Anyway, let’s talk about lieutenants!
Rules-wise, lieutenants are pretty simple - they have a die, and they have one to three traits (usually two) that modify how they act in an action scene. For the purpose of Venture Comics, therefore, a chunk of the randomizer is designed to give me guidelines for the role that these characters play in a story, and the themes that inform their mechanics. Lieutenant powers are both fairly specific and quite unique, but I’ve been able to build a selection that I think is a good balance. As noted, I’m spoiler-blocking it here because there are several long tables.
Summary
First, you have to decide whether your lieutenant is going to be an Ally or an Enemy. Allies are supporting cast members for major superheroes - either minor superheroes that never really have their own titles, or unpowered allies that provide useful help to the players and often get caught up in superheroic situations. Enemies are the rank and file supervillains who tend to go down fast and hard; they might get single issue stories, and they may have longstanding popularity as part of a villain team, but they’re not critical threats. In theory, we could have some of our longstanding villains also be enemies, and when I reach Book Four I’ll do some of that, but for the first three books it’s going to be new characters. If you can’t decide, you can roll a d4: on a 1-2, they’re an Ally, on a 3-4 they’re an Enemy.
When you’re ready to get going, roll 1d12, 2d8, 2d10, 2d6, and 3d20, and compare them to the following tables. You can run through these tables in order, or look at all your options at once to make the most logical result. (I’ll be doing the latter.)
Step 1: Determine Lieutenant Power
Compare your d12 result to the following table to find out the lieutenant’s die size, and how many traits they have.
| Roll | Die Size | Traits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | d6 | Three |
| 2 | d8 | Two + Drawback |
| 3 | d8 | Two Linked Together |
| 4 | d8 | Two |
| 5 | d8 | Two |
| 6 | d10 | One |
| 7 | d10 | Two + Drawback |
| 8 | d10 | Two Linked Together |
| 9 | d10 | Two |
| 10 | d10 | Two |
| 11 | d12 | One |
| 12 | d12 | One + Drawback |
A result of “Two Linked Together” means that you will generate two traits, and then combine them into a single, more powerful ability.
Step 2: Determine Lieutenant’s Motive/Relation and Approach
Compare your d8s and your d10s to the tables below. The d8s will determine what motivates an Enemy or what relationship an Ally has with their primary hero. The d10 determines what thematic approach the character takes to their actions. This may not have a mechanical effect, but it should inform how you approach their traits in the final steps.
| Roll | Enemy Motive | Ally Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wealth | Romantic Option |
| 2 | Conquest | Family Member |
| 3 | Destruction | Close Friend |
| 4 | Hunger | Mentor Figure |
| 5 | Obedience | Fan or Student |
| 6 | Malice | Professional Contact |
| 7 | Power | Reluctant Ally |
| 8 | Personal | Frenemy |
| Roll | Approach |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Pure Superpowers |
| 3-4 | Technology |
| 5-6 | Physical Prowess |
| 7 | Mental Cunning |
| 8 | Social Skills |
| 9 | Magic |
| 10 | Inhuman Nature |
Step 3: Determine Traits and Drawbacks
Compare your d20 results to the table below, and if you have a drawback compare your d6 results to the Drawbacks table. Choose a number of results equal to the number of traits you rolled in Step 1, and give them detail based on the character’s motive/relationship and approach.
| Roll | Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Flat +1 bonus to 1-2 Actions |
| 2 | Conditional +2 Bonus to 1-2 Actions |
| 3 | Conditional +2 Bonus to 1-2 Actions |
| 4 | Conditional +1 Bonus to all basic actions |
| 5 | When you [Basic Action], you also [Boost or Hinder] |
| 6 | When you [Basic Action], you also [Attack or Defend] |
| 7 | [Attack or Defend] an extra target |
| 8 | [Boost or Hinder] applies to multiple targets |
| 9 | Flat +1 to damage saves |
| 10 | Conditional +2 to damage saves |
| 11 | Special interaction with an element or damage type |
| 12 | Treat [successful or failed] save as [Basic Action] |
| 13 | Recover Action |
| 14 | Passive +1 conditional support |
| 15 | Activate or support environment |
| 16 | Create Minions |
| 17 | Special [Boost or Hinder] Action or Reaction |
| 18 | Special [Attack or Defend] Action or Reaction |
| 19 | Sacrificial action or reaction |
| 20 | Unique action or reaction |
| Roll | Drawback |
|---|---|
| 1 | Conditional -2 penalty to actions |
| 2 | Limited actions available |
| 3 | Penalty to saves or degrade faster |
| 4 | Vulnerable to element or damage type |
| 5 | A hero Overcome will weaken or shut down all abilities |
| 6 | Step down die after using special ability |
When dealing with a [reference] in square brackets, pick one at the time of creation the way that you would for a new hero.
And that covers it! With those three simple steps, you have a lieutenant ready to roll into play.
So of course I’m going to be a bit more complicated.
There are twenty-five lieutenants in each book, ten allies and fifteen enemies. I want to have options, but I’d also like a wide range of approaches and motives and traits and such.
So for allies: Once I’ve picked a given relation, approach, drawback or trait twice in one book, I’m striking them out and treating future rolls of that number as the next one down. For enemies, I’ll do it once I’ve picked something three times. In both cases, there are a few characters that I’ve fully decided on, in which case I’ll pretend that I rolled and just assign a number (and mention it in the behind the scenes.) This is particularly true for a handful of allies that I’ve already written up, who will be given this style of writeup to replace the old one.
And that’s all the news that’s fit to print. Join me on Monday, as we begin our trek back into the Golden Age of Comics…