1. You retired at some point from more 12.
Your old sidekick is all grown up, and
active duty. What made you decide
to give it up? +1 retirement
2. There’s a kid using your old
superhero name. Who are they and
what is their relationship to you? +1
retirement
3. During the Second World War,
superheroes served as soldiers,
morale boosters, and defenders of
the home front. What did you do?
4. You didn’t emerge from the war the
same. What changed about you?
All you need is a d20, these prompts, and something to write with.
5. You have family/friends outside of
Begin the game with a Retirement Score of 10. At the start of
the active superhero community.
each turn, roll the d20 and respond to the corresponding prompt.
Who are they, and how much, if
Some prompts will increase your retirement score, while others
anything, do they know about your
will lower it. Wherever your hero lands on the scale from 0
other identity? +1 retirement
(return to active heroics full-time) to 20 (fully retire to a
6. There’s lots to keep people in the
mentorship role) determines how active their involvement in
superhero industry. What do you
superheroics is. The game can end at any time, but must end if
love about being a superhero? -1
you reach a score of 0 or 20. Neither option is the “goal”—they
retirement
are simply different paths.
7. Being a superhero has costs.
When you roll the same prompt again, look back at your earlier
Remember a thing, opportunity, or
response. Reveal something new about it. This may be your
person you lost because of your
character remembering something, some other part of the story
superheroics. +1 retirement
they weren’t aware of, or your character lying to themselves and
8. The world is saturated with
others. Roll a d20 and compare the value to your current
superheroes. How does the public
retirement score. If the roll is above the retirement score, add
see you—a has-been? An icon of days
1; if it’s below, subtract 1. If it’s even, do nothing.
gone by? An urban legend? A figure
only of interest to historians? A
hometown icon? +1 retirement
9. One of the younger superheroes
Create a character. This should include their name, occupation,
comes to you for help with an issue
gender, powers (if any), and superhero identit(y/ies). Consider
in their life, either superheroic or
also their race, class, and other elements of their background
personal. What do you do/tell them?
that would affect them.
+1 retirement
10. A dear friend recently passed away.
Who were they? How and with whom
do you mourn them?
Second Guess System by William Lentz is licensed under CC 11. A supervillain attacks you. Who are
BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit they, and how do you defeat them? -
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 1 retirement
you meet up to talk about your
memories and current lives. What is
your relationship with them like now
versus then?
13. You gain a new power or piece of
technology, or an old one changes
form/gets upgraded. What is your
new ability and what caused it? -1
retirement
14. Your team is made up of semi-
retired vets from your generation
and the next generation of teen
heroes. What is your role in the
group, both in terms of battle
strategy and personal dynamics? -1
retirement
15. Back in the 40s, you could never
reveal a crucial aspect of yourself.
Now, you can show that to the
public. What part of yourself have
you hidden? What made you decide
to come out with it now? -1
retirement
16. A world-shattering event occurs
that involves every superhero. What
role do you play in the crisis and its
aftermath?
17. Describe the town/city/area you
spend most of your heroic time in.
How long have you been here? How
has it changed?
18. You solve a problem you’d normally
deal with in costume entirely in your
civilian identity. How do you do it? -1
retirement
19. You’re not as young as you once
were. How has aging changed you,
physically and mentally? +1
retirement
20. What is something from the old days
that you miss?