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Are You Ready for Some Truth & Justice?
Truth & Justice is a new superhero game coming soon from Atomic Sock Monkey Press.
Truth & Justice uses the Prose Descriptive Qualities (PDQ) System as its game engine; the rules in the book build off of that core system. PDQ is available as a free download from the following URLs:
PDQ has been designed for evocative simplicity, speed, and flexibility in play. Three levels of resolution, suitable for any type of situation. It currently serves as the core game mechanics for Dead Inside: the Roleplaying Game of Loss & Redemption and Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot: the Roleplaying Game .
The Key to Understanding Conflict Abstraction
Basically, in any Truth & Justice conflict situation, some of a character's Qualities and Powers can be thought of as useful for either “attack,” “defense,” or “absorption.”
As an example, say a character has Good [+2] Rank in the Qualities of Kung Fu , Debating , Accountant , and Laser Vision .
In combat (a physical conflict), the character will probably opt to keep Kung Fu and Laser Vision at Good [+2] as long as possible, and apply Damage Ranks to Debating and Accountant. In an argument (a social conflict), the character will want to keep Debating high for as long as possible, and take Failure Ranks on Kung Fu and Laser Vision first. If being audited by the IRS (could be a mental, a social, or even a professional conflict, depending on how the GM spins the situation), the character would protect Accountant, try to keep Debating at Good [+2] as long as he could, and sacrifice Kung Fu and Laser Vision.
This abstraction of how Failure or Damage Ranks are applied isn't meant to be a one-to-one relation (“Hey, why does getting punched in the face lower my Accountant Quality?”), but amusing justifications can be made up anyway (“Well, your black eye makes it hard to see your spreadsheets...”).
In Truth & Justice , the player has to make choices about what to sacrifice for their character's well-being and effectiveness. It's resource management at a basic level. The player must make a decision on which Qualities and Powers will be most useful for the remainder of the conflict scene.
Additionally (and importantly!), a player's selection of which Qualities or Powers that take the first hit of in conflict gives the GM a powerful tool for generating plot and story hooks for future scenes and sessions. Whatever trait the player selects, the GM should make a note of, and come up with something interesting about that trait – this “something interesting” can be good, bad, or indifferent, but it should add a little texture to the PC's day. The GM can simply make quiet notes, or say something like “Meanwhile, across town, one of Professor F8's henchmen is talking to your receptionist about setting up an IRA. . .” or even – if there are only one or two players – Scheherazade the situation as a flash back or flash forward, permitting a little role-playing of the story hook.
Imagine that, under Truth & justice , the reason Spider-Man always has a crappy home life is that he consistently uses his "secret id" Qualities (True Love for *cough*Gwen Stacy*cough*Mary Jane; Dependent old widow Aunt May; Photojournalist; etc.) to absorb the first hit when he's taking on the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus.
Some GMs may also wish to use any Qualities or Powers that the PC chooses when zeroing out of a conflict (that is, when any one of the character's Qualities or Powers drops below Poor [-2] Rank) as a source of these sorts of story hooks.
Super-Conflict Example: Snow Owl vs. Joe & Bob
Snow Owl sees Joe Thug and Bob Brick skulking around, and swoops down to stop them.
And ... action!
GM: While flying your nightly patrol, you see two people on the roof of the Museum of Expensive Antiquities , apparently trying to open the access door. SNOW OWL (SO): What do they look like?
GM: The smaller one is dressed all in black, with a ski-mask on, so you really can't tell. But the larger one seems just to be wearing black pants -- and from his shirtless condition and stony, red skin, you recognize him as Bob Brick, a minor supervillain.
SO: They must be trying to break in -- I'll stop them!
GM: How?
SO: Well, I'll swoop down silently and start busting heads before they know what hit them.
GM: Which one first?
SO: Brick.
GM: Okay, you've got your Super-Stealth going for you, but they're criminals performing an illegal act, so I'm sure they're probably keeping a lookout for any interference. I'll give you surprise and initiative for each turn of the Scene, but you don't get a free turn to wail on them if one of them manages to beat the Target Number of your Super-Stealth, okay?
SO: Sure, sounds fair.
GM: The TN of Super-Stealth is 7. The little guy gets a (rolls) 6, and Brick gets a (rolls) -- damn -- 10. Brick sees you hurtling down on them at the last minute and yells "Look out!" to his partner. How are you going after him?
SO: I'll fly down and punch him.
GM: Are you going to land, then punch him, or fly into him while punching him? If you do the first one, you'll be rolling against 2d6, but the second choice means you can add that +2 from your Flight Power in.
SO: I'll do the second one.
GM: Brick will try to jump out of your way as a defensive reaction. Roll!
SO: (rolls) A 4 and a 6 plus 2 for Flight gets me a 12.
GM: Pretty good! (rolls) A 2 and a 3 plus 2 for Athletics and 2 for Stoneskin gets Brick a 9 -- that'd be 3 Damage Ranks, normally. Okay, Brick's Stoneskin is a form of Super-Armor. It totally blocks human-scale Damage Ranks lower than its current TN -- that'd be 9. On the superhuman-scale, it can only ignore 2 or less Damage Ranks; luckily, you're a superhuman and got 3 Damage Ranks, so it all gets through.
SO: Sweet!
GM: Now, one of the things about Armor Powers is that he can voluntarily Downshift it one Rank to ignore all damage from an attack. So that's what he's going to do, rather than spread the three of them around his Qualities and Powers.
SO: Okay. Crap. That was a good roll, too!
GM: You swoop in and sock the criminal with a hard right across the jaw, but it barely seems to faze him. "That tickled!" he quips. Your hand stings a little.
SO: "Caught you red-handed, Brick!" I say.
GM: (laughs) That's mighty funny. Give yourself a Hero Point for that. (GM makes a tick mark against Snow Owl's maximum number of Hero Points; when enough are collected, the size of the PC's Hero Point Pool will increase.)
SO: Awesome. (scribbles on sheet)
GM: Now it's his little buddy's turn. Joe Thug tries to punch you in the breadbasket. What do you do?
SO: Can I use Flight to dodge backwards?
GM: Sure. Roll. (rolls) 2 and 2 plus 2 is 6 for Joe's attack.
SO: (rolls) 4 and 3 plus 2 is 9.
GM: You zip back far enough that Joe's punch never connects. Now it's Brick's turn. He's gonna swing at your face, to return your little face slap. What's your reaction?
SO: Fly away again.
GM: Let's roll. (rolls) 4 and 5 is a 9.
SO: (rolls) Two 3's, plus 2 is an 8. He gets me.
GM: You take 1 Damage Rank to a Quality or Power.
SO: (studying his sheet) I'll drop Businessman to Good.
GM: Brick's Super-Strength punch slams into your face. Once again you reap the benefit of being superhuman, that probably would have knocked Joe there into next week. You see stars and dollar signs.
Okay, that's the first hit in combat, which will give a story hook for later. Let's see -- Businessman, Businessman. . . Got it.
“Meanwhile, across town, the lights in the office next to yours flick on.” (GM scribbles notes about one of Snow Owl's colleagues burning the midnight oil to try and get a promotion that both of them are up for.)
Okay, new Turn; you go first.
SO: I'm going to hit one of them with Frozen Manacles, so I don't have to deal with two opponents at once. I thought taking on the tougher guy was smarter, but I can't concentrate on him with the other guy forcing me to roll all the time.
GM: Okay. Which guy?
SO: Brick.
GM: You sure? He does have Super-Strength.
SO: Good point. I'll freeze the little guy's wrists to the access door, so I can work on Brick.
GM: Okay, you're spending 2 Hero Points and rolling Freeze Beam plus Frozen Manacles.
SO: (rolls) 1 and 5 plus 2 plus 2 is 10.
GM: (rolls) Joe gets a 2 and a 4, and I'll let him use his Brawling here. . .
SO: Can he do that? I mean, my Frozen Manacles is a sort of jet of ice, ranged attack thing.
GM: I figure it's kosher; people throw stuff at each other during a brawl. Bottles, paving stones, trash cans.
SO: Well, alright.
GM: So, 2 and 4 and a 2 is 8, and he's frozen to the door. Joe attempts to break free vs. a TN of 9. (rolls) 3 and 4 is 7; still stuck.
Brick's turn. He rips an HVAC unit from the roof and wings it at you.
SO: I'll do the flying dodge thing.
GM: Roll for defense. (rolls) 2 and 6 plus 2 for Athletics is 10.
SO: (rolls) 5 and 3 plus 2 is 10. It's a tie!
GM: That means you both take a Damage Rank. Uh. . . The HVAC unit slams into the wall behind you and just explodes, sending a shower of sharp metal pieces everywhere, at high velocity. A bunch of screws graze your hip, and one big piece spangs hard off of Brick's chest. What are you taking the damage to?
SO: Businessman again. I don't think I'll be negotiating any contracts in the middle of a fight.
GM: (looks at Brick's write-up) Dropping Stoneskin a Rank would be a waste for such a small amount of damage, Athletics or Super-Strength would affect his ability to make attacks on you, and Criminal would make it harder for him to get away if he manages to win. Hm. Brick Downshifts Criminal -- you've made him mad enough that he's not thinking straight. Next Turn.
SO: He's really tough. I'd use Icy Punch with some extra HP behind it, but that has to hit first, and I'm not sure how that'll work through his Stoneskin. I'll try my Arctic Clipper Stunt, but I'll use 3 Hero Points, which brings it to effectively Expert Rank, right?
GM: Yup. So you'll roll 2d6, plus Flight [+2], plus Arctic Clipper [+4].
SO: (rolls) Two 5s, plus 2, plus 4, for 16! Whoo!
GM: Now, normally, Brick wouldn't have any chance to beat that, the best he could do would be whittle down the hurt you just dealt him. However, since he can Downshift his Super-Armor one more time and ignore all damage for the Turn, he's going to do that.
SO: Aw, that sucks! When am I going to get a roll like that again?
GM: However , that drops his Stoneskin to Poor, so he can't pull that trick again -- and, even better, he has no Armor now.
SO: I am so gonna take advantage of that.
GM: Joe's still trying to get unstuck from the door you froze him to. (rolls) 1 and 3 is 4; still stuck.
Brick charges you, going for a tackle.
SO: Flying dodge!
GM: (rolls) 2 and 4 plus 2 for Athletics is 8.
SO: (rolls) Dammit. 1 and 3 plus 2 is 6. I take two Damage Ranks, one to Outdoorsman and one to Conversationalist.
GM: Brick tackles you out of the air. You both hit the roof, and he lands on top of you, bruising your ribs.
SO: My Turn?
GM: Right.
SO: Icy Fist time. I say, "Chill out, dude!" and punch him with the Icy Fist. And I'll spend an extra Hero Point to bump Icy Fist up a notch.
GM: Brick will try to block your punch. Spend two Hero Points and roll.
SO: (rolls) 3 and 4 is 7.
GM: 1 and 3 plus 2 is 6 -- you hit for one Damage Rank.
SO: Okay, Icy Fist normally does +4, which is +2 each from Freeze Beam and the Stunt itself. But I put an extra point in, which is basically an extra +2. So I do 1 plus 6, or 7 Damage Ranks.
GM: (looking at Brick's sheet) Downshift Athletics to Poor takes two of the Ranks, and dropping Average Super-Strength to Poor is another -- that leaves four Ranks left, and all of Brick's Qualities and Powers are at Poor [-2] already. He has to zero out.
SO: Huzzah!
GM: Alright, cold bluish energy crackles around your fist as you deal Bob Brick a mighty uppercut, knocking him not just up off of you, but completely out. His eyes roll up into his head and he's gone. Joe Thug, seeing you demolish his big, strong partner like this, and -- (rolls) 2 and 4 is 6 -- still ice-manacled to the door, shouts out, "I surrender!"
SO: Damn skippy he does.
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