Palatinus' OverPower Forum

I've started to post the Marvel Core Set Locations:


As well as a design diary detailing exactly how they work now in OP3, and how they interact with Affiliations.

Asgard for the win, nice work as always OP3!

Beautifully done. Wonderful art selections, logical character choices (though, and I understand space is an issue, I would argue that Hawkeye and Black Widow should both be on the Avengers Mansion. Given their strong team ties and the current successful movie franchise, it just seems natural to me... unless there's some Avengers West Coast coming!).

Also, does the list on the Baxter Building clearly indicate we will not be seeing any incarnation of Franklin Richards as a character? I know it's a bit of corner case, I'm just curious (I forget how many different future/adult versions we've met, though I think that only the one in Fantastic Force or whatever that spinoff rag from the 90's was called was the only one who stuck around in the MU for any great length).

I haven't had a chance to read your design diary yet, but I fully intend to do so. I love CCG design in general, and as a fellow OP enthusiast I'm very interested in your take on the rules re-vamp. PowerBalance did a solid job with his, but he wasn't starting completely from the ground up, just trying to rectify issues with basic gameplay by adjusting the existing game. It looks to me like you did (the smart thing) a full top-down redesign of the rules after reviewing the appropriate rules/meta-rules.  Which, BTW, is what OP really needs (IMHO, to have a chance at re-release like DBZ, Doomtown, and VS. System have all gotten in the last year).

Anyway, I really can't come up with any meaningful (read: constructive) criticisms for these Locations. I think I speak for the rest of the community when I say that your custom project is absolutely stellar, and I hope that printed copies are available in the future!

i cant wait to see the x-mansion (or is it the jean grey school?)

Quote from: DoktorSleepless on January 28, 2015, 12:26:27 PM
Beautifully done. Wonderful art selections, logical character choices (though, and I understand space is an issue, I would argue that Hawkeye and Black Widow should both be on the Avengers Mansion. Given their strong team ties and the current successful movie franchise, it just seems natural to me... unless there's some Avengers West Coast coming!).

I felt it was more important to list the founders on the Avengers Mansion, since that is the most classic Avengers HQ.  There will be other Avengers-related bases (like Avengers Tower and Stark Enterprises) that those characters may be listed on.  But with my new Affiliation rules, you can easily swap out any of the Avengers Mansion characters for Widow or Hawkeye (but not both).

QuoteAlso, does the list on the Baxter Building clearly indicate we will not be seeing any incarnation of Franklin Richards as a character? I know it's a bit of corner case, I'm just curious (I forget how many different future/adult versions we've met, though I think that only the one in Fantastic Force or whatever that spinoff rag from the 90's was called was the only one who stuck around in the MU for any great length).

Franklin is a tough nut to crack.  8E obviously, but since he's most often and traditionally depicted as a kid, his physical stats would be sub-par.  There isn't a way to stat him up in OP without making him stupidly overpowered.  8-2-2-4 is the best way I can think to do it, but a 16-point 8-stat character is ridiculous.  The 17-point ones are bad enough.  The Baxter Building's list doesn't preclude Franklin appearing in OP3, his stats do.

QuoteI think I speak for the rest of the community when I say that your custom project is absolutely stellar, and I hope that printed copies are available in the future!

Unless someone else wants to handle that task, it's unlikely.  But thanks for the support!

Quote from: steve2275i cant wait to see the x-mansion (or is it the jean grey school?)

The Core Set version is the X-Mansion, but the Jean Grey School may appear later on.  They represent two distinct eras of the X-Men, so I think it's entirely suitable to do up both (as well as a '90s "Xavier Institute" version).  Hell, the place has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times every incarnation is practically a whole new complex.

cool man cool

Hmmm, sad to hear about the printing... But at least you're not flat-out opposed to it; it leaves hope! Once your set is closer to completion, perhaps we can talk further. I'm planning to drag myself through the printing process for AoA, if the experience isn't too miserable I might be willing to handle the logistics of it for you (you're producing a great set, it seems criminal not to disseminate physical editions).

As for Franklin, you're right. I didn't consider that most versions (including 616) of him are children, so in spite of the immediate 8E rating he'd have extremely low stats elsewhere. Not that I don't love Marvel, but that kid needs to grow up! Garth Ennis had the right idea when he locked the Punisher into an actual time frame, and then had him age appropriately through the series (by the end of the Ennis run, you can see that Frank is becoming a pretty old man, well into his 60's). I wish they'd do that with other characters that should be grown up. Franklin Richards should be at least a teen by now (really he should be a 30-something, he's been an 8-10 year old since at least the 1990's), Jubilee should be a 30-something at least (probably 40-something by now), the Punisher by all rights ought to be in his mid-60's to early 70's. He fought in Vietnam, for pete's sake. I mean, they're finally moving the MU forward in a somewhat linear manner (people are dying and staying dead, like Prof. X, and team rosters are changing radically, like the Avengers, and the major crossovers are now canon for major MU changes) but they still can't bring themselves to age their characters. Just putting it out there: Cyclops, Jean, Hank, and Iceman should also be the Punisher's age, roughly. They were in the prof's first class back in the 60's, that's canon.  Ok, rant finished.

Still, they haven't done that, and you're probably right to go hands off on Franklin Richards. Which is too bad, because it means I'm never going to have a team with Onslaught, Nate Grey, and Franklin Richards (flavor win!).

Also, out of curiousity, I notice that you've chosen the X-Mansion as the first X-building; you also mention plans to do the (current) Jean Grey school and the (old) Xavier Institute. Does this indicate that you're mishmashing MU eras? I ask because obviously characters like Squirrel Girl are very current, but the X-Mansion is a throwback (relatively speaking, obviously). It opens the possibility for old-school cards like "X-Men: Blue Team" and "X-Men: Gold Team" (remember that?), or for other alternate characters I hadn't seen any indication of (say, Wolverine without his adamantium), so now I'm curious if you have any plans in those veins? Another example would be Avalon. It was canon, and would be appropriate if you do make an Xavier Institute, but doesn't have a lot of place in a modernized OP set.

Quote from: DoktorSleepless on January 29, 2015, 12:24:07 PM
they still can't bring themselves to age their characters.

Dude, you're preaching to the choir.  I hate the "eternal present" that exists in big name shared-universe superhero comics, but the fact is, that's just how those universes work.  It's how they've always worked, and it's how they always will work.  No changes are ever permanent, and the status quo will always be reset, as long as those characters are marketable commodities.  Because they're less actual characters and more corporate mascots.  Like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny.  To be true characters, their stories need beginnings, middles, and ends.  But superhero comics (unless they're creator-owned) are stuck in perpetual second acts.  The only changes that stay permanent, the only true dynamic growth superheroes experience, happens during their origin story (the death of Uncle Ben, or Bruce Wayne's parents), in order to establish that character's status quo.  And we just have to be okay with that.  I expect Xavier and Wolverine will be back before long, just like every other major character to "die" before them.  Hell, major retcons to re-establish a preferred status quo are starting to seep into the movies based on these characters.  Look at Days of Future Past.  It's just a fact of superhero storytelling, love it or hate it.

QuoteAlso, out of curiousity, I notice that you've chosen the X-Mansion as the first X-building; you also mention plans to do the (current) Jean Grey school and the (old) Xavier Institute. Does this indicate that you're mishmashing MU eras? I ask because obviously characters like Squirrel Girl are very current, but the X-Mansion is a throwback (relatively speaking, obviously). It opens the possibility for old-school cards like "X-Men: Blue Team" and "X-Men: Gold Team" (remember that?), or for other alternate characters I hadn't seen any indication of (say, Wolverine without his adamantium), so now I'm curious if you have any plans in those veins? Another example would be Avalon. It was canon, and would be appropriate if you do make an Xavier Institute, but doesn't have a lot of place in a modernized OP set.

Focusing too much on what's current, modern, and new is what left us with far too many forgettable '90s characters in the original game.  Did we really need all those shitty, loser X-Men characters like Maggot and Cerebro's team?  Especially over so many classic characters who never saw print?  I'm trying to avoid that kind of thing and present a more universal interpretation of the Marvel and DC universes.  With that in mind, don't expect a big focus on the current nu52 status quo in the DC sets.

As for team-based Character cards like X-Men Blue and Gold, I wouldn't hold your breath.  Those cards are fine for low-powered teams of lesser-known characters that always stick together like the Serpent Society, the Enforcers, the Marauders, etc.; or large organizations like the Hand or alien races like the Kree, but shoving a whole team of well-developed, flagship all-star characters onto one Character card doesn't line up with my personal philosophy for the game.  Those characters each deserve (and rightly got) their own card.  Expect to see some of those Monumental and Classic team cards split up into individual Characters (looking at you New Warriors and Heroes for Hire).

I know, right? I'm telling you, the Ennis run on Punisher was a thing of beauty. He locks him into a real timeline, shows how much damage he's really taken (he's so brutally scarred it's unbelievable), and when he gets hurt, he actually remains hurt like a normal human. It was nothing like the stuff they're trying to force down our throats now. As soon as they put Remender in charge and Punisher entered the Civil War, the book dove directly back into Stinksville. Now they've got this Edmondson writing it, and he still hasn't gotten the takeaway of Civil War and the Frankencastle debacle. No one wants to see Punisher, the most "believable" of the MU characters, fighting with dudes who would completely annihilate him.  Punisher takes on Electro in L.A.? No thanks. I'll stick with my "Punisher takes black ops mission from Nick Fury in exchange for network access at all levels of law enforcement" style stories.

As for the set, it's your call. I was just curious about your plans, because it seemed like you were bridging a gap between where OP ended and the modern comics era. It seemed logical to assume you might head backward instead of forward in terms of character/setting production, as the next move forward is another massive shake-up where they've promised to consolidate a lot of disparate universes (SECRET WARS IS COMING, AND EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE AGAIN). I personally have no problem leaving a lot of those artifacts in the past where they belong (see my comment on Avalon and whether it has a place in a modern OP set). Because you're dead on about garbage like Cerebro's team. Formed a huge chunk of the X-Men set, but only appeared in like 3 issues. Issues I never read. There was no reason to give them the nod over all the X-Villains who still needed cards, and the X-characters who could have used updates/alternate versions/more specials. I can play Grey King all I want, but no one has made Exodus a playable character, in spite of having been a major character in several story arcs. Actually, that's a bad example. Exodus's powers are nebulous and ill-defined. But you get the idea.

Anyway, I'm a huge fan of everything I've seen from your set so far. Keep up the good work!

Sad to say, but the Cerebro Bunch got the nod purely to hype the comic, which kinda sucked anyways.  At that point in time, there was no intention of promoting or improving the game, or aligning it with comic history.  Just a promotional tool to sell more product and suck up our disposable incomes.

one of my favorites

fits my style of play more than the others
http://overpower-3rd.deviantart.com/gallery/

All the Core Set Locations are up now.



I'll be working on the Core Set Tactic cards next (Teamworks and Doubleshots).  But it may take a while to get them posted.  I'm still gathering artwork.

the bottom 4 of the x-mansion for me
http://overpower-3rd.deviantart.com/gallery/52952392/Marvel-Core-Set-Locations