Q) s is only ?!? No way! Whats up with that? A) Bear in mind, that we went over ALL of our numbers with Marvel (and in many cases they had us change them to suit their conception). There's a rhyme and a reason for all of our interpretations. But unlike certain other RPGs which (will remain nameless; ahem-hem), we wholeheartedly encourage GMs to change our interpretations of characters and powers to suit their conceptions. Now we ain't pleading the usual cop-out. We'll give you our reasons! But if you don't happen to agree, we won't label you an infidel. In fact we'll even post "alternate interpretations" of heroes, rules, powers, what have you, on the Marvel website section for this game. We may even include out favorites for future supplements! Also: The trouble is that Marvel itself has a different pov than the readers. All sides see the actual "results" (the comics). However Marvel sees its characters getting their using their own conceptions and how they "got there", and those aren't always the 2nd-hand perspectives of the readers. And whenever there's an editorial change or a new artist, writer, or something, their take may change. (We've all seen this, of course.) And then there are history/powers that are anomolous (sometimes the author or artist went too far in a given direction), so the history gets "Sovietized" just a little. Such as Nightcrawler's teleportation for hundreds of miles in one book--but Marvel insists his limit is 3 miles. So we chalk that one up to "anomaly" and deal with it the best we can. Q) Why are there not abilities to represent a characters natural Willpower and Presence/Charisma? It seems as if really smart characters such as banner, Pym and Reed Richards end up with higher ratings in Willpower and default Social Skill than they should just by virtue of their high intelligence. A) We use Social Skills to cover "Charisma," there is no reason why a player couldn't "purchase" special Modifiers for physical appearance, which would affect Social Skills. But, after due consideration, we decided we'd to leave that bag-`o-worms up to the GM . . . And, yes, high Intelligence does help keep you from getting taken over (but no reason why a player couldn't take a negative Modifier as a "Challenge"). But telepaths like Prof. X (etc.) have Mental Defense on top of this (you can have mental defense separately, too. Q.) Why is Intelligence the only ability where a rating of 1 represents below Normal? There are several characters with below normal characteristics in other areas. For instance, Artie, Franklin Richards, Leech and the Power Pack kids would be examples of characters with below Normal strength. How are these below normal strength characters handled? A) We decided (in our hubris) that intelligence is the natural "superpower" of humans so we wanted a slightly different range of numbers. One is the normally the lowest number, but if a character wants a lower intelligence then the GM will expect the hero to play the role (as always). Because of the curved scale, we had to slide over below-average human strength. If you want to include that, make it a Challenge and note it in on the Modifiers section of the Character Profile Record. Also, while we recommend GMs require a minimum of 1 in Abilities, that's no reason why an exception can be made and a Zero allowed. Q) ) Can you go into a little more detail on movement in combat? (like in the combat example where Gambit uses his agility to avoid Blob). A) Here's two examples of movement in combat. a.) Gambit has both a higher Speed and Agility than Blob. So Gambit goes first in the Panel. Let's say Gambit and Blob walk out of opposite hotel rooms. SECRET ALLOCATION --Blob puts 15 stones into Close Combat, and shifts 4 to defense. --Gambit puts 1 stone in Movement (Speed) and puts 8 stones onto a charged-up spike. STONES ARE REVEALED Result: Gambit goes first because of his higher Agility. He therefore dances out off Close Combat range, thus causing Blob to totally waste the 11 stones left in his Close Combat box. To make matters worse, Gambit hits him with a 9-point attack (8 red stones + 1 for the card), and Blob only has his toughness (+4) and 3 red stones for a total of 7. One of Gambit's blast stones get through, x2 damage for 2 red stones. That knocks 1 white stone off the Blob. Now he's MAD! Now let's say Blob picked up a desk or something instead of putting stones in close combat? Or had put stones in both Close and Ranged, just in case? He could have thrown something heavy at Gambit, clobbering him (Gambit put no stones in defense), in spite of the fact he moved away. And if he didn't move away, Blob could just hit him. b.) If Sabretooth used a stone to leap through the air on the attack (the stone could be either in Speed or Hunting, if appropriate) or, you could make a good argument to add that stone of Movement to whatever stones he has in Close Combat. (If in response to ranged combat, the shot generally goes off before the leap-plus-close combat goes off. Common sense prevails in questionable cases.) That's an example of combining the effects of movement and combat. Q) How does a player let his character push his abilites in this game? Let's say Spiderman is out, webslinging along and who should pop up out of the crowd to say "Hello" but our good friend Juggernaut. As a way of introduction, Juggy flings a schoolbus filled with screaming sixth-graders at the poor Webhead. Now Spidey would have no trouble dodging such a missile, but he can't let those kids get hurt! Spiderman has a Strength of 5, which is pretty good, but nowhere near the 7 or 8 difficulty needed to catch the bus. Can he give it a shot? Or does he have no chance of succeeding and should whip up an emergency crash-cushion out of his webbing to stop the massive mass-transit missile? A) Well, the bus weighs 7 and Spidey has web slinging at 5 with an Agility Bonus of 6. So all Spidey has to do is put in 7 stones of effort (out of a max. of 12, regeneration rate of 6: His Dur. of 4 plus his Healing Factor), so as long as he has had the wisdom and foresight to keep just--one--measly energy stone in reserve, he'll be able to web that bus up Just Fine. All he has to do in anchor the web on something that will take the weight of the bus, like a building or bridge. And even if he can't stop the bus, he can slow it down. But for every stone he misses by, 10% die and 20% wounded (which is the rule of thumb for "collateral damage" over an area). And then Spidey's Challenge clicks in and naturally the one kid who died turns out to be the much-loved son of the corner candy store owner. Aunt May is most distraught . . .. If only those kids had seatbelts, they'd have been just fine.) And: In the Avenger Supplement we are including a suggestion that GMs allow Characters to put lines into their Abilities up to a max of 3. I.e., by diligent study and effort, you can bring yourself up to standard human "peak" Abilities and above Average in Intelligence. Of course Apocalypse might be up for a deal. (Do you feel worthy, punk? Find out in the X-Man Supplement . . .) Q) Why not do a breakdown of a character and show us how much each thing cost or in the case of disadvantages and challenges how many stone they give the character. How about Jean Grey? A) Well, she's one we varied a wee dram from the Marvel stats--owing to the fact that she's sharp as all hell, not to mention the minor fact that, like, she's one of the most powerful and versatile psionic telepaths on the planet . . . She is had a lot of experience, of course, and this is how to price her as presented in the book COST LEVEL COST IN STONES 1 1 red 2 2 red 3 1 white 4 2 white 5 3 white 6 4 white 7 6 white 8 9 white 9 12 white 10 15 white +5 Stones per additional cost level JEAN GREY ABILITIES Intelligence: 5 [6 white stones--2x cost for intel-based character.] Strength: 2 [2 red stones] Agility: 3 [1 white stone] Speed: 2 [2 red stones] Durability 2 [2 white stones--3x cost for Dur., whether its a Dur.-based char. or not.] ACTIONS Telepathy: 7 (Cost Level = Action # + Options) -- Intelligence Bonus (+2 to Cost Level--as specified in the case of Telepathy) -- Illusion (+1 to Cost Level) -- Project thoughts/Control others (+2 to Cost Level) -- Create links with others (+1 to Cost Level) -- Telepathic Communications (+1 to Cost Level) -- Mental Bolts (+1 to Cost Level) -- Repair Minds (+1 to Cost Level) [Total, +9 to Cost Level, cost: 45 white stones. She "starts out" with this at much lower level and builds it up and "learns to control it better' (or whatever) by adding lines] Telekinesis: 6 [Cost Level +2, but 1 cost level discount for knowing Telepathy. 6 white stones] Flight: 4 [+2 to Cost Level, 4 white stones] Close Combat: 4 (Agility Bonus) [Cost 1 white stone--i.e., maybe a white stone back for taking a Bonus as a lesser Ability. (Normally she'd take it in her highest Ability, but if she doesn't because she sees her character in a non-mini-max fashion, the GM can give back a little.)] Ranged Combat: 2 [2 red stones] Healing, Medical: 4 [Cost Level +1, 3 white stones] Leadership: 3 [1 white stones] Social Skills: 4 [2 white stones] -- Political Culture -- Scientific Community -- Medical Community -- Charm, Persuasion MODIFIERS Mutant, Human appearance [refund of 3 white stones for bein' a mutie scum] Mental Defense: (+7) [freebie with the Telepathy] Team Affiliation: X-Men Wealth: 2 [2 red stones] --Total Cost: 70 white stones, 1 red stone. This is JG after a long and illustrious career. When "starting out", she cost roughly the usual 40, (her Telepathy was considerably lower at that point and she brought it up by lines. Note that I personally worked out much of the initial set out at their "starting points", just to make sure they were constructed at their current levels with a modicum of logic.] You can "save stones over" from the start and use them later, under certain circumstances . . . (Welcome to doc apoc's friendly neighborhood genetic manipulation chambers. Do you feel worthy, punk?) Q) By the way, can someone explain to me how Surfers power cosmic works in the game? A) He can substitute any Action or Ability for it. And if he already had that Action, he could do two Actions and combine the stones, so, yes, effectively Power Cosmic gives him what he doesn't have (at Action #) and adds to what he does have. Q) Does anyone know what Hulk can lift since his strength maxes out at 18? A) At a guess (and this may change--it's just my personal rule of thumb) is that Str 20 can lift around a hundred thousand tons, and it's a geometric curve up to that point. So at a guess, around 50,000 tons, so he could, say, toss a decent-sized ship when fully enraged. (Too bad Marvel never really guessed! Or guessed 'way too much. Or else they can't remember--we did ask.) Q) Also will we ever see a chart go beyond 10? Will we also see characters with abilities beyond 10? A) If and when we go galactic, I imagine we'll go beyond the D& R and beyond 10. Q) Also on pg 82 under the same topic it says the character has 3 white stones and takes 4 red stones of damage. It then mentions the period of time the character is knocked out is 2 panels/stone of damage. It then says using this example the character would be knocked out for 2 panels. Shouldn't it be 4 panels since 4 red stones would do 2 white stones of damage? A) Oops! So it would! (Errata patrol! P. 82!) Q) I'm having trouble finding the cost for the 2x natural healing modifier that Beast and Captain America have. Can someone point me in the right direction? A) We didn't put any. You will notice several cases where odd options and personalized Actions appear. We are trying to encourage players and GMs to go outside the box and make up new stuff all the time and estimate what it's worth in their campaigns. HOWEVER, if anyone has any questions about such things, I'll be happy to discuss it and assign a price to it, myself, by way of helping out and steering you-all down the path. SO: Seeing as how regeneration rate is not affected and the--only--difference is getting 2 white stones back--per day--instead of one, recovering from disease, etc., you would charge for it, but very little. One red stone should be sufficient payment for that. (Two, at most, if you're in a gnarly mood, or disease is a real problem in your campaign.)