Tag Archive for: Ronin Round Table

Taking Advantage

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Advantages with Valiant Heroes

Advantages are traits in the Mutants & Masterminds system that fall in-between Skills and Powers, particular edges or resources characters have, often letting them bend the rules in specific ways under particular circumstances. Valiant Adventures includes many familiar Advantages from the M&M core rules, along with some that have been updated in various ways, and a few new advantages as well.

When we provided pre-generated characters for the Valiant Quickstart, we included descriptions of all of their Advantages. However, when we offered previews of some of the signature Valiant heroes, there wasn’t space on their character sheets to provide descriptions of all of their Advantages: For characters like Ninjak, it would have taken an extra couple of pages!

So here is a quick summary of the new Advantages the sample Valiant heroes have. The rest can be found in the Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook or Basic Hero’s Handbook. Please note that this is not final text, but a behind-the-scenes look at just a sample of what is in store in the Valiant Adventures manuscript!

Counterattack: If an opponent hits you with a Close Attack, you can use your Reaction to make an immediate Attack against them, before your Resistance Check against their attack’s Effect, if any.

Exploit Momentum: If an opponent misses you with a Close Attack, you can use your Reaction to immediately attempt a Trip Attack against them, and they do not get an opportunity to try and trip you.

Fallen Inspiration: When you are Incapacitated (including Dying or even Dead) you immediately gain a Hero Point and can then divide your current total Hero Points as you wish among any allies able to see or hear you. 

Gadgets: You have access to one (or more) Gadgets, temporary Devices. Each Rank in this Advantage lets you produce one Gadget per adventure. The Gadget can have total Effect Ranks no greater than the series Power Level and any Extras count as additional Ranks equal to the base Effect Rank. Each Gadget is good for one Scene, after which it is no longer usable, unless you expend an additional use of this Advantage. All of your uses of Gadgets reset at the start of each adventure.

Menacing Attack: If you render an opponent Incapacitated (including Dying or Dead, at the GM’s discretion) you can use your Reaction for an immediate Overwhelm Action against all Minion opponents able to see and hear you.

Opportunity Attack: When an opponent within range of your Close Attack moves, and their movement would take them out of your Close Attack range, you can use your Reaction to make an immediate Close Attack against them before they leave your range.

Power Stunt: Each Rank in this Advantage lets you perform a Power Stunt without suffering any Fatigue. All of your uses of Power Stunt reset at the start of each adventure.

Ripose: If an opponent misses you with a Close Attack, you can use your Reaction to make an immediate Close Attack against them.

Sleeper Hold: You can put a target into a hold to knock them out. Make a Close Attack Check against a target’s Parry Defense as a Standard Action. If you hit, the target must make a Fortitude Resistance Check against a DC of (10 + your Strength Rank):

  • Success: No effect.
  • Failure (one degree): The target is Dazed.
  • Failure (two degrees): The target is Stunned.
  • Failure (three degrees): The target is Asleep.

On your Turn, you can take the Concentrate Action to maintain the sleeper hold, requiring a new Resistance Check from the target. Success removes the condition imposed by the sleeper hold and the target escapes. Failure means the Effect increases by one degree until the target is asleep. Sleeping targets get a Fortitude Resistance Check each minute to wake up unless they’re deliberately awakened.

Split Attack: When you take the Attack Action, you can divide your attack between two different targets. This usually represents rapid, but less forceful, attacks in order to hit more than one target. Divide the Effect’s Rank between the two targets as you wish and make an Attack Check for each target. The attack works on each target normally at its reduced Rank.

Tactical Advance: When you impose the Dazed or Stunned Condition on an opponent, allies able to hear you can use their Reaction to move their Speed towards that opponent.

We have less than 30 hours to go, so be sure to get in on the Kickstarter Campaign before it ends tomorrow!

Valiant Views: X-O Manowar

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Valiant Views: X-O Manowar

While the Valiant Adventures Quickstart gives you a feel for what it is like to play a tabletop RPG set in the Valiant Universe, due to space limits it doesn’t provide character creation info or a deeper look at some of the signature Valiant characters. In this preview, we look at Valiant’s armored powerhouse, X-O Manowar!

Aric of Dacia was a Visigoth warrior, abducted by the alien Vine, who led a slave revolt and bonded with the sacred Armor Shanhara, a Vine relic. So it’s no surprise that Aric is above-average in his physical Abilities and has formidable Fighting, having mastered most forms of close combat in his time.

His Powers are all tied up in the Shanhara armor, granting him Enhanced Strength and Toughness. The armor is Impervious to low-Rank attacks, including most common earthly weapons like guns. It takes a heavy weapon to even scratch X-O, as Earth’s armed forces learned. Even then, the armor helps Aric recover from lethal damage in minutes. X-O can fly at high speeds and even cross interstellar distances outside of an atmosphere, plus Shanhara grants him a suite of sensors and the ability to understand earthly and alien languages alike.

While Aric can be deprived of his armor, when he takes it off, Shanhara is bonded to him and comes at his call, if possible. It takes great effort to separate X-O from his armor, as many foes have learned.

X-O doesn’t have a lot of skills: Aric was and is a warrior first and foremost, relying on his Fighting more than anything else. He has knowledge of History and Military tactics and operations, he’s athletic, perceptive, and intimidating, and not much else. He has learned some leadership skills, reflected in his Advantages, but still falls back on mostly untrained Presence Checks when it comes to social skills beyond threatening people.

Speaking of Advantages, no surprise that most of the Manowar’s are combat-related. His Counterattack makes it potentially dangerous for a foe to face him in close combat (if you come for the king, you’d best not miss!), the same with his Opportunity Attack. Takedown and Menacing Attack are an effective combo to take out minions and cow the rest with an Overwhelm reaction. His Tactical Advance Advantage makes X-O dangerous as the leader of a force, since his success can allow them to move more quickly to attack their foes at his command.

Shanhara’s occasional comments and advice tend to be limited to X-O’s Senses Powers and spending a Hero Point for Insight, in which case the GM might use Shanhara as a means to offer the Manowar suggestions. Aric’s Complications note that he is a man of honor, but one from an archaic time long past, still trying to do what he sees as good with the tremendous power he has been given.

Check out the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter now!

Valiant Views: Shadowman

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Valiant Views: Shadowman

While the Valiant Adventures Quickstart gives you a feel for what it is like to play a tabletop RPG set in the Valiant Universe, due to space limits it doesn’t provide character creation info or a deeper look at some of the signature Valiant characters. In this preview, we look at Valiant’s mystical defender of the Deadside, Shadowman.

Along with Doctor Mirage, Shadowman is our other mystical character, perhaps the one most central to the Valiant Universe’s mystic upheavals. Overall, Shadowman’s Abilities are impressive, but largely because Jack Boniface is bonded with the Shadow Loa: giving him a list of Enhanced Abilites included in those Ranks. The Shadow Loa also makes Shadowman tougher, faster to heal, and essentially unkillable except through mystic means.

Shadowman’s other powers involve his Shadow Scythe, his signature weapon, which is effective against spirits and other creatures of the Deadside and a weapon he can swing in an arc to Multiattack. He also has a considerable Necromancy Array, particularly his power to summon darkness, travel to and from the Deadside, and to Command the Dead and the creatures of the Deadside when necessary. Extra Effort for some power stunts can add other Necromatic Effects to Shadowman’s Array temporarily, but he tends to rely on his physical prowess more than those powers anyway.

Jack has Undead as a Favored Foe Advantage, giving him an additional edge. He has some Combat Advantages, notably Menacing Attack, which lets him Intimidate after felling a foe, especially useful against groups of minions. He also has Leadership, more in the area of helping allies like the Abettors to shake off Conditions, and Fallen Inspiration, which lets him do the same even when he’s taken out of a fight!

His Skills rely fairly heavily on Intimidation and Occult, although his Expertise in History (he started out as a museum curator in New Orleans) comes in handy sometimes. It’s notable that Shadowman is a more effective close combatant, with slightly lower Defense against ranged attacks and no real ranged attacks of his own, unless he does a power stunt or throws something. He prefers to get right up into the fight whenever possible.

Shadowman’s Responsibility Complication is often at-odds with his Isolated Complication: He wants to do good and help others, but at the same time feels like he has to go it alone, making it hard for people to help him, as Alyssa and the other Abettors and his sometime allies will attest.

Check out the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter now!

Valiant Views: Ninjak

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Valiant Views: Ninjak!

While the Valiant Adventures Quickstart gives you a feel for what it is like to play a tabletop RPG set in the Valiant Universe, due to space limits it doesn’t provide character creation info or a deeper look at some of the signature Valiant characters. In this preview, we look at Valiant’s ultimate secret agent and super-spy, Ninjak.

Ninjak is a prime example of a “normal human” who, well, isn’t in that some of his abilities (Agility, Dexterity, and Intellect) are above the “normal human” limit that hovers around Rank 6 and his Fighting Ability is truly superhuman at 14, but then Ninjak is one of the best all-around combatants in the Valiant Universe. He relies on that high Attack Bonus because his Damage output is relatively low for his Power Level, meaning Ninjak is going to Power Attack when he can against lower Defense targets (if he’s not using his Gadgets Advantage to simply plant a bomb on them…).

Ninjak’s “powers” are all Devices, particularly built into his uniform. In particular, his Enhanced Armor Mode is a good example of Power Level trade-offs: It exchanges upping his Toughness (Protection) at a reduction in his Dodge and Parry, keeping his Power Level the same, but recognizing situations where Ninjak needs greater Toughness while still maintaining quite high Defense Class against attacks.

He has a formidable set of Equipment, including a variety of weapons, all cutting-edge tech, but not so advanced they count as Devices.

Ninjak was the true test for the layout of the Advantages section! He has a lot of them. Notable is his Gadgets Advantage, a new one in Valiant Adventures that lets him come up with his signature “I have a device for that” move in the comics. He’s naturally got the Assessment, Connected, and Well-Informed Advantages for intelligence gathering, along with a lot of Combat Advantages reflecting his training, cunning, and skill. Of note are new Valiant Adventures Advantages like Exploit Momentum, Opportunity Attack, Riposte, Sleeper Hold, and Split Attack. The first three make use of the addition of a once per Turn Reaction option, letting Ninjak respond to things his opponents are doing. The other two are a revision of the old Chokehold Advantage and an Advantage version of the Split Effect Modifier, allowing him to make two smaller attacks in place of a larger one.

Ninjak is also a Skill monster, adding to his already formidable Abilities in all of the ninja- and espionage-related Skills. In particular, his Skill Mastery in Stealth lets Ninjak routinely disappear and conceal himself under most circumstances unless dealing with an opponent with Senses Effects that allow them to detect him (as X-O Manowar did in their initial encounters).

Check out the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter now!

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Valiant Views: Faith!


While the Valiant Adventures Quickstart gives you a feel for what it is like to play a tabletop RPG set in the Valiant Universe, due to space limits it doesn’t provide character creation info or a deeper look at some of the signature Valiant characters. For some additional previews, we’re looking to do just that. This Valiant View is of the high-flyiong Faith.

Faith is our first psiot character, a definite archetype in Valiant Advenutures. Psiots are people with the potential for psionic powers, harbingers of the next stage of humanity. However, at this stage, few psiots “activate” and gain powers on their own, and the process of trying to force an activation is both difficult and dangerous, often ending in the subject’s death. Faith Herbert was one of the lucky ones, and she knows it.

So, Faith’s Abilities are overall decent, but not a major element of her character. She’s smart, determined, and personable, and has learned to defend herself a bit, but all-in-all, nothing outside of the normal human range of Ability Ranks.

It’s Faith’s Powers that are the focus of her character sheet. Her psiot ability is a psychokinetic “Companion Field” that allows Faith to levitate herself and other people or things in proximity. She has since learned to extend her Companion Field to both move more distant objects and to create a kind of repulsion field to block or deflect attacks and other sources of harm. Those uses go into an Array, based on what Faith is focusing on at any given moment; her Force Field protects her, while her Shield is a wider and stronger form of protection, but largely immobile since it requires more concentration.

Of particular note is Faith’s Boundless Optimism, giving her a Bonus Die on Will Resistance Checks against certain Effects, a version of the Resistance Power that models Faith’s ability to overcome personal obstacles, along with her Advantages.

Speaking of which, Faith has some Advantages involving the use of her powers in combat, particularly Evasion, Improved Disarm, Interpose (useful for her Force Field and Shield), and Redirect. She has a Benefit for her Secret Identity for the occasions when it has come in handy, such as when Faith was accused of a crime, and related Advantages like Connected and Well-Informed for both her journalist connections and her knowing a lot of other heroes. Lastly, Faith has some interpersonal Advantages: Extraordinary Effort for her unflagging determination, Leadership representing her ability to help other people overcome obstacles, Luck for her ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and a Second Chance Advantage that goes along with resisting attempts to manipulate her or get her to give up.

Faith’s Skills mostly involve her day-to-day training as a journalist and investigator, what she has learned as a hero in the field and, most of all, her boundless knowledge of pop culture and geek subjects, which the GM should find uses for in adventures much like Faith does in the comics. Her Complications mostly revolve around Faith being a good person who wants to do good and inspire other people to be better. She’s a true hero and ray of sunshine.

Check out the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter now!

Do you Want the Power in Fantasy AGE? Well, Have It!

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It’s no secret that lots of gamers are, like me, remnants of the Generation cohort who got into it during the 80s roleplaying game trend. Ah, the 80s, an era of many bad things, a few good things, and admittedly morally ambiguous things—like Saturday morning cartoons. And toy-based cartoons. These vehicles to sell toys and sugary cereals represented advertisers preying on children in a low-key fashion, though it wasn’t always so low key for their parents when we kids dutifully screamed for consumer goods—but we’ve still got good memories of them, and even the most commercial pop culture has to be attractive, and therefore interesting. Toy designers recruited comic creators. They looked at inspirations from sword and sorcery fiction. Then they mashed it up to create playsets and dolls (called “action figures” for a gendered flair when they had swords and ray guns). And we pretended to be them, or used them as a playing piece in imaginative games.

Enter the Icon: a way to play such a character in Fantasy AGE, coming soon to an unannounced project.

YOU HAVE THE POWER! As a Fantasy AGE Icon character

New Specialization: Icon

Some say icons were born of experiments conducted in an ancient fortress, whose secrets were used to fuse magic and technology. Others say the icons are an order of spiritual knights who, in communing with the universe, found the discipline to bind science and sorcery behind a single mystical archetype. They might be from a lost world at the center of the universe, or the remnants of angelic beings, who are born again within the icon. Not all icons are heroes, however. In fact, evil icons are sometimes easy to identify, because of the way icon status influences appearance, so skull-tipped staves and blood-red cloaks set them apart.

Regardless of their origins, these figures of action are defined by a techno-mystical aspect solidified in the form of mysterious vestments: special clothing and gear laced with technology and sorcery. Only an icon can use the powers of their vestments to perform extraordinary feats. These abilities fit a theme that is usually apparent by appearance of individual vestments. Vestments consisting of a pectoral plate, loincloth and sword suggest an untamed warrior, while robes and an animal headdress might belong to a sorceress who channels the power of a god the animal represents.

Consequently, an icon is often best known by a name that refers to their powers and appearance. A demonic soldier with three horns might be known as “Tri-Horn,” for instance. It may seem to be a simple nickname, but that’s enough to earn the respect and fear of those who know the power of icons.

Class: Any

Requirements: 3 or higher in one of your class’s primary abilities.

You have the power to master the universe when you take on an alternate identity.

Novice: You initiate yourself into the path of the icon. You acquire techno-magical vestments. These only work for you, and while they can be stolen, you always know what direction to find them in, or even if they’ve been taken to another world. You may include up to 100 sp of non-perishable equipment with your vestments, including armor and weapons.

When you wear your vestments, you may use a minor action to prepare a stunt you select when you gain this power that normally costs you 2 SP, so that you can use for 0 SP on your next action (assuming it succeeds) without having to score doubles or spend stunt points, though you gain the normal benefits of both. This stunt must fit the theme and loose capabilities of your vestments, but it can be a basic stunt or class stunt. If the selected stunt proves to be a poor fit, you can swap it for another the next time you gain a level.

Expert: Your icon abilities grow. You may use the Novice benefit, under the same conditions, for another stunt that normally costs you 3 SP. You must use a separate minor action to activate each free stunt, however. You must also select an iconic name. This name acts as an honorific while you wear your vestments. Finally, when you’re wearing your vestments, you can choose to cause them to conceal your identity. As a free action that can only be rescinded by removing your vestments, you can make them a disguise with a TN of 10 + your Willpower to penetrate, allowing you to keep a secret identity.

Master: A lord among icons, your enemies tremble when they see you in your vestments. You may use the Novice benefit, under the same conditions, for an additional stunt that normally costs you 4 SP, though again, activating each free stunt is a separate minor action. Furthermore, you may summon from or dismiss your vestments to another dimension as a minor action. You choose whether to summon your vestments to appear on you, or adjacent to you. If they appear on you, anything that you could not wear with them is shunted to the alternate dimension until you dismiss your vestments again.

 

Robots, in Fantasy AGE? If only the Icon was here to save us!

But Wait, There’s More

Like I said, the icon is one of a number of brand-new specializations coming to an upcoming unannounced Fantasy AGE project—the second in a row I’ve been working on. If you checked out Fantasy AGE Trojan War you’ll have a sense of the probable format, but that’s all I can say for now. Let us know if you like these peeks at what we’re doing. Cheers!

 

Valiant Views: Doctor Mirage

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Valiant Views: Doctor Mirage preview

While the Valiant Adventures Quickstart gives you a feel for what it is like to play a tabletop RPG set in the Valiant Universe, due to space limits it doesn’t provide character creation info or a deeper look at some of the signature Valiant characters. For some additional previews, we’re looking to do just that. This Valiant View is of Doctor Mirage.

Shan Fong Mirage is our first mystical character, a significant element of the Valiant Universe as we’ll see. In terms of Abilities, Dr. Mirage is above average, but still a “normal” human in most regards. Her Awareness is considerable, related to her extrasensory gifts, and her Presence is as well, owing both to her power in the spirit world and her real-world celebrity. Given how important both Awareness- and Presence-based Skills are for her, it makes sense that Dr. Mirage has good Ranks in both, as well as Intellect.

Speaking of Skills, Shan’s are, as we mentioned, strongly focused on Awareness (Insight and Perception), Presence (Deception and Persuasion), and Intellect (Investigation and Occult). Of note is the Occult Skill, new in Valiant Adventures. It’s effectively an Expertise Skill, but with the importance of Occult Skill to so many characters and situations, it was easier to define and name it as a separate Skill of its own. Mirage also has some practical “adventuring” skills: training in Close Combat, Stealth, and Treatment.

For Advantages, Shan has several related to her status as a former celebrity, like Benefit: Famous and Contacts. Most of her other Advantages relate to her talents as an occult investigator, particularly Favored Foe: Spirits, Second Chance on Investigation Checks involving the paranormal, Trance, and Well-Informed, which in her case usually involves her connections to the spirit world and the Deadside. Of particular note is Mirage’s Power Stunt Advantage: This is an addition to Valiant Adventures that is similar to the Luck Advantage (which she also has) except it is “free” uses of the Power Stunt option of extra effort, reflecting Doctor Mirage’s flexibility as a sorcerer. She can be relied upon to pull off a couple of unusual spells or effects without having to worry about fatigue or having Hero Points on-hand.

Dr. Mirage’s powers feature her protective “working clothes” which provide Protection (and increase to her Toughness) as well as Resistance to Spirit Powers. This is another instance of the Resistance mechanic, based off the new Bonus Die mechanic in Valiant Adventures (see the Valiant Adventures Quickstart for details). “See Spirits” is pre-defined Senses Effect in Valiant, given how many characters have it, and Doctor Mirage is unusual in that she can enter the Deadside largely at-will, although only in spirit form while in trance. Lastly, she has a selection of common spells, which she can supplement with her Power Stunt Advantage, as well as actual extra effort and Hero Point spending.

What about Shan’s ghostly husband Hwen? For the most part, his presence in her life is covered by her Stubborn Complication (her devotion to him) and by her Contacts, Power Stunt, and Well-Informed Advantages, which can also reflect Hwen’s influence in the Deadside and his ability to offer insights and advice, along with the effects of spending Hero Points for Inspiration.

Check out the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter now!

Valiant Worlds for Mutants & Masterminds

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 Valiant Adventures Roleplaying, Worlds of Valiant

When the DC Adventures RPG premiered with what would be the Third Edition of the Mutants & Masterminds game system, it was the only version of that edition available. The stand-alone Third Edition Hero’s Handbook wouldn’t come along until the following year. But with the Valiant Adventures RPG, using a modified version of the M&M system funding on Kickstarter now, long-time players of the Third Edition may ask themselves “Can I just use Worlds of Valiant as an M&M setting sourcebook? Do I really need the new rulebook, if all I want is the Valiant setting and characters?”

The simple answer is: You don’t need the Valiant Adventures Hero’s Handbook to get use out of the Worlds of Valiant as a setting sourcebook for your Third Edition M&M rulebook(s). Worlds will contain the bulk of the information on Valiant characters and their different corners of the universe. While Valiant does make some minor adjustments to the Third Edition rules to better suit the setting, the material in Worlds will still be quite usable. The notable areas of “translation” are:

Skills: Valiant breaks a few M&M skills into smaller sub-skills; Technology into Computers, Electronics, and Mechanics, for example, or Vehicles into Driving and Piloting. Still, the names of the skills are quite self-explanatory, and you can use them as-given in the Valiant write-ups, or translate them back to their M&M equivalents on-the-fly quite easily.

Advantages: The largest number of new character traits in Valiant Adventures are advantages, many of them based on the rules options introduced there. If a Valiant character write-up has an advantage not in the Third Edition Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook, you can just ignore it, but getting and using those advantages (in Valiant or in your regular M&M game) is one good reason to pick up the Valiant Hero’s Handbook.

Powers: A few powers—notably Healing and Regeneration—are a bit different in Valiant, to go with the adjustments to Damage and Damage Resistance to suit the Valiant Universe setting. That said, their Ranks remain essentially the same, and you can easily convert them to their M&M equivalents, if you want. We’re also looking at presenting powers in Valiant write-ups a bit differently, with more prose explanations of what a character’s powers are along with the game-system notation of their Effects. This is more a change in presentation than mechanics, however, so it doesn’t really affect the write-ups’ usability—if anything, we hope it increases it!

The other things about character stats: Abilities, Ranks, Defenses, and so forth are all the same in Valiant as in M&M Third Edition, as you can easily see by taking a look at the characters in the Valiant Adventures Quickstart. We’ll also be showing off some sample Valiant heroes soon so you can get a sense for what the Worlds book will offer and how useful it will be to you. Take a look and … Stay Valiant!

Uncover the Secrets of the Galaxy with Trades of the Expanse: Journalist

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Trades of the Expanse: Journalist Available now!<transmission from Green Ronin Publishing incoming.>
<time delay 35 minutes.>

Today I’m here to tell you about the latest for The Expanse RPG—Trades of the Expanse: Journalist. The 1300 worlds are filled with stories, and it’s the journalist’s job to seek them out, uncover the truth, and share them with the galaxy. This exciting supplement explores the life of journalists in The Expanse. It offers helpful information for players who want to make journalists, groups who want to play a team of journalists, and plenty of source material and new rules, gear, and ships for any GM who wants to expand their campaign.

 

The life of a journalist can be hazardous. Journalists pride themselves on keeping humanity honest by speaking truth to power and exposing dirty secrets. With humanity spread across the galaxy, the sharing of information has become even more important. Journalists help to share the human experience of people from vastly different circumstances and backgrounds. They expose the dirty secrets of the rich and powerful, share the plight of the Belters with the Inners, and shine a light on the truth. Journalists tend to make a lot of enemies. Most folks don’t like having their secrets exposed and sometimes seek revenge or just to stop information from being released.

 

Trades of the Expanse: Journalist follows the same format as the other Trades books. It opens with an in-depth look at the role of journalists in The Expanse universe and explores different kinds of journalism. There’s also a fun section on media lingo and a listing of many of the media outlets journalist characters are likely to interact with. Then, there’s the Finding Work section that provides some charts and tables for GMs to use to determine the types of journalist jobs that are available.

 

The Tools of the Trade section details a trove of new gear for journalists: electronic press IDs, recording drones, and burn keys for quickly deleting data, and even a new augmentation. Following the tools is everyone’s favorite section—Ships! There are new Ship Qualities and a ship designed for the journalist on the move, the Cronkite-class Media Ship.

 

Under Doing the Work there are new rules for journalists and campaigns involving journalists. There’s a Journalist specialization with a new talent that helps with getting access and getting the story out. There are new stunts including Hardball (for getting to the truth when conducting an interview), Fourth Estate (for earning the trust of different organizations), and Press Pass (for getting access). There are even new Churn complications for adventures for journalist-oriented adventures and campaigns.

 

To wrap things up, you’ll find a rogues’ gallery of ready-made sources that GMs can use to build a story around or if they need a quick NPC in a pinch. Finally, there we present an optional system for journalists (although it could easily be adapted to other types of adventures and characters). The No Further Questions! optional system allows a player to add to the Churn tracker in exchange for special journalistic actions such as getting answers to questions, capturing important video, finding a new source, or gaining an important clue.

 

That about wraps it up. The Trades of the Expanse series continues. Next up is Trades of the Expanse: Entertainer. Keep your comms open!

 

<transmission ends.>

Trades of the Expanse: Journalist is available now in the Green Ronin Online Store, and on DrivethruRPG!

Ouch that Hurts!

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Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game, coming soon to Kickstarter!

Click the image to be notified when the campaign goes live!

Hello heroes! It was an incredibly eventful back half of 2023. I went to U-Con in mid-November where I ran six M&M events, Galaxy Con in December where I ran two M&M events, and I ran a special event at Around the Table in Lynnwood, Washington over the last few weeks. As I said, these were all Mutants & Masterminds, but what I didn’t tell people until they sat down was that I was playtesting the new damage rules for our upcoming Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game, and let me tell you, they were brutal!

These new damage rules are meant to simulate the grounded and dangerous combat of the Valiant Universe and it certainly did that in spades. Essentially, there are now two damage tracks: one non-lethal and one lethal that changes the way damage is applied to characters.

The new damage track is as follows:

  • Succeeding at a Toughness resistance check now incurs 1 Bruise (non-lethal) or 1 Injury (lethal) which reduces your resistance checks by 1.
  • Failing a Toughness resistance check by 1 degree incurs 2 Bruises or Injuries and the Dazed (non-lethal) or Stunned (lethal) condition.
  • Failing a Toughness resistance check by 2 degrees incurs 3 Bruises or Injuries and the Staggered (non-lethal) or Wounded (lethal) condition.
  • Failing a Toughness resistance check by 3 degrees incurs the Incapacitated (non-lethal) or Dying (lethal) conditions.

I quite enjoyed how the new damage affected gameplay. Every attack felt substantial, with both heroes and villains finding themselves in a lot more danger. It sped things up significantly (which as everyone who has ever played a “one shot” with me can attest to is a good thing for me.) The players really seemed to enjoy it when the villains were taking a lot more damage from each attack, not quite so much when it was done to them, but overall it felt in keeping with the tone Steve and I are trying to capture for Valiant Adventures. I did not show off some of the new things we have in store for Healing, Regeneration, and Toughness but I’m excited to see how those changes interact with the new damage.

I’d tell you more about some of my theories, but I can’t do that until we get a little closer to our launch date for the Kickstarter. Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game is coming soon and we will be doing playtesting for it over on the Mutants & Masterminds Patreon. Keep an eye out on this space for more details as the Kickstarter gets closer and over on the Patreon if you want to be among the first to try these new rules out for yourself. Just make sure to pack some gauze and ice packs. I have a feeling we’re going to be beating up a lot of player characters in the next few months!