“Hearts and Souls” is a Supers role playing game by Tim Kirk, and published by Better Mousetrap Games and Silver Lion Studios. Graphically, it is an appealing document, with 134 well-designed pages full of evocative artwork of very good quality. The game is written well; it is easy to comprehend and the text contains few typographical errors. It is very reasonably priced at $9.95, USD, for a PDF download.
Although there are a great many good Supers games on the market, H&S distinguishes itself in being a Supers game that revels in the medium that spawned the genre: the comic book. The players aren’t just playing superheroes; they’re playing superheroes within a comic book. The language of the game reinforces this: scenes during game play are called “panels,” the gamemaster is called “the editor,” and when players and GM meet to plan a campaign it is called a “pitch.”
The rule section of the book runs about 40 pages or so, and the system is definitely rules-lite, with a strong emphasis on narrative game play.
Character creation in H&S is fairly simple, with the players developing a character concept, determining the character’s powers, vulnerabilities, and – most importantly – his or her “Drive.” Drive represents what keeps the character going in the face of adversity. Good characters have drives like “Community,” whereas villains have Drives like “Megalomania.”
Players work cooperatively with the GM to assign an appropriate Scale (“Human,” “Superhuman” or “Cosmic”) and Rating (“Ordinary,” “Exceptional” or “Spectacular” to each of six Capabilities: Might, Deftness, Resilience, Brains, Prowess and Resolve. The exact extent and limitation of Powers are also defined in a similar manner.
Scale and Rating play an integral role in H&S’s task resolution system. All tasks are given a Challenge Rating which determines a target number (Ordinary: 2, Exceptional: 4, Spectacular: 6) which must be bested by the player attempting to accomplish the task.
The Editor determines which of the character’s sex Capabilities most apply to the challenge. The Capability’s Scale determines what die the player will roll (d4, d8, d12) and the Rating determines how many dice of that die type will be rolled (1, 2, 3), when attempting to best the Challenge rating. If one of the dice rolled equals or succeeds the task’s Challenge Rating, then the task is successful.
Combat is handled in a very similar fashion, with half the value of the target’s Resilience Capability supplying the Challenge Rating to succeed.
Players who fail at a task can try again by choosing to have their character deliver a monologue related to both the task at hand and their character’s Drive. Players can forgo the monologue and attempt the task again, but this will result in the accumulation of “Stress.”
In H&S, damage of all sorts – physical, emotional, psychological – is generalized into Stress points. Characters can take only so much Stress until they succumb, at which time the GM determines the exact effects (death, incapacitation, loss of motivation, etc.) based upon the narrative needs of the game.
While the fast and flexible rules of H&S can be used to very easily recreate the adventures of anyone’s favorite comic book heroes, H&S comes complete with dozens and dozens of unique heroes and villains, full statted and ready to play. All of these are drawn from the pages of a fictitious comic book publishing company called “AMP”
Kirk uses both the “history” of AMP and its two published “universes,” (“Analogous Prime,” a four-color pulp milieu, and “Millennia,” an edgier, modern milieu) as a clever way of exploring two very different styles of Supers games, both appropriate or H&S, each with its own strengths and appeal, depending on the gaming group. I found this a very clever way of addressing the usual “style of campaign” text to be found in the GM’s section of most games.
Players who want a more rules-heavy or “crunchy” style of game may find H&S a bit disappointing, but those yearning for a narrative-driven, story-focused gaming system may find H&S to be an answer to a prayer.
Wow, really let me reiterate: Thank you for the solid review.
My pleasure!
Great review, mattormeg! Very thorough.
-clash
Nice review! This was a game that didn't sound what I was looking for by the way it was discussed on RPGnet, but it is now on my RPGnow wishlist. :)
Great review, I loved playtesting this, and am still loving my current charecter in it. Ain't that right Mr.Kirk, and as to confirm who I am, I must say, photon force and phantom fist.
Quote from: Mithias;517802Great review, I loved playtesting this, and am still loving my current charecter in it. Ain't that right Mr.Kirk, and as to confirm who I am, I must say, photon force and phantom fist.
Why hello! You necroed this from ancient days. Still good to see ya.
Quote from: Silverlion;517818Why hello! You necroed this from ancient days. Still good to see ya.
I understand you are working on the second edition of Hearts and Souls. I hope the project is progressing well Tim.
Quote from: Kuroth;518904I understand you are working on the second edition of Hearts and Souls. I hope the project is progressing well Tim.
Yes I am. Slowly its coming together. I need to get back on writing track though I'm a tad behind.