The Supercrew Review

Sorry for the lack of steady updates. Things should get back on schedule around here and I'll update more often. This next game brings together 2 of my favorite hobbies, Comics and RPGs. The Supercrew is a fun light game that gives the feeling of a comic book or Saturday morning cartoons. It's been around for years and originally written in Sweden. It really hasn't gotten the praise it deserves. Most supers games have some rules I personally don't find appealing for the superheroes genre. Either too constrained or handle different powers too funky especially in long-term play. The Supercrew doesn't have this problem. It's designed to look and play like a comic. Only 28 pages long making it small to pack around. The rules are presented in full color comic book format that's funny to read and each session plays out as a issue.

The Supercrew is different because there isn't a list of powers. Players can have any 3 powers they can think up but they have to categorize and prioritize them. There's 6 categories (Attribute, Super Powers, Attack, Equipment, Control, Skill). All a player has to do is roll a 6 sided die 3 times and design their character's 3 powers around them. If a player wants to they can choose which 3 categories they want but I think it's more fun to have a random aspect. Creation is already free form enough so a little design challenge is better for game play. Players can't get everything they want and create a perfect combination of powers to make an already simple game too easy. That's just me. Categorizing powers is straightforward and done in grades. Grade 3 is a power that is very effective but can only used by spending a hero point. Grade 2 is the average and most used power for the character. Grade 1 is the weakest power but when used gives a hero point which unlocks more uses for grade 3 powers. Along with 3 powers each character gets 3 tricks. Each trick is connected to a power. They are basically an alternate way that power can be used. They can be used if a player gets a bad roll and wants to change the result. A trick can only be used anytime in game but their dice changing benefit can only be used once per session.

The resolution rules are similar to d6 but without the dice pools. The amount of dice rolled depends on the grade of the ability being used. So between 1 to 3 dice. 4,5,6's are successes. 6's give a bonus dice. The successes are totaled up to give what is called an effect. Any obstacle whether it be villains or a disaster is given a toughness level for the amount of effect needed to neutralize them. All obstacles are treated like players but depending on the difficulty can be given more hit point, abilities, and tricks. So to keep the game from being too easy all a GM has to do is increase the toughness. Players can in a pinch use their powers together to combine the total dice they can roll. This encourages the teamwork that superhero teams are famous for. All rolls are done before the scene. The highest effects go first and the lowest effects go last. When receiving damage a player can either roll a single reflex dice or make a more powerful defense roll. When making a defense roll a player uses an ability to defend themselves but can't attack later. Players only have a maximum damage of 3 but can't die. They're just knocked out for the scene. After each scene all players get their hit points back and fallen heroes get a hero point for taking one for the team. That's one of the benefits of being a superhero.

Players can change the story quite a bit in this RPG. This gives their heroes a more larger feel and makes it feel like everyone is collaborating in writing a comic book issue. If an ability isn't used dice aren't rolled. If dice are rolled the players get to describe how their ability was used used even if they fail. Players each session can use an anecdote. This lets players make-up a entire scene to help conquer a obstacle. They have to be relevant and creative though.

This is a great light supers game. You can get a free expansion to give long-term advancement rules that I highly recommend getting if you plan on playing more than one-shots. You can get The Supercrew in comic book and PDF download through Lulu. It's really cheap and well worth the money. Because of it's narrative and rule-light design it's my favorite superheroes RPG I own. The only rules light supers RPGs that might hold up to this is either B.A.S.H. or Truth & Justice but admittedly I don't own either one. The Supercrew has filled my superheroes RPG void but if I get a chance to play either of those I will.