Pulpy/Superhero-ey Open-Ended Systems?

[Trekkin]

I'm trying to find a system to run a sort of "reverse dungeon" game, but not a fantasy one; I'm looking for a way to let the players be high-level henchpersons under an entertainingly mad Diabolical Mastermind. After all, every pit of ravenous piranha in the Fortress of Doom means some poor minion had to smuggle a heaping cartload of fish out of South America.
I can make it work in either superhero systems or pulp, but I rather need a system that can handle both Heroic and Superheroic (N)PCs, like HERO.

The problem with HERO is that it's a closed, 3d6 rollunder system. I can deal with it, but I work better with rollover systems -- ideally open-ended dice rolling rollover systems. I just like big numbers being good. Something like Deadlands, for example, but d20-style systems could work too.

The brass ring would be something with a lair design mechanic, but I've never heard of a system like that and it's easily ad-hoc-able.

So is there an open-ended, or at least rollover, superhero or pulp system with a wide range of power levels?

[The Rose Dragon]

Mutants & Masterminds for superhero, Unisystem (classic, not cinematic) for Pulp.

I'm not sure what you mean by "open-ended", though.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Mutants and Masterminds is always the best choice for superhero games, if you ask me. d20, extremely flexible, much simpler than HERO (or so I've been told), some rules for hideouts, and 3e is available free online (www.d20herosrd.com).

Alternately, from the pulp angle, Savage Worlds. You mentioned Deadlands; Savage Worlds is the updated version of that system. The Explorer's Edition is pretty cheap, and has rules for superpower stuff.

[Trekkin]

Mutants & Masterminds for superhero, Unisystem (classic, not cinematic) for Pulp.

I'm not sure what you mean by "open-ended", though.


I meant something where dice rolls are unbounded, usually with "exploding dice" or similar. I find it encourages the players to take risks when there is a chance, however exponentially small, of them succeeding at even the most unlikely things, and it's always fun when the dice explode two or three times and everyone's watching in disbelief.

[The Rose Dragon]

Unisystem has exploding dice, Mutants & Masterminds doesn't. I would still suggest Mutants & Masterminds first for a superhero game.

[Tengu_temp]

Spirit of the Century was made to run pulp, is available legally for free online, and while it doesn't have exploding dice, the FATE mechanics mean that there is a tiny chance to win no matter how weak you are and how strong the enemy is.

[Trekkin]

I've always wanted to try SOTC. Unfortunately my players have apparently elected to go superhero (well, supervillain) this time around. Mutants and Masterminds it apparently is, then.

[vartan]

There is the Golden Age supplement for M&M 2e as well. To help with some pulpiness.

[Ecalsneerg]

I've always wanted to try SOTC. Unfortunately my players have apparently elected to go superhero (well, supervillain) this time around. Mutants and Masterminds it apparently is, then.

Spirit of the Century can support your hulking strongman PC shrugging off bullets fired by a sentient ape while his genius teammate provides fire support using a jetpac and ray gun. Sounds superheroic to me.

[elliott20]

I've always wanted to try SOTC. Unfortunately my players have apparently elected to go superhero (well, supervillain) this time around. Mutants and Masterminds it apparently is, then.

SotC has one major benefit though: it's super hack-able. I was able to hack up SotC to run a space opera game within the first 3 days of playing the system.

In SotC's case, you might need to create some stuff that mimic superhero stuff, but really even that should be mostly just re-skinning existing skills / stunts.

[SimonMoon6]

There's always Mayfair's DC Heroes RPG. (Out of print now, but redone without the DC stuff as Blood of Heroes... also out of print now.) It has the dice action you're looking for: roll 2d10 and if it's doubles (and not double 1's), you roll again and add... and this can go on forever if you keep rolling doubles. And you want to roll over your target number. For example, you might need an 11 to hit. So, if you roll an 11 or higher, you hit. And the higher you roll, the more damage you'll do.

[Alleran]

Do be warned that M&M (or 2E, at least) can be very difficult to design a character for, or at least it can be very involved and fiddly about things.

[kyoryu]

SotC has one major benefit though: it's super hack-able. I was able to hack up SotC to run a space opera game within the first 3 days of playing the system.

In SotC's case, you might need to create some stuff that mimic superhero stuff, but really even that should be mostly just re-skinning existing skills / stunts.

SotC is good, but if you're going to go with Fate, and *especially* if you're already committed to hacking it, Fate Core is a much better base.

It's basically got almost ten years of learnings behind it, starting with SotC. It's got a lot of clunkiness removed, and some things that were just mistakes (default stress track length, ridiculous number of aspects, poor Consequence mechanics) have been modified appropriately.

For doing superheroic stuff, DFRPG also has a bunch of stuff that while not *technically* superheroic can be easily lifted and will be applicable.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Hacking FATE for a pulp/superhero game seems kind of unnecessary when there's a free, utterly fantastic superhero game (M&M) and a inexpensive, fantastic, dedicated-to-pulp-plus-exploding-dice game that has rules for superheroes (Savage Worlds). Fate's better at character stuff than high-energy combat anyway.

[Doomboy911]

You want open ended with exploding dice? Dude pick up savage world with the superheroes book. They've got all the super powers you want and they can make great stuff really easily.

[Trekkin]

...apparently I spoke too soon -- or rather, mentioned I had looked at HERO. It is much beloved by my playerbase, unbeknownst to me, so here we are. I can deal with it being closed, sort of.

It looks like they've settled on a consensus of gaslamp fantasy superheroes. "Like Girl Genius with more Othars."

And for once, they aren't being fickle about it. They're being hugely excited and absolutely certain.