Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet Review – Hero/Life Balance

The civilian identity. The alter-ego. The part of the superhero life that isn't about punching bad guys or piloting giant robots, but about maintaining mundane responsibility. This part of the superhero experience has been overlooked in the Essence20 RPG system. Something that Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet aims to address.

While it is one of the thinner supplements to Renegade Game Studios' RPG adaptation of the tokusatsu franchise, it packs a lot of welcome material inside. Material that is instrumental to having more emotionally invested scenarios at the table.

What is Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet?

Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet is a 166-page Essence20 supplement. It contains brand-new player Influences, Origins, Perks, Spectrum Role options, and Grid Powers. It  also contains new rules for base management, as well as new Contacts based on support characters throughout the show's history.

For GMs, the book contains rules and suggestions for setting up and implementing Alter-Ego scenes for your player characters as well as Threats based on Dino Thunder, Dino Charge, and Super Dino Charge.

How Does Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet Handle Alter-Egos?

So far, the different sourcebooks for the Power Rangers RPG have focused on the fantastical sci-fi elements of its world. Alien worlds, time travel, monster making, the list goes on. But not much time has been spent on whenever the players are unmorphed. Some source material broadly addresses the need for downtime thematically, but from a rules perspective and a GM perspective, this is one area of play that hasn't had much support.

This is where Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet shines. There's an entire chapter of the book dedicated to figuring out different narrative ties for each player. Supporting characters with whom they have strong ties. Real-world ambitions outside of punching monsters in the face. Rivals, love interests, mutual goals, and strong codes of ethics define their worldview. The list goes on.

For veteran players, these may be things that have already been introduced at your game, but these kinds of questions can make a world of difference for brand new players at Session 0.

Building on this is the introduction of Downtime Activities. These are simple goals players can work towards whenever they aren't facing the monster of the week.

On the GM side of things, the introduction of downtime opens up many storytelling possibilities. What if the baddies attack while a character is at work? That would force them into a difficult situation where they want to help people but have to do it unmorphed to maintain their secret identity. The book even provides mundane threats like street punks or corrupt politicians to complicate matters further.

A good example is in a game I ran where a character's potential love interest was attacked while they were hanging out. I proposed to the player that they would have downshifts on all of his skill tests throughout the fight scene, but once it was over they would gain two Story Points afterward. It led to some smart thinking on the players' part to work around the penalties, and it was a great way to express the characters' emotional toll in game terms.

What New Player Options Are In Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet?

Balancing both superhero scenes and Alter-Egos inform most of Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet's new Origins. Everyman has your character as an average citizen with a boring job. Professor provides your character with some bonuses to Smarts Essence skill tests as well as a formal background in academia. And there is the tragic Alter-Ego Displaced Origin, where your character is so dedicated to being a superhero that they're essentially no one when they're not in colored spandex. Perfect for dramatic angst and for tables wanting to explore the cost of heroism in a more serious campaign.

As for Perks and Grid Powers, Beneath The Helmet provides the most in-depth Form Perks to date, adapting the civilian powers shown in Dino Thunder, Ninja Storm, SPD, and Beast Morphers. Want your character to have higher movement speed thanks to cheetah DNA or be able to blast away baddies with a sonic scream? This book has you covered.

Then there is base customization. Players can choose two special features for their base. It is well hidden, it has a substantial archive of relevant knowledge, it has an air hockey table, etc.. But the players must also choose two drawbacks. The base has no accommodations so players can't heal or recover resources. If it has computer infrastructure it is susceptible to being hacked. Overall, it's a light and welcome system that helps give each base more personality as well as in-game benefits.

A bit of a missed opportunity in Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet are Team Bonuses. Your Ranger team gets the benefits of two Perks, usually meant to reflect the theme or tone of the team. While the book has recommendations, it's lacking when it comes to concrete options. I love the concept, I just wish it was explored further.

By far the crown jewel are the new Spectrum Role options. When it comes to Role options, Beneath The Helmet attempts to address a small shortcoming in the Power Rangers RPG that no other Essence20 RPG has. In an attempt to balance power and complexity, Role Focuses were replaced with Zord access. On paper, it sounds like a fair compromise, but it severely limits player expression. It is a problem with no easy answer since it is something baked into the core of the system.

The solution provided here is Spectrum Modification Perks. These provide players with more choices for when they level up. There is even an optional rule for "hotswapping" Role Perks from different Spectrum Roles. There are caveats attached to these options, but it does open up more build possibilities.

Lastly, there are Alternate Role Paths; essentially Role Focuses in all but name. Choosing an Alternate Role Path lets you choose a standard Spectrum Role, but swaps out Perks you get at certain levels. The Aqua Ranger Path is an alternate Blue Ranger that focuses more on science and research over technology and weapon improvements. The Graphite Ranger Path is a more aggressive take on the Silver Ranger, adding in debuffs and status effects to enemy targets.

Sidebar, if you do not own the Across The Stars supplement which contains the Silver Advanced Role, it is reprinted in Beneath The Helmet, which is super convenient.

There is one original Spectrum Role: Dark Ranger. Generally, it's a Role dedicated to fear effects and applying debuffs to targets through terror. If you can imagine a tokusatsu take on Batman, you'll have a good idea on what the Dark Ranger brings to the table.

Should I Pick Up Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet?

If you've been struggling with civilian life as a GM or wish for more player customization, Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet has a lot packed in. It's a great supplement that addresses some design challenges while continuing Renegade Game Studios' ongoing support of Essence20.

The copy of Power Rangers Beneath The Helmet used in this review was provided to the author by Renegade Game Studios. All photographs were taken by the author.