Sentinel Comics RPG (Part 1)
Color-coded intense action and excellence in pacing
Sentinel Comics RPG is a game published by Greater Than Games and designed by Critical Hits Studio. Financing of the game involved crowdfunding. Game material and content is reproduced here for review purposes and is owned by Greater Than Games and Critical Hits Studio.
1. Every Individual Component Is The Best
In our analysis, we consider every individual artistic element of a game the best; we don’t find bad or good useful. So, the Split/Party framework assumes it is the best art, best layout, best writing, best design. This is an acknowledgement that nobody makes “bad” art on purpose; any given element is the best art that could have been produced at that point, restricted by its material conditions and constraints of time and effort. This is also because saying something is good/bad art is the most useless criticism that can be given. In practical term, this section is for things we will not touch on the review but merit acknowledgement.
Ludo Sentinels of the Multiverse always had its own unique, high-saturation art style and Sentinel Comics RPG is no exception. It tries to evoke older American comics but also is its own thing. It takes a lot getting used to, and it is not up to everyone’s taste. It works great with the layout of the book, but alas, it may be an obstacle to getting into the game.
The game also relies heavily on color coding and multiple dice types. The book has reliable indexation, but it is a large, heavy tome. PDFs are the sole available digital tools. These offer challenges that can prevent people from accessing essential tools required to play the game; at the time of this review, Greater Than Games has offered no alternative options. Please be aware of these when accommodating people’s needs at your table.
BradI do love the very comic-book aesthetic art, and while Ludo has hit pretty much all of my big points in regards to the book there are exactly two I think need a quick mention. I love that the conversationally toned examples are actually helpful, which as many of you know is an incredibly rare thing in the field, and the fact that a low-res version of this book exists, and is included in the pdf purchase makes perusing it much easier.
2. Meet The Game At The Level It Is At
Each game comes with certain expectations and tone. To properly breakdown, we have to meet the game at the level it is: not lament its choice of premise and wish it was something else, nor resent for not conforming with our politics, not letting “missed opportunities” stand in our way of applying the critical framework relentlessly. It also includes not working with the game as marketed or how it exists in our desires, but as it is.
LudoThe game expects a certain level of goofiness on its premise. Bad guys are bad, good guys are good; punching solves things. Magic is epic and science is loud; things feel big, threats world-shaking. Don’t expect a critique of the neoliberal ideology here; it is a full indulgence into the professional-managerial class fantasy of personal responsibility that mainstream superhero genres indulge so much.
Sentinel Comics assumes a familiarity with the trappings of American-style comic books; while it states it can handle other genres of superheroism just fine, it declares it works better that way. This versatility will be tested, as Sentinels assumes you are in a hegemonic cultural space saturated by those conventions, so it does not do a particularly good job at conveying them.
The game expects one to like big action comics, if not superheroes, and it is a fair expectation. It will limit how much enjoyment you can get off the game as it is.
Unlike other modern takes on superhero RPGs, Sentinels has plenty of nods to a more trad structure. Rigid scene structure, a worry about balance (even if rather GM-facing), a lot of big numbies being throw around; it is worlds apart from Hero System or Mutants and Masterminds, closer to something like Wild Talents, but maybe a surprise to someone expecting story-game conventions
Strangely, the Sentinels Comics RPG does not seem that committed to the Sentinels IP?
“If you aren’t familiar with the particulars of the setting of Sentinel Comics, fear not! You don’t need to know who the heroes and villains of the history of this multiverse are to enjoy this game. The system can work for any comic book style action adventures, whether or not those adventures are set in the world of Sentinel Comics. Sentinel Comics is the name of a comic book publisher that never existed in this world. They started publishing comics in the 1940s, and told stories throughout the decades that thrilled and inspired audiences of all ages, leading up to a recent multiverse-shattering event called OblivAeon. This RPG picks up in the aftermath of that event.”
On one hand, this clears the slate to make your own interpretation of the Sentinels universe, or make your own thing; on the other hand, it can make it harder to get started into the game and may disappoint fans that were expecting a bit more of that in the core rulebook.
BradSentinels of The Multiverse RPG (henceforth Sentinel Comics in my sections) does definitely have you make some strong assumptions about what your superhero game is going to be about, from the art to the text directly calling it out, it says that it is going to be a Silver Age game of Superheroics, more fighting the renegades of Gorilla City then dealing with the fallout of crushing urban poverty.
The game wears a clear love of Superhero comics and literally cannot stop paying homage to the titans of that genre. However, as Ludo mentions and as I have noticed, it never really sets a clear expectation as to what genre conventions of the comics it claims to emulate best really are.
As Ludo mentions, it does in fact strike a very thin rope between more rules-light superhero TTRPG fare, and the very simulationist rules-heavy supers games.
3. Identify What The Game Says It Is About
Games are about things. Usually. Mostly. That is often the same thing they market themselves as. This often means to establish the relationship of the game with systems, mechanical frameworks, genre, etc. This is how games establish exceptions about the nature of play and creates a common space for creation.
LudoI’m always confused with what Sentinels are supposed to be about. Silver age comics? An imagined 70s from the 50s or 60s? I’m really confused. Passing the ball to Brad for this one.
As per the text, Sentinel Comics is about:
“Larger than life villains executing harebrained but evil schemes while spouting dialogue that’s dramatic and cheesy at the same time. Heroes performing amazing physical feats while delivering perfect one-liners. Madcap action with reactors going into meltdown because of dramatic timing rather than physics, rocket-powered dinosaurs flying out to attack heroes who are saving tourists from an imminent tidal wave, and where cargo ships carrying radioactive payloads are on a collision course
This is the core and the heart of the game: heroic characters doing heroic things, each in their own way, to defend the innocent and save the world. Heroes aren’t always nice, but they’re always good. They’re not always unimpeachable paragons of virtue, but they fight for justice and for what’s right. Heroes do have fears and doubts and second guess their choices. Heroes do not always win. But, win or lose, they are always heroes.”
BradLudo spun this right into my hand so I am going to break down what Silver Age means. Silver Age comics is a weird term because very technically it refers to 1965-1970 in comic books, this era is notable because it coincides with the stunning rise of superheroes in comic books (decent chances are your favorite costume crimefighter came about in this era.) along with a general decline in all other forms of comic books storytelling.
The problem with that strictly historical answer is that Silver Age has very specifically also come to mean an era when comic books were, in general, more upbeat, with a focus on heroic characters who were pretty reliably morally good. This is the definition that SOTM uses to apply, a group of heroes who are pretty reliably morally good, they can be stressed and tempted by darkness, but in the end, they will still be shining beacons of justice.
LudoYeah, I guess, but what even is a Silver age? Like, what is the utility of separating things as age, and how much that is as a useful signifier? I find it hard to believe it conveys anything; the text mumbles something about The 60-70s and coughs along.
4. Uncover What The Game Is REALLY About
What the game says it is about is not always what the game is about. This is where we look at all the weird interactions, examining the system that game creates, how the way mechanics interact with the text and art, how it exists in a given context, how well parts flow together or get in the way. This creates a much richer environment that the original design could ever imagine once a game hits the table.
LudoThe game did not miss: it is about heroic people doing heroic things, goofy fun shit, and larger-than-life personalities. It is not just a claim, the systems the game creates actually facilitate such play.
Almost every single choice made in the design creates systems that create and support action scene after action scene. So, whenever you start, you gonna find your way to those, through the GYRO (Green, Yellow, Red, Out) pacing engine. Characters and scenes go down from green to out, allowing greater escalation of powers and threats as the game accelerates; this assures the right build-up, and that no given scene overstays its welcome. It also means choices and actions are more meaningful: you only have six or seven actions per scene after all.
Sentinel is not exaggerating about different types of heroes. Each character has two Principles, which define their heroics. Principles are one of the few reliable ways to improve your odds in an Overcome- the "basic action” for anything not combat and to meet Challenges; Overcome will often succeed with a Minor or Major Twist, which the GM is advised to involve your Principles. So, not only are you rewarded for playing to your hero type, things often go wrong in a way fitting that.
BradI honestly think Ludo hit the nail perfectly on the head here, Sentinels Comics pushes you to be a larger-than-life hero with a system to drive right towards those big dramatic moments. I think an important part is how it encourages you to play towards your Heroic Principle by not only making it a reliable mechanical way to Overcome but also by giving you a goodie in the form of the metagame currency of Hero Points.