Marvel Super Heroes Manual of ...

Marvel Super Heroes Manual of Mysticism, Podreczniki RPG, Marvel Super Heroes

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Book 2: MANUAL OF MYSTICISM
P D F Version 1.0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.....................................................................2
Magic in General.............................................................2
Dimensions ..................................................................6,7
Entities and Entreating .................................................16
Specific Entities ...........................................................18
Miscellaneous Spells ....................................................27
Magical Items ...............................................................29
Locations of Importance...............................................37
Cults..............................................................................38
Index .............................................................................40
Credits
Designed by Canting Kim Eastland
Edited by Epigraphic Ed Sollers (Books 1 and 2) and
Erudite Eric Tobias (Book 3)
Cover by Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin,
Colored by Jeff Butler
Interior artwork by the Marvel Bullpen and Jeff Butler
Graphic Design by Steve Winter
Typography by Betty Elmore
Thanks to Peter Sanderson and Carl Potts for some
clarifications.
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any re p roduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is pro h i b-
ited without the express written consent of TSR, Inc., and Marvel Comics Group. Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by
Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.
The names of characters used herein are fictitious and do not refer to any person living or dead. Any descriptions including similarities to persons living or dead are merely coinci-
dental. This product is fictitious and is not based upon any known belief or practice, nor is it an endorsement of any belief or practice. All Marvel characters and the distinctive
likenesses thereof are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL SUPER VILLAINS are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group, a
division of Cadence Industries Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Game design copyright 01986 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
TSR, Inc.
PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION™
TSR, Inc.
POB 756
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ISBN 0-88038-278-3
3 9 4 - 5 5 4 2 3 - X T S R 1 2 0 0
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Welcome to the Miscellany of Mysticism, a
book that deals with the more advanced
aspects of magic in the Marvel Universe. If
you haven’t read the Manual of Magic yet,
read the first book before you read this
one. That book is the foundation for magic
in the MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ Role
Playing Game system. You must under-
stand it before you can use the material
found within this book.
The Miscellany of Mysticism will furt h e r
define the use of magic, describe the dif-
f e rent dimensions found in the Marvel Uni-
verse and explain dimensional travel,
cover the various magical entities and
s u p e r-human beings found in the Marv e l
Universe, list additional specialized spells,
and describe many of the magical items
that may be available. This book builds
upon the foundation of the first book,
allowing the creation of a more complex
magical scenario or character.
All of the material within is based on
i n f o rmation provided in past Marvel com-
ics titles, particularly Strange Tales or Doc-
tor Strange. Even the theories are solidly
based on Marvel characters, plots and dia-
l o g u e .
The best way for the Judge to use this
m a t e r i a l-is to read through the entire book
then go back and select the elements he
wants to include in his campaign.
For players, the most obvious use of this
book would be to further define a Dimen-
sional energy spell that entreats an entity
(Hoggoth, Ikonn, etc.) But beyond that, the
i n f o rmation within this book provides a
h i s t o ry of past exploits, characters,
places, and items useful for developing
h e ro e s .
MAGIC IN GENERAL
The following steps show the various
d e g rees of magic wielder rank or status.
To understand magic in the Marvel Uni-
verse we must first look at its exact defini-
tion. Magic-The practice of using cert a i n
e n e rgies and powers whose nature is
beyond the scope of technologically ori-
ented science.
N o v i c e .
This character knows fewer than
five spells or has less than an Amazing spell
rank in at least two spells. He is spending
most of his time with his master (when not
practicing what he has learned on villains).
He can study tomes and scrolls and even
p e rf o rm magic found therein, but he cannot
yet learn spells on his own (spells that he
has read in a tome or on a scroll must be
studied each time he uses them—he cannot
commit them to memory. )
Novices are usually ignored by the more
p o w e rful dimensional entities. A novice
using a Dimensional Entreaty spell uses
his magic as normal, but no FEAT roll is
n e c e s s a ry to determine if the entity
e n t reated will be aff ronted by the entre a t y
and take action. The dimensional entity
feels that it is an investment in the future ,
but the character is currently beneath his
total consideration. A novice can, how-
e v e r, provoke a hostile reaction from extra-
dimensional entities by abusing their
power—using it in ways the entity would
not normally approve of (see “Abusing
Dimensional Entreaties” in the “H O W
SPELLS ARE CAST” section in the Man-
ual of Magic.
The Origin of Magical Power
“Where does all power truly originate? In
the long run, from the sun, of course.
Here, too, is the indirect birthplace of all
mystical might. Control of the source
means total control. To be a star means
the very laws of nature are yours to amend
as you wish. You see, stars are not inert
celestial bodies. They are highly intelli-
gent, aware, and powerf u l . ”
—Apalla, a
humanoid form of a star.
“I can’t make something out of nothing.
Magic is basically a study of forces. Once
one knows how to channel these forces,
though, the results can be quite striking.”
—Doctor Strange
Magical power is the life blood of a
magic wielder (and of a magical item or
c re a t u re, for that matter). In the Manual of
Magic we have seen how magical power is
divided into three diff e rent types: per-
sonal, universal, and dimensional. But all
magic power is built on common gro u n d ,
that of reshaping existing power, found in
yourself, your universe, or in another
dimension, to a form that you desire. What
is important to magicians, is the re f e re n c e
to the ultimate power coming from the
sun, which is our own star. This may
explain why the forces of light, usually
re f e rred to as the forces of ord e r, good, or
“white”, hold sway over the forces of dark-
ness, usually re f e rred to as forces of
chaos, evil, or “black”. It is this that give
the Doctor Stranges and Shamans of this
world their advantage.
D i s c i p l e .
The character possesses at
least 5 spells or has at least an Amazing
rank in all of his spells. He assists the mas-
ter in some of his rituals, but is spending
m o re time adventuring than a novice. He
may learn new spells from his master’s
written works.
Disciples, like novices, are usually
i g n o red by the more powerful dimensional
entities. A disciple using a Dimensional
E n t reaty spell uses his magic as norm a l ,
but no FEAT roll is necessary to determ i n e
if the entity entreated will be aff ronted by
the entreaty and take action. The dimen-
sional entity feels that it is an investment in
the future, but the character is curre n t l y
beneath his total consideration. A disciple
can, however, provoke a hostile re a c t i o n
f rom extra-dimensional entities by abus-
ing their power-using it in ways the entity
would not normally approve of (see “Abus-
ing Dimensional Entreaties” in the “HOW
SPELLS ARE CAST” section in the Man-
ual of Magic.
Magic Wielder Ranks
“There is more to the study of mysticism
and the occult than most people might
even dream! In the mystic order to which I
belong, it is indeed written that practioners
of the mystical arts must choose a disciple
or disciples, to insure the continuity of the
s t ruggles against malefic forces, but only
at such a time that it is fitting and
p ro p e r ! ”
—Doctor Strange
A d e p t .
The character possesses at least 8
spells. He has a spell rank of at least
Excellent in all of them and Incredible or
better in at least two of them. He spends
2
m o re time adventuring than he spends
with his master, though he is still at his
m a s t e r’s beck and call. His studying of the
writings of the ancient arts gleans him
m o re information than if he were a novice
or disciple.
This is the lowest rank at which a sor-
c e rer could normally gain special attention
f rom dimensional beings (see the Entre a t y
F E AT Roll Table and the Casting Shifts
Table in Book 1.
A sorc e rer supreme spends all of his
time guarding his dimension, teaching
any students he may have, and studying
mystical lore.
A sorc e rer supreme is more re c o g n i z-
able for his worthiness than for the power
he wields. He earns his rank through vigi-
lance against foes and by overcoming the
constant burden of responsibility this rank
i n v o l v e s .
amount of time is being committed to the
studies that could otherwise be spent in
gaining Karm a .
A player can request that his character
be allowed to study a particular spell, but
the Judge makes a final decision on spell
a v a i l a b i l i t y.
The beginning spell rank for a spell
l e a rned in this way is Good.
A d e p t s .
The adept can learn one spell
f rom a written tome or scroll every six
months of game time, provided the adept
is taking sufficient time to study it (usually
about half his time, assuming that he stud-
ies daily). If the adept goes more than a
week without study, the spell cannot be
l e a rned. The normal amount of Karm a
points needed to gain this spell is waived
by the Judge, as an extensive amount of
time is being committed to the studies that
could otherwise be spent in gaining
K a rm a .
A player can request that his ‘ character
be allowed to study a particular spell, but
the Judge makes a final decision on spell
a v a i l a b i l i t y.
The beginning spell rank for a spell
l e a rned in this way is Good.
Masters and Their Role
M a s t e r.
The character possesses at least
12 spells. He has a spell rank of at least
Excellent in all of them and Incredible or
better in at least four of them. He spends
v e ry little time with his master, but much of
it in contemplation, study, and adventur-
“Many times I have sat thus and read my
m a s t e r’s writings. and each time I am filled
with greater awe of the Ancient One’s sen-
sitivity and knowledge. There is much
even a master of the ancient arts can
a c q u i re from the Learned One’s teach-
i n g s . “
- Doctor Strange
This observation by the good Doctor adds
f u rther definition to how a spell is con-
t rolled. If a spell were to be directly manip-
ulated by the character, such as the
Human To rch, it is because the character
has had an accident which physically
a l t e red him to control that spell, or the
character is a mutant and was born with
the ability to control that spell. Magic is dif-
f e rent. It is the knowledge of how to tap
into that spell and manipulate it. And how
does one gain that knowledge? Thro u g h
l e a rning the ancient arts with a master!
The importance of a master for a magic
wielding character cannot be overstated.
It is the best and often only way the hero
can pro g ress in his knowledge of magic
use. This includes learning new spells.
The “KARMA AND ADVA N C E M E N T ”
section of Book 1 lists the Karma costs
involved in improving spell ranks and
l e a rning new spells. As can be seen, char-
acters who so not have masters pay a
heavy penalty. Some characters (espe-
cially those of the Eclectic school) learn a
trick or two through the studying of tomes,
but to gain skill in magic a character must
be taught by a master.
Systematic studying with a master has
additional benefits as well:
D i s c i p l e s .
The disciple can learn one
spell from a written tome or scroll every
nine months of game time, provided the
disciple is taking sufficient time to study it
(usually about half his time, assuming that
he studies daily). If the disciple goes more
than a week without study, the spell can-
not be learned. The normal amount of
K a rma points needed to gain this spell is
waived by the Judge, as an extensive
ing. If he qualifies, he may find a student of
his own to teach. His studying of the writ-
ings of the ancient arts gleans him more
i n f o rmation than any other sourc e .
Masters and Sorc e rers Supre m e .
A
master of the mystic arts can learn one
written spell in a tome or scroll every five
months of game time, provided the char-
acter is taking sufficient time to study it
(usually about half his time, assuming that
he studies daily). If the master goes more
than two weeks without study, the spell
cannot be learned. It must be re m e m-
b e red, though, that the time spent adven-
turing is much greater and the time for
study will exclude other duties or appear-
ances. This completely halts any Karma or
Popularity increase by any means other
than that directly related to an adventure .
The normal amount of Karma points
needed to gain this spell is waived by the
Judge, as an extensive amount of time is
being committed to the studies that could
o t h e rwise be spent in gaining Karm a .
A player can request that his character
be allowed to study a particular spell, but
the Judge makes a final decision on spell
a v a i l a b i l i t y.
The type of spells available that can be
l e a rned and their energy types are at the
J u d g e ’s discretion. The beginning spell
rank for a spell learned in this way is
E x c e l l e n t .
S o rc e rer Supre m e .
The strongest master
in the world or dimension of his natural
existence is called the Sorc e rer Supre m e
or the Sorc e ress Supreme. The Sorc e re r
S u p reme for the Earth dimension is Doc-
tor Strange.
A sorc e rer supreme possesses at least
14 spells or magical items at any one time.
He has a spell rank of at least Remarkable
in all of them and Amazing or higher in at
least five. A sorc e rer supreme has the
g reatest amount of mystical knowledge in
his dimension.
Masters and Students.
A master can find
3
and teach one student, if he desires. The
time it takes to train a student is great, so a
master may not learn new spells from tomes
or scrolls while teaching his student.
The student starts out at novice level
with only one spell. (Roll the student and
his spell up randomly). For every two hun-
d red hours the master spends with the
novice, the student can learn one person-
al spell at a Good spell rank. For every thre e
h u n d red hours the master spends with the
novice, the student can learn one univer-
sal spell at a Good spell rank. (The student
is limited to learning one spell at a time, so
l e a rning a personal and a universal spell
would take 500 hours of instru c t i o n . )
The player may play the student as he
does his normal character, even taking
him on adventures, but two considerations
must be kept in mind: the novice is not
c o n s i d e red to be studying for his spells
when he is adventuring, whether he is
accompanying the master or not; a master
who loses a novice, whether to death or to
an enemy, suffers a penalty of Karma loss
(half of his current Karma vanishes) and
he cannot take on a new student for at
least a year of game time.
attacked Doctor Strange together many
times. A student of the same school as the
good Doctor should be ever wary of them.
Another master on Earth is Ebora, the
Dark Servant of the demon Sligguth. She
is the only human tolerated in the society
of the Serpent People. She serves as their
head priestess (use Clea’s Earth statistics
found in Book 3 for Ebora, but substitute
chaotic spells and entities for any spells or
entities of order Clea may use).
Shaman is a master of nature magic,
and his daughter, Talisman is a disciple of
that same school of magic (their full
descriptions are in Book 3).
A character who has the talent Chro n i-
cler of Magic (described in Book 1) will
know by name all these important masters
and the schools they serve; no Reason
F E AT roll is re q u i red for this. However, this
b a c k g round knowledge provides no
insight on the current whereabouts and
activities of these characters; time,
re s e a rch, and successful FEAT rolls are
needed to learn more about the masters.
Concentrating on
Magical Power
The importance of a magic wielding char-
a c t e r’s concentration and study for the
use of magic cannot be overstated. This is
why some forces, such as sonics, are so
devastating to magic wielders, because
they disrupt the ability to concentrate and
find the flow of the natural forc e s .
D i s ruption.
The Judge should designate
one or two forces that disrupt the use of
magic. Possibilities include sonics, the
D a r k f o rce, Monstrous (and greater) physi-
cal damage, and the like. A magic wielder
or item in an area where this force exists
s u ffers a –1 CS.
D i s ruption is diff e rent from distraction in
that distraction only delays spellcasting
due to special circumstances that the
caster has some ability to influence (such
as rescuing someone in danger) while dis-
ruption is more serious and has longer-
lasting effects. Judges should not use
both disruption and distraction in the
same situation.
I m p o rtant Masters.
Masters of Doctor
S t r a n g e ’s order that have been mentioned
in the past include Rama Kaliph of Arabia;
Tu rham Barim of the Near East; Count
C a rezzi of Italy; and the Aged Genghis
(who lives in the Himalyas and is quite
s e n i l e ) .
To re p resent these Masters of Ord e r,
use Baron Mord o ’s abilities and spell
ranks given in Book 3, the Codex of Char-
acters and Cre a t u res, but substitute entit-
ies of order for any chaotic entities Mord o
uses. The Judge may alter the rest of their
spells as he desire s ) .
Masters who serve Baron Mord o
include Sir Anthony Baskerville of
England, who served him in the 1940s;
Demonicus, who claims to be a demon
and has nearly bested Doctor Strange on
his own; Adria, a schemer who often plans
attacks on Doctor Strange, even in his
Sanctum Sanctorum; and Kaecilius, who
has served as Baron Mord o ’s host body
many times in the past.
To re p resent these Masters of Chaos,
use Baron Mord o ’s abilities and spell
ranks, with a –1 CS to all Mord o ’s spell
ranks; however, ignore any CS that would
result in these characters being re d u c e d
below master rank. The Judge may alter
their other spells at will).
Demonicus, Adria, and Kaecilius have
Confidence in
Magical Powers
“I have had centuries in which to study the
a rt of combat! No one that lives can be my
e q u a l ! ”
—The Dread Dorm a m m u
“Speak to me not of equals, Dorm a m m u . . . !
I have pledged my very life to prove that I
am your superior!”
—Doctor Strange
“So long as you endured, my mystic power
could never be supreme! But now, once I
have destroyed you, all of mankind shall
call Mordo master!”
— B a ron Mord o
“Base braggart! You possess not the skill
for supremacy in the mystic art s ! ”
— D o c-
tor Strange
4
K a rma Adjustments.
All super hero e s
and villains have a tendency to be verbally
melodramatic from time to time, but magic
wielders can sound like the most over-
bearing of the lot. The reason, quite sim-
p l y, is a matter of confidence. When
d e a ling with magical energies and extra-
dimensional beings, the mind can become
easily boggled, sometimes leading to a
d a n g e rous lapse in concentration. When
the concentration goes, so does the eff e c t
of the spell. The constant re a s s u r a n c e s ,
t h reats, and boasts that a character yells
at his opponent not only helps him stick to
his task, but can possibly weaken the
other character’s resolve as well.
The usual form this lack of resolve takes
is in the character running away and
accepting the Karma loss (whether NPC
or PC). But, with magic wielders, loss of
confidence or despair can affect their per-
f o rmance. As explained in Book 1, hero i c
magic wielders who behave in a part i c u-
larly cowardly fashion lose suffer double
the Karma loss that their actions would
n o rmally re q u i re .
If, however, a magic wielder hero i c a l l y
attempts to rescue innocents, there b y
leaving himself open to attack (again
explained in Book 1) and still manages to
win, the Judge should grant the hero an
additional 20 Karma after the victory,
re g a rdless of whether or not the villain was
actually captured and brought to justice.
(deprived of sight by a blindfold, intense
light or darkness, sand thrown in the eyes,
etc.), he cannot use any spell which
re q u i res sight such as targeted attacks,
Bands, Sensing—Clairvoyance, Post-
Cognition, and so on.
spellcasting until the spell takes effect. If
the spell fails, the villain will not be aware
that it was cast.
Apply a –1 CS to the villain’s FEAT ro l l
to resist any of these spells.
A p p a r i t i o n
Astral Pro j e c t i o n
Chameleonic Coloring
Damage Absorption
Density Contro l-O t h e r s
Density Contro l-S e l f
Dual Persona
Emotion Contro l
Enchanted Eye
F o re t e l l i n g
H e a l i n g-S e l f
H e a l i n g-O t h e r s
I m m o v a b i l i t y
I n v i s i b i l i t y-S e l f
I n v i s i b i l i t y-O t h e r s
L u c k
Mental Barr i e r
Mental Pro b e
P o s t-C o g n i t i o n
P rotected Senses
Static Field
Te l e k i n e s i s
Telepathy (if not with the villain)
Tr a n c e
G l o a t i n g
While confidence and bravado are neces-
s a ry, gloating is highly undesirable. Vi l-
lains, by necessity, gloat- That is usually
why they are undone, because they are so
busy gloating and talking their opponents
to death, the hero has time to re c o v e r.
Gloating and humiliating a character is
how a villain achieves his Karma. Magical
villains, especially the Dread Dorm a m m u
and Baron Mordo, can gloat for 10 to 20
rounds at a time, if it appears that their vic-
tim is helpless.
If a hero tries to gain time by allowing a
magical villain to gloat: that is, acts weak
and defenseless, inquires about how the
villain trapped him, and so forth, the villain
is allowed a Reason FEAT roll. If the roll is
successful, the villain will continue his nor-
mal actions (attacking or whatever). If the
roll is unsuccessful, the villain will stop
attacking and start gloating over the hero .
This gloating will occupy the villain for no
less than 5 rounds, plus 1 round for each
level the villain has achieved. After this
allotted time, the villain must make a suc-
cessful Reason FEAT roll or continue
g l o a t i n g .
An evil sorc e rer who gloats over his
opponent receives 20 Karma as a re w a rd .
The re w a rd is the same no matter how
long the villain gloats.
In addition to eating up time, a gloating
villain will not notice if the hero is using
c e rtain spells listed below (see the Gloat-
ing Ta b l e ) .
Magic vs. Science
“There is a distant relationship between
the energies of science and those of sor-
c e ry, but my power over the former is
l i mited.”
—Doctor Strange
Restraints on Spellcasting
The more powerful a magical spell is, the
m o re gesturing and chanting must be
done to achieve the results. If the magic
wielder is prevented from completing his
g e s t u res or chants, it may stop the spell
f rom being completed. If a magic wielder
is somehow blinded, certain spells may
not be used as the target cannot be seen.
Bound, Gag, and Blind Eff e c t s .
If a
magic wielding character is bound (hands
tied securely behind his back), he may not
use any universal spells. If a magic wield-
ing character is bound and gagged (pre-
vented from speaking clearly), he cannot
use any dimensional spells. A successful
Hold when Grappling effectively binds a
c h a r a c t e r.
Unless a magical item is used to bind
and gag a character and is specifically
described as negating all of the victim’s
magical spells, a character can always
use any personal spells he may have
though bound and gagged.
If a magic wielding character is blinded
It is difficult to defeat intelligent, indepen-
dent machines with sorc e ry. Unless spe-
cifically stated, as in the Mesmer-
mechanism spell, robots, androids, com-
puters, etc., cannot be affected by magi-
cal spells that normally affect the mind or
body of living beings. A Healing spell will
not reattach a ro b o t ’s arm, an illusion of a
wall will not affect a machine with sensors,
unless those sensors are hooked to a
human brain, as in the case of a cyborg ,
C h a rming a tank would not work, nor
would Tongues allow a magic wielder to
converse with a computer, though he
could read the print outs of a computer if it
is in a non-machine language. For the
most part, magic is most effective on
o rganic beings.
Gloating Ta b l e
Vi l l a i n ’s Rank
Rounds of Gloating
N o v i c e
6
D i s c i p l e
7
A d e p t
8
M a s t e r
9
S o rc e rer Supre m e
1 0
The villain will continue gloating unless he
makes a successful Intuition FEAT ro l l .
This gloat check is made every ro u n d
t h e reafter until it is successful or until the
villain is attacked.
If a hero casts any of the following
spells, a gloating villain will not notice the
5
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