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.

 

[Jeffzilla]

I support Green Ronin wherever I can because I like their products and because I like the ethos of the company. (That's a fancy way of saying that they make cool stuff and treat people right).

I'm sure I'll pick up the playtest just because although it'll take a lot to dislodge me from M&M3e.

 

[Morrus]

I’ve bought the PDF because I want to give it a whirl. I might see if I can run a one-shot or short campaign. Only thing is as far as I can see it doesn’t include an adventure. Anybody got a recommendation for a free M&M adventure I could use with this ruleset?

 

[Elvish Lore]

39 conditions?!

No.

Just… no.

 

[Lord Shark]

Didnt stop Paizo for Pathfinder.

The Pathfinder 2e playtest PDFs were free. They did print and sell a physical copy as well, but that was aimed more at collectors and completists -- you didn't need it to playtest the game.

 

[Eilathen]

Didnt stop Paizo for Pathfinder.

Pathfinder's Playtest PDF was free, only the printed product came with a price-tag.

I will never pay for a playtest. I am doing work for you, I am not paying you for doing work for you. At least the electronic file should be free (or, if you want to give people the possibility to pay you for it, make it pay-what-you-want).

 

[Agamon]

39 conditions?!

No.

Just… no.

Earlier in the year, when I was thinking about starting a Marvel Multiverse game, I looked into M&M 3e as another option, as I used to play 1e back in the day. Watching an example fight on YT made me drop that thought quickly. It's funny how much my gaming tastes have changed the past 20 years...

 

[Elvish Lore]

My perhaps-unpopular opinion here is that I wouldn't have hired Steven Kenson as 4th edition's designer. I would have loved to have gotten a fresh designer's take on what M&M might be in 2025 rather than go with the same designer responsible for the previous 25 years worth of the game.

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

I’ve bought the PDF because I want to give it a whirl. I might see if I can run a one-shot or short campaign. Only thing is as far as I can see it doesn’t include an adventure. Anybody got a recommendation for a free M&M adventure I could use with this ruleset?

Any of the 3e adventures will be close enough. GR sells some $4, $5, and $6 PDFs of published adventures. So not free, but almost free.

 

[overgeeked]

Earlier in the year, when I was thinking about starting a Marvel Multiverse game, I looked into M&M 3e as another option, as I used to play 1e back in the day. Watching an example fight on YT made me drop that thought quickly. It's funny how much my gaming tastes have changed the past 20 years...

M&M3E is the game that finally broke me and my love of crunch. After beating my head against it I just couldn't anymore. Gimme rules light games for days. I love GR and M&M so I'll still buy the new core when it comes out to put on my shelf with all the others, but the chances of me playing or running this are effectively zero.

 

[Micah Sweet]

My perhaps-unpopular opinion here is that I wouldn't have hired Steven Kenson as 4th edition's designer. I would have loved to have gotten a fresh designer's take on what M&M might be in 2025 rather than go with the same designer responsible for the previous 25 years worth of the game.

They were to be fair 25 successful years worth of the game. Why fire him, and why make an edition that's different just to be different or to chase some theoretical customer base? They're not Hasbro after all.