From: johnmc@mks.com (John McMullen)
Subject: Re: Best Super system...suggestions
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 22:19:22 GMT

I came in late on this thread; please forgive me if I repeat someone
else's comments.

Before you pick the best Super system, you're going to have to decide
"for what?"  (Again, the original poster may have done that, but I
haven't seen this posting.)  For example:

What comics do you like to read?  What do you like about them?  Do you
want to play specific characters from those comics or interact with
those characters?  Do you want to put a spin on the whole superhero
idea, changing some aspect?  Do you want to bash heads and fight
EEE-vil?  Is it the soap opera of people who happen to wear costumes and
have powers?  Some combination of all of these?

My recommendations and opinions:

 - If you're seriously into designing a world with supers, from scratch,
   go with Champions.  This is my tendency.  The Hero system has been
   termed a "meta-system" and I prefer it for any kind campaign where
   I'm seriously messing with the environment.  I like the mechanism for
   defining powers, and I have enough experience with it now that I can
   wing it comfortably as well as look at characters who are too gross
   or unbalancing.

   For power levels, Champions is best for hero groups with a similar
   feel to the Byrne-Claremont X-Men, or even lower.  It doesn't handle
   some of the more outre powers in a cost-effective manner (try to do
   Gar Logan sometime; it feels like he should cost less).  I've had
   quite good success with 200 pt.  campaigns.  For fast combat, put in
   hit location, wounding, and stun multiples.

 - If you don't want to mess with world creation and want some kind of
   "reality"  (verisimilitude is a better term -- and I'm a *big*
   verisimilitude, internal consistency kind of guy) consider Gurps.
   There are a lot of things I dislike about Gurps Supers, but it
   provides a world and the characters feel very comic bookish, even
   though the rules try to counterbalance that.  I don't play Gurps Supers
   often, but that's mostly because I don't like the provided worlds.

 - If you want your heroes to be able to cross genres (I mean broad genres,
   fantasy/sf/pulp mystery), both Gurps and Hero are strongly indicated.

 - For *real* four-colour action, use DC Heroes.  I prefer it for when I'm
   doing stuff that's heavily mystical (different mechanics for resolving
   magical vs. psionic attacks; in Hero they're often identical; don't like
   Gurps Magic and Psionics for four-colour stuff) or if I've relaxed my
   verisimilitude rules.  The second edition is a vast improvement over
   the first for original character creation.  I think it falls down when
   it tries to do the different levels (grim'n'gritty, etc.)  It has a big,
   complex universe available -- both a blessing and a curse -- and the
   mechanics are relatively easy.  Make your own reference sheets.  (I've got
   some nice PostScript ones...)  Poor if you don't want to use the DC
   universe, though.

 - If you want to be able to say, definitively, you wiped Galactus'
   butt, then Marvel Super Heroes is the way to go.  Haven't seen the
   second edition, won't comment on the first.  Loads of support material.

 - If you can find it, Superworld has its charms.  The power system is a bit
   wonky, but it's got that Chaosium feel to it (a recommendation).  I'd love
   to buy a copy, so if you have one for sale....

I can't comment on V & V since I haven't looked at it in years, but I believe
it was the source for the Elementals; if you want to emulate Elementals, you
might give it a try.

Sorry to be so wordy...

John McMullen
-- 
John McMullen 
johnmc@mks.com                 f y cn rd ths, y cn wrk s a tchncl wrtr!
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