Critical Hits

The Journal of Gamer Culture

Blog Carnival: Super Heroes in RPGs

The RPG Blog Carnival‘s idea started with Johnathan of The Core Mechanic (Although Geek’s Dream Girl used to do it too):

Then Donny the DM took up the torch

This month I offered to take up the torch and reinforce a nascent RPG blogging meme that has cropped up in the last few days.

Greywulf started it with all with ‘Let’s Play Super Dungeons and Dragons‘.

Stargazer ran with the idea with his ‘Fantasy Superheroes‘ post

So why not continue and talk about all things Super Hero this month? Not just Fantasy Superheroes (Although I adore the concept), but everything that can be used from that genre into RPGs.

It could be about your favorite Super Hero RPG, about cool characters and art concepts, it could be doing a  cross-genre experiment and injecting some Pulp in your Superhero juice or some Mutants in your Sorcery.

The rules are simple, you post about it and you leave a comment right after on this post.  My Commentluv plugin  should pick it up, if not, I’ll edit the comment myself to show the link.

I’ll participate too, with a much needed new entry in my trope series.

Up up and away!

Credits: Pam’s Twins, just because.

The Chatty DM is the "nom de plume" of gamer geek Philippe-Antoine Menard. He has been GMing various versions of D&D and other RPGs for nearly 30 years. A renowned RPG blogger, game designer and published author, he squats a corner of Critical Hits he affectionately calls "Musings of the Chatty DM." (Email Phil or follow him on Twitter.)

Comments

No Responses to “Blog Carnival: Super Heroes in RPGs”
  1. Storyteller says:

    Great topic! I’m looking forward to writing on this!

    Storytellers last blog post..Avast! Internet Pirates!

  2. Ninetail says:

    Good choice of topic. Now I just have to decide what to write about…

    Ninetails last blog post..Mongolian Death Worms

  3. jonathan says:

    WOW! I had no idea that Geek Dream Girl used to run a rpg carnival! anyone have a link? When I origenally had the idea to start it up – i googled it and only found some old carnival page from about 4-5 years ago on a blog that hadn’t been updated in about as long – and the carnival was not _really_ about RPGs either; more of a ‘gaming’ carnival. If Geek Dream Girl had the idea for doing a rpg blog carnival first – then, she definately gets PROPS and my apologies for claiming “first post!” so to speak. Hats Off!

    Superheroes! Love the idea; doubt I’ll be contributing – unless I could somehow spin zombies from hell as superheroes… nonetheless, i’m looking forward to the excellent contributions that will no doubt come forth.

    jonathans last blog post..D&D Flamed by Boise State Newspaper

  4. ChattyDM says:

    Thanks for the Kudos. Let me go through this week alive and I’ll post my trope article on this.

  5. greywulf says:

    Oh you just know I’m going to have a ball with this one :D

    How does a blogpost about Secret IDs in D&D sound?

    Coming up…….. soon!

    greywulfs last blog post..What’s your favourite 4e Monster?

  6. I wanted to look at a different type of super hero:

    Super Heroes Don’t Have To Be Humanoid

    Enjoy.

    Chris

  7. Questing GM says:

    Hmmm…..not a real big fan of superheroes but maybe a few posts from the other bloggers will give me an idea to contribute at least one post into this one.

    Looking forward to it!

    Questing GMs last blog post..Stepping into the Obsidian Portal and Stepping Out

  8. Donny_the_DM says:

    Doh…kill me please…

    The post – not me : )

  9. Adalore says:

    At least we arn’t talking about… “most common superpower” think TVtropes. -grin-

    at least it seems that the picture up top seems to have it full force.

    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MostCommonSuperPower

  10. ChattyDM says:

    That’s what I was going for. That it has a Trope is pure gravy on it all!

    lol!

  11. Nick O'Leary says:

    Gamers interested in Superheroes in RPGs might want to check out The Superhero Summit, the Fist Full of Comics and Games Podcast on superheroes in your roleplaying games. The new season is about to start, and last season’s episodes are all still available.
    http://www.fistfullofcomics.com/podcasts/category/superhero-summit/

  12. Tomcat1066 says:

    Well, my humble contribution has been completed as well. Super Heroes of the Apocalypse: The Templars. I thought I’d combine my current theme with the carnival and frankly…I think it was a cool idea :)

    (link embedded because sometimes CommentLuv picks my posts up, and sometimes it doesn’t..it looks like it’s posting a previous post instead)

    Tomcat1066s last blog post..Understanding The Post Apocalyptic Wasteland

  13. Dave T. Game says:

    Our entry (possibly the first of several) is up. CommentLuv didn’t catch it, so here it is: http://www.critical-hits.com/2008/10/02/the-professor-x-paradox/

    Dave T. Games last blog post..The Amazing Graysons: Baby Nightwing?

  14. flashheart says:

    I have no posts on superheroes in me, I think. But I can strongly and heartily recommend the game, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich. One of only three games I have ever played to completion!

    flashhearts last blog post..Compromise & Conceit Session 1: The mesmerist

  15. Here’s the first of my submissions to the carnival…

    Superheroes? BAH! The Villains Are Where It’s At!

    Reverend Mikes last blog post..Superheroes? BAH! The Villains Are Where It’s At!

  16. Tomcat1066 says:

    My latest offering

    And I suspect there will be plenty more :)

    Tomcat1066s last blog post..Developing The Character

  17. Bob says:

    Just in case your track backs don’t catch it I hope your commentluv will :)

    Not my best attempt but then I’ve never really been a superhero fan in recent years.

    Bobs last blog post..The Things That Should Not Be

  18. ChattyDM says:

    Keep them coming. I should do mine in the next 2 weeks or so.

    @Bob: The Trackback caught it fine! Thanks! Fricking Lasers it is!

  19. There’s at least 3 more of these coming…brace yourself…

  20. JM says:

    I hope I did this right … first blog carnival or blog for that matter.

    Marvel Phile: Go Team Venture!

    Nothing Fancy; Just Kill’em

    JM.

    JMs last blog post..Sunday Funnies – Thimble Theatre

  21. ChattyDM says:

    Perfect JM, welcome to the blog and the blogsphere!

  22. Scott Casper says:

    I haven’t been tackling this in a blog, but I’m working on re-writing the OD&D 1974 rules as if they had been written for superhero gaming instead of swords & sorcery gaming. A small group is discussing it with me on Google Groups.

  23. ChattyDM says:

    @Scott: That’s Great stuff!

  24. I trotted out a review of one of my favorite superhero RPGs, Atomic Sock Monkey’s Truth and Justice:

    http://rpgblog2.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-carnival-review-of-asms-truth.html

    -Zachary
    RPG Blog II

    zacharythefirsts last blog post..Greyhawk Day #5: The Free City of Greyhawk!

  25. Manny says:

    Great topic, and better picture !!

    Mannys last blog post..The Popularity Of Online Dating

  26. Stargazer says:

    Check out my contribution to this month’s blog carnival: “No capes!

  27. ChattyDM says:

    Wow, I’m amazed at the response this Carnival is getting! Just let me work through this passing writer’s block and I’ll join the fun!

  28. I’ll eventually talk about regular heroes…maybe…

    DOOM ‘R’ US

    Reverend Mikes last blog post..The World Must Be Destroyed…BUT HOW?!

  29. Dave T. Game says:

    One more entry for the carnival is up.

    Dave T. Games last blog post..We Must Not Remind Them Giants Walk the Earth

  30. JM says:

    Here’s another one …
    Tweaking a Classic

    and possibly this one … depending whether or not you count both Marvel’s and Dark Horse’s comic series’ … But even if not, it’s still fun.
    Go, Go, Godzilla!

    JM.

    JMs last blog post..Go, Go, Godzilla!

  31. Stuart says:

    My contribution is up.

    Stuarts last blog post..Reprint: Planescape, Revisited

  32. NiTessine says:

    My post is up, about my favouritest superhero game in the whole wide world!

    NiTessines last blog post..RPG Blog Carnival #3: Superheroes – Godlike

  33. Tomcat1066 says:

    And now we have one more right here for everyone’s amusement ;)

    Tomcat1066s last blog post..Pirates Versus Ninjas

  34. Ninetail says:

    My first post on the topic… might have another underway.

    http://abutterflydreaming.com/2008/10/21/superheroes-are-made/ – (Super)Heroes are Made

  35. cool games says:

    Well if i was a villain I would be surrendering to this superhero =P

  36. free games says:

    that is the best way for sharing and thanks for comment luv
    .-= free games´s last blog ..Play online Bowl For Kids’ Sake game free =-.

Trackbacks

Check out what others are saying about this post...
  1. [...] struck a chord with a fair few folk, and ChattyDM’s picked up the mantle to make Superheroes the topic of the month for the latest Blog Carnival. Way to go, Phil! Continuing the theme of superheroifying D&D, [...]

  2. [...] Blog Carnival: Super Heroes in RPGs This month I offered to take up the torch and reinforce a nascent RPG blogging meme that has cropped up in the last few days. [...]

  3. [...] round of the RPG Bloggers Carnival comes to you today from Philippe-Antoine over at Musings of a Chatty DM and of all the subject on the planet he could pick he chose super [...]

  4. [...] with this month’s RPG Blog Carnival theme, this Haiku Monday is all about superheroes in roleplaying games. To quote the Chatty DM, host of [...]

  5. [...] Blog Carnival: Super Heroes in RPGs This month I offered to take up the torch and reinforce a nascent RPG blogging meme that has cropped up in the last few days.Greywulf started it with all with ‘Let’s Play Super Dungeons and Dragons‘. [...]

  6. [...] this month’s RPG Blog Carnival theme, here’s an idea for a slightly different superhero game. It’s all fluff, setting and [...]

  7. [...] campaign. Perhaps if we go the “Heroes” way, I can win them over.   Note: The ChattyDM is hosting this month’s RPG Blog Carnival. The topic is “Super Heroes in RPGs” [...]

  8. [...] again continuing with this month’s RPG Blog Carnival theme of Superheroes in RPGs, here’s another variant campaign idea. This one doesn’t even have any superheroes in [...]

  9. [...] had to happen. ChattyDM announces that this month’s Blog Carnival topic is Superheroes in RPGs and someone goes and mentions the Most Common Superpower trope. Never one to pass up an excuse to [...]

  10. [...] This is a follow-up post to Hero with a Secret ID and a part of the RPG Superheroes Blog Carnival. [...]

  11. [...] RPG Blog Carnival #3: Superheroes It’s time for the third RPG Blog Carnival, this time hosted over at Chatty DM’s. [...]

  12. [...] month, the RPG Blog Carnival is dealing with superheroes.  And the furor surrounding Carcosa reminds me of a literary truism:  the hero is defined by his [...]

  13. [...] the spirit of this month’s RPG Blog Carnival on superheroes, I present some of the strangest superpowers ever to grace the pages of a comic book.  Perhaps [...]

  14. [...] months RPG Bloggers Network carnival is coming to a close this Friday which still gives you guys plenty of time to get writing about [...]

  15. [...] if you don’t play a superhero game, this month’s RPG blog carnival on superheroes needn’t be a wasted month for you.  There are qualities of a superhero game that can be [...]