Best (but simple) Superhero Game out?

[Madmaxneo]

After a discussion about doing something different with my players we decided to play a Superhero RPG. But which is the best one?
I am not looking for complex. I am looking for simple but complete.
The players will be playing multiple characters, one at a high power level and at least one at a lower more down to earth power level.
So I'd like the system to be easy to learn, easy to make characters, and easy to play.
One of my players recommended "Mutants and Masterminds", but I am not a great fan of d20 games. But I will use that if need be.

Back in the 80's I GM'd Marvel Super Heroes more often than any other game with the group of friends I grew up and gamed with. But I am looking for something a little more complete than the original Marvel Super Heroes. And from what I have seen the later iterations of Marvel Super Heroes are not all that great.

So please all suggestions are welcome.

Bruce

 

[Crothian]

Have you played M&M? It does not have a lot in common with d20 games so I wouldn't discount it for that reason. You can discount it for being too complex as it easily could be.

Savage Worlds can do Supers and it is fairly easy. Icons could work, as could With Great Power or even Capes. If you don't mind older games then Villains and Vigilantes would be a good choice. The new Marvel game is pretty simple too. There are a lot of choices and just saying not complex does not narrow the field much.

 

[billd91]

And Villains and Vigilantes can still be bought (in PDF form) here: http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=5608

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

For my money, HERO is best, bar none.

But it IS complex. Mutants & Masterminds is nearly as good, but it fails your D20 test.

I have several others, each with their own merits: Silver Age Sentinels, Aberrant, Godlike, Underground, Heroes Unlimited...

What kind of game are you trying to play?

 

[howandwhy99]

We've been playing Super Age Sentinels and that's pretty fun. A lot simpler than HERO or Mutants & Mastermind, but with all superpowers system you want. I think the tri-stat system would be easier than the d20 version, but there aren't as many supporting works then.

 

[Madmaxneo]

For my money, HERO is best, bar none.

But it IS complex. Mutants & Masterminds is nearly as good, but it fails your D20 test.

I have several others, each with their own merits: Silver Age Sentinels, Aberrant, Godlike, Underground, Heroes Unlimited...

What kind of game are you trying to play?

A super hero game!....lol
The game I would like to run would be something with varying power levels. I plan on running two groups with my players (all the same game). I'd like the players to have the ability to create any kind of superhero with any kind of super power imaginable. Basically they could recreate any superhero from any movie/comic book/TV show they wanted.
To be honest Marvel Super Heroes was a great game in its day. When I asked a good friend of mine that I gamed with in the 80's he commented that nothing will ever beat Marvel. And he has played a lot more super hero games than I have. If I could find a game much like that it would be great. But I was looking for something more up to date. One thing that Marvel was missing was a good balanced system for improving character abilities and I would like to have something like that.
I did find out though that there are revised rules that someone made up for Marvel Super Heroes and they seem pretty fluid and simple enough. I am not sure if I can convince my players to go the Marvel route or not, plus I already have just about all the stuff.
I was told to check out ICON, but oddly enough I can't find the core rule book anywhere on RPG.now, I found a lot of source books but not the core book.
Mutants and Masterminds is a possibility as I discovered it isn't what I thought in being d20. It actually looks simple enough and I have already had like 5 votes for it. Though how hard would it be for me to come up with all the background stuff I need like villians, other super heroes, important people, etc....?
I heard HERO was good but really complex so probably not. At least for now.
Bruce
P.S. due to my time restraints with the projects I am working on for my HARP fantasy game and other things I may have to go with Marvel Super Heroes as I now have everything I need.

 

[Witchfinder General]

Have you played M&M? It does not have a lot in common with d20 games so I wouldn't discount it for that reason. You can discount it for being too complex as it easily could be.

I like Mutants & Masterminds. It plays very well, and I've used it for for super games as well as fantasy using the Warriors & Warlocks supplement. My main problem with the game is that character creation is too complex, and that means more prep time than I like. That said, it's very easy to scale up an existing hero or monster up or down in power level. Hero Lab on the computer helps a lot.

Savage Worlds can do Supers and it is fairly easy.

Agreed. I would recommend using the excellent The Super Powers Companion for a proper supers game. Character creation is so much simpler than in M&M!

 

[Crothian]

Mutants and Masterminds is a possibility as I discovered it isn't what I thought in being d20. It actually looks simple enough and I have already had like 5 votes for it. Though how hard would it be for me to come up with all the background stuff I need like villians, other super heroes, important people, etc....?

M&M has a huge on line following. When I run it I don't create NPCs and villains from scratch, I go on line and look through the literally thousands of characters other people have already made. I change names and backgrounds and tweak the character stats if needed but it is a lot faster then starting from the ground up.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The game I would like to run would be something with varying power levels. I plan on running two groups with my players (all the same game). I'd like the players to have the ability to create any kind of superhero with any kind of super power imaginable. Basically they could recreate any superhero from any movie/comic book/TV show they wanted.

(Emphasis mine.)

Then my suggestion would be to run something like HERO, M&M, SAS...maybe GURPS, SW or ICONS- all of these systems are known for their flexibility in character design.

 

[Umbran]

But I am looking for something a little more complete than the original Marvel Super Heroes.

I'm not sure what you mean by "complete", and in what way the FASERIP lacks to make it "incomplete".