From the mind of Rodney Thompson, the latest Superhero RPG in a box has arrived! Spectaculars!
This is a game I kickstarted a little while ago, and the first copies are just arriving as we speak. My copy arrived this week, so I thought I’d show you what’s in the box. There’s quite a bit!
It begins with a pad of character sheet and a plastic tray. The tray is for your character.
How many of these trays are there? There’s more than one. In fact, there are six in the box. (The game is for three to seven players – one narrator and two to six heroes). Now, given that you have a tray, there’s likely to be stuff you can put in it, right? That’s correct… and there is!
Dice, tokens, and four pads. What are the pads? They’re very interesting: each is a little campaign comprised of several adventures.
One of the unusual things Spectaculars does is provide an ongoing experience for the players, but it doesn’t need to be the same players or GM each time. You can rotate the narrating around, create several characters, and have team-ups between heroes created for one campaign with those created for another.
There are four pads – you tear off several pages each time that detail one adventure – and then get going into the action.
Some of the scenarios have prerequisites – Clash Among the Stars recommends you have finished the fourth scenario of “Explorers of the Unknown” first. A quick flip through Eldritch Mysteries reveals over 10 scenarios – or, as they’re referred to in the rules, “Issues”.
Next in the box comes the rulebook…
…and then the Setting book
The setting book is fascinating. It’s of a rougher paper than the glossy rulebook – but that’s because you’re meant to write in it the details of the campaign you create.
Here’s the first pages of the setting book, which allows you to determine “the basics” of the world you’re playing in!
Under the rulebook is yet another plastic tray/insert, this time holding the card decks.
These split into one 85-card deck of powers, one 20-card deck of Basic Powers, one 85-card deck of identities, one 8-card deck of team roles, one 52-card deck of initiative, and one 40-card deck of complications. These are tools that you can use to build your game.
I appreciate it when you don’t have to be innovative all the time, and when a game gives tools for you to help you with the creative process.
Here’s a view of the other side of the card decks, before I remove the shrinkwrap!
I’m a fan of superhero RPGs. I’ve played several over the years: Super Squadron, Marvel Super Heroes, DC Heroes, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying and Mutants and Masterminds are all ones that come to mind. However, I’ve rarely been as intrigued as with this game. This provides a structure for the story that enables the imagination of all the players, rather than relying on one to come up with everything.
You can buy the game in PDF form from DriveThruRPG, or you can visit the Scratchpad Publishing website to discover more about the game.
I’m going to see if I can persuade my Friday evening role-players if we can play this after we finish our Pulp Cthulhu game…