Character Creation: Zam! Pow! Spork!

We're not your classic superheroes. We're the other guys.

OR DO I EAT THIS SANDWICH?

The Game: Zam! Pow! Spork!
The Publisher: Wicked Clever
Degree of Familiarity: None, but it's only 32 pages
Books Required: Just the one

If the title doesn't make it clear what kind of game we're talking about here, the caped hippo on the cover probably would. In Zam! Pow! Spork!, we're playing sidekicks to a hero, but the gist of the game is that the "hero" is more than a bit full of himself and it's the sidekicks who actually get shit done. If I felt like analyzing, I'd say it was the Peter Principle applied to a supers RPG. But mostly I just feel like making a character. (Weirdly, the sheet wasn't included with the game on DTRPG, but it's on their website.)

Superpower! You do with with a d66, meaning you can read them in either order. 3, 4 give me "magical weapon" or "really stinking rich." Um, the former, please. Ah, but then I roll again and mash up both results, which is a really clever way of coming up with a superhero, I think. So for my second roll, I get 6, 4, which is either "water & ice powers" or "shape-shifting." Ooh, tough call. I could make a shape-shifter named Dwayne...hang on, feel like I made this joke already. I did, with Paragon. 

Well, anyway, I like the idea of a magic weapon that summons explosions of water, so let's say my guy has a sling. He can fling ice cubes, which then burst into torrents of water! SPLOOSH! That's actually pretty useful. More so than only turning invisible if no one, including you, is watching, I think.

Next, Aptitudes. This game being a Lasers & Feelings hack, I choose my guy's level on three scales: Mundane to Marvelous, Gritty to Polished, and Brainy to Brawny. Hmm. I feel like he's more on the Marvelous side, so I'll put that at 4. I'll put Gritty/Polished at 3 (closer to Gritty), and I'll put Brainy/Brawny at 4 (closer to Brawny). 

Profession! What do I do when I'm not splooshin'? What the heck, let's make him a bartender at a country club. Easy supply of ice cubs, anyway.

And then I need a catchphrase. How about "set to get wet!" 

All that's left is the name/description kind of thing. I like "Sploosh" as a superhero name, both because it's fitting and kind of terrible. So Sploosh wears a swimsuit, but like, the kind you'd wear as a pro (like, it's not just trunks or a speedo, it actually covers the chest). He's got an insulated bag on his hip and his magic sling on the other, and he's ready to sidekick for [the Star Hero, which we'd make as a group if we were playing]. He's built like a swimmer, obviously, wears a swim cap and goggles when he's side-kickin'. In real life, Chase Chacelli is blond, blue eyes, and a decent enough guy but maybe doesn't think things all the way through? He's very much the kind of guy who would make decisions that would lead people to say "you never ran this past a 13-year-old boy, did you?" (Hence the nom de guerre.)