Luke Cage

Here's my early 70's MP version of Luke Cage, aka Power Man, aka Cage. This write-up basically reflects his stats & abilities as they are portrayed in the Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and Power Man and Iron Fist comic books.

Luke Cage Character Sheet

Luke Cage Issue #1 Cover

Luke Cage is a trademark owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Gamora

Here's my MP write-up for Gamora. This version reflects her stats & abilities as they were depicted in the early 1970's, before she is killed by her "father", Thanos. Gamora is billed as "the most dangerous woman in the universe!", and at this point in the Marvel Universe, it is probably a correct statement. In game terms, she will almost always take 2 or 3 attack actions, with a penalty of -3 or -6, respectively.

Gamora is a trademark owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Drax the Destroyer

With Avengers Infinity War about to open it seems fitting to write-up the Mad Titan's Bronze-Age nemesis -- Drax the Destroyer!

Drax is a trademark owned by the Marvel Entertainment Group and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Nova (Richard Rider)

The first iteration of the Marvel superhero named Nova was Richard Rider, a down on his luck 17 year old teenager and NYC high school student. Nova Prime Centurion Rhomann Dey, the last surviving member of the Nova Corp, randomly bequeaths Richard with his powers. Nova makes its debut in 1976.

In this pic, Richard is recalling how he got his powers:

Nova MP Character Sheet:

My write-up is based upon the first 10 issues of the comic. Below I give reasons for why I chose certain stats, abilities, or weaknesses:

I used Arsenal to emulate the powers of his Nova Corp uniform. I did this mainly to save CPs, although it did end up being 5 CPs over the Ability Cap. His radio communications, his ability to see in the dark and his resistance to heat and cold, are reflected in the first three arsenal slots. The last slot is an ability that he is described as having in later issues. Future ability slots would include Dimensional Travel (to Hyperspace).

Determining his MP Strength was a bit problematic: in one issue he is shown briefly holding up a building to save his friends. In another issue he is shown as being unable to stop a runaway truck. In the end, I went with the comic when Richard says he "has the strength of ten men." I make up for his relatively weak Strength by giving him Heightened Attack. This simulates his "Power Punch."

Because Rich is still a high school student and complains a lot about how he isn't good at anything, I gave him the "Uneducated" weakness.

Edit #1: Fixed a math problem (had to lower his IN). Fixes are shown on the PDF.

Nova is a trademarked owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Trade Act.

Mystique

Here's my Mighty Protectors write-up of Mystique. This version reflects her stats and abilities as she appeared in Marvel comic books from the late 70's to the middle 80's.

Edited 4/24/18: fixed minor mistakes on PDF

MP Mystique Character Sheet

Mystique is a trademark owned by the Marvel Entertainment Group and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Moon Knight

Here's the Bronze-Age MP write-up for Moon Knight! And here is the Google Sheet version of Moon Knight's Arsenal. He will usually be carrying or using the following 8 of his 12 arsenal items: Ankh, Bola, Cestus Glove, Crescent Darts, Glider Cape, Scarab Darts, and two Truncheons.

Moon Knight made his Marvel comics debut in issue #32 of Werewolf by Night, first published in August, 1975.

Moon Knight is a trademark owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Juggernaut

Here's my Mighty Protectors take on the Juggernaut, a Marvel super-villain who made his debut in Uncanny X-Men #12, published July 10, 1965. I've made two versions: Silver Age Juggernaut and a more powerful Bronze Age Juggernaut.

Cain Marko is Charles Xavier's step-brother and has hated him since the first time they met.

It is during the Korean war, when both Xavier and Marko were soldiers in the U.S. Army, that he gained his powers.

The Juggernaut gets through the X-Men's outside defenses and arrives at the mansion's steel door.

Here we see how his helmet protects him from Xavier's mental blast!

Juggernaut and X-Men are trademarks owned by Marvel Entertainment Group are are used her for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Masters of Evil

Debuting in Avengers #222 (Aug, 1982), is the third iteration of the Marvel super-villain team called the Masters of Evil. This time, they are formed by Egghead; the members include: Moonstone, Scorpion, Tiger Shark, and Whirlwind.

Avengers, Egghead, Moonstone, Scorpion, Tiger Shark and Whirlwind are trademarks owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and are used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Lethal Legion

Here are my Bronze-Age, Mighty Protectors write-ups for members of the Lethal Legion, a super-villain group who made their debut in Avengers #79 (August 1970). The villain group includes: Living Laser, Man-Ape, Power Man, Swordsman, and their leader the Grim Reaper.

Edited 4/20/18: Fixed minor errors on Living Laser and revised Grim Reaper a bit.

Here's a pic of the Living Laser in action:

Here's a pic of Man-Ape grabbing Black Panther:

A pic of Power Man punching Goliath:

The Swordsman in action against Captain America:

And lastly a pic of the Grim Reaper:

Avengers, Living Laser, Man-Ape, Power Man, Swordsman, and the Grim Reaper are trademarks owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and are used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Wrecking Crew

Here's my take on the bronze-age Wrecking Crew, a Mavel super-villain group that includes: Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, and the Wrecker himself.

Wrecker accidentally got his powers from Loki. Later, he gave some of his power to the other members of his crew. Below is an image showing their MP character sheets.

The Wrecking Crew first appeared in Defenders #18. Here's a pic of their origin story from that issue:

Here's a pic of the Wrecker using his enchanted crowbar to deliver an area effect attack:

And here's Bulldozer and Piledriver doing their thing:

Lastly, here's a pic of Thunderball in action:

Wrecking Crew, Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, and Wrecker are trademarks of the Marvel Entertainment Group and are used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Tunneling

Here is a Mighty Protectors Tunneling Ability that is a home-brewed rule, based upon Living Legends "Burrowing" power.

Tunneling
This is a Voluntary attack ability with no range that can also be used against inanimate matter at a cost of movement only. Each inch of movement tunnels through 1 cubic game inch (5 feet x 5 feet x 5 feet) of SR 1 material; multiply the movement cost by the SR of the material being tunneled through, then divide it by the maximum SR capability of the character's Tunneling ability. There is a PR cost of 1 per Round.

For example, if Tunnel Rat's Tunneling ability works against a maximum SR of 4, and he uses it against the ground at SR 1, then he can tunnel through 4/1=4 cubic game inches of earth per inch of movement he spends.

Stagecoach

Plan on taking a trip in time back to the Old West? If so, here's a stagecoach built using the MP vehicle rules. I call shotgun!

Wealth

According to the MP rules on p. 14, "All characters start with a d4 Wealth roll (representing an average annual income of about $40,000)."

Ok, great. But what does this actually mean in terms of playing your MP superhero?  Well, if your character is fairly normal, say someone like Peter Parker, then at the very least he or she is going to need a place to stay.  According to the chart (courtesy of Stephanie O'Connel) to the left, someone making $40k a year and living in NYC would have to have roommates. He'd have his own room, but that's about it.

Having roommates opens up lots of role-playing opportunities. Who are these roommates: do they work for Intercime, are they cursed, is your character romantically interested in a roommate, etc, etc.

So you get all the stuff on the chart for your basic income of $40k a year. What does the d4 Wealth roll give you? Well, according to the rules on p. 147, you get "one major purchase attempt per week" and "it isn't necessary to roll for any purchases where the target number is less than half the character's maximum Wealth roll."

What this means (for characters with a d4 Wealth roll) is you don't have to roll for any item or service with a target number of 1: fast food, fleabag motel room, casual clothing, cab fare, video rentals, etc.  However, If multiple ‘automatic’ purchases are made in the same week, and the total of their target numbers exceeds ½ of the character’s maximum Wealth roll, then the character's weekly purchase roll is used up."

Anything with a Target Number of 2 or higher and you'll have to make a Wealth roll, and that'll be it for one full week. So use those rolls wisely!


In this day and age almost everyone has a cellphone and it is included on the chart at $75 a month. As long as you use it in your secret ID, you don't have to pay CPs for it (see what Jeff says about this at the bottom). But if for some reason you want to use it in your hero guise, then here is a suggested version of how it is built using the Communicators rules:

MP Cellphone: Communicators: 5 Base Cost,1 0 mile range, GPS (2.5), Internet (2.5), Color Video (5), Recording (2.5), Texting (2.5), Single (-5), Requires Cell Towers (-5), 6 one-hour Charges (-5); Total Cost = 5 CPs

Note that the 10 mile range refers to the cell phone tower, not the overall range of the cell phone. As long as it can reach a cell tower it can communicate with other cell phones. Also note that the 6 one-hour charges refers to the actual time spent talking or using the phone. "Standby time" would be longer, possibly 1 to 3 days, before the phone needs recharging.

"A superhero doesn't have to spend CPs to have a cell phone, or a car, or a home *in their secret identity*. A superhero *can* use those things while crimefighting, but it's a risk to their secret identity. "Oh, you saw Spider-Man getting out of a car? What was its license plate number? That's the main reason why we've drawn that line. On the plus side, you don't usually have to worry about a supervillain trashing your home, or your car. IF you're really, really careful not to reveal stuff about your secret identity by using those things indiscriminately." -- Jeff Dee

Avengers Mansion

Here's the full write-up of the Avengers Mansion in MP terms. The base is part of my Earth-970 MP campaign and is based upon the mansion as it appeared in the early 1970's.

Thanos

With the Avengers: Infinity War movie opening in a couple of weeks I felt like writing-up Thanos in the Mighty Protectors rules. This version is based on his Bronze-Age stats & abilities.

Thanos is a mega-villain and a total badass. His Power Blast will average 42 points of damage, which is gonna wreck any hero without Invulnerability (or Absorption/Reflection) to the Energy damage type. This doesn't mean that he is invincible, just that the heroes will likely need to outthink him rather than outfight him.

When it comes to his ship, the Sanctuary, I'm just guessing on its size, although at 85 CPs it is larger than an aircraft carrier.

Edited: 4/20/18: Added the Eternal Ability of being able to Regenerate from Death

Thanos's Mighty Protectors Character Sheet

Thanos is a trademark of Marvel Entertainment Group and is used for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Deathbird & Sabretooth

Here are two more Marvel villains that made their debut in the 1970's. These MP versions reflect their bronze-age stats & abilities.

Deathbird debuted in Sept. 1977 in issue #9 of Ms. Marvel. Sabretooth made his debut in Iron Fist #14 (August 1977).

Modeling Deathbird's "javelins", which start off as small quills that shoot from her wrists, then expand into three-foot long javelins, was a bit tricky. I ultimately decided to use Multi-Ability for her three types in order to keep the cost down.

Modeling Sabretooth was fairly straight-forward: he's got heightened stats, enhanced senses, claws, and regeneration.

Deathbird & Sabretooth are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment Group and are used for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Slaver Ship

Last night in Talzhemir's Mighty Protectors Star Wars campaign, the group needed a new ship as our Light Freighter was dead in space. I came up with one that's based on the design of Boba Fett's ship, but it's layout is very different. Here's the Slaver Ship!

Also, it's lacking in Radiation and Cold adaptation abilities, forcing the non-robot PCs to wear spacesuits or either be fried by space radiation or slowly freeze to death. This was also the rationale for the ship being 'fumble prone' and 'unlucky' -- constant bombardment by radiation tends to mess-up electronic machinery.

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought..."

Note: there is a typo in the image below concerning the base CP cost of Force Field; it should be (15) not (20). It is corrected in the pdf file.



Star Wars and Boba Fett are trademarks of Disney

Punisher

Here's my take on the Bronze-Age Punisher, his Arsenal of weapons, and his Battle Van. The Punisher made his Marvel debut in issue #129 of the Amazing Spider-Man.

For option #4 of his arsenal, the flashlight, I combined Light Control D) Glow with Special Weapon A), building both with the Multi-Function Gear modifier.

On the arsenal's last option I used a "naked" modifier to emulate a silencer, which I'm pretty sure is not allowed. If you don't like this, and I'm not sure I like it all that much either, just ditch it and add Unobvious: to all but subsonic hearing for (+2.5) CPs. It could be added to any of his weapons.

Punisher is a trademark owned by Marvel Entertainment. It is used for commentary purposes only under the Fair Use Act.

Arkon

Arkon the Imperion is an alien warrior and conqueror from the extra-dimensional planet Polemachus. He makes his first appearance in Avengers #76. For Mighty Protectors campaigns, he makes a good inter-dimensional warlord to throw against your PC heroes.

I made Arkon neutral because he's been both a villain and a hero, depending upon the writer. He's generally out for the benefit of his people and his world.

His "lightning bolt" weapons are a bit of a challenge to simulate. Originally, I used a Multi-Power construct for him, with each Ability having 1 charge, Field Reloading: full movement, and Gear modifiers. But that wasn't quite right: it didn't really reflect his quiver and, according to canon, he didn't have an unlimited supply of these things... so I opted to use Arsenal instead.



Arkon's Arsenal is a quiver that he wears on his back, making it Mobile, but it's also Gear, as it can be taken away or damaged, and his "lightning bolts" are also gear as they can be taken, broken, or disarmed while he is holding them. Normally it takes 5 minutes to change an Arsenal slot but for Arkon I reduced this to a single Phase (either an Action or his full movement). Lastly, according to canon, he has 18 of each "bolt," but Mighty Protectors doesn't have "18 charges". I went with 12 charges instead for each damage bolt, and 3 charges for the dimensional travel ability.

Arkon is pretty tough and with a good damage roll, his 3d10 area effect Power Blast could be devastating to a group of heroes. In general, he should only be used against a large number of Standard Power Level heroes or players who are optimized for combat. He would even be a challenge for several High power heroes.

Lastly, should the need arise, Arkon can use his shield to bash opponents, gaining a +2 to hit and if hit point damage is done the target must make an AG save or fall prone. You can read about Shield Bash in Section 4.14.10 (p. 117) of the Mighty Protectors rule book.



Arkon is a trademark owned by Marvel Entertainment Group and is used for commentary purposes only under the Fair Use Act.

Soviet Super-Soldiers

Here's my Mighty Protectors take on three late-Bronze-Age, Super-Powered, Russian-based characters: Darkstar, Ursa Major, and Vanguard. I say characters because they have been portrayed as both heroes and villains, and I left their "Side" blank because of this.

All three are mutants and "not the first mutants born in Russia but the first to survive the Stalinist suspicion of the Soviet State Appartus." They make their debut in Hulk #258. Here is the link to Ursa Major's Human Form.



Darkstar, Hulk, Ursa Major, and Vanguard are trademarks owned by Marvel Entertainment. Use  of these trademarks is for commentary purposes only and is used under the Fair Use Act.

Titanic Three

The Titanic Three are a super-villain team comprised of the Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, and Radioactive Man. The first two are Russian villains who primarily fought against Iron Man. Radioactive Man is a Chinese villain who has fought against numerous Marvel superheroes over the years. In the early 1970's, the three of them banded together as the Titanic Three.

For my write-ups of Crimson Dynamo and Radioactive Man, I used the Arsenal Ability as a means of keeping the cost down, and technically speaking it's a little too high on both characters as its total CPs exceeds the Ability Cap... although not by much. If anything, the individual abilities in each Arsenal is under-powered, but without using it, the characters would be between 300-400 CPs -- which is more than I wanted to make them. Also, note that Radioactive Man never uses more than 8 slots of his 12 slot Arsenal and  unlike the comics where Crimson Dynamo has full use of all his Abilities at all times, if used in a Mighty Protectors game, the GM must pick 8 of his 12 arsenal slots.

Crimson Dynamo

Crimson Dynamo Arsenal

Radioactive Man

Radioactive Man Arsenal

Titanium Man



Crimson Dynamo, Radioactive Man, and Titanium Man are trademarks owned by Marvel Entertainment Group. Use  of these trademarks is for commentary purposes only and is used under the Fair Use Act.

Rom the Spaceknight

Here's my MP write-up of everyone's favorite Dire Wraith hunter!

Edit: His Translation ability needs the Gear (-5) modifier; it's fixed in the PDF.

PDF: ROM the SPACEKNIGHT



Rom the Spaceknight is a trademark of Marvel Entertainment and is used here for commentary purposes under the Fair Use Act.

Captain Marvel (Fawcett/DC)

Here's my Mighty Protectors write-up for Captain Marvel (whose name in the 1970's is changed to Shazam). Because Comicvine has such an excellent page describing his origin, creators, character evolution, etc., I won't go over any of that here.

What I will go over are why I chose certain Abilities for the write-up, detailed below:

Solomon -- For his wisdom of Solomon, I felt that a massive amount of Cosmic Awareness and Mental Ability C) Translation: all human languages, work fairly well. I did not give him Mind Control as he rarely hypnotizes anyone.

Hercules -- I gave him an 73 Strength to represent Hercules - the strongest of the gods. At 73, he's the same strength that I gave to Superman.

Atlas -- I gave him a 51 Endurance for his stamina of Atlas. I also made most of his Abilities cost 0 PR as his godly energies gives him an inexhaustible amount of endurance.

Zeus -- The power of Zeus is hard to quantify but Adaptation and Dimensional Travel could certainly be two of these abilities.

Achilles -- I gave him Invulnerability to the five MP damage types to represent the invulnerability of Achilles.

Mercury -- I gave him massive amounts of Flight and Speed, plus Super Speed, to represent the swiftest of the gods.

For his Transformation ability, I did something that is not in the rules... Because Captain Marvel is such a high CP character at 595 points, the default formula of 595/6 equals 99 CPs, which is more than I wanted to make Billy Batson. So what I did was subtract from the base 99 by reversing the standard formula where 1 CP = 4 CPs. So, for (-8) CPs that would reduce the base 99 by 32 CPs, giving Billy a total of 67 total CPs.

PDFs: Captain Marvel, Billy Batson

Captain Marvel Character Sheet



Billy Batson Character Sheet



Billy Batson and Shazam are trademarks owned by DC Entertainment

Mighty Protectors Bases

On the Monkey House Games forums, someone had a question about how to build a base, for 5 CPs, using the Mighty Protectors rules, so I provided an example. Here is that example ("Ultra Efficiency") and two other apartments that could function as a hero's "base". Note that other than communicators, I didn't put any other Systems into these bases.

PDFs: Ultra Efficiency, Efficiency, Large Apartment (Alias Investigations)

Apartment, Large



Apartment, Efficiency



Apartment, Ultra Efficiency