Why I like Godlike
I like the Godlike RPG...because it's not a superhero RPG. It's a WW2 RPG about ordinary people with extraordinary powers. Maybe you have already realized this, but this thought has finally sunk into the bedrock of my gaming mind. I totally get Godlike now.
You can play the game any way you want. You can do the 4-color comic book super hero thing. You can do the Hollywood B-movie thing. You can do the gritty realism thing, which is the mode I like most, and the one the game is truly written for. That's where its heart is really at I think. That's where mine is when I play it. I will try to convey this idea to the players when I run it.
You play characters who really are just regular guys trying to survive a really bad situation. Yes, they can do things that defy the laws of physics, but so can the other guys, and that's what's cool about it. Plus, their abilities only go so far. You can lift a ton over your head? Awesome. But if I shoot you you're dead. Bullets bounce off you? Awesome. But if I hit you with this flamethrower you're as flammable as anyone else. This is the core conceit of the game and the reason it works so well when you approach it as a straight WW2 game. Setting off Talent powers takes it into the realm of the fantastic but it's still grounded in a story about average people trying to survive.
So in this way, the logic of the setting takes over. Our side has Talents, their side has Talents. They cancel each other out. And for the most part, history follows its inexorable course. Godlike, in a way, is something of a rumination on, and denial of, the "Great Man Theory" of history. What it means for game play is, Talents can kick ass on normals, if they're smart and utilize their Talents effectively. Talent vs. Talent though is a bloodbath, often with one side suffering a total wipeout and the other taking significant casualties.
That's of course, if you're playing at the gritty realism level. Take it up a notch to cinematic and you still see this effect (wipeout on one side) though player-character survivability tends to improve. That AP thread by the way, is genius!
It took me a long time to tune in to Godlike, because I thought it was a superhero game, a la Champions. And once I realized it wasn't I found that I loved it. I think this is also the same reason people who are fans of superhero games like Champions often don't groove on Godlike.
October will be a Godlike month - I am playing in my friend Jack's Godlike game at the EndGame minicon and running my own game the following weekend. I have many ideas for cool oneshots and potential future campaigns, and a few other Godlike related irons in the fire.
You can play the game any way you want. You can do the 4-color comic book super hero thing. You can do the Hollywood B-movie thing. You can do the gritty realism thing, which is the mode I like most, and the one the game is truly written for. That's where its heart is really at I think. That's where mine is when I play it. I will try to convey this idea to the players when I run it.
You play characters who really are just regular guys trying to survive a really bad situation. Yes, they can do things that defy the laws of physics, but so can the other guys, and that's what's cool about it. Plus, their abilities only go so far. You can lift a ton over your head? Awesome. But if I shoot you you're dead. Bullets bounce off you? Awesome. But if I hit you with this flamethrower you're as flammable as anyone else. This is the core conceit of the game and the reason it works so well when you approach it as a straight WW2 game. Setting off Talent powers takes it into the realm of the fantastic but it's still grounded in a story about average people trying to survive.
So in this way, the logic of the setting takes over. Our side has Talents, their side has Talents. They cancel each other out. And for the most part, history follows its inexorable course. Godlike, in a way, is something of a rumination on, and denial of, the "Great Man Theory" of history. What it means for game play is, Talents can kick ass on normals, if they're smart and utilize their Talents effectively. Talent vs. Talent though is a bloodbath, often with one side suffering a total wipeout and the other taking significant casualties.
That's of course, if you're playing at the gritty realism level. Take it up a notch to cinematic and you still see this effect (wipeout on one side) though player-character survivability tends to improve. That AP thread by the way, is genius!
It took me a long time to tune in to Godlike, because I thought it was a superhero game, a la Champions. And once I realized it wasn't I found that I loved it. I think this is also the same reason people who are fans of superhero games like Champions often don't groove on Godlike.
October will be a Godlike month - I am playing in my friend Jack's Godlike game at the EndGame minicon and running my own game the following weekend. I have many ideas for cool oneshots and potential future campaigns, and a few other Godlike related irons in the fire.