGs

The first-ever Front Porch campaign was not fantasy, but a superhero game. Earth Commanders debuted in 1988 and it still holds a special place in my heart, as does Champions, the game system we used for that campaign. I was reminded of Earth Commanders when I read an article on Comic Book Resources that takes a look at the best superhero roleplaying games of all time. (Matt should be pleased to note that Mutants & Masterminds comes in at #6.) Next week the author will count down his top five -- and Champions had better be #1!

2013 Game Event: Part 2

My goal for our yearlong game event is to tell a story that resonates with events in other Front Porch campaigns, past and present. If you participate in this event -- either as a player or as an observer -- you'll see a lot of familiar names and themes, and you may even learn some vital information that pertains to the storylines of your usual characters.

To keep the focus squarely on the story, I'm going to go very, very light on game mechanics. Those of you who have participated in email-based adventures know that tactical encounters tend to slow things down. Weeks or even months can pass as we slog through round after round of combat.

We do need some sort of game rules, of course, so I considered a number of options. As you know, the game will be set in the contemporary city of Demeter (home to the superheroes of Tales of the Ternion) but since it's not going to be a superhero story, I've decided against Mutants & Masterminds. It isn't sci-fi, like the Cyberwars / Ragnarok campaign, so I'm not going to use Gamma World. It seems to me that the best choice would be d20 Modern, which is well suited for a "realistic" setting and is based on the familiar D&D 3.5 rules. I'll provide more information once we get started (including a link to the rules and a quick way to create a character), but for now I'll sign off with a promise to reveal the major theme of the story in my next post in this series.

Anniversary Events

Now that the calendar has turned to December, we're less than a month away from our twenty-fifth anniversary. We had a few comments about options for the celebration, and a few folks voted in the poll, but I don't feel that I have a lot of data about what people would like to do. However, I used the information that I received as a starting point and came up with a preliminary plan...

• An online one-shot adventure: We'll gather in a chat room or use a free browser-based online gaming application to play a self-contained, one- or two-evening adventure. Suggestions for the rules system include Gamma World, Mutants & Masterminds, and "old school" D&D. I'd be up for running one of these events, and if anyone else is interested in gamemastering another session, just let me know. Depending on the level of interest, we could end up with a few of these throughout the year.
• A retrospective video: I have some photographs (especially from our early days), and I invite others to send photos, video clips, anecdotes, funny quotes, character sheets, maps, and anything else that you'd like to be included. I'll take whatever you give me and put it all together into a video, which I'll then provide to everyone on DVD or via a download site.
• A super-awesome top-secret experimental project: I'll give you a couple of hints now, and then more throughout the month. Here's all you're going to get for today: It will be an asynchronous (i.e., email-based) game event taking place between January and December. You can participate as a player (with a character you control) or as an observer (you get copied on the emails to keep up with the story, but don't actually control a character).

Let me know what you think!

Tales of the Ternion

Coming soon, to a Front Porch near you...

It's been twenty years since I last ran a superhero campaign, and for a guy who loves comic books, that's way too long! I'm pleased to announce that a new superhero campaign, Tales of the Ternion, is now in development, using the Mutants & Masterminds system. I'm nowhere near ready to start, however, so check back for periodic updates.

Big thanks to Matt and Timothy for helping me playtest the rules and lay the groundwork for the narrative.

Issue #0

Matt and I ran through a sample Mutants & Masterminds scenario today. It was fun...fast-paced and not overly complicated. Will this be the game system for our long-awaited return to the superhero genre? I still have a hankering to create my own d20 System superhero game, but this one ain't too shabby for the time being!

Mutants & Masterminds

Remember when I asked around to see if anyone was interested in superhero RPGs? Well, good buddy Matt, a long-time gamer and our resident Warhammer 40k expert, was kind enough to send me a copy of Mutants & Masterminds, a d20 System superhero game. I'm now reading through rulebook and enjoying it immensely. If anybody's interested in participating in a test-drive, let me know. Matt sounds eager to try it out, as well...