Heroes of Nobilis (Superhero RPG Playtest)

[JamesDixon]

I'm working on Heroes of Nobilis which is a superhero RPG. It uses the same basic core rules as Damsels, Adventurers, and Dragons including class groups, THAC0, Saving Throws, and other core elements.

Origins are Normal Humans, Aliens, Gifted (my version of mutants), Android, Fantasy Races, Cyborg, Non-Humanoid Robot, Angel/Demon, Deity. Animal, Vegetable, and Abnormal Chemistry (Mineral, Gaseous, Liquid, Energy, Ethereal, Undead, and Compound).

Classes are the following:

Warrior Group: Brick, Martial Artist, and Speedster
Priest Group: Healer and Support
Rogue Group: Infiltrator, Gadgeteer, and Shape Shifter
Wizard Group: Mystic, Blaster, Mentalist, and Elementalist

Every character rolls up their states then use 160 base character points to pay for their origin, wealth, and power build.

The entire power system is built around "everything is a special effect" and modular. You can design the power your character has with upgrades and downgrades.

The characters all start at level 1. As for the world, it will be my own that I wrote for my deceased daughter when she was born. It's called Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation. IT:CoNC is a post apoc cyberpunk superhero world. The game year is going to 2250.

Date and time are open, except for on Saturdays due to my DAD Myths of Malignost game. I use Discord for voice and Tabletop Simulator for actual play.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

I'm interested in how this will go but right now I can't commit to anything because of how busy my work schedule is.

 

[JamesDixon]

I can work around you schedule. It's been decided for 830 PM EST on the time.

 

[Poseidon00]

I hope you are taking notes on City of Heroes because nobody does powerset or character diversity like they do and it's really the best part about these sorta games

In particular, things like sword, axe, mace, and spear/staff all have different powersets, as does dual-wielding, titan weapons, martial arts is distinct from Super Strength, etc. "Ice powers" can mean a several different things depending on your class and if they are an offensive or defensive set. Summoning and support is a viable build. You get the idea

 

[MerchantKing]

Are there any Gnome mentalgymnasticist superheroes?

 

[JamesDixon]

Are there any Gnome mentalgymnasticist superheroes?

There is the ability to create your favorite fantasy races, including genomes.

 

[JamesDixon]

I hope you are taking notes on City of Heroes because nobody does powerset or character diversity like they do and it's really the best part about these sorta games

In particular, things like sword, axe, mace, and spear/staff all have different powersets, as does dual-wielding, titan weapons, martial arts is distinct from Super Strength, etc. "Ice powers" can mean a several different things depending on your class and if they are an offensive or defensive set. Summoning and support is a viable build. You get the idea

Hero System did it better. You have generic powers that you apply a special effect to. A fireball and an iceball are mechanically the same. The only difference is how they look, feel, sound, etc...

 

[skeletonmeister]

Where can I find that Damsels, Adventurers, and Dragons game? Tried searching but got nothing.

 

[JamesDixon]

Where can I find that Damsels, Adventurers, and Dragons game? Tried searching but got nothing.

It's being edited and proofed right now by JarlFrank.

 

[JarlFrank]

Still gonna take a while, right now the best way to experience the game is to ask to play in JamesDixon's bi-weekly Saturday sessions

 

[JamesDixon]

Either that or play Heroes of Nobilis.

 

[Alex]

I hope you are taking notes on City of Heroes because nobody does powerset or character diversity like they do and it's really the best part about these sorta games

In particular, things like sword, axe, mace, and spear/staff all have different powersets, as does dual-wielding, titan weapons, martial arts is distinct from Super Strength, etc. "Ice powers" can mean a several different things depending on your class and if they are an offensive or defensive set. Summoning and support is a viable build. You get the idea

Hero System did it better. You have generic powers that you apply a special effect to. A fireball and an iceball are mechanically the same. The only difference is how they look, feel, sound, etc...

Speaking of which, why not use the Hero System for this game?

 

[JamesDixon]

I hope you are taking notes on City of Heroes because nobody does powerset or character diversity like they do and it's really the best part about these sorta games

In particular, things like sword, axe, mace, and spear/staff all have different powersets, as does dual-wielding, titan weapons, martial arts is distinct from Super Strength, etc. "Ice powers" can mean a several different things depending on your class and if they are an offensive or defensive set. Summoning and support is a viable build. You get the idea

Hero System did it better. You have generic powers that you apply a special effect to. A fireball and an iceball are mechanically the same. The only difference is how they look, feel, sound, etc...

Speaking of which, why not use the Hero System for this game?

Because Hero Games are a bunch of commie asses. In 2010 I had a license to publish my world, but due to life I couldn't get it done. I went to get a new license in 2023 and I was told that my setting was not politically aligned with their communism. So I created Heroes of Nobilis as I will own the ability to publish my setting. Fuck Jason Walters and Hero Games.

 

[Alex]

I'm working on Heroes of Nobilis which is a superhero RPG. It uses the same basic core rules as Damsels, Adventurers, and Dragons including class groups, THAC0, Saving Throws, and other core elements.

Origins are Normal Humans, Aliens, Gifted (my version of mutants), Android, Fantasy Races, Cyborg, Non-Humanoid Robot, Angel/Demon, Deity. Animal, Vegetable, and Abnormal Chemistry (Mineral, Gaseous, Liquid, Energy, Ethereal, Undead, and Compound).

Classes are the following:

Warrior Group: Brick, Martial Artist, and Speedster
Priest Group: Healer and Support
Rogue Group: Infiltrator, Gadgeteer, and Shape Shifter
Wizard Group: Mystic, Blaster, Mentalist, and Elementalist

Every character rolls up their states then use 34 character points to pay for their origin, wealth, and power build.

The entire power system is built around "everything is a special effect" and modular. You can design the power your character has with upgrades and downgrades.

The characters all start at level 1. As for the world, it will be my own that I wrote for my deceased daughter when she was born. It's called Inceptum Terminus: Chronicles of the New Confederation. IT:CoNC is a post apoc cyberpunk superhero world. The game year is going to 2250.

Tentative day is Monday and time is yet to be determined for EST. I already have one player. I use Discord for voice and Tabletop Simulator for actual play.

My time is a bit messed up still, so I won't try joining at this time. But if you don't mind, can you be a "summoner" in your system? For instance, being a mad doctor that uses his creations to do the fighting for him (among other things). Allso, what kind of campaign do you have in mind?

 

[JamesDixon]

Yes, a summoner can be done. You can pick any class then define the Summon power as you see fit. Minor servants are cheap to get, but more powerful ones cost a lot of points.

Inceptum Terminus is a world shaped by divergence. Instead of following the path of history, someone turned right. The shift began in 1945, when the Allies chose to support Chiang Kai-Shek against Mao, leading to a democratic China. With China backing the United States, the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam ended in victories, changing the geopolitical balance of power.

But history did not stabilize. Armageddon came—nuclear fire, biological plagues, and chemical warfare—collapsing nations and drowning the world in destruction. The United States government fell, leaving behind the MegaCorps, which seized power and reshaped what remained into the Corporate States of America.

A century after the Fall, the world had settled into a fragile, oppressive order. Then, humanity began to change. The long-term effects of the radiation, chemicals, and engineered viruses caused mutations in the human genome, leading to the emergence of superpowered individuals. They were called the Gifted.

Every MegaCorp declared the Gifted non-human, stripping them of all rights. They became weapons of war, living assets used solely to keep their owning MegaCorp in power.

Cybernetics are widespread, but not all are accepted. For the lower classes, mechanical implants are seen as abominations, unnatural replacements that cause the body to reject them. The wealthy, however, use cloned body parts cultivated from their own tissue, genetically modified to be superior.

Magick is real and follows strict ritualistic traditions. It is not a loose, chaotic force but something that must be channeled properly. The five major schools of magick are Kabbalism, Sufism, Hermetic Thaumaturgy, Voodoo, and Shamanism. Those who wield magick do so through the Sephiroths, drawing upon aspects of God’s essence.

The year is 2250, and the fragile balance is over. The New Confederation has declared war on the Corporate States of America.

The Corporate States include:

• High Plains Alliance (BioGenetics)
• Southern States of America (Travers Entertainment Network)
• Trans-Missouri Freehold (The only independent republic with an elected government)
• Republic of West Coast States (Cyberware )
• Southwestern Militarized Zone (Lonestar Development)
• Consolidated Great Lake States (Global Motors Corporation)
• Pacific Northwest Shogunate (Mitsu-Pan, an extension of the Japanese Empire)
• Atlantic Northeast States (Dai-HK, Daimler-Heckler & Koch)
• Rocky Mountain Confederation (Wetware )
• New Confederation (Formed by outcasts, seeking to reestablish the U.S. under a new Articles of Confederation)

Trans-Missouri Freehold is a unique exception. Its controlling MegaCorp, Gateway Consolidated Aerospace, turned over control to the people in response to GMC purging over 1.5 million civilians to stop the spread of The Patriot and the Children of Liberty.

Every MegaCorp rules differently, shaping its Corporate State according to its own system of governance. Life is cheap. Society reflects this through its sports, entertainment, and constant surveillance.

The most immersive form of entertainment is Holovid technology, which allows viewers to experience not just the visuals but the emotions, sensations, and physical states of those being broadcast. Audiences don’t just watch—they live the experience.

The world of Inceptum Terminus blends multiple genres, creating a setting unlike any other:

• Cyberpunk (Corporate control, technological oppression)
• Superhero (The rise and exploitation of the Gifted)
• Biopunk (Genetic engineering, cloning, wetware)
• Western (Lawless frontiers, corporate enforcers, survival in the wastelands)
• Film Noir (Crime, corruption, and power plays)
• Political Thriller (The war between the New Confederation and the Corporate States)
• Sci-Fi Military (Advanced weapons, cybernetic soldiers, corporate warfare)

This is not a world of clear heroes or villains. It is a world of power struggles, survival, and control. The question is not who is right or wrong, but who will still be standing when history is written again.

That's the world in a nutshell and as for the campaign that is up to the players.

 

[JamesDixon]

Well work has been coming along quickly. I've removed some origins due to them being able to be done via powers.

A new setting will be part of the core rulebook. I decided to call it Paragons of the New Century and the year is tentatively set in 1912. It'll be a golden age supers setting.

 

[JamesDixon]

Okay seems like all the people that said they wanted to play dropped out. Date and time for the game is flexible for the group to decide. Saturdays is the only day not available due to my DAD Myths of Malignost campaign.

JarlFrank can tell you how I run games since he is the human leader in the Myths of Malignost game.

 

[JarlFrank]

JamesDixon runs his campaigns with a focus on player agency. No railroading here, but choices and consequences.

Don't be a pussy when you're hit by those consequences though.