[Adamant Entertainment] New Superlink monthly: Amazing Triple Action!

[GMSkarka]

Adamant Entertainment is proud to announce the launch of our new monthly M&M Superlink e-zine, Amazing Triple Action. Every issue will include a grab-bag of stuff that you can plug straight into your M&M supers game, as well as plenty of advice and inspiration.

Click on the cover to go to the product page:



Why "Amazing Triple Action?" Easy. There’ll be lots of Action, you’ll be Amazed, and each issue will feature a triple-helping of ‘First Appearances’ giving new characters for your games.

The name is also a relatively obscure comics shout-out. Back in the early 70s, the Marvel Comics Group decided to reprint classic ‘60s runs of some of its headline comics. Marvel Triple Action was the reprint book for the Avengers. These reprints gave a new generation of fans a rare chance to see what came before.

...And for our money, ‘what came before’ is a big part of why supers gaming is so appealing. The sense of stepping into a big interconnected world, full of complexity and surprising connections, is the stuff of awesome games.

The centerpiece of each issue of ATA is the triple threat of First Appearance entries. One entry will be heroic, one villainous, and the third will usually sit somewhere in the middle.

We'll also be featuring new archetypes, adventure hooks, superheroic gaming advice and more, every month.

No need to worry about publisher delays with this one, either -- the first 3 issues are already in the can!

Each issue sells for $5.95 US. There are also subscriptions available: 6 issues for $29.95, and 12 issues for $54.95.

A breakdown of the regular features for the first three issues:

Issue 1:
Theme: Traditional 4-color heroics.

• First Appearance: Skimmer & C.J., Jaguar, The CyberCorps, Karnifex.
• Trickbox: Bot Sidekick archetype (and New Powers), Charmed scrapper archetype, Alien Gatherer archetype, Cybernetic Thug archetype.
• Insider Info: Skimmer's Workshop Network
• Fight Scenery: Tapete Island
• ATA Presents: Island of Trial (adventure plan)
• Action Stations: Types of Teams
• Origin Issues: Setting Up A Group

Issue 2:
Theme: Hallowe'en Issue (occult heroes, etc.)

• First Appearance: Poltergeist, The Twin, Necrolord
• Trickbox: Haunter archetype, Outcast Magician archetype, Death Lord archetype, New Powers.
• Insider Info: The Coven
• Fight Scenery: The Deathrealm
• ATA Presents: Tattered Veil (adventure plan)
• Action Stations: Spookshow
• Origin Issues: Developing hero concepts

Issue 3:
Theme: Social Relevance

• First Appearance: Firebird, Tornado, Feast & Famine.
• Trickbox: Fire controller archetype, Air Controller archetype, Devourer archetype, Group Member Reputations, Crashing into Stuff.
• Insider Info: Hite Association
• Fight Scenery: Mighty Harvey Amusement Park
• ATA Presents: Carnage Rising (adventure plan)
• Action Stations: Development Scenes
• Origin Issues: Developing key villains

....with more on the way!

 

[jaerdaph]

Hi Garath,

So what's up with Thrilling Tales - is the Player's Guide coming out soon? I'm looking forward to more of the Pulp Hero conversion adventures too.

 

[GMSkarka]

Yes, the Omnibus Editions will be released this month (things got incredibly busy around here)....more Pulp Hero conversions as well.

And, we're also going to be releasing THRILLING TALES material converted for M&M Superlink as well, starting with PULP ARCHETYPES:

 

[The Evil DM]

My thoughts on ATA

At first I was kind of put off by the first 12 pages being characters. Personally I don’t need more characters. There are plenty of books, Blogs, and websites full of characters for M&M. and if characters are going to be in every issue then maybe devote 2-4 pages to them not 12. What I did like is that the characters presented were useful in the storyline that followed in the other articles presented, at least it was a thoughtful process and served a purpose as a whole rather than just sticking some random characters in there for filler.
Next came a section on Archetypes. To me archetypes are just another name for prestige classes, character kits, hero packages, and so on (eventually I'm sure I’ll see an “Anti-Paladin Archetype”). Here again, there are so many of these “Archetypes” floating around in cyberspace do I really need three more?
The insider Info section was good. It gave a rundown on a hero who used the Internet to set up “workshops” globally so that when he fought evil far from home he always had a nearby place to repair his equipment. I enjoyed that article; it was inventive and showed some real “out of the box” thinking.
The fight scenery section gave a too brief overview of a south pacific island, it’s people, origins, and it’s spiritual guardian. I would rather have seen the extra effort and pages go towards fleshing this island out more, instead of towards 12 pages of new heroes.
Following the island section is a three-page adventure using the various preceding articles. As I stated earlier I admire the fact that most of the preceding information fed into the adventure, but again the material could have been fleshed out better.
The issue rounds out with a pair of articles on different types of teams and setting up a group. While the team types article was interesting the setting up a group was nothing that many publishers already add to their rulebooks in the “how to run a game” section.
Overall it wasn’t a bad read, but it didn’t rock my world either. I applaud the effort and I’ll probably plunk down the cash for another issue or two, just to see how it goes, but right now for almost $6.00 you’re not really getting too much. I would suggest maybe adding more articles on gaming techniques and novel uses for powers already in print. Another thing that might be nifty is to add some cardboard cutouts to end pages. Maybe each issue could have a building of some type, which one could print up on cardstock and use during actual play. And after several issues of collecting these buildings and sceneries you could have a city center or galactic outpost.
One of the things I always hear about super’s games is that beating up bad guys gets boring after a while. That may be because GM’s are having a hard time thinking of original material for a sustained supers campaign. This is where ATA could help. The wheel has already been invented; the thing to do now is to show people different things they can do with M&M rather than just foiling the super crooks at the First National Bank.