Good Superhero-Game?

[SWBaxter]

I believe it has been stated that someone has licensed the system to do a Superhero RPG (although I haven't seen anything official).

There's supposed to be a product called QuestWorlds in the works, which is a generic version of the HeroQuest rules with support for four genres in the main book, of which one is supers. In all honesty I don't think even waiting for that is necessary, it maps so naturally that I've run successful games from two pages of notes (one explaining the game mechanics, the other with house rules for creating supers).

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

M&M is a cool game. You could also try Heroes Unlimited (which I've enjoyed many times). I usually just play in the Marvel world with the Heroes Rules. I've also played the old TSR FASERIP Marvel Superheroes in the past, which is fun, but not supported anymore.

 

[Glyfair]

There's supposed to be a product called QuestWorlds in the works, which is a generic version of the HeroQuest rules with support for four genres in the main book, of which one is supers. In all honesty I don't think even waiting for that is necessary, it maps so naturally that I've run successful games from two pages of notes (one explaining the game mechanics, the other with house rules for creating supers).

It definitely wouldn't be tough. It would be nice to have the "stats" for modern weapons and maybe some hints at some keywords.

Still, it's the only system I know that could handle Ambush Bug using his "Break 4th Wall" ability against Superman smoothly.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

HERO 5th (or if you're on a budget, 4th) is my personal favorite. It is simply the most flexible and complete superhero/generic game out there. It is, however, extremely crunchy.

IMHO,

I'd go with M&M if you want a system that you can start running/playing quickly with a minimum of fuss.

However, Champions/HERO is IMHO probably the most flexible system out there. You can pretty much do just about anything with it. There is a lot of crunch but I found that once the characters are made and the number crunching done then there isn't a bunch of crunch in the actual gameplay (but that is just my experience with it, others may feel differently).

Heroes Unlimited by Palladium Books isn't too bad. However, they come right out and tell you that the system isn't designed to have heroes on the level of Superman or Captain Marvel (aka Shazam). X-Men style games where each character has a single very powerful ability or several weaker abilities are what this system really seems geared toward. A lot of people on this board seem to have a knee-jerk hate reaction to anything by Palladium or their owner Kevin Siembeida but I've had some great games with this system.

Because of the flexibility of the Hero System I'd have to choose it if I were allowed to take one Superhero RPG book with me on a deserted island. It is a fairly thick book so I'd be set for starting fires for some time.

Hope this helped.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Still, it's the only system I know that could handle Ambush Bug using his "Break 4th Wall" ability against Superman smoothly.

You can do that with HERO, and I'd bet you could do it with M&M.

 

[GuardianLurker]

I'm going to be contentious and say I worship at the feet of the DC Heroes (later Blood of Heroes) system. There's nothing you can't do with it, you need 2 dice and a pencil. Everything boils down to the same games mechanic, leaving you with the story as the only thing to worry about. No feats. Just powers, skills and stats. And you can go from Alfred the Butler to moving the moon in one gloriously straightforward gaming system.

I'll second that. You can easily build both Batman, Superman, and everything in between. It suffers at the low end of the power spectrum, but those folks are NPCs in most mainstream Supers, so it really isn't much of an issue.

I have MM, and looked really seriously at MM2. Neither are as simple as the MEGS/BoH system. Nor as complete, IMO.

Both MM1 and MM2 have very real problems duplicating skill-heavy heroes like Batman or Mr. Terrific. In MM1, it was essentially impossible. In MM2, it's possible, but you probably won't get close to what you want.

In MM1, a character with a high number of powers would usally crash right into the power level limit extremely quickly. In MM2, they fixed that problem, but under the assumption that someone with a high number of equal-PL powers is balanced with/against someone with only one (at the same PL).

Also, because it retains the d20 skill system, there's no good mechanic to replicate a PRE (HERO) or INFL (BoH) attack. Batman can't instantly terrify the mugger into squealing the lead, but has to either a) talk to him for a minute, or b) enter *melee* combat.

On top of all that, the system isn't that much simpler than HERO - the math involved is much simpler, but the overall system is just about as complex. MM isn't quite as abusable during character creation as HERO, which is a good selling point. (Though not enough of one IMO.)

I understand why people are excited about MM - MEGS/BoH is out-of-print and HERO is not exactly simple. But MEGS/BoH is worth hunting down.

 

[Seeten]

I'll second that. You can easily build both Batman, Superman, and everything in between. It suffers at the low end of the power spectrum, but those folks are NPCs in most mainstream Supers, so it really isn't much of an issue.

I have MM, and looked really seriously at MM2. Neither are as simple as the MEGS/BoH system. Nor as complete, IMO.

Both MM1 and MM2 have very real problems duplicating skill-heavy heroes like Batman or Mr. Terrific. In MM1, it was essentially impossible. In MM2, it's possible, but you probably won't get close to what you want.

In MM1, a character with a high number of powers would usally crash right into the power level limit extremely quickly. In MM2, they fixed that problem, but under the assumption that someone with a high number of equal-PL powers is balanced with/against someone with only one (at the same PL).

Also, because it retains the d20 skill system, there's no good mechanic to replicate a PRE (HERO) or INFL (BoH) attack. Batman can't instantly terrify the mugger into squealing the lead, but has to either a) talk to him for a minute, or b) enter *melee* combat.

On top of all that, the system isn't that much simpler than HERO - the math involved is much simpler, but the overall system is just about as complex. MM isn't quite as abusable during character creation as HERO, which is a good selling point. (Though not enough of one IMO.)

I understand why people are excited about MM - MEGS/BoH is out-of-print and HERO is not exactly simple. But MEGS/BoH is worth hunting down.

I completely disagree with everything posted here. Batman can take fearsome presence, or a blast with a will save instead of a toughness save with the descriptor Charismatic terror attack. The system will do ANYTHING you want it to do, if you take the time to learn it.

 

[Glyfair]

You can do that with HERO, and I'd bet you could do it with M&M.

Not smoothly, though. With Hero you have to decide what game effect "break the 4th wall" has when you design the character. With Heroquest, he would have the skill (or power) "Break the 4th Wall" at a specific rank. He could apply it to whatever he choose (with the DM deciding on how appropriate it is to the task)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sure you can do it smoothly, and in a number of different ways. Just off the top of my head:

1) You can put the entire PC's powers into a framework (Variable Power pool, a Multipower, or an Elemental Control) and apply a "Break the 4th wall" advantage to it- the size of its bonus would depend on how large an advantage the GM thinks it is. All of the powers could then do this.

2) You could do it as a subset of the PC's powers in a Variable Power pool, a Multipower, or an Elemental Control that all break the 4th wall.

3) If the powers don't fit neatly in a framework, you apply that advantage individually to each power you want to break the 4th wall.

4) You could even design it as a "Control Environment," "Mental Illusions," "Mind Control" a "Transform" or other power called "Breaking the 4th wall" if its just going to be used for a particular effect, depending on the desired effect.

 

[Glyfair]

Sure you can do it smoothly, and in a number of different ways.

It's clear you & I just are working under different definitions of "working smoothly"