Super Heroes

I thought I'd get down some ideas about a supers game I'd like to run or play in, after seeing Iron Man this weekend.

Key Elements

A Blank Slate

The game world would basically be the world as it is today, with the heroes as the first beings of such stature. A key theme is that the focus is on the heroes, and their actions.

Importantly, the mechanics of the world are no secret. Society functions as it does today, and the actors in it respond in believable ways with plausible motivations. The main plot mechanics are the heroes, and to an extent the villains.

Theme is Important

I want the heroes to have definable major themes, and at least one theme per hero that doesn't overlap with the rest of the group. Iron Man, for example, is about the future - about technology, about our fears of it and hopes for it. The Hulk is about the dark side of rage that hides in us all. The X-Men were about being different. It's reductive to paint the hero as entirely about such a theme, but the best stories are where the main character and the theme intersect.

The focus of the story would probably shift from hero to hero as the game went on, but I anticipate a lot of overlap in themes - a story arc involving an "anger" hero would ideally include the other heroes' difficulties with anger and its destructive potential.

Introducing the Villians

Each hero ultimately has a nemesis, and I want the players to be collaboratively involved in the creation of their enemies. I see most of the conflict in the stories taking place between the heroes and their enemies, and would ideally like for the villians to be interesting and compelling beyond a set of stats or a particular difficulty of fight.

Contained Arcs

Whether it's this or another game, the next game I run will involve contained arcs. This group trends heavily toward continuity, and I'd like to try something different. My hope is that framing the game with theme as opposed to objective, continuity breaks will be easier to handle.

Super

Most importantly, the game has to be fun. Comics as a medium aim to entertain, and do so, in the best examples, by mixing mythic actions with humanistic heroes. While a bunch of the key points I'm describing are trying to nail down how to keep one foot tied to an involving story, the other foot needs to wreak glorious, demolitionary havoc for the game to work.

System

I know I villify it, but I think the Hero system is the best choice. A big part of a supers game is hero construction, and while I've cooked up a DitV hack for supers, I think it's too reductive. The system for this game needs to have reliable benchmarks in terms of ability, so the heroes can exceed those benchmarks in satisfying ways. Also, consistent with the idea of thematically focused heroes, the heroes' ability to affect the world needs to have domains, so that "hit people guy" and "armor suit guy" can each have a niche.

Let Me Have It

I know I've rambled, so mark down my score in the Talk page!