Mutants and Masterminds - limited copies available!

[Kenson]

P.S. Is it still on track for sept?

Yup, it's on its way from the printers and, assuming there are no hang-ups in customs, etc., should find its way into stores in just a couple weeks.

 

[FTracer]

Yup, it's on its way from the printers and, assuming there are no hang-ups in customs, etc., should find its way into stores in just a couple weeks.

SWEET!

Can anyone give me a rundown on what heroes & villians made it in the new book, I don't need stats, just curious. I understand there's more templates to pick from as well? Does the devices section have some ready made devices? I liked how Gadgets Gimmick's had one of each but I doubt the new book has the space for that.

 

[Bretbo]

Can anyone give me a rundown on what heroes & villians made it in the new book, I don't need stats, just curious. I understand there's more templates to pick from as well? Does the devices section have some ready made devices? I liked how Gadgets Gimmick's had one of each but I doubt the new book has the space for that.

I don't have my book in front of me, but I'll relate what I can remember. There are no "characters" in the book that are identifiable by name, just archetypes. Of course, the only real difference between, say, Protonik and the Original Archetype (now called Paragons) is the name. The PC Archetypes fairly much follow what you would expect (Martial Artists, Gadgeteer, Powerhouse, Shape-shifter, Weapons-Master, ect.). The Totem is pretty much gone, replaced by the much better Shape-shifter (which can also be a Metamorpho-like character if needed). Also, the art for these is brand new and not recycled from 1ed.

The interesting addition are the villain archetypes. Basically, we're given a fairly basic, iconic villain archetype (some higher than PL10) that can be expanded/altered to serve your campaign. Examples include The Armored Megolomaniac, The Brain-in-a-Jar, The Corrupt Sorceror, The Kung-fu Killer, ect. As noted, they aren't indentified by a given name (sorry, no Atomic Brain), but rather their archetype.

I can expand upon this once I get home and find my book.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

The second edition is simply wonderful. The problems I had with first edition are pretty much fixed by everything in second edition. I did playtesting for this one and really wanted to scream to the world some of the great things that were going on but the non disclosure I signed kept me from spilling the beans.

I think one of the things I like the most is that second edition spends a lot of time discussing world building and how to run a successful campaign which is great advice no matter how long you have been running games.

 

[Piratecat]

For me, one of the big "oh, of course!" moments was when I realized how easy and efficient it was to build alternate powers now. Superman's heat vision/X-ray vision/telescopic vision/microscopic vision is now much easier, and much more cost-effective, to model.

 

[Teflon Billy]

The second edition is simply wonderful. The problems I had with first edition are pretty much fixed by everything in second edition.

My thoughts exactly. I'm in the middle of writing my review of it, and so far I don't have much in the way of complaints (outside of a couple of editing gaffes)

Actually, since Kenson is here, maybe he can explain for me the benefit of the Defensive Roll feat.

I mean, at one point/Rank, capped at the PL, it looks like you'd be insane to take it instead of just grabbing Protection at the same cost and defining it as "Training".

I suspect I am missing something.

I think one of the things I like the most is that second edition spends a lot of time discussing world building and how to run a successful campaign which is great advice no matter how long you have been running games.

I love all of that

 

[Kenson]

Actually, since Kenson is here, maybe he can explain for me the benefit of the Defensive Roll feat.

There are a few, notably:

• Defensive Roll can also provide a bonus on Reflex saves against area attacks (especially useful for the Defensive Roll/Evasion combo).

• Defensive Roll, as a feat, is immune to Nullify, which only works on powers.

• Defensive Roll is also somewhat "resistant" to traits that target Toughness (e.g. Corrosion, Disintegration & Drain), since those things tend to affect the Toughness save score and Protection.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Hmmm. I don't know. I mean it certainly still looks quite a bit worse

I mean, which is more common? Losing your Dex bonus or being Nullified, Drained, Disintegrated etc.).

It looks like it is commonly worse, but in a very narrow situation, it's better.

 

[arwink]

Hmmm. I don't know. I mean it certainly still looks quite a bit worse

I mean, which is more common? Losing your Dex bonus or being Nullified, Drained, Disintegrated etc.).

The fact that it isn't reduced by penetrating attack is the big advantage for me.

While protection needs to become impervious in order to have its full effect against someone using an attack with the penetrating extra, the character with defensive roll gets the same bonus at half the cost (even after buying uncanny dodge to reduce the amount of time you're spending flat-footed).

On the whole, I think they're about equal, the choice between them is really guided by the type of character you want to play. The players I've seen buy Defensive Roll are generally building the kinds of characters that aren't all that worried by the flat-footed problem - they were buying feats/powers that minimized the problem, or they actively wanted to get clobbered if they were sucker-punched in combat.

 

[coyote6]

I mean, which is more common? Losing your Dex bonus or being Nullified, Drained, Disintegrated etc.).

Well, if you buy Uncanny Dodge, you rarely lose your Dex bonus. If you buy Uncanny Dodge a couple of times (for a couple of different senses), you lose your Dex bonus very rarely (how many people will be invisible to both hearing and mental senses, for example? Or hearing and smell? Or hearing, smell, and mental?). And if you don't lose your Dex bonus, you don't lose your Defensive roll.

So, for 1 pt in UD (which is staggeringly in-character for many, if not most, Defensive Roll-types), most of the disadvantages of Defensive Roll go away.