Retro Review of The Marvel Super Heroes Rpg Advanced Player's Book

 When we're talking about solid rule books the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Player's Book seldom get's mentioned. This is too bad because it's a great rules book and contains just enough of character generation, rules, guidelines, etc. for the new player or the experienced player to really get into it. This blog entry is going to pick up right from our examination of the Judge's Book on the blog here. 

Wayne's Books has an excellent break down of the '87 and '92 versions of the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced set. What sets apart the Player's Book is the breakdown of the rules. According to Jeremy Grenier's 2006 Amazon review; "Ever since I was 10 or 11 I've been into role-playing games. I've owned many over the years, and think the gaming system introduced by Marvel for their Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game (both Basic and Advanced sets) is by far one of the easiest to learn and run. The rules aren't complex, and the Marvel system is in my opinion the most enjoyable to play."
The Player's Book is a really solid break down of the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced rules and does a fantastic job of breaking down the rpg system. There have been many Marvel rpg's that have come and gone but the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced set remains for me. 

So what makes the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced set the one that I personally return to again and again? It's the fact that this is a robust and solid rpg system from the ground up. From character creation, guidelines, power use, and more all has been distilled down into a complete system. 
It's the complete package that works here for the players and DM overall. The rpg works on the play level and the PC generation level as a simple yet effective d100 system that overall doesn't need to be overhauled per say. 

Retro Review - Marvel Super Heroes Rpg Advanced Judge's Book By Jeff Grubb

 
Over the weekend my player's had scheduling difficulties and rather then dwell on it. I brought out the Marvel Super Heroes Adanced rpg by Jeff Grubb. I stopped on the Marvel Super Heroes Judge's book by Jeff Grubb. If there's a heart and soul to the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set besides the Player's Handbook that stands out it's the Judge's Book by Jeff Grubb. For me it's a solid sixty eight page DM's book that stands out. Not only is there advice but there's a ton of material for setting up a campaign for extended play. Rpg advice , adventure guidelines, villains, and more are all found within the Judge's Book. This is written from the DM's perspective because I'm frankly the DM. What I love about the Judge's Book is it's simplicity and ultility. Jeff Grub's writing is on point and the presentation is pure classic era TSR. 

 

 According to JEREMY E STEIGERWALD's 2015 Amazon review; "Marvel is a simple d100 system that allows the Judge (this system's term for a Game Master) the flexibility to run his/her kind of superhero game. Be aware that this was written in the late eighties, and as such it was a simpler time in comics. Many online resources exist to help new Judges." And it's the simplicity that has made FASERIP one of the best classic superhero rpg's ever written. This is backed up by an unknown reviewer from 2010;"This is one of the best pen and paper rpg's ever made.
It does a great job of capturing the feel of the Marvel Universe and this set
contains everything you need to get a game up and going fairly quickly.
The books read fast and easy. If your a Marvel or super hero fan than you will love
this game! TSR really did a good job on this.'

I think that this is also reflected in the Judge's Book which gives DM's just enough to get thier campaigns off the ground and to keep them flying. According to the Rpg Museum entry on the Advanced Set; "This is the rare “Advanced” set of rules that expands rather than complicates. All the stuff in here remains fairly straightforward and function more as guidelines than rules, but it feels crunchier and more versatile. A number of systems have been overhauled, the character creation is more robust (but still, I think, down to the randomness of the system, produces characters that are under-powered compared to the existing Marvel ones) and there are neat rules for building a headquarters.

This is the system I ran and played back in the day. It is fun. It is a bit more comfortable if you’re coming off D&D. But weirdly, I think if I were to run a Marvel game now, I’d probably do the yellow box"

Personally I'd go with the Advanced FASERIP system at this point.