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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8144913" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 40: March 1988part 5/5Roll for Surprise: Our Marvel article for the issue reminds us that not only do they usually not kill villains in superhero comics, but even if they do, death is very much a temporary condition, and there are many ways to bring someone back, or have a new character with similar powers take up their mantle. This makes it much easier to build long-term relationships with enemies than D&D, where it's a challenge NOT to kill your enemies in combat even if you want to keep them alive. Of course, the more minor they are, the less of this plot armor they have. Still, this can be an advantage in it's own way. It's much easier to use a more obscure hero or villain in your own game without the players becoming intimidated by the challenge of fighting or playing them properly. To follow this up they then give three examples each for three less well-known characters, The Mauler, The Melter, and Miss America, showing how the PC's in your game could wind up taking on those titles. It's somewhat formulaic, but still raises some interesting points, and shows one of the fundamental tensions of playing in a licensed setting. Do you use existing characters? If you do, how do you deal with diverging canon? If you don't, how do you make sure your adventures don't feel small compared to the official ones? A complicated business without a one size fits all answer. Where do you fall on this spectrum?An issue particularly high on variety, this one went by quickly and was relatively easy to write about. The new format and experiments in style are welcome, even if they are still a bit scattershot. Let's see what else they're going to experiment with as the edition change draws ever closer, and which will be kept or discarded.</blockquote>

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