Saturday Night's Alright for Fightin'

It was a battle royal last Saturday night as some friends came over to help me test out some of my new rules for character generation and combat for my super hero role-playing game. Some of you may recall that awhile back I was testing the rules to a fantasy RPG after being inspired by "Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell." After a few game sessions the whole thing just kinda fizzled for me. As I've been a gamer since '81, I've just become burned out running fantasy games. But since I've yet to play a super hero game I really liked, I decided to adapt the rules for my fantasy game into a super hero game. The result has been spectacular thus far and the rules are complete enough, after much revamping, that I felt it was time to launch a full-on campaign.

Here's how it all went down: The year is 1981...

Three down-on-their-luck super villains, Stinger, Thermo & Big Horn (tentative names on those last two) decide they're just tired of getting beat up and sent to jail in the name of the all mighty buck, so they get together incognito at a local tavern to discuss a career change.

(Big horn isn't pictured because, well, I just ain't made a card of him I like yet.)

Anyway, the problem is that turning over a new leaf isn't as easy as it sounds for two reasons. Reason one, the city's crime boss, a mysterious and dangerous figure known only as "Mr. Big" has all the city's other super villains in his employ and would likely put contracts out on the three of them fearing they knew too much about his criminal operations. Reason two, the local heroes simply wouldn't trust them. So, with scarcely two grand and a beat up Chevy van between them, the trio have to carefully plot their next move.

Unfortunately, Fate won't let that happen for that night, outside the little tavern, an armored prison transport vehicle is attacked by Deadbolt, Harpoon & Pyromaniac, a trio of Mr. Big's more ruthless goons.


With little time to think things through, Thermo slips on his mask and steps out to face his former larcenous allies while Stinger & Big Horn make their way to their van to change into their somewhat clunkier costumes. It just seemed like the right time to turn over a new leaf, but their erstwhile companions weren't intimidated by Thermo's presence. Thermo, who can project both fire and ice from his hands takes a sound beatin' from the terrible trio. While he's getting electricuted, torched and shot at with explosive projectiles, his companions make their way through the alley and join the fray just in time for all hell to break lose. While the deadly-accurate Buzzkill joins in the fun, Deadbolt focuses his lightning upon the armored vehicle, freeing a handful of dazed prisoners, including the Goldsmith and Eugene Andrews. A bolt of lightning to Andrews triggers his transformation into Zenoman, the walking 12' tall video game!

What erupts next is a knock down dragged out rock & roll party in the street! Big Horn clobbers Goldsmith, whose very touch covers one in immobilizing, nearly unbreakable golden skin, with a car, Zenoman attempts to vaporize anyone and everyone with his eye beams, Deadbolt is mortally wounded and as the battle starts to turn in favor of the newbie heroes, the villains begin to scatter like cockroaches. Only Zenoman manages to teleport successfully from the scene. It seemed whatever strings Mr. Big was pulling that night were severed by his former flunkies.

After the fray, with unconscious bodies and property damage lying everywhere, and fast approaching police sirens in the distance, two of the city's super heroes, Goldenhawk & Black Falcon (sorry, no images just yet) show up on the scene. After a brief, desperate explanation on the part of the battle-weary would-be heroes, Goldenhawk just says, "I'll give you all a ten minute head start."

To be continued...

Oh, and if any of the characters seen here seem maybe a bit more than sorta familiar, it's completely intentional.