Unlike some other superhero RPGs, powers and skills don't come in "packages", and powers themselves are divided into distinct abilities. Here are a few great resources for finding DC Heroes stats for all kinds of characters, including DC, other comic companies and more:Ĭharacter creation in DC Heroes allows for virtually any concept you can think of. So in my opinion, even Marvel comics fans are better off using these rules than TSR's Marvel Superheroes RPG system or any system released for Marvel superheroes since then. It's also easy to find character stats for all kinds of non-DC superheroes and characters online.
In fact, I've found the system works well in multiple genres, provided a "cinematic" style of adventure is desired. But for those running a campaign with characters of diverse power levels, looking for a rock'em sock'em larger than life superhero/super villain experience, MEGS simulates the feel and scope of comic book action and characterization remarkably well. This may bother players running a strictly "street-level" campaign and who want every tiny detail of their characters to have clear effect on game play. So in the lower power levels, the difference between skill or strength between characters is not obvious. Each AP represents not one specific value, but a range of values. The system does sacrifice some detail in favor of speed and ease of play. Likewise, a few simple formulas included on the screen make it easy to determine how long it takes to travel any given distance at any given speed. So 5 APs is twice the distance of 4 APs and four times the distance of 3 APs.Īn easily referenced benchmark ruler on the GM screen makes "winging it" both easy and logically consistent. And each AP value is worth double the value preceding it. Distance, time, weight, intelligence, strength, density, charisma.everything. Everything in the game is measured in APs. As quickly as you can say "Battleship", the required number to be rolled for success is located and play proceeds.Īt the heart of the game is the exponential AP (Attribute Point) framework, which earned the system the nickname MEGS (Mayfair's Exponential Gaming System). Using these tables, the GM (Game Master, the player who acts as "referee") compares and cross references the stats of one character with the appropriate defensive stat of the character or object they are trying to damage or effect. Running vertically along the left edge and horizontally along the top are sequential ranges of numbers. But that's not to say it is "rules lite" or without an exhaustive structure with which to build and populate detailed worlds.Ĭentral to DC Heroes are two tables. The system is more about story and action than about stats and mechanics. (True, the first edition came with some reference cards and 2D cardboard character standups, but who used those?) Just rulebooks, dice and your imagination.
No miniatures, cards or extra fluff to buy. I didn't discover the game until about 1996, when it turned up like buried treasure in the back of a "hole in the wall" comic shop.ĭC Heroes is from the old-school of RPGs.
The first paper and pencil role-playing game I ever played was the first edition of the DC Heroes RPG, published by Mayfair Games in 1985.