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The Paragon archetype has +26 combined FRW saves. The average is +23. Some archetypes are above the average and some are below it. Note that the highest combined FRW saves is +27 on the Martial Artist and the lowest is +17 on the Battlesuit.

That a PL 10 character can have Fort/Ref/Will all at +15 is something of a problem with M&M's design. A character should be able to have one of these saves at +15, but a good rule of thumb is that if your average F/R/W save is over +10, they're too high. It's simply too hard to hurt a...

Grasping Shards does significantly lower damage than Winged Horde before epic levels. The advantage is larger than the 3.5 Karinsdad noted, because Grasping Shards doesn't get bonuses to damage rolls.

What about the alternative I suggested,

Exactly. You've explained the high Fort defenses in terms of the guideline in the DMG. However, I don't see any justification for said guideline. Why is doing it that way a good idea?

While this is a good explanation for why Fort saves are higher than Will saves on published monsters, I don't consider it a reasonable justification. There's no reason monsters should have ability scores modifying their defenses. Just make the non-AC defenses average 12+level, with some higher...

A useful Latin maxim is "De gustibus non est disputandum." Means, basically, "there's no accounting for taste." People inevitably have different tastes. Given that game designers would like to sell products, good game design consists of appealing to a not totally (just mostly :))...

PL in 2nd edition is much more geared towards being a limit on combat traits than 1e PL was. This is especially true since 2e PL is descriptive for NPCs based on their traits. What's a typical bonus to defense and Toughness on a PL 10 character? In 2nd edition, it's +10 to each. In first...

The Heroic Feat option can give you a power feat, and Alternate Power is a power feat. So there are two ways to gain a Power Stunt. Note that if you weren't planning to use Extra Effort in a round, gaining a Power Stunt through it has the slight advantage that you don't suffer the fatigue...

De gustibus non est disputandum (there's no accounting for taste ;))

Assuming this isn't the case and the combat is over: PC, I'm curious how you modified the Bloodkiss Beholder. It looks too strong for a level 9 solo as written. It has really high damage per attack, can get a ton of attacks per round, is flying with reach, and if it gets to trigger its...

It's not that hard to wing ranks on the spot: 10 ranks in Blast, 5 ranks in Flight, 10 ranks in Force Field for a PL 10 energy controller, for example. This is definitely a problem. M&M isn't a game where the GM can take a hands off approach, and certainly isn't one where players are expected...

Mutants and Masterminds is a great game and it plays very smoothly. I can't compare to other games, though there are threads that do that (e.g., this thread). Here are some useful resources to give you a sense of the game: The Mutants & Mastermind's Beginner's Guide is now free on RPGNow and...

If you are running KotS, Eleven Foot Pole has great commentary and suggestions for how to improve things: http://elevenfootpole.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html. Also, if you're running KotS try to use the updated version (free here: Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page -...

Note that you can't divide HP/DPR = average rounds to take out a monster. The average rounds to kill a target is >= HP/DPR. The reason why is that you typically kill a monster "with overkill." Only when there's never any overkill does HP/DPR= average rounds to kill the monster. The...

Was this a reference to my post here? It was satire! To be clear, ability points are precious. Lots of things add to Diplomacy (Skill Training for +5, for example; Skill Focus for +3, items can add more). If you happen to be in a campaign where Diplomacy is so valuable that you want to max...

Right! Some people think that there's an objective standard for character effectiveness, but there isn't one. The increase in skill bonuses to Diplomacy and Streetwise he gets from having, say, a 14 Charisma may be more important than the benefits from higher Intelligence. If the character...

I haven't played HERO to compare the two, but here's a thread on M&M's official forums on this topic: The Atomic Think Tank • View topic - Champions or M&M. Obviously, it's not a random sample of the people who have played both systems; you should expect it to lean towards M&M.

I either wrote in the first set of errata where feasible, or wrote enough that I'd know there was errata by looking at it. Like you, though, I soon gave up. Keeping up with all of the errata without using the Character Builder seems like an overwhelming task. With the Character Builder, it's...

The Mutants & Mastermind's Beginner's Guide is now free on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. You have to register to download the book, but that only takes a minute. Two notable errors: Megastar's "Combat" stat-line is that of Bolt, duplicated by mistake. His actual combat stats (from Freedom City)...