![See Issue X](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzcwNjI4NjgucG5n/original/AOUcrf.png)
See Issue X
A downloadable game
"When i started listening, i was like, "Damn, @potatocubed has made a game that every superhero podcast should play" and by the end of it i was going, "OKAY SO I NEED TO GET THIS AND MAKE A NEW MULTIVERSE"
-- Brandon Leon-Gambetta, author of Pasión de las Pasiones, host of Protean City
"@potatocubed made an AMAZING single-player game that captures the love, joy, nonsense, and chaos of superhero comics, and it is legit one of my favorite RPGs"
-- Jeff Stormer, host of Party of One (after playing See Issue X here)
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Telling superhero stories is easy, right? Just come up with a name, some powers, a personal hook or two, and you're good to go!
Sure. But what about twelve issues in? Or fifty? Or two hundred issues, three alternate timelines, one death-and-rebirth, and a handful of holiday specials which may or may not be canon? How easy is it then?
See Issue X is a tabletop roleplaying game where you will both tell the story of a superhero (or several) and also stand in the shoes of the writer as you struggle with their ever-more-unwieldy backstory. When the grey aliens threaten the Earth, that's one thing. When they kidnap Aunt Harriet's dog, that's... a little odd, but you can sell it. When they bring the hero back from the grave because of their shared love of board games, you know you're working with real comic book nonsense.
Luckily, this is cape comics: the nonsense is the bit we love best!
See Issue X can be played as a solo journalling game or as part of a group where everyone has their own character. Even better: you can play solo, take your character to join a group for a team-up event, then go back to playing them solo -- or knock out a few solo adventures between regular group sessions as part of your own continuity!
You will need the game pdf, a regular deck of playing cards you don't mind defacing (or 52 blank index cards), and a good pen for defacing playing cards with. If you don't want to deface playing cards you can use a normal deck, card sleeves, and scrap paper. Or you can use the macro-enabled Excel file bundled with the pdf and whatever computer-based writing tools you like, because I'm a huge nerd.
(As a note, the Excel file hasn't been rigorously tested and so is likely buggy as hell. I will be available for technical support on a 'when I get a moment' basis.)
If you want to know how the game plays Big Gay Nerds have played it on-air (part 1, part 2) and I played through a couple of arcs on Twitter as a way of showing how it works (arc 1, arc 2).
![Is This Game Finished Or What? Is This Game Finished Or What?](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzcwNjY1MTMucG5n/original/IZ%2FDh7.png)
Yes.
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (9 total ratings) |
Author | potatocubed |
Genre | Role Playing |
Tags | playing-cards, solo, Superhero |
Average session | A few hours |
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $15 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- See Issue X: Now With ARTAug 29, 2023
- See Issue X now available!Sep 26, 2021
Comments
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Great solo rpg. Has a multiplayer option that i kind of skimmed over, but as a solo player it's utterly fantastic! Any suggestions from the dev or anyone else for how to determine what arc to do next? First two are suggested, but after that it seems pretty free form and I'm not sure what should be the go-to for filler arcs or something like that. Again though, fantastic work, ty for making it!!!
Oh, and the excel file is PERFECT. Makes playing at the computer an absolute breeze!
Thank you for your kind words!
'Adventure' is your default arc for if you've got no better ideas, but it's worth looking through the others and seeing if any feel like a natural extension of the story you're telling. Depending on your character's genre Cosmic Adventure and Crime Fighting are both also good basic arcs.
Hello is this project still going on or is it dead
I'm not sure what you mean? SIX is finished.
No plans for an update to add villains or anything?
Oh, no, not at the moment. I still think it's a good idea but I've moved on to making other things.
hello, purchase on DriveThruRPG. This still being updated? And how big will the final version be?
I still plan to update it once I've got the art in. I just don't have the art yet. (You'll know it's the final version because I make print copies available on DTRPG.)
The final size is going to be ~200 pages, give or take.
anyway we can get a villain mode
That's an excellent idea! But also a lot of work. If I get the urge to revisit SIX in the future (once it's actually finished, with art and such) it's definitely a thought.
Well until then I can just reflavor some arcs in the mean time
Note I do not have xlsm, I am using LibreOffice Calc. When I open the xlsm file and try to draw a card, I get the following error:
BASIC syntax error.
Unexpected symbol: (.
This may be unique to LibreOffice, however.
I've done a little research and LibreOffice doesn't implement VBA in quite the same way as Excel, which I'm guessing is the problem. In theory I could grab a copy of LibreOffice and work something out, but in practice I have eleventy-billion things to do until mid-January so it's unlikely I'll get to that soon, if ever.
Thank you. Hopefully as I learn the game I could possibly put regular cards into VASSAL engine or Tabletop SImulator if I can't figure out LibreOffice.
If we've purchased the book here, will we get the final version with art that is being funded through Kickstarter? Or do we need to back there too? Thanks!
Hello -- if you bought the game here then you'll get the updated pdf with the art as well. I'm just going to update the files when they're ready, and you'll be able to grab the fresh new one.
Cool! Thanks
I had pledged on gamefound but since it didn't hit goal I went to itch.io just now to buy it. Hope your art costs get covered
Holy smokes this game is genius. Superhero continuities are about as messy as fiction gets and the core mechanic of this game really captures that feeling in the best of ways.
The heart of pretty much all superhero storytelling lives within the pages of See Issue X
Also, I found a minimalist deck of cards on Amazon that lends itself well to being written on