Dice Drop Terrain Tables for D&D4E

One of the complaints that people have about D&D 4th edition is that it encourages 'My Precious Encounter' style DMing. That is, you spend ages crafting a beautiful encounter with complex monster powers and dynamic terrain, so your players are damn well going to encounter this encounter, whether they like it or not, whether they come up with a clever way to bypass it or not! And thus, railroading.

Here's a (partial) solution to this: instead of preparing distinct terrain setpieces for every encounter, just use a table of terrain features for each environment. Toss 2-4 dice onto the battlemat when the encounter begins, and draw in the terrain features wherever they land. Of course you can still override this system when you need to, but it's just a tool. It means not only that you don't have to put so much sweat into any one encounter, but also that you can easily relocate an encounter from one area to another if the need arises. This does have the side effect of creating a world where more or less every location is full of potentially deadly environmental hazards, but I don't see this as a bug.

Examples:

City Streets (d8)
1: Winding stairs down from terrace that divides the battle area in two. Fall 10'/1d10 damage.
2: Deep ditch full of shit. DC 15 Athletics to climb out.
3: Street vendor who is angry at the combatants for driving away business. 20% chance of throwing alchemical vials for 1d8+2 damage.
4: Circular fountain 4x4.
5: Large brazier - attack roll to kick over, 2d8 damage + ongoing 5.
6: Thoroughfare 3 squares wide. Each round, 50% chance of a cart racing past at speed 8, dealing 2d8 damage to anyone it runs over.
7: Huge dungheap - anyone knocked into it it slowed and grants combat advantage - standard action to try and wipe it off (saving throw).
8: Rickety scaffolding up against a wall, with ladders. Poles have AC 15, 1hp. 20' off the ground.

Tomb (d6)
1: 1d4 coffins; Athletics DC 17 to put a lid on the coffin, whereafter anyone trapped inside must make a DC 25 Athletics check to bust out.
2: Large spikes along nearest wall - knocked into or thrown onto them, take 2d8 damage and be impaled (immobile, save ends).
3: Dart trap, triggered by pressure plate, fires across room at +10 to hit for 2d6 damage.
4: Hole to lower level 2x2, with a 1-square ring around it of unstable ground that will collapse under the weight of a person. Fall 20'/ 2d10 damage.
5: Large statue, Athletics DC 12 to push over, 2d8 damage and 50% chance to pin down (save ends).
6: Bone pile, 8-10 squares in irregular shape, difficult terrain.

Wild Forest (d6)
1: Beehive hanging from tree. Can be grabbed & thrown, DC 13 Nature or Thievery to not get stung, if you hit them they get stung, stinging is ongoing 5 damage and grant combat advantage (save ends).
2: Embankment dividing up the play area. When sliding down, DC 10 Acrobatics to not fall prone. When climbing up, DC 13 Acrobatics/Athletics.
3: 2d4 thickets, 2x2 each, difficult terrain.
4: Stream bisecting the play area. 3-4 squares wide, difficult terrain.
5: 2 animate thorn bushes that get angry if anyone runs into them. 2x2, will attack at +6 for 1d8+5 damage.
6: Tarn, takes up all the space from the die to the nearest side of the map; some banks are up to 5' high, can't be climbed out except with a DC 20 Athletics, so you're better off swimming around.

Sadly, the damage expressions and hit bonii and the like are still going to become obsolete fairly quickly as the PCs' and monsters' stats inflate with every level. Sigh...

Old school classes from 4E: The Warlord

Warlords are awesome and if you disagree then fuck you. If you neither agree nor disagree but don't know what a warlord is, then listen up. A warlord is a fighter who leads the party with his inspiring words and superb tactics. Warlords are commonly found laying out sweet strategems, maneuvering their allies into position, or shouting at wimps who complain that they "can't fight with this sucking gut wound". Warlords were previously available only in 4E, but fortunately for you I have just made you a Warlord class for Basic/1E so you have no excuse not to be a Warlord now.

(Note: A warlord isn't necessarily a commander of a huge army, at least not until name level. They're more like a tactician who commands an elite squad, i.e. the PC party. Some people have wanted to change the warlord's name to something like 'Marshal' or 'Battle Tactician' to reflect this. However, those people and their wimpy names have been destroyed by the badassery of the name WARLORD.)

Hit die: d8
Attack Bonus: +1 (LotFP) or as Cleric
Saving throws: As Fighter
XP Progression: As Fighter

Warlords demand absolute dedication from their allies in battle. This doesn't mean the other players have to obey everything the Warlord tells them to do, it just means that when the Warlord says jump, your character trusts him enough to know that there must be a knee-high buzzsaw approaching or suchlike. To establish this trust, the Warlord must spend ten minutes talking to any new party members. There cannot be more than one Warlord in a party - if there are, then their orders confuse each other and the Warlords' abilities are all negated. The Warlord cannot command a group of people larger than the Warlord's Charisma (until 9th level - see below.)

Warlords can spend a standard action to use a Command, which is a catch-all term for various speeches, orders, battle-cries, etc. that have the power to turn the tide of battle. The Warlord can use one Command per level per encounter - the focus required for this sort of tactical thinking and charismatic oration is very mentally draining.
Commands only work on allies who are conscious and can understand the Warlord. They also need to be within 30' or the command is too faint or garbled to be heard.

Pick one Command at 1st level and one other at each odd-numbered level thereafter:

Invigorating Command: The warlord inspires one ally to fight on through the pain, giving them 1d6 temporary hit points (last until the end of the encounter or 1 turn). 7th Level: 1d6+level hitpoints, and if the ally is unconscious, you can use this to slap them awake.
"Come on, we just need you to hold the line for a little longer!"
"Maggot! Did I give you permission to die? Get back on your feet!"

Inspiring Command: The warlord brings one ally back from the brink of terror and defeat, allowing them to reroll a failed morale check or saving throw vs. fear. This command can be used as a reaction (i.e. on the turn of the person failing the save or morale check.) 7th level: Can grant all allies a rerolled morale check, OR grant one ally a rerolled save against domination, confusion, or other mental effects.
"Hold steady, men, this isn't over yet!"
"Fight him, my brother! Don't let the evil magic control your mind!"

Warning Command: The warlord warns one ally of an incoming attack, granting them a +4 bonus to AC for one round against the next attack from a designated enemy. 7th level: The warlord predicts every attack just before it happens, granting the bonus against all incoming attacks in the next round.
"Eeek! Look out behind you!"
"Take two steps to the left... now."

admittedly, non-dorky pictures of Warlords are somewhat hard to find

Analysing Command: The warlord points out a weak spot in the enemy's armour or their posture, allowing one ally to gain a +2 bonus to hit and damage against that enemy on their next attack. 7th level: All allies gain the bonus against that enemy for one round.
"There's a chink in his armour, just above the breastplate."
"Hey fatso! (Quick, I've got his attention, stab him in the ass!)"

Tactical Command: The warlord sees an opening in the flow of battle and orders one ally into it, granting them an extra action. 7th level: This Command, and the extra action it grants, can be used before initiative is rolled.
"Do it now, while the way is still clear!"
"Everything's going according to plan."

Threatening Command: The warlord makes a terrifying threat toward one enemy, forcing them to make a morale check. This doesn't work against obviously fearless creatures (constructs, undead, etc.) but it does work against enemies who don't speak the warlord's language. 7th level: All enemies in range must make a morale check.
"I've killed a thousand of your kind in dingy caverns just like this one. What makes you think you'll be any different?"
"I'M GOING TO EAT YOUR BRAINS AND SHIT IN YOUR SKULL!"

just imagine the warlord in this picture is less "here we see Specimen A, the manticore" and more "KILL  THAT FUCKER YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARDS"

Army
At 9th level, the Warlord gains the ability to command an army of up to 1000 soldiers per level. Everyone in the army is considered to be an ally for the purposes of Commands, though the effects will still be limited by the 30' radius. Furthermore, the Warlord's Commands can now also be used as Gambits - essentially the same thing but on a battlefield scale. For example, a Tactical Gambit could be used to steal a march on the enemy, an Analysing Gambit could maneuver a unit into position to flank, etc. DM fiat/negotiation will be required here since there is no formal system for mass combat in D&D, but try to fit it into whatever mass combat system you're using.

Fantasy Doom Patrol, Session 2

The second session of Fantasy Doom Patrol has come to pass. The players were:

Sir Reginald and his brother Bobo, Ogre Ranger and companion (played by Zor)

Freidan Devilsnare, Reverse-Vampire Cleric (Dylan) - Reverse Vampires love garlic, are burned by moonlight, heal people by giving them blood transfusions, etc.

St. HK-47, Robotic Pope (Ian) - agent of the Vatican and devout follower of 'Super Jesus'

Torin the Small, Halfling Body-Part Thief (Shaun)

Eventually joined by JibberJabby, nude Hobgoblin Wizard beset by unpredictable spell effects (Tom)

When the last session ended, the PCs had just fought off a horde of vomiting goblins atop a giant chickenfort. They now decide to rest up and interrogate the goblin that they have captured. He explains that the goblins are equally worried by the sudden decomposition of the flesh of the dead god Hyperion. After some cajoling, he also admits that their leader, the now-deceased Haggo, has recently led a mysterious expedition deep into the body of the god. Sir Reginald concludes the interrogation by convincing the goblin to serve him as a dogsbody. This leads to the following conversation:

Zor: "I'll write him on my character sheet. What's his name?"
Me: "I dunno, he's just a random mook. What do you think his name should be?"
(pause)
Dylan: "Hitler."
Me: "Well, that's anachronistic, but I like the idea that goblins would name themselves after famous dictators. So how about his name is Genghis Khan?"
All: "KHAAAAAN!"

Around this time the Four Great Heroes come back into town: Sir Gregory Thorn, Alaric the Archwizard, Gwenna the Priestess and Pelwerthyn the Elf. Appearing briefly in the previous session, they are an extremely bland and generic adventuring party who are destined to be feted and beloved by the populace despite their uselessness, while the bizarre Fantasy Doom Patrol always languish in obscurity.

look at these fuckers. don't you want to punch them already?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, relations between the two parties do not go well. The Four Great Heroes claim to have slain a flaming chicken monster (in fact, the PCs had set it on fire and it was almost dead already). Freidan loudly complains that they were the ones who did all the work, while St. HK-47 rankles at Sir Thorn's assertion that he is not a real knight since he has no seat at the Round Table. All the time they are arguing, Torin goes about picking the Heroes' pockets, but bites off more than he can chew when Pelwerthyn catches him red-handed.

From here, the situation deteriorates rapidly. The formerly thankful villagers turn into a lynch mob as Torin escapes across the rooftops a la Assassin's Creed. Sir Reginald sends Khan the goblin to pack his bags for a quick getaway. However, Torin has previously warded their room with a scarecrow that is set to scream if anyone besides the PCs tries to get in (this is an item you can buy in chargen, because 4th edition is weird like that.) The scarecrow begins screaming at Khan. Sir Reginald rushes in, followed by the villagers, who see Khan and decide that the PCs must have been in league with the goblins all along! Sir Reginald, his brother Bobo, Khan and the scarecrow all escape by smashing through a wall into the alley below.

Me: "You take 4 falling damage from leaping out a first story window. The angry mob is right behind you."
Zor: "But they're all minions right? So that means they will all die automatically from the fall."
Me: "That's cheating! You can't adhere that strictly to the rules! (pause) Well, ok. The people at the front of the mob don't want to jump out, but the ones behind them are still pushing, so like five people fall out and break their necks."

It hardly needs to be stated that these deaths will soon be remembered as "those slain by the monstrous ogre".

The PCs all escape from the town by various routes. The only one who stands between them and freedom is Sir Gregory Thorn. Bobo tries to throw the screaming scarecrow at Thorn to distract him. A critical hit! "Well... usually you shouldn't be able to damage someone with a scarecrow, but since it's a crit... yeah, ok, the sharp point stabs into his shoulder and he's just stuck there with the scarecrow screaming at him. Forever."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The next day the PCs ascend the mountain and enter the god's body through his mouth. Along the way they are met by an elder from the ogre village at the top of the mountain, which is where Reginald hails from. Apparently the ogres' deity, Ra, has been greatly agitated recently and not responding to prayers. Together they descend into the stinking, rotting tunnels of the godflesh.

In a maze of ventricles somewhere near the small intestine, they are attacked by a trio of giant tapeworms, pursuing a naked hobgoblin who turns out to be our latecoming 5th PC, JibberJabby. JibberJabby struggles to control his magic, and although the mechanical effects remain mostly the same the exact nature of his spells vary wildly each time they are cast. This was just a vague idea before Tom arrived at the table, but when his character was introduced the players spontaneously wrote up a d20 table for "What weird thing is JibberJabby's magic doing now?"

1.shit
2.wet celery
3.toast
4.potato
5.coins
6.fire
7.wood
8.earth
9.paper
10.moon
11.water
12.sun
13.peyote
14.curry powder
15.wind
16.bleach
17.daggers
18.swarm of bees
19.alcohol
20.chicken!
This table is rolled upon every time JibberJabby casts a spell.

Over the course of the battle, JibberJabby conjures a blast of shit, a flight of origami cranes, and a swarm of tiny winged moons (which almost deal damage to Freidan as well, who as a Reverse Vampire is allergic to moonlight). But the hilarity comes to an end when poor Bobo is dragged down a tunnel by a tapeworm and smited to death by a holy parasite. Bobo is not a PC but a companion (technically a bear by the RAW) so there is no provision for his return.

Saddened and beaten bloody, the party decides to retreat from the dungeon in order to rest and bury their fallen comrade. They retrace their steps to the entrance and rest until the next day. Then they climb the mountain to bury Bobo in the ogre village where he was born.

The ogre village is built around a mysterious pit leading down into the centre of the god body. Bobo's funeral is interrupted by a blazing light that shines forth from the pit. Looking down the hole, the PCs see a bizarre sight: a giant glowing golden baby ascending the shaft towards them.

But that is a story for another session...

Fantasy Doom Patrol, Session 1

Had the first session of my 'Fantasy Doom Patrol' 4E campaign today. The players were:

Sir Reginald and his brother Bobo, Ogre Ranger and companion (played by Zor)

Freidan Devilsnare, Reverse-Vampire Cleric (Dylan) - Reverse Vampires love garlic, are burned by moonlight, heal people by giving them blood transfusions, etc.

St. HK-47, Robotic Pope (Ian) - agent of the Vatican and devout follower of 'Super Jesus'

Torin the Small, Halfling Body-Part Thief (Shaun)

And the gameworld looks like this:

click for full size

The PCs are all members of a 'medieval black ops unit' under the command of Merlin himself, who uses them to solve the sort of problems that standard heroes just aren't cut out for. The session begins with a priest from the Most Holy Order of the Gourmandines throwing up in his room. The halfwit ogre Bobo performs an impromptu Heimlich maneuver on the fat priest, causing him to vomit so copiously that he loses all his fat in an instant. St. HK-47 declares that it serves him right for being a heretic.

Soon the PCs are summoned by Merlin and informed that all the Gourmandines are suffering the same affliction. They are sent to the town of Gramercy to investigate. On the way, they read a briefing that explains the origins of the order. Apparently the sun-god Hyperion was long ago punished by the Overgods for his hubris and smashed into a mountain (see map). Now his worshippers mine and eat his flesh to gain holy powers.

At the town of Gramercy, the PCs learn that the flesh of the god has recently begun to rot for the first time, which explains the widespread vomiting which has laid low the entire Gourmandine clergy. When they visit the High Priest they are attacked by a pair of Vomit Elementals and a demon emerging from the High Priest's mouth. "You know how vomit burns when it comes up? It feels like that, but on the outside of your body."

this looks about right

 Fortunately these enemies are quickly dispatched and Freidan performs a dangerous surgery on the High Priest to save him from a disease of cancerously multiplying organs. The only way to save the priest is a massive blood transfusion. As he's had over half his blood replaced, he is now a Reverse Vampire as well.

The priest claims that the goblins are responsible for this mess. They are notorious for sneaking into the mines and bootlegging the godflesh. He advises the PCs to follow up a certain miner named Gyar who is suspected to be in league with the goblins. They decide to rest first.

But their rest is rudely interrupted! At midnight, a wooden fort on enormous chicken legs attacks the town. Goblins are throwing grappling hooks and leaping to the guard tower. Torin runs down to the gate, where he sees a man whom he identifies as Gyar, attempting to sneak away quietly. Meanwhile, the Robo-Pope performs a 'terminator walk' up the side of the guard tower to protect the guard against the screaming goblins.

not really as well-made as this. more like just a clumsy wooden platform with some Warhammer-style goblins hanging off the side

An enormous battle begins. The walking fort is full of goblins, most of them incapacitated by vomiting. The ogre Sir Reginald leaps valiantly across the gap but falls short, instead grabbing hold of the legs of a goblin who is himself hanging off the edge of the platform. Then the Robo-Pope leaps and grabs hold of Sir Reginald's legs and they all dangle there together.

Torin makes short work of the traitor Gyar and proceeds to set a fire on one of the wooden legs. A goblin hound climbs down over its master to bite at Sir Reginald's fingers. Torin climbs up behind the enemy line to assassinate their one remaining priest, but is knocked unconscious by a goblin fanatic on a raging mushroom trip. Many enemies are shoved off ledges, often landing on other enemies below. At last the remaining goblins, trapped on the ground, turn to flee.

Meanwhile, the fort becomes agitated as its legs start to burn. In a frenzy, it tries to pull away but is held back by the grapnels attaching it to the guard tower. Sir Reginald grabs one of the vomiting goblins for questioning and leaps back into the tower, where the guardsman has been cowering. No sooner has he achieved this, however, than the tower is torn free and dragged along behind the burning fort as it flees into the distance. Clutching both the goblin and the guardsman to his enormous chest, Reginald makes an athletic tumble out of the window and they all land safely. The goblin barfs on the guardsman's face.

Freidan and HK-47 are left on top, desperately searching for a control mechanism. Freidan only finds a mysterious Jack Russell, which he catches as it tries to escape. HK-47 discovers a room containing a giant hysterical rooster head. Freidan hands the dog to HK, then picks up a barrel of water and swings down underneath the fort, trying to pour water on the fire. Unfortunately he fails and tumbles to the ground. The Robo-Pope picks up another barrel and makes his own attempt, but critically fails - he falls into the barrel and rolls away down the hill.

The Jack Russell escapes his grip and bounds away, far faster and higher than a dog has any right to do. Meanwhile the chickenfort runs screaming into the hinterlands as it erupts into flames.

---

All in all I thought this was a very successful session. It's been a while since I last played face-to-face and I'd forgotten how the energy can really pick up in a way that doesn't quite happen in webcam games. Playing old-school D&D has probably made me a better DM of 4th edition, more willing to improvise and allow for actions outside the rules. Last time I ran 4E was when I was just getting interested in the OSR, and I spent a fair bit of time fretting about how slow and cumbersome the combats were in 4E compared to OSR. Now I'm more inclined to embrace it - yeah, each fight usually takes upwards of an hour, but if it's a big setpiece encounter with lots of tactical widgets and interesting terrain, then that's over an hour of great fun.

Converting 4E Classes to AD&D: The Druid

The Druid is my favourite class in 4E. You might be thinking "Dude, there already are Druids in AD&D!" but the 4E Druid is fairly different to the Druids of old. In AD&D, shape-changing as a Druid is definitely something you can do, but it's not your defining attribute or anything. 4E Druids, on the other hand, are all based around their ability to transform into their totem animal. In most games I've played with my 4E Druid, I've been shapeshifting every round. Having different powers in human and beast forms makes for a really exciting tactical challenge. The question is always: "What form do I want to be in now? What form will I want to be in next turn?"

So my rebuilt version of the Druid is now called the Shapechanger, and is quite distinct from the original Druid class.

Static DCs for D&D 4E

A lot of people have criticized the 'DC by Level' chart in the 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. This is basically a chart that tells you what DC in a skill check would be easy, medium or hard for a character of a certain level. The problem isn't really with the chart itself but with the fact that it tempts rookie DMs (myself included) to set any DC in the game with an eye towards their character's current level. In other words, no matter how much the characters level up, they still haven't gotten better at anything. This kind of blows.

The solution, in my opinion, is to take the DC by Level chart as a guide and extrapolate a bunch of static DCs for common actions that can be prepared in advance. This way, the DM has a strong resource to rest their rulings on and won't be tempted to get all quantum ogre-y.

The other advantage of such a resource would be that you could make it open to the players. This would encourage them to try more interesting maneuvers because they have a whole bunch of suggestions, and they even know exactly what their chances are of success.

But writing up so many DCs is a pretty mammoth task! If Wizards of the Coast were cooler then they probably could have done it for me; it certainly would have been a better use of their time than, say, the Bladesinger. But still, I'm going to give it a shot, going through the skill list alphabetically.

Converting 4E Classes to AD&D: The Ardent

It seems a lot of people are critical of the 4E 'grid system' for character classes. The grid system basically consists of the idea that each character has a power source (Martial, Divine, Arcane, Primal, etc.) and a combat role (Defender, Leader, Striker, Controller). Though it's impossible to say for sure, it seems like part of WotC's design process for new classes is to look at this grid and try to fill in the blanks. For example, the Barbarian and Druid filled up the places of Primal Striker and Primal Controller, respectively, but the new classes of Shaman and Warden were created to fill the role of Primal Leader and Primal Defender.

I actually like this process, because it brings out a lot of new and interesting character concepts. The Shaman, for example, may have started off as nothing but 'Primal Leader', but the final concept (which is based around communing with animist nature-spirits) is more than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, these interesting core concepts can kind of get buried under all the At-Will/Encounter/Daily powers and the rigid adherence to the character's combat role. So I thought I'd make a project of converting some of my favourite 4E classes into AD&D-style format, in order to distill their essence as it were. I'll start with one of 4E's most obscure and sometimes ridiculed classes: the Ardent.

Campaign Idea: Fantasy Doom Patrol

Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol is a great comic series. The basic premise consists of a team of superheroes whose various powers are tightly linked to their crippling disabilities. Robotman, for example, is described as an 'omniplegic' since his entire body was destroyed and replaced by a robotic shell. Crazy Jane has multiple personalities (and a different power for each personality); the Chief is in a wheelchair, and Rebis is... I don't even know how to explain Rebis.

But the corollary to these flawed characters is the idea that: fucked up heroes may be your only hope when fucked up times arrive. For example, the first story arc of Morrison's run involves the real world being invaded by fictional characters from an evil book, and the Doom Patrol must defeat them by finding a priest with a clock for a face and posing him a tautological question that causes his entire reality to collapse.

See, although it isn't often highlighted, the Doom Patrol technically exists in the wider DC Universe alongside Superman, Batman and the rest of the mainstream heroes. There's even a scene in the first story arc where Robotman says: "If we had any sense, we'd call Superman." To which the chief replies: "We don't need Superman." But what he could have said was: "What the hell could Superman do in this situation?" Superman punches out giant robots and aliens. He's not cut out to deal with ontological horrors from the pages of Jorge Luis Borges. That's why you've got to call the Doom Patrol.

So what does all this have to do with Dungeons & Dragons? Let me explain. I like to mess around with the 4E Character Builder from time to time, usually creating the strangest race/class combinations I can think of. I've got a dwarf vampire, a psionic goblin, a pixie barbarian, a robot paladin and an undead warpriest. Where the character options in previous editions can be pretty restrictive and po-faced (no Gnome Paladins for you!), 4th ed really benefits if you don't take it too seriously. And these off-the-wall character concepts are starting to sound a lot like the Doom Patrol.

Warforged Fighter, Eladrin Rogue, Genasi Wizard

So here's the pitch for a 4E campaign: The players can make whatever characters they want, but they have to have some reason to be fucked up and exiled from society. If they don't have a weird class/race combo, then the player has to think of some other reason why their character is on the outer edge. The setting of this campaign is a peaceful kingdom protected by a party of glorious adventurers in all the most canonical roles - Human Rogue, Elf Wizard, Human Cleric, Dwarf Fighter. These are the guys who wear the posh armour, ride around on parade floats, and receive the adulation of the populace. You don't get to be those guys. Instead, you get to be the Fantasy Doom Patrol - the kingdom's other team of adventurers, who deal with all the weird shit that the mainstream heroes won't touch with a 10-foot pole. While they're travelling to the Mountain of Mystery, you're poisoning the food supply of undead illithids on the dark side of the moon.While they're slaying the dragon, you're fighting a telepathic moat that strangles castles in their sleep. When they return home with the Three Legendary Weapons of the Gods, you've brought back a mysterious black statuette that triples in mass when you turn it upside down.

Oh yeah, and you're such a bunch of freaks and outcasts that most of the people you've saved from annihilation wouldn't want to piss on you if you were burning. But that's just the way it is for the Fantasy Doom Patrol.

Edit 24/6/12: Looking back on this post, I think it's probably kind of ableist, that is - talking about how it would be cool to play as disabled superheroes who are "fucked up" is pretty insensitive to people who are really disabled. I still think this is a cool idea, in fact I'm likely going to be running it very shortly, but I definitely want to move away from the disability angle, which wasn't a large part of the concept anyway. When I say the heroes are "fucked up" what I really want to focus on is just that they have bizarre powers and are generally counter-culture to the bland mainstream heroes. 

Does this mean Doom Patrol is insensitive also?? I'm not sure but I think not because Grant Morrison deals with the issues in subtle and interesting ways; I can't do that because I'm not Grant Morrison and also I'm running an RPG which entails thinking about a hundred other things already.