While playing the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game, the players have their characters try to do all sorts of things. Some are amazing, while others are more mundane.

Many of these mundane things are sure to succeed. As far as the game is concerned, they just happen automatically.

For instance, if Spider-Man’s player wants Peter Parker to walk to a bodega to pick up some groceries, then he just does it. The Narrator doesn’t bother rolling any dice or checking any details on a character sheet. They simply describe what Parker sees, hears, smells, feels and so on when he walks through the neighborhood and enters the bodega.

Most of the time, there’s no real challenge to this, so there’s no need to consult the rules or to roll any dice. The Narrator and the other players just describe their parts of the story with words. It happens narratively.

However, sometimes heroes want to try to do things for which the outcome isn’t always certain. Often there’s an element of risk involved.

Later, for example, when Spider-Man is swinging through Manhattan on his way to work, does he hear the alarm going off at a nearby bank? His player might need to roll some dice to figure that out.

And what happens if Spider-Man spots the Vulture flying away from the bank with the alarm going off and tries to punch the super villain? Does he hit the Vulture?

Anytime the circumstances make it challenging for a character to complete an action, the Narrator calls for an action check to figure out what happens. This helps keep things fair because no one gets to decide exactly what happens. Instead, the dice let you know, and you continue on from there.

To resolve an action check, you need three six-sided dice (each referred to as a “d6”): two regular ones and a special one called a “Marvel die,” sometimes referred to as dMarvel. Together, we call these three dice d616.

An official Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game die has a special Marvel logo in place of the 1. It’s important to be able to differentiate your ordinary dice from your Marvel die, because any time a Marvel logo comes up on the Marvel die, something special happens.

If you don’t have an official Marvel die, you can substitute an ordinary d6 different from the other two dice you’re rolling. For example, make your Marvel die a red one while the other two dice are white. Just remember that getting a 1 on that red die means you got a Marvel logo result.

With your d616 in hand, follow these steps to resolve any action check:

• Roll d616.
• Apply the relevant ability score.
• Compare the total to the target number.

Roll d616

When you’re asked to roll d616, roll your three six-sided dice and add up the numbers.

Example: You roll 3 5 4, so your total is 12.

Note that when we list the results for a d616 roll, we always list the Marvel die as the middle die. Think of it as the number 1 in the 616.

There is one special exception when you add up the dice. If your Marvel die comes up with a Marvel logo, that’s a Fantastic result. Count the Marvel die as a 6 instead of a 1 and then add up the numbers like usual.

When we list an action check that has a Fantastic roll as its result, we use an M to represent the middle (Marvel) die.

Example: You roll 3 M 6, so your total is 15.

Apply Ability Score

Add the character’s ability score for the ability they’re using to try to pull off the attempted action, like using their Melee ability to punch someone.

An ability score helps define what a character is good at. They can range from –3 to +9 or more, so the numbers can make a huge difference. You’ll learn more about ability scores in Chapter 3.

Compare the Total to the Target Number

Every action check has a target number (TN). This is the number that you’re trying to meet or beat with the d616 roll.

The rules describe the TNs for a number of different action checks. If a particular kind of action check isn’t covered by the rules, it’s up to the Narrator to determine the target number, using their judgment.

If the result of the action check’s d616 roll meets or beats the target number, then the action succeeds. If it’s less than the target number, the action fails.

Example: A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent has been cornered by three A.I.M. scientists, and the agent decides to fight their way past them. Their player declares that the agent wants to punch one of the scientists.

The Narrator announces that the target number for this action check is 10. The agent’s player makes a d616 roll. The result is 2 4 3. That totals up to 9, which would fail. The attack would miss!

However, the agent gets to add the appropriate ability score from their character profile, which in this case is +1. That brings the total up to 10, which is a success! Pow!

The Action Check Format

Throughout this book and others in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game line, we try to stick to consistent formats to make things easier to understand.

If an action check has a static target number (TN), it uses the format “[ability] vs. TN [#].”

Example: To break out of Spider-Man’s webbing, make a Melee vs. TN 20 action check.

If the action is an attack against another character—as often happens in combat—the format is “make an [ability] vs. [ability] check.” Often these are the same ability matched up against each other.