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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MidnightBlue" data-source="post: 8320205" data-attributes="member: 6924450">I get that.  There are a million and one gaming systems out there, with more coming everyday, because there are at least a million and two ideas of what would make a cool game.  And then you have folks like me that love MANY systems because of what each offers.  (My bank account wishes I could find one and be content forever.)  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Heck, when I first bought the TSR Marvel Superheroes game, which I immediately fell in love with, I couldn't wrap my head around the concept of modelling.  "What, I just make the character I want?  Okay...I make the one true God...I win, right?"  The thought of not having anything to hold back my crunchy system min-max/optimization tendencies was daunting.  So I always used the random generation system.  (Heh...of course anyone thinking that MHR doesn't have a balanced creation system should take a second look at the MSH-FASERIP random characters...heh they ran the range of "this guy's AWESOME" to "Can I play Aunt May instead?".)  Now circle around to nearly 30-ish years later when Marvel Heroic Roleplaying comes into my life and I have the same three character creations options as my beloved Marvel Superheroes (FASERIP); Modeling, using a pregen/established hero/villain, and random generation.  Suddenly modelling just clicked for me.  I'm sure part of it was that I'd grown tired of running into road blocks to creating the oddball character concepts that kept coming to me over the decades...roadblocks that could only be bypassed with house-rules and with a lot of GMs that weren't comfortable with house-rules, understandably worried that the wrong answer would break the game.For the first time that I could recall, having ignored modelling as an option in Marvel Superheroes (FASERIP), I finally had a game where I didn't have to worry about the system keeping me from making the character I wanted.  You start with your character concept, talk it over with your GM and group to make sure the concept fits in the game (which you should do in ANY system, in my opinion), then assign traits until that character concept is formed on paper.  My only restriction to making the exact character I want to play is my imagination in MHR.  That game landed in my hands when I could appreciate it most, and dare say when I needed it in my life.I think part of the key to being able to get the most out of modelling a character is, besides having a character-idea muse whispering in your ear, understanding that "winning" is helping your table tell a good story where every player gets to have the spotlight at times, and not "beating" the GM and gathering all the glory for yourself.  I know that sounds obvious, but the game and character creation systems that many of us were raised on is all about building power/level to an optimum creation.  The thought of making a well-rounded character with inherent flaws and limitations wasn't a part of the games I grew up on.  It was more about minimizing weaknesses and optimizing effectiveness.MHR changed that for me in a big way.  Though I do still love the random generation option it has for those times when I need to come up with a character, but the muse is sleeping and I need a character concept prompt.For being able to make exactly the character I want to play right out of the gate...without a need to level-up to someday be the character I wanted to begin with, I can't think of a better system than Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.  And especially in the super hero genre where our beloved, long-lasting heroes (and villains) very seldom have significant changes that last much beyond a story arc.  Sure, there was that time when Spider-Man grew four extra arms, had a symbiote suit, had organic webshooters, etc., but nothing stuck (pun intended) for long and we were left with our same friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that we've grown to love.  But if you DO want a zero-to-hero game or the ability to gain XP and change aspects of your character beyond just a conversation with the GM, MHR offers that too.  Best of all worlds in my eyes.  But of course not for everyone.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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