What sort of setting do you use for your superhero games?

[AFGNCAAP]

I've always been curious about this. Since there's a variety of campaign setting options for a supers game, I was kind of curious to see what's popular amongst the EN World community.

Now, if you wouldn't mind, please add a post explaining why you prefer your particular choice of setting; oh, and to, of course, be a bit more specific about your choice (even though you may have PCs running `round in the DC or Marvel settings, that doesn't necessarily mean they're running around in the main/default/current DC or Marvel setting).

This should be interesting.

 

[arwink]

I homebrew for two reasons:

1) I'm a super-hero junky that will quite happily spend hours coming up with villain concepts and writing out my own theories on how super-powered society would function. While I'm certainly inspired by published settings and collect them fairly regulalry, I prefer to build my setting from the ground up.

2) About half my players aren't comic book readers. Their main exposure to supers is what they pick up in films like X-men and Spiderman, and they couldn't care less about the history of specific comic book settings. I like to start the players on an equal footing as far as background on the setting goes.

 

[the Jester]

I haven't played a supers game in ages, but I used to play Marvel. I always have liked the Marvel universe better- I always felt the characters were cooler (on the whole) and there were a lot less continuity issues.

Nothing pisses me off more (in comics) than rewriting the universe's history. God dammit, how do I know if my old DC stuff happened in the current mixed-up continuity mess? The efforts to clean up continuity never work, they just make it worse. Marvel's gotten into this too over the last few years.

I would love a comic company who would make the decision to have their timeline advance, their characters age, etc.- and would have the guts to stick to it. By now, Superman should be the grandson of the original Superman (at least)!

 

[Kanegrundar]

Homebrew. I add in bits and pieces from Marvel, DC, Image, various Indy books and chuck it all into a post apocalyptic like setting.

Kane

 

[WayneLigon]

I use a homebrew setting but I take inspiration from as many sources as I can stand, DC, Marvel, Antarctic, Wildstorm, anything as long as it fits my 'vision'. I do it mainly because I love doing supers and coming up with new stuff is pretty easy.

In the past, I have used Marvel with a little DC thrown in, mainly because the MSRPG had stats for everything. I've never run a DC universe mainly because they've yet to create a playable game using that universe. I'd like to, and I hope that the new one under development will be cool but those hopes are not very high right now. If the rule set was cool and also supported making your own heroes using the same ruleset (main rule of licensed superhero games to me: what's good for the goose must be good for the gander. ie, I should be able to use the rules-as-written to backengineer any hero in that license).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I voted other because my last super hero game was set in Boston, with very few changes. I suppose that makes it a sort of homebrew, but the elements that were different (besides the PCs) were few enough that it seems pretentious to call it a homebrew.

 

[Dagnir]

Well out current mutants and masterminds game our gm combined dc heroes and marvel heroes and added his own little twist, and yes the game was set in new york.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Interesting--so far, it looks like homebrewing is the most popular option out of the ones listed. I wonder if the whole issues of canon & continuity come into play (something that, for comic book settings, would be much, MUCH worse in comparison to canon issues for D&D settings like Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance), esp. how easily and frequently canon changes for comics.

Currently, I run a Marvel SAGA game set in an alternate reality (Earth 713-last I knew that designation # didn't mean much, but I need to see if that has changed); a "What If?" reality of my own creation where I kept things that I liked from Marvel, and changed/eliminated the rest. I used to consider running stuff in the main Marvel (616) Earth, but after reading the comics & seeing the back & forth changes, I changed my mind rather rapidly. I considered running an Amalgam (i.e., the fused DC/Marvel realities setting) game, but that proved to be more time & work than I could afford to commit to the game.

My current game has wound down & died, though. However, I still want to run a supers game, though now I'm not so sure if I want to stick with an established universe or go with something entirely my creation. At the very least, I know I could include whatever & whoever I wanted (tailored to that reality, that is).

 

[EdL]

I didn't vote, as I've only played in a few very short lived superhero games. (A couple of DC Heroes - first ed, and one Champions 5th ed.) If I was going to run one myself I'd be very tempted to use Super Babes. I just like the fun feel of the setting.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

If I was going to run one myself I'd be very tempted to use Super Babes. I just like the fun feel of the setting.

I could say something bad here, but I won't.