Super Heroes games? Any good ones?

[Blood axe]

Im looking for a decent Supers game. But not overly complicated. (or simple!)

Im looking at "Supers!" by Beyond Belief Games and " Icons" Super hero game. Im really leaning towards Supers ($5) as Icons is $15. Alot for a PDF. I get in print books for less.
Mutants & Masterminds seemed complicated, and I dont want to buy 6 books, just one or two.

Any recomendations?

[gentleman john]

If you think M&M is complicated, don't buy the Hero System!

Seriously, you may want to try Truth and Justice from Atomic Monkey Games. It uses a very free form system that relies on a 2d6 + stat roll and a single table of results. It's very good and very flexible. Alternatively, if you want something old school and for free, Advanced Marvel Superheroes is available for download from Jeff Grubb's website. It is more complicated than T&J, but it is worth a look.

If you want to stick to Supers! or ICONS, I would suggest you go for ICONS. - but only because I have no experience of Supers! ICONS in terms of the philosophy behind it is very close to MSH, but it uses a cut-down version of FATE.

[Mach Front]

There has seemed to be tons of love for BASH Ultimate Edition since its release.
I don't own BASH or BASH: UE, but I got BASH Fantasy years ago and dug it.

Also, if you're cool with really lite games, one of Deep 7's excellent (IMO) 1PG games focuses on the genre: Hero Force. (Note that there are other 1PG games and supplements from other publishers not listed on Deep 7's site, one of those supplements being for Hero Force from Heyoka Studios, called Hero Force Giant Sized Super Special.
I own several of the 1PGs and I think they're all awesome.

(1PG games are so called due to being one page of rules, though each 1PG is not only one page. Each one also has genre-specific extra rules, useful stuff for the GM and usually about six scenarios included. So each "one page" 1PG tends to be about 12-15 pages.)

[Blood axe]

If you think M&M is complicated, don't buy the Hero System!

-----------------

Awhile back I had Heroes, and Champions System. Not my thing.

Thanks guys! I'll check them out. I like to look at reviews & previews , before i buy.

[Dyson Logos]

A fairly simple and classic Old School Supers game is Marvel Super Heroes which is available as a retroclone called the 4C system.

Personally I'm a huge fan of Villains & Vigilantes - which feels very D&D-like as it has strong D&D roots.

[Blood axe]

I looked at 4c, but it seemed a little too light in details. I think it was very low page count, from what I remember(35 -40?). I have it somewhere as a free download- so the price is great. Sorry, if Im being picky- Im trying for just the right amount of rules/detail- but not too much.
(but thanks for the assist!)

This porridge is TOO HOT!
This porridge is TOO COLD!

Im looking for just right.

[Bob]

Back in the day, my group played a bunch of Champions. Then we switched to Heroes Unlimited, then to Villains and Vigilantes. I like the latter for the old school feel and the simplicity of the rules. It was just recently republished as well, so I know it's available and supported. It's definitely worth a look.

[seneschal]

In addition to the Second Coming of V&V, also check out Squadron UK, a latter-day version of Golden Heroes. It's available at lulu.com.

Never played FASERIP Marvel, but after toying with V&V, Heroes Unlimited, Golden Heroes and others, I grew to appreciate Hero System/Champions. It enabled me to create and play any hero I could imagine. And I didn't find it overly complicated, especially compared to Traveller starship creation or HU OCC calculations.

[gentleman john]

They all have their good points and their bad points. V&V had a good Silver Age feel and was the first SHRPG I ever played. Golden Heroes had the mechanic where if you did not justify your powers as part of the character concept, you lost them. Heroes Unlimited (deep breath) ... It was clunky, but it was the basis for TMNT which emulated the Eastman/Laird comic books perfectly. Yes, you could do anything with Champions (I played it from 2e on, only giving up on the monstrous 6e), but you could do anything you wanted with MSG as well. If there wasn't a power to cover it, then just make it up. That's what the writers did. And let's not forget the Mayfair DC Heroes rules. Alright, you didn't want to be a gadgeteer under those rules, but the "one on many" rules gave highly skilled characters the same edge as high-powered characters.

[scadgrad]

I quite like Mutants and Masterminds to be honest. I played loads of Champions and various other HERO system games in the past, but M&M is a nice way of toning down Champions complexity, while still allowing players to go nuts w/ customizing their hero.