Help me decide what superhero rpg to play

[warfeind]

Ok I've recently played in a Palladium's hero game, it's a blast. But I'm kind of anal about certian things. I find somethings in that system over complicated. It's really hard to make a charactrer combat effective without combat skills. Spidey never needed karate lessons. Or the way education system kind of dictates what skills you can or can't take. I dislike the fact that the powers don't mimic the stunts comic characters pull off.
The only other super hero game I've played in Is Marvel from back in the 80's. The dice game, not the stones. Re-examining that game I realized I enjoy that character creation and advancement system. The power stunt feature of that system really captures the comic feel. Unfortunatly it's down hill from there. The combat leaves something to be desired.
So if anyone could give some comparisons I'd apprecaite it.
Thanks

 

[Elric]

Mutants and Masterminds is a great game and it plays very smoothly. I can't compare to other games, though there are threads that do that (e.g., this thread).

Here are some useful resources to give you a sense of the game:

The Mutants & Mastermind's Beginner's Guide is now free on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. You have to register to download the book, but that only takes a minute (two notable rules errors in it: The Atomic Think Tank - Post Beginner's Guide Errata here).

Character Creation Examples: Minotaur (a Powerhouse) and Martial Artist (the core book archetype).

Once you know a bit more about the game:

My Fight Examples (written from the perspective of the players and GM, so designed to help people understand the rules; these are less smooth than M&M actually plays, because I'm trying to be very complete for the sake of teaching the rules)
Fight #1: X-Men vs. Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
Fight #2: Avengers (Luke Cage, Black Widow, Beast) vs. White Knight

M&M FAQ

Download a useful Excel Spreadsheet for building characters here. You can find an Open Office character sheet here.

Taliesin's builds, a thread with a ton of (very high quality) conversions for M&M from every conceivable genre.

 

[warfeind]

Thanks Elric this is very helpful. Just looking at the combat it looks like it's based off 3.5 mechanics.

 

[Thanee]

Mutants & Masterminds is a great game. And yeah, it is based on d20.

Another good choice is Champions from HERO Games. It's a bit more complex, but offers pretty much unlimited flexibility.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

First, welcome to the boards!

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that most people on these boards would choose Mutants & Masterminds and HERO as the 2 best superhero RPGs on the market today. Simply put, they're the most flexible and powerful systems for modeling whatever hero you can imagine.

HOWEVER...

Certain games do a slightly better job of modeling particular superheroic settings (surprise, a dedicated tool does a better job than a generalized one). Godlike (WW2 Supers) would be one of those, as would Underground (Cyberpunk Supers). Silver Age Sentinels, Aberrant, and Brave New World all have their charms as well.

But, at the risk of sounding repetitive, unless you're modeling the kind of game world found in those particular games, you're best off with either the D20 derived M&M or the unique system found in HERO.

(Bonus: Both of those systems have FRPG soucebooks as well, and HERO also has Sci-Fi and other settings...5Ed, at least. HERO just released 6Ed recently.)

Now, in all fairness, GURPS also has its own supers settings and rules, but I'm not a big fan of that system. However, it does have its MANY proponents, and it probably does a "grim & gritty"/noir type supers game better than most.

 

[Thanee]

If you want a more rules-light system (HERO and M&M certainly do not fall into that category), a look at Savage Worlds and the Super Powers Companion might also be worthwhile.

Bye
Thanee

 

[ValhallaGH]

If you want a more rules-light system (HERO and M&M certainly do not fall into that category), a look at Savage Worlds and the Super Powers Companion might also be worthwhile.

Bye
Thanee

Alternately, take a look at the Basic Action Super Heroes! (BASH!) system.

I'm an M&M (2E) guy, but I've been sorely tempted by it.

HERO is good, though fiddly (it is complicated in places, making it better for more advanced players, though not necessarily more experienced players).
M&M is also fiddly in places, but I've had a lot of fun and success with it.
GURPS supers is ... just don't. If you've had that much issue with Palladium Hero then stay away from the GURPS supers.

Good luck.

 

[Quantum]

I still like DC Heroes and Marvel rpg (The FASERIP system).

The stones ones is actually an interesting system.

 

[talarei07]

i say d6 powers. its pretty simple to play and run imho

 

[MerrikCale]

go with Mutants & Masterminds