Matt

Isn't Harn supposed to be good for this? All the rivers and weather patterns are supposed to be based on science. I tend to use real maps and change the names but I'm not too worried if something's a little off. All the same, any good resources for this would be great to know about for any future fantasy games I might GM.

Good resources for a straight (non-"Weird West") Western are hard to come by. I mostly use some reference books and Louis L'Amour novels plus personal visits to Tombstone, the Black Hills, etc. Thanks for posting these various links. Would love to play some Boot Hill.

Sonds interesting but not something I'd ever want to use. A lot of these "narrative" things make me wonder if I'm still playing a game or just engaging in roundtable storytelling. But I'm surely old and out of touch: I thought the MWP Marvel game was awful keep hearing folks sing its praises. I like knowing what a character can and can't do.

I've never used anyone else's setting as I prefer to make up my own stuff. But Glorantha sounds like a good 'un for those inclined to use published settings for their games. (Even when I play CoC, I don't really use much Lovecraft stuff as the players know too much. Better to make it truly mysterious in my opinion.)

I've managed to acquire about 75-80% of Atlas' comics output via bargain bins over the past decade, one or two comics at a time. I really enjoy their super heroes. Grittier than Marvel, without any baggage or history to be sorted, drawn by good artists and usually pretty well written. They get a bad rap sometimes by folks who claim they were aping Marvel, but I say (1) the first couple of issues were clearly NOT aping Marvel and in fact came at super heroes from a whole other angle and (2) the few that suddenly did ape Marvel due to publisher fiat for one final issue before cancellation : tell me, aside from Archie, who WASN'T aping Marvel? DC hired Marvel guys explicitly to Marvelize DC comics in hopes of emulating Marvel's sales (in the process removing anything that actually made DC an alternative for those not enamored of the Marvel soap opera style). I recommend Tiger-Man, the first 2 Destructor issues, The Cougar, and The Brute!

How about Blue Falcon and Space Ghost? That's a team-up I'm dying to see. Love that genre of super hero action.

But it was meant to sell the toy line, so the whole point is to include as many popular heroes and villains as possible! Besides, stories like Secret Wars aren't read for character development, they're all about "Lookit Ultron's blast deflected by Cyclops' blast! Woohoo!"

I have read many Golden Age Batman stories via DC Archives and it seems to me folks who claim Frank Miller "returned Batman to his roots" must not have read any actual stories from yesteryear. He was never the a-hole they like to portray him as these days.

Aren't there a bunch already? Anyone born in the Americas is by definition a native American.

I have Mantis on DVD, but haven't found time to watch past the pilot. Interesting how many actors I recognized from later series like Alias.

And looping back around to comic books: When Atlas started up in '75 (or so), the creative types wanted to do a licensed Kolchak comic book, but the publisher was too cheap to pay the fees. Thus was born The Cougar, subject of a two-part entry on my blog. Would love to see some Superworld/BRP write-ups of the Atlas heroes: The Cougar, The Brute, Tiger-Man, The Destructor, et al.

Sounds neat. Will have to give it a shot. Thanks for the heads up.

The descriptions on the site don't tell me nearly enough to know what's in these. Monster Island sounds like it would mostly be a setting or scenario. The others appear to be fantasy creatures. Whoever writes those product descriptions didn't do a very good job as I cannot even tell what's in the product. Sadly, both are watermarked PDFs; unfortunately I can't use PDFs (and if I could, I wouldn't buy watermarked ones).

I would rank the '77 Spider-Man show high above Crosby WW; indeed, I like it better than the Spidey movies. Would LOVE to see write-ups of TV super heroes. That's the power level I prefer for my games. Don't forget the Rex Smith Daredevil done as a backdoor pilot in Trial of the Incredible Hulk!

I have all those Mrs. Peel Wonder Woman issues. They're pretty good for the most part and the Mike Sekowsky art is great. Don't really believe the Crosby version was based on it, though, as I don't see much similarity. Seems more like a misguided "improvement" by TV writers/producers, not unlike the recent David Kelley "improved" version. 'Cause obviously folks who never have and never would read the comics know better.

Do either of the mentioned books have info on horses, saddles, guns of the period, and so on? How much of Devil's Gulch is about the town (the part I doubt I'd use much) and how much is basic info for the Old West setting (the part I'd use)? Is there anything about these that could displace my Boot Hill (3rd ed.)? Got no use for "Weird West."

Is there a BRP bestiary? Obviously I can write up various animals on my own, but it's nice to see what someone else did if only to ensure I don't forget a particular talent an animal might have, or to be sure I'm not over- or underestimating sizes and speeds and how much damage a bite/kick/scratch does. Not really interested in a "monster manual" as I don't do much fantasy-type gaming, more interested in real creatures large and small, as well as extinct and prehistoric beasts.

How does this compare to the original Who game by FASA?

Most of the criticism I have heard about super heroes using BRP/Superworld make me seriously wonder whether the critic ever actually played the game or if he just eyeballed it and made a judgment. Hard to say. I don't find it any harder than other super hero games. I like the flavor and feel more than many other games.

Well, I can draw something halfway decent but seldom have the time...it took me a few weeks just to draw an 8-page story, and that was before I had kids. Even 1-page Hostess Fruit Pie-sized stories feel like a lot of work these days. I'd love to convert a Superworld RPG session into a comic if I only had the time.

The question is: why even call this character Wonder Woman?

Anyone else remember Hero Hotline?

I am hoping to start a new Superworld game soon. If anyone cares, I'll update here regarding how it goes. May also do "issue" synopses at my seldom-updated blog.

Thanks for the advice, but I should rephrase, perhaps, to be clearer: I have zero interest in "fantasy" settings, elves, magic items, dragons, and the rest. It could be the greatest plot ever conceived, but I wouldn't want to run it as I find those trappings incredibly boring. I have such little free time, I'd rather read a book than play a fantasy game just to get some RPG larks in. I'm odd man out in the RPG world as I have never been interested in the most popular setting for RPGs. Tough row to hoe, but so be it.

The level of power supported by Superworld is just the right fit for me, as I tend towards the less powerful heroes like TV Spider-Man, Batman, Green Hornet, TV Wonder Woman, and such. I have BASH but it didn't impress me. I have M&M 1st and 2nd editions...I want to like them more than I do. The feats bug me for some reason...some of them feel like subsitutions for roleplaying.