Best system/setting for Super-Heroes?

[NotNew@Enworld]

Hello, I want to create a campaign where the players are very over-the-top superheroes. With supervillains that always manage to escape to take revenge later, PC's that never die, hordes of cloned henchmen and every adventure ends with a boss, the supervillains' own creation. All this set in a "Metropolis" of sorts.

Now my knowledge of systems doesn't go much farther beyond Alternity, Dnd and Vampire so I hoped some of you could tell me which system/setting you have found most useful when running such a campaign.

Thanks in advance.

 

[PugioilAudacio]

While I haven't actually played this, I've heard nothing but good about Mutants and Masterminds (Green Ronin Publishing). I'm actually thinking about getting it. Check out the reviews of it at the ENWorld review section. I think it's on the Top 20 list there.

 

[Silver Moon]

I'll agree that Mutants and Masterminds would be the best. I have previously played Champions, Marvel Superheroes and D.C. Superheroes but none work as well as M&M. There are several threads over in the D20 forum about M&M that you'll want to check out.

 

[Thanee]

I don't know Mutants and Masterminds, but other than that Champions (HERO Games) is THE system for superhero action (IMHO), altho it's kinda complex.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Beale Knight]

You didn't specifically mention you were looking for d20, but since you're posting on ENWorld, that seems a good place to start. There's plenty of good d20 Super-hero games out there. Vigilance, Deeds Not Words, Four Colors to Fantasy, and...
(pimp mode on)
..my own Comic Book Super Heroes.

CBSH adheres tightly to d20, adds a device called the Super Point, uses power based character classes, and works powers much like skills are worked - the more Ranks you have in a super-power the more stuff you can do with it. Everything's scalable so if you want to go over the top with a Mega-Powered super hero that starts at Level 15, that's perfectly ago and within the rules.

The book itself is setting free, since it was getting thick, but a fairly detailed setting history can be found, along with FAQs and other information here:

http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-blackdrinkcreations

Like the other ones I've mentioned, Comic Book Super-Heroes is a pdf (although I think Vigilance has been made into a hard copy) and it's available for $5 at RPGNow. There's a free adventure on RPG Hoard ("Random Chaos?"). And after being available for almost two years, it's finally gotten its first poor review from a customer!

(pimp mode off)

Mutants and Masterminds has indeed gotten very high praise and is probably very easy to find at a FLGS. Champions is very well loved and one of the first Super Hero rpgs, but is more complex than a lot of people like. YMMV.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Mutants and Masterminds

 

[Psion]

DC Heroes and Hero are, IMO, the systems to beat for Superheroics. (And yes, I have Mutants and Masterminds. While it's not a bad system, it's a bit overhyped and I don't feel it handles some things as slickly as DC Heroes does, and doesn't model things with the same precision hero does.)

Of course DC Heroes is out of print and some find the math (albeit it's about 6th grade math) above them, so M&M remains a fairly good option.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Another vote for Mutants & Masterminds.

 

[Henry]

Never played Hero or DC Heroes, but my opinion is still for Mutants and Masterminds. The familiarity of the d20 system, combined with lightning fast combat, hero points and villain points, and the ability to model almost any hero out there, makes it an excellent system for the purpose.

 

[Karanov]

I haven't heard anything but good things about Mutants & Masterminds as well... but haven't had a chance to pick it up yet. As for a good setting... Aberrant has an excellent setting. I spend the last week re-reading the setting material in the core book (soon to be re-released in a nifty hard-cover D20 version). Very interesting look into how the world might look if honest-to-god super powered individuals came into the world all of a sudden. Some people find the setting a bit to gloomy for their tastes, but I find it more 'upbeat' than X-men for example. As for the conspiracies some people complain about... do you think the various governments would not, in some way, try to get some measure of control over these "novas"? But for the vast majority of Novas and "Baselines" it is truely a golden age for humanity.

But I don't know how the rules turn out (the D20 version comes out next month). Then again... add Taint rules to Mutants & Masterminds and you should be able to run an Aberrant campaign without any problems