The DC Universe Roleplaying Game is a Legend System-based role-playing game set in the DC Comics universe and published by West End Games.
History[]
The game system had several supplementary publications in print during the 1999–2002 timeframe, including:
- Sourcebooks, devoted to covering the key characters, organizations and technologies of the DC Universe setting. Published volumes were thematically organized (e.g. Superman-related characters in the Metropolis Sourcebook, Batman-related characters in the Gotham City Sourcebook, etc.).
- A series of Daily Planet Guides, sourcebooks designed to resemble travel guide to the fictional settings they detailed, written from the points-of-view of assorted characters known to either live in or regularly visit those backdrops. Published volumes in this line of sourcebooks covered Gotham City and Metropolis.
Hero Dice sets[]
The DC Universe Game used the optional Hero Dice set. The basic set came with two different types of six-sided dice: the red Hero die and the black Wild Hero die. They used pictograms rather than numbers to show the results.
The Hero die had 2 Failure facets (Darkseid heads) and 4 Success facets (Superman logos).
The basic Wild Hero die is like the regular Hero die, except it has the potential to roll a Critical result. It had 1 Critical Failure facet (Joker card logo), 1 Failure facet (Darkseid head), 3 Success facets (Superman logos), and 1 Critical Success facet (Batman logo). A Critical Failure counts as a regular Failure, plus it negates a Success from the pool and can be used by the GM to introduce a Complication. Since the Wild Hero die uses the "exploding die" mechanic, a Critical Success counts as a Success but also allows the player to roll again and add the result to the final total. If the player is lucky, they can string together a chain of Critical Successes until they roll any other result (Critical Failure, Failure, or Success).
The seven-piece JLA Hero Dice set was similar, except each distinctive Wild Hero die represented one of the seven major members of the Justice League and came in a unique color (Aquaman [dark green d6], Batman [gray or magenta d6], The Flash [crimson d6], Green Lantern [green d6], Martian Manhunter [light green d6], Superman [dark blue d6], and Wonder Woman [yellow or orange d6]). They were mechanically like the basic Wild Hero die except the Critical Failure facet showed the logo of the hero's nemesis, the Success facets showed the hero's logo, and the Critical Success facet showed the JLA logo.