Feature Funnies #8 - pt. 2

Speaking of games (as I did in yesterday's post), an entire Hideouts & Hoodlums session could consist of working on a logic puzzle/investigation, like this one Jane Arden is solving.  I've only included the ending here to a story that's neatly resolved in three pages, but it's a "locked box" (as opposed to a locked room) mystery.

Verily, there are no rules for jousting in H&H, per se, but the sundering of shields could be handled by the non-superhero wrecking things rule, and unhorsing a rider would just be an extra save vs. science added to normal combat.

I was able to glean a surprising amount of nuances of characterization and backstory from the subtle workings of George Brenner on The Clock, when I wrote his entry for Supplement IV: Captains, Magicians, and Incredible Men, but even I forget if I ever noticed The Clock having a dad, who knows his secret.  This is really unusual, given how future generations of superheros will bend over backwards to fool their families and hide their secret pastimes.

It also raises an Experience Points issue, for Editors who are good at awarding XP for including Supporting Cast Members in scenarios -- do family members count as SCMs?   I would be inclined to say not. SCMs should have to be earned, by lucky dice rolls or good role-playing (though the official rules only recognize lucky dice rolls), not mothers and fathers and siblings that everyone could get to start with. I can just imagine someone trying to game the system by wanting to start with four siblings and a dozen cousins that they visit each game session...though, in truth, no one has really tried to do that yet.

At first, it seems pretty cool that The Clock has a secret lair with a bulletproof glass wall he can sit behind while he interviews guests, and the opaqueness of the glass kind of makes sense too, to conceal his identity...or would, if he wasn't still wearing his mask behind the glass. Aren't masks supposed to be all good guys need to conceal their identities? That's like the most basic trope of the genre. I'm starting to expect the opaqueness is a cheat to keep from drawing full figures. George Brenner uses lots of tricks like that, like close-ups of people just standing around talking, and shots of rooms where the lights have gone out.

Bulletproof glass walls have got to be pretty expensive, too. And he would only be able to use this place once, because the police captain would just come back and raid the place later otherwise.  So I don't recommend them unless your Heroes have a lot of money to throw around.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)