MSH House Rules - Darkonnia

Marvel Super H eroes: H ouse R ulesThis work introduces new optional rules as wellas new powers and talents for use with theMarvel Super Heroes RPG produced by TSR in1992.HOUSE RULESBy Anthony K. Harvey0

INTRODUCTIONMarvel Super Heroes: House RulesThis document is the compilation of all of myhouse rules for the venerable Marvel SuperHeroes RPG which was produced by TSR from1996 to 1992.So, in the interest of CYA, the necessary legal stufffills out the remainder of my introduction. Feelfree to skip it and go to the good stuff.MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL VILLIANSare trademarks of Marvel Entertainment Group,Inc.This document may contain copyrighted materialthe use of which has not always been specificallyauthorized by the copyright owner. We aremaking such material available in an effort toadvance understanding of environmental,political, human rights, economic, democracy,scientific, and social justice issues, etc. we believethis constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrightedmaterial as provided for in section 107 of the USCopyright Law.In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, thematerial on this site is distributed without profitto those who have expressed a prior interest inreceiving the included information for researchand educational purposes. For more informationgo to www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlIf you wish to use copyrighted material from thiswork for purposes of your own that go beyond‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from thecopyright owner.All illustrations used in this work are originalcharacters illustrated by, and are trademarks of,Anthony K. Harvey.COMBATMANEUVERSSometimes it’s necessary to pull a chapter fromthe book of dirty fighting when the chips aredown. The following entries cover various tacticsthat can be employed in melee combat.BLINDThis maneuver covers the many variations ofthrowing “something” at an opponent’s face inorder to blind and distract him, whether it be dirt,mud or a cream pie.The hero initiates this action by making a bullseyeon an Agility FEAT. If successful, the targetmust make an endurance check on the Stun effectcolumn of the Universal Table and apply its effect.TRIPIn order to trip a person the hero must roll abull’s-eye on a Fighting FEAT. If he is successful,the victim must make an Agility FEAT versus anintensity equal to the hero’s Fighting in order toavoid falling prone.POWERSPower designated with an asterisk (*) at the endare double-cost powers and take up two powerslots.1SENSORY ATTACKRange:Area of Effect:Duration:NonePower RankStun?The hero is capable of attacking one or moresenses. The power is broken up into several subpowers,with each one designed to attack onesense.

Marvel Super Heroes: House RulesFlash: The character generates a dazzling flash oflight, overloading there sense of vision andtemporarily blinding her opponents.Optional powers for flash are light control, lightemission, and the other sensory attack powers.The nemesis for this power is blindness and lightcontrol at equal or greater rank than the flashattack.Bang: The hero is capable of causing a cacophonyof sound that causes temporary deafness.Optional powers are sound manipulation, sonicgeneration and vibration. The nemesis is beingdeaf or having sound manipulation at least as highas this power.Stench: The hero emits a cloud of noxious gas thatirritates or burns the nostrils, rendering its victimsunable to employ their olfactory sense. Optionalpowers include spray and pheromones.Any character within the sensory attack’s area ofeffect (as listed on the Area of Effect – Radiuschart in the Ultimate Powers Book) equal to thepower rank must make an Agility FEAT roll andconsult the Stun effect column on the UniversalTable.For example, the Flasher uses his RemarkableFlash attack this turn. Everybody within 15’ of him(3 villains) must make an Agility FEAT and consultthe stun effect column on the Universal Table.Villain #1 rolls on his Excellent Agility. He rolls an87 (a yellow) and looks at the stun effect column…a “No” result. He managed to shield his eyes intime.Villain #2 rolls a 16 on his Good Agility… a whiteresult. He checks the stun column and realizesthat he has suffered a “1-10” result. He rolls histen-sided die and gets a 10. He is blinded (-4CS toall actions) for the next 10 turns.Villain #3 rolls 39 on her Remarkable Agility andconsults the stun effect column - a green result.She shielded her eyes from most of the attack andis only blinded for one turn.Each sub-power occupies one power slot if youare using the random character generationmethod.IDENTITY SHIFTRange:Column A2Area of Effect:Duration:1 TargetSpecial, see belowThe hero may force the target to transform intohis “civilian” identity. This assumes that the targethas an “instant” method of changing into hissuper persona (like Colossus) and not the normalmethod (like Spider-Man).The power rank determines the chance ofsuccessfully shifting the target, and the range (onrange column A). The color of the Power RankFEAT roll determines the duration of the shiftbefore the target can willingly shift back.IDENTITY SHIFT DURATION TABLEFEAT RollWhiteGreenYellowRedDurationFailure1 turn1-10 turns1-100 turnsThe nemesis for this power is to not have an“instant” change into super form.OMNI-[GADGET/POWER/SPELL/TALENT]*This power is divided up into four slightly differentpowers: Omni-Gadget, Omni-Power, Omni-Spelland Omni-Talent. Each one can emulate any otherability in its respective realm of influence.The Omni-Gadget power may be expressed as aninventor constantly kit-bashing together objectsto a utility belt with an always appropriateselection of gadgets.Omni-Gadget may reproduce any piece ofequipment or power in either the Player’s Book orUltimate Powers Book that can be expressed by atechnological apparatus. The resulting apparatusmay be handed off to someone else, taken by anopponent, or even destroyed by an attack.Omni-Power may emulate any power in thePlayers’ Book and Ultimate Powers Book. Itcannot reproduce spells, but it can emulatemagically-based powers in a non-magical context.Omni-Spell is employed as a method of emulatingthose characters that seem to have an infinitearsenal of magical spells at their disposal. It mayemulate any personal, universal, or dimensional

Marvel Super Heroes: House Rulesspell listed in the Players’ Book and the Realms ofMagic sourcebook.Omni-Talent allows the hero to emulate anyTalent listed in the Players’ Book. However,instead of granting a skill bonus, it replaces anycolumn shift bonuses granted by the selectedTalent with the power rank of Omni-Talent.The chosen power rank of the emulated power isequal to that of this power, unless the playerwishes to emulate a power at a lower rank.Emulated abilities last until either a new ability ischosen to be emulated or until it is voluntarilydismissed in some manner.This power is so potent that it uses up two powerslots of the random character generation systemis being used.Extra Time: It takes extra time to emulate apower, during which the hero has no poweremulated. The power rank increase is dependenton the amount of extra time chosen: +1CS: Takes three turns. +2CS: Takes one minute. +3CS: Takes one hour. +4CS: Takes one dayLimited Duration: The emulated power has alimited duration it can remain. This power’s rankincreases based on the length of time chosen: +1CS: Lasts for one scene. +2CS: Lasts for one minute. +3CS: Lasts for 1-10 turns.Theme: Choosing this complication provides +1CSto this power’s rank. The hero is restricted to athemed suite of choices. The nature of such atheme could include, but is not limited to: A manifestation theme like clockwork,coherent holographic constructs,earth/rock, electronics, light, mechanical,nanotech, steampunk, water/iceconstructs, etc. A magical energy type: personal, universalor dimensional. A power category such as energyemissions, physical enhancements, etc.3 A talent group: fighting, mystic/mental,professional, scientific, weapon, or other. An item category such as weapons,military gear, toys, etc.Uncontrollable: The choice of emulated gadget,power, spell or Talent is no longer in the Player’scontrol. Instead, the referee chooses a pertinent,useful ability or item to emulate each time thispower is activated. Selecting this complicationraises the power’s rank by +1CS.Wild Power: The effective rank of this powerfluctuate with each use. Every time a new poweris emulated, the hero must make a power rankFEAT roll. If the result is white, the emulatedpower manifests a -2CS. A green results in a -1CSto its power rank. A yellow result means that thepower manifests normally, while a red resultgrants a +1CS to the emulated power’s rank.Selecting this complication raises the power’srank by +1CS.RADIO SENSEThe hero may hear messages transmitted onradio waves. The hero may intercept a desiredwave length on a green power rank FEAT roll. Thetransmission may be traced to its source on aYellow FEAT roll. If the message is encrypted, hemay decode it on a power rank FEAT versus anintensity assigned by the Referee based on thecomplexity of the encryption. Examples follow:EncryptionScrambled8-bit16-bit32-bit64-bit128-bit256-bit512-bit1024-bitAUGMENT ABILITYRange:NoneIntensityPoorTypicalGoodExcellentRemarkableIncredibleAmazingMonstrousUnearthly

Area of Effect:Duration:Marvel Super Heroes: House RulesSelfPsyche rank # turnsUpon purchasing this power, the player mustselect a single primary ability (FASERIP) for thispower to augment.When this power is activated, the selected abilityis raised by a number of points equal to thispower’s rank number. Secondary abilitiesdependent on this ability are recalculated as well.The amount of time that the augmented abilitymay be sustained is equal to the character’sPsyche rank number expressed in turns.After the duration has expired, the augmentedability will drop at a rate of –1CS per turn until theoriginal rank is reached.The power rank of this power may bepermanently altered in exchange for broadeningits versatility or adopting complications. A list ofpower alterations follow:4FASE: By permanently applying a -1CS to thispower’s rank, the hero gains the ability to chooseFighting, Agility, Strength or Endurance each timethe power is activated, rather than having it tiedto only one primary ability.RIP: By permanently accepting a -1CS to thispower’s rank, the hero gains the ability to choosebetween Reason, Intuition and Psyche each timethe power is activated. This replaces the need forselecting only one primary ability to link to thispower.RESISTANCE TO VIRTUAL ATTACKSThe Hero has increased resistance to attack fromcharacters in the VirtualScape.The hero can ignore any attack whose rank is lessthan this power’s rank and can reduce higherlevel attacks by the power rank number.VIRTUAL FORMThe character can manifest himself in theVirtualScape and interact with the structures andentities there. The character has a new FASE whilein the VirtualScape. His ability scores are now asfollows:Virtual AbilityFightingAgilityStrengthEnduranceEqualsReasonIntuitionPower RankPsycheHe also gains the ability to fly in the VirtualScapeequal to his power rank. The hero can opt to havepowers that only work in the VirtualScape. Thefollowing modifiers may be applied: –1CS: The hero may have the ability tomanifest all of his powers in theVirtualScape. –1CS: The hero may bring others into theVirtualScape with him equal to column Cof the “Number of Simultaneous Actionsor Targets” chart on the back inside coverof the Ultimate Powers Book.Optional powers include Computer Link,Communications with Cybernetics and Resistanceto Virtual Attacks.

Marvel Super Heroes: House RulesThe nemesis of this power is Sense Alteration.POWER MODIFIERSSometimes a stock power just isn’t exactly howyou would like it to be in respect to your characterconcept. This optional rules system provides theplayer with a structured methodology to thenormal power tweaking a Referee would need tomake to accommodate a specific characterconcept.The power modifiers listed below are notexhaustive. The referee is free to adjust or addnew options as needed.For clarity, power modifiers are broken down intotwo classifications – enhancements andcomplications.Power enhancements provide tactical benefits inexchange for lowering the power rank of thepower in question.Power complications impose a limitation of theeffectiveness of a power in exchange for raisingits power rank.Power modifiers may cause a power’s rank tohave multiple effective ranks, such as with theincreased range power enhancement whichdivides the power’s base rank into effective rangeand effective damage ranks. These effectivepower ranks follow the normal rules for columnshifts.In regards to the concept of power rankadvancement, each effective rank must beadvanced individually.A base power rank is the power rank rolled orchosen before any power modifiers are applied.ENHANCEMENTSINCREASED RANGEBy reducing the effective rank by -1CS, the playerincreases the effective range rank of the power by+1CS.This enhancement may be applied multiple timeswith each application further reducing theeffective damage rank by one column shift whileincreasing the effective range rank by a columnshift.For example, Lightning Bug chooses to increasethe range of his Amazing electrical generationpower by sacrificing the amount of damageinflicted. He chooses to take the increased rangeenhancement twice. This has the effect oflowering his effective damage rank by -2CS toRemarkable, while increasing his effective rangerank to Unearthly (+2CS). He would note this as“Electrical Generation – Rm (30) electricaldamage at Un (100) range (60 areas).”OTHERS ONLYA power that normally can only be used by thehero can now be used on a target.The initial range is contact, but can be modifiedby using the increased range advantage. Thisadvantage lowers the power rank of the power by–1CS.COMPLICATIONSActivation Time: For every extra turn of time thatit takes for a power to activate, the power rankwill be adjusted by +1CS. Thus a character withExcellent fire generation can take a 3 turnactivation time limitation to his power and raisehis rank by +3CS to Amazing.Charges: The power has a limit to the number oftimes the power may be used before becominguseless. The number of uses and the ease ofrecovery will determine the bonus to the powerrank. +3CS if usable 1-2 times per recovery. +2CS if usable 3-6 times. +1CS if usable 7-12 times. +0CS if usable over a dozen times.If the recovery method is portable, then noadditional column shift bonus is granted.If the recovery method is able to be moved but isnormally located away from the hero, such as athome or at a lab, then a +1CS to the power rankis earned.If the recovery method is immobile, the powerrank bonus increases to +2CS.If the charges cannot be recovered at all, then a+3CS is earned.5

DECREASED RANGEMarvel Super Heroes: House RulesBy reducing the effective range by -1CS, theplayer increases the effective damage rank of thepower by one column shift.This complication may be applied multiple timeswith each application further reducing theeffective range rank by one column shift whileincreasing the effective damage rank by a columnshift.For example, Fire Bug chooses to increase thedamage caused by his Remarkable fire generationpower by sacrificing its range. He chooses to takethe reduced range enhancement twice. This hasthe effect of lowering his effective range rank by-2CS to Good, while increasing his effectivedamage rank to Amazing (+2CS). He would notethis as “Fire Generation – Amazing (50) firedamage at Good (10) range (4 areas).”SELF ONLYA power that normally can only be used on othersby the hero can now only be used on himself, andnow has no range. This advantage raises thepower rank of the power by +2CS.TALENTSThis section lists new talents available tocharacters. They are broken up into the samecategories as presented in the Advanced Player’sBook: weapon, fighting, professional, scientific,mystic/mental, and other.WEAPON SKILLSThe hero with these Talents is devoted to the insand outs of handling certain types of weaponsand is more proficient with such weapons thanthose of similar talent. Weapon talents may notbe combined. Weapon Talents may be combinedwith Fighting Talents, however.HIGHLAND MELEE WEAPONSThis is a special category that grants the charactera +1CS to Fighting when using the followingweapons: broadsword (basket-hilt sword withFerara blade), biodag (dirk), halbard, tua handitswerdis (claymore), and sghian dubh (a closecombatdagger).6