DC as Iron Age Champs Sourcebook ?

[Wanderer]

How useful is DC going to be to run an Iron Age Campions game, featuring truly super-powered characters but without four-color sensibilities and mentality ? I'm especially interested to get a more extensive coverage of the "vigilante superhero" concept.

[GamePhil]

Re: DC as Iron Age Champs Sourcebook ?

 

Depends on what you mean by "truly super-powered". It's useful for characters like the Punisher and Vigilante, obviously, who I mention because though they have no "powers" in the normal sense they might have a number of Superskills.

 

It is also useful for characters like Deathstroke and Daredevil, because they fit into the low-powered end of the superpowered spectrum and, more importantly, fight the types of opponents (this is mainly Daredevil) that feature in the book.

 

It would be useful for a Watchman style game, for much the same reason: many characters are lower powered and deal with street crime, though higher power levels and grander plots certainly exist.

 

Miracleman? Probably not so much, as while it might be considered "iron age" the power levels are too high and the overall plots are too alien. The section on morality might very well be of use, though.

 

The Authority or Stormwatch may or may not get some use from the book, in much the same way as Miracleman, and since the former group often get involved with the types of enemies DC characters do, even if such enemies have little real chance.

[Metaphysician]

Re: DC as Iron Age Champs Sourcebook ?

 

From what I know, minimal unless you are playing a street level, versus crime and corruption, iron age game.

 

Well, okay, a Youngblood game might benefit from the gun listings. . .

[OddHat]

Re: DC as Iron Age Champs Sourcebook ?

 

Not very. It's good for rounding out the world of cops and crooks, solving real-world street crimes, and loading up characters with guns. It's good for building action heroes and movie reality. Some of the ideas on boosting lethality might be good.

 

Probably Aberrant is the best source book for making Champions more into a high power Iron Age game. Use your own take on that world, tweak existing Champions characters to fit, and double the body done by all attacks to boost the lethality of the system.

[Wanderer]

Re: DC as Iron Age Champs Sourcebook ?

 

I like Hero system, and I may appreciate some nuances of the CU universe, but Aberrant will always hold a very special place in my heart as the best superheroic setting ever, the only one I felt made sense, picturing how a realistic world and society would feature if realistic people got superpowers. Too bad WW pulled the plug on it (as they did with many of their best efforts) and resurrected an inferior version in the RPG version of Windows

 

Seems DC won't be too useful for my goals, except maybe the section of morality (a thorough discussion of vigilante morality is most of what sought from it, though), but probably I'll get it anyway, unshamed completist that I am, waiting till SL eventually greenlights Iron Age Champions.

 

Thanks to all for the answers.

[OddHat]

Re: DC as Iron Age Champs Sourcebook ?

 

I like Hero system, and I may appreciate some nuances of the CU universe, but Aberrant will always hold a very special place in my heart as the best superheroic setting ever, the only one I felt made sense, picturing how a realistic world and society would feature if realistic people got superpowers. Too bad WW pulled the plug on it (as they did with many of their best efforts) and resurrected an inferior version in the RPG version of Windows

 

I'd strongly agree about the Aberrant setting. Fantastic job of putting together a "realistic" Iron Age world. Wildcards was almost as well thought out. Both settings had flaws, but that's fiction for you.

 

I think you'll find some things to like and use from DC.