New M&M 2e design journal available

[Kenson]

Ten Ways You Can Start Playing Mutants & Masterminds Second Edition Right Now!

http://www.mutantsandmasterminds.com/super-vision/

 

[Henry]

Coolness!

I'd like to speculate a bit. I'm not expecting Steve to answer my speculations, but he can feel free to laugh and point, if he wishes.

1. Power Level: Make power level independent of total power points.

This is a great change, even though it means that gauging the power level of heroes gets harder in published adventures. I'm familiar with GURPS, and trying to decide how powerful a given NPC is in that game takes a LOT of familiarity with the system.

On the positive side, it means that characters can be more well rounded than before; I've often felt that 150 points as a basis just wasn't a lot of points, leaving me with some unrounded characters, and also starting a character at PL 5 or below felt almost undoable, unless I wanted a very gritty game.

2. Attack & Defense: Change the cost of attack and defense bonus to 2 points per +1 and remove all ability score modifiers to them.

Don't know how I feel about this. It seems wrong in one sense, but on the other side, this gives the overall system some interesting flexibility towards other genres besides superhero.

3. Skills: Change skill cost to 1 power point for 4 skill ranks. Maximum skill rank is limited to PL +5 (incorporating the benefits of taking the Skill Focus and Talented feats, which are removed).

About Freakin' Time! Serious, glad to see it's the default rule now, making Batman-types more frequent. If it were the true equal to skill focus and talented, wouldn't it be PL +8 per level?

The skill list is also simplified.

Also good, and something I've been crying for with regular d20 as well, more so lately.

4. Toughness Saves: Change "Damage Saves" to “Toughness Saves.”

Glad to see it: Heck, I wish this made it into D&D.

5. Abilities: Eliminate super-abilities and add twice their rank to the character's ability scores...you generally can't have an ability bonus higher than PL +5.

Good one, again. It seems like the choices are geared toward having NON-PL10 games, allowing PL5 or even PL1 games as viable long-term games, which I like. Sometimes you don't want to be the Justice League; sometimes you want to be Marv from Sin City.

6. Super-Feats: Eliminate Super-Feats and make all existing Super-Feats into powers costing 1 point per rank.

Not sure how I feel. I suppose it's more sensible, but I'll wait and see. This DOES mean the system can more easily take in feats from other products.

7. Powers: Eliminate powers as extras...All powers must be bought independently...greatly expands and refines powers...

I could quote Team America's theme song refrain but I'll leave that to the imagination.

8. Power Stunts: Change "power stunts" to "power feats."

So does this mean that poiwer stunts are just renamed, or does this mean that they are now powers costing 1 point per rank?

9. Extra Effort: You can't add extras...however, still do power stunts, including an alternate version of a power with an extra added to it... can use extra effort to get a new saving throw against an ongoing effect... You can use extra effort to get an extra action (replaces Heroic Surge)...

Awesome. Nice curbing, and nice added variety.

10. Hero Points: If a re-roll from a hero point is 10 or less, add 10 to the result, and use the better of the two rolls.

Why not just say "add +10 to your roll by spending a hero point, max of 20?" It would seem to have almost the same effect, minus the extra dice complexity.

Heroes start out with 1 hero point each at the beginning of a game....system for awarding hero points from...overcome challenges, deal with complications, and generally play well during the adventure. Toward the climax of the adventure, they'll have the hero points they need to trounce the villain.

I like it, rather than starting with 5 HP's,

Overall, I like it!

 

[Karl Green]

Sign... or 'ten things I did not think were broken, why do they need to be fixed'?

Oh well I had a lot of fun with M&M and I will continue to use my Revised book for super games... might pick up an extra copy now. I may still pick this up but it does not sound like I will be happy with the changes.

OH well, now GR owns me nothing and I am just being a bit of a baby about some stuff I am more then happy with Blue Rose, Black Company, Freeport, Warhammer stuff, etc. that I could use a break on spending money anyway

Good luck with M&M...

 

[Kenson]

So does this mean that power stunts are just renamed, or does this mean that they are now powers costing 1 point per rank?

They're essentially power stunts re-named. More detail in a future design journal.

Why not just say "add +10 to your roll by spending a hero point, max of 20?" It would seem to have almost the same effect, minus the extra dice complexity.

Because re-rolling for a better result has more of a "second chance" feel to it, creates a bit more tension, and is somewhat less predictable than "I rolled X, and I know I can add +10 to it, so..."