Superlatives is a superhero roleplaying game released in 2020 after a 2018 Kickstarter campaign.
The game uses a form of continuous character creation based upon recording your character's previous achievements (and failures) from which your characters’ ability to perform subsequent feats are extrapolated.
Although the game is setting neutral, there are several official settings available to Kickstarter backers, which the author has indicated will eventually be published for wider consumption.
It is supported by the author’s blog
and can be found here.
Superlatives contains examples of:
- '90s Anti-Hero: Thief Man isn’t exactly the sort of hero you would expect to see in the silver age. Shiv Man, (a hero who fights with a shiv) may fit as well, although he tries to be more likable than is normal for this trope.
- Alternate Continuity: One way to interpret the game’s multiple settings.
- Animal-Themed Superbeing: Perfectly possible to create, and the core bestiary includes Robert “The Rat King”, Black Dog and Dragon Man.
- Axe-Crazy: Major Devastation, Sister Dismal, Graverobber and Silence.
- Badass Normal: A few sample characters, like Agent Romeo or Doctor Death. More generally players are able to swap out superpowers for skillpoints.
- Beware the Superman: If you believe the official history of The City setting the local dictator Supreme started out this way.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Karen F Staples, whose moral code is based upon the employee handbook of a stationary retailer.
- Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: Flare.
- Captain Ersatz: As usual for superhero works, there are a few here.
- Sea Star stands in for Namor.
- Visionary and Captain Liberty stand in for Iron Man and Captain America respectively
- Captain Superhero: Surprisingly rare given many of the characters have military training, although the Ultra Base setting includes Captain Indominable and Nightworld Captain Liberty.
- Parodied with Chief Petty Officer Perfection- a minor character mentioned in the Opportunity setting.
- Celebrity Masquerade: Red Arrow is a famous actor who uses his acting skills to infiltrate criminal conspiracies before breaking out his superpowers.
- Clark Kenting: Ariadne’s identity is nominally secret, even though she just wears Civvie Spandex and Cool Shades.
- Code Name: Of course many characters have separate superhero and civilian names. The Olympian pantheon take this further with many gods having at least three names: their Greek name, their Roman name and the name under which they pose in modern society.
- Color Character: Red Arrow. The Red bit is justified by his fire control powers, although there is no mention of bows in his write up.
- The Cowl: Umbras.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: In one blog the author complains “it can get unconvincing if these ingenious characters use their enormous skill in building functioning wardroids out of mechano playsets for nothing more clever or original than breaking into a bank.” This doesn’t stop him from filling the book with super intelligent villains, but most of them have goals beyond mere lucre.
- Dark Age of Supernames: Warhound and Villain Killer, AKA Mind Butcher.
- Disability Superpower: Having a disability makes you immune to stuff that would affect people who don't have the disability.
- Disposable Superhero Maker: Known as “uncontrolled origins.”
- Domino Mask: Worn by Snowflake from the cover.
- Enlightenment Superpowers: Amrak and Circle.
- Everyone Is a Super: Mentioned briefly as an option
- Freak Lab Accident: Clarity is a particularly ridiculious example, having gained their antimatter powers from falling into a particle accelerator. How did he fall into a particle accelerator?
- Funwith Acronyms : [[Cult The Honourable Order Of New Eden]] (T.H.R.O.N.E) and Security, Espionage, Confidentiality and Risk Emollition Taskforce (S.E.C.R.E.T).
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: With enough imagination and good rolls any power can be horrifically effective.
- Keep the Home Fires Burning: Players are encouraged to create and play supporting cast members for each other which can lead to this.
- Legacy Character: One possible option from the game’s rules for Comic Book Death.
