Help! I need a rules-lite super hero RPG

[BASHMAN]

More in line with the OP, and the thread proper, I've heard good things about BASH, as a rules-lite(r) supers RPG.

I think the OP actually may have picked it up. Kinda wondering if it was what s/he wanted.

 

[ValhallaGH]

So it sounds like M&M isn't the game for our group.

That could be. I concede that you clearly know your group better than I do. I hope it works out for you.

But I'm looking for a rules-light game, not one where players have to scour the book for point costs or potential feats to take, especially during play. Any suggestions on a game that could be played straight away, without all that studying?

One of the Marvel or DC supers games where you play their characters using the starter kit. No character building, no searching for powers, feats, or point costs, and especially not during play.
Bonus, both companies have something like seven editions, each of which uses wildly different rules than the other editions.

The only real downside, for many of them, is that it is difficult to play a hero of your own creation as opposed to one of theirs. Character creation rules get extremely vague in some of those books.
Which, thankfully, is irrelevant to you and yours since you don't want to scour a book for abilities and costs, anyway.

...
I was going to suggest Truth & Justice or BASH! but both of those have point costs and lists of abilities to sort through. Not your thing, apparently. Hmmm. Maybe something completely narrative?

Oh! I've got it.

VGH's Super-Lite Super-System:
Characters have 20 points of "stats". These stats are various qualities the character has (smart, pretty, bookworm, physicist, super-strength, invulnerable, tough, dodgy, good climber, party girl, frat boy, ugly as sin, Damn Dirty Ape, etc).
Each stat is Rated (Poor, Average, Good, Great, Excellent, Outstanding), and starts at Average for 0 points. Increasing is one point per quality.
To resolve stuff, roll 2d6, add the bonus for all relevant stats, and compare to a target number set by the GM. Most of these should be between 3 (foolproof) and 15 (Inconceivable!). (foolproof 3, easy 5, fair 7, tough 9, hard 11, impossible 13, inconceivable 15).
Any time the character is involved in a task and suffers a setback (combat damage, embarrassing faux pas, etc) they have to temporarily lower a stat of their choice by 1 level. When they hit "Poor" in all stats they are out of the scene (K.O.ed, drinking in the closet, leave the party, or whatever fits the scene) unless something brings them back into it.
For combats, witty banter can be as effective as a fist to the face, at least against the socially defenseless.

I feel like some kind of hero point system needs to exist, but I've only had this idea for the length of this post. Maybe something that lets you restore a stat, or reroll the 2d6, or something similar.
Will that do you?



Regardless, good luck, and I hope you find something that you and yours will enjoy playing.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

A question on BASH: How does it do skills? Is it mostly for characters with awesome stuff, or could it do completely unpowered characters (by that I mean characters that only use skills and normal equipment, no super-gadgets)?

 

[BASHMAN]

A question on BASH: How does it do skills? Is it mostly for characters with awesome stuff, or could it do completely unpowered characters (by that I mean characters that only use skills and normal equipment, no super-gadgets)?

I'll address this in parts:

It does skills by "slots". Your Agility is the base # of "physical" skill slots, Mind is the base # of Mental skill slots. Your multiplier with each is also based on the stat- but doubling up 2 slots in one skill would increase your multiplier. You also get a "specialty" for each skill- which entitles you to roll twice, take the better for a specific use of that skill- and you could also spend slots on more specialties as well. There is an "intense training" category of powers (more on that in a bit) that has a power called "Skillful"- each point in it gives 2 more skill slots. There is an Advantage called "Jack of All Trades" which lowers the penalty for "defaulting" with a skill from -1 Multiplier to -1 Dice penalty (so you could make a total polyglot who can do everything).

Now I think what you're asking, is can the game do characters with normal equipment and no super-human powers- and still make said characters bad@$$ enough to be on the same team as other people who do? Yes.

The "Normal" disadvantage means you have a max of 2 Brawn and 2 Agility- and the only powers you can have that are not from gadgets are from the intense Training category. And, yes, you could make a character who is very competant this way- even without gadgets. You could make a guns blazing anti-hero, a sword/escrima sticks toting vigilante, or someone who is just the best martial artist in the world for instance. You could make the world's greatest detective, or a boxer from the mean streets- and these characters can be on a team with super-powered folks and still be useful.

 

[BASHMAN]

Now, such a character will likely have a lower character point value- like 20-25 points- but that is ok. The system has a mechanic for dealing with this called "Hero Points"- the character who has the lower character point value gets more Hero points- and an animated series /teen heroes style game has the option of doubling the number of starting Hero points to make the disparities even more managable. Hero Points can be spent to augment dice rolls- and 5 can be spent for a Hero Die- which can do many things from auto-succeeding on a skill check, to granting an interupt action, allowing your character to suddenly show up in a scene you weren't in, recover from unconciousness or status conditions, power stunts [although a "normal" character with no gadgets would be somewhat limited in what they could explain as a power stunt- like "Now I remember that Judo Move Captain Liberty taught me" or "I think my Helecopter piloting lessons are about to pay off" or "I noticed a vulnerable spot in the Robot's armor"] and of course augment dice rolls. The exploding dice explode a lot more often and explode a lot bigger when a Hero Die is involved.

I'll post a build of a couple "no powers costumed heroes" in a little while.

 

[BASHMAN]

Let's assume this character is in a 30pt campaign:

Kung-Fu Socialite 21 Pts (12 stat, 9 powers) 9 Hero Points, 1 Hero Die

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Mind 2 (12pts)
x1 Soak, x3 Soak vs. Unarmed, x2 Defense, x4 Defense vs. Hand-to-Hand attacks, Tricky Defense, x3 Priority,

Powers (9pts)
Fleet of Foot (8 sq run, 2sq jump) 1pt
Unarmed Technique 2 (x3 Hit, x3 Dmg) 2pts
Attack Weak Point (Double damage when she hits by 20, Spend a Hero point to make Attack roll also used for Damage Roll) 2pts
Martial Arts Mastery 3: Defensive, Fast, Grappling, Tough & Tricky styles, 3pts
o Tough Style: +2 Soak Multiplier vs Unarmed Attacks
o Tricky Style benefit: successful defense of hand-to-hand attack by rolling doubles allows you to counter-attack, using the defense roll as your attack.
o Fast Style: x3 Priority, Kippup immediately when you fall with 20 Athletics/Acrobatic check
o Grappling Style: Brawn = 2 for wrestling rolls, get reversals by 10
o Defensive Style: x4 Defense vs. Unarmed
Paired Weapons- 2 attacks per page w/ unarmed 1pt

Skills: Athletics x3/Acrobatics, Investigation x2/Questioning,
Deception x2/Manipulation

Advantages: Appeal (x4 for social rolls), Never Surrender
Disadvantages: Normal, Public ID

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

Hmmm, I'll definitely have to consider it next time I can afford.

 

[BASHMAN]

Jaded Soldier of Fortune 22pts (12 stat, 10 powers), 8 Hero Points.
"Life is a Joke"

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Mind 2 (12 pts)
x3 Soak, x4 Soak vs. Unarmed,

Powers: (10pts)
Kevlar: Armor 1 1pt
Martial Arts Mastery 2 (Tough, Tricky, Grappling Styles) 2pts
Firearms Technique 2 (+1 Hit [x3] +1DM) 2pts
Off-hand Shooting (-2 Dice penalty hit, fire a second pistol) 2pts
Double Taps (don’t move—fire weapon twice, stacks with above power) 1pt
Attack Weapon Point 2pts

Equipment
Boot Knife: x1+10 Dmg
Two .45 Pistols (x3 hit, x3 Dmg, Range 10) Ammo 6 each
Submachinegun (x3 hit, x5 Dmg, Range 20, Full Auto capable) Ammo 10 each
Sniper Rifle (x3 Hit, x6 Dmg, Range 40+) Ammo 1
Hand-Grenades (Medium Burst, Range 10, x5 Dmg)

Skills
Military x2/Demolitions, Stealth x2/Prowl, Drive x2/Pursuit, Pilot x2/Pursuit

Advantages: Security Clearance: US Gov (CIA, NSA, US Army, etc), also allows him to use "restricted" weapons like hand-grenades, etc.
Lethal Weapons (Unarmed attacks can do lethal damage)
Disadvantage: Normal, Age (55 years old)

Note: This character is rated as an "Anti-Hero".

 

[coyote6]

Hmmm, I'll definitely have to consider it next time I can afford.

A version of BASH was included with DTRPG's Haiti bundle, so if you donated/bought that, you have a version waiting to be downloaded. I think it's the "BASH (New and Improved)" edition, versus "BASH Ultimate Edition".

I mention it because, if you're like me, you haven't had time to download all the PDFs from that bundle (there were, what, a hundred? more?).

 

[ValhallaGH]

There is an "intense training" category of powers (more on that in a bit) that has a power called "Skillful"- each point in it gives 2 more skill slots. There is an Advantage called "Jack of All Trades" which lowers the penalty for "defaulting" with a skill from -1 Multiplier to -1 Dice penalty (so you could make a total polyglot who can do everything).

So that's what I missed when I posted my review.

[off topic] For the record, I found all your examples of how to get my damage multipliers (pages 18 & 19, as well as the specific attack listings). What was lacking was confirmation that 2d6 was the base roll that all those multipliers applied to. I thought that information would be included in the Damage And Soak section, but that just confirms that you roll 2d6 to resist damage without saying how that damage was generated. In fact, I can't re-locate the part where the rules tell me to roll 2d6, apply dice bonuses, then apply my Damage Multiplier to determine the damage of a landed attack. It's most frustrating, since most of the rule set is clean, simple, and clear while still having depth and breadth to work with.
It's a minor individual point, but my reading (a skimming perusal, which tends to be the only way for me to read gaming books without falling unconscious) has found it to be endemic to the way the book was written. One of the few things holding it back from a full five stars. [/off topic]