Mutants and Masterminds! (Quickie Review)

[JoeGKushner]

I like Silver Age but didn't think it was a good d20 game. A good supers game but, and this is just me before I hear all the attacks, to me, right now, d20 is still mostly in fantasy mode and most of the d20 books are plug and play. Silver Age isnt. Worse, it's in competition with itself and the Tri Stat version, I think, plays better and captures the genre more in line like Hero. In addition, the Tri Stat version is only a few more dollars and is in full color.

I can see what some people are saying about d20 heroes but I can see why Green Ronin didn't go d20 to avoid that fallout in the first place.

I've got a buddy still waiting for a hero book to add to his Spycraft game.

 

[bolen]

The only supers game I have is GURPS and that game falls flat (I am a fan of GURPS). I have heard that Hero is very complex and takes a year to complete combat. I also have heard bad things about hero unlimited. I was kinda thinking that mutants and mastermind would be good. But now I think I will wait for reviews. I really don't care if it uses different rules then D&D as long as it is quick and clear.

 

[Mystic Eye]

I think you all will find Vigilance to be a great game in regards to a pure d20 supers game as well. It really does a great job. Check the reviews here on it. We have a print version coming soon. We also have a print preview at our site of the greatly expanded print version of Vig.

As a note, I picked up M&M today and I must say it is quite nice. It strays a bit from the d20 system but in such ways that it works very well. GR did a great job.

 

[RangerWickett]

*RangerWickett draws a rapier, bows politely to Doug from MEG, Chris from GR, Scott from Cryptosnark, and the folks from GOO, then takes his place among the superheroic duelists*

Natural 20 Press's Four-Color to Fantasy is totally d20 compatible, designed to be plug-and-play for a normal d20 game. It's already a complete fit with standard fantasy d20 like D&D, which you can see in this play-by-post game, "A Grave Matter for Seven Strangers," which has super-powered fantasy PCs.

Also, by the end of December we will be releasing an updated version that is dual-compatible with both D&D and D20 Modern, making it the most adaptable superheroic rules system for D20. Even without the D20 Modern upgrade, though, the rules work just fine to represent even a modern-day supers game, such as in this storyhour, "The Golden Apple Rescue Squad," by our very own storyhour addict, Horacio!

Sadly, the mass public will not have access to Four-Color to Fantasy in print version, but for privileged members of the ENWorld community such as yourself, it is possible to get FCTF online at RPGNow, where it is currently the #10 top-selling pdf product of all time, now available for only $6.95.

If you want d20 superhero rules that are compatible with core d20 rules, FCTF is your book.

***

You can also find reviews of Vigilance products here.

As far as I know, there are no official reviews of Mutants & Masterminds, Silver-Age Sentinels, or Deeds Not Words on the ENWorld Reviews page, or else I'd provide links to them too.



That said, I am interested in seeing M&M when I can get ahold of it.

 

[Razuur]

I am going to disagree with the SAS Naysayers.

There were a lot of truly innovative ideas and options in SAS. I think it turned out fine. As a matter of fact, is set the bar kinda high for M&M. I think that it actually handles a lot of stuff better than D20 Modern.

After hearing about how radical SAS was supposed to be, I was surprised how I didn't feel that. Of course extra mechanics were added in for the Powers etc. The many of the rules were downright innovative. And it contained some of the best overall GM advice I have ever read.

And I believe you can use feats in SAS... I don't have the book handy, but there is an entry that tells what to do to convert feats over. I am pretty sure.

In the end, they are all different and have their own strengths and weaknesses.

But back to M&M. It is a very streamlined D20 with some neat combat innovations.

I am with Mortaneous. Four Colors is exactly what you are looking for, WayneLigon.

Razuur

 

[Welverin]

Sadly, the mass public will not have access to Four-Color to Fantasy in print version

How come?

 

[Synicism]

So in that regard, how similar is it to champions/hero system as far as customization and versatility?

I would say that while it isn't quite as comprehensive as HERO, the game is a LOT faster because it still uses the basic d20 combat mechanics, instead of the Speed and Phases that can really bog down a HERO game. It's got about 100 sample powers and a pretty good system for designing new ones. You can't finesse it like HERO or GURPS because M&M uses an arithmetic method for determining power costs instead of using multipliers, so a power limitation only reduces the final cost by a point.

 

[Synicism]

So I know silver age got panned why? I cant remember

The main problem SAS had is that it called itself a d20 game rather than merely using the OGL like M&M. SAS takes liberties with the system that are more extreme than, say, the ones Spycraft took, so it lacks the "system compatibility" that putting the d20 logo (as opposed to publishing under the OGL) is supposed to provide.

M&M, of course, does not have a d20 logo anywhere on it. And the end result is a fast-paced, easy-to-play game that is great for superheroes and can be easily adapted to other settings as well.

 

[Synicism]

The only supers game I have is GURPS and that game falls flat (I am a fan of GURPS). I have heard that Hero is very complex and takes a year to complete combat. I also have heard bad things about hero unlimited. I was kinda thinking that mutants and mastermind would be good. But now I think I will wait for reviews. I really don't care if it uses different rules then D&D as long as it is quick and clear.

M&M is both. The system is solid (I think better than d20, but that's just me), and well-thought-out. The Power Levels allow a GM to keep the players in line by setting maxima for certain important characteristics like BAB, but you can toss it if you want to allow characters like Batman who are all skills and martial arts. The best part about it is that it's a complete system. There are no prestige classes or anything else, so you don't have to worry about splatbooks.

 

[redknight]

M & M notes

I also was one of the playtesters for Mutants and Masterminds. At first I was a bit sceptical about a d20 system being able to handle super rules. Having playtested for the old DC Megs system and run the Marvel versions I had thought that the best system for super heroes was one designed for the genre.

The released version of M&M has changed my opinion on that. Green Ronin is a class company that really has taken the time to ensure that they have produced a quality product.

When I bought the book, I was curious as to just how much Green Ronin would listen to the playtesters. As I went through the book, I noticed that for every point that we had brought up to the attention to the guys at GR they was almost a ful page of explanation, options or clarifications that addressed the issue at hand.

It was a pleasure working with a company that listened to the players input as much as they did. Before this book came out, my super game of choice was Marvel, Champions or Blood of Heroes. That changed when the Tri Stat SAS rules were released, but this has changed yet again to the M&M standard.

I am not saying that this game is for everyone (people tend to cling to their own favorites. Note the debate between 2nd and 3rd ed DND) but it is now my favorite supers game. I would heartily recommend checking it out.