Magical Character Generator
To understand a character in the Marvel Universe one must look at the 3 general areas that define a character's magical abilities and personality:
- how magic shapes a character's life
- the character's suitability as a magic user
- what energies he draws upon to use his magic.
Needless to say,some characters can fit into more than 1 category, but it is how they primarily use magic that is important. Doctor Strange has his magical cloak and amulet, but it is his abilities as a magic wielder that are the basis of his career.
Magically Enhanced: those who have touched some magical item or been influenced by some mighty magical being or spell in the past and now have abilities and/or powers that are permanently(or temporarily) enhanced. Increased Strength and Endurance, improved eyesight or movement, are all typical examples of magically enhanced abilities and characteristics. Absorbing Man is an excellent example of a character who has been "enhanced" by magic.
You can determine your character's magical enhancement here.
Possesses Magical Item(s): Magical Items possessed by characters create another kind of hero. The source of magical items is usually a powerful magical being or god who grants the item to the character, or the item is found in a ruin, in an ancient temple, hidden away by its previous user, etc. The Black Knight is an example of a character whose power is primarily shaped by a magical item, in his case it is his magical weapon, the Ebony Sword, given to him by the image of his centuries old ancestor, the original Black Knight. Other characters who would fit into this category are Moon Knight and Tigra.Note: many of the characters who have magical items also have developed their natural abilities, such as Fighting, acrobatics, and the like.
This type of character derives his power from a magical item or items (Judge's discretion as to origin). Roll on the table below to determine the number of items,then again on the following tables until all of the items have been determined.
*Abilities cannot be increased above Am(50) rank.
Once the types of the items are known, go to the Item Conditions Table to find if there is a catch or drawback to any of them. Each item has only 1 power to begin with (a Judge may decide that more than 1 power is in the item, but that all except 1 are latent powers that require some time before the character knows of or can control them).
Once the drawbacks (if any) of the items are known determine the "school" that all of the powers belong to (treat all of the items as 1 for this purpose). Then generate what powers your item(s) has and their power ranks. Treat the powers as using either personal or universal energies, whichever the player prefers.
If, after the powers of the items are known, the Judge believes that the item or items are too powerful and could possibly upset the game balance, he should either reduce their power or return to this section and roll on the Item Conditions Table to create drawbacks for using them. When the items are completely determined, gnerate what Magic-related Talents your character has.Once that is done go to Balancing the Powers.
Magic Wielder: Magic Wielders are the most complicated classification. These are characters who wield magic themselves. It sometimes manifests itself as an innate power, but usually is used by means of spells and incantations. Doctor Strange, Baron Mordo, Brother Voodoo, and Shaman all fit into this category. The character's suitability as a magic user depends primarily on what type of magical character he is. Suitability requirements for characters who have stumbled upon a magical item or have been enhanced magically usually consists of dumb luck, and sometimes a stout heart, pure nature, etc. Suitability requirements for magic wielders are far more stringent and the Arcanum is primarily for these characters.
A hero who is a magic wielder must have a Psyche of Gd or higher. The reason for this is that Psyche is so often used in a FEAT roll to resist a magical spell that a magic wielder of Ty Psyche just would not last that long.
A magic wielder has usually had training in the past, such as Doctor Strange received from the Ancient One.The only way for a magic wielder to increase his abilities is to study long and hard under a master who understands the mysterious ways of magic and is of the same School of Magic. "Studying" not only includes gaining experience through the actual use of magic "in the field" to combat villains, but also spending free time pouring over ancient tomes, practicing spells, etc. A magic wielder's life is not an easy one. When other characters are out scoring Karma points through a social life, making personal appearances, etc., a magic wielding apprentice must spend many isolated hours a day at study and practice, just to maintain what he has learned.
- Step 1: Generate what kind of spell energies your character's spells tap into and how many spells you have.
- Step 2: Generate what kind of School of Magic your character comes from.
- Step 3: Generate what spells your character has and their power ranks.
- Step 4: Generate what Magic-related Talents your character has.
- Step 5: Balancing the Powers.