Mark Waid is co-writing a Justice League Unlimited TTRPG

The heroic TTRPG begins crowdfunding in July

Mark Waid has been writing for DC Comics since 1985, penning celebrated stories like 1996’s Kingdom Come and helping to shape the evolution of the publisher’s biggest heroes. Now he’s co-writing Justice League Unlimited: The Roleplaying Game, which begins crowdfunding in July.

“I know so much about the DC universe after all this time that I'm always looking for some place to share that information,” Waid told Polygon in a video call. “My interest in role-playing games goes back to my college days.”

D20 Culture CEO Peterson Rodrigues reached out to Waid for help understanding the current state of the DC universe to make the official tabletop role-playing game, which lets players take on the role of established heroes or create their own using a wide variety of powers and backgrounds.

“We have had thousands of comics to get inspiration from, we have a team that is really keen to read more and research more, and we have Mark to answer any questions we had in terms of how to better portray a character,” Rodrigues told Polygon. “He pointed out a lot of things we should and could change to make it more faithful to the DC Universe and the lore of each character.”

A robust quickplay PDF that’s available to download now offers a taste of that rich lore. A starter adventure has the superheroes protect Metropolis from an attack by the Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw and simultaneously stop Parasite from taking advantage of the chaos by gorging himself on power. Rodrigues said the goal is to get players to put aside the “murderhobo” behaviors they’ve learned from other TTRPGs and embrace the themes of comics series like JLU and World’s Finest.

“It’s a game about heroes and we want you to play as heroes,” Rodrigues said. “You want the players to not focus on punching a bunch of villains and getting more powerful, but on how many people you can save and how many people you can inspire. You are a beacon of hope. The main idea of the game is to bring the idea of positivity in a world that’s so dark right now that we need heroes.”

Shifting the focus away from combat also makes it easier to build a group of very different heroes, from a Kryptonian to a human using martial arts and technology to a shapeshifting meta-human.

“Batman is on the same tier as Superman in this, even though Superman's a heavy hitter, because Batman can influence the world at the same level that Superman can,” Rodrigues said. “That’s not necessarily connected to power or damage output.”

Waid tested that balance in a recent game with other comic book writers. He played Air Wave, who has the power to manipulate radio signals and turn into energy, while Tim Sheridan (Alan Scott: The Green Lantern) played Green Lantern, Morgan Hampton (Cyborg) played Cyborg, and Jeremy Adams (The Flash) played Damian Wayne.

“With previous [TTRPG] campaigns I’ve been a part of, you’re really focusing on what your character can do,” Waid said. “The idea behind this is it’s not just a group of random characters thrown together. It’s a team, so there’s a focus on how to work together and how your abilities play off my abilities.”

The game master of Justice League Unlimited is referred to as the Editor, who is responsible for guiding the story and can introduce complications by spending Editorial Points. Likewise, players can gain Plot Points used to guarantee success on a roll, narrowly escape an attack, or push their abilities beyond their normal limits. But players who rely too much on messing with the plot run the risk of triggering a Crisis, an event ranging from an alien invasion to the arrival of time travelers.

“We wanted to bring the Silver Age gonzo vibes of the comics where anything can happen,” Rodrigues said.

The initial release will include a core rulebook, a guide to the Justice League’s base (the Watchtower), adventures for every tier of play, and rules for running a wide variety of threats, from kaiju to vampires. Three more books are already in pre-production, and Rodrigues said he’s in talks with other comics writers to pen adventures. Waid will continue to work on the game to help it evolve alongside DC Comics, and sees the potential to do official crossovers.

“I'm a teacher at heart, and I love, after all these years, being able to disseminate this information and pass this information along to new generations of writers,” Waid said. “Whether they're active comics writers, want to be comics writers, or are just players who want to find ways of expressing themselves through story as they play these games, it's fun to be able to help coach them along.”