Super Hero RPG...

[JoAT]

What about the Marvel Universe RPG? It's fairly good, with nice, consistant rules, and is pretty hard to break. I'd reccomend it, as well as the past original Marvel Super Heros game - you should be able to find pdf files of the player's guide, the GM's guide and the Universal Powers book on the web somewhere - I know that several web sites host them.

 

[JesterPoet]

Another vote for Mutants and Masterminds here.

It's also the first system I've seen where the "gadgets" mechanic actually works.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I'll add a vote for Mutants & Masterminds as well. As TB said, character creation can be confusing, but gameplay is great. the game includes several Hero Archetypes which cover the most common types of heros (martial artist, battlesuit, etc) and it's worth using them to learn how the rules work, then go on to create your own heroes. There is a good errata sheet and FAQ on the M&M homepage, as well as revised hero & villain archetypes. Make sure to grab those, as they fix some problems in the book.

http://www.mutantsandmasterminds.com/index.php

 

[billd91]

Mutants and Masterminds has been going pretty well for us. It's a very flexible system and fairly rules-lite compared to more heavily designed games like Champions. It's also a game in which the GM has to keep a fairly careful eye on character generation because it's not that hard to heavily munchkinize. Unless you trust the players to be even-handed, GM participation in character design is important.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I'd say Four Color to Fantasy Revised, used in conjunction with d20 Modern. It's the best implementation of d20s class system, with a flexible power system that still uses class and level distinctions for a rough model of the character's power and overall capabilities.

It's also flexible enough to handle most superheroes from the comics-- so should be able to cover most character concepts you'd like to try.

 

[SimonMoon5]

Well, the long out-of-print DC Heroes RPG is probably the best superhero game ever, especially if you're looking for something simple, but with enough detail to represent every superhero from the comics. A lot of games don't have the flexibility to represent characters like the Silver Age Superman, and others bog down when they try to represent someone like Zatanna, Amazo, or Nemesis Kid, but DC Heroes has no difficulties with these sorts of characters.

 

[Bards R Us]

I have to second Mutants and Masterminds as well, although character creation can be SERIOUSLY complicated. Marvel Universe is alright, it is diceless and uses cards a la CCGs, but it is no longer being supported. Silver Age Sentinels (both the D20 and Tri-Stat versions) is another option but have not played them.

 

[Wrahn]

Champions is without a doubt the best superhero game in existence. I dismiss everything else out of hand. Some will tell you it does not meet your criteria as being simple, but the truth is, once you understand the mechanics, it is a simple system, as simple as D&D is anyway.

 

[Trainz]

Champions is without a doubt the best superhero game in existence. I dismiss everything else out of hand. Some will tell you it does not meet your criteria as being simple, but the truth is, once you understand the mechanics, it is a simple system, as simple as D&D is anyway.

What other super-hero games have you read ? Did you read M&M and 4C2F ?

 

[Acid_crash]

I'll mention one that hasn't been mentioned and that is the Tri-Stat version of Silver Age Sentinels. I find it combines the best of HERO system and Mutants and Masterminds with a very easy dice system...but like all systems it can be munchkinized to death and GM participation should be included in all aspects of character creation. Much better than the d20 version...very simple.

If you want to know how the system works, go to www.guardiansorder.com and download Tri-Stat dx for free. It's basically the same system as used in Silver Age Sentinels and it's done really well.

**note: I am not affiliated with GOO and these are my opinions.**