Darren Watts

Many thanks for all the support, gang! dw

Well done gang! Thanks for the support! 

Well done gang! Thanks for the support! 

He's my creation, as is the entire chapter, with Steve's editing. However, credit where it's due, it was Steve's idea to make him 666 points. My first draft came in at like 640, and he quite correctly scolded me for it.  dw

Thanks for playing it! It's not one I've heard people talk about much. And yeah, Steve wrote most of the book- I did "1001" and the zombie material, and I think Jason did one of the mini-settings as well. 

He's my creation, as is the entire chapter, with Steve's editing. However, credit where it's due, it was Steve's idea to make him 666 points. My first draft came in at like 640, and he quite correctly scolded me for it.  dw

He's my creation, as is the entire chapter, with Steve's editing. However, credit where it's due, it was Steve's idea to make him 666 points. My first draft came in at like 640, and he quite correctly scolded me for it.  dw

Darren, apologies but I have only been around sporadically. I could start a thread on rpg.net with my review if it helps. I would ask that The Herodom jump in so I'm not just a lone voice in the dark.
I could also try to post a formal review on rpg.net although I have no clue how it works.

They have a submission form on their web site for "formal" reviews.  It's pretty straightforward but can take a couple weeks before the review will appear on the site.  So, if you want a review to be seen quickly, a new thread is the best bet.  If you want to to remain easily found, submitting it as a true review is the best bet.
 
I haven't written one myself simply because I haven't had the free time.  Too busy actually running a GAC game in what little free time I have.

Gang, online reviews are quite literally the life's blood of online sales. If you liked Golden Age and have any desire to see a Silver Age (let alone a Bronze, Iron or anything else), please please please go put up a review on one or more other sites. I'd love to write more for Hero, but unless we can build a larger audience for the next book I literally cannot afford to. dw

Gang, online reviews are quite literally the life's blood of online sales. If you liked Golden Age and have any desire to see a Silver Age (let alone a Bronze, Iron or anything else), please please please go put up a review on one or more other sites. I'd love to write more for Hero, but unless we can build a larger audience for the next book I literally cannot afford to. dw

This week's award goes to Chris, for: "In my experience, Neanderthals *always* attack aliens."
 
This replaces the previous title-holder, from Jason: "I made my INT roll, and I've decided to do it anyway." dw

Nothing so ominous- the player in question dropped out of the campaign early on, and his character wasn't sufficiently different from the other non-powered heroes to be worth writing up in the book. If you want to include him, take Black Mask, drop most of the detective-y stuff and replace it with a combination of cowboy and spy stuff, and drop the specialized guns and replace with Colts and maybe a small collection of trick-shot powers (TK to disarm or knock objects on opponents, etc.) dw

Thanks much to everybody for the kind words! Please spread it to your friends, retailers and other sites, especially if you're interested in seeing a Silver Age followup. GA will need to do well in retail and direct sales, because the Kickstart barely squeaked by and we probably can't afford to do that again. dw

Again, you can play any character you want. But there are very few period examples of the pure martial artist, who becomes a trope post Bruce Lee/Shang Chi/Karate Kid. Judomaster is a notable one, but he was created in the 60s. dw

This week's award goes to Chris, for: "In my experience, Neanderthals *always* attack aliens."
 
This replaces the previous title-holder, from Jason: "I made my INT roll, and I've decided to do it anyway." dw

One of my favorite parts of this book to write was the chapter on archetypes, which refers back to the earliest breakdowns of superheroic "character classes" from Champions. I address all of the different subtypes of Bricks, Energy Projectors, etc. present in the Golden Age, rename a couple (the "Martial Artist" is better explained as the "Mystery Man"), and add a fistful of brand new subarchetypes. Forthwith to demonstrate, an excerpt from "The Sidekick":
 
<4> The Derivative Kid
The first type of Sidekick to spring to most players’ minds, the Derivative Kid has more or less the same powers or skills as his mentor at a lower level, a costume either based on his mentor’s or specifically designed to stand out in contrast, and the stock standard personality for kids in 1930s and 40s popular culture: inquisitive bordering on outright nosey, brave, usually a wisecracker, and with an absolute faith in and even hero worship of the adult he’s working alongside. Robin defines the archetype the same way Batman does that of the Mystery Man, and his popularity led to a small army of clones: Bucky (Captain America), Speedy (Green Arrow), Sandy (Sandman), Pinky (Mr. Scarlet), Stuff the Chinatown Kid (Vigilante), and Dusty (The Shield.) The Guardian had an entire team of noncostumed preteens similar to the Our Gang kids of the movies in the Newsboy Legion. In a rare gender switch, Cat-Man took on a girl Sidekick named Kitten. If the mentor hero has superpowers, his Sidekick might as well. Toro had the same powers as the Human Torch, usually portrayed as being a few Active Points less. Similarly, Dan the Dyna-Mite (TNT) and Roy the Super Boy (Wizard) had similar powers to their mentors.
 
<4> Female Counterpart
Several superheroes of the period had their girlfriends wind up joining them in their war against injustice on occasion. Most notable was Hawkgirl, who appeared in Hawkman’s first story as Shiera Saunders, and was eventually given her own set of wings and costumed identity. (In the retconned stories of the All-Star Squadron, she keeps up protecting the homefront when her husband enlists after Pearl Harbor.) Bulletman created a second Gravity Regulator Helmet for his girlfriend Susan to wear, and she joined him in his adventures as Bulletgirl. Doll Man’s girlfriend Martha underwent a similar transformation late in the Golden Age, duplicating her boyfriend’s power to shrink and adopting a costumed identity. The Human Torch briefly teamed with Sun Girl, who had no powers but was armed with several interesting gadgets that were given no explanation, including a “Sun Gun” that fired blinding light beams.
 
<4> Comic Relief
Several superheroes in the Golden Age had Sidekicks who were mostly suited to slapstick comedy rather than serious superheroing, even if the hero himself was generally not portrayed as particularly lighthearted. Green Lantern was frequently aided by a portly taxi driver named Doiby Dickles, who would drive his cab “Goitrude” into dangerous situations armed only with a ludicrous approximation of a Brooklyn accent. Captain Marvel, who had already acquired a superpowered “family” consisting of his long-lost sister Mary and best friend Freddy Freeman (better known as Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior) also had a recurring sidekick named Uncle Marvel, a “lovable old fraud” character who claimed to also have superpowers that his various physical ailments prevented him from showing off at that particular moment. Plastic Man was regularly aided by Woozy Winks, a doltish ex-con who once saved the life of a wizard and was rewarded by being gifted with invulnerability.
 
<4> The Boy In Charge
A similar archetype to the Sidekick is the Boy In Charge, a teen (or even younger child) with no or limited powers but who has access to a much more capable ally who for whatever reason is bound to the young hero and follows his orders. The ally can vary widely in power level, from a cheerful adult bruiser of a chauffeur to a magical genie who can grant wishes in a wink. Examples of this type include Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy, Johnny Thunder, The Boy King, and Kid Eternity (who summoned any number of temporary Sidekicks from the mists of history.) Two players can work together to create this sort of partnership if the characters themselves are of approximately the same value (perhaps one is smart and skilled while the other handles the rougher stuff.) Otherwise, it’s best to have the player build the more powerful servant as their primary PC, with appropriate limitations to reflect that the “sidekick” is actually the one in charge. Perhaps the more powerful ally can only appear for a limited amount of time each day, or is inconveniently sized for some activities (like the Boy King’s giant statue.)
 
<4> Unusual Sidekicks
Some comicbook Sidekicks defy any sort of categorization. The Vigilante was occasionally assisted by an ornery old cowboy named Billy Gunn, who the hero had met when he was running an arcade at Times Square and persuaded to come out of “retirement.” The Crimson Avenger, who in many ways resembled the radio show hero the Green Hornet, further appropriated the idea of an Asian sidekick like Kato, called Wing. Unfortunately, where Kato was an impressive combatant, skilled driver and inventor of Green Hornet’s souped-up car, Wing mostly told jokes in pidgin dialect while his mentor did the crimefighting. Captain Marvel had yet another occasional sidekick in Tawky Tawny, an anthropomorphic tiger who wore a loud suit and hat. An actual tiger who had been given a serum that allowed him to walk and talk like a human being, Tawky became friends with Captain Marvel after accidentally causing a panic in the city, and took a job as a docent at the Museum of Natural History when he wasn’t helping his pal fight criminals...

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.

Golden Age Champions is text-complete and turned in, ready for layout! Woot! Just north of 155k words in final form, with a chunk saved over for the Secret Files later (including the Golden Age lineup of the Justice Squadron, who didn't make the cut.) So, that's probably about 240 pages of text, not including the timeline and the weapons/vehicles sheets, probably about 270 all told.