Bretbo said:
Hey Dragonblade, don't mean to sound like I'm jumping on you, but I had some thoughts on your dislikes:
Not at all. We are all friends here.
Remember, the bad guys (or the opponents of the players if they are the bad guys) have hero points also (called villain points). And there is a system that weighs the advantage to the player on this, but villains can re-roll damage saves by spending a villain point.
Yes, and Hero points are a fine mechanic, but I feel that Hero points are something that should be saved for those dramatic showdowns with the villain and his main henchmen. Players should never have to worry about spending Hero points to save their ass when fighting mooks. I do think mooks should dish damage, but it should be a process of whittling down the PCs hitpoints rather than the mooks forcing PCs to spend Hero points with a couple of unlucky die rolls.
There was a sort-of conversion notes for doing D&D Monsters in M&M that Steve Kenson posted. Neo expanded on these conversion (quite well, in fact) and can be found in a M&M Fanzine called Super Samurai (check E-CORE or d20 Magazine Rack) or on the M&M Forum (if it hasn't been purged). Spells would simply be powers with extras, power stunts and flaws. There is a Superlink Product called Monsters and Mayhem that handled Fantasy M&M; haven't seen it so can't say if its good or not.
Posts or superlink products are nice but I hate having to scour the net or forum posts for this kind of stuff. I want official writeups in an official published paper book. Or at least have a page on the official M&M website with official rules downloads in PDF format. I prefer rules that are approved and tested by Steve Kenson himself.
Well, the extras and power stunts are framwork-like if constructed properly. A character like Ultra Boy (who uses one power at a time) would have a base power (probably Super-Strength) with everything else as a power stunt. And there is a Multi-Power Framework (been a while since I read Hero, that is the other framework besides Elemental Control, right?)
M&M doesn't really have power frameworks in the way that HERO has them. They are somewhat built into the system already with the ability to take extras and and build powers based off base effects. For example, an Elemental Control is just a discount on powers bought together. M&M already simulates that with the ability to take related powers as extras or stunts. Likewise a Multi-power lets you buy a number of related power at a massive discount with the drawback being you can only use one at a time (assuming fixed slots for all you HERO people out there). M&M can sort of simulate this with the ability to just build your own power and add different effects, but not really.
I actually like the M&M power creation rules, but would prefer to see it expanded upon.
However, M&M cannot really simulate a power pool well, and I would like to see that addressed. There is Variable Effect which comes closest but costs a hero point to use.
Using Variable Effect without spending a Hero Point sounds way to powerful. Maybe something like the character can use it once per 5 PLs they've gain (2 at PL10) for free then they have to use hero points might work. Don't know. And remember, if you use extra effort (which burns a hero point) you can use any power that makes since with your character concept. Example: The Human Torch spends a point to create a fire-cage to trap a villain (effect: Snare).
It works fine in HERO and they don't have a Hero point mechanic. I agree that the Hero point mechanic works quite well in terms of simulating comic book characters coming up with new uses for existing powers on the fly. But costing a Hero point is unfair for characters based around their ability to do all sorts of crazy stuff on the fly. It doesn't work well for Spawn, Silver Surfer, Franklin Richards, X-man, Dr. Strange, etc. In my opinion anyway. Those characters either have to be relegated to the realm of GM only, or they have to have a ton of Hero points or an ungodly PL to be viable characters. I'm aware that there are powers like Cosmic Power and Sorcery, but the way those are built makes them more like a HERO style multi-power than a true power pool.
The way powers are constructed, the cost is resonable. The effect, though, can be a pain to deal with. I mean, for 2 points a character can have Penetrating Vision that can give a GM tons of headaches in a mystery-based game. Every super-powered game has to deal with this kind of thing, good GMing is how to manage it.
I also think Penetrating Vision is too cheap as well.
M&M owes a lot to HERO, a game now in its 5th Edition that pretty much has balancing super powers down to an artform. So it surprises me that in M&M a player can effectively buy both Invisibility and Incorporeal by buying a single rank in each one. Those powers are great examples of a power that you either have or you don't. I think M&M can learn something from HERO in that regard.
And powers like Disintegration and Mental Control are still way too cheap. For example, Disintegration is 2 per rank.The same as Energy Blast. However, unlike EB, Disintegrate directly crumbles objects to dust (no save) while an EB on an object is subject to a damage save. Taking that further, you can disintegrate someone's armor which has far more dramatic consequences in the middle of combat than just trying to hit them with an EB. Losing their armor after all makes them more vulnerable to every opponent than a single failed damage save. Given the effectiveness of Disintegration compared to EB, it should cost far more.
Now lets look at Mind Control. Unlike a normal attack, Mind Control doesn require an attack roll. It simply takes effect provided you beat their Will save with your power check. Well, considering that most people you face will not have a higher will save than their damage save, Mind Control is already more powerful than Energy Blast. Yet they cost the same! (Now, I have a 1st edition M&M book so if there is errata changing this then my apologies).
Furthermore, Mind Control is far more versatile in what it can do than simply damaging an opponent. You can order them to do all sorts of things, which due to the small likelihood of anyone having a significant will save, is almost impossible to resist. Most mooks are not going to be violently opposed to running away so, you are pretty much guaranteed to defeat every mook with a couple die rolls. No need to worry about actually hitting and doing damage. And its just not realistic to give every major villain or henchmen Mental Protection or a super high will save.
It makes no sense to me that given its power and versatility, Mind Control costs the same as Energy Blast.
