Superhero Games

[Teflon Billy]

Hey folks,

I'm pretty juiced up for the release of Green Ronin's Mutants and Masterminds and have been re-working my old Champions Hombrew setting in anticipation.

So I was hoping that you all could toss out favorite bits from your own superhero games. So I can steal them, mostly; but also to increase the dialogue and camraderie that ENworld is famed for.

Yeah, that's it

Anyway, just whatever tidbits you thought were cool or origonal, or just really perfect for the genre.

Thanks

 

[NLP]

I will start off with a couple.

Lazarus
The concept is that this person is THE Lazarus who was raised from the dead 2,000 years ago. The problem is he cannot die. He has tried hundreds of times, in hundreds of different ways, to end his life. Lazarus came to the conclusion that the only way for him to die was to destroy the world in the process. No living world, no way for him to live.

Lazarus has spent the last two hundred years building up a secret empire and slowly working his minions into positions of power. Lazarus thought his prayers were answered during WWII, but the unexpected rise of super-humans and the defeat of Hitler destroyed his plans. Lazarus continues on, manipulating sides in an eternal struggle to end his existence.

The Franklins
The Franklins are a family of brothers and sisters who were born to Ma and Pa Franklin who live in Stone Mountain, Georgia. There are 13 children in the family, each one named after a letter in the alphabet (Adam, Bernard, Charlotte, ect). Each of the children was born with superpowers and over the last 30 years (Adam being 30 and Melody being 18) has risen to a certain level of prominence within the super-human community.

None of the Franklins wear costumes, but they all operate within the superhero community, some overtly and some more subtly. Four times a year the family meets for holidays back on the homestead with Ma and Pa, and every single time some supervillain feels the need to prove his superiority by talking out the family. The "Franklin Roundup" has become a law enforcement tradition.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Those are both wicked

In my campaign, the Superhero family are called "The Awesomes" (Sue me, not only is my campaign pretty Silver Age in color (if not in gameplay) , but they were created when I was 13).

There are only 4 of them however (5 if you include Super Genius child Jimmy Awesome's robot dog, Hannibal).

Actually, I think they may be closer in spirit to being the Fantastic Four, if the FF had two children instead of The Human Torch and The Thing.

Lazarus is neat idea as well. Now if we could just get him in some power-armor and work out a secret base for him

 

[GuardianLurker]

Here's a concept I keep coming back to :

The Genetic Metamorph
Given a DNA sample, the character can metamorph into the person who the sample is from. The character can even "store" a number of samples, but one must always be his own form (or he'll lose it). The shifting is also neither instantaneous nor painless. If the sample is from a parahuman, the character may be able to duplicate some or all of the target's powers (but can not mix-n-match) - non-power physical characteristics (like skin color, height, weight, etc.) can always be duplicated.

In Champions terms, the character has Shapechange with an Inaccessible (and Hidden) Focus, and a side effect of a HKA, and a time requirement. He also has Multipower (or is it form?) with a link to Shapechange, and a limited number of forms. [BTW, do you have FREd?]

You can up the power by removing the limits, obviously; the talent could also be developed into a "sense", or even a full bio-engineering capability.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Here's a concept I keep coming back to :

The Genetic Metamorph
Given a DNA sample, the character can metamorph into the person who the sample is from. The character can even "store" a number of samples, but one must always be his own form (or he'll lose it). The shifting is also neither instantaneous nor painless. If the sample is from a parahuman, the character may be able to duplicate some or all of the target's powers (but can not mix-n-match) - non-power physical characteristics (like skin color, height, weight, etc.) can always be duplicated.

Wierd coincidence here...this is virtually identical to a villain in my game called The Xenomorph (he's from space)

(BTW, do you have FREd?)

What's that? if it's for Champions, the answer is probably "yes".

You can up the power by removing the limits, obviously; the talent could also be developed into a "sense", or even a full bio-engineering capability. [/B][/QUOTE]

 

[coyote6]

"FRed" is the less-than-obvious name the online Hero fans have given to the Hero 5th ed. rulebook that was released a few months ago. (Me, I just call it the big black Hero book. )

The new Champions genre book is out, too. I picked it up last week, and it's a very nice overview of the supers genre, with some good advice for GMs & players (both Hero-specific and more generally; it's worth a look no matter what supers game you play).

I'm really wanting to play or run some kind of superhero game. I've got Hero 5e, the new Champions, SAS, and am anxiously awaiting Mutants and Masterminds. Somehow, some way, some system, some setting . . .

 

[Teflon Billy]

"FRed" is the less-than-obvious name the online Hero fans have given to the Hero 5th ed. rulebook that was released a few months ago. (Me, I just call it the big black Hero book. )

Huh!, nope...I just have the big Blue 4th edition book.

The new Champions genre book is out, too. I picked it up last week, and it's a very nice overview of the supers genre, with some good advice for GMs & players (both Hero-specific and more generally; it's worth a look no matter what supers game you play).

Cool, I'd like to give it a look, but I doubt it would be all that much use to me. I'm pretty well versed in the Superhero genre, and I think I am done with HERO system for awhile (having played Mutants and Masterminds)

I'm really wanting to play or run some kind of superhero game. I've got Hero 5e, the new Champions, SAS, and am anxiously awaiting Mutants and Masterminds. Somehow, some way, some system, some setting . . .

I hear you man. I'm itching to run a game myself. Aw well, I can console myself with conversion of my old setting until I get M&M

 

[Horacio]

I'm writting the story hour of my superhero campaign using Morrus's Four color to Fantasy rules. Link at my signature...

 

[Teflon Billy]

thanks Horacio, I'll give it a look

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I haven't had the chance to use this idea, but I always liked the idea of an elite military team, like a SEAL team, somehow getting powers, and then continuing to serve in the military. No spandex, no super-high-tech, just real guys wearing real uniforms using real-world technology. I know it's not that great an idea, or maybe I should say not as flashy an idea, but the thought of real-world people handling superpowers in real-world ways has always intrigued me. The device of making it a team of elite soldiers helps provide the basic premise - they're already a team, and their status as elite soldiers makes it more likely they'd be in situations where they could gain those powers.

I sort of am thinking about it as being in the same vein as the recently late, and greatly lamented, Starman.