Developing a Superhero Campaign: Finalizing System Considerations

After a lot of discussion and examination we've come down to our final candidates for a superhero game system - and also we're narrowing in on elements of the campaign and the setting.

Our two final candidates are Supers! and some form of Fate.


I've talked about Supers! before. In its favor is a very straightforward game engine. When you want to do something you determine what stat it is you want to use and you roll a bunch of six sided dice, based upon that stat. That stat could be some skill, a superpower, your ability to resist something, etc. It encourages some creative narration, especially in that you typically can only use an ability to defend once per round. See below for an idea of a Supers! set of character sheets, as excerpted from the game:
As one can see, the game is emphasizing simplicity when it comes to stats.


There's a number of different Fate games. I'm considering three of them. They are:

  • Daring Superheroes
  • Fate Core with Venture City
  • Fate Accelerated
The first of those two are fairly traditional Fate games with the addition of superpowers. I like the idea of doing a Fate game and I like the crunchiness level of those games, but I'm also thinking of perhaps dialing back the complexity and going for a Fate Accelerated game, either using the Venture City powers (which, though meant for Fate Core, would move easily to Fate Accelerated) or using Four-Color FAE, a series of blog posts I've stumbled upon. 

To give an idea what we are talking, I'll be excerpting some character sheets. From Venture City one can find superheroes like this sample speedster:

Finally, for an example of a Fate Accelerated Superhero, check out the following example of Batman taken from Batman: Year One. This comes from the aforementioned Four Color FAE Blog at The G*ddamn Batman (Batman Year One via FAE).


.


Aspects
  • High Concept: Billionaire playboy by day, crime-fighter by night
  • Trouble: I lost my childhood in Crime Alley
  • Other Aspects: I’ve trained a lifetime for this

Approaches
+3 Flashy
+2 Quick, Clever
+1 Sneaky, Careful
+0 Forceful

Stunts
  • Because I am the Heir to the Wayne Family Fortune, I gain +2 to Flashily Create an Advantage when my wealth and good looks might be of help.
Refresh: 3

Extras
Mansion on the edge of the city, Hot sports car




So what's the verdict? A player in my group suggested that "simple is good" and I like that idea. I really like the idea of aspects helping drive a superhero narrative but I'm mulling over whether they are right for our gaming group. And if so does the slightly crunchier Fate Core fit us better or the wide-open Fate Accelerated. And if aspects look like they will end in lots of tears, then Supers! is absoluyte

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