Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
Neuroglyph
First Post
3 out of 5 rating for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
I've always been a huge fan of Marvel comics, and that made me really want to like the Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game, but I simply could not due to what the game actually offers to the comic book fan/roleplaying game enthusiast. While the Cortex Plus system is interesting and innovative, it is not an easy system to pick up, and it makes comparing superheroes to supervillains, or to each other, not an easy task. The lack of a character generation system essentially forces players to adopt one of the heroes from the Marvel Universe, and only 23 of the thousands of heroes were offered, and some were frankly non-iconic compared to others that could have been included. And while there are some rules for Watchers to create their own Events, there are practically no resources whatsoever for villain stats and scene material, other than what can be cannibalized from the included Mini-Event: Breakout – which was also adapted from an existing Marvel comic series that many fans have probably read. So in essence, the Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game ends up being a couple hundred pages of rules and pre-made character sheets, just so a Watcher and his (or her) players can re-enact an adventure based upon a seven year old Marvel comic series of The New Avengers. Without considerable additional material, or further releases of Event products, Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game ends up being a pretty package, but a very limited one-shot adventure for a few super-heroes in a tiny corner of the Marvel Universe.
I've always been a huge fan of Marvel comics, and that made me really want to like the Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game, but I simply could not due to what the game actually offers to the comic book fan/roleplaying game enthusiast. While the Cortex Plus system is interesting and innovative, it is not an easy system to pick up, and it makes comparing superheroes to supervillains, or to each other, not an easy task. The lack of a character generation system essentially forces players to adopt one of the heroes from the Marvel Universe, and only 23 of the thousands of heroes were offered, and some were frankly non-iconic compared to others that could have been included. And while there are some rules for Watchers to create their own Events, there are practically no resources whatsoever for villain stats and scene material, other than what can be cannibalized from the included Mini-Event: Breakout – which was also adapted from an existing Marvel comic series that many fans have probably read. So in essence, the Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game ends up being a couple hundred pages of rules and pre-made character sheets, just so a Watcher and his (or her) players can re-enact an adventure based upon a seven year old Marvel comic series of The New Avengers. Without considerable additional material, or further releases of Event products, Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game ends up being a pretty package, but a very limited one-shot adventure for a few super-heroes in a tiny corner of the Marvel Universe.
5 out of 5 rating for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
This game's mechanics help immerse you and all at the table in the action. As each die you bring to the pool must be explained by the player in a way that shows how it is helping (or hindering) the action. We have found that this game was one of the very few games I play entirely in Theater of the mind style because it is so immersive players rarely have to ask where everyone is and what they are doing.The game mechanics are very different from a typical RPG but once you have a very combats most people find it quite simple and enjoyable.As for support there are very few books out there(the had to cancel the product because they could not afford the license anymore), if you are lucky enough to find a basic book just go to this website for tons of fan made support.https://marvelplotpoints.wordpress.com/
This game's mechanics help immerse you and all at the table in the action. As each die you bring to the pool must be explained by the player in a way that shows how it is helping (or hindering) the action. We have found that this game was one of the very few games I play entirely in Theater of the mind style because it is so immersive players rarely have to ask where everyone is and what they are doing.The game mechanics are very different from a typical RPG but once you have a very combats most people find it quite simple and enjoyable.As for support there are very few books out there(the had to cancel the product because they could not afford the license anymore), if you are lucky enough to find a basic book just go to this website for tons of fan made support.https://marvelplotpoints.wordpress.com/
DarkplaneDM
Villager
4 out of 5 rating for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
Played and ran several games, and had a great time. I found cortex plus to be a great balance between structured rules and narrative gameplay. The book is a little tough to decode. The rules are definitely easier to pick up through play. Not knowing anyone else who already played, it took me two or three reads to really grasp. That said, I've never had anything but a great time with this one at the table.PS. Anyone who complains about the lack of character creation wasn't paying attention. Sure, there's no structured, point-buy type system. Instead you create the character you want of the power level you want. There's not a real need for balance among different heroes because everyone gets their time to shine no matter what.
Played and ran several games, and had a great time. I found cortex plus to be a great balance between structured rules and narrative gameplay. The book is a little tough to decode. The rules are definitely easier to pick up through play. Not knowing anyone else who already played, it took me two or three reads to really grasp. That said, I've never had anything but a great time with this one at the table.PS. Anyone who complains about the lack of character creation wasn't paying attention. Sure, there's no structured, point-buy type system. Instead you create the character you want of the power level you want. There's not a real need for balance among different heroes because everyone gets their time to shine no matter what.
TrippyHippy
Hero
5 out of 5 rating for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
It’s a shame that Marvel pulled the plug on this one, although it largely follows a tradition of RPGs based on the Marvel brand of creating new games with a lot of innovation, lasting only a short period of time. This would be, at my count, the fourth version of a Marvel Superheroes RPG. Previous games introduced nominal-ranking characteristics scores and the so called ‘FACERIP’ system, a card-based resolution system, and a diceless resolution system. This game uses a freeform dice-pool system, also based on nominal ranking (e.g., “Good”, “Excellent”, etc). The rank for each trait provides a polyhedral dice type (the higher the rank the bigger the dice) and all these dice from various traits are then pooled and rolled together. The outcome is based on players then choosing their best scores from two dice, along with another one for ‘effect’ (e.g. damage) - the results of which can then be enhanced with Power points taken from a pool. If all this seems a little complicated and unintuitive, well it is rather, and the original jargon for terms used in the rules don’t help. However, the system does grow on you after practice, and is advantageous for allowing a great variety of power levels amongst characters without being unbalanced at the game table. This effectively simulates the genre to a tee - and pretty much all Marvel characters and villains are colourfully represented in the game. The layout and art is as good as what you’d expect in a Marvel graphic novel. ‘Nuff said.
It’s a shame that Marvel pulled the plug on this one, although it largely follows a tradition of RPGs based on the Marvel brand of creating new games with a lot of innovation, lasting only a short period of time. This would be, at my count, the fourth version of a Marvel Superheroes RPG. Previous games introduced nominal-ranking characteristics scores and the so called ‘FACERIP’ system, a card-based resolution system, and a diceless resolution system. This game uses a freeform dice-pool system, also based on nominal ranking (e.g., “Good”, “Excellent”, etc). The rank for each trait provides a polyhedral dice type (the higher the rank the bigger the dice) and all these dice from various traits are then pooled and rolled together. The outcome is based on players then choosing their best scores from two dice, along with another one for ‘effect’ (e.g. damage) - the results of which can then be enhanced with Power points taken from a pool. If all this seems a little complicated and unintuitive, well it is rather, and the original jargon for terms used in the rules don’t help. However, the system does grow on you after practice, and is advantageous for allowing a great variety of power levels amongst characters without being unbalanced at the game table. This effectively simulates the genre to a tee - and pretty much all Marvel characters and villains are colourfully represented in the game. The layout and art is as good as what you’d expect in a Marvel graphic novel. ‘Nuff said.
Thiago Rosa Shinken
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
Superhero games usually fail because they try to be D&D. You're not playing an adventurer. You're playing a god damn superhero. You shouldn't have to wait 6 months playing to finally have the character you want.MHRPG gets that right and by focusing on narrative and giving you tools to tell the kind of story you get in a Marvel comic, it's just perfect.
Superhero games usually fail because they try to be D&D. You're not playing an adventurer. You're playing a god damn superhero. You shouldn't have to wait 6 months playing to finally have the character you want.MHRPG gets that right and by focusing on narrative and giving you tools to tell the kind of story you get in a Marvel comic, it's just perfect.
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