I want to make a 5e supers book. I know that there are other systems that do supers. I also know that there are some 5e supers books out there, including the amazing Carbide City by Limitless-Adventures.
I've been playing around with two different ways to approach the game. The first is to create customizable archetypes. This is the route Carbide City went with. This is definitely a streamlined way to do the game. However it also seems a bit limiting.
The second option is to allow players to create a character of a specific level (probably 10 or 12) and include new archetypes in the books that are superhero themed. This definitely opens up character options, but feels like it might be way too much work to make sure there are enough classic options.
Both options are good, but I'm leaning towards the first option. I do want to point out that after characters are created, in general there stats will stay static. This is not to say that they won't grow and progress, but it won't be classic D&D leveling. Characters will have new options/feats to pick up as they complete story arcs. This is another reason, I think the second option might be more work than it's worth.
All of this aside, I'd like to know what you think?
I agree that 5e seems to lend itself well to the idea of superheroes, but of your two ideas I'd push for the second option (but then it's not me who'd be doing the work!). Looking forward to seeing whatever you cook up for this project.
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that you're working on this. I've been...I dunno, reinvigorated(?) lately to work on Light City, so I've had a lot of supers-in-a-D&D-framework in my head. I think the answer to your question is to figure out what you want to do with the game and let that guide you.
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean is...well, as you note, there are a ton of supers games out there. At this point, people either make them because they see a niche that they'd like to fill (such as a certain rules system) or just because they enjoy playing around with rules and superheroes. Light City was a little bit of both. (I think Steve Kenson has something interesting to say about this in the intro to ICONS, btw...since it was at least the third or fourth supers game he had designed himself!)
If you want to be the one to provide something specific that you see a need for, like a Mutants & Masterminds-style "build a character of level X" game for 5E, go for it! But if it's just about exploring the genre and having fun with it, just do what you like. As you know, I'm a fan of archetypes/classes for supers, so that probably sounds more fun to me, but I know there's a lot of draw to the "buffet" style of superhero building, and (if it hasn't been done already) somebody who puts in the work to build a solid 5E framework for that could have a really useful game on their hands.
Also, any chance this project is going to stop by Forest City?