Monday 23 August 2021

Super Hero/Villain Generator + Freeform Super d6 Rules!

 I saw The Suicide Squad (the new, 2021, one) and liked it so much I wanted to run a superhero game for the first time in my life! Here is what I came up with! 

I'll start with the Super Hero/Villain Automated Generator because its a lot of fun to play with....

Creating a Super:

A player creates a Super by randomly rolling either:

  •  1 Major super power, 2 minor super powers and a weakness or,
  •  1 major super power and 1 minor super power or, 
  • Any combination the Referee deems appropriate for their game! 

These powers can be from the Hero Or Villain super power tables as the players see fit (or the Referee may deem only one or the other be used in their game). 

A Super is very powerful in their Major power, and powerful in their minor super powers.   

  • The player may then roll twice on the appearance tables to give their Super a random appearance (or decide the Super’s appearance based on their powers). 
  • Finally, a player may roll on the backstory table to give their Super a random backstory! 

The Referee and Players extrapolate what skills, possessions and bodily attributes a Super would have from their powers, weakness and backstory. Further, what types of actions would be possible by the Super and how Easy or Hard they would be to achieve via a Conflict Test, is also extrapolated from these. 

The player writes down any additional important details relating to their Super as they play (new possessions, injuries, specific skills, etc).

Inventory can be handled by the Referee judging what is appropriate for a Super to carry. Determining whether a Super already has some specific, but related to their description, item in their possession can be determined by a Conflict Test.

• “Levelling up” or Super improvement is achieved by the player adding additional defining word/s to their PC on their Character Sheet. This word should be derived from the actions the PC took in the session and with the agreement of the Referee.














Now, onto the rules! 

How to Play:

  • One player is the Referee, the other players will each control a Superhero or Supervillain.
  • The Referee will describe the imaginary world explored by the Supers, and determine the result and impact of their actions. Importantly, the Referee will determine the result of any Conflict Tests conducted by the other players.
  • The Referee’s role is to ensure the game world presented to the other players is interactive, dynamic, interesting and dangerous.
  • The Referee is free to interpret and present the imaginary world as they see fit, but it is important that this is consistent and that concrete consequences for the PC’s choices and actions are enacted.
  • The Super’s role is to have exciting and interesting adventures. 

Conflict Tests:

If an entity attempts to do something of consequence in the game world (and it is possible for them to do so), or comes into conflict with another entity in the game world, roll a d6:

  • If a Player/Referee can argue them; add situational bonuses of +X to the roll.
  • If the Player/Referee can argue them; add situational penalties of –X to the roll.
  • Easy Test: If a Super/Aspect of Reality is in a very likely position to win the conflict/test, they can roll twice and use the highest result.
  • Hard Test: If a Super/Aspect of Reality is in a very unlikely position to win the conflict/test roll twice and use the lowest result.

Moments:

When needed (for example during combat lasting more than a single Conflict Test), events in the game can be played out in Moments.

  • The Referee determines the order in which entities (Supers and other characters/creatures/objects/etc in the game world) act. Then each entity has a moment to do something. Any conflict in these moments is resolved with a Conflict Test. This cycle of moments is repeated until the conflict/tension is over.
  • In the game world a Moment is only a few seconds long - The Referee rules what exactly an entity can get done in a Moment, ensuring they are fair and equitable to all involved.
  • The specific order in which entities act out their Moments may be determined by the Referee’s interpretation of the situation and the attributes of the entities involved, or Conflict Tests between entities to determine who will act first.

Damage and Death:

The Referee contextually judges when an entity (Super or other characters/creatures/objects/etc) is damaged from a conflict, the impact of this and the possibility of their death/destruction.

  • Any injuries received by a PC must be noted on their Character Sheet. The Referee must be made aware of any injuries a PC has before they make any subsequent Conflict
  • Tests, so appropriate penalties can be applied. The Referee should make similar notes for any injured pertinent entities.

A suggested, but not necessary, system for tracking injuries/simulating the chaos of combat is as follows:

If hit an entity rolls a d6 to determine where they were struck:

  •  1 - 2 = Legs
  •  3 = Torso
  •  4 - 5 = Arms
  •  6 = Head

The referee can then extrapolate the impact of a wound in that area.

  • Taking too many hits in the same location (2 or 3 depending on the location and the weapon) will result in death. 
  • The Referee must contextually judge how weapons and armour worn may affect the outcome of a Conflict Test.

Super Rules: 

There are two specific types of entities in A Super Hero RPG, Supers and Goons. 

  • Supers are beings with super powers and Goons are pretty much anything else! 
  • If a Super is rolling a Conflict Test against a Goon (or a group of Goons) they always roll at least two d6’s (more if the Referee deems it) and use the best result. 
  • A Super will always overcome/defeat/kill a Goon with a single successful Conflict Test.
  • When rolling a Conflict Test against a Goon, if a Super rolls doubles of any number the Referee gives that Super a rating from 2 - 6 based on  how powerful they are in the realm relating to the Conflict Test (Combat, battle of wits, hacking, etc). The Super then rolls a single d6 and times the result by their rating, they then overcome/defeat/kil that number of Goons with a single test (Alternatively, the Super could use the original double number they rolled as the multiplier).  
  • If a Goon is rolling a Conflict Test against a super they always roll at least two d6’s (more if the Referee deems it) and use the worst result. When rolling a Conflict Test against a Super, a Goon will generally not cause any major or lasting damage to a Super unless they roll doubles (and also pass their test). Generally it takes double 6’s for a Goon to slow down a Super (and several double 6’s to kill them!).  

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