Pattern Ghost Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 Just taking a survey of the field, so to speak. What does the current landscape of Supers RPGs look like? What's out there (besides Hero) that you all like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 The first thing to understand is that the state of Role Playing Games in general is awful. People prefer video games, card games, miniature war games, board games, etc far more than role playing games. Even D&D, the industry leader, is in rocky shape right now -- partly self induced but overall just a symptom of the times. The biggest local gaming shop has only a small corner of the shop devoted to RPGs, the rest to miniatures, card games, and board games. Super Hero RPGs, a small segment of the RPG industry is doing even worse. Modern people have small attention spans, don't read much beyond texts, want flashy high definition moving imagery, and have starved and atrophied imaginations because all their entertainment is played out and spoon fed to them. I hate to be the bearer of bad news like this. I desperately wish it was not so. MrAgdesh and Pattern Ghost 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said: Just taking a survey of the field, so to speak. What does the current landscape of Supers RPGs look like? What's out there (besides Hero) that you all like? It's been weird and disappointing that the mainstreaming of superheroes and D&D hasn't translated into a resurgence of superhero TTRPGs (if not Champions in particular). Near as I can tell the supers RPG landscape suffers from fracturing--or maybe pulverization is a better word. Just glancing at /r/rpg some RPG options are: Marvel Multiverse RPG (2023) aka D616 Marvel Heroic (2012) (literally never heard of this until today, seems to be well received) Marvel Super Heroes aka MSH aka FASERIP (1984) Marvel Superhero Adventure Game aka SAGA ("uses cards") Sentinel Comics RPG Masks Mutants and Masterminds 2e Mutants and Masterminds 3e (seems like there's a feud between the 2e/3e players) ICONS Worlds in Peril GURPS (seriously there are some folks out there using this for supers) Prowler & Paragon Cypher Four Color Heroics from Spectrum Games Supers! Revised DC Heroes Ascendant. (EDIT--it appears the author/publisher of this game is some kind of alt right agitator, proceed with caution) Heroes Unlimited (Palladium) Villains & Vigilantes Spectaculars ...and Hero. Work is bugging me so I don't have time to google these, bring back a report if you do. Edited October 30, 2023 by Old Man Pattern Ghost and Beast 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 Yeah I think every writer thought "superheroes are hot! I can make a game and sell it/rejuvenate an old game!" and... like comic books, there's been basically zero coat tails in terms of sales for either from the movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 I was in an online Champions game over a PBP forum -- but then the GM up and archived the game without a damn word or warning. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 5 hours ago, Old Man said: It's been weird and disappointing that the mainstreaming of superheroes and D&D hasn't translated into a resurgence of superhero TTRPGs (if not Champions in particular). Near as I can tell the supers RPG landscape suffers from fracturing--or maybe pulverization is a better word. Just glancing at /r/rpg some RPG options are: Marvel Multiverse RPG (2023) aka D616 Marvel Heroic (2012) (literally never heard of this until today, seems to be well received) Marvel Super Heroes aka MSH aka FASERIP (1984) Marvel Superhero Adventure Game aka SAGA ("uses cards") Sentinel Comics RPG Masks Mutants and Masterminds 2e Mutants and Masterminds 3e (seems like there's a feud between the 2e/3e players) ICONS Worlds in Peril GURPS (seriously there are some folks out there using this for supers) Prowler & Paragon Cypher Four Color Heroics from Spectrum Games Supers! Revised DC Heroes Ascendant. (EDIT--it appears the author/publisher of this game is some kind of alt right agitator, proceed with caution) Heroes Unlimited (Palladium) Villains & Vigilantes Spectaculars ...and Hero. Work is bugging me so I don't have time to google these, bring back a report if you do. I would add Superpowered by Stellagama it is a 2d6 Quantum Engine based game fairly rules light to medium crunch Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 Savage Worlds has their Supers too. Necessary Evil and the updated Superhero Companion. There is also Supergame 3e (which is really unknown) Four Color? Which is a retro clone of MSRPG. I picked up (and waiting to be printed) Guardians-which is based on the old OD&D. The reason I picked this up is that my boys like throwing the “funny” dice. And I also at one time picked up a 3d6 Supers game too. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Democracy Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 Reckon you need to add Superworld by Chaosium. Big memories playing Bad medicine for Dr Drugs.... https://www.chaosium.com/superworld/ Old Man and MrAgdesh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 I forgot that I picked up Powers D6 too. It is Supers using the famous D6 system. Never ran it though. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Certified Posted November 3, 2023 Report Share Posted November 3, 2023 Biased comment here, but there also Metahumans Rising. Pattern Ghost and Ninja-Bear 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted November 3, 2023 Report Share Posted November 3, 2023 Admittedly, playing Sentinels of the Multiverse has me jonesing for a Champions game. which is why I'm PISSED mine died suddenly with no warning Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadDomain Posted November 3, 2023 Report Share Posted November 3, 2023 There is also Destined, a superhero roleplaying game based on Mythras (aka RuneQuest 6e) published in 2022. Old Man, Scott Ruggels and Certified 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 Hmm, Mythras isn't a bad system... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 The Zathras of RPG systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ruggels Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 On 11/4/2023 at 12:06 PM, Old Man said: Hmm, Mythras isn't a bad system... Mythras is the current edition of Chaosium's BRP, derived from Runequest. Percentile skill rolls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Certified Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 My prefered flavor of Runequest is easily HeroQuest / QuestWorlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 One of these days I'm going to go through and catalog the systems behind every supers and fantasy RPG just so I have a vague idea of what each one might play like. RuneQuest is one of those where I hear plenty of good things but I don't even know which version is what, only that the systems are radically different. Oh and I'd also want to catalog the various Shadowrun systems but that'd have to be a separate project all its own... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Democracy Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 6 hours ago, Certified said: My prefered flavor of Runequest is easily HeroQuest / QuestWorlds. Currently playing in Glorantha. Am using the gritty BRP Runequest for the base gameplay, the using the narrative-heavy HeroQuest for when they enter the Hero Plane or when extreme magical events take place. The contrast is really useful. assault and Certified 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Certified Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 6 hours ago, Doc Democracy said: Currently playing in Glorantha. Am using the gritty BRP Runequest for the base gameplay, the using the narrative-heavy HeroQuest for when they enter the Hero Plane or when extreme magical events take place. The contrast is really useful. That's a fun way to draw contrast. Doc Democracy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich McGee Posted November 11, 2023 Report Share Posted November 11, 2023 I can think of a few more supers rule sets currently available, some newer than others: There's the whole family of Goalsystem games from Four-Color Studios, some of which are minis-skirmish-centric while others are full-blown TTRPGs. I believe Super Action Roleplay is the most current iteration of the lot, and I think Ninja-Bear was referring to one of the earlier versions upthread. I've played more of the minis games (which are pushing 25 years old at this point - SuperSystem 1e was a long time ago now) than the RPGs, but Scott Pyle's yet to disappoint me. I'd rate them around the high end of the "rules light" category, although YMMV. There's Tiny d6 Supers from Gallant Games and Alan Bahr, which is on the lower end of the "rules light" bracket. Pretty good world-building and a fine idea mine in the core book, with more added in the Gallantverse world book. Dyskami came out with a two-volume set called Absolute Power, which is effectively a new edition of Guardians of Order's old Silver Age Sentinels - so running on the Tri-Stat/BESM system with various tweaks. I don't really have anything good to say about it beyond the fact that it makes both my other recs incredibly good bargains by comparison. Arc Dream still has both Godlike (WW2 supers) and Wild Talents (same world but post-War), which run on their One-Roll Engine. And weirdly, I don't see Aberrant mentioned yet, so...that. On 10/31/2023 at 7:31 AM, Doc Democracy said: Reckon you need to add Superworld by Chaosium. Big memories playing Bad medicine for Dr Drugs.... https://www.chaosium.com/superworld/ You and me both. I had enough fun with it that I did an homage to Doc in the Sentinel Comics RPG over on my blog here. Good times - although I used Hero when I ran the adventure way back when. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted November 18, 2023 Report Share Posted November 18, 2023 Mark McKinnon owes me money. I have not picked up Absolute Power -- dropping the Silver Age concepts takes away the essential charm of the game. I did pick up BESM 4 against my better judgment, but can't even begin to figure out what I'm supposed ot do with it. BESM 2nd edition was fresh and exciting when it came out. Now BESM 4 feels a bit stale, like the field has passed it by. On an unrelated note, Jeff Dee, who co-created the second edition of V&V and turned it into a somewhat playable game, was strongly opposed to the OGL when it was introduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich McGee Posted November 18, 2023 Report Share Posted November 18, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said: Mark McKinnon owes me money. He owes hundreds of people money. No one is going to get paid. 3 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said: I have not picked up Absolute Power -- dropping the Silver Age concepts takes away the essential charm of the game. If my post didn't make it clear, you aren't missing much. I mentioned it out of completeness, not as an endorsement. 3 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said: On an unrelated note, Jeff Dee, who co-created the second edition of V&V and turned it into a somewhat playable game, was strongly opposed to the OGL when it was introduced. Mighty Protectors (Dee's latest version) is another incremental improvement on the formula. V&V's as important a part of my roleplaying past as Champions, although the two scratch different itches. If nothing else, you cannot make an excellent drinking game out of Hero system's character generation system, but you sure can with V&V. As to OGL resistance, he was hardly the only one with misgivings back in the day. I don't know what his beef was, but many people were leery of it being a setup for a bait-and-switch ploy to hurt adoptees down the road - something that Hasbro did finally attempt to pull, albeit thankfully far too late to succeed. I also had many customers express concern that non-D&D systems would disappear in short order if d20 caught on and every publisher started using it. That was alarmist but not entirely absurd, and if you look at today's distributors and what they stock for retailers to order it almost feels like it's come to pass. If it weren't for DTRPG and online sales in general the whole TTRPG industry would be in dire straits indeed. - and the distribution failure started well before the pandemic, which only exacerbated pre-existing problems. Edited November 18, 2023 by Rich McGee typo Christopher R Taylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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