The MARVEL®-Phile

by Jeff Grubb

First, an apology. Because of my work at Ben Grimm™ outright; Ben’s hide is too Strength FEAT to rip it up. Wolverine the GEN CON® 17 Convention, my own tough for an instant kill. could then do damage to the suit’s vacation, and putting the finishing An exception to this rule (which wearer on the following rounds (if he touches on the Alpha Flight™ module, I brought up the whole discussion) con- hits the suit in the same location). missed a deadline. No nasty notes to the cerns Body Armor in the form of a bat- On to business. The first two magazine staff, please! tle suit or metal plate, such as that used MARVEL-Philes concerned princely Someone asked me a question at the by a Soviet Super-Trooper™ or a beings: Thor™, prince of Asgard, and convention about claws and body armor. Sentinel™. Wolverine’s claws could not Namor™, former prince of Atlantis. Let’s Body armor subtracts from claw dam- hurt the occupant or damage the inter- move to the other side of the spectrum age; if the rank of body armor is greater nal circuits of a Super-Trooper suit, but to two denizens of the city: the mysteri- than the claw damage, no damage is he could shred the metal in the first ous Cloak™, the beautiful Dagger™, and done and the defender cannot be round of combat. It would require a some notes on alcohol and drug abuse in stunned or slain. Wolverine™ cannot slay Fighting FEAT to hit the armor and a the MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ game.

CLOAK™ Tyrone Johnson, Runaway

Fighting: TYPICAL (6) Agility: GOOD (10) Strength: EXCELLENT (20) Endurance: INCREDIBLE (40) Reason: TYPICAL (6) Intuition: EXCELLENT (20) Psyche: GOOD (10) Health: 76 Karma: 36 Resources: POOR Popularity: 3

POWERS:

THE DARK DIMENSION: Cloak’s body serves as an open- ing into the Dark Dimension, a region of cold, inky black- ness. This darkness serves as MONSTROUS Body Armor. It also lowers all battle effects against Cloak by one color; Green becomes White, Yellow becomes Green, and Red becomes Yellow. Cloak is therefore immune from a “kill“ result from knives or a “slam” in a slugfest. Anyone caught within the folds of Cloak’s cape (which requires Cloak to make a Wrestling FEAT) loses one rank of Endurance for each round he remains within. When Endurance reaches zero, the character is unconscious. A victim’s Health is also lowered one rank per round, and Cloak may use the “light” he has taken from the victim to increase his Health up to his listed maximum. Cloak’s darkness feeds off “living light,” either Dagger’s or the light of living creatures. “Living light” is the lumi- nous body energy shared by all living things in the MARVEL® Universe. Cloak must make a Yellow Psyche FEAT in order for him to give up someone he has “swal- lowed,” but he receives 20 Karma points for doing so.

All Marvel characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL SUPER VILLAINS are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. Copyright ©1984 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

76 NOVEMBER 1984 DARKNESS GENERATION: Cloak can whose light staves off darkness. a synthetic substitute for heroin. The release an inky blackness (covering up other runaways perished in the experi- to three areas) from his cape. No being Cloak’s Story: Tyrone Johnson was born ments, but the drug reacted with can see within this blackness, save for in South Boston, and was a good student Tyrone’s and Tandy’s systems, turning light-generating beings such as Dazzler™ despite an incapacitating stutter. He and Tyrone into a creature of living dark- and Dagger. All characters caught in the his friend Billy became witnesses to a ness. Upon their escape he became blackness are DOWN THREE to hit. robbery and murder; terrified, Billy ran, known as Cloak. and Tyrone’s speech defect prevented Cloak is a changed individual, not at all TELEPORT: Cloak can fully enter the him from stopping a police officer from like Tyrone Johnson. His stutter has Dark Dimension and move instantane- shooting Billy. Holding himself responsi- been replaced by a base, rumbling voice. ously to another location. His current ble for his friend’s death, Tyrone fled to He is driven by a hunger for light; Dag- maximum range is one-half mile. He may New York City. ger’s light can sustain him, but he often take others into the Dark Dimension In New York, he met Tandy Bowen, resists feeding upon it, feeling like a with him, making an Endurance FEAT also a runaway. The pair was quickly set parasite. He has no sympathy for those roll to do so. If he fails, the Teleport still upon by a street gang that preyed on who prey on the weak, and in particular works, but Cloak is Stunned for 1-10 young arrivals to the city. Tyrone and he hates drug dealers, addicts, and those rounds. Any characters so Teleported Tandy were kidnapped and were taken who harm young people. The referee suffer the effects of being in the Dark to Ellis Island along with other young should consider reducing the full Karma Dimension (losing Endurance, see runaways. There a mob chemist named loss for deaths caused by Cloak involv- above), unless accompanied by Dagger, Simon Marshall was experimenting with ing evil criminals.

DAGGER™ Tandy Bowen, Runaway

Fighting: EXCELLENT (20) Agility: EXCELLENT (20) Strength: TYPICAL (6) Endurance: REMARKABLE (30) Reason: GOOD (10) Intuition: GOOD (10) Psyche: GOOD (10) Health: 76 Karma: 30 Resources: POOR Popularity: 7

POWERS: LIGHT GENERATION: Dagger can illuminate up to two areas with a glow radiating from her body. She can use this to Stun her opponents for 1 round; an Endurance FEAT roll is required to avoid this effect.

DAGGERS: Dagger can hurl daggers made of light from her fingertips. These daggers do EXCELLENT damage, and can penetrate up to TYPICAL Body Armor. Anyone hit with one of these daggers has his system purged of foreign substances (including poisons, alcohol, and ail drugs). The victim must make an Endurance FEAT roll, failure indicating loss of three ranks of Endurance for 24 hours and paralysis for 1-100 rounds. If Endurance drops below FEEBLE, the character will perish. Success indicates unconsciousness for 1-10 rounds, and all foreign substances are banished from the person’s system. Individuals who have been affected by powerful, long- term influences on their systems, including super-soldier serums and radiation, will not have these effects nullified by Dagger’s powers.

ACROBATICS: Dagger was a student of dance before her transformation, and she has converted her talent into a unique, dangerous fighting style. Her Agility is considered REMARKABLE when she performs a Dodge action in combat. DRAGON 77 Dagger’s Story: Tandy Bowen grew up in (loss of Endurance), but at the end of Shaker Heights, Ohio, a rich girl ignored each day he makes a Psyche FEAT roll. by her “fashionable” parents. Feeling Success indicates the loss of Endurance unloved and alone, she headed for New stops there; failure indicates that the York, hoping to be successful in dancing. Endurance loss continues into the next In New York she met Tyrone Johnson, day with another Psyche FEAT roll at another runaway who saved her from a H the end, combined with an overwhelm- robbery. The pair was subsequently e has no ing desire for the drug. If two Psyche kidnapped by a gang preying upon run- roils in a row fail, the character will aways, and the pair was shipped to Ellis sympathy for become violent and will continue losing Island. The mob was conducting chemi- those who prey Endurance ranks. Roll for each day until cal experiments on Ellis Island to find a a full week of not using the drug or synthetic form of heroin. Tyrone, Tandy, on the weak, alcohol has passed. The character can be and the other runaways were their considered “clean” at the week’s end. guinea pigs. and in particular Going cold turkey purges the body of The other runaways perished from its poisons, as does a hit from one of the experimental drug, but Tandy and he hates drug Dagger’s light-missiles. Being hit by one Tyrone survived and escaped, their of her missiles has the same effect as bodies mutating under the drug’s dealers, addicts going cold turkey, but involves a great effects. Tandy gained her light-based risk to the person affected (see the powers and deadly, cleansing missiles, and those who description of Dagger given above). and became the vigilante Dagger. harm young A character who has kicked the habit Dagger generates luminous energy has a good chance of backsliding even that can purge others of foreign sub- people. after he has stopped using drugs or stances. She can heal, but the shock of alcohol. Each week the “clean” character the sudden change can kill. She is more makes a Psyche FEAT roll. One failure sympathetic to the victims of drug addic- indicates some backsliding, while two in tion than her compatriot Cloak, but joins violent if denied his fix. The only way to a row indicates a return to the addicted him in a war against drug dealers and break the habit is by going cold turkey stage, with all the penalties of the origi- manufacturers. Award Karma points to (see below). nal state. The Judge may modify the Dagger for healing addicts, but give her FEAT roll according to the immediate full penalties for killing anyone. ALCOHOL: Alcohol is called “courage in situation (business pressure, personal a bottle,” and this is its effect in the loss, or seeking help). Karma may be Notes on Drugs and Alcohol game. Raise Fighting one rank for a added to any of these rolls. character who has been drinking. How- HARD DRUGS: In the MARVEL SUPER ever, lower the Agility and Intuition of KARMA AND DRUGS: Drug use and HEROES™ game, a hard drug is defined drinking characters (including super- drug abuse are illegal in most states. as any addictive drug that is hazardous heroes) two ranks, to a minimum of Heroes will lose 40 Karma for dealing in to the user’s mental and physical health. POOR. hard drugs, 40 for using hard drugs Such drugs often block the awareness of Alcohol also has a nasty aftereffect, themselves, and all Karma if someone’s pain, so that they have the short-term the hangover. Make a Yellow Endurance death results from these actions. Alcohol affect of raising Endurance one rank (to FEAT (or Red, at the Judge’s option), or is slightly more acceptable; heroes lose 5 a maximum of EXCELLENT) for 2-20 suffer from a shift DOWN ONE in ail Karma points for every alcoholic drink rounds. After that time, Endurance is actions the next morning. Another drink taken or 30 for each night of drunken- lowered one rank from the original will allow a second FEAT roll. This opens ness. Friends of an alcoholic or drug score for the next twenty-four hours. the door to . . . abuser lose 5-20 Karma points for not During this period, drugs also lower . . . Alcohol abuse, which is as deadly helping a friend in need. Villains suffer Reason and Intuition by two ranks each as drug abuse. NPCs can be determined similar losses as heroes, but receive a 10 (to a minimum of FEEBLE). by the judge to be alcoholic or not. Karma bonus for selling drugs, only if Regular, uncontrolled abuse of drugs Player characters use a similar method they follow up with another sale within can lead to addiction. The Judge may to that given for drugs. If a character is the week. The super-criminal Kingpin™ call for a Psyche FEAT roil at the end of drinking alcohol more than three times will not traffic in drugs, because they any week in which a character has used a week, make a Psyche FEAT. Effects of are a deadly habit for villains as well as drugs more than twice. Shift DOWN success and failure are as for drugs, heroes. ONE for every week of continued use. A with the loss of Endurance (and result- successful Psyche FEAT means the char- ing Health) if kept from drinking. Endur- A final note: The above rules are sim- acter is still in control of his drug use. ance cannot drop below FEEBLE. plified for use in the game, and are Failure means the character is hooked optional. These rules were developed on the drug and craves more of it. COLD TURKEY: This is the popular especially for this article, since drugs Drug addiction can be an ugly thing. name for deliberately going without are a central part of Cloak and Daggers The user needs daily dosages of his something — in this case, drugs — in background. To exclude reference to drug, failure resulting in a one-rank loss order to break a habit. The addicted drug and alcohol abuse would be to of Endurance and Intuition per day character stops taking the drug to which exclude some of the realism of the without the drug, to a minimum of FEE- he is addicted and “guts it out.” He will MARVEL® Universe from which these BLE. In NPCs, the character will become suffer the effects of not using the drug two superheroes came.

78 NOVEMBER 1984