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).

 

[WanderingMystic]

So I have been a huge fan of M&M since it's inception. While I do not enjoy paying for a play test game in this case I didn't mind due to knowing their financial difficulties at the moment.

More feats add some extra options for more street level or skill based character who do not want to buy powers. The expanded conditions really make the affliction power feel vast. For most powers, but not all, you have a small section after the power that gives most common examples and tells you how to build them. This is something that the game has always needed and you saw it in the power book for 3rd Ed or when going through books of characters to see how they build different iconic powers.

In the deluxe 3rd edition book they had a wonderful random table to build 20 different types of characters most of which had at least 3 primary build options. They have incorporated some of that into their base 15 character types but it is not as complete.

I miss the shapeshifter archetype but I can understand why the metamorph (growth, shrinking, or stretchy characters) will be easier for new players than the variable power that you use on a shapeshifter or mimic type character.

Some of the archetypes have small math problems with their build, this has been a problem in every addition. I like other editions it looks like it is at most a 1 point calculation difference. I also noticed that while they reference trick arrows as equipment they do not list the effects and expect you to just make them up.
Over all this feels like a complete game and not just a play test that just needs a bit of polishing.

 

[dbolack]

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?

Mutants & Masterminds Adventure: Monster Mash-Up

As fall begins, All Hallow’s Eve approaches. Though once a yearly reminder that the dead linger just beyond the living world, Halloween has now become a time

greenronin.com

This should require very little tinkering.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Regarding a playtest not being free, Marvel charged $10 for the playtest of their Marvel Multiverse RPG, but anyone who bought the PDF was also given a $10 discount when they pre-ordered the final release PDF, so the playtest was effectively free for those buyers. I think they also eventually made the PDF of the playtest free for everyone?

 

[lynnfredricks]

I can understand charging for the playtest (as opposed to free), as that's one way to get people invested in giving some feedback.

But buying the playtest on PDF should include a copy of the final PDF when it is available and a coupon towards some discount on the physical version.

 

[steeldrac]

I remember buying the playtest Edge of the Empire RPGs of Star Wars and really enjoyed it.

There is also the issue of people not valuing things they get for free. They'll get hundreds of downloads with a lower % of feedback, but if people buy the playtest with their own money you can bet they'll be invested in playing and having opinions.

 

[Prof_Dogg]

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?

That wasn't meant so much as a criticism as an observation and lament. By all means, I want to see GR succeed. By all means, they seem to be flailing in the dark.

 

[Prof_Dogg]

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.

You may not own a company but you provide companies their revenue and their incentive. You da boss!

 

[Doctor Depravo]

Their 5e Walking Dead / D&D crossover setting was a failure (and had SO much potential!)....

What was this? Wholly unfamiliar, and a Googlin' didn't help.