PLEASE!!! Need help with Mutants and Masterminds 2e!!!

[DungeonmasterCal]

Hi,

I'm not an imbecile, but for some reason the third paragraph under Alternate Power (Page 108) has completely baffled me and my players. We're trying to create characters, but we're stymied.

For example, I want to create a character with Cold Control of 10 (20 power points). Under alternate powers, I want to select Drain Toughness (Limited to objects -1) and Snare.

What does this mean exactly? Do I have Snare at 10 ranks (creating icy bonds) and Drain Toughness at 9 ranks? What? What?

Please explain this in a very easy to understand way. We have three different opinions on this flying around the table AT THIS VERY moment!!!!

Thanks in advance

 

[Staffan]

I'm assuming you want Drain Toughness and Snare as two separate alternate powers.

Taking the Alternate Power feat basically gives you the original power cost back to buy other stuff with, it's just that this stuff won't be usable at the same time as the original power.

So you'd get 20 points worth of Drain Toughness (objects only) and 20 points worth of Snare. The former would cost 1/2 point per level (Drain Toughness = 1 point, -1 for the flaw = 1/2 using the Fractional Costs rule on page 110), so you'd get Drain Toughness 40. This will probably run into campaign caps. Snare costs 2 points per rank, so you'd get Snare 10.

This would be written as "Cold Control 10 (Power feats: Alternate Powers Drain Toughness 40 (objects only), Snare 10)"

The total cost would be 22 points, 20 for Cold Control 10 and 2 for the two power feats (Alternate powers).

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Thanks..that's pretty much what we were thinking, but our brains began to itch. And yeah.. 40 would run into the PL 10 power cap...so those extra points would be "wasted". But this works! Thanks!

 

[D.Shaffer]

It might be easier to envision if you follow the format used in the new Ultimate Power book. (And honestly, I wish they wrote it out like this originally, it took me forever to figure out how dynamic Alternate Powers worked)

You have a power called 'Array.' Under which you can add powers. Each rank in Array gives you 2pp. Each turn you can use those pp on any one power in Array. You have one power in Array to begin with. Each 'Alternate Power' feat to Array lets you add one more power. Additionally, you have the Dynamic feat that can be applied to the power individually that lets you spread the points between any power that has Dynamic in it.

Still a bit confusing, so let's make an array.

[B]Cold Control[/B]
[B]Array 10 [/B] (20 pp; Feat: Alternate Power 2) total cost: 22 pp
--[B]Environmental Control [/B] (Extreme Cold, 2 pp/rank base, range: ranged) 2 pp/rank
--[B]Drain Toughness [/B] (1pp/rank base, range: touch; Extras: Affects Objects +1; Flaws: Limited to Objects -1)  1 pp/rank    
--[B]Snare[/B] (2pp/rank base, range: ranged) 2pp/rank

At the beginning of your turn, you can spend 20 points on any one of those powers. So you can either have Environmental Control 10, Drain Toughness 20, or Snare 10.

Now, if you wanted to make it a dynamic array, you would do this.

[B]Cold Control[/B]
[B]Array 10[/B] (20 pp; Feat: Alternate Power 2) total cost: 22 pp
--[B]Environmental Control [/B] (Extreme Cold, 2 pp/rank base, range: ranged; Feat: Dynamic) 2 pp/rank+1
--[B]Drain Toughness[/B] (1pp/rank base, range: touch; Feat: Dynamic; Extras: Affects Objects +1; Flaws: Limited to Objects -1)  1 pp/rank+1
--[B]Snare [/B] (2pp/rank base, range: ranged) 2pp/rank

Each turn, you can allocate 20 points between all powers with Dynamic, or solely to any power without dynamic. So you can choose to have Snare 10, or any combination of of Environmental Control+Drain Toughness, for example Drain Toughness 8 (8+1 pp) and Environmental Control 5 (10+1 pp)

Hopefully I didnt just make you MORE confused.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Nope, not at all. Now I'm just convinced I have to go get Ultimate Power...lol. Is it available only as a .pdf?

 

[Krolik]

Nope, not at all. Now I'm just convinced I have to go get Ultimate Power...lol. Is it available only as a .pdf?

It will be available in print in early September.

 

[SteveC]

Nope, not at all. Now I'm just convinced I have to go get Ultimate Power...lol. Is it available only as a .pdf?

They had copies available at Gen Con and I picked one up. A very good book, but I have to say that at this point, the notion that the power rules for M&M are simpler than Hero is simply not true. They are very good rules, but also getting up there in terms of complexity.

From what was said, hard copies of the book will be in the stores in September.

--Steve

 

[Breakdaddy]

Don't make me come up to Conway to show you how it's done

Oh wait, I don't know either....

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Don't make me come up to Conway to show you how it's done

Oh wait, I don't know either....

HA! Foiled by your own um... ehh..foiling thing!