Let's Talk About Metacurrency

[Thomas Shey]

Ok, but at least they're tied to the world, and like I said I feel genre emulation is more acceptable to me in supers games. I just don't believe it's all or nothing. A game like FASERIP or Mutants & Masterminds or the current Marvel Multiverse game is less dependent on meta-currency and narrativist mechanics than Marvel Heroic.

I think that's a pretty big overstatement with M&M at least. Pull the metacurrency out of it and the damage/effect system would break right quick (because it would be too linear).

 

[Micah Sweet]

If there's no consistency, I'm not really sure I see how relevant any fictional measurement matters. At that point its just color commentary.

Different measurements by different people. Why would you expect them to be entirely consistent with each other? And even so, in a general sense that consistency is roughly maintained in my experience.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think that's a pretty big overstatement with M&M at least. Pull the metacurrency out of it and the damage/effect system would break right quick (because it would be too linear).

You probably know it better than I, but that game never struck me as heavily meta-currency dependent. Most mechanics in it map to features of the setting to my mind (which is my definition of whether or not something should be considered "meta").

 

[Nytmare]

The Hulk, Superman, and Professor X have measurable super powers. Batman just having whatever is needed is a narrative conceits. Do you not see the difference?

It's not a narrative conceit. He's smart enough to have thought that far ahead. Because there is no way to accurately simulate that, they provide a mechanical shortcut that allows a normal human being who is pretending to be Batman to get to the same end result. It's simulating the result, not the process.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not a narrative conceit. He's smart enough to have thought that far ahead. Because there is no way to accurately simulate that, they provide a mechanical shortcut that allows a normal human being who is pretending to be Batman to get to the same end result. It's simulating the result, not the process.

That's my point. It's genre emulation, not physics sim. I can manage some of that in a supers game, but that kind of retcon is a bridge too far for me. IMO if you want to play someone who good at making contingencies, you should do that yourself. Plan in-session.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

The sort of inconsistencies mentioned here regarding the superhero genre have always bugged me. Personally I'd love a supers setting that was actually more coherent and the powers were consistent and their effects applied more realistically. I think the Boys is closest we have to that.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The sort of inconsistencies mentioned here regarding the superhero genre have always bugged me. Personally I'd love a supers setting that was actually more coherent and the powers were consistent and their effects applied more realistically. I think the Boys is closest we have to that.

Agreed. There's a couple out there, but they tend to have a higher than average complexity scale.

 

[Scott Christian]

That sounds like any group of supers I've ever read about in a comic. I'm going to guess that some people will shout about 'balance', to which I shrug.

I get the premise. I also get how it can be exciting, both as a player and GM. But I think if you are developing a game for a large audience, or even a small audience, the majority will dislike this feature. That is the problem with all of these posts. They want to "come at it from a broad angle," when in fact, the end product can't be broad.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I think most supers games actually do have that. They actually tend to “lock things down” much more than the actual comics/movies themselves do. It’s pretty much a necessity to make a game out of the material.

But many games also build in some amount of flexibility… which we could argue is also a necessity to accurately portray the source material… to represent those instances where limits are exceeded in some way. And, when you think about it, exceeding limits is pretty much what superheroes are all about.

Too rigid a system of rules without that flexibility? It’s pretty much anathema to the genre.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I get the premise. I also get how it can be exciting, both as a player and GM. But I think if you are developing a game for a large audience, or even a small audience, the majority will dislike this feature. That is the problem with all of these posts. They want to "come at it from a broad angle," when in fact, the end product can't be broad.

I've seen more than one supers game that did in fact comes from a broader angle than you seem to be advocating (FASERIP is my favorite), so the end product certainly can.