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. 

Retro OSR Review Marvel Super Heroes, Advanced Set By Author Jeff Grubb

 "This set consists of a 96-page Player's Book, a 64-page Judge 's Book, a 22-1/2 by 33-inch full color, two-sided map, over 40 Character Cards, 80 Stand-Up Adventure Counters and two 10-sided dice. The MARVEL SUPER HEROES ADVANCED SET may be played by itself, but is designed to expand the existing MARVEL SUPER HEROES Game. The MARVEL SUPER HEROES Game is for two or more players, ages 12 and up."

Rear view vision is a fun thing & when it comes too FASRIP, I've got a very special place in my heart for it especially the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set! The Advanced Marvel Super Heroes set came out in 1986 & for our group it was the breath of fresh air we needed. According to the MSH Advanced Wiki page there were several changes; "It contains a more elaborate "Universal Table" which enables a wider variety of results to happen. Character creation involves detailed superhuman powers now in 10 categories (such as Movement, Mental Powers, or Energy Control), and combat is more complex as well and has rules for magic. This set presents statistics for many weapons and vehicles, more information on campaigns, game statistics for 45 heroes, 28 villains, and 9 special entities, as well as character cards and cardstock miniatures" This set was no joke and was very much responsible for an ongoing Marvel Super Hereoes campaign that lasted deeply into '91! This set was designed for sustained campaign play & even Andrew Pearson of the Space Gamer fame agreed:"
 Andrew Pearson reviewed Marvel Super Heroes: Advanced in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 78.^[2] He rated the complexity as low, and the rules clarity and graphics quality as excellent.^[2] Pearson commented that "As other reviewers have said of the original, the advanced set has realism. The realism of this set is of the intensity one would have if he or she were actually living out a Marvel Comic. A more comprehensive listing of powers and talents is given in the new Player's Book. More exacting explanations of these features are given that can be compared to the realistic spell explanations in TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook. Contacts are now the replacement of Neighbors, Friends, etc. Of course this does not mean you cannot have neighbors or friends, it just means that you can have a larger amount of each. Contacts are those who can aid you in a gainful way during a campaign (i.e. support, information, equipment)."

This was no joke of an Advanced set, we played the Hell out of it and wound up buying two more Marvel Super Heroes, Advanced Set By Author Jeff Grubb. 
Marvel Super Heroes, Advanced Set By Author Jeff Grubb came with a map of New York City and to this day it's where we continue to set game campaigns. 
Our own '87 game was set up with our own mercenary super heroes doing 'mop up' for most of the other super heroes groups such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers,and even the Xmen. Man, did we get ourselves into some major scraps back then. 
Marvel Super Heroes, Advanced Set has pretty much everything one needs to start and drop a MSH's game from the ground up. The character generation is simple, easy to get into and perfect for campaign play. Marvel Super Heroes, Advanced Set By Author Jeff Grubb is  available through the Classic Marvel Forver website under downloads advanced tab. 

Photo stolen from Wayne's books who has an excellent Marvels Super Heroes section here. 

Retro OSR Review & Commentary On The Fantastic Four Compendium (Marvel Super Heroes, Ma4) By David Martin (Author) For The Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Rpg system

 " In this book, you'll meet all the heroes who have at one time or another been members of the Fantastic Four, the group's extended family, their friends, and their allies. You'll also find stats for the Fantastic Four's most hated and feared DR. DOOM (both of them!), the PUPPET MASTER, the members of the FRIGHTFUL FOUR, and many others. Details are provided for the old Baxter Building and the new Four Freedoms Plaza, for such locales as PEGASUS, ILIAKANDA, and HANDAR. From the Fantastic Four's first battles with GORMUU and the MOLE MAN to their latest adventures, you can find everything you need to play the Greatest Superhero Team Ever between these covers."

So last night I got out this old beauty because of the fact that I'm planning on introducing some of the classic The Fantastic Four Compendium (Marvel Super Heroes, Ma4) adventure elements to our campaigns. 
The first thing that jumps out to me is just how much classic Marvel Fantastic Four elements that the TSR crew crammed into this classic! Ma4 is for the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Rpg system even though it's incredibly useful for other super hero rpg systems. 

 The Fantastic Four Compendium (Marvel Super Heroes, Ma4) By David Martin (Author) is way, way, out of date from the Fantastic Four comics. However, Ma4 does cover all of the Sixties through early Eighties classic era Fantastic Four adventure elements.  There's a great Amazon review of MA4 from Kevin M.Derby from June 27,2016; "David Martin hit a home run with the “Fantastic Four Compendium.” While this is a supplement for TSR’s classic Marvel RP from the 1980s, Martin also offers an interesting resource for fans of the team though, after more than a quarter of a century, this is a dated look at the team (so dated that the team included Crystal and Ms. Marvel--not She Thing--instead of Reed and Sue Richards). Besides looking at the main characters and their supporting cast and opponents, Martin shines a light on the team’s various headquarters and other locales, vehicles, and equipment. It’s a fascinating look at the Fantastic Four after John Byrne’s run and the inconsistencies which have mostly plagued that team since then. Highly recommended to Fantastic Four fans." 
So what's so great about Ma4?! Well besides giving us the lowdown on Namor, Atlantis, the Moleman, and more. Is the fact that The Fantastic Four Compendium (Marvel Super Heroes, Ma4)  gives out the prime adventure locations like the Negative Zone, and it's inhabitants such as Blasstar and many others. 
Plus we get a wide range of equipment, gimmicks, devices, etc all used by the FF. And these are just waiting to get your PC's into trouble. 
Because Ma4 was designed with this in mind it slots right into the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced book. These design choices go right along with Pete Tamlyn opinion who  reviewed Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set for White Dwarf #84; "Regarding the rules, Tamlyn states: "Jeff Grubb has done a pretty slick job, both in expanding the system without over-complicating it [...] and in explaining it all in an entertaining manner."^[3] He was critical of the set's complexity, "TSR seem to believe in simple, improvisational games for kids and complex, rule-heavy ones for adults."^[3] He continued, "Whether you need MSH Advanced depends on how you like to run your games. If you're starting out, provided it is not your first roleplaying game, I'd go for the Advanced game but be prepared to treat a lot of what it says as guidelines only." All of this can be found within the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced wiki entry here. 

Photo stolen from Wayne's books who has an excellent Marvels Super Heroes section here. 

Our own super heroes were known as the 'mop up's' back in the Eighties because that's exactly what we did with The Fantastic Four Compendium (Marvel Super Heroes, Ma4) By David Martin (Author). We'd often mop up after the Fantastic Four had moved on and taken out more negative zone or Mole Man monsters after the FF had moved on to other things. Often this was direct result of working for Damage Control. We got paid on a mission by mission basis and were super mercenaries way before it became fashionable. 
Is The Fantastic Four Compendium (Marvel Super Heroes, Ma4) By David Martin (Author) worth the download?! In a word, oh yes and it's available through the Classic Marvel Forver website under downloads advanced tab.