Popularity & Resources

Original Boxed Set · Battle Book + Campaign Book

Popularity

Popularity measures how well-liked the hero is, and affects how strangers, crowds, and the press treat them. Well-established heroes whose real identities are known tend to be popular; secretive heroes and weirdo mutants tend to be unpopular.

Unlike most other abilities, Popularity is tracked as a raw number that maps to a rank using the table below.

Popularity Ranks

Popularity	Rank
−10 or worse	Reverse
1–3	Feeble
4–6	Poor
7–9	Typical
10–19	Good
20–29	Excellent
30–39	Remarkable
40–49	Incredible
50–74	Amazing
75–99	Monstrous
100+	Unearthly

Popularity FEATs

Popularity FEATs cover crowd reactions, news coverage, and the willingness of strangers to help:

Crowd reactions. When a hero appears in public, the Judge calls for a Popularity FEAT. Green/Yellow/Red = the crowd likes them. White = the crowd dislikes them.
Getting help from strangers. Green gets info, Yellow gets simple help, Red gets serious help. White = no help.
News coverage. After a major action, roll Popularity. Green/Yellow/Red = good press. White = bad press or no coverage. Karma can't be spent on this roll.

Important: Karma may NOT be spent on Popularity FEATs (except as a Reverse FEAT for criminal contacts — see below).

Reverse FEATs: Criminals

To get a friendly reaction from a criminal, the hero must roll a WHITE result on the Popularity FEAT. The LESS popular the hero, the more criminals like them. (Criminals will only ever volunteer information — never aid.) Karma can't lower the roll for this purpose.

Earning & Losing Popularity

+1 Popularity: Notable heroic act covered in the press.
+5 Popularity: Saving a city or stopping a major villain (Judge's call).
−1 Popularity: Bad press, public mistake.
−5 Popularity: Major public failure or being implicated in a crime.

Resources

Resources is a fancy name for petty cash — it isn't just money, but the ability to get money and equipment through many channels. It measures both personal wealth and the hero's influence with wealthy organizations. Captain America isn't rich personally, but as Steve Rogers he has connections with S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and the U.S. Government — so his Resources are decent.

Resources Table

Resources has a rank and rank number like any ability. The rank number is the hero's weekly resource point (rp) income. The Maximum column is the most rp the hero can accumulate at one time.

Rank	Weekly Rate	Maximum	Description
Feeble	2 rp	10 rp	Reduced circumstances, unemployed, or Social Security
Poor	4 rp	20 rp	Freelance employment
Typical	6 rp	30 rp	Regular working-class job
Good	10 rp	50 rp	Professional employment (Dr. Strange)
Excellent	20 rp	100 rp	Static inheritance fund (Moon Knight, Stark Foundation)
Remarkable	30 rp	150 rp	Investment portfolio
Incredible	40 rp	200 rp	Large corporation (Stane International)
Amazing	50 rp	250 rp	Multinational corporation
Monstrous	75 rp	375 rp	Small country (Doctor Doom)
Unearthly	100 rp	500 rp	Major nation
Shift X	150 rp	None	Planetary resources (Galactus)

One resource point equals roughly 50–75 dollars (1984 USD).

Spending Resources

Common item costs from the Campaign Book:

Handgun = 5 rp · Rifle = 8 rp · Knife = 1 rp
Bus ticket = 2 rp · Used car = 250 rp · Powerboat = 250 rp
Rented office = 20 rp/month
Factory equipment = 1,000 rp/area

For items not listed, use the rule of thumb: 1 rp ≈ $50–75 USD. The Judge sets the cost of unusual items.