MARVEL FANTASY ROLE PLAYING GAMEA Fantasy RPG using the FASERIP System

Table of Contents
Character Creation ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Race ...........................................................................................................................................................................5
Origin of Power ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Primary Abilities........................................................................................................................................................ 6
Secondary Abilities....................................................................................................................................................6
Powers .......................................................................................................................................................................6
Talents .......................................................................................................................................................................7
Contacts .....................................................................................................................................................................7
Heroic Alignment ......................................................................................................................................................7
Finish Your Character ...............................................................................................................................................7
Creation Point Costs Summary ..................................................................................................................................8
Fantasy Weapons and Armor.........................................................................................................................................9
Weapons ....................................................................................................................................................................9
Armor and Shield....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Weapon and Armor Interaction ............................................................................................................................... 10
Weapon List............................................................................................................................................................. 10
Initiative....................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Karma Awards for Fantasy Characters ........................................................................................................................ 11
Values ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12
The Alabastrous Hero .............................................................................................................................................. 14
The Atramentous Hero ............................................................................................................................................ 15
The Ceruline Hero ................................................................................................................................................... 16
The Cinereal Hero ................................................................................................................................................... 17
The Erubescent Hero ............................................................................................................................................... 18
The Porphyric Hero ................................................................................................................................................. 19
The Spessartine Hero ............................................................................................................................................... 20
The Viridescent Hero............................................................................................................................................... 21
The Xanthic Hero .................................................................................................................................................... 22
Changing your Alignment or Core Values .............................................................................................................. 23
Character Advancement .............................................................................................................................................. 24
Ability Advancement............................................................................................................................................... 24
Resource Advancement ........................................................................................................................................... 24
Popularity Advancement ......................................................................................................................................... 24
Existing Power Advancement.................................................................................................................................. 24
Power Addition ........................................................................................................................................................ 24
Talent Addition ........................................................................................................................................................ 25
Contact Addition...................................................................................................................................................... 25
Advancement Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 25
Advice for the Judge Regarding Character Advancement ....................................................................................... 26
Speed of Advancement Compared to Normal MSH ................................................................................................ 26
Different Types of Base-Line Multipliers................................................................................................................ 27
Magic ........................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Categories of Magic................................................................................................................................................. 28
Magical Powers ....................................................................................................................................................... 29
Energy Sources .................................................................................................................................................... 29
Enchantments ...................................................................................................................................................... 29
Magic Control, Creation, and Transferral ............................................................................................................ 29
Power Simulation ................................................................................................................................................ 29
Mechanisms ............................................................................................................................................................. 29
Magical Traditions................................................................................................................................................... 30
Creating a Magical Tradition Example ................................................................................................................ 30
Schools, Spells, and Spellcasting ............................................................................................................................. 31
Being a Spellcaster .............................................................................................................................................. 31
Schools of Magic ................................................................................................................................................. 31

Gaining Spells ..................................................................................................................................................... 31
Magic School Ranks ............................................................................................................................................ 31
Casting a Spell ..................................................................................................................................................... 31
Times to Regain Full Spellcasting Vitality .......................................................................................................... 32
Other Magical Characters ........................................................................................................................................ 33
Monsters ...................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Converting D&D Monsters to Marvel Superheroes Fantasy ................................................................................... 34
Converting Ability Scores to FASERIP Abilities ................................................................................................ 34
Total Monster’s Health and Karma ..................................................................................................................... 35
Assigning a Monster’s Powers ............................................................................................................................ 35
Assigning a Monster’s Talents ............................................................................................................................ 35
Assigning a Monster’s Contacts .......................................................................................................................... 35
Assigning a Monster’s Resources ........................................................................................................................ 35
Assigning a Monster’s Heroic or Villainous Alignment ..................................................................................... 36
Assigning a Monster’s Popularity ....................................................................................................................... 36
Finalizing the Monster ......................................................................................................................................... 36
Example Monster: Ogre....................................................................................................................................... 36
Example Monster: Cthulhu .................................................................................................................................. 37
Converting Ars Magica 5th Edition Creatures to Marvel Superheroes Fantasy ...................................................... 38
Converting Characteristics to FASERIP Abilities ............................................................................................... 38
Total Being’s Health and Karma ......................................................................................................................... 38
Assigning a Being’s Powers ................................................................................................................................ 38
Assigning a Being’s Talents ................................................................................................................................ 39
Assigning a Being’s Contacts .............................................................................................................................. 39
Assigning a Being’s Resources ........................................................................................................................... 39
Assigning a Being’s Heroic or Villainous Alignment ......................................................................................... 39
Assigning a Being’s Popularity ........................................................................................................................... 39
Finalizing the Monster ......................................................................................................................................... 39
Examples: Angels, Demons, Dragons, and Others .............................................................................................. 40
Magical Artifacts, Constructs, and Items..................................................................................................................... 42
Strongholds .................................................................................................................................................................. 42
Room Packages ....................................................................................................................................................... 43
Marvel Magica: Mythic Earth for the Marvel Fantasy Roleplaying Game ................................................................. 44
The Hermetic Magus ............................................................................................................................................... 44
Experienced Magi ................................................................................................................................................ 45
Companions and Grogs ........................................................................................................................................... 45
Confidence ............................................................................................................................................................... 45
Ease Factors and Intensities ..................................................................................................................................... 45
Hermetic Magic ....................................................................................................................................................... 46
Using Virtues and Flaws.......................................................................................................................................... 46
Talents for Mythic Earth.......................................................................................................................................... 47
Covenants ................................................................................................................................................................ 47
Library ................................................................................................................................................................. 47
Lab Texts ............................................................................................................................................................. 47
Vis Stocks ............................................................................................................................................................ 48
Enchanted Items .................................................................................................................................................. 48
Specialists ............................................................................................................................................................ 48
Hooks and Boons ................................................................................................................................................. 48
Limits of Magic ....................................................................................................................................................... 48
Warping and Twilight .............................................................................................................................................. 48
Certamen.................................................................................................................................................................. 49
Formulaic Magic...................................................................................................................................................... 50
Spontaneous Magic.................................................................................................................................................. 50
Casting a Fatiguing Spontaneous Spell ............................................................................................................... 50
Casting a Non-Fatiguing Spontaneous Spell ....................................................................................................... 51
Ritual Magic ............................................................................................................................................................ 51

Concentration .......................................................................................................................................................... 51
Words and Gestures ................................................................................................................................................. 51
Arcane Connections................................................................................................................................................. 51
Auras ....................................................................................................................................................................... 52
Raw Vis and Magic Items........................................................................................................................................ 52
Longevity Rituals .................................................................................................................................................... 52
Laboratory ............................................................................................................................................................... 52
Arts, Powers, and Spells .......................................................................................................................................... 52
Form Bonuses ...................................................................................................................................................... 53
The Parma Magica and Penetration ......................................................................................................................... 53
Familiars .................................................................................................................................................................. 54
Using Wounds ............................................................................................................................................................. 55
The Marvelous Dungeon Crawl ................................................................................................................................... 56
Karma Awards and Advancement in Dungeon Crawl Campaigns .......................................................................... 56
Equipment, Consumables, and the Dungeoneering Experience .............................................................................. 56
Taking Damage ....................................................................................................................................................... 57
Spellcasting.............................................................................................................................................................. 57
Recovery Using the Vitality Loss System ........................................................................................................... 57
Magic Points ........................................................................................................................................................ 57
Creatures .................................................................................................................................................................. 59
Magic Items ............................................................................................................................................................. 59
Spells ....................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Skills ........................................................................................................................................................................ 59
Sides ........................................................................................................................................................................ 59
Magic System .............................................................................................................................................................. 61
Ranges, Durations, and Areas of Effect for Spells ...................................................................................................... 62
Resources as Social Class ............................................................................................................................................ 62
Using Rank Dice Instead of Rank Numbers ................................................................................................................ 63
Random Generation of Primary Abilities .................................................................................................................... 67
Powers for the Fantasy Milieu ..................................................................................................................................... 68
Creating Magic Systems for the Campaign ................................................................................................................. 71
The Gatekeeper Trait ............................................................................................................................................... 71
The Magical Tradition ............................................................................................................................................. 71
The Cost of Magic ................................................................................................................................................... 72
Summary.................................................................................................................................................................. 73

Character Creation
Instead of randomly-determined characters, this system uses the Character Point system found in Dale A. Donovan’s
article “With Great Power” in Polyhedron #72. Because fantasy role playing games emphasize zero-to-heroprogression, characters will start off at lower power levels than those commonly used in the Marvel Superheroes
RPG.
It is assumed in these rules that you will be using the Advanced Set (MSH) in conjunction with the Ultimate Powers
Book (UPB).

Race
The great thing about using MSH for your fantasy campaign is that you can play any race. You’re not limited tohumans and demi-humans. If you want to play a water elemental, no problem. Just choose Physical Form - Liquidfrom the UPB. The table below maps the UPB Physical Forms to their fantasy equivalents. You’ll note there is no
Dice Roll column. You won’t be rolling; just pick. And don’t worry about what “column” you’ll be rolling yourAbilities on. Every character gets points to purchase Ability Ranks, so everyone’s on even footing.
Physical Form
Normal Human
Mutant (Induced)
Mutant (Random)
Mutant (Breed)
Android
Humanoid Race
Surgical Composite
Modified Human
Demihuman
Cyborg
Robot
Angel/Demon
Deity
AnimalVegetable
Abnormal Biochemistry
MineralLiquidGaseous
EnergyEthereal
UndeadCompoundChangeling

Fantasy Forms
Normal Human
Magenetically-Altered Human or Creature that can pass traits to offspring
Innately Magical Human or Creature born to normal humans or creatures
Innately Magical Human or Creature born to innately magical parents
Clone, Homunculus, Simulacrum, or other Magically-Created Being
Demi-human (such as dwarf or elf) or Humanoid (such as orc)
Flesh Golem
Magically-Altered Human or Humanoid that cannot pass traits to offspring
Human-like Creature that combines physical traits of Humans and Animals
Shard, Golem/Organic Hybrid, Augmented Human or Humanoid
Golem, Construct, Sentient Vehicle, “Transformer”
Angel, Demon, or some other Extraplanar Creature
Immortal, God, Demi-God, or Quasi-Deity
Sentient Animal
Sentient Plant Creature“Alien” Race
Earth, Ash, Salt, Dust, Ice, Mineral Elemental
Water, Ooze, Magma Elemental
Air, Smoke, Steam, or perhaps even Vacuum Elemental
Fire, Radiance, Lightning Elemental
Incorporeal Undead
Corporeal Undead
Let your imagination run wild!
Shapeshifter

At this point in time, use the description in UPB with the exception of the “column” to roll on for Abilities. Don’t
apply any column shifts to Abilities yet.

TOC

5

Origin of PowerSome races will naturally suggest an origin for your character. For example, if you’re an angel, then your origin willprobably be Creation. Just remember to couch your origin in terms of the magical fantasy world that your characteris a part of.

Primary Abilities
Each player will now be given a number of Creation Points (CPs). For the zero-to-hero fantasy progression,
characters should start with 200 CP. They start off weak, but with the accelerated advancement system (whichcomes later), they will be able to advance faster than normal MSH characters. You "buy" your primary Abilities(FASERIP) by spending CPs. The starting limit for Abilities is Excellent (25).
Purchase primary Ability scores on a point-for-point basis. So if you want your character to possess Good (10)Strength, subtract 10 CPs from your point total. Do this for all seven primary Abilities.
You can purchase Ability scores other than the standard rank number in each rank. For example, you could buy
Good (8) Strength instead of Good (10) and save two CPs to use later. Just remember any skimping like this will bereflected in your final Health and Karma scores.
Don't be too extravagant with your spending here, as your CPs will also be used to purchase your Resources level,
Powers, Talents, and Contacts. I don't recommend spending more than about 100 CPs at this stage. This gives anaverage rank of Gd (14), and that ain’t bad.
If you’re the kind of player that likes to use a starting array of Abilities, then consider this one: one Ability at Ex(20), four at Gd (10), and two at Ty (6) for a total of 72 points. This leaves 128 points for everything else.
If your character gains column shifts to primary Abilities, those Abilities are shifted to the lowest value for thecolumn indicated if the shift is upward, or to the standard value of the column if the shift is downward. These shifts
must occur after the player has spent CP on Abilities. For example, deities have all primary Abilities raised +2 CS.
If a deity’s Fighting were Gd (any rank value), it would be shifted upward to Rm (26). A vegetable hero (like atreant), however, with Fighting of Ex (any rank value) would have that Ability shifted downward to Ty (6).
Therefore, it is probably in the players’ best interests to purchase the minimum rank value for an Ability that theyknow will be shifted.

Secondary Abilities
Total up your Health and Karma points. Add those two figures together and they should equal the number of CPs
you've spent so far. This is a good way to check your math.
Now buy your character's Resources rank by spending two CPs for every point of Resources. If you want Excellent(20) Resources, it will cost you 40 CPs. If you get a column shift to Resources, use the same method as above tocalculate the bonus to your Resources rank number.
A player does not buy and cannot modify his character's Popularity score, as it is a function of the character's origin
and the public's perception of the character.

PowersEach character now buys powers and their ranks. All powers, except those with stars, cost 10 CPs each, and starred
powers cost 20 CPs. Purchasing powers gives the character the ability to buy ranks in those powers. Ranks for
powers without stars are purchased on a point-for-point basis, as with the primary abilities. For example, if you
wanted to buy the Flight power, it would cost 10 CPs. You can now buy a power rank for that power. Let's say you
wanted to fly at Excellent (20) speed, it would cost you 20 more CPs. So buying the Flight power and an Excellent

TOC

6(20) rank cost you a total of 30 CPs. Starred powers, because they are more powerful or rarer, each cost 20 CPs, as
noted above, and their ranks are bought at a rate of two CPs for each rank number.
You purchase both powers and ranks so that five powers, each at Good (10) ranks will be more expensive than one
power at Amazing rank. The character with five powers is much more versatile, and he should pay for that.
Page 9 of the Players' Book gives a list of possible limitations for powers. Players can buy one limitation per
character to gain more CPs. Use the maximums listed at the top of each list of limitations on page 9. This
determines the number of CPs gained from taking a limitation. For example, taking the limitation "Power can only
be used three times/day" from the list "Maximum of Excellent" for your Flight power would gain you an additional
20 CPs, as it is an Excellent rank limitation.
Points gained through limitations are the standard rank numbers for that rank only. All normal rules regarding
limitations apply. Subtract all CPs spent on powers and ranks, and add any CPs from limitations to figure yourcharacter's new point total.

Talents
All “unstarred” skills listed under the Weapon, Fighting, and Mystical or Mental Skills tables, and all starred talents
listed in other tables cost 10 CPs each. All starred skills listed under the Weapon, Fighting, and Mystical or Mental
Skills tables cost 20 CPs each. All other skills cost 5 CPs each. Some examples: buying Military costs 5 CPs, while
the Medicine or the Bows skill would cost 10 CPs each, and Weapons Master and Mystic Origin cost 20 CPs.
Subtract all CPs spent here to get your character's new CP total.
Talent Type
WeaponFighting
Professional
Scientific
Mystical and Mental
Other

Cost (Normal / Starred)
10 / 20
10 / 20
5 / 105 / 1010 / 20
5 / 10

It is suggested that the GM make up new Talents to reflect the magical and fantastic nature of the setting. The GMshould also make Mystic Origin a prerequisite for being a “spellcaster.”Contacts
Unless the GM specifies otherwise, each contact costs 5 CPs. Don't detail each contact now, as contacts often work
best when chosen during an adventure with the GM's O.K.

Heroic Alignment
The Marvel Superheroes RPG assumes that all heroes follow the same sort of heroic code. This, in turn, affects
Karma awards. In a fantasy RPG, there is greater variety in heroic temperaments. The player must choose one
heroic alignment that the character will follow. This determines what sorts of actions yield Karma awards andpenalties. See Karma Awards for Fantasy Characters below for more details.

Finish Your Character
Fill in the blanks and there, you're done. If you have any CPs left over, it's up to the GM what you can do withthem. I suggest simply adding them to your character's Karma points. Beginning characters often don't have much
Karma to spend on their first adventures. Don't forget to modify your character as per the origin you picked for him
earlier, and round out your character with his name, background, job, equipment, how he gained his powers, why herisks his life as an adventurer, etc.

TOC

7

Creation Point Costs Summary
The table below summarizes the costs described above. Players have 200 CP with which to make their hero.
Trait
Primary Abilities (FASERIP)
Secondary Abilities
Health (Sum of F+A+S+E)
Karma (Sum of R+I+P)
Resources
Popularity
Powers (One-Slot)
Powers (Two-Slot)
Talents (One-Slot/Two-Slot)
WeaponFighting
Professional
Scientific
Mystical and Mental
Other
Contacts
Heroic Alignment

TOC

Creation Point Cost
1 CP per Rank Number, Maximum of Ex(25)---2 CP per Rank Number-10 CP + 1 CP per Rank Number
20 CP + 2 CP per Rank Number-10 CP / 20 CP
10 CP / 20 CP
5 CP / 10 CP
5 CP / 10 CP
10 CP / 20 CP
5 CP / 10 CP
5 CP per ContactFree8

Fantasy Weapons and Armor
Because weapons and armor play such an important role in a fantasy role playing game, new rules are presented
here. Replace the weapon rules in MSH with the rules below.

Weapons
Weapons are described by what primary Abilities determine base damage and by the column shift those weapons
add to base damage. Weapons used for Blunt and Edged Attacks use the higher of the character’s Fighting or
Strength for base damage. Shooting, Energy, and Force weapons use the character’s Agility to determine basedamage. Throwing Edged and Throwing Blunt weapons use the character’s Agility or Strength for base damage(the higher of the two). Column shifts due to Talents are applied to damage, but column shifts that come fromPowers do not. In addition, weapons have two categories, light and heavy. Light weapons are normally one-handed
weapons while heavy weapons are usually two-handed weapons. Light weapons increase damage to the lowest rank
number one column higher, such as Gd (8) or Ex (16). Heavy weapons increase damage to the lowest rank number
two columns higher. The table below summarizes this paragraph.
Attack Form
Blunt Attack
Edged Attack
Shooting
Throwing Edged
Throwing Blunt
EnergyForceBase Damage
Fighting or Strength
Fighting or Strength
Agility or Intuition
Agility or Strength
Agility or Strength
Agility or Psyche
Agility or Psyche

Unarmed+0 CS+0 CS------

Light Weapon
+1 CS
+1 CS
+1 CS
+1 CS
+1 CS
+1 CS
+1 CS

Heavy Weapon
+2 CS
+2 CS
+2 CS
--+2 CS+2 CS

Note that this table applies to weapons only. A wizard’s force bolt will do damage based on the power’s rank.

Armor and Shield
Just as weapons increase damage, armor decreases damage and comes in two categories. Yeah, you guessed it,
there’s light armor and heavy armor. Unlike the Body Armor power, mundane armor shifts damage one or twocolumn shifts to the left. Armor shifts damage downward to the standard rank number for that column, such as Ty(6) or Gd (10). Armor is cumbersome and provides a penalty to all of the wearer’s Agility FEATs. Shields grant acolumn shift bonus to Dodging, Evading, and Blocking actions (not to the actual results, just the column that you
roll on for these defensive actions). Also see “Shielding” on page 31 of the Players’ Book. The table below
illustrates the qualities of mundane armor.

Protection
Light Armor
Heavy Armor
ShieldDamageReduction
-1 CS
-2 CS
-1 CS

Dodging, Evading, andBlocking--+2 CS

Agility(all FEATs)
-1 CS
-2 CS
--

ExamplePartially Armored
Fully Armored
All Shields

Powers such as Body Armor, Body Resistance, and other powers providing protection function as normal and can beused in conjunction with armor. Simply apply the damage reduction column shifts from armor before applying
damage reduction from protection powers. For simplicity, a character that uses armor as part of his power suite canforego the mundane column shift to damage by simply taking the Body Armor power. In this case, “light” armor
should be at least Good protection (always subtracting 10 from damage in most cases) and “heavy” armor should be
at least Excellent (always subtracting 20). There is no Agility reduction if the Body Armor power is taken.
Mundane armor provides protection only from weapons and physical attacks. Powers do not have damage reducedby mundane armor. Body Armor represents “magical” or “superior” armor that is better than mundane armor.

TOC

9

Weapon and Armor Interaction
To avoid counter-intuitive results, it is recommended that the column shift to damage from the attacker’s weapon
and the defender’s armor be summed prior to the damage determination. Otherwise, you’ll sometimes get results
where a “stronger” character is penalized on damage and a “weaker” character gets a bonus to damage. Consider aswordsman with Ex (25) Fighting versus one with Ex (16). Attacking with a one-handed sword is +1 CS to damage.
Both swordsmen would then do Rm (26) damage. However, if the defender is lightly armored, this damage is thenreduced to Ex (20), which is the standard value for Excellent. Thus, the weaker attacker is doing four more points ofdamage while the stronger attacker is doing five less. Instead, sum the column shifts from the weapon and armor at
the same time. In this case, the net result would be +0 CS, so the stronger attacker will do Ex (25) damage and theweaker attacker will score Ex (16). If the defender were heavily armored, then both would do Gd (10) damage.

Weapon List
Below is a sample list of fantasy weapons for use in most campaigns. Damage matches the default categories above.
Of course, there can be many more weapons than just these. Only a few examples are provided below.
WeaponGauntletMace
Maul
DaggerSword
Greatsword
Handaxe
Axe
Battleaxe
Short Bow
Long Bow
CrossbowThrowing Knife
Spear
Throwing Club
Sling
Cryston Wand
Wizard’s Staff

Hands Required
One
One
Two
One
One
Two
One
One
Two
Two
Two
Two
One
One
One
One
One
Two

Attack Form
Blunt Attack
Blunt Attack
Blunt Attack
Edged Attack
Edged Attack
Edged Attack
Edged Attack
Edged Attack
Edged Attack
Shooting
Shooting
Shooting
Throwing Edged
Throwing Edged
Throwing Blunt
Throwing Blunt
Force
Force or Energy

Base Damage + CS
Fighting or Strength + 0
Fighting or Strength + 1
Fighting or Strength + 2
Fighting or Strength + 0
Fighting or Strength + 1
Fighting or Strength + 2
Fighting or Strength + 0
Fighting or Strength + 1
Fighting or Strength + 2
Agility or Intuition + 1
Agility or Intuition + 2
Agility or Intuition + 2
Agility or Strength + 0
Agility or Strength + 1
Agility or Strength + 0
Agility or Strength + 1
Agility or Psyche + 1
Agility or Psyche + 2

Price
Fe
Pr
Ty
Fe
Pr
Ty
Fe
Pr
Ty
Pr
Ty
Ty
Fe
Pr
Fe
Pr
Gd
Ex

In general, weapons doing +0 or +1 will be one-handed, +2 will be two-handed. The column shift bonus will tell
you the Price as well (+0, +1, and +2 are Fe, Pr, and Ty). The Cryston (from the Blue Rose RPG) and Wizard’s
Staff are listed to show how a “weapon” of mystical origin can be included. Prices are higher for these, naturally,and damage is based on the Psyche of the wielder.

Initiative
Instead of using the normal MSH RPG initiative, use this rule. Every round, each combatant makes an Intuition
FEAT (no Intensity). The result determines when they act. There are four phases of each round, the Red Phase, theYellow Phase, the Green Phase, and the White Phase (in order). Characters act according to what result they got on
the initiative (i.e., Intuition) roll. Within each phase, combatants act in order of higher Intuition to lower Intuition.
In the case of ties, that character with the higher Karma total goes first. Karma may be used to alter the initiative
roll.

TOC

10

Karma Awards for Fantasy Characters
Heroic fantasy has different sensibilities when it comes to actions and the consequences of those actions.
Adventurers routinely kill foes so if we stick to the normal Karma awards found in the MSH RPG, then no fantasy
character will ever be able to accumulate Karma! This section replaces some of what is found in MSH with regard
to Karma awards.
“Alignments” can be an important part of fantasy campaigns, so this section will divide Karma awards on the basisof an original, yet admittedly derivative, alignment system. MSH recognizes the division between heroes andvillains, but this system offers nine different heroic philosophies that can be used in a fantasy campaign. Karmaawards will be deliberately left vague to allow individual Judges wide latitude in awarding Karma to players forfollowing their character’s philosophy.
First, instead of listing every possible act with a Karma award, we’ll just rank the acts using the normal MSH
columns. Thus, we can have Feeble acts and Amazing acts. Karma awards are based on the standard rank numberof the Intensity of the act, such as Fe (2) and Am (50). MSH already does this with its Defeating Foe awards, but
we’ll rank every act in this system in this manner. It is up to the Judge to determine the Intensity of the act.
Preventing a theft might be a Ty (6) act while saving the entire world from a plague of demons might be an Un (100)act (or possibly higher). Because the Judge is making the call on the Intensity of acts, he is also determining thepace of character advancement (since Karma is used to increase the capabilities of the character). It is up to each
Judge to balance Karma awards against the needs of the campaign.
Some guidelines on choosing the Intensity of a Karma award are given below.
Intensity
Fe (2)
Pr (4)Ty (6)
Gd (10)Ex (20)Rm (30)In (40)Am (50)Mn (75)Un (100)

ExamplesDefeating a Fe foe (if awarded at all)Defeating a Pr foe (if awarded at all)Defeating a Ty foe, foiling minor non-violent crimes, behaving as alignment indicatesDefeating a Gd foe, foiling non-violent crimes, achieving a core value, player shows up to session
Defeating an Ex foe, foiling destructive crimes, rescues, achieving a core value when dangerous,
player behaves himself during session
Defeating a Rm foe, foiling violent crimes, achieving a core value when deadly, player enhances
play session
Defeating an In foe, foiling a crime that affects a nation, player significantly enhances play session
Defeating an Am foe, foiling a crime that affects the world, player absolutely saves the play session
through superior play, minor adventure conclusion
Defeating a Mn foe, saving a nation from destruction, major adventure conclusion
Defeating an Un foe, saving the world from destruction, major story arc conclusion

Here are some negative Karma awards, if you’re interested.
Intensity
ALL
Variable
Gd (10)Ex (20)Rm (30)In (40)Am (50)TOC

ExamplesCharacter dies (all Karma lost)
Defeated by inferior foe (character’s highest rank minus foe’s highest rank)
Playing against a core value when deadly to adhere to it, player misses play session
Playing against a core value when dangerous to adhere to it, player does something that’s a minor
annoyance during play session
Playing against a core value when not dangerous or deadly to adhere to it, player disrupts playsessionPlaying against a core value when character would benefit from adhering to core value, player
significantly disrupts play session
Playing against a core value when entire party would benefit from adhering to core value, player
ruins entire play session

11

Values
Alignments will be described in terms of the value system adhered to by characters professing that philosophy. Tenvalues are used and each of the ten basic values can be characterized by describing its central motivational goal andits associated single values.
Achievement - Personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards. Associated single
values are: being ambitious, influential, capable, successful, intelligent, and having self-respect.
Benevolence - Preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in frequent personal contact (the"in-group"). Associated single values are: being helpful, responsible, forgiving, honest, loyal, and having mature
love for others and true friendships.
Conformity - Restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social
expectations or norms. Associated single values are: being obedient, having self-discipline, being polite, honoring
parents and elders.
Hedonism - Pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself. Associated single values are: experiencing pleasure andenjoying life.
Power - Social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources. Associate single values are:having social power, wealth, and authority, preserving one's own public image, and having social recognition.
Security - Safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self. Associate single values are:ensuring national security, reciprocation of favors, ensuring family security, having a sense of belonging, preserving
the social order, being healthy and clean.
Self-Direction - Independent thought and action; choosing, creating, exploring. Associated single values are:freedom, creativity, independence, choosing one's own goals, being curious, having self-respect.
Stimulation - Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life. Associate single values are: having an exciting and varied
life, being daring.
Tradition - Respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that traditional culture or religion
provide the self. Associated single values are: respecting tradition, being devout, accepting one's own portion in life,
being humble, and taking life in moderation.
Universalism - Understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature.
Associated single values are: advancing equality, being one with nature, having wisdom, filling the world withbeauty, advancing social justice, being broad-minded, protecting the environment, and see the world at peace.
These ten motivations also show patterns of compatibility and conflict. The following compatibilities are typical.
Power and Achievement - both emphasize social superiority and esteem.
Achievement and Hedonism - both are concerned with self-indulgence and self-centeredness.
Hedonism and Stimulation - both entail a desire for affectively pleasant arousal.
Stimulation and Self-Direction - both involve intrinsic motivation for mastery and openness for change.
Self-Direction and Universalism - both express reliance on one's own judgment and comfort with the diversity ofexistence.
Universalism and Benevolence - both are concerned with enhancement of others and transcendence of selfish
interests.
TOC

12

Benevolence and Tradition/Conformity - both promote devotion to one's in-group.
Tradition and Conformity - both stress self-restraint and submission. These two are combined by Schwartz in later
versions of the theory.
Tradition/Conformity and Security - both emphasize conservation of order and harmony in relations.
Security and Power - both stress avoiding or overcoming the threat of uncertainties by controlling relationships andresources.
Just as there are seeming compatibilities between values, the following conflicts seem to occur.
Self-Direction and Stimulation versus Conformity, Tradition, and Security - This dimension reflects a conflict
between emphases on own independent thought and action and favoring change versus submissive self-restriction,
preservation of traditional practices, and protection of stability.
Universalism and Benevolence versus Achievement and Power - This dimension reflects a conflict between
acceptance of others as equals and concern for their welfare versus pursuit of one's own relative success anddominance over others.
Below, each alignment is described in terms of these values. Eight of these alignments combine the compatibilities
detailed above. One other allows for an alignment with conflicted values and leaves it to the player to determine thenature of this alignment.
Acts that call for a Karma award for characters adhering to a particular philosophy are listed. As stated before, theseacts are deliberately left vague so that the Judge can determine the frequency of Karma awards and the Intensity of
those awards. It should be noted that Judges are under no obligation to allow all nine of the alignments listed below.
Judges can certainly use all of them or restrict the number to three or four to encourage party unity.

TOC

13

The Alabastrous Hero
Description
You’re hero the people want on their side. You don’t necessarily play by the rules, but you’ll save the day because
that’s what heroes do. You’re not motivated by money or power or pleasure. You just want to right the wrongs,
defend the weak, and kick evil’s butt. A sincere “thank you” or a home-cooked meal is all you need for a reward.
But if they insist on giving you money, well, you’ll just give that to the poor or the local church. You’re always
ready to make the ultimate sacrifice, but not before you take as many of those evil bastards with you as possible.
ValuesAlabastrous heroes primarily uphold the values of universalism and benevolence. They see themselves as humane
and practical while practicing an altruistic morality and a situation-based system of ethics. They hold pragmatism to
be a virtue and trust their conscience when making decisions.
AlliesAlabastrous heroes tend to get along with Xanthic and Viridescent heroes, though they find Xanthic heroes’ rigid
adherence to tradition and Viridescent heroes’ insistence on independence are sometimes at odds with their own
pragmatic methods to achieving altruistic goals.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list. These core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karmaawards.
ASPECT
Meaning

Core
ValuesBenevolence
Preserving and enhancing thewelfare of those with whom one isin frequent personal contact (the"in-group").
•
•
•
•
•
•

being helpful
being responsible
being forgiving
being honest
being loyal
having mature love forothers and truefriendships

Universalism
Understanding, appreciation,
tolerance, and protection for thewelfare of all people and for nature.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

TOC

advancing equality
being one with nature
having wisdom
filling the world withbeautyadvancing social justice
being broad-minded
protecting theenvironment
seeing the world at peace

14

The Atramentous Hero
Description
You’re the hero they call on to get the job done, no matter what. As long as they don’t criticize your methods ordelve too deeply into your affairs, they’ll be alright. You’ll defend civilization, rescue the king’s daughter from thedragon, or do just about anything else, if the price is right. You’re the mercenary of the adventurer world. You
won’t side with evil, because there’s no end to the number of good people who will pay dearly for your services.
Fight fire with fire is what you say. At the end of the day, when the dark lord has been defeated, honors will beheaped upon you by a grateful populace. And you get to keep all of the dark lord’s cool stuff. It’s a win-win.
ValuesAtramentous heroes primarily uphold the values of achievement and power. They see themselves as determinedand practical while practicing an egoistic morality and a situation-based system of ethics. They hold pragmatism to
be a virtue and follow their convictions when making decisions.
AlliesAtramentous heroes tend to get along with Erubescent heroes and Porphyric heroes, but find Erubescent heroes to be
too preoccupied with social stability and see Porphyric heroes as too undisciplined in their pursuit of pleasure to betruly free to develop themselves to their full potential.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list. These core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karmaawards.
ASPECT
Meaning

Core
Values

TOC

Achievement
Personal success throughdemonstrating competenceaccording to social standards.
• being ambitious• being influential• being capable• being successful• having intelligence• having self-respect

Power
Social status and prestige, control
or dominance over people andresources.
• having social power• having wealth• having authority• preserving one's own
public image• having social recognition

15

The Ceruline Hero
Description
Some people do what’s right because they believe in the system. All that stands between civilization and chaos is afragile social order. Society needs its heroes, people who are willing to do what it takes to defend the nation, protect
its citizens, enforce its laws, and maintain its traditions. That’s you. You’ve got the talent and it’s your duty to use
your gifts to ensure that your nation, your people, and your way of life will last forever. You’ve got the law on yourside, but you’re never above the law. Sometimes it’s a messy business, because no system is perfect. But it’s thebest one we’ve got and it’s worth fighting for.
Values
Ceruline heroes primarily uphold the values of security, tradition, and conformity. They see themselves ashonorable and realistic while practicing a reciprocity-based morality and a rules-based system of ethics. They holdself-control to be a virtue and use common-sense when making decisions.
Allies
Ceruline heroes tend to get along with Erubescent and Xanthic heroes, though they find Erubescent heroes’ powerseeking behavior and Xanthic heroes’ advancement of benevolence over security sometimes have disruptive effects
on the societal stability and well-established traditions they seek to maintain.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list. These core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karmaawards.
ASPECT

Security

Meaning

Safety, harmony, and stabilityof society, of relationships,
and of self.
•
•
•

Core
Values•••TOC

ensuring national
security
reciprocation offavorsensuring family
security
having a sense of
belongingpreserving the social
orderbeing healthy andclean

Conformity/Tradition
Restraint of actions, inclinations, andimpulses likely to upset or harm others
and violate social expectations or norms.
Also respect, commitment, andacceptance of the customs and ideas thattraditional culture or religion provide the
self.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

being obedient
having self-discipline
being polite
honoring parents and elders
respecting tradition
being devout
accepting one's own portion inlife
being humble
taking life in moderation

16

The Cinereal Hero
Description
You’re not the hero they expected, but you’re the hero they need. You’re not quite sure what keeps you going but if
you don’t do something, who will? You don’t put your trust in high ideals, the authorities of your society, a certain
philosophy, or really anything else for that matter. You trust yourself, those close to you, and anyone else who’s
proven they’re on your side. You fight evil to protect yourself and those you care about. And because you’re one of
the few who can. The enemy had better watch out, because unlike these other heroes, you’re flexible enough in yourmorals and ethics to take advantage of just about any situation. They’ll never see it coming.
ValuesUnlike other types, Cinereal heroes uphold seemingly conflicted values. As such, the player should choose two
primary values that do not appear together in any of the other alignments. As an example, benevolence andachievement are primary values that do not appear together in any of the other eight alignments. These two primaryvalues may be taken for a Cinereal character. If the player chooses two primary values that are found together inanother alignment, then the hero is actually that alignment (and not Cinereal).
Cinereal characters tend to see themselves as practical and realistic while typically practicing a reciprocity-based
morality and a situation-based system of ethics. They have a tendency to hold pragmatism to be a virtue and use
common-sense when making decisions.
AlliesCinereal heroes tend to get along with heroes sharing their values, naturally. Even for those that don’t, they canusually find some common ground for the maintenance of a positive relationship.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list for your primary values (four core values total). For example, if you chose
security and self-direction for your character, choose two core values from the security list (which can be found in
the Erubescent and Ceruline descriptions) and two core values from the self-direction list (found in the Spessartine
and Viridescent descriptions).
Note
If this alignment seems like a catch-all, that’s because it is. This is the alignment of those who “choose not tochoose” in most cases.

TOC

17

The Erubescent Hero
Description
You defend your nation, protect the weak, and smite evil, not because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s what
keeps you on top of the heap yourself. You’re a hero, so you’ve earned the right to be above the common rabble.
Who else hurls themselves into danger like you do? Your high station in society is predicated upon the continuanceof the social order, so it’s also self-interest that motivates you to defeat your nation’s enemies. The wicked must be
punished for daring to disrupt the society that provides you with power and prestige. And it does feel good bringing
wrong-doers to justice and wiping out enemies in war. Everyone knows you don’t mess around.
ValuesErubescent heroes primarily uphold the values of power and security. They see themselves as honorable anddetermined while practicing an egoistic morality and a rules-based system of ethics. They hold self-control to be a
virtue and follow their convictions when making decisions.
AlliesErubescent heroes tend to get along with Ceruline heroes and Atramentous heroes, though they chafe at Ceruline
heroes’ restrictive traditions and find Atramentous heroes’ personal glory-seeking to be annoying at times anddetrimental to the social order and legacy they seek to create.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list. These core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karmaawards.
ASPECT
Meaning

Core
ValuesPower
Social status and prestige, control
or dominance over people andresources.
•
•
•
•
•

TOC

having social power
having wealthhaving authority
preserving one's own
public image
having social recognition

Security
Safety, harmony, and stability ofsociety, of relationships, and of
self.
• ensuring national security• reciprocation of favors• ensuring family security• having a sense of
belonging• preserving the social order• being healthy and clean

18

The Porphyric Hero
Description
It feels good when they call you a “hero” and that’s what it’s all about for you. Being a hero is the best way ofgetting what you want. And what is it that you want? Excitement, pleasure, success, adoration, just to name a few
of the many things that you desire in your insatiable quest for enjoyment in life. As long as you act like a hero, you
get to operate outside of convention and they’ll happily overlook your indiscretions, your eccentricities, and yourpursuit of darker desires. You understand the enemy better than anyone else, but you’ll never join them. These
innocents, they look up to you and are so ready and willing to reward you for putting your life on the line for them.
You’ve got a good thing going and you don’t want to ruin that, now do you?
ValuesPorphyric heroes primarily uphold the values of stimulation, achievement, and hedonism. They see themselves as
independent and determined while practicing an egoistic morality and consequentialist (or act-based) system of
ethics. They hold instinct to be superior to any virtues and follow their convictions when making decisions.
AlliesPorphyric heroes tend to get along with Atramentous heroes and Spessartine heroes, but find Atramentous heroes’
desire for control to limit them unnecessarily in their pursuit of achievement and feel that Spessartine heroes’
aversion to conventional success close them off to new avenues of stimulation.
Core Values
Choose four core values from among those offered on the three lists with no more than two from any one list. These
core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karma awards.
ASPECT

Stimulation

Meaning

Excitement, novelty, andchallenge in life.
•

Core
ValuesTOC••

having an
exciting andvaried life
being daring

Achievement
Personal success throughdemonstrating competenceaccording to social standards.
• being ambitious• being influential• being capable• being successful• having intelligence• having self-respect

Hedonism
Pleasure and sensuous
gratification for oneself.
•••

experiencing pleasure
enjoying life

19

The Spessartine Hero
Description
You have no grand plan, no unwavering ideals, no lifelong goals when it comes to being a hero. You really don’tcare about saving people, smiting evil, or any of that stuff all of the other heroes seem to care so much about. As far
as rewards go, you don’t want the titles they might give you, the lands they might bequeath you, the gold they mightheap upon you (okay, maybe you want the gold). You do it for the thrills, for the freedom, and for the simple
pleasure of seeing what you can get away with. You’re a hero for your own reasons, which might change with thewind. With you, the enemy never knows what they’re getting or what to expect. You’re that hero that’s the life of
the party, the instigator, hell, maybe the whole reason there’s an adventure in the first place!
ValuesSpessartine heroes primarily uphold the values of stimulation and self-direction. They see themselves as
independent and realistic while practicing a reciprocity-based morality and a consequentialist (or act-based) system
of ethics. They hold instinct to be superior to any virtues and use common-sense when making decisions.
AlliesSpessartine heroes tend to get along with Porphyric heroes and Viridescent heroes, but feel that Porphyric heroes are
too interested in worldly success and Viridescent heroes get too wrapped up in idealistic causes to truly enjoy thebenefits of pure freedom.
Core Values
Choose two core values from the self-direction list and take both from the stimulation list. These core values will be
used by the Judge to determine your Karma awards.
ASPECT
Meaning

Core
ValuesTOC

Self-Direction
Independent thought and action;choosing, creating, exploring.
• freedom• creativity• independence• choosing one's own goals• being curious• having self-respect

Stimulation
Excitement, novelty, andchallenge in life.
••

having an exciting
and varied life
being daring

20

The Viridescent Hero
Description
There’s no need for heroes in a just world and you work tirelessly for the day when you can lay down your sword.
But there’s no end to the cruelty, the misery, and the injustices that are visited upon good folk by the depredations ofevil people, so respite will never come. You’re a hero of the people, fighting for equality, for freedom, and forindependence. Tyrants are wise to fear you, as you work to free everyone from all forms of oppression: slavery,
burdensome duties, unfair taxation, and perhaps even societal expectations. The world you’re building will be oneof beauty, equality, and peace that allows everyone to live their own lives as they see fit without the interference ofauthoritarian influences.
Values
Viridescent heroes primarily uphold the values of self-direction and universalism. They see themselves as
independent and humane while practicing an altruistic morality and a consequentialist (or act-based) system of
ethics. They hold instinct to be superior to any virtues and trust their conscience when making decisions.
Allies
Viridescent heroes tend to get along with Alabastrous heroes and Spessartine heroes, but feel that Alabastrous
heroes’ ties to society limit the advancement of universalism and Spessartine heroes’ pursuit of stimulation isdissipative overall and entirely too selfish.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list. These core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karmaawards.
ASPECT
Meaning

Core
Values

TOC

Universalism
Understanding, appreciation,
tolerance, and protection for thewelfare of all people and for nature.
• advancing equality• being one with nature• having wisdom• filling the world withbeauty• advancing social justice• being broad-minded• protecting the environment• seeing the world at peace

Self-Direction
Independent thought and action;choosing, creating, exploring.
•
•
•
•
•
•

freedomcreativity
independencechoosing one's own
goals
being curious
having self-respect

21

The Xanthic Hero
Description
You’re a true hero, the figurative knight-in-shining-armor, fighting for truth, justice, and the pseudo-medieval way.
You’re a paragon of virtue, fair to both friend and foe. You balance the needs of your own altruistic goals withthose of the social order. You follow the rules, respect the laws, and adhere to the social mores of your nation andthis endears you to all in polite society. You also defend the innocent, humble yourself before the lowly, andcheerfully render aid to the needy and this makes you loved by the commoners. You show mercy to your foes,
engage in fair play, and use only that force which is necessary in battle and this makes you respected by the enemy.
You are willing to sacrifice your life before behaving dishonorably and your heart is always ready to forgive thetruly repentant.
Values
Xanthic heroes primarily uphold the values of conformity, tradition, and benevolence. They see themselves ashonorable and humane while practicing an altruistic morality and a rules-based system of ethics. They hold selfcontrol to be a virtue and trust their conscience when making decisions.
Allies
Xanthic heroes tend to get along with Ceruline and Alabastrous heroes, though they find Ceruline heroes’
preoccupation with security and Alabastrous heroes’ pursuit of universalism are frequently at odds with their own
goals of maintaining a benevolent, well-ordered society.
Core Values
Choose two core values from each list. These core values will be used by the Judge to determine your Karmaawards.
ASPECT

Meaning

Core
Values

TOC

Conformity/Tradition
Restraint of actions, inclinations, andimpulses likely to upset or harm others
and violate social expectations or norms.
Also respect, commitment, and acceptanceof the customs and ideas that traditional
culture or religion provide the self.
• being obedient• having self-discipline• being polite• honoring parents and elders• respecting tradition• being devout• accepting one's own portion inlife• being humble• taking life in moderation

Benevolence
Preserving and enhancing
the welfare of those withwhom one is in frequent
personal contact (the "ingroup").
•
•
•
•
•
•

being helpful
being responsible
being forgiving
being honest
being loyal
having mature love
for others and truefriendships

22

Changing your Alignment or Core Values
You can change your character’s core values between gaming sessions. Just inform your Judge at the start of a new
session that you are changing your character’s core values. You must choose your character’s new core values fromthe lists presented in your alignment description (or the lists you chose, if your character is Cinereal). You must
follow the instructions in your alignment description (such as “Choose two core values from each list.”).
Changing your character’s alignment requires a bit more work. You can begin to change your character’s alignment
to one that shares at least one primary value (such as Xanthic to Alabastrous, because they share benevolence as a
primary value) by announcing your intention to do so at the start of a gaming session and choosing one core value
from a list that is not common to your old alignment. For example, for a Xanthic to Alabastrous change, the player
will choose one core value from the universalism core values list (since benevolence is common to both Xanthic andAlabastrous, but universalism is not). This means the character should have one core value from theconformity/tradition list, two core values from the benevolence list, and the new core value from the universalism
list. Once the character has received three Karma awards based on the new core value, the player may choose
another core value from that list at the beginning of the next session. Once the character has been awarded Karma
three times based on this second new core value, the character has successfully switched alignment.
However, if the player does not wish to switch to a new alignment that shares a primary value, the character must be
switched to Cinereal. In other words, it is the intention of the player to switch two or more primary values todifferent primary values. In this case, choose the first primary value and follow the instructions above for slowly
switching core values. Once that primary value has been successfully switched (by being awarded Karma for both
new core values three times each), then pick another primary value to switch to and follow the same procedure. For
example, the player of a Xanthic character is tired of having conformity/tradition and benevolence as primary values
and would rather play a thrillseeker. First, he loses one conformity/tradition core value and he chooses stimulation
as his new primary value and takes “having an exciting and varied life” as his first new core value. After three
Karma awards for that core value, he chooses “being daring.” Three more Karma awards for “being daring” later,
he is now considered a Cinereal character (having the primary values of benevolence and stimulation). He thenchooses the self-direction primary value and the core value of “choosing one’s own goals.” He gets three Karmaawards and then picks “being curious” as his last new core value. After three Karma awards for this one, he’s aSpessartine character.

TOC

23

Character Advancement
I promised you faster advancement for your characters so here are the rules. The basic rule is that advancement
follows all of the rules in MSH, except Karma costs are only a fraction of those given in the Players’ Book. I also
found a glitch with advancing existing powers versus buying new powers outright, so that problem is remedied here.
Let’s get started.
First, you need to decide how fast you want characters to advance. In the normal rules, the amount of Karma youneed to increase a rank number by one is equal to the current rank number times 10, 20, or 40 (depending onwhether we’re talking about abilities, resources, new powers, etc.). Essentially, it’s the current rank number times
some multiple of ten. If we then imagine ‘10’ to be the base-line multiplier, we can tune our fantasy campaign’s
speed of advancement by dialing this number down. For example, if we make the base-line multiple ‘5’ then ourmultipliers would be something like 5, 10, and 20 (instead of 10, 20, and 40). Costs would be half as much as listed
in MSH which means advancement would be twice as fast. Changes in what we’re calling the base-line multiplier
will also affect Cresting costs.
Armed with this concept, let’s go through a brief review of advancement from the MSH Players’ Handbook. We
will use the terms “base-line multiplier” or perhaps even just “multiplier” to mean the factor that we’re using tospeed up advancement (or keep it slow if we leave it at 10).

Ability Advancement
Raising an ability by one rank number costs the current rank number times the base-line multiplier (which, in MSH,
is 10). Cresting costs 40 times the base-line multiplier. Abilities can be raised up to Ex (25) without explanation.
To go beyond this, the player has some ‘splainin’ to do.

Resource Advancement
Raising the Resource rank number costs the current rank number times the multiplier with 20 times the multiplierfor Cresting.

Popularity Advancement
Raising the Popularity rank number costs the current rank number times the multiplier. There is no Cresting cost.
Furthermore, the character must have done something to deserve the Popularity increase (hiring bards to sing about
her, public acts of charity, etc.).

Existing Power Advancement
Raising the rank number of an existing “unstarred” power costs the current (not the next) rank number times twice
the multiplier. Cresting cost is 50 times the multiplier. For a “starred” power (i.e., a power that normally costs two
power slots), the cost is double.
Costs for powers that count as spells are halved.

Power Addition
The normal MSH rules don’t mention Cresting, but I’m including it. If you don’t, then gaining a new power is lessexpensive after Good rank than increasing an already existing power (trust me, I have a spreadsheet to prove it). I’m
also instituting cumulative costs (not just the “40 times rank number”).
Adding a new power costs 300 times the multiplier and it starts at Fe (1). Increasing the rank number costs thecurrent rank number times the multiplier times four. You must pay for each successive increase (such as going from

TOC

24

Fe (1) to Fe (2) and then to Pr (3) and on to Pr (4)). Cresting costs 100 times the multiplier each time a new column
is reached.
If you get a new “double-slot” power, then the base cost is the same (which is 300 times the multiplier). Raisingranks costs double. This cost is current rank number times the multiplier times eight. Cresting is 200 times themultiplier.
The rules change for “robotic” characters just like in MSH. The base cost of 300 times multiplier remains.
Advancing a one-slot power costs current rank number times multiplier with Cresting costing 25 times multiplier.
Double-slot powers cost current rank number times twice the multiplier with Cresting equal to 50 times multiplier.
New spells cost 50 times the multiplier to cast the first time.
Obviously, it’s more cost-effective to purchase the power at Fe (1) and then raise the power during play using thelower Existing Power Advancement costs. In this case, the character must be played with the new Fe (1) power
before the lower costs apply. And they must use the new Fe (1) power at least once during the adventure. Thisshould lead to humorous or interesting situations as the character learns to use the new power.

Talent Addition
Adding a Talent costs 200 times multiplier for a one-slot Talent and 400 times multiplier for a double-slot Talent if
training comes from another PC. These costs are halved if the character gets training elsewhere (like with an NPC).

Contact Addition
Adding a Contact costs 50 plus the Resource rank number, this sum multiplied by the base-line multiplier. Contacts
that are used for Dimensional Energy spells cost twice the normal amount due to the powerful nature of theseContacts.

Advancement Summary
The table below summarizes all of this prose. ‘M’ is the base-line multiplier (which defaults to 10). The term ‘twoslot’ indicates a power, spell simulating a power, or Talent that normally uses up two of the character’s power orTalent choices. Naturally, ‘one-slot’ indicates a “normal” power, spell, or Talent.
1. Base Karma Cost: All new traits (such as new powers, spells, Talents, and Contacts) have a base karma cost.
This is shown in the second column.
2. Increasing Rank Number: Karma costs to increase rank numbers are cumulative in all cases except for
Contacts. In other words, to go from Ex (16) to Ex (20), you must buy up to Ex (17), Ex (18), Ex (19), and then Ex(20). There’s no skipping. For Contacts, however, just use the Contact’s Resource rank number.
3. Cresting: Finally, Cresting costs are shown in the last column. This cost is paid as part of increasing to a rank
number that places the trait into a new column, such as going from Gd (15) to Ex (16).

TOC

25

TraitAbility (FASERIP)
Resources
Popularity
Existing Power (One-Slot)
Existing Power (Two-Slot)
Existing Spell (One-Slot)
Existing Spell (Two-Slot)
New Power (One-Slot)
New Power (Two-Slot)
New Power (One-Slot, Robotic)
New Power (Two-Slot, Robotic)
New Spell (One-Slot)
New Spell (Two-Slot)
Talent (One-Slot, PC-Taught)
Talent (Two-Slot, PC-Taught)
Talent (One-Slot, NPC-Taught)
Talent (Two-Slot, NPC-Taught)
Contact (Mundane)
Contact (Magical)

Base Karma Cost-------300 × M
300 × M
300 × M
300 × M
50 × M
100 × M
200 × M
400 × M
100 × M
200 × M
50 × M
100 × M

Karma Cost to Increase
Rank Number
1 × Current Rank Number × M
1 × Current Rank Number × M
1 × Current Rank Number × M
2 × Current Rank Number × M
4 × Current Rank Number × M
1 × Current Rank Number × M
2 × Current Rank Number × M
4 × Current Rank Number × M
8 × Current Rank Number × M
1 × Current Rank Number × M
2 × Current Rank Number × M------Resource Rank Number × M
Resource Rank Number × M

Cresting
Karma Cost
40 × M
20 × M-50 × M
100 × M
25 × M
50 × M
100 × M
200 × M
25 × M
50 × M---------

Advice for the Judge Regarding Character Advancement
As Judge, you set the base-line multiplier for character advancement. This number will be an integer, from 1 to 10,
inclusive, with 10 being the slowest advancement and 1 being the fastest. If, after setting the multiplier, you findcharacter advancement to be either too fast or too slow for your campaign, you are free to change it. You may alsodecide to speed up or slow down advancement at certain power levels within your campaign. For example, once
characters are powerful enough to face most, but not all, challenges and players are happy with their characters, you
may wish to slow down advancement so that players can enjoy a ‘sweet spot’ in character power level. You may
even decide to change the base-line multiplier for different traits, such as making Talents and Contacts easier topurchase with M = 1, while making the acquisition of new powers extremely difficult with M = 10.
To summarize:
1. The Judge sets the base-line multiplier for advancement costs (i.e., ‘M’).
2. The Judge can change ‘M’ whenever desired.
3. The Judge can make ‘M’ different for different traits (‘traits’ being Abilities, Talents, Powers, etc.).

Speed of Advancement Compared to Normal MSH
As you can see, there is no significant change in advancement rate until M ≤ 5. I recommend M = 3.
M
1
2
3
4
5

TOC

Speed
× 10
×5
× 3 1/3
× 2 1/2
×2

M
6
7
8
9
10

Speed
× 1 2/3
× 1 3/7
× 1 1/4
× 1 1/9×1

26

Different Types of Base-Line Multipliers
As alluded to above, values for M can vary depending on the actual trait in question. Values for M can also haveunits or be different from other types of M. In these cases, the Judge can award other types of points besides Karma.
Some examples are below.
TraitsResources

Variable M for Traits
M = 100 gold pieces

Popularity and Contacts

M = 1 Prestige Point

Powers, Spells, and Talents

M = 10 Experience Points

Primary Abilities

M = 1 Development PointKarma

M = 1 Karma Point

Details
Coin, treasure, and valuables can be applied
towards Resources.
Advance Popularity and gain Contacts withPrestige Points.
Apply Experience Points towards Power,
Spells, and Talents.
It should be hard to earn Development Points,
but only by using Development Points can
primary abilities be raised.
Karma awards add to the Karma Pool and are
not used for advancement anymore.

So, in actual play, you would award Experience Points for overcoming creatures, bypassing traps, adventuring, etc.
Experience Points are earned in much the same way they are earned in other fantasy roleplaying games. Only by
spending Experience Points can characters raise the rank numbers of their Powers and Spells (and gain Talents).
When treasure is awarded, the gold piece value of treasure is used to advance Resources. To advance Resources by
one rank number, you must acquire and apply 1 X Current Resource Rank Number X 100 g.p. to raise yourResources rank number by one. Cresting costs 2,000 g.p. (which is 20 X M). Prestige Points are awarded when acharacter’s fame could be expected to increase. Primary abilities can be raised by being awarded Development
Points. Karma is awarded when a hero acts in accordance with their core values (see Karma Awards for Fantasy
Characters above).When a hero is awarded Karma, these points go into their Karma Pool and are used for rolls only
(not advancement). You could take this system even further by making a specific type of point for each individual
trait and awarding these points when appropriate. You could reduce the number of different points, if you want.
The default game assumes that Karma points are used for all advancement, but it doesn’t have to be this way as you
can see. You could even keep the idea of using one type of point, but call it something different, like Glory (for a
Pendragon-like campaign), XP (for a dungeon crawl game), Advancement Points, or anything else.

TOC

27

MagicMagic. One simple word, but it’s probably the most important aspect of any fantasy campaign. With the Marvel
Superheroes Role Playing Game, just about any magic system can be created, simulated, or modeled. The basegame is extremely open ended when it comes to magic and there are different rule sets that can be employed todescribe it. You can use MHAC 9 Realms of Magic, the magic rules found in the Advanced Set, or you can go withwhat they have in the Ultimate Powers Book. Naturally, in the tradition of continually redefining magic for Marvel
Superheroes, I will outline a new system here that, hopefully, makes sense for a fantasy roleplaying game. I willattempt to make a new system, not modeled on the magical system of any other fantasy roleplaying game (D&D,
Ars Magica, or otherwise), but still in keeping with MSH RPG conventions and usages. There will, of course, besimilarities between this and other magical systems; there’s no way to approach this tabula rasa. What follows will
be an attempt to create a generic, but still interesting, magic system based on what’s found in the Ultimate Powers
Book.

Categories of Magic
The Power Categories in UP can be thought of as the disciplines of power, schools of magic, spheres, or arts foundin other fantasy RPGs. It is convenient to use these classifications, since we’ll already have a built-in method of
distinguishing types of magic from one another. Technically, the Magical Power category is the overarching “metacategory” with the other categories being subsumed under various forms of the Power Simulation magical power.
However, not all characters will be magic-users. Some will actually have powers as such (imagine elementals,
dragons, undead, and other creatures having fixed slates of powers). Characters with fixed powers are just likealtered humans, mutants, and the other types of characters found in MSH. We’re focusing on magic-users in thissection.
If we consider the Magical Power and Power Control categories to be special, meta-categories and we exclude themfrom consideration, the categories that are left can be thought of in terms of magical disciplines, spell schools, power
spheres, arcane arts, what-have-you. We can leave these categories as-is, but let’s give them more fantasy-sounding
names, shall we?
Power Category
Defensive
Detection
Energy Control
Energy Emission
Illusionary / Illusory
Lifeform Control
Matter Control
Matter Conversion
Matter Creation
Mental Enhancement
Physical Enhancement
Self-Alteration
TravelUPB Code
D
DT
EC
EE
I
L
MC
MCo
MCr
M
P
S
T

Fantasy Discipline, School, Sphere, or Art
Abjuration
Divination
Energization
Evocation
Praestigiation
Vitalization
Materiation
Transmutation
Conjuration
Psychomentation
Transformation
Alteration
Locoportation

I left out the Fighting category because it seems quite mundane. Also, the few powers that are listed can probably
be placed into other categories without problems. This leaves thirteen categories of magic.

TOC

28

Magical Powers
Powers from the Magical Powers category really represent “meta-magic” in fantasy roleplaying. Some notes abouta few of these powers are found below.
Energy Sources
Judges should consider what energy sources (UP, MG2 Energy Source, page 43) are available for the campaign. To
use some familiar examples, an energy source might be “daily prayer at dawn” requiring the magic-user to pray tosome powerful entity each day at dawn to have powers and spells renewed for the day. Another famous “energy
source” might be a spellbook that a magic-user studies each day to replenish ‘forgotten’ spells. You are free todetail any energy sources and can use greater imagination to develop them. The Judge can also decide not to use
energy sources. At any rate, the actual power Energy Source is a ‘zero-slot’ power (since you get to take anotherpower upon randomly generating it).
As part of the determination of energy sources, you can use the Personal, Universal, and Dimensional energy
distinctions found in MSH and MHAC 9.
It is recommended, however, that the Judge use the Energy Source power in a fantasy campaign, if only to allow for
the standard limitations found on fantasy magic and to incorporate the possibility of its removal as a plot device.
Enchantments
It is important to note that the power Enchantment (MG1) is meant to be used to whip up temporary magical items.
For more permanent magic items, use the normal MSH RPG building rules. Depending on the Mechanisms used forthis power (see below), Enchantment could be seen as alchemy, artifice, or just basic spellcasting.
Magic Control, Creation, and Transferal
The use of Magic Control powers results in augmentation, diminution, transformation, and negation of magic itself.
Wise magic-users use these powers as a form of counter-magic, turning potentially harmful magical effects into
more innocuous forms.
Magic Creation is, presumably, how extremely powerful beings could instill the ability to cast spells into mortals.
Powerful spellcasters can use this meta-magic to grant abilities to others.
Magic Transferal, like Magic Creation, can be used to share magical powers with others. To borrow an example
from Ars Magica, this is how you would grant parma magica to an apprentice.
Power Simulation
Technically, every spell is a form of Power Simulation. The disciplines or spheres of magic (Abjuration, Divination,etc.) define useful divisions of magic that all magic-users understand. It’s how they focus their studies and powers.

Mechanisms
It is important to detail the mechanisms that a character needs to use in order to work magic. A ‘standard’ fantasy
spell requires Chant and Gesture to achieve a magical effect and it only takes one action (instead of one turn per 10
points). Because this involves two mechanisms, the resultant mechanism would be Ritual. A character’s style ofmagic will dictate what mechanisms are commonly employed. Players are encouraged to be creative and not worry
about perceived limitations when detailing a magic-user’s mechanisms.

TOC

29

Magical Traditions
By combining a set of power categories, common mechanisms, energy sources, typical spells, and placement into
the campaign world, a Magical Tradition can be created. This would be analogous, perhaps, to the magical schoolsfound in Book One of Realms of Magic. The Judge should create Magical Traditions since they’ll be an importantpart of setting up the campaign. Allowing players to create Magical Traditions is even better, since the player cancreate exactly what they want, contribute to the creation of the setting, and make the Judge’s job easier.
The steps to create a Magical Tradition are:
1. Description. Determine the nature of the Magical Tradition. You might have a type of magic-user in mind or
perhaps you want to create something from mythology or even another fantasy RPG. The preliminary details of the
Magical Tradition will help you focus and figure out what to include in the remaining steps.
2. Energy Source. Determine the Energy Source for the Magical Tradition. This is probably the most importantconsideration since the Energy Source will set the tone for the entire Magical Tradition. The “Casting a Spell” rules
below can be used in lieu of taking an Energy Source.
3. Power Categories. Determine what Power Categories are part of the Magical Tradition. You can include as
many or as few as you want. A tighter focus allows for you to fine tune Magical Traditions in the campaign.
However, you could conceivably include every Power Category for a Magical Tradition that consists of a group of
wizards that have come together and created a Unified Theory of Magic.
4. Magical Powers. Determine what powers from the Magical Powers category should be included and the natureof those powers. These are the meta-magic powers that the tradition uses.
5. Mechanisms. Determine the Mechanisms typically used by members of the Magical Traditions. These
Mechanisms are how they work magic. Alchemists would use Alchemy. Necromancers would use Necromancy. If
you have no preference, go with Rituals that include Chants and Gestures.
6. Common Spells. Finally, you can list specific powers (spells) that are common to the Magical Tradition.
Creating a Magical Tradition Example
Let’s make one. I think an Alchemist Magical Tradition might be easy to make. These will be magic-users thatbrew and distill their way to magical power. Their energy source will be the ingredients they need to use to makepotions. Without a steady supply of magical ingredients, they have just enough reagents remaining to create magic
equal to their rank number in Psyche (just like in the Energy Source description). Alchemists typically operate in
the Transformation (Physical Enhancement), Alteration (Self-Alteration), Vitalization (Lifeform Control), andDivination (Detection Powers) magical spheres. The magical powers that Alchemists use are Enchantment and
Magic Creation. The one Mechanism that they’d be sure to use is Alchemy. Specific spells could include anythingthat could affect the drinker of a potion.

TOC

30

Schools, Spells, and Spellcasting
Being a SpellcasterTo be a spellcaster, and not just a character with magical powers, magical items, or altered due to exposure to
magical forces, the character must have the Mystic Origin Talent. This Talent costs 20 CP at character creation. It
can also be acquired later at a cost of 200 or 400 times M (the base-line multiplier) in Karma. There is no minimum
Endurance or Psyche to be a spellcaster, but you’ll want a high one to be able to recover spellcasting vitality faster.
Schools of Magic
To provide some sort of structure for magic-users, almost all spells (i.e., the Power Simulation magical powers) fallunder one of the thirteen schools of magic (Abjuration, Divination, etc.). Spellcasters must have a rank in a schoolof magic to cast any spells from that school, even if it’s Fe (1). Each school is purchased just like a power atcharacter generation and also advanced as a power. These ranks determine the character’s general power, education,
acumen, and ability to cast spells associated with these schools. Ranks in magical schools cost a base 10 CP atcharacter generation and one additional CP for each rank number. After play begins, magical schools are advancedas ‘one-slot’ powers. However, having ranks in the magical schools alone doesn’t allow the spellcaster to cast any
spells. For this, the spellcaster must acquire spells.
Gaining Spells
First, a ‘free’ spell comes with the initial purchase of the school rank. This spell has the same rank number as theschool rank number. If the spell represents a “starred” power, then you must pay 1 CP for every two points in rank
number or take a free spell at one-half the school’s rank number.
Additional spells can be acquired during character generation by paying 1 CP for every two points in rank number
for normal spells and 1 CP for each rank number of “starred” spells (i.e., it costs only 5 CP to get a normal Gd (10)spell). You can only gain a spell up to the rank number of the magical school of that spell. So, if you have Ex (20)Vitalization, you can get up to an Ex (20) Bio-Physical Control (Healing) spell. After play begins, spells cost 50 ×
M to gain a normal spell and 100 × M for a double-cost spell. Furthermore, a spellcaster can only gain a spell thathas a rank number up to and including his rank number in the magical school of the spell. Spells with higher rank
numbers are simply beyond their abilities.
As you might observe, it’s probably cheaper to find a higher rank number spell than actually advance a known spell
to higher rank numbers. This is intentional because fantasy RPGs are riddled with spellcasters adventuring to seekout more powerful magic.
Magic School Ranks
Spellcasters use their rank in the appropriate magical school as the spellcasting trait, to determine the negative
effects of casting a spell on the caster’s vitality. The effects of the spell, however, are based on the rank of theactual spell. This operates much like the Magical Effects table in the Marvel Superheroes RPG Players’ Book (page43). Spell ranks can be voluntarily lowered prior to casting. For example, if you have a Fire Generation spell at Rm(30), you can choose to cast it at Ex (25) instead. But why would you want to do this? Because spellcasting is
taxing, which leads us to our next section….
Casting a Spell
To cast a spell, the player announces that the character will cast a spell as his action. The player then makes a FEAT
based on the rank column of the school that spell falls under and the Intensity of the spell itself. Spells that are equal
to the school rank in Intensity require a Yellow result. Spells one or two ranks below the school rank require a
Green result. Spells that are three or more ranks below the character’s school rank do not require a FEAT roll. Thisroll is simply to determine the effect of the spell itself on the character’s spellcasting ability. If the FEAT is
successful, the spell is cast and the caster suffers no effects. If the FEAT is not successful, the spell is still cast, but
the character’s effective rank in all magical schools suffers a -1 CS thereafter. It is important to note that thecharacter always successfully casts the spell whether the FEAT is successful or not. The success of the FEAT at thisstage merely determines if the act of casting spell takes a toll on the caster.
Once a character suffers a column shift penalty in this way, some known spells may be one or more ranks higher
than the character’s effective school rank. When this occurs, a character needs a Red result on the spellcasting
TOC

31

FEAT to cast the spell without harm. For example, if a character with Rm (30) Evocation that knows Ice Generation
at Rm (30) suffers a -1 CS penalty to all schools, then that character’s Evocation rank effectively becomes Ex (20).
If he wished to cast another Ice Generation spell at Rm (30), it would require a Red result on the spellcasting FEAT.
Of course, the character could choose to cast the spell at Ex (25) strength and need only a Yellow result or reduce it
further to Gd (15) and require only a Green to avoid further vitality loss.
The negative column shifts due to spellcasting strain “heal” naturally over time. One column shift penalty isimmediately negated when the character undergoes Recovery (which is once per day). Further negative column
shifts are negated at a rate based on the character’s Psyche Ability. This rate is equal to 60 minutes divided by thecharacter’s Psyche rank number. Thus, the times to recover one Health point on page 11 of the Judge’s Handbook
show how long it takes characters to regain one lost rank of magical ability. No power should ever be devised that
heals, negates, reduces, or in any other way invalidates this system. It is for this reason that we’re not using Healthpoints as mana in the spellcasting system (because healing powers can restore Health).
If a character ever gains enough spellcasting penalty ranks equal to this highest magical school rank (thus indicatingthat his highest magical school rank becomes effectively Shift 0), he falls unconscious for 1-10 turns. For example,
assuming that our Ice Wizard’s Evocation school rank of Rm (30) is his highest, he can suffer five penalty ranks andremain conscious. Upon gaining the sixth penalty rank, he would fall unconscious (because this would reduce his
effective rank in Evocation to Shift 0. If a character’s highest magical school rank were Unearthly, she could suffer
nine ranks of reduced ability and still be conscious.
The spellcasting roll isn’t used to determine the effects of the spell itself. Follow the normal rules for the power inquestion after the spell is cast.
This spellcasting system is implemented to put a limitation on character spellcasting in combat, as is common inmost fantasy roleplaying games. This system keeps magic from completely dominating combat. Spellcasters must
use their powers wisely. Casting spells outside of combat in “roleplaying situations” is easier due to reasonably fast
recovery (reasonably fast outside of combat, that is). Thus, spellcasters can use a lot of magic over the course of aday, but are somewhat limited if they’re forced to chain-cast spells rapidly during combat.
If you use this system, you may not need to use the Energy Source limitation detailed earlier.
Times to Regain Full Spellcasting Vitality
Ability rank is across the top. Columns lost are to the left. Times represent the total time remove all columns lostand are in minutes unless otherwise noted. Multiplying the minutes by ten gives you the number of turns. As you
can see, you want your spellcaster to have a high Endurance or Psyche rank. Using Endurance as the recovery
Ability assumes that spellcasting is physically fatiguing. Using Psyche as the recovery Ability assumes thatspellcasting is mentally and emotionally fatiguing.
Columns
Lost
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

TOC

Fe
30
60
90
2 hr
2.5 hr3 hr
3.5 hr
4 hr
4.5 hr
5 hr

Pr
15
30
45
1hr
1.25 hr
1.5 hr
1.75 hr
2 hr
2.25 hr
2.5 hrSpellcaster’s Ability Rank (Endurance or Psyche)
Ty
Gd
Ex
Rm
In
Am
10
6
3
2
1.5
1.2
20
12
6
4
3
2.4
30
18
9
6
4.5
3.6
40
24
12
8
6
4.8
50
30
15
10
7.5
6
60
36
18
12
9
7.2
70
42
21
14
10.5
8.4
80
48
24
16
12
9.6
90
54
27
18
13.5
10.8
100
60
30
20
15
12

Mn
0.8
1.6
2.4
3.2
4
4.8
5.6
6.4
7.2
8

Un
0.6
1.2
1.8
2.4
3
3.6
4.2
4.8
5.4
6

32

Other Magical Characters
Not every character that uses magic needs to be a spellcaster. Some beings are inherently magical and have a few
powers at their disposal. Others are fairly normal people, perhaps with superior skills and Talents, that use magicalarmor, weapons, and items (like AD&D fighters). These characters can be balanced against magic-users by theirlack of general versatility and are more in keeping with the kinds of characters seen in the original version of MSH.
Judges should go easy on characters that rely on magic items and not deprive them of their powers at every turnthrough theft, destruction, etc. The Marvel Superheroes game isn’t strictly balanced by a point system like Mutants& Masterminds, so the trappings of a character’s powers shouldn’t really become an issue.
Making a non-spellcaster character is very much like making a normal MSH character. You’ll come up with some
sort of concept and then go from there. Choosing the character’s race is a good start. Try to make somethinginteresting and not necessarily a character who will dominate or avoid all challenges. Mastery of the game systemitself is a perfectly valid way to play D&D, but it’s not really the way to play a fantasy version of MSH. With MSH,
you can make the fantasy character that you’ve always really wanted to play, but couldn’t get rule-support to makehappen.

TOC

33

Monsters
You need monsters for a fantasy RPG. There are a number of ways to handle this need. First, I could make an
exhaustive list of monsters and completely detail their stats. This would be time consuming and I don’t have thetime. Also, you’d be stuck with what my ideas are for monsters. Another way would be to tell you to do it yourself
using your own imagination. Well, that’s sort of a cop-out and doesn’t really give you anything. A third way would
be to teach you how to use the extensive fantasy RPG supplements that are already out there to quickly convert
monsters into Marvel Superheroes format. This way is easier on my time and lets you go find the sources you want
to use to make the kind of fantasy campaign you want to have. We’ll do it this way.
What’s the most popular fantasy RPG of all time? Did you say Powers & Perils? No silly, it’s Dungeons &Dragons. Let us start with D&D (yeah, I know) and branch outward from there. D&D is good to use because a lotof it is “free” now (with the SRD and such), almost every roleplayer has it, and the six ability scores in D&D matchup quite nicely to six of the seven Abilities in MSH.

Converting D&D Monsters to Marvel Superheroes Fantasy
We’re not aiming for a gnat’s-ass conversion here. We just want to be able to quickly convert a monster over to
MSH and keep going. We’re going to need the FASERIP Abilities which will, in turn, give us Health and Karma.
Resources and Popularity will come next. Power, Talents, and Contacts will finish the monster off. Some of these
traits aren’t all that important, quite frankly (like Popularity and Contacts).
The problem with using D&D in this manner is that there are many versions of D&D. The most completely“statted” monsters appear in later editions. I will attempt to give you conversion rules for D&D 3rd, 4th, and 5thedition. Earlier editions just don’t have enough information for easy conversion, so we won’t bother with D&D
Basic or the AD&D 1st and 2nd Editions. It is recommended that once you pick a version of D&D, stay with it.
Converting Ability Scores to FASERIP Abilities
First, use the table below to get a sense of what D&D ability scores convert to which FASERIP Abilities.
FASERIP Ability
Fighting
Agility
Strength
Endurance
ReasonIntuition
PsycheD&D Ability Score or Trait
Hit Dice, Level, or Challenge
Dexterity
Strength
Constitution
Intelligence
WisdomCharisma

Next, use this table to convert D&D ability scores to the MSH Abilities (except for Fighting, which is special).
MSH Ability Rank
Fe (2)
Pr (4)Ty (6)
Gd (10)Ex (20)Rm (30)In (40)Am (50)Mn (75)Un (100)
ShX (150)
ShY (200)
ShZ (500)
TOC

3rd and 4th Edition
3 or less
4-7
8 - 1314 - 1718 - 21
22 - 25
26 - 29
30 - 33
34 - 37
38 - 41
42 - 45
46 - 49
50 or more

5th Edition
3 or less
4-7
8 - 1314 - 1718 - 21
22 - 25
26 - 27
28
29
30
---34

Now find the monster’s Fighting. For 3rd Edition, double the monster’s Hit Dice to find the Fighting rank number.
Monsters having at least one full hit die move up to Typical Fighting. For 4th Edition, I just start at Poor Fighting
and assign three levels to each rank up to ShY. D&D 5th uses a slightly different banding for Challenge.
MSH Fighting Rank
Fe (2)
Pr (4)Ty (6)
Gd (10)Ex (20)Rm (30)In (40)Am (50)Mn (75)Un (100)
ShX (150)
ShY (200)
ShZ (500)

3rd Edition (HD)less than 1/2
1
/2
1-3
4-7
8 - 1213 - 1718 - 2223 - 31
32 - 43
44 - 62
63 - 87
88 - 175
176 +4th Edition (Level)
-1-3
4-6
7-9
10 - 1213 - 15
16 - 18
19 - 21
22 - 24
25 - 27
28 - 30
31 +5th Edition (Challenge)
0 (0 XP)0 (10 XP) and 1/8 - 1/4
1/2 - 1
2-5
6-9
10 - 13
14 - 1718 - 21
22 - 25
26 - 29
30 - 33
34 +Total Monster’s Health and Karma
Simply add F+A+S+E to get the monster’s Health and R+I+P to get the monster’s Karma.
Assigning a Monster’s Powers
Note that I said “assign” a monster’s Powers and not “convert” a monster’s Powers. At this stage, you get a little
more artistic license. Use the monster’s description in whatever ruleset you’re pulling the monster stats from andlist the monster’s Powers. Assign whatever seems appropriate. You don’t have to detail every single ability themonster has in D&D, just hit the most iconic ones for that monster. The list below will go over some obvious things
to consider.
1. Armor Class. This could possibly be used to assign Body Armor or Body Resistance. For D&D 3rd Edition,
simply add up the monster’s armor and natural armor bonuses and use them directly. For D&D 5th Edition, if themonster’s entry says “natural armor” then subtract ten from the AC and double it. D&D 4th Edition figures out AC
based on the creature’s level, so you might have a hard time figuring out what to assign. Just go with what feels
right, taking into account that the Tarrasque’s Body Resistance is Rm (30) in both D&D 3rd and 5th Editions while
an Ancient Red Dragon’s is Rm (33) and Ex (24) respectively.
2. Damage. Don’t worry about any damage entries. The monster’s damage is based on its attack form (Blunt
Attack, Edged Attack, etc.) and the standard table given in the Fantasy Weapons and Armor section above.
3. Spells and Spell-like Powers. The rank for any spell, power, or other ability can default to its Fighting rank(since the Fighting rank is keyed to a creature’s Hit Dice, Level, or Challenge). Or, if a caster level is given, you
can double it. Just pick a method and stick to it for every monster in the campaign.
Assigning a Monster’s Talents
If a monster should have Talents, assign them. You can most likely skip this step, unless you need to know if themonster could teach a PC a Talent.
Assigning a Monster’s Contacts
You can probably forego this step as well, unless it’s important to the storyline.
Assigning a Monster’s Resources
This could be an important step, since hauling away treasure from a lair is a staple of heroic fantasy. You might juststick to the monster’s Fighting rank (since it’s tied to hit dice, level, or challenge) keeping in mind that it would bepretty hard to pack up and schlep Unearthly Resources after defeating a balor (if you convert from 4th Edition).

TOC

35

Assigning a Monster’s Heroic or Villainous Alignment
If the monster is to be an NPC hero then give it an alignment based on its D&D alignment. If you haven’t alreadyfigured out which MSH fantasy alignments correspond to which D&D alignments, then here’s a handy chart.
Lawful Good - Xanthic
Lawful Neutral - Ceruline
Lawful Evil - Erubescent

Neutral Good - Alabastrous
Neutral - Cinereal
Neutral Evil - Atramentous

Chaotic Good - Viridescent
Chaotic Neutral - Spessartine
Chaotic Evil - PorphyricSome villainous versions of these alignments are easier to imagine than others, granted.
Assigning a Monster’s Popularity
You can assign this as desired. Make sure its negative if the monster is a villain.
Finalizing the Monster
As a final step, look over the monster and change anything that just doesn’t seem right. Also, add or take away
anything you want.
Example Monster: Ogre
We’ll use each edition to convert an ogre into MSH stats.
Ogre (3rd Edition)
Fighting
Gd (10)AgilityTy (6)
Strength
Ex (20)Endurance
Gd (10)ReasonPr (4)
Intuition
Ty (6)
PsychePr (4)

Health

46

Karma

14

Resources

Pr (4)

Popularity-6

Powers:Body Resistance: Ty (5)Darkvision: Gd (10)Greatclub Attack: Blunt Attack, In (36) Damage (Strength + 2 CS)

Ogre Thug (4th Edition)
Fighting
Ex (20)AgilityTy (6)
Strength
Ex (20)Endurance
Ex (20)ReasonPr (4)
Intuition
Ty (6)
PsychePr (4)

Health

66

Karma

14

Resources

Pr (4)

Popularity-6

Powers:Body Resistance: Gd (8)Greatclub Attack: Blunt Attack, In (36) Damage (Strength + 2 CS).

TOC

36

Ogre (5th Edition)
Fighting
Gd (10)AgilityTy (6)
Strength
Ex (20)Endurance
Gd (10)ReasonPr (4)
Intuition
Pr (4)
PsychePr (4)

Health

46

Karma

12

Resources

Pr (4)

Popularity-6

Powers:Body Armor: Ty (6) with hide armor
Darkvision: Gd (10)Greatclub Attack: Blunt Attack, In (36) Damage (Strength + 2 CS)
Javelin Attack: Edged Throwing, In (36) Damage (Strength + 2 CS)
Our ogre converted from 4th Edition is a little tougher, but mostly each conversion is about the same. The key is topick an edition and just keep using that edition for consistency’s sake.
Example Monster: Cthulhu
We’ll get his stats from the d20 Call of Cthulhu.
CthulhuFighting
Agility
Strength
Endurance
ReasonIntuition
PsycheMn (75)
Ty (6)ShX (150)
In (40)Am (50)In (40)In (40)

Health

271

Karma

130

Resources

Mn (75)Popularity-40

Powers:True Invulnerability: Mn (84)
Regeneration: Am (50)and many other powers and spells

TOC

37

Converting Ars Magica 5th Edition Creatures to Marvel Superheroes Fantasy
We’ll use the same checklist as we did for D&D. Let’s get right into it.
Converting Characteristics to FASERIP Abilities
Correspondences are below. Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, and Intuition are based on Characteristics while
Fighting and Psyche use other traits.
FASERIP Ability
Fighting
Agility
Strength
Endurance
ReasonIntuition
PsycheArM Characteristic or Trait
Combat Ability
Dexterity
Strength
StaminaIntelligence
Perception
Might or Highest Tech + Form or Spell Level

Conversion of Characteristics to Ability Ranks follows the second column. The third column is used for Fighting
rank. In essence, multiply the creature’s highest Slugfest-type Ars Magica Ability by five to get the Fighting rank
number. A creature’s Might score is its rank number in Psyche. For magi, use their highest Technique plus Formcombination or their highest level spell known for Psyche.

MSH Ability Rank
Fe (2)
Pr (4)Ty (6)
Gd (10)Ex (20)Rm (30)In (40)Am (50)Mn (75)Un (100)
ShX (150)
ShY (200)
ShZ (500)

ArM Characteristic-3 or lower-2 or -1
+0
+1 or +2
+3 or +4
+5 or +6
+7 or +8
+9 or +10
+11 or +12+13 or +14+15 or +16+17 or +18+19 or higher

ArM Combat
Ability
-0
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10 - 1213 - 1718 - 25
26 - 36
37 - 70
71 +ArM Might
1-2
3-4
5-7
8 - 1516 - 25
26 - 35
36 - 45
46 - 62
63 - 87
88 - 125
126 - 175
176 - 350
351 +Magus T + F or
Max Spell Level
1-2
3-4
5-7
8 - 1516 - 25
26 - 35
36 - 45
46 - 62
63 - 87
88 - 125
126 - 175
176 - 350
351 +Total Being’s Health and Karma
Simply add F+A+S+E to get the being’s Health and R+I+P to get the monster’s Karma.
Assigning a Being’s Powers
Ars Magica sometimes has extensive lists of powers for its characters and creatures. You do not need to convert
everything, just pick the iconic powers (or maybe just the powers you intend to use initially). As before, somenotes:
1. Soak. This could possibly be used to assign Body Armor or Body Resistance. Just subtract the being’s Stamina
from Soak. This means that Quilted armor provides Fe (1) Body Armor and full Chain Mail provides Gd (9). By
comparison, Black Knight wears full chain mail armor and has Gd (10) body armor. Close enough.
2. Damage. You can actually use the Damage bonuses that are listed. Add the bonus to the appropriate FASERIP
ability. Otherwise, use the normal rules that we’ve outlined here (by attack form and Ability used).

TOC

38

3. Spells and Spell-like Powers. The rank for any spell, power, or other ability can default to its Psyche rank (since
the Psyche rank is keyed to a creature’s Might, Highest Technique + Form, or Highest Spell Level). Use thedescriptions to figure out what equivalent power is needed to describe the effect.
Assigning a Being’s Talents
If a being should have Talents, assign them. If a being has a 5 or higher in an Ability, then they probably have thecorresponding Talent. You can most likely skip this step, unless you need to know if the being could teach a PC a
Talent.
Assigning a Being’s Contacts
You can probably forego this step as well, unless it’s important to the storyline.
Assigning a Being’s Resources
This one is probably not such a big deal, but go with what’s reasonable.
Assigning a Being’s Heroic or Villainous Alignment
Assign whatever is appropriate given the being’s description. The Realms are more important in this setting.
Assigning a Being’s Popularity
A being’s Popularity can be calculated by taking its highest Reputation plus its Presence and multiplying this by 5(for “heroic” beings) or -5 (for “villainous” beings).
Finalizing the Monster
As a final step, look over the monster and change anything that just doesn’t seem right. Also, add or take away
anything you want.

TOC

39

Examples: Angels, Demons, Dragons, and Others
Given these conversion schemes, the Archangel of Death, Azrael (RoP: TD, 28) would have the following FASERIP
Abilities:
Azrael, Archangel of DeathFighting
Mn (75)
AgilityAm (50)Strength
ShX (150)
Endurance
Am (50)ReasonAm (50)Intuition
Am (50)PsycheUn (100)

Health

325

Karma

200

Resources

Un (100)

Popularity

70 or -70

Strength is a little high, but Azrael is described as being 70,000 feet tall in his natural form. This form represents amanifestation that can actually interact with characters, so he’s still pretty strong.
Here are the stats for St. Michael (RoP: TD, 30).
Michael, Captain of the Lord’s HostFighting
Mn (75)
HealthAgilityAm (50)Strength
Mn (75)Karma
Endurance
ShX (150)
ReasonAm (50)Resources
Intuition
Am (50)PsycheUn (100)
Popularity

350
200
Un (100)100

And here are stats for Adramelech (RoP: TI, 50)
Adramelech, King of FireFighting
In (40)Agility
Ex (20)Strength
Rm (30)Endurance
Rm (30)ReasonEx (20)Intuition
Ty (6)
PsycheAm (50)

Health

120

Karma

76

Resources

Am (50)Popularity-55

Health

135

Karma

110

Resources

Am (50)Popularity-32

And finally, Stellatus (ArM5, 194)
Stellatus, the Dragon
Fighting
Rm (35)
Agility
Ex (20)Strength
In (40)Endurance
In (40)ReasonEx (20)Intuition
In (40)PsycheAm (50)TOC

40

Standard Soldier (ArM5, 22)Fighting
Gd (10)Agility
Gd (10)Strength
Gd (10)Endurance
Gd (10)ReasonPr (4)
Intuition
Ty (6)
PsycheTy (6)
Scale armor
ShieldAxe
Fist

Ty (7)+2 CS
Ex (20)Gd (10)

Health

40

Karma

16

Resources

Pr (4)

Popularity

5

Talents
Single Weapon
Shield
Brawl

+1 CS
+1 CS
+1 CS

But of course, these beings have vast powers as well, but I’m not going to detail them here.

TOC

41

Magical Artifacts, Constructs, and Items
Constructing magic items follows the rules in the MSH Players’ Book (pages 65-70) and the MSH Judge’s Book
(pages 14-15).
There are really no additional, special rules for this. The MSH game as-is provides everything you need to makemagical weapons, wands, armor, mystical vehicles, constructs, and other magical bric-a-brac that litters fantasy
worlds.
The Enchantment power (UPB, page 42) can also be used to create temporary magic items and the description
contains a statement similar to the one above.
Judges are highly encouraged to strictly enforce the Special Requirements that go with building things in the MSH
system. This is a primary motivation for artificers; getting out to find the special ingredients, mystical powersources, and other magically-infused reagents is a staple of fantasy. Most magic duplicates powers that cannot be
accomplished in “real life” so Special Requirements should be common.

Strongholds
You can almost use the headquarters chart as-is for a fantasy game, but you do need to change a few things (there
should be no office buildings). ‘Cost’ is to rent and own.
Type
Small Suite in Town
Medium Suite in Town
Large Suite in Town
Cottage (2 rooms)
Small House (4 rooms)
Medium House (8 rooms)
Large House (12 rooms)
Small Manor (18 rooms)
Large Manor (24 rooms)
Mansion (30+ rooms)
Small Shop (3 rooms)
Small Store (4 rooms)
Medium Shop (6 rooms)
Large Shop (12 rooms)
Two-Story Large Shop (24 rooms)
Townhouse
Small Keep
Medium Keep
Large Keep
Small Castle
Large Castle
Small Barn
Medium Barn
Large Barn
Small Workshop
Medium Workshop
Large Workshop

TOC

Cost
Fe/Ex
Pr/Ex
Gd/Rm
Pr/Gd
Ty/Ex
Ty/Rm
Ex/In
Rm/Am
In/Mn
Am/Mn
Gd/Rm
Ty/Rm
Ex/In
Rm/Am
In/Mn
Ex/Rm
Rm/Am
In/Mn
Am/Un
Mn/ShX
Un/ShZ
Ty/Rm
Gd/In
Ex/Am
Gd/In
Ex/Am
Rm/Mn

Size
Small
Small
Small
Small
Small
Mid-sized
Mid-sized
Large
DeluxeDeluxeMid-sized
Small
Mid-sized
Mid-sized
Large
Mid-sized
Large
DeluxeDeluxeDeluxeDeluxeMid-sized
Large
DeluxeMid-sized
Large
DeluxeMaterial
Gd
Gd
Gd
Pr
Ty
Tr
Gd
Ex
Ex
Ex
Ex
Gd
Ex
Ex
Ex
Gd
Ex
Rm
Rm
Rm
Rm
Ty
Ty
Gd
Rm
Rm
In

42

Room Packages
The following room packages can probably be used without problems: Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen,
Library, Workshop, Laboratory, Office, Rec. Room, Gym, Pool, Danger Room, Conference Room, Medical, Garage(Stable), Dock, Security, Defenses, Trophy Room, Imprisonment, and any others you can justify.
Just remember to include fantasy equivalents of the “technology” that is found in the room packages.
There are probably other rooms that make sense for a fantasy game as well: Chapel, Kennel, Mews, Feast Hall,
Audience Chamber, Armory, Treasure Vault, Summoning Room, Crypts, Death Trap, Aerie, Secret Passage(probably a free purchase), Wine Cellar, Scriptorium, and many others for sure.

TOC

43

Marvel Magica: Mythic Earth for the Marvel Fantasy Roleplaying Game
Just as I did for D&D, I can use Mythic Earth for this game. I believe that I can get this version closer to Ars
Magica than the D&D version.

The Hermetic Magus
The Hermetic Magus character type consists of a physical form (normal human) that has been altered by the Gift.
Creating a Hermetic Magus requires the following to be purchased during character creation.
Hermetic Magus
10 CP
Mystic Origin (Talent, 20 CP)
The Gift (Limitation, gain 20 CP)
Magic Theory (Talent, 10 CP)
Parma Magica
15 CP
Resistance to Magic - Ty (5)Magic Transferal (Resistance to Magic) - Ty (5)Power Negation (Effects of the Gift in others) - Ty (5)Languages
5 CP
Latin (Talent, 5 CP)
Native Language (Free Talent)
Literacy in all known languages (Free Talent)
Total
30 CP
The Gift causes a -3 CS on all Popularity FEATs. Gentle Gift can be purchased for 20 CP to negate this penalty andis considered a Gd (10) rank power (if you need to know). Blatant Gift can be taken as a Limitation and thecharacter gains an additional 20 CP. Magi with Blatant Gift suffer a -6 CS on Popularity FEATs. The parma
magica negates three column shift penalties due to the Gift in others. Being trained as a Hermetic Magus means that
players need not pay the extra 10 CP to gain the Arts (as powers) during character creation. They do pay the extra
10 CP if they get a power that is not an Art. There are 15 Arts and these Arts are the 15 powers used in the game.
No Art should start higher than Ex (25). During character creation, Hermetic magi get spells equaling 120 total rank
numbers (at no CP cost). These spells can be distributed however the player wishes. Each spell’s rank number must
be equal to or lower than the character’s Technique + Form for that spell. “Starred” or double-cost spells costdouble (i.e., a Gd (10) spell will ‘cost’ 20 of spell ranks).
Furthermore, each Hermetic Magus must be a member of a House.
House
Bjornaer
Bonisagus
CriamonEx Miscellanea
Flambeau
Guernicus
Jerbiton
MercereMerinita
TremereTytalus
Verditius

BenefitHeartbeast
Puissant Magic Theory or Puissant Intrigue
Enigmatic Wisdom
Use ArM5 to develop exact benefit.
Puissant Perdo or Puissant Ignem
Hermetic Prestige
Puissant Talent in scholarship, arts, or interaction
Puissant Creo or Puissant Muto
Faerie Magic
Puissant Certamen
Self Confident
Verditius Magic

Enigmatic Wisdom: The Criamon magus gains a special power called Enigmatic Wisdom at Gd (10) rank.

TOC

44

Faerie Magic: Merinita magi are attuned to Faerie Auras as well as Magic Auras. They receive the better Auramodifiers from either Magic or Faerie auras when using Hermetic Magic. Faerie Magic also uses additional Ranges,
Durations, and Targets, which can be used for flavor when designing spells.
Heartbeast: The Bjornaer magus gains the Animal Transformation - Self power (UPB, page 86) at Gd (10) rankwith the limitation that he can only transform into one type of normal, real-world animal, chosen during character
generation. Consult the Ars Magica rulebooks for the “flavor details.”
Hermetic Prestige: A Guernicus magus gains +1 CS on all Popularity FEAT rolls when interacting with other
Hermetic Magi.
Puissant (Talent/Art/Certamen): The magus gains a +1 CS on FEAT rolls for the given Talent, Art, or other typeof roll. Tremere magi may add +1 CS to either Attack or Defense in certamen each turn. Note that a magus can also
have the listed Talent as well (which also grants +1 CS on relevant FEAT rolls). Puissant Arts only apply to rolls,
these benefits don’t raise the actual rank or rank number of the Art.
Self Confident: A Tytalan magus only needs to commit to spending 5 Karma when spending Karma to manipulate
dice rolls.
Verditius Magic: Verditius magi can use a craft-based Talent to apply a +1 CS to Reason FEATs when creating
magic items. Magical items created by a Verditius magus require one less pawn of raw vis (minimum of one).
However, Verditius magi must use casting tools to cast spells (except for spontaneous spells). If they lose their
casting tools, it takes about an hour to create new ones.
Experienced Magi
Older magi should receive 50 × M Karma per year for advancement (you must switch to the advancement rules).
This would equate to about 1 × M Karma per week. If you use the recommended M = 3, then this is 3 Karma per
week. The normal MSH weekly award is 10 Karma (and its M = 10).
This means that a magi who is 120 years out of apprenticeship has gained 120 × 50 × M Karma which is 6000 × M
Karma. If you assume that their highest Art upon Gauntlet was Ex (25), then they could raise that Art to Mn (80)which corresponds to an Ars Magica Art score of 40, as listed in the rules on page 52.
This Karma can be used as normal for advancement. If the Ars Magica spell system is used, then spells can bebought for 2 × Spell Level × M Karma.

Companions and Grogs
These characters can be created using the normal rules. Companions do not normally have the Gift. Grogs cannot
have the Gift. Companions can have supernatural powers (use the normal power rules) but don’t overdo it. Mythic
Companions can have a slate of power on par with Hermetic Magi. Other character types can be devised as well,such as faeries, magical beings, constructs, hedge wizards, etc. Use the Ars Magica sourcebooks for inspiration.
Use only those CP you need to create the characters, you don’t need to use the full 200 CP, especially for grogs.
Grogs probably only need 100 CP. Normal companions might need only 150 CP. Mythic companions should use
the full 200 CP.

Confidence
Confidence is the Ars Magica version of Karma.

Ease Factors and Intensities
If you must know, you can use these equivalencies.

TOC

45

Ease Factor
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
27
30

Intensity
Shift 0FeeblePoor
TypicalGood
Excellent
Remarkable
Incredible
Amazing
Monstrous
Unearthly

Hermetic Magic
Instead of using the schools of magic detailed before, magic in this setting is divided into the five Techniques andten Forms of Hermetic Magic. The Limits of Magic must also be used (which is fortunate, because it really tones
down the Ultimate Power Book).
The normal matrix for Techniques and Forms will be used. You simply add the rank numbers to get your combined
rank in each of the specific Technique + Form combinations. For example, if you have Creo at Gd (10) and Ignem
at Ex (20), then you have Creo Ignem at Rm (30). A character cannot cast a spell that has a rank number higher thanhis Technique + Form combination for that spell. A Hermetic Magus has at least Shift 0 in every Art. The highest
Art normally possible is In (40) (see ArM5, page 32, top of third column) which means that the highest Technique +Form is around Mn (80).
A rough comparison would have Ars Magica spell level equal the Marvel Fantasy rank number. So, a 30th level
ArM spell would be a Rm (30) spell in Marvel. However, the rank number divided by two might yield the ArM
scores for Arts. In other words, if you double the score in each Art for a published ArM magus, this will be theirrank numbers in Marvel Ars Magica. So, according to this scheme, a magus must have Gd (10) in every Art toproperly train an apprentice (since this would equate to an Art score of 5). This is reasonable.
When raw vis is required, like for rituals, you must use a number of pawns of vis equal to the rank number of thespell divided by five (round up).
The Judge will have to determine what powers fall under what Technique + Form combinations. Luckily, ArM
spells this out very well. Any powers that cannot be placed into this Hermetic Magic scheme should not be used, as
well as any powers that would violate any of the Limits of Magic.

Using Virtues and Flaws
Don’t attempt a conversion of these. Simply use them for flavor. You can also require an expenditure of 10 CP for
minor Virtues and 30 CP for major Virtues while giving 10 CP for minor Flaws and 30 CP for major Flaws.
Social Status Virtues should be based more on the Talents you take for your character rather than as a limitation on
the Talents you can take, given your Social Status. In other words, pick the Social Status that seems to apply to yourcharacter concept and use it for descriptive (not game) purposes only. Taking Hermetic Magus has implications,however.
Supernatural Virtues are simply Powers as far as the Marvel RPG is concerned. Construct them accordingly.
Supernatural Flaws are Limitations as far as the Marvel RPG is concerned. You can make Major Flaws worth 30
CP and Minor Flaws worth 10 CP.

TOC

46

Personality Flaws simply define new ways that a character can gain Karma. Any player desiring an appropriate
Personality Flaw should consult with the Judge and add it to the list of Core Values (under Alignment) for thecharacter. Karma can be awarded based on sticking to the Personality Flaw.
Story Flaws are another avenue for the gaining of Karma. Once again, discuss with the Judge. Add the new path tothe character’s Core Values.
General Flaws are Limitations. You can make Major Flaws worth 30 CP and Minor Flaws worth 10 CP, if you
want.
General Virtues can be built like Powers, or grant the character +1 CS appropriately.
Hermetic Virtues and Flaws change the way magic works for characters (that is, these change the game’s rules formagic for that particular character). These should be constructed as Talents or Powers and carefully considered.

Talents for Mythic Earth
You can pretty much use every ability in Ars Magica as a Talent, if you desire. Each Talent will grant +1 CS to therelevant FASERIP ability when making appropriate FEAT rolls. Note that there are only four combat Talents:
Bows, Great Weapon, Single Weapon, and Thrown Weapon. Talents derived from the General Abilities cost 5 CPduring character generation. Talents that come from the Academic, Arcane, and Martial Abilities cost 10 CP.
Supernatural Abilities should be developed as powers.
If you ever need to separate a Talent from the FASERIP abilities, then just multiply the score by five to get the rank
number. This gives a score of 1 a Ty (5) designation and a score of 9 becomes In (45).

Covenants
As with Virtues and Flaws, don’t attempt a one-for-one conversion. Simply use all available Ars Magica resources
to add flavor to your Setting Up House rules.
Dividing the Build Points by 50 gives you the rank number of the Covenant (if you must know). Thus, there are
Shift 0 to Unearthly Covenants. Low Power Covenants are Shift 0 to Typical. Medium Power Covenants are
Typical to Excellent. High Power Covenants are Remarkable to Unearthly. Legendary Covenants are Unearthly or
higher.
Library
Art Summae: Each Art Summa has a rank number denoting the maximum rank number a student can achieve using
this summa. Summae cannot exceed In (40) when building the covenant. Higher ranking summae must be found inplay. A summa costs its rank in Build Points (BP).
Talent Summae: Each Talent Summa has a rank number. Only a character whose FASERIP ability +1 CS is equal
to or less than this number can learn a Talent from the summa.
Tractatus: Each Tractatus must have one Art or one Talent as its subject. A tractatus adds one rank number to thecovenant’s highest ranking summa to determine how high a student may advance his rank number in that Art or
Talent. A tractatus costs 2 BP.
Lab Texts
Lab texts are the “spellbooks” of the covenant. They cost 1 BP per five levels of spells just like in the normal rules.
Vis
Vis sources cost 5 BP per pawn of vis per year just like in the normal rules.

TOC

47

Vis Stocks
Vis stocks cost 1 BP per five pawns of raw vis.
Enchanted Items
Enchanted items cost 2 BP for every five rank numbers of effect. For instance, an Ex (20) wand of fire generation
would cost 8 BP.
Specialists
These are NPC members of the covenant. They each cost a number of BP equal to the highest applicable FASERIP
rank plus one additional rank for a Talent linked to that ability. For example, having a Swordmaster who has
Fighting of Ex (20) and the Single Weapon Talent (+1 CS) costs 30 BP (Excellent plus one column shift is
Remarkable, which has a rank number of 30).
Hooks and Boons
This is a system unto itself and is self-balancing.

Limits of Magic
Absolutely use these as it will limit what can be accomplished through Hermetic spells. You simply can’t use
everything in the Ultimate Powers Book for this campaign setting.

Warping and Twilight
Since there is a spellcasting roll when casting every spell, you can easily devise Warping and Twilight rules.
1. Whenever a player rolls low enough on the spellcasting roll, his character could gain a Warping Point. The botch
range for this is from 01 to the normal number of “botch dice” that you would use in Ars Magica. Guidelines are
given in the rulebook. The range cannot exceed 01-10 in any case and should probably remain just 01 in most cases.
If the spellcasting roll falls within the range (inclusive), the character gains a number of Warping Points equal to theroll.
2. If the character gains Warping Points in this way, the player must roll to avoid Twilight. This is a Psyche FEAT
roll with the Intensity of the FEAT being the rank number of Warping Points the character has or the character’s
Enigmatic Wisdom, whichever is higher. Normal rules apply (three or more columns below Psyche, automatic
success; one or two columns below Psyche, green result; equal to Psyche, yellow result; one column above Psyche,
red result; two or more columns above Psyche, automatic failure or red result, Judge’s choice). If the roll succeeds,
the magus must spend two minutes (20 turns) bringing his magic under control. If this is interrupted at any point, or
if the player fails the roll, the character enters Twilight.
3. If Twilight occurs, the character must attempt to comprehend the experience. This is a Reason or EnigmaticWisdom FEAT roll (use the higher of the two). The Intensity, once again, is equal to the number of Warping Points(as a rank number). The character remains in Twilight a period of time shown on the table below.
4. Follow the guidelines in Ars Magica for the effects of Twilight.
If the character comprehended the Twilight:
Twilight Scar: Something minor and magical, and also neutral or beneficial. For example, the area around themaga always smells faintly and pleasantly of roses, the maga’s eyes glitter with many colors, the maga walks afraction of an inch above any surface. In the case of a maga who wants to keep her magic inconspicuous, the effectmay not be obviously magical: people around her become slightly more cheerful, insects don’t bite her, and so on.
In addition, the Judge picks one of the following effects:

TOC

48

Increased Knowledge: The character adds twice the number of Warping Points to the rank number of one Art or
Enigmatic Wisdom.
New Virtue: One of the character’s abilities (FASERIP) is increased in rank number by the number of Warping
Points gained or the character gains one Talent.
New Spell: The character gains one spell having a rank number equal five times the number of Warping Points
gained.
If the character did not comprehend the Twilight:
Twilight Scar: Something minor, magical, and annoying. For example, the area around the maga smells faintly of
sulfur, the maga’s touch stains skin black (it washes off, with effort), the maga’s footprints create myriads of finecracks in any surface. At the DM’s discretion, a maga who tries to keep her magic inconspicuous might get a scarshe can hide. For example, the smell of iron makes her feel nauseous, or insects always bite her given the chance.
In addition, the Judge picks one of the following effects:
Lost Knowledge: The character subtracts twice the number of Warping Points to the rank number of one Art or
Enigmatic Wisdom.
New Flaw or Lost Virtue: One of the character’s abilities (FASERIP) is reduced in rank number by the number of
Warping Points gained or one Talent is lost. No ability can be reduced below Fe (1). The Mystic Origin Talentcannot be lost this way either.
Lost Spells: The character loses rank numbers in spells equal to five times the number of Warping Points gained.
the Judge chooses how this loss is applied.
If the character enters Final Twilight:
The duration of the character’s Twilight becomes eternal. The character is removed from the game. Hermetic
magic has not been successful in bringing anyone back from Final Twilight, ever.
Time in Twilight
Warping Rank
FeeblePoor
TypicalGood
Excellent
Remarkable
Incredible
Amazing
Monstrous
Unearthly

Total Warping Points
1-2
3-4
5-7
8-15
16-25
26-35
36-45
46-62
63-87
88+

Base Time in Twilight
Two Minutes
Two Hours
12 hours
24 hours
One MonthThree Months
One YearSeven Years
Seven plus 1d10 Years
Final Twilight

CertamenFirst, familiarize yourself with Certamen (ArM5, page 89).
The aggressor in the duel chooses the Technique. The other opponent chooses the Form. Each may veto the other’s
choice once only. The mechanical resolution of certamen is based on these factors.
Initiative
Use the new initiative rule detailed above. Initiative is re-rolled every turn.

TOC

49

Attack Rank
Each character has the option of using the rank of either his Technique or Form. The character can change which
one he is using each turn.
Defense Rank
The character must use whichever Art (Technique or Form) that he didn’t use for the Attack Rank. As before, thecharacter can change which one he is using each turn.
Conducting Certamen
Every round, each character attacks by making a FEAT roll using their Attack Rank while the defender makes a
FEAT roll using the Defense Rank. The Attacker causes spellcasting vitality “damage” equal to -0 CS for a white
result, -2 CS for a green result, -4 CS for yellow, and -6 CS for red. The defender reduces damage by 0 CS for awhite result, +2 CS for a green result, +4 CS for yellow, and +6 CS for red. The defender can only reduce damage
from an attack that turn, they cannot “heal” damage in this way from previous turns.
This damage is just like the column shifts that come from spellcasting “fatigue” detailed earlier. A combatant goes
unconscious for 1-10 turns if they ever gain negative column shifts to reduce their highest Art rank to Shift 0. Thisis one way to win certamen. The winner also gets to cast one real spell on his opponent. Another way to wincertamen is if your opponent concedes. The final way to win certamen is if your opponent loses concentration.
Loss of concentration can be a result of making a physical attack, being physically attacked, being mind controlled,
exiting certamen, etc.
You can use Karma to influence certamen rolls, but you can also use raw vis as long as it is attuned to the proper Art
being used. Each pawn of raw vis modifies your Attack Rank or Defense Rank by +20. As always, a character can
only use a number of pawns of raw vis for one action or event equal to the rank number in that Art divided by five(round up).

Formulaic Magic
Casting a formulaic spell follows the “vitality” casting rules I outlined above. The character’s casting rank isdetermined by adding the character’s Technique and Form rank numbers for the spell. Comparing the casting rank
to the spell rank gives you the required result: red for spell rank one rank above casting rank, yellow for spell rank
and casting rank being equal, green for casting rank being one or two ranks above spell rank, and white for castingrank being three or more ranks above spell rank. Low rolls result in botches, so you always have to roll (even if you
only need a white result).
Unlike the previous rules, if the color result is one less, then the spell goes off. However, if the color result is two or
more results less, the vitality is lost, but the spell doesn’t go off (such as needing a red result and getting green or
white, or needing a yellow result and getting white).
If you wish to keep spellcasting vitality recovery in the spirit of Ars Magica rules, then make Endurance (notPsyche) the applicable FASERIP ability for recovery of negative column shifts due to spellcasting.

Spontaneous Magic
Spontaneous magic is quite simple to effect. A character may cast a fatiguing or non-fatiguing spontaneous spell
according to these rules.
Casting a Fatiguing Spontaneous Spell
A spontaneous spell can be cast at a rank number equal to half the character’s Technique + Form combination(round down) if the player accepts a -1 CS spellcasting vitality modifier.
For example, a character with an Ignem rank of Ex (20) and Creo rank of Gd (10) can cast a fatiguing spontaneous
spell of Gd (15) rank.

TOC

50

A spellcasting roll must still be conducted to check for a botch or spell failure.
Casting a Non-Fatiguing Spontaneous Spell
A spontaneous spell that has a rank number equal to one-fifth of the character’s Technique + Form combination(round down) can be cast without any spellcasting vitality loss.
For example, a character with an Ignem rank of Ex (20) and Creo rank of Gd (10) can cast a non-fatiguing
spontaneous spell of Ty (6) rank.
A spellcasting roll must still be conducted to check for a botch.

Ritual Magic
Ritual spells take longer to cast and require the expenditure of raw vis. However, the character may modify his
Technique + Form combination for the Arts involved by +1 CS if he has the Artes Liberales Talent and by another+1 CS if he has the Philosophiae Talent.
A ritual spell requires a number of pawns of raw vis equal to the rank number of the spell divided by five (roundup).
Ritual spells take fifteen minutes for every pawn of raw vis required.
Ritual spells always result in a -1 CS to spellcasting thereafter. Additional negative column shifts can occur. Whenmaking the casting roll, characters can suffer additional column shifts of spellcasting vitality loss depending on
poorly the player rolls. The number of column shifts is equal to difference in the number of color results the player
misses the roll by. For example, if a red result is required to cast a certain ritual spell, the character would suffer -1
CS to spellcasting on a yellow result, -2 CS on a green, and -3 CS on a white, in addition to the -1 CS from justcasting a ritual spell. Furthermore, the spell fails outright if the roll failed by three color results (i.e., when the spell
requires a red result and the player rolls a white result). If the character takes on more column shifts than thenumber of columns of his highest Art, additional shifts translate to Wounds. A spillover of -1 CS is a Light Wound,-2 CS is a Moderate Wound, -3 CS is Heavy, and -4 CS is an Incapacitating Wound.
Spellcasting vitality column shifts gained from ritual spellcasting can only be removed after a night’s rest. Wounds,
if any, heal normally.

Concentration
Concentration is an Endurance FEAT roll with Intensities determined by the Concentration Table in the Ars Magica
Core Rulebook, page 82. Divide the Ease Factor by three to get the columns, as normal.

Words and Gestures
These affect the casting totals.
Words
Firm
Quiet
None

Modifier
+0 CS
-2 CS
-3 CS

Gestures
Bold
SubtleNone

Modifier
+0 CS
-1 CS
-2 CS

Arcane Connections
Use the bonuses as listed. It is the multiplier times five that will give the penetration bonus.

TOC

51

AurasThe normal modifiers on the Realm Interaction Table (ArM5, page 183) are used in the following ways. First, thismodifier is added to all Art rank numbers of the magus. This may raise or lower their effective rank, making
spellcasting easier or more difficult. For example, being in a Magic Aura of 3 adds three to all Arts. If a magus has
any casting totals that are within six of the next rank, then those casting totals will receive an effective +1 CS (sinceadding six will take the rank numbers to the next rank). Remember, these bonuses apply to each Art in Marvel
Fantasy. Or put another way, double the aura bonus is added to all casting totals.

Raw Vis and Magic Items
A number of pawns of raw vis equal to the highest rank number divided by five (round up) must be used whencreating every magic item.

Longevity Rituals
A number of pawns of raw vis equal to the number of prior longevity rituals the character has undergone, plus one,is required for each new longevity ritual. The ritual itself is effective for seven years. There is a 1% cumulative
chance that each longevity ritual undergone is the last effective ritual for that character. Undergoing even one
longevity ritual induces sterility.

Laboratory
There is no need to complicate things by trying to convert this. Just use the advancement, building things, and otherrules in Marvel to cover these activities.

Arts, Powers, and Spells
Obviously, some guidelines can be created to help the Judge understand what powers should go with which Arts.
The Form Bonuses for Arts tell you when the Art rank can be substituted for a FEAT roll involving thecircumstances described.
Techniques
Creo: Any spell that creates something from nothing or augments, enhances, or buffs something.
Intellego: Any spell that perceives something, perceives through something, communicates with something.
Muto: Any spell that transforms something.
Perdo: Any spell that destroys, diminishes, or reduces something.
Rego: Any spell that controls or protects from something.
Forms
Animal: If the target is fauna.
Auram: If air, winds, lightning, or other atmospheric phenomena are affected.
Aquam: If water, liquids, or other similar substances are affected.
Corpus: If the human body is the target.
Herbam: If plants are the target.
Ignem: If fire, ice, smoke, or light is affected.
Imaginem: If images are affected.
Mentem: If human or similar minds are affected.
Terram: If earth, minerals, stone, or ground is affected.
Vim: If magic itself, powers, or magical beings or items are affected.
Modern Forms
Energias (Forces): Energy Control, Energy Emission, Forces, Energy, Light, Illusions
Fatum (Fate): Probability, Luck, Contingencies, Destiny, Fortune, Curses, Blessings
TOC

52

Materiem (Matter): Corrosives, Toxins, Inorganics, Matter Control, Matter Creation, Matter Conversion
Mentem (Mind): Emotion, Mental, Mental Enhancement
Mortem (Death): Necromancy, Undead, Vampirism
Spatium (Space): Travel, Teleportation, Extra-Dimensional Space, Two-Dimensional Form, Elongation, Conjuring
Spiritum (Spirit): Astral Plane, Spirits, Summoning (Extra-Planar)
Tempus (Time): Postcognition, Precognition, Speed, Time, Aging, Evolution
Vitam (Life): Animal, Plant, Body, Organics, Physical Enhancement, Self-Alteration, Summoning (Nature)
Vim (Prime): Magic Control, Power Control
Making an extensive list of correspondences between the Arts and all of the powers in the Ultimate Powers Book
will probably result in inaccuracies and would be way too time consuming. Trust your judgment as you go.
You could, conceivably, throw the Ultimate Powers Book out of the window and simply use Ars Magica spells. In
this case, you would need guidelines in translating Ars Magica spell effects to the Marvel Fantasy RPG system.
1. Ease factors conversions are given above.
2. Damage can be used as-is, I feel.
3. For wounds, use a new system that begins when the player is reduced to Health 0. A Light Wound is Good orlower damage (1-15 points). A Medium Wound is Excellent damage (16-25 points). A Heavy Wound is a single
wound that has done Remarkable damage (26-35). An Incapacitating Wound is a wound that does Incredible ormore damage (36+). Bonuses to recovery rolls add the indicated bonus to the character’s Endurance rank number
for the purposes of Recovery and Healing. Wounds should be healed according to the times listed in Ars Magica, or
faster for a more heroic game. The real addition is the separation of Health from Wounds. Wounds can only behealed with ritual spells requiring raw vis.
4. Anything that adds to Soak should be used as-is.
5. Bonuses and penalties to rolls typically mean that for every ±3 on the Ars Magica roll impose a ±1 CS on the
MSH Fantasy column used for the roll.
6. Spells requiring a characteristic roll (like Jupiter’s Resounding Blow: Stamina stress roll of 9+ or be deafened)
have an Intensity equal to a number of positive column shifts from Shift 0 for every 3 required on the roll. This
results in Intensities of Feeble (for 3+), Poor (6+), Typical (9+), and so on. Use the proper FASERIP ability given
the Ars Magica conversion notes above. Quickness can be Agility or Intuition. Communication could be based on
Reason or Popularity. Presence can be Psyche or Popularity.
Form Bonuses
The stated form bonus is Art Score / 5 (rounded up). Each Marvel Fantasy Art rank number is really double the Art
score. This would indicate that the formula should be Art rank number / 10 (rounded up) as a bonus. However, forevery +3 bonus, this is a column shift, so the bonus would have to be divided by three to get the column shift.
Therefore the Form Bonuses should be, roughly:
Art is Shift 0 to Ex: +0 CS
Art is Rm to Am: +1 CS
Art is Mn: +2 CS
Art is Un or higher: +3 CS

The Parma Magica and Penetration
Strictly speaking, the parma magica shouldn’t simply be a resistance to magic in the Marvel sense. In Ars Magica,casting a low level spell when you have a high casting total results in a better chance to penetrate rather than
throwing the highest level spell you have (since you need “excess” magical power to penetrate). The easiest way tohandle this might be to take a cue from ArM5 itself. The Penetration should be your Casting Score (T + F) minus
the rank number of the spell itself. If this resultant rank number is higher than the target’s parma magica, the spell
TOC

53

penetrates. For example, if you have a Rm (30) casting score and you cast a Gd (10) spell, the penetration would be
Ex (20). This means that a target with a parma magica of Ex (19) or less would be affected by this spell. Trying tocast a Rm (30) spell would result in a penetration of Shift 0, meaning no penetration in this case. This all might be
too much bookkeeping, though.
Anything that adds to penetration just adds to the difference between the casting total and the rank number of thespell. If Penetration is taken as a Talent, it adds +1 CS (up to the lowest of rank number of the next rank).

Familiars
The laboratory total is simply the Technique + Form combination, with column shifts due to Puissance, having the
Magic Theory Talent (which should always be a +1 CS) and Magic Aura bonuses (if applicable).
The Intensity of the enchantment for the FEAT roll is Ex (25) + Familiar’s Magic Might + Size × 5. The chart
below gives example animals and the base Intensity of the FEAT (not accounting for the creature’s Magical Might).
A magus can only bind a familiar if this lab total equals or exceeds the Intensity of the FEAT.
One pawn of appropriate raw vis must be used for every 5 rank numbers of the lab total (round up).
Size
-10
-9
-8
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+7
+9

Intensity
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
+0
+5
+10
+15
+20
+25
+30
+35
+40
+45
+50
+60
+70

ExampleMouseBat, Frog
Small Rat, Mole, Salamander, Toad
Large Rat, Weasel
Lizard, Stoat, Thrush
Rabbit, Cuckoo, Dove, Eel, Polecat, Grass Snake, Hedgehog, Partridge
Adder, Cockerel, Crow, Magpie, Octopus, Owl, Raven
Cat, Falcon, Small Dog, Badger, Carp, Duck, Gull, Hare, Osprey, Otter, Pike
Medium Dog, Sheep, Beaver, Eagle, Fox, Goose, Grouse, Heron, Roe Deer, Salmon
Large Dog, Wolf, Ape, Crane, Gazelle, Lynx, Stork, Swan, Wild Goat
Pig, Very Large Dog, Antelope, Boar, Deer, Dolphin
Pony, Buck (Male Fallow Deer), Ibex, Seal
Horse (Courser), Bear, Bull, Lion, Stag (Male Red Deer)
Auroch, Horse (Destrier), Moose, Shark, Walrus
Elephant
Killer Whale
Small Dragon
Humpback Whale

FASERIP abilities for the familiar should be converted from The Book of Mundane Beasts or the MSH Judge’s
Book. If the familiar did not already have human-like intelligence, raise Reason +1 CS. As might be expected, thegold, silver, and bronze cords have a ranks. At the time of binding, the magus distributes a number of points equal
to the difference in lab total and Intensity rank number among these three cords. For example, let’s say a magus isbinding a magical cat with Magic Might of 10 as his familiar. The Intensity of this FEAT is Ex (20). The magus
must have a lab total equal to Ex (20) or higher to bind this animal as a familiar. Let’s say his lab total is Rm (30)when considering his Technique + Form. He will be successful with a green result (and the player should certainly
spend enough Karma to ensure this). Upon successful binding, the player has 10 points to distribute among the threecords. Thus, this could Ty (6), Pr (4), and the other at Shift 0, all three at Pr, or any other combination with rank
number totals equaling 10.
It behooves a magus to have the highest lab total possible and not choose very large creatures as familiars to ensure
strong cords.

TOC

54

The Golden Cord: Helps the magus avoid magical errors. The botch range for spellcasting is reduced by one forevery column of the Golden Cord rank (such as one point for Feeble, two points for Poor, three points for Typical,etc.). The botch range cannot be reduced below 01.
The Silver Cord: Equates to Resistance to Emotion Attacks and Resistance to Mental Attacks for both the magus
and the familiar at the rank of the Silver Cord. If the magus’ mind is ever overcome, the familiar can attempt to freethe magus once per day by making a Typical Intensity FEAT using the Silver Cord rank.
The Bronze Cord: Acts as Body Resistance at the Bronze Cord rank for both the magus and the familiar. If theBronze Cord rank is higher than the magus’ or familiar’s Endurance rank, the Bronze Cord rank may be used todetermine Stun or Kill results on the Universal Table and for FEAT rolls to withstand deprivation (air, food, water,etc.).
The maximum rank number of each cord, individually, is Ex (25). Each cord may be advanced as a double-cost
power after the initial binding. This is assumed to happen during down time. The player can also choose to use theKarma of the magus character to advance the familiar like a PC (and thus give it Talents, Powers, etc.).

Using Wounds
By implementing a damage system with Wounds, you can distinguish between Health (that is recovered quickly)
and more permanent damage.
Once a character’s Health has been reduced to zero, use the normal MSH rules. The player must roll a Kill FEAT
for the character. If the result is No Effect, then apply an appropriate Wound based on the carryover damage fromthe attack (i.e., the amount of damage left after reducing the character’s Health to zero). If the player fails the roll,
use the normal Endurance Loss rules (this means the character went straight to Incapacitated).
Further damage to a character with 0 Health requires a Kill FEAT roll for each additional source of damage.
Wound
Light Wound
Medium Wound
Heavy Wound
Incapacitating WoundPenalty
-1 CS
-2 CS
-3 CS
Cannot take actions

Damage Equivalent
1 - 1516 - 25
26 - 35
36 +Healing Time
1 Time Unit
4 Time Units
16 Time Units
SpecialThe Penalty listed above is the column shift penalty that the character must use for every FEAT and other type ofroll. The only exception is that Endurance FEATS for Kill Results are not penalized in this manner (we don’t wantdouble-jeopardy). Use the total penalties for all wounds (e.g., two Light Wounds cause a total -2 CS; adding a
Medium Wound would make it -4 CS).
The Damage Equivalent shows how much damage causes each type of wound. Characters can endure any numberof each type of wound, as far as these rules are concerned.
Note that healing times are listed in “Time Units” as this allows the Judge to determine the exact rate for his or her
campaign. These healing times move the character one step up the damage track. Thus, recovering fully from one
Heavy Wound takes 21 Time Units. Each wound heals at its own rate, so two Light Wounds both heal after one
Time Unit. A Medium Wound becomes a Light Wound after 4 Time Units and is then healed completely 1 Time
Unit later. For times like those found in Ars Magica you might choose one week to be the Time Unit. For fastertimes, like D&D, you might choose one day to be the time unit. Given that Wound healing spells require rituals andraw vis, you might want to keep the healing times long to represent the grave inconvenience of gaining wounds.
Gaining an Incapacitating Wound is treated like a Kill result in the normal rules. Roll the FEAT as normal. If you
succeed, gain a Heavy Wound.

TOC

55

The Marvelous Dungeon Crawl
Since this is a fantasy game, it has to be able to be used for a standard dungeon crawling campaign. How does one
go about using these rules to that end?
Dungeon crawls are all about resource management. You want to expend the fewest resources and achieve themaximum reward. Resources include the capacity for the characters to absorb damage, limited-use magical powers,
lighting, food, water, consumable dungeoneering supplies, and anything that is used to overcome challenges andacquire rewards. Rewards include experience points, wealth, magical items, completion of objectives, and othercampaign-related rewards.
Combat is an important part of the dungeon crawl experience. We are fortunate, because the Marvel Superheroes
RPG at its heart is a combat-oriented game. Experience and treasure are other important parts. We already have an
advancement system that uses Karma, so the “experience” portion is covered. But what of treasure? The MSH
system is quite abstract in its handling of wealth. A campaign economy needs to be established, or we need to havesome way of having dungeon crawls affect a character’s Resources rank number. Perhaps wealth acts as Karma, but
only for the purpose of advancing the Resource rank number. Other forms of wealth, such as magical items,
spellbooks, new powers, should be included as well.

Karma Awards and Advancement in Dungeon Crawl Campaigns
In addition to the Karma awards a character receives from roleplaying alignment correctly, dungeon crawls award
Karma on the basis of foes overcome. I want to get a little more specific on the awards though. The party, as awhole, gets a Karma award equal to the FASERIP total of the creature overcome. In other words, add up thecreature’s Health and Karma to determine how much Karma the party gets. Divide this Karma equally between all
members. If the FASERIP total isn’t representative of the threat, then add in the rank numbers of any powers thatmight be relevant.
This brings us to a natural question. What should our ‘M’ be for advancement? Given that an ogre will give us 60
points (rather than just 20 for the defeat of an Excellent foe), perhaps the M should be higher. Or maybe not. Also,
if we lump all treasure together and rate hoards by the Resources advancement it grants, we may want to raise the M
for Resources to something higher, to allow for more granularity (and to make it very hard to raise Resources byspending Karma alone). In this case, a full M = 10 might be good for Resources only. So, if a treasure hoard grants
100 Resource Karma, this would allow a character with Gd (10) Resources to raise his score to Gd (11). We could
even use the term “gold pieces” or “pounds Sterling” instead of Resource Karma. You may even have a character’s
Resources degrade over time, necessitating periodic adventuring to replenish much-needed wealth.

Equipment, Consumables, and the Dungeoneering Experience
Keeping track of equipment normally isn’t a big deal in MSH, but it needs to be in this game. Any consumables
associated with weapons, such as arrows, bolts, and sling stones need to be tallied and tracked. Dungeoneering
equipment, such as hammers and spikes, ropes, chalk, ten foot poles need to be listed and kept track of. Lighting isa very important consideration. If magical lighting is not available, torches, lanterns, and fuel need to be inventoried
and marked off as used. Food and drink should be a part of this accounting as well. But how is all of this carried?
An encumbrance system is a necessary evil in a system such as this. Characters should be able to carry five times
their Strength rank number without any problems. This means that a character with Typical Strength can carry from25 to 35 pounds without problems. A character with Ex (25) can carry 125 lbs. Carrying up to 50% greater thanmax results in a -1 CS to Agility. Carrying from 150% to 200% of the character’s base value carries a -2 CS Agility
penalty. If an encumbrance system is used, work armor into this system and don’t use the thumbrules above (i.e.,
don’t use the rules that state light armor is -1 CS and heavy is -2 CS in Agility).
For all of this, you may want to use the equipment tables from your favorite dungeon crawling RPG.

TOC

56

Taking Damage
It’s okay to use Health as written, but going to zero Health should entail more troubling consequences. Character’s
get their Endurance rank number in Health back per hour. This is fine, as Health represents a sort of “combat
endurance” and not “real damage.”
For real damage, you can just say that characters begin to take actual wound damage when Health would go below
zero. Characters can withstand a number of Wound points equal to their maximum Health before dying. So if you
have 24 Health, you can take 24 Wounds before dying. Any more, you die (at the 25th Wound point). Note that thisis not considered negative Health. The regaining of Health doesn’t have anything to do with getting rid of Woundpoints.
This is how it works. If a character has 24 Health and eventually takes 24 points of damage, his Health goes to zero.
Any damage over this 24 is applied towards Wounds. So if he had 5 Health left and took 10 damage, he would go tozero Health and take five points of Wounds. Even after recovering Health, the Wound points remain. If ever goes
above 24 Wounds, he dies.
Wounds can be healed through magic or at a rate such that all Wound points are lost in one time unit. The default
time unit should be one month, but this can be as low as one week or as high as one season (three months) if you
want. Any effect that would restore Health only restores one-tenth as many Wounds (round down). So, an Am (50)
healing spell can restore 50 Health or 5 Wounds. The caster can decide how to allocate the healing and can split it
between Health and Wounds. The Am (50) spell, for instance, could restore 40 Health and 1 Wound, 30 Health and2 Wound, or no Health and five Wound points.

Spellcasting
Recovery Using the Vitality Loss System
You could have stricter spellcasting in a dungeon crawl campaign. Instead of allowing vitality loss to be recovered
so quickly, you could rule that it takes a night’s rest to remove all spellcasting vitality. This severely reduces thenumber of spells a caster can use per day. I don’t think this is necessary, however. It would be fine to use therecovery rates that are listed above, since it does limit how much a spellcaster can actually accomplish during
combat. The Judge must have a handle on how much time passes between encounters, though. This pacing caneffectively limit spellcasters as they must decide to use magic now, or possibly save it for five to ten minutes later,when they run into another encounter.
Magic Points
However, because dungeon crawl games normally feature resource management as a main theme, it might be betterto just start with some number of points to cast spells and not rely on random rolls to determine how a spellcaster’s
power diminishes during the day. It’s kind of hard to plan when you don’t know what’s going to happen.
Ten Times R+I+P
My gut is telling me that the pool of Magic points should be somehow related to Reason, Intuition, and Psyche, the“mental” abilities. The recovery of these points should be related to Psyche (like Health is recovered throughEndurance). The amount of points per spell should be related to either the rank of the spell or the rank number ofthe spell. If you make Magic points equal to ten times R+I+P then normal people would have 150-210 Magic
points. If you used rank numbers of spells as costs, then these people would be able to cast thirty Typical spells perday.
R+I+P and Column Costs
However, if you use R+I+P straight (i.e., starting Karma), then you could say that the columns of the spell in points
are what spells cost to cast. A Typical spell would cost 3 Magic points. The average person would have 15-21
Magic points and be able to cast five to seven Typical spells per day. Magic points could increase by a number ofpoints equal to the total columns in spells the character has, times three. This means you get the base ability to casteach spell you know three times a day, plus an additional pool of Magic points equal to your R+I+P. This doesn’t
distinguish between rank numbers within a column, though.

TOC

57

R+I+P and Rank Number Costs
Otherwise, you could start with base Magic equal to R+I+P and then add in the rank numbers of all the spells you
have (not rank numbers times three).
Magic Point Recovery
Magic points regenerate at a rate equal to Psyche per hour. For a caster with Reason Gd (10), Intuition Gd (10), andPsyche Ex (20), base Magic is 40. If he had five Ex (20) spells, he’d have 140 Magic. Magic regeneration is 20
points per hour. It would take seven hours to get all Magic back. You could caveat the whole thing and say that anight’s rest gives you all Magic back. This also means he could cast one Ex (20) spell per hour and be able toregenerate enough to keep going. Or you can skip recovery per hour and require the night’s rest for a truly brutal
campaign.
But I don’t think I should base Magic points on the rank numbers of all spells. It’s fairly easy to get spells (50 X M
and 100 X M in Karma), so Magic point totals could become very high fairly easily. Starting Magic ranges are 15(for three Typicals) to 75 (for three Ex (25)). This might be enough. Then Magic would only rise when acharacter’s Reason, Intuition, or Psyche rise.
Using Psyche Only
Maybe it’s better just to use the Psyche rank number as the number of Magic points. You can base the cost of spellson their normal rank numbers divided by some number (like ten), rounded up so that the minimum cost is one Magic
point. There needs to be a minimum cost because even a Feeble teleportation spell can transport you two miles
away. The table below shows the cost in Magic points to cast a spell of the rank shown.
Psyche orSpell Rank
Fe (2)
Pr (4)Ty (6)
Gd (10)Ex (20)Rm (30)In (40)Am (50)Mn (75)Un (100)
ShX (150)
ShY (200)
ShZ (500)
Class 1000
Class 2000
Class 5000

Point
Cost
1
1
1
1
2
3
4
5
8
10
15
20
50
100
200
500

Recovery1 pt every 4 hrs
1 pt every 2 hrs
1 pt every 80 min
1 pt every 48 min
1 pt every 24 min
1 pt every 16 min
1 pt every 12 min
1 pt every 10 min
1 pt every 7 min
1 pt every 5 min
1 pt every 4 min
1 pt every 3 min
1 pt every minute
1 pt every 5 turns
1 pt every 3 turns
1 pt every turn

1
0
0
0
1
2
3
5
6
9
12
18
25
62
125
250
625

2
0
1
1
2
5
7
10
12
18
25
37
50
125
250
500
1250

3
0
1
2
3
7
11
15
18
28
37
56
75
187
375
750
1875

4
1
2
3
5
10
15
20
25
37
50
75
100
250
500
1000
2500

5
1
2
3
6
12
18
25
31
46
62
93
125
312
625
1250
3125

6
1
3
4
7
15
22
30
37
56
75
112
150
375
750
1500
3750

7
1
3
5
8
17
26
35
43
65
87
131
175
437
875
1750
4375

8
2
4
6
10
20
30
40
50
75
100
150
200
500
1000
2000
5000

If characters recover all of their Magic points in eight hours, the last column shows that recovery rate for the normal
rank numbers (based on Psyche). The columns after show how many Magic points are recovered in the number ofhours given at the top of the column. Players can make up their own chart for their character if the character’s
Psyche isn’t at one of the normal rank numbers (which is very likely). As usual, you can always opt to say that
Magic point recovery only occurs during sleep.
I think I would go with this one. You can use this for any sort of campaign, if you want. This sort of makes Psychethe überstat for magic (which it is supposed to be anyway) and players should max out Psyche if they want to playspellcasters. This, of course, only applies to spellcasters. Creatures and characters with innate powers can use otherforms of limitations (like those found in the rulebooks).

TOC

58

No Spellcasting Rolls
Under this system, you don’t make spellcasting rolls. You just cast the spell and mark off the Magic points. Whenyou reach zero, you can’t cast spells.

Creatures
You should definitely use the D&D to Marvel Fantasy conversion notes that are above. Pick one edition (like 3rd
Edition) and stay with it. Stat up monsters before the game and keep a running catalog in another document (or aspreadsheet).

Magic Items
You can use D&D magic items too. Every +2 in AD&D/3rd/4th translates to a +1 CS (round up). So awould add one column to the character’s Fighting when using this longsword. It would also add another column todamage. Magic armor reduces damage by additional columns based on half of the plus (i.e., -1 CS for +1 / +2; -2
CS for +3 / +4; -3 CS for +5). Magic shields add one-half the plus (round up) to the +2 CS shield bonus. In D&D
5th Edition, use the plus (+1, +2, or +3) normally for weapons, armor, and shields. For everything else, find theappropriate powers and make the item. For instance, aessentially grants invisibility (at somerank).

SpellsTraditional fantasy roleplaying games have lists and lists of spells. You kind of need to get used to the fact that you
don’t need this with the Marvel Fantasy RPG. You already have the Players’ Book list of powers for a very basic
game and the entire Ultimate Powers Book for most games. I’m sure you can mimic any of the traditional spells byusing the UPB. A lightning bolt spell is the Electrical Generation (Lightning) power. A fireball spell is a Fire
Generation effect that encompasses an entire Area (so will probably do -1 CS in damage as compared to the normal
power). One thing to remember is that there are no minimum “levels” to get certain effects. A starting character canteleport by taking the right power, for instance. This may change some assumptions about low-level adventuring.
But remember, you’re not limited by what’s in other games. Just use the UPB to make whatever spells you want forthe campaign.

SkillsSome players may not like the Talent system, which only grants +1 or +2 CS to a character’s ability when exercisinga skill. In this case, you can allow advancement above what the Talents normally allow. Simply “convert” the skill
to a power by paying a cresting cost, either 50 X M for a normal Talent or 100 X M for a starred Talent. Set therank and rank number to whatever the ability plus Talents made it. Use the lowest rank number for the rank. From
there, treat the Skill as a spell for the purposes of advancement.
But note: if the M for advancing an ability is the same as the M for advancing a spell, then it doesn’t make muchsense to convert the skill, since you can advance the ability at the same cost as advancing a one-slot spell, and thisaffects ALL of your Talents that use this ability. Thus, this option is only useful if the Judge decides to raise the M
for advancing FASERIP abilities to something a lot higher than the M for advancing spells or powers. Or the Judgecan make a new, special category for advancing Skills. But keep in mind that the FASERIP abilities represent bothnatural ability and trained ability. Marvel is “broad brush” when it comes to skills, knowledge, and talents. If you
want to make an old-school thief, for example, understand that raising his Agility and Intuition essentially means
you’re raising all of his ‘thief skills’ too.
In most cases, the normal Talent system should work just fine though.

Sides
The fantasy roleplaying games that feature dungeon crawls normally have “sides” in the campaign world. At thevery least they have the normal hero-villain axis, whatever that might be called in the campaign world (like Law vs.
TOC

59

Chaos or Good vs. Evil). You can also make more complex alignments by using the two axis system or a Realm
system like in Ars Magica (or even Powers and Perils!). The sky’s the limit because there’s nothing really hardwired into Marvel (other than the Hero vs. Villain axis) and you’ve already divorced fantasy alignment from sides
by using the personality-based alignment system for Karma awards.
An interesting take on this could involve five different Realms in competition and alliance. This system draws
inspiration from Ars Magica, Magic the Gathering, and Mage, the Awakening. The five Realms are: Divine, Faerie,
Infernal, Shadow, and Magic. If you imagine these situation on a five-pointed star, starting at the top, and going
counterclockwise, you’ll see the possible alliances and oppositions. The Realms represent:
Divine:Faerie:Infernal:
Shadow:
Magic:

Positive energy, life, goodness, tranquility (mental neutrality)
Emotions, feelings, the natural world, amorality (moral neutrality)
Chaos, evil, existential neutrality
Negative energy, death, the supernatural world(s), pragmatism (ethical neutrality)
Law, reason, thought, balance (philosophical neutrality)

The five paired oppositions are:Divine vs. Infernal
Moral Goodness vs. Moral Evil
Faerie vs. Shadow
The Natural World vs. The Supernatural World
Infernal vs. Magic
Chaos and Randomness vs. Law and Order
Shadow vs. Divine
Negative Energy and Death vs. Positive Energy and Life
Magic vs. Faerie
Reason and Thought vs. Emotion and Feelings
The five paired alliances are:Divine + Faerie
Positive energy, life, and the natural world
Faerie + Infernal
Emotion, feelings, and chaos
Infernal + Shadow
Moral evil, negative energy, death
Shadow + Magic
Reason, thought, the supernatural world
Magic + Divine
Moral goodness, law, and order
The five neutrals
FaerieInfernal

DivineBetween Divine and Infernal, represents Amorality (outside of both good and evil)
Between Faerie and Shadow, represents Existential Neutrality (operates both in thenatural world and the supernatural world)
Between Infernal and Magic, represents Pragmatism (balance of law and chaos)
Between Divine and Shadow, represents philosophical Balance (uses both positive andnegative energy)
Between Magic and Faerie, represents Tranquility (balance of reason and emotion)

The five as extremes
Divine:Faerie:Infernal:
Shadow:
Magic:

Overbearing righteousness, elimination of all balance and options in the pursuit of good
Raw, unbridled emotion and natural power, severing of all contact with reason
Random destruction and abuse of power, breakdown of all law, vanquishing of all good
Total death of the natural world, elimination of all positivity
Rigid order and unyielding dispassionate reason, elimination of imagination

Shadow
Magic

In this system, the “good” is the Divine, the “neutrals” are Faerie and Magic, and the “evils” are Infernal andShadow. You could have the PCs be aligned with only one Realm, with two Realms (representing an alliance), oreven three, meaning that opposing two other Realms is of utmost importance for some reason, even though two of
the heroic Realms are close to the two that are opposed. In typical fantasy, the party would be made up of Divine
and Magic Realm characters opposing the Infernal and Shadow Realms. The Faerie Realm could be a source ofallies (if “good”) or a source of foes (if “evil”). For example, Faerie Realm elves and gnomes would alignthemselves with the PCs, while Faerie Realm goblins and hobgoblins might be aligned with the Infernal.
You can tie these Realms into the color magic scheme of Magic, the Gathering. If you add Shadow to Ars Magica,then it’s pretty much the same system. These five Realms have a loose similarity to the five types of magi in Mage,
TOC

60

the Awakening, if you equate Magic with the more primal pole of the five-pointed star. If you want some parallels
from Blue Rose, then the Darkfiends are actually Infernal, the Unliving are Shadow, the Rhydan could be Faerie,
Elementals are definitely of the Magic Realm.
As you like to do, you might change the names of these Realms to make it a little harder to tell exactly what theyshould be.
RealmDivineFaerieInfernal
ShadowMagic

New Name
Celestial or Elysian Realm
Arcadian Realm
Pandaemonic or Eristic Realm
Stygian Realm
Hermetic or Eutopian Realm

Typical Spellcasters
Clerics, Paladins
Druids, Bards
Sorcerers, Warlocks
Necromancers, Shaman
Wizards, Magi

Use these adjectives as alignments to indicate what creatures are aligned with what Realms. Further refinement ofthese Realms might be necessary so all are on “equal” footing as legitimate Realms (in keeping with the dissolutionof pure ‘black-and-white’ moral systems).
You could map the ten Arcana to these Realms, if you desire. But I’m not sure what this would mean for the game.
For instance, if I place Forces into one of the Realms, does this mean you must call on that Realm to use Forces?
Maybe it’s better not to overcomplicate things by assigning these Arts in such a way.

Magic System
I’m probably digressing now, not sticking to pure dungeon crawl, but I’d like to elaborate on using the “modern”
Hermetic Arts. As stated before and in other documents, the five Techniques from Ars Magica can be coupled with
the Ten Arcana from Mage, the Awakening. I called these the Five Modes of Agrippa and the Ten Tropes ofAenesidemus. The idea is that the characters have a rank in each of these fifteen Arts. Every spell combines at least
one Mode with one Trope. You add up the rank numbers to get the rank number of the combination. This is known
as the Casting Rank for that particular combination (and there are fifty). A character can learn a spell having a rank
number equal to or less than his Casting Rank for the Mode and Trope of that spell.
The Five Modes of Agrippa
ModeTechniqueCreo
CreateIntellego
Perceive
Muto
Transmute
Perdo
Destroy
RegoControl

Description
Create, Enhance, Heal
Detect, Know, Communicate withTransmute, Transform, Alter
Destroy, Diminish, Harm
Control, Move, Protect from

Practice
Perfect, Make
Know, Unveil
Weave, Pattern
Veil, Fray, Unravel, Unmake
Compel, Rule, Shield

The Ten Tropes of Aenesidemus
Trope
Arcanum
Purview
Aetherem
Prime
Magic Control, Power Control
Fatum
Fate
Probability, Luck, Contingencies, Destiny, Fortune, Curses, Blessings
Materiem
MatterCorrosives, Toxins, Inorganics, Matter Control, Matter Creation, Matter Conversion
MentemMind
Emotion, Mental, Mental Enhancement
MortemDeath
Necromancy, Undead, Vampirism
SpatiumSpace
Travel, Teleportation, Extra-Dimensional Space, Elongation, Conjuring
Spiritum
SpiritAstral Plane, Spirits, Summoning (Extra-Planar)
TempusTime
Postcognition, Precognition, Speed, Time, Aging, Evolution
Vires
ForcesEnergy Control, Energy Emission, Forces, Energy, Light, Illusions
Vitam
Life
Life Forms, Organics, Physical Enhancement, Self-Alteration, Summoning (Nature)

TOC

61

These powers also allow the character to power stunt off of them as well. Spells can be improvised per normal
rules. This is how spells are developed in play. And note that multiple Mode + Trope combinations could possibly
be used to achieve the same effect. The limit is the creativity of the spellcaster.
The old Hermetic Forms of Animal, Corpus, and Herbam are under Vitam. The Forms of Auram, Aquam, andTerram are part of Materiem. Ignem and Imaginem are in Vires. Vim is Aetherem. Mentem is still Mentem.
As shown above, there are some standard spellcaster types for these Realms. They have favored Arts. There are no
game rules associated with these favored Arts, it’s just for flavor.
Realm
Arcadian
ElysianEutopian
Pandaemonic
StygianSpellcasters
Druids, Bards
Clerics, Paladins
Magi, Wizards
Sorcerers, Warlocks
Necromancers, Shaman

Favored Mode
Muto
Creo
Intellego
Rego
Perdo

Favored Tropes
Fatum, Mentem
Aetherem, Vitam
Vires, Materiem
Spatium, Spiritum
Mortem, Tempus

The player uses the character’s Casting Rank in a spell to roll for vitality loss due to spellcasting. The intensity is
the rank of the spell. Magic point costs stay the same if you’re using that system.
The heroic alignments shouldn’t necessarily match up to the Realms, even though some Realms might suggest
certain alignments. These Realms represent actual “sides” and although these Realms stand for certain ideas, waysof thinking, modes of living, and such, they don’t dictate human behavior. You could have a Xanthic characterdrawing on the Stygian Realm or a Ceruline for the Pandaemonic and even an Atramentous for the Elysian.
Pandaemonic doesn’t have to mean evil, but it does perhaps mean dystopian (in opposition to the Eutopian Realm)
and infernal (in opposition to the Elysian Realm).

Ranges, Durations, and Areas of Effect for Spells
The Ultimate Powers Book (and the Player’s Handbook for that matter) is pretty vague on the ranges, durations, andareas of effect for powers. I think most fantasy RPG players are used to spells having more specific parameters.
There should be a way to tie some standard ranges, durations, and areas of effect based on spell rank, but there
should also be a way to do trade-offs or costs to increase these parameters to higher than what the base rank would
suggest. There should also be a way to increase the rank number for a spell by lowering the other parameters. I
guess we need to figure out how to do the trade-offs, if we’re going to stick with the UPB/PHB system, or come up
with another system (like the Ars Magica system) if we’re going to build from scratch.
Many times, limitations can fulfill these trade-off requirements. For example, it’s probably very reasonable toincrease damage for a ranged attack by +1 CS by reducing the range to Touch or Contact. The powers themselves
might have built-in limitations, ranges, durations, and areas of effect.
So, I went into this thinking that I needed some system for this, but I think using common sense and rulings willtrump a bunch of rules that probably won’t fit every situation. The Player’s Handbook says that the “effects table
only applies where the effects are needed - for example, the range of a spell is in question, or how long an
enchantment can last before it must be renewed or expire. A mage may always choose to inflict less damage withhis spells, or to have less duration or area affected.” I guess I can just use this advice.

Resources as Social Class
Since your fantasy campaign will be, presumably, pseudo-medieval, you could probably equate a character’s
Resources rank as their social class. These social classes should match the kinds of dwellings members of theseclasses find themselves in (see Strongholds above). The table assigns each rank to one social class, with the
exception of Amazing. Both Upper Class and Lower Nobility share this as their Resources rank. This could be howcommoners who become very wealthy become part of the nobility (by already living the lifestyle). Of course, thischart is only a guideline. Characters do not have to have the Resources rank shown to be members of a given social
TOC

62

class and conversely, characters who attain higher Resources ranks may not necessarily become members of thehigher social classes.

Resources Rank
Shift 0FeeblePoor
TypicalGood
Excellent
Remarkable
Incredible
Amazing
Amazing
Monstrous
Unearthly
Shift X
Shift Y
Shift ZClass 1000

Social Class
Lower Lower Class
Middle Lower Class
Upper Lower Class
Lower Middle Class
Middle Middle Class
Upper Middle Class
Lower Upper Class
Middle Upper Class
Upper Upper Class
Lower Nobility
Middle Nobility
Upper Nobility
Lower Royalty
Middle Royalty
Upper Royalty
Grand Imperial

The milieu will determine the exact nature of the lower, middle, and upper classes, who are commoners, as well as
what is meant by the various noble and royal stations. You can use sources like the original World of Greyhawk(page 80) which gives a list of different class, Unearthed Arcana, historical sources, whatever.

Using Rank Dice Instead of Rank Numbers
Instead of using fixed rank numbers for effects, like damage, you can use dice. Just gather up as many d6s as you
can find and consult the table below. You might just want to go with rank numbers at higher ranks, but sometimes it
is more satisfying to roll 29d6! The table below is a simplified version showing normal rank numbers.

Rank
Shift 0FeeblePoor
TypicalGood
Excellent
Remarkable
Incredible
Amazing
Monstrous
Unearthly
Shift X
Shift Y
Shift ZClass 1000
Class 3000
Class 5000

Rank
Number
0
2
4
6
10
20
30
40
50
75
100
150
200
500
1000
3000
5000

Rank Dice
(d4)
None
1d4-1
1d4+1
2d4+1
4d4
8d4
12d4
16d4
20d4
30d4
40d4
60d4
80d4
200d4
400d4
1200d42000d4

Rank Dice
(d6)
None
½d6
1d6
2d6-1
3d6-1
6d6-1
9d6-2
11d6+114d6+121d6+129d6-243d6-157d6
143d6-1
286d6-1
857d6
1429d6-2

Rank Dice
(d8)
None
½d8-1
1d8-1
1d8+1
2d8+1
4d8+2
7d8-2
9d8-1
11d8
17d8-222d8+133d8+144d8+2111d8
222d8+1
667d8-21111d8

Rank Dice
(d10)
None
⅓d10
½d10+11d10
2d10-14d10-25d10+27d10+19d10
14d10-2
18d10+1
27d10+1
36d10+2
91d10-1
182d10-1
545d10+2
909d10Rank Dice
(d12)
None
⅓d12
½d12+1
1d12-12d12-33d12
5d12-36d12+18d12-212d12-315d12+2
23d12
31d12-2
77d12-1
154d12-1
462d12-3
769d12+1

The player can choose to roll d4’s, d6’s, or whatever. At rank numbers other than the normal rank numbers,
different amounts of dice can be used. The dice by rank number is shown below.

TOC

63

Rank
Shift 0FeebleFeeblePoor
Poor
TypicalTypicalTypical
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Remarkable
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Incredible
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing

TOC

Rank
Number
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49

Rank Dice
(d4)
None
½d4
1d4-1
1d4
1d4+1
2d4
2d4+1
3d4-1
3d4
4d4-1
4d4
4d4+1
5d4-1
5d4
6d4-1
6d4
6d4+1
7d4-1
7d4
8d4-1
8d4
8d4+1
9d4-1
9d4
10d4-110d4
10d4+111d4-111d4
12d4-112d4
12d4+113d4-113d4
14d4-114d4
14d4+115d4-115d4
16d4-1
16d4
16d4+117d4-117d4
18d4-118d4
18d4+119d4-119d4
20d4-1

Rank Dice
(d6)
None
⅓d6
½d6
1d6-1
1d6
1d6+1
2d6-1
2d6
2d6+1
3d6-2
3d6-1
3d6
3d6+1
4d6-1
4d6
4d6+1
5d6-2
5d6-1
5d6
5d6+1
6d6-1
6d6
6d6+1
7d6-2
7d6-1
7d6
7d6+1
8d6-1
8d6
8d6+1
9d6-2
9d6-1
9d6
9d6+1
10d6-110d6
10d6+1
11d6-211d6-111d6
11d6+112d6-112d6
12d6+113d6-213d6-113d6
13d6+114d6-1
14d6

Rank Dice
(d8)
None
¼d8
½d8-1
½d8
1d8-1
1d8
1d8+1
2d8-2
2d8-1
2d8
2d8+1
2d8+2
3d8-2
3d8-1
3d8
3d8+1
4d8-2
4d8-1
4d8
4d8+1
4d8+2
5d8-2
5d8-1
5d8
5d8+1
6d8-2
6d8-1
6d8
6d8+1
6d8+2
7d8-2
7d8-1
7d8
7d8+1
8d8-2
8d8-1
8d8
8d8+1
8d8+2
9d8-2
9d8-1
9d8
9d8+1
10d8-210d8-110d8
10d8+1
10d8+211d8-211d8-1

Rank Dice
(d10)
None
¼d10-1⅓d10½d10½d10+11d10-11d10
1d10+1
1d10+22d10-22d10-12d10
2d10+12d10+23d10-33d10-23d10-1
3d10
3d10+13d10+24d10-24d10-14d10
4d10+14d10+25d10-35d10-25d10-15d10
5d10+15d10+26d10-26d10-16d10
6d10+16d10+27d10-37d10-27d10-17d10
7d10+17d10+28d10-28d10-18d10
8d10+18d10+29d10-39d10-29d10-1

Rank Dice
(d12)
None
¼d12-1⅓d12½d12½d12+1
1d12-2
1d12-11d12
1d12+1
1d12+22d12-32d12-22d12-12d12
2d12+12d12+22d12+33d12-33d12-23d12-1
3d12
3d12+13d12+24d12-34d12-24d12-14d12
4d12+14d12+24d12+35d12-35d12-25d12-15d12
5d12+15d12+26d12-36d12-26d12-16d12
6d12+16d12+26d12+37d12-37d12-27d12-17d12
7d12+17d12+28d12-364

Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Amazing
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
TOC

50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105

20d4
20d4+121d4-121d4
22d4-122d4
22d4+123d4-123d4
24d4-124d4
24d4+125d4-125d4
26d4-126d4
26d4+127d4-127d4
28d4-128d4
28d4+129d4-129d4
30d4-130d4
30d4+131d4-131d4
32d4-132d4
32d4+133d4-133d4
34d4-134d4
34d4+135d4-135d4
36d4-136d4
36d4+137d4-137d4
38d4-138d4
38d4+139d4-139d4
40d4-140d4
40d4+141d4-141d4
42d4-142d4

14d6+115d6-215d6-115d6
15d6+1
16d6-1
16d6
16d6+117d6-217d6-117d6
17d6+1
18d6-118d6
18d6+119d6-219d6-119d6
19d6+120d6-120d6
20d6+121d6-221d6-121d6
21d6+122d6-122d6
22d6+123d6-223d6-123d6
23d6+124d6-124d6
24d6+125d6-225d6-125d6
25d6+126d6-126d6
26d6+127d6-227d6-127d6
27d6+128d6-128d6
28d6+129d6-229d6-129d6
29d6+130d6-130d6

11d8
11d8+112d8-212d8-112d8
12d8+112d8+213d8-213d8-113d8
13d8+114d8-214d8-114d8
14d8+114d8+215d8-215d8-115d8
15d8+1
16d8-216d8-1
16d8
16d8+1
16d8+217d8-217d8-117d8
17d8+1
18d8-218d8-118d8
18d8+118d8+219d8-219d8-119d8
19d8+120d8-220d8-120d8
20d8+1
20d8+221d8-221d8-121d8
21d8+122d8-222d8-122d8
22d8+122d8+223d8-223d8-1
23d8
23d8+19d10
9d10+19d10+210d10-210d10-110d10
10d10+1
10d10+2
11d10-311d10-2
11d10-1
11d10
11d10+1
11d10+2
12d10-212d10-112d10
12d10+1
12d10+2
13d10-313d10-213d10-113d10
13d10+1
13d10+2
14d10-2
14d10-1
14d10
14d10+1
14d10+215d10-315d10-215d10-115d10
15d10+1
15d10+2
16d10-2
16d10-1
16d10
16d10+1
16d10+217d10-317d10-217d10-117d10
17d10+1
17d10+2
18d10-2
18d10-1
18d10
18d10+1
18d10+2
19d10-3
19d10-2
19d10-1
19d10

8d12-28d12-18d12
8d12+18d12+28d12+39d12-39d12-29d12-19d12
9d12+19d12+210d12-310d12-2
10d12-1
10d12
10d12+1
10d12+2
10d12+3
11d12-3
11d12-2
11d12-1
11d12
11d12+1
11d12+2
12d12-312d12-212d12-112d12
12d12+1
12d12+2
12d12+3
13d12-313d12-213d12-1
13d12
13d12+1
13d12+2
14d12-3
14d12-2
14d12-1
14d12
14d12+1
14d12+2
14d12+3
15d12-315d12-2
15d12-1
15d12
15d12+1
15d12+2
16d12-3
16d12-2
16d12-1
16d12
16d12+165

Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly
Unearthly

106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125

42d4+143d4-143d4
44d4-144d4
44d4+145d4-145d4
46d4-146d4
46d4+147d4-147d4
48d4-1
48d4
48d4+149d4-149d4
50d4-150d4

30d6+131d6-231d6-131d6
31d6+132d6-132d6
32d6+133d6-233d6-133d6
33d6+134d6-134d6
34d6+135d6-235d6-135d6
35d6+136d6-124d8-224d8-124d8
24d8+124d8+225d8-225d8-125d8
25d8+126d8-226d8-126d8
26d8+126d8+227d8-227d8-127d8
27d8+128d8-228d8-119d10+1
19d10+2
20d10-220d10-120d10
20d10+1
20d10+2
21d10-3
21d10-2
21d10-1
21d10
21d10+1
21d10+2
22d10-222d10-122d10
22d10+1
22d10+2
23d10-323d10-2

16d12+2
16d12+317d12-317d12-2
17d12-1
17d12
17d12+1
17d12+2
18d12-3
18d12-2
18d12-1
18d12
18d12+1
18d12+2
18d12+3
19d12-3
19d12-2
19d12-1
19d12
19d12+1

Players may use any of the dice plus bonus amounts shown for a particular roll. In other words, they need not “set”
their dice on the character sheet (but they can). They can always opt to use the rank number. All dice options aredesigned having the rank number at the “peak” of the distribution. Judges are probably better off just going with therank numbers for NPCs and foes.
Weapons and armor can interact in a different manner if this system is used. Since there is now variability inweapon damage and the protection from armor, you could just default to the rules in the Marvel Superheroes RPG.
For example, a great sword does Gd (15) damage according to the Players’ Book, page 45. This would be 4d6+1
damage. If a character is wearing body armor of Ex (20) protection, this would now be 6d6-1 instead. It is still
unlikely that the damage would get through, but there’s a chance. A character with Ex (25) Strength or higher,
however, would be able to inflict 7d6 points of damage because the material strength of a great sword is listed as
being Excellent.

TOC

66

Random Generation of Primary Abilities
Yes, MSH already has tables for this, but I don’t like the distributions. This one can be used for an old-school, zeroto-hero type of game.
Roll (Normal)
01-05
06-10
11-20
21-30
31-43
44-57
58-70
71-73
74-75
76-78
79-80
81-83
84-85
86-88
89-90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

Roll (Heroic)
01-02
03-05
06-10
11-15
16-23
24-32
33-40
41-45
46-50
51-55
56-60
61-65
66-70
71-75
76-80
81-82
83-84
85-86
87-88
89-90
91-92
93-94
95-96
97-98
99-100

Rank
FeebleFeeblePoor
Poor
TypicalTypicalTypical
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent

Rank Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

The ‘Normal’ column gives a 10% chance to get Feeble, 20% for Poor, 40% for Typical, 20% for Good, and 10%
for Excellent. The ‘Heroic’ column skews things higher with 5% for Feeble, 10% for Poor, 25% for Typical, 40%
for Good, and 20% for Excellent. You can choose how many abilities you want rolled on each column. You could
have all seven rolled Normal, all seven rolled Heroic, or some Normal and some Heroic. You can have the players
roll in order or generate seven ranks and assign them.
These rank numbers should be subtracted from the starting CP of the character, if you’re using that system. No CP
can be used to raise abilities under this system (otherwise, what’s the point of randomly rolling?). Low-rollers will
have more CP to spend on Talents, Powers, Resources, and such.

TOC

67

Powers for the Fantasy Milieu
This section will detail some new powers that might prove useful for a variety of fantasy campaigns. It may seem
odd that there could possibly be any new powers after the extensive treatment of superhero powers in the Ultimate
Powers Book, but I can think of a couple. In keeping with the organization of that most wonderful of roleplaying
game supplements, each power in this section will be given a code representing where it would appear in thatpublication.
F6/Combat Endurance: This power provides additional Health, over and above that provided by theFighting, Agility, Strength, and Endurance primary abilities, at a value equal to the Power rank number.
Add the Power rank number of Combat Endurance to the hero’s Health. This is the hero’s normal
maximum Health. Put another way, the hero’s Health is calculated by adding their rank numbers forFighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, and the Combat Endurance power.
Recovery and Healing works differently for a hero with the Combat Endurance power. Instead ofregaining Health equal to the Endurance rank number as Recovery, a hero with this power regains thesum of the Endurance and Combat Endurance rank numbers. Furthermore, a hero with this power adds
their Combat Endurance rank number to their Endurance for the purposes of Healing as well.
For example, Super Soldier has the Combat Endurance power at Rm(30). His Health derived
from primary abilities is equal to 100. To this, he adds the Combat Endurance power rank number of 30
for a total of 130 Health. If Super Soldier’s Endurance is Ex(20), he regains 50 Health for Recovery. He
also regains 50 Health per hour when Healing (and 100 Health per hour if he is undergoing bedrest or isreceiving medical attention).
Judge’s Note: This power can be used to simulate the “hit points” that are common to fantasy
games as this power is independent of a hero’s FASE primary abilities. Also, this power allows “lower
power level” heroes to adventure with “higher power level” heroes by granting additional Health to the“lower power level” heroes while keeping their primary abilities within the boundaries of “normal”
humanity. This power can be thought of as the Endurance-equivalent of the Martial Arts Supremacy
power (which affects Fighting).
D18/Turn Undead: This power is a form of Emotion Control (L4) limited to the emotion of fear and also
limited to undead targets. As such, this power operates at +2 CS because it is limited to one emotion.
There are no further column shifts due to the target limitation because the utility of having it affect only
undead (while leaving everyone else unaffected, including the hero’s companions) is balanced by thelimited scope of the targets.
The number of undead that can be turned is equal to the number found in Column B of the
Number of Simultaneous Actions/Targets table on the back inside cover of the Ultimate Powers Book.
Undead can attempt to resist the turning by making a Psyche FEAT against an Intensity equal to thePower rank of the hero’s Turn Undead power. Otherwise, the undead will flee from the hero exercising(exorcising?) this power a distance that is equal to the number of areas shown on the Power Rank Range
Table (MSH Advanced Set Players’ Book, page 16) or the number of areas shown for Range A (front
inside cover of the Ultimate Powers Book). If they cannot flee the required number of areas, they will fleeas far as they can, cowering in corners if they get “stuck” but otherwise attempting to put as much
distance between themselves and the hero using the Turn Undead power.
If the hero attacks an undead creature that has successfully been turned, then the effect of thatturning is negated, and the undead creature may act normally (but may seek to flee anyway if that’s what
they would do in the particular situation).
Other forms of this power can be created which affect lycanthropes, demons and devils, angels
and “paladins,” and other types of creatures and characters.
F7/Sneak Attack: This power is the signature ability of fantasy RPG thieves, rogues, and assassins.
This power grants the hero to deal additional damage when using a Fighting or Agility attack. As such, itapplies to Blunt Attacks, Edged Attacks, Shooting Attacks, Throwing Edged, and Throwing Blunt actions
on the Universal Table. If an attack is successful (i.e., a Green result or better), the hero with Sneak
Attack adds their Power rank number to the damage. However, there is a caveat; it isn’t called “Sneak
Attack” for nothing. The target must be unaware of the attack for this additional damage to apply.

TOC

68

Essentially, this means the power can only be invoked when Blindsiding (see the MSH Advanced Set,
Players’ Book, page 30). If the character is limited to either Fighting or Agility attacks, then apply a +1 CS
to Sneak Attack (useful for creating assassins and snipers, rather than generalists).
MG14/Wizardry*: You have a spellbook which contains an assortment of spells. Each spell represents a
different Power, just like Power Simulation (MG9). To determine the starting number of spells in yourspellbook, roll to generate the number of Powers on the Power, Contacts, and Talents Table in the MSH
Advanced Set Player’s Book (page 7), on the Power Generation table in the Ultimate Powers Book (page14), or use any other method approved by your Judge. The number of spells in your book equals thenumber of Powers that you generated. The Judge may also simply use a standard number of starting
spells if desired (like, “You start with four spells.”).
Once you know the number of spells your book contains, the Judge may require you to randomly
generate exactly what the spells are (just like randomly generating Powers), may allow you to choose thePowers associated with each spell, or may choose the spells for you. Regardless of the method used,
the Power rank for each spell is determined by rolling on Column 4 on the Generating Primary Abilities
table (MSH AS Players’ Book, 6 or UPB, 12). A spell representing a Power that counts as two Powers
will require using two spells.
The Power rank number of the Wizardry Power itself is equal to highest Power rank number ofthe starting spells. For example, if your hero has a spellbook with a Rm(30) Fire Generation spell, anEx(20) Force Field vs. Magic spell, an Ex(20) True Flight spell, and one Gd(10) Magic Detection spell,then the Power rank number for Wizardry is Rm(30).
One time per day, typically after a good night’s sleep, the hero may study their spellbook andprepare spells for the day (typically for one hour). Preparing spells sets up a slate of Powers that thehero can use that day. The Power rank for Wizardry represents how much magical power the hero candraw upon. The hero may choose any number of spells from the spellbook for that day’s slate of powers.
However, the sum of the Power rank numbers of the spells prepared may not exceed the Power rank
number of the Wizardry Power. A hero can choose a lower Power rank number when preparing spells.
In our example above, the hero has a Wizardry Power rank number of 30. This means the hero could
prepare the Fire Generation spell at its maximum of 30 (which would mean the hero is only preparing thatspell for that day). The hero could also choose to prepare Fire Generation at Gd(10), the Magic Detection
spell at Gd(10), and the True Flight spell at Gd(10) or any other combination of spells and rank numbersthat add up to 30.
Typically, a hero can only change the spells they have prepared once per day and after a goodnight’s rest. Players and Judges can work together to change the frequency of changing Powers and theexact requirements to change Powers based on campaign needs.
Spells can be added to a spellbook during the course of play. To add a spell to a spellbook, thehero must make a Wizardry Power FEAT against an Intensity equal to the Power rank of the spell theywish to scribe into the spellbook. The inscribed spell can have a Power rank higher than the hero’s
Wizardry Power rank (and this would, consequently, require a Red success on the FEAT to enter thespell). It is left to the Judge’s imagination exactly how spells can be found or acquired. In traditional
fantasy RPGs, wizards find spell scrolls or capture spellbooks from rival sorcerers to gain new spells.
Any number of spells can be scribed into one spellbook.
If a hero’s spellbook is ever stolen or they are otherwise prevented from preparing spells for theday, then the hero is left with a finite supply of magical power (see Energy Source, UPB, page 43). The
hero has a reservoir of magical power equal to their Wizardry Power rank number. Each spell that is cast(under the auspices of this particular Power) uses a number of points equal to the Power rank numberthat the spell is cast at. For example, our hero above prepared Fire Generation, Magic Detection, andTrue Flight at Gd(10) and then had their spellbook stolen. The next day, the hero has 30 points withwhich to cast spells. Each time a spell is cast, subtract the Power rank number that was used from thistotal. If a Fire Generation spell is cast at Ty(6), then the hero would have 24 points remaining. Once aspellbook is recovered and the hero spends time preparing spells, the hero does not need to suffer theeffect of having a finite number of “magic points” and may function normally.
If a hero’s spellbook is permanently lost, they may scribe a new one, but may only enter thespells they have prepared and at the Power rank numbers they have at that time. To continue our
example, if the hero above lost his spellbook to a forest fire, he could scribe a new one. It would containthe three spells he has prepared at Gd(10) rank.
TOC

69

A hero can advance their Wizardry Power rank to be able to prepare a higher sum of Power rank
numbers per day. Heroes can also increase the Power rank numbers of individual spells using thenormal spell Power rank advancement rules for the campaign.
This Power counts as two Powers.
MG15/Theurgy*: You call upon sentient otherworldly beings to grant you the ability to cast spells. The
player should work with the Judge to determine what kinds of Powers the hero’s otherworldly beings arewilling to grant the hero. The potential range of Powers could be small, as with the Wizardry Power, or
the range could be large and allow the hero to access any Powers found in the Ultimate Powers Book.
Typically, heroes of this type call upon a particular god, angel, devil, demon, or other extraplanar entitythat has a fairly limited interest. The Powers they are willing to grant should reflect what portion of thecosmos they exert control over or are interested in.
Practically speaking, Theurgy works like this. One time per day, typically after a good night’s
sleep, the hero may meditate, pray, perform rituals, or engage in some other appropriate activity andprepare spells for the day (typically for one hour). Preparing spells sets up a slate of Powers that thehero can use that day. The Power rank for Theurgy represents how much magical power the hero candraw upon. The hero may choose any number of spells for that day’s slate of powers. However, the sumof the Power rank numbers of the spells prepared may not exceed the Power rank number of the TheurgyPower. For example, a hero has Theurgy at Rm(30). This means the hero could prepare a BiophysicalControl (Healing) spell at Rm(30) (which would mean the hero is only preparing that spell for that day).
The hero could also choose to prepare Healing at Gd(10), a Force Field vs. Hostiles spell at Gd(10), anda Plant Control spell at Gd(10) or any other combination of spells and rank numbers that add up to 30.
Typically, a hero can only change the spells they have prepared once per day and after a goodnight’s rest. Players and Judges can work together to change the frequency of changing Powers and theexact requirements to change Powers based on campaign needs.
If the hero is ever prevented from preparing spells for the day, then the hero is left with a finite
supply of magical power (see Energy Source, UPB, page 43). The hero has a reservoir of magical power
equal to their Theurgy Power rank number. Each spell that is cast (under the auspices of this particularPower) uses a number of points equal to the Power rank number that the spell is cast at. For example,
our hero above prepared Healing, Force Field vs. Hostiles, and Plant Control at Gd(10). If they wereprevented from, or missed performing, their morning rituals then the hero has 30 points with which to castspells for that day. Each time a spell is cast, subtract the Power rank number that was used from thistotal. If a Healing spell is cast at Ty(6), then the hero would have 24 points remaining. If the hero is able
to perform their “refresh” the next day then the hero does not need to suffer the effect of having a finite
number of “magic points” and may function normally.
This Power counts as two Powers.
M34/Talent Supremacy: The normal Talent system in the MARVEL SUPER HEROES game system isbased on adding +1 CS (or, in some cases, +2 CS) to one of the character’s primary abilities whenapplied to a somewhat narrow range of FEATs. With the Talent Supremacy Power, your character is not
limited to one or two column shifts when it comes to a particular Talent. When this Power is gained,choose one Talent from the list found in the MSH Advanced Set Players’ Book (among other locations).
You may not choose any of the Martial Art Talents, as these are already covered by F2/Martial Arts
Supremacy. When using the chosen Talent you add the Power rank number of Talent Supremacy to thePower rank number of the chosen Talent (which is a primary ability, plus any shifts due to actually taking
the Talent itself).
For example, Legal Eagle has a Reason of Ex(20) and the Law Talent. When practicing law,
Legal Eagle is considered to have a Reason of Rm(26) due to the +1 CS for having the Law Talent. If
Legal Eagle had Talent Supremacy for the Law Talent at Rm(30) then he would have a rank of Am(56)when using the Law Talent. As you can see in this example, you apply column shifts due to having anappropriate Talent to the primary ability first before adding the rank number granted by the Talent
Supremacy Power. Do not apply the column shift after summing the primary ability rank number and theTalent Supremacy rank number.
A hero can have multiple versions of this Power, but each instance of Talent Supremacy must
apply to a different Talent.

TOC

70

Creating Magic Systems for the Campaign
A number of magic systems have been detailed, some completely, others only sketched out. I guess it isn’t
important to create a magic system that must be used for every campaign but it might be more useful to detail how aperson may go about creating magical systems.
By “magical system” I mean a framework of rules under which a “magic-user” will actually use magic. There aredefaults already found in the MSH RPG, but we may want to go a little beyond what has been described in thevarious rulebooks.

The Gatekeeper Trait
What makes one character a magic-user and another character just another character with powers? For this, I’m
talking about a “gatekeeper trait” or a rules-based way of signifying “This character is a MAGIC-USER and can cast
SPELLS.” The simplest version of a gatekeeper trait is the Mystic Origin Talent. It costs 20 Creation Points during
character generation to take Mystic Origin. After character creation, this Talent costs 400 X M Karma Points if theteacher is another PC and 200 X M Karma Points if the teacher is an NPC.
By taking Mystic Origin, a player can now consider their character to be a magic-user (or whatever other word you
prefer). They may gain and cast spells. Exactly how they gain spells, what spells they may gain, how they castthem, the costs to cast a spells, and all other details will depend on the tradition they are operating under (i.e., themagical system that has been devised for the character or campaign).
There could be a number of equivalent Mystic Origin Talents, one for each defined magical tradition in the
campaign. To use an Ars Magica analogy, Mystic Origin is like “Opening the Arts” or “Opening the Gift”. Unlike
in Ars Magica, characters could take multiple versions of Mystic Origin depending on how many magical traditions
they want to practice. Some examples would be Hermetic Magus, Folk Witch, Vitkir Rune Wizard, Learned
Magician.
Step One: Determine the Gatekeeper Trait for being a magic-user.
Standard Campaign Gatekeeper Trait: Mystic Origin Talent.

The Magical Tradition
Defining the magical tradition involves defining the Powers that are available as magical spells, magical abilities, ormagical powers for that tradition. Almost no traditions would grant magic-users the ability to access every single
Power in the Ultimate Powers Book. The magical tradition need not be a laundry list of Powers either. Spheres of
Magic, Schools of Magic, Magical Arts, Supernatural Abilities, Arcana, and other methods can be used to describe
the types of magic the practitioners of the tradition use. It should be apparent which Powers would fall underwhatever defined “categories of magic” you come up with. For example, if you make an Elementalist tradition(with an associated Elementalist Wizard Mystic Origin Talent) having four Elements that all spells fall under (Air,
Earth, Fire, and Water) then it would be quite easy to determine what Powers in the Ultimate Powers Book would be
associated with which Elements. EE4/Fire Generation would clearly be under “Fire” while EC15/Magnetic
Manipulation would probably be a part of “Earth”.
When defining the magical tradition you can list individual Powers found in the Ultimate Powers Book. You could
also make up a list of Schools that describe the kinds of effects achievable under each School. You could also makea “matrix” system, like Hermetic Magic in Ars Magica. In this case, there are two lists of Arts and all magicaleffects are described by taking one Art from the first list (like “Create”) and combining it with another Art from thesecond list (like “Fire”).
When building a tradition, if a Powers list is used, then every Power on the list is a separate spell that must be
advanced individually like an existing spell (1 or 2 times Current Rank Number times M with cresting costs of 25
times M or 50 times M). If the character doesn’t take at least Fe(1) in a spell on their list, they may purchase the
new spell at a cost of 50 times M or 100 times M (for a double-slot spell) and they start at Fe(1).
TOC

71

When building a tradition if a School list is used, then each School is treated like a Meta-Power with individual
spells subsumed under the broader school. Each School is advanced like a Power. Spells falling under a School canbe learned at whatever their rank is for a cost of 50 times M (or 100 times M) but cannot exceed the character’s rank
number in the School that spell falls under. For example, if a School is “Fire” and the magic-user wants to learn aGd(10) Fire Blast spell, then the magic-user must have a rank number of 10 in the Fire School or they cannot learn
that spell.
When building a tradition if an Arts matrix is used, then each Art is treated like a Meta-Power. However, it takes
two Arts (on different lists) to define the Meta-Power that spells fall under. For example, if the first Arts list
contains verbs (Create, Destroy, Change, Control, Perceive) and the second Arts list contains nouns (Animal, Plant,
Fire, Water, etc.) then you must combine one verb with one noun to define a Meta-Power (such as Create Fire).
Each Art is advanced like a Power. When determining the rank number of each combination, simply add the rank
numbers of the two Arts used. So if a character had Ty(5) in Create and Ty(5) in Fire, then he would have Gd(10) in
Create Fire. As before, spells can only be learned (or created) that have a rank number equal to or less than the rank
number of the combination.
Being able to create a magical tradition will allow the Judge to draw from any inspiration: table top games, novels,
computer games, comics, etc. The Ultimate Powers Book is such a comprehensive reference of powers, in general,that pretty much any magical system should be able to be simulated. You can add additional flourishes to thesystem, like describing how spells must be cast, usual magical trappings (like a wand), terminology from the source
material, and many other things.
The most wide-open magical tradition would be one that consists of the list of all powers contained in the Ultimate
Powers Book (and any other supplements and Dragon magazine articles you may run across). In this case, there are
no Schools or Arts at all, just a very long Power (spell) list.
Step Two: Define the Magical Tradition by making a Power (spell) list, a School list, or an Arts matrix that willdefine what Powers are available to magic-users of this tradition.
Standard Campaign Tradition: A Power list consisting of every Power in the Ultimate Powers Book. Whenpurchased with Karma, new spells start at Fe(1) and are advanced as “Existing Spell” thereafter (see Character
Advancement).

The Cost of Magic
Unlike Powers, which can be used all day every day, casting a spell has a cost associated with it. This is due, partly,to the fact that the established conventions of the RPG genre demands this. More practically, there needs to be acost associated with spell use to justify the lower advancement costs of spells when compared to actual Powers. For
example, the Fire Generation Power costs 300 X M to acquire, 2 X Current Rank Number X M to advance withcresting costs equal to 50 X M. A Fire Generation spell, on the other hand, only costs 50 X M to acquire (one-sixth
the price), 1 X Current Rank Number X M to advance (one-half the cost of advancing a power) with cresting costs
equal to 25 X M (one-half the cresting costs of a Power). The difference is that the character with the Fire
Generation Power can generate fire all day without limit, once per combat round if you need a defined frequency.
The magic-user with a Fire Generation spell casts the spell using some finite amount of resources which replenish atsome rate (so they definitely cannot generate fire all day without limit).
Each magical tradition will have a magical resource that is drawn upon to cast, or otherwise power, spells and some
sort of defined replenishment rate for that resource. Examples in other games are: spell slots that replenish daily,
fatigue that replenishes with rest, magic points that slowly return at a fixed rate regardless of the character’s activity,
sanity that, once lost, is very difficult to restore, etc. Spellcasting “checks” also serve to put a limit on magic-use,
but I prefer not to use the spellcasting check method because I think giving the player control over character
resources is better than randomizing a character’s abilities (and why would wizards rely on such fickle magic in lifeor-death situations?).
It would be best to tie the magical resource to a game trait specifically invented for this purpose. This prevents
Powers and other game rules from affecting the magical resource in unintended ways. For example, if we tie
TOC

72spellcasting to Health points, then any Powers and other effects that restore Health points will inadvertently restore
spellcasting ability as well.
As a good default, using a character’s starting Karma (i.e. R + I + P) is a good basis for a pool of points from which
the player can “pay” for casting spells. Furthermore, a spell’s rank number is a natural indication of the power levelof the spell and the rank number could serve as the point cost of casting the spell. All that is left is determining how
large the pool of points should be and what the replenishment rate is.
Making the initial pool of magic points equal to R + I + P makes sense, but there should be a way to increase thispool without having to raise the individual primary abilities. Another Power, like Combat Endurance (but for magic
points) can be created.
MG16/Mana: This Power should be made available in campaigns that feature magical traditions that use
a pool of magic points to power spells. This Power allows the maximum number of points to increase by
the Power rank number of the Mana Power. For example, if a magical tradition uses a pool of magic
points equal to the sum of the rank numbers for the hero’s Reason, Intuition, and Psyche, then the rank
number of the Mana Power is added to this number.
These magic points can be called anything appropriate to the overall campaign or the various magical traditions. For
simplicity, magic points return similarly to Health. There is an initial Magical Recovery which occurs ten turns after
spending points to cast spells. This occurs once per day and is based on Psyche and the character’s Mana rank
number. After this, magical points return at the rate found in the table on page 11 of the Judge’s Book. Use Psyche
instead of Endurance to determine the rate of replenishment. For the purposes of recovering magic points, add therank number of the Mana Power to the character’s Psyche rank number and use this value for the replenishment.
For example, a character has a magical point pool of 100 (Excellent in Reason, Intuition, Psyche, and Mana). The
character’s initial Magical Recovery would equal 50 points (Psyche of Excellent plus Mana of Excellent).
Thereafter, points return at a rate of 50 per hour.
Other pools can be devised for the various magical traditions if desired. The primary ability used for recovery andreplenishment can be changed from Psyche if needed.
Other types of cost could be employed as well, depending on the particular magical tradition. If you’re drawing
from an established fictional system (like from a novel), you may have a different idea of how much spells would“cost” to cast. Using a pool of magic points is just a simple way that follows gaming conventions.
Step Three: Determine the magical resource used to cast spells and the replenishment method and rate.
Standard Campaign Method: Use magic points equal to R + I + P and the Mana Power rank number. Psyche +Mana determines Magical Recovery and the rate of Replenishment (consult the Recovery/Healing table in theJudge’s Book for rates).

Summary
The simplest method to creating a magical system for this game is to follow these three steps.
Step One: Determine the Gatekeeper Trait for being a magic-user.
Step Two: Define the Magical Tradition by making a Power (spell) list, a School list, or an Arts matrix that willdefine what Powers are available to magic-users of this tradition.
Step Three: Determine the magical resource used to cast spells and the replenishment method and rate.
Enterprising Judges can add additional steps to further define exactly how magic can work in this game.

TOC73