Which d20 Superhero System?


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Call it three-in-a-row; Mutants and Masterminds.

Character generation requires some GM voodoo, but gameplay is smooth, fast and--most importantly--comic bookish:)
 

Foundation.

Just kidding. Mutants & Masterminds or SAS d20. But I don't the the d20 supers game has really arrived. M&M has certain built in oddities, and is only vaguely d20 compatible.
 

As long you are familiar with the ruleset, it becomes easier to learn than a completely different ruleset that you're not exposed to.

Besides, I like the idea of someone taking the SRD and creatively designing off-shoot rulesets.
 

My vote's for Four Color to Fantasy.

The key point is that you can use it with other d20 games, to help finetune the kind of superhero game you are trying to play. When used with d20 Modern, it takes advantage of Modern's flexible class system, which gives you a lot of options for creating the exact character you have in mind. (Especially since characters with more 'normal' levels are likely to have more skills and feats, which better represents more actual training and skill.)

For normal, modern superheroes, either for four-color or for a darker, edgier kind of superhero game, I'd reccomend Four Color to Fantasy used with the d20 Modern rules.

With D&D, it's very easy to use Four Color to Fantasy to simulate Wuxia or similar high fantasy, and with its rules for Mystical superpowers, helps smooth the edges of D&D's Vancian (or semi-Vancian) magic system, by allowing simple things like a Wizard or Sorceror being able to fling an unlimited number of small bolts of energy, or other similar small magical feats that shouldn't take up spell slots.

I have very limited experience with Spycraft and most other d20 games, since most of what I play is D&D or some variation of d20 Modern. However, given the flexibility and portability of Four Color to Fantasy's rules, I'd suspect it would work well in most any system.
 

If you are a D20 Modern fan, then I'd go Blood and Vigilance. I like the way the system balances, and it's a very good piece of work that you could fit nearly seamlessly into a modern game.

I havent played M&M, though I've heard a lot of good stuff about it, and the looks I took at it were very promising. I just like Blood and Vigilance because it was fast for me to pick up on (since I already play lots of d20 Modern), it balances well, and it's also a very affordable PDF product :)
 

I would recommend Mutants and Masterminds.

The game borrows many rules from the d20 system but is simplified greatly. There are no classes or attacks of opportunities. You create heroes using a point buy based system that allows you to customize exactly how you envision him.

The games core powers sytem allows you to create virtually any comic book character you can imagine but if you have difficulty envisioning a particular power the M&M Msg boards: http://www.mutantsandmasterminds.com/phpBB2/ are full of people who will gladly help you with your design.

There is also a PBP game at: http://www.menefees.net/freedomcity/index.php
if you would like to look at some different heroes and get you feet wet.
 

M&M is the only one I'd recommend, unless you really want seamless integration with the rest of d20. Then, I think, you're on your own. All the other options either use classes *blech* or just don't integrate too well. I think it's actually easier to run a D&D campaign with M&M than the other way 'round, but YMMV.
 


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