[Review] Blue Sky-Beam, a minimalistic Superhero TTRPG.
Flicking thru the pages on my favourite RPG-forum earlier, I noticed a call for a review on a newly released game from one of the forum-users. As I am down to very few things on the list I can use to procrastinate actually preparing for the gaming-con this weekend, I took the golden opportunity presented to me and decided to read and review the game.
Blue Sky-Beam - God-Like Power on Two Dice!
Author: Sebastian Linderberg; a.k.a. Custombike
Link to the free rules: Itch.io
I have read a few of the author's rulesets and adventures in the past and generally like the no-fuzz approach he uses to create mechanics and do worldbuilding.
Blue Sky-Beam is no exception to this.
While one could argue that rulesets or, as in this case, whole TTRPG-systems that are minimalistic are too much work for the GM, Sebastian's style of writing makes this a breeze. Even though there are just a handful (4+covers) of pages to the game, I can feel what the gameplay and the setting would be like in a group, just a few paragraphs in.
The core concept of the game is that the PCs are superheroes that fight super-villains and their henchmen. It uses a simple dicepool mechanic with 2D6 and wants you to roll 5+ on one die to succeed. Rolls are made in combat and in situations where a failure on the character's part would lead to a dramatic outcome.
In combat, players roll for their own attacks and defence, villains are considered to "always hit". With few hitpoints (you start with 10) and most supe-attacks doing 1D6 damage, combat is bound to be fast and quickly over with. Henchmen are substantially weaker. Movement is handled by an even simpler mechanic: "You move as far as it's plausible at this moment".
I find this kind of take on rules to be a good thing as combat encounters can be played in a more narrative and, dare I say, cooler way that lends itself to a comic-book style more than a lets-find-my-combat-stats TTRPG. Also, with players deciding on what happens when their character reaches zero (or negative) hitpoints makes for interesting stylistic choises in terms of glossyness or darkness.
The best part of the rules is the way superpowers are handled.
They are collectively called Gimmicks and can be anything from an actual superpower, to special training or gadgets. The basis is that one Gimmick gives you one usable effect or function. You are tasked with creating the Gimmick for your character at creation, and half of the rulebook goes into details on how to wrap your head around the concept. As characters can gain one XP at creation, you can start with 2 Gimmicks if you don't use it for something else.
Herein lies my one tiny critique against the game: It spends alot of space to explaining how Gimmicks work, to counter the notion that you maybe didn´t ”get it” in the paragraph on the first page of the book.
The one and a half pages that contains the ”Advanced Advice for Designing a Gimmick” is there to explain this further. This is in general is a good thing to make the concept more accessible, but I believe it could be polished a bit more. It´s hard to put my finger on what irks me, it might be as simple as me expecting the section to be shorter due to being used to the minimalist approach the author uses in his other works.
The examples could be fewer and wordcount could be lowered without loosing meaning. It seems a teeny-tiny bit overworked in a book that only uses one page to present the game, charactercreation, combat, movement, initiative, character progression, the short version of Gimmicks and a cool picture of a gauntlet-clad heroine.
There are a few paragraphs discussing the combat philosophy, some worldbuilding and an example heroine to round out the book.
What I like: Pretty much all of it!
From the characterful drawings (the last one in the book feels a bit out of place though), to the easiness to grasp what Sebastian is presenting in terms of set and setting, Blue Sky-Beam is a given in my list of games to print-and-play.
I have never been much into superheroes (apart from the '80s X-Men comics) and have missed most of the hoopla with the past decades' superhero movies and TV-series. I have tried to get into TTRPG systems for these types of settings a couple times before, even back in the day when Marvel Super Heroes was a thing, but they never stuck with me even to the point past an introductory adventure.
Blue Sky-Beam makes me want to play, and more importantly GM, a short campaign or two in a Heroes-esque setting. Or why not as a Galactic Council of Supers who battle a seemingly omnipotent transdimensional being, or as students that need to save their supe-school from…
What could be improved: Barring a few typos and grammatical choices, the rules might be able to be polished enough to fit on 3 pages. The fourth page could be used for a quick starter adventure in the setting that comes with the rules, again putting pressure on Sebastian because I know what he has done previously. My critique on the ”Advance Gimmicks”-part is just nitpicking and just personal preference speaking, so don't put too much in it.
Can't wait for BSB 2, in a 12-page zine format!
(Hey, a man can dream right?)
Score: If it is offered at the con this weekend I am the first to sit down at the table/10.
/Skald