Mini Review - Resolute: Legacy (Superhero RPG)

I've been following the games produced by Splintered Realms Publishing for a while now.  They generally have a few things in common:  They're short, have a nice background story, simplified task resolution and a streamlined gaming system.  Well, that and the author tends to pull his old products off for sale when he is revising them, so as not to sell old when new is around the corner.

The first title to be revamped is the superhero RPG, which now bears the title Resolute: Legacy.  I'm loath to call it a "no frills" type of RPG, because the system is very complete.  It is however, art light (which I am fine with, as I've seen superhero art all my life - I know what it looks like) with a single column layout (which reads fine on my iPad).  Heck, your whole character sheet can fit on one side of a 3x5 index card. Did I mention everything gets resolved with a single D12?  Now that's streamlined.

Want to check out the character generation steps?

 1. Purchase Abilities.  You start with 30 CPs to spend in building your super.

You may spend your points however you desire; however, you may never

put more than half of your total CPs in any one ability.  (NOTE: Referees

may decide to begin games with more powerful supers; if this is the case,

the referee will tell you how many CPs you have to build your super).

2. Pick a Moniker.  This is your super’s nickname or code name. For some

supers, this is also their true or only name. When Modi, son of Thor  is your

given name, you don’t really need a moniker!

3. Decide on a Limitation.  Some supers have a limitation. You may elect to

take one limitation, or roll randomly for one. You are not required to take a

limitation, if you’d prefer not to. A limitation gives you bonus character

points at character creation to improve other abilities. (see next page). You

should only take one limitation at character creation.

 4. Develop a Purpose.  You have a primary objective that drives your actions.

Write this as a sentence. Your purpose is quite important; whenever you

take a significant step towards accomplishing your purpose in a scene, you

earn an extra +1 XP for that scene.

As you can see even character generation is pretty streamlined.

Supers is not on the top of my RPG genre list, which is kind of strange as I was a huge superhero comic book reader in my teen and early (and even later) adult years.  That being said, if I was going to run a supers game, Resolute: Legacy is the rules engine I would use.  It's about as complicated as I'd want it, and seems to handle what it sets out to handle well.  Besides, at less than 2 bucks, it's hard to go wrong. ;)

Still, I'll be waiting for Michael to come out with some fantasy and sci-fi conversions of the rules.  I'll be jumping on those in a heart beat.

From the blurb:


The wind billows your cape. It's truly beautiful up here above the sky, though you rarely get to notice anymore. The lush cloud tops spread out before you. The sun warms your face. You wish it could stay this way forever... or even for a few hours. But it cannot. Squaring your jaw, you turn downward, falling to earth. Under the clouds, the city waits. A fire burns in the north ward. The bank's familiar alarm chimes in the east. Far off on the water, something rises from the deep.

Your legacy calls.

Resolute: Legacy is the latest version of the Resolute game system. The little game of big superhero adventure gives you everything you need to create supers ranging from street-level brawlers to earth-shaking titans, and everything in between.

This revised, streamlined and intuitive superhero system features:
• A single D12 (or optional 2D6) dice mechanic for all action resolution.
• Complete rules for building all types of superhero characters, including detailed listings of over 60 abilities, and rules for customizing your abilities to fit your character concept.
• Rules for superhero-scale combat. If you want to pick up a car and throw it at a foe, project a force field, or crush your opponent in your bare hands, Resolute allows you to do it.
• A simple bonus system that scales all the way from characters who can barely lift 50 lbs. to those who can lift in excess of 500 tons.
• An evocative backdrop that provides seeds for ongoing campaigns, 12 adventure hooks, and rules for character advancement and refereeing the game.
• Rules for vehicles the supers can purchase and use.

Resolute's 1st and 2nd Editions were named a Popular Copper Picks on RPGNow, and both won praise from a number of reviewers. This new, streamlined version is the most elegant and versatile superhero system available.