Hi everyone. So in yet another attempt to get a regular game up and running, I pitched some players the idea of running one of my “weird games” in in the Marvel Comics universe, using the classic Marvel Super Heroes Role Playing Game. The two players I have were immediately on board with the idea. They were asked to make a character and the only request that I had was that their characters be the type of individuals that would go out of their way to help others and that they know each other. They could play powered or trained heroes if they so choose or even common, every day types. One opted to play a former professional boxer who has organized a group of individuals to patrol their crime-ridden neighborhood ala the Guardian Angels. The other is playing a young medical student who trains at the boxer’s gym and belongs to the anti-crime patrols.
The first session resulted in them finding a disheveled old man behind the gym wearing a hospital gown and speaking utter nonsense. When they called the authorities about the situation, some Secret Service and SWAT team types showed up and when they got too rough taking the old man into custody, the players and an NPC interfered and they too were taken into custody. While sitting around a holding cell the old man become more coherent and concocts an impossible escape plan that works. After getting away and catching their breath, the old man reveals himself to be a character not unlike the Doctor from Doctor Who and the players decide to become his companions.
While we all had a blast with the game, but the MSHRPG wasn’t the greatest system for the type of game that I ran and even with its Karma systems, I don’t think it’s going to be the best choice for where I see the game ending up (normals or low-level supers vs. high-end supers and cosmic level beings).
I want to run the game with a more narrative styled game, but I come from a much more conventional school of roleplaying and could use some advice and suggestions. I’ve looked over a few, and the creative common version of Worlds in Peril really caught my eye. It seems like it should be able to handle the odd situation of having relatively under-powered, but well intentioned and brave folks challenging characters like Doctor Doom, Thanos, or Darkseid and not only surviving, but get the better of them. I think I could make a go of it with the system but I have a few questions about it, specifically regarding Bonds.
As the group will eventually be traveling the width and breadth of the multiverse and time stream, the City and Law Enforcement Bonds seem inappropriate to the scale of the game that I’d like to run with it.