Are you looking for 5e superheroes with artwork by comic book greats? If so, check out the Kickstarter for Legends of the MetaVerse to see art from Jae Lee and June Chung, Mike and Laura Allred, Andrea Di Vito of Marvel fame as well as IDW’s Dungeons and Dragons comics, and many more. Edited by a former Marvel staff editor, this project feels like an amazing combination of superheroes and tabletop. Bill Lee of Good Brother Studios was kind enough to answer my questions about his project including how their version of 5e works, who is involved, and what you can expect from the villains.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): Bill, thanks for reaching out about this project. What is Legends of the MetaVerse?
BILL LEE (BILL): Thanks so much for chit chatting with me, Egg! Legends of the MetaVerse (LotMV) is a superhero tabletop RPG based on the 5th edition of the world’s most popular role-playing game. It’s a game that brings the explosive action and excitement of superhero fiction to your gaming table, letting you play as your favorite heroes or make up your own.
EGG: Superheroes for 5th Edition. What mechanical differences from standard 5e can players expect?
BILL: We’ve tried to keep the basic mechanics pretty close to 5e. One of our design goals was making sure that if you brought this book to your 5e gaming group, they could roll up characters and start playing in no time. While if you’ve never played 5e before, it wouldn’t take you any longer to grasp the basics of LotMV than it would to learn 5e. But within that 5e mechanical framework, there is so much space to explore in terms of superheroic thematics. Making each class and subclass feel like you’re playing your favorite superhero was not only important but necessary. So our base classes are built on the framework of the 5e base classes, tweaked slightly (or not so slightly in the case of the Ranger) but then subclasses and character options are really expansive and ground this game firmly in the world of superheroes.
EGG: You have 10 base classes. That’s too much to cover here, but what are a few of your favorites? What makes them stand out?
BILL: My absolute favorite is the Champion subclass called Path of the Powerhouse. Champions are heroes defined by their commitment to an ideal. And the Path of the Powerhouse is committed to raw power. With the ability to grow large, deal tremendous damage to the environment, hurl their teammates around the battlefield and cause general mayhem, it’s always fun when a Powerhouse shows up.
EGG: There are “13 secret identities, 4 birthrights, 12 origins” to choose from. What’s the difference between a birthright, origin, and a secret identity in Legends of the MetaVerse?
BILL: Fantasy races don’t translate to the world of superheroes. So we had to start from scratch. We conceived of birthrights as comprising your unique makeup, either something you inherited at birth or something you manifested during an explosive rebirth. There are four broad categories of birthrights Human, Metahuman, Posthuman and Unhuman. Each birthright then offers several origin options. These options are true to superhero origin stories, so maybe you’re an Alien who landed on Earth and found yourself gifted with strange powers. Maybe you’re a mutant who was born with a variant chromosome that brings with it unique gifts and curses. Maybe you’re a Chosen One, at the mercy of fate, or a well-disciplined person who uses Peak Conditioning to get on edge on others. Once you have your birthright and origin nailed down, we offer a variety of secret identities to choose from. This represent who you are when you take your mask off. This is the human part of superhuman. So maybe you’re a Student juggling crimefighting and homework, or a Circus Performer who uses your unique skills and flair for the dramatic to save the day, or possibly a Hero Out of Time, someone who hails from a place and time that has already passed or may never come to be.
EGG: That makes perfect sense, thank you. Let’s look at the powers. You have 29 powersets and 300 powers. What’s the difference between a powerset, a power, and a feat in this project?
BILL: Powersets are granted to you by your origin. They offer a feature at 1st level, 5th level and 10th level. These are features innate to you. In 5e terms, think of these as subrace features, although greatly expanded. Powers are just that, all the unique and wonderful things you can do. Powers are granted to you by your class, with each class having a unique powers list. Sometimes powers represent innate abilities, but sometimes they can also represent things like gadgetry or a unique maneuver on the battlefield. In 5e terms, think of powers as spells.
EGG: You have 80 villains. Is there a breakdown of type like thugs, aliens, or demigods or whatever category you’ll offer?
BILL: We don’t have creature types per se, but we wanted to give a broad cross section of the various kinds of villains you’ll find in superhero stories. So things like ninjas, mutant hunting robots, alien warlords from the beyond the stars, trickster gods, subterranean monsters, colorful and thematic supervillains, assassin droids. Superhero stories mean different things to different people and we wanted to have villains that met all those disparate needs.
EGG: You’re offering a text-only PDF copy of the game on launch day, correct? What can fans expect with that?
BILL: It’s the complete character creations rules, as well as the 80 villains of the Rogue’s Gallery. Everything you need to have a LotMV game up and running. Including a character sheet! The only thing missing (aside form the art and design) is the Game Master’s guide. This we’re saving for the printed Core Rulebook. It’ll include legendary items, a map of the MetaVerse itself and a guide to Neo Amsterdam, which we’ve designed to be the perfect playground for all your costumed hijinks.
EGG: You’re working with some of the great artists of comics. How did you connect with Jae Lee?
BILL: When we started this project we knew we needed a striking cover. All books need good covers, but particularly when your game is comic book adjacent, covers are just so important. We made a short list of our dream artists. Jae Lee was literally the first name on that list. And we were so excited when he got back to us and agreed to do the honors.
EGG: In an homage to comics, there will be an alternate cover to this book. Who is it by?
BILL: The alternate cover is by comic book legends Mike and Laura Allred, winners of this year’s Eisner Awards for Best Penciller/Inker and Best Colorist.
EGG: Those are the names of comic royalty and that really adds to this project. Who else are you working with?
BILL: We’ve got art from comic book pros Andrea Divito, Jacob Edgar, Kike Diaz and Bryan Valenza. And a large part of our budget, should we fund, will be dedicated to procuring more art from the top talent in the industry.
EGG: Good Brother Studios feature creators with important day jobs. For those that don’t know, what do you do when you’re not fighting [tabletop] crime at night?
BILL: We’re a three person team and two of us, myself and Lindsey, are health care workers. We both work as Physician Assistants and LotMV started as a small homebrew we tinkered with to help get us through the worst of COVID. Two years later, we decided this small thing had brought us so much joy in such a rough time that we wanted to share it with everyone we could.
EGG: Thank you for working to save lives! Beyond Legends of the MetaVerse, what else are you working on?
BILL: We’re knee deep in LotMV and running our first Kickstarter. But we always have our eyes on the horizon. Our next project is a huge adventure for LotMV. I can’t give away too much, but let’s just say it involves the coming of a stranger from the stars, the herald of a star-devouring space monster who has set its sights on our sun!
EGG: Thanks for reaching out. Where can fans learn more about this project?
BILL: Our Kickstarter is live now. Check it out and download a free copy of the text-only rules (including a character sheet) and start playing today!
Legends of the MetaVerse from Good Brother Studios
EGG EMBRY (EGG): Bill, thanks for reaching out about this project. What is Legends of the MetaVerse?
BILL LEE (BILL): Thanks so much for chit chatting with me, Egg! Legends of the MetaVerse (LotMV) is a superhero tabletop RPG based on the 5th edition of the world’s most popular role-playing game. It’s a game that brings the explosive action and excitement of superhero fiction to your gaming table, letting you play as your favorite heroes or make up your own.
EGG: Superheroes for 5th Edition. What mechanical differences from standard 5e can players expect?
BILL: We’ve tried to keep the basic mechanics pretty close to 5e. One of our design goals was making sure that if you brought this book to your 5e gaming group, they could roll up characters and start playing in no time. While if you’ve never played 5e before, it wouldn’t take you any longer to grasp the basics of LotMV than it would to learn 5e. But within that 5e mechanical framework, there is so much space to explore in terms of superheroic thematics. Making each class and subclass feel like you’re playing your favorite superhero was not only important but necessary. So our base classes are built on the framework of the 5e base classes, tweaked slightly (or not so slightly in the case of the Ranger) but then subclasses and character options are really expansive and ground this game firmly in the world of superheroes.
EGG: You have 10 base classes. That’s too much to cover here, but what are a few of your favorites? What makes them stand out?
BILL: My absolute favorite is the Champion subclass called Path of the Powerhouse. Champions are heroes defined by their commitment to an ideal. And the Path of the Powerhouse is committed to raw power. With the ability to grow large, deal tremendous damage to the environment, hurl their teammates around the battlefield and cause general mayhem, it’s always fun when a Powerhouse shows up.
EGG: There are “13 secret identities, 4 birthrights, 12 origins” to choose from. What’s the difference between a birthright, origin, and a secret identity in Legends of the MetaVerse?
BILL: Fantasy races don’t translate to the world of superheroes. So we had to start from scratch. We conceived of birthrights as comprising your unique makeup, either something you inherited at birth or something you manifested during an explosive rebirth. There are four broad categories of birthrights Human, Metahuman, Posthuman and Unhuman. Each birthright then offers several origin options. These options are true to superhero origin stories, so maybe you’re an Alien who landed on Earth and found yourself gifted with strange powers. Maybe you’re a mutant who was born with a variant chromosome that brings with it unique gifts and curses. Maybe you’re a Chosen One, at the mercy of fate, or a well-disciplined person who uses Peak Conditioning to get on edge on others. Once you have your birthright and origin nailed down, we offer a variety of secret identities to choose from. This represent who you are when you take your mask off. This is the human part of superhuman. So maybe you’re a Student juggling crimefighting and homework, or a Circus Performer who uses your unique skills and flair for the dramatic to save the day, or possibly a Hero Out of Time, someone who hails from a place and time that has already passed or may never come to be.
EGG: That makes perfect sense, thank you. Let’s look at the powers. You have 29 powersets and 300 powers. What’s the difference between a powerset, a power, and a feat in this project?
BILL: Powersets are granted to you by your origin. They offer a feature at 1st level, 5th level and 10th level. These are features innate to you. In 5e terms, think of these as subrace features, although greatly expanded. Powers are just that, all the unique and wonderful things you can do. Powers are granted to you by your class, with each class having a unique powers list. Sometimes powers represent innate abilities, but sometimes they can also represent things like gadgetry or a unique maneuver on the battlefield. In 5e terms, think of powers as spells.
EGG: You have 80 villains. Is there a breakdown of type like thugs, aliens, or demigods or whatever category you’ll offer?
BILL: We don’t have creature types per se, but we wanted to give a broad cross section of the various kinds of villains you’ll find in superhero stories. So things like ninjas, mutant hunting robots, alien warlords from the beyond the stars, trickster gods, subterranean monsters, colorful and thematic supervillains, assassin droids. Superhero stories mean different things to different people and we wanted to have villains that met all those disparate needs.
EGG: You’re offering a text-only PDF copy of the game on launch day, correct? What can fans expect with that?
BILL: It’s the complete character creations rules, as well as the 80 villains of the Rogue’s Gallery. Everything you need to have a LotMV game up and running. Including a character sheet! The only thing missing (aside form the art and design) is the Game Master’s guide. This we’re saving for the printed Core Rulebook. It’ll include legendary items, a map of the MetaVerse itself and a guide to Neo Amsterdam, which we’ve designed to be the perfect playground for all your costumed hijinks.
EGG: You’re working with some of the great artists of comics. How did you connect with Jae Lee?
BILL: When we started this project we knew we needed a striking cover. All books need good covers, but particularly when your game is comic book adjacent, covers are just so important. We made a short list of our dream artists. Jae Lee was literally the first name on that list. And we were so excited when he got back to us and agreed to do the honors.
EGG: In an homage to comics, there will be an alternate cover to this book. Who is it by?
BILL: The alternate cover is by comic book legends Mike and Laura Allred, winners of this year’s Eisner Awards for Best Penciller/Inker and Best Colorist.
EGG: Those are the names of comic royalty and that really adds to this project. Who else are you working with?
BILL: We’ve got art from comic book pros Andrea Divito, Jacob Edgar, Kike Diaz and Bryan Valenza. And a large part of our budget, should we fund, will be dedicated to procuring more art from the top talent in the industry.
EGG: Good Brother Studios feature creators with important day jobs. For those that don’t know, what do you do when you’re not fighting [tabletop] crime at night?
BILL: We’re a three person team and two of us, myself and Lindsey, are health care workers. We both work as Physician Assistants and LotMV started as a small homebrew we tinkered with to help get us through the worst of COVID. Two years later, we decided this small thing had brought us so much joy in such a rough time that we wanted to share it with everyone we could.
EGG: Thank you for working to save lives! Beyond Legends of the MetaVerse, what else are you working on?
BILL: We’re knee deep in LotMV and running our first Kickstarter. But we always have our eyes on the horizon. Our next project is a huge adventure for LotMV. I can’t give away too much, but let’s just say it involves the coming of a stranger from the stars, the herald of a star-devouring space monster who has set its sights on our sun!
EGG: Thanks for reaching out. Where can fans learn more about this project?
BILL: Our Kickstarter is live now. Check it out and download a free copy of the text-only rules (including a character sheet) and start playing today!
Legends of the MetaVerse from Good Brother Studios
- End Date: Thu, October 14 2021 10:31 AM EDT.
- “A superhero tabletop RPG based on the 5th edition of the world's most popular role-playing game.”
