Re: [BNW] Death of a Campaign

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

>     I won't go into the Sneak arguement, since it's being hammered out by 
>people
>much better with rules than I, but I did have an observation about the 
>superhero
>"flavor" of the game.  Personally, I gave up on trying to make my game even 
>a
>little bit like the comics.  Instead, I went in the other direction and 
>have
>brought some elements of the Cyberpunk genre into my game.  I'm trying to 
>make
>my game a little darker even than the standard, and I plan to introduce
>cybernetics on a _very_ limited scale.

Nothing wrong with that.  However, with the group I had, they wanted to 
play...well, Superheroes.  BNW's superpowers are, for the most part...well, 
just character attribute modifiers (Gunner, Genius, Sneak, even Speedsters, 
Bouncers and Goliaths).  Or a built-in gun by another name (Flamer, 
Screamer, Blaster).  Not all of them are like this, but most are.

In other words, you're more like a spy (or rebel, or whatever) in a 
modern-day setting, with some extra skill levels or a real cool weapon, then 
a "superhero."

>     As for the power packages, which is an arguement that I'm sure has 
>gone
>round and round, I'd have to agree.  I think the power packages are 
>restrictive,
>and there could have been a better way to do it.  And saying that one 
>should use
>Champions or one of those other settings to create the character you want 
>is
>hogwash.  Don't tell me to buy another system to fix what's wrong with the
>first; I may not come back.  Anyway, I decided to give BNW its fair chance.

This arguement makes very little sense with me, either.  Matt may have 
misstated his case, but his entry at the accumulated rulings seems to be 
trying to make two separate points:

1)  This is a unique setting, not a generic one  (a perfectly acceptable and 
welcome arguement)

2) If you want a character with powers built to your taste, get another 
system (Steve's note:  yeah, after you've spent $30 on this one to find this 
out ;) ).  If you want to build characters with powers to _my_ taste, use 
this system.

And if you like Matt's taste in powers (again, as opposed to the power 
levels themselves), no problem.  And I don't have a problem with it.  But I 
can certainly see why out of all the possible players who might be attracted 
to a game billed as "superheroic," _some_ might not like Matt's taste in 
powers.

>I've already made exceptions to allow characters to buy tricks from other
>packages with my approval and at an increased cost (my Bouncer player wants 
>to
>get the Goliath's Superjump trick; he's got The Matrix on the brain ;-).  
>So
>far, my players have been pleased with their characters, I just worry that, 
>as
>they go along, they may become discouraged that their character's powers 
>can't
>change.  We shall see.

I have no problem with letting folks crossbuy Tricks to some degree.  And 
I'm not sure if the power-changing thing would be that big a problem.  Most 
superhero's powers over the years don't really change much.  Is Spiderman 
really much different now than he was 30 years ago?  Cyclops?  Green 
Lantern?  Various incarnations of the Flash?  Wolverine?

(Heh.  And if your Superman, you tend to _lose_ powers...  :) ).

>     I'd also have to agree about Bargainers and Gadgeteers.  I can 
>certainly
>understand that the packages would get greater coverage in a later 
>supplement,
>but I would expect that they would get at least a little more support in 
>the
>main book.  Hell, the Bargainers introduce a certain mysticism that is 
>never
>really embellished anywhere else in the game.  For the time being, I have
>disallowed the Bargainer in my campaign, and I may not even bring them in 
>later,
>since I'm not sure the whole demons thing fits into my worldview.  I have 
>to

Well, I didn't really have a problem with that aspect, and I think the 
Covenant and Vampires do tend to embellish the supernatural angle.  Although 
I didn't disallow Bargainers per se, once I explained to them exactly what 
was entailed (i.e., "You want more than one Totem?  Ha!  Make that TN 30 
roll!"), nobody was too enthused about taking one.

Beyond the game mechanics, my real problem was that despite some vague hints 
that "Oh, you don't have to be a traditional tux-wearer," they really didn't 
give you much beyond that.  By making them all part of a group that tends to 
dress and act similar (and drawing them that way in the various 
illustrations), it tended to strip out some of the "personal taste" that 
characters could bring to a potential Bargainer, and the wide range of 
options he had that _would_ let you design him to personal taste.

>say, though, that the vagueness on this aspect of the game worries me.  The
>Gadgeteer is rather one-dimensional and desperately needs a supplement to 
>make
>it package that goes beyond the powered armor.

Agreed.  I can see why such a potential system would not be what Matt wanted 
given his quoted goal to keep players from designing stuff to their personal 
tastes (or have them go elsewhere if they wanted to).  The game as-is 
doesn't really need a point-based system, which is probably what you would 
need to build such a system.

In this case, I think a few more examples of non-armor, non-gun Gadgets, and 
maybe a little clearer guidelines, would have been sufficient.  Again, you 
can make gadgets (sort of) with the Gadget rules (check out Blacklash and 
Belladonna at my web site), but who the heck knows if they are balanced, 
even relative to the Power Armor example provided.

>     Anyway, I'm not trying to be overly critical, either.  I just picked 
>up
>Defiants today, and I remain a firm believer that I can make the game work 
>as
>long as my players and I maintain our interest.  No brickbats from this 
>part of
>the peanut gallery. ;-)
>

Heh.  Well, I'm looking forward to picking up a copy of Defiants this 
weekend, so I'm not by any stretch of the imagination out of the game.  Matt 
and AEG will continue to get my money as long as I have it.

But...the basic BNW rules really read like a Beta Copy to me.  Ravaged 
Planet was a definite improvement on the matter.  I look forward to reading 
the Defiants SB.

---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

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