It’s no secret that we love the MARVEL Heroic Roleplaying Game here at ThoughtCrime. As Quinn and I were sitting around talking shop one evening, we got into a discussion of what things we would like to do with MARVEL that we could never actually publish for money. I started to talk about some Final Fantasy stuff at first before Quinn hit me with “have you ever played Chrono Trigger?”

Have I ever played Chrono Trigger? Seriously?!

Now of course he knew the answer to that question going in. It was less actual query and more creative nudge, but sonuvagun if it’s not an excellent creative nudge.  SO…..!

This post will be the first in a series (you know how much I like writing serial posts!) I’m calling “New Game (Cortex)+” where I write up Chrono Trigger characters using the MARVEL system. Quinn already called dibs on doing some Event writing, so that’s going to be his part of this. We’ll probably even do some Marvel Monday sessions with it at some point because, c’mon it’s fricking Chrono Trigger!!!

The first entry I submit to you all dear readers is Marle.

Wait, Marle??!

Yeah, Marle. I started writing with Crono but admittedly I’m not thrilled with that datafile yet. It needs a little more zing, so you’re getting Marle first. The text-only write up is below. Those of you who like shiny things should go here instead.

MARLE

AFFILIATIONS
Solo d8          Buddy d6          Team d10

DISTINCTIONS
Questing Princess
Ancient Lineage
Sheltered Idealist

POWER SETS
Crystal Spirit
ICE MAGIC d8           VALKYRIE BOW d6            SYMPATHETIC AURA d10
SFX: Area Attack (Ice Magic only). Against multiple targets, for each additional target roll an extra d6 and keep an extra effect die.
SFX: Provoke.  Spend 1 PP when an enemy with any Mental Stress fails an action against a hero. Step down the enemy’s Effect die and apply it to another enemy as a Complication.
SFX: Haste – When you make a successful support action using Sympathetic Aura, you may choose to have the targeted hero forego rolling the Asset die into his or her action pool. If you do, that hero may add the Asset die in as a free Effect die so long as the action succeeds.
SFX: Dual Tech. When you use a Crystal Spirit power to create an Asset that helps an allied character in a conflict, remove the highest die from the Doom Pool before the Entity rolls against you. Step it down and then return it once your support action resolves.
SFX: Safe Healing. Using Sympathetic Aura in the middle of an Action Scene to remove stress does not make the Stress worse if the  action fails.
Limit: Out of MP! Shut down Ice Magic and Sympathetic Aura to gain 1 PP. Recover by activating an Opportunity or during a Transition Scene.

Schala’s Pendant
MAGIC SIPHON d6       ROYAL CREST OF ZEAL d10       PROTECTIVE WARDING d8
SFX: Two-Part Key.  Both Magic Siphon and Royal Crest of Zeal can be used against doors, barriers or other wardings that originate from Zeal.
Limit: Dreamstone.  Earn 1 PP when damaged or affected by other Dreamstone-specific magic or items.
Limit: Royalty.  Earn 1 PP if you step up emotional stress inflicted by any other noble or royal characters.

SPECIALTIES
Combat Expert d8         Political Expert d8          History Expert d8
Psych Master d10

MILESTONES
ANCESTRAL CHAINS
1 XP when you activate an Opportunity to create a MAGIC SIPHON Stunt.
3 XP  when you follow an informative lead to a new era in search of how Guardia came to possess the pendant
10 XP when you are either satisfied with the results of your search or abandon the investigation

NATIONAL TREASURE
1 XP when you make a comparison between where you are now and life in the castle
3 XP when you have a rare item or artifact secured in the castle basement
10 XP when you either defend the Masamune from being stolen from Guardia’s vaults or allow it to slip into enemy hands.

 

A few thoughts on the datafile to close out.

1) I’m calling the Watcher the Entity. Just a little flavor thing. I don’t have a good Chrono name for the Doom Pool yet, so if you think of one let me know.

2) I’m writing these datafiles assuming play starts AFTER the events of Chrono Trigger but BEFORE Chrono Cross. That said, I’m also trying to write the Milestones such that they make some sense if your group wants to actually play THROUGH Chrono Trigger as well. Funky, hunh?

3) You may have expected the Gear Limit on the Pendant. I thought about that for a while and decided against it. First, I think Dreamstone is a far more interesting Limit but that’s not the main point. Only once in Chrono Trigger does Marle lose the pendant and as soon as she does, she effectively becomes an NPC.  Any time Marle is in your party, she has the pendant so I will honor that here as well.

4) I’m really proud of Provoke. Haste is cool too, but man… Provoke makes me giggle with glee. One of the problems with the Confuse status in many tabletop settings is that it takes away player agency. In some games player agency is not assumed to begin with so no harm no foul, but for a game like MARVEL it doesn’t make as much sense. Using the mechanic here, the Confuse “probability” is “calculated” after a move has already failed so it’s less of a sting to the player being targeted. Feel free to wiggle your butt at the Entity when you spend that Plot Point.

5) Marle has a whole load of nothin’ to do after the events of Chrono Trigger. Lucca opens an orphanage, Robo becomes a part of FATE, Crono needs to save his mom but Marle? N’eh. She’s the queen. Not very action-packed..  well, at least until the Porre military shows up five years later. Finding her buy-in to the plot going forward definitely required a little imagination and character interpretation.