BigJackBrass Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 The store shelves are once more groaning 'neath the weight of superhero RPGs, after a few years of drought. Each game claims to offer the best way of playing action-packed comicbook-style adventures, but something has been nagging at my mind... Not the fact that Champions already does it (always room for an alternative, I say). No, it comes down to how well these games really simulate the complete four-colour experience. An important element seems to have been overlooked: What was the best part of a comic? The art? The story? The anticipation of next month's issue? Nah, be honest, it was that full-page ad for undreamed of wonders like X-Ray Specs, Radio-controlled Hovercraft, Spy Radios, a Footlocker full of Soldiers... Sea Monkeys, by the gods! Can we really enjoy the full comicbook superhero experience without these miracles of the age? So I think we should address this vital deficiency and stat these items in Hero terms. Any takers? (And the first person to create Mutant Sea Monkeys with Frickin' Laser-Beams on their Heads will be subject to a stern and disapproving look) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... Sadly, these things no longer appear in the comics. Neither do the Hostess ads where superheros foil wacky criminals with sweets, or the ads where you can order "Keep on Truckin'" iron-ons. Or the ad at the back where you could order a foot-locker full of soldiers. Add in the fact that newer printing techniques and higher quality paper, while pretty, make comics cost about twice what they did when I was a kid (in constant dollars). There's just not as much enjoyment to be had. Maybe someone should make a nostalgia series, and get Johnson-Smith et al back as advertisers, and print it with little dots in four colors on newsprint. That would rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
input.jack Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... "momt mwame me, mwame fufteff foop pieffs" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... Joe Linehan, one of the Haymaker! authors and a frequent GM at GenCon, has a group of wonderful characters called The Auditioners. One of them, the Dark Avenger, is an avid comic book fan and gets all of his gadgets out of the back of comic books. For him, they all work as "advertised." Most of them are plain powers with a focus (like N-Ray Vision, OIF). And yes, he has Sea Monkeys (STR 10 Telekinesis, Fine Manipulation, Under Water Only, OAF). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... (And the first person to create Mutant Sea Monkeys with Frickin' Laser-Beams on their Heads will be subject to a stern and disapproving look) But since you asked: 20 Mutant Sea Monkeys: Multipower (40 pts), OAF 2u Mutant Sea Monkeys: STR 10 Telekinesis, Fine Manipulation, 0 END, Only under Water, OAF (SFX: Greenish glow - that's the "mutant" part) 2u Frickin' Lasers On Their Heads: 1d6+1 RKA, No Range Modifier, 0 END, Doesn't work under water, OAF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... I dunno about stats, but sometimes when there's a long lull in a HeroCentral game, I'll toss up a page of "ads". And once long ago we calmed Grond down with Delicious Fruitee Pies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted September 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... Sadly' date=' these things no longer appear in the comics. Neither do the Hostess ads where superheros foil wacky criminals with sweets, or the ads where you can order "Keep on Truckin'" iron-ons. Or the ad at the back where you could order a foot-locker full of soldiers.[/quote'] Sigh... Tragic, isn't it? I once impressed a basketball-mad girl because I knew who Dr Julius was, information I had gleaned solely from Spalding ads in Iron Man. I didn't tell her that part, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re: Comicbook gaming: something's missing... OT, but I really do miss those cheesy ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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