Villains & Vigilantes is a role-playing game simulating the lives and adventures of comic-book style superheroes. It involves a referee, hereafter called the Gamemaster or GM, and one or more players (as many as the GM feels comfortable with).

It is the Gamemaster's job to create the world wherein the players have their adventures, to play the parts of the inhabitants of his world, and to generally keep the players entertained and the game running smoothly.

Players take the roles of superheroes. But unlike most role-playing games, in V & V the character used by the player is himself with the addition of super-powers. Each player receives a random set of powers. then creates a costume and a.name in order to fight crime andprotect society. As the players gain experience, their abilities will increase, along with the difficulty of the tasks they will be called upon to perform.