Marvel Universes

[Desdichado]

Not exactly on topic, but there is a rumour floating about that Marvel is trying to position itself to be bought. The believed front runner is Sony, but among the other alleged candidates is Hasbro. If Hasbro acquires Marvel, you may yet see a fourth version of a MSH RPG, d20 no less. (But don't hold your breath...)

Why, aren't they more profitable than ever (recently, at least) with the movie and toy licenses selling like hotcakes?

Uh, back to the original question -- the new game (which I don't own) didn't impress me too much. I like gaming with dice, dammit! But Mutants & Masterminds is the only supers I'll play these days. We'll probably have a dark, gritty game with this system that somewhat resembles Frank Miller's Batman or Marc Millar's Ultimates in conjunction with the Star Wars campaign I'm about to run.

 

[Henry]

The core mechanic revolves around 'allocating stones' and the number of stones you allocate determines for the most part how long it would take you to succeed...some basic thresholds you need to be able to meet to even succeed at all, and the setup for opposed tasks which is largely a question of who put in the most resources winning out.

Also making it the perfect game for you to tell a player trying to attempt the impossible that "he doesn't have the stones" to pull it off.

I loved the old FASERIP & percentile system of the Basic and advanced Boxed Games, but the saga card-based system and the new ARS system leave me cold, probably because of the diceless aspects of them. While diceless may fit a plotline a GM has in mind, to me a game needs chance or random elements to give the player of a hero a participatory feel.

 

[JeffB]

I've got the new book. Have not run it though.

From my reading of the material, it would seem to play well as a free-from style of game. If that's not your style, you won't like it. Personally as a GM I like that kind of game as it lets be more creative and reactive to in-game matters.

The only real problem I've had is that the authors used alot of "non-typical" terminology in the book , and it can be confusing at times to figure out what the heck they are talking about. It's very similar to Gygax's Lejendary Adventures in that respect. It can be a a bit confusing getting used to the non standard terminology, but after a few read-throughs, it becomes very clear.

I was very pleased that they included a "create your own hero" section. As much as I love many of the Marvel Heroes, I hate playing running games w/ the "stock" heroes. It would be like playing a Forgotten Realms game as Elminster, or a Dragonlance as Tanis. Cool characters, but I'd rather create my own characters and run them in that universe. Same with Marvel.

Overall, I think it's a good effort and a nice change of pace compared to most RPG rule systems of this day and age. I'd love to run it had I the time.

 

[Dingleberry]

No real comment here, other than noting that this thread made me look over at the stack of old MSH (FASERIP) stuff on my gaming shelves and wax nostaligic for a few minutes. A lot of good nights there.

 

[Umbran]

Anyone else have something to add?

 

[AFGNCAAP]

I do.

It's been a very long time since I last posted here (at all), but I've been dropping by to view the messageboards from time to time. And, I've had a bit of experience with previous incarnations of the Marvel RPGs, to boot.

The old TSR Marvel RPG (FASERIP), IMHO, was somewhat fun, but I never really got into it because of the possibility for generating both uber-powerful & uber-weak characters for a group. The most fun I had playing the game was in a friend's campaign based off a What If? where Capt. America wasn't found by the Avengers (and where the Red Skull & Dr. Doom vied for world domination, with the U.S. in tatters). I played that reality's version of the Puma (the Spider-Man character). Kinda cool.

At first, I had my doubts about the Marvel SAGA system, but I really got into it despite the fact that it used cards rather than dice. The Reed Richards' Guide to Everything sourcebook helped clarify rules & added rules that greatly improved gameplay, as well. Both my friend and I have run campaigns using the Marvel SAGA system, and it's proven to be a lot of fun. The only annoying thing about the game is the need the reshuffle the 96-100 card deck, esp. during a combat.

Despite the fact that there's a new Marvel game available, I'm still using the SAGA Marvel for my games. I think that it really captures the feel of comics, and it allows anyone, in the right circumstances, to pull off something superheroic. Character improvement is quick and easy. I'm so comfortable with the system that I can improvise while running (not an easy thing for me to do in most cases).

As for the new Marvel diceless game, I haven't played a game yet, but I have made a character for it for an upcoming campaign. It looks interesting, but IMHO, there is definitely room for improvement. There are a few consistency issues throughout the main book, as well as between the main book and the sourcebook (X-Men only--haven't seen the next one yet). It's quite free form, but I think it should have a bit more structure, esp. for someone who's new to the game, or gaming in general. There are also a few powers that only appear in character descriptions (such as a weaker Healing power and the Power Cosmic).

And, from someone who's going to the new Marvel game from the Marvel SAGA game, it seems to be a bit more complex, and a bit more limiting, to a degree. There are some elements in the new game that I wish were done in SAGA: for example, SAGA has both the Flight power & Wings power, while the new Marvel has Flight only--the method of propulsion may vary, but it's the same power. Also, the character creation is point-based: all of the players have the same resources for making a character. However, with the new Marvel game, I don't feel like there's any chance to do something truly superheroic--a character can spend all of his resources to perform a task and still fail. With Marvel SAGA, there's a chance that someone can pull of the most difficult of tasks, using the right cards, making a bit of a sacrifice, and/or keep getting a bunch of trump cards.

(In Marvel SAGA, if you play a trump card for an action, you get a bonus card from the deck. If the card from the deck has the same trump, you get another card--this continues until you get a non-trump card. It's sorta like rolling a natural 6 on the Wild Die in WEG's Star Wars game/d6 system--as long as you get a natural 6, you keep rolling the Wild Die, adding to your total.)

Also, in Marvel SAGA, you could gain certain powers as stunts off of a main power (like having the Flight power as a stunt for Telekinesis or Magnetic Control). In the new Marvel game, you have to purchase the power seperately (though at a slightly lower cost--and I do mean slightly).

Finally, creating a suit of Power Armor or a Magic Item in the new Marvle game looks like a pain. I'm a big Thor fan, but I wouldn't want to make up a magic item-using character for the new game at all (it was a bit rough in Marvel SAGA as well, until the blessing that is Reed Richards' Guide to Everything was released).

However, unless you're very lucky at a used book/games store, or unless you're willing to spend a pretty penny bidding for a set of rulebooks & cards on eBay, then you're out of luck on Marvel SAGA, since it's no longer in print. Also, the original deck has 96 cards--there was a special promotion w/ 4 additional cards for the deck. I was lucky enough to mail away for a few sets & actually get some from WotC, but otherwise, it's tough.

I will tell you one thing, though--whether you use the new Marvel system or the Marvel SAGA system, both of them are EXTREMELY better for superhero RPGs than Palladium's Heroes Unlimited, either edition (IMHO). I should know--I used to run that, too.