Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Delayed to April

Marvel has quietly pushed back the planned release date for the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game playtest. The $9.99 rulebook that introduces players to the upcoming Marvel tabletop roleplaying game will now be released on April 20th according to both Amazon and Diamond Comics. Marvel originally solicited the playtest for a February release. No reason was given for the delay, but many publishers (both tabletop and otherwise) have pushed back their releases due to shipping and supply issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Marvel Multiverse is a new tabletop roleplaying game designed by Matt Forbeck and published by Marvel Comics that uses a new “d616” system that involves three six-sided dice, with critical successes rolled whenever a 6-1-6 is rolled on the dice. Players can choose to play as either an existing Marvel superhero or create their own hero, with stats for Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain America, Thor, Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Wolverine, and Storm included in the initial playtest.

Character stats for the game include Might, Agility, Resilience, Vigilance, Ego and Logic. The playtest booklet will include both preliminary rules for the game along with an introductory adventure. The public playtest will include a chance for players to provide feedback on the current ruleset, with the potential for feedback to be incorporated into the final rulebook or “subsequent releases.” The playtest book will also include multiple alternative covers.

The game is the latest in a series of tabletop roleplaying games set in the Marvel Universe. The earliest of these games, Marvel Super Heroes, was originally published by original Dungeons & Dragons maker TSR in the 1980s. Three other games have since been released. Forbeck was a designer on the most recent Marvel TTRPG – Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, released back in 2012. This marks the second time that Marvel itself has dipped its toe into the tabletop publishing arena, as all but one of the previous Marvel tabletop games were licensed out to other parties.

Expect more details about the new game system to be announced soon. The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game: Playtest Rulebook will be released on April 20th.