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Hey guys:

I'm looking at picking this up, but am really in the dark as to how well this game does supers games in general.

I'm looking for something that can handle power levels from X-men to the hulk.

And any comments re: the game in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ahead of time

Well I think it can cover it all (not just starting book) but anything not in there you could make yourself or maybe even find here on the forums. ^^

Ok, no conversions here, but for sheer power level yeah you can pretty much get there. Although HU2's lifting scale is a bit lower than say Marvel. The character you mention above can lift (according to their material) 100 tons. The strongest NPCs I've seen in a book were in Century Station with Supernatural PS of over 100. Now IIRC (don't have the book in front of me) the HU2 strength scale, is PSx500 for lifting in pounds. which comes out to 50'000 pounds, or 25 tons. So not bad by any stretch, but you'd have a hard time getting much higher than that and have it book legal. Hell iirc those NPC aren't book legal despite appearing in published material lol. But I personally love HU2, and honestly you really can create any type of hero/villain you want. And if you want to emulate famous copy written characters for your home games, at this point between the main book and the Powers Unlimited trilogy (also highly recommend Armageddon Unlimited for extra character types/variants and power types/variants.) You can really create anything your mind comes up with if you can be flexible.

Palladium scales very poorly in that regard. It has no concept of scale, just numbers, which get bigger and bigger.

The closer to 'real' your games need to be, the easier it is to use Palladium. Anything higher and you will have a mess of numbers that get in each other's way.

Batts

the H.U. second edition book offers a lot of power sets that allow you to create your favorite X character. after my rifts game ended i tried 4eDnD(boooooo) so i picked up this game, awesome actually.

I don't know if I am allowed to pimp other games, but I think BASH! Ultimate Edition is pretty cool. It has a mechanic to allow characters of differing power levels on the same team, or the Angel Summoner/BMX Bandit problem, as I call it.

Brian

The strongest NPCs I've seen in a book were in Century Station with Supernatural PS of over 100. Now IIRC (don't have the book in front of me) the HU2 strength scale, is PSx500 for lifting in pounds. which comes out to 50'000 pounds, or 25 tons. So not bad by any stretch, but you'd have a hard time getting much higher than that and have it book legal.

Isn't that what Gravity Manipulation is for?

Some people who want to be really strong might not want the power of gravity manipulation. Would be a different type of character, to me at least.

Heroes Unlimited is one of my favorite supers games, and probably one of my favorite games period!

That being said, here's what I always say about the game: It is great for creating characters inspired by your favorite comics. It is not great for recreating exact characters from the comics. It's not a toolbox... it's more like the author's take on various popular comic book tropes and themes, and how he thought they should work.

Want to create a human bombarded by radiation from an experiment, who becomes a monstrous beast? No problem! Can you literally make "The Hulk", who can do all the things he does in the comics? Not really.

Want to create a street level vigilante with insect powers, who can cling to walls? Go for it! Want to be Spider-Man? eh, not exactly.

The game really has its own flavor, and as you play, you will find awesome, fun combos of powers and skills you never really would have thought of before. I love it, but go into it intending to have fun playing an original superhero. Don't expect it to perfectly recreate other characters, because that is really not it's strength.

Mediapig71 wrote:Heroes Unlimited is one of my favorite supers games, and probably one of my favorite games period!

That being said, here's what I always say about the game: It is great for creating characters inspired by your favorite comics. It is not great for recreating exact characters from the comics. It's not a toolbox... it's more like the author's take on various popular comic book tropes and themes, and how he thought they should work.

Want to create a human bombarded by radiation from an experiment, who becomes a monstrous beast? No problem! Can you literally make "The Hulk", who can do all the things he does in the comics? Not really.

Want to create a street level vigilante with insect powers, who can cling to walls? Go for it! Want to be Spider-Man? eh, not exactly.

The game really has its own flavor, and as you play, you will find awesome, fun combos of powers and skills you never really would have thought of before. I love it, but go into it intending to have fun playing an original superhero. Don't expect it to perfectly recreate other characters, because that is really not it's strength.

Well put.

Bravo, Mediapig71.

i use the books for a long time to create my rifts characters. the game itself is great i draw ideas from other sources but in the end i prefer my original creation.this gives me the tools to do that.i still after ten years have never played played a heroes unlimited character in heroes unlimited.

What I like about Palladium is that it has it's own distinct flavor to the creation of heroes and how you apply the abilities. While at the same time it feels like a comfy pair of old shoes. And it's easy to plug and play. Coming over from the TSR Marvel games, almost 20 years ago, to Palladium was a great idea and I haven't looked back.

Edited to get on the Pro and Con topic
-Easy system to learn; Takes quite a bit of modding though (but what system doesn't)
-It's own flavor of Super hero building; Hard to copy the power levels you read in comics (not a big deal to me)
-Just about every class of hero covered; Technology is really lacking
-Tons of powers and abilities to choose from; Once you've made a character there isn't much for leveling up for most characters other than damage increase and range increases. No official for stunting powers, however easily modded.

All in all, I love this system. And after 20 years of it, I don't see myself jumping ship. Other systems come and go but I really dig this one. Its also been easy for me to get new players acclimated to the system. Not a ton messy charts and the books are laid out for easy character generation. For all its weaknesses I find its strengths way too hard to just give up for something else. But I'm a huge fan and have spent 20 years of molding and shaping my campaign world and modding the rules to fit into it. Not a lot of modding but just some to hasten combat and bring a little realism when I need it.
Good luck and happy gaming!

wolfsgrin wrote:What I like about Palladium is that it has it's own distinct flavor to the creation of heroes and how you apply the abilities. While at the same time it feels like a comfy pair of old shoes. And it's easy to plug and play. Coming over from the TSR Marvel games, almost 20 years ago, to Palladium was a great idea and I haven't looked back.

agreed now if they only had a place where you play that new hero.lol

say652 wrote:

wolfsgrin wrote:What I like about Palladium is that it has it's own distinct flavor to the creation of heroes and how you apply the abilities. While at the same time it feels like a comfy pair of old shoes. And it's easy to plug and play. Coming over from the TSR Marvel games, almost 20 years ago, to Palladium was a great idea and I haven't looked back.

agreed now if they only had a place where you play that new hero.lol

Aside from Century Station and a few support books, it is lacking in the "place to play" realm. For me though, this is exactly what I love about Heroes. You create your own setting. The real world is a great place to start. Think of any given problem we have in the real world and ask yourself, what would a superhero do?

wolfsgrin wrote:

say652 wrote:

wolfsgrin wrote:What I like about Palladium is that it has it's own distinct flavor to the creation of heroes and how you apply the abilities. While at the same time it feels like a comfy pair of old shoes. And it's easy to plug and play. Coming over from the TSR Marvel games, almost 20 years ago, to Palladium was a great idea and I haven't looked back.

agreed now if they only had a place where you play that new hero.lol

Aside from Century Station and a few support books, it is lacking in the "place to play" realm. For me though, this is exactly what I love about Heroes. You create your own setting. The real world is a great place to start. Think of any given problem we have in the real world and ask yourself, what would a superhero do?

i ment i have never met another H.U.player everybody wants to play in mdc realms. so i get called a "munchkin" for rockin spandex in their rifts game.lol

I an eat up playing a super-hero just usually dont have a chance to.

Thanks guys! I'm gonna take the plunge and pick 'er up.

I would highly recommend Century Station, Gramercy Island, and the GM's guide as well. Lot's of great NPC's that really showcase the kinds of characters you can build. Also, the GM's guide contains some equipment and combat rules that were not included in the main book. (weapon stats, bullet penetration rules, using massive objects as weapons, etc.)

Nice!

Love to hear your thoughts after you get a hold of it! Hope you enjoy it!

IMHO:
It can't. not without ignoring some rules
No limit on given powers, so you can have XPS x 5 minors if you want
Don't limit skills

Here is a resource for MSH: http://www.classicmarvelforever.com/cast_list/all.htm


But I do love the game despite kevetching. However I have house ruled it to death after 20 years