Have you ever wanted to be Spider-Man? To put on a costume, leave your everyday hassles behind, go out web-slinging around the city and do something really important for a change? To be a hero instead of a regular person? To really make a difference in the world?

Of course you have. We all have. That's why Marvel Comics are so popular. That's probably why you picked up this book. Because, deep down inside, we've all thought about what it would be like to be a Super Hero. To pound our magic walking stick into the ground and turn into a mighty Avenger like Thor. To pop razor-sharp claws out of our hands and do battle against impossible odds the way Wolverine does. We relate to the Hulk, a normal guy who loses control when he gets too angry and turns into a monster. And we share Daredevil's frustration with the legal system, and applaud when he fights for real justice in a way we wish we could.

Now we can actually be those Super Heroes. Just for a little while, when we play the Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game. We can be any Super Hero we want to be, and we can even make up our own. We created this game because we wanted to play a roleplaying game that lets us really feel like Super Heroes. No rolling dice. No complicated equations. Just saying what we want to do, then going out and doing it. Just like our heroes do in the comics. And you know what? It works. When we play Marvel, just for a little while, we get to forget school and jobs and responsibilities and go out and save the world.

This book will explain everything you need to know to play or GamesMaster this game - how to roleplay, how to fight and how to become a better Super Hero! You can play this game as any character in the Marvel Universe, or you can create your own new Super Heroes to roleplay. This guide also includes the introductory Adventure, We Live Here, Too! The adventure can be played solo or with a group of players, using any combination of characters in the guide. Future adventures can be created by you or your friendly neighborhood GamesMaster (or GM for short).

This book is designed to be read by both players and GamesMasters, whether you have played a roleplaying game before or not. If you're planning on being a GM, you should read the GamesMaster section, but if not you can skip it (although the information it contains can help you become a better player). Players should definitely not read the Adventure, We Live Here, Too!, which is in the GM section, as that will lessen your enjoyment of playing it.

Finally, if you're new to roleplaying, you may be thinking to yourself, "Wow, there are a lot of rules here." You're right. There are. After all, we're teaching you not only how to play a game, but also how to recreate an entire comic book universe. How to engage in a virtually unlimited range of Actions. And, if you're a GamesMaster, how to create your own version of this world, and then populate it with characters and villains, sidekicks and friends, innocent bystanders and meddling annoyances, buildings and laboratories and wondrous inventions that only exist inside the Marvel Universe or your own imagination. However, Marvel is simpler than most other roleplaying games, and at only 128 pages our full guide is shorter, too.

'Nuff said. Let's get on with it!