Converting Marvel Super Heroes to Mighty Protectors

I never bought, nor did I ever play, Marvel Super Heroes (MSH), but it remains a popular superhero role-playing game and has a ton of content that is available online at Classic Marvel Forever.

Shown below are rules to allow a prospective GM to convert an MSH character into its equivalent MP character.

MSH is often referred to as 'FASERIP'. This is an acronym of the games primary stats, or 'abilities' as they are called in MSH. See the chart below to assign MSH stats to an MP character.

Stats Chart

To get a range for stats and powers use the MSH Rank shown on the table below and cross-index it with the appropriate Mighty Protectors column. For example: a REMARKABLE strength is 18-23 in MP terms, a  REMARKABLE Agility is 24-29, and a REMARKABLE power would be 18-23 CPs in a Mighty Protectors Ability.

Big Chart

Weight: K=thousand, M=million, G=billion, T=trillion, P=quadrillion

MSH Abilities

1) To convert MSH Strength to MP Strength, cross-index the MSH Rank with the MP ST column.

2) To convert all other MSH Abilities to MP Basic Characteristics, cross-index the MSH Rank with the MP BC: EN,AG, IN, CL column.

MSH Fighting & Intuition

3) The Character gets Heightened Expertise, Class: +2 to hit with Melee Combat for each Rank Fighting exceeds his Agility.

4) The Character gets Heightened Expertise, Specialist +2 to hit for each Column Shift he receives with special attacks.

5) The Character gets Heightened Senses, Acute Sense +6 (5) for each Rank that his Intuition exceeds his Reason.

6) The Character gets Heightened Initiative +2 (5) for each Rank that his Intuition exceeds his Psyche.

MSH Resources

7) Cross index the Rank of the character's MSH Resources with the CPs/Wealth column to determine how many CPs of Wealth the character receives. Example: Wasp (Janet van Dyne) has Remarkable Resources or 15 CPs (d6+d8) of the Wealth Ability.

MSH Talents

8) MSH Weapon and Fighting Talents: Each +1 CS (in MSH) equals a +2 bonus to hit in MP. Each +1 CS equals +2 damage in MP.

9) MSH Professional, Scientific, Mental, and Other Skills should be bought as MP Knowledge A, with each +1 CS equaling 2.5 CPs.

MSH Movement

10) One 'area' in MSH equals roughly 18" in the Mighty Protectors rules.

Example: Electro

First off, there is no 'Fighting' stat in MP; it translates into CPs of Heightened Expertise, but only with melee attacks, and only if it exceeds the character's Agility score (see Note #3 above). Electro's Fighting rank is less than his Agility rank, so he gets no added bonus.

His Agility and Strength both translate into MP as 18-23, so I'll give him an 18 ST and AG. His Endurance is Amazing, so I'll give him a 36 EN. His Reason is Good, so I'll give him a 12 IN. There is no 'Intuition' stat in MP, but because it is greater than his Reason stat, (see Note #5 above) he gets Heightened Senses of Acute Vision and Acute Sight. His Intuition is greater than his Psyche, so he gets +2 Ht. Initiative (see Note #6). Lastly, his Psyche is Typical, so I'll give him a 10 CL.

His powers include: Incredible Electrical damage, Unearthly Electrical resistance, and 6 movement Areas per round. Cross-indexing 'Incredible' damage on the MP Ability CPs column shows 24-29, so I'll give him 25 CPs of Lightning Control A) Electrical Blast. Since he has Unearthly resistance to electrical damage and Excellent resistance to other forms of energy, I'll just give him Invulnerability to the Electromagnetic Sub-Type of damage. Lastly, he can move along electrical sources of power (eg: power lines) at 6 'areas' per round. This translates into 108" of movement in MP, so I'll give him Speed: 24/96/33 mph (7.5), with a modifier that it only works on electrical lines (-5).

Putting it all together, and adding a few details like a Multi-Ability for his electrical damage and his weaknesses, I end up with the following translation of Electro into the Mighty Protectors rules:

Electro Sheet (PDF)

MSH Powers to MP Abilities Chart



Boilerplate

Marvel Super Heroes is a registered trademark owned by TSR Inc. TSR inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a division of Hasbro, Inc.
Names(s) of character(s) and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are Trademarks and © of Marvel Characters, Inc. and are used without permission.

Conan

Marvel returns to Conan in 2019. I always loved these books back in the day so to show my love, here's the mighty Cimmerian as he might appear in the Mighty Protectors universe!

You may note that I added something called Knowledge A) Linguist. This is a minor ability (that I created) that reduces the cost of languages by 1 CP. I also modified his Adaptation: Doesn't Sleep to require an EN save. This represents the fact that Conan can go days without sleeping. A GM running Conan as a character would want to penalize this EN save as time wore on to represent that even Conan at some point must sleep.

I made Conan 'neutral' because although he is often depicted as doing good deeds, saving prisoners (usually beautiful women) and such, he also kills a lot of people. Determining his motivation was a bit trickier, ultimately deciding upon Self-Defense. Conan is a free spirit, who lives life to the fullest, but he invariably becomes involved in the schemes of others or the vagaries of fate, and must defend himself.

Lastly, this version shows Conan as he was probably somewhere in the middle of the REH books. He hasn't yet traveled the entire known world nor has he learned all of its languages, but he has been a pirate, a mercenary, and a thief -- and would have all of the skills of those careers.

Also note that his "story" is cribbed from Conan's description on comicvine.

Many of the stories written by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, are in the public domain, and can be read or downloaded at Project Gutenberg.

Conan's Character Sheet (PDF)

Conan is the licensed property of Paradox Entertainment, Inc. The images shown here are the trademarks of Marvel Entertainment. No challenge to this license or trademarks is intended.

Radiation Abilities

There are two categories of Radiation Abilities:

A) Radiation Blast

The character can generate blasts of Radiation. This is a physical Energy damage attack, with the damage sub-type being radiation. The specific type of damage is left up to the player; it could be: atomic radiation, cosmic rays, nuclear fission, or something similar. Radiation Blast has a range of EN", has a PR cost of 2 per use, and does not cause knockback. This is a Voluntary Ability.

Radiation  Blast causes two types of damage: Energy damage (like Power Blast) and an Endurance drain (like Siphon). If the target loses EN, his maximum Power and Hit Points must be re-figured. The effects of the EN drain fade after one hour.

B) Radiation Aura

The character can surround themself with a Radiation Ability Field (see section 2.2.4 of the MP rules). It takes an Action to activate the Radiation Aura and PR = 2 per use (whether it is for defense, an attack, or one round of passive damage). This is a Voluntary Ability.



The featured image is copyright by DC Comics. No challenge to the copyright or trademark is intended.

Gollum

Here's my Mighty Protectors version of Gollum. In the Lord of the Rings books he was described as being from a "hobbit-like" race, thus I gave him the Hobbit racial package.

Smeagol, as he was once called, possessed the One Ring for over 500 years. In that time he was transformed from a hobbit-like individual into a frog-like creature, “a skulking gangrel creature with an ill-favoured look,” (Distinctive weakness) with his skin becoming tough and slimy (Armor), his eyes growing larger enabling him to see in darkness (Amplified Vision), and his sense of hearing and smell greatly increased (Heightened Senses).

Whether or not his ability to crawl down sheer cliff faces is a result of the Ring, or his own intrinsic ability, is unclear but at the edge of the Emyn Muil hills Gollum climbs headfirst down a sheer cliff "like a spider" -- thus the Wall-Crawling ability. Gollum is thin and wiry and is described as being "far stronger than he looks," thus the Heightened Strength. Lastly, he is a biter (Natural Weaponry) and a strangler (Heightened Expertise: Specialist with Choking), who often "throttled" to death any orcs unfortunate to have wandered down near his cave.

Gollum is a slave to the power of the One Ring, thus the Compulsion weakness of being unable to abandon the Ring. He can temporarily resist this effect with a CL save @ -4, as he does when he is sometimes helpful to Sam and Frodo, but ultimately he reverts to type.

He screams "it burns us!" when Sam tied one end of his elven rope around Gollum's ankle, thus the Susceptibility weakness. He has no money (Poverty) and seems to be a very unfortunate individual (Unlucky).

I created the Split Personality weakness to represent, as Sam calls them, his "Slinker" and "Stinker" personalities, which you can see below:

Physical Disability: Split Personality. The character possesses one or more separate personalities. The CP value depends upon how often these personalities manifest. If the other personality manifests only Rarely, say once every 5 episodes, it is worth (-2.5) CPs. If it's reasonably Common, about every 2 1/2 episodes, then it is worth (-5) CPs. If it's Very Common, almost every episode, then it is worth (-7.5) CPs. Double the value if one or more of the personalities is dangerous.

I only give him a total of (-20) CPs for all of his weaknesses, although if you added them up -- the number would be far greater.

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Gollum Character Sheet (PDF)

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Gollum is a trademark owned by the Tolkien Estate. The depicted artwork is off of the internet; I don't know who the author is. No challenge to the copyright or the trademark is intended.

Gandalf the Grey & the Balrog

Here are my Mighty Protector versions of Gandalf the Grey and the Balrog known as "Durin's Bane."

Gandalf may seem like a frail old man but he is an immensely powerful being who was sent to Middle Earth by the Valar to thwart Sauron and his dark designs. Much of his power is hidden or not obvious, or only works versus corrupted spirits.

I built his ring Narya as an arsenal. I gave it more slots than options to reflect the fact that he never has to 'change' the slots around.

I also built his spells as an arsenal, although I only populated a total of six out of his twelve options. Because his spell arsenal has Gear: Augmentation as a modifier, Gandalf can still cast spells without his staff, but the staff is 1 point easier to Break, Take, or Disarm (see MP p. 91). Also note that all of his spells have a PR cost. I did this because in the books Gandalf often mentions being "spent" or exhausted after using his magic.

The one thing I did not give the Balrog is Flight with the wings modifier. It is unclear in the book if the demon actually has wings or if it just looks like it has wings, due to the smoke that surrounds and obscures his form. It seems fairly obvious that if the Balrog had wings, it would have simply flown after Gandalf destroyed the bridge of Khazad-dum.

In the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog I assume that Gandalf would be using his Shield spell and the Adaptation: High Temp from Narya as defenses and his Light of Anor ability with damage that the Balrog cannot regenerate, to ultimately beat "Durin's Bane," although he does suffer a mortal wound and dies.

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Gandalf Character Sheet (PDF)

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Balrog Character Sheet (PDF)

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Mighty Protectors is a trademark owned by Monkeyhouse Games.

Gandalf and Balrog are trademarks owned by the Tolkien Estate.

The artwork shown here is plucked from the internet; I don't know who the artists are.

No challenge to these trademarks is intended.

The Fellowship Hobbits

Here are my Mighty Protectors write-ups for Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin - the four Hobbit members of the Fellowship of the Ring:

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Frodo Character Sheet (PDF)

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Samwise Character Sheet (PDF)

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Merry Character Sheet (PDF)

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Pippin Character Sheet (PDF)

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Frodo, Samwise, Merry, and Pippin are all trademarks owned by the Tokien Estate.

Artwork by ebe-kastein, used without permission.

Boromir

Here's my Mighty Protectors take on Boromir, the vainglorious Man of Gondor and member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

At Parth Galen, Boromir finally succumbs to the power of the One Ring. He tries to seize the Ring from Frodo, who uses the Ring to vanish. Boromir recovers from the Ring's effects in time to fight against and kill dozens of a great war-band of orcs of the White Hand. Unfortunately, he is "pierced by many arrows" and dies, allowing the remaining orcs to take Merry and Pippin.

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Boromir Character Sheet (PDF)

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Boromir is a trademark owned by the Tolkien Estate

The artwork is by an unknown artist.

Legolas

Here is my Mighty Protectors write-up of Legolas, one of the members of the Fellowship of the Ring. He is a Silvan Elf archer and Elven Princeling: he is the son of Thranduil, the King of the Woodland Realm of Northeastern Mirkwood.

The Elves of Middle Earth are highly magical beings with many abilities, which I simulate with an 'Elf' racial package. Elves are immortal, although they can be injured in accidents or killed in warfare (Adaptation to Time). Elves are highly agile (Ht. Agility), immune to cold temperatures, and can rest while awake, thus requiring no actual sleep (Adaptation to Cold and Sleep). They can move over surfaces, including snow, without leaving an impression, which I call "Move Without Trace". They are highly resistant to certain forms of magic, such as the Fear generated by the Shadow Host on the Paths of the Dead, represented by the Invulnerability to Emotion ability. Lastly, Elves are keen of hearing and sight, represented by the telescopic heightened sense.

Legolas is a masterful bowman and highly skilled fighter, which I represent with Heightened Attack and Heightened Expertise, Class. He has a great knowledge of the history of Middle Earth, its creatures (in Moria he recognizes the Balrog), is incredibly good at balance and very stealthy, all represented with Knowledge A abilities.

He is armed with a great composite bow and single long bladed knife.

His mistrust of Dwarves is "bought off" fairly early in the adventure as he and Gimli (who also "buys off" his distrust of elves) become great friends.

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Legolas Character Sheet (PDF)

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Legolas is a trademark owned by the Tolkien Estate.

Gimli

Here is my Mighty Protectors write-up of Gimli, the dwarf warrior and member of the Fellowship of the Ring, from the Lord of the Rings books.

Dwarves are long lived, strong, hardy, short (standing about 4 1/2 feet tall) and said to have a lust for gold as well as a "stone hardness" that gives them a resistance to mental influences. I combined these abilities into a racial package called Dwarf.

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Gimli Character Sheet (PDF)

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Gimli is a trademark owned by the Tolkien Estate.

Aragorn

The Lord of the Rings movies have been playing quite a bit lately so I decided to write-up Aragorn as a Mighty Protectors character! This version reflects his stats and abilities from the books, after he has escorted the hobbits from Bree to Rivendell. While waiting for Frodo to recover from the wound he suffered on Weathertop at the hands of the Witch-King of Angmar, the shards of Narsil are reforged -- becoming his new sword Anduril, the Flame of the West.

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Aragorn Character Sheet (PDF)

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Aragorn is a trademark owned by the Tolkien Estate.