Superworld

The SuperPowered RolePlaying Game
Cover art by Michael Dooney
Designers	Steve Perrin Steve Henderson
Publishers	Chaosium
Publication	1983 Boxed Set 2015 PDF
Genres	Superhero fiction
Systems	Basic Role-Playing

Superworld is asuperhero-themedrole-playing game published byChaosium in1983 that uses the genericBasic Role-Playing rules system. The game began as just one part of theWorlds of Wonder product before being published as a stand-alone game. In competition against other well-established and popular superhero games,Superworld never found an audience, and was discontinued after only three supplements were published for it.

Superworld uses Chaosium'sBasic Role-Playing system, with the addition of rules for super-powers.^[1]

The game box contains

• three rules booklets
  • "Superheroes Book" (32 pages): character creation rules, the game system itself, and two character sheets with a male and female standing silhouette.
  • "Superpowers Book" (40 pages): the Powers available to the characters, Advantages and Disadvantages that can be applied to them, and Disabilities that can affect the character. The interior covers have two more character sheets, this time with silhouettes of a male and female in flight.
  • "Gamemasters Book" (40 pages): various aspects of a campaign, the legal system, animals, and the creation of organizations adapted to a superhero universe, with three specific examples: FIRE for Free Investigatory Research Enterprise, FORCE for Federal Organization for the Registration and Certification of Exotics, and the Omega Institute. The "Gamemasters Book" also includes two scenarios: "Deadly Devices of Doctor Dread", which pits a team of heroes against the Dr. Dread of the title and his subordinates, and "The Haunting", which describes a mysterious and ancient tome desired by a mystical super-villain.
• a booklet of character sheets,
• a booklet of tables for theGamemaster,
• a page of cardboard figure silhouettes to be cut out,
• some 6-sided, 8-sided, and 20-sided dice.

Editions printed in 1984 and later also contain a 4-page booklet of errata.^[1]

As with all games using theBasic Role-Playing rules, skill tests and combat are resolved by rolling percentile dice against skills. Rolls that are much lower than needed can result in increased effect, while high rolls can cause critical failures. Combat rules have many options and take into account three types of energy for damage: Kinetic, Electric, and Radiation.

In 1982, Chaosium publishedWorlds of Wonder to demonstrate the flexibility of its genericBasic Role-Playing System; the game included three separate settings with the idea thatplayer characters could be moved from setting to setting using the same rules system:

• a fantasy setting calledMagic World
• a science fiction setting, "Future World"
• a modern-day superhero setting,Superworld

The following year,Superworld was published as a stand-aloneboxed set designed bySteve Perrin, with interior illustrations by Chris Marrinan, Markus Harrison, and cover art by Michael Dooney.

Three supplements followed:

• Trouble for HAVOC (1984), three linkedSuperworld adventures by Stephen Perrin, Yurek Chodak, Donald Harrington, and Charles Huber. The adventures could be converted for use with rival superhero gamesVillains & Vigilantes orChampions.
• Bad Medicine for Dr. Drugs (1984), aSuperworld adventure byKen Rolston: Teen-aged heroes try to uncover a drug distribution ring in their high school after a classmate dies of an overdose. The adventure could be converted for use withChampions.
• Superworld Companion (1985), a rules supplement that included new super powers, a detailed plan of a superhero base, and effects of climate on play.

Up against well-established rival superhero gamesVillains & Vigilantes (Fantasy Games Unlimited) and includingChampions (Hero Games),Superworld was not able to establish a strong player base, and no further supplements were released by Chaosium.^[2]

Jon Sutherland reviewedSuperworld forWhite Dwarf #51, giving it an overall rating of 7 out of 10, and stated that "This represents an intelligent attempt to provide a playable format for a difficult topic to simulate. The only rules that I have ever seen with anything like this in scope was theGolden Heroes FRP which may soon be available in a modified form fromGW."^[1]

Steve Marsh reviewedSuperworld inAres Magazine #17 and commented that "The game is anything but chaotic, but should create change in any gaming group that sees it. It is well done, and worth the price."^[3]

Crede Lambard reviewedSuperworld inSpace Gamer No. 70.^[4] Lambard commented that "Superworld is very good. I doubt that it will ever supplantChampions, but it certainly supplements it . . . especially now that both Hero Games and Chaosium are putting out adventures with stats for both games."^[4]

TheWild Cards series of science fiction books came from aSuperworld campaigngamemastered byGeorge R. R. Martin, and played in by other science fiction writers.^[5]

• Metahuman
• George R. R. Martin

• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from April 2025
• Basic Role-Playing System
• Role-playing games introduced in 1983
• Steve Perrin games
• Superhero role-playing games