Can't find a system I like for...

[Stormborn]

There are ton of great games out there, and great ideas for games but sometimes you just can't find the right system (even when you have the time) to play what you want. This is a thread for all of us who have really wanted to play a great "X" game and never found a system with which we were 100% happy.

For me its Supers games. I have several and just never found the one that works best for me and my group. I have:

GURPS Supers: GURPS is ok for certain kinds of games, but high powered ones just didn't feel right.

Aberrant: Have it but never played it. Not sure I care for the setting, and from what I can tell the mechanics leave something to be desired.

Mutants and Masterminds: I have a lot of MnM books. I like reading them. However I find the character creation part a bit overwhelming, and my players did even moreso. I realize we didnt play with it too much but my group found combat akward. Overall we wound up liking the idea of the game more than the experiance of the game. Maybe if I had a different group, or if we had someone to run the game for us that had more experiance, I would like it. For now its shelved.

Scion Hero: Not a supers game as such, but certainly could be used to play one. Sorta. Looks fine for what it is, but not exactly what I would go to play a JLA-knock off game.

The Authority: Bought it cause I am (or was) a big Authority fan it had the d20 stamp on the cover and discovered that it was really Tri-Stat with a few d20 rules thrown in. Glad I only paid $5. Very disappointed.

4C: Just downloaded this the otherday and played around with it. It starts off with one great big strike against it: Charts. I hate looking things up on charts during game play. Hate. Then the Characer Creation system, which is kinda fun in itself, just doesnt lead to playing the kind of character you might have in mind to start out with. Probablly fine for a one-shot with the goofy characters you are likely to come up with but not for an on going campaign.

So, I will likely never find the perfect a playable supers game for me and my group.

What is your long wished for perfect playable system for Genre X?

 

[jdrakeh]

Hmm. . . I'm starting to get like this with RPGs altogether. In fact, actual play of pretty much every system that I've seen/experienced is mediocre when compared to the vision playing out in my mind's eye. Some systems come very close to capturing that image, though I'm afraid that the pure awesome of unbound imagination trumps them all, in the end.

 

[Eric Tolle]

Hmm. . . I'm starting to get like this with RPGs altogether. In fact, actual play of pretty much every system that I've seen/experienced is mediocre when compared to the vision playing out in my mind's eye. Some systems come very close to capturing that image, though I'm afraid that the pure awesome of unbound imagination trumps them all, in the end.

I think that's the problem that comes from thinking too much about games. These days I tend to think the real fun comes from them as a social activity, and not as a story with some participation.

For example: the last game I ran had nothing to do with the vision i had in my mind: the game started nearly two hours late, everybody was rowdy to the point that i had to shout to be heard, there was too much alcohol, the players guessed one of the major surprises right off, they nearly killed off the npc woman in distress, with combat starting my wife french kissed me before tottering off to bed, I broke a chair, and most of the people had to leave right when the climactic battle started. I finished the game with two out of six people.

It was one of the most fun games I've ever ran.

And that's the thing- I think either one has to let go the vision one has in one's head, or let go of the players and start writing stories. for my part, I've got tons of stories, so i'm willing to sacrifice any expectations on my games, and just let whatever happens, happen.

 

[Treebore]

Yep, the story isn't how I envision it, the story is how it actually plays out.

Now I literally just come up with an outline, usually only a few sentences long, of how I would like the story to go, then when the players play it out, it becomes the story.

I got over myself and get a lot of pleasure out of how my players take some bare bones ideas I come up with and turn it into whatever the story ends up being.

As for a system that runs the way I want it to, exactly? That is Castles and Crusades in combination with my house rules document. Its exactly the game I want. Plus the base rules of C&C are so flexible it allows me to easily steal stuff from pretty much any rules set I want to steal from. So I also get to stay involved in the current incarnation of D&D as well as communities dedicated to every other edition. Which is extra cool since I like or love them all.

 

[Ranger REG]

So, I will likely never find the perfect supers game for me and my group.

What is your long wished for perfect system for Genre X?

My advice: don't find the perfect system. I wasted many years searching for it.

It comes down to finding just one that is enjoyable to play, and then make an effort (through houseruling and storytelling) to make it entertaining for you and your group.

 

[Arkhandus]

You might like Blood & Vigilance, which builds off of d20 Modern. There's a Mystic Arts supplement for it as well.

I'm not really sure what I'd look for in a superhero RPG, but it is one genre I really wanted to try sometime...

For me though, I'd really like to find the perfect game for mecha combat + transforming mecha/robots + starships and all. So I could run or play campaigns something like Robotech, Gundam, BattleTech, or whatnot, but without too much complication. Trying to run a d20 Future combat with starships and mecha and stuff is torturous and slow and doesn't work well.

 

[jdrakeh]

I think that's the problem that comes from thinking too much about games.

Then you're about where I was two years ago in terms of burning bushes While there is a lot of wisdom in your words, I've simply found that as I grow older and my imagination grows larger, other media grows with me while RPGs are, despite lots of rules being changed, pretty much the same exact thing that they were in 1974. I guess, for me, the novelty is starting to wear off. I never thought that it would but, there you go

 

[SWBaxter]

I'll give a thumbs up to Blood and Vigilance. I was specifically looking for a supers system to bolt onto d20 Modern for superpowers in a setting without comic book tropes*, and B&V was a pretty good resource for that.

For more traditional supers, my go-to game is Powergame. Not d20, but the mechanics are pretty simple so there's not much of a learning curve. It works better with a group that's used to GM rulings** rather than having everything detailed in the rules, but so long as you're willing to buy into that kind of game it's simple, fast, and fun.

* I was inspired by sources such as The Invisible Man and Dead Zone TV series, the novel Firestarter, and similar stories, nowadays I guess Heroes would be the exemplar.

** Since, for example, there's no hard and fast rules on creating powers - that stuff is negotiated at the table.

 

[the_myth]

The original [and revised] versions of the Marvel Superheroes RPG is excellent to use as a base for a Supers game.

And they can be found free here:

http://www.heroplay.com/features/rules/marvel.php


also, some house rules can be found here:

from the web: http://www.classicmarvel.com/

 

[Dagredhel]

Champions, anyone?