Using the Immortal Rules for Superheroes

I've wanted to run and/or play in a campaign combining the Incredibles universe and Men in Black and Dr. Horrible for a long time now, and I just haven't found a system that I feel would do the concept justice. Today I was inspired by a recent post at what a horrible night to have a curse talking about the Immortals set; I really think with a little bit of tweaking the Immortals set could be used to run a supers game. This is a brief outline of some thoughts of how I might go about it.

I think the most important aspect to consider are the Sphere of power and their associated greater and lesser talents. I guess maybe we could consider each sphere to be like the Classes of D&D. after reading through the gold box again, I think the Spheres act as a guiding philosophy and a determines the types of goals each character will set. So for now keeping the Spheres of Thought, Time, Energy, Matter, and Entropy to determine a base for a Super character we can move on to more specific changes in the rules.

A quick side note, I was thinking of reskinning Alignment as The Good Guys, Mercenary, and Villain, but I think keeping the Spheres and their associated goals overrides that.

Each Immortal has access to all magic spells and other immortal abilities like power attacks and the new forms of magic in the dm guide; the immortal simply has to spend the appropriate Power Points to use any ability. This is the first and most major change that needs to be made in my opinion. Super Heroes don't have access to unlimited abilities; they have specific ones that make them special.  So at character creation, each super gets a number of PP to spend to get specific abilities based on the PP cost provided in charts S1-4 in the DM guide. As much as I hate point buy systems, I don't really see any other reasonable option for customizing superheroes with specific abilities. All of the automatic abilities of Immortals like Anti-Magic, power attacks and shields and probes, and direct attacks on ability scores would all be included in the big list of powers to choose from with an appropriate PP cost.

I would convert the rules on forms to apply to superhero outfits/costumes. I think I will use the mortal form with some of the limitations of the incorporeal form as a basis for their secret identity, and normal forms as their costumed identity. They can have spare costumes(forms) that enhance certain powers. And applying the section about their common and true name to superhero/street name and their secret identity could work well. Also I would apply the rules of the home plane to the superheroes secret base.

I'm not entirely sure what to do with experience and advancement. I'm thinking of limiting each super hero to a single rank and they can move up and down the levels of that rank based on what their current power points are. So a Temporal would be a street level hero like Daredevil, and a Hierarch would be almost godlike like Superman. Or maybe I should just let each super advance as much as possible? Superman did start off as just Clark Kent in Smallville. I don't know, I'll have to think about that one.

Coming back to the costumes, each Immortal has an Aura they can use to charm or cause fear to mortals. I would like to keep this ability as dependent on when the superhero is wearing their costume.

As for our heroes who aren't actually super like Batman, the Green Arrow, Jay from MIB, etc. We can treat Artifacts as their superpowers. Artifacts simulate super powers just like all the high tech gadgets of those characters do, so instead of these characters spending PP to use their superpowers or increase the ones they already have, they would now spend PP to make new artifacts or magic items.

Most of the actual game system is in the players guide, but there is one thing I find really interesting in the DMs guide. On pg 16, 17, and 18 roles that Immortal might play, and the types of missions they might go on. I think the observers, controllers, and combinations section is great to apply to secret government agencies like presented in MIB, and the Projects and Investigations Sections can apply to both these organizations and individual heroes.

I just had a thought pertaining to the Spheres of Power. Each Sphere or Class determines the primary way in which a hero looks at and usually tries to solve a problem, and their powers are associated with that.

So Matter is Brawn, the hero punches everything. Gets in lots of fights, and doesn't take the time to think through a problem if a solution can simply be forced through violence. Example: The Hulk, Wolverine

Thought is Mind, the hero plans for everything. Always looks for the most efficient solution, and engages in combat only when they have the clear advantage. This hero always has a backup plan. Example: Batman, Professor X

Energy is Action, the Hero acts without thinking. Acts first without considering the consequences, just wants to do something, feels useless waiting. This hero may be mistaken for the Brawn class, but the difference is this hero just wants to do something, not necessarily a violent thing. Example: The Flash, Cyclops

Time is the Greater Good, this hero thinks long term and cares about helping the most people no matter the cost. this hero can often seem egotistical and act like they know more than other people. Their intentions come from a good place, but they may get carried away; these characters plot and scheme behind the scenes to achieve their ends, and may commit atrocious actions along the way. Example: Nick Fury, Magneto

Entropy is Destruction, this villain wants to destroy people or things for some reason. These characters are usually considered villains and the audience has no sympathy for them, they are just evil and that is explanation enough. Example: Thanos, Apocalypse

I'm really liking where these 5 classes are going, I think I will try converting the Immortal system to a Supers game.

Religion of the Cleric: Conclusions

Finally finished writing this post. The collation of all the different implications of each spell is what took the longest, and then I put off actually writing this post today, which I was able to pump out in a few hours. For each belief or point I have made a footnote of which spells form the basis for my argument and you should look at the individual analysis of those spells for more information on where I'm coming from. A lot of what I've written below is not explicit from any single spell analysis but simply what the combined and repeated message of a variety of spells may imply

For simplicity's sake, I will be referring to the organizational hierarchy of priests the cleric belongs to as 'the Church', and the deity (or pantheon if you want to interpret it that way) worshiped by the cleric as 'God' and 'He' when using pronouns to refer this deity.

The OD&D Cleric
Analysis of Level 1 Spells
Analysis of Level 2 Spells
Analysis of Level 3 Spells
Analysis of Level 4 Spells
Analysis of Level 5 Spells
Analysis of Level 6 Spells
Analysis of Level 7 Spells

The Attributes of God

Let us first examine the nature of God, his attributes, power, and character. Starting at the basics, there is strong evidence to support the claim that God is both omniscient and omnipotent. God knows all the physical properties of things in the world, both living and inanimate, and he sees the spatial relations between everything. God knows not just superficial information about objects and creatures, but also discerns their true nature; he knows the thoughts and intent of all creatures, and also their full potential. (1)

The abilities and extent of God's power are extensive, if not all-powerful. He has control of matter at the molecular level, being able to change the chemical makeup of things and also to alter the biology of living things. (2) We can also conclude that He has complete power over life and death. God can literally breathe life into something that was dead or simply an inanimate object. He is giving those atoms and cells a living spirit. And He can also take away that life, ripping the living spirit from the physical body. (3) We can also surmise that God has the ability to create matter from nothing or 'thin air'. (4) This has huge implications! From these three properties, the power to bestow life, the power to manipulate matter at a molecular level, and most importantly the ability to create matter where there was none before, I assert that God, i.e. the deity worshiped by and granting power to the cleric, is a creator god. Let me be clear, I'm not just saying that God can create animals or objects, I'm saying God created the Earth (or whatever planet your game is set in) and most likely the Universe (i.e. the Prime Material Plane), possibly even the Multiverse itself as we know that the powers of God are not limited to the Prime Plane. There is some limited evidence of God's power extending into the ethereal plane and at least providing protection into the other planes of the multiverse (5), so whether or not He created the Multiverse is debatable but I think it is pretty clear He is the creator of the Universe at least, given the nature of His enemies which will be discussed later.

Concerning just how far God's powers extend, we know He has special jurisdiction in the Prime Plane, banishing extra-planar creatures from it. (6) We also know His powers are at least as extensive as the D&D Magic-User, being able to warp time and space and alter the laws of nature or physics. (7) It is also my understanding that God has the ability to overcome His enemies (evil or chaos); at least in the Prime Material Plane He has greater power than them. (8) It's also fairly clear that He has the power to control not just the actions, but also the thought processes of living beings. (9)

It also seems clear, in contrast to most modern Christian belief systems, that God isn't just a creator god, but is also deeply entwined with the natural world. God seems to have this affinity to all living things, from the lowliest insect to the higher forms of intelligent life. It even seems to be that plants themselves have their own limited form of intelligence in the eyes of God. (10) I will be discussing this connection with nature more deeply in a later posts about Druids as portrayed in the Companion Set.

Having established the abilities of this God, what personal attributes can we discern about Him? I feel that He has immense, nearly unlimited power, and yet He doesn't bestow the full extent of this power willy-nilly to just anybody claiming to worship him. There is a clear organization, i.e. a Church, through which devoted followers may rise over time and be entrusted with greater freedom to act in God's name. However, at no time are these Clerics of the Church given the full force of God's omnipotence. At all times the abilities granted to clerics are limited and meted out upon certain conditions. Access to God is judiciously granted, even basic communication is very limited. There is no man who can claim to speak with the voice of God, or talk to him face to face. The will of God is always up to interpretation, and asking the right questions. This is a God who understands that power is corrupting, even to the most well-intentioned individuals. (11) It's also apparent that this deity is jealous god, more akin to the God of the Old Testament than than the New Testament. He is vengeful and does not hesitate to strike out against His enemies. (12)

The Church

Now to expound on the benefits and requirements of membership in the Church. First, the lay person must subsume their will to God and the Church; God and therefore the Church have supreme command over all things. Obedience is the most important aspect of membership in the Church. (13) In association with this concept is the eternal struggle of Law versus Chaos, Civilization beating back the Wilderness, and the duty of the cleric to establish Order in the place of Disorder. This applies on a spiritual level as well as physical. A member of the Church and/or a cleric should be able to overcome the natural carnal and disordered state of man, realizing his full potential through obedience to the Church and God. It is through his inherent faith and the inner spiritual order which the Church establishes in the heart of the cleric that he can overcome fear and chaos. (14)

The Church provides assistance in following the Law of God. It isn't just about the duty of the follower, but also the blessings that following God bestows. A follower of God is purified, cleansed and made whole where previously there was corruption. (15) The Church heals people, both spiritually and physically. It casts out darkness, and brings light to a person's life. This isn't just a metaphorical use of light, but literal; light is literally good and representative of God. Where there is light there is no evil; the Church casts out evil and darkness by bringing Light to places. The Church cuts through the darkness and lies and deception of evil, allowing the truth to be seen. (16) The Church also give life to its followers, literally. In the New Testament Jesus Christ talks about the water and bread of life metaphorically; well, this Church provides actual water and bread to its followers. No peasant is going to starve to death. The regions under control of the Church are more prosperous than other places; the righteous are literally given life. (17)

I find the implied organization of the Church most interesting. First of all, the Church is a militant organization; it is intolerant of any other faith and spreads its teachings by force if necessary. The leaders of the Church can literally feed armies which are used to enforce the will of the Church and extend its earthly power. (17) It is the duty of the Church to punish the wicked and strike out against the enemies of God. There can be no room for evil; this is an organization that brooks no dissent. (18) The unauthorized use of magic, or reality warping powers, are strictly outlawed by the Church. It is only through the Church and faith in God that someone is allowed to use magic; all other forms of magic are a mockery of the power of God. For this reason the casting of spells by wizards, witches, and all other Magic-Users is strictly forbidden, if their presence is even tolerated. (19) And yet the use of magical spells by the Church are not simply an exercise of the cleric's faith in the form of prayers, but the performance of rituals in a strict manner. Each spell or ritual requires certain conditions to be met, such as the laying on of hands by the cleric in order to heal the sick and injured, or a symbolic anointing representative of an inner cleansing when someone is blessed by a cleric. (20)

Despite the great spirit of intolerance, or maybe because of it, the Church is not a unified body. Each Church Patriarch or leader has their own interpretation of the will of God. So the intolerance of magic and the striking out against wickedness may apply to other branches of the Church. Each branch claims to have the one true gospel, and all other Churches are heretical. Even what is Evil and Good are up to debate, there are some branches of the Church that may preach a doctrine that is the antithesis of everything outlined above. On the other hand, maybe the Churches have a general cooperation with each other, but there is simply no unified authority over all the Churches. In either case each branch of the Church is completely autonomous; each Church leader establishes his own doctrine and laws under which his adherents must live. (21)

The Nature of Evil

What is Evil? The age old question. D&D has an answer to this. Evil is any creature or object used or created by a creature with hostile intent toward the Church or a member of the Church. In addition, anything that is a perversion of the natural order of things is Evil; this includes Undead, Lycanthropy, and natives of other planes of existence. It seems God has a predilection to the Prime Plane and the natural forms of life established there, so anything that perverts the natural ecosystem of the Prime Plane is Evil in the Eyes of God. Undead are Evil because it is the animation of a body without a spirit; When God grants the power to animate objects to his priests he is literally giving the object a spirit, but when Evil Priests animate the dead, they do so without granting those bodies life, and that is an abomination in the eyes of God. (22)

So with the basis for what Evil is, we can now examine how the philosophy of Evil contrasts with the teachings of the Church. Where God seeks to control people and requires strict obedience from His followers, Evil preaches that each person is a free agent unto themselves. Evil promotes the free will of the individual, and flouts the laws of God. To be free to act without constraint is Evil in the view of the Church. (23) We can also state with confidence that Evil exists among civilization and within the domains of the Church. Evil hides itself among the very members of the clergy. Evil is deceptive and spreads lies to protect itself. (24) We also know that Evil promotes the spread of darkness, the presence of pain and suffering and seeks to exploit the natural weaknesses of men for its own purposes. Without the laws of God, Evil persons are free to cause pain to others with abandon. It is every man for himself. It is in darkness that Evil thrives and individuals can perform their dark deeds without the knowledge of others or the Church. (25) Evil people don't just cause pain and suffering when it is to their advantage, it also seems that they worship death itself. Undeath is the special purview of Evil. To be undead (as a lich or vampire) is to continue life in Defiance of God. Death is to Evil people as life is to the Church. (26)

The Afterlife

Lastly we are given some vital clues as to the nature of the soul of man and what happens after death. We don't know what exactly happens to the spirit after death, but we do know that it has a continued existence separate from the body. The spirit of a man maintains some form of contact with its body for a time after death. Similar in aspect Jewish thought that the spirit lingers near the body for 3 days, we are given information that the spirit is somehow connected to its body for a minimum of 3 days after death and that connection gradually weakens over time. (27) In addition to this we know that the spirit has the same personality and attitudes and knowledge it had in life. There is no great truth revealed to the spirit after death; the spirit of a dead person has all the same characteristics as the spirit of a live person. (28) It also seems to be apparent that the body itself isn't sacred. for the right purposes the Church may make use of a corpse by animating it. this doesn't desecrate the body because the spirit, that which gives the body life is gone; it has simply become an inanimate collection of flesh and bone that may be put to useful purposes by the Church. (29) Other than this basic knowledge that the spirit is eternal, the afterlife itself remains a mystery to us.

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(1) Detect Magic, Find Traps, Speak with Animals, Locate Object, Truesight, Find the Path, Speak with Monster, Speak with Plants
(2) Purify Food and Water, Resist Cold, Resist Fire, Animate Object, Cureall, Neutralize Poison, Cure Disease, Survival
(3) Sticks to Snakes, Raise Dead, Animate Object, Create Normal Animals, Holy Word, Survival
(4) Barrier, Create Normal Animals
(5) Aerial Servant, Survival, Travel
(6) Dispel Evil
(7) Travel, Wish, Word of Recall, Wizardry
(8) Protection from Evil, Remove Curse, Restore, Dispel Evil
(9) Silence, Hold Person, Speak with Monster, Aerial Servant
(10) Snake Charm, Speak with Animals, Growth of Animals, Speak with plants, Insect Plague, Speak with Monster
(11) Truesight, Communion, Word of Recall, Create Normal Animals, Wizardry, Wish, and the fact there is a spell/prayer list at all
(12) Striking, Holy Word
(13) Quest, Hold Person, Silence
(14) Cure Disease, Growth of Animals, Protection from Evil, Bless, Remove Fear
(15) Purify Food and Water, Neutralize Poison
(16) Cure Wounds, Light, Cure Blindness, Truesight
(17) Create Water, Create Food
(18) Curse (the reverse of Remove Curse), Striking, Holy Word
(19) Dispel Magic
(20) Cure Wounds, Cure Disease, Bless
(21) Commune, the very existence of reversed spells and Lawful or Neutral or Chaotic clerics
(22) Detect Evil, Protection from Evil, Dispel Evil
(23) Hold Person
(24) Know Alignment, Speak with Monster, the use of the same spell list by Lawful and Chaotic clergy
(25) Darkness, Cause Disease, Blight, all the other reverse spells
(26) Finger of Death, Animate Dead
(27) Speak with Dead, Raise Dead
(28) Speak with Dead
(29) Animate Dead


EDIT: due to popular(talking to 2 or 3 people) demand I'm including a list of all the spells by level.

Level 1 Spells

1. Cure Light Wounds/Cause Light Wounds
2. Detect Evil
3. Detect Magic
4. Light/Darkness
5. Protection from Evil
6. Purify Food and Water
7. Remove Fear/Cause Fear
8. Resist Cold

Level 2 Spells

1. Bless/Blight
2. Find Traps
3. Hold Person/Free Person
4. Know Alignment/Confuse Alignment
5. Resist Fire 
6. Silence 15' Radius
7. Snake Charm
8. Speak with Animal

Level 3 Spells

1. Continual Light/Continual Darkness
2. Cure Blindness
3. Cure Disease/Cause Disease
4. Growth of Animal
5. Locate Object
6. Remove Curse/Curse
7. Speak with the Dead
8. Striking

Level 4 Spells

1. Animate Dead
2. Create Water
3. Cure Serious Wounds/Cause Serious Wounds
4. Dispel Magic
5. Neutralize Poison/Create Poison
6. Protection from Evil 10' radius
7. Speak with Plants 
8. Sticks to Snakes 

Level 5 Spells

1. Commune
2. Create Food
3. Cure Critical Wounds/Cause Critical Wounds
4. Dispel Evil
5. Insect Plague
6. Quest/Remove Quest
7. Raise Dead/Finger of Death
8. Truesight

Level 6 Spells

1. Aerial Servant
2. Animate Objects
3. Barrier/Remove Barrier
4. Create Normal Animals
5. Cureall
6. Find the Path
7. Speak with Monsters/Babble
8. Word of Recall

Level 7 Spells

1. Earthquake
2. Holy Word
3. Raise Dead Fully/Obliterate
4. Restore/Life Drain
5. Survival
6. Travel
7. Wish
8. Wizardry

Railroad vs Sandbox

Just a quick rant here.

I listened to the plot points episode about ravenloft on my drive back from Sacramento last week, and then I was thinking about the railroad vs sandbox argument today again. In the podcast Ben Riggs makes the argument that Ravenloft is really a sandbox from the point to entering Barovia to the end where Strahd is defeated; as long as they accept the end goal of killing Stahd they are free to wander around Barovis and do whatever they want; all you know is the beginning and endpoint. He makes a pretty persuasive argument, but I think he's wrong.

First off let me start by saying there are issues with using the terms 'railroad' and 'sandbox'; the terms themselves don't really represent what we mean when talking about rpg campaigns, Alexis and others have discussed this. But for the sake of this argument I'll be using those terms because they are so widely accepted and understood in the gaming community.

Ravenloft is not a sandbox because the adventure requires the PCs to complete a singular goal! Most published adventures are not sandboxes for this same reason; the PCs are given an objective, usually defeat a villain, and then sets up obstacles to hinder them from completing that goal.

IF THE DESTINATION IS KNOWN THE GAME IS A RAILROAD!!!!

I'm going to go ahead and say that's what separates a sandbox campaign from a railroad campaign. This doesn't mean the railroad is bad in and of itself, just that there is a clear dividing line, and that line is drawn at how the players set their goals. If their goals are dictated by the dm or module writer then they are on a railroad, if the players create their own goals that they personally care about they are playing in a sandbox campaign.

When the players choose from a list presented to them by the dm, they aren't playing a sandbox. Just because they have multiple hooks to latch onto does not mean they are playing in a sandbox game. These games where the dm claims it is a sandbox because the PCs can go in any direction and there is always a hook for adventure are still railroads, simply with many branches. they are railroads because the dm is the one to present the options to the players, and like sheep they follow wherever the dm leads. When the players go and create an adventure out of something which the dm did not intend to be a hook is when those games can become true sandboxes.

In a sandbox the PCs will create their own goals and do things which are unheard of in most gaming circles. You won't have players setting out to become druglords, or wanting to own a farm, or organizing tournaments so they can prove they're the best fighters, or building modern nation states, or becoming vassal to two different kings, or founding a cult. I could go on. These types of events are not the norm when someone thinks of a D&D adventure, but they all happened while I was either running or playing D&D and not some other system designed to let us be crime lords or farmers, etc. These events occurred because the players set their own goals and set out to achieve them, sometimes unsuccessfully, and they were given the opportunity to do this while playing in a true sandbox. In a sandbox, the world is presented and the players decide what to do in the world; the DM has the world react to the PC decisions. Whereas in a railroad the players react to the world as presented by the DM, the players are always reacting and never making proactive decisions.

The difference between a Sandbox and a Railroad campaign are who is setting the end goals of the campaign.

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Ok, I guess that was a rather longer rant than planned. I should be putting a post up about my conclusions from analyzing the cleric spell list pretty soon. Also I've been reworking the turn undead table as a means for casting clerical spells, and I've almost finalized a set of new houserules for use with BX/Old School Essentials. Oh yeah, and in the near future I will starting a series of posts as a tutorial of how to build a set maps for your fantasy world using QGIS.