JSA for H&H: the Cliff Notes Version

[Adminenkainen]

The roster: Sandman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Flash, Hourman, Atom, Spectre, Dr. Fate, Johnny Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite. In our current continuity, Flash has not dropped out like he did in All-Star Comics #6.

Changes/Upgrades: Most of the heroes now wear backpacks full of useful gear and carry at least one gun. Sandman wears a flak jacket instead of a trench coat, and wears a magic girdle that increases his size (8') and strength. Hawkman wears platemail armor instead of going around topless. Green Lantern has taken to studying magic from sources other than his magic lamp. Hourman fights with a sword, Sandman, Hawkman, and Atom all fight with magic swords, and Flash punches with brass knuckles. Green Lantern fights with a staff.

Necessary Changes: So that everyone else is not rendered irrelevant, Dr. Fate and Spectre don't show up on missions unless summoned by the magic ring the Sandman currently wears.

Girlfriend roster: Dian Belmont (Sandman), Irene Miller (Green Lantern), Shiera Sanders (Hawkman), Joan Williams (Flash), Mary James (Atom), Elizabeth Toner (Johnny Thunder), Regina Bannerman (Hourman), Inza Cramer (Dr. Fate)

Things you might not have known about your hero:

Sandman - the richest superhero in the DC universe at this time, a billionaire from the family steel company, and the only hero from Pennsylvania at this time; Dian is a reformed criminal (safe cracker); his company is spying on Bannerman Pharmaceuticals.

Green Lantern - the only member who is left-handed; Alan was a professional architectural engineer who did stuff like design bridges, but gave it up to work as a mechanical engineer for a radio company to be closer to news stories; his magic lamp houses the sentient Green Flame of Life, that can talk to him

Hawkman - is an amateur archaeologist and weapons collector, but he's really from old money and doesn't work a serious job

Flash - is also from old money; studied chemistry back in college, but doesn't work as a chemist; not nearly as fast as men who would later be called the Flash, there is no evidence to support that Jay could ever run as fast as Mach 2

Hourman - the first "social media" celebrity of the JSA, Hourman uses classified ads in the paper to advertise his services and recruits boys by radio to serve as his eyes and ears -- all of which is less creepy than it sounds to our modern sensibilities; Hourman works for Bannerman Pharmaceuticals and is spying on Sandman's spies, without knowing who they work for

Atom - The Atom is a college student; his fictional college is called Calvin College in the comic books (I've toyed with several real world alternatives, settling most recently on Columbia University)

Spectre - The Spectre is largely based out of Cleveland, Ohio; it is only strongly implied that the Spectre is an angel

Dr. Fate - (despite later retcons) Dr. Fate is not human, but has told Johnny "the elder gods created me just as I am now"; he may be tens of thousands of years old; he has recently altered his helmet and, apparently, his personality and powers as well!

Johnny Thunder - Johnny is 25 and still lives with his mom and dad -- Mildred and Simon. In the comics, Elizabeth does not become his girlfriend (another change/upgrade!). Johnny is the only hero to have a daughter (an adopted one)

Dr. Mid-Nite - he just joined and is still largely a mystery. More on him later!

[order99]

That leads to a very interesting phenomenon...given the Rules as Written, there is absolutely NO reason for Heroes not to go around collecting every single edge they can-flack vests, guns, spellbooks, poisons, that autogyro we captured from Egg Fu, etc etc etc. It works for original Player-made Heroes just fine, but the only reason Golden Age Superman isn't carrying a Colt Army pistol, brass knuckles and a Ring of Invisibility right now is Editor Fiat (and the use of Advanced Rules of course-in Basic everybody would be using bare fists and Batarangs because all weapons do 1D6 and it's easier not to use knives and guns and avoid killing...and Supes would still want that Magic ring!)

Your campaign sound absolutely awesome just as is, but if an Aspiring Editor wanted to establish some Genre conventions I suppose we could try:


A) Genre? What Genre? This isn't the Silver Age or the Bronze age-if Hawkman can wear Plate and still fly, let him...Green Lantern shoving spells into a Magic ring is just fine in the genre, guns are great tools, magic swords are awesome-and Superman is an overconfident ass who just arrived and hasn't faced anything more challenging than some Lvl 1 Thugs and a wife-beater, he'll add some gear to his arsenal once the Ultra-Humanite arrives on the scene, if he's smart enough!

B) Smart Heroes Hide Trophies-many of the Golden Age Heroes have plenty of gear-your average Two-fisted Hero probably has lead weights in his gloves and Al (Atom) Pratt keeps rolls of quarters in his trunks ready to fall into his fists as needed (both count as Brass Knuckles). That trench coat the Sandman uses probably is made of layered silk and could have impact plates within just like a flack jacket. Hawkman has access to Egyptian Relics and knows some magi-users, did one of them cast a minor illusion on his Plate? Or he just had some ornate Hawk-themed armor made that fits the look. Superman's outfit was historically sewn out of his Kryptonian baby blankets and probably gave him a great deal of protection until his natural AC evolves past it-and between his True Strength and developing powers Supes may figure he can just Improvise missles and clubs out of the terrain as needed-and maybe a small but useful kit in a belt buckle or hidden in a pack under his cloak?. Batman has customized Everything of course, just like his Modern counterpart his outfit is bullet-resistant, his hands and feet reinforced with impact plates, his Batarang and Swingline for a lasso/ranged attack-and he actually carries a gun this early in his career too!

C) Flaws-I was inspired by the Trophy Case article about 'Silver Age Hangups' and decided to try some Metagaming...I created Flaw Tags that a Hero can take voluntarily and discard if the Hero outgrows it or it gets in the way of the stories the Group wants to tell. Such Tags might look like-

-Large Hulking Bruiser
-Trick Knee
-Afraid of Heights
-Hunted by a Ninja Clan

etc.

If the Editor wishes to cause the Hero a Setback (I want the Mobster to get away in this scene to make Plan X happen or make his capture sweeter) I can Invoke that Trick Knee, that wave of Vertigo, that small space that the Big Guy can't squeeze past, NINJA ATTACK etc. The Writer (Player of the Hero of course!) can also Invoke their Hero's Flaw ('My Hero has a reputation for both Bad Luck and Dogged Persistence, of COURSE I Invoke!') Every time a Flaw is Invoked the Hero gets 50 XP for their trouble in addition to any XP for Ninja Battles, Good Deeds etc. If an Editor wanted a JSA more Historically correct (rather than more FUN like yours! ) then  both Superman and the Atom might take 'My Body and Powers/Skill are all I need' Hawkman and Sandman might take 'Reckless overconfidence' and Batman would (years later!) take 'No Guns, No Killing' as Flaws...

In my future Gothic Superpulp campaign-

-You know, the ONE I CAN NEVER GET OFF THE GROUND BECAUSE BEING A RESPONSIBLE ADULT SUCKS!!!-

-I intend to use Flaws to Invoke the proper Gothic tropes. Also (in Theory) a bunch of Writers could get together and literally make up a mutual adventure from scratch with their Heroes just by asking permission to Invoke each other's Flaws (Editor-'Hold on now! I call a 30 minute break for a sandwich run, I come back and suddenly Crimson Lotus's Tong enemies run into Witch King's Witch Hunters, mutual war is declared, Two-fisted Tommy got lost again looking for a phone and Gold Spider's Aunt Mary had a stroke? Hmmmm, I LIKE IT!!')


Anyway, none of this has anything to do with how awesome your campaign is right now, i'm just making observations and thinking out loud...not to mention seething with jealousy because you have a game running and I don't (WAAAH!!)...