Flashback: DC HEROES Role-Playing Game

DC HEROES First Edition (1985)

I said at the end of my last post that the next one would be a comparison between DC Adventures and DC HEROES, but before I get to that I would like to do a short flashback on the latter. The DC HEROES Role-Playing Game was published from 1985 to 1994 by Mayfair Games, a publisher known up until that time for their board games. Mayfair published three editions of the game, the first two being boxed sets, a mainstay in the world of 1980s role-playing games.

These boxes were jam-packed full of stuff: usually including a “Read This First” booklet, a Player’s Manual or Rules Manual, a Gamemaster’s Manual or Background/Roster Book, a Powers & Skills Book or Character Handbook, a Gamemaster’s Screen, a Teen Titans or Justice League adventure, 30 or more color character cards, and two (2) ten-sided dice. The 1985 first edition boxed set with the George Perez cover was released while the DC mega-event Crisis on Infinite Earths was taking place, so the DC Universe was in a bit of flux. Certain characters like Superman were statted out in their pre-Crisis versions. The 1989 second edition boxed set with the simple but iconic Superman/Batman cover cleaned up some issues with the game like the gadgetry rules and added an advantage/drawback system. The 1993 softcover third edition with foil-embossed cover (a sign of the times) cleared up some issues, but it was the least successful edition, most likely due to the fact that it wasn't a wonderful box filled to the rim with goodies.

DC HEROES Second Edition (1989)

The game used a system designed by Greg Gorden (one of the greatest designers in role-playing game history) and later revised by Ray Winninger (another legend). It has been referred to in many circles as the Mayfair Exponential Gaming System, or MEGS for short. The system used a measurement called an Attribute Point, or AP for short. The AP measured everything from distance to time and even space. For example, 0 APs of distance was the equivalent of 10 feet. The AP system was also exponential. An increase of 1 AP was a value double the previous AP. Therefore, a distance of 1 APs was double the value of 0 APs, or twenty feet. This allowed heroes of all power levels to co-exist in the same group and it also kept the game from breaking at high levels. In fact, a feature of DC HEROES was the fact that it could run a cosmic supers campaign with no difficulty. You could easily have Superman with his Strength of 25 APs bashing Darkseid with his Body of 16 APs and the system wouldn't strain from the Earth-shattering blow.

Characters themselves were statted out in nine attributes, arranged in a matrix. These included three physical attributes (Dexterity, Strength, Body), three mental attributes (Intelligence, Will, Mind), and three mystical attributes (Influence, Aura, Spirit). Out of any system I've ever seen, this is by far the most elegant and just flat out awesomest (is that a word?) way of handing attributes. It doesn't have too few attributes or too many and it emphasizes heroes who have strong mystical aspects from heroes who have strong mental aspects, something which other games don't do well or at all. Powers were arranged using the physical, mental, and mystical categories. The game included the kinds of powers normally found in the DC Universe. Everything from "Heat Vision", "Superspeed", to even "Eye of the Cat" could be selected as powers. In total, there were over 160 powers. There were also 14 skills in the game and they included everything from Acrobatics to Gadgetry. Like I mentioned earlier, advantages and drawbacks were added in second edition and they helped flesh out characters a bit, especially the street-level heroes and villains who had up until that time only attributes and skills to differentiate themselves from each other. That was always one of the points detractors have made about the system: street-level heroes and villains appear to be too "samey", that there isn't much of a difference between Robin and Nightwing when you boil down the numbers. I don't agree, and if you think it's a major problem in DC HEROES then Marvel Super Heroes must not be your bag either (a topic for another post). Characters also had a Wealth attribute, which allowed them to purchase equipment and pay for the cost of parts need to construct gadgets.



DC HEROES Third Edition (1993)

The game used two charts for task resolution, an Action Table and a Result Table. The Action Table relied on cross-referencing two numbers, an acting value and an opposing value (both rated in APs). This provided a success number that had to be met or exceeded using two ten-sided dice (rolling doubles allowed re-rolling of the dice). If you rolled better than the success number by certain margins, this provided you with Column Shifts, which helped provide you with better results on the appropriately-named Result Table. This table cross-referenced an Effect Value and a Resistance Value (rated in APs) and provided you with the result (in APs...there appears to be a system at work), which could mean anything from damage taken to how long a power worked, depending on what you were trying to accomplish. It was quite elegant. The biggest detraction the system had was that you had to use two charts. I had no problem with it but I mention it for the sake of a fair review.

Players were rewarded for in-character activity with Hero Points, which were used for everything from temporarily boosting attributes, recovery checks to avoid dying, building gadgets, and even character improvement. A player would have to bank quite a few HP to advance their characters, especially the more powerful they became. Some players considered this a hindrance. I considered it a virtue It was quite refreshing, really. A game emulating the source material. Characters in comics do not become more powerful after each adventure. It's one of the things that annoys me about Mutants & Masterminds to this day and I like that system.



Superman's Second Edition Stats


There were many supplements made for the game, including The Justice League Sourcebook, The World at War Sourcebook for the Golden Age of DC, and Magic, which was devoted to the mystical community of the DC Universe. These sourcebooks in particular were all magnificent and should be sought out even if you aren't a gamer. They are just excellent reading material. There were also many adventures made for the game, mostly for first edition, and three volumes of Who's Who In The DC Universe, which were similar to the DC comics line of character handbooks. If you are interested in the game, I would suggest finding the second edition boxed set and using that. I do have a soft spot in my heart for first edition since it's what I started with. The art in that boxed set is second to none, but I can't recommend it since they hadn't worked all the kinks out yet. I will also point out that even though the hero and villain stats are twenty years old they are still very accurate since comic characters rarely change over the years. DC Comics has been on Silver Age kick the last couple of years anyway with the return of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern and Barry Allen as the Flash so the stats still hold up.

It's a wonderful game, the system is very elegant and it's one of the best values for your gaming dollar. You can usually find one on eBay for $20-30 in fairly good condition or better. I have two boxes myself, one that I use for play and one that I keep pristine because of my OCD. I have great fondness for the game, and it's definitely in my top three role-playing games of all-time. I can't recommend it enough.

Special swipe-thanks to RPG Geek for the 2nd Edition scan, Once Upon a Geek for the First and Third Edition scans and Supergirl Comic Box Commentary for the Superman scan.