Superhero games

[Trifletraxor]

Is there anyone of you who plan to use Basic Roleplaying to play a superhero game? If so, how do you game such a setting? Superhero stuff have very little appeal to me, but I would like to hear how other people are planning to use this part, and how the setting would be.

SGL.

[Enpeze]

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

Is there anyone of you who plan to use Basic Roleplaying to play a superhero game? If so, how do you game such a setting? Superhero stuff have very little appeal to me, but I would like to hear how other people are planning to use this part, and how the setting would be.

SGL.

Na. Not really. I am not that much into superheroic gaming or a comic fan. But its nice to have rules for this in the BRP book. Maybe you can use parts of them for other more realistic settings. Like Transhuman Space genetic modifications, Traveller Psionics or as base for mutations in some funky aftermath worlds.

[TriOpticon]

This is something I would look into with BRP. I am a big comic/superhero fan. I played Champions a lot up till the 5th edition. I also have GURPS Powers, Mutants & Masterminds, Silver Age Sentinels, etc. I definitely enjoy the genre and like to read all systems about it, especially settings, to give me ideas.

The only problem I have had is getting people to play a superhero game.

[soltakss]

I've played Superworld before and it didn't really work.

The problem with BRP superhero games is that BRP differentiates between skills, characteristics, powers and so on and there isn't really a mechanism for them all to work together.

So, Megaman has STR 100 and tries to lift Gorgo (SIZ 120) using the Resistance Table, all well and good. But what if Zapman uses his Mind Zap ability against Megaman? How will he resist?

Also, with BRP you need to describe each ability down to the last detail, what it costs, what damage it does, how it is resisted and so on.

HeroQuest is a far better system to play a SuperHero game, in my opinion.

[Atgxtg]

I ran/played Superworld in the past. We used a couple of different settings, from the Wild Cards world, the Marvel Universe, and even a custom made one. In most cases the setting is fairly close to the modern world, with a sprinkling of superheroes thrown in.

Generally, how you plan such a thing is in essence, similar to how you would plan just about any other RPG.

1) The GM creates a setting. Most of the time this is the real world with some supers and magic added. Occasionally, this is a historic era, an alien wold, or an alternate dimension (I once had a group go back in time, where the archer PC hero met up with Robin Hood).

2) The players create their characters. They come up with a concept, and then spend points to build the character. One neat option introduced by V&V years ago, is to write up yourself as a character, and then give yourself superpowers. This not only adds an ego trip element (most people who play super RPGs have some wish to fly, lift trucks, etc.), but also helps to flesh out the campaign. It adds a whole new dimension to the campaign when characters not only need to put out the burning building, but do it fast enough to be home in time for dinner.

3) Adventures typical revolve around a NPC villain committing some sort of crime, and the heroes trying to stop him. With super villains, the crimes can take on a larger than lie quality. For instance, instead of robbing a bank, a villain might try to steal the entire bank. Other types of stores, like natural disasters, rescues, and even stopping street thugs or reforming punks are all possible ideas.


As for Superwolrd,

It works. But it is a bit clunky. Going with soltakss' example, the mind zap would be resisted with the appropriate trait (POW if a mental attack, AP/HP if a physical one).

Powers are really written up to about the same level of detail as in champions (SUPERWORLD is basically BRP with Champion styles powers thrown in on top). It DOES work. But frankly, so do a few other superRPGs, and most of them work better. Much like GURPS, the benefits of the BRP system, such as it's realistic style, are at odds with the genre. With Super campaign we don"t want reality, we want the reality of the comics. So when "Mr. Invulnerable" falls off the roof of a 10 story building, we don't want him to go spat from 30d6 damage-we want to see him stunned, and a bit hole in the asphalt.

SUPER RPGing in general can be a lot of fun-just as log as the players realize that it isn't a dungeon crawl. One fun group I ran, involved the players writting up kids who end up getting superpowers. We set that in our home city (always a good choice) allowing the group to use local landmarks and such.

[Trifletraxor]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Powers are really written up to about the same level of detail as in champions (SUPERWORLD is basically BRP with Champion styles powers thrown in on top). It DOES work. But frankly, so do a few other superRPGs, and most of them work better. Much like GURPS, the benefits of the BRP system, such as it's realistic style, are at odds with the genre. With Super campaign we don"t want reality, we want the reality of the comics. So when "Mr. Invulnerable" falls off the roof of a 10 story building, we don't want him to go spat from 30d6 damage-we want to see him stunned, and a bit hole in the asphalt.

I think you are on to something there. BRP with its nitty gritty realistic approach does not really fit well as an enginge for toon-like superhero gaming. Were there ever any published scenarios for Superworld or any of the other superhero games?

SGL.

[The Tweaker]

Originally Posted by Enpeze

But its nice to have rules for this in the BRP book. Maybe you can use parts of them for other more realistic settings. Like Transhuman Space genetic modifications, Traveller Psionics or as base for mutations in some funky aftermath worlds.

That's a good reason for me to be happy to have them in the main book. It should be easy to use them for designing your own cyberware and such.

I also know BRP is supposed to be gritty and realistic, but I'd certainly would like to try and GM a superhero game with it. The book does include rules for playing with legendary or heroic-level characters and is supposed to have some additional rules for non-lethal damage (if I remember correctly). These, and a liberal use of Hero points, could do the trick.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

I think you are on to something there. BRP with its nitty gritty realistic approach does not really fit well as an enginge for toon-like superhero gaming. Were there ever any published scenarios for Superworld or any of the other superhero games?

SGL.

I think there was maybe one supplement for Superworld. Most of the superhero RPGs did have supplements printed for them, though. The best supported were the first Marvel and DC rpgs, not surprisingly.

Yeah, BRP's engine doesn't really work well for a 4 color comics campaign. Some of BRP's strengths actually work against it when it comes to Superheroes. There are some tweaks in the Superworld boxed set that makes it work better than the WoW rules, but it still isn't a good fit. Then again, BRP wasn't a good fit for the mythic setting of Glorantha, either.

IMO, the worst fits are probably GURPS (which really breaks down, as it tries to be grittier than BRP), and Palladium (no non-lethal combat, so people don't drop unless dead or dying, making most heroes mass murderers).

My overall favorites for Super gaming would be Golden Heroes, and Marvel (SAGA version). The two most popular super RPGs are probably Champions, and Marvel (TSR version, revised edition).

The real trick to Supers gaming is to get players who are into comics and that sort of thing. If they go at it with the typical fantasy RPG approach, the campaign won't last long. A supers campaign is less about acquiring things and character improvement then it is about doing good deeds, saving lives, and thwarting evil. It's a lot of fun to be able to do things you otherwise can't do, as well.

Unfortunately, Super gaming doesn't get a lot of respect from fantasy RPGers. I once had a guy who refused to play a Super hero RPG saying that the powers were silly. Later the same night, while playing D&D, I pointed out how in our group of four characters, we had one guy with superhuman Strength, another who drank a potion of elongation, a third who could go invisible, and the guy who through supers were dumb had points of fire breathing and a necklace of fireballs, and could fly. My Fantastic Four analogy won my argument, but ticked the guy off more than convincing him to play. Still, he stopped giving us flak for playing supers.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

I think you are on to something there. BRP with its nitty gritty realistic approach does not really fit well as an enginge for toon-like superhero gaming. Were there ever any published scenarios for Superworld or any of the other superhero games?

SGL.

I ran an extended SuperWorld game some years ago, and there's one big key to making it work well.

Understand its Limits. SuperWorld did not work well for high powered superheroes. It could do an decent, in some ways superior job with middle to low powered supers, but would pretty much break if you tried to force it to the upper end, in part because BRP is simply not set up to do geometric progression, which is the way almost all successful superhero games handle power range.

There were, in fact, two books of scenarios specifically for Superworld. One was set in a high school and designed for teen supers, the other contained four individual scenarios for other sorts.

[drohem]

Years ago my group ran a successful Superworld campaign with mulitple GMs. We would trade off adventures and each GM had a regional sphere of influence.

We came to the same conclusion as Nightshade. Our best adventures and encounters were at the beginning of the campaign, and it broke down once the heroes became powerful. Designing villians for the high-powered heroes became difficult.