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09:07, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Introduction to the Game and House Rules.

Posted by ArbiterFor group 0
Arbiter
GM, 5 posts
An advanced technology
is indistinct from magic
Wed 12 Aug 2020
at 01:00
  • msg #1

Introduction to the Game and House Rules

THREAD CONTENTS:
Post 1. Introduction
Post 2. Narrative, Courtesy, Posting Expectations, and Dramatic Encouragement
Post 3. Advancement & Powerstunts
Post 4. Spending Karma
Post 5. Initiative Rolls


Firstly, Welcome to Catalyst a Marvel Super Heroes RPG created by TSR in the mid-80s.

For this game, we'll be re-imagining the Marvel Canon and creating our own history. My concept is that the Tunguska event occurring in 1908 of Earth's history will trigger the appearance of the first mutants, supernatural beings, and other mythical powers and macguffins. So everyone who begins the game is a newly minted result of this event to some degree in the year 1908.

Prior to this event, few things diverged from our own known timeline, however, a few super scientists exist, such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and old Viktor Frankenstein, who seem to defy conventional physics with their techniques. As well veiled in secrecy and reclusiveness are several secret societies and magic users. So some of these elements of this power do exist already but they're exceedingly rare up until 1908.

The game will initially revolve around this event and the team we create will be commissioned by the United States Expeditionary Force to explore and investigate what caused the explosion which was detected in Russia but was big enough to be seismically detected in Washington DC and other far-flung locales from the explosive.

My hope is to make this a long-term campaign in which the players will take on roles within this new timeline and advance the tale by jumping through decades as we resolve conflicts. I will call these story arcs, and the first will be as described above, and a sequel will take place prior to the Great Depression and WWII depending somewhat on what transpires in the first arc. We have begun a 1985 story arc with new villainous characters.

*This game is using some modified game mechanics from the original MSH RPG, so please use the books and materials I link to as there are more ranks and modified karma expenditures. Also, note the house rules which may modify existing elements of the game from the books.


THREAD KEY:

 Group 0 will be the OOCs, always.
 Group 1 will be 1908 threads and side threads.
 Group 2 will be 1985 characters and associated threads

Both can run congruently so long as they are sufficiently apart on our timeline.

This message was last edited by the GM at 00:39, Wed 28 July 2021.
Arbiter
GM, 6 posts
An advanced technology
is indistinct from magic
Wed 12 Aug 2020
at 02:16
  • msg #2

House Rules

1. Narrative Adherence - This game is for readers and writers, please try to catch up on posts with details you might've missed between postings as this may influence your actions or render the outcome moot. In addition, please make posts that are longer than one sentence to describe your actions and give us something to work with.

A final note here, please try to make sure that you don't post the actions of others, just your own character. In other words, never post what another character is DOING, just what you want them to do, or conditionally, what you hope and wait for them to do. This then gives them agency(and for yourself) to do whatever it is they want their character to actually do.

2. Courtesy - Please be courteous to the players in this game, banter is fine but as soon as someone complains to me then it becomes an ISSUE. If these issues are not resolved by the parties involved then I must make a choice. Often that will mean unceremoniously being ejected from the game. This always has ramifications on the game for everyone involved, so please also try not be too sensitive to other people's off-hand comments, anyone can make mistakes. Caveat: Absolutely no posting politics, just don't do it.

So please stick with this main idea: we are all here because we want to play this game and have fun.

3. POSTING & RATE - Please be prepared to post to this game at least a few times a week to keep things rolling. This is especially important during action. Otherwise things that should take a few days of posting turn into months of waiting on other people. If you know you will need to take some time, help me make an exit post to remove you from the game's scenes for a particular length of time.

I'll even be candid and upfront so you don't have to explain or make excuses: I don't care about the reason you aren't posting.

Of course I'll be sympathetic to your RL issues, but understand that posting is required for pbp games. So please respect our game enough to drop in to say "NPC me for this week" or something similar if you have stuff come up.

quote:
3a. If I don't hear from you within 4 days(over half a week), I will take action on your behalf and you will not get experience awards from the time you are missing. It's only fair.

3b. If I do not hear from you longer than two weeks I'll put you into NPC status and you will take a backseat in the action, perhaps wounded or taking on more of a support role.

3c. If I don't hear from you within a month, I will write your character out of the game, and probably try to replace you.

All of these can be avoided if you only make sure to drop me a quick message. So please do that if you want to remain in the game.
quote:
So quick refresher for new folks and returning old folks for posting:

Quick Note: I don't make people roll for everything they do, unless it is in combat or under some kind of duress. Consult the books to understand what your power levels can actually do for effects. You should also expect that if you have a high strength and you punch average humans, they die (any ranked over Remarkable would do it) because you didn't say you were pulling the punch. Same goes for powers and other attacks. You can choose what rank you want to use below your own for damage.

All rolls are made using the universal table for determining success. I sometimes add modifiers and decide what color difficulty is needed beyond just a green. The dice roller is set up to default to the 1d100 we use. Reference your stat rank and find the column on the table, then add your roll to the table's left side to cross reference.
Universal Table thread: link to a message in this game

The Format I like people to use for your posts typically posted at the bottom of your post for clarity, any color should stand out from the rest for easy reference:

OOC: [Put your roll here] State your intended action and rank. [optional: list your result color]



4. Finally, although not really a Rule, I would encourage you all to ham up the drama, as I will be basing much of my awarded karma for well played characters, with realistic personal lives. Making choices that are hard and have many possible outcomes always nets you awards for roleplaying and this sandbox should have all kinds of choices available. If you want to have your character work on something in particular for their own personal story, private message me with your ideas and we can spin out some yarn in that direction.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:48, Fri 22 Jan 2021.
Arbiter
GM, 12 posts
An advanced technology
is indistinct from magic
Wed 19 Aug 2020
at 09:02
  • msg #3

House Rules - Advancement & Powerstunts

For advancement, I'm following the hack on classicmarvelforever.com as portrayed like so:

F.A.S.E.R.I.P Stat Increase
  The primary abilities can only be increased in increments of 5 points. The cost for each increase is 1000 karma points, and a post explaining what your character has been doing in their personal time to explain the jump. For characters that have ability scores not divisible by 5, 200 karma points must be spent for each point increase to get to a multiple of before further advancement continues. Explanations for increase can be as simple as an increased regimen of training as the She Hulk did when she joined the Fantastic Four (she used the Things old weights and was able to boost her strength to his level)or as complex as an alien abduction/experimentation unleashing untapped mutagenic factors.

Power Rank Increase: Again, Powers will be increased in increments of 5. The cost of each increase is 2000 karma points, plus a post explaining the increase in power potential. An increase above Unearthly is subject to my approval and a limitation.

Resource Increase
  Resource level can be raised in increments of 5, costing 500 karma points per increase. The Judge will set up a way to explain increased revenue with suggestions from the player. Keep in mind that a good idea in the Marvel Multiverse isn't always guaranteed to win big bucks, and any advance to a new resource level is subject to GM approval.

Popularity
  Many avenues exist for increasing Popularity of a character. The easiest is to write posts wherein the character is seen doing good deeds and charity. Karma may not be spent to increase Popularity, rather popularity can be used to increase karma by using hero status to help the misfortunate. Keep in mind that popularity can be lost easily as well. Being framed for a crime you did not commit is always a popular example. A different kind of Popularity is the kind one hold with their established contacts, this pop rank is often higher than actual popularity and can be further increased by spending 500 karma, and roleplaying with the GM (GM as the contact), or by writing a post in which relations are somehow improved. Actions performed by a character that are contrary to the interests of contacts can adversely effect the relation despite spent karma.

Talents
  This is basically the same as the book. A talent learned from an NPC (non player character under the GM's control) will cost 1000 karma. A talent learned from a PC (player character) will cost 2000. The difference is that learning from a NPC gets the character interacting with the Marvel Universe around them and promotes greater gameplay and new possibilities for adventure. The Player is encouraged to announce they are attempting to learn the talent well in advance of spending karma and to roleplay time spent practicing the skill.

New Powers
  Additional Powers cost 4000 karma plus 1000 for every increment of 5. All powers are subject to GM approval and will require a post and roleplaying to develop and explain. Use of limitations can be used to waive some of the power cost, judged on a case by case basis.

Contacts
  New contacts can be added without spending karma by lengthy roleplay and posting of stories, however the process can be sped up by spending 500 karma and naming a contact.


POWER STUNTS

  It's possible to achieve new and creative uses for your powers that would technically make them "new" powers in a way. These are typically called powerstunts. You can advance your character in steps with Powerstunts by discussing a path with the GM. An example of this is Iron Man using his scanning visor and leveraging the powerful computer on his suit to learn to read people's general mood, anxiety level and microexpressions to achieve a kind of surface thought telepathy. This would be a powerstunt and from there it could be refined into many other possible uses(IE: other power stunts).

  Power stunts are achieved by stating your planned power stunt to the GM and working with the GM to make it justifiable, and then paying 50 karma. Rolling to succeed on your first attempt requires a Red Feat using the power rank of the power you are attempting to use for the stunt. The power stunt is not permanent yet, but can be after two more successes, decreasing in difficulty as seen below.

  Secondly you would pay another 50 and need to achieve a Yellow Feat result.

  Thirdly you would pay another 50 and need to achieve a Green Feat result. At this point the powerstunt is permanent and can be used at will, and begins at one rank lower than it's parent power and rolled like any other power.

  It's a bit of a gamble and could possibly cost quite a bit of karma since you'd have to pay the 50 karma for each attempt, but it is the fastest and cheapest way to gain new abilities in MSH rpg.

*Just a note for the above advancement and powerstunt system, changes have been made from the player's book as this has been tweaked to be less costly and more easily achievable.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:02, Fri 21 Aug 2020.
Arbiter
GM, 18 posts
An advanced technology
is indistinct from magic
Fri 21 Aug 2020
at 10:06
  • msg #4

House Rules - Karma, Karma Awards and Karma Banking

+ Karma Uses +
 Karma is the advancement currency in MSH rpg, the
experience points if you will. It is awarded in a
similar fashion. Several things will lose you karma
as well(a negative karma award). When you are awarded
karma you choose to add it to your karma advancement
bank or your regular karma pool. During a story, I
will award varied weekly karma for two or more posts
of engagement. Karma points can be used for:

- Kitbashing: constructing something functional from the junk or other materials on hand. (think MacGuyver)

- Karma Save<first>: By spending 50 karma you can prevent death from loss of Endurance ranks for one round only, like putting your hand over a cut wound, maybe keeps you alive another round. Comes from the Regular karma pool.

- Karma Save<second>: Buying a second save for 200 karma will allow you to make another endurance feat to stop your descent into endurance loss. This is a desperate last-ditch move, like trying to cauterize a bullet wound.

- Entreating a magical entity: giving up karma for a paladin-like boost, with associated spells. Done during gameplay with regular karma. PM the GM if you'd like to get into this to work out the details.

- Advancing power ranks, additional talents and buying new powers. Comes from the advancement bank.

- Power stunts: as noted in the previous post. Subtracted from the regular karma pool during game time scenes.

- Karma Direct Roll Boost: You can boost a roll
for your character by up to 40 points by spending an
equal amount of Karma. To facilitate the addition of
Karma to a Roll, and get the subsequent bonus, you
must declare/write in the specific numerical amount
(1-40) of Karma to be added in the 'Reason for roll'
box as a "Karma Boost". Subtracted this from your
regular Karma Pool after you make the roll as the
Karma is considered spent.

+ Karma Awards +
 Karma is awarded by several factors some of these are as follows:
*These may change with the eras we will be playing in...

SPECIAL 1908 Karma Awards

   +100 karma for good posting
   +200 karma for pursuing personal goals
   +300 karma for solving storyline conflicts
   +450 karma for taking steps to drive the narrative forward(making decisions about the story)
   +700 karma for defeating baddies
   +550 karma for saving people
   +600 karma for using coordinated teamwork posts
   -250 karma for committing common petty crimes
   -500 karma for committing a crime categorized as a felony
   -500 karma for intentionally causing harm to innocents
   -800 karma for killing on failure of rolls
   -All karma for intentionally offing baddies, even thugs


SPECIAL 1985 Karma Awards

   +100 karma for good posting
   +200 karma for pursuing personal goals
   +300 karma for solving storyline conflicts
   +350 karma for taking steps to drive the narrative forward(making decisions about the story)
   +500 karma for defeating baddies
   +550 karma for saving people
   +600 karma for using coordinated teamwork posts
   +600 karma for achieving mission objectives
   -150 karma for committing common petty crimes
   -300 karma for committing a crime categorized as a felony
   -400 karma for intentionally causing harm to innocents
   -700 karma for killing on failure of rolls
   -1000 karma for intentionally offing baddies in cold blood, even thugs

+ Karma Banking +
 Banking your karma is a way of "saving" it only for
advancement purposes. Banked karma is only used for
advancement. As a reminder, this is where you put it
before you spend it on advancement. This isn't used
for anything other than advancement if you didn't
get that previously. ;)
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:35, Sun 19 Sept 2021.
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