Generic Heroes

[Mordaenor]

Hey Playground! Need some help, and I suspect there might be a people around here who might be able to direct me.

Is there a good source on the internets for generic, royalty/license free superhero characters/concepts? I'm developing a Superhero themed boardgame which calls for a fairly good sized roster of heroes and villains. Short of licensing Marvel/DC (as if I could) I could use some character inspiration.

Has someone out there created a open-source comic book world by chance?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I've plotted about this site before (http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Public_Domain_Super_Heroes). A lot of early comic book characters are apparently in the public domain.

[Zmeoaice]

Can't you just create your own heroes?

Since it's a board game, I'm guessing their powers will be more important than backstories, so here's some lists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superhuman_features_and_abilities_in_ficti on

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockSuperpowers

[Mordaenor]

I've plotted about this site before (http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Public_Domain_Super_Heroes). A lot of early comic book characters are apparently in the public domain.

This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Thank you!

[Mordaenor]

Can't you just create your own heroes?

Since it's a board game, I'm guessing their powers will be more important than backstories, so here's some lists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superhuman_features_and_abilities_in_ficti on

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockSuperpowers

If I had an overabundance of creativity I would do that, but unfortunately I hit a bit of a case of writer's block. Thanks for the links, those will help!

[Hytheter]

Making generic superheroes can be as easy as "[Noun]man/woman" or "The [Adjective] [Noun]", with powers/skills/gear tied thematically to [noun].

[Zmeoaice]

Making generic superheroes can be as easy as "[Noun]man/woman" or "The [Adjective] [Noun]", with powers/skills/gear tied thematically to [noun].

There should be a superhero called The Adjective Noun who has super-grammar skills.


If I had an overabundance of creativity I would do that, but unfortunately I hit a bit of a case of writer's block. Thanks for the links, those will help!

You're better off making your own heroes than looking at the wiki. They have hundreds of heroes listed, and most of them fell into public domain for a good reason (they suck). Plus, some of them do have a copyright of some sort, it's just the early comics that are in public domain.

[TeChameleon]

Honestly, the list of supers that an even marginally comics-savvy player would expect is pretty easy. A quick list with some of the more prominent examples-

The Flying Brick (Superman, Thor- the classic FISS hero (flight, invulnerability, speed, strength)
The Patriot (Captain America- can be combined with either the above or below to save space :smalltongue:)
The Ninja Skillmonkey (Batman, Black Panther- the guy who knows everything, spouts exposition, and boots goons in the head)
The Gearhead (Iron Man, Cyborg- the other main source of exposition and deus ex machina aside from the Ninja Skillmonkey, but with more chrome and lasers)
The Shapeshifter (Martian Manhunter, Mr. Fantastic- often stretchy, if their powers don't have any specific theme)
The Psion (Jean Grey- very often has a ridiculous combo-platter of any power that can even remotely be described as 'psychic', from telepathy to telekinesis to clairvoyance to precognition, and even pyrokinesis in extreme cases)
The Brute (The Hulk- mostly a flying brick minus the flight, but often even stronger to compensate for that lack)
The Feral Brawler (Wolverine- often a berzerker and a little over-fond of pointy things, tends to use the word 'rage' a bit too much. Usually has some kind of struggle between their 'civilized' and 'wild' sides)
The Gun Nut (Punisher- bit of a borderline case; rarely does one find a straight-up hero in this category, and typically their only real 'power' is the ability to drag around that much firepower without getting a herniated disc)
The Speedster (the Flash, Quicksilver- guys that run stupidly fast. Typically end up needing so many secondary powers just to survive their own speed that they could probably murder the entirety of their universe in seconds if they used their powers even remotely creatively)
The Blaster (Cyclops- basically they have a power that is the general equivalent of having a rapid-fire, controllable-power bazooka at all times)
The Elemental Swiss Army Knife (Storm, the Human Torch, Ice- basically, they can do just about anything they damn well please as long as the thing they do looks more or less like their element, like fire cages or ice slides)
The Cosmic Swiss Army Knife (Silver Surfer, Green Lantern- similar to the Elemental Swiss Army Knife, except even more powerful, and mostly limited by the thing they're doing being a certain colour).

Obviously, the categories are pretty broad of necessity- Superman could fit under 'Blaster', as well, for example, and maybe even 'Speedster', and so forth, but that should be enough to give you the general idea.

[An Enemy Spy]

You could always go go the route of the expy character. I don't think anyone will get upset that they have to settle for a flying caped crusader named Ultraman who is like Superman but not in this kind of game. It doesn't mean you can't be creative elsewhere, but sometimes it's a good idea to have the basic archetypes as an option.

[Rodin]

There should be a superhero called The Adjective Noun who has super-grammar skills.



Obligatory (https://xkcd.com/1010/) Comics (https://xkcd.com/1012/)

[Gopher Wizard]

Let me take a deep breath before I begin...

Strong Guy/Gal
Quick Guy/Gal
Smart Guy/Gal
Indestructible Guy/Gal
Psychic Guy/Gal
Warlock Guy/Gal
Ghost Guy/Gal
Magic Guy/Gal
Demon Guy/Gal
Technology Guy/Gal
Cyborg Guy/Gal
Robot Guy/Gal
Electricity Guy/Gal
Weather Guy/Gal
Invisible Guy/Gal
Stretchy Guy/Gal
Mutant Guy/Gal
Alien Guy/Gal
Time traveler Guy/Gal
Rage Guy/Gal
Regeneration Guy/Gal
Shapeshifter Guy/Gal
Fire Guy/Gal
Water Guy/Gal
Ice Guy/Gal
Stone Guy/Gal
Martial Arts Guy/Gal
Mud Guy/Gal
Radioactive Guy/Gal
Science-experiment-gone-wrong Guy/Gal
Mythology-based Guy/Gal
Clone Guy/Gal
Marksman Guy/Gal
Laser Guy/Gal
and Kevin Bacon

Did I miss any?

[Zmeoaice]

Was Kevin Bacon a reference to his part in XMFC? Think his power could be describe as energy absorption.

[Gopher Wizard]

Was Kevin Bacon a reference to his part in XMFC? Think his power could be describe as energy absorption.

I was actually referencing Red Letter Media. Whenever Mr. Plinkett reads a list of people/things, he comically ends the list with "Kevin Bacon," even if that doesn't fit in.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You could always go go the route of the expy character. I don't think anyone will get upset that they have to settle for a flying caped crusader named Ultraman who is like Superman but not in this kind of game. It doesn't mean you can't be creative elsewhere, but sometimes it's a good idea to have the basic archetypes as an option.
Yeah, Freedom Force did this left and right. Pretty much every one of those characters is an expy.

[The Glyphstone]

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a board game/card game that does this too.

[Mordaenor]

There should be a superhero called The Adjective Noun who has super-grammar skills.



You're better off making your own heroes than looking at the wiki. They have hundreds of heroes listed, and most of them fell into public domain for a good reason (they suck). Plus, some of them do have a copyright of some sort, it's just the early comics that are in public domain.

My plan is to just use those heroes as a starting off point. The game I'm designing involves recruiting heroes and I need a fairly large pool to make it work (it's uses a variation of the deck-builder mechanic) Having a bunch of Hero concepts that are public domain will give me that starting off point, I can tweak/rework as needed.

[lt_murgen]

Back in the 80s, there was a TSR roleplaying game called Marvel Superheroes. They published an "Ultimate Powers" Guide (http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Powers-Marvel-Heroes-Accessory/dp/0880384131), which had more powers listed than I could imagine, and limitations as well.