with great power: master edition

+Michael Miller's 2016 edition of With Great Power looks like a really cool game. This version, called the "Master Edition" - and you'll see why in a moment - is a complete reimagining of the game and very different from the 2005 version.

The Master Edition is "Descended from Monkeydome" - aka, it uses the system +Epidiah Ravachol designed for Monkeydome and - dare I say perfected? - for "Swords without Masters."

This is the first game that is descended from Monkeydome that I have read, and it blew open a few doors in my mind to how a game can make use of the phases and tone-shifts that are at the heart of play in "Swords without Masters."

Character creation looks like a blast, and as the hero players build their heroes, the villain player builds her villain, complete with monomaniacal master plan. There is a fantastic set of tables at the back of the book to inspire ideas for powers, origins, relationships, as well as the elements of the villain's plans. Everything about the game eases the creative pressure to give you something inspired to say that will push the story in interesting and productive directions. This is a tiny, but I think effective, example of what I'm talking about: After you use the random tables to jolt your thinking about your hero, and after you create a quick sketch of who they are, you are not allowed to give your hero a superhero name. Everyone else has to propose a name, and you can choose from that list, or reject them all an call for another round of proposals. It's a simple and effective solution to avoid creative freeze.

All the things that make "Swords" an incredible experience are here - the prompting of other players to tell how their hero performs incredible deeds, the creation of a list of awesome things players say that eventually trigger the end game, shifting tones, unexpected stymies, mysterious questions that can only be answered as the game draws to a close. And to that, it adds everything you love about superhero stories, including how the heroes' super lives collide with their normal lives, as well as the piecing together by the heroes of what the villain is up to and how to stop her.

The book is a great read, and the game looks awesome. Moreover, if you are interested in monkeying with the Monkeydome, this is a great place to start if you want to see how the game can be adapted and stretched.

Check it out.