Using Mutants and Masterminds for a fantasy game

Acid_crash · Jun 27, 2004

Has anybody used this system for anything other than a super hero game? I am having a minor difficut quandry right now. I want to play a fantasy game, but I am tired of using classes and levels, and MnM is the only character point driven game that I have right now.

My concern is trying to implement MnM into a more lower keyed action game...having less powerful characters made, like those in typical fantasy, without the high power of super heroes.

What would any of you do to play MnM like this?

ThoughtfulOwl · Jun 27, 2004

Has anybody used this system for anything other than a super hero game?

I'm doing it right now; I'm playing a mostly fantasy/slightly sci-fi campaign with a couple friends using M&M. So far it has worked well, at least for us.

We pulled it off as lower powered by self-imposing the following points:

1) Lower starting level and slow advancement: our characters started at Power Level 5, enough to get heroic characters while avoiding being supers; by the time the campaign ends, we might reach PL 10 at most. The fact that we prefer well rounded characters - spreading our PPs instead of concentrating them in a few strong powers - also helps.

2) Pre-emptive checking with the GM about which powers can be chosen: this needs both the players and the GM to have a clear idea (and a clear agreement) on what is appropriate for the setting; for example, our characters are a martial artist with lots of feats, slight super-strenght and a little bit of control over shadows and an animist who summons animal totems to do his bidding: these concepts are supported within the setting, but time travel, significant teleporting capabilities or astral projection would have been rejected, just to name a few. Of course, what the powers represent must also be setting compliant: if you have energy blast(fire) in a fantasy setting, chances are it's your trusted fiery dart spell, not your built-in cybernetic flame thrower.

3) If you are the GM, be ready to be surprised: while certain powers are clearly out (time travel is often banned for a reason), be ready for the players to come up with some very creative explaination on why a certain power can be fit in. Also remember that certain non-blatant powers may just represent powerful yet mundane abilities.

A last note: unless you aim for a game where - like in a superhero one - characters always rely on their powers to solve things rather than on mundane abilities, it's better if you use the 1 PP -> 3 skill points option, like we did.

I hope this was of help.

Emiricol · Jun 28, 2004

There are also a couple conversations on this at http://www.mutantsandmasterminds.com/phpBB2/ but I think ThoughtfulOwl covered most of it

Keeper of Secrets · Jun 28, 2004

Yeah, I've seen this covered quite a bit but don't know of anyone other than Thoughtful Owl who has actually done it for a lengthy period of time - enough to get a good idea of if it works and how much tinkering is involved. I think the real crux of it is - 'does the damage save part of it work in combat for things other than supers?'

Really, I think it would depend on what kind of fantasy game you are running. Something with lots of hack n slash may not be as great as something that involves more intrigue and investigation.

Bretbo · Jun 28, 2004

Cracked Mirror is doing a Superlink Producted they call a Fantasy Toolkit (read: not setting material as yet) that should prove interesting. There in the process of getting approval, so it should be released any time now. Link: http://www.cracked-mirror.com/

ThoughtfulOwl · Jun 28, 2004

Keeper of Secrets said:
I think the real crux of it is - 'does the damage save part of it work in combat for things other than supers?'

For what it's worth, in my limited experience damage saves work well, provided one accounts for the change in philosophy. In D&D it works by escalation: at higher levels attack bonuses, damage and save DCs go up, but so do AC, hit points and save scores; a mismatched fight results in a one-sided slaughter. In a low-powered M&M, the difference in numbers is too small to make uneven fights so clear cut; on the other hand, it's really hard to die unless the more lethal variant is used: usually main characters just drop to disabled status. Then there are hero points.

The important think to keep in mind is that every fight might be somewhat dangerous, but you can still wade into combat without worrying that your character will be utterly killed at the first (un)lucky hit.

rootbeergnome · Jun 29, 2004

you can do it

Yes, I just started running a Fantasy game using Mutants and Masterminds rules and it is working great! I love it. I loooove the flexibility that it provides as a GM and the players enjoy being able to get creative with their abilities. But yes, you also have to keep in mind that fights can end very quickly, which is also the case in some DnD games. The players will DEFINITELY come up with some uses for powers that will make your head spin sometimes, but it has been great fun so far and everyone loves it. I highly recommend giving it a shot, just be sure to regulate what you allow in characters and make sure that the players give good reasons for their powers (like super strength coming from being a half-giant or the ability to control air because you are possessed by a storm spirit, etc) Its great, enjoy!

Sollir Furryfoot · Jun 29, 2004

I created an anime-ish/fantasy campaign ruleset with M&M quite easily before (but never got around to using it). I had decided to start the PCs at PL 4ish, and then limit them to a basic class at 1st level which determined what sets of powers they could take (like, Mystic had the various Elemental Controls, Energy Shield, Energy Blast and similar, while the Psychic has ESP, Mind Control, Telekinesis). Seemed to balance nicely and was pretty different than your standard comic book hero game, but then again, I never really went through with it (mainly due to time concerns of running a game).