“Try Before You Buy” is an occasional segment of Astral Projections. It spotlights free (or nearly free) supplements, quick-start rules, and modules for various RPGs.
Fate Core/Accelerated seems to be a popular starting point for superhero rulesets. This is the third or fourth FATE based I have come across on DriveThru RPG and other websites. Training Room Rules is the 59 page quickstart PDF for Daring Entertainment’s Daring Comics Role-playing Game, which looks at least as good as the other Fate supers rules I have found. (My reviews of Venture City Stories and Four Color FAE.)
Training Room Rules has a full-color cover and black & white interior art, all well-done. It looks professional. The PDF, however, is completely unreadable on my first-gen iPad, but I haven’t tested it on more recent tablets.
About a third of the 59 page PDF is the standard FATE rules–Dice, Aspects, Stunts, Fate Points, Compels and so forth–for those new to the system. Stunts, Skills, and Powers sections have only a selection of those available in the full rules. They do provide enough of the rules to play the included module, “All the Rage,” using the included pre-gen characters.
Training Room Rules, understandably, doesn’t have the rules for building your own PCs; players wanting more are referred to the core book. The Power mechanics given have some similarities to Mutants & Masterminds, such as Power Sets and options to limit or increase a power, making it more or less expensive. Power sets will also have an Aspect that can be compelled like any other Aspect, but also has some unique qualities. Speaking of Aspects, I did note when reading over the pre-gens that the usual Trouble Aspect is replaced by a Motivation Aspect.
The “All the Rage” module is a one-shot adventure. A superteam is called in when a student at the local high school turns into a violent metahuman after taking a new street drug. I found the story interesting, with both social and combat encounters. If Fate isn’t your group’s thing, the module could be used with their favorite superhero system. The 10 included PCs are standard archetypes, inspired by famed comic book characters–archer, crime-fighter, energy controller, speedster, etc. No mystic/mage PC, however.
If you like Daring Comics, the core book is US $14.95 as a PDF. The black and white softcover is $22.95, or both for $29.95 at DriveThru RPG or RPGNow. There are at least two supplements as well.
Linda Whitson
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