Halls of the Nephilim

Thursday, November 5, 2026

Ghoulactus and the Sulphur Surfer

This is a spooky taker of Galactus and the Silver Surfer by Johan Åberg

Ghoulactus and the Sulphur Surfer

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Vigilante City 5e - Part II - Classes Part 2

And today let’s look at the rest of the (non-powered) classes.

Mentor (Stick, Alfred Pennyworth) – I’m in love with class and requested back when Eric and Josh were writing the original Vigilante City. They can boost many ally rolls based on their Wisdom modifier. Trainers are skill monkeys, Tutor are also, but more intelligence based, and Weapons Masters show you where and how to hit something hard.
Mutant Hunter (Elsa Bloodstone, Caveboy) – Thematically this one seems more villainous than vigilante. Because of the name my mind goes to the Purifiers or Friends of Humanity in Marvel. That being said this is just vigilante that hunts things that aren’t human. In their own way the Winchester brothers fit this role (though they obviously go for supernatural targets). They get the ability to sense Mutants and other MegaHumans. As they level they get bonuses against these targets. The Annihilator is an aggressive subclass, while the Shadow Sly sticks to the dark corners to get things done.
The Protégé (Robin, Bucky) – Whatever you do, don’t call them sidekicks. These vigilantes gain the ability to provide hero support and gain benefits for being with their mentor. They are also acrobatic masters. Protégés that have the Rallyist subclass are team cheerleaders that can rally the troops and serve as symbols. Warrior Wards on the other hand are charming combatants.
Sharpshooter (Deadshot, Best Tiger) – Archers can’t have all the ranged fun. Sharpshooter’s are long range experts that provide great support to vigilante teams. Like the Archer they can add double their proficiency bonus to their ranged Modern weapon attacks. They also get trick shots. Bombardiers are the biggest loose cannons of the mix, being grenade experts. Gunslingers are dual pistol-wielding cool cats. Finally Snipers are experts at making their shots count.
Street Preacher (Azrael) – Sometimes vigilantes need God (or one of them) to take back the
streets. The good aligned holy men, women, and enbies. They are immune to Madness and have divine aura. Crusaders are combat Street Preachers, Evangelists spread the good work via divine oration, and Spiritual Healers are specialized in channeling their divine power for optimal healing.
True Vigilante (Clown Hunter, Moon Knight) – These vigilantes fight fire with fire, using chaos and anarchy to fight anarchy and chaos. They are always ready to fight crime and flip off authority. Castigators smite their foes and a Nemesis is a True Vigilante that focuses on facing a certain type of foe.
Tunnel Shadow (Catwoman, Black Cat) – These vigilantes are your stereotypical roguish types. They are stealthy and have sneak attack. Underworld Fences know how to acquire and sell stolen goods. Underworld Guides are experts at navigating sewers.
VC Mercenary (Paladin, Deathstroke) – These battle-hardened mercs are elite operators. Like Mutant Hunters, and Nemesis True Vigilantes, they know how to hunt and take down targets. Shadowmark Agents are black-ops types that are straight out of the Iron Age of comics while Guns for Hire specialize in destroying their targets.

Like I said yesterday, if the only classes for the games were these, you’d have more than you need. But no, not counting MegaHuman classes (which will be discussed tomorrow or Friday) there are 17 non-powered classes!

D6 of Doom

This is a wild idea and I love it. I even have a die like this I picked up from Dollar Tree.

My first thought is to include it as some kind of symbiote-esque weapon to introduce into the Vigilante City game I want to run. It also works well as a magical MacGuffin for a D&D game.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Vigilante City 5e - Part II - Classes Part 1

Today class is in session… err I mean we’re talking about the Vigilante City classes. As I mentioned yesterday, there are 17 non-powered classes. I figured I’d talk about each briefly (including subclasses and such). I’ll probably break it down further and talk about the first 9 today and the other 8 tomorrow.

Archer (Hawkeye, Green Arrow) – You know this had to be one. These cats are pretty dope. They combine ranged shenanigans with parkour. They gain double proficiency bonus when using bows and crossbows (which is ridiculously awesome). They can do all sorts of trick shots. Subclasses included Close Quarters Shooter and Reach Slayer (think sniper with a bow). Being converted from OSR, the level 3 ability for Close Quarters doesn’t make sense. Since I’m part of the extended Bloat Games crew I’m going to make an errata document. This is one of my favorite classes because I’ve always been a big fan of archer heroes.
Athlete (Wildcat, Demolition Man)– This is another classic vigilante archetype. These individuals are blessed with great physical talent. They move faster and hit harder than the average cat. The two subclasses are Powerhouse Athlete and Superstar Athlete. The Powerhouse dominates physical activities and the Superstar mixes athleticism with natural charisma.
Crime Fighter (Batman, Night Thrasher) – Honorable combatants that feel no one is above the law. Their subsclasses are Master Investigator and Pulverizing Crime Fighter. The first is a master of investigation while the second delivers extra brutal blows to law breaking scum.
Dark Avenger (Punisher, Red Hood) – These vigilantes want to make criminals suffer and do not care about the law. They are brutal and can smite their foes. Their subclasses include Psy-Avenger (which unlocks minor Psion abilities) and Umbra stalker (which are totally at home in the dark).
Gadgeteer (Donatello, Blue Beetle)– These vigilantes are brilliant and can whip up a variety of wonderful toys to help them in their crusade. They can create and upgrade their equipment. Their subclasses are the offensive Onslaught Bringer and the defensive Reinforcing Engineer. I really like the upgrades this class gets to their gear.
Genius (Mister Terrific, Valeria Richards) – This brilliant individuals can negate abilities by outsmarting foes and are protected by their intellect. The are extremely skillful as well. In classic comics I feel like most genius characters would also be Gadgeteers. I get why there are different classes though. The two subclasses are Genius Teacher which can impart their knowledge on to others (in the form of bonuses) and the Human Computer which are totally aware of the surroundings and eventually know everything (or at least gain proficiency in all skills).
Hardboiled Detective (The Question, Misty Knight) – These neo-noir heroes gather information with two-fisted investigation. They have a useful ability called insightful knowledge (which has its own special chart). They also make connections on the street. Their subclasses are the Sherlock and the Tracker. The Sherlock relies on Intelligence instead of just Wisdom. The Tracker does what its name says.
Knight Nurse (Night Nurse, Dr. Mid-Nite) – If you’re going to get into a fight, you want a good healer. Knight Nurses feel that role well. Combat Medic and Med Student are the subclasses. Combat Medics are rough and tumble and can hold their own in a fight. Med Students can outsmart foes and perform medical miracles.
Martial Artist (Bronze Tiger, Electra) – You knew this classic archetype was going to be included. These vigilantes have trained their minds and bodies to be the ultimate weapons. Their subclasses are The Mountain and Street Ninja. The Mountain is indomitable and can weather any blow. Street Ninjas are stealthy combatants that rely on cunning.

Honestly if these were only classes I’d say the game has plenty, but these are just half of the classes (and don’t take the MegaHuman classes into account). Tomorrow I’ll discuss the other classes.

We Are A Nation…

I love Daniel Warren Johnson. He’s never shy about expressing his beliefs.

If you are in the States and haven’t already, make sure you vote today.

Monday, November 2, 2026

Vigilante City 5e - Part I - Overview

Vigilante City got the 5e treatment and it’s pretty damn spectacular. There are two books: Core Rules and Villain’s Guide. The core book is around 285 pages. While it says Core Rulesyou’ll still need a Player’s Handbook or the Basic Rules to run it. While it can be used with either version of 5e, most Bloat Games 5e stuff is made with D&D 2024 in mind. The art is primarily Runehammer’s work (like the original) with a few Christopher Torres and Phil Stone pieces here and there.

Most characters in Vigilante City are Humans and MegaHumans. At your GM’s discretion you can also include non-human species. There are 16 modern backrounds included. A majority of the book focuses on classes. There are 17 non-powered classes and 8 powered MegaHuman classes. Like the SURVIVE THIS!! version of the game, the basic classes are very well balanced. The MegaHuman classes can bend and break things though, so GM’s beware. The game was designed with Batman in mind, rather that Justice League and Superman. That being said some of the MegaHuman classes can get wild. That’s why despite the fact the authors state this is a vigilante game, not a superhero game I consider it a superhero game.

The regular classes each have multiple subclasses. The MegaHuman classes work a little different though. There are 11 subclasses that can be taken by any MegaHuman. The SURVIVE THIS!! version of the game had something similar with the powered characters.

We’re then presented with 9 or 10 pages of new equipment. You get all the weapons and armor you could need. There’s also an extended section on utility belts and gadgets for them. A few new rules are included. There’s an ignited condition that objects and characters can have that just makes sense to me. Magic comes from dark dimensions (ala Doctor Strange) so there are madness and Void rules. There are new first aid rules as well an ability called Outsmart that lets you negate attacks. This is another transplant from SURVIVE THIS!! that I’m a big fan of. We also get some simple radiation rules and a few new skills. Vigilante Points (V Points) are another new rules addition for the game. It’s essentially a reputation system. Definitely makes sense in a vigilante themed game. There’s an extended rules session for team tactics. Groups can choose to take a particular formation which grants bonuses. There are also combo actions which let you do things like the fastball special.

The book looks gorgeous and packs a lot of content for your vigilante/superhero games. As a big fan of 5e supers content this is right up my alley (which is hopefully not Crime Alley). In the next few days I’ll go more into the classes and also discuss the Villain’s Guide.