More Details From Marvel RPG Writer

Matt Forbeck, the writer of the upcoming official Marvel Multiverse RPG, talked a little more about the game on his blog.

Marvel to Launch Official 'MARVEL MULTIVERSE' Tabletop Role-Playing Game in 2022

Matt Forbeck announced on Twitter that he’s working on a new in-house D616 Marvel RPG due for a 2022 release! It looks like there will be an open playtest. What’s the D617 System? “… the all-new D616 System, an accessible and easy-to-learn system for newcomers to tabletop RPGs and a natural...

www.enworld.org

He confirms that you can create your own characters, as well as play existing Marvel characters. The last Marvel game was the 2012 award-winning Marvel Heroic Roleplaying by Cam Banks and Rob Donoghue, powered by Cortex Plus. Prior to that was Jeff Grub's 1984 Marvel Super Heroes (known as FASERIP due its its attributes of Fighting, Agility, Strength... etc.), and a couple of other games.

The current game borrows that latter idea, with MARVEL standing for the abilities of Might, Agility, Resilience, Vigilance, Ego, and Logic.

Read more from Matt Forbeck at the link below!

The New Marvel RPG

On Friday, Marvel announced its plans to publish a new tabletop roleplaying game called the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game. Normally, I’d be pretty excited about this because I’m a…

www.forbeck.com

 

[Umbran]

Prior to that was Jeff Grub's 1984 Marvel Super Heroes (known as FASERIP due its its attributes of Fighting, Agility, Strength... etc.)

A more full list, for folks who might like the context:

• Marvel Super Heroes (often called "Marvel Classic" or "FASERIP" after the names of its stats) - published by TSR in 1984, the Advanced version in 1986
• Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game - Based on the SAGA engine, also published by TSR, 1998.
• Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game - published by Marvel itself, using novel bidding mechanics and no dice, 2003
• Marvel Heroic Roleplaying - using the Cortex Engine, published by Margaret Weis Productions, 2012.

 

[Morrus]

A more full list, for folks who might like the context:

• Marvel Super Heroes (often called "Marvel Classic" or "FASERIP" after the names of its stats) - published by TSR in 1984, the Advanced version in 1986
• Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game - Based on the SAGA engine, also published by TSR, 1998.
• Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game - published by Marvel itself, using novel bidding mechanics and no dice, 2003
• Marvel Heroic Roleplaying - using the Cortex Engine, published by Margaret Weis Productions, 2012.

I wonder which RPGs have had the most licensed RPGs? Star Wars has had... 3? Judge Dredd is currently on its 4th version. I'm sure there are some with more than that though!

 

[Umbran]

I wonder which RPGs have had the most licensed RPGs? Star Wars has had... 3? Judge Dredd is currently on its 4th version. I'm sure there are some with more than that though!

Good Question. I think Star Trek has had, like, seven?

Heritage Models’ Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier (1978)
Terra Games Company’s Starfleet Voyages (1982) (which is like a revised version of the Heritage Models game)
FASA’s Star Trek: The Role Playing Game (1982)
Task Force Games/Amarillo Design Bureau’s Prime Directive (There are GURPS and d20 variants of this)
Last Unicorn Games’ Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game (1998) (there are also DS9 an TOS variants)
Decipher, Inc.’s Star Trek Roleplaying Game (2002)
Mophidius' Star Trek Adventures (2017)

 

[Morrus]

Good Question. I think Star Trek has had, like, seven?

Heritage Models’ Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier (1978)
Terra Games Company’s Starfleet Voyages (1982) (which is like a revised version of the Heritage Models game)
FASA’s Star Trek: The Role Playing Game (1982)
Task Force Games/Amarillo Design Bureau’s Prime Directive (There are GURPS and d20 variants of this)
Last Unicorn Games’ Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game (1998) (there are also DS9 an TOS variants)
Decipher, Inc.’s Star Trek Roleplaying Game (2002)
Mophidius's Star Trek Adventures (2017)

That's got to be the record.

 

[aramis erak]

Matt Forbeck, the writer of the upcoming official Marvel Multiverse RPG, talked a little more about the game on his blog.

Marvel to Launch Official 'MARVEL MULTIVERSE' Tabletop Role-Playing Game in 2022

Matt Forbeck announced on Twitter that he’s working on a new in-house D616 Marvel RPG due for a 2022 release! It looks like there will be an open playtest. What’s the D617 System? “… the all-new D616 System, an accessible and easy-to-learn system for newcomers to tabletop RPGs and a natural...

www.enworld.org

He confirms that you can create your own characters, as well as play existing Marvel characters. The last Marvel game was the 2012 award-winning Marvel Heroic Roleplaying by Cam Banks and Rob Donoghue, powered by Cortex Plus. Prior to that was Jeff Grub's 1984 Marvel Super Heroes (known as FASERIP due its its attributes of Fighting, Agility, Strength... etc.)

Not quite right. There is one between FASERIP and MHR. TSR's Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game, using a custom deck cards instead of dice mechanic. And two editions of FASERIP - MSH and Advanced MSH.

So in order, TSR's MSH, TSR's AMSH, TSR's MSHAG, Marvel Comics Group's Marvel Universe RPG, MWP's Marvel Heroic Role Play.

MSHAG was actually a lot of fun, if a bit whiffy and hard on the PCs. Mechanistically/procedurally, it's a non-player facing version of the engine in DragonLance: Fifth Age.

 

[Davies]

I think that Marvel and Conan* are the only ones with five (if one includes the forthcoming work for Marvel.) The Lord of the Rings has had four (MERP, Decipher, the One Ring, Adventures in Middle Earth), as has Traveller's Third Imperium (various editions of Traveller**, HERO license, GURPS license, d20 License.)

*Conan: AD&D adventures, TSR game, GURPS license, Mongoose d20, Modiphius 2d20.
** If you consider some of these to be separate lines that might tie with Star Trek.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I wonder which RPGs have had the most licensed RPGs? Star Wars has had... 3? Judge Dredd is currently on its 4th version. I'm sure there are some with more than that though!

If Call of Cthulhu still required a license, I am sure it would lead the way easily.

 

[Umbran]

If Call of Cthulhu still required a license, I am sure it would lead the way easily.

I dunno. Call of Cthulhu has had nine editions, but I don't know if we should count those as different "licenced games", even granting the license isn't needed. There isn't that much change, from one edition to another.

If we want to do that, then Prime Directive has its original, a GURPS, a d20, and a d20 Modern version. And Last Unicorn's Trek has its separate versions for DS9, TNG, and TOS. Which would bring Trek's count up to a dozen.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Forbeck saying to read the press release closely suggests that maybe people aren't reading too much into things by hyper-analyzing every word of the release.

 

[JEB]

So Forbeck worked on Marvel Heroic. Makes one wonder, will it follow in that game's footsteps to some degree, or consciously not follow in its footsteps?

Also, folks shouldn't make too much out of "creating your own characters". Marvel Heroic allowed for that too, it just didn't provide as much structure for it as most RPGs...

 

[Davies]

I dunno. Call of Cthulhu has had nine editions, but I don't know if we should count those as different "licenced games", even granting the license isn't needed. There isn't that much change, from one edition to another.

True, but then there's Trail of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds Cthulhu, d20 Cthulhu, GURPS Cthulhupunk, Fate of Cthulhu, and probably others I'm forgetting.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I dunno. Call of Cthulhu has had nine editions, but I don't know if we should count those as different "licenced games", even granting the license isn't needed. There isn't that much change, from one edition to another.

I think the Chaosium CoC is only on the 7th edition. I was also thinking about all the other games that use the Cthulhu mythos, like Delta Green, Trail of Cthulhu, GURPS Cthulhu, Savage Worlds Cthulhu, and so on.

 

[Morrus]

I think the Chaosium CoC is only on the 7th edition. I was also thinking about all the other games that use the Cthulhu mythos, like Delta Green, Trail of Cthulhu, GURPS Cthulhu, Savage Worlds Cthulhu, and so on.

They're not licensed games, by and large, though. The Cthulhu mythos is generally available for use; Call of Cthulhu specifically is Chaosium's game.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Not quite right. There is one between FASERIP and MHR. TSR's Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game, using a custom deck cards instead of dice mechanic. And two editions of FASERIP - MSH and Advanced MSH.

So in order, TSR's MSH, TSR's AMSH, TSR's MSHAG, Marvel Comics Group's Marvel Universe RPG, MWP's Marvel Heroic Role Play.

MSHAG was actually a lot of fun, if a bit whiffy and hard on the PCs. Mechanistically/procedurally, it's a non-player facing version of the engine in DragonLance: Fifth Age.

Also: Technically not TTRPG, but a Card-Game with a TTRPG theme: Munchkin: Marvel Edition and Munchkin: X-Men Edition by Steven Jackson Games.

But the "You Are Deadpool" gamebooks by Marvel were promoted as a sort of quasi-RPG, and contain RPG-themed in-jokes. They are really choose-your-own-adventure style gamebooks with a cardboard cut-out d6. But it was presented as an RPG.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

I wonder which RPGs have had the most licensed RPGs? Star Wars has had... 3? Judge Dredd is currently on its 4th version. I'm sure there are some with more than that though!

Consulting with...

The world's most complete directory of tabletop RPG depictions of fictive worlds which originated in other media.​

• A surprise contender: World of Aden: 4
• Judge Dredd: 4
• Conan: 5
• Game of Thrones: 5
• Lankhmar: 6
• Marvel: 6
• Star Wars: 6, if you count all three WotC editions.
• Middle-earth: 7 (with an 8th recently announced) 1. MERP 1e, 2. MERP 2E (which substantially revised the world, such as by re-coining the Elvish names, using a proper Tolkienian linguist), 3. LOR Adventure Game (also by ICE, a simpler lead-in to MERP, but truly a standalone game system), 4. LotR Decipher, 5. TOR 1e, 6. AiME (5E), 7. TOR 2e. 8. The Kickstarter also mentions plans for a AiME 2e. Plus two known failed official proposals: by TSR and later by WotC)
• DC Comics: 8
• Star Trek: 10 (not counting how Last Unicorn marketed each series as a standalone RPG). Yes Prime Directive games do count, because they are official licensees. I think there were also two vaporware (which would bring the total to 12 if they were actually published): PD d6 and and PD Traveller.
  
  Criteria are arguable, since some new editions are minor revisions by the same license holder.
  
  Cthulhu would be the winner if they were licensed from Chaosium or various literary estates. But I guess most Cthulhu game are public domain based.

 

[darjr]

Lankmar?!? Wouldn’t have guessed, but considering there are currently TWO right now I should have. I think it’s versions never get done quite right, imho

Nice work by the way!

 

[Umbran]

I think the Chaosium CoC is only on the 7th edition.

There's a 20th Anniversary Edition and a 5.5 edition, iirc.

I was also thinking about all the other games that use the Cthulhu mythos, like Delta Green, Trail of Cthulhu, GURPS Cthulhu, Savage Worlds Cthulhu, and so on.

So, that brings up a really big question - for things like Savage Worlds, Fate, Gumshoe, and other "engine" games - how much change needs to be made to the engine in order to consider it a separate game, as opposed to a setting for a game, with maybe a rules tweak in it?

 

[Morrus]

There's a 20th Anniversary Edition and a 5.5 edition, iirc.



So, that brings up a really big question - for things like Savage Worlds, Fate, Gumshoe, and other "engine" games - how much change needs to be made to the engine in order to consider it a separate game, as opposed to a setting for a game, with maybe a rules tweak in it?

I would guess that if your'e talking systems, as opposed to licensed IPs*, d20 System is way in the lead. And 5E is not far behind.

*by which I mean licensed IP that can be applied to different systems

 

[Dungeonosophy]

I would guess that if your'e talking systems, as opposed to licensed IPs*, d20 System is way in the lead. And 5E is not far behind.

*by which I mean licensed IP that can be applied to different systems

OGL is way in the lead as far as systems go. All OGL products, whether 3e, 3.5e, PF1, 5e, or PF2-based (or totally different systems which use the OGL, such as OGL Gumshoe), are official licensees of WotC.
But yeah, the original question was about IP Settings.