Check Out The Mutants & Masterminds 4E Playtest

Released last week at Gen Con, the 4th Edition of the venerable superhero TTRPG Mutants & Masterminds is here--at least in playtest form! This 240-page book, which you can grab right now on DriveThruRPG as a PDF for $14.99 or in print for $44.99 from Green Ronin's website, includes the complete game from character creation to the core game rules.

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For more than twenty years, the Mutants & Masterminds superhero roleplaying game has empowered the imaginations of countless players. Now you can help determine the future of the World’s Greatest Superhero RPG with the Mutants & Masterminds Origin Edition playtest!

This Origin Edition contains a complete playtest version of the upcoming Fourth Edition of the game. Contained in its pages is all you need to create heroic characters, play out epic super-battles, thwart the schemes of the vilest villains, and save the world—all with just a single twenty-sided die!

Try out refined power creation effects, updated hero archetypes, an adjusted rank scale, new advantage and action options, and more, all with the same fast-playing system M&M is known for. Then share your experiences and feedback with us to determine the final form of the next edition of the game.

The world needs heroes like you to help save it! The game needs you to make it even better! So create your heroes and determine the future of superhero roleplaying with the Mutants & Masterminds Origin Edition.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Hmmm.

I liked 1st & 2nd, but passed in 3rd for reasons I don’t recall. I’ll eventually have to give this a peek.

 

[humble minion]

Gah. We're charging for a playtest pdf now? Do they want people to playtest the thing or not?

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

I am also surprised they are charging for the PDF. I understand charging for the physical product for people who want something to hold in their hands because there is a cost to printing, shipping, and distributing it, not to mention tariffs.

And I understand there are real costs involved in writing and preparing a PDF, but the people consuming the PDF are performing an actionable service that improves GR's final product. I feel like they would get better penetration and participation if they allowed it to be downloaded for free.

 

[Prof_Dogg]

Gah. We're charging for a playtest pdf now? Do they want people to playtest the thing or not?

Yeah, I'm not paying for a playtest copy. I know Marvel did that recently and there's certainly fans enough that throw money at Disney but I'm not that kind of gamer. My idea of a playtest was the previous two editions (which were really good btw so I'm not sure how much different 4e will be mechanically, especially since 2e and 3e are essentially the same system, just partially streamlined but mechanically the same).

 

[Prof_Dogg]

GR is in cash-grab mode now. I'm sure their needs are legit (the Diamond mess et al) but also they haven't managed to release anything significant in quite a while. Their 5e Walking Dead / D&D crossover setting was a failure (and had SO much potential!) and their latest KS for Valiant has been slow-walking for a while (practically a zombie itself). Their VTT support for existing games is abyssal - they had some adventure releases on R20 but they have an inadequate core-set for support with a mostly non-useable character sheet; and don't get me started on the Fantasy Grounds version which is the Schrodingers Cat ruleset there ("Is it alive? Is it dead?"). In its heyday, GR was the King of smaller publishers with the likes of Chris Pramas and Steve Kenson being Tasmanian Devils typing out products for multiple systems that were great! I don't know what happened there... I hope 4e is the reset button that GR needs.

 

[billd91]

GR is in cash-grab mode now. I'm sure their needs are legit (the Diamond mess et al) but also they haven't managed to release anything significant in quite a while. Their 5e Walking Dead / D&D crossover setting was a failure (and had SO much potential!) and their latest KS for Valiant has been slow-walking for a while (practically a zombie itself). Their VTT support for existing games is abyssal - they had some adventure releases on R20 but they have an inadequate core-set for support with a mostly non-useable character sheet; and don't get me started on the Fantasy Grounds version which is the Schrodingers Cat ruleset there ("Is it alive? Is it dead?"). In its heyday, GR was the King of smaller publishers with the likes of Chris Pramas and Steve Kenson being Tasmanian Devils typing out products for multiple systems that were great! I don't know what happened there... I hope 4e is the reset button that GR needs.

In one thread, you're talking about how increased profits means a company can pay its people better, meanwhile over here, you're excoriating a company for trying to make more money for the effort they're putting into stuff (and the 4e play test PDF has some pretty high production value).
I mean - do you want people making these games to be well-paid or not?

 

[Mistwell]

I am reading comments from those who bought the PDF and most are positive. Based on what I read, here are some summaries of comments: Sounds like they made changes to the Damage system, which was something people really wanted. Layout is apparently much better from 3e. Added optional levels of granularity to skills. Compiled many of the advantages/extras/effects from power profiles, gadget guides, etc.. Its down to 6 main abilities, Menaces (some temporary effect for GMs to use), "plot complications" are what look like another new GM tool.

Given Diamond is abusing the Bankruptcy laws to really screw Green Ronin in a particularly pernicious way, I don't have a big issue with kicking them $15 for what will essentially be an full year of access to the playtest and influence over the game direction with feedback you provide. $45 (which includes the PDF too) is just for those who really want a hardcopy. I guess if I were running this weekly (or more) for a year in-person, I'd want a hardcopy and be willing to pay what would amount to like $0.86 a week for a year.

 

[TwoSix]

In one thread, you're talking about how increased profits means a company can pay its people better, meanwhile over here, you're excoriating a company for trying to make more money for the effort they're putting into stuff (and the 4e play test PDF has some pretty high production value).
I mean - do you want people making these games to be well-paid or not?

I don't think a view of "I shouldn't have to pay for a playtest, but I'll pay quite a bit of money above the currently accepted rate for a well-produced, well-playtested product" is inherently contradictory.

Also, pointing out that GR might be having cash-flow problems due to recent releases is orthogonal to that argument.

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

Agree! Green Ronin's financial situation is unrelated to whether or not charging for a playtest version of a game will produce better or worse results than giving it away for free.

It's not an ethical or moral issue, it's a business issue. Giving away the playtest version vs. selling it are two different business approaches, each with its own set of pros and cons. Obviously, Green Ronin took the route of selling it. Time will tell if their choice was a good one.

For the record, I purchased the physical + PDF bundle of the 4e playtest for my own reasons. I'm a longtime M&M fan and thought it would be neat to have the playtest version on my gaming shelf. So for me, it was worth diverting some of my discretionary income in that direction. But I still hold the personal opinion that they would get better penetration and participation by giving it away. But then again, I don't own a game company and am pretty much just talking out of my backside.