Marvelous Phile: Intensity FEATS
Hey, guys, Professor Bill of Comic Book University (where tuition is always free) and I’m bringing you the ninth article of the Marvelous Phile, an homage to the excerpt in Dragon Magazine back in the ’80s.
Game mechanic – intensity FEATS
Intensity FEATs are used when you need to roll against a static object or another player and there isn’t a column for the roll at the top of the Universal Table. Wrestling, striking, catching, shooting, throwing – all of these have a column – but what if you have an action you want to take but there’s no column?
That’s where the Intensity FEAT comes in to play.
In simple terms, if the intensity of the object, force, or whatever the player is rolling against is equal in power to what the player is using, then a yellow result or higher is necessary for success. If the player’s ability or power is greater than the intensity of the opposing force then they need only a green or better to succeed. However, if the object being rolled against is greater in intensity then only a red result will achieve victory.
Example 1:
Let’s say The Hulk and Ironman (in his Hulkbuster suit) are going at it one-on-one. They both interlock their fingers and start pushing against each other. Hulk, at resting, has UN (100) Strength, as does Ironman. When they are ready to roll, since they both have the same Power Rank for Strength, they both need to roll in the yellow for a success. If one succeeds while the other fails then the winner gets to push the loser. If they both succeed or they both fail then they get nowhere and just keep pushing.
Example 2:
They’ve been doing this for a while and Hulk is annoyed at Ironman’s voice. We all know what happens when Hulk gets angry. So, Hulk goes up to Shift X (150) Strength, meanwhile Ironman stays at UN (100). Hulk, now stronger than Ironman, only needs a green or better result. Meanwhile Ironman, now weaker, can only succeed on a red result.
Game mechanic – impossible FEATs
There is an optional rule here called the impossible FEAT where the player wants to do something completely out of his range, such as lifting something that’s way too strong for them. If the intensity of the opposing force is more than one column higher than the power or ability of the player, you can call it an impossible FEAT.
Example 3:
Hulk and Hulkbuster Ironman are still going at it. Now, however, Hulk is even angrier. His strength increases to Shift Y (200). At this point, Ironman’s strength of UN (100) is simply not enough to resist the Hulk and he automatically fails any strength-based FEAT against Hulk, unless he can find a way to overcharge his suit.
That’s it for this week, everybody. Make sure to check out my accompanying video and keep gaming.
Character profiles
Be sure to check out Comic Book University for a “Behind the Judges Screen” video on this subject. Thanks for reading and keep your dice-hand strong!
Professor Bill
Comic Book University
Class dismissed
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The Universal Table determines the outcome of all the action in the Marvel Super Heroes RPG
Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game streams live on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. Viewers in the live chat are encouraged to get their percentile dice and join in as Professor Bill leads Season Two players Nerdarchist Dave, Travis Boles from WebDM, writer and YouTuber Davae Breon Jaxon, Nerdarchy Nerditor-in-chief Doug and staff writer Megan R. Miller through a street-level campaign featuring original superhero characters.
You can learn more about how karma is gained and used by viewers in the live stream chat here. Live chat participants can use karma to affect the results of dice rolls using the same mechanic as the players. Before rolling the dice, a player can spend karma to add to the result on a 1:1 ratio. After a dice roll, karma can be added to the result on a 2:1 ratio, with a minimum of 10 karma spent. For example, if Ash is about to make a roll to use his Fire Manipulation power, Megan can choose spend five karma to add an equal amount to the dice result. If Megan decides to roll without using karma, and rolls a 60 (a green result), she could spend 22 karma to add 11 to the result, bringing to total to 71 (a yellow result).
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