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19:46, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game.

Posted by housecup
housecup
member, 44 posts
Sun 23 Jun 2019
at 04:50
  • msg #1

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

Hey all, I'm a new GM, and I'm running a table-top Marvel Superheroes game, and I'd like some advice.

Players are building their characters on a point-buy system.  Do you think I should include a power level cap?  For example, no stat or power above Amazing.

What do you think?
This message was last updated by a moderator, as it was the wrong forum, at 05:57, Sun 23 June 2019.
OutlawJT
member, 283 posts
Sun 23 Jun 2019
at 04:52
  • msg #2

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

Depends entirely on the level of threats you intend to throw at your players. Amazing is a good place to start if you post starting level caps.
housecup
member, 45 posts
Sun 23 Jun 2019
at 05:17
  • msg #3

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

Okay, thanks.  I think I'll put a cap on Amazing.

The world in my game mirrors the real world almost exactly.  Iron Man, Spider-Man, and SHIELD are nothing more than comics, movies, and TV shows.

At first, the threats will be mundane.  We'll start with gun-toting terrorists and a natural earthquake.  Shortly after, things will start to get crazy.

So maybe putting on a cap at Amazing is the way to go.
OutlawJT
member, 284 posts
Sun 23 Jun 2019
at 05:21
  • msg #4

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

Hmmm..... I might go a step lower than Amazing for a starting cap if you're planning on starting with street level threats.
housecup
member, 46 posts
Sun 23 Jun 2019
at 05:25
  • msg #5

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

I see your point.  Otherwise things might be to easy for the players, unless things step up for them rather quickly.
Knightsky
member, 146 posts
Sun 23 Jun 2019
at 16:14
  • msg #6

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

A lower cap makes sense for something that's starting out at street level.

OTOH, advancement is *slow* in MSH (especially so in PBP games), so you want players to be happy with where their characters are in the long term.
facemaker329
member, 7093 posts
Gaming for over 30
years, and counting!
Tue 25 Jun 2019
at 05:35
  • msg #7

Advice on running a Marvel TSR game

I haven't played MSH in ages, but while I was in college, we had a few different games running with that system...we started out playing X-Men, because it was something that everyone in the group was familiar with (and the GM had an extensive collection of comics to clarify anything people were uncertain about).

But some other people wanted to run games, and we ended up with about three or four different ones that had absolutely no canon characters in them...we'd made up all of our own.  Some of the lineups worked really well...and some didn't...

But one of the things that the GMs, in all the games, did was put a power cap on the characters (except for some NPCs that operated exclusively in support roles).  I don't remember the ranks anymore, but I think people were allowed, say, one Amazing rank, two of the next one down, three of the next one down from that, etc...it allowed everyone to be really outstanding at one thing, at least, but the characters were otherwise only slightly above average for most of their stats.

You might try this...figure out what you want the players' 'average' level to be...they start off with everything at that rank.  If they want to improve something, they can do it at the cost of something else, so that if they end up with really superhuman strength, it means that they've given themselves other weaknesses to offset it.  I'd probably start them off around 25 or 30, if they're facing 'real world' situations (maybe a little lower, but not a lot, because I remember how frustrating it was to accomplish anything when you had a 'normal' rank in that game...they need to be powerful enough to actually do stuff, but not so powerful that you have to bring in cosmic threats by the end of the first gaming session just to make it a challenge...)
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