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As with every other product from this line, WatchGuard Solo- Skyfire is an excellent addition to the WatchGuard Universe and as well as the Mutants and Masterminds RPG System. The art throughout the line is top-notch the characters interesting with a well fleshed-out background that can easily be added to any campaign that you are running, as well as the stats themselves being interesting and something a little different than your standard Brick or Blaster fare. I highly suggest you pick up this or any other product from Xion Studios- money well spent!
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At first glance Strand comes across as Medusa of the Inhumans - prehensile hair etc. However AoV has put their own twist on this character and made this a very useful addition to their universe and I can really see this character on the coast of Monte Carlo or engineering a jewel robbery from a private bank vault in Switzerland. This is obviously a company that tries very hard to both respect its customers and provide value for money and I can't wait to see more...
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Here's a novel villain to add to your game... and one whose modus operandi will have people puzzled until they figure it out.
You see, she has prehensile hair that is under her complete control. It's strong (capable of lifting up to 10 tons) and extendable at will to a couple of hundred feet or more... it can grab, hit, you name it... Now there's something to contemplate: what clues would be left behind for CSI techs to analyse after she's broken in and robbed somewhere? And does she ever go to the hairdressers? That could prove a whole adventure in itself.
Complete with a detailed background that explains her powers and her decision to lead a life of crime, Strand fits in well with the overarching picture being painted by the 'Acts of Villainy' series. A rather thin adventure idea is included, but there is plenty of potential from the backstory particularly if you enjoy the political aspects of the growing number of super-powered individuals in the alternate reality, be they criminals, vigilantes or operating within conventional law enforcement... or just trying to make a living within normal society.
An unusual and quite intriguing character, possibly a bit silly at first glance but capable of quite a bit of depth when you start thinking about how to use her - but I don't want to meet her on a bad hair day!
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Coppertop is a well-conceived pure thug of a supervillain. It's quite refreshing to find a real thug rather than the never-ending hordes of supervillains that want to take over the world or indulge in some other gradiose scheme... and of course, they need minions and enforcers so perhaps that's where you can use him.
There's a whole backstory to the fellow, but basically Coppertop was a fairly ordinary and quite grumpy electrician who encountered a wierd rock in a thunderstorm and emerged from the experience with certain powers, notably the manipulation of electricity and super-strength. Don't get him wet, though. He is well detailed and the backstory makes sense in explaining how he is now.
A simple adventure idea using him is included, although it makes little use of his abilities. Yes, he's a thug and he's being one in the scenario outline, but there's no reason to use him rather than anyone else. An inventive GM shouldn't take long to come up with a better use for him - perhaps some other supervillains are planning a heist or some other escapade that needs a black-out, and Coppertop shorts out a sub-station or even part of the grid for them. Maybe it's a plan to thwart democracy by crashing out the voting machines on election night...
Anyway, a nice low-level villain to tuck away for when the need arises.
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This account of a major criminal organisation opens with an introduction explained how it came to be: a long process during which the author refined his ideas from the original starting question of how do supervillains acquire their minions anyway? From this eventually Crimenet was spawned.
It's built along the lines of a regular corporation with a few key members for whom the operation of the organisation - rather than criminal activity itself - is their main source of income. Their core business is as an agency for supervillains, selling their services to clients, and providing resources and networking opportunities to service the supervillains' needs. They even provide legal advice or loans... after all, the average supervillain's normal interaction with a bank manager is to rob him, not to trundle round for a chat about financing his next venture!
As well as the actual provision of services, personnel and employment opportunities, it's also a membership organisation with considerable benefits for members over and above mere networking opportunities. These increase with the rank of membership that a supervillain wishes to have, neatly linking in with game mechanics to provide graded levels of benefit.
There is an interesting account of how Crimenet first came to the attention of the authorities, a cautionary tale for any over-enthusiastic hacker. Moreover, it gives ideas of how to embed Crimenet and its activities into your campaign. Then comes detailed statblocks for various 'generic' employees and agents working through or for Crimenet, from low-level henchmen and muscle up to specialists and executives, as well as named individuals complete with backgrounds and other material who are all ready to roll straight into one of your adventures. This section ends with full-blown character sheets for the highest level members of Crimenet: Mister Crime, Miss Information, Payback and Kit-Bash.
Finally, there are some notes on using Crimenet in your game (as if what you've already read hasn't been giving you ideas... well, it has me at any rate!). Assuming you are running a standard set of superheroes combatting costumed crime, Crimenet is best used as a shadowy background organisation that is revealed over time. There are notes on how different individuals within the organisation get along (or don't) and how they might make an appearance in your ongoing story. Overall, this is a fine and thoughtful resource that provides a worthy long-term adversary to weave into your game.
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The AoV series consists of a number of characters (so far all villains) from the authors own Tribute Universe - Mustang is the latest and is well worth the 99c cost as it details an interesting M&M3e build character and a background set in the authors Universe.
The characters are interesting often with unusual twists and make for interesting characters - Mustang for example is a hybrid clone gone rogue who is a cross between a supersoldier and a speedster. The character illustration on the covers continue to get better and better with each issue released.
The character background is interesting but can be difficult to add to existing campaigns - whilst each character comes with some additional background, without a Tribute Universe sourcebook it is more likely that the purchasers will pick and mix those elements that match their existing background and ignore the rest.
This is a series to follow and my only dislike and reason for a 4 star rating rather than a 5, is the fact that the majority of characters released so far have been very US-oriented which is unlikely to put off most purchasers and for us eurocentric GM's only means some alterations to the name and/or background.
Overall a series to watch!
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This product describes a single ancient... artefact? Being? It's a bit difficult to tell really, but it does have a compelling backstory that is well worth the reading.
Basically there's an ancient crown embued with a couple of properties by the sorcerer who made it. For a start, to see it is to want to have it - to the level of being prepared to obliterate anyone who gets in your way. Once worn, it turns its possessor into a giant ice-being with tremedous strength and a bad attitude, which is known as the Winter King. It's not clear what actually motivates the Winter King, but you certainly don't want him around!
The crown is supposedly tucked safely away in one of those mysterious government warehouses, not being worn by anyone. No doubt, if any supervillains find out where it is, they'll try to steal it - and that's even before they catch sight of it and its property of making anyone who sees it covet it...
Some may find the Winter King overpowered for their game, or that mere destructiveness without purpose is difficult to weave into their plotline, but it does have the potential to be a formidable foe and maybe provide a climactic battle for your heroes...
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Ant superhero GM needs a steady stream of costumed miscreants for their characters to defeat, and herein an interesting one is presented... although I wish she'd get out of my back garden and back into the PDF! (It's darn cold this morning...)
Put basically, Windchill's power is based around weather control, specifically air movements and low temperature. It doesn't take a meteorologist to think up a good few ways to create mayhem, although it is not so easy to come up with ways to monetize the abilty, which apparently is Windchill's motivation: to make a buck or two.
The backstory is well-written if a little vague - an inherited power due to Daddy's early work as an ore miner that just sort of began to manifest when she'd already gone off the rails as a teenage vandal, could have been more tightly written so that the original realisation of her abilities was more closely linked to a traumatic event - it sort of is, but the implication is that she was already aware of them before the first blow-out manifestation. The ideas are good, however, and there is plenty of scope for her to cause a lot of turmoil and need dealing with!
Another area that could have been developed further is that before she turned into a hoodlum and developed her superpowers, she had been training to be a dancer. You see how rich the backstory is, yet bits are left underveloped and other stuff thrown in. Overall though it presents a clear picture of promising youngster breaks bad.
The art is good, giving a clear visual image to work with. In all this is a well-presented supervillain who could provide the main opposition for a caper, or provide support for others perhaps as a lead-in to becoming the focus of a plot herself.
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Vampires have an odd role to play in a supers game, something this book recognizes.
This takes one of the most iconic vampires in myth and one of the most notorious real-life killer and adds her to the Mutants & Masterminds 3.0 game.
The author gives us an interesting back story that should be familiar to most anyone with an interest in vampires. There is a new, more up-to-date backstory of her activities from 2001 and on.
The crunch part, her stats and powers are good and they look "right" to me.
There is also a template for a Bathory-lineage vampire, which is a good one to use in a game. Her PL is 12, which makes her a good threat against most supers.
I am not 100% sold on her being in a Goth Metal Band myself, but it certainly looks like it works here.
6 pages: cover art, condensed OGL statement and a lot of stuff to use in your game. You are getting a lot for your buck here.
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Love this character. Part Punisher, Ultimate Hawkeye, and Batman. Fun for use or as a PC an NPC.
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Very cool character and concept. Can be used in all different sorts of campaigns, even a "G.I. Joe" style universe!
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Utility: 5 (Very useful character for Mutants and Masterminds 3e)
Artistic Appeal: 5 (High quality artist representation of the character)
Cost: 5 (Under a buck is always a 5)
Comments:
Being a player and gamemaster of mutants and masterminds, original NPCs are always appreciated. But this is not just another NPC workup, the Badger is a well thought out and usable character with a good background and is easily usable in any campaign.
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I loved it very informative, great background, it had the feel of an official handbook of the marvel universe just with the one character & also The teen force 5 was fantastic, I hope future modules com out for both the, The Teen Force 5 & Watch Guard.
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I loved it very informative, great background, it had the feel of an official handbook of the marvel universe just with the one character & also The teen force 5 was fantastic, I hope future modules com out for both the, The Teen Force 5 & Watch Guard.
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The sourcebook is well laid out, matching the visual aesthetic that people have come to expect from M&M products, with vibrant colors and professional-grade character artwork. My only gripe would be the font choice for the body text as the letters feel crammed to tightly together, making it difficult to read for very long.
That said, the book goes into the Summit City setting, with a map, an at-a-glance section, and a fully detailed history. The history is pretty well thought out, taking time to introduce the various names and events that matter to the setting.
The real meat of this sourcebook however, comes from the character bios. Heroes and villains alike are statted out, with each one being given a full treatment discussing their History & Origins and Powers, and a full M&M 3e character sheet to go with it. The character vary in power level, but the average is about PL 10, which is reasonable for many M&M games.
Even if you’re not entirely sold on the WatchGuard setting, each of these characters can be pretty easily lifted and dropped into your own M&M Supers Campaign with very little need to change anything save maybe a few references to the WatchGuard setting in their Bios.
Overall the WatchGuard Sourcebook is a decent addition to an M&M 3e Gm’s arsenal. The character bios alone are helpful in populating a supers campaign, and the scenarios can also be useful for those days when you encounter GM writer’s block.
New GMs or GMs who don’t have the time to put together their own setting may find this product more useful, as it does a lot of world-building from the start, while leaving enough for new additions to be painless.
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Publisher Reply: |
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Thanks for the detailed commentary and overall very positive thoughts on this first major project of ours! It is truly a labor of love...!
I'm curious about the font gripe -- have you tried it on multiple devices and/or using Acrobat or Preview to view it? The text should flow perfectly, and looks stellar, easy to read, on all of my devices (iPad, iPhone, Mac & PC). Curious. I hate losing a point for a program text-flow issue...! :)
Still, thank you very much for taking the time to be so detailed in your review. More to come from the WatchGuard Universe soon!! |
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