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View Full Version : Anyone know of a good system for very low power/specific power superhero game?



supermonkeyjoe
2011-11-02, 08:46 AM
Hi All

First off, I don't know if anyone is familiar with the British series Misfits (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misfits_%28TV_series%29), basic premise is 5 young offenders doing community service gain superpowers, as do many others in the run-down council estate that they live on.

I would love to run a game following the same basic premise but I'm not sure what a good system to use would be. The characters are all standard humans, usually with only a single, not overly flashy power, not always something useful and not always something they have complete control over.

My knowledge of superhero RPGs is pretty bad so I was wondering what was out there that would suit this type of game?

Dingle
2011-11-02, 12:09 PM
NWOD maybe
You'd mostly just need the core book if the powers just happen.
it also has a morality system, if you want to make the implications of using powers an important part of the game.

Gurps should do you fine, just ignore anything exotic or supernatural until the powers.
It also has a pretty comprehensive set of powers, and also how powerful they are.

Friv
2011-11-02, 12:17 PM
Mutants and Masterminds will suit your needs. The game comes with a built-in Power Level system, allowing you to play any hero level from "That Random Guy Man" up to a team of cosmic-tier destroyers. If you sit the game at PL 6 or so, and apply a "one power only" restriction, you should do fine.

Kyrinthic
2011-11-02, 12:28 PM
pretty much any superhero game will have multiple power levels to play at.
What you want to think over is complexity. How much learning / character creation time do you want to put in to the system. Is this going to be a long game, or a shorter one, that sort of thing.

On one end is the Heroes system (champions). It will let you build about anything you want at whatever power level you are looking for, but its a higher learning curve / bigger book.

M&M is basically superhero D20, and is a nice middle ground for easy play with some depth.

On the easy side I recall a card-based marvel superhero game I played a while back being very simplistic rules-wise, but there were some balance issues if I recall.

Dingle
2011-11-02, 03:14 PM
I'm recommending againt a superhero system for this game, Superheros have a lot of extra assumptions that don't fit with the theme of mifits.

There's a default combat competency asumption for most superheros.
Superheros are generally asumed to be more powerful than regular people.
Superhero powers are generally asumed to help you do stuff.
Superheros are generally assumed to have an effect on the surroundings.
These don't fit with the general theme of the misfits, living a regular life would be a step up for them.
5 misfits couldn't beat a guy whose "superpower" was to think he was in a videogame


The closest superhero-ish thing would be:
The most useless X-man available:
No Superhero school, no combat skills
No allies to turn to
and Powers so bad that they make stuff worse.
Rogue, without actually getting anything from the touch would be about the level we're talking
(taking into account that this is the real world, and you're murdering someone, you could have shot or stabbed them, and you still have to get rid of the body).

Misfits powers range from:
making people bald for a day (controlled by emotions, not conciously)
to mind reading (mostly them picturing you naked)


Dealing with regular life with the complications involved with the powers is a major theme in misfits.
Which i why I suggest adding to a system where the default asumption is that you are a regular person, but comes with a few extra rules for the supernatural.
Hence NWOD and GURPS

Diskhotep
2011-11-02, 08:35 PM
Truth and Justice for the PDQ system is very good, especially at handling the "anything goes" action common in superhero settings. Rather than lists of skills and powers, characters are defined by a group of qualities that provide bonuses to your rolls. Damage in combat is applied directly to these qualities, and when one drops into the negatives the character is out of action (unconscious, captured, what have you). The GM is encouraged to use the quality that the player soaked his damage with as a plot hook in a later story (making this the only game where you can punch Spider-man in the girlfriend).

By emphasizing the characters and only giving them a few points for powers (possibly requiring that they all be spent on one power), you can run about any kind of game you like.

Nerd-o-rama
2011-11-03, 08:32 AM
I'm recommending againt a superhero system for this game, Superheros have a lot of extra assumptions that don't fit with the theme of mifits.

There's a default combat competency asumption for most superheros.
Superheros are generally asumed to be more powerful than regular people.
Superhero powers are generally asumed to help you do stuff.
Superheros are generally assumed to have an effect on the surroundings.
These don't fit with the general theme of the misfits, living a regular life would be a step up for them.
5 misfits couldn't beat a guy whose "superpower" was to think he was in a videogame


The closest superhero-ish thing would be:
The most useless X-man available:
No Superhero school, no combat skills
No allies to turn to
and Powers so bad that they make stuff worse.
Rogue, without actually getting anything from the touch would be about the level we're talking
(taking into account that this is the real world, and you're murdering someone, you could have shot or stabbed them, and you still have to get rid of the body).

Misfits powers range from:
making people bald for a day (controlled by emotions, not conciously)
to mind reading (mostly them picturing you naked)


Dealing with regular life with the complications involved with the powers is a major theme in misfits.
Which i why I suggest adding to a system where the default asumption is that you are a regular person, but comes with a few extra rules for the supernatural.
Hence NWOD and GURPS

Wow. A situation where Mutants & Masterminds really isn't the best answer, and it's a superpowers setting at that. I mean, M&M is point-based, so obviously you still can use it, it just won't be a very effective use of the system.

You're right, NWoD seems to have the right feel in its system, right down to the default assumption being about the daily (or nightly) lives of supernatural people. Make them exactly like mortals plus a supernatural advantage representing their one and only power and that should about cover it.

supermonkeyjoe
2011-11-03, 08:39 AM
Thanks Dingle, I'd completely overlooked NWoD. It's pretty much spot on for what I need and everyone I know's familiar with it. Case closed :smallbiggrin: