I'm looking to create a campaign, or series of campaigns, basically going through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So the campaigns themselves will be based off that, like starting off with Captain America: The First Avenger and chronologically proceeding through the rest of the movies, and the characters that the players make will be the heroes and villains within the Marvel Universe, including those that haven't been introduced in the MCU yet, like 3-D Man and Arabian Knight. The thing is, we are still going to use the 5e classes and races to create these Marvel characters and fight 5e monsters. So it's basically 5e, just a homebrewed campaign I guess.
The issue I'm running into is with the characters the players would make of the Marvel characters. I want to allow them creative freedom to create who they want/how they want, but I don't want these characters to be off the wall crazy, like Hulk being a Wizard or Dr. Strange being a Barbarian. I also don't want them to use whatever backgrounds they want, I feel as though it should make sense with the character they are trying to make. Like Cap should have a background as a Soldier since he was in the military and Iron Man should probably have a background as either a Sage or even a Noble.
Should I compile a list of Marvel heroes and villains and create recommendations/limitations on what they can be or should I just allow complete freedom in these characters? I know as the DM I would have the final say on whether a player's character is allowed, but should I limit them to start with, or change each character as they get presented?
I think the problem you are dealing with is not unique. Many people have tried to do this, and I am going to tell you what i told them. This will work best if the players know taht there is not a lot of room to customize. Make sure they know that whatever they pick, it is going to be that. I would assign classes and races to the characters before hand, but maybe change a few things. Like hulk could be a half orc. Also, is this set in a modern time?
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I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Not in modern time. At least that wasn't the plan. I'm trying to keep it basic, but not too basic if that makes sense. Like similar time period as the Dragon of Icespire Peak and Lost Mine of Phandelver, as those are the only campaigns we have even played so far. So it's more of a portrayal of the Marvel characters during this time period and using more of the basic weapons and armor and such. I wouldn't even begin to know how to bring it to a modern time. I know some of the characters will be harder to create than others and they will have a big change. Like if someone wanted to play as Punisher, they would be more looking at a Ranger I would think as that is more closely related to the Punisher and his use of firearms.
The classes they play as matter to me as it wouldn't make sense to play as Hulk and his class is a Wizard or something like that. But the races they choose, that doesn't necessarily matter as much to me. The race doesn't have to match the Marvel character as much. I'd be willing to accept someone playing as the Hulk to be a Mountain Dwarf just as much as him being played as a half orc. The things that matter most to me are their ability scores and the classes. As long as those make sense, everything else is fair game in my mind.
You might be better off trying a game system other than D&D. I think there's a superhero one called Mutants & Masterminds that sounds perfect! (Unless you like the medieval setting idea, in which case I'd just make sure you trust your players to buy in and not get too crazy.)
As others have said player buy in is very important. What you're suggesting is all but making the characters for the players, rather than allowing them to make their own characters, which some might not like. At least not for more than a short campaign.
The other issue is plot armor. There have been a lot of discussion on these boards about whether or not it is appropriate to kill PCs, and I don't want to re-hash that here. Suffice it to say you'll need to make a decision about what to do if Captain America dies in your first session. Unless you're starting at a high enough level for them to have raise dead (and I don't know who the cleric would be. The Night Nurse? Rescue?) it could be a real issue.
It never works to have a campaign playing through a pre-determined storyline. The PC's always want to do something else. If you want to have it be in the MCU's plot, have it be after Endgame, as nothing is determined beyond then.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
What I'm looking to do is allow the players their creative freedom in creating their characters, so long as it makes sense. I don't want to limit them out of the gate, as that would cause everyone to lose interest automatically.
As far as the heroes and villains that they create, it's going to be unlimited. Only one hero at a time can be in the party, meaning only one Captain America at a time, and if they die, nothing happens. The story will still carry on the same. And I'm not going to limit them as far as only being able to play said hero or villain only once. So it will be like a multiverse, just more relaxed.
The only time death of a hero or villain will have negative implications is when an NPC dies. For example, if playing the Captain America: The First Avenger campaign, an NPC version of Captain America would go along with the party. If the Captain America NPC were to die at any point of the campaign, he would cease to exist as an NPC in all of the future campaigns. So he would no longer exist and help with the Avengers.
Going back to talking about character creation.... It will be very hard to make many of the heroes.. There will need to be a LOT of flexibility either with allowing certain spells or even certain items.
For example Thor will need a hammer of returning (or the dwarven thrower). Iron man will need winged boots. Etc. These equipments are part of these heroes just as much as their class, if not more. And some gear may need to be entirely homebrewed or DM-bent to allow certain things. That being said, you need to figure out how you want to do this.. Give low level characters uber gear n let them plow through, just have a high level campaign with premade characters or give each player a 'build guide'.. May be fun to have the heroes 'grow and progress' but it may be more frustrating then just flat out given a premade toon (having to build it YOUR way the entire time may feel more of a lock in then jist being given a level 15 pregen iron man).
(But take into consideration that some 'signature' magic items & abilities are late level.. For example Dwarven thrower is very rare and tempest cleric cant fly until level 17)
But if i had to suggest builds:
(Most of them 'should' be human. *shrug* going Vhuman would also be a good way to get a feat if its needed too)
Iron man/war machine: artillerist artificer with the handheld gun (as opposed to the turret that can be chosen) with winged boots.
Captain America: fighter either cavelier (for the massive defensive abilities) or battle master for his smart tactics. Shield mastery feat. New UA punching fighting style and shield of returning (maybe even give more shield bashing/shove abilities through feats or something?
Thor: tempest cleric with hammer of returning/dwarven thrower.
Ant man: thief rogue with gloves of enlarge/reduce (HOMEBREW ITEM) either at will or few times per SR or LR
Spider-Man: saw someone suggest shadow monk? I guess that works but make a homebrew item that lets him cast web & maybe hold person (web wrapped) and maybe even have a grapple feature
Hawkeye: arcane archer fighter with sharpshooter feat
Black widow: assassin rogue
Hulk: half/orc beserker barbarian
Dr Strange: wizard with cape of levitation (not sure which one though.. Evoker? Abjuration? You can wait for wildemont and see how dunamancy is)
Black panther: tabaxi monk of open fist
Iron fist: sun soul monk
Falcon: Aarokocra idk fighter? Gunslinger?
Vision: no idea. Warlock or sorcerer? No clue
Wanda: wild sorcerer
Can't think of anyone else
Bonus! Scorpion from mortal kombat: vhuman sun soul monk (reskin the radiant bolts into hellfire) take the magic initiate feat & take thorn whip & either firebolt or produce flame. You'd need some DM flexibility to then take misty step (flame teleport). Also id allow it 1x or even 2x teleport per SR instead of 1x per LR. Also I'd allow thorn whip then attack at level 5 just to get some sick combos (even though if you use a cantrip you can't use the attack 2x)
Sub-zero: literally 4 element monk focusing on ice and water affinity stuff
Hi all,
I'm looking to create a campaign, or series of campaigns, basically going through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So the campaigns themselves will be based off that, like starting off with Captain America: The First Avenger and chronologically proceeding through the rest of the movies, and the characters that the players make will be the heroes and villains within the Marvel Universe, including those that haven't been introduced in the MCU yet, like 3-D Man and Arabian Knight. The thing is, we are still going to use the 5e classes and races to create these Marvel characters and fight 5e monsters. So it's basically 5e, just a homebrewed campaign I guess.
The issue I'm running into is with the characters the players would make of the Marvel characters. I want to allow them creative freedom to create who they want/how they want, but I don't want these characters to be off the wall crazy, like Hulk being a Wizard or Dr. Strange being a Barbarian. I also don't want them to use whatever backgrounds they want, I feel as though it should make sense with the character they are trying to make. Like Cap should have a background as a Soldier since he was in the military and Iron Man should probably have a background as either a Sage or even a Noble.
Should I compile a list of Marvel heroes and villains and create recommendations/limitations on what they can be or should I just allow complete freedom in these characters? I know as the DM I would have the final say on whether a player's character is allowed, but should I limit them to start with, or change each character as they get presented?
I think the problem you are dealing with is not unique. Many people have tried to do this, and I am going to tell you what i told them. This will work best if the players know taht there is not a lot of room to customize. Make sure they know that whatever they pick, it is going to be that. I would assign classes and races to the characters before hand, but maybe change a few things. Like hulk could be a half orc. Also, is this set in a modern time?
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
- Litany Against Fear, Frank Herbert
Not in modern time. At least that wasn't the plan. I'm trying to keep it basic, but not too basic if that makes sense. Like similar time period as the Dragon of Icespire Peak and Lost Mine of Phandelver, as those are the only campaigns we have even played so far. So it's more of a portrayal of the Marvel characters during this time period and using more of the basic weapons and armor and such. I wouldn't even begin to know how to bring it to a modern time. I know some of the characters will be harder to create than others and they will have a big change. Like if someone wanted to play as Punisher, they would be more looking at a Ranger I would think as that is more closely related to the Punisher and his use of firearms.
The classes they play as matter to me as it wouldn't make sense to play as Hulk and his class is a Wizard or something like that. But the races they choose, that doesn't necessarily matter as much to me. The race doesn't have to match the Marvel character as much. I'd be willing to accept someone playing as the Hulk to be a Mountain Dwarf just as much as him being played as a half orc. The things that matter most to me are their ability scores and the classes. As long as those make sense, everything else is fair game in my mind.
You might be better off trying a game system other than D&D. I think there's a superhero one called Mutants & Masterminds that sounds perfect! (Unless you like the medieval setting idea, in which case I'd just make sure you trust your players to buy in and not get too crazy.)
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
As others have said player buy in is very important. What you're suggesting is all but making the characters for the players, rather than allowing them to make their own characters, which some might not like. At least not for more than a short campaign.
The other issue is plot armor. There have been a lot of discussion on these boards about whether or not it is appropriate to kill PCs, and I don't want to re-hash that here. Suffice it to say you'll need to make a decision about what to do if Captain America dies in your first session. Unless you're starting at a high enough level for them to have raise dead (and I don't know who the cleric would be. The Night Nurse? Rescue?) it could be a real issue.
It never works to have a campaign playing through a pre-determined storyline. The PC's always want to do something else. If you want to have it be in the MCU's plot, have it be after Endgame, as nothing is determined beyond then.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Thanks for the feedback so far.
What I'm looking to do is allow the players their creative freedom in creating their characters, so long as it makes sense. I don't want to limit them out of the gate, as that would cause everyone to lose interest automatically.
As far as the heroes and villains that they create, it's going to be unlimited. Only one hero at a time can be in the party, meaning only one Captain America at a time, and if they die, nothing happens. The story will still carry on the same. And I'm not going to limit them as far as only being able to play said hero or villain only once. So it will be like a multiverse, just more relaxed.
The only time death of a hero or villain will have negative implications is when an NPC dies. For example, if playing the Captain America: The First Avenger campaign, an NPC version of Captain America would go along with the party. If the Captain America NPC were to die at any point of the campaign, he would cease to exist as an NPC in all of the future campaigns. So he would no longer exist and help with the Avengers.
Going back to talking about character creation.... It will be very hard to make many of the heroes.. There will need to be a LOT of flexibility either with allowing certain spells or even certain items.
For example Thor will need a hammer of returning (or the dwarven thrower). Iron man will need winged boots. Etc. These equipments are part of these heroes just as much as their class, if not more. And some gear may need to be entirely homebrewed or DM-bent to allow certain things. That being said, you need to figure out how you want to do this.. Give low level characters uber gear n let them plow through, just have a high level campaign with premade characters or give each player a 'build guide'.. May be fun to have the heroes 'grow and progress' but it may be more frustrating then just flat out given a premade toon (having to build it YOUR way the entire time may feel more of a lock in then jist being given a level 15 pregen iron man).
(But take into consideration that some 'signature' magic items & abilities are late level.. For example Dwarven thrower is very rare and tempest cleric cant fly until level 17)
But if i had to suggest builds:
(Most of them 'should' be human. *shrug* going Vhuman would also be a good way to get a feat if its needed too)
Iron man/war machine: artillerist artificer with the handheld gun (as opposed to the turret that can be chosen) with winged boots.
Captain America: fighter either cavelier (for the massive defensive abilities) or battle master for his smart tactics. Shield mastery feat. New UA punching fighting style and shield of returning (maybe even give more shield bashing/shove abilities through feats or something?
Thor: tempest cleric with hammer of returning/dwarven thrower.
Ant man: thief rogue with gloves of enlarge/reduce (HOMEBREW ITEM) either at will or few times per SR or LR
Spider-Man: saw someone suggest shadow monk? I guess that works but make a homebrew item that lets him cast web & maybe hold person (web wrapped) and maybe even have a grapple feature
Hawkeye: arcane archer fighter with sharpshooter feat
Black widow: assassin rogue
Hulk: half/orc beserker barbarian
Dr Strange: wizard with cape of levitation (not sure which one though.. Evoker? Abjuration? You can wait for wildemont and see how dunamancy is)
Black panther: tabaxi monk of open fist
Iron fist: sun soul monk
Falcon: Aarokocra idk fighter? Gunslinger?
Vision: no idea. Warlock or sorcerer? No clue
Wanda: wild sorcerer
Can't think of anyone else
Bonus! Scorpion from mortal kombat: vhuman sun soul monk (reskin the radiant bolts into hellfire) take the magic initiate feat & take thorn whip & either firebolt or produce flame. You'd need some DM flexibility to then take misty step (flame teleport). Also id allow it 1x or even 2x teleport per SR instead of 1x per LR. Also I'd allow thorn whip then attack at level 5 just to get some sick combos (even though if you use a cantrip you can't use the attack 2x)
Sub-zero: literally 4 element monk focusing on ice and water affinity stuff
There are ways to do it. I have a Pathfinder 1E unchained monk/unchained rouge based on Nightwing who is pretty fun.