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.

 

[cbwjm]

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

It seems to be fairly common. I didn't bother with it, not sure what the differences are between 3rd and 4th, but don't want to spend money on a playtest to find out. If I knew it would eventually be the core handbook, maybe, but otherwise, nah.

 

[Theory of Games]

If you liked 2nd edition M&M, this should be on your list. Most of what's "new" is from that edition, which is fine with me since I liked 2e best.

• Returns to the original six abilities, dropping Fighting, Parry and Dexterity (Dodge now functions like D&D Reflex saves). The Resistances (Dodge, Toughness, Fortitude and Will) can be modified to be more or less effective against certain attacks
• Brings back Attack and Defense
• Brings back several 2e advantages (feats) and added a ton of new ones
• Brings back more specific skills as well as skill specialization
• Actions get expanded (Simple actions and Reactions stand out)
• Hero Points get expanded
• New rules for making your BBEG tougher (combat-wise)
• Presence gets a massive retrofit from new actions and advantages
• Those familiar with 2e will remember the level of detail taken in describing how the system worked. IMO 3e lacked that attention to detail, but it's returned with a vengeance (excellent rules definitions, despite the many typos) with this playtest
• The rules explaining what powers are and how they are 'configured' are clearer
• Most of the 3e Effects return with cleaned-up descriptions adjusted for the new-ish action economy
• The Toughness save has changed (a little) to accommodate the new Resistance system

IMO it's a return to form, as I thought 2e was a better written and executed system than 3e. A lot of people won't buy the playtest, but GR knows their community will dive right in. Discourse on M&M's site, The Atomic Think Tank, has been lively (and extremely friendly). It's also being stressed that this is just a playest and community members can inject their input now if they want to see (favorable) rules changes for the 4e core system coming out next year. The game (at this point) does seem to be getting just a tad more complex, but IMO that's a perk not a flaw (and GR knows the M&M community has no problem with complexity).