Worm
Worm is a web serial and setting created by Canadian author J.C. McCrae a.k.a. Wildbow, available for free at parahumans.wordpress.com. The central premise is that in the mid-1980's, superpowers began to appear among the human population seemingly at random, radically altering human society across the world. The story is set in 2011, roughly 20 years after superpowers became widespread, and is written in the first-person perspective. The protagonist is Taylor Hebert, a young high school student who has the power to control insects.
What's Awesome About Worm?
- Incredibly creative superpowers: While typical superhumans rely on a few basic and sometimes boring powers (enhanced strength, durability, speed, flight, etc), Worm "parahumans" have abilities that are far more interesting, with numerous creative advantages and drawbacks. Notable examples include Lung, an Asian gang leader who has the ability to power up by gradually transforming into a massive dragon-like creature as he fights; Dauntless, who has the power to gradually "infuse" objects with power, eventually turning a simple taser into an incredibly deadly weapon; Marquis, an affable villain with the power to manipulate bone, and so on.
- Creative use of powers: Unlike many superhero stories, the characters in Worm don't really get more powerful except by figuring out new uses for their powers, which they do constantly.
- Grey morality: There are self-professed heroes who are absolutely awful people, and villains who simply made one bad mistake or are just trying to get by. If you like morally ambiguous characters, Worm is for you.
Running a Game in the Worm Universe
Wildbow has created a system for running roleplaying games in his universe, called Weaver Dice. It's a fairly simple system based around the d6, and is constantly being worked on.
The other option, for those who like the d20, is to use Mutants and Masterminds, as the power creation rules can make just about any Worm power with some tweaks.
A fan has also created an alternate system that relies on weaverdice but converts it to D20 called skitterdice.