Hero Southern Community Solo Session #3: Danger Room Isn't In The Budget

Can you believe that I started this solo game almost a year ago? I can't. I actually have a great deal of solo sessions with my ICONS Superhero Community College in my journal. I'll be taking the next couple of weeks to typing them out and publishing them on the blog. In truth, this was actually my second real session, but like the one before it, this was done over the span of several smaller sessions over the week. This one is more of a role-playing prelude to the main adventure. There is a lot of strong language here, so be advised this write up isn't for all ages. Hopefully everyone enjoys it!

Raul and CJ are dragged to Student Services, after coming to blows during a rescue exercise. There is a long silence as the two are in the waiting area. 

Does CJ say anything to me?: Yes And Twist!

After a good ten minutes of the young men not saying anything, CJ finally breaks the silence.

"This is your fault," CJ mutters to Raul.

"How the hell is this my fault?" 

"You can't take a fucking joke!" CJ's voice gets louder. "You couldn't stand that I beat you and I'm better at this than you or your roach friend!"

Raul stands up, body tense and fists balled, "Are you kidding me? You've been acting like a piece of shit to me since high school. This is just more of your bullshit that I can't just get away from!"

CJ bolts up, ready for round two of their fight. "Well, maybe if you didn't act so full of yourself, I wouldn't have to knock your punk ass down a couple of pegs."

"Both of you, shut up and get into my office! NOW!" an older woman's voice interrupted the two. They both turn to see the school disciplinarian, Lady Mist.

New NPC: Lady Mist. In charge of dealing with infractions. Has the ability to summon and control a harmful fog.

Raul and CJ sit down in front of Mist's desk. Mist directs their attention to her television and plays the events of their fight.

"Now, you both are aware that fighting on school grounds is a serious offense, right?" she says sternly.

"He started it!" Raul yells. "This asshole has been tormenting me since we got here."

Mist stops CJ before he can get a word it. "Using your powers on school grounds against another student is illegal and a serious infraction. The punishment is suspension and if you do it again, you are permanently expelled from the campus."

She turns off the TV and leans back in her chair, "Not only that, but you'll be put in the superhero databanks as ineligible for other schools for at least four years. Meaning neither of you will be accepted to any academy or superhero team in the country. Is that what you both want?"

Raul and CJ begrudgingly look at each other and say in unison, "No ma'am..."

"Good," Lady Mist stands up and opens the door.

"So... so we're not suspended?" CJ asks, confused.

"Not today, no. This is your first day, and no one got seriously injured. Mark my words though, if I see either of you in this office again, you'll both be suspended for two weeks. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the boys say together again.

"Good. Now get out."

The two young men leave her office and glare at each other in silence, before splitting off on their own way.

*                    *                    *

The next day, Raul made sure to come in on time. After almost getting suspended from HSC, his parents came down hard on him. The pressure is on to not screw up.

How does the school react to yesterday's fight?: I drew Air, which means Chaotic but Friendly.

Everyone seems to have mixed feelings about Raul's outburst from yesterday. However, most people seem to side with him over CJ about the whole ordeal. Still, Raul is embarrassed over the fight and tries hard to keep to himself some.

He sits down next to his new friends from yesterday. Melvin won't stop talking about their mission from yesterday to Alex. Jordan seems to be on her phone, half listening while browsing Facebook. CJ walks in, just barely on time, and sits away from Raul. They both exchange dirty looks, but it is too early in the morning to be getting into fights.

I draw a card for the next adventure. Seal Rural Obstacle. The Element is Earth and the Rune is Authority and Power

The bell rings and Mr. Arms walks into the classroom.

"Sorry for being late class," he began, looking a bit disheveled. "We've been setting up a special exercise for the class today. After yesterday's quiz, I graded your actions and concluded that you all need to work on your teamwork." His eyes briefly gaze towards Raul and CJ before returning to the rest of the class.

"A lot of you have interesting control over your powers, but you need to learn to work with and rely on your team. Therefore, we are skipping the written portion of today's lesson and moving straight to another training exercise."

The class groans a bit, as many are still tired from yesterday's exercise. As Mr. Arms tries to calm down the class, a woman walks into the room. 

Who is this NPC?: Vector, an Indian woman with the ability to create wormholes and transport people. She looks to be in her late 40's and has her hair tied up in a bun.

"Good morning class," Vector begins. "Today, we are all going on a special field trip that will push your limits of communication and teamwork. If you're going to be working with the bigger academies or the larger superhuman community, you need to learn how to work together. Lone wolves don't last long in this business."

"Tell that to Black Hood, lady," CJ smirked at the perceived cleverness of his outburst. Black Hood was a hero from the 80's in Miami that took on the drug lords of that time.

"Ah yes the Black Hood," Vector took off her glasses to clean them off a bit. "As I recall, his sidekick was Sparrow, right?"

The classroom grew quiet and things got uncomfortable.

"Yeah, it was Sparrow. A young man, about your age, Mr. Jacobs. I forget, what happened to him?" Vector mused.

CJ shifted in his seat, "He was... gunned down by the mob."

Vector shook her head, "That's not all, Mr. Jacobs. What else did they do?"

"Lady, everyone knows what he did! Why are you asking these stupid questions?" CJ started getting upset.

"Because, that's the fate of a superhero that goes in half-cocked without support. Do you want your head mailed to your teammates? Or to your mother?" Vector finished cleaning her lens.

CJ muttered something incomprehensible, ceding the argument.

Mr. Arms tries to put the class back on the rails. "Now class, follow Mrs. Vector to your training session. It will be a fun one."

Vector flicks her wrist and a blueish purple portal swirls into existence. The class is a bit hesitant to enter, but one after another, each student goes through.

*                    *                    *

Raul steps out of the other end, feeling a bit queasy from the wormhole. 'That's not something I want to do again,' he thinks to himself. He squints his eyes at the bright sun in the sky. Curiously, it was higher in the sky than it should be. 'Isn't it morning? Why does it look like noon?'

The heat and humidity kicked in, feeling even hotter than South Florida. As Raul's eyes adjusted, his mouth dropped in shock. Around him, he could see wild buffalo grazing across a wide expanse of grass. Far away, Raul could make out a pride of lions sunbathing. And in the distance lay a huge mountain range that Raul has only ever seen in books and as default computer wallpapers at school.

"Mrs. Vector," Melvin was the first to speak up. "Where on Earth are we?"

Vector smiled and spoke. "Everyone, welcome to Tanzania! And that there," she points to the mountain range dramatically, "is Mt. Kilimanjaro!"

Raul couldn't believe they are halfway across the world. He turns to Alex and Jordan, both equally stunned.

"This can't be real," Jordan whispers. "It... it has to be some kind of illusion. Or VR..."

Alex nods, "Yeah, or like, holograms or something..."

"No way this school has money for a danger room," CJ interjects. Raul scowls but he couldn't disagree. He could feel the hot air and smell the wildlife around him.

"This is the real deal guys," Raul concludes. "We're going straight into the fire."

Vector snaps to get the students back on track. "Today, we will be splitting you all into teams of two. Team A will be the 'superheroes' while Team B will be the 'supervillains'. Team B will be attempting to break an' evil fire demon' from its prison in the volcano up there."

She motions towards Mt Kilimanjaro, then back towards the students. "Team A, it is your job to go up there and stop the ritual before it's too late. You will be on a time limit, so you will need to work together to act quickly to stop the villains."

Raul swallows in fear. "This is the second day and we're already going up a volcano?" he whispers.

"Take it easy, I'm sure the volcano is dormant or whatever," Alex jokes, but Raul could hear the worry in his voice.

Vector puts her hands on her hips. "Now, we'll divvy you up into your teams. Everyone will have two hours to prepare, then it's go time!"

Do I get put on the Hero team or Villain?: rolled Evens for Hero team
Is CJ on my team?: No But

Once again, Raul is spared from having to work with CJ. However, it looks like CJ is the team leader for the villains. In addition, it looks as though Melvin got drafted to the villains' side. He waves despondently at Raul, sad he can't help his new friend out. Still, Raul knows that he has to make up for yesterday. He walks to his team and prepares for his next exercise.

To Be Continued...

Solo Supers Sneak Peak Character 2: Cori the Corrosive Woman

As I write this, I'm typing up the next solo session that I completed over Thursday and Friday. Sadly, a long work week in the kitchen has left me fairly beat, so it'll take some time to get that write up out. In the meantime, here's another little sneak peek at a character coming up for my solo supers session.

Cori Jeong

Origin: Transformed

Attributes

Prowess: 5

Awareness: 8

Coordination: 5

Strength: 4

Intelligence: 5

Will: 6

DP: 5

Stamina: 10 

Powers

Corrosion: Limit (Non Organic targets only); 5

Specialties

Pilot: +1

Medicine: +1
Weapons: +1

Qualities

Keeps People at Arms Length
Unsure About Powers and Usage

Cori Jeong doesn't have much to say about her past before the incident. According to her, Cori is an only child that comes from two Korean parents in Los Angeles and that they disowned her for joining the Air Force. An accident happened at her base in the R&D department, setting the whole place ablaze. Cori ran back in to save a scientist trapped in the burning building, only to get some strange goo exploded onto her. It turns out that they were experimenting with a bacteria that could break down plastics, metals, and other materials. When it got on her, Cori's body changed. She found she could control the bacteria through her hands as a bluish silver goo to eat away at non-organic material. Once her time in the Air Force was up, Cori left to try and enroll into a supers academy to better control her powers, but was only able to get into HSC. She's here to get knowledge and confidence to use her corrosive powers.

Cori is 24 and a 5'11 thin Korean woman, with hair down to her shoulders. She has a light tan complexion and glasses. Cori is fairly friendly and fun loving, but gets straight to the point in a conversation. She is prone to getting lost in thought and always dodges questions about her family and childhood.

Sneak Peek Character: Obi the Gravity Man

I've already done my second session of the solo game, finishing it yesterday. Sadly, Saturdays are my long shifts in the restaurant, so I don't have a lot of time for writing it out. Instead, here is a character sheet for one of the new cast members, Obert Martin.

Obert 'Obi' Martin

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 3

Awareness: 7

Coordination: 6

Strength: 4

Intelligence: 4

Will: 4

DP: 3

Stamina: 8 

Powers

Gravity Control:Extra (Telekinesis); 6

Specialties

Leadership: +1

Drive: +1

Qualities

Devout Worshiper
Shoulder Bearing Burdens

Obert, or Obi Wan as most of his friend call him, is a Haitian man born to impoverished family in Little Haiti, Miami. He was raised as a devout Christian and this is still important to his life, though there is always a sort of battle within him between the spiritual and the secular. When he was only 11, Obi was struck by lightning and barely survived. With it, however, he was gifted with the powers to control gravity. Seeing this as a gift from God, Obi's parents have since been pushing him to become a superhero to not only save others, but also pull them out of poverty. But deep down, Obi isn't sure if the superhero life is really for him. He failed the exam to get into the larger academies, but his parents instantly enrolled him into HSC. Obi doesn't want to let his family down, but he also doesn't really want to be a superhero.

Obi is 18 years old and has dark charcoal skin, a shaved head and a thin mustache. He's very respectful, growing up in a strict household. Generally polite and in a good mood, but most of the time seems deep in thought.

Thought for the Day: Supers Setting

Many don't know this, but the current solo superhero game I'm running is based out of an old setting I've run for over a decade. It started with my first time GMing a non-D&D game, HERO System. From there, it has changed to different systems and has been tweaked here and there, from Savage Worlds to the recent ICONS. It can be hard to keep track of changes to your heroes and villains and making them as close to their original concept as possible. And while I've sadly been unable to run a lot of games in the setting until recent, it's been really enjoyable when I have. Also, it's good to have different settings on retainer, just in case you get players that want to do something different from fantasy gaming.

My setting is very inspired by Watchmen, moreso in its timeline than tone. In the setting, I made a conscious decision to have heroes around for centuries, with the more superpowered ones coming out during WW2. Most of the history isn't detailed, but it follows what one would see in comics throughout the decades. I'd probably advance technology much more, much like they did in Watchmen. In there, you had an 80's New York with widespread electric cars and other stuff that you wouldn't see for decades. But also, the setting I have is of its time. There is social media, smartphones, and the internet. And I like taking advantage of that, with heroes having Twitter meltdowns or Facebook fan pages and things like that. 

This is where my game comes in. Another specific choice I made for my game was to have it as a school style game in the vein of X-Men, Young Justice, or My Hero Academia (which may have had a lot to do with this choice). However, I wanted to avoid using teenagers. Why? Truthfully, I don't really have an interest in roleplaying teen angst and romance. I already lived it many many years ago so I don't want to play a hormone-ridden teen boy. I think I have more in common with the college goer, especially since I recently graduated from my second attempt at school last year. And I picked community college because at least from what I've seen from people, there is this negative bias against it. Many people look down on those that go, so community college students make the best underdogs. And everyone loves an underdog overcoming adversity story! So instead of teenagers rebelling against adults and figuring out what their bodies do, now they are young adults that have 'failed' being 'proper adults' and are now figuring out what they are doing with the rest of their lives. Which resonates more with me. 

The place is set in Miami for three reasons. One, I lived near their for a couple of years while going to culinary school, so I know about it more than other cities. Two, it's the only big city I've ever lived in. Before that, Charleston, SC and Orlando FL would be the biggest cities I'd ever visit on a weekly basis, so it was a big culture shock to me. And three, I don't think there are any big superhero teams in Miami. New York is teeming with superheroes and villains, and Los Angeles and San Franscico have a decent amount. But there is no love for the Magic City.

So in this setting, Miami is in the last decade getting a huge influx of 'snowbirds', villains from New York that are tired of dealing with all of the heroes and rival villains up there. Looking for more space and less heroes, they come down to Miami to find their fortune in a much warmer climate. Now Miami has its own government super team (The Magic City Defenders, another game I ran a couple of years ago) as well as a new super community college. And that's where our story begins. Imagine Community meets X-Men for a superhero team of the new millennium. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. 

Some Character Write Ups from the Solo ICONS Session

Here are some character sheets for some of the NPCs I had in my solo session, which can be found here and here. Mostly just for the students. I'll have to write up the teachers at some point.

Alexander Lowery

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 4

Awareness: 4

Coordination: 5

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 6

Will: 5

DP: 2

Stamina: 8 

Powers

Cold Control: Extra (Ice Constructs, Ice Shield); 4+1

Blast (Ice Blast): 5

Specialties

Performance: +1

Power (Cold Control): +1

Qualities

Cocky as They Come
Flaky like Snow

Craig "C.J." Jacobs

Origin: Unearthly

Attributes

Prowess: 6

Awareness: 4

Coordination: 3

Strength: 7

Intelligence: 2

Will: 6

DP: 4

Stamina: 13 

Powers

Altered Form (Metal Body); Extra (Instant); 3

Specialties

Athletics: +1

Sleight of Hand: +1

Qualities

Listen to Me, I'm Bigger and Stronger!
Picking on Weaker Folks is Fun

Jordan Lowery

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 4

Awareness: 4

Coordination: 5

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 5

Will: 6

DP: 2

Stamina: 9 

Powers

Fire Control; Extra (Absorbtion Fire, Aura Fire); 4
Blast (Firebolt): 7

Specialties

Business: +1

Leadership: +1

Qualities

Loud and Proud
Unsure and Fear of Own Powers

Melvin Hornick

Origin: Transformed

Attributes

Prowess: 3

Awareness: 5

Coordination: 8

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 4

Will: 4

DP: 2

Stamina: 7 

Powers

Leaping: 6
Wall Crawling: 5
Stunning vs Will (Bug Bite!): Limit (Close Range); 7

Specialties

Drive: +1

Stealth: +1

Qualities

Loud and Proud
Unsure and Fear of Own Powers

Hero Southern Community Solo Session #2: Things Get a Bit Real

For this next adventure, I drew a card from the GMA deck to get an element and some icons. I got Water, Death, Sun, and Shield. That shaped the next quiz that I'll be doing.

Raul and his class walked outside of the gymnasium to see a frightening sight. The weather was grim, with the wind howling and rain pouring. In front of them was a flooded area, with only roofs and some treetops poking out of the water. Before he could react, Admiral Hammer placed his hand on Raul's shoulder.

"It's part of the quiz son," Hammer said with a grim look. "Don't go messing with the storm just yet."

Hammer gathered the students together. "We're jumping right into the next test minnows. For this one, we are going to be looking at your ability to use teamwork to rescue civilians."

Mr. Arms pointed at the house furthest away from the group and continued from where Hammer left off, "On that rooftop, a family is trapped and trying desperately to avoid the flood. Your mission is for you and your teammate to work together and save them before the deluge swallows them."

Raul squinted his eyes and saw that there were, in fact, real people on the roof! He was taken back by their use of real humans out there for such a dangerous test, but it only meant that the stakes were real. This is the real super world, Raul thought to himself. No more games.

"You all will be assigned a partner and you'll have thirty seconds to plan your move, then one minute to rescue the victims. Starting... NOW!" Mr. Arms and Adm. Hammer gave out slips with everyone's names on it.

Did I get teamed with Craig?: No But

Raul drew his slip and mentally begged that it wouldn't be CJ. He opened the slip and breathed a sigh of relief, before his heart sank. It looks like he got Melvin. While Raul didn't hate Melvin, he was very worried about how his bug bites were going to do anything in this situation. Still, this is the hand he was dealt, so he straightened up and went to get Melvin.

The two did a quick run down of the situation and decided on a good plan of action. Just in time too, because they were first.

For this challenge, I used the Pyramid Tests in ICONS Assembled. The way it works is that I am trying to achieve a Massive Success. So I have to roll skill challenges to get it. Getting lesser successes can add together to create a better success. So 2 Moderate Success create 1 Major Success, and 2 Major Success create a Massive Success.

Pyramid Test: Difficulty 7; Time Limit 4 Pages

Page 1

Raul closed his eyes and focused on the environment around him. The thermal shifts in the clouds, the wind vectors blowing across the land, the small globules of water and dirt in the air. He clung to these and began forming a new weather forecast for this.

Raul rolls his Weather Control to calm the weather: 4-1+6=9; Moderate Success!

The weather calms from a severe squall to a light breeze, as the sun rays begin to part the clouds. Melvin leaps into action, bounding from tree top to roof top.

Melvin rolls to leap. He needs 2 Moderates or 1 Major Successes to make it to the family: 2-6+6=2

Melvin spends a Determination Point to re-roll the result: 4-2+6=8; Moderate Success!

Melvin slips up a bit on one of the roof tops, but he is able to catch himself on a gutter and make it to about half way to the family. Raul was fairly impressed, realizing that he underestimated the kid. Still, it wasn't over yet.

Page 2

However, it looked like things weren't going to go as swimmingly as they had hoped. Jetting from beneath the waves were two masked villains, one with a shark motif and the other with an unusual octopus costume. The two began throwing debris at Raul to disrupt his concentration. Without a second thought, Raul forms a twister around him and blasts off into the sky to dodge the barrage.

Raul rolls to dodge: 5-2+5=8; Moderate Success!

Raul is just barely able to dodge the debris, but with his broken concentration, the thunderstorm began reforming with a vengeance. 'This can't be fair,' Raul thought to himself. He could hear Adm. Hammer laughing loudly and shouting, "Never forget, there are always nasty surprises to be had during a disaster!"

Does Melvin continue on to rescue the family?: No But

Melvin froze with fear, feeling the pangs of terror deep in his stomach. Without thinking, he turns back and tries to leap onto the shark villain harrying Raul.

Because he is attacking the villains but not directly going for the rescue, I rule that this roll doesn't count for the Pyramid Test.

Melvin rolls to leap and grab: 6-5+8=10; Major Success!

Melvin careened through the stormy sky and landed on the face of the shark villain, biting him constantly.

"Gack! Ge... Get him off me! He's BITING ME!!" the shark villain was flailing and panicking as the octopus villain went towards him.

"Now's my chance!" Raul yelled, blasted off to the family.

Page 3

The house that the family is on begins to collapse. Raul pushes himself hard to reach them, leaving a cyclone trail in his wake. But the storm was getting worse and worse and it was hard to maintain focus among the turbulence.

I spend a Determination Point to activate 'Force of Nature', giving me a +2 to my effort.

Rolling to reach the family: 6-5+5+2=8; Moderate Success!

Because I got 4 Moderate Successes, those are converted to 2 Major Successes and then 1 Massive Success.

Raul grabs the family and holds on for dear life as the house they were on gets swallowed by the water. Hammer blows his whistle while Mr. Arm shouts at Raul.

"Congratulations! You and Melvin were able to save the family with a couple of seconds to spare! Bring them on in!"

Raul landed roughly on the ground and let the family go. Looking at them, he saw that they actually had gills the entire time.

"Shhh," the youngest son winked at Raul. "We want to make it seem super dangerous. It'll be our secret. Though I think my dad hates your friend now." He pointed at Melvin making it out of the pool.

It's now time for Craig to go with his teammate, Alex.

Does Craig make it over: Yes And Twist!

I drew a card to reveal Crown Sun Sword, meaning a conflict is reveal between two rivals. Oh boy!

As soon as Hammer blew his whistle, Craig armored up and leapt into the air, clearing the villains and the water in a single bound. He grabbed the family and gave Mr. Arm the thumbs up.

"Jesus, he did that in a single leap!" Melvin exclaimed to Raul. "I can't believe how strong this guy is!"

Raul nodded as he watched an embarrassed Alex walking off the pool. "Man, I didn't exactly do shit that round," Alex said disappointingly. "I got him next time."

As Alex was getting out, Craig decided to play a prank on Raul. He slapped the flood water, sending a decent sized wave at Raul and soaking him to the bone.

"Haha that's a good look on you Soggy!" Craig yelled, laughing out loud. "That's what you get for thinking you could one up the champ!"

Raul lost his temper and fired a blast of hail at CJ, denting his armor a bit. Craig wiped the ice off of his face. It was go time!

Initiative

Raul:1+4=5

Craig: 3+3=5

A circle of students formed around the two fighters, chanting and screaming and yelling for a fight. Craig rushed to Raul, hoping to teach the twerp a lesson in messing with him. 

Craig rolls his Prowess against Raul's 5: 3-4+6=5; Marginal Success!

Because it's a Marginal Success, the damage is halved to 4. However, Raul has no resistance, so he takes the full 4 damage.

He wound his arm back and slugged Raul straight in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the poor kid. Raul is not happy, but he knows enough about Craig's fighting that he doesn't want to be anywhere near the guy. Raul flies up into the air and launched another blast of hail and wind at Craig.

Raul rolls Will against Craig's Coordination of 6: 4-2+6=8; Moderate Success!

Craig takes 2 damage.

Raul tags CJ with the full force of his hail blast, but Craig is able to withstand a great deal of it thanks to his natural metallic armor.

Do the teachers notice this and stop it?: Yes And

Admiral Hammer and Mr. Arms steps in, grappling the two and holding them back.

"Knock it off you two!" Arms's normally friendly demeanor was drowned out by seething anger. "You both are heroes in training. Fucking act like it!"

With everyone calming down, Arms spoke again, "You two need to see Student Services right now about this. We do not tolerate unsanctioned interstudent fighting here."

"But he started it!" Raul stammered angrily.

"GO! NOW!" Arms was not playing around.

And so Raul and C.J. headed over to be disciplined on the first day of school. Will our heroes set aside their differences? Will they be expelled? Find out on the next session!

Final Thoughts

So more and more, I'm finding that writing these sessions up are a lot harder than playing them. They certain take a lot more time, but it's a bit enjoyable. I'm also enjoying ICONS a bit, though I do plan on doing more with Qualities and Stunts once I grok them a bit more. The 1d6-1d6 method is perfect for solo play and I definitely recommend it. I'll also have to write up some actual stats for more students as we come along. I plan on continuing this as well as finishing the Mythras solo session write up in the future.

Hero Southern Community Solo Session #1: School is in Session!

Below is the first half of my solo ICONS session I did the other night. Because of work and house stuff, I unfortunately have to break the summary down into two halves. Tomorrow I have the day off so I can do more with the blog. Apologies again.

For this, I used 3d6 for my basic GM, where the first is Yes/No, the second is And/But/Neutral, and the third is a Twist die. In addition, I use the GM Apprentice cards for more extensive answers. For rolling up NPCs, I have some of Ennead Games's superhero kits to roll up any superhero teacher that I need. As for ICONS, the only modification I've made is that I'm going with their 1d6-1d6 version of rolling. Basically I roll 1d6-1d6+my modifier against the difficulty (or NPC's modifier, if I'm going against them) and try to roll higher. Since I'm the only one rolling, it makes sense for me to do it this way.

Here we go!

*               *               *

We begin our adventure with our 'hero' Raul Montanez getting off the bus and arriving at HSC in the early morning. Plastered on his face are bags under his bloodshot eyes, red from the shots of coladas and 'greenery' he took to ease the anxiety. But today was the day he had been waiting for. While it wasn't any of the big academies, HSC was the closest Raul could get to finally getting his shot at the big time. A shot at being a bona fide superhero. Taking in a deep breath and readjusting his back pack, Raul takes his first steps onto the campus.

Taking in the sights, the campus was fairly normal looking for a supposed superhero school. The buildings were all from the 60's and most had bars over the hurricane windows. The lawn was tall and pot holes littered the roads running through the campus. The buildings were covered with make-shift decorations and homemade banners one would see at grade school orientation. A feeling of dread and regret hit Raul in the pit of his stomach, and he wondered if this was really going to get him into one of the bigger academies.

Do I spot any friendly faces?: Yes And

Just when he was contemplating leaving turning back, Raul spotted two friendly looking people at the bulletin board. They were a guy and a girl, both with pale skin, bright red hair, freckles, and similar enough features that they looked like they were siblings. Raul strolled up to them and tried to break the ice.

"Hey there," he said, voice crackling. "Is this were we get our class assignments?"

The guy smiled a goofy grin and nodded, "Yeah man, they got the listings up here." He scratches his short hair and pointed his thumb at the girl. "Me and my sis are first years, so we're hoping we don't get lost in this hole."

His sister shrugged, "Yeah, last thing I need is to make a wrong turn and run into some homeless guy out of his mind on flakka or some shit." She took a drag from her cigarette.

"By the way, I'm Jordan," she offered her hand out to Raul. "And this rude asshole is my twin brother Alexander. Too cool to introduce us."

"Hey, I'm your older brother!" Alex exclaimed, barely taking his eyes off of his phone.

"By like two minutes!" Jordan said. "You always bring that up like it's supposed to matter!"

"Hah, well it's good to meet you guys," Raul interrupted before their bickering could continue. The three continue talking while walking to their first class, trading stories and info. They live out in Miami Shores and apparently have opposite powers, with Alex being able to control ice and Jordan being able to control fire. They take turns showing off a bit before realizing that they are going to be late for their first class.

Do we have the same homeroom?: Yes But

While they had many of the same heroic courses, Raul failed a bunch of his general studies and is stuck in the remedial courses for math and literature. 

The trio make it into Hero Orientation, where they grab their seats at desks from the Reagan era and wait for the teach. Raul looks around to see a fairly large class. Most of the people have to stand since there aren't enough desks.

Do I spot anyone familiar?: Yes But Twist!

Looking around, Raul spotted a face he had hoped to never see again. A tall, muscular young man with a dark, charcoal skin and a buzz fade hair cut shoots Raul a dirty look and approaches him menacingly.

It was fucking Craig.

"Holy shit!" Craig yelled loudly, "They let YOU in here? Shit man, I think I picked the wrong school to go to. How you living, Soggy?"

"*sigh* Hey CJ..." Raul didn't make eye contact. Craig Jacobs was a childhood friend from when they were in diapers. They used to be close, until Craig hit puberty, got buff, and got in with the cool crowd. Since middle school, CJ has been calling Raul 'Soggy' because when Raul's weather powers appeared, it was in the middle of their middle school dance and soaked everyone in the gym, ruining the dance for the whole school. CJ never let him live it down.

"Man, don't be like that," CJ frowned and firmly pushed Raul's shoulder. "Though I guess if I didn't make any of the good schools, I'd be all cranky too."

"Hey, don't forget CJ, you're also here. Sounds like you didn't do so great either." Raul grew a bit of a backbone, getting tired of CJ poking fun at him

Rolling Will vs Will to insult and get a rise out of CJ: Difficulty 6; 4-4+6=6 Success!

CJ's face turned into a scowl and his body armored up, revealing a metallic coating around his whole body. He looked like a human statue made from iron. CJ made a fist and spoke.

"Listen here, I actually passed my entrance exam unlike you, Soggy. I'm just using this to get REAL experience before getting to the big time. And if you got something to say about that, I'll break your face in."

Before Raul could get up, a short, scrawny kid interposed himself between the two. "C'mon guys," the kid said, "the teacher's here! We can't get expelled on the first day!"

CJ sneered at the two, then took his seat. Raul felt that this probably wasn't the end of it.

"Thanks again. I didn't really want to see where that was going," Raul said.

"No problem. Name's Melvin. It's my first year here too. I can't wait to get this started."

The orientation teacher finally walked into the class room, placing his suitcase on the desk and straightening his tie. Raul and his classmates looked in awe as they realized who it was

Rolled a quick NPC with a weird name, but I liked it and decided to roll with it.

"Hello class, I'm Galactic Arm," he said, fixing his mask a bit. He was wearing a normal suit, but still had his mask over his face. "You can just call me Mr. Arm. I'll be your orientation teacher this term."

Galactic Arm was a fairly popular super hero in the day. His right arm was imbued with the powers of the cosmos, and it glowed like a star-studded nebulae. Arm could heal people with it, or launch cosmic blasts with it.

Is he friendly?: Yes And Twist!

"In this course, we'll be discussing the basics of applying your super powers to help others," his smile shone through his mask and one could sense the energy and desire to do good in his voice. "Being a super hero is more than about fighting the bad guys. It's about stopping crime and rescuing innocents. Expecting the unexpected."

Mr. Arm fiddled with some keys in his pant pocket, "And speaking of unexpected, we have a pop quiz for you all. I think you'll like it. Follow me."

The class groaned as they were led to the campus gym. It was the largest and newest building on the campus, capable of housing all kinds of crazy scenarios to test the students on proper rescue procedure. On the way to the gym, Raul and Melvin hooked back up with Alex and Jordan. Melvin spent the walk chattering about his life and powers. His powers included wall climbing, minor leaping, and giving people rashes with his bites. Apparently, Melvin had barely passed his entrance exam, but most of the academies didn't accept him. Most felt his powers simply weren't enough to handle fighting crime, which left Melvin no choice but to enroll in HSC and try to get in that way. Raul felt bad for the poor kid, since he himself wasn't able to pass the power control portion of his exam. Still, there was a sort of camaraderie of taking this last ditch effort to become a superhero.

As the class entered the gym, they are greeted by a gruff old man wearing a Navy inspired outfit with a giant hammer tattooed on his left arm

"Alright kiddos," he said menacingly, "I'm Admiral Hammer and I'm going to be in charge of making sure you all don't die out there on the streets." Hammer was a super strong brick that could swim through water like a torpedo. Raul didn't know much about him beyond that, except that he's been around since the 80's.

"Out there in the real world, villains, criminals, and Mother Nature won't give two shits whether you're too tired or not ready to deal with the day. When disaster hits, you need to be prepared to hit back, twice as hard. So put on yer big kid pants and get in line. We need to see what you can do first."

Hammer pointed to a circle in the dirt and explained that they had to use their powers to launch a baseball as far as possible. Anything went, but the only rule is that they have to stay in the circle.

CJ was the first up, and he transformed into his metallic form. He wound up for the pitch and launched the ball several hundred feet away. The class was impressed and it even caught the attention of Hammer.

"That was some fine throwing, Mr. Jacobs," Hammer nodded at the proud young man. "Mr. Montanez, you're next!"

As Raul walked to the circle, he went passed CJ. CJ bumped his shoulder into Raul on purpose, "Beat that Soggy."

Raul tried to calm his nerves and cupped his hands in front of him with the ball inside. The wind around his hands began to twist and turn, faster and faster until it created a small, horizontal cyclone.

Roll my Wind Blast against a Difficulty 4 to land a good score and Difficulty 8 to beat CJ's score: 4-1+6=9; Moderate Success!

Raul levitated the ball in the twister and launched it like a missile. The ball went passed CJ's marker by a decent enough margin. Raul turned to see Craig's disgruntled face scrunched up. It was worth it just for that, Raul thought.

"Ah, so we got ourselves a weather wizard here, eh?" Hammer looked sufficiently impressed, "Here's hoping you don't kill anyone with that power." Despite his laughing, no one could tell if he was serious or not.

Does anyone beat our score?: No And Twist!

I actually drew a GMA card for this one and got Significant Obstacle of Conflict in a Different Area.

No one is able to beat our score, though many come close. Alex came in last, as he couldn't think of a way to use his ice powers to launch the ball far. Jordan blasted the ball like a rocket and it reached a good football field's length before burning away. With the ball launch done, Hammer spoke.

"Now that we are done with that, it's time for the second part of your test. We've seen your powers, but now we have to see what YOU are made of with a little simulation the teachers came up with." Hammer motioned for the class to follow him.

What's in store for the students? Will Raul's and CJ's rivalry heat up too much and boil over? Will they all survive their first term in HSC? We'll find out next time!

Solo Supers Sandbox Character: Raul Montanez

For my solo game, I have decided to go with ICONS for now. Guardians actually looked really interesting and I may give that a run for a different game. But for now, I'll stick with what's somewhat familiar to me, even if it is FATE based.

Anyways, the elevator pitch of the solo game setting:

"It is 2017 and the world has had superheroes for over a century. Great people with incredible powers that perform mighty feats of heroism patrol the cities of Earth, protecting up from those that would do harm. But all superheroes, especially new ones, have to learn and train from somewhere. There are many great academies to train young adults in the career of superhero.  

This is not one of those academies.

For those that didn't make the grades, have the money, or pass the entrance test, but still want to try to help, there are several community colleges that can pick you up. And that's where our story begins, with a young Miami native named Raul Montanez. He enrolls into Hero Southern Community in Miami, looking to get into the world of superheroes, no matter what it takes."

Here is the character sheet:

Raul Montanez

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 5

Awareness:2

Coordination: 4

Strength: 6

Intelligence: 7

Will: 6

DP: 3

Stamina: 12

Powers

Elemental Control (Weather): Limit (Concentration; +1 DP); 6

Flight (Windrunning): 5

Blast (Hailstorm Blast): 5+1

Reflection (Wind Shear Shield): Limit (Kinetic Only; +2 Power Level); 6

Specialties

Mental Resist: +1

Power (Blast): +1

Qualities

Force of Nature

When it Rains... it Pours!

Raul is a third generation Cuban-American born and raised in Hialeah. He's the first person in his family to manifest a super power, with the ability to control the weather. Raul tried for the Standardized Hero Assessment Exam to get into the big schools, but a lack of control in his power and inability to pay for school meant that he had to go to community college to make his dream come true.

He's 18 and somewhat chunky with a tan complexion and short, curly black hair. A bit on the shorter side.

That's all I have time for today. Long shift at the restaurant, so not much time otherwise. ICONS should be an interesting fit to play. I'll also explain later why I went with college student as opposed to teenage academy like Teen Titans or X-Men.

Musing on Solo Supers

Firstly, a big thank you to +MoonSylver for their huge repository of superhero sandbox links. It's been pretty awesome to sift through this treasure trove of good ideas to get things set up on my end. So, many thanks to Moon.

With that in mind, I have a simplified patrol table for ease of use in the middle of a game. I'm going to be using Alien Shores's table, but paired down to just using a d10. I thought about having different odds of certain crimes depending on the area (industrial vs commercial, slums vs ritzy) but from reading tons and tons of comics, crime of any type can really happen anywhere. And plus, this is more going to be for fast use in the middle of a game, whether it's a solo game or with a group of friends. I am considering a drop-down dice table, but we'll see what time permits. Working at a restaurant next to a movie theater in the summertime means my time is very very limited.

That all said, I haven't quite decided on what to use as a system. I'm going between ICONS, Guardians, and now Supers!, which I hear is really good. ICONS seems good but I just don't like FATE all that much. Guardians is OSR and more familiar to me but seems more limited. Supers! I don't have, and looks really unfamiliar to me, so it'll take time to learn it. I'm down for trying anything new though.

A Solo Superhero Sandbox Scenario?

Switching gears from constant sci-fi and M-Space stuff, lately I've been in the mood for superhero gaming. I blame binge watching Flash season 3 and My Hero Academia with the lady friend. But I don't really want to cancel my M-Space game. So I've decided to try my hand at solo gaming again and do a superhero solo game.

Right now, I'm waffling between using ICONS, a simple hero game reminiscent of FATE done by the Mutants and Masterminds guy, and Guardians, an OSR clone done more in the style of super heroes rather than fantasy. I've played ICONS and liked it, but I also like trying new things and am looking at Guardians. I am looking to keep it simple for ease of solo play, so anything in that style can fit.

I'm going to be taking my notes from a superhero campaign I ran a couple of years ago called Magic City Defenders. In it, I had the players as Miami's first premiere superhero group. There's a map of the different sections of Miami (Overtown, Brickell, Wynwood, etc) that I had planned to use as a sort of patrolling 'hexcrawl'. Basically, the players would patrol a different borough and I would roll a random crime encounter table. The difference between this and fantasy games though is that something would always happen. It was just a matter of how important it was. More often then not, it would be simple stuff like muggings or car jacking, but every so often, there would be a bigger supervillain event that the players would have to contend with. The map of the neighborhoods is below for anyone interested

So with this, I plan on taking those notes and applying them to this superhero solo game. Luckily, ICONS has a fairly robust adventure generator that I can use, even if I use Guardians or some other game. In addition, I have a great catalog of villains from all kinds of systems, from HERO and M&M to ICONS and Savage Worlds. I think I'll have enough to go off of for a good solo campaign. I think I'll start with a premade adventure at first, to get my sea legs again with solo gaming. After that, I'll do more of my own adventuring.

My biggest enemy is time, or lack thereof. With summer here and working at a restaurant next to a movie theater, there is no slow season. People flock to our kitchen while on their way to the next summer blockbuster. And this week is the premier of Spider Man so... it will be a difficult time to say the least. That's partially why my Mythras solo adventure write had been put on hold (the other being bed bugs). I'll have to finish that sooner rather than later.

I think I'll decide on which RPG to use by tonight, though I'm always down to try new games out there. I'm leaning towards ICONS since I've played it before, but Guardians looks like a lot of fun. And I am more familiar with d20 systems. Also I'll post my hero at some point, before I get to the adventure.