Sentinels of the Multiverse! (Discussion & Custom Stuff)

[Xallace]

The last topic I found on this wonderful game was from 2014, so I thought I might start a new one.

I really love Sentinels of the Multiverse. It's probably my favorite non-RPG tabletop game, just ahead of Smash Up. If you haven't played, I highly recommend you get a hold of the core set and give it a go. This is a game where you and the other players take control of one of a number of superheroes - most of them expies of established heroes, but plenty of more original ones too - and set out to stop the nefarious schemes of a super villain. "Stopping the villain" usually means beating them to a pulp, but sometimes things get a bit trickier.

But my favorite part of the game is that if you pay attention to the fluff on each card, you end up telling a story that ranges from an epic battle between good & evil to completely outrageous comedy (including things like a prison full of supervillains refusing to attack the heroes because they don't want to hurt a gazelle, or the time a derailed train steered towards the villains because one of the heroes altered its natural aggressiveness (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext)).


And, for those who already enjoy the game, I also happen to have some custom decks complete and playtested and ready for your game! Well... mechanically, anyway. I would love to show off some nice, professional cards with art and everything, but I'm no artist. I'm not even good with photoshop. I just scribbled down the card rules onto a cheap pack of index cards. But! If you're interested anyway, here they are:

Heroes
Haze (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EwQNQmyfgNJf_xOqc6YiganK1Vud3G0eEjQuwDBPb20/edit?usp=sharing) - a hero inspired as much by the golden age Sandman as by Batman's nemesis Scarecrow, Haze is a mysterious hero who uses psychoactive gas to bewilder and incapacitate criminals without ever having to lay a finger on them.

Refuse (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P2aKzUADQYV1t9_Uu9BXxDqmNbGkXZuoMAjtgRftlAg/edit?usp=sharing) - a tech hero who builds her equipment from salvaged and recycled parts.

Villains
Master Computer (https://docs.google.com/document/d/12BserCbA3RP-0lMQF_w7ziLYBukkjCLs1Ja0wShu5gA/edit?usp=sharing) - an evil, sentient computer virus who's got it out for biological life.

The Safekeepers (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H1N2sgmFH988Eb_vQgQCFEYl93vGd-ABfmry9tKs52Q/edit?usp=sharing) - primarily inspired by the Prime Sentinels from X-Men, the Safekeepers are a trio of superhero-hunting androids whose holographic projectors allow them to blend into crowds of regular people, so you'll never know where they'll pop out next.

Environments
Sky City (https://docs.google.com/document/d/11JGMFwpCDVaiepy9L9k-mRXCJ5pXWS4_QxxWn9dXbfs/edit?usp=sharing) - an extraterrestrial city above the clouds. Watch that first step.

[The Glyphstone]

Sentinels is amazing, it's one of the staples of my weekly game club's activities.

What sort of playtesting did you do for the custom characters? Do they have any Nemesis relationships with each other?

[Xallace]

What sort of playtesting did you do for the custom characters? Do they have any Nemesis relationships with each other?

For each deck, we ran them through a number of games against different heroes or villains. For the most part, games were set up so that all decks other than the one being tested were official material, which we figured would be the best bet for determining balance (fully aware of some significant differences in power between official heroes, of course. Sorry, Mr. Fixer).

Well, the ones presented don't have nemeses among themselves, but I've got more ideas to fill that out that just haven't been playtested (or... written) yet. For example:

Haze's nemesis is set to be a villain named Sway, who's shtick is that he is superhumanly persuasive and turns civilians against the heroes. Pretty bad for a hero who runs on mystery and fear, eh?

Refuse's nemesis is up in the air right now. I've almost settled on an earth-powered gang leader named Rumble from a short story I wrote about the two of them.

The Safekeepers have a nemesis in a reprogrammed one of their own, Safekeeper Delta, who has had a couple drafts so far but hasn't been playtested yet.

And for Master Computer... Well, I'm taking suggestions.

[The Glyphstone]

How would you say they balance up in complexity/power/difficult to official heroes or villains?

[Xallace]

How would you say they balance up in complexity/power/difficult to official heroes or villains?

Master Computer stands out as being particularly "interactive," as one player put it. He seems on the lower end of the difficulty scale but the Real/Virtual aspect makes the fight a lot more dynamic. He's fun, even if he's not too scary.

The Safekeepers have the distinction of being a lot harder the fewer heroes are playing. The "Capture" mechanic can make short work of an unlucky 3-man team, but a full 5-person game won't have much difficulty. The constant flipping makes them generally frustrating for multi-target attackers, tho.

Refuse has become something of a group favorite. She's solidly powerful without being OP, complex but not complicated. Since most of her cards are Equipment and targets, her stuff gets blown up more often then most, but she's got some good set up cards and options for digging things out of the trash that soften the blow. I'm pretty proud of how she turned out.

Haze is a little on the strong side, I think. He doesn't deal much more than ping damage, but his focus on damage redirection and screwing around with enemy targets can be pretty powerful in the right circumstances.

Sky City kinda fades into the background a bit as an Environment, mostly because most of its cards grant options rather than imposing effects. It's fun and balanced if you pay attention to it, tho.

[huttj509]

The only problem I have with Sentinels is a tendency for the new expansion I'm looking forward to to arrive just *after* my main gaming weekends. Villains of the Multiverse arrived just after my New Years' gathering, and my next expected get-together is March. But that's not the fault of Greater Than Games.

Love the game, love the variety.

Weekend of January 23rd (next weekend) is the kickoff of the 5 year anniversary Multiverse Month, so ask around at your FLGS to see if they'll have any promos available. I know I'm planning to just kinda hang out at one in Indianapolis with my set (maybe wrangle a few friends in the city where we keep meaning to gather and play stuff, but it never works out except for the big events. hey, an excuse!).