I honestly really appreciate this format for a first impression! It's a lot more relaxed and casual as a whole, and now here's another game you've convinced me to check out
The GYRO mechanic is extremely useful and fun when it works. When it doesn't, that's when you need to look at the story/scene rather than the mechanics. The creators of this game have gone on record to encourage the line of play "if it makes sense, then go for it." For example, one villain upgrade allows them to suppress the heroes by using a "calming field". The field forces heroes to use only their green zone abilities until the field is destroyed or disabled. This 'field' can be described in a multitude of ways, but if the heroes do something that would make them no longer effected by the "calming field", either temporarily or permanently, then let them use their other abilities. You don't need to follow the specifics of the mechanics if it doesn't make sense. Additionally, there is a large number of unique rules related to twists and trade collections that allow heroes to do more than only what their character sheet says. Basically, its very simple to increase the difficulty of a scene, in case the heroes do something clever to circumvent your scene. This is also the case for making a difficult scene easier.
Also, they will (eventually) be releasing a dark and gritty expansion to the core rulebook for those that prefer those kinds of superhero games. If you don't want to wait, my recommendation is to give your players more difficult scenes, and/or to apply twists that are uniquely or circumstantially difficult to deal with. Hopefully the are able to mitigate disaster long enough to get some trade collections!
This is hands down my absolute favorite system to GM. It is so easy just to throw a few elements together and let your players actions guide the session. I also absolutely love how easy it is for someone with no rpg experience to sit down and in 10 mins they are off and running.
Love the book and the feel. The only thing that is missing is character flaws/drawbacks to make things even more interesting. Wish it would be part of the book...as it is so important. Superman is not the same without Lois or Kryptonite.
What a great vid! Thank you so much for all the explanations. Having recently discover the cards game on steam and being a GM on many games, I defeniltely want to give this a try!
Just came here thanks to the Algorithm and some Googling for Cortex Prime much earlier today. You've got some really cool stuff here! I'll have to poke about. As a new person here though, I think I like this video style. Still pretty informative, rather causal, and honestly really funny. Nice work!
I think I like the idea of having a parameter for the type of situation you're in. Not only would it break up a character from feeling too boring with the same set of abilities at all times, but it might also encourage better rp if players need to think about a situation's affect on themselves. Sorry if crunch isn't your thing. I love the tactics that goes into positioning that you just don't get in PbtA games. It's understandable if you just don't like getting slowed down calculating exactly how hard you hit, though.
Nice video! I discovered Sentinels and I already played Masks a lot so I was glad to find a system that wasn't too crunchy, but I found Sentinels had so much flexibility for types of stories and types of heroes, while Masks pretty much needs you all to be insecure teens. So far really enjoyed the system
Thanks for making these videos, I am going to try this system out. Supers is the hardest genre of RPG to get "right". This seems to do what I want my supers RPG to do.
I do appreciate it a lot, actually, since it uses Cortex...Plus? I could look that up, but whatever lol...it uses whatever the predecessor was to Cortex Prime, a system I've covered and have a lot of love for! Though, I think for this style of comicbook game (silver age/early-2000s-Justice League cartoon), I do prefer Sentinel. Buuuut if I want something a little grittier, darker, etc... Cortex is a beautiful system to achieve that. Maybe my favorite more-flexible hero system!
I have played Mutants and Masterminds (the latest edition), I swear if it wasn't for the power profiles book, character creation would have been impossible, or at least insanely fiddly. Loved the crunch, but maybe was just a little too crunchy... This probably goes a little too simple for my tastes though.
Have you tried ICONs Ad Infinium RPG? I'm looking to try it out and it seems simple, has a comic book feel, yet still has a little crunch. Can anyone who has played it tell me how it runs?
If you think Mutants and Masterminds is on the far end of the crunch scale, I hope you never find out about Champions/HERO system. M&M was basically an attempt at simplifying Champions/HERO. I'm not one to be turned off by crunch (and I do like the game, just from reading the system; it's hard to get a group together to play it, though, to put it mildly), but I wouldn't want to do it without a VTT, with macros and semi-automated tracking, even if playing with everyone being in the same room.
Personally, I'm not really a big fan of the Hero System, but that's all down to preference. It's been a LONG time since I gave it a look, so maybe I should check back in on it.
Nice to see some Sentinels coverage, youtube is a wasteland where the game is concerned lately. A couple of thoughts regarding specific points: People complaining about not being able to access their stronger abilities early in a fight need to look at the rules more closely. You can always access an ability from the next zone up (eg a Red while in Yellow, or a Yellow while in Green) by accepting a minor twist to do so. You could even combine that with one of the Alternate Rewards and spend hero points to make an ability count as one zone easier to use for a whole session, which could let you open up with a Red ability in the Green zone by taking a twist, or use it for free in the Yellow. Similarly, some folks grouse about using the same few abilities all the time and not having the option to do the equivalent of "power stunts" where a hero suddenly pulls out a trick that they just came up with or just rarely use. Those are both wrong too, since you can always take a basic action and (with GM approval) accept a minor twist to tack on a new effect like moving the target of the action somewhere within the scene, affecting two targets instead of one, using your Min die to perform a secondary action like a Hinder that also Attacks, etc. Those kind of risky actions are great for the narrative and character development, and the GM should absolutely be creative about what the twists he hands out do. They're an opportunity to tell a cooler story, not a punishment for the player for "breaking the rules" by doing something besides ability action spam. Other things: 1:40 M&M is pretty complex during character building, less so during play, but I don't think most folks would say it's crunchier than Champions/Hero is at either stage of things. M&M abstracts a lot of things that Hero doesn't, for better or worse. 2:15 Masks is pretty lightweight, but there are various one-page rules sets out there that really define the shallow end of the crunch pool, and even restricting the scope to multi-page games Tiny d6 Supers is way simpler than any PBtA game will be. 2:30 V&V is still sold and supported by Fantasy Games Unlimited, even gets the occasional new module - which might be its biggest claim to fame. I don't think even Hero/Champions has published more adventures over the years than FGU, which is kind of remarkable given how many sourcebooks Hero Games has put out over the years. Monkey House Games (that's Jeff Dee's baby) makes Mighty Protectors, which is very much a new, somewhat modernized version of V&V with the name filed off due to legal stuff between them and FGU.
Champions has never really been for me. There is a level of crunchiness that just kind of ruins Superhero ttrpgs, at least for me personally. Not a knock against the system, just personal preference.
@@TheDungeonNewbsGuide I think for me its just that I pictured you being more a fan of darker colors... but hey, none of my concern ;). As a good friend of mine says "you do you boo." Keep making awesome vids. Also, I'm sure if M&M was too crunchy for you, you would hate it, but have you ever tried Champions/HERO System?
I honestly really appreciate this format for a first impression! It's a lot more relaxed and casual as a whole, and now here's another game you've convinced me to check out
The GYRO mechanic is extremely useful and fun when it works.
When it doesn't, that's when you need to look at the story/scene rather than the mechanics.
The creators of this game have gone on record to encourage the line of play "if it makes sense, then go for it."
For example, one villain upgrade allows them to suppress the heroes by using a "calming field". The field forces heroes to use only their green zone abilities until the field is destroyed or disabled. This 'field' can be described in a multitude of ways, but if the heroes do something that would make them no longer effected by the "calming field", either temporarily or permanently, then let them use their other abilities. You don't need to follow the specifics of the mechanics if it doesn't make sense.
Additionally, there is a large number of unique rules related to twists and trade collections that allow heroes to do more than only what their character sheet says.
Basically, its very simple to increase the difficulty of a scene, in case the heroes do something clever to circumvent your scene. This is also the case for making a difficult scene easier.
Also, they will (eventually) be releasing a dark and gritty expansion to the core rulebook for those that prefer those kinds of superhero games. If you don't want to wait, my recommendation is to give your players more difficult scenes, and/or to apply twists that are uniquely or circumstantially difficult to deal with.
Hopefully the are able to mitigate disaster long enough to get some trade collections!
This is hands down my absolute favorite system to GM. It is so easy just to throw a few elements together and let your players actions guide the session.
I also absolutely love how easy it is for someone with no rpg experience to sit down and in 10 mins they are off and running.
Love the book and the feel. The only thing that is missing is character flaws/drawbacks to make things even more interesting. Wish it would be part of the book...as it is so important. Superman is not the same without Lois or Kryptonite.
What a great vid! Thank you so much for all the explanations. Having recently discover the cards game on steam and being a GM on many games, I defeniltely want to give this a try!
Just came here thanks to the Algorithm and some Googling for Cortex Prime much earlier today. You've got some really cool stuff here! I'll have to poke about. As a new person here though, I think I like this video style. Still pretty informative, rather causal, and honestly really funny. Nice work!
After seeing this I had to get this one. Looks amazing, love the GYRO mechanic
I think I like the idea of having a parameter for the type of situation you're in. Not only would it break up a character from feeling too boring with the same set of abilities at all times, but it might also encourage better rp if players need to think about a situation's affect on themselves.
Sorry if crunch isn't your thing. I love the tactics that goes into positioning that you just don't get in PbtA games. It's understandable if you just don't like getting slowed down calculating exactly how hard you hit, though.
This looks interesting. Definitely going to check it out! Thank you for introducing it.
Nice video! I discovered Sentinels and I already played Masks a lot so I was glad to find a system that wasn't too crunchy, but I found Sentinels had so much flexibility for types of stories and types of heroes, while Masks pretty much needs you all to be insecure teens. So far really enjoyed the system
I literally just started playing a game with my friends. It’s such a fluid system. We even rolled up characters from scratch
Oooh I want to play this. Looks awesome.. subscribed.
Thanks for making these videos, I am going to try this system out. Supers is the hardest genre of RPG to get "right". This seems to do what I want my supers RPG to do.
Hey Klaus - Just going to say - I love this format, and also, since you loved Sentinel Comics, have you thought about taking a look at Spectaculars?
Thanks so much! I am actually not familiar with Spectaculars, but I will check it out!
If anything Marvels heroic sounds like it would be for you tooo
I do appreciate it a lot, actually, since it uses Cortex...Plus? I could look that up, but whatever lol...it uses whatever the predecessor was to Cortex Prime, a system I've covered and have a lot of love for!
Though, I think for this style of comicbook game (silver age/early-2000s-Justice League cartoon), I do prefer Sentinel. Buuuut if I want something a little grittier, darker, etc... Cortex is a beautiful system to achieve that. Maybe my favorite more-flexible hero system!
I have played Mutants and Masterminds (the latest edition), I swear if it wasn't for the power profiles book, character creation would have been impossible, or at least insanely fiddly. Loved the crunch, but maybe was just a little too crunchy... This probably goes a little too simple for my tastes though.
Have you tried ICONs Ad Infinium RPG? I'm looking to try it out and it seems simple, has a comic book feel, yet still has a little crunch. Can anyone who has played it tell me how it runs?
I have not, though a friend mentioned it to me when I was telling them about Sentinel as well, so I'm feeling like I should give it a look!
@@TheDungeonNewbsGuide cool. Looking forward to the video if you do review it.
If you think Mutants and Masterminds is on the far end of the crunch scale, I hope you never find out about Champions/HERO system. M&M was basically an attempt at simplifying Champions/HERO. I'm not one to be turned off by crunch (and I do like the game, just from reading the system; it's hard to get a group together to play it, though, to put it mildly), but I wouldn't want to do it without a VTT, with macros and semi-automated tracking, even if playing with everyone being in the same room.
What about champions from hero system
Personally, I'm not really a big fan of the Hero System, but that's all down to preference. It's been a LONG time since I gave it a look, so maybe I should check back in on it.
Nice to see some Sentinels coverage, youtube is a wasteland where the game is concerned lately. A couple of thoughts regarding specific points:
People complaining about not being able to access their stronger abilities early in a fight need to look at the rules more closely. You can always access an ability from the next zone up (eg a Red while in Yellow, or a Yellow while in Green) by accepting a minor twist to do so. You could even combine that with one of the Alternate Rewards and spend hero points to make an ability count as one zone easier to use for a whole session, which could let you open up with a Red ability in the Green zone by taking a twist, or use it for free in the Yellow.
Similarly, some folks grouse about using the same few abilities all the time and not having the option to do the equivalent of "power stunts" where a hero suddenly pulls out a trick that they just came up with or just rarely use. Those are both wrong too, since you can always take a basic action and (with GM approval) accept a minor twist to tack on a new effect like moving the target of the action somewhere within the scene, affecting two targets instead of one, using your Min die to perform a secondary action like a Hinder that also Attacks, etc. Those kind of risky actions are great for the narrative and character development, and the GM should absolutely be creative about what the twists he hands out do. They're an opportunity to tell a cooler story, not a punishment for the player for "breaking the rules" by doing something besides ability action spam.
Other things:
1:40 M&M is pretty complex during character building, less so during play, but I don't think most folks would say it's crunchier than Champions/Hero is at either stage of things. M&M abstracts a lot of things that Hero doesn't, for better or worse.
2:15 Masks is pretty lightweight, but there are various one-page rules sets out there that really define the shallow end of the crunch pool, and even restricting the scope to multi-page games Tiny d6 Supers is way simpler than any PBtA game will be.
2:30 V&V is still sold and supported by Fantasy Games Unlimited, even gets the occasional new module - which might be its biggest claim to fame. I don't think even Hero/Champions has published more adventures over the years than FGU, which is kind of remarkable given how many sourcebooks Hero Games has put out over the years. Monkey House Games (that's Jeff Dee's baby) makes Mighty Protectors, which is very much a new, somewhat modernized version of V&V with the name filed off due to legal stuff between them and FGU.
Love the sentinel card game. This looks pretty cool!
Is this your face reveal video? 🙈
Nah, I've snuck it in here and there, but I've mostly avoided it, because who needs this gorgeous mug distracting them when learning about ttrpgs?
No love for Champions?
Champions has never really been for me. There is a level of crunchiness that just kind of ruins Superhero ttrpgs, at least for me personally. Not a knock against the system, just personal preference.
Can you do real time combat in ttrpg ?
Have you ever tried worlds in peril?
Honestly, the name of that one isn't even ringing a bell for me. I may need to look this one up!
That fingernail polish color doesn’t do it for me. It’s well done but doesn’t go with your beard or your shirt. :(
That's fine, it does it for me.
@@TheDungeonNewbsGuide Klaus hates me now :(
@@TheDungeonNewbsGuide I think for me its just that I pictured you being more a fan of darker colors... but hey, none of my concern ;). As a good friend of mine says "you do you boo." Keep making awesome vids.
Also, I'm sure if M&M was too crunchy for you, you would hate it, but have you ever tried Champions/HERO System?
Matches the green dice nicely, though.