List of top 10 superhero games

[phoenix240]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=47407

 

Personally I would have rated Champions higher and I could have lived without the "takes a degree in Calcus" nonsense.

[Hermit]

While I did enjoy Marvel Superheroes and it certainly was one of my favorites as it served its purpose as a beer and pretzels game fantastically, I'm a bit surprised Champions isn't closer to number one myself . I'm also surprised no mention of Villains and Vigilantes.

[Ninja-Bear]

While I did enjoy Marvel Superheroes and it certainly was one of my favorites as it served its purpose as a beer and pretzels game fantastically, I'm a bit surprised Champions isn't closer to number one myself . I'm also surprised no mention of Villains and Vigilantes.

Hermit if you clicked on the link of his previous post 10-6, its listed as number 10.

[SteveZilla]

Is it just me, or did it seem that he was reviewing games that came out in the 80's and 90's instead of the current versions? The article was posted this month, but he's reviewing games that are 20-30 years old?

[Cassandra]

Necessary Evil was designed by Lisa Hartman's husband?

 

 

 

[Hyper-Man]

Here is the thread from RPGnet about the list and the guy who wrote the list defending it.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?699024-Article-with-Top-Ten-Superhero-RPGs

[Greywind]

Yeah, I figured it was an opinion list when I saw the first half.

[Matt Holck]

Champions is designer's game

[Hyper-Man]

i think the guy who posted the article is about to get banned from from the thread it inspired because of arguing with an RPGnet Mod.

[Guest Goradin]

Champions is not hard if you read the rules. A lot of guys think they are smarter than what they are and can figure out the rules by looking at them. I have seen it multiple times since my nascent gaming career start in 78. Sometimes I got rulesets cheaply that they could not figure out on a glance.

[psyber624]

Meh, math is scary to some people, even arithmetic (which is ALL hero entails, any middle-school child is supposed to have the necessary skillset to handle it so it always makes me laugh when people complain about it). And they even provide a modestly priced program you can buy that will do all the math for you. Of course I am biased. One of the things I always hated in RPG's was random character generation so the points based approach has always appealed to me. I get that a GOOD gm can make the game fun with Captain Underpants in the Team of SUPER DUPER guys but GOOD gms of that caliber are hard to come by. I have been in far too many games where a bad roll of the die in character creation spelled doom and gloom for an entire campaign due to my character being sidelined as too ineffective in combat. And I'm not a power gamer either (usually anyway).

[Hyper-Man]

Well besides basic arithmetic it also requires an understanding of FRACTIONS which freaks a LOT of folks out.

I sometime forget that figuring out that 1/4 +1/4= 1/2, 1/4 +1/2 = 3/4 or that 40 x 1 1/2 = 60 is complicated for some.

[bigbywolfe]

Champions is designer's game

Your point?

[Prometheus]

Ugh. It's not that the article reads like someone with a distinct agenda/bent, paying lip service to the classics while shilling their favorites in the most condescending way-- it doesn't really, despite some odd bits. It's that the author's attitude on RPGnet makes it feel like it does. I admit that I went through the thread just to see how it turned out, but almost checked out when I hit the author's CliffsNotes description of playing Champions at the bottom of page five.

[Greywind]

i think the guy who posted the article is about to get banned from from the thread it inspired because of arguing with an RPGnet Mod.

He got a day nap.

[Andrew_A]

Well besides basic arithmetic it also requires an understanding of FRACTIONS which freaks a LOT of folks out.

I sometime forget that figuring out that 1/4 +1/4= 1/2, 1/4 +1/2 = 3/4 or that 40 x 1 1/2 = 60 is complicated for some.

 

Do you need to worry about fractions? When I got into Champions (back in the 2e days), at first I didn't bother with advantages and limitations. You can create a surprising number of simple concepts using powers, ECs, and MPs. And that was in the 2e days. Nowadays you have a lot more options. Most comic book supers from the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages are easy to create.

 

Besides, even if you want to use Advantages and Limitations, does it have to be complicated? Instead of using three Advantages and six Limitations, all you really need are one or maybe two Modifiers. Pick your base points, choose an Advantage or Limitation, consult the Advantages or Limitations chart, and you're golden. No calculus involved.

[Old Man]

i think the guy who posted the article is about to get banned from from the thread it inspired because of arguing with an RPGnet Mod.

Not a dirt nap?

[Old Man]

Well besides basic arithmetic it also requires an understanding of FRACTIONS which freaks a LOT of folks out.

I sometime forget that figuring out that 1/4 +1/4= 1/2, 1/4 +1/2 = 3/4 or that 40 x 1 1/2 = 60 is complicated for some.

 

Do you need to worry about fractions? When I got into Champions (back in the 2e days), at first I didn't bother with advantages and limitations. You can create a surprising number of simple concepts using powers, ECs, and MPs. And that was in the 2e days. Nowadays you have a lot more options. Most comic book supers from the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages are easy to create.

 

Besides, even if you want to use Advantages and Limitations, does it have to be complicated? Instead of using three Advantages and six Limitations, all you really need are one or maybe two Modifiers. Pick your base points, choose an Advantage or Limitation, consult the Advantages or Limitations chart, and you're golden. No calculus involved.

Look, you don't have to worry about math at all in Hero past the character creation process. You have to be able to compute 11+OCV-DCV, and you have to be able to add up lots of dice.

 

That said, I've recently been reintroduced to just how hard it is for some people to do math. My "manager" is literally incapable of adding double digit numbers without writing it out. Like, 40 + 40 = um, uh, derp? It's amazing.

[BTolputt]

The line about "needing a degree in Calculus" is obviously hyperbole and somewhat expected in a humorous blog piece. That said, whilst I would have put both Champions nearer to the top (alongside Mutants & Masterminds), one must admit to the fact character generation in Champions does involve a bit more math than many (most?) other RPG's in the genre. It's easy math (multiple steps of addition & multiplication), but that's still more than the others.

 

With that in mind, the blog piece wasn't terrible if you took it as one man's opinion and not much more. He should have simply left his defence at his first post (light-hearted banter and admission/verification it's based purely on his own opinion). Arguments involving anonymous folks on the Internet never end well and that thread simply confirmed that law.

[phoenix240]

Another list for your examination

 

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2013/06/the_10_best_superhero_role_playing_games.php?page=2

 

[Sketchpad]

Honestly, it's one guy's opinion and happens to be a guy writing his definitive "Top 10" list. Is it correct? For him, yeah. For others? We all have (and are entitled) to our own opinions. I'm sure most people's list would differ a bit and we could square off like districts in The Hunger Games. IMHO, rather than lament about it and get the flamethrowers ready, someone should run a game for those not understanding and help them see the game for the fun it is. The internet is a great thing when used for good, right?

[Andrew_A]

Honestly, it's one guy's opinion and happens to be a guy writing his definitive "Top 10" list. Is it correct? For him, yeah. For others? We all have (and are entitled) to our own opinions. I'm sure most people's list would differ a bit and we could square off like districts in The Hunger Games. IMHO, rather than lament about it and get the flamethrowers ready, someone should run a game for those not understanding and help them see the game for the fun it is. The internet is a great thing when used for good, right?

Are you using common sense and reason? It's so rare on the Internet that I can't be sure. Please make an unfounded personal attack to rekindle my (lack of) faith in humanity. ;-)

[Guest Goradin]

Don't listen to this list, it is obvious the author is a true supers gamer. Some of those games and I have all of them were terrible for the genre! Any knicklehead out there with a blog can make a list. Anyone not bright enough to figure out champions is not worth reading anyways.

[BTolputt]

The amusing thing is he got flicked by the RPGNet mod for his comments regarding the ongoing "edition wars" in D&D land, nothing to do with his list or the relative position of games therein. Whilst I actually agree with him (having played 4th Ed with the kids), it was a silly thing to take a stand on against a moderator. When a forum moderator says 'tone it down, son', you do so. Even when you think they're wrong

 

For what it's worth, I find the list phoenix240 linked to MUCH closer to my view. I never got to play DC Heroes, so I'll withhold judgement about it's #1 position, but the order of all the other I played sites well with me.