Introduction

When I came up with the cheeky theme for this month for the page, I tried to also come up with ideas for content. In one of the first articles that I considered, I wanted to compare Marvel RPG Then and Now. Ideally, that meant playing both RPGs with my family and then writing about those experiences. Because even the summer is busy for us, I ended up only perusing the books for the two games. As a result, this time around, I only compare my overall impressions of the games.

In good news, we tentatively agreed as a family to institute game nights again. Therefore, perhaps by the end of the year, we can play the old Marvel Super Heroes RPG and the new Marvel Multiverse RPG and then I can give you a more well rounded comparison of the two games. For now, enjoy and revel in some nostalgia with me before taking a trip into the Multiverse.

Dice, Dice Baby

The heart of any role playing game is, of course, the dice. Because of the recent success of Stranger Things and WotC’s ability to capitalize on that success, may people associate the set of polyhedral dice as the standard for the genre. However, most games shun the variability of those dice and use only one or two of the polyhedral shapes in their game. I can’t be certain, but most of the games I see these days just use six sided dice. That makes sense because most people have such dice lying around, so it removes some of the barrier for entry.

Granted, they don’t look as geeky or cool, but I understand the decision. With the old Marvel Super Heroes RPG, they used d100 to run the random engine for the game. At the time, I geeked out because it played so much differently from Dungeons and Dragons. I remember that my friend and I played the Marvel game exclusively for a few months after discovering it.

The newer Marvel Multiverse RPG follows the standard that I just discussed. They chose six sided dice as the base for their game. One thing they add to give some flavor is that you preferably need to have one die different from the other two to allow for a wider variety of outcomes in your rolls. I like the idea of the three six sided dice. It reminds me of the original character creation rules for D&D that I played under.

Stats and Such

Likewise, the old Marvel Super Heroes RPG embraced the classic RPG element of chance by allowing players to roll for every aspect of their character. You could either choose a background or simply let the roll of the dice decide. However, like D&D, you rolled your stats and sometimes a skill allowed you to reroll or bump a stat or two. And, one of the things I remember from the player’s handbook in D&D is that sometimes it’s a blast to try to play a 5 intelligence or 4 charisma character. One time, if I remember correctly, I played just such a character as an unintentional prick who just said what he thought with little regard for the consequences. So, in that case, they were right.

I noticed that modern RPGs eschew randomness whenever they can. In some ways, this is good. It gives you more control over your character. They still limit the outcome, so you don’t end up min/maxing your character to oblivion and making it no fun for your table mates, which is nice. But, I sometimes miss the roll of the die determining the outcome of my character. That 10 strength/16 intelligence Barbarian? That brings up some awesome role playing possibilities.

Characters

It’s Marvel. You get the expected roster of characters from both games. Obviously, one gives you over 30 years of additional history to add to the flavor of the characters. Also, it comes right out of the gate and talks about the multiverse. Ever since they started selling this as the Multiverse saga, they and others pushed the concept almost to an absurd level.

Then again, I must say, that with that extra history and choice of settings, I want to play in the Marvel 2099 world. If I only have one other player, I might try to figure out a way to put together some Logan adventures either before or after the movie depending on my mood. I have no interest in the Ultimate universe because it scarred me for life the last time around. But, filling in some of the gaps of the MCU might be fun.

The Verdict

Both games offer their own unique brand of entertainment. I think that the old Marvel Super Heroes RPG only offers me nostalgia at this point in my life. Based on that last paragraph, I clearly lean towards the now in the Marvel RPG Then and Now race. It simply offers more possibilities right out of the book.