This is the superhero game I’m going to run. It owes a lot to S. John Ross’ RISUS but with enough modifications to be its own thing because I have no sense of humour.
Creating a Character
Purchasing Traits at Character Creation
Use 75 Character Points to purchase your Traits. Give each Trait a Descriptor. Purchase each Trait’s Quality and Level. The total cost for each is the base cost of the Quality multiplied by its level. Check the tables below for reference.
Let’s look at Trait Quality . . .
| Trait Quality | Active Dice/Level | Defencive Value and Character Point Cost per Level |
| Weak | d4 | 2 |
| Typical | d6 | 3 |
| Talented* | d8 | 4 |
| Post-Human | d10 | 5 |
| Incredible | d12 | 6 |
| Superlative | d20 | 10 |
| Cosmic | d100 | 50 |
* Maximum non-superhuman, and rare even then.
. . . and Trait Levels
| Level | Description |
| 1 | Basic |
| 2 | Amateur |
| 3 | Competent |
| 4 | Professional |
| 5 | Elite |
| 6 | Master* |
| 7 | Grandmaster** |
| 8 | The Greatest*** |
* Only one character per PC group can be a Master in a Trait (or a set of very similar Traits)
** Each character can only possess one Grandmaster or better Trait.
*** There can only be one permanent example of The Greatest in a Trait (or group of very similar Traits) per campaign. A new Greatest must be “passed the torch” or defeat the established Greatest. In both cases, the former Greatest loses her status, dropping to Grandmaster. If the contender loses or is not passed the torch, he drops back to Grandmaster instead. Any character who loses Greatest status may try for it again after paying half Character Point cost for that level.
Descriptors
Pick at least two Personal Descriptors and one Power Descriptor to create Personal and Power Traits.
Personal Descriptors are about your character’s life, background, interests and ordinary skills. They’re limited to Typical Quality. If they would have more than Typical Quality they’d be Power Traits.
Power Descriptors are about exceptional abilities and resources such as superhuman powers. They can possess any degree of Quality.
- Example Personal Descriptors: Athlete, Fast Car, Bureaucrat, Dockworker, Physicist, Thief, Wealthy
- Example Power Descriptors: Fast, Fly, Lightning Blast, Powered Armour, Strong, Tough and any Personal Descriptor with above-Typical Quality.
The easiest way to write it all down together is with the following format:
Descriptor Level (Active Dice/Defencive Value)
Complications
You may purchase up to three ranks of Complications in any combination (one/one/one, one/two, or a single rank three) Complications hose your character in exchange for bonus Effort Points you earn each time you get hosed. (See below for how Effort Points work.)
Rank One Complications (2d4 Effort Points, Max 10)
- Ethos: You have a defined personal philosophy of conduct that could be used against you, though you might wiggle out of a jam with clever reasoning. The player and GM work through the ambiguities until they reach consensus.
- Minor Hindrance: A specific situation causes you to temporarily lose an Active Die from one Trait.
- Misunderstood: The general public is suspicious of you; any fans belong to a slightly controversial subculture like punks or religious fundamentalists.
- Nuisance NPC: An NPC makes life more difficult for you, but not too dangerous unless you really screw things up. This could be someone you like who gets into trouble, an annoying guy, or a villain you pretty much outclass.
Rank Two Complications (2d8 Effort Points, Max 20)
- Code: You might have rigid morals or you might be a robot. Either way, you have a defined code of conduct that can be used against you but unlike an Ethos, can’t be cleverly interpreted — the GM is the final arbiter.
- Global Hindrance: A specific situation causes you to temporarily lose an Active Die from every Trait.
- Hated: The general public despises you as if you were a murderer or some kind of Nazi. Being your fan is considered a character defect.
- Perilous NPC: An NPC might get you killed because he hates you or because he might haplessly cause you to get into trouble.
- Vulnerable: A specific situation suppresses one of your Traits. You can’t bid it to attack or defend until the situation passes.
Rank Three Complications (2d12 Effort Points, Max 30)
- Hunted: You’re actively pursued by law enforcement or another vast, powerful group to such an extent that you need to hide most of time.
- Total Vulnerability: A specific situation will suppress all of your Power Traits, as per Vulnerable.
Each time you get hosed by a Complication roll the dice to find out how many Effort Points you earned. These accumulate until you reach the maximum for that Complication.
At the start of a new story arc, all of your Effort Points from Complications reset to 0 unless you earned them in the very last game session of the arc.
Sample Character: Lash
A mutant who discovered his powers under the stress of a dangerous job in the labour underground, Lash (also known as Juan de Burgos) fights for migrant workers across North America. Lash can project arcs and tendrils of psychic energy: long, rippling red bands. He’s wanted by the police for his clashes with factory workers, human traffickers and government sponsored heroes.
Personal Traits: Labourer 4 (4d6/8), Fugitive 2 (2d6/4), Truck Driver 3 (3d6/6)
Power Traits: Energy Whip 4 (4d12/24), Energy Grapple 3 (3d12/18), Energy Climb 3 (3d10/15)
Complications: Hunted (Rank 3;2d12 Effort Points, Max 30)
Conflicts
To settle combat, arguments and anything else that pits two characters against each other or a character against anything else, follow this procedure:
- Pick an Attack Trait for anyone acting.
- Pick a Defence Trait for anyone and anything being acted against.
- Roll the Attack Trait’s Active Dice and add them together. If the total beats the Defence Trait’s Defencive Value, reduce the Defencive Value by the difference between the roll total and value.
If the order of actions is important go by the highest Attack Trait Level. Refer to Quality, then put Risky Traits ahead of appropriate Traits, then roll randomly to settle ties. After everyone goes, a round passes, and you get to take it from the top until the situation resolves itself.
Note: You’ll want to be able to switch Defence Traits frequently to avoid a beatdown once your ability to defend with one Trait crumbles.
Appropriate Traits, Risky Traits and Justification
To use a Trait you need to justify it. You’re not going to see Hairdressing prevail over Boxing in a fistfight. But when it does happen you’re going to see extreme results. If you need to come up with a strange justification for using a particular Trait for attack or defence it becomes a Risky Trait for the purpose of that interaction. Here’s what happens:
- To use a Risky Trait to attack, roll its Active Dice minus one die. If you succeed you inflict double damage on the opponent’s Defencive Value. If you fail, you inflict your roll as damage on an appropriate Trait of your own.
- If you use a Risky Trait to defend, calculate your Defencive Value as if it was one Level lower. If the attack fails against you the attacking Trait suffers damage equal to the difference between the attacker’s roll and your Defencive Value. If it fails, you take double normal damage, or triple if the Attack Trait was itself a Risky Trait.
If you can’t justify the use of a Trait without annoying the other players or damaging the tone of the game, you can’t use it at all.
Multiple and Area Attacks
- To attempt multiple attacks in a round, split your Attack Trait’s Active Dice and roll them separately. You can justify actions with any Trait no higher than your Attack Trait.
- To attack an area, split your Active Dice into one pool rolled to determine area (each point affects about 4 square meters) and one pool to determine the maximum Defencive Value affected.
Active Defense
If you want to actively defend, your Attack Trait’s Active Dice become a penalty for incoming attack rolls.
Damage and Consequences
If a Trait’s Defencive Value drops to 0 the character suffers consequences appropriate to the attack — usually a knockout, embarrassment or other harsh reversal of fortune. The nature of the attack determines how much time it takes to heal. The victim also loses the ability to effectively bid the injured Trait until at least 1 point of Defencive Value heals.
Permanent Consequences
If you want to kill someone or force some other permanent change, the GM decides the requirements above and beyond dropping a key Defencive Value to 0. It depends on the tone of the game. In some, an extra round of effort will do. In others, it might take as little as the intent to kill or as much as the following optional rule:
- Wrecking Traits: Once a Trait’s Defencive Value has been reduced to zero, an attacker can keep hitting that trait. Further damage is applied against a fresh instance of the character’s healed Defencive Value, but the Defencive Value is not used to reduce the power of the incoming attack. It automatically hits. This damage converts permanent Defencive Value into raw Character Points (the victim can gradually spend it on something else) and automatically reduces the Trait’s Level to match that new value, treating the listed standard value as a minimum. The Trait is considered wrecked and can’t heal without a quest or rarely granted boon. If the Trait drops to Level 0, it’s gone and the victim suffers some awful permanent consequence, like death. Remember that the victim still gets Character Points back.
Effort
If you need to do something unusual or extra powerful, you’ll need Effort Points. Get them in two ways:
- Earn them after getting hosed by Complications.
- Take Defencive Value damage that converts into Effort Points to be used on the spot — you can’t save these up.
Here’s what you can do with Effort Points:
- Absorb Damage: Use your points to absorb damage on a one for one basis.
- Heal Defencive Value: You can heal your character’s Defencive Value points on a one for one basis.
- Improve a Trait’s Active Dice Quality: Improve the Quality of an existing Trait’s Active Dice by paying the difference in Character Point costs between its current and new Quality. Describe why this is happening; that determines how long the benefit lasts for, though it never extends for longer a scene.
- Manifest a New Trait: Buy a new Trait for its standard Character Point value. Justify it with narration but remember that it won’t last longer than a scene. (The justification sets a duration of one scene or less.) This can be a Personal or Power Trait.
You need to justify how you use Effort Points and you have to justify taking damage, but you don’t have to justify Effort gained from Complications. The GM should allow pretty loose justifications that fit the game’s feel.
Equipment
Equipment is treated abstractly. If it’s a Trait, it’s a reliable item that can usually be replaced or fixed unless a Complication bars the way or it’s directly damaged.If you have a Trait that would help you use a piece of equipment that is also a Trait, you can Team Up with it (see below for more on Team Ups) whether or not it’s part of your character.
The game assumes that in most cases, you have all the gear proper use of your Traits require. If you don’t have the proper equipment your Quality drops by two ranks (to a minimum of Weak).
Teaming Up
Characters Team Up to improve their chances against a tough obstacle or defend against a big hit. The disadvantage of Team Ups is that you can only team up offensively or defensively in a given round — not both.
- Offencive Team Up: Add one die per additional character to thew character with the highest Level Attack Traits and give the team the highest Quality from all contributing Attack Traits.
- Defencive Team Up: Calculate a new Defencive Value equal to the highest Level Defence Trait used, plus one Level per Additional character, calculated using the highest Quality Trait in the group. During each round of Defence, a different character may choose to absorb any damage with the Trait she contributed.
You must justify Team Ups (including Traits used) in the story, and if one contribution is Risky, the combined Trait is also considered Risky.
I like it. If it’s okay I may even play-test it a little.
The only tricky bit is when it comes to comparing Traits. For instance the munchkin in me would take Green Lantern Ring 3 (3d10/15)over Super Strength 3 (3d10/15). My Power Ring can do everything Super Strength can at a range. I can also blast things and create walls with it.
Of course if you have decent players you can work this type of thing out. Otherwise there needs to be a way to balance the two. Of course this whole problem is why many of the super hero games get way too complex.
Yeah, Green Lantern/Magic Powers. I’ve got to think about that. Nobody in the group has a character like that but it does require some thought.
You should apply the “Power19″ to this to make sure your game has a right to exist!
*WHAat???*
(More srsly, I think I kinda like it.)
Well, it’s basically so I can run a game light and with plenty of ad hoc judgment. Supers games tend to be pretty heavy and front loaded. If other people go for it, great! Really, it’s a happy accident if it’s useful to anybody outside my group.