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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2010333" data-attributes="member: 172">Vigilance: Absolute PowerVigilance: Absolute Power is the expanded print version of the Vigilance d20 Supers RPG, which originally appeared in PDF format. The print version is published by Mystic Eye Games, who has a history of publishing earlier print products. Vigilance: Absolute Power is written by Charles Rice.A First LookVigilance: Absolute Power is a 128 page perfect-bound softcover book priced at $19.99. This is a competitive price for this size of book.The cover of Vigilance: Absolute Power has an overall blue tone to it. The front cover has an illustration by Storn Cook (who is known for other RPG artwork, including much of the interior art in the Hero System 5th edition rulebook and various AEG fantasy titles such as Mercenaries.)The interior is black-and-white. Interior artists include Doug Penny, Hunter Frederick McFalls, and Jeremy McHugh. I am not familiar with the work of any of these artists, but overall the art quality seems decent.The interior text uses a largish san-serif font, a characteristic common of many non-Bluffside Mystic Eye Games product. The size of the font contributes to a low overall text density, and thus a lower value than you might expect on a content per price basis than the competitive price initially indicated.A Deeper LookThe subject of a d20 supers game has been hotly debated within and without the d20 community. Many d20 aficionados (myself included) feel that d20 doesn't quite have the "right stuff" to take on the Supers genre. Green Ronin's Mutants & Masterminds voluntarily ditched the d20 license in order to be able to have a freer hand with system design, and the d20 Silver Age Sentinels game was picked apart by critics for only "going through the motions" of adhering to d20 system license requirements and then "backtracking" into a more conventional supers system.Vigilance: Absolute Power stays the course as a true d20 System supers game. So, how does it fare where others fear to tread?Well, first things first, Vigilance does make a few adaptations to the system. Similar to some other d20 games, it embraces a defense rating instead of AC, and moves the role of armor to damage reduction. Other adaptations include tweaks to the damage system (using the clobbered rules in the DMG, altering the massive damage threshold, and adding rules for knockback), and adding rules for combat maneuvers (a special type of skill), contacts, reputation, and heroism/villainy points.Heroism points are Vigilance: Absolute Power's take on a luck/karma type mechanic. The mechanic is somewhat similar to the action dice/point mechanics of Spycraft and d20 Modern. A character starts with 1d4 heroism points and gains one per level, to a normal maximum of 4, though selfless acts of valor can raise the cap. The heroism points can be spent to raise dice rolls, protect the hero, or avoid death. When using heroism points to enhance rolls, for each action point you spend, you can add 1d6 to a roll per each 5 levels the character has. The way this is stated, it is useless to characters of less than 5th level.Powers are central to any superhero system, as it is in Vigilance: Absolute Power. The game handles powers in a two-tier approach. Characters have powers and each power has a power rating. Powers are close in concept to feats and power points resemble skills.A character starts with one power in addition to the one starting feat standard to d20 System characters. Character get additional feats and powers from their "origins" and classes, in addition to the standard one feat per three levels.Characters receive power points using a mechanism similar to skill points. Each class hands out a number of power point per level, but are modified by the character's constitution modifier instead of the intelligence modifier as used in skills. This last point raised a red flag for me. Bonus skill points are the only major function of intelligence in the d20 System. But not only do characters have hp bonuses (as in the core d20 system) based on constitution, but they also have massive damage threshold based on constitution and power points stem from constitution. This really makes constitution the must-have statistic in the game, and slants the game towards "tough hero" archetypes.The race mechanism is replaced by that of origins in Vigilance: Absolute Power. This is fairly apt, as origins seem to play the same role in supers comics as race does in fantasy. Much like fantasy races, origins determine things like ability score modifiers and favored classes, though each origin has several (not just one) favored classes. There are seven origins in Vigilance: Absolute Power: advanced training, alien, artificial life, cybernetic enhancement, mutant, mystic encounter, and scientific experiment. "Normal" is an additional "NPC" origin with little in the way of additional abilities.The game doesn't dispense with multiclassing penalties as some do, but each origin has so many preferred classes that it seems like very few, if any, characters would trip upon this penalty. However, owing to the nature of the classes (see below), multiclassing seems like it would be relatively common so it may not be as safe to multiclass as you might think.In addition to ability modifiers, favored classes, and various "racial" abilities, the character's origin provides a number of feats and powers as the character advances. Generally, a character receives one addition power OR feat at first level and at every even level, depending on the character's origin.Classes are the stickiest point when it comes do designing a d20 supers game, as it seems that supers genre characters are defined less by their archetype and more by their powers. Given this, you might think that Vigilance: Absolute Power uses power-based classes. Well, for some classes they do, and for others they don't. The eight vigilance classes are: acrobat, brick, detective, energy projector, gadgeteer, gangster, psychic, and vigilante. The first thing that strikes me is that some of the classes are based on power archetype, and others more on roles, which may be a little odd to work with. Further, it seems to me that there is probably much less of a purity of character types since I can think of many classic comic characters that fit more than two classes, and some classes seem like that most characters who exemplify the archetype would possess two or three classes here. This, to me, is an indication that the class selection here is rather less than optimum.Later in the book, there are a number of prestige classes as well. These continue to pull from genre roles or add to common power archetypes: arch nemesis, arch villain, behemoth, dragon master, fallen angel, mastermind, mentor, paragon, powerhouse, psi lord, shifter, and speed demon. Like the core classes, I am not at all comfortable with the selection of classes here and see that many typical comic characters would have multiple prestige classes.The skills system sees some adaptations as well. Unlike classes, I was much happier with what I saw here. There are typical skills like you find in any other d20 System game, called mundane skills here. But there are also a number of "combat maneuvers". Combat maneuvers are very much like feats in that they allow special actions not otherwise available, but they utilize skill points to determine how effective the character is at the action. What I liked about this was that the idea of "training with your teammates" is central to many comic book storylines, and you can see those sorts of things brought to life here.Vigilance: Absolute Power also introduces disadvantages. If you are like me, you roll your eyes at the mention of "anti-feats" or "disadvantages" in d20. If that describes you, then sit up and take a second look. This is possibly the best try at disadvantages I have seen in a d20 system game.There are two different types of disadvantages in Vigilance: Absolute Power: those that affect powers and those that do not. The former would have been called "limitations" in the HERO system and DC Heroes, and such a distinction probably would have been wise on the part of the authors. Disadvantages that affect powers merely provide bonus power points for that power.The "standard" disadvantages, however, are where disadvantages get interesting. Disadvantages are given a rating ("DSR"). What makes it different that mechanics that just give you more bennies is that these disadvantages are situation dependant. The DSR is basically a challenge rating (CR). When the disadvantage comes up in play, the character gets points for dealing with the disadvantage. This overcomes some of the weaknesses of traditional disadvantage system and is a pretty slick implementation of the d20 rules.Vigilance: Absolute Power comes with a default setting, including a history that stretches back to 1095 (when the first supposed mutant appeared), characters, and a city setting. The grittier nature of the rules and the preponderance of nationalist-logo characters like "Big Gen" and "Old Glory" gives it a grittier silver-age sort of feel that reminded me a bit of the older JSA and invaders comics.ConclusionVigilance does seem to be a very playable game with many core elements of the d20 System used intact. This should make it attractive to groups that are primarily familiar with the d20 System and/or are only playing a brief supers game.I found the concept of combat maneuvers as skills interesting. Though they seem to tromp a little on the territory of feats, the concept seems so genre appropriate that I can't help but appreciate it.The greatest innovation here is the disadvantage system. After many failed attempts in various d20 products, it is nice to finally see a disadvantage system that I wouldn't ban outright. Author of d20 products (supers or otherwise) would do well to take a few notes from Vigilance: Absolute Power on this score.I am a bit uncomfortable about the designer's approach to powers, though. I could see why one would follow suit after skills or feats in order to represent powers, but using both seems too potentially confusing. Further, the use of constitution as a source for power points seems like it would over-emphasize the importance of constitution in the game, and in some cases seems nonsensical (as gadgets are represented as powers.)The one main thing holding me back from thinking d20 is a good fit for supers is the issue of classes. Vigilance: Absolute Power not only doesn't do anything to disabuse me of this impression, it exemplifies why I think this is so. Powers are the defining characteristics of supers characters, and the chosen archetypes come off as weak and inconsistent. When reading the classes in Vigilance: Absolute Power, all I could think to myself is "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."Overall Grade: C -Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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