Marvel first introduced their custom d616 Role-Playing System in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game: Playtest Rulebook.[3]
Character Creation
Players may choose to select a pre-developed character sheet of an existing Marvel character or create their own character prior to the beginning of play. Each player that chooses to create their character records their details on a new character sheet. First, a player determines their character's rank, their overall power level between 1 and 6. They select a Backstory and Profession which gives their character Traits that will impact gameplay. Depending on their Rank players will then be able to select an additional amount of Traits and Powers. Players will also be able to put points into different ability scores, consisting of Melee, Agility, Resilience, Vigilance, Ego, and Logic.
Core Mechanic
The core mechanic involves rolling three six-sided dice with one die being designated as the "Marvel Die." The sum of the three dice are added together and further augmented by character statistics, then compared against a difficulty number. Exceeding or meeting this number means the character achieves their goal, while the opposite means failure. For certain actions, the value of the Marvel Die becomes important, as an example when in combat the value of the Marvel Die is used for damage.
Reception
Cody Pondsmith for Polygon named MMRPG the best tabletop role-playing game he played in 2023, saying that "The game is utterly devoted to giving the players the feeling of playing a hero in the Marvel universe with tons of cool powers and power categories based on key Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and the Hulk."[4] However, Chase Carter for Polygon criticized the game's design as old-fashioned and lacking heart, writing that "Its heroes feel posed, sterile and unmoving, while the game itself leans a bit too far into gimmicks and fan service" but praised the game's rank system for linking leveling-up to character development.[5]
