Character Generation

Original Boxed Set · Battle Book + Campaign Book

Six Steps

The 1984 Basic Set generates a new hero in six steps:

Determine the kind of being — mutant, altered human, high-tech, robot, alien, or magic-user.
Assign ability ranks — roll for Fighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, Intuition, Psyche.
Calculate Health and Karma — from the ability ranks just rolled.
Roll powers — number of powers based on the kind of being, then specific powers from the appropriate table.
Roll talents — typically 1–3 regular talents.
Fill in personal details — name, age, secret identity, occupation, contacts.

Step 1: Origin

Roll	Origin	What it means
01–30	Mutant	Powers from genetic changes (X-Men, Magneto).
31–55	Altered Human	Powers from an accident, experiment, or radiation (Spider-Man, Hulk, Cap).
56–70	High-Tech Hero	Powers from technology or gear (Iron Man, Punisher).
71–80	Robot	Mechanical being (Vision, Machine Man).
81–95	Alien	Born on another world (Thor, Silver Surfer).
96–00	Mystical/Other	Magical origin or other (Doctor Strange).

The origin doesn't determine specific powers — it sets up the in-fiction explanation for why the character has powers, and may modify how many powers they roll (mutants and aliens tend to get more; high-tech heroes get devices instead).

Step 2: Ability Ranks

For each of the seven abilities (Fighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, Intuition, Psyche), roll d% and consult the Random Ranks table:

Roll	Rank	Number
01–05	Feeble	2
06–15	Poor	4
16–35	Typical	6
36–60	Good	10
61–80	Excellent	20
81–90	Remarkable	30
91–95	Incredible	40
96–98	Amazing	50
99	Monstrous	75
00	Unearthly	100

Origin-specific modifiers may apply — robots typically get higher Endurance, mutants get a free shift up on one ability, etc. Check the origin write-up in the Campaign Book.

Step 3: Health, Karma, Resources, Popularity

Health = Fighting + Agility + Strength + Endurance rank numbers.
Karma = Reason + Intuition + Psyche rank numbers.
Resources — Roll a separate rank, modified by origin (high-tech heroes typically get a higher Resources rank).
Popularity — Starts at 0 for unknown heroes, or rolled if the hero starts established.

Step 4: Powers

Number of powers depends on origin (mutants and aliens tend to get more; high-tech heroes get devices instead of innate powers). Typical: 1–4 powers.

For each power, roll on Table 27 to determine the category, then on the sub-table to determine the specific power. Some powers (marked with an asterisk) are "special" and count as two regular powers.

Each power has a rank, rolled the same way as abilities.

Full list: Powers.

Step 5: Talents

Roll for 1–3 talents, depending on the hero's origin and background. Roll d% on Table 30 (Talents) for each. Starred talents are special and count as two regular talents.

Full list: Talents.

Step 6: Personal Details

Fill in the narrative:

Hero name, age, real identity (secret or public?).
Personality, occupation, where they live.
Hobbies, friends, family, contacts.
Costume description.

The Campaign Book's "Origin of Mach 1" walks through all six steps with a complete example.