Have you ever found yourself trying to solve a problem your favorite Super Hero finds themself in? Agonize over the choice between flight and invisibility? Imagine yourself stepping into the shoes of a friendly neighborhood vigilante?
If so, you’re in for a treat. The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game is here and with its easy-to-learn rules, you can create amazing stories featuring Heroes from famous teams like the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers with your friends. You can even create brand-new Heroes and become them to thwart villainous schemes!
To play, you’ll need at least two people. There’s no cap on the number of participants, but a group of four to six people usually works best to ensure everyone gets their time in the spotlight. The person in charge of shaping the game’s story (often called the Game Master in the world of tabletop role-playing games) takes on the role of the Narrator.
The Narrator describes the world and challenges that the Heroes face, giving other players the chance to bring their creative juices together and build the ongoing story as it happens. Plus, they’re there to help with any questions about how to play, assist with rolling the dice, and keep the story exciting by throwing in new twists on the fly.
Unlike many other popular games, the Heroes in the Marvel Multiverse RPG aren’t sorted into classes. Instead, they’re assigned a rank based on how skilled and powerful they are. Although ranks can increase as the game goes on – a lot of times, they don’t. That gives you a chance to play around with Heroes of different ranks and make the game fit what you like. Do you want to be a regular person with no superpowers, a Mutant with unique skills, or someone who can control cosmic forces? Whatever you pick decides how high your rank is.
Your receive an allocation of points based on your rank to assign toward your:
- Melee (close-combat)
- Agility (ranged combat)
- Resilience (stamina, tenacity, and pain tolerance)
- Vigilance (awareness)
- Ego (self-confidence, personal magnetism)
- Logic (reason and insight)
… Clever.
If you find learning new game systems daunting, rest assured that the dice mechanics in Marvel Multiverse RPG are straightforward. The game employs the d616 system, employing only three six-sided dice (d6) that are rolled whenever an action carries an element of risk or an uncertain outcome. Among these dice, the “Marvel die” introduces exciting bonuses for specific outcomes.
The Narrator arbitrates your success or failure by comparing your roll to a target score, the difficulty of which hinges on the task and your Hero’s rank. Occasionally, you’ll operate under fortuitous conditions known as “Edge,” or conversely, encounter challenges referred to as “Trouble,” both influencing the likelihood of success.
Beyond action checks, your focus predominantly centers on creative problem-solving. Utilize your origin story, traits, and diverse powers to achieve objectives while basking in the fulfillment of your heroic fantasies. Combat is a straightforward affair, providing opportunities for a standard action (attacking, evading, seizing, etc.), a movement action (running, leaping, scaling, etc.), and a reaction (employing specific powers, aiding a teammate, escaping, etc.) during each turn.
Additional guidelines within the Core Rulebook elaborate on healing abilities, Karma, weaponry, gravity-defying car throws (!!), teamwork dynamics, as well as comprehensive character construction. There’s also a section catered specifically to Narrators, enhancing their ability to orchestrate an unforgettable game.
If you want to dip your toes before investing in the book, you can learn some basic rules and make a character using the FREE Quickstart.
There’s an entire Multiverse to explore, and over 100 pre-configured Marvel Heroes and Villains ready to play. You can create custom characters using the Character Vault, and use your sheet to make rolls either on the virtual tabletop or from your device during an in-person session.
Modifications and House Rules are encouraged, as well… as the designer Matt Forbeck says, “It’s your game, and it’s entirely up to you how to play it.”