We just officially announced the Sentinel Comics RPG that we're demoing this year and releasing next here. Here's the post about it.
I'll be holding "office hours" here for the next hour. I know, I know. Only an hour? How can it be considered "office hours" if it's just ONE hour? Well, look. It's my office, and I get to make the rules. So there.
Anyway, what questions do you have, if any?
Is this set during the timeline of Sentinels of the Multiverse game , Sentinel Tactics, or it's own timeline? What dice system will it use? Can you play as villains instead of heroes?
Will more information be posted about this before the official kickstarter?
Is this set during the timeline of Sentinels of the Multiverse game , Sentinel Tactics, or both?
It's set near the "end" of the Sentinels of the Multiverse card game timeline, though you can certainly play stories from whenever, or even make up your own story!
What dice system will it use?
A new one that you've never heard of because it's brand new! It's also very cool.
Can you play as villains instead of heroes?
The game is built to play as a team of heroes, with the GM controlling villains, minions, the world, etc. However, you could totally make a campaign of villains and play out a "For Profit" style storyline. The power is yours!
Any playtesting opportunities for the RPG??? :)
Will more information be posted about this before the official kickstarter?
Some, certainly, yes. Such as this office hour! And we'll certainly have a post Gen Con wrap-up after all those great demos!
So many questions. How are powers chosen/balanced between characters? What other system is it closest to? How does luck and unlucky work? How does super speed work? How hard is it to get time travel powers?
Do you used pre created villains and stories or will it have the ability to create custom villains? Also will it feature all of the characters of the SOTM world or just a select few?
Any playtesting opportunities for the RPG??? :)
Absolutely! GTG Playtesters will certainly be playtesting this as well!
Will this be primarely one-shot focused, or is there support for longer campaigns/character advancement?
Is the system largerly combat focused, or is there narrative/roleplay gameplay elements as well?
Will there be campaigns/adventures written for it?
Will all the rules be put into one book or will there be separate ones for players and GMs? Will this book provide more details on the storylines within Sentinel Comics?
How are powers chosen/balanced between characters? What other system is it closest to? How does luck and unlucky work? How does super speed work? How hard is it to get time travel powers?
Those ARE a lot of questions! The character generation is based on the stories of the characters, and the balance comes from the story and the GM. The system is very flexible and allows for great storytelling both on the part of the GM and the players. From what I've seen, I'd say it's closest to Apocalypse World, but still very different from that. And that's just my impressions: Cam, Dave, and Phillipe might feel very differently! As for luck, it is a dice-based game, so there is that. And powers are all specific to characters. Can't go too far into that without just laying out the entire system.
Do you used pre created villains and stories or will it have the ability to create custom villains? Also will it feature all of the characters of the SOTM world or just a select few?
You can totally create your own villains, environments, and stories! The game will feature a TON of characters, but perhaps not every single one. But still a lot, and all the tools necessary to make even more.
1) Any chance of getting some new playtesters on board for this? I'm not a card game playtester, but my regular RPG is comprised of all SotM fans and we've done playtesting for other RPGs.
2) Are you thinking that the release will be a master rule/world book with specific stories being like modules for future release?
3) Will the game have full write-ups on all of the SotM characters? (More backstory = <3!)
Does Guise guide you through the rule book?
Will this be primarely one-shot focused, or is there support for longer campaigns/character advancement?
Both! You can certainly just do single stories with it, but the character advancement system in the game is REALLY cool and fits Sentinel Comics perfectly. You'll see!
Is the system largerly combat focused, or is there narrative/roleplay gameplay elements as well?
I'd say it's equally combat and roleplay focused.
Will there be campaigns/adventures written for it?
Yes.
Will all the rules be put into one book or will there be separate ones for players and GMs? Will this book provide more details on the storylines within Sentinel Comics?
One big book with lots of Sentinel Comics stories inside! Though we do have plans for supplemental books as well.
Will there be openings for more playtesters before the Kickstarter?
Can the Cursed Acolyte and Siege-breaker be on the same team?
Will the RPG introduce any new characters as yet unseen in SotM or Tactics?
Is original character creation done through assigning points to powers/attributes, a random generation mechanic, or something else?
Are the dice pools comprised of custom dice, standard polyhedral, or other?
What would be the estimated price (so that we can start putting aside money now)
Also thanks for doing a Q & A 
1) Any chance of getting some new playtesters on board for this? I'm not a card game playtester, but my regular RPG is comprised of all SotM fans and we've done playtesting for other RPGs.
We'll be opening up for more playtesters at some point this year, most likely.
2) Are you thinking that the release will be a master rule/world book with specific stories being like modules for future release?
Something like that.
3) Will the game have full write-ups on all of the SotM characters? (More backstory = <3!)
Depends on what you mean by "full write-ups", but yes, there will be lots of story about the characters.
Given that Cam, Dave, and Phillipe worked on the Marvel Heroic RPG, which was a comic-based game that really emphasized storytelling alongside dice rolling, how much DNA will the Sentinels RPG share with that game?
I've been running a MHR campaign for 2 years now, and just about everyone who plays is also a huge fan of Sentinels, so we're all very excited by this news!
Will the RPG introduce any new characters as yet unseen in SotM or Tactics?
Probably not initially... but who knows!
Is original character creation done through assigning points to powers/attributes, a random generation mechanic, or something else?
Something else.
Are the dice pools comprised of custom dice, standard polyhedral, or other?
Standard polyhedral. d4 through d12
Do you know if this will be mechanically similar to the late, lamented, brilliant Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, which was also a superhero system designed by Cam Banks?
My RPG club will definitely want to be involved with playtesting, and my boyfriend's first comment when I told him the news was "I want to GM that".
That's a good sign. ;)
So when are we likely to get playtesting files for this? We schedule club games in slots, so I'll need to plan in advance.
Any plans to try to release Cosmic Contest with the Sentinels RPG kickstarter?
Where would you place it on the mechanics end (Champions Heroes) vs Freeform (Fate) ?
What would be the estimated price (so that we can start putting aside money now)
OK, I'm going to answer this, but we're still really far from that point, so these are just guesses/estimates/hopes and dreams.
We're thinking a core rulebook for around $40 or $50, with a "starter box" for about $20. BUT DON'T HOLD ME TO ANY OF THAT!
Also thanks for doing a Q & A
My pleasure!
I assume Guise is the best hero to play as in the game.
Do you know if this will be mechanically similar to the late, lamented, brilliant Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, which was also a superhero system designed by Cam Banks?
Similar, but still very different!
So when are we likely to get playtesting files for this?
Next year, most likely. Maybe by the end of this year. We'll see!
Any plans to try to release Cosmic Contest with the Sentinels RPG kickstarter?
Sort of?
Where would you place it on the mechanics end (Champions Heroes) vs Freeform (Fate) ?
I'd say closer to freeform.
How easy/difficult will it be to use the custom character system to build classic Marvel/DC characters for when I want to run a Secret Crisis of the Multiverse cross-over event?
Will you and Adam be doing any comic book pages for the game?
I assume Guise is the best hero to play as in the game.
Guise appreciates that assumption!
How easy/difficult will it be to use the custom character system to build classic Marvel/DC characters for when I want to run a Secret Crisis of the Multiverse cross-over event?
As easy as making your own custom characters, certainly.
Will you and Adam be doing any comic book pages for the game?
Sort of?
Are you looking for freelancers, by chance?
I'm definitely eager, and have quite a bit of experience in rpg writing, particularly in supers.
Are you looking for freelancers, by chance?
Not currently, but we shall see as the process goes, especially thinking of supplements. Consider your name in the ring!
Christopher, just want to say once again...YOU ROCK! Looking forward to another excellent game, and thanks for the Office hour as well!
Or GURPS Supers for that matter?
OR… Villians & Vigilantes, if you're a really old school superhero RPGer
1) is this game essientially dungeons and dragons but Sentinels format?
2) Will this game come with some stories to play through already or will whoever be the game master have to completely make up stories to play this game. My group doesnt always have time to come up with our own adventure so some premade ones would be great. Maybe even if there could be some support on the website for people who have created game write ups for people to use
Now I'm confused. It's being demoed at GenCon, but we won't see it for months after that?
People who aren't playtesters get to play before us? That makes me very sad. :(
Much obliged! Let me know if you'd like a resume or works published list.
As for the corebook–how many already-established characters can we expect to have in the corebook? Is it a safe assumption to make that all of the already-created SotM characters will make it to the corebook, or will they be relegated to themed expansions?
1) is this game essientially dungeons and dragons but Sentinels format?
No, definitely not.
2) Will this game come with some stories to play through already or will whoever be the game master have to completely make up stories to play this game. My group doesnt always have time to come up with our own adventure so some premade ones would be great. Maybe even if there could be some support on the website for people who have created game write ups for people to use
It'll at least have one pre-created story, with more available over time. Heck, I'd be surprised if there aren't a bunch that come out of this forum community, given what I've seen of the creativity here.
One more question...Are you guys going to open up more demos for the RPG at GenCon given that there are no tickets left?
It's being demoed at GenCon, but we won't see it for months after that? People who aren't playtesters get to play before us?
That's a fair point. I'll get the RPG demo for Gen Con up for the playtesters before Gen Con, certainly.
As for the corebook--how many already-established characters can we expect to have in the corebook? Is it a safe assumption to make that all of the already-created SotM characters will make it to the corebook, or will they be relegated to themed expansions?
Oh, there will be a BUNCH.
Are you guys going to open up more demos for the RPG at GenCon given that there are no tickets left?
We'd like to, but it's a matter of having people to run demos and time to run them. If we do, we'll post about them on the front page, but that won't be until a bit closer to Gen Con.
Ok then I guess I am confused what this is actually going to be if its not a game like dungeon and dragons? Can you or someone else explain to me what this will be so I have an idea? I need to figure out how to get to Gen Con so I can play a demo of it.
ok sounds good. Hope to see lots and lots of stories then to play through from both the forums and you guys. Hopefully as a community we can figure a way to keep track of all the stories people have made and easily retreive them.
Yay, I am now a happy Silverleaf. :) Thanks Christopher!
Will you be demoing at Ravenwood by any chance?
Settings? I assume that the corebook will give us a bunch of info on Megalopolis and Rook City, but what about some of the other settings from the card game? Insula Primalis? Atlantis? Mars? Dok’Thorath? Discord?
My next question is for everyone: who wants to play online?
1) Ok then I guess I am confused what this is actually going to be if its not a game like dungeon and dragons? Can you or someone else explain to me what this will be so I have an idea? I need to figure out how to get to Gen Con so I can play a demo of it.
It's like D&D in that it's a Role-Playing Game, but it's very different from D&D in terms of system, focus, and story-telling style. Are you familiar with any tabletop RPGs other than D&D?
Will you be demoing at Ravenwood by any chance?
Ooh! Good question! I'll certainly try!
Sentinels the MMO? Handelabra has their work cut out for them.
Will this game be playable over the forum? I've never done a play by forum RPG before but I know it's been done before.
Who is the Cursed Acolyte's enemy?
What is Cursed Acolyte's inspiration?
When is the Cursed acolyte going to make his grand return?
Where is Cursed Acolyte now?
Why is Cursed Acolyte not featured very often?
How is Cursed Acolyte dealing with his master's most recent defeat?
Settings? I assume that the corebook will give us a bunch of info on Megalopolis and Rook City, but what about some of the other settings from the card game? Insula Primalis? Atlantis? Mars? Dok’Thorath? Discord?
Definitely. The way the game system handles environments is great. Really, seriously great.
:)
I think what he means is that it will be like D&D in that it will be a role-playing game that has a gamemaster storytelling the adventure to players who control the actions of their characters, using dice and other methods to determin the outcomes of those actions. But it won't be like D&D in that it will use and entirely different set of mechanics to build characters and run the game.
Can we get a bio of Bob the Blade Battalion? +10 internets for some one who gets that reference
[lots of questions about Cursed Acolyte from Ronway]
Eh, I'm thinking about retconning ol' C.A. from the Multiverse anyway...
(JUST KIDDING!)
The answer to that is probably "everyone"
How "out of the box" are the mechanics? Would you say that the rules-set skews with similarities towards an already-existing rpg?
Did you pitch the RPG to Critical Hits or did they pitch it to you?
What new elements that the RPG brings to the world of Sentinel Comics most excite you?
How "out of the box" are the mechanics? Would you say that the rules-set skews with similarities towards an already-existing rpg?
There are certainly recognizable elements, but it's very much its own system. And one that is VERY quick to pick up and play, in my opinion. Reading through an early draft of a rough rules doc set me ON FIRE for this game! There's a reason that we're working with these three talented gents.
Is the character creation mostly streamlined(a la Apocalypse World or Numenera) or more nitty gritty and option focused (like pathfinder or 3.5 D&D)?
Did you pitch the RPG to Critical Hits or did they pitch it to you?
Hmm, that is a long and complicated story. One for another time, perhaps.
What new elements that the RPG brings to the world of Sentinel Comics most excite you?
SO MANY. I can't wait to show you all the character advancement, as that made me exclaim out loud with joy when I first read about it. Also, the way traits are used to overcome challenges is fantastic. And incapacitated abilities! Yeah. Lots of things.
Is the character creation mostly streamlined(a la Apocalypse World or Numenera) or more nitty gritty and option focused (like pathfinder or 3.5 D&D)?
More like the former than the latter.
Miniatures!?!? While I love the beautiful miniatures from Tactics, they're quite pricy. Would you consider doing an official set of cardstock print and fold miniatures?
Is combat in the RPG fairly quick to resolve or does it turn into lengthy battles? I've seen detailed combat in some RPGs take over the entire session to the point where there was little time for the role-playing.
Christopher.
For those who have never played or been a part of any kind of Tabletop RPG before (like me), how easy would it be to pick up the "core book" + whatever suppliment comes with the kickstarter and dive into a GM role? I guess I'm asking is the storytelling system easy to grasp and run with for total noobs to RPGs but who enjoy your characters.
Thanks.
I see that you have said that it is somewhat free-form, but I NEED structure. Is there at least somewhat of a hard guideline, when it comes to building powers and stuff? I don't like independent studies, because I can't deal with having so many open-ended options in front of me, and I am not necessarily great at balancing my own creations.
I take it there won't be classes and races, a la pathfinder, but will there at least be some mechanical function that limits/guides power progression?
Also, this is for Rath: is your name at all Summoner Wars related? If so, awesome. If not, I think I may have a cool avatar for you that you might like...
Miniatures!?!? While I love the beautiful miniatures from Tactics, they're quite pricy. Would you consider doing an official set of cardstock print and fold miniatures?
You should not NEED miniatures for the Sentinel Comics RPG.
Is combat in the RPG fairly quick to resolve or does it turn into lengthy battles? I've seen detailed combat in some RPGs take over the entire session to the point where there was little time for the role-playing.
That's all up to the GM and what style of game they're running. That said, the combat is pretty streamlined and focused on progressing the action/story. Think of it more like combat in a superhero movie, rather than a training video on how to fight. Action and story over nitty-gritty details.
How does the game handle the issue of having a 'normal human' like Mister Fixer or Expatriette in the same group as someone like Legacy or Ra?
I could see them being presented "FATE-style" where they each have specific skills that they're best at, but using the same overall track, but I could just as easily see them being on totally different power-tiers.
Platinum, I don't see THAT being too much of a problem. Compare Pathfinder's Monk with the Sorcerer.
Granted, Legacy is a bit more extreme, but he's more of a support character with some self-defense options, in all actuality.
how easy would it be to pick up the "core book" + whatever suppliment comes with the kickstarter and dive into a GM role?
Not too hard, really. We're definitely focused on giving the GM the resources they need. We want that role to not be too intimidating.
I see that you have said that it is somewhat free-form, but I NEED structure. Is there at least somewhat of a hard guideline, when it comes to building powers and stuff? I don't like independent studies, because I can't deal with having so many open-ended options in front of me, and I am not necessarily great at balancing my own creations.
There are guidelines, but it is a more open-ended system.
I take it there won't be classes and races, a la pathfinder, but will there at least be some mechanical function that limits/guides power progression?
Possibly! That's more along the lines of what we're doing to create the book, rather than creating the system. Right now, we're more focused on the latter than the former.
It is not. It was one of my first D&D characters name.
That's a traditional problem for any Superhero RPG and it's generally solved through role-playing more than anything else. It's really no different than the classic question of why does Superman need the Justice League? A good game master builds storues with elements that let each player have their moments.
Besides, don't let The Wraith hear you talking smack against "normal human" heroes. She could take out Legacy or Ra if she put her mind to it (she's probably got some plans for that already, just in case)
And one from me that was skipped. 
How does the game handle the issue of having a 'normal human' like Mister Fixer or Expatriette in the same group as someone like Legacy or Ra?
Pretty similar to the way that the SotM card game does: everyone has their role and their place, and everyone is equally useful and important, even if not equally "powerful".
Will Handelabra make a video game of Sentinels RPG and turn it into a board game?
And one from me that was skipped. :(
I wonder if it means something... or if Siege-Breaker is just getting an even bigger role?!
Nah, probably not.
Will the RPG cover variant versions of the heroes, or just the base versions?
Will it introduce any new teams like the Prime Wardens or Dark Watch?
Will the RPG cover variant versions of the heroes, or just the base versions?
Will it introduce any new teams like the Prime Wardens or Dark Watch?
And now we're getting into material that we'll cover later on!
With that, we're well over an hour, so I'm going to go ahead and wrap up this office hour. It was great fielding all of your questions! I look forward to talking to you all more. There's lots of great things on the horizons, and we here at Greater Than Games couldn't be happier to be working with Critical-Hits Studios on this exciting project!
Now, it's time to go save the Multiverse!
yes I do. But how will we make that work.
http://imgur.com/PaXVFKV
This is Rath, from Summoner Wars. He's pretty cool.
no. I just figured they were all D&D but with different characters and stories and that was it.
Thanks for the time Christopher.
yup this is what I ment.
We totally need this in Roll20.
Also I'm very excited. YAY!
after they do sentinel tactics the video game
Thanks Christopher! Very excited about this new project!
Thanks!
Oh, not by a long shot. They all have VASTLY different mechanics systems, in addition to the aforementioned different characters and stories.
ya but I see this working well in the forums also. Idk what scares me is the game master role and how easy it will be to build stories for a group to play. Hopefully as a community we can come up with enough stories in a database and a rating system for those stories on how good they are to use that newer GM's or people who dont have time to make their own stories can just use the already created ones.
D&D is the classic RPG, and the grandfather of many other games. What you discover after playing different RPGs is that the rules that govern the mechanics of the game can dramatically affect the flavor of the game itself (which is why we were asking a bunch of questions related to those issues). Some game systems have tons of rules that cover a huge variety of situations that might pop up during an adventure, while other are much more free-form and use the rules as a simple structure for the game master and players to tell an inveractive story with.
Similarly, some games have very intricate character creation methods that assign points to every attribute and advantage, while others let players build whatever unbalanced thing they want.
I tend to prefer middle of the road stuff myself.
Hi folks,
I'm Dave, one of the designers working on the Sentinels RPG. I'm really excited to see so many people interested in the game we've been working on, and will be very happy to bring it to you all.
I wrote a little bit about the announcement on my site: http://www.critical-hits.com/blog/2015/05/21/announcing-sentinels-of-the-multiverse-rpg/
Working with GTG, we've come up with a two phase approach. The first is to design the fundamentals of the system, and make the characters from the core Sentinels set playable, along with some villains, environments, and plots. That's what you'll see at the sessions of Gen Con, and for the near future.
The second phase is to develop it into a full RPG, where we'll focus more on character creation, campaigns, etc. We have started on all of that with our current ruleset, but it's not quite fully developed enough to go indepth with yet. We want to get the rules into wider hands first to make the system it can be before we build other systems on top of it.
I used to GM a GURPS Supers campaign and I still have a bunch of story ideas that I never got around to using. I suspect I may have to dust them off and see if my Deadlands RPG group wants to play Sentinels next year.
Hey folks! I'm Cam, another of the designers on the RPG. I'm a huge fan of super hero games, and was lead designer on the recent Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game from Margaret Weis Productions. Now I work full time at Atlas Games and in between being a husband and father of two boys, I do freelance design and development work. I love collaborating with Dave and Phil and we've joined forces to create this game for GTG because we're big fans and want to do right by them and all of you.
Also, my favorite character is Haka, because like him I'm a New Zealander. :)
I look forward to hearing more about Sentinels RPG. Just wish the kickstarter was sooner.
Ugh. I miss all the fun stuff. Thanks to Christopher for answering, and the other Forumites for asking, questions on the nature of the RPG.
Well, I'm very excited! The designers of Marvel Heroic doing a game described as "Kind of like Apocalypse World but different." based on Sentinels of the Multiverse... I cannot imagine how you will possibly be able to squeeze any more of the things I like into one project! ;)
Lots of comparisons and questions with DnD- which is understandable, with DnD being the biggest name in RPGs. But I'm more curious about comparing it to the RPG that best matches Sentinels' theme: What will this bring to the table that can't already be done with Mutants and Masterminds in a Sentinels setting? M&M is best when you buy the peanutbutter kind, and avoid dark chocolate already a fairly narrative-focused game with heavily customizable heroes, and it sounds like SCRPG is going to be going down the same route to a degree; what will you be doing to make sure that there's enough difference between the two that it won't be a redundant product for those that are already interested in Mutants and Masterminds?
Hey Silverleaf, I'm in! :)
I think M&M from what I remember is on the "crunchy" side. Sounds like this will be more streamlined and story-focused.
Wooooooooooo! 
Mutants & Masterminds is a solid game at a fairly mid-to-high complexity level on a par with D&D and HERO. We're aiming for something less complicated, really. Much more tightly dependent on character goals, story elements, and emulating comic books as opposed to being exhaustive, detail-oriented, and emulating a world of super hero physics. That's the same basic idea I had when designing MHR, and Dave and Phil and I are taking that same approach here while also making sure to embrace the spirit of Sentinels of the Multiverse and the GTG style.
Oh, Cam. This is why I threw my full support behind your being on the development team.
Did you also throw tomatoes? ;)
No! I was asleep when this happened. I would've asked if the RPG was going to come with a basic timeline of the Sentinels universe making it easier to reenact important events from the comics. Oh well, perhaps I will get an opportunity to ask later.
Just got off work and came home to find this topic. Sad that I missed the Q&A session!
But the news of a Sentinels RPG is fantastic. I absolutely love story-telling in RPG's and would love to dive into a new Sentinels based system. I don't think creating and running a comic book or Multiverse themed session will be very hard; should be intuitive for most veteran GM's and comic book fans.
What I'm interested to learn more about is the character creation and how the different powers are going to be balanced. Like in many comic books, super powers are never created equally with many heroes just being completely overpowered compared to some. For instance, while Hawkeye and Thor are both awesome heroes, no one is going to argue that Thor couldn't literally fly circles around Hawkeye and smeer him allover the pavement if he was so inclined. Their power sets are just on completely different planes.
I've never played the Marvel RPG, so I'm not sure how balancing has been done in a comics RPG in the past, but I look forward to learning more! That Kickstarter can't come soon enough!
Unequal power levels? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sbzUfV3_JIA
That'll teach you to never sleep again.
There are other supers RPGs that are fairly narratively focused with heavily customizable heroes. There's room for more than just M&M. I mean if there's room for Icons, Supers!, M&M, and BASH there's also room for a Sentinels RPG.
What I've read in this thread sounds pretty distinct from M&M, actually.
The question "What does this RPG do that makes it better for Sentinels than [other generic superhero RPG]?" is a nontrivial one, and one I look forward to seeing the answer to!
It does kind of raise some interesting questions of its own, though. Like, individual characters aside, in what ways does the Sentinels Comics universe differ significantly from, say Marvel or DC? What are the guiding principles of the fiction? If Christopher weighs in on such things in the GM Rules/Advice chapter, that'd be at least if not more interesting to me than any juicy setting tidbits revealed (not that I am not looking forward to those and more of Adam's fantastic artwork as well, of course.)
Mind if I answer that question? I collect Superman, Batman, etc. I, also, collect SotM. To me, DC is about the characters that share a common universe, while SotM is about the universe that has interesting characters. Does that make sense?
Just got to see this.
So excited, and reading through. . .
OMG the setting is going to be cosmic contest. Towards the end of the card game, and the sort ofs! This is awesome.
Can't wait to play as Haka and make Baron Blade sit in the uncooperative chair.
I for one am much more looking forward to creating my own characters than playing official ones. If I play someone else's character I feel I don't know them well enough to behave "correctly" in every situation, or to make decisions that are the right ones for the character.
They are already far too fleshed-out for me to be able to play them well without feeling like I'm crapping all over the canon, which after all isn't my canon. That's just me though, I'm totally weird about that.
Silly example: I played a one-shot Dr Who game with pregens. I don't really watch Dr Who, and I only have the vaguest idea who everyone is. The GM handed me Rose. I know Rose likes chips and has some kind of tragic romantic thing with the Doctor, but that was really about it. I spent the whole game crippled by the inability to do anything in case I was playing Rose wrong. Obviously I know much more about Sentinels Comics characters than I do Rose, but I don't feel it's possible for me to feel comfortable with a character that I don't know every single thing about (unless it's my own character, in which case I can make it up on the fly because it's my character).
Anyway, digression. As you were.
Sentinels of the Multiverse.
The character can be an alternate universe version of the card game character, your interpretation of an established character. It's not like that's any different to how "real" comic book writers do it anyway.
I'm the same as Silverleaf in not wanting to play "someone else's" character, but if Matchstickman hadn't got there I'd've said that those who find themselves in that position but have to play one anyway can just be playing a version who's from a different part of the Multiverse and will therefore act differently to the canon version (who in some cases has multiple different versions of themselves running about anyway ;)).
This RPG sounds cool...I might look into it. The simplicity of the rules sounds promising but I'd love to see what char gen is like. If it's as open as it sounds then I bet you could make a game in any setting. I mean, you could probably give everyone Fantasy powers and make up a Fantasy setting in which to play - after all, several characters (funnily enough, they tend to be the ones I like playing best, like the Bard and the Druidic Shapeshifter ;)) could easily be fitted into a Fantasy setting and if the rules are open enough then I bet you could do it :D.
I know a good site for setting up forum-based RPGs if anyone decides to set one up in the future :).
I'm with Silverleaf on this one; it's the reason I prefer settings that are only lightly defined or that I have created myself. That's not to say that I'm in any way opposed to the SotM RPG, but I'm much more excited about the possibility of creating new characters than the chance to RP existing Sentinel Comics heroes.
Let me make a D&D parallel (for those of you unfamiliar with Forgotten Realms, my apologies). Sitting down to a game of SotM RPG and being handed Legacy to play is (in my mind) somewhat like joining a D&D group and having them say, "Okay, you're going to play as Drizzt."
But by Grabthar's Hammer, I am excited about this game.
Any chance for a "living" sentinels RPG campaign that we can have game days for and such. The living city/grey hawk campaigns were a big hit back in the day I was involved with them and would love to have one for sentinels.
Oh yeah, I know, and that makes total sense.
It just doesn't work for me, for reasons I've explained. It's why I have no urge to write fanfic. That and the fact that I suck at writing! 
I'm very glad that existing characters will be available though, don't get me wrong. I'm just not planning to use them myself.
I'm fine with doing either or. I would feel really nervous about doing the character justice if I was acting in an official movie or T.V show, but for a game, I'm fine with it. All we know about these characters is from tidbits dropped from Christopher and the flavor text, and so it wouldn't be like playing Spiderman or Iron Man who have years of comic book lore behind them.
Fortunately, another thing the Sentinel Comics RPG does well is encourage characters playing true to their abilties and personalities. For instance, Legacy has a "Family Man" trait that he uses to overcome certain challenges. I hope that's as awesome and thrilling sounding to you as it is to me.
This game is as much about personality and character is it about combat and super-powers.
I'm looking forward to hearing more about it. Just wish the kickstarter was sooner.
I think the earlier question about "Why use this system vs other superhero systems?" is a very valid one. The things that make me very eager to see how GtG answers this question are:
1) I like the way GtG writes rules, combining character with ability. I look forward to seeing how they approach RPG rules since character and ability are vital to a good game.
2) The advantage the Sentinels universe has over the established universes is that it is not 80 years old and written by lots of different people. While it echoes the longstanding histories of the established companies, this universe is fresh and built from scratch from a very small pool of minds who have a clear vision for what it is and how it works. Yes it combines super-science, magic, time-travel, space opera and all the usual comic book tropes which can make for a cumbersome universe. But the people who made this universe know how it all fits together, instead of cobbling it together from the career-long creations of hundreds of creators with vastly different (and often conflicting) ideas.
3) I'm a Sentinels fan, and knowing more about the story and the world makes me happy.
I mentioned the RPG to my 11yo daughter last night and she got really excited about it, saying that she practially plays the card game as if it were an RPG already.
I'm under orders from one of my gaming groups to fund the kickstarter and keep an eye out for playtester openings.
Parenting - you're doing it right.
Where can we sign up for the GenCon events? I didn't see them in the event catalog.
Don't hurt yourself looking, man. They're already sold out!
I've been swamped under and haven't had a chance to write this yet, but don't want to put it off any longer.
There is no team of people I can think of that I would trust more to create a new system for a Sentinels RPG that will still feel like the card game. There is only one team I might trust more to preserve the feel of the game overall, but they would be unlikely to create a new system for it, and I'm not sure the system they work in is the best possible fit for Sentinels.
For those who don't know, not only were Cam, Phil, and Dave three of the principal forces (maybe THE three principal forces?) behind Marvel Heroic, but Cam has a lot of other work on licensed RPGs, including Smallville and Leverage. I'm primarily familiar with Dave & Phil's separate works on 4th Edition D&D, and think they both did out-of-the-park jobs on them. (I don't think Phil knows that at one point I pitched an adventure to Chris Perkins in which I expressed the preference to use his 0-level character rules. It wasn't greenlit and other pitches in that same batch were, so it never went anyplace, and I'm not sure I can recall off-hand what the concept was, although I've probably still got a draft of the pitch around someplace.)
These dudes have got chops. The only thing I haven't previously seen in this thread is the possible ability to throw this at my (currently) 9-year-old, who does not have RPG experience because I don't have the combination of time and a good group to give him same, and have him pick it up with no difficulties.
I read "Smallville" as "Smallworld", and was rather confused that Smallworld was being counted as an RPG.
Carry on.
Late to the party, but super excited about this news.
Of course, the thing I'm most excited about is the potential new lore we could learn this way. I'm a sucker for the depth and complexity of the characters GtG has created.
Aye. More information on the lore is always good.
I'm interested in seeing how the environments affect gameplay. Mayhaps something like Fate's Aspects?
Funny you say that… the Evil Hat crew were the other folks I was alluding to above. Just not sure that I think FATE is a good system for this. (I've given some on and off thought to trying to design it for FAE. I was close to sending Cam a message wanting to pick his brain about licensed systems with this in mind back in mid/late January, but got swamped under in work/professional development/coursework and had to put it on a back burner. I was just getting really close to dusting off my thoughts about it when the news leaked.)
Among the people I know, Fate is pretty much the only thing that has anything involving environmental aspects that affect play that anyone knows about. Admittedly, it is a small sample group. Which is annoying because I want to use enviromnents in the game I'm writing but I only have Fate as an example of what can be done. Also, I imagine Evil Hat are kept very busy.
I really like the looks and sound of this. I will be running a supers game at my university gaming group this September. Is there any chance that a playtest version of the rules will be available by then?
It sounded like playtest stuff would be available in 2016.
Christopher said he’d get the materials being used for Gen Con out to the playtesters before Gen Con, so playtesters will see some early materials long before 2016. 
Still. . . Too. . . Long. . .
You know, since I discovered >G, I've spent most of my time having to be patient until the next cool thing is available for me.
Damn it, >G!
You know, since I discovered >G, I've spent most of my time killing heroes in a card game.
Bless it, >G.
Now you will get the chance to kill heroes in an RPG!
Since I discovered >G, I've aged.
Damnit >G!
(this appears to be the start of a very likely candidate to bud off in to it's own thread in the off topic section)
Pulling it back on topic, I wonder how much >G has changed since developing such a passionate and civil fanbase.
EDIT: With regards to developing products like this.
I'd gathered that they might have something out for playtesters, I'm just sort of assuming that will be a very bare-bones version of the game (only pre-generated characters/environments etc). Not that I would mind being proven wrong in the slightest. And I'm really interested that a number of people who worked on the Marvel RPG are working on this - I liked the look of it but couldn't get my head around the advancement system (it looked like it was intended for fairly short campaigns).
SIlverleaf... If i can actually become a playtester, I'm happy to run it for you online :)
I've had plenty of experience running games online
Aaaaaaahhh! How did I miss this?
I've been a huge fan of Cam's work for a while. He's a great guy, too, having met him at a few cons here in the Twin Cities. I hope that means playtests might be available here, too...
As an aside, I am super-down to be considered a playtester for this. SotM RPG! I seriously haven't checked the boards in too long, as I've been sitting over here, working on a campaign for the Apocalypse World SotM port... lemme go ahead and burn that to the ground and wait for this!
The art on your icon looks familair. Is it from the old On the Edge CCG?
Me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me, yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes
Super excited about this.
EDIT: It's probably out already. Now I just have to find it...
Nope, not yet! I'm sure you'll hear something about the Kickstarter here on the forums when it gets closer.