Running the Amalgam Comics RPG

These rules are guidelines for running an Amalgam Comics campaign RPG. Like the comic books, the Amalgam RPG is based on amalgamation of TSR's Marvel Super Heroes game and Mayfair Games' DC Heroes game. In order to play the Amalgam RPG you must have a copy of TSR's Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set rules, and a copy of Mayfair Games' DC Heroes rules (second or third edition) - or alternatively the Blood of Heroes RPG rules by Pulsar Games which is based on the DC Heroes third edition rules. These guidelines will refer to rules from these published games and you should be familiar with both sets of rules before trying to run an Amalgam RPG campaign following these guidelines.

These guidelines are by no means complete. It will be up to the Gamemaster to determine the best interpretation if something is unclear or simply not present in this document.

The Basics

The Amalgam RPG uses the attribute point system from the DC Heroes rules. Benchmark APs and AP equations for time, distance and speed remain unchanged from the DC Heroes third edition game.

Character Attributes are unchanged from the DC rules. Primary Attributes remain divided into three groups: Physical, Mental, and Mystical. The physical attributes are Dexterity, Strength, and Body. The mental attributes are Intelligence, Willpower, and Mind. The mystical attributes are Influence, Aura, and Psyche.

Secondary attributes are Health, Initiative, and Hero (or Villain) Points. Unlike in the Marvel Super Heroes game, Popularity is not an attribute but an Advantage in the Amalgam RPG.

Powers and Skills use the DC Heroes system.

To resolve actions, a variant of the Universal Table from the Marvel RPG is used. See the downloads section at the end for a PDF of the Amalgam RPG version of the Universal Table. What were columns on the Action and Result tables in the DC Heroes RPG are now ranks on the Amalgam RPG Universal Table (see Table 1).

Please note that there is no longer a Shift 0 column. This is now represented by the Feeble column. When converting from Marvel Super Heroes assign abilities with a rank of Feeble a value of 1 AP and those with a rank of Poor a value of 2 APs.

Table 1 – AP Ranks

Rank AP Range
Feeble 0
Poor 1 - 2
Typical 3 - 4
Good 5 - 6
Excellent 7 - 8
Remarkable 9 - 10
Incredible 11 - 12
Amazing 13 - 15
Monstrous 16 - 18
Unearthly 19 - 21
Awesome 22 - 24
Fantastic 25 - 27
Extreme 28 - 30
Celestial 31 - 35
Galactic 36 - 40
Universal 41 - 45
Cosmic 46 - 50

Abilities with ranks beyond Cosmic are possible. For every five APs beyond the upper level of Cosmic (50) adjust the roll needed for a Yellow and Red result up one row on the Universal Table. No matter how high the AP value is above 50, a role of 01 will always be a White result and a role of 02-03 will always be a Green result.

Character Creation

Character creation follows the character design rules laid out in chapter 2 of the DC Heroes third edition rulebook. Characters are built on the DC Heroes point system, including attributes, powers, skills, advantages, disadvantages, and wealth. Gadgets also follow the DC Heroes rules.

If you desire to use powers from the Marvel Super Heroes rulebook or supplement (like the Ultimate Powers Book) most of these powers can be duplicated in the DC Heroes system by modifying existing Powers in the DC system with Bonuses and Limitations. Alternatively, a new Power may be created in the same format as existing Powers in the DC Heroes rules.

In the case of drawbacks with a severity level that requires a resistance roll of some kind, treat minor drawbacks as requiring a Green result on the Universal Table, serious ones as requiring a Yellow result, and catastrophic ones as requiring a Red result.

The Rules

Actions are resolved as FEATs as per the Marvel Super Heroes rules. Really. That's it. Roll your d% and check the Universal Table for the result. Combat? You guessed it, just like described in the Marvel Super Heroes RPG Advanced Set rules. Power Stunts exist in the Amalgam Comics RPG, again just like the Marvel RPG. Karma also also works like it does in the Marvel game for things like affecting dice rolls and for game Rewards and Penalties, but Karma Points are called Hero Points in the Amalgam RPG and when used for character improvement they are spent based on the DC Heroes character improvement rules for using Hero Points.

Also keep in mind that Intensities, Range, Material Strength, etc. are measured in DC Heroes-style AP benchmarks, not Marvel Super Heroes ranks.

That's it. You're ready to go and have fun role-playing in the Amalgame Comics univserse.

Downloads

Warp Zone | Amalgam RPG | Rules