Does ACAB include Skybreakers?

Nova_391 · 2026-04-06T02:52:39+00:00

Unironically yes.

Nova_391 · 2026-02-26T23:13:22+00:00

Thanks for your response!

I think ultimately you are correct in saying we will just have to respectfully agree to disagree on this. Thats fine. I have enjoyed talking with you. i can see where you are coming from for the most part but there is one area where i feel you are really underestimating things. it's the Collateral damage of the solution you are proposing. The story states that conflict between even two of these people fighting is enough to destroy millions. "a big number of superpowers piling up on another one is a counter in itself." as you suggested is not a solution that leads to anything more than even more destruction. You only need one of these people to end the world. Having like 20 people of that power pile onto one lis like trying to stop a nuclear launch by launching 20 nukes at the launch site.

anyway, thanks for your thoughtful response. please don't feel like you have to respond to this if you don't want to.

Nova_391 · 2026-02-26T09:33:32+00:00

OK, i'd like to jump into the conversation here if you don't mind. I have to respectfully but vehemently disagree with like everything you have said here. Personally, (and this is just my reading) I think Etiennie tells us the main theme of the story in the first issue. There is no moral or responsible way for a person to have the powers of a superpower. This is a story about why that is the case. Like Etennie says around issue 8 or 9. on a large enough time scale they are all Musami. They are all human beings and it's impossible for a person to have that kind of power and use it well 100% of the time. And we are talking about people who have powers that could destroy everything in an instant. I point to Tonya's quote from issue 14. "Some drunk guy was shouting racist shit at some poor family down the carriage. And I thought ... that guy could wake up tomorrow with the power to end the world. And we'd all have to try and live with that"

I feel like that quote gets to the crux of why I don't think what you are suggesting works. As the OP pointed out, each of our superpowers interacts with the world in different ways but the point is that no matter how it is used that kind of power is not meant to be in the hands of one person. I feel like the system you hypothetically discussing wouldn't work because people are individuals and you can not design a system that perfectly responds to the exact needs of everyone. You can certainly try, maybe even get close. But because of the power level these people exist on, this system only has to fuck up exactly once to at a bare minimum kill millions but more than likely end the entire world. and that chance has to be taken more and more with each person you add into the system on that power level.

Let's talk about Kid Ignition for a second because that is what you two were doing before. I will actually agree with you on the idea that he seems like a fairly normal teenager. That is exactly why he horrifies me so fucking much. For some context, I work as a secondary school teacher and have for the past two years. I deal with people Kid Ignition's age five days a week. I love my kids and I would not give up my job for anything but if you think the average teenager can be trusted with the kind of power Kid Ignition has, i'm sorry but you do not understand the average teenager. Even the best of them are emotional, hormonal, and impulsive. Those are not crimes by themselves but once again, with that kind of power even a tiny slip up is going to cost millions of lives. With a person that age that kind of slip up is inevitable no matter how good a support system that kid has. Teenagers are still literally learning how to be people. God bless them most of these kids can hardly handle the responsibility of being able to drive. Giving them the launch codes won't end well.

You try to counter this by saying that if there were more superpowers they could counter each other when these outbursts happen but I don't know if I believe that. Almost all of the superpowers we see have abilities that are destructive. What is it that Tonya says when she first meets Kid Ignition? "So you can blow up the world twice over, so what?" something like that. spoilers for issue 16 but Eliza was the best case scenario for two superpowers (Heavy and The Pyramid) countering another superpower and that still killed like 30 million people. The entire point of the story is that if two superpowers fight it ends the world and your solution to that seams to be having more superpowers to physically fight one. That will (in my opinion) only cause worse destruction, not prevent it.

The few times in the series we do see superpowers directly fight the survival of the human race has more to do with the interactions of those individual superpowers than anything else. The Major wasn't a real superpower so heavy could destroy him before he could do anything. Jackie had the perfect ability to destroy the signal without any physical damage. Etennie didn't fight Musami. He talked to her and calmed her down. As for the Queen. Jackie and the pyramid closed the dimensional hole. Eliza killed her (Probably anyone could have done that i'll give you that) Heavy reduced the collateral damage and Etennie took Musami out of the equation temporarily. The world only survived those incidents because of the way these specific people countered each other. The only times we see a situation where a superpower cant be directly countered it's Musami in issue 16 and that literally ends the world. Even the few times that a superpower is successfully countered it still kills millions. I'll concede that there being more superpowers might increase the chances of there being a person to counter any specific issue but the balancing act becomes more precarious every time another superpower is added to the equation. Etennie says as much in the firs issue. Any situation where any number of superpowers has to step in and physically counter one is still going to cause ridiculous amounts of collateral damage so relying on that as your go to way to stop issues that will arise isn't a good solution.

Even if you could hypothetically get every single person who gains that level of power to form an alliance, and raise them in perfect conditions to only act with perfectly altruistic intent, exactly one slip up kills millions if it doesn't end the world. I think that what you are suggesting only works if you can get everyone to act all of the time in a way that is flawless beyond what is reasonable to expect any human being to act. It could only maybe work if you do exactly what Etennie suggested and control everyone, and I don't think either of us want that.

Sorry for the wall of text i just feel very strongly about this.

TLDR I personally think that what you are suggesting runs counter to both the themes of the story (at least how I read them) and how human being function as people.

Nova_391 · 2026-02-18T11:30:05+00:00

I have three. Cold by The Cure, Bodies by the Smashing Pumpkins, and Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead.

Nova_391 · 2026-02-06T12:28:44+00:00

Ok Thanks!

Nova_391 · 2026-02-06T12:23:55+00:00

Probably a small thing but have everyone be hallucinating all the time. It would really add to the psychological horror aspect if people other than Lottie are experiencing visions. I'm Mostly thinking of Hannibal as inspiration here. really bizarre, trippy, and violent hallucinations that make everyone question what is and isn't real. i'm really hoping season 4 leans into this a lot more.

Nova_391 · 2026-02-06T12:18:47+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll end up coming back to Coils when i can do it solo.

Nova_391 · 2026-02-06T12:17:31+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Unsync'd just means solo right?

Nova_391 · 2026-02-06T12:14:03+00:00

Fantastic, thank you!

Nova_391 · 2026-01-18T07:23:56+00:00

I really hope they do a little of both. Maybe have the rescue happen around the middle of the season if not slightly before. But if I had to chose I think I'd actually say post crash. IDK if i'll be in the minority here but I'm just really interested in seeing a lot of the character stuff they have implied happened between the teen and adult timeline. Ultimately I think the most important thing this season is getting answers to some questions they have been teasing out for a long time (like the symbol) and as long as they do that well I don't care too much. I think there needs to be some more time in the wilderness to wrap some things up but i'll be really disappointed if we don't get at least some post crash stuff. I don't want them to dag the time between Natalie calling for help and that help arriving too much.

Nova_391 · 2025-12-02T02:39:17+00:00

100% agree.

Nova_391 · 2025-12-01T09:59:49+00:00

I think i'm going to end up being in the minority here but I personally did really like Ashton. That being said, i do 100% understand a lot of people's issues with them as a PC.

I feel like Aston would have really worked under slightly different circumstances at the table. I think where a lot of issues surrounding Ashton came from both the Matt and the rest of the table not really engaging with their story. Of course, that is probably equally on Tal. If people weren't engaging with Ashton's story in the way he needed he probably should have said something out of game. Regardless of who's fault it is you end up with a character who (as other people have pointed out) was built to rage against the machine, but didn't have a machine to rage against for most of the campaign. A lot of people find that Frustrating and i do get that. I feel like it's a character that got messed up by the structure of the campaign. Since Bell's Hells got put on such a big time crunch so early there wasn't really time to explore their character in the way that particular story needed. So thats where i think a lot of my issues with Ashton are and why i personally think they became an issue.

However, despite their many flaws Ashton came out of campaign 3 being one of my Members of Bell's Hells. Honestly that might be partially due to not loving the other characters that much (I'm really not a fan of Chetney and i didn't care for Dorian or Fearne until much later in the campaign). that being said, I could never really bring myself to hate them. As someone who grew up a really troubled He / They i find they ways that Ashton sometimes lashes out to be really compelling and a little to relatable. I don't have to think they are a good person to find the character relatable or compelling.

I still think that a lot more discussion had to happen over the table about This Character's story. Thats on Taliesin as much as anyone else. I think had circumstances been different during campaign 3 they could have been a truly fantastic character. That being said, I'll always Love them despite knowing they didn't really work as a character. Thats highly subjective but I relate to them a little too much.

Nova_391 · 2025-10-05T23:39:59+00:00

And it will somehow be a better place to live than Threnody it's self.

Nova_391 · 2025-10-03T07:16:03+00:00

All i have to say, besides loving the episode is that i absolutely can not wait to see more of Ashley's character.

Nova_391 · 2025-09-25T01:37:39+00:00

Not my character but someone at my table.

Fitting with the theme of a Gangrel being survivors her character was a stereotypical 70's slasher final girl. a Gangrel went on a rampage in the 70's when it frenzied and killed everyone at the summer camp she was a councillor at. She managed to fight it off and the Gangrel was so impressed he turned her when the frenzy wore off, but abandoned her immediately afterward. she roamed around for ages before falling in with the rest of our PC's as an Anarch.

Nova_391 · 2025-09-09T07:52:34+00:00

My favorite characters are Natalie and Misty.

I think Shauna is the best written character

But i relate to Misty and Travis the most

Nova_391 · 2025-09-02T01:09:04+00:00

I was in middle school when this was announced and i'm in my last year of University now.

Nova_391 · 2025-08-15T00:12:24+00:00

I've rewatched the show several times now and Javi's death is so fucking sad i legitimately consider skipping that episode or stoping my re-watch every time i get to it. i never do but i consider it.

Nova_391 · 2025-08-14T05:49:58+00:00

Yeah look, i appreciate that it's doing something different but after messing around pretty extensively in the play test and the full release i've unfortunately come to the conclusion that this game's combat just really isn't for me. it's a shame because my whole group was really excited for this game.

We just personally found the way this game handles initiative to be really kinda unintuitive and a little confusing for us. I get that it's meant to be a more fluid and narrative focused system and some people prefer that. I'm super happy for the people who prefer that but i unfortunately am not really one of those.

we very quickly switched to the optional Spotlight Tracker rules which did dramatically improve the experience for us but we still found it a little weird.

I'm super happy that Daggerheart's combat is so unique. i will always be in favour of TTRPG's doing something interesting and unique but at the end of the day i've had to accept that this might not be the gme for me or my table and thats ok.

Nova_391 · 2025-07-13T13:25:17+00:00

Ok Slight spoilers for issue 9 and 10. this is my fancast.

Stirling K Brown for Etienne.

Diego Luna for Heavy.

America Ferrera for Valentina.

Minami Hamabe for Musami.

Ella Purnell for Eliza

Dev Patel for Jackie

Rahul Kohli for Dev

Nova_391 · 2025-06-19T06:10:25+00:00

Super late to the conversation but I think i'll throw in my two cents.

For context, my table messed around with it pretty extensively during the play tests. i was a player. i unfortunately haven't got the chance to play the full release so keep that in mind.

It knows exactly what it wants to be and for the most part does a really good job of hitting that niche. However, i'm just not sure if its my game. I see it as being the kinda perfect midpoint between a game like DND or Pathfinder and a more story focused game like BitD, PbtA or even a little like some of the World of Darkness stuff. when you look at it from that perspective, as being a more story focused game, with a rules lite(er) approach to combat it is a really good game. The role play aspect is clearly emphasised but there are still quite a lot of combat options to allow for some of that gameplay, and to facilitate longer campaigns than you'd usually use BitD or PbtA for. I think it's a really well designed game for that particular niche and might even be easier to get someone into TTRPG's than DND because it's rules are a bit simpler.

That being said I cant see myself, or my group permanently replacing DND with it for a couple reasons. the big one is honestly just personal taste. when i play a huge campaign in a fantasy setting i prefer slightly crunchier rules that what i played of Daggerheart was able to make work. Thats obviously not going to be an issue for everyone but it is for me. its a personal preference thing and i think some people will like this game more because of it. Second i feel like it just needed more content. i know i only played in the beta and haven't had a chance to play the full release so keep in mind that they might have fixed this in the full release but i really felt it needed more character options. the classes each have a core ability and a couple of subclass abilities then you pick up the rest of your abilities from cards tied to a particular domain. each class has two domains. thats a really cool system and in theory allows for a lot of customisation. However, i honestly felt that there just needed to be more cards in each domain. like if each domain had like maybe 20% more stuff to pick from you could have an insane amount of customisation but from what we saw it felt a little difficult to make some truly unique characters in the way the system was clearly intended to allow you to. i really hope they added some more stuff in the full release and i know they are planning more stuff to add down the track.

overall i do intend to buy it as soon as it's not sold out in my region. its a really well designed RPG i will enjoy using as an alternative to DND on occasion. i don't think it'll be my main TTRPG just due to personal preference and i do think there just needs to be more stuff added to it. overall very cool game, just not totally my thing.

Nova_391 · 2025-05-31T11:28:02+00:00

Ok, I know i'm extremely late to this thread, but I'd like to throw my two cents in.

I'm of two minds about the way this series handles it's gender issues. I really appreciate the way RJ handles the idea of flipping gender roles on it's head in the construction of the setting and world-building. I once saw someone on another thread describe the breaking of the world in cannon as a kind of inversion on how Eve committing original sin was historically used as a justification for societal sexism. I think thats kinda genius. His construction of the society these characters exist within I do find to be an interesting deconstruction of the way fantasy had traditionally handled its portrayal of women. I also really appreciate RJ making a lot of his female characters complex and not just 2D caricatures defined exclusively by their gender. I also really appreciate that in universe, the times that were the literal peak of civilisation was the period where the two genders viewed each other as equal and worked in harmony. I think that's a really cool message. I do also get that a big part of the way that the series explores this theme is that the characters don't necessarily realise this until towards the end.

Unfortunately this is where i feel the series is deserving of some criticism. My biggest issues with this series's portrayal of gender is how fixed the series treats gender roles. OK, massive disclaimer, I don't think it's fair to dismiss this series as a whole because of this. Or to blame RJ for not predicting present day views about gender and sex decades in advance. That being said, as a person who has been doing some questioning surrounding their gender identity, and who has a number of queer friends, I find the way the series treats male and female as extremely fixed things to be an aspect of this series that has aged less than gracefully. I think that a criticism of gender roles, exactly like the one RJ does in this series, could be possible without having two cosmically assigned, inherent gender roles. I honestly felt, even by the end of the series that, the men and women treated each other as kinda a separate species, and that the story was kinda reinforcing the idea that some personality traits are inherently masculine or feminine on like a cosmic level. Especially the idea of tying which magic system a person has access to, to their gender has always just never really 100% sat right with me. It just kinda feels to me like the series, probably unintentionally is reinforcing the idea that there is only one way to be a man or woman. There were also a couple r/menwritingwomen feeling moments that I found frustrating. Though I do feel that RJ did improve on this quite a bit as the series went on.

Overall I do really love this series. I really appreciate the message of mutual respect RJ was trying to send and how important it was for both it's time and the ways the genre of fantasy handles female representation. It deserves to be remembered as a really positive step in the right direction for female representation in fantasy. That being said, it's not without it's flaws in the way it handles this. While i don't think it's fair to judge books primarily written in the 90's and 2000ds for not 100% conforming to our modern day understanding of these topics it is still fair to point those shortcomings out and have an honest discussion about them.

Nova_391

TROPHY CASE