Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: Superhero Role-Playing
3/1/20264 min read
Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: Superhero Role-Playing
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…well, you get the idea.
Who wouldn’t want to be a superhero? Surely I’m not the only one reading this blog who has fantasized about being one. Growing up in the late ‘90s, there were a plethora of superhero cartoons to watch, like Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, and one of my all-time favorite cartoons: Freakazoid. Many hours of my youth were spent at local comic book stores, scouring the shelves for the latest issues detailing the dramatic exploits of my favorite superheroes.
Why Superheroes?
But what makes superheroes so endlessly appealing to fans of all ages? Maybe it’s the power fantasy aspect. The idea of having superpowers (or, in Batman’s case, the power of an infinite bank account) is certainly fun. Though that certainly is part of it, there’s something deeper than that. Superheroes show us a world in which heroes save the day, good triumphs over evil, and that one person can make a difference…even if that person is from Krypton. These, and many other reasons, are why superheroes and role-playing games are a natural fit.
Superheroes and Role-Playing Games
As I mentioned in a previous post, my first role-playing game experience was running the second edition of Mutants & Masterminds, a game which is now in its fourth edition! I still game quite frequently in the game’s default setting of Freedom City over at Freedom City Play by Post, a shared online world which has been around for nearly 20 years!
Over the years, I always come back to M&M. I’ll be starting an online campaign in a shared world I started just before COVID hit, and it’s going to be awesome.
I feel superheroes practically give you the epic moments that any great role-playing game story needs, but they do require a generous Gamemaster to let the story flow and be flexible about what happens. Although railroading isn’t great for any game, it’s better to write out a situation and let the players use their creativity and their character’s powers and abilities to figure out what to do.
Sample Scenario: Bank Robbery
Unlike in many fantasy games, such as Dungeons & Dragons (not that there’s anything wrong with D&D!), fights in superhero games should rarely be direct, drag-out, knock-down fights, where the two groups are slugging it out back and forth with a villain, trying to lower the other’s hit points to zero or whatever. Again, not to say that D&D necessarily does that, but there should always be some kind of twist to the fight, whether the hero encounters their weakness, there’s a potential for collateral damage, or civilians are in danger! Mutants & Masterminds calls these Complications, and earns the character a Hero Point for these dramatic points in a story.
As an example, let’s take a look at a scene using that most venerable of comic-book cliches: foiling a bank robbery!
The villains have broken into the vault of the Downtown Bank with their gang of henchmen, and they’re taking citizens hostage! So your situation is twofold: the superheroes need to take down the villains before they empty the vault (which is no doubt filled with giant sacks with dollar signs on them) and do so before they endanger any of their hostages. What’s a hero to do?
This is where the fun of superhero games lies: using your character’s strengths and weaknesses to create an awesome story. A Batman-type character would likely try to sneak into a conveniently-placed vent and take down the villains’ henchmen before anyone sees him, before rescuing the hostages. A Superman type would punch through the wall and fight the villains head-on, relying on his super-strength and powers to fight the villains directly while his teammates rescue the hostages.
But wait! One of the villains has Unobtanium, the rare mineral that your Superman-type character is weak against, and the villains refuse to let anyone go unless they talk to your Batman-type’s secret identity! And so the story goes. That back-and-forth of players using their powers to solve problems only to be temporarily thwarted by comic book tropes is what makes superhero storytelling so much fun.
Dramatic Hooks for Superhero Games
Superheroes' lives are always fraught with drama, which makes their stories perfect for role-playing games. Without dramatic devices such as secret identities, superhuman weaknesses, and, of course, supervillains, superhero comics would be very boring indeed. After all, who would Batman be without the Joker? Or Superman without Lex Luthor?
Many superheroes have secret identities to humanize them by giving them problems we lesser mortals experience.
Let’s use Spider-Man as an example: in his secret identity as Peter Parker, he works for the Daily Bugle, struggles to pay his rent, and is in love with Mary Jane. All of these make great hooks for superhero role-playing!
Let’s use these dramatic hooks to create a story for Spider-Man. Maybe his boss at the Daily Bugle sends Peter to take photos of a parade downtown, but of course, his archnemesis, the Green Goblin, is attacking the city at the same time. How does Peter maintain his secret identity while saving New York, and worse still, how does he pay the rent if he can’t take photos? Naturally, his love interest, Mary Jane, could be imperilled by the Green Goblin as well, leading to additional drama!
Just Have Fun
The point I’m driving at for superhero role-playing is this: don’t be afraid to use coincidence and suspend disbelief - that’s half the fun. Is it likely that Lex Luthor obtained yet another hunk of Kryptonite to torment Superman? No, probably not…it’s a radioactive chunk of a far-away planet, but that’s not the point. The point is that it challenges the powerful Superman, temporarily strips him of his powers, and adds drama to a comic-book story.
Despite several dour live-action movies (won’t say which), superhero comics are fun. There’s nothing wrong with having a good time making up superhero stories with your friends. Be flexible as a DM, lean into cliches, and just enjoy yourself. Be a good guy and save the day.
- Tanner
PS: A confession: there was a time in my life when I thought Spawn was the coolest character ever written. To be honest, he’s still kinda rad.
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