From: hgarcia@sw.stratus.com (Henry Garcia)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy
Subject: Re: marvel
Date: 19 Aug 92 21:49:47 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

In article <57268@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, jacobus@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) writes:
> 
> III:  I "recognize it for what it is".  It's a badly-designed knock-off
> (with some creditable supplements, I will hand you that) intended to pull
> money out of the pockets of pubescent/adolescent fan-boys.  Some may consider
> it the "best there is", but the reasons have more to do with the weaknesses
> of other systems than any strength Marvel has.  Sorry, but Marvel's only
> "strength" is the same strength one would have from just taking a stack
> of comic books and saying "let's play a game".  I'd rather do the latter
> myself than have to wade through such a badly-designed system.  "Flexibility"
> is the most cited "strength" of MSH, and this "flexibility" is far more due
> to a lack of good rules (or any rules) than good design.  Might as well
> wing it.  "Simplicity" is also cited--but it is, again a "simplicity" of
> deficiency, not good design.
> 
> However, I will admit to serious, for some fatal, flaws in the other
> extant superheroic games.  Champions, GURPS, and DC all suffer from the
> "mad accountant" school of character design.  I, myself don't mind this in
> the least, being able to do multi-column arithmetic in my head, but I 
> can easily see how others would find this horribly tedious.  (My own beloved
> fiancee is in this category.  She usually will just give me the concept and
> tell me to take care of the numerage.)  Justice, Unlimited suffers from 
> its attempt to impose character classes and levels upon the superheroic
> genre--it also suffers from not translating a normal-human-based system
> (Palladium) into the superheroic very well--something shared by GURPS.
> Villains and Vigilantes I don't even consider a worthwhile game system.  On
> the other hand, I would consider it a good sourcebook from which one can
> derive one's OWN system (much as Ryk Spoor seems to have done).
> 
> 
> The problem is that only one superheroic game currently is marketed which
> does not suffer from the above deficiencies--MSH.  But MSH has no intrinsic
> strengths to offer.  (See above for my comments on the "strengths" of MSH.)
> I would buy, laud, and publicize any superheroic game that manages to both
> avoid the pitfalls of most other games but still have a strong system,
> good character development, and handle the multifarious genres called 
> "superheroic" well.  Unfortunately, no such system exists.  


	I would agree that the MSH system is not very strong.  It was designed
	to be a loose system, and to it's credit it handles somethings well.
	It allows players to do some pretty wild things and allows the GM to 
	work through them without to much difficulty.  e.g. Someone with an 
	ability to shoot a bow wants to ricochet the arrow off to objects and
	hit someone.  The GM assigns it a difficulty (here is the loose part of
	the system) and decides which ability is needed to accomplish this feat.
	Now the player make a power roll.  It handles this spur of the moment
	often last ditch efforts of players.

	I am not saying that MSH is the best system around, but I think it is
	a decent, fun game to play and can capture that certain absurdity of 
	the comic book super hero.  

	As for character development, I don't think I follow you here.  Are you
	looking for a system the dictates charecter development? (background, 
	personality, etc..) I would think any system for this whould put 
	constraints on a persons creativity in running his/her character.
	Or am I completely missing the mark on character development 


			-Henry Garcia
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy