While the MSHRPG (that'll be the shorthand from now on) dabbled in economics with a secondary "ability" called Resources and Resource Points, the real currency of the game was a thing called Karma.
Karma is a Sanskrit word that (more or less) describes the sum of all actions that an individual has done, is doing and will do over the course of his lifetime. In the game, Karma (or more appropriately Karma points) could be spent to adjust dice rolls on the aforementioned Universal Table, in order to ensure that you accomplished whatever it is you were setting out to do.
Karma was rewarded or taken away depending on the hero's actions, as shown below (click on the pic to expand it):
(note: thanks to ClassicMarvel.com from whose PDFs of the source material many of these captures were taken. And thanks to ImageShack's hosting and handy-dandy Firefox toolbar for making the host-and-post process so easy. This blog wouldn't be the same without either of them.)
On this table are various rewards and demerits for performing specific actions. The basic concept, of course, is that if you do something altruistic, you gain Karma. If you consciously avoid doing something altruistic (or do something malevolent), you lose Karma. Now, under the tenets of Indian philosophy, you don't really gain or lose karma, so maybe in game terms it's more appropriate to say that it ebbs and flows or something. Theologically speaking, the overriding concept appears to be more Ecclesiastical in philosophy.
But within the realm of the Marvel Universe, it works. Conviction is often given as the reason that heroes like Captain America and Spider-Man succeed against overwhelming odds, and Karma is representative of that. Karma can also be used toward a character's advancement, increasing ability or power ranks or even, by spending enough of it, gaining a new power. In that respect, it's replaced the usual "experience points" that are used in most role-playing games. In the Marvel Universe, morality trumps experience.
One fun conceit of the Campaign Book was that individual sections were narrated by different characters. Spider-Man did most of the talking, but Dr. Stange clued us in about magic, Reed Richards explained special environments, Henry Peter Gyrich gave us a rundown on government and the law, and Hank McCoy, a.k.a. The Beast, narrated the section on animals because he looks like one. I think the writers lost some Karma points for that one. Anyhoo, the section on Karma was narrated by none other than Captain America. Because if you want someone telling you about right and wrong, it may as well be Cap, right? Take it away, Cap:
"Those of us who are single enjoy going out for dinner, or dancing, or a movie with our respective girlfriends or boyfriends." In related news, my tongue is bleeding from my biting it so hard. The sad part is that when I read that as a thirteen year old, I think I was nodding along in agreement. The "date" reward was always a bit confusing. The above chart lists the reward that provides a range of 2-20 karma points, and the book adds these two visual examples:
So the Thing get ten points for taking Alicia out to dinner while Peter only five for taking Mary Jane out dancing. Why is that? Did the Thing spend more? Who knows?
Cap continues: "Married heroes get karma points for spending a week with their spouse, and a bonus if the kids are around." Best not let them run off into traffic, then. In case you're curious, "going out on a date" nets you anywhere from 2-20 points of karma, while "spending a week with family" gets you 15-25 (the difference between kids and no kids, I think). So, theoretically, you could get more karma from going out on a date than spending the week with your wife. I'm just sayin'.
That's not the best part. Say that Reed Richards is aware that Doctor Doom is devising a plot to take over the world, but he decides, "screw it, I'm taking Sue and Franklin to the Catskills for seven days and we're going fishing." According to the game rules he would lose 25 points for permitting a "global conspiracy" to happen, but gains 25 points for spending a week with his family. Doom may wind up ruling the world, but Reed breaks even! And the train coming back from the Catskills will probably run on time, so really, everybody wins.
More good stuff: "A hero who doesn't meet his professional or school assignments loses Karma too, whether the failure is because of injury or because the hero was out at Alpha Centauri fighting Skrulls. The loss is 10 Karma per week, unless the hero made arrangements with his boss or school beforehand." I think a note from the Living Tribunal should suffice. By the way, having an excuse to read that sentence again is reason enough to do this blog.
I know it seems like I'm making fun of the content here. Nothing could be further from the truth. I absolutely loved this game. It was likely responsible for as many happy hours of my childhood as anything this side of the actual comic books. I admire the amount of work that the game's creators put into it, so when I joke about some of the stuff written here, it's with the deepest of affection. Honest.
One of the fascinating things about RPGs is how they're supposed to mimic the complexity of "real life" and boil it down to a system that translates into dice rolls, cards, charts and whatever else. The deconstruction of such mundane things is always interesting. This aspect got de-emphasized later on (the modules for the Advanced game rarely tossed in these personal encounters). This is understandable. While Peter Parker's personal life is a crucial part of the Spider-Man mythos, it's not terribly exciting to role-play his lunch with Aunt May.
