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Message: <blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 2857400" data-attributes="member: 10201">Given the complete lack of specified preferences on what sort of supers game you want, i'll recommend several.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">With Great Power...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Advanced Marvel Super Heroes</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Marvel Universe</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mutants & Masterminds</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Four Colors al Fresco</li> </ul>With Great Power... is in many ways the best supers RPG i've yet seen. [n.b.: i've only just bought Truth & Justice and haven't read it yet, and am holding out on Hearts & Souls hoping for a hardcopy version.] Specifically because it focuses on the drama of superhero stories, rather than the powers. IME, too many supers RPGs, in the process of trying to simulate the world of the comics, end up giving you a too-crunchy ruleset that doesn't actually feel anything like the comics when you actually play. Either the world is far more rigid than what we read in the comics (where Superman's strength and speed vary according to plot needs), or there are very complex rules to regulate the flexibility ('pushing' rules and the like).Advanced Marvel Super Heroes is the classic standby, against which all other supers RPGs are measured, IMHO. An almost-perfect blend of crunchy underpinnings and narrative assumptions--even with a few rules to support those narrative assumptions (karma points, power stunts). A game years ahead of its time.Marvel Universe is a game i haven't actually gotten to play yet, so i'm basing this on just reading it, plus others' opinions from playing with it. I find its resource-management-driven stones system to be a great match for the feel of supers, forcing you to trade off success now for success later (or vice versa). On the other hand, i think it's focused on too small of a unit of time, and while great for short game sessions, it looks like it is in part by trading off long-term play.Mutants & Masterminds uses D20 System, so if that's important to you, it's a great choice. Otherwise, i'd say it's merely a good choice--those who claim it's 90% of the results of Champions for half the work seem to be right; i'm just not convinced that Hero System-style mechanics are desireable for supers gaming. But if i were going to go that route, M&MM would be near the top of my list. (Precisely because it's not the 'best' example of the style of game--if i had the preferences to actually prefer such rules, i'd probably pick Champions/Hero System or Silver Age Sentinels/Tri-Stat dX, instead.) Four Colors al Fresco is our own supers RPG, so this is in part a plug. But, obviously, we wouldn't have written it if we didn't think it offered something that nothing else did. First, it was written long before Truth & Justice, Capes, With Great Power..., or Hearts & Souls, and at the time we originally wrote it, there weren't any narrative supers RPGs. Secondly, unlike all the options above (except maybe MSH), Four Colors al Fresco is basically a Simulationist game. Most RPGs are predominantly Gamist--they focus on detailed, balanced rules--with supers RPGs often being extremely so (due in no small part to Hero System). The few that aren't (With Great Power..., Hearts & Souls, etc.) are generally Narrativist--they focus on theme and story with the mechanics. Our mechanics focus on producing gameplay that feels like a comicbook superhero story. [/list]There are plenty of other good and great supers RPGs out there. The above are just what i consider the best (plus M&MM which, based on the reviews of people who can appreciate that style of supers RPG, is probably one of the best at it).</blockquote>

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