MURPG FAQ

[i3ullseye]

Q) <Insert character name here>’s <insert ability here> is only <insert fairly low number here>?!? No way! What’s up with that?

A) Bear in mind, that we went over ALL of our numbers with Marvel (and
in many cases they had us change them to suit their conception).
There's a rhyme and a reason for all of our interpretations.

But unlike certain other RPGs which (will remain nameless; ahem-hem),
we wholeheartedly encourage GMs to change our interpretations of
characters and powers to suit their conceptions.

Now we ain't pleading the usual cop-out. We'll give you our reasons!

But if you don't happen to agree, we won't label you an infidel. In
fact we'll even post "alternate interpretations" of heroes, rules,
powers, what have you, on the Marvel website section for this game.
We may even include out favorites for future supplements!

Also:

The trouble is that Marvel itself has a different pov than the readers. All sides see the actual "results" (the comics). However Marvel sees its characters getting their using their own conceptions and how they "got there", and those aren't always the 2nd-hand perspectives of the readers. And whenever there's an editorial change or a new artist, writer, or something, their take may change. (We've all seen this, of course.)

And then there are history/powers that are anomolous (sometimes the author or artist went too far in a given direction), so the history gets "Sovietized" just a little. Such as Nightcrawler's teleportation for hundreds of miles in one book--but Marvel insists his limit is 3 miles. So we chalk that one up to "anomaly" and deal with it the best we can.


Q) Why are there not abilities to represent a characters natural
Willpower and Presence/Charisma?
It seems as if really smart characters such as banner, Pym and Reed
Richards end up with higher ratings in
Willpower and default Social Skill than they should just by virtue of
their high intelligence.

A) We use Social Skills to cover "Charisma," there is no reason why a
player couldn't "purchase" special Modifiers for physical appearance,
which would affect Social Skills. But, after due consideration, we
decided we'd to leave that bag-`o-worms up to the GM . . .

And, yes, high Intelligence does help keep you from getting taken
over (but no reason why a player couldn't take a negative Modifier as
a "Challenge"). But telepaths like Prof. X (etc.) have Mental Defense
on top of this (you can have mental defense separately, too.

Q.) Why is Intelligence the only ability where a rating of 1
represents below Normal? There are several characters with below
normal characteristics in other areas. For instance, Artie, Franklin
Richards, Leech
and the Power Pack kids would be examples of characters with below
Normal strength. How are these
below normal strength characters handled?
A) We decided (in our hubris) that intelligence is the
natural "superpower" of humans so we wanted a slightly different
range of numbers. One is the normally the lowest number, but if a
character wants a lower intelligence then the GM will expect the hero
to play the role (as always).

Because of the curved scale, we had to slide over below-average human
strength. If you want to include that, make it a Challenge and note
it in on the Modifiers section of the Character Profile Record. Also,
while we recommend GMs require a minimum of 1 in Abilities, that's no
reason why an exception can be made and a Zero allowed.

Q) ) Can you go into a little more detail on movement in combat? (like
in the combat example where Gambit uses his agility to avoid Blob).

A) Here's two examples of movement in combat.

a.) Gambit has both a higher Speed and Agility than Blob. So Gambit goes first in the Panel. Let's say Gambit and Blob walk out of opposite hotel rooms.
SECRET ALLOCATION
--Blob puts 15 stones into Close Combat, and shifts 4 to defense.
--Gambit puts 1 stone in Movement (Speed) and puts 8 stones onto a charged-up spike.
STONES ARE REVEALED

Result: Gambit goes first because of his higher Agility. He therefore dances out off Close Combat range, thus causing Blob to totally waste the 11 stones left in his Close Combat box. To make matters worse, Gambit hits him with a 9-point attack (8 red stones + 1 for the card), and Blob only has his toughness (+4) and 3 red stones for a total of 7. One of Gambit's blast stones get through, x2 damage for 2 red stones. That knocks 1 white stone off the Blob. Now he's MAD!

Now let's say Blob picked up a desk or something instead of putting stones in close combat? Or had put stones in both Close and Ranged, just in case? He could have thrown something heavy at Gambit, clobbering him (Gambit put no stones in defense), in spite of the fact he moved away. And if he didn't move away, Blob could just hit him.


b.) If Sabretooth used a stone to leap through the air on the attack (the stone could be either in Speed or Hunting, if appropriate) or, you could make a good argument to add that stone of Movement to whatever stones he has in Close Combat. (If in response to ranged combat, the shot generally goes off before the leap-plus-close combat goes off. Common sense prevails in questionable cases.)

That's an example of combining the effects of movement and combat.

Q) How does a player let his character push his abilites in this
game? Let's say Spiderman is out, webslinging along and who should
pop up out of the crowd to say "Hello" but our good friend
Juggernaut. As a way of introduction, Juggy flings a schoolbus
filled with screaming sixth-graders at the poor Webhead. Now Spidey
would have no trouble dodging such a missile, but he can't let those
kids get hurt! Spiderman has a Strength of 5, which is pretty good,
but nowhere near the 7 or 8 difficulty needed to catch the bus. Can
he give it a shot? Or does he have no chance of succeeding and should
whip up an emergency crash-cushion out of his webbing to stop the
massive mass-transit missile?

A) Well, the bus weighs 7 and Spidey has web slinging at 5 with an Agility Bonus of 6. So all Spidey has to do is put in 7 stones of effort (out of a max. of 12, regeneration rate of 6: His Dur. of 4 plus his Healing Factor), so as long as he has had the wisdom and foresight to keep just--one--measly energy stone in reserve, he'll be able to web that bus up Just Fine. All he has to do in anchor the web on something that will take the weight of the bus, like a building or bridge. And even if he can't stop the bus, he can slow it down. But for every stone he misses by, 10% die and 20% wounded (which is the rule of thumb for "collateral damage" over an area). And then Spidey's Challenge clicks in and naturally the one kid who died turns out to be the much-loved son of the corner candy store owner. Aunt May is most distraught . . .. If only those kids had seatbelts, they'd have been just fine.)

And:

In the Avenger Supplement we are including a suggestion that GMs allow Characters to put lines into their Abilities up to a max of 3. I.e., by diligent study and effort, you can bring yourself up to standard human "peak" Abilities and above Average in Intelligence. Of course Apocalypse might be up for a deal. (Do you feel worthy, punk? Find out in the X-Man Supplement . . .)

[i3ullseye]

Part 2 ******



Q) Why not do a breakdown of a character and show us how much each thing cost or in the case of
disadvantages and challenges how many stone they give the character. How about Jean Grey?

A) Well, she's one we varied a wee dram from the Marvel stats--owing to the fact that she's sharp as all hell, not to mention the minor fact that, like, she's one of the most powerful and versatile psionic telepaths on the planet . . .

She is had a lot of experience, of course, and this is how to price her as presented in the book

COST
LEVEL COST IN STONES

1 1 red
2 2 red
3 1 white
4 2 white
5 3 white
6 4 white
7 6 white
8 9 white
9 12 white
10 15 white
+5 Stones per additional cost level

JEAN GREY

ABILITIES
Intelligence: 5 [6 white stones--2x cost for intel-based character.]
Strength: 2 [2 red stones]
Agility: 3 [1 white stone]
Speed: 2 [2 red stones]
Durability 2 [2 white stones--3x cost for Dur., whether its a Dur.-based char. or not.]

ACTIONS
Telepathy: 7 (Cost Level = Action # + Options)
-- Intelligence Bonus (+2 to Cost Level--as specified in the case of Telepathy)
-- Illusion (+1 to Cost Level)
-- Project thoughts/Control others (+2 to Cost Level)
-- Create links with others (+1 to Cost Level)
-- Telepathic Communications (+1 to Cost Level)
-- Mental Bolts (+1 to Cost Level)
-- Repair Minds (+1 to Cost Level)
[Total, +9 to Cost Level, cost: 45 white stones. She "starts out" with this at much lower level and builds it up and "learns to control it better' (or whatever) by adding lines]
Telekinesis: 6 [Cost Level +2, but 1 cost level discount for knowing Telepathy. 6 white stones]
Flight: 4 [+2 to Cost Level, 4 white stones]
Close Combat: 4 (Agility Bonus) [Cost 1 white stone--i.e., maybe a white stone back for taking a Bonus as a lesser Ability. (Normally she'd take it in her highest Ability, but if she doesn't because she sees her character in a non-mini-max fashion, the GM can give back a little.)]
Ranged Combat: 2 [2 red stones]
Healing, Medical: 4 [Cost Level +1, 3 white stones]
Leadership: 3 [1 white stones]
Social Skills: 4 [2 white stones]
-- Political Culture
-- Scientific Community
-- Medical Community
-- Charm, Persuasion

MODIFIERS
Mutant, Human appearance [refund of 3 white stones for bein' a mutie scum]
Mental Defense: (+7) [freebie with the Telepathy]
Team Affiliation: X-Men
Wealth: 2 [2 red stones]

--Total Cost: 70 white stones, 1 red stone.

This is JG after a long and illustrious career. When "starting out", she cost roughly the usual 40, (her Telepathy was considerably lower at that point and she brought it up by lines. Note that I personally worked out much of the initial set out at their "starting points", just to make sure they were constructed at their current levels with a modicum of logic.]

You can "save stones over" from the start and use them later, under certain circumstances . . . (Welcome to doc apoc's friendly neighborhood genetic manipulation chambers. Do you feel worthy, punk?)

Q) By the way, can someone explain to me how Surfers power cosmic works in the game?

A) He can substitute any Action or Ability for it. And if he already had that Action, he could do two Actions and combine the stones, so, yes, effectively Power Cosmic gives him what he doesn't have (at Action #) and adds to what he does have.

Q) Does anyone know what Hulk can lift since his strength maxes out at 18?

A) At a guess (and this may change--it's just my personal rule of thumb) is that Str 20 can lift around a hundred thousand tons, and it's a geometric curve up to that point. So at a guess, around 50,000 tons, so he could, say, toss a decent-sized ship when fully enraged. (Too bad Marvel never really guessed! Or guessed 'way too much. Or else they can't remember--we did ask.)

Q) Also will we ever see a chart go beyond 10? Will we also see characters with abilities beyond 10?

A) If and when we go galactic, I imagine we'll go beyond the D& R and beyond 10.



Q) Also on pg 82 under the same topic it says the character has 3 white stones and takes 4 red stones of damage. It then mentions the period of time the character is knocked out is 2 panels/stone of
damage. It then says using this example the character would be knocked out for 2 panels. Shouldn't it be 4 panels since 4 red stones would do 2 white stones of damage?

A) Oops! So it would! (Errata patrol! P. 82!)

Q) I'm having trouble finding the cost for the 2x natural healing modifier that Beast and Captain America have. Can someone point me in the right direction?

A) We didn't put any. You will notice several cases where odd options and personalized Actions appear. We are trying to encourage players and GMs to go outside the box and make up new stuff all the time and estimate what it's worth in their campaigns.

HOWEVER, if anyone has any questions about such things, I'll be happy to discuss it and assign a price to it, myself, by way of helping out and steering you-all down the path. SO:

Seeing as how regeneration rate is not affected and the--only--difference is getting 2 white stones back--per day--instead of one, recovering from disease, etc., you would charge for it, but very little.

One red stone should be sufficient payment for that. (Two, at most, if you're in a gnarly mood, or disease is a real problem in your campaign.)

[i3ullseye]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MARVEL UNIVERSE ROLEPLAYING GAME
Q: How is the Inquest version of the Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game different from the Marvel-release version?

A: The Inquest version is only 72 pages long and includes enough rules to play the game. But it doesn't include everything. For instance, the Inquest version doesn't include any Character Creation rules. The Inquest version has just a small selection of Actions and Modifiers compared to the full version of the Main Guide (which numbers 128 pages). Also, the Inquest version includes only about a half-dozen pre-generated character profiles (the Main release will have over 40). And each Supplement will offer you even more to choose from.

Q: The big trouble, as I read it, is that Durability is king. The stones/reserve system effectively ignores character Abilities and Actions! Am I wrong?

A: The answer lies in the rules you haven't yet read! Yes, Durability is king, but it's not the only king - and it costs a kingly amount: 3 times as much as the other Abilities. The way normal character creation works, it would be impossible to have a Durability of 10, and even at 7, you will have "spent" more than half of what you get to start with for a normal character.

A character can instead base his stones of energy on Intelligence (This "Special Intelligence Rule" is referred to in the Inquest guide, but not directly included). In the case of an Intelligence - based character, your Intelligence costs twice as much as normal, your regeneration rate is equal to your Intelligence and your Energy is equal to twice your Intelligence. (You still have to pay triple for Durability, although it does not generate stones - you'll need at least 2 or 3 points in health, regardless, or the first time you get hit, you'll be toast.)

Also, there are diminishing returns in the costs: You haven't yet seen how character creation works yet, but suffice it to say that learning an Action to "10" is a lot more than 10 times as expensive as learning it at "1"! That means that making a broad-based character pays off every bit as well as concentrating on just one or two Abilities or Actions.

Q: Why would I ever "buy" an Action to a level higher than the number of stones in my energy pool? I guess what I mean is what good is it to have, say, a "10" in something if I could only put, say, 9 stones into it in the first place?

A: There are a lot of tasks that can take many Panels, but have a high Difficulty requirement. In this case it matters little how many stones of effort you can put out per panel, but you need to have a high number in the necessary Action.

For example: A particular Research Project has a 9 Difficulty (to be overcome by Intelligence or General Knowledge or possibly Technology, or Invention, or any other relevant Action) and a 1000-stone Resistance. You can take as long as you like to complete the project, and once you've put in a total of 1000 stones, you're done. You can even quit and do other things in the meantime and go back to it from where you left off. The # of stones per round (therefore your Durability) in such cases is not very important. What is important is being able to overcome the Difficulty in the first place. A guy with 4 General Knowledge, Intelligence: 4 and Durability of 7 would be unable to do the research. But a guy with a General Knowledge of 8, an Intelligence of 1 and a Durability of 1 could do it. (At 1 stone regenerating per Panel that would take him around 8 hours).

Actions such as Invention and Genetic Engineering operate similarly - it's the knowledge that makes it work, not the number of stones per panel you can access.

Q: Fine. But what do I do in combat, where I can't wait around for umpteen-thousand Panels while he's beating the stuffing out of me?

A: For that we have Modifiers: (Targeting, Claws, Reflexive Dodge, Toughness) Modifiers that give you extra, "free" stones: If you have Toughness and/or Reflexive Dodge, you get free stones in defense every Panel (including when not "on your guard"). Targeting gets you free stones in Ranged Combat (or Force Blast, etc.), and claws (etc.) gets you free stones in Close Combat attack.

So, for a mere stone or two of effort in Close or Ranged combat, you can bring a lot more "free" stones from your Modifiers to bear on the enemy. If you have +3 Claws, a mere 1 stone of energy gives you a 4 - stone attack. These Modifiers provide their effects for free, every Panel, so they can stand in lieu of Durability.

You have very two viable combat options for a hero, options that Marvel takes full advantage of to create that wide variety for which they are famous.


Build a lot of Durability (or Intelligence) and use the energy directly. Live fast, die hard!


Operate off a more modest energy pool, but get lots of combat modifiers that make up for it.


Operate off a low energy base, but get what energy you need from an outside source.


Choose Actions that require a very low energy output (e.g., Shape Shifting, Transform Self, Inventing, etc.)
Also, it will do to remember that Reflexive Dodge (and other modifiers like Toughness) will have considerable use in normal play - quite apart from combat situations (surviving a fall or an accident come to mind), so the cost-benefit ratio is really finely tuned, in a cost-benefit sense.

But you probably want to make sure that your character's combat numbers are in line with the amount of energy he has available.

Q: Are there any other ways to operate off a low energy base?

A: Sure! If you have Animal Senses or Super-Enhanced Vision or other Modifiers as your "main power", you would need hardly any stones of energy to operate. Essentially, if what your character is all about are things that don't cost energy to use, then you don't necessarily need a character with much energy!

And not only that, some powers allow a player to absorb and accumulate stones. Improved Energy Drain, Energy Absorption/Reflection, Masteries and Magic, to name a few. In cases such as this, a player can often afford to have higher numbers than his Durability or Intelligence can "fuel", because he can get the energy from elsewhere (his enemies, the environment, the nearest powers station, whatever,it's Marvel!)

Q:. Is there a Rock - Scissor - Paper aspect to all this?

A: Only to the extent that it supports resource decisions. There are the usual vulnerability issues: Actions that bypass defensive stones entirely and mental attack, for example. Blob's huge Durability can be outdone by a mere thought from Jean Grey. On the other hand, a character may be helpless against magic or even against a moderately strong foe (no threat to Blob) but have enough Mental Defenses to hold off Telepaths like Jean Grey. Nearly every Achilles has his heel. (Even Onslaught can be undone, using the same sort of tactics as in the actual comics, first pierce and destroy his armor, then disrupt his energy.)

The highest number in an Action breaks ties outside of combat. So having a higher number can be useful, even if you don't have the energy to access it all. And even in combat, there is a greater chance you will have an applicable combat specialty (giving you a GM-discretion situational modifier) if you have a high number.

Speaking of more powerful opponents, they show up all the time in Marvel. Many enemies of the players will tend to have much higher Durabilities (Galactus, Juggernaut, Onslaught). The best way to bring down such a foe is often by teamwork and by the players figuring out ingenious, logical ways to combine stones of effort to overcome formidable defenses. (Besides, how else could Marvel justify having an entire team of X-Men beating up on one poor, lonely opponent like Magneto?)

Q: Can I exploit my other Abilities to make up for having less energy than an opponent?

A: Yes, especially when coupled with pro-active play. Let's say you spent on Speed or Agility rather than on Durability. You can dash away or evade, regenerate your stones, then streak back for another pass, hoping to inflict a white stone of damage, and retreat unscratched. Balancing regeneration rates is a big part of figuring out how to beat a more powerful opponent. If the "terrain" and circumstances are right, a clever player can nibble a more powerful opponent to death in this manner. A more agile character goes first, sometimes enabling him to disable an opponent before the opponent even gets a chance to respond.

Q: How important are Situational Modifiers?

A: Situational Modifiers, depending upon the situation and how it is played can affect the situation heavily, even decisively. Situational Modifiers are the great equalizer for a GamesMaster to use. They allow you to adjust the numbers to realistically match the storytelling situation, and totally appropriately within our system. They take into account numerous aspects of the situation that the raw stone equations couldn't possibly address: home ground, fighting at night, distance, tension, fear, importance, skillful play, descriptions, etc. We have a list of many situational modifiers that could be applied, but as the GamesMaster it's up to you which to apply, or to make up ones of your own. Remember, this is a comic book game. In the comics, sometimes when the hero succeeds by the skin of his teeth, against all odds, in saving the day in just the nick of time, the only does so because the writer and artist say he does. And as we keep saying in the guide, you and your players are now the writers telling the story. Situational Modifiers give you the tools to tell the story the way it should be told, all within the structure of the rules.