Super Mission Force! (Erethor's Supers AAR/Log)

[Erethor]

Got another quick game in of SMF. This time, tried something a little different. Used a bunch of Street Level types, but for some of them, instead of picking 2 minor powers, I selected 1 major power instead.

(My thinking goes, the difference between a 0.5 figure (street) and a 1.0 figure (regular) is a major power. The difference between a 1.0 figure and a 1.5 figure (super) is two minor powers. So two minor powers should essentially be equivalent to 1 major power.)

On to the game! Klarion the Witch Boy has summoned zombies to destroy Hudson City! The Suicide Squad is dispatched to contain the outbreak...

Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang and Harley Quinn in one alley...


...Vertigo and Killer Croc down the next...


...Deadshot takes position on the roof


Klarion and his familiar, Teekl, on a rooftop opposite the Suicide Squad


Klarion's zombie minions


(the bottle of superglue in the background was used to fix one of the zombies arms that broke off!)

The zombies and the Squad clash!



Klarion flies across to Deadshot and burns his mind with a psychic attack! Vertigo arrives and stuns Klarion with his "Vertigo Effect!"

(as you can see, flat roof sections make great dice trays!)

The Squad cleans up one group of zombies...


...as Bronze Tiger goes to help a wounded and outnumbered Croc.


Klarion summons a group of zombies on the roof!


Vertigo takes out Klarion while Deadshot deals with the zombies. The next turn, Deadshot is overrun!


The Squad cleans up the remaining zombies and stop the undead invasion.



Another fun game, and only took about a half-hour. Subbing a major power for minor powers felt a bit...overpowered. Only tried this once though, so I'd likely try it again (to see if this will make it as a definite house rule) The zombies were two groups of veteran henchmen (I would have used 10 figure groups of henchmen, but didn't have enough painted zombie models!) It feels like veteran henchmen are a bit underpowered, at least compared to a regular character. Perhaps henchmen should count as half a character, like street level archetypes? I'll have to play with henchmen more to feel this out...

[fergal]

Great report thanks for sharing!

Everything below is meant for the purpose of discussing the SMF rules rather than a critique of your game.

Another fun game, and only took about a half-hour. Subbing a major power for minor powers felt a bit...overpowered. Only tried this once though, so I'd likely try it again (to see if this will make it as a definite house rule)

I know you are trying to push the games edges to see if it can handle it and of course it's your house, so go for it.  I just wonder if you are looking for more than this game can handle with all of the this=that that was never intended from the design point of view.  SMF is supposed to be simple and fast.  Character creation was one of the tenets on which it was built, simple character creation.  I think all of the subbing powers for 2 of these will break a system that was never intended to handle it.  I'd hate to see all of these complication take away from the ability of the system to remain simple and fast.

Again, your games are your own, but I'm just throwing this in for the sake of discussion.

The zombies were two groups of veteran henchmen (I would have used 10 figure groups of henchmen, but didn't have enough painted zombie models!) It feels like veteran henchmen are a bit underpowered, at least compared to a regular character. Perhaps henchmen should count as half a character, like street level archetypes? I'll have to play with henchmen more to feel this out...

Again, rather than counting things as half of this or that, just use 5 zombie models and give each 2 hits (accumulating the leftovers and adding them to the next round, keeping it simple), bingo, regular henchman group.  And also thematically unstoppable zombie like.  Henchmen groups are supposed to be simple mooks, but here again they are getting minute tweaks which will then incur other changes that will need balancing.

I'd like to not see this turn into supersytem light.

[fourcolorfigs]

Great looking game! Aside from fine tuning of the powers and archetypes we have, I am good with rolling as things are.

Nine core archetypes.

Three alternate power archetypes if you and your group are comfortable using them.

But what your games prove is the versatility of the rules for players who want to employ house rules.

That's the beauty of it!

On henchmen, the Veterans are really for folks who have only 5 of certain models, or want to model elite fighters. The extra +1D does make them tougher, I think. They'll have 3D defense instead of 2D. Remember, Henchmen don't get their numbers bonus on defense checks.

Anyway, keep playing!

[Erethor]

Great report thanks for sharing!

Everything below is meant for the purpose of discussing the SMF rules rather than a critique of your game.

I know you are trying to push the games edges to see if it can handle it and of course it's your house, so go for it.  I just wonder if you are looking for more than this game can handle with all of the this=that that was never intended from the design point of view.  SMF is supposed to be simple and fast.  Character creation was one of the tenets on which it was built, simple character creation.  I think all of the subbing powers for 2 of these will break a system that was never intended to handle it.  I'd hate to see all of these complication take away from the ability of the system to remain simple and fast.

You've got it exactly right. I know making equivalencies between powers and adding choices wasn't the intent of the game, but I still think it could be good feedback. I haven't really tried to push the extremes of this=that a lot yet. So far, it doesn't seem to overtly break the game. That'll be good for those who like to tinker with scenarios and such. If you make a mistake in the balancing, it doesn't seem like it will be too noticeable.

As far as breaking the system...it's kinda what I want to do! I want to see how far the game will bend, while still being fun AND balanced. I'm trying to stay within the framework provided by the game and not make any changes that are completely unfounded. I want to see how resilient/flexible the base rules of the game are (don't play to see what works, play to see what doesn't work!)

If I bend the game to extremes and it still seems balanced, that's a good sign!

Again, your games are your own, but I'm just throwing this in for the sake of discussion.

Again, rather than counting things as half of this or that, just use 5 zombie models and give each 2 hits (accumulating the leftovers and adding them to the next round, keeping it simple), bingo, regular henchman group.  And also thematically unstoppable zombie like.  Henchmen groups are supposed to be simple mooks, but here again they are getting minute tweaks which will then incur other changes that will need balancing.

I'd like to not see this turn into supersytem light.

For the zombies, I used the henchmen rules as is. I was just wondering if henchmen were really equivalent to 1 standard archetype instead of equal to 1 Street Level. I haven't tinkered with that yet (though I plan to!)

And you're right, I don't want to think of this as SuperSystem light ("swapping detail for elegance" as the book says) So far, the stuff I've personally changed/tested didn't seem to add time or complexity, at least for myself. I just want to see what kind of limits SMF can really push! (don't ask me to test out a motorcycle and expect me to not go top speed!)