Field Guide to Superheroes, Volume 2

The first piece of the Field Guide has gotten us all great reviews both from RPGNow and from Steve Kenson, the creator of ICONS, who you can hear on the latest Vigilance Press podcast. Now that I am back in town, I am working furiously on the final edits for Volume 2, which will add ten more archetypes and complete the first half of the project.

Art is starting to come in from my collaborator, Dan Houser, and as you can see it's some great stuff. The art for the Field Guide is already a great fit, because Dan has defined the house style for ICONS, but now it's going to be, quite frankly, better than anything in ICONS.

For those watching at home, volume 2 will detail:

• The Descendant is a hero who has inherited his title from an older hero who has died, lost his powers, turned to evil or retired. This gives the new version a history, but also big shoes to fill. He may have started off as a Sidekick.
• The Divine Hero is a character whose powers stem directly from a living religion like Christianity, Islam, or Judaism.
• An Embodiment personifies a universal force, such as Justice, the Earth, or Speed. He or she is very powerful but also has to answer to an even more powerful boss.
• The Ex-Con is a former villain or petty criminal who now fights crime. He may be a good guy who got mixed up with the wrong crowd or a real scoundrel who is working for justice only under duress.
• The Femme Feline is an especially popular sort of Animal Hero. A woman with a cat motif, she is morally ambiguous and flirty.
• The Feral Hero is a Jeckyll & Hyde character who tries to do good but struggles with a dark, animal nature which leads him to kill.
• The Focused Hero is a normal person with one super-power – such as flight, invisibility or great strength -- which he has learned to master.
• A Gadget Guy or Gadget Girl is usually a scientist with a collection of weapons and other equipment, including a vehicle.
• The Handicapped Hero overcomes a serious disability through advanced training, superpowers, or just raw guts.
• The Jungle Hero is a Tarzan-style hero who is caretaker of a hidden land and who often has animal-related powers