What super hero game is for me?

[Capellan]

Hero all the way, given your stated preferences. Be ready for a steep learning curve on character creation and combat, though.

 

[Ranger REG]

Hero all the way, given your stated preferences. Be ready for a steep learning curve on character creation and combat, though.

Considering that he wanted a complicatd ruleset in the first place, that's a turn-on.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Why is HERO combat 'a steep learning curve' for someone who can play a d20-based game? HERO in play is very simple and intuitive compared to most any other crunchy system. Knockback takes a while, as does counting up all the dice (at times), but that's not complexity, just a bit of time. Certainly it has always gone a *lot* faster than D&D in every game I've been in.

Now, in character creation, that's a different story... Multiple days is by no means out of the question, especially when you're new. That makes it rather hard on the GM.

Other than that, though, HERO 5th is a beautiful system that fits every criteria you mentioned. I personally lean more toward Mutants & Masterminds simply for the more 'modern,' if you will, Hero Points system, and slightly easier character creation, but HERO is still a very good system.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Like MEM said- HERO is number crunchy mainly in PC design, but once THAT is over, things run fairly smoothly.

That said, there are other games you may wish to track down if you want to have some nice campaign info for a minimal amount of work:

Underground (Mayfair Games): a dystopic future world with elements of Soylent Green, Blade Runner and every other dark future you've ever seen. Out of print.

Godlike (Hobgoblyn Press): a supers game in which the first supers appeared in Europe during an alt-hist WW2. Not out of print AFAIK, but there have only been a smattering of releases.

 

[Capellan]

HERO combat offers a lot of options. D20 combat does too, but my experience is that people pick up the basics of D20 combat a lot faster than they do HERO, and that D20 combat generally runs quite a bit more quickly. The need to track STUN and BODY as well as END, people getting stunned or unstunned, the end-of-turn (and special action) Recovery steps, the various manuevers and their effects on damage ... all these things take some learning (and that's before you get into the special cases of HERO's multitude of powers).

Note that I'm not saying this as a knock on HERO. I like HERO a lot, and have most of the books for the line. But I do feel that there are two parts of the system that take some learning. It's learning worth doing, but it can be intimidating.

I agree that the OP probably won't mind this, but the people he plays with might.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

HERO combat offers a lot of options. D20 combat does too, but my experience is that people pick up the basics of D20 combat a lot faster than they do HERO, and that D20 combat generally runs quite a bit more quickly. The need to track STUN and BODY as well as END, people getting stunned or unstunned, the end-of-turn (and special action) Recovery steps, the various manuevers and their effects on damage ... all these things take some learning (and that's before you get into the special cases of HERO's multitude of powers).

Note that I'm not saying this as a knock on HERO. I like HERO a lot, and have most of the books for the line. But I do feel that there are two parts of the system that take some learning. It's learning worth doing, but it can be intimidating.

I agree that the OP probably won't mind this, but the people he plays with might.

Interesting.

I've played a lot more d20 than HERO and find HERO much, much simpler in play. The powers in particular are simpler than *feats* and an order of magnitude simpler than spells, IMX.

But, I can see how the Stun/Body/End track could be confusing.

 

[Wraith Form]

Ive tried M&M 1e and 2e. Neither offer me enough customization for me and to be honest are too simple.

You found M&M 2nd ed "too simple"? Good lord. Please come and coach me through character generation alone. I find it to be....complicated, to say the least. (And I don't think I'm necessarily a stupid individual.) After that, you can walk me through the running of a game.

 

[Krolik]

You found M&M 2nd ed "too simple"? Good lord. Please come and coach me through character generation alone. I find it to be....complicated, to say the least. (And I don't think I'm necessarily a stupid individual.) After that, you can walk me through the running of a game.

I would think that anyone who is familiar with either HERO or GURPS would find M&M 2E character creation to be extremely simple. But I believe he might be talking about the game system itself rather then character creation.

If you have specific character creation questions please start a thread on it. I am sure there would be plenty of us around here willing to give advice and assistance.

 

[buzz]

I've played a lot more d20 than HERO and find HERO much, much simpler in play. The powers in particular are simpler than *feats* and an order of magnitude simpler than spells, IMX.

First off, it depends on what d20 implementation you're talking about.

Second, it depends on how much of the HERO ruleset you're using. You throw in turn modes, acceleration/deceleration, tracking END, martial manuevers that involve calculating STR effects on damage, Adjustment Powers, and so forth, and you're way more complicated in play than default M&M2e. Fudge most of that stuff, and you're simpler than default M&M2e.

Anyway...

Arashi, you're probably going to be most interested in HERO/Champions, GURPS, or MEGS/DC Heroes/Blood of Heroes. The last one is not currently in print, however.

Of the three, HERO/Champions has the most supers support, as well as excellent overall support (e.g., it has, hands down, the best chargen software for any RPG ever). Head over to http://www.herogames.com and ask for guidance on the messageboards, and take a look at their Free Stuff page. If you take the plunge, I'd recommend starting with HERO System Sidekick, which is a 128pp distillation of the core HERO rules, and only $15. If you like what you see, you can move on to the 500+pp core rulebook and the 20+ Champions supplements they've produced so far for 5th edition.

Also: You're going to want to stay the heck away from Silver Age Sentinels; it's simpler than M&M2e, and also essentially no longer in print.

 

[mcrow]

Hero or Heroe's Unlimited seem to your best bet.