I’d like to run a one shot super hero rpg that is PbtA. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m going through the list of all the hacks out there but if anyone has any first hand experience I’d love to hear it.
This may or may not have anything to do with the Avengers coming out in the States this weekend.
https://plus.google.com/communities/118321549054630517542
Powers for Good maybe?
Worlds in Peril looks neat and I’m reading through it, but man there is no easy way to find what I need/want in the main draft. I’ll keep going through it.
Powers for Good, do you have a link Pavel Berlin ?
I’m also looking at Power World, Just Heroes, and Superhuman atm.
Worlds in Peril is an absolute blast, my group has been enjoying it. I’m not sure what you can’t find — the alpha draft is pretty well logically laid out.
I guess I was looking for something more like Apocalypse World, where I can print off a playbook and everything the player needs to create a character is on that sheet, as opposed to having to dig through a book.
WiP doesn’t really use playbooks — characters are created from scratch. If you’re running a one shot, you just need the character sheet, the Origins, and an understanding of your job as GM. If you were running a long campaign, you would want to include the Drives.
So, all you need to print out are the Origins and the Character sheets, both of which are online as game play aides.
Great, that gives me more to focus on since if I decide to run this I have to learn the game by Friday. How friendly is it to people who are new to RPG’s in general?
I would say it is fairly friendly… people get superheroes now that the Marvel movies are a big deal. The trickiest part for them will be when they have to fill out their Powers Profile — this is a quick-reference on their character sheet that details how difficult any given use of their powers is in the fiction. You will probably have to hold their hand through this and make sure they understand:
1) the profile isn’t all they can do, it’s just what they do best initially
2) they can expand the profile during gameplay by Pushing their powers
As GM, you will have a tricky time because you’ll have to handle, on the fly, how their power profile interacts with the fiction. If Player A has a power as Simple, do you gloss over it in the fiction and tell the player that yes they accomplish whatever that power does? Or, is the fiction complicated enough right now that its harder for them so they do need to roll? Can Player B really use their Difficult power right now while trying to pull this civilian out of their overturned car? What if Player C distracts the baddies and buys Player B time, then can he save the person and use his power?
In Apocalypse World (and all the other World games), you constantly have to ask yourself whether or not a move is being triggered, or if a player’s actions are sidestepping those triggers. In Worlds in Peril, you as the GM will have to get used to the moves triggering more often — because their triggers are more open ended — while powers will complicate what moves you call for, when you call for them, and what the reasonable fictional fallout of actions may be.
I don’t want to discourage you! Worlds in Peril is awesome! But I’ve had to pay careful attention to how their powers circumvent, affect, and resist the fiction in different ways. Its really exciting.
Delos Adamski sure. Here it is http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/126205/Powers-For-Good-0
Another voice for worlds in peril, it works out very differently from most pbta. But it is a solid game and its awesome for superheroes without getting bogged down in powers minutiae.
World’s in peril looks like a lot of fun but some of my players suffer from “too many choices and freeze up” syndrome. I think I’m going to end up running Just Heroes this week, but thanks everyone for the suggestions.