High Stakes: A superhero game using cards

[etheruk]

Hello

I'm in the early stages of designing a new superhero roleplaying system. One that can accurately represents the conflicts in the comic books.

The heart of the system is that instead of dice you use playing cards and players stake poker chips from three pools that represent their characters. The three pools are:
Power: which covers their super abilities and skills
Plot: which is their ability to affect people with their words (either calming them or inflicting stinging one liners) and also to shape the world around them to take advantage of their surroundings (for example causing a truck to pull out in front of an escaping getaway car)
Resources:  which covers everything from equipment, vehicles and contacts the character has.

When resolving tasks the gamesmaster assigns a number (selecting a card that matches that number) and a player, or a group of players stake a number of chips from their pools. Each person explains what the chips they are staking represents. For example a player trying to put out a fire might stake three chips from his power pool and describe putting out the flames using his super speed to whip up strong winds, or he might use three plot points to describe how there is a nearby water tower which he can knock over the flames, or he might even use resource chips to describe calling in his pilot friend to drop water on the fire from the air.

If they equal or exceed the number on the card they win. In this manner a hero can succeed at most tasks simply by staking a lot of chips, the question becomes how much effort are they willing to put into succeeding at the task.

In combat each person involved draws a card but keeps it to themselves. Each player then places chips from their pools, describing what they are doing in combat. Each person must match the current ante and/or raise it. This process continues until someone calls the cards and everyone who can match the current ante reveals their card.

The side with the highest card wins (either the good guys or the bad guys) gains the chips that were staked and can divide it among themselves. In this manner a team of four heroes against one villain has a better chance of possessing the winning card  but there is still a chance they'll lose.

Now my question relates to the results of the first few playtests I have carried out. The group consisted of players more used to old school roleplaying games and while they enjoyed it questioned whether the game should also use dice and some form of health system.

To my mind the cards provide the random factor in combat. I wanted the player to know what his chances were in combat but to make the most of it. If you have a good card you don't want your opponent to know as you want him to stake as many chips as possible so you can win them, increasing your strength while weakening him. If you have a bad card there is a chance you can bluff your opponent and cause him to fold (folding allows a player to leave combat and remove half of the chips he has staked) or even wait for a minion to strike you (which changes the card you hold). If you have an average card there is a chance you're opponent has a worse card and he's just bluffing you.

I wanted combat to be much more a battle of wills. I think this is an accurate portrayal of comic book fights as the heroes make creative use of their abilities. Rather than rolling for each action anything you say succeeds (for example every punch will land, every blast hits it's target, every crazy stunt is pulled off). Only when those cards are revealed to you find out if all that effort was worth it. Will your enemy collapse from the onslaught or shrug it off and charge back into the fray?

As for a health system I think that the use of chips covers this nicely. In comics the heroes and villains can bash away at each other for pages without drawing blood, breaking bones or accidentally killing each other. Instead one of them will become exhausted while the other still has the advantage.

Losing chips to an opponent can be seen as losing hit points or becoming weaker. Yet you still have a chance to win them back in the next round and get back your second wind.

What I wanted was a simple, versatile system that allowed any hero, no matter how weak to have a chance against an opponent, no matter how strong. Whether one hero was invulnerable while another was just a man using gadgets I wanted them to be equally effective in any situation.

So any thoughts? Does this system still need dice and a health system?

Thanks in advance for any feedback

[Creatures of Destiny]

So basically if you stake chips equal to the task number you suceed right? And if you suceed you win back the chips, but if you fail you lose them? If that's the case then what's to stop you always playing all your chips with no risk?

I like this idea, and no I don't think it needs health or dice added. I think it could becool if chips staked on one thing are tied up and can't be used if something else comes up before that situation is resolved. Say you're whipping up winds to blow out the fire, then your three chips are tied up in that. If you see someone jumping out of the building and want to save them, then you can only play your remaining chips, then if you get attacked you might have 3 power chips tied up in putting out the fire, 2 plot chips tied up in catching the jumper in your wind to carry them to the safety of a nearby mattress factory or whatever. So you need to play with whateve's left or abandon some of your earlier stuff (let the fire burn, let the jumper fall.

It makes me think of the opening scene of the Incredibles...

[etheruk]

When resolving a task chips bet are lost. As you say, if that wasn't the case then you could just bet 10 chips no matter the situation and know you'll get them back.

In this way a player knows that he could overcome a task but in doing so he'd become exhausted as his chips dwindled. Therefore he has to decide just how much effort is he putting into completing the task. It also encourages teamwork as players pool their resources.

There is no cap for any characters abilities so the only guide to how strong they are is how many chips they're putting into the task. For example a character with super strength usually gets by being no stronger than lifting the occasional car. Now he finds himself in a situation where a building is about to collapse. He announces he's going to try supporting the building until the people escape and throws in 15 chips. He succeeds but will now be too tired. Despite this he is a true hero for sacrificing so much energy for others.

Players gain more chips in a variety of ways. At the end of each scene the gamesmaster gives a number of chips to each player that helped in the challenges they faced. These chips will usually be somewhere between 1 and 10 so won't completely refill their pools.

In addition each character has a supporting NPC cast member linked to each of their pools (power, plot, resource). Once per game when they have a scene centring around the character (that is the character isn't just there but is the focus) a card is drawn and the player receives that number of chips for their relevant pool.

For example Peter Parker might have J Jonah Jameson as his Resource NPC and draws a card when he goes to the Daily Bugle to sell photos. Aunt May could be his power NPC, allowing him to draw a card as he reminds himself why he fights crime. Mary Jane might be his Plot NPC, allowing him to draw a card as she helps focus his mind and put the pieces of wave of crimes together. 

In this manner players are encouraged to create the world around them and give them a game reason to do so.

Additionally a player can make a Revelation once per game. Making a statement (which will then become true) about their character that effects how people react to them. The bigger the statement the more chips. A minor revelation was revealing a personal connection to a bad guy, a major revelation would be that the character is in love with a NPC and a worldshattering revelation would be revealing their secret identity or that they're actually a clone of an original hero (possibly from the future).

This should help to create the dramatic lives of superheroes were things are rarely static.

[danielsan]

Supers?! I'm in! (I started a thread with an idea I had for using cards in a spy game -- look below for my "Trump power 19" post -- and I actually am thinking of turning it into a supers game, myself.)

I like your ideas here. Very story-driven, which I love, and the bluffing/poker-esque elements is nice but simplified. The hole point of 'chips' for effort makes me think of the recent MURPG game, which used 'stones' for effort. Did you get inspired by that I wonder? I helped create the Unofficial Spider-Man Guide, in my sig, I think.

Okay, so, here's some observations:   

In this way a player knows that he could overcome a task but in doing so he'd become exhausted as his chips dwindled. Therefore he has to decide just how much effort is he putting into completing the task. It also encourages teamwork as players pool their resources.

I like this a lot!

There is no cap for any characters abilities so the only guide to how strong they are is how many chips they're putting into the task

This I have a hard time with. How will you differentiate between Hulk-strength and Batman-strength? This is the key thing that every supers game has to contend with. Plus, on the face of it, there's no need for attributes or anything. How can the players differentiate between the effectiveness of Spider-Man and Wolverine? Why play Hawkman at all if you can play with flashy descriptions of Superman, or why play Superman when Hawkman can put just as much effort into things?

Players gain more chips in a variety of ways

This is a little vague in your description, but I think it has to be answered more specifically for you to get an honest critique. It feels like this could be a significant mechanic to your system, so I feel you may have glossed it over.
First, you say the Gm can dole them out "to each player that helped in the challenges." Is it arbitrary? Is it based on *how* each player helped, or *to what extent* perhaps? It also won't refresh their pool entirely? I'd be careful of this, as the MURPG often didn't refresh the pool entirely, leading to a death spiral that turned many away from the game. (In other words, yes, I think you'd need a seperate health system.) Second, the supporting NPC. I love this idea, and fits your motives well. But it also feels kinda tacked-on, since it can only be used, what, like 3 times per session? So it's not a major focus of the ebb and flow of chips, it's kinda a "nice to have" bonus. Instead, maybe there's a way that players can 'compel' these NPCs by invoking them as you've described, but each time they do so, it also gives them a debt the GM can use against them later. (Yes, I did get that idea from Spirit of the Century.)

The side with the highest card wins (either the good guys or the bad guys) gains the chips that were staked and can divide it among themselves.

There's certainly an advantage here when fighting those pesky multiple opponent teams. I can envision each villain getting a card face down, so the Gm has a hand while the players just get their one each, but have to play as a team. (I'd also envision a lot of table talk as players try to figure out who has the highest card among them.) Hmm, what happens when there's a tie? Does each 'side' split the chips?     
 
So, all in all, a neat system idea, but it might take some work and a bit more crunch to fit a supers genre, to me. 

[etheruk]

To be clear these are the ways to gain new chips:
Use supporting cast member
Complete scene
Make revelation
Ask the gamesmaster to create a plot complication. The larger the problem the more chips awarded.
Players can donate chips to each other (to show mutal support).
Patrol city for crime:
Three rows of three cards (9 cards in all) are placed to represent several city blocks. Players pick a card and consult a chart to see if they have encountered a crime. Stopping the crime (anything from dangerous driving to a bank robbery) awards the numerical value of the card in chips.

The amount of chips awarded for a scene is in relation to the difficulty number of the tasks during that scene. If a scene had two tasks with a difficulty of 2 then the scene would give an award of 3-6 points (depending on the gamesmaster) to anyone who contributed chips to overcoming those tasks. Depending on how many chips you expend you'll either fill your pools or be short by a few chips.

Winning a conflict will usually net a large amount of chips and in our playtests this kept the groups pools filled. A gamesmaster can therefore pace the adventure to have a several scenes with just tasks to lower the groups pools and then have them face a conflict that can refill their pools. In the meantime the players have the option to boost the number of chips they have through roleplaying scenes with their supporting cast.

So far this has avoided a death spiral. I have heard of the Marvel system using beads but not actually read the rules.

In regards to ability caps I wanted the system to be simple and flexiable enough to cover all superheroes and give the players creative control to make the most of their abilities. The biggest restriction is that a character would have to tie what they are doing to the powers they have described their character having at the start of the game.

For example a character with superspeed could describe actions that not only included moving quickly but creating strong winds, vibrating to pass through solid objects or learning information very quickly be speed reading books. He could describe how he telepathically controlled a criminal.

Therefore the difference between Superman and Hawkman becomes descriptive. Hawkman couldn't describe lifting a building because super strength isn't part of his powers. However he could describe using memories of his previous incarnations to use a necessary skill or perform a very difficult flying maneouvre which Superman couldn't.

What I wanted was to allow each players hero to be equally good. They are all compedant in their own areas and can push themselves in those chosen areas even if it exhausts them.

The gamesmaster has a guide to difficulty. Tasks that would be within human capabilities range in difficulty from 1 to 6. 7-10 covers tasks that superheroes commonly perform including lifiting a vehicle to lifting a building. 11 to 20 cover astounding feats such as racing around the world, growing plants in the desert and lifting mountains. 21-30 is the upper range and cover things like moving planets.

Using this he can decide if a hero even has the ability to perform the required task. For example a character who is telepathic but otherwise human wouldn't be able to justify performing a task about 6. If a character can fly who is to say just how fast they could move if they put the effort in?

In my view the gamesmaster should be a combination of editor and avid fan. He is there to be entertained by the players creativity but also to pull them back in if they create continuity issues (displaying powers they never mentioned before, making revelations that contradict other revelations, etc).

[vgunn]

Any further development on this? Sounds like it had promise.

[etheruk]

Yes, I'm continuing to tweak the system.

Thanks to the feedback here I've put a little more definition to the characters abilities. A player assigns chips to Power, Plot and Resource Pools but then uses those chips to assign ranks to qualities.

For example the superpower movie star Prima Dona, has Power: 54. She can now assign 54 chips to various superpowers which results in Invulnerability: 20, Strength: 20, Combat Reflexes: 5, Enchanted Sword: 9.

When staking a character can only stake equal or less to their rank. Unless they go 'All or Nothing' which involves them staking all their chips in that pool. In addition they can combine qualities from any of their three pools (but not more than one quality from a single pool). For example a superhero is trying to unlock an electronic door. In his Power pool he has the quality Electricity Control at rank 5. He wishes to stake more than this so combines this with his Plot pool quality Lockpicking at rank 8.

Hopefully this will give greater definition to the characters and allow interesting combinations of powers, skills and resources.

I've tried to add various things to emulate comics as much as possible. For example each game is an 'issue' and rewards the characters with an extra chip at the end of the game and landmark games (1st, 10th, 12th, 50th, etc) get more so a group can decide to 'relaunch' their title (which requires a change to the setup of the group such as a change of location, costume or mission statement of the group).

Also games close with each player stating an open questions (Who is Alpha Omega?  What is the surprising secret of Rock Dove's family?  What lies beneath the Museum of Pain?  What can Rebound do when the city burns?) This can inspire future games and gives additional chip rewards if a question is answered.

So yes, I'm still working away at it. I'm hoping to put together a rough pdf of the rules for playtesting sometime. Thanks for your interest.

[etheruk]

Well I've finally done it, I've put together a rough draft of the rules. If anyone has the time I'd appreciate any feedback people can give me. The link to the pdf is:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=a9c6bde93a8d481bd2db6fb9a8902bda

[etheruk]

I can see that quite a few people have downloaded the pdf. Has anyone had the chance to look it over? Any thoughts? Suggestions?