[MnM] I've Got Your Back, Hero! The Trust Pool

[Jim Hague]

An important aspect of any unit that works together is trust. The members have to trust each other to succeed and in this trust find strength. However if they do not trust each other their attempt at meeting a common goal is hampered. This mechanic is designed to give this very really relationship mechanical meaning in the game.

As a group, the team begins with a Trust Pool. This is a number of dice equal to the number of members within the team. At any time during play, any Player can draw from this pool to gain a free bonus die for any of their rolls, just like a Hero Point.

While the pool never refreshes, it does expand and contract based upon the actions of the characters as well as the time they have spent working together. At the start of each new session, the pool increases by one new die. It also increases by one die any time one of the characters sacrifices himself in some manner for the other members of the group. This can be a physical sacrifice, such as taking a blow meant for another, or something less concrete, like sacrificing a character’s career. The sacrifice must represent real danger to the character - there's nothing to be gained if an attack won't hurt the character in question. There must always be an element of risk involved.

The pool contracts when the exact opposite happens. If a character at any time chooses to not sacrifice himself when the opportunity arrives or puts his personal goals before that of the group, the pool decreases by one die. Also, if one member should fall in some manner, such as dying or betraying the group, the entire Trust Pool is cut in half.

 

[marcoasalazarm]

Is this thing for Mutants and MAsteminds First or Second Edition? I only have First (revised) myself.

WHAT-ever. It seems like something good for using. It sure as hell works for those 'united we stand'-kinda comic physics.

 

[Jim Hague]

Either or, it's shamelessly stolen from Conspiracy of Shadows. Should work well with both, though I haven't given it the road test with 2nd Edition yet.

 

[Dirigible]

Very interesting. It should be even more interesting with 2e, in which you don't start with any HP... the trust pool would become more important, as the only source of bonuses until the heroes' complications kick in.

If a character at any time chooses to not sacrifice himself when the opportunity arrives or puts his personal goals before that of the group,

I agree with the latter, but not with the former. You shouldn't punish a character for not stepping in fornt of a bullet for someone, but when they are activly selfish that's another matter.

 

[physicscarp]

This sounds a lot like the Mojo Pool idea from XCrawl. In those rules, its a pool of hero points, and players cannot draw directly from the pull to help themselves, they can only draw from it to help a teammate. If someone asks for a hero point, they do not get it, and they are denied any further use during that encounter.

This really encourages people to look out for one another, and think about how the group as a whole is doing. For a M&M team game, I would seriously consider adding this rule, though I'd be looking for more concrete ways of expanding/diminishing the pool.

 

[Jim Hague]

Very interesting. It should be even more interesting with 2e, in which you don't start with any HP... the trust pool would become more important, as the only source of bonuses until the heroes' complications kick in.

Something to encourage team-based play...

I agree with the latter, but not with the former. You shouldn't punish a character for not stepping in fornt of a bullet for someone, but when they are activly selfish that's another matter.

The tone comes across harsher than intended - it's always when the GM deems such actions dramatically appropriate: throwing yourself in the way when a villain's about to shoot your friend in the back, for example. The penalty only comes in when they're actively selfish - the team's going to fight Apocalypto, but Johnny X decides he wants to go get a hamburger.