[1:59 PM] olivier legrand: Hello everyone – I’m Olivier Legrand, author of the recently released CRUSADERS superhero RPG available in PDF on DrivethruRPG!
[1:59 PM] olivier legrand: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/400193/CRUSADERS?src=fp_u5CRUSADERS – Legrand Games Studio | DriveThruRPG.comCRUSADERS, the roleplaying game of superheroic action, takes you back to the 1980s, at the time of some of the most awes
[1:59 PM] olivier legrand: Hello everyone – I’m Olivier Legrand, author of the recently released C
[1:59 PM] olivier legrand: All set:)
[2:00 PM] olivier legrand: Delighted to be here – and thanks again Dan for the invitation.
[2:00 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (Please give us a (done) when finished with your intro. )
[2:00 PM] olivier legrand: (done, I think)
[2:00 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks, @olivier legrand! The floor is open to questions!
[2:00 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What is the premise of Crusaders?
[2:01 PM] olivier legrand: It’s a superheroic RPG, set in the “Super Eighties”, during the Bronze Age of comics
[2:01 PM] Catseye: your game subject is something near and dear to my heart
[2:02 PM] olivier legrand: It can be seen as a homage / love letter to those classic 1980s games – especially Villains & Vigilantes, FASERIP-Marvel and, above, all, Golden Heroes
[2:02 PM] olivier legrand: But it uses a much simpler, streamlined system
[2:03 PM] olivier legrand: Four basic attributes, a Vitality total, Powers, a few bells and whistles and that’s all – there are no substats or complex calculations involved
[2:04 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What aspects epitomize Bronze Age comics?
[2:04 PM] olivier legrand: Power determination uses random tables, but with various “tricks” and options that give you far greater control over the results, while keeping the unique feel of random tables
[2:06 PM] olivier legrand: When I refer to Bronze Age comics, I think especially of Claremont & Byrne’s run on the X-Men, or Moore & Davis’ run on Captain Britain or (for a darker, grittier style) Miller’s Daredevil years. It’s grittier than Silver Age, with more emphasis on character psychology and even some “basic world issues” (urban violence, corporate greed, cold war, political instability etc.) – but we’re not (yet) in Watchmen / Dark Knight territory.
[2:07 PM] olivier legrand: But the game also gives optional rules for a more “four color” style of play – or for a grittier, darker tone.
[2:08 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Does the game have its own setting?
[2:08 PM] olivier legrand: Yes and no.
[2:08 PM] olivier legrand: The Super Eighties are more a tone / atmosphere than an actual setting and the game definitely encourages players and GMs to create their own world, starting with the ideas they’ll use to create their first heroes.
[2:10 PM] Catseye: before Crisis, before Watchmen and Dark Knight
[2:10 PM] olivier legrand: The game has a detailed appendix covering the creation process of four sample PCs, showing how the ideas brought by each player for the background or rationale of their character can be used and expanded by the editor (GM) to lay the building blocks of the game world – that’s the CRUSADERS approach to setting
[2:11 PM] olivier legrand: yes – don’t get me wrong: I’m an Alan Moore devotee and I think Watchmen is one of the greatest graphic novels ever written – but it’s really its own approach/subgenre. CRUSADERS is far more classic / heroic.
[2:12 PM] olivier legrand: Another extraordinary series (limited) from the 80s I had in mind was Marvel’s CLOAK & DAGGER
[2:12 PM] olivier legrand: Plus ALPHA FLIGHT, Perez’s TEEN TITANS, Byrne’s FANTASTIC FOUR… (et j’en oublie, as we say in France)
[2:15 PM] olivier legrand: The system is D100 based but keep dice rolling to a minimum. Dice are only used for dramatic actions, like attacking, defending, lifting heavy things, attempting power stunts, etc. It’s a very compact, self-contained system, with very few subrules and special cases.
[2:15 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Do you have a character sheet that we can see?
[2:16 PM] olivier legrand: Yes – how do I upload it here? (sorry – complete Discord newbie)
[2:16 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Click on the + to the left of the text window.
[2:18 PM] olivier legrand: Aw – not sure it works… can you see it?1.pdf597.91 KB
[2:18 PM] olivier legrand: Ah yes – it seems to work OK!
[2:19 PM] Catseye: I like that it is simple
[2:19 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Got it! Let me look it over here…
[2:19 PM] olivier legrand: As you can see, the character sheet shows how streamlined the system is, keeping scores etc. to a minimum (edited)
[2:20 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Can you describe task resolution?
[2:21 PM] olivier legrand: Yes. It’s based on the same formula as the famous Chaosium Resistance Table. It pits an active score against an opposition score. If both are exactly equal, success % is 50. Otheriwse, each point in favor of the active score adds +5%, while each point in favor of the opposition lowers it by -5%.
[2:22 PM] olivier legrand: A quick example. If a heroine with a very high Psyche of 20 uses her psychic powers to attack a villain with a Psyche of, say, 15, her attack chances will be 75%.
[2:25 PM] olivier legrand: Conflicts is always resolved according to the principle of Heroic Perspective: rolls are always made from the point of view of the player-character (which means the GM won’t usually have to roll anything during combat). If, for instance, my hero punches a villain, the action will be resolved as an attack roll, pitting my hero’s Prowess (active score) against the villain’s Alertness (opposing score) – but if the villain punches my hero, that same action will be resolved as a defense roll, pitting my hero’s Alertness vs. the attacking villain’s Prowess. The formula used to calculate success % ensures perfect symmetry.
[2:26 PM] olivier legrand: Spending a Hero point after a failed roll allows you to ‘flip-flop’ it – turning, for instance, a 91 into a 19. That means that some failures won’t be redeemable (if the flip-flop doesn”t change anything) – which IMHO is a very simple and neat way to reflect what happens in the comics.
[2:27 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Does degree of success matter?
[2:27 PM] olivier legrand: No
[2:28 PM] olivier legrand: I know that many gamers love their red/yellow/green stuff but just look at the comics: when a hero even “barely succeeds”, he succeeds, period. That is the design philosophy of CRUSADERS.
[2:29 PM] olivier legrand: There is no “average” or “acceptable” success; every success is supposed to be heroic.
[2:29 PM] olivier legrand: But there are special rules to cover things like called shots etc. These are codified as special options available to Marksmen, Martial Artists etc.
[2:30 PM] olivier legrand: The Power system allows you to customize your character’s powers as he grows / advances, with different improvement options.
[2:31 PM] olivier legrand: But nothing complicated – no endless list of modifiers, special cases etc. “KITS” was one of my mental mottos while working on the game.
[2:32 PM] Dan the GMshoe: When you say Marksmen and Martial Artists, do you mean that this is a class-based system?
[2:32 PM] olivier legrand: No; Martial Artist and Marksman are two examples of Super-skills, a category of powers.
[2:33 PM] olivier legrand: In CRUSADERS, a character’s powers define what he can do.
[2:33 PM] Dan the GMshoe: So are there “regular” skills?
[2:34 PM] olivier legrand: No. Because I don’t think they belong to the superheroic genre. Only ‘heroic’ skills like martial artist, marksman, scientist, tech wiz, acrobat etc. are defined in game terms – and they are treated as “powers”. Everything else is background, chrome, etc.
[2:35 PM] olivier legrand: For instance: who cares about Green Arrow’s driving skill? If such a character would ever find himself in a dangerous situation at the wheel of a car, then the Crusaders system will simply use Alertness as the relevant attribute!
[2:36 PM] olivier legrand: Another example: Matt Murdock’s legal expertise would simply be an aspect of the character’s background – a very important, even central one, but one that does not need to be measured in game terms. It’s a story thing.
[2:38 PM] Dan the GMshoe: You said that powers are determined randomly, correct? What was your thinking there?
[2:39 PM] olivier legrand: Purely point-based systems tend to result in clones of existing comics characters, while random results incite the player to imagine a clever or creative rationale for her character’s abilities.
[2:40 PM] olivier legrand: That being said, the random tables do give the player quite a good deal of control or leeway, so the chances of being stuck with something completely incoherent etc. are actually very slim.
[2:43 PM] olivier legrand: For instance, the sample character of Lady Tempest described in the appendix has Supreme Weather Control (a power the player really wanted and that she could choose and even upgrade to Supreme thanks to the special options given in the rules) and Flight but also Teleportation, which seems a bit odd – until the player links this ability to a mysterious “storm dimension” which also explains her heroine’s other powers. This shows how a random roll may incite a player to come up with an interesting idea – one she probably wouldn’t have had if she had just used points to create a “typical weather controller”…
[2:46 PM] olivier legrand: And of course, this “storm dimension” literally cries out to be developed as a setting element once play begins – an example of how a player’s ideas may fuel the GM’s imagination.
[2:47 PM] Catseye: I never liked random character generation specifically because it took my ability to create original characters away.
[2:48 PM] olivier legrand: But here it doesn’t, really.
[2:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How many powers does the game offer?
[2:49 PM] olivier legrand: The flip-flop rule alaways applies to random tables, so when rolling for your hero’s Origins, for example, a roll of 31 (Freak Accident) could also be interpreted as 13 (Arcane Studies). And rolling a double (11, 22, 33 etc.) always gives you free choice.
[2:49 PM] olivier legrand: The basic rules describe 40 powers or so, with many extra improvement options.
[2:50 PM] olivier legrand: They are grouped in four broad categories: physical powers, mental powers, force powers and super-skills.
[2:51 PM] olivier legrand: @Catseye Also, attributes are not random but point-allocated. Randomness is never used instead of creativity but to challenge or “spark” it.
[2:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How do super-attributes work?
[2:52 PM] olivier legrand: @Catseye: plus nothing prevents you from ignoring the tables and create the character you want
[2:56 PM] olivier legrand: Ah ah! There are NO super-attributes! A bold (if I may say so) but well-meditated approach. Scores can never exceed 24. Super-strength is not reflected by a stupidly high Physique score but by the specific effects of the Super Strength power, which gives you a Strength Level based on (but much higher than) your Physique. In other terms, a hero with, say, 16-18 Physique would be very strong, athletic etc. His strength level would simply be equal to his Physique – a function of it, you may say. But things change if he gets the Super Strength power, which would give him a Strength Level of +20 (38, in this case). So the character would use this specific score of 38 in all situations where others would normally use their Physique as a measure of physical might (for unarmed damge, for instance). (edited)
[2:57 PM] olivier legrand: This is also the reason why there is no Agility stat. Prowess represents overall combat dexterity, Alertness encompasses reflexes, the Acrobat super-skill makes you phenomenally agile but the system does not really need a general Agility score.
[3:01 PM] olivier legrand: I know this may seem odd to quite a few gamers but it actually works very well in play; attributes simply measure the abilities all heroes have in common (physical fitness, general combat skills, reflexes/awareness and psychic resistance) – and powers reflect everything that is unique about a character
[3:02 PM] olivier legrand: Thus, a character like, say, Daredevil, would not be translated as a guy with “a very high Agility” – he is an Acrobat, with no chances whatsoever of failing basic acrobatic moves and quite a few special combat tricks in store.
[3:03 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I notice that there’s no Intelligence stat. Do you have a workaround for that?
[3:06 PM] olivier legrand: Superheroes don’t need an all-purpose INT stat – and the reasoning is just the same as for agility. Basically, there are the genius-types like Mr Fantastic, whose “intelligence” cannot be reflected by some high IQ score but would be reflected by things like a Supreme Scientist super-skill… and for all the other heroes, well, intelligence depends on how the player sees and plays his character. Think about it: is there any interest in knowing whether Daredevil is “smarter” than Spiderman? Withtin the context of the genre, this is quite irrelevant IMHO.
[3:07 PM] olivier legrand: Golden Heroes was (unless I’m mistaken) the first superhero RPG to dump the INT stat for these reasons and I think it was one of the game’s most briliant design decisions
[3:08 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Is there a limit to the scale the game can handle? Can it handle cosmic-level entities?
[3:08 PM] olivier legrand: As for the “raw wits” aspect of intelligence, there is Alertness. (edited)
[3:10 PM] olivier legrand: Yes – but it’s clearly not the “default level of play” here. Basically, each player-character gets 5 power rolls but you can raise this number for high-level style play (using the optional “genre tweaks” given in the appendix of the game).
[3:11 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What is the general power level of a starting character as compared to popular superheroes?
[3:13 PM] olivier legrand: Think FFs or 1980s X-Men rather than, say, JLA. But then again the system would make it very easy to create far more powerful characters: if you give them a high rank right from the start (instead of starting them at rank 1, the basic assumption/play mode), then you will produce increasingly powerful heroes.
[3:14 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How do ranks work?
[3:17 PM] olivier legrand: They are rated from 1 (new face) to 10 (living legend). Each rank (including the first one) gives you an extra power improvement option or a training choice (+1 in two attributes). A hero’s rank also gives the number of Hero points he gets at the start of each episode. And rank also gives a “public recognition %” which measures popularity, public image etc. (and is also affected by the hero’s Motivation – making, for instance, Patriots more popular than Vigilantes).
[3:18 PM] HOO (Biological Male): Public Image, Ltd broke up and Johnny Rotten formed Public Image Etc.
[3:19 PM] olivier legrand: @HOO (Biological Male). Ah, Johnny Rotten, one of the idols of my distant youth (sorry, I was dragged off-topic :))
[3:19 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How does the system handle magic?
[3:19 PM] olivier legrand: As just another explanation for powers.
[3:20 PM] HOO (Biological Male): Sorry to disrupt… I saw that in the post above mine and couldn’t resist.
[3:20 PM] olivier legrand: That being said, one of the forthcoming mini-supplements will include an explicitly “sorcerous” power of Ritual Summoning.
[3:20 PM] olivier legrand: @HOO (Biological Male). Feel free to join!
[3:22 PM] olivier legrand: (…)
[3:23 PM] olivier legrand: Would you be interested by a planning of the forthcoming mini-supplements?
[3:23 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Certainly!
[3:24 PM] olivier legrand: Instead of releasing big supplements, I’ve decided to go for a monthly release of a mini-webzine (free/PWYW), with each issue offering 3 pages chock-full of CRUSADERS stuff – although the first issue of CRUSADERS SHOWCASE will have at least 7-8 pages, just to celebrate the launching of the title.
[3:25 PM] olivier legrand: PLANNING FOR CRUSADERS SHOWCASE ISSUES Each issue will present 3 pages chock-full with new CRUSADERS stuff – except for issue 1, which will be 7-8 pages long. ISSUE 1 (July): New character options (alternate forms, sidekicks, new motivations, new super-skills, new power improvements) + Solo series (running Crusaders with a single player). ISSUE 2 (August): Meta-powers (power mimicry, power stealing, power nullification) ISSUE 3 (September): Fatal Traps & Fiendish Torments ISSUE 4 (October / Halloween Issue): Dark Powers (aura of fear, darkness control, ritual summoning. ISSUE 5 (November): Cyber-powers (cyberkinesis, cyberlink, tactical computer) ISSUE 6 (December): Vicious powers for villains (emotion control, toxic attack, life energy drain)
[3:26 PM] olivier legrand: But there will also be a more irregular series of mini-supplements detailing NPCs – CRUSADERS INTERNATIONAL, focusing on heroes (and a few villains) from other countries than the US. We’ll start with British Heroes and the second one will be about Soviet Supers (this is the Super 80s, remember)
[3:28 PM] olivier legrand: The idea here is that the “typical US hero team” will be the player-characters themselves so the C. INTERNATIONAL series is all about expanding the horizon of the genre.
[3:31 PM] Dan the GMshoe: You touched on this earlier, but how does combat work?
[3:34 PM] olivier legrand: Distances and movement are treated in a very abstract, narrative manner. You don’t need actual physical units like meters, feet, etc. There are three possible zones: the Center (within melee reach), the Perimeter (within distance attack ranges) and the Environs (beyond any attack range). It’s a drastic move away from the tactical approach used in many superheroic RPGs – the idea here is to make things as simple, fast-moving and dramatic as possible, without worrying too much about real-world physics etc.
[3:34 PM] olivier legrand: Attacks can be melee or distance – which are further divided into missile, psychic and wave attacks
[3:35 PM] olivier legrand: They are always resolved either as attack rolls or as defense rolls, depending on who is attacking whom (see my earlier reply about Heroic Perspective) (edited)
[3:35 PM] olivier legrand: Damage is fixed – making fights shorter and faster than in many super-RPGs
[3:36 PM] olivier legrand: A punch, energy blast, etc. always has its full effect.
[3:36 PM] olivier legrand: And POWERS are the great game-changer, providing characters with special actions and extra possibilities.
[3:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How do Martial Arts and Marksman work?
[3:38 PM] olivier legrand: They give bonuses to Prowess and various special maneuvers, which are usually bought as advancement options – so a Martial Artist is always developing her abilities (or at least she has the opportunity to always do so if she wishes)
[3:40 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How is melee damage determined?
[3:41 PM] olivier legrand: Basically, your unarmed damage value is equal to your Physique score – or to your Strength Level if you have Super Strength
[3:41 PM] olivier legrand: OUCH!
[3:41 PM] olivier legrand: Damage from powers is fixed
[3:42 PM] olivier legrand: Marksman and Martial Artists have options allowing them to deal more damage by making more difficult attacks etc.
[3:43 PM] olivier legrand: And they may also use Prowess as a basis for damage – thus making it possible to have a nimble, not too athletic-looking but extremely deadly martial artist.
[3:44 PM] Dan the GMshoe: That’s cool.
[3:44 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Are there rules for building gadgets?
[3:45 PM] olivier legrand: For now, this is handled very simply with special options available to characters with the Tech Wiz super-skill
[3:46 PM] olivier legrand: But a specific article /micro-supplement on gadgetry and gadgeteers would be an interesting idea, I think
[3:47 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[3:47 PM] olivier legrand: Well, I think that we’ve covered quite a few angles
[3:48 PM] olivier legrand: I’m really delighted by the degree of interest and enthusiasm the game has been gathering so far
[3:48 PM] olivier legrand: It was released less than 2 weeks ago and is really doing well
[3:49 PM] olivier legrand: Ah we didn’t mention the price… 4.95 dollars for a 100-page PDF with BW interior artwork.
[3:49 PM] Dan the GMshoe: A fine deal!
[3:49 PM] olivier legrand: Usually most of my DrivethruRPG releases are free or PWYW
[3:50 PM] olivier legrand: But I know how “free” often means “underestimated” or “overlooked” so I decided to make an exception here, while keeping the price at a very reasonable level
[3:51 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Good plan.
[3:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks very much for joining us, @olivier legrand!
[3:52 PM] olivier legrand: Thank you again Dan for this great opportunity to talk about CRUSADERS!1
[3:52 PM] olivier legrand: PS: The game now has a FB page… https://www.facebook.com/groups/1179124842928774FacebookLog into FacebookLog into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.
[3:53 PM] olivier legrand: Bye (I was about to add “good night” for it’s 11 PM here in France )
[3:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.
[3:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: If you can give me just a minute, I’ll get the log posted and link you.
[3:53 PM] olivier legrand: (still here, no problem)
Message #q-and-a