31 Days of Character Creation #29 – Marvel Multiverse RPG

I don’t typically like most superhero ttrpgs because they focus more on the crunchy minutiae of powers and fail to provide anything regarding the sprawling soap operatic nature of the medium. I’m less interested in the power ratings of one character over another than I am the deep lore of the different people who’ve held the title Green Lantern, the zany Rogues Gallery of Shazam, or the legacies of the Justice Society. When the Marvel Multiverse RPG dropped I didn’t even pick it up and after looking it over yesterday for this character I probably wouldn’t play it unless someone else was running the game and knew it like the back of their hand.

Here is how the game is described on its official website:

Take on the roles of Marvel’s most famous Super Heroes—or create your own—to fight some of the most dangerous Super Villains in the Marvel Universe! Featuring the All-New, All-Different d616 System, the MARVEL MULTIVERSE ROLE-PLAYING GAME gives players the chance to explore their own corner of the multiverse. All you need is the book, three six-sided dice, and a group of friends. What’re you waiting for? Start your adventure today!

Last year’s deep dive into Chris Claremont’s 16 year Uncanny X-Men run had me interested in making a mutant. I played around with some interesting powers and concepts and came up with Gravemind, aka Lila Thorne.

Lila Thorne grew up in a world of relics and ruins, the daughter of renowned archaeologists who traveled the globe in search of lost civilizations. It was on a dig site in Egypt when she was thirteen that her mutation first manifested—she brushed her fingers over an unearthed skeleton, and in an instant, the spirit that once inhabited it reached out to her mind. Overwhelmed by the flood of memories and emotions from a long-dead soul, Lila collapsed, but the experience left her forever changed. From that moment on, the dead were never silent.

Professor Charles Xavier took notice of Lila after an incident in high school, where a history class trip to a museum ended with her screaming in terror at voices no one else could hear. He offered her a place at his school, where she learned to hone her abilities—not just hearing the dead, but forming psychic bridges between them and the living, allowing for brief moments of true communication.

Now an adult, Lila teaches history at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, using her abilities to uncover truths lost to time. She shares a special kinship with Emma Frost, who helped her develop psychic defenses against the overwhelming tide of voices. She has also worked alongside Magik, using her connection to the dead to aid in mystical investigations.

The spirits Lila normally communes with are echoes of the past—memories imprinted on the world. But lately, something has changed. The dead are whispering of a force pulling them back, disrupting the natural order. When a deceased mutant reaches out to Lila with a desperate plea—Stop them before it’s too late—she finds herself tangled in a conspiracy that could shake the balance between life and death.

With allies at her side, Lila must uncover the source of this disturbance. Is it the work of Selene, the ancient mutant sorceress who feeds on souls? Or has someone tapped into the energies of Krakoa’s resurrection protocols for their own dark purpose? The answers lie in the spirit world, but if Lila delves too deep, she may not return…

Click here to read the entire character sheet.