[Ar-list] Superheroes

[Carter T Butts]

On Thu, 23 Nov 2000, Andrea Minini Saldini wrote:

> Has anybody ever delved into the superheroes genre with AR?
> 
> Andrea

No, not to my knowledge; but, as Karim mentioned, the attribute scaling
rules (particularly the most recent version, which _should_ be in the more
recent PRG prerelease) were designed to facilitate this sort of thing.
You can get a surprising amount of mileage just from giving characters
particular deka-scaled attributes...this is usually enough to make them
pretty astounding relative to normal humans, and it can be done within the
usual rule framework.  More exotic powers can be handled by adding new
supplemental attributes and skills, as is done in the Vampires MRS (see
the prerelease archive).
     BTW, the other thing to consider in using AR for the superhero genre
is that you'll probably want to use the low-complexity versions of damage
and targetting (most likely omitting stress and fatigue).  There are at
least two reasons for this: first, leaving out these rules makes combat
much less hazardous (which is consistent with the "everybody's well-nigh
invulnerable" style of most superhero subgenres); and second, the
increased speed of resolution seems more in keeping with a fast-moving,
four-color style campaign.  Of course, exceptions do exist...if you wanted
a grittier, Watchmen-style kind of game, you might want to use the more
realistic rules.  As always, pick the level of realism which works for
you. 


     If you or someone else on the list is interested in this subject and
would like to put together some guidelines for superhero play in AR, I
concurr with Karim that this would make a great MRS.  Any takers?  :-)

     -Carter