Years ago, one of our popular games was a free-form Superhero game utilizing the Hero System mechanics. This was a game system that was frequently on again, off again with our group. I remember a number of successful games, and a couple of successful adventures, but we never really managed to maintain a long term campaign. Part of that was the competitive nature of our group – everyone (including the GM) constantly wanted to out-do the others, rather than simply tell a solid story. That was added to an already challenging settings and challenge design, and the games tended to burn out nearly as fast as they could be started.
Fast forward to today, and Marvel is slaying it at the theatres, and has for many years since the first Iron Man. Since then, Superheroes are mainstream again, and interest is higher than ever. Despite a few questionable efforts (non-Marvel), the subject has never been stronger these days. And my gaming interests I believe have evolved – with newer players who are far less competitive, the timing may be right to restart these stories, and introduce a new set of heroes.
To that end, I have formulated a number of character concept questions for my current group, to start the wheels turning on character ideas. We are targetting a potential start of a campaign for late in the summer, but depending on progress we may try a few one-off scenarios as character origins. This not only gives us plenty of time to create concepts, but also enough time to teach the players how to utilize the Hero System itself. Hero has never been an easy system – with ultimate flexibility comes great complexity. As the players create and define their heroes, I can generate the world and backstories, such that each becomes a living member of the society, and the society has meaning and value to each character.
If the concept works well enough, this will be a future subject of my gaming videos and no doubt a number of my postings. Stay tuned for future updates, would-be believers.
