The Book of Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell)

[IAmBatman]

I believe that's correct.

[johnny139]

Yup. If you read the Captain Marvel series where he was in charge, once he went crazy he essentially acted on whim. Sometimes he'd be a hero and save a species, then he'd start harassing some random alien, then he'd give a skinhead superpowers, then he'd wipe out entire armies to stop a war...

He wasn't exactly reliable, in short. I'm actually glad the mechanic matched the comics so well, as I came up with it before I read the stories!

[japes]

Originally Posted by johnny139

COSMIC AWARENESS
If an opponent chooses Captain Marvel for any special power and rolls the 20-sided die, you may subtract 4 from the roll. When rolling defense against an attack, add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled. All excess shields count as unblockable hits on the attacking figure.

COSMIC MADNESS
After using Captain Marvel's Cosmic Awareness special power, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll 1-7, place a blue Insanity Marker on this card or, if there are already three Insanity Markers on this card, choose an opponent to take control of Captain Marvel. Remove all Order Markers from this card, then give this card to the chosen opponent. Add one die to Captain Marvel’s normal attack for each Insanity Marker on this card.

Fret's recent question in the playtesting thread got me thinking about this...

For those not aware the summary of the situation was this...Captain Marvel was attacked but the attacker wiffed and the question was do you have to roll defense dice because adding the addition shield and the counter strike portion of this power kicks in the Cosmic Madness roll.

Part of Cosmic Awareness is a definite must...but the rest is unclear to me.

Couldn't you choose not to use Cosmic Awareness even if you MUST roll defense. In other words if the official ruling is that you have to roll defense in all cases couldn't you choose to not take the bonus of the extra shield or enact the counter strike portion of that. Technically he didn't need his Cosmic Awareness as the attacker just missed but because he didn't use it he can't counter strike.

It seems off that Captain Marvel lost that battle because the attacker rolled ZERO skulls.

Granted I don't know the character so if he spirals out of control regardless of if he is using his powers and this link is just mechanical then fine but I think it needs rewording...if not and the link is thematic that the more times he uses the power the deeper he gets into insanity then I think it still needs to be reworded.

The original has the special power portion optional but is unclear for the regular defense roll and counter strike.
COSMIC AWARENESS
If an opponent chooses Captain Marvel for any special power and rolls the 20-sided die, you may subtract 4 from the roll. When rolling defense against an attack, add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled. All excess shields count as unblockable hits on the attacking figure.

If using the power is optional all around, perhaps...
COSMIC AWARENESS
If an opponent chooses Captain Marvel for any special power and rolls the 20-sided die, you may subtract 4 from the roll. When rolling defense against an attack, you may add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled and all excess shields count as unblockable hits on the attacking figure.

If the whole thing is a must...
COSMIC AWARENESS
If an opponent chooses Captain Marvel for any special power and rolls the 20-sided die, you may subtract 4 from the roll. When rolling defense against an attack, add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled. All excess shields count as unblockable hits on the attacking figure.

probably not the best wording but maybe someone like @Just_a_Bill could offer an opinion here...or perhaps I'm just the only one with an issue here.


EDIT: just in case. @Karat @IAmBatman @TrollBrute @Viegon @johnny139 @SirGalahad

[japes]

After reading through the thread I see that it is a must for the auto shield and counter strike so perhaps a 4th option...

COSMIC AWARENESS
When rolling defense against an attack, add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled. All excess shields count as unblockable hits on the attacking figure. If an opponent chooses Captain Marvel for any special power and rolls the 20-sided die, you may subtract 4 from the roll.

Just moved the "you may" portion to the end.

[johnny139]

The first half (d20 stuff) is optional. The second half (auto-shield) is not.

This design was somewhat shackled by the original Captain Marvel's design, which uses the same construction but lacks the Madness aspect, making it irrelevant. Cosmic Awareness isn't a power you can "use;" it's a sense, making you fully aware of the universe at all times. To be 100% true to theme, it should all be mandatory, but personally I don't think it's worth the hassle.

[Just_a_Bill]

This seems like one of those cases where copying an earlier wording makes things confusing. I'd say disregard whatever the earlier design said, give it a new name, and just write this to very clearly do whatever you want it to do. If the awareness is not something he can "turn off," then make it very clearly mandatory in all cases, and then the madness will always kick in. Problem solved.

Or, better yet, write a new improved version that works in both cases and put it on both cards. There seems to be an aversion to revising older cards, but that's what I'd do. It's a virtual product that's pretty easily revised.

[japes]

I had forgotten that this was copied from the original Captain Marvel and also wrongly thought I had done the art for this card which is the only reason I mentioned it.

If it is a must, which seems to be the case, then it at least answers my question and my concerns are at least taken care of.

So in the case where there are two figures left (one each army) and army 1 attacks Captain Marvel and his counter strike would be enough to take out army 1's last figure then Captain Marvel HAS to roll for Madness and fails...since Army 1 has no more figures Captain Marvel still wins correct? It's not like the card gets handed over to the other army and he wins by default right?

I'm sure I just have brain fatigue and I'm over thinking this.

[johnny139]

From what I recall, C3G uses the "immediate ending" ruling - once Player 1's team is eliminated, Player 1 loses. The Madness roll triggers after using Cosmic Awareness, so the attack will have resolved before you have to roll.

If you did a "end of the round" ruling, then there'd still be a chance to switch back, but i don't think people generally do that.

[japes]

Originally Posted by johnny139

From what I recall, C3G uses the "immediate ending" ruling - once Player 1's team is eliminated, Player 1 loses. The Madness roll triggers after using Cosmic Awareness, so the attack will have resolved before you have to roll.

If you did a "end of the round" ruling, then there'd still be a chance to switch back, but i don't think people generally do that.

Thanks. I'm good so back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[A3n]

5 October 2016 - Captain Marvel (Genis Vell) - Glyph losing clarity

[isherlock99]

An additional source for the same figure is Supernova #079 / Legacy.