How do you damage something that has-

[Harmon]

I am fairly new to the M&M system. The last time we played we fought a villian with more Protection then we had levels in our powers. We did nothing to harm the villian- other then making him annoyed.

How do you harm something in M&M that has more protection then you have ability to do damage? (Ya, I know the obvious- do more damage )

 

[Jim Hague]

I am fairly new to the M&M system. The last time we played we fought a villian with more Protection then we had levels in our powers. We did nothing to harm the villian- other then making him annoyed.

How do you harm something in M&M that has more protection then you have ability to do damage? (Ya, I know the obvious- do more damage )

Hero Points are your friend. Remember, you can add temporary Power Stunts on the fly, and defer the exhaustion of the extra effort by using a Hero Point. With this in mind, look through the Extras your GM allows and get creative with them.

 

[DMScott]

How do you harm something in M&M that has more protection then you have ability to do damage? (Ya, I know the obvious- do more damage )

There are lots of powers that bypass Protection, and can either incapacitate someone or reduce their Protection so physical attacks will work. If a group doesn't have any of those, then Hero Points are an option. From reading about the way Steve Kenson (M&M's designer) runs games, one option he seems to intend be available is comic book logic - come up with a vaguely plausible scheme to drop the bad guy's Protection via ingenuity and creative use of powers, and the GM might let it work. For ideas on this, examine how any number of comic book megavillains are defeated - Galactus, Darkseid, Dormammu, and similar heavyweights. You can also check out how solo heroes handle some of the team-based bad guys, such as Spider-Man's occasional encounters with Dr. Doom.

IME, some players and GMs really like that sort of solution, others are uncomfortable with it since it essentially boils down to GM fiat. Handled well, it can make for a good session, but shouldn't be overused.

If you prefer a more rules-based way of handling those situations, the GM should ensure that the villain has a clear motivation for what he's doing, and then the players might be able to work out how to deny him what he wants without defeating him in a head-to-head battle.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

You need to use powers that do not involve protection at all - specifically things that need REF saves or WIL saves or even something more inventive. Just last Friday night my group was fighting a psychotic lunatic with a magic axe and they had little to no chance of defeating him. So the gadgeteer teleported him away.

See, try and be clever and the fates reward you.

 

[d4]

very good advice. creativity is the key.

ways to increase damage:

Power Attack: adds up to +5 damage
Point Blank Shot: +1
Surprise Strike: +5 damage at PL10
Penetrating Attack: turns Protections into Amazing Save and forces a save no matter what the power level
Extra Effort: +2

ways to bypass Protection:

force a Fort save:
Fatigue
Stun
Suffocate

force a Ref save:
Dazzle
Slick
Snare
Transformation

force a Will save:
Drain
Illusion
Mental Blast
Mind Control
Neutralize
Paralysis
Possession
Slow
Transfer

and then there's other things like holding them down with Telekinesis, knocking them over with the Shockwave extra of Super-Strength, etc.

 

[The Grackle]

d4 nailed it.
I would add ramming: +1 damge for every 10 feet of a charge. (highly abusable)
Also check out the Phase Attack extra for Insubstantial. Armor guys hate that.

MnM is a like a giant game of Rock/Paper/Scissors. If you're fighting a brick don't try to out-brick them; use mental attacks or something tricky.

 

[Neo]

Also keep Extra Effort in mind you can for a single round increase the level of your power through extra effort, which may be enough to surpass your foes protection.

 

[swrushing]

How do you harm something in M&M that has more protection then you have ability to do damage? (Ya, I know the obvious- do more damage )

Ok everyone else has covered the direct answers already. Within the rules, there are plenty of ways to overcome the over-protected villain.

So, i will add only a more indirect train of thought... maybe you ought to change your gaol. What if beating him "right now" is not possible? Think of how many different times in stories or comics that was the case... where the first or even second encounters were "impossible".

Maybe there is more to this particular scenariop/story than "bang him 'til he drops"?

So, after knocking your head against the brick wall, think of other ways to "beat" the villain.

First, what is he there for? If its to capture someone or something, can you stop him from getting it? Can you snag it and run (are you faster than the bad guy or able to fly/swim etc when he cannot?) Can you distract him or slow him down enough that he cannot wait? hecvk, in dire extremis, can you break the thing he is going for?

Second, is there anything local that you can use against him, or draw him towards? is he ronotic? if so how about EMP from blown transformers, or shocks from electrical powerlines? is he electrical? if so how about metal ground wires or water? Basically, what special weaknesses does he have that you can possibly try and exploit?

Third, if all that draws a blank, what can you learn from him that you can use later? Can you scan his ff for energy signatures and go back to the lab and research? Can you get a sample of his uber-armor's material for stufy? What can you do to setup the olde fahsioned "back to lab to develop counter so NEXT TIME we have a chance~" scenario?

Fourth, if all else fails, can you get out of the way? Specifically, can you get innocents out of the way? get the civies out of harms way while the most distracting guys simply try and slow him down. You are not trying to win right now, cuz you got nothing, but you are trying to, quite heroically i might add, cut loses and save people.