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[TheChosen]

I've noticed the recruitment for COC has been bit of slow, so I'l put down some character creation rules for other games that are available. I'l have to apologize for those wishing for classic fantasy dungeon crawl, put I dont have any of those rulebooks. For those who have, feel free to step up and be a DM.

As for personal wish, If anyone here has rulebooks for Top Secret or some other espionage RPG, I'd love to play that.

[TheChosen]

So whats this game about?
Marvel Super Heroes is a classic game made by TSR back at 1984. To make it simple, its about super heroes doing heroic deeds and fighting bad guys. It has simple rules, simple character creation and its very easy to play, making it a good choice for people new to tabletop roleplaying.
The rules we will be using are from revised set, made in early 90's.
Dont confuse this game with Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game made in 2003. That game was less successful and didnt get that many corebooks.

Cool! Can I be Spiderman?
Yup. The game offers choice being one of the many heroes (and anti-heroes) of the Marvel universe, as well as the option of creating your own!

Does it have to be a Marvel superhero? I want to be a Batman!
Sure, I wont stop you. For the sake of rules and settings, the game will happen in the Marvel universe (Earth 616 for those comic geeks out there), so your Batman wont be living in Gotham.

What kind of superhero can I create?
Its all up to you. You can be either combat oriented or less of a fighter and more of an supporter. Note that If you want to play a comic book hero outside of Marvel universe, you're going to have to make one because there are no stats ready for one.

So what Marvel characters can I pick up?
Since most of the character sourcebooks are from around the 80's and early 90's, any hero up to that era will do. If you want to play a newer character, like Sentry, you're going to have to make one.

Can I be a villain?
This game is about heroism, not being a villain. You are allowed to act like an anti-hero though, or use "unnecessary force" so to speak, but you will be penalized for that.
Of course, you're still free to act however you wish in the game, so If Magneto offers you a place in his Brotherhood of Evil mutants, you can take it.

Will we be following the comic continuity?
To some extent. I'l try to follow the timeline like it was when they made this game, but to some extend, the superheros will be like they're best remembered by. For example, my games Avengers has the main core team of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, and Iron Man's identity is not known to the public (the public believes that Iron Man is Tony Starks personal bodyguard).

Bleech. I hate superpowers. Can I play as a normal character?
Yes you can. Although sourcebooks lists of characters like Jonah J. Jamesons (Peter Parkers boss at the Daily Bugle), I wont allow you to pick those, but you can play as a character who relies on skills and weapons instead of any powers, like Elektra, Punisher and Nick Fury. You can also play as a person who relies on gadgets he's build. Power-suits are okay too, a'la Iron Man.

When doing my own character, can I add stuff related to Marvel continuity/characters to his background?
Sure, but dont go overboard. For example, your character can be an employee of Stark Incorporated, but please avoid stuff like "he's the best buddies with all the Avengers!".

Can my character belong in a superhero group like the Avengers or X-Men?
Not initially. All the players will together form a superhero group. You might get a change to join in on a bigger, more established group later on. If however, every player picks a character that does belong in some established group, they will then belong in that group instead.

What kind of campaigns will we be playing?
To use the rule books example, one game scenario is pretty much like a single comic book, with events and fighting, leading to one major fight-scene, revelation, victory or cliff-hanger. Combining multiple of these into a campaign is like a one comic book storyline. Note that all scenarios arent necessary linked together. There will be continuity though, and occasional brushes with official Marvel continuity (Say, would you help us to get the Gauntlet of Infinity from Thanos?).
Im planning to make scenario's and campaigns myself and I'l probably borrow elements from sourcebooks and comics. Also, I'l definitely pick characters from sourcebooks, instead of creating my own (unless I get some really juicy ideas). There's a huge number of very interesting and obscure characters in the Marvel comic history, so expect to run into some of those.

Whats the roster of Avengers/X-Men/etc in your game and other continuity related questions.
Unless its really important, Im not gonna start answering to these. I will build up and create the continuity as we go or during the game. Marvel Universe is a big universe.

Can I modify a established Marvel character?
Sure, but I'l only allow you to kind of "update" the character. For example, the sourcebook Gambit doesnt have much of history, nor there is mention that he can use a bo-staff. In other words, you can make edits, but only if its part of the continuity.

Can I be Howard the Duck?
Yes, and I will goddam love you If you pick Howard the Duck.

If you got more questions, feel free to ask!

Character creation!

*I apologize how some of the tables turned out to be. Im not good at creating tables with this.*

There are two ways:

A. Pick an established Marvel hero. You can pick up well-known one, obscure one, gritty one, silly one...you're free to choose. Dont pick any villains, but you can pick one's that could possibly have changed their ways and become a hero (Juggernaut for example, might be okay, maybe Magneto to some extent (Like it happened once in the comics, when he temporary was the leader of X-Men), but not guys like Doctor Doom or Kingpin). Also, dont pick any other characters that arent clearly suitable for superheroics or playing at all. This ranges from normal people (Aunt May) to celestial beings (Galactus).
Not well versed with the Marvel universe? Dont worry. In the link below, there's several sourcebooks that lists good number of playable characters. The same site also has list of other playable characters, but I advise taking from these books.
http://www.classicmarvelforever.com/...handbooks.html
B. Create one yourself. It can be entirely new one, someone not mentioned in the above books or someone from other comic books (DC or Image comics for example).

For creating your own character, follow the next rules. Remember to read them carefully. There's no real character sheet for this game, nor it is needed cause there's not a lot of stuff to write down. Just open your notepad or take out a paper and a pencil.
You're going to need a hundred-sided dice for this. If you dont have one, use this website for example: http://www.roll-dice-online.com/
If you're creating a specific character, I'l allow you to skip Major Abilities dice rolls and you can choose the origin and the powers and talents the character will have (dont go overboard with the amount of powers and talents). Technically, you could not roll at all and make your character however you wish, but thats cheating and I can only wish you wouldnt do that. If you end up with a character you think its gonna suck, remember that its just a game, and playing with any kind of character will be interesting. Its roleplaying after all.

Put lets get on with the dice roll! First, we need to know your characters origins. Roll and check results according to table below.

Dice Roll

Origin

01-30

Altered Human

31-60

Mutant

61-90

High-Tech

91-95

Robot

96-100

Alien

Altered Humans: Altered humans are everyday folk who have been exposed to cosmic rays, gamma bombs, magical forces, radioactive spiders and the like, with the results they are "more than human". Altered humans are fairly common and most "typical" of super-powered heroes. Altered humans can use technological devices (Captain America has enhanced strength and reflexes, but he uses a shield) but the majority of powers come from within (like the Fantastic Four).
Players who chose to create altered humans as heroes can raise one rank of their major abilities, after all the rolls are complete.

Mutants: Another common group, mutants are members of homo superior, a new race of man born from homo sapiens. Mutants have their powers with them from birth by genetic quirk, but those powers usually only surface later in life. Mutants are generally feared by populace. Mutants have a number of advantages and disadvantages.
Players can increase one of their powers by one rank when generating a mutant character. Starting resources for mutant character are always lowered by one rank. Mutant popularity always begins at 0. Mutants gain popularity at a slower rate than other character types. In addition, they may be subject to devices and powers that detect, alter or nullify mutant abilities.

Hi-Techs: Also called "hi-tech wonders", these heroes derive all their super-human abilities from inventions and devices. The most common type of high-tech is the hero in a battlesuit, like Iron Man, but other high-techs are characters like Punisher or Black Widow, who make up what they lack in super-human abilities with superior firepower.
High-tech heroes roll major abilities like normally, but re-rolls any rolls over 80 for following abilities: Agility, Strength and endurance. High-tech heroes raise their initial resources and Reason by one rank.
For High-techs with bodyarmor, he can choose to incorporate all of his other super-abilities into that armor as well. In addition, the armor will increase hir normal abilities according to his Reason ability. If you choose to wear a this kind of battlesuit, we will together check how the rules modify your character.

Robots: Robots are artificially-created beings. They include robots, synthezoids, androids, life-module decoys and full cyborgs (where all the flesh by the brain has been replaced with inorganics). Machine Man, Vision and Deathlok are all robotics characters.
Robots are unaffected by powers that affect the human mind or emotion, while subject to those that control machinery. Player character robots are assumed to have self-repair circuitry that allows them to regain health in the normal fashion.
Robots have initial popularity of 0. Unlike mutants, they do not suffer further in popularity because of their origina.

Aliens: "Aliens" is a blanket term that covers creatures from elsewhere - other civilizations, planets or dimensions. Inhumans, Atlanteans, Asgardians, Kree, Skurlls, Eternals and all the other creatures and races that are "not from this Earth" are aliens. He can be from race either established in the basic Marvel continuity or from entire new race.
Aliens add 10 to their die rolls for their initial abilities (not in character creation). Most aliens end up on Earth are of at least Typical level, and usually much better, meaning all their major abilities cant go lower than Typical.
Aliens have one less power than rolled. This is the price they pay for being generally tougher.

Next, roll up their Major Abilities. Remember that altered-humans can raise one ability with one rank, Aliens cant go below of typical and High-techs cant go above remarkable on Agility, Strength and Endurance and can raise their reason with one rank.

Major Abilities
Fighting - How good he is in close-combat.
Agility - Dexterity, coordination and ability to aim.
Strength - How much the hero can lift, do damage and so on
Endurance - How much damage he can take
Reason - Raw brain power and intelligence
Intuition - Wisdom, wits, battle savvy and common sense.
Psyche - The mental powers of the brain.

Roll a D100 once for each major ability. The results are on table below. Mark the rank number next to rank in brackets: Good (10)

Dice Roll

Rank

Rank Number

1-5

Feeble

2

6-10

Poor

4

11-20

Typical

6

21-40

Good

10

41-60

Excellent

20

61-80

Remarkable

30

81-96

Incredible

40

97+

Amazing

50

Monstrous

60

Next modify your variable abilities. I'l also explain the Karma and resources.
Health - Add together the ranks of Fighting, Agility, Strength and Endurance. In game terms, this will be your hit points.
Karma - Add together the ranks of Reason, Intuition and Psyche.
Karma is kind of like an XP, but instead of using it to raise your stats and powers, you use it to enhance it during a situation. For example, there is a hostage situation and you need to make that one shot to end it all, you can use your karma points to raise Agility for that one time to make the odds better for you.
You earn more karma with your actions, for example stopping villains, rescuing people and even by doing good roleplaying or showing some humor. You can also lose karma with bad actions, such as failing to stop a crime or committing one yourself. If you kill a person, you will lose all karma points (robots are exception). I will add the award list later.
Resources - Roll once from the same table used major abilities.
There isnt really a specific amount of cash for players to be used in this game, as there isnt really a need of shopping for equipment. The higher the resources are generallly means how rich the characters are. For normal human they'd have resources of Poor rank according to table above. Persons with Unearthly rank resources (which is one rank above monstrous) run a mega-corporation.
Remember that mutants have one rank less of resources and high-techs have one rank more.
Popularity - Popularity for new heroes is 10, but 0 for mutants and robots.

Next we move on to
Powers
This is basically the thing that makes your character a superhero. Powers can be used in fighting (if they're suitable for that) or solving different problems (even if it isnt suitable for that).
Roll on the below table for the maximum number of powers available to the hero. Remember that aliens get one les power than is rolled.

1-20

2 powers

21-60

3 powers

61-90

4 powers

91-100

5 powers

Because power based rules are quite big and take sometime to write on a message board, I'l link you up to a rulebook instead. http://www.classicmarvelforever.com/...ersion.2.5.pdf
Flip over to the page 14. After knowing how many powers you have, roll the dice and see what class does your power belong to and again to see what power is it. Follow the tables in the book and dont forget to check what your power actually does! All your powers dont have to belong in the same class. If your power somehow conflicts with another power, reroll. For the rank of the power, roll according to the major abilities table.

Moving on to
Talents
Talents are pretty much your everyday skills. These mainly include for example, skills that allow him to perform his everyday work or hobbies. Some talents are also combat related, such as ability to handle firearms or do martial arts.

Roll according to table below to see how many talents you get

1-10

1 talent

11-50

2 talents

51-90

3 talents

91-00

4 talents

Youre going to have to yet again look up your talents from a sourcebook, since there's plenty of them: http://www.classicmarvelforever.com/...ersion.2.0.pdf
Start from page five. Like with powers, all talents dont have to belong in same talent group.

And after you're done with stats, skills and powers, move on to finalizing your character.

1. What is his name? This includes both real name and the name of the hero-persona.
2. How old is he?
3. Does the hero have a secret identity? If so, how does he keep it secret?
4. How does the hero earn his living?
5. Where does the hero live? (For the sake of keeping the characters together, somewhere around New York would be good.)
6. What is the hero's personality like?
7. Does the hero have any hobbies or pastimes?
8. What does the hero look like? What kind of costume does he have when fighting against crime and injustice?
9. Where did the hero get his powers?

And so on. If you want any examples, check out the character sourcebooks I linked. They list things that could be considered as necessary information.

And thats about it! Post your character here when its done. Happy rolling!

[TheChosen]

So whats this game about?
Call of Cthulhu is a classic horror game from Chaosium. Its about people investigating unspeakable horrors based on the works of HP Lovecraft, namely the Cthulhu mythos. It offers a good change for some actual roleplaying, but does give a change for some good old combat.
We will be using the 4th edition rules, as pictured above.

4th edition? Why not use 5th or newest edition?
Because this is the book that I have. Dont worry though. From what I've read, there's not much of change in the rules, so we wont be missing a lot.

So what are these "unspeakable horrors"?
To quote Lovecraft himself: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown".
A lot of monsters and horrors created by Lovecraft are old, sometimes even older than mankind itself. Also very evil and quite horribly looking. Just Google "Lovecraft illustrations" and you'll get the idea.

What kind of game will we be playing?
Most likely were gonna start with some basic scenario's that are in the rulebook and later on I might introduce a longer campaign, either a ready one or self-made one.

Do I get to kick Cthulhu's butt?
Well, yes. There is a change of fighting against any creature from Cthulhu's mythos (old rule of roleplaying: If it has stats, you can kill it). However, the basic game is more of an investigations, gathering information and preparations for fighting against the horrors.

Whats the setting? Is this happening on current day or some old-time era?
We will be following the basic setting, so its gonna be set in the 20's-30's. That is the time where Lovecrafts stories usually took place.

I've heard that a lot of player characters tend to die in this game...
Yes, Call of Cthulhu has that reputation. Investigating unspeakable horrors is a dangerous business, and its not uncommon that characters can get killed even on their first adventure. If they dont end up dying, they go mad. The human mind cant comprehend these things, and then when you get overdose of it....
Even in the long run, if your character has escaped the death, he will eventually end up too mad. There is no happy ending in the world of Cthulhu mythos.

I see magic points. Is there magic in this game?
Yes there is, but the spells arent usually the types you tend to see on likes of Dungeons and Dragons. For example, instead of a fireball, you can learn how to summon Hastur the unspeakable.

Do I have to know anything about Lovecrafts works to play the game? Do I have to read an actual book?
Not necessarily. If you want to get into mood, just watch a horror film. However, If you're interested, I really recommend checking out Lovecrafts stories because they're great, and at a times really scary too.
The rulebook lists several stories that are highly recommended
Lurking Fear
Horror at Red Hook
Colour Out of Space
Dunwich Horror
Shadow Over Innsmouth
Dreams in the Witch-House
Haunter of the Dark
Shunned House
Call of Cthulhu (The iconic story. If you decide to read at least one, read this one!)
Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Whisperer in Darkness
At the Mountains of Madness
Shadow Out of Time
Herbert West - Reanimator (Personal recommendation!)

Lovecrafts works have also been adapted to other mediums, including films and video games.

If you're graving for more information, go read the Necronomicon. Or ask in this thread. Now, lets create some investigators! For this, you need at least a one six-sided dice. 3 dices is the recommendation.

Here is the character sheet for this game: http://www.rpgsheets.com/sheets/022007.pdf It is not identical to one in my rulebook, but close enough. Only thing its missing is physics skill.

First, roll up following stats for your character with the following amount of dice

Strength - 3d6
Constitution - 3d6
Size - 2d6 + 6 (This combines both height and weight)
Intelligence - 2d6 + 6
Power - 3d6 (kind of like "willpower")
Dexterity - 3d6
Appearance - 3d6 (Personality and sex appeal, but not necessarily charisma)
Education - 3d6 + 6 (Note: People with education 13-14 are considered to have a Bachelor degree while those with education over 16 are considered to be college graduates.)

And since I wont be there to watch you rolling the dice, please, no cheating. After you've rolled your stats, you are allowed to move stat points to another stat.

After rolling is done, fill the next parts:

Idea - Intelligence x 5
Luck - Power x 5
Magic points - Equal to your power
Knowledge - Education x 5
Sanity - Put 99 in SAN, between EDU and SIZ.
Sanity points - Power x 5 (circle the appropriate number)
Hit points - Size + Constitution divided by 2.

Also, fill in the following for these 3 skills:
Cthulhu Mythos - 0
Dodge - Dexterity x 2
Read/Write English - Education x 5

Damage bonus/penalty
There is a whole table for this. We will check it out before we start the game, because Im too lazy to type the whole table in here. You get bonuses in hand-to-hand combat if you have high strength and/or size, and penalties if you dont.

For next part, read all the rules carefully first before making any decisions

Next you choose your occupation. The book lists several occupations, but you are allowed to make one yourself. It has to fit in the 20/30's theme, where the game (and most of Lovecrafts stories) take place.

Here's list of available occupations, as well as skills that are tied to that occupation:

Anarchist
Camouflage
Fast Talk
Hide
Library Use
Oratory
Psychology
Read/Write Other Language
Sneak

Author
History
Library Use
Oratory
Psychology
Read/Write English
Read/Write other language
Speak other language
Any one other skills as a personal speciality

Doctor
Credit Rating
Diagnose Disease
First Aid
Pharmacy
Psychoanalysis
Psychology
Read/Write Latin
Treat Disease
Treat Poison

Farmer
Bargain
Botany
First Aid
Listen
Mechanical Repair
Operate Heavy Machinery
Spot Hidden
Zoology

Gangster
Bargain
Climb
Credit Rating
Drive Automobile
Fast Talk
Jump
Law
Listen
Spot Hidden

Historian/Antiquarian
Bargaining
History
Law
Library Use
Make Maps
Read/Write other language
Speak other language
Any one other skill as a personal speciality

Hobo
Bargain
Climb
Fast Talk
First Aid
Hide
Listen
Spot Hidden
Sneak

Journalist
Debate
Fast Talk
Oratory
Psychology
Read/Write English
Read/Write Other Language
Speak Other Language
Any one other skill as a personal speciality

Lawyer
Accounting
Credit Rating
Debate
Fast Talk
Law
Library Use
Oratory
Psychology
Read/Write Latin

Missionary
Accounting
Bargain
Credit Rating
Diagnose Disease
First Aid
Oratory
Read/Write Latin
Sing
Speak Other Language
Treat Disease

Parapsychologist
Anthropology
Archeology
History
Library Use
Occult
Psychoanalysis
Psychology
Read/Write Other Language
Speak Other Language

Policeman
Drive Automobile
Fast Talk
First Aid
Hide
Law
Listen
Spot Hidden
Sneak

Politician
Accounting
Bargain
Credit Rating
Debate
Fast Talk
History
Law
Oratory
Psychology

Professional Athlete
Climb
Credit Rating
Dodge
Jump
Psychology
Ride
Swim
Throw

Professor
Anthropology
Archeology
Astronomy
Botany
Chemistry
Debate
Geology
History
Library Use
Linguist
Occult
Physics
Read/Write Other Language
Speak Other Language
Zoology

Private Eye
Accounting
Camouflage
Credit Rating
Fast Talk
First Aid
Hide
Law
Listen
Psychology
Sneak
Spot Hidden

Soldier
Camouflage
Climb
Drive Automobile
Electrical Repair
First Aid
Hide
Listen
Operate Heavy Machinery
Spot Hidden
Sneak

The book also lists some occupations having combat related skills, but I will make an exception to those rules and provide combat skill as I see fit.

For those who wanted to make an occupation, choose the skills that would fit for that occupation. Dont go overboard and try to be realistic. Remember the theme were having.

Here's a list of all skills in game and the base stats for those that have them, regardless of your occupation

Accounting - 10
Anthropology
Archeology
Astronomy
Bargain - 5
Botany
Camouflage - 25
Chemistry
Climb - 40
Credit Rating - 15
Debate - 10
Diagnose Disease - 5
Drive Automobile - 20
Drive (A vehicle of your choice)
Electrical Repair - 10
Fast Talk - 5
First Aid - 30
Geology
Hide - 10
History - 20
Jump - 25
Law - 5
Library Use - 25
Linguist
Listen - 25
Make Maps - 10
Mechanical Repair - 20
Occult - 5
Operate Heavy Machine
Oratory - 5
Pharmacy
Photography - 10
Physics (again, not listen in the sheet you have)
Pick Pocket - 5
Pilot Aircraft
Pilot (a vehicle of your choosing)
Psychoanalysis
Psychology - 5
Read/Write (A language of your choosing)
Ride - 5
Sing - 5
Sneak - 10
Speak (A language of your choosing)
Spot Hidden - 25
Swim - 25
Throw - 25
Track - 10
Treat Disease - 5
Treat Poison - 5
Zoology

Now that you've chosen or created your occupation, its time to add skill points. You get two stacks of points.

Career based skills - Education x 15. Distribute these points to your career based skills. You dont have to put points on all these skills.
Other skills - Intelligence x 5. Distribute these points to any skills you want, career or otherwise.

Notes!
You cant put any points or choose the following skills as your career skills: Dodge, Read/Write English and Cthulhu Mythos (I can make an exception to the latter, If you have a good reason)
Remember to count in the base stats. If I didnt mention a base stat for skill, its 0.
Maximum stat for skill is 99.
If you're planning to have your character drive an automobile, the minimum stat requirement is 25.

Now that were done with career, its time to look into your character itself:

Name - Self explanatory.
Sex - Again, pretty self explanatory.
Occupation - The one you chose
Age - How old is your character. Please be realistic: Its most unlikely that you can become a professor at age of 18 or so.
Nationality - As most of the investigations take place in America, I'd recommend that or Great Britain as your nationality. Still though, I wont stop you If you want to be a German or Finnish. Again, be realistic.
Residence - Again, as most of the investigations take place in America, I recommend choosing an American city. Most of Lovecrafts stories take place in Massachusetts area, so Boston would be best choice. Another good choice is Arkham, which is a central city and mentioned in a lot of Lovecrafts works (it also has a good university).
Schools - Which school did your character went to. If he has a high degree, write a name of university here. Otherwise, high school is sufficient enough.
Degrees - If your character is a professor or in other occupation that requires some studies, put one in here. Note that this isnt necessary If your character isnt a high educated person.
Portrait - Feel free to draw your character in this small box. Its fun!

And that about covers it. I'l personally decide your characters savings, salary and possible combat skills. If you have any questions or wonder what some skills do, ask.

[TheChosen]

This spot is reserved for info and character creation rules for Crime Fighter.

Also, first post updated with current info.