Egyptoid Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kap Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? Is MEGS dead? That was going to be my answer' date=' too.[/quote'] AFAIK, the last book published for MEGS was the Blood of Heroes Special Edition, and that was back in 2000... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I had the same experience. It wasn't the concepts' date=' but the organization, that proved the be a bar to play.[/quote'] 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kap Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? And mine' date=' though there seem to have been some issues regarding Superspeed being a game-breaker.[/quote'] 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kap Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 2nd and the D.C. version of the 3rd are the ones I was saying were poorly organized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndreare Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? 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' date=' especially NaS, I found hard. I guess its a ymmv thing.[/quote'] 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I hould have clairified. The Hero unlimited wasn't too bad. And I sometimes use it to get the mind rolling. It was filling out a ninja character in NaS that gave me the most problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I have a fondness for the old Marvel Superheroes FASERIP system. It was overly limited, overly simplistic, but the karma system tried to reward roleplaying a hero. It was easy and fast to learn for beginers, and it announced itself as a "beer(root if you prefer) and pretzels" game so it was honest up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I hould have clairified. The Hero unlimited wasn't too bad. And I sometimes use it to get the mind rolling. It was filling out a ninja character in NaS that gave me the most problem. Most of those guys are skill hogs. It's no wonder. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? AFAIK' date=' the last book published for MEGS was the Blood of Heroes Special Edition, and that was back in 2000...[/quote'] (Yeah, I'm quoting myself. Weird, I know... ) I was also going to mention... several years ago, I created a reasonably comprehensive MEGS-to-HERO conversion system. It was well-received by most folks who saw it, and I wanted to look into doing something with it. But the process of trying to get permission to publish it was basically a non-starter, because not only is no one actively publishing material for it anymore, I couldn't even track down who owned the rights now. To be honest, I kind of got the impression that maybe no one even knew for sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? (Yeah, I'm quoting myself. Weird, I know... ) I was also going to mention... several years ago, I created a reasonably comprehensive MEGS-to-HERO conversion system. It was well-received by most folks who saw it, and I wanted to look into doing something with it. But the process of trying to get permission to publish it was basically a non-starter, because not only is no one actively publishing material for it anymore, I couldn't even track down who owned the rights now. To be honest, I kind of got the impression that maybe no one even knew for sure... I bet if you made money people would have told you who had the rights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I have to say, as far as Second Best system goes after my preferred HERO is a bit tough to pick. Been in the hobby so long now that most of the ones I really liked aren't around or are Hard to find. I've a soft spot for the MEGS system, though I think the Blood of Heroes clowns over at Pulsar need a swift kick in the face for the crap they published using that game engine. Got a Soft Spot for the Marvel FASERIP stuff as well. Not to mention Villains and Vigilantes which is probably my Number 2 game (And soon to get a 3.0 version).... Oh, Chaosiums Basic Role Playing System, GREAT stuff. Gotta toss that in as well.... Anything d20 I avoid; though G.M. Sarli's e20 project was looking interesting. Was never a M&M fan of any edition for reasons that would take pages to describe, and REALLY liked, West End take on the DC Universe as an RPG, but alas, that went the way of all the West End d6 product. Fuzion I liked as well not to mention, R/Talsorians Interlock stuff .... And the old go to system, Traveller, either Pre Mega Traveller or Current Mongoose version ..... Lota stuff out there though..... ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I have to say, as far as Second Best system goes after my preferred HERO is a bit tough to pick. Been in the hobby so long now that most of the ones I really liked aren't around or are Hard to find. I've a soft spot for the MEGS system, though I think the Blood of Heroes clowns over at Pulsar need a swift kick in the face for the crap they published using that game engine. Got a Soft Spot for the Marvel FASERIP stuff as well. Not to mention Villains and Vigilantes which is probably my Number 2 game (And soon to get a 3.0 version).... Oh, Chaosiums Basic Role Playing System, GREAT stuff. Gotta toss that in as well.... Anything d20 I avoid; though G.M. Sarli's e20 project was looking interesting. Was never a M&M fan of any edition for reasons that would take pages to describe, and REALLY liked, West End take on the DC Universe as an RPG, but alas, that went the way of all the West End d6 product. Fuzion I liked as well not to mention, R/Talsorians Interlock stuff .... And the old go to system, Traveller, either Pre Mega Traveller or Current Mongoose version ..... Lota stuff out there though..... ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? GURPS has been the main stay of the groups I have played with. I was never able to return to d20. HERO System, just fit. I GM'd Shadowrun 3rd Edition for over 12yrs off and on, would never recommend the Mechanics. I really enjoy HERO System. I just wish I could get my Players too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Main Man Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? Either FUDGE or Risus. Where HERO provides hard rules to model almost anything, FUDGE just, well, fudges everything, making story and roleplaying take center stage. Risus takes this even further with its monomechanical "cliches." Plus, they're free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazar Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Re: Second Best Game System ? I really like the Savage Worlds - Necessary Evil. It's both a setting book for the Savage Worlds game system. Basically Aliens come to earth act all nicy nice and then blam kill all the superheros in one fell swoop. The only ones left to defend the planet are the villains, which is what the PCs end up playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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