Thought I ask! I’ll have to wait and see like everybody else next week.
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Well, the DC HEROES RPG is from the 80s. If you look at Batman’s utility belt, he has things like a “microcassette tape recorder” that can record for like 30 minutes or something before he has to pop another tape in. He has a “microfilm camera” as well. … So yeah, basically, we all have better equipment than 80s Batman with just our modern phones. So I said to Freddie, “This has got to take place in the 80s.” He asked me what I had in mind and then I stonewalled him because he’s a player and I wanted to surprise him.
After that, I started thinking about the 80s… the culture, the music, the movies… Started thinking about John Hughes films like Breakfast Club and Ferris and stuff… Started thinking about how UNCOOL RPGs were in the 80s and how only “nerds” played em (like myself). So, I thought it would be fun to have the leads be teenagers, thought it might be fun to have them all be from different backgrounds and all sorta have a coming of age, discover-your-powers story.
Then DC threw a wonderful monkey wrech at me.
They said, “We’d like you to use our core characters instead of original characters.”
I was a bit disappointed as I kinda loved this fun 80s movie of a superhero story. My characters were out. …Or were they? Next thought was – What if the discover is that these teenagers ARE the DC core heroes. I mean, I’d have to re-stat them all to make them younger and mix the story around a bit, but who’s gonna stop me? Freddie? Jon? Nah! Their Karate’s a joke.
Thus was born the secret identity mechanic in the game, which I thought would be a really fun thing for the players to mess with. They had their starting “teenage” character sheets, with motivations and secrets and goals, and then I’d surprise each player and say, “No, but here’s your REAL character sheet and your REAL identity and your goals are ACTUALLY a touch different.”
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Hmm… Batman? Dick Grayson? An older Damien Wayne?
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I can see you as Dick Grayson for sure! Thanks for the response!
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What would you think of Galen Marek facing Kal Cestis?
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It wasn’t that hard. I was a kid in the 80s so I still remember that time quite well. I was a teenager in the 90s, however. But yeah… Um… I think “Kneel Before Rod” may be my favorite. There’s also some other 80s references that people haven’t figured out or spotted yet, but they will.
I feel bad for Floyd. Based on John Cusack’s character from Say Anything. Poor guy.
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I would have been friends with Clark. I tried to be a straight arrow and so did he.
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I loved every word of that answer! Thanks for taking the time to craft a great response and I can’t thank you enough for this super-duper fun series!
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The whole key was trying to get names that were close enough, but not so close as to give it away. For example, Tommy… Well… He’s not 17 or 18. He’s actually 21 and his real name is Bruce. Bruce is pulling a 21 Jump Street just now, if ya dig. If you don’t dig, google it.
So not all these characters are going by their real names. However, the rest ARE their real ages.
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The “Kneel before Rod” line clicked into my head the second that you started that speech. It actually hurt.
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Possibly Thomas Wayne (Bruce Wayne’s father) homage?
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I don’t know if I would design anything better than what we already have. DC Heroes is kinda legendary in RPG circles. As is DC Adventures based on the Mutants and Masterminds rules. I will say that my “secret identity” mechanic is something that I feel very proud of. … I think it played out well.
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thomas wayne jr actually owl man
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Thank you so much for doing this!
After seeing how gifted of a DM you are in DCU All Star games, I was wondering how long you’ve been playing tabletop games. And to piggyback off that, which side of RPGs do you enjoy more?
I’ve been playing RPGs since I was like 10 or something. I played D&D when 60 minutes called it Satan Worship and a mentally damaging past-time.
Guys, watch Mazes and Monsters starring Tom Hanks. I think it’s on YouTube. That’s the kinda crap people would hold over us concerning D&D and Roleplaying Games.
Anyways, I played a TON of West End Games STAR WARS. For many many years. That was what made me the huge Star Wars fan that I am, and is likely responsible for my ongoing association with Lucasfilm. … So …
…Yeah.
Without RPGs I would never have become Darth Maul.
And I definitely love Game Mastering probably more than being a player. I like crafting stories and throwing curve balls at my friends.
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I was referring to father Thomas Wayne
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I have completely feel in love with this show, so thank you and FPJ for creating it and giving us something to look forward to every week!!!
PS: I always wondered, you seem like a nice guy but a lot of the characters that you protray seem to be villians, so what draws you to those types of characters?
I think I keep getting hired to play villains because I have a deep caveman-like brow that makes me primitive and violent and untrustworthy.
But hey, at least Being Human let me play a villain who was also a hero.
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Why you always killing freddie
In fairness, I only blinded him in Star Wars Rebels.
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sam why you so mean to freddie always killing his character
It pleases me.
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You still rock in my book!!! 
and also, “Your the best GM I know” -FPJ
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