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Book 2: MANUAL OF MYSTICISM

P D F Version 1.0

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.....................................................................2

Magic in General.............................................................2

Dimensions ..................................................................6,7

Entities and Entreating .................................................16

Specific Entities ...........................................................18

Miscellaneous Spells ....................................................27

Magical Items ...............................................................29

Locations of Importance...............................................37

Cults..............................................................................38

Index .............................................................................40

Credits

Edited by Epigraphic Ed Sollers (Books 1 and 2) and

Erudite Eric Tobias (Book 3)

Cover by Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin,

Colored by Jeff Butler

Interior artwork by the Marvel Bullpen and Jeff Butler

Graphic Design by Steve Winter

Typography by Betty Elmore

Thanks to Peter Sanderson and Carl Potts for some

clarifications.

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is pro hib-

ited without the express written consent of TSR, Inc., and Marvel Comics Group. Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by

Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.

The names of characters used herein are fictitious and do not refer to any person living or dead. Any descriptions including similarities to persons living or dead are merely coinci-

dental. This product is fictitious and is not based upon any known belief or practice, nor is it an endorsement of any belief or practice. All Marvel characters and the distinctive

likenesses thereof are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL SUPER VILLAINS are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group, a

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Welcome to the Miscellany of Mysticism, a

book that deals with the more advanced

aspects of magic in the Marvel Universe. If

you haven’t read the Manual of Magic yet,

read the first book before you read this

one. That book is the foundation for magic

in the MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ Role

Playing Game system. You must under-

stand it before you can use the material

found within this book.

The Miscellany of Mysticism will furt h e r

define the use of magic, describe the dif-

f e rent dimensions found in the Marvel Uni-

verse and explain dimensional travel,

cover the various magical entities and

s u p e r-human beings found in the Marv e l

Universe, list additional specialized spells,

and describe many of the magical items

that may be available. This book builds

upon the foundation of the first book,

allowing the creation of a more complex

magical scenario or character.

All of the material within is based on

i n f o rmation provided in past Marvel com-

ics titles, particularly Strange Tales or Doc-

tor Strange. Even the theories are solidly

based on Marvel characters, plots and dia-

l o g u e .

The best way for the Judge to use this

m a t e r i a l-is to read through the entire book

then go back and select the elements he

wants to include in his campaign.

For players, the most obvious use of this

book would be to further define a Dimen-

sional energy spell that entreats an entity

(Hoggoth, Ikonn, etc.) But beyond that, the

i n f o rmation within this book provides a

h i s t o ry of past exploits, characters,

places, and items useful for developing

heroes.

MAGIC IN GENERAL

The following steps show the various

d e g rees of magic wielder rank or status.

To understand magic in the Marvel Uni-

verse we must first look at its exact defini-

tion. Magic-The practice of using cert a i n

e n e rgies and powers whose nature is

beyond the scope of technologically ori-

ented science.

N o v i c e . This character knows fewer than

five spells or has less than an Amazing spell

rank in at least two spells. He is spending

most of his time with his master (when not

practicing what he has learned on villains).

He can study tomes and scrolls and even

perform magic found therein, but he cannot

yet learn spells on his own (spells that he

has read in a tome or on a scroll must be

studied each time he uses them—he cannot

commit them to memory.)

Novices are usually ignored by the more

p o w e rful dimensional entities. A novice

using a Dimensional Entreaty spell uses

his magic as normal, but no FEAT roll is

n e c e s s a ry to determine if the entity

e n t reated will be aff ronted by the entre a t y

and take action. The dimensional entity

feels that it is an investment in the future ,

but the character is currently beneath his

total consideration. A novice can, how-

e v e r, provoke a hostile reaction from extra-

dimensional entities by abusing their

power—using it in ways the entity would

not normally approve of (see “Abusing

Dimensional Entreaties” in the “H O W

SPELLS ARE CAST” section in the Man-

ual of Magic.

The Origin of Magical Power

“Where does all power truly originate? In

the long run, from the sun, of course.

Here, too, is the indirect birthplace of all

mystical might. Control of the source

means total control. To be a star means

the very laws of nature are yours to amend

as you wish. You see, stars are not inert

celestial bodies. They are highly intelli-

gent, aware, and powerf u l . ” —Apalla, a

humanoid form of a star.

“I can’t make something out of nothing.

Magic is basically a study of forces. Once

one knows how to channel these forces,

though, the results can be quite striking.”

—Doctor Strange

Magical power is the life blood of a

magic wielder (and of a magical item or

c re a t u re, for that matter). In the Manual of

Magic we have seen how magical power is

divided into three diff e rent types: per-

sonal, universal, and dimensional. But all

magic power is built on common gro u n d ,

that of reshaping existing power, found in

yourself, your universe, or in another

dimension, to a form that you desire. What

is important to magicians, is the re f e re n c e

to the ultimate power coming from the

sun, which is our own star. This may

explain why the forces of light, usually

re f e rred to as the forces of ord e r, good, or

“white”, hold sway over the forces of dark-

ness, usually re f e rred to as forces of

chaos, evil, or “black”. It is this that give

the Doctor Stranges and Shamans of this

world their advantage.

D i s c i p l e . The character possesses at

least 5 spells or has at least an Amazing

rank in all of his spells. He assists the mas-

ter in some of his rituals, but is spending

m o re time adventuring than a novice. He

may learn new spells from his master’s

written works.

Disciples, like novices, are usually

i g n o red by the more powerful dimensional

entities. A disciple using a Dimensional

E n t reaty spell uses his magic as norm a l ,

but no FEAT roll is necessary to determ i n e

if the entity entreated will be aff ronted by

the entreaty and take action. The dimen-

sional entity feels that it is an investment in

the future, but the character is curre n t l y

beneath his total consideration. A disciple

can, however, provoke a hostile re a c t i o n

f rom extra-dimensional entities by abus-

ing their power-using it in ways the entity

would not normally approve of (see “Abus-

ing Dimensional Entreaties” in the “HOW

SPELLS ARE CAST” section in the Man-

ual of Magic.

Magic Wielder Ranks

“There is more to the study of mysticism

and the occult than most people might

even dream! In the mystic order to which I

belong, it is indeed written that practioners

of the mystical arts must choose a disciple

or disciples, to insure the continuity of the

s t ruggles against malefic forces, but only

at such a time that it is fitting and

p ro p e r ! ” —Doctor Strange

A d e p t . The character possesses at least 8

spells. He has a spell rank of at least

Excellent in all of them and Incredible or

better in at least two of them. He spends

m o re time adventuring than he spends

with his master, though he is still at his

m a s t e r’s beck and call. His studying of the

writings of the ancient arts gleans him

m o re information than if he were a novice

or disciple.

This is the lowest rank at which a sor-

c e rer could normally gain special attention

f rom dimensional beings (see the Entre a t y

F E AT Roll Table and the Casting Shifts

Table in Book 1.

A sorc e rer supreme spends all of his

time guarding his dimension, teaching

any students he may have, and studying

mystical lore.

A sorc e rer supreme is more re c o g n i z-

able for his worthiness than for the power

he wields. He earns his rank through vigi-

lance against foes and by overcoming the

constant burden of responsibility this rank

i n v o l v e s .

amount of time is being committed to the

studies that could otherwise be spent in

gaining Karm a .

A player can request that his character

be allowed to study a particular spell, but

the Judge makes a final decision on spell

a v a i l a b i l i t y.

The beginning spell rank for a spell

l e a rned in this way is Good.

A d e p t s . The adept can learn one spell

f rom a written tome or scroll every six

months of game time, provided the adept

is taking sufficient time to study it (usually

about half his time, assuming that he stud-

ies daily). If the adept goes more than a

week without study, the spell cannot be

l e a rned. The normal amount of Karm a

points needed to gain this spell is waived

by the Judge, as an extensive amount of

time is being committed to the studies that

could otherwise be spent in gaining

K a rm a .

A player can request that his ‘ character

be allowed to study a particular spell, but

the Judge makes a final decision on spell

a v a i l a b i l i t y.

The beginning spell rank for a spell

l e a rned in this way is Good.

Masters and Their Role

M a s t e r. The character possesses at least

12 spells. He has a spell rank of at least

Excellent in all of them and Incredible or

better in at least four of them. He spends

v e ry little time with his master, but much of

it in contemplation, study, and adventur-

“Many times I have sat thus and read my

m a s t e r’s writings. and each time I am filled

with greater awe of the Ancient One’s sen-

sitivity and knowledge. There is much

even a master of the ancient arts can

a c q u i re from the Learned One’s teach-

i n g s . “ - Doctor Strange

This observation by the good Doctor adds

f u rther definition to how a spell is con-

t rolled. If a spell were to be directly manip-

ulated by the character, such as the

Human To rch, it is because the character

has had an accident which physically

a l t e red him to control that spell, or the

character is a mutant and was born with

the ability to control that spell. Magic is dif-

f e rent. It is the knowledge of how to tap

into that spell and manipulate it. And how

does one gain that knowledge? Thro u g h

l e a rning the ancient arts with a master!

The importance of a master for a magic

wielding character cannot be overstated.

It is the best and often only way the hero

can pro g ress in his knowledge of magic

use. This includes learning new spells.

The “KARMA AND ADVA N C E M E N T ”

section of Book 1 lists the Karma costs

involved in improving spell ranks and

l e a rning new spells. As can be seen, char-

acters who so not have masters pay a

heavy penalty. Some characters (espe-

cially those of the Eclectic school) learn a

trick or two through the studying of tomes,

but to gain skill in magic a character must

be taught by a master.

Systematic studying with a master has

additional benefits as well:

D i s c i p l e s . The disciple can learn one

spell from a written tome or scroll every

nine months of game time, provided the

disciple is taking sufficient time to study it

(usually about half his time, assuming that

he studies daily). If the disciple goes more

than a week without study, the spell can-

not be learned. The normal amount of

K a rma points needed to gain this spell is

waived by the Judge, as an extensive

ing. If he qualifies, he may find a student of

his own to teach. His studying of the writ-

ings of the ancient arts gleans him more

i n f o rmation than any other sourc e .

Masters and Sorc e rers Supre m e . A

master of the mystic arts can learn one

written spell in a tome or scroll every five

months of game time, provided the char-

acter is taking sufficient time to study it

(usually about half his time, assuming that

he studies daily). If the master goes more

than two weeks without study, the spell

cannot be learned. It must be re m e m-

b e red, though, that the time spent adven-

turing is much greater and the time for

study will exclude other duties or appear-

ances. This completely halts any Karma or

Popularity increase by any means other

than that directly related to an adventure .

The normal amount of Karma points

needed to gain this spell is waived by the

Judge, as an extensive amount of time is

being committed to the studies that could

o t h e rwise be spent in gaining Karm a .

A player can request that his character

be allowed to study a particular spell, but

the Judge makes a final decision on spell

a v a i l a b i l i t y.

The type of spells available that can be

l e a rned and their energy types are at the

J u d g e ’s discretion. The beginning spell

rank for a spell learned in this way is

E x c e l l e n t .

S o rc e rer Supre m e . The strongest master

in the world or dimension of his natural

existence is called the Sorc e rer Supre m e

or the Sorc e ress Supreme. The Sorcerer

S u p reme for the Earth dimension is Doc-

tor Strange.

A sorc e rer supreme possesses at least

14 spells or magical items at any one time.

He has a spell rank of at least Remarkable

in all of them and Amazing or higher in at

least five. A sorc e rer supreme has the

g reatest amount of mystical knowledge in

his dimension.

Masters and Students. A master can find

and teach one student, if he desires. The

time it takes to train a student is great, so a

master may not learn new spells from tomes

or scrolls while teaching his student.

The student starts out at novice level

with only one spell. (Roll the student and

his spell up randomly). For every two hun-

d red hours the master spends with the

novice, the student can learn one person-

al spell at a Good spell rank. For every thre e

h u n d red hours the master spends with the

novice, the student can learn one univer-

sal spell at a Good spell rank. (The student

is limited to learning one spell at a time, so

l e a rning a personal and a universal spell

would take 500 hours of instru c t i o n . )

The player may play the student as he

does his normal character, even taking

him on adventures, but two considerations

must be kept in mind: the novice is not

c o n s i d e red to be studying for his spells

when he is adventuring, whether he is

accompanying the master or not; a master

who loses a novice, whether to death or to

an enemy, suffers a penalty of Karma loss

(half of his current Karma vanishes) and

he cannot take on a new student for at

least a year of game time.

attacked Doctor Strange together many

times. A student of the same school as the

good Doctor should be ever wary of them.

Another master on Earth is Ebora, the

Dark Servant of the demon Sligguth. She

is the only human tolerated in the society

of the Serpent People. She serves as their

head priestess (use Clea’s Earth statistics

found in Book 3 for Ebora, but substitute

chaotic spells and entities for any spells or

entities of order Clea may use).

Shaman is a master of nature magic,

and his daughter, Talisman is a disciple of

that same school of magic (their full

descriptions are in Book 3).

A character who has the talent Chro n i-

cler of Magic (described in Book 1) will

know by name all these important masters

and the schools they serve; no Reason

F E AT roll is re q u i red for this. However, this

b a c k g round knowledge provides no

insight on the current whereabouts and

activities of these characters; time,

re s e a rch, and successful FEAT rolls are

needed to learn more about the masters.

Concentrating on

Magical Power

The importance of a magic wielding char-

a c t e r’s concentration and study for the

use of magic cannot be overstated. This is

why some forces, such as sonics, are so

devastating to magic wielders, because

they disrupt the ability to concentrate and

find the flow of the natural forc e s .

D i s ruption. The Judge should designate

one or two forces that disrupt the use of

magic. Possibilities include sonics, the

D a r k f o rce, Monstrous (and greater) physi-

cal damage, and the like. A magic wielder

or item in an area where this force exists

s u ffers a –1 CS.

D i s ruption is diff e rent from distraction in

that distraction only delays spellcasting

due to special circumstances that the

caster has some ability to influence (such

as rescuing someone in danger) while dis-

ruption is more serious and has longer-

lasting effects. Judges should not use

both disruption and distraction in the

same situation.

I m p o rtant Masters. Masters of Doctor

S t r a n g e ’s order that have been mentioned

in the past include Rama Kaliph of Arabia;

Tu rham Barim of the Near East; Count

C a rezzi of Italy; and the Aged Genghis

(who lives in the Himalyas and is quite

s e n i l e ) .

To re p resent these Masters of Ord e r,

use Baron Mord o ’s abilities and spell

ranks given in Book 3, the Codex of Char-

acters and Cre a t u res, but substitute entit-

ies of order for any chaotic entities Mord o

uses. The Judge may alter the rest of their

spells as he desire s ) .

Masters who serve Baron Mord o

include Sir Anthony Baskerville of

England, who served him in the 1940s;

Demonicus, who claims to be a demon

and has nearly bested Doctor Strange on

his own; Adria, a schemer who often plans

attacks on Doctor Strange, even in his

Sanctum Sanctorum; and Kaecilius, who

has served as Baron Mord o ’s host body

many times in the past.

To re p resent these Masters of Chaos,

use Baron Mord o ’s abilities and spell

ranks, with a –1 CS to all Mord o ’s spell

ranks; however, ignore any CS that would

result in these characters being re d u c e d

below master rank. The Judge may alter

their other spells at will).

Demonicus, Adria, and Kaecilius have

Confidence in

Magical Powers

“I have had centuries in which to study the

a rt of combat! No one that lives can be my

e q u a l ! ” —The Dread Dorm a m m u

“Speak to me not of equals, Dorm a m m u . . . !

I have pledged my very life to prove that I

am your superior!” —Doctor Strange

“So long as you endured, my mystic power

could never be supreme! But now, once I

have destroyed you, all of mankind shall

call Mordo master!” — B a ron Mord o

“Base braggart! You possess not the skill

for supremacy in the mystic art s ! ” — D o c-

tor Strange

K a rma Adjustments. All super hero e s

and villains have a tendency to be verbally

melodramatic from time to time, but magic

wielders can sound like the most over-

bearing of the lot. The reason, quite sim-

p l y, is a matter of confidence. When

d e a ling with magical energies and extra-

dimensional beings, the mind can become

easily boggled, sometimes leading to a

d a n g e rous lapse in concentration. When

the concentration goes, so does the eff e c t

of the spell. The constant re a s s u r a n c e s ,

t h reats, and boasts that a character yells

at his opponent not only helps him stick to

his task, but can possibly weaken the

other character’s resolve as well.

The usual form this lack of resolve takes

is in the character running away and

accepting the Karma loss (whether NPC

or PC). But, with magic wielders, loss of

confidence or despair can affect their per-

f o rmance. As explained in Book 1, hero i c

magic wielders who behave in a part i c u-

larly cowardly fashion lose suffer double

the Karma loss that their actions would

n o rmally re q u i re .

If, however, a magic wielder hero i c a l l y

attempts to rescue innocents, there b y

leaving himself open to attack (again

explained in Book 1) and still manages to

win, the Judge should grant the hero an

additional 20 Karma after the victory,

re g a rdless of whether or not the villain was

actually captured and brought to justice.

(deprived of sight by a blindfold, intense

light or darkness, sand thrown in the eyes,

etc.), he cannot use any spell which

re q u i res sight such as targeted attacks,

Bands, Sensing—Clairvoyance, Post-

Cognition, and so on.

spellcasting until the spell takes effect. If

the spell fails, the villain will not be aware

that it was cast.

Apply a –1 CS to the villain’s FEAT ro l l

to resist any of these spells.

A p p a r i t i o n

Astral Pro j e c t i o n

Chameleonic Coloring

Damage Absorption

Density Contro l-O t h e r s

Density Contro l-S e l f

Dual Persona

Emotion Contro l

Enchanted Eye

F o re t e l l i n g

H e a l i n g-S e l f

H e a l i n g-O t h e r s

I m m o v a b i l i t y

I n v i s i b i l i t y-S e l f

I n v i s i b i l i t y-O t h e r s

L u c k

Mental Barr i e r

Mental Pro b e

P o s t-C o g n i t i o n

P rotected Senses

Static Field

Te l e k i n e s i s

Telepathy (if not with the villain)

Tr a n c e

G l o a t i n g

While confidence and bravado are neces-

s a ry, gloating is highly undesirable. Vi l-

lains, by necessity, gloat- That is usually

why they are undone, because they are so

busy gloating and talking their opponents

to death, the hero has time to re c o v e r.

Gloating and humiliating a character is

how a villain achieves his Karma. Magical

villains, especially the Dread Dorm a m m u

and Baron Mordo, can gloat for 10 to 20

rounds at a time, if it appears that their vic-

tim is helpless.

If a hero tries to gain time by allowing a

magical villain to gloat: that is, acts weak

and defenseless, inquires about how the

villain trapped him, and so forth, the villain

is allowed a Reason FEAT roll. If the roll is

successful, the villain will continue his nor-

mal actions (attacking or whatever). If the

roll is unsuccessful, the villain will stop

attacking and start gloating over the hero .

This gloating will occupy the villain for no

less than 5 rounds, plus 1 round for each

level the villain has achieved. After this

allotted time, the villain must make a suc-

cessful Reason FEAT roll or continue

g l o a t i n g .

An evil sorc e rer who gloats over his

opponent receives 20 Karma as a re w a rd .

The re w a rd is the same no matter how

long the villain gloats.

In addition to eating up time, a gloating

villain will not notice if the hero is using

c e rtain spells listed below (see the Gloat-

ing Ta b l e ) .

Magic vs. Science

“There is a distant relationship between

the energies of science and those of sor-

c e ry, but my power over the former is

l i mited.” —Doctor Strange

Restraints on Spellcasting

The more powerful a magical spell is, the

m o re gesturing and chanting must be

done to achieve the results. If the magic

wielder is prevented from completing his

g e s t u res or chants, it may stop the spell

f rom being completed. If a magic wielder

is somehow blinded, certain spells may

not be used as the target cannot be seen.

Bound, Gag, and Blind Eff e c t s . If a

magic wielding character is bound (hands

tied securely behind his back), he may not

use any universal spells. If a magic wield-

ing character is bound and gagged (pre-

vented from speaking clearly), he cannot

use any dimensional spells. A successful

Hold when Grappling effectively binds a

c h a r a c t e r.

Unless a magical item is used to bind

and gag a character and is specifically

described as negating all of the victim’s

magical spells, a character can always

use any personal spells he may have

though bound and gagged.

If a magic wielding character is blinded

It is difficult to defeat intelligent, indepen-

dent machines with sorc e ry. Unless spe-

cifically stated, as in the Mesmer-

mechanism spell, robots, androids, com-

puters, etc., cannot be affected by magi-

cal spells that normally affect the mind or

body of living beings. A Healing spell will

not reattach a ro b o t ’s arm, an illusion of a

wall will not affect a machine with sensors,

unless those sensors are hooked to a

human brain, as in the case of a cyborg ,

C h a rming a tank would not work, nor

would Tongues allow a magic wielder to

converse with a computer, though he

could read the print outs of a computer if it

is in a non-machine language. For the

most part, magic is most effective on

o rganic beings.

Gloating Ta b l e

Vi l l a i n ’s Rank

Rounds of Gloating

N o v i c e

D i s c i p l e

A d e p t

M a s t e r

Sorcerer Supre m e

1 0

The villain will continue gloating unless he

makes a successful Intuition FEAT ro l l .

This gloat check is made every ro u n d

t h e reafter until it is successful or until the

villain is attacked.

If a hero casts any of the following

spells, a gloating villain will not notice the

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