# Review of Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game by Margaret Weis Productions



## Neuroglyph (Dec 9, 2012)

So here we are in the wake of the weekend of the release of *The Avengers Movie* - and by all accounts, the movie has broken more box-office records than Hulk has smashed New York City landmarks! As a side note, if you haven’t gone to see the *The Avengers Movie* yet because you can’t believe the hype, trust me, believe the hype! And go see it on the IMAX screen if you’ve got one near you, because that much action needs to be viewed on a HUGE SCREEN!

And as it turns out, not long before *The Avengers Movie* was released, a role-playing game was published by *Margaret Weis Productions* with the license from Marvel Comics under its belt. The *Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game* offers players to portray superheroes from the Marvel Universe, battling against super-villains and other threats to mankind, and hopefully making the world a safer place! And with great movies like *The Avengers*, *Ironman*, *The Fantastic Four*, and *Thor* to envision, who doesn’t want to play a superhero?!

*Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game*


*Design*: Cam Banks (lead), Rob Donoghue, Matt Forbeck, Will Hindmarch, Phillippe-Antoine, Ménard, Jesse Scoble
*Publisher*: Margaret Weis Productions
*Year*: 2012
*Media*: PDF package:Rulebook + 3 Support Books (302 total pages) + 2 Reference Sheets 
*Retail Cost*: $19.99 ($12.99 from *RPGNow.com*) 
The *Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game* is a role-playing game, using the Cortex Plus game engine, of portraying famous superheroes from the Marvel Comics Universe. The PDF package includes six four booklets – MHR Basic Game, MHR Datafiles, MHR Example of Play, and MHR Random Datafiles – and two Reference Sheets – one for Players and one for the Watcher (Gamemaster). The MHR Basic Game book also includes a Mini-Event (adventure) called Breakout, based upon a comic book series of *The New Avengers*.

*Production Quality*

The production quality of the *Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game* has a great layout and a gorgeous appearance, but had some problems conveying the information about the game system. The main rulebook has both a table of contents and bookmarks for ease of navigation, but the material was not always conveyed in an easy to understand format. The designers did offer examples along the way in blue text to draw the eye, but there needed to be better transition between chapters in order to understand the nuances of the Cortex System, the character sheets (datafiles), and how it all fit together.

The illustrations in the *Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game* were drawn from a variety of Marvel Comics, and as such, made awesome eye-candy while reading the rules. While they might not have always been illustrative of a rules concept or mechanic, it’s hard as a fan-boy not to enjoy the comic panels and single shots of superheroes splashed liberally throughout the book.

*The Contents*

As previously mentioned, the *Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game* contains all the rules necessary to understand and use the Cortex Plus game engine, as well as a sample adventure or Event called *Breakout*. There is a nine page booklet offering a sample of playing the game, an eleven page booklet for generating random datafiles on new superheroes and super-villains, as well as two Reference Sheets – one for the Watcher (gamemaster) and one for the Players, which can be printed out and used at the table. Unfortunately, despite the massive amount of material and page length, there are some fairly big gaps in this Basic Game.

For starters, the Cortex Plus game engine is quite different than anything I’ve run into before, and I must admit that it’s quite innovative and unique. It uses polyhedral dice to represent the various Powers (with Special Effects or SFX) and Specialties (Skills/Skillsets) of the superheroes, as well as dice to represent their Affiliations (whether they are better Solo, with a Buddy, or on a Team), and Distinctions (such as catch-phrases, origin plot elements, and attitudes). Dice pools are assembled to represent the actions and reactions a superhero takes during a wide range of situations, whether in combat or non-combat, and the results of the dice thrown are compared to a counter-action from their opponents. The system seems well-geared to handling superhero actions, and provides a structure to interpret role-playing into game mechanics fairly well.

But on the downside, I felt that the Cortex Plus engine gave the game a steep learning curve, and I had to end up reading through the rules twice and reference the 9-page Example of Play booklet a couple times before I felt I had a handle on the *Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game*. Perhaps if the rules had been written a bit differently, or if I had played the game with an already experienced Watcher, I might have picked up the conventions of the Cortex Plus system a bit faster. 

And because of the use of dice pools, involving sometimes up to 6 or more dice, it’s hard to determine a comparison of the overall power level between superheroes and villains. It’s hard to compare one power against another, or against a skill set, when a single action or defensive reaction might involve two, four, or even eight dice to determine an outcome.

On the plus side, Cortex Plus comes across as a speedy and narrative focused system, both in and out of combat, and completely user-friendly for gamers who prefer “Theatre of the Mind” style of play. It’s cinematic, and offers the players a freedom to try out all sorts of superheroic antics without worrying about rules minutiae. I should mention that the Cortex Plus system has been used before in the *Battlestar Galactica RPG* and the *Serenity RPG* (aka Joss Whedon’s *Firefly* setting) with success, as it conforms well to player-driven action, and an Act/Scene/Action style of adventure scripting from the gamemaster.

The game also includes a selection of superhero character sheets – the *MHR Datafiles* booklet – for 23 well known heroes from the Marvel Universe. For superheroes, you’ve got a good chunk of the _X-men_ to choose from, along with some of _The Avengers_, _The Fantastic Four_, _The Heroes for Hire_, and a sprinkling of independent heroes like _Daredevil_, _Spiderman_, and _Black Panther_. The design team did not offer much in the way of villains for the Watcher to use, although the *Mini-Event: Breakout* (adventures are called Events here) offers stats for opponents that can be used by Watchers creating their own Events. In addition to pulling in superheroes as “villains”, such as Black Widow, other opponents include S.H.I.E.L.D agents, Electro, Count Nefaria, and an assortment of other mutants and mutates from the Savage Lands. 

Of course, the designers did include a random character generation booklet – the *MHR Random Datafiles* book – which can be used to create both new villains as well as new superheroes alike. A blank Datafile sheet can be found in both the main *MHR Basic Game Book* and the *MHR Datafiles* booklet. The downside of this is that there are no real rules for crafting one’s own superhero as in Champions or GURPs, and the game feels geared more toward playing out the escapades of an existing Marvel Superhero, or an entire superhero team. While some gamers might thrill to role-play Wolverine or Ironman in a Marvel Universe setting, others will undoubtedly mourn the feeling of being too confined by the lack of a character creation system. 

Additionally, the Experience Point system seems more geared to offering bonuses during a single Event rather than allowing a superhero to change and grow over time. Many of the benefits one can gain from experience points spent are immediate, or limited to the current Event, and make no lasting changes to the character. In fact, a sidebar discussion suggests that it’s okay for players to play new superheroes on each new Event, starting with a fresh datafile from the stock. Again, this might sit werll with some gamers, but most RPGs are based upon characters growing and advancing over time and with experience, and not being forever held in a static basic form.

One major downside to the *MHR Basic Game* is the lack of a selection of villains, threats, and overall “world mechanics” to create further home-brewed Events. It’s a bit perturbing that the designers fail to offer a nascent Watcher anything in the way of resources to create his or her own Events, which leaves the game in stasis once the players finish with the *Breakout Mini-Event* included in the rulebook. And for those fanboys and fangirls who have read and enjoyed Marvel Comics *The New Avengers* series #1 to #6, the Acts and Scenes in the *Breakout Mini-Event* are going to seem maybe a bit too familiar, and lack the spontaneity of truly new material. 

In fact, the structure of *MHR Basic Game* seems more geared for Watchers to run future releases of “Event” products, rather than taking material and running their own Event Series in the Marvel Universe. Lacking basic Event building materials, such as villain and monster datafiles, real-world threats like speeding cars, crashing buildings, and other resources really hampers a Watchers’ ability to make the game their own.

*Overall Score*: 2.8 *out of* 5.0

*Conclusions*

Ive 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.

_So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!_

*Author’s Note*: This author received a complimentary advanced copy of this product for use in writing the review above.

*Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)*


*Presentation*: 3.0
- Design: 2.5 (Rulebook was adequate, but system still difficult to learn from the writing)
- Illustrations: 3.5 (Awesome illustrations from actual Marvel Comics, but not really illustrating the rules)
*Content*: 3.0
- Crunch: 2.5 (Cortex innovative, but no character generation, and no Watcher resources)
- Fluff: 3.5 (Plenty of fluff for the superheroes included, but little beyond that for the Marvel Universe)
*Value*: 2.5 (A lot of cool material, but basically nothing more but a one-shot pre-made adventure)


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## Grimmjow (May 10, 2012)

The only problem is that this is what heroes unlimited already did


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## Agamon (May 10, 2012)

I'm not sure what's difficult about MHR or Cortex Plus in general.  It's different than D&D, I guess, but that's a good thing.  RPGs shouldn't all be D&D clones.


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## Felon (May 10, 2012)

I'm very grateful to have a review.

I went to the MW Games website, where the Marvel gets front-page billing, but after clicking on the link, I was stymied. The page has nothing more to say than "this game exists, click here to buy it". There was a link to one preview of the character sheets, and a link to a little design diary. Apparently, there are other prveiws and design diaries, but I found no links to an archive. For a license that should be a coup for them, it's inexplicable that the Margaret-Weiss guys aren't promoting and teasing it for all its worth.

So, a review is really handy.


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## bartendr (May 10, 2012)

Hi Felon,

I encourage you to read other reviews. I have GMed/played MHR several times, and I feel that this game has something positive to offer the roleplaying community.
I would also suggest finding a local store and actually playing it yourself...

Cheers!



Felon said:


> I'm very grateful to have a review.
> 
> I went to the MW Games website, where the Marvel gets front-page billing, but after clicking on the link, I was stymied. The page has nothing more to say than "this game exists, click here to buy it". There was a link to one preview of the character sheets, and a link to a little design diary. Apparently, there are other prveiws and design diaries, but I found no links to an archive. For a license that should be a coup for them, it's inexplicable that the Margaret-Weiss guys aren't promoting and teasing it for all its worth.
> 
> So, a review is really handy.


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## Felon (May 10, 2012)

Got a friend who's playing the Breakout scenario. Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and Silver Surfer. Talk about a power curve! I'm curious about how the system handles that.


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## Evenglare (May 11, 2012)

Although im sure MWP has done a very good job with this I simply must take the time to point out the HERO system. It was the first to do the super hero thing. And now it does everything awesomely as a universal system. If I even get one person to look at it, my job will be done.


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## Greg K (May 11, 2012)

Evenglare said:


> Although im sure MWP has done a very good job with this I simply must take the time to point out the HERO system. It was the first to do the super hero thing.




Nope, it was not the first
1977 Superhero 2044 (Gamescience)
1979 Villains and Vigilantes 1e (Fantasy games Unlimited)
1980 Supergame (DAG Productions)
1981 Champions 1e (Hero Games)


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## Astrosicebear (May 11, 2012)

Felon said:


> Got a friend who's playing the Breakout scenario. Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and Silver Surfer. Talk about a power curve! I'm curious about how the system handles that.




The system handles this well.  Basically, lower powered characters keep up quite well with even the "strong" characters.  The main mechanic is Plot Points here.  Plot Points, like Hero points, allow you to add dice to your pool, increase theme etc.  Lower powered characters are rolling lower dice, and therefore through the system getting more plot points on average, allowing them to do many many things.

I must say, though, I feel this review is a bit shortchanging this system.  Its a great book, and for a core rulebook for 12.99 (RPG/amazon) I dont see how that's not a 5 in value.

I'm not the biggest superhero fan and I purchased the book out of curiosity and I am definitely enjoying it. I have played one game and everyone at the table was having a blast.  Whereas a D&D session is most often filled with sidechat and waiting and banter, the MHR session was interest to the max.  Everyone was helping to create a great session.  It truly is new age design with the Cortex system.


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## Felon (May 11, 2012)

Astrosicebear said:


> The system handles this well.  Basically, lower powered characters keep up quite well with even the "strong" characters.  The main mechanic is Plot Points here.  Plot Points, like Hero points, allow you to add dice to your pool, increase theme etc.  Lower powered characters are rolling lower dice, and therefore through the system getting more plot points on average, allowing them to do many many things.



That's cool. So, it's gote FATEsque traits, like the way Dresden Files gives more fate points to mortals. I've been working on my own homebrewed Supers FATE game, and it does something similar.

In general, superhero games tend to be pretty lame, because they devote way to much energy building characters rather than playing them. In actual gameplay, most players just wind up mashing the attack power button every turn. 

As to shortchanging the game--hell, this review does more to advocate it than the Margaret Weiss website does. "This game exists now, feel free to buy it". Sorry to harp on that, but really the question in my mind is "why aren't more harping about that?"


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## Cam Banks (May 11, 2012)

What else would you like to see on our site, Felon? We do a great deal of social network communication thru our Facebook page, Twitter, and with my own accounts in those places, as well as host our own forums. I've also started up a blog on the MWP site. Always keen to hear other suggestions.

Also, PP aren't used like Dresden's Fate Point refresh limits to balance out heroes of different levels. Instead, the game play itself provides most of the screen time balance, chiefly because no matter how many dice you roll in your pool, you only start out with 2 dice added together for your total. This brings all characters together at a comic book narrative baseline.

Cheers,
Cam


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## TreChriron (May 12, 2012)

BSG and Serenity use the classic Cortex rules (also available in a generic format), not the Cortex+ rules. Leverage and Supernatural are Cortex+. :-D Just a minor nit pic.


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## Allensh (May 13, 2012)

Not even remotely accurate. Villains and Vigilantes 1st edition predates the release of Champions (V&V in 1979, Champions in 1981) and Superhero 2044, while bad, predates both of those.

Allen


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## Allensh (May 13, 2012)

The lack of a point-based munckinizing system in MHR is a feature, not a bug. All it takes is for the player to bring his idea to the Watcher/GM. Then you cut down most of the D12's they want to D10's and D8's and you're good to go 

Allen


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## Jared Rascher (May 14, 2012)

As someone that was actually critical of the game in my blog, once I sat down and read through the Operations Manual, I have to say that I'm often confused by comments about the game being hard to learn or understand.  I honestly think that some of that might be "unlearning what you have learned," and taking the rules at face value instead of reading more into them than what is actually there.

Having read through the actual rules and really trying to reset my expectations, I don't have any problems with how the game would run, or how well it would model a comic book narrative.  I think it will do an excellent job doing that.  

The only real misgivings I still have after reading the rules is about players that want a longer term campaign than what a single event, no matter how long, might provide.  I think it is a valid concern, but at the same time, I think  (as I haven't gotten to play it yet) that the game delivers what it promises . . . a viable RPG that is paced to tell a comic book style story for "event" length story arcs.


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## Greg K (May 14, 2012)

TreChriron said:


> BSG and Serenity use the classic Cortex rules (also available in a generic format), not the Cortex+ rules. Leverage and Supernatural are Cortex+. :-D Just a minor nit pic.




Lol. Not quite. I think you meant Smallville is Cortex + rather Supernatural. Supernatural uses classic Cortex (although someone did a Cortex+ hack for Leverage for Supernatural).


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## TreChriron (May 15, 2012)

Greg K said:


> Lol. Not quite. I think you meant Smallville is Cortex + rather Supernatural. Supernatural uses classic Cortex (although someone did a Cortex+ hack for Leverage for Supernatural).




Thanks for clarifying. It's important to realize there are two flavors of Cortex. I don't think C+ enthusiasts will be as enamored with classic, but it seems like conversions are not too complicated.


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## Greg K (May 15, 2012)

TreChriron said:


> Thanks for clarifying. It's important to realize there are two flavors of Cortex. I don't think C+ enthusiasts will be as enamored with classic, but it seems like conversions are not too complicated.




I don't know that I would consider it a conversion of the Classic Cortex version of  Supernatural. 

Anyone interested, can look here
Some Space to Think: Superage (or maybe Levernatural)

It is the first of five(?) entries from January 2011 (to help make it easy to find the remaining entries).


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## Shoe (May 15, 2012)

Curse you MARVEL!

Why couldn't you just follow DC's lead and sell the liscence to the best superhero RPG out there!?  Every other good comic related game (heroclix and VS system CCG) all had rights from both companies, it's not like they are trying to start a competiton or anything!

GAHHHH!

I love Marvel comics, but whoever is in charge of their non-digital games needs to be shot!


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## Stacie GmrGrl (May 16, 2012)

If you mean Mutants and Masterminds that's just opinion on the whole "best supers game ever" bit...

I am glad Marvel went a different route and this version of Cortex+ is the most versatile yet. If anybody here doesn't think this game has support from fans go to RPG.net and look for the thread Lost Files of Marvel... hundreds of fan made characters, including like 4 versions of Batman I think... and look for Claire Redfields Marvel threads Maximum Wesker, which has Spiderman vs. Wesker (Resident Evil) and her Marvel vs. Capcom thread.

I would post links but I am on my phone so can't do links. 

Also check out exploring-infinity.com blog (I think I spelled it right) for more links to Marvel awesomeness...


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## Shoe (May 16, 2012)

I'm pretty sure that "world's best superhero rpg" was green ronin's slogan for m&m (or something close to it).  I guess what I don't understand is why a purely-numbers based branding guy would go with a relative unknown system (which is a little too abstract IMHO ) versus M&M when m&m clearly has bigger sales numbers .  Seems like bad business.

I don't care for the cortex+ system on initial reading, but this review cemented my uninterest in this game because of the poor support for the gm/watcher.  I'm a gm first, and I don't much care for canned adventures.  This game will have to do quite a lot for custom scenarios and provide me some good guidelines for creating /converting marvel's obscure characters before it gets any of my money


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## Stacie GmrGrl (May 16, 2012)

Shoe said:


> I'm pretty sure that "world's best superhero rpg" was green ronin's slogan for m&m (or something close to it).  I guess what I don't understand is why a purely-numbers based branding guy would go with a relative unknown system (which is a little too abstract IMHO ) versus M&M when m&m clearly has bigger sales numbers .  Seems like bad business.
> 
> I don't care for the cortex+ system on initial reading, but this review cemented my uninterest in this game because of the poor support for the gm/watcher.  I'm a gm first, and I don't much care for canned adventures.  This game will have to do quite a lot for custom scenarios and provide me some good guidelines for creating /converting marvel's obscure characters before it gets any of my money




Well if you don't like Cortex+ games then you might not like MHR, but this review, like many I have read... was written from a certain perspective of complete misunderstanding of the game itself... 

The biggest glaring mistake is it saying there is no character creation, which the book has 8 pages of making your own character. The second is it saying the book doesn't explain how to play or what to roll when the book goes into incredible detail Twice on what the Datafile IS and how it works... what your Affiliation is, Distinctions, Power Sets, and Specialties and how each function.

On page OM4 it goes over the Captain Americas Datafile and each section is highlighter and explained. On page 5 it goes over what you can add into a Dice Pool with a sidebar showing you the list... One Affiliation Die, one Distinction,  One from each Power Set, one Specialty, One Asset, One Stress Die or One Compilation Die... 

The key to understanding this game is that it is designed around comic book action and stories... and this game does it superbly. Each time you act you explain what. You are doing and how and Then look on your datafile and pick the dice that apply. Then Roll. Pick two dice, add together and pick a third as your Effect Die. The opposition then reacts by describing how they react and rolls dice, picks two and adds together and an Effect Die. If Reaction rolls higher they avoided the Action... if not, the person doing the Action can apply his Effect Die in many ways...

Do I cause Stress... Do I create a Complication for the target so my teammates can use that. Complication Die in their die rolls... or do I create an Asset?  You mean as a Player I get to choose HOW my Action applies to the scene and give it a mechanical result and not just rely on the GM deciding for me after I roll... That's really cool.

On page 11 it goes into detail on Plot Points, the fuel of the game so to speak... And how you can spend them. 

Page 14 goes into the Doom Pool, The Watchers special dice pool that is one of the coolest elements of this game period and really sets Marvel HR apart from the rest. It represents not just extra dice the Watcher could add to a die roll but also like the ever growing danger of what the heroes will be facing. It is to the Watcher what Plot Points are to Players. 

When you add Milestones into the mix, Milestones being major decision points and personal story arcs for your character, goals or internal complications that the character has to deal with... and you have Distinctions which are basically the same as Aspects in FATE games, personality traits, defining quirks, professional job, catchphrases, like Iron Man's Billionaire Playboy or Things It's Clobberin' Time... put these two together you have a real, simple, fun in game mechanic that fuels Roleplaying your character... and working through Milestones is how you get XP, so yes you have to roleplay to gain XP. 

How XP works in this game is another part of the game that is done on a different paradigm, and I think they should have used a different term than XP just to avoid this confusion... but basically XP is used to "buy" character upgrades during the Event in question... but even the sidebar on page 109 goes into the difference of Temporary vs. Permanent things that come in the expenditure of XP's and how to work with them between Events if you want to use the same character from Event to Event.

XP can be used towards things like changing a Distinction or switching Affiliations to gaining a new Specialty or adding a new SFX to a Power Set, or even changing a Power Set completely... or Unlocking Event Resources which can become available through the combination of meeting certain Event results and completing Event Milestones, so for example you worked with SHIELD in an Event and helped them deal with a crisis that saved them and you have the XP you could spend some to maybe get to use a SHIELD transport... or maybe become an official member of SHIELD itself. 

IMO this is the greatest thing about the game... as a player I get some narrative control on how my character changes during the Event by this unique use of XP where I can spend 10 XP and declare that I do work for SHIELD... If that is possible through the Event... and become an agent and not just have to rely on GM allowing it.

It's a really cool, really fun game. it is also very simple and there is rarely any book lookup...  especially when every player has a Hero Cheatsheet... then everything you need to know is on your Datafile.


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## Shoe (May 17, 2012)

While that follow up is most appreciative and quite informative, it didn't really address my main concern: gm/watcher resources.  It seems that few if any villain data files were provided, an it also seems (from the original review) that there are very few rules on how heroes interact with the world around them, as well as almost no help learning to build fair/challenging encounters.  Was the review inaccurate in this front as well?


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## Stacie GmrGrl (May 17, 2012)

Shoe said:


> While that follow up is most appreciative and quite informative, it didn't really address my main concern: gm/watcher resources.  It seems that few if any villain data files were provided, an it also seems (from the original review) that there are very few rules on how heroes interact with the world around them, as well as almost no help learning to build fair/challenging encounters.  Was the review inaccurate in this front as well?




In all honesty, in a way, the wonderful folks that wrote this game did drop the ball on that yes... 

It does go over how Events work, the Event format, Event Milestones and a touch on using XP within an Event but if they did not include Breakout, the Mini-Event, then yes this gamewould have seriously been hampered.

There are a few pages that cover Watcher Characters, and basically Watcher characters come in a few varieties... Main Villains, that get a full Datafile like Heroes... Minor Villains, which get condensed Datafiles (basically just give them what they NEED for the scene)...Mobs, a single Datafile representing large groups of mooks, and Large Threats, a single Datafile representing things like a Tyranosaurous Rex (threats that would take a group to deal with).

In the Breakout Event there are examples of all this... and it has 48 Watcher characters that the Watcher can choose to use depending on how the Event plays out. Most of them are here to show off how versatile and simple they are. 49 if you include the Sentinel stats on page OM49.

So for any review to say this game has NO Watcher resources to work with would be another big mistake... there is an entire adventure in here with many possible villains to use, and the 23 Hero Datafiles... 

I guess its just a perspective thing... this game is different. IMO I feel there are more Watcher resources than Mutants and Masterminds 3e has GM resources on how to run the game. Thats just me. Once you understand how Marvel works, that every action a player taakes is their Panel action within the Scene, and every Scene is part of the Act in the Event... and every Scene should have a goal, with its own Scene Distinctions to add flavor, and when somebody Acts they have to state the Intention of their Action so the opposition can clearly React...

All this is specifically laid out in the book. 

I would say this game has Watcher resources... its just laid out throughout the rules and not separated in their own "Being a Watcher" chapter.


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## Spatula (May 18, 2012)

I love the game but I have to echo [MENTION=8158]Felon[/MENTION] 's complaints about the website. The flow is very poor. You arrive, click on the giant Marvel banner and get sent to a page that has:

a link to buy the book.
a link to find a preferred retailer.
a link to [MENTION=3817]Cam Banks[/MENTION] 's latest blog post, about why the game is Event-centric.
some "buzz" links which are limited to: pre-order Civil War, preview #3, and "when will Marvel arrive?"

What is it? How does it play? What do you do with it? It really seems like there should be some information there instead of some links. Why am I buying it?

And then there's the rest. Where are links to the other previews? Cam's blog entries? (which you can access by clicking on his name, but that's not obvious IMO) The downloadable content? You have to go down to the very bottom of the page to the generic list of links in the corner and click "Downloads" for that. There's nothing on the Marvel page itself. And there's no Downloads tab/button up top.

A link to the Marvel forums would be useful to place on the Marvel page, as well, I think, but there is a "Forums" tab/button up top so they're not hard to find.


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## Spatula (May 18, 2012)

Shoe said:


> While that follow up is most appreciative and quite informative, it didn't really address my main concern: gm/watcher resources.  It seems that few if any villain data files were provided, an it also seems (from the original review) that there are very few rules on how heroes interact with the world around them, as well as almost no help learning to build fair/challenging encounters.  Was the review inaccurate in this front as well?




There's I think 41 super villains in the book, plus a bunch of other stuff (SHIELD agents, dinosaurs, Sentinels, etc.). A lot of the villains are C-listers, because they're tied to the Breakout adventure, but there are some big names in there.

I dunno what rules you need for the heroes to interact with the world. There's rules for adjucating actions... I guess I don't understand this complaint.

There's no sort of "challenge rating" or anything. On the one hand, I would really appreciate something like that. On the other, I don't see how that sort of thing is possible in a supers game. If you're Daredevil, facing the Hulk is terrifying. If you're Professor X... not so much. If you're facing Carnage or Venom and you're the Human Torch or Banshee, you're in good shape. If you're Spider-Man, you're going to have a tougher time of it, unless you can figure out how to exploit their vulnerabilities from the scenery. How do you rate that sort of interplay?

The starting adventure does give you guidelines for how many heroes are good for an encounter and offers lots of suggestions for ramping up the difficulty if things are too easy.


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## Spatula (May 18, 2012)

meh.


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## Felon (May 19, 2012)

Stacie GmrGrl said:


> The key to understanding this game is that it is designed around comic book action and stories... and this game does it superbly. Each time you act you explain what. You are doing and how and Then look on your datafile and pick the dice that apply. Then Roll. Pick two dice, add together and pick a third as your Effect Die. The opposition then reacts by describing how they react and rolls dice, picks two and adds together and an Effect Die. If Reaction rolls higher they avoided the Action... if not, the person doing the Action can apply his Effect Die in many ways...
> 
> Do I cause Stress... Do I create a Complication for the target so my teammates can use that. Complication Die in their die rolls... or do I create an Asset?  You mean as a Player I get to choose HOW my Action applies to the scene and give it a mechanical result and not just rely on the GM deciding for me after I roll... That's really cool.



Thanks for the post. You've convinced me. I just bought a copy off of Amazon. Hope it's everything it's been cracked up to be.

I adored Mutants & Masterminds for a while, but it wound up falling into the same trap as the superhero games that came before it. It has a really great character generation system, but no interesting or dynamic gameplay. At a demo at DragonCon, me and a friend playtested the new DC version using Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. Imagine that combination of abilities. It should give rise to an endless array of tactics. Instead, we just basically zeroed in on the heaviest-hitting power we had and used it pretty much every turn. Even when describing what we're trying to do to the GM, he's just pointing out that it's more-or-less putting different window-dressing on the same general power (Move Object, for instance). And if you try to do anything too out there, then just spend a Hero point and the DM fiats the result. 

So, I came to realize that M&M is basically just Golden Axe distilled into an RPG. You hammer the ATTACK button repeatedly, and if you ever feel really squeezed, you can hit the MAGIC button (i.e. spend a Hero point). Eventually someone flubs a soak roll and they go down. And that's all there is too it. Maybe I'm just too much of a right-brained type, but that seems to lack depth. 

One of the basic presumptions in M&M, Champions, TSR Marvel, and pretty much every other game I've played is that every character must have some kind of strong persistent, passive defense. The end result is that low-powered attacks simply pancake uselessly. If all you do in one of these games is hammer away, then it's dumb to bother having a small hammer. Play Hulk, not Daredevil.

If you look at an old Avengers comic book--say, fighting Graviton or Magneto or Count Nefaria--you'll find that the lower-power characters are able to contribute against a powerhouse villain, even if it's just the wasp zapping the villain in his eyes to blind him for a second, or Cap getting a villain to waste time and energy zapping his shield. That distracts the villain, put him off-guard, and lets the heavyweight heroes get in a solid hit.

What I'm taking from Stacie is that this version of Marvel Supers actually gets it. Superhero games aren't all about character design. Fingers crossed.


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## Felon (May 19, 2012)

Cam Banks said:


> What else would you like to see on our site, Felon? We do a great deal of social network communication thru our Facebook page, Twitter, and with my own accounts in those places, as well as host our own forums. I've also started up a blog on the MWP site. Always keen to hear other suggestions.



Thanks for asking.

Look at Stacie's post. She did more to sell a copy of the game to me than anything else I've read. 

Here are the main things the site should do to entice readers and potential customers:

State the design goals. What makes this game special or different from other superhero RPG's? I already own superhero games. Why do I want this one? The Marvel brand is a major plus (mainly because Marvel has a great cast of villains), but that's not really enough.
Give a basic overview of the core concepts. Post that image of Cap Stacie mentioned.
Realizing that the gaming audience is inherently divided between left-brained and right-brained gamers, target both or either demographic. Is it a system that relies heavily on improvisation, abstraction, and fiat? Is it a crunch system that focuses on tactical gameplay? A lot of people will assume one or the other until they are told otherwise.
Maintain an archive. Why can't I find links to the previous design diaries and preview articles?

Btw, I sure hope there's a villain book on the way real soon. I mean, right now it's like having D&D without a Monster Manual.


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## Felon (May 20, 2012)

OK, I'm now reading the PDF. I am not far into it, but I can tell that this system is, by my way of thinking, on the right track. It doesn't use the traditional array of ability scores, for example. Those things are pretty meaningless to superheroes. I probably don't need to know how strong someone is unless they're super-strong, in which case they have a specific power to represent that.

I am bugged more than ever that the website is as bare-bones as it is. The system is loaded with a lot of proprietary terminology and concepts. LOADED, I say. As a consequence, this is not a system where previous experience with RPG's means you can hit the ground running. 

Given that, I gotta say that if I were one of the people invested in promoting this system, I would definitely publish some design diaries that act as introductory primers. Without that, I get the feeling for many gamers this RPG is going to wind up on the "TLDR" section of their RPG book shelf. Honestly, I kind of feel like that's what happened with the reviewer here.


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## Felon (May 20, 2012)

Whoops. Damn damn damn....


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## Talon378 (Jun 7, 2012)

I have been reading this PDF lately and I am amp'ed up and ready to play. If only I could find some players in my area, this looks like alot of fun......


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## Shoe (Jun 8, 2012)

I've been listening to the BAMF! Podcast's actual play sessions of the game.  It seems like getting your dice pool ready takes a bit of time (at least until you've done it many many times).  I do want to give the system a fair chance.  Does anyone know if someone is running this as online one-shots?

-Shoe


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## Shoe (Aug 26, 2012)

I'd like to take a moment to do what no one ever does on the Internet and admit I was wrong.  Marvel heroic rp is a fun game.  I always knew just by reading the books that the cortex plus system was fun, but initially I felt like it was better for a board Game than rp.  After building some characters and running a session, I will admit that it is fun.

It does have some minor problems: building dice pools can be slow, and being the watcher is VERY different from other systems I've played.  It's also rather hard to build your own event on the fly.  Without pre planned unlockables and event milestones, a custom event looses a lot.

On the flip side, making and modding new data files is easy.  

All in all it's not a bad game.  Not simulationist lik I normally like, but fun


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