capes cowls and villains foul - quickstart rpg

7/30/2019 Capes Cowls and Villains Foul - Quickstart RPG

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IntroductionI love comic books.

I love purple and green costumes.

I love super powers.

I love that, in a comic book, almostanything can happen. It is, after all, agenre where individuals can withstand anuclear blast and survive. It is a genrewhere individuals can lift battleships,teleport thousands of miles in the blinkof an eye. It is not uncommon for avillainous (or misunderstood) wizard to

transport the characters back in time. Noone ever stays dead.

Comic books are great!

I relished the chance to play asuperhero, but as much as I lovedporing over the old stats andcomparing characters in LicensedGames of the past, every new useof a power had to be retconnedinto existence. If a character isa speedster, shouldnt they beable to do what speedsters do incomics? The character with manysuits of battle-armor -- do wereally need to stat each one ofthem up?

Capes, Cowls and VillainsFoulis designed to be a game

where the Gamemaster (Editor) andplayers can craft and create and tell theirown stories, limited primarily by theirimagination, not by the connes of therules.

I love superheroes.

What you hold in your hands is aQuickstart Preview of the upcomingCapes, Cowls and Villains Foulgamefrom Spectrum Games. It includes ahandful of playable characters, a briefscenario, and enough rules to get you upand running (at superspeed or maybe

ying) and trying the system out. Thereshould hopefully be enough crunch hereto get your mind thinking about makingyour own characters, and start thinkingabout your own superheroic game

Quickstart Preview


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Mayhem at the MallLets start with the scenario and workour way toward the rules.

BackgroundOne of the worst kept secrets in thecapes community is the Annual TeenCapes Dance. For over 20 years, therehas been a dance hosted and fully paidfor by a very mysterious benefactor. Anycape, hero or villain, under the age of20 is welcome to attend. Everything ispaid for -- transport, hotel room, food,tuxedos, dresses. The only rule, whichhas never been broken, is that there isto be no ghting. For one evening, heroand villain alike must put aside theirdifferences for a good time. There are,of course, some chaperones, from boththe good and bad side of the community,and they seem to have almost as muchfun as the teens. Getting an invite iseasy be a teen cape.

This brings our heroes to the PalisadesCenter Mall in West Nyack, NY. PalisadesCenter Mall is the second largest mall inAmerica, and is only about 40 minutesnorth of Manhattan. The mall happensto have a carousel, ferris wheel, ice rink,and over 400 stores. There is plenty offun places for action to occur. Did wemention that it was also built arounda burial ground for Native Americans?More information can be found online

should you need them.

Our heroes are at the mall shopping forclothes for the dance. Get the playersinto the mood, maybe set up a tenseface-off with some teen villains, who arealso shopping. But at some point, theywill hear screaming. Fellow shopperson a different level from the heroes arerunning in fear.

Why?

Seems that the spirits of the NativeAmericans are unhappy. They havemanifested as a shaman who stands inthe western part of the mall and hassummoned several Adlets.

Adlets are 7-feet tall red-haired,humanoid half-man/half dogmonstrosities. They are attackingshoppers. When blood is drawnfrom several (for this scenario, thenumber is unimportant; assume that

they have drawn enough blood forthe purposes of the shaman), theshaman begins a ritual (which, again,will be completed for the purposes ofthis scenario; use Editorial Control ifneeded to ensure the shaman staysup for 2 rounds).

The Adlets, creatures of rage,continue attacking. They are notconcerned with the specifics of

the ritual. The shaman beginssummoning in an ancient tongue. Thedance is during prom season, thus,in late spring, the shaman is callingforth the Great Bear Spirit of Winter!

Running the ScenarioThis section is divided into two distinctscenes.

First SceneCharacters are at the mall when theAdlets attack.

Characters will be able to get down towhere the Adlets are (changing alongthe way), and because this is a comicbook, they all get there at the sametime (if they so choose). Describe for theplayers how the Adlets (there are twice


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as many Adlets as there are characters)are attacking innocent shoppers, andafter one round of this, introduce theshaman.

The Adlets should be relatively toughand scary, but they will go down quickly.Have half of the Adlets attack characters,and the other half continue their attackson mall shoppers. Have fun with thearchitecture of the mall. Maybe theAdlets climb up to another level, jumpdown to another level, scale the Ferriswheel whatever. Distance and the like

are not too important. Have fun with it!

The shaman will summon for tworounds, defending himself as needed,once the summoning is complete, he willattack as well

Once the Adlets and Shaman have beendefeated, have several shoppers thatneed help give characters a chance toroleplay being heroes -- tending to the

wounded and scared children, maybeeven some fans seeking pictures andautographs.

But, because the summoning wascompleted soon the mall startsrattling maybe have some of thewindows shatter, putting peoplein jeopardy (again, a nice way toencourage heroism).

Looking out through the glass ceiling,the heroes soon realize what is causingthis chaos.

Second SceneNote: Because it is a new scene, allTraits are refreshed and all SetbackTokens are removed.

The sky has turned gray and debris

swirls around! Rising from the ground isa creature made of earth, snow and ice.Towering over 500 feet high, in the crudeshape of a bear, is the Great Bear Spiritof Winter!

The Bear Spirit will let out a guttural roarand begin walking through the parkinglot, smashing cars and coming towardthe mall!

Time For Some Action!Now that you have a rm grasp on howthe scenario is structured, lets look atthe game system. Otherwise, how canthe heroes do battle with all the nastiesthat have invaded the mall?

What You Will Need Some d12s (the red-headed stepchildof the polyhedral dice family) -- six or sodice should be plenty, but at least threeis likely to sufce. A pencil with eraser.

Some scratch paper.

The BasicsThis, being a quickstart, is designed togive you a taste of things to come, butthe basic rules remain the same: Roll ad12 and add your Trait.

Traits are what your character is madeof: powers, skills, special attacks,equipment, even animal companions andsidekicks.

Simple enough? There are someinteresting wrinkles: Some Traits can beLinked, meaning they can have a valueadded to another Trait. This will allowyou to get higher results on your roll,but at the cost of exerting yourself. Thenumber of Traits you can Link in any rollis up to the player, but spending all your


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resources early will mean that you aretired later, and much more likely to godown at the hand of a nefarious villain.

Each time you use a Trait, you mustmark it off as having been used (this is aUsage of a Trait). The sample charactersheets have a space for you to do thisand keep track of how much you haveused each Trait.

Usages refresh at the conclusion ofeach scene and all Setback Tokens areremoved.

Linked Traits: The Trait you are usingthe value of is your Primary Trait, andany Trait(s) added to it enhances it. So,for example: Muse is ghting the GreatBear Spirit and she knows this goliathmanifestation of winter is a going to betough to take down, so she starts outbig. Using her SUPER-STRENGTH (8)as the primary Trait, she will Link Flight(+3) and Martial Arts (+1), giving her a

base of 12 before rolling any dice. Nottoo shabby.

Linked Traits should make sense in howthey are Linked together. The Editor hasthe nal say on whether the Links areapplicable.

NOTE: You do not have to Link Traits forany specic action. You can, of course,

perform an action with just one Trait.

Wrinkle 1Each Usage of a Trait, whether as aprimary Trait or Linked Trait, expends aUsage of that Trait.

Wrinkle 2As you use a Trait more, it generallybecomes less effective. Many Traits canbe used multiple times before becoming

ineffective. Some Traits start outincredibly effective, while others Power-Up. This is recorded on the charactersheets by listing how many dice arerolled:

1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3, etc.

1 means one d12 is rolled, the resultbeing added to the Trait and any Links.

2 means that two d12s are rolled, thehigher of which is kept, and added to theTrait and any Links.

3 means that three d12s are rolled, thehighest of which is kept, and added tothe Trait and any Links.

Negative numbers mean that anadditional number of dice equal tothe negative number are rolled, andthe lowest is kept. This is called theDetriment Dice mechanic.

If a Linked Trait is in the negative,an additional die (dice) equal to thenegative number is added to the pool,and the lowest number is kept. If acharacter is rolling multiple positivedice and Linking a Trait that is in thenegative, the Positive and Negative dicecancel each other out on a one-for-onebasis.

Okay, so you know how to roll dice, buthow does the system work?

For the sake of this quickstart, haveinitiative happen around the table withthe NPCs going last.


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Attacking/Defending/OtherActions

To Attack, a character declares theirattack, along with the Trait and anypossible Links they are using (see Wrinkle3 below for a slight exception to this).They roll the appropriate dice and addeverything together.

The Attacker declares their total. TheDefender must then state the Trait andLinks they are using and try to tie or beatthat number.

Characters should use appropriate Traitsto attack and defend. Some Traits lendthemselves to being used primarily for oneor the other, but nothing is set in stone.

Why is this fun?

Traits allow players to have the samecreative control and chance to do cool stuff

with their characters that comic writersdo on a regular basis. Comic fans have all

seen speedsters travel through time, runup walls, read an entire encyclopedia in 38seconds, zip through walls, zoom acrosswater, etc and sometimes writers ndnew, creative applications of a characterspowers. Why shouldnt you, the player,have this same degree of fun?

What about Linking? Why is that fun?

It allows players the chance to make

super-cool combos. For example, acharacter with the following Traits (all ofwhich are presumed to be Linkable):

Gun-Fu .45 Caliber Hand Cannon .45 Caliber Hand Cannon Acrobatic

could describe their attack as:


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Using my Gun-Fu, both .45s blazing, Idive over out the window acrobatically,spinning in mid-air, facing the boardroom and empty both clips into thesupervillain.

Could this same character use just Gun-Fu without linking a .45 Caliber Trait?Sure. It is assumed they have what theyneed to attack. A Usage of the .45 justgives a better result.

What happens when a defender losestheir roll?

The defender takes a Setback Token.Player Characters and Major Non-PlayerCharacters can take 4 Setback Tokensbefore being out of the scene. SomeNon-Player Characters take less to beeliminated.

Wrinkle 3Many characters have a Trait with Auto-Defend attached to it. Once per scene,

after an attack is declared, but beforea result is declared, they may use theirAuto-Defend. The attackers Traits arestill used, but the attack misses.

Addendum 1:A Natural 12 on a roll (rolling 12 on thedie that is kept for the roll) DOUBLES thevalue of the Primary Trait.

Addendum 2:A Natural 1 on a roll (rolling 1 on the diethat is kept for the roll) automaticallyfails. If its for an attack, nothing moreis needed. If its for a defense, thecharacter must still gure out their rollvalue. Why? See Addendum 3.

Addendum 3:If an attackers roll is higher than thedefenders roll by a value equal to or

greater than the defenders Threshold,the defender is Instantly Defeated, andout of the scene. (See Editorial Controlfor a slight tweak to this absolute rule).

Beyond CombatEven in a comic book, characterssometimes want to perform actions thatare not strictly an attack or a defenseagainst an attack. The mechanic isessentially the same: Use a Trait, roll adie.

But, how do you, as a player, know if yousucceed or fail?

The chart on the following page willgive some sample difculty numbers foractions, along with examples.

Attack Synopsis

Attacker declares their attack andmarks off Usages.

Defender has a chance to Auto-Defend.

Attacker rolls and declares theirresult.

Defender, knowing the resulttotal, declares their Defense, marksoff Usages, and rolls.

If attackers roll beats defenders,defender takes a Setback Token.


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Trait LevelsOne of the fun aspects of a superheroRPG is comparing ability and powerlevels.

Capes, Cowls and Villains Foulispretty open-ended with Traits, but wewould like to offer you a rough guideoutlining the various Trait Ratings andwhat they mean.

Rating: Description:

0 Traits at Rank 0 are the equivalentof a person having no training orspecialization (e.g., an average

persons ability to jump)1 Having some level of competence in

a Trait

4 Maximum level of a Trait for anormal human

5 Here begins the superhuman tier ofTraits, also applicable to normalhumans who are exceptional in theireld.

8 The default high end of superhumanTraits, and certainly the high endfor a normal human: Stephen

Hawking, Michael Jordan mightbe up this high in their areas ofexpertise.

9 Any Trait at 9 or higher is certainlysuperhuman.

13 Traits 13 or higher allow charactersto perform actions that areincomprehensible to man andour current technology - lifting abattleship, ying 100 times thespeed of sound, etc.

ComplicationsComplications are the things that reallymess up your characters day. It mightbe:

a crippling weakness brought on a by aspecic element.

a loved one who gets in the way or hasto be saved.

a berserker rage that lies within you,waiting to be unleashed.

a mental hang-up that you just cant

seem to shake.

an archenemy who always shows up atjust the wrong time.

But Complications make your characterinteresting; they make your characterhuman. Most importantly, they makereaders care about your character. Theyare also how your character is able tokeep ghting, no matter what how they

are able to get back up again, and howthey are able to nd their inner reserveto continue ghting the good ght.

For this quickstart, each Player Characterhas one complication, noted on theircharacter sheet.

How do they work? Once per scene,a character may activate its own

Difculty: Description:

6 A normal person attempting a task they might besuccessful at half the time

11 A highly skilled person completing a task that they mightsucceed at 50% of the time

13 A highly skilled person completing a task that they willhave to truly struggle with.

17 The sort of action that one person might be able to

complete once, with many failures along the way.A mid-level Superhuman power accomplishing anincredible feat.

21 Holding a mountain over your head


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Complication. They player should embracehis or her characters Complication anddescribe what they are doing.

Why?

Before we look at why, we should lookat what happens: for three rounds, thecharacter can take no actions, althoughthey can defend against an action if anattack is made against them. Often,though, a Complication will take thecharacter out of combat in some way. Forinstance, the Klutzy character might trip

and be unable to get up without making aneven larger mess of the situation.

Why? At the end of those three rounds, thecharacter gets a point of Editorial Control.This point of Editorial Control can be usedimmediately.

Editorial ControlRemember that issue of your favorite comicwhen your favorite hero did somethingthey have never done before, and havenever done since? How is it that a non-powered man is able to stand up againstan alien force of destruction that can levelmountains with one punch?

Part of this is possible through the use ofEditorial Control.

All Player Characters start with at least 2

points of Editorial Control per session.

The full Capes, Cowls and Villains Foulrules will detail some more interestingways to use Editorial Control, but these willalways be available:

Re-RollIf you dont like the result of the roll youmade, you may spend 1 point of EC to re-

roll any result that was not a natural 1. Theroll is made with the same number of diceas the original roll, with the same difculty.

Counter-AttackIf an attack misses you, you can declare

that you are attempting a counter-attack.A counter-attack is made using the sameTrait used to defend against the attack. Theoriginal attacker may use the same Traitfor defense if appropriate or a differentTrait altogether. A counter-attack is uniquebecause although it requires a Usage ofthe Trait, it happens so fast that it doesntaccumulate immediate Detriment Dice.Mark off this second Usage, but make theattempt with the same amount of dice as

with the initial roll. This non-accumulatingDetriment Dice also applies to the initialattackers defense roll, if they are usingthe same Trait they use for the attack.A counter-attack cannot cause an Insta-Defeat, however.

RecoverRemove 1 Setback Token from thecharacter any time during your action.

Avoid Insta-DefeatIf you are the recipient of a Big Hit (onethat would bring you to Insta-Defeat), youmay instead ignore the Insta-Defeat andtake just a single Setback Token instead(if you only have one Setback Tokenremaining, well, youll likely be Out OfCommission for awhile and might want tosave these points of EC).

Re-Roll (1 EC) Counter-Attack (1 EC) Recover (1 EC) Avoid Insta-Defeat (2 EC)

EC Expenditure


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ADLETSDescription: Standing over 7 feet tall,these human/canine monstrosities havematted red fur, sharp claws, red foamcoming from their mouths, and a crazed,feral look in their eyes.

NOTES: Adlets only have two SetbackTokens.

THRESHOLD: 10

TRAITS:

Tough 7 1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Drink Blood 7 3/ 2/ 1/ 1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Vicious 5 1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Bite 5 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Fast 5 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Strong 5 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)

SAMPLE ATTACKS:DRINK BLOOD + Vicious (10+)VICIOUS + Blood (8+)BITE + Strong (8+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:TOUGH + Fast (10+)TOUGH+ Vicious (10+)

SHAMANDescription: Middle-aged NativeAmerican, sinewy, dressed in ceremonialclothing including feathered head dress,armed with his coup staff.

THRESHOLD: 10

TRAITS:Shamanic Magic 9 3/ 2/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+5)Magical Wards 7 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)

Tough 5 1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Strong 5 1/ 1/ / 1/ 1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Vicious Warrior 5 1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Coup Staff 5 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

SAMPLE ATTACKS:VICIOUS WARRIOR + Coup Staff (8+)

SHAMANIC MAGIC + Coup Staff (12+)VICIOUS WARRIOR + Coup Staff +Strong (11+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:TOUGH + Vicious Warrior (8+)SHAMANIC MAGIC+ Tough (12+)

Editorial Control for Villains and Other NPCsThe Editor has a pool of Editorial Control for all the NPCs equal to 3 plus thenumber of players. They spend Editorial Control the same way as the players,but they also have one other available to them.

For 1 point of Editorial Control, an NPC can fully refresh any Trait, effectivelyeliminating all Usages for the current scene.

Mayhem at the Mall VillainsNow that you know how the game system works, youll be able to play the Mayhemat the Mall scenario from the beginning of this booklet. The write-ups for thevillains can be found in this section.


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THE GREAT BEAR SPIRIT OFWINTER

Description: Towering over 500 feet

tall, composed of earth, snow and magic,roughly bear shaped.

THRESHOLD: 10

TRAITS:Mammoth Size 13 3/ 2/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5Super Strong 12 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+5)Super Tough 12 1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+5)

Breath of Winter 12* 1/ 2/ 3/ 1/ -2/-3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)

SAMPLE ATTACKS:MAMMOTH SIZE + Super-Strong (18+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:

MAMMOTH SIZE + Super-Tough(18+)

*The Breath of Winter can be used effectivelyas an area attack. Add a Detriment Die to theroll (or subtract a die if rolling multiple dice) andsubtract the following depending on the numberof people attacked:

2 targets: subtract 03 targets: subtract 14 targets: subtract 2

One roll, all the targets must defend! The fullCapes, Cowls and Villains Foulrules will havemore details, but that is just a teaser.


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GEEK GRRRLAria Cadenski

A little over a year ago, Geek GRRRL wasvery much Muses archenemy. However,they both attended the dance, and withmany similar interests, struck up quite afriendship. Geek GRRRL is a bit unsureif the life of a hero is really for her. Shetends to work behind the scenes, but sheis giving it a try.

TRAITS:

Able to Find Out Anybodys Weakness 91/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 +2 if a full round is spent

activating this Trait Link (+5) Auto-DefendVery Smart 6 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3) +2 if using technology in any way

Gun-Fu 5 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

+2 if .45 is Linked to the TraitDeceptively Competent in Combat 51/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)Agile 4 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+1).45 Caliber Pistol 31/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+1)

SAMPLE ATTACKS:GUN-FU + .45 Caliber (8+)FIND OUT ANYBODYS WEAKNESS+ VerySmart+ Deceptively Competent (15+)DECEPTIVELY COMPETENT + Very Smart(8+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:DECEPTIVELY COMPETENT + Very Smart(8+)FIND OUT ANYBODYS WEAKNESS +

Very Smart + Deceptively Competent(15+)

COMPLICATIONS: Not Overly Enthusiastic About PuttingHerself in Harms Way

EDITORIAL CONTROL: 3THRESHOLD: 12

MUSEKatie Storm

A child of a Greek godling and a human,Muse is very much a superhero throughand through, ghting the good ght andnever quitting, often at the expense ofher own self-interests.

She is currently dating Red Phoenix,who, although just an ordinary personwho wears a costume, understands herneed to save the world.

TRAITS:Non-Corporealness 81/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Auto-Defend Link (+3)

Revealing Costume 8 1 One-Shot: This Trait can only be

used once each session. Not-A-Finisher- this Trait cannot

be used to KO an opponent. -2 vs Women- this Trait suffers

a 2 penalty when used againstwomen/ females.

Super Strength 81/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)Super Tough 6 3/ 2/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)Flight 6 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)

Mayhem at the Mall HeroesWe have provided you with a selection of pre-made heroes for the players to choosefrom when playing Mayhem at the Mall.


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Martial Arts 4 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+1)

Smart 4 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+1)

Determined 4 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

SAMPLE ATTACKS:FLIGHT + Martial Arts (7+)SUPER STRENGTH + Flying+ MartialArts (12+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:NON-CORPOREALNESS + Super Tough(11+) (However, early in combat,

consider using SUPER-TOUGH + Non-Corporealness, as you will be (9+) butrolling multiple dice)NON-CORPOREALNESS + Martial Arts(9+)

COMPLICATIONS: Klutzy


RED PHOENIXJason Robbins

Some kids want to grow up to besuperheroes, Jason Robbins went outand did that, not because he wantedto wear a costume, but because hewanted to try and make the world a

better place. Most powered heroes lookdown on him a bit, his methods seema bit brutal at times, but at the end ofthe day, he is a guy you want in yourcorner. He and Muse have been datingfor several years, and his time with heris the only time he lets his guard downand acts like a regular teenager.

TRAITS:Fearless 7 2/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Only When the Chips Are Down:The Trait can only be usedthe character has 2 or moreSetback Tokens.

Link (+3)Ninja Training 6 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3) +2 When Naginata is Linked to

this Trait Auto-Defend

Naginata 5 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Link (+3)

Lateral Thinker 51/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)Brutally Efcient 51/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Only When the Chips Are Down:the Trait can only be usedthe character has 2 or moreSetback Tokens.

Link (+3)Body Armor 4 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+1)Athletic 4 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+1)

SAMPLE ATTACKS:NINJA TRAINING + Naginata (11+)LATERAL THINKER + Ninja Training (8+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:FEARLESS+ Athletic (8+)

BODY ARMOR+ Athletic (5+)

COMPLICATIONS: Foolhardy/ Overcondent



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SUPERBALLAllen Roberts

Allen is at the mall looking for a tux. Heknows Muse a little, the two of themhaving crossed paths during somecrossovers. Same with Red Phoenix. Hesees the world as always moving tooslow and acts accordingly.

TRAITS:Bounce Attack 73/ 2/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)Super Bounce Attack 8

1/ 2/ 3/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5 Only When the Chips Are Down:The Trait can only be usedthe character has 2 or moreSetback Tokens.

Link (+3)Super Speed 8 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3) Auto-Defend

Bouncing 6 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)Multitasking 6 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3) Fickle- after declaring a Usage

of this Trait, roll a d12, on aroll of 1-3, the Trait doesntwork. The character maydeclare another Trait instead,but cannot use this Trait for theaction.

Everyone Else Is Moving In SlowMotion 5 1/ 1/ 1/ -1/ -2/ -3/ -4/ -5

Link (+3)

SAMPLE ATTACKS:BOUNCE ATTACK + Super-Speed (10+)SUPER-SPEED+ Bouncing (11+)

SAMPLE DEFENSES:SUPER-SPEED+ Bouncing (11+)

COMPLICATIONS: Easily Distracted


COMING SOON!Mayhem at the Mall is just a preview of the full Capes, Cowls and Villains Foulsystem. What else willbe included in the full ruleset?

Full character creation rules Attacking multiple foes Ganging up on an opponent Pushing in a scene: Harming yourself to increase your effectiveness Action Scenes, Opposed Scenes, and Extended Scenes Versatile Traits: Your armor-based character can have 50 suits of armor without having to stat each one up,switch from the Manta v2.1 for an underwater scene to the Spacehawk v3.4, each suit having their own strengths. More robust options for Editorial Control Incapacitating Traits: Not every Trait delivers a Setback Token some just take you out of action for awhile. Undened Traits: A way to replicate the inventor type characters who frequently seem to have Just TheRight Invention for a particular scene.

Negating a Trait

So, hopefully, you have enjoyed this Quickstart, and want to take a closer look at Capes, Cowls andVillains Foulwhen it is released. But what can you do between now and then?

As a player, start thinking about the character you want to play; think of 6-12 Traits that dene yourcharacter, start jotting down ideas there will be ways to consolidate multiple Powers into a smallernumber of Traits. For Editors, start thinking about your master villains. No longer will you need to hand-wave those super-intelligent, non-powered foes who stand toe-to-toe with the earth-moving superheroes.

www.spectrum-games.com2807 Grand Ave., Parsons, Kansas 67357

Art by Bill Williamshttp://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/sidechicks.php

capes cowls and villains foul - quickstart rpg

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