RPG.net releases an article column called: “A Brief History of the Game”, where they highlight key moments in an RPG genre’s history. Article #15 and #16 detail the history of the superhero genre and I felt it (obviously) appropriate for the fans on games like Mutants & Masterminds. If you go back 3 decades with superhero games, take a moment to reminisce. If you are relatively new to superhero RPGs (thanks to M&M…) then read these two articles to familiarize yourself on what came before!

Read A Brief History of the Game: Super Heroes Part 1
Read A Brief History of the Game: Super Heroes Part 2

I believe three dimensional superheroes would wear distinctive costumes for two solid reasons (though there may be more).

The first is acceptance. Society identifies superheroes with these colorful costumes. there is an implied trust that comes with people wearing culturally accepted clothing. Once real supers show up, real people will become more accepting of them if they fall into “molds”/ “categories” they understand. So Supers who are heroes and villians would be easier for people to be comfortable with than those waundering around in street clothes trying to fit in.

The second is heraldry. The colorful costume allows people to tell who the players on the field are. It determines who is and isn’t going to be attacked by whom. (wearing someone elses costume will momentarily confuse people). So real heroes will wear costumes (or distinctive wear). Read more »

The term antihero has a variety of definitions, ranging from unconventional heroes, a protagonist lacking heroic qualities or even one possessing traits antithetical to the traditional hero.

Characteristics of the Anti-Hero

An anti-hero in fictional works will typically take a leading role, performing acts which might be deemed “heroic” (at least in scale and daring), but using methods, manners, or intentions that may not be so - indeed they are often underhanded or deceitful. Usually rebellious and rival to that of a protagonist, but would do things for the greater good even if that is unseen.

Read more »

So you’ve been playing a superhero game for a long time and someone in the gaming group says, “Hey, how about we try a super-villain campaign?” At first, this seems like a good idea. It might be fun to try playing on the other side of the law; and not having to worry about the rules and regulations. And this could in fact be a fun and fulfilling campaign. Sometimes, though, super-villain campaigns can be more of a headache than a joy.

Before we explore the various challenges and options available in such a campaign, let’s first define exactly what we mean by the term super-villain. A super-villain can be defined as someone who has or does routinely break the major laws of a given government or international/interplanetary authority. When we say “major law”, we mean something like murder or theft and not what we would call a misdemeanor law (like Jay-Walking). Many people who qualify for this definition often think of themselves as more heroic than villainous; but in pure definition form, they are super-villains.

Read more »

Kevine Perrine, original designer of WizKids HEROCLIX line: logos, packaging, advertisements, dials and game developer of the Sentinal, talks about the initial thoughts behind a new addition to The Claremont Academy:

“At the Claremont Academy I wanted a “danger room” type facility for the PCs, the Annual talks very, very briefly about CA having a high tech training facility so I added one… Very similar to the X-men’s Danger Room in style and substance, not much was changed there. However my players came up with a fun name for it, one I thought others might use… based on the very first training they did there that happened to involve lots of early Danger Room style gizmos like giant buzz saws, pit traps, and swinging hammers, etc… they lovingly dubbed it the “DOOM ROOM”.

“I love it and it stuck.”
Read more »

Victorian Superheroics

The Victorian Age is a perfect backdrop for adventure, melodrama, and excitement. The first popular ‘adventure novels’ were written in that time period, and many of them remain classics today. ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Dracula’, ‘King Solomon’s Mines’, ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’, ‘The Invisible Man’, ‘Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, ‘Twenty-thousand Leagues Under The Sea’, and the many adventures of Sherlock Holmes are as popular now as they were when they were written, and they still stir the imagination.

Allan Moore, in his excellent graphic novels about the ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, has as his thesis the idea that the heroes and villains of those early novels were in fact the first superheroes and supervillains in fiction. They were larger-than-life characters, sometimes with abilities beyond those of ordinary humans, and often burdened by troubles no ordinary human could face. Doesn’t that sound like a superhero to you? Dr. Henry Jekyll and Bruce Banner, after all, lead similarly troubled lives. Captain Nemo, who uses his wealth & high technology to try to change the world, is not dissimilar in outlook to Tony Stark…

Come with me, then, to an age of adventure, where you and your players can campaign across the globe, explore lost cities in darkest Africa, or trail Jack the Ripper through darkest London. Hurry; as Sherlock Holmes often says, “the game is afoot!”
Read more »

The Comics Code Authority (CCA) is part of the Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA), and was created to regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submit comic books to the CCA, which screens them for conformance to its Comics Code, and authorizes the use of their seal on the cover if the books comply. At the height of its influence, it was a de facto censor for the U.S. comic book industry.
Read more »

The Modern Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period in the history of mainstream American comic books generally considered to last from the mid-1980s until present day. In this period, comic book characters generally became darker and more psychologically complex, creators became more well-known and active in changing the industry, independent comics flourished, and larger publishing houses became more commercialized.

Alternate names for this period include the Dark Age of Comic Books, due to the popularity and artistic influence of grim titles, such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen; and the Diamond Age of Comic Books, which was suggested by Scott McCloud, because of the new diversity found in the medium. Another name for this period is Iron Age of Comic Books which is based on the idea from Greek mythology of four ages: First Gold, followed by Silver, followed by Bronze, with the last being Iron. A more tongue-in-cheek name for this period is the Adamantium Age of Comics, in reference to Wolverine, whose popularity grew to immense proportions at the dawn of this age.

Although not commonly considered part of the Modern Age, the period between the early 1970s and early 1980s is referred to as the Bronze Age of Comic Books.
Read more »

The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of mainstream American comic books usually said to run from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s. It followed the Silver Age of Comic Books.[1]

The Bronze Age retained many of the conventions of the Silver Age, with brightly colored superhero titles remaining the mainstay of the industry. However darker plot elements and more mature storylines featuring real-world issues, such as drug use, began to appear during the period, prefiguring the later Modern Age of Comic Books.
Read more »

The Silver Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly in the superhero genre, that lasted roughly from the late 1950s/early 1960s to the early 1970s. It is preceded by the Golden Age of Comic Books.

During the Silver Age, the character make-up of superheroes evolved. Writers injected science fiction concepts into the origins and adventures of superheroes. More importantly, superheroes became more human and troubled, and since the Silver Age, character development and personal conflict have been almost as important to the image of a superhero as super powers and epic adventures.
Read more »

« Previous entries