Superhero games

[Simlasa]

Godlike and Wild Talents (the modern day version of the setting) have loads of interesting ideas in them... I'm not in love with the ORE system but I think a lot of the stuff is easily borrowed for other superhero games... the guys in these games aren't immortal or ultra-uber powerful.


About SOTC and game love:
I've done the same with BRP... believing it can do whatever I want to try.
Maybe any system can do that sort of thing if you grok it well enough and are comfortable with tinkering.
I've got a lot of different rulebooks but I'm inclined to find the one that works for me and stick with it... rather than hopping around.
I'm not yet of the camp that loves the rules to reinforce the genre... I guess I'm a 'dirty simulationist'...

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by Simlasa

Godlike and Wild Talents (the modern day version of the setting) have loads of interesting ideas in them... I'm not in love with the ORE system but I think a lot of the stuff is easily borrowed for other superhero games... the guys in these games aren't immortal or ultra-uber powerful.


About SOTC and game love:
I've done the same with BRP... believing it can do whatever I want to try.
Maybe any system can do that sort of thing if you grok it well enough and are comfortable with tinkering.
I've got a lot of different rulebooks but I'm inclined to find the one that works for me and stick with it... rather than hopping around.
I'm not yet of the camp that loves the rules to reinforce the genre... I guess I'm a 'dirty simulationist'...

Yup, you cvan pretty much do anything with any system, if you have a mind to, and are willing to do a little work. Some systems are better suited towards certain things than others, and results can vary, but it can be done.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Yup, you cvan pretty much do anything with any system, if you have a mind to, and are willing to do a little work. Some systems are better suited towards certain things than others, and results can vary, but it can be done.

Though I'd argue at some point you're hammering nails with a wrench; it can be done, but its really going about it backwards.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by Nightshade

Though I'd argue at some point you're hammering nails with a wrench; it can be done, but its really going about it backwards.

Yup. Some times it is better just to find a system that's suited towards your goals. You reach a point where it isn't IF, but WHY?

[TRose]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Yup, you cvan pretty much do anything with any system, if you have a mind to, and are willing to do a little work. Some systems are better suited towards certain things than others, and results can vary, but it can be done.

Have to agree there think most of us that come here have played long enough that we could convert a Call of Cthullu adventure to Bunnies and Burrows and not work up a sweat.
And why hammer a nail with a wrench ,that what wrecking balls are for. Now you just hold the nail while I get the ball swinging .One swing should do it.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by TRose

Have to agree there think most of us that come here have played long enough that we could convert a Call of Cthullu adventure to Bunnies and Burrows and not work up a sweat.
And why hammer a nail with a wrench ,that what wrecking balls are for. Now you just hold the nail while I get the ball swinging .One swing should do it.

I suspect that with this crowd, one reason why we can do that is because we've had to. Some games get lots of support, but most RPGs don't. So fans of those games often convert stuff and adapt it for their own favorite RPGs.

In the past, we sort of had to work that way to get the game that we wanted. Now, with so many differernt RPGs, past and present, the need to convert is less.

[seneschal]

The game system really does affect the "feel" of your campaign. That's why I enjoy Hero System for superheroing (although I realize not everyone here is a fan). Especially with 3rd edition, it was hard for your character to get killed, encouraging cinematic brawls and outrageous stunts. And the system really does allow you to create nearly any character you've seen in comics or can imagine.

Villians & Vigilantes was also fun but you were limited to the predefined (and randomly selected) powers. Also, since you were playing yourself with powers, that's how the game system felt: "normals with powers." You might have awesome cosmic energies at your command, but you'd still huff and puff climbing the stairs -- and a kid with a pea shooter might be able to take you out.

Palladium's superhero game, Heroes Unlimited, had a feel similar to V&V. Combat was surprisingly lethal to a Champions player. Unless you had the power Invulnerability you'd better have ducked when the bad guys started shooting. And the random power assignment could lead to some kooky character concepts. That's OK as long as you didn't have a particular character type in mind, but if you'd wanted to play an homage to your favorite scarlet speedster it could be disconcerting to roll up a Robocop clone with pink horns and a prehensile tail. One thing I did like was the scads of skills every Heroes Unlimited character was required to pick. Before 5th edtion, a Hero System character practically had to choose between having powers or having skills. It was nice, in Palladium, to be able to do something other than melt brick walls with your breath.

By the same token, the game system affected the campaign's "feel" when my friends and I played Traveller. We were inspired by the likes of Flash Gordon, Captain Kirk and Luke Skywalker but because combat was so lethal and earning credits so essential, our characters tended to sneak around like scheming Harry Mudds. We still had loads of fun, but the rules didn't encourage brash heroics.

Based on the discussion so far, it sounds like a BRP supers system would have a "feel" similar to Palladium or V&V. That's fine if you're portraying costumed crimefighters or pulp heroes armed with weird science gadgets. It might not work quite so well if you're wanting to play Superman or the Fantastic Four. I've personally never been fond of "grim and gritty" comics. If I want realism I'll read the newspaper. Superhero stories are supposed to help you escape reality.

[Simlasa]

I like to escape reality too... but I tend to go for darker settings... maybe because they make me feel better about the reality I'm gonna come home to afterward.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Yup. Some times it is better just to find a system that's suited towards your goals. You reach a point where it isn't IF, but WHY?

Well, sometimes you're stuck with the problem that there's just no appropriate tool for the job, and you have to use the closest one; or when there are external reasons you use it even though it isn't ideal. As an example, if you've got a bunch of hardcore BRP fans, but everyone wants to play a high-cinematic game, in practice you're probably going to end up doing your best to make some flavor of BRP work for that, even though its contrary to the general biases of the system (which tends to lean toward the gritty and relatively realistic), because starting with a more appropriate base system just isn't an option (this is why people do the opposite with D20 so often). But it really isn't the ideal way to go; pick the closest to what you want among the available systems and work from there is usually better.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

I suspect that with this crowd, one reason why we can do that is because we've had to. Some games get lots of support, but most RPGs don't. So fans of those games often convert stuff and adapt it for their own favorite RPGs.

In the past, we sort of had to work that way to get the game that we wanted. Now, with so many differernt RPGs, past and present, the need to convert is less.

That's particularly true of some of us who are particular old hands in the hobby; there was a time when your choice of tools was very limited, and you made do as best you could. These days there's a lot more options to work from though.