Close
Close
Advanced Search

Spectaculars Core GameClick to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/261309.xml&w=500&h=250
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.drivethrurpg.com/pdf_previews/261309-sample.pdf

Spectaculars Core Game

ADD TO WISHLIST >

Spectaculars is a tabletop roleplaying game where players create their own comic book universe, craft heroes and villains to populate that universe, and then play through full-length campaigns to tell incredible stories of heroism and villainy in a world of their own creation. This box set game gives a gaming group everything they need to play the game, and to create their own consistent campaign that spans multiple comic book genres.

Through play, each copy of Spectaculars evolves into its own unique comic book universe; in essence, the players create, through play, a rich backdrop against which their heroes and villains clash. The nature of the setting is determined by the players. Is your setting’s home city built on top of a dimensional rift, spilling dark magics into the world? Is the government agency that oversees superpowered activity made up of men and women in black suits and sunglasses, operating in a loose affiliation of independent cells in all of the world’s major cities? Is the star empire that chases refugees to Earth a tyrannical, conquering horde looking to make humanity its next victims? You decide which of these are true for your setting. Spectaculars makes it easy to create a fully fleshed-out setting, guiding you the process of creating the setting’s major elements at the time they come into play.

An Off-The-Shelf Game

Spectaculars is designed to be played with minimal preparation. Once all of the players know the rules of the game, you can start playing a scenario with brand-new characters in a matter of minutes. Character creation is fast and easy, and the game comes with 50 scenarios spread across four comic book genres. With Spectaculars, you can run multiple satisfying, evolving campaigns right out of the box, with no need to spend hours doing advanced work to prepare for the session. It’s the perfect game for people who want the satisfaction of playing an ongoing campaign, but don’t have the time to dedicate away from the game table. The scenarios included in the game provide over 100 hours of campaign play!

Included in the Core Game PDFs…

The Spectaculars core game includes the following components:

  • The 60-page Rulebook
  • The 60-page Setting Book
  • Four 80-page series, filled with hero archetypes, villains, minions, and the scenarios (issues) that make up each campaign. Over 50 scenarios included in total!
  • The 85-card Deck of Powers
  • The 20 Basic Power cards
  • The 85-card Deck of Identities
  • The 40-card Deck of Complications
  • The 52-card Initiative Deck
  • The 8 Team Role cards
  • Hero Progress sheets
  • Diagrams for creating your own advantage and challenge dice

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (5)
Discussions (12)
Customer avatar
Nestor D R July 14, 2023 1:04 am UTC
PURCHASER
I purchased the physical product before I realized there were PDFs of the books. Do I still need to pay for digital copies above what I already shelled out for the box?
Customer avatar
Neil S October 06, 2021 3:01 am UTC
Pod
Customer avatar
G P T September 01, 2021 7:12 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi all, I've been wondering, is it possible to have more than one of each setting element? For example, the Crime Syndicate. If we're building an imprint, Marvel Comics has the Hand OR the Maggia, both of which fill different niches but fit the setting element description. Or, even more broadly if you wanted to evoke something like the DC Universe, even having multiple "City" entries. For your Metropoles, Gothams, Central Cities and so on.
Customer avatar
Michael S May 20, 2021 2:10 am UTC
Are form-fillable versions of the Setting Book and other components planned?
Customer avatar
Scott N August 17, 2020 5:12 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Would it at all be possible to reformat all the cards to have 6 per/page instead of 1 (really stupid), that's allot of wasted paper/card stock to say the least. This is why I hate buying pdf games using cards, it's like nobody knows how to do a card pdf for printing except for those who sell sports games, take a lesson.
Reply
Customer avatar
Alan W November 24, 2020 12:20 pm UTC
I am not sure how they are formatted, but usually, you can just print multiple pages per sheet. For cards that come out roughly 63mm x 88mm, you can get a 2 x 4 grid on A4 paper or a 2 x 3 grid on letter paper.
Customer avatar
Justin W March 14, 2020 7:28 am UTC
PURCHASER
I have recently purchased this and am looking forward to running it. I understand that it’s designed for Pick up and play, but would it be possible to add more customisation to powers? Many supers games have power upgrades and situational bonuses so perhaps there is merit for Modifier cards which allow you to gain different power stunts or limit a powers use, but offer a Hero Point bonus to compensate.
Reply
Customer avatar
Rodney T May 12, 2020 5:36 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
There's a section in the rules that basically talk about this on an in-play basis. If a player wants to use a power stunt that isn't on the card, and the Narrator agrees that it is thematically appropriate, then the guidance in the rulebook is to let the player spend a hero point to pull it off. As for more permanent modifications, the idea of modifier cards is interesting. I'll keep that in mind as I look to do more in the future.
Customer avatar
Edward S February 16, 2020 8:33 pm UTC
This game appears to be very dependant on decks of cards and pull off sheets. How would this game function if I wanted to play it online with my friends? Any feedback you can provide would be welcome. Thanks.
Reply
Customer avatar
Rodney T February 24, 2020 3:55 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
While it's true that the game does use sheets and cards, those are more for conveying information and making the game easier to learn/play. If all of your players have access to the PDFs, for example, they can probably get by with just copying out the relevant sheets and cards that they need for their own characters. It would require each player to do a little more prep work to get their characters ready to use and more easily referenced, but probably no more effort than, say, creating a character in more traditional, book-based RPG. If not everyone has access to the PDF, it would definitely be more difficult, and you'd likely have to do that work for them.
Customer avatar
Terry B August 08, 2019 4:12 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Perhaps a silly question, but can the game be played with only a pdf, without the physical cards?
Reply
Customer avatar
Rodney T September 18, 2019 2:36 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
It would be more difficult; you're better off printing out the cards, even on normal paper.
Customer avatar
Francis D August 04, 2019 12:23 am UTC
Given all the power cards involved is there a good way of getting a print copy in the UK?
Reply
Customer avatar
Rodney T August 07, 2019 3:14 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
When the print copies are shipped later this year, copies will be shipped to warehouses in the UK, so UK shipping should be reasonable. You can still preorder the game through the PledgeManager: https://scratchpad-publishing.pledgemanager.com/projects/spectaculars/participate/
Customer avatar
Alfred R July 29, 2019 12:38 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The rule book mentions tracking heroes on a progress sheet found on a tear pad (p22). Is this meant to be the normal character sheets in the series tear pads? Is this meant to be another, distinct sheet? I can’t seem to find a sheet with space to track aspirations, turmoil, origins, or story progress.
Reply
Customer avatar
Rodney T July 30, 2019 4:12 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Looks like when I updated the files recently, that one got left out. I have uploaded the Hero Progress Sheet, and you can download it now.
Reply
Customer avatar
Alfred R July 30, 2019 5:53 pm UTC
PURCHASER
You rock, thank you!
Customer avatar
Colin B July 18, 2019 1:51 pm UTC
PURCHASER
As happy as I am to be backing the Kickstarter for this game, and as stoked as I am to begin running it, I can't help but feel like the fill-in-the-blanks nature of the boxset's components is kind of forcing a 'buy two copies of the game' mentality for GMs who might want to run it for more than one group. That's why I'm glad the PDF is available...I'd prefer to print out copies of those components than permanently write all over my (expensive) gamebooks.
Customer avatar
Lee S May 31, 2019 6:42 pm UTC
Table of Contents please?
Reply
Customer avatar
Rodney T July 25, 2019 4:44 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Updated, and the TOC is now visible in the product preview.
Narrow Results
$ to $
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!
 Recent History















Product Information
Electrum seller
Pages
120
File Size:
34.46 MB
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Last Updated:
March 16, 2021
This title was added to our catalog on May 31, 2019.