Miniatures Finished: Skrull Heroes

As regular readers of this blog will know, I have something of a love of Skrulls. I keep having to tell myself that I'm not building a Skrull army, I just happen to be collecting, painting and organising them into squads for no particular reason. Along those lines, here are some Heroclix I've repainted.

Skull incarnations of Jarvis and Captain Marvel.

 Spider-Woman, Elektra and Miss Marvel Skrulls are less shiny in real life. 

Given that Skrull clix are really cheap and there are so many permutations, I've also been working on some head-swaps to have more Skrull heroes and infiltrators. A Skrulltastic Four are planned as well as some Secret Invasion Super Skrulls. I can stop any time I want, really. 

Superhero Media: Blade II

Before I get too much into this film, I kind of have to do a bit more waffling about how the Blade series relates to Vampire: The Masquerade, especially the Bloodpack, a team of Vampire special forces soldiers trained to take out Blade. The comparison to a VtM "Archon" Coterie is pretty hard to ignore, to the point where I can identify which Clan each character belongs to; watch me nerd, nerds. Asad (Danny John-Jules) is a Camarilla (Ivory Tower) Assamite. Chupa, the guy in the chain shirt, is a Ganrel (hairy, more obvious fangs and anachronistic gear). Lighthammer (carries a big hammer) is probably a Brujha, what with his incredible strength. Priest (bad hair and sunglasses) is clearly a Ventrue because of his rant about "Purebloods", plus his arrogance gets him killed. Reinhardt (Hellboy) is likely another Brujha, because his anger gets him killed and he seems to be using the Presence ability "Awe" in a couple of scenes. Snowman (did you realise that this is Donnie Yen? I sure didn't!) is Toreador whose "art" is all about traditional swordplay. Verlaine (readhead) is likely another Brujha due to her relationship with Lighthammer, but because of that relationship, I get an Anarch vibe from them. Rant over, back to the review.

Following on several years from the previous film, Blade is in Prague, looking for Whistler and hunting vampires with the help of the less coherent brother from Boondock Saints. Shortly after rescuing the best character in the franchise, the team are confronted by the Bloodpack and asked to help find Nomak, a recently-discovered "Super-Vampire" who feeds only on other Vampires. Blade teams up with the Bloodpack, an "enemy of my enemy" situation, and they take on a pack of Super-Vampires that attack a Vampire nightclub. After losing several team members, they discover that silver and garlic have no effect and they have to resort to sunlight (in the form of UV torches), which makes the Vampires not terribly happy. Whistler is acting strange, the Boondock Saint doesn't trust him and everyone is seconds away from killing each other, but after a nasty autopsy scene, they realise the Super-Vampires are capable of reproducing exponentially and will overwhelm the planet within a year. 

Turns out Boondock Saint is the traitor and that Blade and Whistler have been playing everyone. Nomak was created by the Vampire Nation as an attempt to duplicate Blade, then Blade drinks some blood and wins the day by killing every Vampire in the place. Where Blade is shockingly grounded and real-looking, Blade II has a lot more style and over-the-top design that goes with a del Toro production. Although they're ridiculous, the Bloodpack have great individual looks, probably being close to how every VtM player pictures their character (though my most successful character wore a polo shirt and khaki slacks). The Blade/Nomak fight is one off my all-time favourite superhero fights, it's brutal, with bones breaking as two super-strong foes beat each other senseless. A bone-crunching moment where Nomak regenerates a broken arm gives me a good cringe every time, and it's followed up with a monster "people's elbow" from the roof.

There are more fantasy elements in Blade II when compared to the original, but it feels like a natural progression, with Blade having defeated a literal god in the conclusion of the original, where else was there to go? If I had to choose, I'd say I prefer Blade II, but the Bloodpack and Whistler arguing with a Boondock Saint are a big selling point of that, rather than an overall 'quality' of any measure. It's fun and I like that it's fun and that's enough sometimes. I do think that the Blade series doesn't get better from here, Blade II was about as far as the concept could really go, even introducing Dracula in Blade Trinity wouldn't work (as we'll see shortly) and it was the only thing left, because folding Blade into a Marvel Shared Universe really wasn't an option at the time. We owe the Blade series a lot, and I think it doesn't get much appreciation, but there is a reason it's been forgotten and is more closely linked with the Underworld series than it is with X-Men or Spider-Man. Bring back Blade for a Marvel Studios MI-13 I say! 

The Pitch: Flash Gordon

When I started this Defenders of the Earth idea, I had now idea just how hard it would be to do even this much, I only had a good concept for Mandrake and Defenders of the Earth, which is part of the reason I actually began with Thunderbolts and Batman; I wasn't dedicating myself to writing four of these out of the gate. If it wasn't for my girlfriend's encyclopedic knowledge of actors, I'd have been sunk ages ago and I really hate giving up on a project once it's started, so here we are. A couple of things that need to be pointed out about my idea for this film, this is not a remake or a sequel to the 1980 film, but it will pay tribute at certain points, one of which will be the use of some of the Queen soundtrack and a couple of actors returning for cameos, but this will all be covered below.

Death to Ming! 

Flash Gordon 

In the distant Mongo planetary system, Sky City is oppressed by the foul Ming the Merciless, it's rightful king, Vultan is imprisoned and the evil computer intelligence, the Octobrain mines the floating island for it's precious Carvorite Ore. As the island dips closer and closer to the acidic sea with the Carvorite being removed, an unexpected trio arrives in an experimental spacecraft, Dale Arden, Hans Zarkov and Flash Gordon! 

Plot 

The film opens with Gordon and co crashing down on an outlying floating island of the Hawkmen planet, being taken prisoner and interrogated for information. In this sequence, they are implanted with translation devices, the basics of Mongo and the surrounding planets are explained and the heroes reveal how they got there. Rather than having Zarkov kidnap Flash and Dale, this adventure beings with Dale reporting on a new experimental spacecraft, with Flash there for the publicity. Mysterious waves from space cause the ship to launch prematurely with Dale, Flash and Zarkov inside. 
In the dungeons of Sky City, our heroes meet Vultan, who has been overthrown by factions within the Hawkmen loyal to Ming and imprisoned. In flashback, Vultan describes the arrival of Octobrain, how his people started falling under it's control and the fall of his government. As Vultan suspected that his people were being brainwashed, he could not fight back to a level where he may hurt his own kind. After his story, our heroes agree to help Vultan wrest back control and a daring escape is enacted. 
On their way to destroy the Octobrain, our heroes encounter Kala and a platoon of Ming's Soldiers, it is through her influence that the Hawkmen have revolted against their rightful King. A battle ensues, Kala is defeated, the Octobrain blasts off for Mongo and Flash, Dale and Zarkov are lauded as heroes. When it's discovered that a Mongo battle fleet is headed to Earth, Vultan agrees to return with Flash and Dale to stop the invasion. 

Tone 
As mentioned above, we're not going for the high camp of the 1980 version, but taking Flash Gordon too seriously would be a big mistake. The film that I keep going back to on this is Captain America - The First Avenger; there's enough pulp action to fit the source material, but with a decent broad appeal. There will ideally be moments of genuine drama among the the action, comedy and high-concept Science Fantasy 

Cast 

I struggled a bit with an idea as to who could play a convincing Flash Gordon, the role is much trickier than many would give it credit for. The character needs to be classically handsome, able to put on Grid Iron player level muscles and deliver inane dialogue whilst being utterly convincing. After seeing a recent entry in my Superhero Media however, I found Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Yes, he's already been in Kick-Ass, Age of Ultron and Godzilla, but that's because he really does have the looks and acting chops for this kind of role. Taylor-Johnson is probably never going to be a major talent in his own right, but he's made for playing big, all-American heroes, even if he's British.

In most interpretations of Flash Gordon, Dale Arden tends to be heavily a damsel in distress, which kind of doesn't fly too well in this day and age. Still, I think someone who looks the part would be good, especially if the script lets them be more than pretty set-dressing. To keep in the tone of the film, I'm thinking a sassy, girl-Friday type with a withering sneer for all the masculine posturing in the film. Naturally, my mind turned to Anna Kendrik.

I really like Anna Kendrik, I watch everything with her in it I can, including her sketch comedy and the Pitch Perfect films. She's a capable actor with a fantastically sarcastic edge to her and great comedic timing, I can't think of anyone better to be the female lead in a franchise like Flash Gordon.

I mentioned bringing back some actors from the 1980 film, and I mostly had the one man in mind when I wrote that. The man. The Legend. Brian Motherfucking Blessed!

Did you know that Brian Blessed is not a man? He's a machine genetically engineered for shouting! Ok, seriously, if all you know of Blessed is his roles as Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon or the Space King in Doctor Who, go straight to YouTube and watch clips of his King Lear. Blessed is still acting, when not exploring, climbing Everest, saving lives, hunting Yetis and possibly sleeping with wolves; having him return as Vultan would be both a great fan moment, but also a really good cast. I reckon he'd do it too.

Kala works best when she's that unique combination of aloof, dangerous, sexy and absolutely terrifying. When I think of those qualities, one actor comes to mind, Tilda Swinton.

Not much I really add to this one, Swinton is a magnificent actor and brings it to every role she's in. The picture here is from Snowpiercer, a film I didn't enjoy, but which she was brilliant in.

Not wanting to sound like a YouTube animation reviewer, I still have to mention that voice actors, even the greats, never seem to get the credit they deserve. So if we're going to have a big robot computer thing that becomes a recurring villain for the franchise, we may as well use the opportunity to prop up a major talent. A talent like Billy West.

Again, what can I say about this guy that people haven't before? He's the second coming of Mel Blank and deserves praise from more than Futurama fans. Giving him a role as an evil computer instead of a screen actor would hopefully boost his profile and get him more major roles. Other fun options include Seth MacFarlane as the voice, dropping into Ted and Family Guy characters during a malfunction, or Timothy Dalton doing the role.

Crew 

I hinted at it above, but I really think the only director with a demonstrated track record for this kind of film is Joe Johnston.

With Captain America - The First Avenger and The Rocketeer under his belt, Johnston has a history of getting the tone of pulply films and still producing a quality product.

Other Stuff 

I mentioned music above, and here's where we're going to talk about it. Say what you want about the 1980 Flash Gordon, the Queen soundtrack is pretty magnificent. I'm proposing that the Queen tracks are still used, but only sparingly. Do modern orchestral scores for most of the film, drop some of the ambient Queen tracks in the background, but hold off on the main theme. In the big finale fight, Flash will be going up against Kala, he probably has a sword and she has a high-tech whip. As Flash is getting whipped and Kala is berating him for being weak, we hear the bass line from "Flash" slowly building. When Flash stands up to fight back, the song proper starts and the Queen is pumped up for the heroic comeback. That's a musical cue that will get the audience cheering all the way home.

After the credits roll, the camera fades in on an elaborate control panel and a screen showing the planet Earth. A hand in a velvet glove and elaborate rings glides across a series of buttons labelled "Earthquake", "Tornado", "Tidal Wave" etc, before setting over one marked "Hot Hail". An evil laugh fills the air and the screen fades to black. 

Superhero Media: Batman (1989)

This is my favourite live-action Batman film, hands down, warts and all. I know fans of The Dark Knight will be raging at their keyboards right now, but I already covered that one a while back, so go check it out. Yes, Batman is flawed and more than a little camp, but keep in mind it is this version of Batman that spawned Batman the Animated Series, the very best version of the character. No, I don't care that Batman can't move his neck, he couldn't do that in Batman Begins either. No, I don't care that Jack Nicholson is fat, or that they gave The Joker an origin or any of that nit-pick stuff, Batman is brilliant and transcends just about every complaint you can level at it. Yes, I don't like that Batman kills people or that the Batwing and Batmobile have guns, or that Joker is killed in the climax, but superhero films are still making those kinds of error, so why would I hold it against a film more than 30 years old? Michael Keaton is good as both Bruce Wayne and a Batman who doesn't take himself too seriously and the soundtrack is done by Prince! Sure, you probably only remember the, passable, Danny Elfman theme, but I actually own the soundtrack CD and keep it in my car, it's that good. 

Oh man, I could do an entire "Superhero Media" on the soundtrack and the alternate version of the narrative it presents, but do yourself a favour and at least check out "Batdance"; I honestly think it may be one of Prince's most underappreciated tracks. Anyway, back to the film. Can I say that I don't mind the tying of Jack Napier/Joker into Batman's origins by having him kill Thomas and Martha Wayne? Perhaps it lacks the gravitas of the Red Hood "one bad day can turn anyone into a monster" narrative, but the "You made me" confrontation is brilliant in the climax of the film. Want to talk about the Joker? Ok. How about, instead of telling everyone that he doesn't have a plan while managing a lot of people performing intricate tasks, The Joker is so unpredictable that he gives away free money, makes art and shoots his 2IC for no real reason. I'm not saying that one portrayal is "better" than the other, merely that I really enjoy this version of The Joker, with its near-perfect blend of camp and sinister. Keaton is a solid Batman, and probably the best Bruce Wayne since Adam West, acting like a member of the idle rich more so than a 1%er d-bag with too much money. This Bruce Wayne throws fundraisers, donates to charity and doesn't go in for drinking and gambling just because he can. Class act. 

As Batman, Keaton delivers a competent and intimidating presence, but keeps close to his comic book roots by cracking jokes and tripping enemies up, rather than brooding and breaking bones. We all know where this series ended up, but I still find Batman a great watch and a film I keep going back to. Yes, it's flawed and somewhat dated (Batman uses Betamax tapes in the Batcave), but there is a genuine charm that draws me in every time, even beyond the Prince soundtrack and brilliant Joker one-liners. In a world where Batman is still composed of equal parts Arkham Knight and The Dark Knight, this version of the character is actually refreshing, with his genuine humor and more stable mental state, fighting crime out of obligation, rather than compulsion borne from trauma. Much as with the Adam West and Bruce Timm incarnations of the character, I feel like the new live action films, as well as the comics, could really learn a lot from this kind of approach. And these reasons, plus a few more I didn't have the space to get into, is why Batman is my favourite Batman live-action film. 

Miniatures Finished: Red Ribbon PMC

A bit of a side project I've had for a number of years is 28mm Moderns. It's a side-project in that I've been steadily working on it without a particular game in mind for a number of years now and have finally finished the bulk of the infantry. Naturally, even though the force is for "real world" or at least "imagi-Nation" gaming,  had to throw a reference in there, this time the Red Ribbon Army from Dragonball.

The complete Platoon so far, 3 Fire Teams and support. 

 

Company Command, Adjutant, CO, MG Specialist and Medic. 

(West Wind, Reaper, Infinity, Infinity) 

 

NCOs (both Infinity) 

 

Military Contractors (a mix of Eureka moderns) 

 

 

I have vague plans for expanding the Company, probably adding some Land Rovers or Hummers and maybe some of the nice Spectre Miniatures moderns. Before all of that though, I want to find a game to play with these that isn't just adding them in to Ultimate Alliance games as antagonists. 

Superhero Media: Underworld

Much as I kind of forgot just how good Blade was, I also kind of forgot just how generic the Underworld films were, or at least 'feel' at a distance. Black leather, metal soundtrack and gun-fu fight scenes seem to copy everything superficially good from Blade and The Matrix without any of depth that made those films engaging. In the shadows of the modern world, Vampires and Werewolves, sorry, Lycans, have fought a secret war for centuries. Ok, so this is all pretty generic and overdone by now, but I have to admit that Underworld does have a pretty good take on the old formula. I like that the Vampires live communally in old houses on big estates and the Lycans live communally in dens like wolves, providing a point of comparison as it highlights difference, which is a nice little touch in such a ridiculous film. Like Blade, I can't help but make comparison to the White Wolf "World of Darkness" games, especially with how the Elders work (which I'll cover later), but that may be down to WoD being a collection of so much Vampire 'lore' that anything coming since can't help but borrow the same tropes. 

When the protagonist, Selene, sees that the situation is escalating and the existing leadership is unable or unwilling to do anything about it, she wakes the elder vampire, Bill Nighy, who exposes a conspiracy between a Vampire leader and the Lycan Alpha to kill the ruling Vampire Elders. Put together, the whole thing is wonderfully silly, in the way this kind of film should be, and Nighy sells the power and majesty of an antediluvian Vampire better than about any media I have seen. Resplendent in his ancient robes, Nighy batters away Vampire and Lycan alike with his sword, bullets deflected by his flesh, until only the "Abomination" (Vampire and Werewolf) is left to stand against him. It's a fun scene, and shows off just how superhuman the Vampires can be. Whereas the Blade films (especially the second and third installments) focus on close quarters combat, Underworld has more gunplay and both sides rely on high-tech ammunition to do their fighting, liquid silver and UV bullets and all that stuff even too crazy for World of Darkness. 

I don't, for a moment, wish to disparage fans of this film and series, I appreciate fun trash and attractive women in tight leather as much as most, but Underworld does come across as a weaker imitation of Blade for the most part. Also, whilst Selene does have a journey to go on and an emotional arc, the narrative is really driven by Lucien and his quest for revenge against Bill Nighy for killing his lover. Apparently, one of the later films covers this story, but as Selene and Lucien have little to do with each other in the first film, it feels as if, once again, the more interesting protagonist has been sidelined for the more appealing one. Should I ever get around to that Urban Horror Gang Skirmish game I keep talking about writing, I'll be revisiting Underworld, because there is plenty of inspiration here, even taking into account all of the cliche layered on top. For supers games, take a look at the Bill Nighy fight in the third act, he really looks like he could be fighting Captain America, Wonder Woman or Hellboy with no real change to the scene. Don't your supers games need more Vampires anyway?

Ultimate Alliance Rulebook - Part I

If you read this blog regularly, you will probably be at least passingly familiar with my "SuperSystem - Ultimate Alliance" concept, which as an adapted version of Scott Pyle's SuperSyetem rules, Third Edition. Before we go any further, as I will be talking about some of the core concepts of the rules, I actually have written permission from Scott to do so, and won't be copy/pasting huge chunks of his work here. You will, however, need a copy of the SS3 rules to cover everything I'm going to talk about here. 

What Remains The Same?
First off, we'll talk about the elements of SS3 that remain unchanged for SSUA. 

All Measurements remain in Inches (or Centimeters for those playing in smaller scales), measure edge of base to edge of base. 

The Goal Roll is still the core mechanic, with the "Rule of 6" still intact. 

Many of the combat maneuvers from SS3 are essentially the same, but that's a fair bit down the line to talk about. 

From SS3 we'll be deriving the four Statistics that most characters have; Agility Strength, Mind and Resolve. 

Action Points are essentially the same, but with a few minor modifications that will be discussed later. 


What Changes?
Quite a few departures are made from the SS3 rules as they are written, the major ones are noted here. 

You may now premeasure. As SSUA is intended as a "Convention" game, many non-wargamers are introduced to it, being able to premeasure keeps the focus on the action and not precise estimation. 

The Dice Pool Cap is gone. Players being able to gain an absurd amount of dice for a roll is part of the fun and actually functions as a "balancing" mechanic, which we'll get to later. 

Rolls are no longer opposed (excepting Initiative), instead, Goal Rolls are made against target numbers. This helps speed play. 

Heroes no longer have a points cost. This is the big one. I'm all for balanced play and I always prefer games with a points system, but it just doesn't work with the concept of SSUA. What I want SSUA to be is a game where the superheroes are representative of what they are in the comics, films, television, video games, etc. This means balance is essentially impossible. The player using Wonder Woman is simply going to do more damage than the one using Moon Knight and there's no way around that. Trust me though, with a little bit of clever planning around games, it works fine. 

Anatomy of a Character 

Here we have an example of a fairly straightforward character, The Phantom: 

(Please excuse the dodgy layout, these are kept on A5 Word documents until I can get some help making nicer character cards)

The Phantom (Kit Walker)

Strength	5	Mind	5
Resolve	6	Agility	5

Hits:

KO

AP: 10

Physical	Hit	5	Resist	5
Mental	Hit	5	Resist	6

Attacks (3 AP)

Martial Arts [5]: Melee 5 Damage

Pistols [5]: 12" Range 6 Damage

Powers/Abilities

Ghost Who Walks (A): A Model must win an opposed Resolve Test to Charge Phantom.

Jungle Agility (A): Phantom ignores Obstacles and other Models when Moving.

Devil the Wolf (*): Devil may Activate during Phantom's Activation as a separate Model.

The Power of Ten Tigers (5): Phantom may Lift and Throw Medium Objects until the end of his Activation.

Like a ghost (A): Phantom cannot be the Target of Ranged Attacks when in Cover and the Attack originates from at least 12" away.

As you can see, we start with the name of the character and their Secret Identity (if they have one). This helps when multiple people have used the same name, like Robin (Dick, Jason, Tim, Damien, Carrie, Stephanie and Helena) or when two different comics have a character with a similar name (Stardust, Herald of Galactus and Stardust the Super Wizard). 

Next, we have the main stats. With a handful of exceptions, these numbers are between 1 and 9, with nine being the upper reaches of power. 

Strength represents how physically powerful a character is and is used to calculate Melee Damage and hit points (Hits). 

Resolve is a measure of the character's will and bravery, it is used for morale rolls and to calculate psychic damage. 

Mind is how smart and quick-thinking a character can be, it is used to calculate Psychic attacks, Action Points (AP) and can be used for initiative. 

Agility measures the physical response time of a character and their speed of motion. AP, Initiative and Attack Rolls are calculated from Agility.  

The number of Hits a character has is based on their Strength Stat (for the most part), when a character reaches 0 hits, they're out of the game. 

Action Points, or AP, is calculated from the sum of Mind and Agility. More on what these can be used for later. 

Physical and Mental Hit/Resist are one of the new mechanics. These are target numbers for Goal Rolls opponents will be making against the character. For example, to hit The Phantom, an enemy would need to roll 5 or more goals on an Attack Roll. Any extra Goals rolled against Resist become damage on Hits. 

All Attacks cost 3 AP to perform, unless otherwise noted. Many characters will have two Attacks, a Melee and a Ranged Attack. The number in the square brackets, here "[5]" is the number of dice the character can roll when making the Attack. Melee Attacks can only be made within 1" of an enemy model. 

Ranged Attacks will have a measurement in inches, this is the maximum range at which the attack can be made. There are no range modifiers in SSUA.

Regardless of the kind of Attack, the last number in the line is the Damage dice rolled for a successful attack. 

Powers/Abilities is where the elements of character come into SSUA. The number of Powers/Abilities a character has will depend on the complexity of the character and is not an indication of overall power for efficacy. As you can see, Powers/Abilities are named for elements of character's history, rather than being generic. After the name of the Power/Ability you will see one of the following notions: 

(A) - This Power/Ability happens Automatically 

(*) - This Power/Ability links to another character or only happens under certain circumstances. 
(#) - This Power/Ability costs this many Action Points to Use. 
The text of the Power/Ability should then clearly explain how the power works, in general gaming terms. 

A couple of things to note before I round off this first entry. Sometimes the "readability" of the cards and rules I'll be presenting may not be the best; this is because I'm doing this project essentially solo at the moment. Hopefully I can enlist some help as I go on and get a really nice set of rules and characters going. If you spot a mistake or something confusing, please point it out in the comments and I'll try and rework it. 

Next time, Turn Sequence and AP Costs.