M&M Noob

[BluWolf]

I am thinking of running a M&M sidebar for our regular D&D group. Sort of a sorbet to clean the palet between sessions.

Would appreaciate recommendations for the minimum/best books you need to run an intermittant game. Core Book? Plus what else??

Will probably base the game in the Marvel Universe. Just for kicks.

 

[Treebore]

The Core book and this link are all that you really need for such a game.


http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?t=14764

 

[spades1013]

Instant Superheroes could prove useful for a pick-up type game as well. Character generation is, without a doubt, the most complex thing you'll deal with in M&M, so a book of archetypes may be handy. Especially if your group is the kind that is likely to say "I want to be kinda like Batman", "I want to be like Wolverine", etc. Instant Superheroes gives you most of the common comic archetypes and suggestions for customizing them easily.

Check out "Roll Call" on TATT, there are thousands of Marvel character builds there, so that's done for you. MDSnowman's are assembled in a PDF somewhere. I don't remember where, as I downloaded it a while ago. But if you can't find it, I'd be happy to send you a copy.

M&M is my favorite game (next to D&D). Have fun!

 

[ValhallaGH]

All you need is the core book.

All the other supplements are there to help you run whichever specific kind of game you want to run. Super spies, law enforcement, students of magic, murderous vigilantes, interstellar demigods, super powered teenagers, and even the repository of pre-made, playable characters are all just there to make your life easier (and make money for the publishers). If you see a supplement that interests you or seems useful then take a look.

But to play and run good games, all you need is the core book.
Even the mastermind's manual is just a bunch of options and advice to make the game more the one you want. Ultimate Power is almost entirely a bunch of example ways you can combine the power rules (there's at most six new powers in that book, and most of those are actually power structures).

 

[Treebore]

Just make sure to read the link I gave you. Plus the other given in the very next post. I found reading how M&M was used to build all those super heroes I was familiar with really helped me understand how the rules are to be used.

Other than that you will do fine with just the Core Book, even though Freedom City is a very good buy.

 

[Jackelope King]

All you need is the core book. However, I find the Ultimate Power expansion to be the single best RPG rules supplement I've ever had the pleasure of owning. It essentially expands the Powers chapter of the core rules, breaks the powers down to their essential elements, and explains how to build whatever power you want with ease. In my PDF copies, I've literally replaced the Powers chapter with the contents of that book.

However, it's certainly not needed for play. It's just an expansion which I've found extremely useful in pushing the system to its limits.

 

[JediSoth]

When I ran a one-shot of M&M for my group, I used one of the adventures from the Atomic Think Tank and we had a blast. I agree with everyone here who has said you just need the core book to run a game, particularly if it's just one or two sessions.

The thing we found most difficult was the differences in the combat system, since we were all used to D&D and hit points, the paradigm in M&M took some getting used to. Once we did, though, people had a blast being superheroes.

JediSoth

 

[Elric]

All that you need for an intermittant game is the core book. Freedom City is very nice as it has a lot of useful NPCs and setting information but it will be less useful in the Marvel Universe.

Ultimate Power is a great supplement but if you're only playing once in a while I'd probably stick to the core book.

Let me also do my standard shameless plug:

My Atomic Think Tank Roll Call thread has two detailed character creation examples, which should be helpful in learning the character creation system: Minotaur, a powerhouse, and the martial artist archetype

I also have three fights from the perspective of the players and GM, so they're designed to help people understand the rules (Fights 1 and 2 in particular have a lot of explanation):
Fight #1: X-Men vs. Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
Fight #2: Avengers (Luke Cage, Black Widow, Beast) vs. White Knight
Fight #3: Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, She Hulk, Ms. Marvel) vs. Overshadow

Lastly, the Alternate Power power feat can be confusing to work with, so here are a few threads where people try to explain how Alternate Powers (i.e., arrays) work: http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?t=25105
http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?t=17590
http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?t=17539

 

[Treebore]

Elrics examples are indeed very helpful. To the point where I bookmarked them last night.