Author Topic: Superhero RPG  (Read 18087 times)

mathey

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Re: Superhero RPG
« Reply #15 on: August 24, 2010, 03:10:08 PM »
Mutants and Masterminds: I don't see how its complicated (everything's just based off of 1d20 rolls), but it certainly can feature power balance issues. In my tabletop campaign with the 1st Edition rules, for example, I had a player who could Boost and Heal herself and other PCs to a degree which was ridiculous and totally unbalancing. The 3rd Edition rules (which is what the new DC Adventures game uses) looks more solid and accounts for more power level considerations - but its still a game that relies on GM oversight and an understanding at the table of what is and isn't fair. The rules admit as much.

Wild Talents: Wild Talents is theoretically faster via ORE (One Roll Engine: everything's based off finding matches in a pool of 1 to 10 dice), but in practice I've found it to be about the same speed as M&M when you account for people trying to figure out when things happen relative to one another and the effects of their actions. You can shave off some complexity like Ross did in the Age of Masks game, however, fudging the details to keep it quick. Balance wise, I'd say its got less loopholes than M&M, but it also has sidebars where they mention how it can get totally out of whack if your players like to Optimize without some GM feedback. In a WT PBP game I'm currently running, I've discussed letting people redo some stats since the guys with big die pools get the shaft relative to those who (more wisely) invested in Hard and Wild Dice. I'd run Godlike before but I forgot how much of a vast gulf lies between them.

Y'know, I can't think of a single superhero system worth a damn that doesn't have potential for absurd and unbalanced character builds. If you have player crafted abilities and offer ways for them to tweak the costs and potency, initial balance gets a lot fuzzier. What at first seemed "weak" can become monstrous in actual play, and what first seemed "overpowered" can be watered down to becoming essentially meaningless. You can TRY and lock down abuse by systems on top of systems with layers of cost controls (Hero is probably an example of this), but those pesky players will still find a way.

Ultimately, its probably best to get on the same page with your players about what the power level of the game is, review all stats, and be open to fudgery and tinkering if/when things don't line up like you all feel they should. The system can spin this, but I might argue it has more to do with how much crunch and workload you all like more than anything else.

Salrantol

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Re: Superhero RPG
« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2010, 03:30:21 PM »
Wild Talents is very abusable*, but it's honest enough to tell you that.  It is also a simple enough system that you will have a much easier time spotting any abuses before they are used in play.



*--Try running the math on extra defends levels.  If I remember the time I ran the numbers correctly, you can get 10 permanent interference with a height of 10 for just over 70 points if you do it right.

clockworkjoe

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Re: Superhero RPG
« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2010, 09:41:41 PM »
The complexity in M&M comes in character generation not task resolution - as an example the default PC pregen templates are pretty sucky compared to PCs built with arrays.

Also some powers are inherently more effective in combat than others - why take an attack power that requires a roll to hit when you can take powers that automatically force a saving throw?


mathey

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Re: Superhero RPG
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2010, 08:32:40 AM »
The complexity in M&M comes in character generation not task resolution - as an example the default PC pregen templates are pretty sucky compared to PCs built with arrays.

Also some powers are inherently more effective in combat than others - why take an attack power that requires a roll to hit when you can take powers that automatically force a saving throw?

Yeah, that's all fair criticism. I think they did some interesting things with both issues in the version that appears in DC Adventures, but you can still end up with very big gaps in the optimization of two PCs with the same Power Level. Angel Summoner etc.

I don't suppose anybody's had a chance to try Icons? Its also by Steve Kenson, but its got more to do with FATE than D20. I don't have it, but I heard there's random character generation to make it fast for pick-up games. I was suspicious but then I saw this, which I think is kind of great. Its probably even more dependent on GM-and-player cohesion, but if you're curious about lighter rules sets for costumed metahuman hijinks, it may be worth checking out.

enigmatic

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Re: Superhero RPG
« Reply #19 on: September 15, 2010, 12:20:05 PM »
I like the Wild Talents system, but I have no clue how to create a decent villain/foe.  I've only got the Essential Edition, if that matters.  Any suggestions on how to balance enemies/dice pool encounters? If I need to wing it, I need to look at the math behind stuff more so I know how stuff really interacts.

And I've wanted Mutant City Blues ever since I heard about it in an RPPR AP (Well, the gumshoe system).

clockworkjoe

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Re: Superhero RPG
« Reply #20 on: September 15, 2010, 01:05:15 PM »
I like the Wild Talents system, but I have no clue how to create a decent villain/foe.  I've only got the Essential Edition, if that matters.  Any suggestions on how to balance enemies/dice pool encounters? If I need to wing it, I need to look at the math behind stuff more so I know how stuff really interacts.

And I've wanted Mutant City Blues ever since I heard about it in an RPPR AP (Well, the gumshoe system).

depends a lot on your PCs obviously.


Arc Dream just released a new WT adventure with pregen PCs and NPCs http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=83968

you can get that to get an idea