Silver Age Sentinels (Tri-Stat) -- and Streamlining Hero

[Samurai]

SAS can certainly handle gritty street level characters with no problems! SAS has lots of optional rules for gritty level games. Shock, for instance. Shock is 1/5 your full health, and any time you suffer more damage in a single attack than your shock value, you must make a Soul check or be incapacitated for a number of rounds equal to the Margin of Failure on your roll. (This is somewhat similar to Massive Damage in D&D, but less dangerous and tied diectly to your Health score)

Next there are rules for Critical Hits that cause bleeding and internal injuries. You lose 1 health point every round while you are still engaging in combat, 1 pt/ minute if you are not in combat or exerting yourself. First Aid can slow this rate to 1 pt/ 10 minutes, but you'll need the Surgery skill of a doctor to stop the bleeding completely.

Want equipment for your vigilante? There are stats for Machine Pistols, Magnum Revolvers, Mini-guns, LAWs, Laser sights, Night vision scopes, Sawed-off barrels, Silencers, Speed Loaders, 7 different types of ammo (from rubber bullets to AP and hollow points) and 7 types of explosives (flash-bang grenades, sticks of dynamite, satchel charges, etc).

Want a souped up car? Start with a vehicle template (like sports car, dirt bike, or big rig) and add armor plating, weapon mounts, and a Turbocharger! There are stats for combat choppers and even a heavy tank if you want to replay that classic James Bond tank chase scene!

Tell me, do you think Mutants and Masterminds will have all of that? Maybe SAS is actually the better game for gritty level heroes, despite the name. Never judge a book by the cover (or the first page...)

 

[mmadsen]

SAS has lots of optional rules for gritty level games. Shock, for instance. Shock is 1/5 your full health, and any time you suffer more damage in a single attack than your shock value, you must make a Soul check or be incapacitated for a number of rounds equal to the Margin of Failure on your roll.

Actually, I'm not sure that wouldn't work just fine in a not-so-gritty campaign. I certainly don't mind heroes getting stunned by a hard shot.

Next there are rules for Critical Hits that cause bleeding and internal injuries. You lose 1 health point every round while you are still engaging in combat, 1 pt/ minute if you are not in combat or exerting yourself. First Aid can slow this rate to 1 pt/ 10 minutes, but you'll need the Surgery skill of a doctor to stop the bleeding completely.

That's where it gets gritty.

Never judge a book by the cover (or the first page...)

Hehehe -- so true when it comes to Silver Age Sentinels, with its bland cover and Silver-Age intro.

 

[Theovis]

I couldn't tell from your post what made Mutants and Masterminds such a great game. What are the mechanics like?

The entire game is based around a single die, the D20. It was the damage system that made it such a fast and furious game.

You make a saving throw against damage, the DC is based on the intensity of the blow (so really tough hits are harder to save against). If you fail, you take a wound counter that gives you -1 on damage saves. Fail by 5 and you're stunned for a round. Fail by 10 and your KO'ed.

There is a lethal damage system, but it never came up. Ironically, Teflon Billy loved Mutants and Masterminds, even though it seemed more condusive to silver-age romps than brutal 80's punch-ups.

 

[mmadsen]

You make a saving throw against damage, the DC is based on the intensity of the blow (so really tough hits are harder to save against). If you fail, you take a wound counter that gives you -1 on damage saves. Fail by 5 and you're stunned for a round. Fail by 10 and your KO'ed.

I was considering just such a damage system, m'self. Interesting. It sounds like it played well too, right?

 

[Teflon Billy]

...Ironically, Teflon Billy loved Mutants and Masterminds, even though it seemed more condusive to silver-age romps than brutal 80's punch-ups.

Well, I didn't suffer any damage in the game at all.

I was that damn good

 

[mmadsen]

Tri-Stat or no Tri-Stat, I passed on SAS because it was really damned expensive.

But it was a beautiful hardbound book. If the system had in fact been "perfect", I'd have no complaints.

 

[Theovis]

I was considering just such a damage system, m'self. Interesting. It sounds like it played well too, right?

Played perfectly.

And Doctor Atomic is a sissy.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...And Doctor Atomic is a sissy.

You're just saying that becasue of his tights & underwear based costume.

At least his powers were based on the "force of all creation" rahter than "the ability to run"

 

[mmadsen]

Although we're nominally discussing Silver Age Sentinels here, I thought I'd point out that there's a new review of Fifth-Edition Hero over on RPGnet. His conclusions:

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Hero is heavy, solid, slow, as well as completely reliable, powerful, and usable. In a world of speedsters and flashy luxury cars, Hero is the workhorse pickup of RPGs. If you want pretty, if you want quick, if you want easy to learn and good for one-shots, you’ll be better off elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you want a system that will give you hundreds of hours of play in dozens of different games, that has rules for nearly every situation you can think of, that will let you make any character you want, and you don’t mind spending hours making it, or mind spending time in a good old slobber knocking fight that takes some time to play out, the Hero will be the pinnacle of RPG design. It is not only the definition of system heavy; it is the paragon of quality in system heavy. If you want pretty or simple you may want to pass. If you want a heavy, useful, detailed system pick it up.

 

[Theovis]

Although we're nominally discussing Silver Age Sentinels here, I thought I'd point out that there's a new review of Fifth-Edition Hero over on RPGnet.

What's it have to offer over 4th edition HERO?