Ultimate Alliance Rulebook - Part V

So that last example game certainly broke down the Ultimate Alliance rules pretty well, but it was an unsatisfying game; why was that? First up, when running a Super System Ultimate Alliance game, I'm typically "Game Mastering" which means I can change things on the fly, and I also tend to play-test the scenario, neither of which was happening this time around. For example, the zombies were a last-minute addition, which didn't really work, they slowed the heroes down too much and gave the Dark Judges too much of an advantage. Without an internal points balance, the guesswork can be a bit tricky sometimes, and it's been a couple of years since I ran my last SSUA game; my Civil War game was play-tested at least three or four times before the final scenario was ready. Where I to play this scenario again, I'd add or swap-out another hero, probably a more powerful one, drop the zombies in favour of a less durable Henchman team, or maybe even a solo Villain. 

In many of my games, I try and make sure I have at least one or two characters that are pretty well known (have had their own recent film or television run) and some that are more obscure. The obscure characters have the advantage of introducing interesting heroes and villains to potential new fans but are also great for attracting some of their existing fans to play. As an example, I had a dad join in with his son once at Little Wars Melbourne because he found I had a playable Vision, his favourite character. Similarly, I pushed Booster Gold on a friend once, who now has followed some of the character's comics and checks in on the odd game to play him again. I also like to have a good mix of characters, both in terms of powers (so that everyone can have a go) and who would be fun to see together. Again, I think ideas like "X-Men Vs Doom Patrol" should be avoided, but that leaves plenty of scope for fun team-ups like Constantine and the Ghostbusters, Daredevil and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Masked Warrior and Green Hornet and many, many more. Ever wondered how Lex Luthor would fare against Tony Stark? What about Public Security Section 9 hunting down a "Secret Invasion" of Phalanx? The possibilities are endless, do don't get hung up on "who would win" scenarios. 

Sad to say, this is likely to be the last of my Rulebook articles for a while, as pretty much all I have left to do is post character cards for the game, which is something I'm still working on doing nice versions of them. I could just post up the raw stats, but I'd rather give you something ready to go, as I know there are a few of my readers who want to get these games going with their children or play groups that aren't really into tabletop miniature wargames just yet. I'm writing this during July 2020, so I'm not sure when I'll get to do more wargames again, but as soon as I can, I'll try and get some more SSUA games in and do some AARs for those of you starving for this particular kind of content.