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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009808" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Mutants & Masterminds is a d20 Superhero RPG from Green Ronin.Mutants & Masterminds is a 192-page hardback full colour book. Margins and font size are standard. There are occasional chunks of white space in the book. Chapter headings take up a whole page and are additionally accompanied by a full-page graphic. The artwork itself, as is to be expected, is comic-book style with powerful use of colour and action-packed images. For the style, the quality of art is good to superb. Writing style and editing are good.Introduction:Covers character concepts, what you need to play, and a glossary of important terms, as well as a brief mention that Mutants & Masterminds can be set in the campaign setting of Freedom City, a setting to be released in a forthcoming sourcebook. Goes on to give character creation basics and 12 hero archetypes for quick character creation based on actual superheroes - e.g. Cyclone, Inferna, Lady Hex, and Silver Shrike - with some guidelines for modifying the basic template to suit the individual character. There is also a sidebar that helpfully outlines the major rules changes from a standard d20 RPG:* No classes - the character is constructed using abilities and powers, etc.* No alignments* No extra dice - only a d20 is used* No attacks of opportunity* No hit points - uses a Damage saving throw ruleset to determine the effect of damage.* Hero Points - points that can be spent to increase abilities and influence die rolls.Power Level:This section describes character level and the powers available at each level up to 20th. The Power Level table also shows Power Points, Attack and Defense Bonuses, Skill and Power Ranks, and Hero Points at each level. The unusual aspect is that normally characters start at Level 10. Another table shows the benefits that come by giving your character certain weaknesses . There is also advice on gaining and spending power points to increase in abilities, power levels above 20th, and even ignoring the power level system, just allocating players a certain number of power points to spend on their charcter's powers and abilities.Abilities:Much the same as standard d20 rules, with some new rules for 'super-abilities' (those beyond 20).Skills:Again, much like standard d20, with some obvious omissions (e.g. alchemy) and additions (e.g. taunt) as well as some modern skills such as drive, computer, pilot, etc. Two interesting sidebars - the first gives an option for making attack and defense skill-based, the second makes Wisdom (in its Willpower guise) the base ability for Concentration checks. There is also some advice for creating new skills.Feats: Again similar to standard d20, but with only standard and super-feats (superhero feats, such as ultra-hearing) available. There is also some advice on creating new feats and converting super-powers to super-feats.Super-powers:The next 45 pages or so give a range of super-powers. Super-powers either work automatically, or work much like a skill check without the attribute modifier if it affects others (also, like skills, you can improve the power rank of the character's super-power). Each power has a different cost (i.e. super-powers are limited in use by the number of power points a character has), time requirement, range, duration, and associated saving throw. Most powers also  offer a choice of increasing the power's effectiveness (e.g. Transmutation becomes shapeable transmutation) or weakening the power (e.g. the 'Spinning' super-power makes you dizzy), and some have some power stunts to make them even cooler. There is some discussion of the power source that provides the super-hero with super-powers and several pages of advice at the end of the chapter for creating your own super-powers with benefits and flaws.Characteristics:This chapter looks at the character history and background, personality and wealth, as well as more miscellaneous aspects such as travel and carrying capacity. Hero POints are discussed, which can be spent to re-roll, improve defence, eliminate stun hits, recover, ignore fatigue, overcome injury, escape death, or give inspiration. The chapter ends with some examples of weaknesses that can be taken to boost power points.Devices:Covers a gamut of information on technology such as weapons, armour, vehicles, constructs, headquarters, chemicals, costumes, and sensors. The chapter ends with some advice on creating and naming devices.Combat:Familiar enough to those with d20 experience to be very easy to pick up, but streamlines the rule system by taking out such things as attacks of opportunity and hit points. Hit points are replaced by a very simple system involving a Damage save. Failing a damage save can lead to becoming injured, stunned, or disabled, dependent upon the amount by which the victim fails. Damage causes a reduction on future Damage saves, making the character more likely to succumb to unconsciousness or disablement. Death is only really reached if the character keeps trying to act after being disabled. Various useful sidebars offer optional combat rules such as a defence roll (an opposed roll), a massive damage option to make combat more deadly, knockback (where a powerful connecting attack causes the victim to spectacularly fly backwards through the air), an optional hit point system, and some advice for speeding up combat. There is also some discussion of environmental factors such as gravity, radiation, etc.Gamemastering:This section gives advice on the type of game a GM might want to run, assigning difficulties, maintaining game balance, changing the rules, and rewards. It also gives more in-depth advice on creating adventures, campaign settings, villains, and minions.Major League:An introductory adventure for 4-6 10th-level superheroes, where the characters must attempt to discover why Freedom City's most famous crimefighting superheroes, the Freedom League, seem to have turned to crime themselves. The adventure also has stats for the members of the Freedom League, and introduces the main campaign setting that future GR M&M products will be set in.Appendix:This gives a rogue's gallery with some interesting villains, an index, some cut-out cards for use as in-game character representations of the NPCs introduced in the book, a character sheet, and some quick-reference tables.Conclusion:This is a very smooth mutation of the d20 rules using the OGL, cutting out some of the aspects of the d20 rules, whilst streamlining others to suit the superhero genre. One of the strengths and weaknesses of the product is that it does not provide a specific campaign setting - this allows for flexibility but doesn't take advantage of some of the famous superhero names to maybe attract a wider audience than RPGers. What it does provide in spades are regular ideas and advice for changing the feel and the rules to suit what the GM wants from her superhero game, from four-colour superman style to grim and gritty modern vigilante anti-heroes.M&M takes a step forward with the use of the OGL. I wonder if aspects such as class, attacks of opportunity, and hit points, missing from M&M, will also be missing from 4e when it eventually arrives. It might be worth running a game or two of M&M even if you're not into superhero RPG's, just to get a feel for whether these rule changes improve the game for other genres. I liked the simplicity of the ruleset, felt it covered everything a rulebook should (note that this is a rulebook, not an accessory), the presentation was appropriate, and the advice allowed the GM flexibility and the players, choice.</blockquote>

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