• Author / Uploaded
• Simon Wentworth

• Categories
• Magia (Paranormal)
• Superhéroes
• Universo paralelo (Ficción)
• Mago (Fantasía)
• Juegos de rol

Citation preview

Fin@part of an introduction to Superhero rolega by Simon Burley With the current increase in the popularity of Superhero roleplaying games,with many being r e v i d and updated, put into boxes and expanded, some Superhero Adventure 'modules' and scenarios arebeginning to appear. However, theofferings in this field arestill more limited than those devofed to other types of game. A referee looking around for new ~deasw ~ l l need to find new sources of inspiration. Luckily, with a bit of thought and conversion, many of the scenarios available for other games can be used in conjunction with a superhero campaign; mainly because of the nature of the comics themselves. In qrder to produce so many titles each month the major companies have to draw ideas from a wide variety of sources to use as story material. Apart from cribbing as many ideas as possible from Science Fiction novels and series, most comics feature a Time Travel story sooner or later, sending their main characters into the past, future or even into an alternative dimension. There isn't space in an article such as this to give you detailed systems for converting from the major Fantasy and Science Fiction systems to the major superhero games. If you already have Superworldthis conversion isvirtually done for

estback-up matepare. Even if you needn't worry to in the scenarios. ive information ag the numerical a passage orsecrats; AC5; HDM; Dam:l-3 plus disease; HTK 3,3,3,4,5' and insert '5 giant rats. . .' and the details of how they wduld fit into your chosen game system. Once you've converteda few rooms or encounters, the rest will come ea'sily, however incompatible the two systems may seem at first. What you will need, though, is s m e i d e a of how to select suitable scenarios from the many available and how to fit them in with the storyline of your particular campaign. This article contains some suggestions on how to select the most applicable modules and howto get your heroesinto them, out of them and how to make them relevant to the heroes. Forthe purposes of discussion 1'11 assume that most games fit into one of four main categories: Fantasv (Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, Chivalry and Sorcery, Drigonquest, etc). Science Fiction (Traveller, Star Frontiers. Universe. Soace opera etc), post-holocaust (~ftermath, world; he Morrow Projectetc), and Contemporary (TopSecret, Espionage, Gangbusters, Daredevils etc), Of course these four categories don't cover every available game (the piracy ones, for instance, are excluded) but should be detailed enough for our purposes.

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CONTEMPORARY SCENARDS Practicallv s~eakinathese scenarios are the s i m ~ l e sto t use. They do not'require any involvement with time travel or spaceships and tend to feature ordinary people of the sort common in Superhero games. Even a Gangbuster scenario can be updated t o the modwn day; organised crime hasn't changed that much in six decades, at least in the mmics. Unfortunately, the same superhero system would be a bit boring forthe heroes to fightail thetime:.Al Capone would be no match for Iron Man, for instance. Also, superheroes are not noted for their desire to sneak around cautiously,lik6 spies, or follow long trails of clues, like detectives. They prefer to take the bull by the horns, which is not suited to many contemporary scenarios. Should you want to use a scenario for a game set i n thiscenfury I would suggest you try to find one which has a clear objective (eg recoveri2g stolen plans) which can be ashieved by direct means (a head-on attack for instance) and involves little detective work or subtlety. It would be more suited to 'low-level' heroes (Daredevil, Captain America, Batman) than the more powerful types (Thor, Hulk, SupeThan). WORLDS OF HIGH FANTASY At first, these types of scenarios may seem unsuitable for superheroes. Readers of Cerebus the Aardvark, particularly, might find the idea of superheroes and wizards side by side Iudkrous. However, not only arefantasy themesoften used in the comics (in Iron Man 150, for instance, between Moraan le Fay's army of ~ n d e a d a n d Arthur's Knights) but more scenarios are available in this field than in any other. Though many will be unusable, there will be some adventures which will suit the superheroes. As with the contemporary scenarios the best adventures will feature a set obiective which can be achieved in a direct way, perhaps a magic amulet, stolen by the trolls, which has to be recovered. Adventures which feature a large number of monsters or last a long time are not as suited tosuperheroes. Similarlv. mat>-makina is not Dart of the su~er-herorote-~lavin9 gam&s' s'tyle. ~ h & expect to be suppl'ied with a setting ' already mapped out, so 'dungeon' style adventures are best avoided wherever possible. High level magicians, demons, giants, dragons and other legendary monstem make good opponents, hordes ot goblins and kobolds do not.

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DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Try to select adventures which have set objectives, feature a lot of short @mountersrather than one big 'dungeon', hang together logically and contain a few powerful or legendary monsters and characters rather than lots of weak ones. There are many reasons why a group of heroes might be in the past, or in an alternative dimension where magic works. one ever-popular lead-in is capture by a mega-villain (usuaNy Doc Doom) who needs someone to fetch a mystic item for them. As long as the heroes are trapped in another time with only thevillain's time machine to get them home, they have to do as hesays.The refereecan sugarthe pill, however, by making the opponents they are forced to fight villainous in their own right.' Another lead-in is to have the heroes summoned by a w~zard using a magical spell, in order to do a quest for him. Superheroes could come to hate the D&Dgate spell. If you have a hero or heroine whose powers are mystic in origin you will have a wealth of lead-insto fantastic adventure. Divine heroes are also useful, (Put the TSR G and D modules in Asaard. chanae Lolth to Loki and vou've aot a readv-made adventure for ~hYorand/or the warriors ~ h r e e ! ) If all else fails there's the ubiquitous spacial and temporal warp caused when the heroes are caught in a nuclear explosion or accidentallv travel faster than the seeed of light. As long as you don't overdo the fantasy and donl