Post by Tomahawk on Feb 15, 2005 10:42:24 GMT
Back in 1985 TSR inc. published a work for the Marvel Super-Heroes Role-playing game that was truly an underrated resource for all GM’s and Judges in the Super-Hero genre. While I am not one who usually goes on and on about published works (being much more of a “do-it-yourselfer”, actually), this accessory bears mentioning.
MH AC 6- New York, New York by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb is comprised basically of four parts: The adventure book, a roster book (featuring many heroes, villains, and other city figures never-before published, and in some cases, never since), an expansion map that connects with the one from the original Basic and Advanced sets, and a Combat/Encounter wheel to cut out and put together. To date, this work is only available from RPG shops who are fortunate to have it in stock (as a side note, it took me a good bit of searching to locate a copy), but I am certain that the Classic Marvel Netbook project will eventually have it available as PDF as well.
To be fair and honest, I originally sought out this accessory for the map. The roster book was, for me, of less interest, as most if not all of the characters presented in it are (now) already found somewhere else, or are horribly out-dated (A lot can change in 20 years, after all). I suppose I had expected the adventure book section to be an early version of the Deluxe City Campaign set, but what I found was something completely different.
For those familiar with D&D and AD&D, the idea of random encounters and random encounter tables is nothing new. It is, however, something that is significantly lacking from most if not all role-playing games in a modern or super-hero genre. Much has been written about campaign settings, extended adventures with extensive plots and subplots, items, equipment, characters, and powers, but comparatively little about those “other” encounters which heroes face in their day-to-day life of being a costumed adventurer. This work fills that gap nicely, and sets a precedent and format for such encounters- and its simplicity allows for easy adaptation to whatever your game system of preference might be.
The big city encounters in New York, New York (which are determined randomly, as well they should be) are broken down into eight categories of increasing complexity and difficulty:
Daily Life: Small actions and encounters that usually involve little or no fighting.
Miscellaneous Crimes: Petty crime, street crime, and youth gangs. In the grander scheme of the cosmos these things are small potatoes, but they are certainly significant to the people involved.
Robberies: Thefts from people, in which lives may be threatened. Muggings and hostage situations for profit are included in this category.
Burglaries: Theft of property in which threatening lives is not a prime factor. Break-ins, thefts, and arson all fall into this general category.
Rampage: Widespread destruction without the motivation of profit. Rampages are often (but not always) the province of powerful villains or foes.
Vendetta: A grudge match, the super-powered slugfest at it’s most basic.
Organized Crime: Can involve any of the “lower” crimes, but with a twist; someone higher up is doing the planning. The Kingpin of Crime, the Maggia (or Mafia), and other similar organizations are all involved in organized crime.
Catastrophes: Crimes and actions (in some cases, natural) that threaten the well-being of the city and its inhabitants: Alien invasions, deadly plagues, widespread fires, and flooding are all examples of catastrophes.
Each of the encounters under these general categories is then fine-tuned and defined in four sections, in the following format:
Summary: This includes the very basics of the encounter; What’s happening, who’s involved, and what it is that they are doing. It also includes the time of day (if relevant).
Set-Up: This describes where the action is happening (behind a building, close to a bridge, in the park, etc). Ideally, the characters involved should be in the general vicinity, or in some position to witness or be alerted to the scene and able to react.
Adventure: This describes what can happen if the heroes get involved (or what they can observe if they choose not to get involved). How will the villain(s) react? What does the bad guy want from this crime? Can the hero reason with the villain?
Aftermath: this describes what happens after the heroes foil (or fail) the crime and/or the villains involved. Any Karma suggested is a general guideline, and naturally is subject to change based on circumstances and situations that may arise from the hero’s intervention in the encounter.
During the course of these side-treks, it’s only natural that further adventures can arise and the game can go into unforeseen directions (for example, the heroes fail to defeat the villain who then flees to the west coast, and the heroes decide to track him down and bring him to justice).
The MH AC 6 accessory’s only real failing is in its brevity and small amount of encounters (between 4 and 7 are provided for each category) provided, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Following and using this format and categorization, an individual GM or Judge can, in their spare time, come up with an infinite number of possibilities, all of which can be a valuable resource and aid when they’re stuck, unprepared, or just wanting to toss something a bit random into the campaign mix. The Combat/ Encounter wheel provided with the accessory is a nifty resource, as it makes determining the category of encounter (or even lack of encounter, on those occasions when all’s quiet in the big city) quick and easy, freeing the GM or Judge up to focus on other things. And of course, for those folks who don’t want extra stuff laying about the table, it’s easily converted into a chart, table, list, or whatever.
Of course, this information and resource is more geared for good old-fashioned table-top role-playing, and may only have limited applications in forum-based role-playing situations. But then, anything which is done table-top can easily be brought over to a forum- it just requires a bit of figuring. And of course, in planning adventures, it’s a definite plus.
MH AC 6- New York, New York by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb is comprised basically of four parts: The adventure book, a roster book (featuring many heroes, villains, and other city figures never-before published, and in some cases, never since), an expansion map that connects with the one from the original Basic and Advanced sets, and a Combat/Encounter wheel to cut out and put together. To date, this work is only available from RPG shops who are fortunate to have it in stock (as a side note, it took me a good bit of searching to locate a copy), but I am certain that the Classic Marvel Netbook project will eventually have it available as PDF as well.
To be fair and honest, I originally sought out this accessory for the map. The roster book was, for me, of less interest, as most if not all of the characters presented in it are (now) already found somewhere else, or are horribly out-dated (A lot can change in 20 years, after all). I suppose I had expected the adventure book section to be an early version of the Deluxe City Campaign set, but what I found was something completely different.
For those familiar with D&D and AD&D, the idea of random encounters and random encounter tables is nothing new. It is, however, something that is significantly lacking from most if not all role-playing games in a modern or super-hero genre. Much has been written about campaign settings, extended adventures with extensive plots and subplots, items, equipment, characters, and powers, but comparatively little about those “other” encounters which heroes face in their day-to-day life of being a costumed adventurer. This work fills that gap nicely, and sets a precedent and format for such encounters- and its simplicity allows for easy adaptation to whatever your game system of preference might be.
The big city encounters in New York, New York (which are determined randomly, as well they should be) are broken down into eight categories of increasing complexity and difficulty:
Daily Life: Small actions and encounters that usually involve little or no fighting.
Miscellaneous Crimes: Petty crime, street crime, and youth gangs. In the grander scheme of the cosmos these things are small potatoes, but they are certainly significant to the people involved.
Robberies: Thefts from people, in which lives may be threatened. Muggings and hostage situations for profit are included in this category.
Burglaries: Theft of property in which threatening lives is not a prime factor. Break-ins, thefts, and arson all fall into this general category.
Rampage: Widespread destruction without the motivation of profit. Rampages are often (but not always) the province of powerful villains or foes.
Vendetta: A grudge match, the super-powered slugfest at it’s most basic.
Organized Crime: Can involve any of the “lower” crimes, but with a twist; someone higher up is doing the planning. The Kingpin of Crime, the Maggia (or Mafia), and other similar organizations are all involved in organized crime.
Catastrophes: Crimes and actions (in some cases, natural) that threaten the well-being of the city and its inhabitants: Alien invasions, deadly plagues, widespread fires, and flooding are all examples of catastrophes.
Each of the encounters under these general categories is then fine-tuned and defined in four sections, in the following format:
Summary: This includes the very basics of the encounter; What’s happening, who’s involved, and what it is that they are doing. It also includes the time of day (if relevant).
Set-Up: This describes where the action is happening (behind a building, close to a bridge, in the park, etc). Ideally, the characters involved should be in the general vicinity, or in some position to witness or be alerted to the scene and able to react.
Adventure: This describes what can happen if the heroes get involved (or what they can observe if they choose not to get involved). How will the villain(s) react? What does the bad guy want from this crime? Can the hero reason with the villain?
Aftermath: this describes what happens after the heroes foil (or fail) the crime and/or the villains involved. Any Karma suggested is a general guideline, and naturally is subject to change based on circumstances and situations that may arise from the hero’s intervention in the encounter.
During the course of these side-treks, it’s only natural that further adventures can arise and the game can go into unforeseen directions (for example, the heroes fail to defeat the villain who then flees to the west coast, and the heroes decide to track him down and bring him to justice).
The MH AC 6 accessory’s only real failing is in its brevity and small amount of encounters (between 4 and 7 are provided for each category) provided, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Following and using this format and categorization, an individual GM or Judge can, in their spare time, come up with an infinite number of possibilities, all of which can be a valuable resource and aid when they’re stuck, unprepared, or just wanting to toss something a bit random into the campaign mix. The Combat/ Encounter wheel provided with the accessory is a nifty resource, as it makes determining the category of encounter (or even lack of encounter, on those occasions when all’s quiet in the big city) quick and easy, freeing the GM or Judge up to focus on other things. And of course, for those folks who don’t want extra stuff laying about the table, it’s easily converted into a chart, table, list, or whatever.
Of course, this information and resource is more geared for good old-fashioned table-top role-playing, and may only have limited applications in forum-based role-playing situations. But then, anything which is done table-top can easily be brought over to a forum- it just requires a bit of figuring. And of course, in planning adventures, it’s a definite plus.