Friday Night Game Report - DC Heroes RPG, Session 0 LSH
As noted in the previous blog entry of the Friday night group's gaming exploits, the players created characters for the DC Heroes RPG set against the modern day to get into practice with the game system and its mechanics and rules. However, the plan all along has been for the players to take on the role of Legion Academy students in a Legion of Super-Heroes campaign set a year or so before the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. For a bit more information about the game, see the previous blog entry noted above.
Given the fact that the game is long out of print, its long history and the various editions of the game, I have decided to use a variant of the 2nd Edition and 3rd Edition of the DC Heroes RPG for the game to be run, and rather than creating starting Heroes on 450 Attribute Points (APs), have chosen to follow the guidelines of the Legion sourcebooks for Academy students and had them create their characters on a base of 250 APs instead. Truly starting out youngsters aspiring to be heroes in the 30th Century!
I started off by going through the basics about the game mechanics of the DC Heroes RPG, once more showing the players the lists of Powers, Skills, Advantages, Bonuses, Limitations, and all the other goodies that go with the game, and explained how Factor Costs work (since the players had a bit of an issue with them last session). I then talked to the players about the Legion of Super-Heroes, discussing the basics of the Legion history, the members of the Legion, some of their better known exploits to the point in 2983 AD where the campaign is based, a bit about the universe of the 30th Century, and then answered any questions the players had about everything and anything they had on their minds. And then we moved on to character creation itself.
Character generation in the DC Heroes RPG is a relatively straightforward, somewhat easy to get through process, but it does require a modicum of thought about one's character, and the making of choices. As well as some math... That said, half the fun of the character generation system for DC Heroes is going through the various steps and coming up with a character concept and style of character the player really likes and wants to play.
Since the campaign I was going to run is set against the background of the Legion of Super-Heroes and will be taking place at the Legion Academy just before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, the players had less Attribute Points on which to create their characters, and had to think in terms of youngsters with few powers but moderate power levels in order to qualify for Academy placement. The characters that the Friday night players created for the DC Heroes RPG are an interesting, somewhat eclectic mix, to say the least. Here's what the Friday night players have got.
*****
KathyB - She decided to keep the character relatively simple, and as a fan of Saturn Girl, knew what she wanted to take. Kathy created Mavra Salaan, a native of Shakuur, a planet settled by Titanian renegades. Calling herself Mind Lass, she has the powers of Mental Blast, Mind Shield and Force Shield and is a student of the mind with a somewhat unique vulnerability to all things cold.
Angela - She thought a bit about the powers that she wanted to have, and created Drella Koullor, a native of Watju, a world that has excessive periods of darkness on the human-settled part of the equator. Calling herself Twilight Lass, she is a student who aspires to be a Science Police officer, and with the darkness-based powers of Darkness, Energy Blast and Ultra Vision. Cool, calm and collected, she has a strong sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. Also a vulnerability to light-based attacks.
Ellie - My goddaughter struggled with a character concept, but then hit upon something really good. Berka Drewssk is a native of Earth, whose powers appear to be natural though there may be more to it than that. She calls herself Unseen Girl, and has the power of Invisibility (to all the senses). She a competent martial artist and has an interest in holography.
Mark - Mark knew exactly what he wanted for his character. Koradd Chong was born on Earth, the product of an experiment to enhance the human body. Going by the name of Taurus Lad, he has Skin Armour, enhanced Strength and enhanced Body, and worked as a sanitation engineer. He has a loving girlfriend, and the two have a daughter together. However, his brother is the villain Echo Master.
Peter - After talking about Ultra Boy and his power set, Peter liked the idea of doing something along these same lines. He created Nikko Valtran, a native of the planet Tanru IV, who was exposed to a strange, glowing rock in a mine, and gained several powers. Taking the name Emerald Lad, he has the powers of Flight, Energy Blast, enhanced Body and Force Shield, but can only use one of the powers at a time. He’s come to Earth to find a job that will be a match for his powers, and has a degree in chemistry.
*****
Overall, the players came up with an interesting group of characters that have a lot of potential in different situations, and have a group of characters that can all learn and develop their Powers and Skills and learn how to deal with their limitations and vulnerabilities. The players told me afterwards that they had a good time creating the characters, but had to get “creative” with the process (notably juggling the Factor Costs) because of the limitation on their Attribute Points. That said, the players said creating the characters was easier given the practice they'd had a couple of weeks earlier with the modern-day characters. While this group of player characters don’t really know each other that well, they have one thing in common (which I shall not mention here!). Once more, while they didn't struggle with any of the game elements per sé, Peter (and two of the others) admitted to having a difficult time doing the math a bit, and trying to pick some Limitations and Drawbacks to counter the APs spent on the stuff he wanted. Overall, the players quite liked the character generation system for the DC Heroes RPG, and are now looking forward to the next session when they start their Legion Academy game campaign in earnest in a couple of weeks.
For that matter, so am I! :)
Given the fact that the game is long out of print, its long history and the various editions of the game, I have decided to use a variant of the 2nd Edition and 3rd Edition of the DC Heroes RPG for the game to be run, and rather than creating starting Heroes on 450 Attribute Points (APs), have chosen to follow the guidelines of the Legion sourcebooks for Academy students and had them create their characters on a base of 250 APs instead. Truly starting out youngsters aspiring to be heroes in the 30th Century!
I started off by going through the basics about the game mechanics of the DC Heroes RPG, once more showing the players the lists of Powers, Skills, Advantages, Bonuses, Limitations, and all the other goodies that go with the game, and explained how Factor Costs work (since the players had a bit of an issue with them last session). I then talked to the players about the Legion of Super-Heroes, discussing the basics of the Legion history, the members of the Legion, some of their better known exploits to the point in 2983 AD where the campaign is based, a bit about the universe of the 30th Century, and then answered any questions the players had about everything and anything they had on their minds. And then we moved on to character creation itself.
Character generation in the DC Heroes RPG is a relatively straightforward, somewhat easy to get through process, but it does require a modicum of thought about one's character, and the making of choices. As well as some math... That said, half the fun of the character generation system for DC Heroes is going through the various steps and coming up with a character concept and style of character the player really likes and wants to play.
Since the campaign I was going to run is set against the background of the Legion of Super-Heroes and will be taking place at the Legion Academy just before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, the players had less Attribute Points on which to create their characters, and had to think in terms of youngsters with few powers but moderate power levels in order to qualify for Academy placement. The characters that the Friday night players created for the DC Heroes RPG are an interesting, somewhat eclectic mix, to say the least. Here's what the Friday night players have got.
*****
KathyB - She decided to keep the character relatively simple, and as a fan of Saturn Girl, knew what she wanted to take. Kathy created Mavra Salaan, a native of Shakuur, a planet settled by Titanian renegades. Calling herself Mind Lass, she has the powers of Mental Blast, Mind Shield and Force Shield and is a student of the mind with a somewhat unique vulnerability to all things cold.
Angela - She thought a bit about the powers that she wanted to have, and created Drella Koullor, a native of Watju, a world that has excessive periods of darkness on the human-settled part of the equator. Calling herself Twilight Lass, she is a student who aspires to be a Science Police officer, and with the darkness-based powers of Darkness, Energy Blast and Ultra Vision. Cool, calm and collected, she has a strong sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. Also a vulnerability to light-based attacks.
Ellie - My goddaughter struggled with a character concept, but then hit upon something really good. Berka Drewssk is a native of Earth, whose powers appear to be natural though there may be more to it than that. She calls herself Unseen Girl, and has the power of Invisibility (to all the senses). She a competent martial artist and has an interest in holography.
Mark - Mark knew exactly what he wanted for his character. Koradd Chong was born on Earth, the product of an experiment to enhance the human body. Going by the name of Taurus Lad, he has Skin Armour, enhanced Strength and enhanced Body, and worked as a sanitation engineer. He has a loving girlfriend, and the two have a daughter together. However, his brother is the villain Echo Master.
Peter - After talking about Ultra Boy and his power set, Peter liked the idea of doing something along these same lines. He created Nikko Valtran, a native of the planet Tanru IV, who was exposed to a strange, glowing rock in a mine, and gained several powers. Taking the name Emerald Lad, he has the powers of Flight, Energy Blast, enhanced Body and Force Shield, but can only use one of the powers at a time. He’s come to Earth to find a job that will be a match for his powers, and has a degree in chemistry.
*****
Overall, the players came up with an interesting group of characters that have a lot of potential in different situations, and have a group of characters that can all learn and develop their Powers and Skills and learn how to deal with their limitations and vulnerabilities. The players told me afterwards that they had a good time creating the characters, but had to get “creative” with the process (notably juggling the Factor Costs) because of the limitation on their Attribute Points. That said, the players said creating the characters was easier given the practice they'd had a couple of weeks earlier with the modern-day characters. While this group of player characters don’t really know each other that well, they have one thing in common (which I shall not mention here!). Once more, while they didn't struggle with any of the game elements per sé, Peter (and two of the others) admitted to having a difficult time doing the math a bit, and trying to pick some Limitations and Drawbacks to counter the APs spent on the stuff he wanted. Overall, the players quite liked the character generation system for the DC Heroes RPG, and are now looking forward to the next session when they start their Legion Academy game campaign in earnest in a couple of weeks.
For that matter, so am I! :)