Marvelous Phile: What is FASERIP the Marvel RPG?
Hey, guys, Professor Bill of Comic Book University (where tuition is always free) and I’m bringing you the sixth article of the Marvelous Phile, an homage to the excerpt in Dragon Magazine back in the ’80s.
Game mechanic – FASERIP
What is this FASERIP thing we keep talking about in our Marvel Superheroes Role Playing Game (MSHRPG)? For this lesson we’re going to stick to the very basics to offer a more in-depth understanding of the basic attributes of the game. More than this, understanding the FASERIP is the first part of character creation. So, let’s begin there.
F = Fighting
Fighting is a measure of your raw melee ability. Whether fighting in the playground or fighting in the streets, this is the stat you use when you want your fist to make contact with the bad guys’ face. This primary ability is also used when you are wielding a weapon of any type, as long as you’re not throwing it or shooting it.
Are you swinging a club or the buttstock of a rifle? Are you stabbing with a spear or slashing with a knife or sword? Are you swinging a lamp post or smashing the side of a building on the Abomination’s head? This is the stat you’re looking for.
You’ll also use this attribute when you’re trying to evade a melee attack.
A = Agility
Is your enemy running away, or are you just a bit out of melee range? Do you need to throw a knife, or a charged playing card? Are you lining up the sights on your sniper rifle or readying your rocket launcher? Maybe you’re charging up your heat vision or readying your sonic scream. Either way, this is the stat you’ll use to see if you hit your target.
Any attack where you use ranged projectiles uses agility to hit. You also use agility when dodging distance attacks, or for driving a vehicle.
S = Strength
Strength is used to see how strong you are. Are the tension cables snapping on that bridge? You’ll need to use Strength to see if you can save the bridge, or just the people. This stat is also used for damage. When you punch someone, swing a flaming baseball bat, or even throw a car at someone, your strength determines the damage inflicted.
You will use strength to grapple with opponents as well.
E = Endurance
Endurance is like constitution in D&D, except you use it for just a little more than poison resistance and health modifiers. You determine your movement speed by your Endurance. It’s used for healing, resisting slams, stuns, and kill results, holding your breath, and withstanding pain.
Finally, it’s used for making charging attacks, so watch out for the Rhino and Hammerhead.
F+A+S+E= Health
These four attributes equate your Health score in Marvel Super Heroes RPG. These are your basic “hit points” for the game and they will change frequently. So, if you have the attributes F 20, A 10, S 10 E 25 then your health will be 65. Going to zero (0) Health does not mean you are dead, only unconscious. However, depending on how you got to zero Health will determine if you begin to die.
More on that in another lesson. For now, we continue:
R = Reason
Reason is your intelligence score. Use this attribute if you’re repairing a device, fixing your car, trying to figure out how to operate a helicopters controls, designing your new light-based suit, trying to get the gist of a new language, or which wire to cut to diffuse the bomb.
I = Intuition
Intuition determines your battle readiness, your reflexes, how well you avoid being surprised, emotion regulation, detective work, or noticing the rigged door the enemy just ran through. Intuition is also used to determine who goes first in battle.
P = Psyche
Finally, Psyche is your willpower and the stat used to resist mental attacks, magical invasion, and hypnosis and mind control. Also, it’s what keeps you sane if you lose a clone you made. If you practice magic then this should be your major attribute as your psyche determines how strong your spells are.
R+I+P = Karma
These three primary attributes determine the secondary attribute of Karma. Karma is determined by multiple factors, but for character creation, add up all three RIP stats and add them for your Karma. For example, a character with R 30, I 20, and P 20 will have 70 Karma to start.
Karma is a detailed subject and will be delved into much more in its own article, as will the other two secondary attributes: resources and popularity.
For more information on Marvel Super Heroes RPG FASERIP, along with charts and downloads, check out my accompanying video below from my YouTube channel, Comic Book University.
Character profiles
Check out Comic Book University for a “Behind the Judges Screen” video on this subject below. Thanks for reading and keep your dice-hand strong!
Professor Bill
Comic Book University
Class dismissed
Join us for good karma
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).
Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game Season Two is produced by War Eagle Keep, creating overlays, running sound and a million other things that make to make this live game awesome in the Mighty Marvel Manner! Check out War Eagle Keep on Instagram @war.eagle.keep
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