Powers

1st edition had several powers that were either dropped, or modified in the 2nd edition rules. For example Animal/Plant Powers. In the 2nd edition rules, there are pre-generated tables with specific powers listed for the characters to use. The 1st edition version allowed the player to decide what type of plant or animal he wanted to base his character on. He'd then roll 1d6 to determine the number of abilities he had. The GM then worked out what his specific abilities would be, and the benefits they granted the character.

Adaptation - The only change I see it that in 1st edition, if a character used it as a defense, he expended 3 points of Power, instead of 1, as in the Revised rules.

Animal or Plant Powers - The player rolls 1d6 to determine how many powers the character has, the GM determines what those abilities are based on the type of animal they're based on.

Animal/Plant Control is also handled differently. In the 1st edition rules the power is called Control Over One Type or Group of Animals. The player's character can control up to 10 animals of the same type. Range is restricted to speaking/hearing distance.

Armor - Unlike the 2nd Edition/Revised Edition, Armor was a type of defense in 1st Edition, and didn't get a specific point rating.

Astral Projection - 1st edition listed two types (A & B). Type A is similar to the standard 2nd edition power, but type B is similar to the power displayed by Negative Man (and Negative Woman) of the Doom Patrol (you can Google them if you're not familiar). Basically the character's body transforms into a flying energy being. While in this form he can pass through any material other than lead, and passing through materials inflicts 2d10 damage to the object, causing the object to "burn, melt, explode, etc." at a PR cost of 24.

2nd edition has Chemical Power, while 1st has Chemical Control. Chemical Controls description reads, "Basically this is the ability to manipulate chemicals (Chemical King of the Legion of Super Heroes), even to the point of changing one chemical into another (Transformation in 2nd edition). The GM must use his own judgment in determining the effects of the different possibler uses of this power."

Body Power - In 1st edition the player chose a specific body part and the GM determined what that part could do.

Claws/Fangs/Spiked or Prehensile Tails. It's similar to 2nd edition's natural weaponry, but adds in there a 5% chance of an additional special ability.

Control Over Self - Basically Willpower (A) in 2nd edition.

Cybernetics - for reasons unknown to me, was renamed Bionics in the 2nd edition. Personally I would have preferred that they left it Cybernetics.

As in 2nd edition, 1-6 body parts are replaced, once the number of parts is determined, the PC figures out which parts are actually replaced, and the GM determines what special abilities the parts provide.

Emotion Control - Unlike 2nd edition, where character's are limited to one emotion, 1st edition states " This power gives the character complete control over the feelings of his target". I actually prefer this version, and would leave it up to the PC (with GM approval) to determine the exact extent of his abilities. If he wants to limit to one emotion, that's his choice.

Energy Absorption - Basically the character is capable of absorbing energy based attacks directed at him. There's a 15% chance that the character can store the energy for a Power Blast. If the character is "hit" that means he couldn't absorb the attack. A missed attack, against the character, gives him a 75% chance of absorbing the attack.

The maximum number of points that can be stored = S+C (Endurance in 2e). If the stored number of points absorbed exceeds the limit, the character has to fire a Power Blast to dump some of the stored energy. If the character absorbs more energy the his maximum storage capacity, and fails to release the energy, he immediately takes damage = to the amount of energy he has stored. Range for the Power Blast = 1" per point of damage released. Damage = the number of points released.

While I like the PC having a chance to absorb the attack, I'd just go with the 2nd edition's simplified version of Absorption. I also like the idea of the character taking damage if he doesn't dump some of the stored power. That seems to be a pretty standard consequence in comics.

Flame Powers - As per the 2nd Edition Flame Powers B (there's only one version), but with a PR cost of 5 per an attack.

Form Change - Basically the Shape Change power from 2nd edition, but slightly more limited. The character rolls a percentile dice to determine the maximum number of forms/shapes he can assume, and the GM determines what abilities the form grants him. The character is also limited in the number of times he can change form. The max = his Con score.

Gimmick - This is one power I definitely wish they'd have left in the 2nd edition rules. Its description reads as follows. "A group of devices or weapons not necessarily similar in function, but rather rather the way they are used or presented. Examples of such are 'Balloon Man' who throws special balloons that do strange things when they explode, or the 'Ringleader' who wears an assortment of special rings. The player chooses a gimmick and then receives 1-10 different things that can be accomplished by his gimmicks. Each of these abilities is determined by the GM. Each month the character has an Ix3 percent chance of perfecting a new variation gimmick of his own design, subject to the GM's approval." " Scientists can be hired or befriended, etc. into inventing new variations of the gimmick with a 75% chance of success per month. No more than one new variation of the gimmick can be invented in any one month, no matter how many scientists are attempting such innovation. Each individual type of gimmick is usable from 1-3 times daily. All gimmicks are treated as devices.

Gravity Control - The major change from 1st to 2nd edition is that Gravity Control inflicts damage in 1st edition. A LOT of damage, 2d10 to be specific.

Heightened Attack - The first edition rules give a +20% chance of hitting an opponent and a +2 damage bonus.

Heightened Senses - the character rolls a D20 and consults the table below:

1-4 Hearing
5-8 Sight
9-12 Smell
13-16 Touch
17-20 Taste

The player decides what the sense's special sensitivity is, subject to veto by the GM.

Heightened Speed - In 1st Edition, it worked just like Speed Bonus. So no super-speedsters. 

Independence from Atmosphere - The ability to exist without any kind of atmosphere or in an atmosphere not normally breathable by humans, or beings of the characters race. This one got rolled into Adaptation in 2nd edition.

Ice Powers - Unlike 2nd Edition, there was no Ice Armor to make you neigh invulnerable to attack.

Invulnerability - In 1st Edition it was a defense type, with no set number.

Light Control - It got a power boost in 2nd edition as it only did 1d10 damage in 1st edition.

Lightning/Electrical Control - In 2nd edition it simply became Lighting Control (I prefer the old name) and gained  the ability to control machines (which I would have preferred as a separate power).

Magical Devices - Basically the GM comes up with a magical device and determines its abilities.

Magic Spells - The GM is basically told to adapt a magic system from another game, but to allow for characters to become more powerful as they advance in experience.

Magnetic Powers - If used as an attack, 1st edition has it doing 1d6 points of damage.

Mind Power - Replaced by Psionics in 2nd edition. Its description reads: The player may choose one psychic power, increased intelligence, etc. Examples include telepathy, photographic memory, ESP, hypnotism, meditation, etc. The GM determines all factors concerning the ability. It attacks as Mind Control and defends as Control of Self. I would have preferred that Mind Power be kept as a separate ability with Psionics covering powers like ESP, or mental attacks, while Mind Power covered things like photographic memory, speed reading, etc.

Mutation - Replaced by Mutant Power in 2nd edition. 1st edition's version is described as "This is a permanent, one way type of Form Change. The type of change is determined by the player with the GM's approval. The GM will then decide upon which special abilities are gained form the change." I would like to have seen this one stick around too, and the 2nd Edition Mutant Power replaced with "New Power".

Paralysis Ray - The 1st edition version actually causes paralysis (24 hrs - 1 hr. per point of CON the affected character has). While 2nd edition knocks the character out. I'd have liked to see both versions (with some modifications to the length of time the character is paralyzed), and the 2nd edition being renamed "Stun", or something similar.

Pet or Lower Level Companion - Another power I wish they'd kept. In addition to a pet, you could also choose to have a sidekick. The player chooses what type of pet or sidekick he's going to have, and the GM determines the per or sidekick's abilities. The text states that the sidekick's abilities are usually toned down versions of the players.

Phantasmal Forces - Basically Illusions Type (A) in the 2nd edition rules.

I think I need to find a 1st edition source book somewhere.  That is pretty interesting.

Unlike 2nd edition, 1st edition provided characteristic benchmarks. While I may not necessarily agree with them, and I don't agree with all of them, at least they do give you something to go by.

Strength

3-5    Feeble
6-8      Weak
9-11       Average
12-14   Strong
15-17   Powerful
18-20   Superb
21-50   5 Men
50-100   20 Men
101-150 60 Men
151+    100 Men

Constitution (replaced by Endurance in second edition)

3-5     Flimsy
6-8     Puny
9-11    Average
12-14   Healthy
15-17   Very Healthy
18-20   Robust
21-50   Extremely Healthy
50-100   Very, Very Healthy
101-150 Very Robust
151+    Healthier Yet

Intelligence

1-2     Dense
3-5     Stupid
6-8     Dumb
9-11    Average
12-14   Smart
15-17   Brilliant
18      Genius
19+     Super Genius

Dexterity

3-5     Clod
6-8     Clumsy
9-11    Average
12-14  Clever
15-17   Dextrous
18      Agile
19+     Nimble

Doctor Foom wrote on Jun 9^th, 2009 at 6:50pm:


I actually wish they'd incorporated some of this stuff into 2nd edition, especially the background/power tables. Next up, I'll be posting info on improving your stats.

So, any comments?

John wrote on Jun 10^th, 2009 at 9:39pm:


They at least give you some basic guidelines, and I wish they'd played with them a little bit, so they could have been incorporated into 2nd edition.

Was it from the 1st edition or your house rules?

Either way, I'd love to see it.

It takes the same number of xp to advance a level in the original rules as it does in the revised edition: 2000 xp to get to 2nd level, 3000 more to get to 3rd, 4000 more to get to 4th etc. (The only exception is that it takes only 17,000 to move from 16th to 17th level--not 77,000 more, as published in the revised rules.)

The original rules have a "rate of gain" chart showing how many experience point a character gains when defeating a 1st level opponent.

1st Level charater: earns 100 xp for defeating a 1st level opponent.

2nd Level character: earns 95 xp for defeating a 1st level opponent.

3rd Level character: earns 90 xp for defeating a 1st level opponent.

It keeps going until...
20th Level character: earns 5 xp for defeating a 1st level opponent.

When defeating higher level opponents, multiply their level by the 1st-level amount. In other words, a 20th level character earns only 15 xp for defeating a 3rd level opponent (5 xp  times 3rd level = 15).

Heroes earn experience points for capturing any villain, but earn nothing for killing (just like in the revised rules).

But it's a dog-eat-dog world for villains:
Villains earn no experience for capturing another villain.

But villains earn 50% experience for killing a lower-charisma villain, and 100% experience for killing a higher-charisma villain.

Villains earn no experience for capturing a lower-charisma hero, but they do get 50% experience points for capturing a higher-charisma hero.

Villains earn full experience points for killing any hero.

In other words, villains are dangerous!

In the 1st edition rules, the total number of hit points a character has are modified by their ability scores. This effects the total number of hit points; not hit points gained by level.

Strength
3-5: - 1 Hit Point
6-14: no adjustment
15-17: + 1 Hit Point
18-20: +2 Hit Points
21-50: +5 Hit Points
51-100: +10 Hit Points
101-150: +15 Hit Points
151 and up: +20 Hit Points

Constitution
3-5: - 2 Hit Points
6-8: - 1 Hit Point
9-11: no adjustment
12-14: + 1 Hit Point
15-17: + 1 Hit Point
18-20: +2 Hit Points
21-50: +5 Hit Points
51-100: +10 Hit Points
101-150: +20 Hit Points
151 and up: +30 Hit Points

Dexterity
3-5: - 1 Hit Point
6-8: - 1 Hit Point
9-11: no adjustment
12-14: + 1 Hit Point
15-17: + 1 Hit Point
18: +2 Hit Points
19 and up: + 5 Hit Points

Intelligence
1-2: - 2 Hit Points
3-5: - 1 Hit Point
6-8: - 1 Hit Point
9-11: no adjustment
12-14: + 1 Hit Point
15-17: + 1 Hit Point
18: +2 Hit Points
19 and up: + 3 Hit Points

I was curious... are there any chara/NPCs in that first edition book that could be transfered to V&V 2nd Ed?

Or you could just simply post them in their original form and allow us to translate them.

Just curious.

Actually wouldn't mind seeing all the images from the book too... so if you have those... bring em on! heheh

G7

Here's the sample hero from the original rules. No picture was published. But you can imagine him looking like Blok from the Legion or Thing from the FF.

Volcanic Man
Identity: Joe Schmoe
Sex: Male
Age: 18
Level: 1
Side: Good

Strength: 22 (translates to the strength of five men in original rules). His starting score was 6.
Constitution/Endurance: 10
Dexterity/Agility: 13
Intelligence: 14
Charisma: 11

Hit Points: 11 (original rules)
Power Points: 59

Powers:
1. Armor: not a device. (This was simply a defense type in the original rules. No ADR score was given.)

2. Heightened Strength: +16 (In the original rules, all heightened stats were 2d10, no matter what table they came from.)


Origin: Accidental Scientific.

Volcanic Man got his powers by falling into a live volcano and becoming coated with hardened lava. His uniform consists of a simple pair of orange boxing trunks. His appearance has been so radically changed that he cannot maintain two identities separately. He elects to use only his vigilante identity, not wanting to cause problems for friends and family. He looks different enough to be fairly safe in taking that way of like as it is unlikely that he will be recognized as as the former Joe Schmoe.

Another fun thing from the 1st Edition rules was the Basic Combat chart.  Instead of having a moderate sized list of attacks and defenses, 1st Edition had a list of 8,000 attacks cross-referenced by 8,000 defenses!

Okay, I might be exaggerating slightly, but not a lot!    There are so many attack and defense types it's enough to make your head spin!  Which is kind of cool in one way, but it most likely slows combat down unnecessarily.

Majestic wrote on Oct 8^th, 2009 at 12:37pm:


I loved that chart! (Although I did say elsewhere that I like Arm's Law, so that should clue you into my opinion about tables.)

dsumner wrote on Mar 14^th, 2010 at 9:20pm:


I have to admit I haven't spent that much time looking in depth at some of the 1st Edition stuff, but now that Gimmicks has been spotlighted here (and I agree that it could have been ported over 'as is' into 2nd Edition), I think I'll have to give it another look!

Majestic wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2010 at 11:43pm:


I think there were several very cool elements, in 1st edition, that could have been used in 2nd edition. Especially some of the powers and character backgrounds.

I have a copy that I recently picked up (in mint condition too!) but I haven't read through it much. Seeing some of the stuff here I plan on giving it a more thorough examination.

In the first edition, Charismatic Involvement also included an automatic Charisma score of 17 (which cant' go up or down). For a second edition reinterpretation, I might say that they get 1d2 powers. If they have only one power, it is automatically is Heightened Charisma A. If they have two powers, then they can roll a random power from any of the other tables.

Lord Inar wrote on Mar 25^th, 2010 at 5:09pm:


Sort of like Rick Jones. And just out of curiosity, did you ever finish working out your 2nd edition conversions?

dsumner wrote on May 23^rd, 2009 at 4:28pm:

My version of the rules give Accidental Scientific characters only 1-3 powers, and Extraterrestrials 1-6.

With  the announcement that MHG is working on a 3rd edition, I figured I'd bump this back up, as I think there are several items I'd like to see make a return. Namely an updated version of the Origin Types and Characteristic Benchmarks

dsumner wrote on Feb 19^th, 2011 at 12:12pm:



Two words: "Life Path". It was the best part of R. Talsorian's Mekton series.

LIFE PATH, at least in Mekton Zeta+, was a series of tables. You roll a die, consult the table, go to the next table and so on until you reach the end.

You start with what kind of family you were born into (rich/poor/royalty/military/merchant), then how many siblings you have (and what sex they are), the social status of your parents, whether or not they are even around (and if not, what may have happened to them). Do you have a "significant other", what are your personal values, what is your most valued possession, what color are your hair and eyes?

Basically, you create a character with a back story (kind of) out of nothing but a few die rolls. Makes it pretty easy to come up with an NPC.

<off topic comments>
Mekton Z+ has excellent art, wonderful character creation, amazing (I mean AMAZING) mecha creation, and crap combat rules. They did a lot better with AT:Votoms (uses semi-compatible FUZION system), but about eight people actually played it...

Now I just use Battletech rules and have Yad draw pretty robots...
</off topic comments>

Bumping this up, as I added a bit more info on the various 1st edition powers. Plus I thing some of the new guys might find this interesting.

dsumner wrote on May 22^nd, 2020 at 1:42am:

Thank you!

I use this all the time making 2nd ed characters and almost everyone seems to really get into it.

Bumping this up, as I'm working on something.