[freeroleplay] Super Hero RPGs
- From: James Jensen <cheeb2002@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: freeroleplay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 10:05:02 -0500
Hi, all. Sorry about my absense for the last month or so. I haven't had
that much time to devote to RPGs classes started, and rather than devote
that time to fantasy, I've been doing some reading and experimentation
with the new Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game, which has some really
good ideas in it.
The basic mechanics are diceless, and are built around red and white
stones that you move around on your character sheet (known as a
Character Action Display, or "CAD" for short). The most basic rule is
that three red stones equals one white stone.
You get a number of white health stones equal to your character's
Durability rating. You also get a number of red energy stones equal to
three times your Durability rating, or twice your Intelligence,
depending on which you chose at character creation. These red stones are
important, because you have to spend them to do stuff.
Time is measured in Pages and Panels. Each Page consists of one panel
for each character who is doing something. During each Panel, a
character can do two things. Order of Action is based on Agility unless
you chose at creation to have your character use Speed, instead. At the
beginning (or is it end?) of their Panel, a character regenerates red
stones.
Each character can have up to nine Actions, which are skills and powers.
Each Action has an Action Number, or rating, which is limit of how many
red stones you can spend on the Action during a Panel. However, some
Actions come with Ability Bonuses, which allow you to spend up to an
additional number of red stones equal to your rating in the ability you
get the bonus in.
Also, whenever you perform Actions, you have to figure in your
Modifiers. Modifiers are things that grant you free stones from the
General Pool. These do not count against your spending limit.
*Character Creation*
During character creation, you get 40 white stones, which act as
character points. With these, you buy all your Actions, Modifiers, and
Ability Scores. You can also buy advantages and disadvantages for
Actions and Modifiers, like an Ability Bonus or 2x Damage.
Most Actions and Modifiers are more expensive than normal. They have
something like "Cost = Action Number + 2" in their description." I'm
sure you can figure out what this means. Advantages and Disadvantages
raise or lower (respectively) the Cost Level. Some Actions have
Specialties, which allow a character to overcome Situational Modifiers
based on the need of prior experience in some situations (like fighting
underwater).
One Action (Steal Superpower) and many Modifiers (like "Adamantium
Skeleton") don't have a rating associated with them. To me, Steal
Superpower should be a modifier, but they probably wanted it to count
against the 9 Action Limit.
Finally, each character has to take at least one Challenge. This can be
something as straightforward as "being a Mutant" or as weird as "won't
drive/ride in cars." Taking a Challenge gives extra stones to spend.
Challenges can also be taken during play, so characters can improve
themselves that way.
One more thing: the normal way of improving Actions is through Lines of
Experience. These are just experience points that go toward specific
Actions. When you get ten lines of experience in a certain action, the
action number goes up by one.
Oh yeah: there's a limit of nine Actions per character, but you can drop
Actions or combine two Actions at the lower Action Number. So Close
Combat and Ranged Combat could be combined to be just Combat Skills.
*The Point of this E-Mail*
I'm thinking that some of these conventions could be imported into
FRINGE Supers - at least as optional rules. I really like the Panel/Page
and Cost Level conventions.
-J. Jensen
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