Longshot City turns surreal-fantasy roleplaying gem Troika into a superhero RPG
Kapow!
A superhero RPG powered by the rules-light gameplay of weird-fantasy gem Troika is on its way.
Longshot City looks to build a superhero setting on the approachable gameplay of Troika, which uses a pool of six-sided dice that players must typically roll under a target number for success. The dice system is combined with a flexible skills system defined by points in an endless variety of one-word abilities or simple descriptions that modify their dice roll in relevant situations. For example, you could have a couple of points in ‘Sneak’, ‘Etiquette’, ‘Fly Fishing’ or pretty much anything else you can think up.
Writer Christian Kessler’s Longshot City will apply the system to a superhero RPG set in the titular dangerous metropolis beset by comic-book-style villains, recalling the likes of Batman’s Gotham or Spider-Man’s New York. Bringing the setting to life in the standalone rulebook - which will include details on two dozen arch-nemeses for players to face, along with dedicated rules for generating their 'nameless grunt' accomplices - will be artists Evlyn Moreau, Jecorey Holder and Boson Au.
Players will be able to create their Avengers-like team of superheroes from a combination of three dozen archetypes and a further 36 origins, resulting in a vast variety of possible heroes with unique backgrounds and powers. Longshot City’s creators suggest everything from a ‘trenchcoat mage’ granted their abilities by being sucked into a work of fiction to a ‘a parasitic powersuit from outer space’, or a custom hero of the player’s imagination.
The heroes can be outfitted using various inventions, vehicles and hideouts created using the rulebook's guidance, before patrolling the town - with a map in the book - and foiling their enemies' plans before they progress using the game's Escalation system. The RPG also includes a conspiracy board system to help players track the various baddies in town, their devious plots and relationships.
Longshot City's rulebook will detail three different campaign structures to help players generate superhero stories, along with KO tables to help superheroes drained of stamina to avoid death via kidnap, flashback, gritty reboot or another method.
Troika publisher Melsonian Arts Council plans to launch crowdfunding campaigns on both Kickstarter and BackerKit for Longshot City ‘soon’, revealing that the game will be released in a ‘huge’ boxset - referring to the upcoming RPG as the indie studio’s “biggest, most ambitious project yet”.