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.

 

[TwoSix]

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 their 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.

Since you've bought the PDF, could you give a general impression as to the crunch level relative to the earlier editions?

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

Since you've bought the PDF, could you give a general impression as to the crunch level relative to the earlier editions?

So far it feels very, very similar to 3e. I'd say it is of similar crunchitude. It's definitely an iteration of 3e.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Putting it in my wishlist.

 

[TwoSix]

So far it feels very, very similar to 3e. I'd say it is of similar crunchitude. It's definitely an iteration of 3e.

I've only played 1e and 2e; is keeping the core of the 3e engine a good thing or a bad thing, in your opinion?

 

[Weiley31]

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

Didnt stop Paizo for Pathfinder.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Can anybody to tell the differences comparing with the previous editions? Is it like a d20 system but without levels? How is the leveling up when you earn XPs?

 

[Mistwell]

My understanding (someone please correct me if I am wrong in this) is Power Point rewards are given for a session at a rate determined by the GM. Once the total PP award would put them on part with a starting character of the next PowerLevel, GMs typically treat it as a level-up. Example: if the game started at a PowerLevel 10 and the heroes get 15 Power Points, they'd be at 165 total, which is where PL11 heroes start, so the game kind of advances to PL11.

 

[darjr]

Does a purchase of the PDF include an update to the release version?

 

[overgeeked]

I've only played 1e and 2e; is keeping the core of the 3e engine a good thing or a bad thing, in your opinion?

3E is very much a continuation of 1E and 2E. It's been over a decade, but I remember things being smoothed out with each edition rather than radically changed. But it's definitely the same game, just tweaks and refinements. 3E added the ranks & measures chart that is essentially lifted from DC Heroes. GR hired Ray Winninger who originally came up with the idea. 3E split out a few abilities to avoid DEX being king, but it looks like they've returned to the classic six stats with 4E but kept the AP chart from DCH. They're also adding clocks to 4E, which is great. They're called challenge scenes and some online are already up in arms trying to refight the D&D 4E edition war over it.

The best description I've seen of M&M is it's Champions with less math. If you love system mastery and the character creation mini-game, M&M is a rock star. If not, well...it's probably not the game for you.

Does a purchase of the PDF include an update to the release version?

I would be absolutely amazed if it did. Considering they're charging for a playtest PDF, I highly...highly doubt you'll get the final release for free. Though, given the playtest window, the game won't be changing that much between now and final release.

 

[kronovan]

I'm interested in M&M 4e, but unfortunately I'm still feeling the burn from GR over the Dragon Age boxsets. It took a painful 5 years for the 3rd and final boxset to be released, which finally allowed GMs to run campaigns up to level 20. GR blamed it on delays to approvals by Bioware, but I see it as mismanagement. So...despite having some interest in 4e (own some of the 3e PDFs), I'm not really feeling keen on paying GR $s to participate in any of their playtests.