Good Superhero-Game?

[Qvintus]

aberrant the d10 vesion is great i dont know how the new d20 vesion is but i realy like the way the powers work and how the new supers interact with the world

 

[Rel]

We used to play Champions and it was fun but rather clunky. That was years ago.

I've heard nothing but good things about M&M 2E though I've not played it.

However, as an alternative for a very rules light but adaptable game, I've run (and will be running again at GenCon) a Risus superheroes game. The system lets you simulate pretty much anything with very easy mechanics, adaptable to any power level, and it's FREE. Maybe give it a try? It won't cost you anything.

My very favorite thing about Risus is that making a character takes literally seconds. This goes for PC's and NPC's. I was running my game and said to myself, "I could really use some kind of zombie/wolfman in this encounter." About 10 seconds later I had finished jotting the stats for my Zombie (3), Wolfman (3) on the sheet and I was in business.

Anyhow, here's a link.

 

[shilsen]

The Egyptian God of Mexican Wrestling?

OMG ROFL.

This is classic.

Yes, it is. We have to explain it to at least one NPC per session. Joseirus is played by Mallus, the DM of the D&D campaign that Burne's story hour (in my sig) is about.

 

[Eosin the Red]

Hero or MM are the kings of the sandlot. I hear lots of good things about MM but have always been a Hero player and prefer it to just about anything.

 

[JoeBlank]

I have read and played a combat scenario of M&M 1e, and think it is fantastic. From what I have heard, M&M 2e is all that and more, but also a little more complicated. When I do play a supers RPG, M&M will be the one.

But if you don't dig it for some reason, and want something incredibly simple, check out BASH:
http://www.bashrpg.com/

The price is right, and the mechanics are very simple. A neat little game.

 

[SWBaxter]

I dunno. M&M is d20, right? Can d20 really handle Superheros well?

M&M uses a d20-like resolution system, but most of the game engine is closer to Champions - point-based system to buy relatively generic powers which are then customized to fit a concept. That model has worked pretty well for superheroes for 25 years, and M&M does it well.

Other decent choices:

HeroQuest works very well for supers, and converting the rules to that genre is trivial. If you want a game where Spider-Man gets his butt kicked by the Green Goblin on first fight, but then the Goblin goes after Spidey's family and friends and that drives Spider-Man to extra heights in order to squeak out a win and save the day... HQ does this beautifully.

Capes! is an indy superhero game with a radically different approach to RPGing, in effect there is no GM (or more accurately, everybody shares the GM duties). Some like this approach, some hate it, but those who like it seem to like it a lot.

Silver Age Sentinels and The Authority both use the Tri-Stat dX system, which is freely available. SAS was considered the main contender after Hero back before M&M appeared, and even though it's gone into the doldrums the system is still solid.

Another freebie is Powergame, which is a simple, fast-playing system that still lets players roll lots of dice (I confess that one of the reasons I love Hero is because you get to roll big handfulls of dice). IME, it plays a lot like the old FASERIP Marvel game, fast and furious. Actually, you can also find that Marvel game on the web in various places, but I'm kind of fuzzy on the legality.

Fudge has a couple of good supers add-ons. The 10th anniversary book has an interesting supers system that I've been tinkering with, it's got a lot of really cool points that handle the genre well. Or for a simpler approach, there's a conversion of the FASERIP keyword system to Fudge on the web. It was written by some guy named Steve Kenson, who knows a thing or two about supers.

There's lots of other games out there, the supers genre attracts a lot of attention despite the fact it's a pretty small niche in the RPG market. These are just the ones I've seen work well, many other games also have their fans.

 

[Amazing Triangle]

You asked for ease and I just started MM 2ed and was able with little help to create 2 characters.

So I vote MM 2ed simple to use and lots of variety.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Another vote for M&M. And I've tried a variety of superhero games, including HERO, Heroes Unlimited, Aberrant (d10 version), GURPS and one other that came in a boxed set whose name I can't remember (Guardians or something).

But, hands down, M&M whips 'em all, including gadget-based characters (Aberrant, I'm casting dirty looks your way). And the Mastermind's Manual gives you a lot of choices for customization of your campaign.

It's not AS tool-kit-y as, say, HERO/Champions, but it does rock, verily!

 

[pogre]

Yes, it is. We have to explain it to at least one NPC per session. Joseirus is played by Mallus, the DM of the D&D campaign that Burne's story hour (in my sig) is about.

You guys have some great games! I'm envious.

 

[Felon]

I have the True20 book but have only skimmed. Looks simple but elegant. Should be familiar enough to anyone who's played d20. The most visible change was revising the mechanics to eliminate the need for dice other than the d20. Which mainly means changing the way weapons deal damage and the way characters absorb that damage.

How does M&M handle characters that have variable powers, such as Batman whipping out different gadgets or Dr. Strange casting whatever spell is handy at the time? Hero System's Variable Power Pool just doesn't work that well IMO.