The beta of my superhero RPG 2E

Its rough and needs a lot of tire kicking, a transmission replacement, and the like

H&S 2E Betatest

I'm gonna be the asshole, especially since I'm not much of a supers fan, but I was scanning that wishing for a Table of Contents, a Quick Start Guide, and a blank Character Sheet.

I know, I'm not very nice.

However the table on heroic scale (throwing distance, lifting, movement, etc.) and its tiers was a pretty useful visual. Keep that!

Quote from: Opaopajr;619375I'm gonna be the asshole, especially since I'm not much of a supers fan, but I was scanning that wishing for a Table of Contents, a Quick Start Guide, and a blank Character Sheet.

I know, I'm not very nice.

However the table on heroic scale (throwing distance, lifting, movement, etc.) and its tiers was a pretty useful visual. Keep that!

Good stuff to know, if this were not a playtest I'd worry more about those things. i do have PC sheets but they need fixing to the current draft. So I'll add those in this week, TOC will need to wait till final organization/chapter design.

As I was reading the stat descriptions, I thought they helped visualize well what they mean and do. And the "how to counter X stat?" was a nice touch. I worry about verbosity, especially for veterans (cuz we're lazy and assume much), but then EGG's style shows that brevity isn't always important. Keep the enthusiastic conversational tone; so far I think it works.

Thanks.

 I am  always getting questions about superhero gaming and how I do things and thought maybe I'd try and get some of that stuff down in a book, and what better book to do it in than an actual superhero RPG?

Very cool; I'll take a deeper look over the weekend.

Do you want us to PM you notes, or just post for public consumption?

Nice, I've been waiting for this. I'll give it a read and maybe even see if I can talk someone into kicking the tires with me.

Tim! Punctuation is not your enemy! Learn to love commas! I sometimes have to parse a sentence three times before I understand it!

It's awesome, of course! I love it! I either missed your discussion of monologing and banter or you forgot to include it, though. Luckily, I've played an earlier version that included them, so I understand how they work. Your explanation of how Stress and Fallout work is much, much better!

-clash

I know it isn't my enemy. I just don't want to comma splice. I'm having lots of run on's though. Fixable. Soon enough.


Here is an update with Banter and Monologues.

Hearts & Souls 2E Update

Yeah, it could use a proofread. But I say go on and get all the ideas out of your head first.

The banter, monologues, and thought bubbles is a pretty cool idea. I do feel a certain amount of deference to genre (even if it may skate the line of camp) is good for a supers game. It's often a game about heroic fighting, not powers and winning, 'cuz the villain routinely comes back another day. This idea helps reinforce that the play is its own reward.

I dig it.

Novastar, I missed your comment. You can post here, I'm alright with open discourse. Even if it needs to be a little negative.

Gave this my first read over tonight, and wanted to write down first impressions:

1) Dammit, write down at least a paragraph about "What is role-playing?".
I know some posters will beat you over the head with your definition, but write it for the 12-year old kid that picks it up, or gets it as a gift.

2) Don't be so self-deprecating. But at the same time, I don't care (as a reader) about your design decisions. For example, in "Capabilities" you have:

QuoteMany games call these things attributes, ability scores, or something else. I picked a different term explicitly to point out they are handled more as flexible tools for the hero and not fixed numbers.

As a designer, I appreciate the thought; as a player, I couldn't care less.
You could remove those two sentences, and lose nothing to the average consumer.
(or, if you want to toot your own horn, you need to re-phrase the passage to be more positive, rather than passive aggressive)

3) Explain the dynamic for Players and GM/Editor before getting to Capabilities. I can read it and grok, but someone new (or someone who didn't figure out Editor = GM), would find it terribly confusing (and wonder if they missed something earlier).

4) Give short descriptions of all the Capabilities, before going into them in greater detail. You drop citations of other Capabilities several pages before I get a chance to see them, currently.

5) You mention "Intellect" in several spots, making it sound like a Capability. Is this supposed to be "Brains" instead?

6) I think I need to read the section over Stress and Fallout a bit more; it seems like Stress accrues, and you "buy it off" by getting temporary Fallouts (which heal with time). As your core mechanic (the "system currency" you mention), I think you may need to simplify the section a bit more (I'd kill for a really good example of a couple of combat rounds).

I'll give it a second read sometime soon (and sometime when I'm not having a fit of insomnia! ), but it reads pretty well overall, and I really like your tone in several areas (Heroes are not strength-y; They are MIGHTY!).

Awesome feedback. I'll get on those issues.

Sounds like some good consulting there!