Quote from: Voros;942940I loved FASERIP as a kid but haven't played any superhero rpg since. Does FASERIP stand  up to use today?

As someone who dislikes some of the quirks of FASERIP, I'd have to say that, yeah, it does.  It's as good as it always was (and take that any way you want to.)

Quote from: Voros;942940I recently discovered that all the Marvel Superhero material is available free and legal on the fan site, I'm a bit surprised that Marvel is okay with their trademarked content being given away for free.

Really?  I will have to inform my friends then.  They're big fans of the system.

Quote from: James Gillen;942925The news media by and large didn't vote for Trump.  And tip, if you really have to explain the joke, maybe that's cause it wasn't funny.
The fact that the press are morons who can't read statistics isn't news.  After all the Democrats couldn't either.

Well, at the expense of beating a dead horse, Le Grande Orange Douche Bag won thanks to less than a million votes in a few key states (Trump thought he as going to lose, as well). But, you're right. The joke wasn't funny. Still isn't.

On a semi-related subject of "not being able to do math," the question I have concerning HERO system and running supers is whether doing math is the point of running that genre. I would think it's about whether the system captures the so-called "feel" of being a Super Hero, rather than whether or not it balances out what everyone can do. My beef with it is that it isn't much of a "hit the ground running" system, which is where my gaming tastes run these days.

One system not mentioned here is MURPG. Never cared much for the dependence on an energy pool, but I always wondered what it would play like if someone hacked it into a "success" system, like the DC game (was it DC Heroes?).

Quote from: Spinachcat;942926Fuck the political talk in the RPG section.

That's what Pundency is for.

Wank it and spank it to your heart's content in RPGPundit's Own Forum.

[and yes, I gotta remember that too!]

Don't look at me, man. I tried to blow it off with a snarky offhand comment, I really truly did, but god damn me if people just really want to turn this thread into a political bitch fest.  

I'm bowing out.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;942950pAs someone who dislikes some of the quirks of FASERIP, I'd have to say that, yeah, it does.  It's as good as it always was (and take that any way you want to.)



Really?  I will have to inform my friends then.  They're big fans of the system.

Thanks, I may try and run one shot to see how it goes. My taste runs to Frank Miller era Daredevil but 70s X-Men could be fun too.

Here is the site for ease of reference Classic Marvel Forever. Since it has been up for nearly 20 years I think there's little chance of a cease and desist anytime soon.

I guess that partially speaks to the financial weakness of the RPG market. I read that Maragret Weis's company abandoned their praised Marvel game because the sales weren't making it profitable.

This was in 2011-13. If a RPG can't attract enough buyers at the peak of the superhero trend that really isn't too promising for RPGs. But then the head of Evil Hat once said the health of the hobby is tied pretty directly to D&D, when it does well everyone else does better. Since 5e is doing so well the market is probably better now than back then. Board games and actual play podcasts and streams also seem to be giving the market a boost.

Quote from: cranebump;942967On a semi-related subject of "not being able to do math," the question I have concerning HERO system and running supers is whether doing math is the point of running that genre. I would think it's about whether the system captures the so-called "feel" of being a Super Hero, rather than whether or not it balances out what everyone can do. My beef with it is that it isn't much of a "hit the ground running" system, which is where my gaming tastes run these days.

I think M&M might be a better "hit the ground running" system, but both it and Champions require a certain level of math.  I do think that with the use of Hero Points to simulate power stunts that aren't on the character sheet, M&M is better at comicbook "feel" although I prefer Champions' level of crunch.

JG

Quote from: James Gillen;942996I think M&M might be a better "hit the ground running" system, but both it and Champions require a certain level of math.  I do think that with the use of Hero Points to simulate power stunts that aren't on the character sheet, M&M is better at comicbook "feel" although I prefer Champions' level of crunch.

JG

I preview M&M a loooooong time ago, but it seemed like it was on the order of running 3.5. Would that be about where it fits?

Also, where does Champion's math lie?
Is it like GURPS, where everything is relatively straightforward once you create characters... or is an ongoing thing that all players must be on board with?
I already like GURPS... so I'm wondering what Champions brings. It's one of those systems I've generally heard favorable chatter about, but never engaged with at all (except for the online MMO version).

Quote from: Simlasa;943000Also, where does Champion's math lie?
Is it like GURPS, where everything is relatively straightforward once you create characters... or is an ongoing thing that all players must be on board with?
I already like GURPS... so I'm wondering what Champions brings. It's one of those systems I've generally heard favorable chatter about, but never engaged with at all (except for the online MMO version).

Once characters are created the most complicated math is typically rolling for 'effect' since the target will usually have some type of defense to compare that number against. (Example: In supers, the number of dice rolled for 'normal' damage from a punch can exceed 12d6 with 2 types of damage tracked. This result then gets reduced by defenses to determine damage actually taken).  Other than that, the game play combat engine is actually quite elegant and gets out of the way the more familiar you become with the system.  The other big complaint thrown at HERO is that combats can take too long.  This is a direct result of how complicated the characters are that the players bring to the game.  Like GURPS, HERO combat can border on bullet-time level of detail IF you want it to.  It can be played much faster as well.  It just depends on the GM and Players all being on the same page at campaign outset.

The Champions Online MMO did not use the HERO System rules. It only used the IP of the Champions Universe setting as a last minute stand-in for the Marvel Universe when Marvel pulled out of their deal with Cryptic.

HM

The 'problem' (note the quotations, it COULD be an issue for someone, not saying that it IS) with HERO is that it's all front-loaded during character creation, and it's really loaded with a lot of work, more so than a lot of other games.

But once that's done, it's really a basic system.  But that first cliff can be a doozy to tackle for some people.

Quote from: Simlasa;943000Also, where does Champion's math lie?
Is it like GURPS, where everything is relatively straightforward once you create characters... or is an ongoing thing that all players must be on board with?
I already like GURPS... so I'm wondering what Champions brings. It's one of those systems I've generally heard favorable chatter about, but never engaged with at all (except for the online MMO version).

Put it this way- anybody who wants to bitch about Hero System math has obviously never played GURPS.

JG

Quote from: Voros;942992I guess that partially speaks to the financial weakness of the RPG market. I read that Maragret Weis's company abandoned their praised Marvel game because the sales weren't making it profitable.

This was in 2011-13. If a RPG can't attract enough buyers at the peak of the superhero trend that really isn't too promising for RPGs. But then the head of Evil Hat once said the health of the hobby is tied pretty directly to D&D, when it does well everyone else does better. Since 5e is doing so well the market is probably better now than back then. Board games and actual play podcasts and streams also seem to be giving the market a boost.

I think part of the issue with MHR was the event structure. I know it turned me off on the game (along with some of the fiddly bits), so I don't agree it was all due to the market. M&M didn't have the same issue, nor did ICONS. MHR was an interesting idea that just didn't float with enough gamers to make it profitable for MWP.

As an aside, I played a demo of the Sentinels of the Multiverse rpg at GenCon last year. Plays like MHR, but seems less fiddly. That will kickstart later this year.

Quote from: cranebump;942997I preview M&M a loooooong time ago, but it seemed like it was on the order of running 3.5. Would that be about where it fits?

It's not nearly so bad. M&M is much like Hero in that nearly all of the math is front-loaded in character creation. Once you get past that, pretty much everything you do boils down to a single roll of d20 + value against a fixed target or opposed roll (with possible modifiers to your roll being +/- 2 or 5 for situational effects). Effects are sometimes based on how much you beat the target number, but that's always done in multiples of five so even that math isn't much of a problem for most people. Ultimately, M&M can be a bit daunting to learn if you're reading it for the first time but it's not bad at all once you sit down and get a little experience with it.

I think the biggest thing that hurt Hero was people making 400 point flashlights, or 350 point toasters.  There was this desire to create everything and it just got mind numbing fast.  

I think the best iteration of the rules is the big blue book.  There's a pared down version out there thats' good.

Please stop with any politics talk on this thread.

Quote from: RPGPundit;944035Please stop with any politics talk on this thread.

To be fair, I admired the way it was delivered as a jest, but I took particular offense at the math.  That's where I drew the line.