Champions is the fourth superhero RPG, but it is the first one to bring the genre to life (and the only one to keep chugging on uninterrupted for thirty years). You can tell there is something special about the game just by looking at the cover — Mark Williams works magic drawing up off-brand superheroes and villains. Those characters, who often are blatant, winking imitations of recognizable characters from Marvel and DC, never fail to capture something of the boundless energy of the four-color world.

The initial seed of the game came through tinkering with new super powers for Superhero 2044, but it soon grew into its own system based largely on mechanics in The Fantasy Trip. It’s a significant expansion. Champions lets you spend your hundred points on just about everything: attributes, skills, equipment and, most importantly, powers. Unlike Fantasy Trip and, later, GURPS Supers, you aren’t purchasing pre-fabricated abilities. Rather, you get to customize your powers with modifiers, advantages and limitations, all of which effect the final cost for better or worse. So instead of getting an ice ray that works like everyone else’s ice ray, yours can pierce armor and explode, but you can only use it three times a day. The downside of this is that it introduces quite a bit of bookkeeping, but the upside is that your character is tailor made. The character sheets even provide a mannequin like figure to draw your cool superhero costume onto.

Champions also introduces the idea of disadvantages. Similar to the way your ice ray costs less because of a limitation, you can select an interesting flaw, restriction or character note in exchange for more points to spend on other things. Vulnerabilities offer a range dependent on rarity — Superman’s weakness to kryptonite would only net him five more points, but taking the classic secret identity puts fifteen additional points in your pocket. That’s enough for an extra limb and you’ll have points to spare!