Super Heroes: When DMs Go to Marvel’s Secret Wars

You’ve seen the trailer. You saw the #MinisMonday post… Tony’s birthday game where Chris and Dave teamed up to run our group through a tabletop wargame in our own custom Marvel Universe of 6-1-SHIT, where the heroes were brought to Battleplanet to fight the SECRET WARS!In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of our custom, simplified, Heroclix system that allowed for a game that reflected the scope of the Secret Wars: The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Heroes of Hells Kitchen, and our homebrewed heroes as they fought the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, The Masters of Evil, Doctor Doom, Ultron, and Galactus!This is another in the long line of adapting wargaming to your table, regardless of your experience!3:00 DM Chris provides the background for the game.7:55 DM Tony’s initial reaction to the game.10:00 The difficulty with introducing wargaming into your games and how to simplify it for everyone to enjoy.14:45 We start breaking down the mechanics and set-up of the game.18:43 The benefits of co-DMing.21:50 An easy system to adapt to any table and any game.30:20 A run through of the basic mechanics and set-up. We use Captain America as our example.36:10 We discuss the difficulty of integrating our Journey System into the game.43:22 Final Thoughts.

One of the easiest ways to make your campaign and your setting feel real, immersive, and unique is by taking away the certitude that magic is always going to act the same way. This mysterious, world-altering energy should not ever be completely understood by your characters, as the discovery of it is a big part of the fun.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to respond to a listener question about their homebrewed idea of making magic work differently in different areas of their world. They ask how we might approach it in our ever-growing, crowdsourced Boomtown campaign setting. 1:35 Our listener question from The OMG Father, Wyman!3:15 Simple ways to approach making magic change, altering Difficulty Classes and Damage output.4:15 DM Chris harkens back to the Green Lantern Corps and leans into our use of Components as trackable resources.6:05 How DM Dave altered magic in the world in our recent Dragonlance campaign.8:05 Making the zones of magic random, and DM Chris’ concern of specifically targeting arcane casters.10:25 Motivating players to adventure by seeking tech.12:12 Employing more narratively focused elements by having the player and DM work together to create something new.16:45 Leaning into the resource management for spellcasting.21:45 Allowing the tech to be utilized by any character. A Gunslinger with a Staff of Healing? Why not?25:25 Good stories come from the characters having to struggle. Always beating the monsters is fun in a one-shot, but makes for a really boring campaign.26:35 DM Tony asks what the tech looks like in Boomtown?31:10 Charging up mundane tech… the Battery of the planet Oa and bringing in a usable Craft Item skill.35:50 Final Thoughts.

We continue to build upon Boomtown - our real-time worldbuilding experiment - armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss the class that is most effected by the inciting incident of Boomtown – namely, that arcane magic is derived from ancient technology being recovered in the Wastes. We take him from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the changes that reflect our weird west setting. Make sure to Join the Conversation!3:50 Naming our western Wizard.5:55 Do we rename the Wizard class like we changed Clerics to Prophets?7:55 We continue to nail down the idea that all classes receive Unarmored Defense.13:30 The idea behind low hit points for Wizards.16:05 Our customized Saving Throws.17:20 The all-important stat rolls.20:30 The changes to our Skill list.23:00 What do we mean when the technology is “warping”people?25:00 The Component Pouch.30:45 One last Frontier Pack and his starting equipment.33:45 We delve into how spellcasting works and some changes to make the Wizard preparing spells.45:30 Do Schools of Magic make sense in Boomtown? The idea of Wizards taking a Technology Path.53:15 Our 3rd Level Engineer!54:05 Final Thoughts.

We continue to build upon Boomtown - our real-time worldbuilding experiment - armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss Clerics in a world where all the magic that is known seems to be technologically-based. We take them from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the changes that reflect our weird west setting. Make sure to Join the Conversation!4:00 The Name! Always start with the name. Introducing Sister Mercy Cain.5:30 Renaming the Cleric: The Prophet Class.7:20 Rolling Mercy’s stats.10:50 Customizing Saving Throws.13:30 A short step back into Sneak Attack and finesse weapons in regards to Firearms.16:50 No Plate Mail in the western setting - Unarmored Defense for all classes.21:12 Skills and a discussion on a Preach skill instead of Religion.28:00 Everyone gets a Frontier Pack! Building out equipment and weapons.34:30 We begin to discuss spellcasting for the Prophet class – 3 separate ideas.42:50 Leveling Sister Mercy to 2nd level and our discussion on Channel Divinity, Domains, and Deities.53:00 Our 3rd Level Prophet!53:30 Final Thoughts.

We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss what a Rogue would look like in our Boomtown campaign setting.  We take him from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the changes that reflect our weird west setting. Make sure to Join the Conversation!3:03 What do we call the class? Rogue, Thief, Outlaw, Bandit?3:55 Wait, what is this character’s name?4:35 DM Tony comes up with an interesting change for Saving Throw proficiencies.8:50 DM Chris comes through with John “Maverick” East!9:45 John East’s stat roll out.11:40 The idea of bringing in Unarmored Defense into the world for everyone.14:30 What are his stats? A 6 in Wisdom?!?20:25 We put our customizable Saving Throw proficiencies into play.21:50 Maverick’s skills.25:00 What equipment and weaponry does a Rogue start with in Boomtown?26:00 DM Chris introduces the idea of the demolitions expert.29:40 We begin discussing the Rogue Features as we level John East up.33:25 The Rogue Superpower: Sneak Attack.46:45 Rogue Archetypes.50:51 Final Thoughts.

We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to build the most classic D&D class, the Fighter, in our Boomtown campaign setting.  We take him from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the changes that reflect our weird west setting. Make sure to Join the Conversation!3:28 1st level, first things first… what’s their name?4:10 Rolling out Roland’s stats.6:00 Saving Throws and Proficiencies.8:20 Six-shooters and Leather Dusters… cowboys didn’t have full plate armor.10:50 The Frontier Pack.11:30 Assigning Roland’s attributes.16:00 Two changes to the skills list in Boomtown.26:45 Equipment and weapons.29:45 Fighting Styles.40:20 2nd Level… we add to Action Surge.46:15 3rd Level… the Martial Archetypes of Boomtown.54:10 Final Thoughts.

We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. One of the best things you can build for your campaign to feel real and immersive is by creating factions. Groups and organizations that have their own motives and goals that are distinct from the players. This creates inciting incidents, backstory fodder, and moving parts that conflict with the characters and create impetus for adventure.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave finally begin discussing the biggest faction, and the inciting incident for the Boomtown setting, the shadowy conglomerate from the east coast of the world that is the driving force behind gathering the newly discovered ancient magical technology.  Make sure to Join the Conversation!4:05 We begin with some possible ways this conglomerate might be formed and their motives. 6:45 It’s important to create the floor for the overall campaign setting.10:00 The concept of the theocracy of the “Divine State” begins to take shape.12:35 The main fulcrum of your campaign setting. DM Dave posits the struggle between religion and faith.17:50 The beginning of the idea of the conglomerate as a “Triumvirate”: Religion, Commerce, and Military.21:24 The need for a break in time in history: The Cataclysm, The Calamity, The Doom of Valyria, etc.23:50 The internal struggles of the Triumvirate create more adventure hooks.25:10 Factions that develop because of opposition to the Triumvirate.35:45 Answering who these other factions are changes the campaign setting: Technological Magic vs Inherent Magic and Power.40:25 The Triumvirate is human-centric. Boomtowns are plural societies.6:35 Final Thoughts.

We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. Science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke formulated three adages known as Clarke’s Laws that he expounded on in his writings. The third of these is the most famous, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave begin to unpack this idea of ancient technology being what makes magic in the ever-evolving, crowdsourced Boomtown Campaign Setting.  Make sure to Join the Conversation!0:24 DM Dave’s audio homage to the famous “slapback” effect of Sam Philips’ Sun Studios.4:33 The current state of technological advancement in Boomtown.6:40 How much magic is discovered at 1st level? Where is the floor for magic in the campaign setting?10:15 Magic is being used to build and power the world.11:25 We love the idea of Masterwork and Weapons of Quality handling anything that is +1.15:30 What can you find in a general Boomtown? How damaging are run-of-the-mill firearms?16:30 Leaning into the idea of Misfires and Wild Magic. We also discuss adjusting Attunement.33:00 Building and creating magic – giving agency to the players in rediscovering magic.40:50 Flaws ands vulnerabilities in the characters and the world are what make the greatest stories.41:45 Final Thoughts.

We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave return to the conversation started in Episode 174 and begin to build out the town that will be the start of most adventures in our Boomtown Campaign Setting.  Make sure to Join the Conversation!1:55 Where are we now? We asked, you answered! Boomtown #1 is known as Gallow Springs!3:40 What’s in our border town?6:05 What’s NOT in the town? Religion and Churches, per our last episode.9:35 Our archetype for Boomtown was Wyatt Earp’s Tombstone. So, what was actually there at the time? 12:15 Name the 110 saloons!12:35 How small is a small town? Between Hommlet and Waterdeep.16:10 The split between Uptown and Downtown and the Law.19:55 The point of the Boomtowns: Recovering Tech – our “Gold Rush.”22:06 Dueling and Gunfights: How Lawless is Gallow Springs?29:30 The Haves and the Have Nots: The rich get richer!31:00 Buying Magic in Gallow Springs?38:50 Final Thoughts.

We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners.In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave finish out the discussion of how magic will work in our crowdsourced “Boomtown” campaign setting by asking “Where does divine magic come from?” Make sure to Join the Conversation!1:40 “Where Are We Now”: the Boomtown campaign setting, as it currently stands.5:20 Discovering the Lost Gods?6:00 Will this be monotheistic or polytheistic? What about the Cleric Domains?10:00 Could Divine Magic be just advanced forms of technology or Artificial Intelligence?13:45 #FightForTheColonyShip 14:45 One God: Many Names.16:50 What does this tech-based magic look like compared to the ordinary folk?20:30 How does religion fit into this world? 29:45 The struggle between the Corporations, the Prophets, and the Boomtowns.40:45 Final Thoughts.