The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game officially debuts today, August 1. You should be able to get it through your favorite book/game retailer today, while comic-book stores (which have new-book day on Wednesday) should have theirs tomorrow.
You can buy the book wherever you find comics, games, or books. You can also get electronic editions via Roll20, Demiplane, and Kindle. I recommend supporting your favorite local store whenever you can, but grab it whichever way suits you best.
The team of folks I worked with on this did an amazing job, and I want to thank each of them publicly. They include:
- The Producer, CJ Cervantes: CJ led this project all the way to the finish line, and he always kept the whole team focused on making a game that would appeal not just to hardcore gamers (like me) but Marvel fans new to tabletop RPGs (like him, at least when he started).
- The Editor, Brian Overton: Brian brought a wealth of knowledge about Marvel history to the game to correct my occasional goofs, and like me, he’d worked a bit on the previous edition of the game (Marvel Heroic Roleplaying). He did everything humanly possible to keep a large and unwieldy project on track.
- The Assistant Producer, Amir Osman: The junior member of the main team (including CJ, Brian, and me), Amir came onto the project just over a year ago when we realized we desperately needed more hands, and instantly made everything better.
- The Graphic Designer, Simeon Cogswell: If you like the way this gorgeous book looks, blame Simeon. They went above and beyond to make it fun and accessible, and it shows on every page.
- The Cover Artists, Iban Coello & Jesus Aburtov: I mean, just look at that cover. I’ve been staring at it as my computer’s wallpaper for months on end, and I never tire of it. It’s just perfect.
- The Interior Artists, Mike Bowden, Andrew Dalhousie, Juan Fernandez, and dozens more: Mike, Andrew, and Juan provided the all-new art in the book, which is incredible. On top of their work, we also got to tap into Marvel’s phenomenal library of existing art for the book, which cannot be beat.
- The Proofreader, Ray Vallese: Ray stepped in with his keen eye and his decades of expertise in tabletop RPGs to make sure we got all the details right. Whew!
- The Instigator, John Nee: I’ve known John since he hired me back in the early ’90s to work on the WildStorms CCG for Jim Lee (who’s now in charge of DC Comics). When he was the publisher at Marvel, John was the one who decided Marvel was ready to publish its own RPG—and that I was the right person to write it.
- The Inspirer, Mike Capps: Mike has an amazing list of credits as long as Doc Ock’s arms, and he came on to help out at the start of the design phase. Although he had to leave the project early on, you can see a lot of his work in the Playtest Rulebook that came out last April.
- The Business Team, Trent Bielen, Tim Dillon, Jeff Youngquist, Jesse Berger, and Daniel Fink: These are the folks who keep the lights on and make sure that our P&L’s wind up on the profit side rather than loss. We literally couldn’t do any of this without them.
- The PR folks, Tim Cheng and Hayley Strichman: These wonderful people—who are pros at dealing with mass media audiences—help get word about the game out there and keep me on message—as much as anyone can.
- The Additional Writer, Marty Forbeck: My eldest son Marty decided to follow in my footsteps as a writer and game designer after he graduated from college during the pandemic lockdown, and I couldn’t be prouder of him and the work he did on this book. He wrote and built nearly all of the character profiles, and he’s been a massive help with the whole thing.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank the writers and designers of the previous editions of the game. These are the giants on whose shoulders we stand. They include:
- Marvel Super Heroes (1984), Jeff Grubb and Steve Winter: I played this like crazy in high school and even ran it for the RPGA at Gen Con back in those days. It’s the FASERIP rock on which all the others were built. Steve ran the first convention adventure I ever played in, a game of Boot Hill back in 1982 or so, and Jeff co-authored a Guild Wars novel with me many years later.
- Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game (1998), Mike Selinker, with Michele Carter, Bill Olmesdahl, Steven Schend, and Steven “Stan!” Brown: This one uses a card deck (the Fate Deck) instead of dice. Mike is another all-time great designer, leading the folks over at Lone Shark Games. I worked on the Apocrypha game with him a while back, and we’re currently polishing a board game based on my Monster Academy novels for Calliope Games. Michele is a legendary games editors. Bill, Steven, and Stan! are all great friends as well, although we sadly lost Bill to cancer a few years back.
- Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game (2003), Dan Gelber, Jeffrey Simons, and Evan Jones: This was the first RPG that Marvel published, twenty years ago, and it used stones instead of dice. I don’t know any of the designers personally, but I loved Dan’s work on the classic Paranoia RPG.
- Marvel Heroic Roleplaying (2012), Cam Banks: There’s a long list of credits for this Cortex System version of the game—which Margaret Weis Productions (yes, that Margaret Weis of Dragonlance fame)—published 11 years ago, but my pal Cam was the lead designer and guided the whole thing. Others who pitched in on the concept team (a.k.a. the Illuminati) include Rob Donoghue, Will Hindmarch, Philippe-Antoine Ménard, and Jesse Scoble—plus me. They’re all excellent designers, and I love this version of the game as much as any of the others.
Thanks to every one of these folks for all they contributed to the game and to Marvel over the years. My name might be on this book’s cover, but that never would have happened without all their heroic contributions.
I hope you enjoy the game and have a fantastic time playing it with your friends and family for many years to come. After all, you’re who we created it for. A game doesn’t really come to life without people who play it.
Thanks for playing!
