SuperSystem: A Henchmen Development

Last week I worked up some SuperSystem stats for the models in my buddy, Rusti's kickstarter for Crossover miniatures.

In doing so I developed a new way to do lower-powered henchmen groups and still keep them at 85 pts.

Here it is:

Another Wave

BP Cost: 15 pts.
AP Cost: n/a
Effects: Only Henchmen groups may possess this power. When a henchmen group possessing this power loses its last member, it reforms at full strength at the beginning of the next combat round within the owning player’s initial deployment area, or if there was no clearly defined deployment area, place the group anywhere on the table, but not closer than 15” from any enemy model. 

Ok, based on some excellent feedback and suggestions, here is another version of Another Wave:

Another Wave

BP Cost: 10 pts. + 5 pts./lvl.

AP Cost: n/a

Effects: Only Henchmen groups may possess this power. Any time a henchmen group possessing this power loses its last member, it makes a Resolve + Iron Will check with a difficulty based on its level. If it passes the check, it reforms at full strength at the beginning of the next combat round within the owning player’s initial deployment area, or if there was no clearly defined deployment area, place the group anywhere on the table, but not closer than 15” from any enemy model.  If the player fails the check, he removes the henchmen group from play as normal and they’re gone for the remainder of the scenario.

When a player purchases this power for his henchmen group, he selects a level and pays the additional cost.  The level determines the difficulty number for the Resolve check to reform:

Level 1 = 4 goals (5 pts.)

Level 2 = 3 goals (10 pts.)

Level 3 = 2 goals (15 pts.)

Again, it still needs some testing; if you're a SuperSystem player, give this rule a shot and see if you like it!  

Thanks for visiting! 

--Scott

Crossover Miniatures: The Shootist

Well, that's what I've taken to calling him. He's listed as Ka-Pow on Crossover's web site.  These brilliant superhero miniatures mostly come with 3 head options, so you get a lot of flexibility with them.

This guy conjures images of DC's Deadshot and Marvel's Bullseye.  All around, a great 28mm super miniature. Sculpted by the inimitable Soapy, the same fine fellow who did our Half-Orc Monk for the Delves KS, this figure's crisp details make him a dream to paint.










Here are some more shots of the Shootist (apologies to the Duke, but he could never have made this guy's outfit work!):

I'll do some proper SuperSystem stats on this guy when my head is cleared, but right now I was just happy to get some paint on him!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

SuperFigs: Grannok-5

When I was in Chicago a few weeks back I hung out with my buddy, Jan (known as "Skip" in our comments section). Jan showed me his painting area, and I was wowed when I saw his version of Grannok-5, one of my top 5 favorite SuperFigs.

Jan was kind enough to send me a couple of pics of the finished version to share with folks here.





A talented artist across several mediums, Jan possesses a masterful eye for color, as evidenced with this paint job. Makes me want to bust out my own Grannok-5 and run some SuperSystem!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Steel City Supers Blog Debuts!

My good buddy Sky Hernstrom has debuted his new SuperFig-centric blog today. It's aptly named Steel City Supers!

Here's just a sample of the dynamite paint and conversion work you'll see there:



Sky is a real craftsman when it comes to the hobby, and his sense of color and blending skills are second to none, IMHO. I've added his blog address as a link to the favorites on the side of this site, so you'll know where to go when you want to pay him a visit.

Thanks, Sky! Keep up the great work!

--Scott

The Baron's Blog

I wanted to share some of the great model work and game posts Baronvonj is showing off on his blog.

His series of Basement Cons is tremendous viewing fun--wish I lived in the Baron's neighborhood!

Here's a shot of one of his recent SuperSystem battles:



As you can see, the Baron is not mucking around!

Great and inspiring stuff!

--Scott

Painted SuperFigs Surprise!

Every now and then a SuperFigs customer will send me some pics of his painted stuff. This past week Stephen Scothern sent me a link to some of his first painted SuperFigs, and I had to show them off here. Very nice work!



Here's an awesome close-up of that impressive-looking Megladon paint job:



I love Stephen's basing scheme and his use of paper terrain. We're seeing more and more paper terrain show up in SuperSystem battle reports, and the stuff looks just amazing! Paper modeling is like a hobby unto itself, and I highly recommend the stuff made by Mel Ebbles.

--Scott

The Robber Band: Long-Connie

Here's the second member of the Robber Band, Long-Connie!










Long-Connie
Affiliation: The Robber Band
BP: 85
AP: 12
Attributes
Strength 3 Agility 5 Mind 6[1] Resolve 4
Powers/Character Mods
Armor x 3
--Super x 1
Banter x 3
Elasticity
--Parachute
Flare (Mind-based)
Mental Acuity x 2
Super-Mind x 1
Vitality: 7


Sarah Cohen was a low-level meta-human who used her abilities to befuddle victims and swindle them out of their life's savings. She eventually attempted a few bank jobs where her dazzling voice earned her some quick cash, but her lack of physical gifts made her easy prey for the heroic Tarantula and Mindhawk of the Defenders-5. After her second stint behind bars, she swore she would never engage in super-crime again. Then she met Daddy Wrong-Legs and fell instantly in love.

It didn't take the smooth-talking stretcher long to convince Cohen that his amazing, mutating resin could make her tough and elusive enough to embark on a new life of crime. True to his word, the miraculous resin Agent-S transformed Cohen and she became Long-Connie! Now her hypnotically powerful voice and gift for gab were enhanced by increased resistant to harm super-pliability. She became one of the founding members of the Robber Band, and went on to help Wrong-Legs recruit the rest of the team.

--Scott

Nobody Asked Me, But...

Just some random musings to place a bow on this past week's gaming activity (or inactivity, as the case may be.)

• Put the finishing touches on some Merc painting for a very nice fellow named Nick B. I don't normally paint for people any more, but he wanted a bunch of Orks as a Christmas present for some family members, so I cranked out a nifty little 40K army for him. No pics. They look a lot like my own Orks, but with blue accents instead of red.
  
• Work continues apace on the company-level 15mm sci-fi rules I am working on. Also got to see some pics of the first greens and they look very nice. Can't share them as of yet, but I think many 15mm sci-fi fans will applaud another source of great infantry.
  
• Did I mention we'll be doing some walkers, too? Well now I am mentioning it. I'll have a gander at the first batch of those this coming week. They'll be a mix of resin bodies with metal legs and arm-based weapon mounts. No hands or obvious close combat weapons on these guys, and they should be low-slung affairs, with low centers of gravity. We'll see!
• SuperFigs and SuperSystem maven Charles Hiber (the man who created the Glock-Roach!) is planning an early 2010 SuperSystem 3rd ed. campaign at my local FLGS, Phantom of the Attic, here in Pittsburgh. I think I am going to run a villainous, all stretchy team I'll be calling the Robber Band. The 5 figures I plan to use are: Elasti-Ape, Elasti-Woman, Stretcharm, one of the Plasti-Men, and Reaper's awesome Chronoscope super, Blubbery Rand . I already have a nicely painted "alternate" Elasti-Ape ready to go. The other 4 I will paint anew, with new color schemes and such. Making a team of all stretching characters has long been an idea of mine. I'll post pics as I paint them up!
• My lovely wife, JoAnn, has caught the superhero bug and teamed up with my buddy Rico's wife, Carrie, to make Kiddy Kapes! These awesome, original creations can be seen and purchased online at their Etsy Store. I'm really proud of JoAnn, and she's done an amazing job on these awesome capes! Perfect for holiday gift-giving. Note: Kiddy Kapes do not actually convey the ability of flight.
  

That's all I've got for now. I will try to post some miniature pics this weekend.

--Scott

SuperSystem 3rd ed. Releases Sunday, 11/22!

We're in position for a release of the PDF this Sunday. Check the Shameless Commerce section in the lefthand corner of this blog for details on our two PDF purveyors!

--Scott

Final SuperSystem Cover Image

Here it is with the spiffy official logo!



Kudos to artist Joe Urban and layout man Dan Yauger for their fine work!

--Scott

SuperSystem Layout Update

I've seen most of the pages for the layout of SuperSystem 3rd ed. and I am very excited! Dan the layout man is really doing an excellent job, and I think folks will be quite pleased.

In the meantime, I am churning away the revisions on the official SuperFig characters for the game. As I have said, that will be released as a separate PDF, and soon after David Lewis will have them up on his character generator at the SuperSystem Annex.

It's looking good for a mid-November release!

Also, work has resumed (albeit slowly) on the molds for the new SuperFigs. We may see them by year's end. Not sure yet. I think what will happen in 2010-2011 is that we may move toward releasing a bunch of SuperFigs in 15mm. This could be a mix of 15mm versions of existing figures and entirely 15mm SuperFigs. We'll see. It's early yet and things could fall through.

--Scott

Thomas Scioli Delivers the Goods!

Tom sent me his new piece for SuperSystem 3rd ed. last evening, and I felt I had to share it! I love it!



Tom's brand new Myth of 8-Opus graphic novel is out! Just saw it at the comic shop! Check it out!

--Scott

Tom Scioli On-Board for SuperSystem 3rd ed.!

I am very fortunate to live in a city (Pittsburgh) that is home to some great professional comic book artists. One of my favorites is Tom Scioli. Tom did the designs for our Alien Host models a while back when we released Invasion, and he has graciously given me permission to re-use his artwork in the new edition of SuperSystem. Even more exciting, he's agreed to do a new piece for 3rd edition! When he asked me what I wanted, I told him to draw Karthoum knocking one of our other characters out!

Can't wait to see the results!

Scott

SuperSystem Archetypes: "I'll take one from column A, and one from Column B"

Previous editions of SuperSystem have included long lists of our official super teams specifically designed to go with our huge line of SuperFigs models. This time around for 3rd ed. we're going to release the SuperFig write-ups in a separate, and free, PDF. The space we save will be dedicated to other cool stuff, including customizable archetypes of the major super characters encountered in comics. So we'll have the base archetype, and a number of options players can pick to customize it, sort of like ordering from a Chinese menu. We intend to include archetypes for the Blaster, Brawler, Mentalist, Speedster, and of course, the Brick:

BP: 66 + package options
AP: 6
Attributes
Strength 7[2] Agility 4 Mind 2 Resolve 4
Powers
Combat Prowess x 2 (Super x 1)
Iron Will x 1
Knockback Resistance x 3
Super-Strength x 2
Vitality: 11

Core Packages (+14 pts.)
Tough
--+2D Strength
--+1 Level Super-Strength
--+2 Extra Vitality

Big
--Growth x 2
--Massive x 1

Dense
--Density Increase
--Immovable x 2

Miscellaneous Packages (+5 pts.)
The Angry Brick
--add the Berserker power
--add the Rage special effect to Super-Strength

The Bouncing Brick
--add Super Leap
--subtract 1 level of Knockback Resistance

The Clever Brick
--add +2D to Mind
--add Enhanced Senses x 1

The Fast Brick
--add Extra Movement x 5

The Perceptive Brick
--add Enhanced Senses x 5

The Rhino Brick
--add Extra Movement x 10 (Charge only)

The Unkillable Brick
--add Regeneration


So the player gets to make one selection from the Core package and one from the Miscellaneous package.

We're doing some play-testing this weekend, and more in the weeks ahead. I hope to have the game out before the end of the year.

Scott

New SuperFigs Delayed

It pains me to report that we'll have to delay the release of the new SuperFig codes until sometime next year. The harsh realities of the bad economy are limiting our ability to get the final master and production molds made in a timely fashion. If anything changes on this front, I'll let folks know via the blog.

At the risk of sounding desperate, I will say that one of the best ways to insure that we make the new figures a reality is to buy from the existing line. So if you've got some money budgeted for miniature purchases, do consider investing in some SuperFigs. In the meantime, I am working on SuperSystem 3rd ed., and that will hopefully see the light of day by the end of this year.

On a cheerier note, I picked up some of the new AE-Bounty miniatures from Darkson Designs, and they are great! I hope to get them painted soon and show them off here. The game looks to be pretty solid as well, as a friend of mine demoed it at Gen Con.

As always, thanks for reading and following along!

Scott

SuperSystem Again

I am back working on SuperSystem 3rd ed. again. For a while I was thinking I was going to just release a 2.5 version of the rules, but after some serious thought over the last week or so I realized I had plenty of new, cool stuff to do a full-fledged 3rd ed. So no hard dates on when we will see it, but I am thinking perhaps the end of this year.

It may just be PDF initially, unless I decide to work something out with Lulu or another POD house. We'll see.


Scott

Mono-Bots Roll In!

Based off of our very popular Killbots pack, today we preview the Mono-Bots (ZD 1 Mono-Bots [5 multi-part figures] $12.00)!

Talented painter Enrico Nardini has done a great job bringing out the pulpy goodness of this one, and like the code says, you'll get five in a pack for $12. Designed and sculpted by the awesome Glenn Harris, the Mono-Bots are sure to please mad scientists everywhere!









Scott

Mongo's SuperSystem Battle Report

Miniature maven Bryan from Mongo's Wafflehouse--one of my favorite hobby blogs--posted an amazing SuperSystem battle report. Set in a jungle on some pretty stupendous terrain, I think you'll find it a nice distraction. I know I did!

Thanks, Bryan!

Scott

Crossbow! New SuperFig Takes Aim

I'm getting toward the end of our previews of the new the SuperFigs, and one of the last to be revealed is ZD 10 Crossbow ($3.95). He'll be released in late August with the other new figures on the docket.

Crossbow utilizes his amazing agility and his wondrous, hi-tech weapons to battle crime from the streets of Steel City to edge of the next galaxy. His secret ID is prosecutor Miguel Alvarez, a man fed up with allowing the super-powered scum of his town to walk free from the courtroom on baseless technicalities. As Crossbow he hunts these vile criminals and catches them in the act of some crime. As a sometime partner of intergalactic bounty hunter Grannok-5, he's pursued his quarry to the very edges of inhabited space.

The weapon that is his namesake fires normal quarrels, trick shots containing knockout gas or tripwires, or even plasma energy bolts.







Scott

Behold The Pride!

Here's a shot of the pre-production versions of the Pride, our lion men for SuperFigs. They should be arrving for molding this week. I'll try to get pics of some painted ones up soon after. The plan is do a standard 5-model henchmen pack. So we'll repeat the halberd and pistol poses, and make the sword-wielding model unique in the pack. Pack will retail for between $10 - $12. Leo-IX will be sold separately for $3.95. I'll do some SuperSystem write-ups for these guys and Leo-IX.

Scott