Second Best Game System ?

[Egyptoid]

What is the next best game system, after Champions, for superheroes ?

Sell me on it, don't just say "GURPS ROXX!" please.
Also the game should be in print, or not too far dead.

I lean towards M&M2e, personally. What say you?
There are a few out there

[Derek Hiemforth]

I would say (hands down) MEGS (aka DC Heroes RPG/Blood of Heroes), except that you said it can't be dead. I actually think that system is as good as or better than the HERO System for supers. (Though the way it handles scale keeps it from being a good universal system like HERO is.)

Unfortunately, I don't have enough recent experience with other games to be too helpful. M&M seemed pretty decent, but I haven't looked at 2nd or 3rd editions. Silver Age Sentinels was good, but long-dead now, AFAIK. GURPS has always felt a little clunky to me for supers; it doesn't feel like the powers system integrates too well with the rest of the game system (although I think it's much better in GURPS 4E than in previous editions).

For a game that would have an entirely different feel from the HERO System, but maintain the flexibility (albeit in a very different way), you might look at very freeform game systems like FUDGE, or even RISUS. You'd probably need a lot of GM-player trust and agreement about the goals of the game to make those work well for supers...

EDIT: I've also heard good things about Truth And Justice, though I don't have any experience with it myself.

[Kap]

I would say (hands down) MEGS (aka DC Heroes RPG/Blood of Heroes), except that you said it can't be dead. I actually think that system is as good as or better than the HERO System for supers. (Though the way it handles scale keeps it from being a good universal system like HERO is.)

Unfortunately, I don't have enough recent experience with other games to be too helpful. M&M seemed pretty decent, but I haven't looked at 2nd or 3rd editions. Silver Age Sentinels was good, but long-dead now, AFAIK. GURPS has always felt a little clunky to me for supers; it doesn't feel like the powers system integrates too well with the rest of the game system (although I think it's much better in GURPS 4E than in previous editions).

For a game that would have an entirely different feel from the HERO System, but maintain the flexibility (albeit in a very different way), you might look at very freeform game systems like FUDGE, or even RISUS. You'd probably need a lot of GM-player trust and agreement about the goals of the game to make those work well for supers...

EDIT: I've also heard good things about Truth And Justice, though I don't have any experience with it myself.

Is MEGS dead? That was going to be my answer, too.

As for Mutants & Masterminds, I found it almost unreadable. I found the way they scatter information throughout the book to be the biggest reason I never played the game. It was just too much work for me to get a handle on the system. The "D.C." version was even worse: my friends and I spent an hour trying to find out how you figure out the damage from a punch, since it wasn't in the combat section at all.

--Kap

[Derek Hiemforth]

Is MEGS dead? That was going to be my answer, too.

AFAIK, the last book published for MEGS was the Blood of Heroes Special Edition, and that was back in 2000...

[Ninja-Bear]

Well, I was interested in D6 Powers to see how it went. But alas, no experience with the game itself but since its derived from the D6 system, it looked-interesting.

[Vondy]

As for Mutants & Masterminds, I found it almost unreadable. I found the way they scatter information throughout the book to be the biggest reason I never played the game. It was just too much work for me to get a handle on the system.

I had the same experience. It wasn't the concepts, but the organization, that proved the be a bar to play.

[Ozymandias]

I had the same experience. It wasn't the concepts, but the organization, that proved the be a bar to play.

Which edition was it? since I managed to figure out the rules (2nd ed) the quickest of any RPG system, and I didn't really find any trouble with the organization, except for a few rules that rarely came up.

[Zen Archer]

Is MEGS dead? That was going to be my answer, too.

And mine, though there seem to have been some issues regarding Superspeed being a game-breaker.

[Kap]

And mine, though there seem to have been some issues regarding Superspeed being a game-breaker.

With Superspeed costing so much, I never found it to be a problem. No one could afford to get their speed so high that it became an issue in the games I played.You

There would be the same problem with Sorcery, Matter Manipulation, and the like except they were all incredibly expensive too.

[Kap]

2nd and the D.C. version of the 3rd are the ones I was saying were poorly organized.

[Ndreare]

I would say Fuzion, alot of hero fans did not care for the boiled down system. But I liked it and it kept my hero skills up because they are sist... err brother systems.

If you are already familier with HERO then learning Fuzion is easy. The play is a little faster, but th support is generally PDF or print on demand.

Fuzion core rules can be baght online for $8 or downloaded as PDF for free. The Heroic abilities PDF (Hero style powers) can also be had or free.

Victorina & Sengoku make great fantasy settings and complete rules. Guardian Universe is okay, but the Jesus Online stuff is offensive to Christian players (like me).

The original Champions new millinium is not as good as Champions Universe, though That is because of the writting style in HERO 6th is just plain higher quality.

HERO and Fuzion are my go to systems even over my own game.

[csyphrett]

I like heroes unlimited even though I havent been able to buy books for it for a while. The system is easy to learn and easy to teach. New powers can be adapted from published abilities and so forth.
CES

[Ninja-Bear]

I like heroes unlimited even though I havent been able to buy books for it for a while. The system is easy to learn and easy to teach. New powers can be adapted from published abilities and so forth.
CES

I have a copy of Heores Unlimited and NInja and Superspies. Now for background material and powers and such I found it great. But trying to make a character, especially NaS, I found hard. I guess its a ymmv thing.

[Escafarc]

There are no other systems except HERO. Move along nothing to see here. (Though if others did exist, MEGS or V&V(with a lot of house-ruling). I had the same problems with M&M[all versions]already talked about)

[csyphrett]

I have a copy of Heores Unlimited and NInja and Superspies. Now for background material and powers and such I found it great. But trying to make a character, especially NaS, I found hard. I guess its a ymmv thing.

It can take anything from twenty minutes to an hour depending. It could use a character designer like Hero. I have a sheet on a file that i can just fill in with the bonuses and stuff
CES