Unfortunately, Hero Games is having some rough times. Most of the support has moved over to third-party (or hybrid first/third-party) Kickstarters and smaller PDFs. Many of those supplements are good (Larger Than Life, Strike Force), though, and are also including M&M and Savage Worlds stats as options or appendices.

As noted above, the famous Strike Force superhero setting had a Kickstarter for a revised version launched earlier this year, and the PDF will probably be out to the public very soon.

You might want to check out Palladium system also known as Rifts it can get pretty wild.
That is with the caveat that i have never personally used it.

Quote from: David Johansen;907472I'm going to suggest JAGS (Just Another Game System).  It's like a more structured GURPS that doesn't have some of the quirks that are endemic to GURPS.  It's pretty well supported for an independent game.

I'd suggest Star Cluster 3 but you probably want more of the low tech / fantasy end, for which there's a standalone version called The Book of Jalan.

So... Uh... I went to check out JAGS out of curiosity.  On the web site I found, it specifically links to two books on Amazon.

$80 for the first book.  $120 for the second book.

Must be some game.

I stumbled on EABA. It looks like it has a lot of setting books for it. It has a generic/universal vibe to it. Reminds me more of algebra than of role-playing. But some people seem to swear by it and not at it.

Quote from: Celestial;907830So... Uh... I went to check out JAGS out of curiosity.  On the web site I found, it specifically links to two books on Amazon.

$80 for the first book.  $120 for the second book.

Must be some game.

Yeah, small print run, lots of pages.

Here's a link to the free pdf on their web page: http://media.wix.com/ugd/0cf371_b65757fe93684024b559a8ed10b0d8bc.pdf

Hi!

I recommend looking at the Cypher System. I absolutely love it and the latest supplement "Gods of the Fall" amazing. I'm not sure how much crunch you want, but as a GM the Cypher System is an absolute dream. If you love to just GM and spew all the awesome from your head without a bunch of mechanical clutter, it's fantastic. If your players like to have agency and use their imaginations to narratively tweak their characters, it's awesome. At first glance it can seem "samey" or really sparse, but after digging in a seeing the brilliance of it, it's my new love.

Either way, have some great gaming!

Quote from: Alderaan Crumbs;907858Hi!

I recommend looking at the Cypher System. I absolutely love it and the latest supplement "Gods of the Fall" amazing. I'm not sure how much crunch you want, but as a GM the Cypher System is an absolute dream. If you love to just GM and spew all the awesome from your head without a bunch of mechanical clutter, it's fantastic. If your players like to have agency and use their imaginations to narratively tweak their characters, it's awesome. At first glance it can seem "samey" or really sparse, but after digging in a seeing the brilliance of it, it's my new love.

Either way, have some great gaming!

Thanks!

I'm looking at cypher system now.  And, oh, look at that.  Gods of the Fall.

Quote from: noman;907672I'm going to dismiss BRP-related systems.  No expert by far, but a little reading has led me to believe it would break under the pressure of the sort of very high-power campaign ideas I'm playing around with.  Excellent system otherwise, though.

It's your view, but I have been playing/running high level RuneQuest campaigns for years with very few problems.

Quote from: soltakss;908063I have been playing/running high level RuneQuest campaigns for years with very few problems.

Can you give an example of something 'high level' from one of your games? I think there's some context to what 'high level' means that varies from person to person... like, our Superworld games were generally low-powered stuff... pulp era heroes and such... but I did play in a one-off with cosmic types flying between worlds and battling asteroid golems and such, and that seemed to go just fine.

Quote from: soltakss;908063It's your view, but I have been playing/running high level RuneQuest campaigns for years with very few problems.

My view is based on relative ignorance.  I acknowledge this.

I haven't played much BRP or related outside of COC over a decade ago.  No doubt the system's changed.  Reading up on the current system, Mythras Imperative, has left me, to be honest, less than inspired.

But, I'm coming from a position of bias.  I'm aware of that.  I know BRP gets a lot of love at this forum, all of it deserved, but I'm that rare creature who's disliked every COC game he's ever been in.

I'll give it second look.

Quote from: Simlasa;908071Can you give an example of something 'high level' from one of your games? I think there's some context to what 'high level' means that varies from person to person... like, our Superworld games were generally low-powered stuff... pulp era heroes and such... but I did play in a one-off with cosmic types flying between worlds and battling asteroid golems and such, and that seemed to go just fine.

I assume your question was directed at soltakss, and not me.  That being said, I'll clarify my 4th criteria:

4. The system is capable of handling character power levels ranging from low-level dudes to almost-but-not-quite godlike. This is the key point for my criteria.

Almost-but-not-quite godlike.  Demigod level power levels.  Superman or Thanos level supers would be the low end.  The key here is an element of divinity.  I'm looking for a system that can handle high-level demigods to low-level gods or cosmic powers without breaking under the strain.

Pretty much all universal games can handle the low-mid-high-supers power levels easily.  I'm want to retain that functionally, and push it higher into low-mid-high-supers-demigod levels.

Quote from: noman;9074201. It's a true universal system, meaning there's a core rulebook for it that's independent of any setting.

2. It doesn't suck*.

3. It's got settings for it, preferably a lot of settings...preferably a lot of awesome settings.

4. The system is capable of handling character power levels ranging from low-level dudes to almost-but-not-quite godlike.  This is the key point for my criteria.

5. Point (4) supersedes point (3).  If I can find a system that can handle very high power levels, but no settings, I'll consider it.

Savage Worlds

1) You can run a ton of genres right out of the core book.

2) Been playing and running for 3+ years, really enjoying it for the most part.

3) Savage Worlds has an insane number of settings across a large swath of genres.

4) Savage Worlds characters are competent out the gate and granularly get better with every advance. However, certain settings such as the high fantasy Shaintar, Suzerain which adds Demigod rank, and Necessary Evil which treats super powers far differently than the core rules take characters to far greater heights of power.

5) I haven't read/played EABA so I can't give an opinion.

As for Savage Worlds I've run Shaintar and Necessary Evil. I've played a bit of Suzerain. The characters in all three have a bit more oomph than the ones in the more traditional 50 Fathoms (Lots of chase-based or large-scale ship combat in this one though) and Deadlands games that I played (although Harrowed were a bit overpowered compared to the rest of us.) Shaintar's characters start with 3 character points, more than the 2 standard and have access to much stronger edges by race. The power level starts higher but gets progressively bigger and bigger as you head into Heroic and Legendary. Suzerain has your characters bounding about time and space for the gods. To that end you get Telesmae that grant your characters additional abilities and serve as a way to communicate and teleport to their gods and in between realms. It also adds the Demigod rank and play far into the 100+ experience realm that most Savage Worlds settings have campaigns already wrapped up by the time you reach here. Necessary Evil has you starting with ten-twenty power points of super powers at Novice which make them much stronger than most Savage Worlds characters.

Savage Worlds also has Savage Rifts, which based on the old Rifts I've read, may have extreme power level differences from character to character that can make it well over the top. I haven't read Savage Rifts though.

Another thing about Savage Worlds is that it can be very cheap to get into. The core book is only 10 bucks. An entire table of 4 players and a GM could all have the core books for 50 bucks. A setting like 50 Fathoms or Necessary Evil might cost you as the GM 20 bucks, and you are good to go with a whole campaign. Once you are done, buy a new setting book and repeat.

Quote from: noman;908080Almost-but-not-quite godlike.  Demigod level power levels.  Superman or Thanos level supers would be the low end.  The key here is an element of divinity.

Superman seems pretty much god-like to me... short of creating the universe and planets... and straight up magical stuff like turning water into wine. I can't say I've encountered a game where Superman would be the 'low end', except maybe some 'god game' like Nobilis or Amber.

Hey, noman. We're about to start our Gods of the Fall game this weekend. I'm more than happy to chat about it or anything you'd like to know about the Cypher System.

Quote from: noman;907420Right out of the barn, I'm eliminating the following systems: GURPS, HERO, and FATE.  Why?  For reasons.**

Uh, isn't that like the entire list of them?  

Maybe a better question I should ask, what do you define as a 'universal' system, then?

Because to me, although you can make as many settings for it as you can, Savage Worlds isn't very 'generic' it promotes a pretty pulpy style, best suited for not quite superheroic level of comic fun.  (Which is not a bash on it, I love the system, personally, it's my go to when I do an Eberron game, and I've got a hit Pirates of The Spanish Main series, which blows my little mind.)