GAMERS' CHOICE
The BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice awards were selected by the gaming public via an open poll.
This year we are announcing the runner-up as the vote totals were pretty close
JUDGES AWARDS
Jacob Blackmon
Written by
Crystal Frasier, this product presents 18 new simple templates to build new
creatures and heroes for Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition. Simply add one
of these templates to one of the NPCs, Animals, or Monsters found in the Hero's
Handbook or Gamemaster's Guide -- or the Super Powered Bestiary (shameless
plug) -- and you can have a new challenge ready for your heroes to battle. Each
of the 18 templates comes with a couple of variant powers, making for more
variations of creatures and challenges.
In addition, the
Template Tome features several NPC statistics featuring the templates in use.
From the Hadean Wolves, the Overbear, and the Seven Points Angels, a GM is sure
to find the Template Tome useful for their Mutants & Masterminds campaign.
As much fun as it is
to imagine adventures and action in our heads during a game session, there is
nothing quite like having figures on the battlemat. HeroClix has produced
superhero miniatures for several years, and the Uncanny X-men Heroclix has some
of the finest figures I have seen in years. This set of miniatures includes
characters from the X-Men comics and features these characters in both their
classic and modern costumes. One of the most fun features is the new Juggernaut
miniature, which features a removable helmet!
Whether you love
running games in established comic book universes or if you enjoy modifying
existing miniatures, I am sure mini lovers will enjoy these Heroclix.
>><<<
I almost didn’t
nominate what is probably the most important superhero RPG product of the year
because, in the interest of full disclosure, I wrote an essay for it.
Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn’t point you towards this treasure.
The original edition of Aaron Allston’s Strike Force sourcebook for Champions
was like a master-class in game-mastering and campaign-building, and this new
edition published in Aaron’s honor gives you all that, plus even more history,
campaign material, and game-mastering advice. It’s a book that deserves a place
of honor on every superhero gamer’s shelf.
This superhero RPG
from Brendan Conway takes the Apocalypse World Engine and applies it to the
lives and adventures of teen superheroes in the fictional Halcyon City. It has
great production values and a lot of energy and enthusiasm for its subject
matter, as well as embracing all of the system’s knacks for flavorful playbooks
and special moves. If you like teen heroes or the Apocalypse World Engine
games, you want to check it out. (Side note: It is apparently a staple of the
teen hero genre to feature said heroes standing over and on a defeated giant
robot, given both MASKS and the new edition of HERO HIGH for Mutants &
Masterminds simultaneously did that cover concept.)
Jacob Blackmon has a knack
for producing superhero RPG products I wish I had done first. These include the
honorable-mention Super-Powered Bestiary for Mutants & Masterminds, which
combines the best qualities of villain book and monster manual. Topping even
that, in my estimation, is Jacob’s ongoing “Legends” series, which comes in two
flavors: Iconic (for Icons Superpowered Roleplaying) and Super-Powered (for
Mutants & Masterminds). The series offers pastiches of classic comic book
characters, creating something that is at once familiar and different, such as
Myrmidon and Vespa, a male-female heroic duo with ant- and wasp-themed powers
(get it?). They’re a great resource for GMs who wonder “How would I build this
classic character?” and a lot of fun to read to boot.
Steven Trustrum
Instead of voting for a single product, I'm
tossing my vote in for a product line. The "Awesome Powers" series
for BASH, by Basic Action Games, keeps delivering. I'm a fan of the system
overall because it strikes the right balance between crunch and lite for me. It
is adaptable yet recognizable in its mechanics, and "Awesome Powers"
continues to expand on the core system by delivering valuable, useful powers
time and again. The artwork is also a happy mix between the hyper-realism you'd
expect of a top-notch comic book and the simplicity of the Warner Brothers DC
cartoon series, such as "Batman" and "Justice League
Unlimited." Overall, I've yet to be disappointed with this series.
