In its design the Marvel Multiverse RPG offers little in the way of progression. Outside of increasing rank, there is nothing in the core rulebook for how we can reward players. So lets look into it and see what we can create to keep our players feeling rewarded.

Most TTRPGs use a mixture of what I call the three L rewards: levels, loot, and lore. Levels are when a character gains a new abilities or their numbers go up. Loot is new equipment they can use or currency they can use to gain access to something they want. And lore is a continuation of a least one player characters story.

As I said earlier, we already have levels through the rank system and lore rewards are inherently present in every TTRPG so they don’t really count. Finally, because due to the nature of comic book superheroes, loot isn’t present in the game.

All together, this means that we can reward our players 5 times with levels. And thats it as far as system rewards go. But even then the game heavily implies that characters shouldn’t even rank up over play and should just stay at their starting rank.

So how do we create rewards for our players? My answer:
MERIT BADGES!

I’ve discussed merit badges before but as a refresher. A merit badge is a small reward given for meeting a goal in the story. An example of a merit badge from the game I stole the idea from (Camp Myth: The RPG by Third Eye Games) is:

Cyclopean Archery Skills: Archery 4, Bullying 2, Drama 2 Challenge: Visit Hunter’s Haven and finish in first, second, or third in the weekly Archery challenge. Be prepared to shoot all types of magical arrows at unlikely targets! Reward: A custom bow, and a quiver filled with three magical arrows of your choice. In addition, gain a permanent +1 to Archery.

When I use merit badges I’ll usually create them at the start of the story arc, physically print them out, and hand them to my players. The interest this generates for story events not only keeps players focused on their goals but also lets them know that there is a reward and why they might want it. But, as you can see not all the information is present in the challenge or even the rewards. What does the archery challenge entail? What do I want my bow to look like? What are the options for the magic arrows? By keeping a level of mystery we can keep both the challenge malleable and the rewards specific to the player.

Additionally we can make the challenges player specific. For example, the challenge I give to Spider-Man’s player is to find out who killed Uncle Ben and confront them or Daredevil’s player is challenged with finding enough evidence to defeat Tombstone in a court of law.

But what rewards should we give with our merit badges?

This is a trickier question but one we can answer. Obviously we could give powers to a players, but over time that will significantly increase their abilities and, if it isn’t done carefully, can change a character outside of the players fantasy.

Instead, we can use a different character option from the book. Traits and tags. For example, when Spider-Man catches Uncle Ben’s killer he could be given the choice of killing the murderer or not. If he spares the killers life he gains the Iron Will trait. And if Daredevil is able to win his case against Tombstone he may gain the Enemy (Tombstone) tag and the Interrogation trait.

Here’s an example of a merit badge you might give a player using the above Daredevil example.

Player: ______ | Character: Daredevil Challenge. Prove Tombstone ordered the kidnapping of Angelo Briggs and have him found guilty in a court of law. Reward. You’ve gained a reputation that makes even the most hardened gangster sweat. Your ability to cross examine witness and interrorgate thugs inproves.

And finally we can actually use merit badges to award loot. This could once again come in the form of traits and tags, but it can give other benefits instead. For example, a challenge could be to free Iron Man from being held prisoner by the Manderin. In return Iron Man creates a new costume that allows you to survive in the vacuum of space.

Or it can be more benign things that don’t give your character a direct benefit such as a home, a vehicle, or even just a pet.

Merit badges can come in all shapes and sizes. With them we can continue to reward our players beyond simply leveling them up.