Previous Thread >>>>96341983The thread to talk about Super Heroes/Villains/Spies/Agents/Rogues be it in spandex or not.Popular Choices for Games:>Mutants & MastermindsCurrently the most played one, uses a d20 resolution for everything, has powers building and rules for tactical combat.>Marvel TSR/ FASERIPClassic Supers game from the 80s, still has a lot of fans and various retro-clones. Uses a d100 with an universal resolution table to decide the degree of success, has random character generation and abstract rules for powers and combat.>Masks (PbtA)Rules light game with focus on narrative. Less rules reading more making stuff up on the moment. Game is built on the concept of playing as young heroes but you can use it for more mature settings.TQ: How big are the rogue's gallery in your games?
>>96441201>TQ: How big are the rogue's gallery in your games?Not too big since my group usually runs short five session mini campaigns, there are a few proper villains but the big capital V villains are usually a big payoff at the end of the campaign.
>>96441201What are some villainous archetypes besides the petty crook/thug with powers, the evil CEO, the mad scientist, the eco-terrorist, the alien invader, and the evil AI? And what types of villains do you prefer, and what have you done with them?
>>96441626>What are some villainous archetypes besides the petty crook/thug with powers, the evil CEO, the mad scientist, the eco-terrorist, the alien invader, and the evil AI?The assassin, the cultist/cult leader, the fallen hero, the femme fatale, the strawman of the ideology I don't like.>And what types of villains do you preferThe villains have to A) challenge the playerB) Be memorable and fun>what have you done with them?Mostly small campaigns with big payoffs. One of the games I was in used the cultist and assassin archetype to great effect.
>>96441626>>96441753I'm a sucker for the flirtatious thief.https://youtu.be/aI4mhfcMF9M?si=5hQI6Ayk4whg9-PuBlack Cat and Catwoman immediately spring to mind. Mutants and Masterminds has Magpie, Sentinels of the Multiverse has Ermine...
>>96441201>animal morphingHow can you keep this power relevant in the big leagues? Like, maybe not take on someone like Superman one on one, but able to stay alive and be relevant in fights at that tier?
>>96441989>How can you keep this power relevant in the big leagues? Like, maybe not take on someone like Superman one on one, but able to stay alive and be relevant in fights at that tier?Why turn into one animal at a time? Why not 10? Why not 100?
>>96441201What mad scientist villains have you included in your supers setting? I've done thinly veiled copies of these two in the past, but I want to do something more original going forward, especially since my next group has some people more likely to notice. Speaking of, what are the most important things to consider with mad scientist villains, especially where and how they get the resources they need to be legitimate threats? Because I can't keep hand-waving that. Tried asking last thread but it died before anyone responded.
Here's some less popular superhero games that might be worth checking out:>Silver age Sentinels/Absolute Power (Tri Stat System)>Aberrant/Trinity Continuum (Story Teller System)>DC Super Heroes (MEGS) >Champions (HERO system)
>>96441989Why wouldn't it be relevant?
>>96442391Owning a corporation, misappropriation of grant money, and organized crime are the usual ones
>>96442391Yeah, how does Wily always have a new castle ready or the stuff he needs to make his robots while on the run? He’s got to have a way to make money somehow. Same for similar villains.
>>96441843>I'm a sucker for the flirtatious thief.>Black Cat and Catwoman immediately spring to mindDoes Gambit from X Men count as a male version of this trope or am I reaching?
>>96442391The mad scientist doesn't have to be an everything expert, you can have a mad biologist, a mad chemist, a mad nuclear physicist, mad psychologist or even a mad dentist. One of the characters I want to use in a future game is a mad scientist obsessed with uplifting animals to human intelligence, while enhancing his own beyond humanity so he can rule over a kingdom of sentient walruses as a god king.
>>96445084If he were allowed to be a thief and foil to a hero like Rogue, yeah, he's got the personality and the charm for it. Unfortunately, mutants are their own...genre of hero. The Flirtatious Thief usually only interacts with a more solitary type of hero that patrols a city.
>>96445894
>>96444269Thanks! Though I have to say that, while the former two might work to help my mad scientists get off the ground, that won't work as well later in their careers, and dealing with organized crime would be difficult if they want to keep a low profile while working on something big, it's a good start!>>96445894>so he can rule over a kingdom of sentient walruses as a god king.Why specifically walruses of all creatures?>>96445067Yeah, that's what I need to consider, especially if one of my players is going to be a detective-type hero like Batman. If you can think of anything new it would be a great help please!
>>96447923>Why specifically walruses of all creatures?Walruses are adept at surviving in cold climates, the mad scientist wants to drastically cool the planet to destroy humanity as it exists now, clearing the room for our future semi aquatic overlords.
>>96447923Try describing the context in which your character exists and what his goals are
>>96447923Why would owning a corporation stop producing money?
>>96448115>Why would owning a corporation stop producing money?I was talking about after they make their villainous debut and/or the heroes finding proof of their actions and forcing them to go on the run.>>96448107A renegade scientist on the run trying to create an army of artificial minions to conquer the world, trying to build their resources and forces while limiting their villainous actions and ties to major criminal groups so they fly under the radar of heroes focused on more immediate threats until it's too late for the heroes to easily stop them.
>>96441201I’m thinking that the heroes and villains in my supers setting will draw their power at least partially from the collective unconsciousness of humanity, almost always with realizing it. In doing so, they align with one or more archetypes/patterns that powers can fall into. There’s super-tech heroes like Iron Man, mad scientist villains, flying bricks like Superman, chessmaster villains, size-changers like the Atom, psychics, speedsters like the Flash, elemental manipulators, plant controllers, ones with animal-themed aesthetics/powers like Wolverine, magic users and others who get their abilities from the supernatural side of things, etc. Obviously there’s some overlap in a number of cases, like Reed Richards being both a super genius and stretchy, but what other archetypes can you think of?
>>96441201In my world all supers are some variety of psychic, drawing from an infinite plane of mental energy, but where do ‘your’ heroes and villains derive their powers from? The energy for all those lasers and shit has to come from ‘somewhere’, doesn’t it?
Wherever the player decides it does, obviously.
>>96448336>>96452778>>96454383I see retardposting has replaced imagebumping on these threads
I'll stop when I get an answer, and not one millisecond before.
I suppose Zorro comes close enough to a superhero that I can say I really like how the Zorro RPG handles vigilante's secret identity. Character may gain up to three hero points (used for re-rolls, result doubling, stun avoidance and character advancement) in his civilian persona by reinforcing the secret identity, publicly acting in a way his vigilante persona would not act. Character may alternatively gain instant hero point by intentionally walking on the edge in a way that reveals clues of his vigilante alter ego. Suspicion rating climbing high makes exposure more likely, and when it happens the character can either just go public as a vigilante and live in the fringes, or try to clear his name in some major undertaking. This of course requires kind of a setting where PCs stand out in their civilian personas.The game is up on the current share thread.
>>96442391Doctor Zero is one of my setting's major villains!>>96441989Animal Man, Beast Boy (Changeling, Menagerie) and Vixen are all very powerful characters who can contribute hugely to a team dynamic because their powers and abilities are non-static. While they might not be the most powerful member of their team at every given moment, the sheer variety of abilities at their disposal makes them hugely useful almost all the time.
>>96441989BB's awesome.
Has anyone checked out the M&M4e playtest yet? What are your thoughts?
>>96459133>Doctor Zero is one of my setting's major villains!I'd love to hear more about him please!
>>96459269He's generally a background villain, operating mostly through one of those smaller ARGUS drones you see hovering behind him. Primarily a roboticist, he is responsible for accidentally creating his heroic arch-nemesis, Apex, and has become consumed by the idea of replicating the circumstances of that transformation for himself. He has become increasingly desperate to achieve that goal over the years, as Apex seemingly resists the ravages of time in a way that Zero cannot.Pic related is Apex, but I'm in the process of redesigning him to be less obviously "Superman."
>>96459473Oops; I forgot to attach Apex. I took a few minutes to redesign him a little bit; he used to be wearing a blue costume and have an exposed face.
>>96459256I like the return to six attributes and how skills are handled now; they were too expensive in 3rd edition.
>>96459473>Primarily a roboticist, he is responsible for accidentally creating his heroic arch-nemesis, Apex, and has become consumed by the idea of replicating the circumstances of that transformation for himself.How did he accidentally create Apex?
>>96461176>>96459805>>96459133In a standard cape-setting origin: an experimental nuclear dynamo exploded, bathing Apex in a wave of bizarre energy, altering his physiology and granting him superhuman abilities.
>>96441201>Mutant (in Marvel universe)>doesn't like either the X-Men nor any other mutant supremist groups>still considers himself human with just some extra bitsThoughts?
>>96461508I think that while it is an mildly interesting question, it has very little to do with games, and would probably be better suited to /co/.
>>96462307What question? He didn't communicate anything.
>>96441989Beast Boy gets mythical creatures and alien wildlife to hit harder, though that's a little too "random bullshit go" for me, the restriction of real animals breeds innovation
>>96441989Animal Forms is quite strong for its cost, it's nearly as versatile as a narrow Omni Power while only costing two thirds as much, and doesn't have the unique drawbacks of Omni Power. What would prevent it from being relevant at any power level?
>>96465012In M&M2e, a Variable Power is 8 points per rank, with each rank giving you 5 points to spend more or less however you want. Beast Boy limits that by, 1, being only able to transform into animals, and 2, only ever being green. This turns an 8p/r power into a 6p/r, which is enormously more affordable and only barely less powerful.
>>96465085Okay? Is this supposed to be answering my question? I don't get why you replied to me.
