This game is based on Mattel's Masters of the Universe. It would be nothing without the many people involved in creating the brand and everything connected to it. I've tried to acknowledge everyone that I know had a part but there's bound to be omissions. Thanks to everyone involved. A brand as large as this is not easy to wrap one's head around and while there's only one writer of this game most of the information here was originally collected by fans and shared on various websites, mailing lists and forums. I owe a great gratitude to all those people and I've tried to credit everyone but there might be people I've neglected to mention. I'd be happy to correct any mistakes, and change online aliases to the correct names if you wish. This is version 0.4 MOTU RPG created by Daniel Schenström Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC) entries in this game mostly written by Scott Neitlich and Danielle Gelehrter. Masters of the Universe created and expanded by: Roger Sweet, Mark Taylor, Ted Mayer, Tony Guerro, Donald F. Glut, Alfredo Alcala, Colin Bailey, Michael Halperin, Bruce Timm, Tim Kilpin, Lou Scheimer, Dave Capper, Alan Tyler, Ed Watts, Mark Jones, James McElroy, Mike McKittrick, William George, Dave Maurer, Jim Keifer, Dave Wolfram, Stephen Lee, Scott Neitlich, Val Staples, Emiliano Santalucia, Josh Van Pelt, James Eatock, Robert Lamb, David Wise, Paul Dini, Larry DiTillio, J. Michael Stracszynski, Rowby Goren, Warren Greenwood, Gary Cohn, George Caragonne, Ron Wilson, Evelyn Stein, Thanks to: he-man.org, The Power and Honor Foundation, Mattel, Patrick Fogarty, the He-man wiki, Illustrations by: Daniel Schenström Two images are extensions and baed off of Filmation animation background plates. This game is a fan project and is not made for profit. The text and all images within is free to be used by anyone as long as they don't take the credit for it or try to profit from it. The timeline is based on the work by X and posted on he-man.org, All trademarks and intellectual property rights belong to Mattel Inc. Welcome! This role-playing game, set in the fantastic universe of He-Man and She-Ra, is designed to work for anyone. However, this is the first draft release and far from complete. Therefore it is geared toward someone experienced with role playing games. The comicbook story that starts on the next page explains what roleplaying games are, how they are played, and some core concepts for this game. If you are an experienced player, just skip past it. The first half of the book is for every player of the game, while the second half is for the Game Keeper. The difference is explained in the comic. Creation of this game I first started working on this game in 2013. I looked around and found a few other projects that people had started but nothing finished or comprehensive. At the time there was no good cyclopedia for the setting either so at first the goal was to make this a game that could also be used by fans as a definitive source for knowledge. Before I could finish this game Dark Horse released the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - A character guide and world compendium which eased my burden a lot. All the material that was already finished is still in the game, but I've tried to avoid any unnecessary repetition. It's not necessary to have that book to play the game but it is recommended. All finished material is included which is why you will see sections dedicated to different incarnations of the Masters of the Universe franchise in some entries but not others. As comprehensive and correct as I have tried to be there is bound to be things I have gotten wrong, missed or forgotten. I would love your feedback so I can update the document. This original plan was to have two rules versions of this game, one simpler which coudl be played using only six sided dice, and one more advanced with a full set of rpg dice. This version is the latter and the simple reason is to be able to publish it sooner. Welcome! If you're new to roleplaying games, skip ahead to that section first (page X), and then come back here. If you're new to the world of Masters of the Universe, read that section first. (On page X.) Before beginning play, you have a decision to make. Do you want to be the Keeper or a player? The Keeper is the main story teller, who sets the scene in which the players characters act. The players controls a single character each, whether a known character like Teela or a totally made up one. If you compare a role-playing game to a movie the Keeper is both the director, set designer and the one who plays all the extras and the players are the actors who play the main good guys. If you want to be the Keeper then all of this book is for you. If you want to be a player the last three chapters contains some secrets that are for the Keeper's eyes only, things for your character to discover during the game. You can switch roles at any time so this is not a permanent decision. This game is for everyone and as such it has many options to choose from to get the right tone. Do you want your game sessions to feel like the old Filmation cartoon where characters don't use lethal force, or do you want the opposite? How to decide upon tone is explained later but that's just one of the ways you can change it. Masters of the Universe has had many incarnations that sometime contradict each other. This role- playing game tries to show these differences where possible, and where known, but for the most parts it uses its own version of the setting. It is a custom creation that uses all sources to try and make an inclusive setting. You don't have to know anything ahead of time though, all things will be explained. The goal has been that regardless of what your favorite incarnation of the Masters of the Universe is, you'll be able to recreate it through this game. This is the main game book, and contains all the information a Keeper needs. There's a separate smaller book that contains all a Player needs. Masters of the Universe the roleplaying game - Contents FOR EVERYONE Introduction A short tour of the universe CHAPTER ONE: Visiting Eternia - Creating a character The known types Creating your own type Professions Skills Specialties CHAPTER TWO: Trade and equipment CHAPTER THREE: Magic The Magician Spells CHAPTER FOUR: The Universe in more detail CHAPTER SIX: The Advanced Rules FOR THE KEEPER ONLY CHAPTER SEVEN: Being a Keeper Introducing your players and their characters into the setting Notes on character creation CHAPTER EIGHT: What's your canon? CHAPTER NINE: Eternia, Etheria and the Universe The universe as we know it Dimensions Planets Civilisations Religions Magic, magical items, artifacts and psionics CHAPTER TEN: Eternia CHAPTER ELEVEN: Castle Greyskull CHAPTER TWELVE: Etheria Crystal Palace CHAPTER THIRTEEN: History of the universe CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The good, the bad and the neutral - People and Organizations CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Creatures and Plants of the Universe CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Adventures in the universe CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Tips for the Keeper The Enchanted Faire - An Introductory Adventure Tears of the Kindlights – a longer adventure Glossary Index The Intro story Intro, what rpgs are explaining the keeper the players characters character sheets dice rolls acting and sample The world of Masters The universe eternia, etheria and the trisolar system Eternia kingdom Castle grayskull skeletor evil horde etheria rebellion What else is needed to play Dice (see below), pencil, an eraser and some paper is needed. There's a section in the end of some handy things that can be printed out to aid in play. A copy of the X book by Dark Horse is helpful, but not necessary. About dice This game uses a full set of standard role-playing dice which are available at hobby stores. Whenever a dice is mentioned in the text it's written as the abbreviation dtype, for example d6, where d stands for dice and 6 for the number of sides of the dice. In the example that would be a regular, six-sided, die. If you're supposed to roll several dice and add together the result it will be written as numberofdicedtype, for example 2d6. If there's a modifier of some sort it will be written after the abbreviation and is added or subtracted from the result. So 2d6-3 means roll 2 six-sided dice, add them together and finally subtract 3 from that to get the result. To play this game you need d4, d6, d8, two d10 (or 1d10 and 1d100), d12 and d20. The many versions of Masters of the Universe You should be aware that there have been several incarnations of the story each with its own mood, stories and history. Each incarnation is called a canon. This game have extra information for some canons but not all. The goal is to eventually cover all of them. If you don't aim for a certain canon, I suggest ignoring the canon specific sections. When the text decribes any setting details, like a place, or a person, if it isn't prefaced by a Canon name it's common to all or a majority of the canons.