Looking back over my previous posts, there have been times where I have started a project with the intention of seeing it through to its completion, only to falter and end up doing something else instead. In other words, sometimes I’m a bit crap.
However, today is not one of those days. The Golden Heroes Players Book is now complete and you can download the PDF of this now!
The majority of the text is as per the original rules, but I have taken the opportunity to tidy it up a bit, as there were a few errors in the published game that obviously were missed at the proofreading stage. I have also added supplementary information gathered from other official and unofficial sources, mainly in regards to additional options for existing powers that were published after the main rules came out.
The spot illustrations used in the rules are, for the most part, from officially published Golden Heroes articles or supplements, but there are a few that I have slipped in which I thought suited the rules and were of obscure comic book characters that only the most well-read comic book aficionado would recognise.
As I’m not one to appropriate others’ work and claim it for my own, I have credited everyone’s work, which was simple in regards to the writing, but not so simple in regards to the artwork, as whilst White Dwarf did credit its artists, unless they had initialled or signed the relevant piece of art, it wasn’t always easy to work out who did what.
The current download is JUST the Players Book, so only contains those rules that the players would need to use, but does cover character generation, superpowers and the majority of the combat rules. However, you will need the Supervisors Book in order to actually run a game, which is in the process of being put together as we speak. The Players Books does not yet have a cover, as I am intending on doing a new one for it, but does have a contents page and index. There may be a few typos, and if you spot one, let me know, as sometimes these things slip through the net.
I am open to any feedback or questions, but for now, enjoy!
If you’ve come her expecting to see monsters, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. Whilst I DID (with the best intentions) say I’d be taking part in Keith’s annual Monster May(hem) challenge, here we are, 22 days into May, with absolutely nothing to show.
To be honest, whilst I do have a lot of unpainted figures (as do we all), not a great deal of them are ‘monsters’, so trying to find something suitable to paint proved somewhat problematic. As my eldest has just bought his first house and I’ve been drafted in to provide my minimal DIY skills, quite a lot of my ‘free’ time has been spent stripping walls, sawing wood and chiselling out cavities for new sockets, so whilst I have been doing some manual stuff, no paint brushes have touched my hands in months.
Now, there may be some out there who may be concerned that this may impact on me hosting and taking part in the annual Forgotten Heroes challenge, but rest assured, I WILL still be doing this next month.
For new readers, Forgotten Heroes is a challenge that started way back in 2016 and has, without fail, taken place every June for the last 7 years. It’s a relatively straight-forward challenge and is open to anyone who wishes to take part – all you have to do is state in the comments that you want to be involved and provide details of where you will be showcasing your work and I’ll add you to the blogroll.
The rules, such as they are, are pretty simple – during the month of June, you must produce a figure of a hero (or villain) that either has not yet had an official or unofficial figure made for it yet or, if it has, you are making your own version. This may be as simple as repainting an existing figure, such as a Heroclix Blue Beetle as Goldbug, an pretty obscure Spider-Man villain, to converting an existing figure to a completely different character or, if you talents lie in that area, sculpting a figure from scratch. If the base figure you are using is an unofficial version of the character, such as the myriad versions of Indiana Jones that exist out there, then you can’t use it. The same applies to those 3D printed figures that are obviously Marvel or DC characters, just with the names changed to prevent the big two from sending the boys round to have a word…
Other than that, you can choose whatever scale you want and whatever subject, be it a comic book hero or villain or a costumed character from a TV show or movie. Your first post should provide an image of the character you are seeking to create, with a bit of background on them, and a picture of the base figure you are intending on using, so we all know what you’re aiming for.
Over the last seven years, I’ve produced my versions of Stegron the Dinosaur Man, Rom, M.O.D.O.K. and the Spot from Marvel Comics, Super-Soldier from Amalgam Comics, Bananaman from the Dandy, the ‘Quantum Quartet’ of Mystery Incorporated from Image Comics and the 8th Doctor from Doctor Who.
I will naturally be doing another costumed superhero and as I love those obscure characters that no-one has ever heard of, I have got a character than I can almost guarantee no-one has heard of.
Now, whilst I may not have touched a paintbrush or figure for a while, this doesn’t mean that I haven’t had the opportunity to some hobby stuff.
Those who’ve been following my recent series of posts will know that I’ve been working on republishing the Golden Heroes RPG back from 1984 on a non-professional, non-profit basis – mainly for my own use, but also to allow anyone else who may be interested in trying out these rules.
Now, the game was designed to be fairly generic initially, so that it could be used for any superhero setting, but certain published scenarios for the game do add snippets of background for the ‘Golden Heroes Universe’, so whilst working on the Supervisors Book, I’ve collated as much of this information as possible to try and provide an overall coherent backstory/framework for this universe.
However, sometimes the information provided is a little sketchy, so I’ve been using my knowledge of comic books to fill in the gaps. Case in point is American Eagle. The only reference to him is the following from the scenario The American Dream – “belonged to the WWII hero American Eagle. Since his death in Korea, no one has been able to make the sceptre manifest its power.” Other than a later description of what the sceptre is capable of, that it requires a traumatic experience to ‘attune’ to it and the below picture in the hands of its current wielder Miss America/Renegade, that’s all you get:
If American Eagle is a renowned hero of WWII, then we surely should have a bit more information about him, right? And at least an image of him…
So, I got a little creative.
There have been several published heroes with the name American Eagle, including one from Marvel Comics, but the interesting one, as far as I’m concerned, is the one that appeared in America’s Best Comics #2 in September 1942, because he kind of falls into a grey area in regards to ownership. According to the Public Domain Super Heroes website, although he has been used by a number of different publishers without lawsuits from Warner Brothers, who sort of ‘own’ the rights to the character, this kind of means that anyone is free to use the character and it’s original likeness without issue.
As I can’t imagine that Warner Brothers will be coming after me, I’ve used the image below for the Golden Heroes version of American Eagle, along with the revised background below:
“In 1942, Tom Standish was assisting Dr Wolfe’s experiments with a strange device that had been recovered from the wreckage of ‘something’ shot down during the Battle of Los Angeles earlier that year. Whilst conducting a series of tests on the metallic rod, Standish realised that it appeared to have some kind of advanced (for the time) circuitry built into it and went to find Dr Wolfe to advise him of this. However, he discovered that Dr Wolfe was a fifth columnist with Nazi sympathies, who was intending on harnessing whatever properties of the rod to undermine America from within. Tearing the rod from its stand, he fled into the night, chased by Wolfe and his conspirators. The Nazis cornered Standish and opened fire. However, the trauma of the event somehow formed a mental link with the rod, allowing him to harness some of its powers. The resultant energy blast levelled the laboratory, killing everyone. However, Standish later discovered that Wolfe had survived and was continuing in his nefarious plots. Realising that Wolfe would recognise both him and the ‘star sceptre,’ Standish fashioned a patriotic costume and disguised the rod, and thus was born the American Eagle.
After fighting fifth columnists at home, the American Eagle was asked by his country to join the fight abroad, and was seen alongside the Patriot, John Bull, and Howitzer in Europe. As Standish was not formerly a soldier, unlike his allies, he was less effective in the field. However, his ego refused to recognise this, and he jumped at the chance to prove himself when the United States took part in the Korean War. Unfortunately, his overconfidence was his downfall and during the Battle of Osan, the American Eagle, along with 180 other American soldiers, was killed. While his body and eagle sceptre were recovered, no one had been able to make the sceptre manifest its power, until it was claimed by Susan Martin, who now goes by the name of Renegade.”
So, this gives a brief taste of what’s in store when the ‘new’ version of Golden Heroes is finally released.
As always, I will continue to shine a (Golden) light on those four-colour heroes lost, overlooked and forgotten. If you want to join me in this endeavour, Forgotten Heroes 2023 will launch on 1st June.
As my last few posts have detailed, I am currently typing up a revised version of the Golden Heroes superhero RPG rules. This was something I had planned on doing for a while, mainly because I like things complete – probably an OCD thing. However, it also occurred to me that as it’s a good system, it might be worthwhile to present this to a new generation or to those who missed out on the game the first time around.
Now, I’m not the first to think this was a worthwhile exercise. However, the chap who launched a Kickstarter back in January 2015 to create a sourcebook based on the Golden Heroes universe for use with Squadron UK (the game which replaced Golden Heroes, as GW still retain the rights to the name and system) as well as the Icons RPG has apparently failed to deliver this as yet. I mean, it’s only been 8 years…
Having looked at the drafts he HAS released on the Updates page of the Kickstarter, I’m not… enamoured with some of his decisions, so feel completely justified in doing my own version. As I’m not intending on or seeking to make any money from this project – I suppose you could call it a vanity project – I don’t feel that I’m stepping on anyone’s toes regarding this, so hopefully no-one will come knocking on my door telling me to stop or throw their toys out the pram.
Anyway, the reason for this post, as hinted at by the title of this post, is to do with the names assigned to both the example characters and those that appeared in the rogue’s gallery and published scenarios.
Whilst we have to bear in mind that the main rules and the articles and scenarios were published in the mid-eighties, and I am intending on preserving the default setting in the same decade, I am one of those people who believes in internal consistency within a game setting. I appreciate that the author’s selected names that they felt were appropriate at the time, but if you have a Native American hero whose backstory does state that he fights for the rights of his people, as well as combatting super-powered crime, would he really take the moniker ‘Redskin?’ I think not.
So, as this is effectively MY version of these rules, I have made some minor adjustments to a few of the character’s names, as I felt they did not reflect the backstory’s presented for the characters. If you’re a highly intelligent super-scientist, who has developed a cybernetic implant containing the skills and abilities of an Olympic gymnast and a prize-winning boxer, would you really name yourself ‘Fistfighter?’ I very much doubt it.
These represent very minor tweaks, not through any form of ‘political correctness’ or censorship (which I object to if it’s unnecessary – the recent spate of ‘updates’ to various authors works, such as P.G. Wodehouse, Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming being a good example of this), but to maintain internal consistency within the setting.
If Marvel Comics can change a villain’s name from ‘Paste-Pot Peter’ to ‘The Trapster’ (for an internally justified reason), then there’s nothing to stop me doing the same.
Now, as we are in the month of May, that does mean that Monster May(hem) has started, hosted by Keith over at Dead Dick’s Tavern and Temporary Lodging, this does mean that the next few posts will probably be my attempts to complete the necessary monster before the end of the month. This will require a rummage, as I don’t currently have a subject for this challenge, so watch this space…
Carrion Crow's Buffet 