Advanced FASERIP/Superhero RPG Setting: New York, New York 2009

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In reading Advanced FASERIP, I began thinking about the type of setting that I would set such a game in. The game notes that many superhero settings focus on the present day—and we see that in both comics and now in modern superhero films. There’s also the fun idea of playing in a given period, like the story we see in the Captain America: The First Avenger film. So I thought a bit about a time and place that would be interesting, more recent than the 1940s or 1970s, which are both eras I think of when I think of comic book heroes. I don’t feel like playing in the modern day—maybe I’ll feel different in ten years when it’s just a memory.

I landed on an alternative history version of 2009. Why that year? It’s one I remember. The 2000s were an interesting time, and the wake of the Recession a time of transition, even if we didn’t know it at the time. The forces of globalization and the resulting economic shifts still play an important role in our real world timeline. It’s also an interesting era for technology, where the iPhone and smartphone technologies, along with social media and the global internet were still emerging. Plenty of people were just getting their first cell phone, the flip phone was getting slimmer and sleeker—the US president had a BlackBerry he refused to get rid of upon entering office. Phone cameras were still developing, with images of low enough quality that in this timeline you could still perhaps not believe evidence of superheroes. 

Why New York? Because it’s an easy, clique place to set a pulpy story about superheroes. There were a reported 19 million inhabitants that year. Lots of people and places to explore. Iconic backdrops to choose from. And of course, it’s easy to go on the road if you need to, whether across the US, or across the world.

Advanced FASERIP Reactions

As I gradual work through my massive “to-be-read” pile of RPG materials. Advanced FASERIP caught my eye.

Advanced FASERIP is the second edition of a retroclone based upon the mechanics of the original 1980s Marvel Superheroes Roleplaying Game from TSR. This game is produced by Gurbintroll Games, which appears to be a single creator adapting legacy materials as retro clones under the OGL. The best thing about this is that the creator has released the book along with the first edition of the game as free products on DriveThruRPG. So there’s no reason not to grab your own copy after this article.

It’s noted in the intro that, like many retro clones, this version differs in several ways, such as allowing for more player choice in character creation, and other things to make it easier to play. I’ll note I have no previous experience with the original licensed game that FASERIP draws inspiration from.

While it took a couple read throughs of the basic rules for me to really grasp it, I was struck by how simple the core gameplay really is. Every attribute or ability is rated on a relative scale. How good a character is determines where they consult the x-axis on a universal resolution chart at the end of the book—this can be modified by various powers or circumstances. The y-axis result depends on your percentile die role. Then different categories of success drive interpretation by the GM. While tables aren’t most modern players preferred action resolution system, this isn’t a bad way to go, particularly considering the complexity of other options available when the original game was created. Though not from TSR, my thought often turn to Classic Traveller’s lack of such a common resolution mechanism in its skills application. As what many might consider an OSR game, Advanced FASERIP seems easier to both teach and implement as a GM for modern players to me.

The available powers provide a diverse set of options to create most popular superhero archetypes. As the book notes, it doesn’t seem difficult to design new powers or reskin existing ones either if you find a particular niche lacking. The rank system ensures that they should maintain parity if you model custom ones on those in the book.

NPCs are built on the same mechanics as player characters, which coming from modern asymmetric monster and NPC design, seemed odd to me. However, since all actions are based on the same core resolution mechanic, once NPC villains are made, it seems relatively easy to use them—certainly easier than some 5e stat blocks! The book provides some helpful stats for regular persons or bystanders that might appear in adventures, along with simple goons for those more bespoke supervillains. There are also options for random character creation that I imagine could be used to quickly create a group of villains.

The GM advice section is also worthy of some praise. It provides some useful general advice on creating adventures using the system while threading the needle on avoiding language or examples treading too close to its copyrighted inspiration.

Overall, I found this to be a retroclone I could actually use and teach players—which is perhaps the best praise I can give. The reference tables at the back make this even easier, however not all the info for action resolution and interpretation of the various color categories of success and failure are contained on those sheets, so those might need modifications for some GMs until they become familiar with them. My major criticism is that some of the explanations of rules are inconsistent in using their own mechanical definitions, making some sections more difficult to parse. There are also some tables within the rules that probably should have also been included in the consolidated reference sheets at the end for easy consultation.

These aside, Advanced FASERIP offers rules-lite superhero game for perhaps the best price point possible. With such a low barrier to entry, I recommend at least giving it a look.