Dc and the new 52

[bathawk]

i'm sure everyone has thier fanboy comments on how thier favorite heroes and villians were statted out in Vol.1 (i.e. I thought Poison Ivy gave Harley Quinn super strength and agility)

But was wondering how 'relevant" the books are to others now that DC has gone though another reboot? i ask because I was able to buy the first two books for $20 used at my FLGS and wondered why the previous owner dropped the books?

For my part I'm not worrying about it too much 99% of the stats and figures are still relevant. Despite losing his marriage and the new costume, I don't see much variatio in Superman pre and post 52 even the changes that have occured that really tick me off (Harley Quinn, and the non-Ostrander Deadshot in Suicide Squad) do little to alter the playability of thier stats

That being said I'm wondering abotu the future of the line, and wether the DC universe will get adventures (like Mayfair) or just expansion books for different parts of the DCU (West End games)


All that being said, if they maintain the licence. I would like to see an update in a couple of years to showcase new characters and ones that HAVE changed significanly from the pre-52 universe such as Captain Atom, or the Integrated Wildstorm/Milestone characters

[Cobalt]

As far as we know, the license GR has with DC is 4 books, and that's it. If there has been discussion of extending the license, we have not been privy to it. As far as the Wildstorm line, that question has been addressed already. Apparently, DC cannot license out those characters for any media.. As sad as it is, the best we can hope for is someone to take it upon themselves to post a really tight but unofficial build.

[bathawk]

hmm kind of strange about the wildstorm issue, I mean does "Wildstorm" even exist as an entity?

well two profile books and the core book....any info on what the fourth book is?

[JetstreamGW]

hmm kind of strange about the wildstorm issue, I mean does "Wildstorm" even exist as an entity?

well two profile books and the core book....any info on what the fourth book is?

Wildstorm itself (and Milestone) exist as labels owned by DC. But many (if not all) of the characters typically published under those labels are partially Creator-Owned. That makes the issue of licensing products with those characters in them sticky. DC often chooses to not do so in order to avoid the legal hoop-jumping.

And the fourth book is a setting book called "Universe." It'll have a few characters but otherwise exists to detail the DC universe.

[Mr Mole]

It's not that it's impossible for there to be a Wildstorm and/or Milestone sourcebook at some point... Just not under the current deal with DC...

There are people who could green-light such a project, and I suspect the Green Ronin staff would be more than happy to make it work on their side... But the logistics didn't allow for the inclusion of those lines under the current contract...

Maybe it'll happen some day and maybe it won't... I dunno... It would certainly be nice, but I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting...

[bathawk]

I hope the liscense does get renewed, super hero RPG's used to be all over nowadays, And while I know pen and paper rpg's have taken a hit in recent years, superhero games have gotten even rarer, besides M&M there's really only Champions (who's using kickstarter as apparently thier only way to generate product)....Heroe's Unlimited who haven't put out a new supplement in years. And the occassional"new entry (really like Wild Talents)

M&M is a bit slow in new books coming out, but at least they're doing them right....wonder what the odds on t new books after the main four being? ,

[Cobalt]

There is a most excellent game called Icons.. I think some guy named Steve wrote it..

There is also the new Marvel RPG. That's using the cortex system (which I really don't care for personally).

I agree that there just don't seem to be as many supers RPGs these days, but with the 2 big comic publishers having recently allowed licensed product, maybe we will see a few new ones hit the market in the future.

[Mr Mole]

I hope the liscense does get renewed, super hero RPG's used to be all over nowadays, And while I know pen and paper rpg's have taken a hit in recent years, superhero games have gotten even rarer, besides M&M there's really only Champions (who's using kickstarter as apparently thier only way to generate product)....Heroe's Unlimited who haven't put out a new supplement in years. And the occassional"new entry (really like Wild Talents)

M&M is a bit slow in new books coming out, but at least they're doing them right....wonder what the odds on t new books after the main four being? ,

Dead-tree editions of supers RPGs with lots of supplements may be tough to come by, but there are lots and lots and lots of electronic books for a number of systems available... Some with a pretty substantial catalog spanning decades...

I've owned almost everything for Champions since 4th edition (and a handful of items going back as far as 1st edition, including a complete run of Adventurer's Club I got from Bruce Harlick), and I still have most of the electronic products, but only a few print items. The move toward e-books has been getting stronger and stronger for close to two decades... And I don't see the trend reversing anytime soon...

There are frequently new supers RPGs and supplements available on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow... Some are completely new systems, some are electronic editions of print books from 20+ years ago, some are supplements for M&M or Champions or V&V or another established system...

My point, I guess, is that if you're looking for paper books, you'll find some good ones, but you're really limiting yourself to a small fraction of what's available...

[Foreshadow]

Serious question: Has anyone ever asked if there are 52 universes (a concept clearly based on the fact a deck of cards has 52 cards, but also come with a couple Jokers too. Question: Could there be two or at least one Joker universe? I don't mean a universe where The Joker is God, though that is a good idea for a Batman comic series. Life would be one big sick joke. Batman would be a pastor and the one sane guy in a crazy mix-up universe. That would be a fun challenge, take all the classic religious themes and key parables and then make it twisted with a Joker inspired twist like "do unto others before they do unto you".

Yet, what if there was such a universe, what would it be like?

[Mr Mole]

Serious question: Has anyone ever asked if there are 52 universes (a concept clearly based on the fact a deck of cards has 52 cards, but also come with a couple Jokers too. Question: Could there be two or at least one Joker universe? I don't mean a universe where The Joker is God, though that is a good idea for a Batman comic series. Life would be one big sick joke. Batman would be a pastor and the one sane guy in a crazy mix-up universe. That would be a fun challenge, take all the classic religious themes and key parables and then make it twisted with a Joker inspired twist like "do unto others before they do unto you".

Yet, what if there was such a universe, what would it be like?

Not trying to be nitpicky, but I believe the 52 correlates with 52 complete weeks in a year rather than 52 cards in a deck...

Still, that only accounts for 364 out of 365.2425 days a year (going by the currently popular Gregorian calendar)... So there's probably room for some joker equivalent...

[Flying Cobra]

Been done, with predictable results.

[bathawk]

I hope the liscense does get renewed, super hero RPG's used to be all over nowadays, And while I know pen and paper rpg's have taken a hit in recent years, superhero games have gotten even rarer, besides M&M there's really only Champions (who's using kickstarter as apparently thier only way to generate product)....Heroe's Unlimited who haven't put out a new supplement in years. And the occassional"new entry (really like Wild Talents)

M&M is a bit slow in new books coming out, but at least they're doing them right....wonder what the odds on t new books after the main four being? ,

Dead-tree editions of supers RPGs with lots of supplements may be tough to come by, but there are lots and lots and lots of electronic books for a number of systems available... Some with a pretty substantial catalog spanning decades...

I've owned almost everything for Champions since 4th edition (and a handful of items going back as far as 1st edition, including a complete run of Adventurer's Club I got from Bruce Harlick), and I still have most of the electronic products, but only a few print items. The move toward e-books has been getting stronger and stronger for close to two decades... And I don't see the trend reversing anytime soon...

There are frequently new supers RPGs and supplements available on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow... Some are completely new systems, some are electronic editions of print books from 20+ years ago, some are supplements for M&M or Champions or V&V or another established system...

My point, I guess, is that if you're looking for paper books, you'll find some good ones, but you're really limiting yourself to a small fraction of what's available...

I understand, however I have picked up a few stinkers over the years (Heroes Forvever)...and unlike a physical book I can't flip through it at my FLGS, I knw there are sometime a couple of preview pages available before I download anything, but those usualy aren't enough to determine a books "worthiness" or not

[Mr Mole]

I understand, however I have picked up a few stinkers over the years (Heroes Forvever)...and unlike a physical book I can't flip through it at my FLGS, I knw there are sometime a couple of preview pages available before I download anything, but those usualy aren't enough to determine a books "worthiness" or not

I empathize. I've picked up a fair number of "stinkers" as well. That said, the absolute worst (and I do mean worst) RPG book I ever paid money for was a dead tree edition for a very early d20/OGL supers game called The Foundation by Team Frog. The only FLGS within fifty-or-so miles of me kept minimal inventory and try-it-before-you-buy-it was almost impossible. I was excited to try a new supers game, so I payed upfront and ordered it. Ab-so-lute crap. I've owned multiple hundreds of print and electronic RPG items... And that one was, unquestionably, the worst. It's now rotting in the local landfill, likely bringing down the value of the other garbage.

[Earth-Two_Kenn]

But was wondering how 'relevant" the books are to others now that DC has gone though another reboot?

Relevant enough that I'm buying my DC material through Green Ronin games these days. Someone has to actually respect the DC characters; DC gave that up.

[Darrin Kelley]

Relevant enough that I'm buying my DC material through Green Ronin games these days. Someone has to actually respect the DC characters; DC gave that up.

I'm glad to have the two volumes of Heroes & Villains. They present the characters in a great format. Which I enjoy a lot.

But I, like many other people, have a serious problem with DC right now. That problem also exists at Marvel too. It is the fact that the people writing for the properties have absolutely no respect for them, their history, or the legacy that made them viable properties to begin with.

I'm hoping we will get the old DC Universe back. But at this point, the damage is so extensive that the repairs may take years. if they happen at all.

The big two comics companies need to do a purge of all of the existing talent, then go back to basics. Get editors who actually do their jobs. Restaff both Marvel and DC entirely. That's the only way to save them, I believe.