Is Mutants and Masterminds really as versatile as I've heard?

[John Q. Mayhem]

'Cause it sounds pretty darn cool. What say ye? Is it super-versatile? Or only good for supers games? If you like it, should I get the original or second edition? Is it worth getting over, say, Liber Mechanika or Magic of Eberron? I want your opinions!

Thanks in advance.

 

[takyris]

I think that the goodness of M&M cannot be adequately stressed. That said, your questions are not merely about the goodness of M&M...

It is amazingly versatile, at least as far as what I've done with it. What I'd say is that it's best for a supers game, but if you wanted to play a fantasy game or even a super-spies game, you could do it nicely -- the wizard's fireballs can be replicated with super-powers, and the fighter's amazing combat prowess can turn him into a veritable Conan. You won't have the same feel as a D&D (or Conan) game, though -- working with powers and damage saves, you'll have something that feels a bit more comic-book-y. Non-magical heroes will be more over-the-top in terms of what they can do, if you let them -- like letting the barbarian hero get super-strength or the rogue hero get spider-man-like dexterity. That might be the flavor you want -- I really enjoyed it when I ran a fantasy game with M&M rules -- but it also might not work for you or for your players.

But I wouldn't start out trying to do super-spies or fantasy. I'd start out trying to do what it was designed to do -- a super-hero game -- and work your way out from there.

If you get it, get the 2nd Edition. That fixes a lot of issues that were present in the first edition (not major issues, but issues nonetheless). Also, that's the version that's current and supported, so you'll get more value out of any other purchases you make.

Haven't seen the other two books, so I can't say which is better. I did, however, enjoy M&M immensely. I just wish I could convince people where I'm living now to play...

 

[Teflon Billy]

We've mostly played supers, and--as mentioned--it rocked for that.

What it also rocked for was Space Opera. Aliens with all manner of wierd and exotic abilites/equipment etc, power armor, interstellar flight, rayguns (with myriad "rays")...we found there was very little that couldn't be done with it.


The one try we gave it for a fantasy game came out looking a lot like He-Man and the masters of the Universe.

Again, it worked seamlessly for what it was, but I think you could probably get closer to a D&D feel pretty easily by dialing down the PL.

 

[Ryan_Singer]

Mutants and Masterminds is my all time favorite roleplaying system.

It is point based, and you heroes improve incrementally session to session, instead of leveling. It can be played in a very dnd-feeling way by starting out at, say, PL2 with 30pp.

It includes rules for learning the rudiments of spellcasting (PR1 Magic) with only a sessions worth of experience (2PP). Players can craft their own spells and magic items exactly how they want them to be, and a character with the Artificer feat can create 1-use items with time and skill checks.

I haven't seen the other book, but I own both MnM2e and Magic of Eberron, and I prefer MnM2e a thousand times over.

 

[The Shaman]

I've run two 'pulp' games using 1e Mutants and Masterminds: one set in the 1930s and one in the 1860s. Lower the PL, use some of the guns rules from the Nocturnals source book, and you're good to go.

What it also rocked for was Space Opera. Aliens with all manner of wierd and exotic abilites/equipment etc, power armor, interstellar flight, rayguns (with myriad "rays")...we found there was very little that couldn't be done with it.

Wow, that's a great idea! I was going to use Modern/Future, but I like this so much better!

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Got a question about using it for far-future kind of games. If a character has, say, powered armor, how would that be represented? And would blasters and things be powers you had to select, or equipment anyone could use?

 

[Aaron2]

Lower the PL, use some of the guns rules from the Nocturnals source book, and you're good to go.

How were the Nocturnal gun rules different from normal M&M?


Aaron

 

[Kenson]

Got a question about using it for far-future kind of games. If a character has, say, powered armor, how would that be represented?

For a far-future setting, power armor would likely be handled as equipment, rather than a device. M&M 2e differentiates between the two, and one of the criteria is availability. If power armor is a "common" technology (relatively speaking) then it's equipment.

And would blasters and things be powers you had to select, or equipment anyone could use?

The latter. In fact, in a setting without powers, you could probably even do away with the Equipment feat and just use Wealth for acquiring the characters' various gear (that and apply legal restrictions on what they can have; power armor, for example, might be restricted to the military).

 

[Dirigible]

I've used it (1st ed) to run a Charmed/Brimstone kind of modern supernatural game, and a game about normal police officers in a world of supers. It handled both pretty well.

However, you will need to do a little work when using it for a non-supers setting. For example, I had to fiddle with the skills, feats and equipment when working on the police game.

 

[arwink]

I don't think I've come accross the campaign idea yet that I couldn't run by smooshing togehter some combination of Mutants and Masterminds with the True 20 rules.