Mutants and Masterminds
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Mutants & Masterminds (abbreviated "M&M" or "MnM") is a superhero tabletop role-playing game by Green Ronin Publishing based on the d20 System by Wizards of the Coast. The system is designed to allow players to create virtually any type of hero or villain desired. The game has quickly attracted a large following.
Development history
In the late 1990's, Steve Kenson had an idea for a superhero setting that he had been contracted to produce. Through a series of misfortunes, the project fell through and he was left with a partially completed manuscript. Shopping it around to various other publishers, none were interested. Superhero games had lost their popularity. Then he talked to Chris Pramas, President of Green Ronin Publishing, about the setting and history was made.
Chris made the offer to publish the setting if Steve would also create a superhero game system based on the d20 System. Steve agreed and got to work. Over time, it became clear to him that the game would need to be released under the Open Game License. Releasing the game under the d20 Standard Trademark License, as originally planned, would have prohibited the inclusion of ability generation and character advancement rules. Presenting a complete game was seen as taking precedence over having a d20 logo on the product, so the decision was made to use the OGL.
Mutants & Masterminds would be published in 2002 and the setting, which was once known as Century City, became Freedom City and was published in 2003.
A second edition of the Mutants & Masterminds system debuted at GenCon in 2005, and saw wide release in October of that year.
Changes to the d20 system
Mutants & Masterminds's game mechanics are based on the OGL (Open Gaming License) d20 System, designed by Wizards of the Coast, and is played in much the same way. There are however, a few differences pertaining to character creation and how damage is handled. M&M also doesn't use Attacks of Opportunity.
The following information is provided under what M&M considers "open game content".
Power level
M&M characters are not class-based nor do they technically have class levels. Instead, they have a "Power Level" (or "PL"), and typically a character begins at Power Level 10 instead of Level 1. This allows a character to begin as an already established superhero with incredible abilities. The power level represents the maximum rank of any combat abilities or super-powers a character can purchase. Each power level grants a character an allotment of points to purchase attribute levels, base attack and defense bonuses, saving throws, feats, skill ranks and super powers.
The M&M power level does not exactly reflect the typical abilities of another character of equal level in another d20 game, meaning a level 10 M&M character could be much more powerful than a 10th level character in Dungeons and Dragons or d20 Modern for example; it merely restricts the maximum bonus held by skill ranks, ability scores, and most feats and powers. For example, the maximum skill rank is Power Level+5, two points higher than in standard d20 games. With Game Master approval, characters can "trade in" maximum attack in return for maximum save DC/damage bonus, or maximum defense bonus in return for maximum Toughness save. (For example, a PL10 character could have a maximum attack bonus of +12, but could only have a maximum damage bonus of +8.) Beyond limiting bonuses, Power Level does nothing to restrict a character's power; a power level 10 character can have a maximum Strength of 40, whereas normal d20 characters would be lucky to have a single 20-rated score at 10th level.
M&M has optional rules of eliminating the Power Level entirely, where characters have no limit caps to things such as Skill Ranks or Attack Bonuses. They are essentially limited only to the number of Power Points the Game Master gives them, although this may make characters unbalanced. Some d20 System players who believe classes and levels are too restrictive, have looked to the structure of M&M for making their own classless and leveless d20 games.
Damage saves
Damage in M&M is handled differently as well. M&M does not use Hit Points. Instead, a character has a fourth Saving Throw called the Toughness Save (formerly Damage Save in the previous edition) which is based on their Constitution score, (just like Fortitude). Weapons and powers that do lethal and subdual damage do not roll any dice to determine damage. Instead, damaging attacks are ranked based upon their overall power. For example, a fairly fit but normal human may throw a punch that inflicts +1S (stunning) damage, while the irradiated simian mastermind with enhanced strength and razor-sharp claws throws out +12L (lethal) damage. When a character is struck by an attack, they roll a Toughness Save against a target number equal to the rank of the attack plus 15. Success allows the character to shrug off the attack with minimal effect, while failure results in injury according to the degree of failure and the type of damage. Accumulated damage applies a penalty to further saves, increasing the chances of any given attack taking the character down.
This system of damage is meant to model the nature of super-hero comics, in which many characters can ignore most damage outright, while still being susceptible to a lucky punch or super-mega-cosmic blast. For those more comfortable with the traditional hit point system, the main rulebook includes notes for conversion to that mechanic.
Advancement
In M&M, characters are awarded Power Points (aka Experience points) that can do many beneficial things for the character. As described above, Power Points (abbreviated pp.) are used to purchase powers, feats, skills, abilities, and devices. The specific nature of Power Points was changed drastically with the second edition (2e) of Mutants and Masterminds. In the first edition, when a character accrues 15 pp, they advance a Power Level, thus raising the caps on power and skill ranks, as well as on power bonus stacking. There were options to keep the Power Level the same while increasing total number of points (and many sample antagonists in the Game Master setting have more points than their Power Level would suggest), but these have been incorporated into the 2e rules.Under the second edition, Power Points and Power Levels are independent, the latter being set by the Game Master as a function of the campaign. The 2e concept of Power Level determines only the maximum bonus that any power can give, and does not imply that a character does or does not have the points required to purchase enough levels in any power to reach this limit. Though the two are described as being entirely independent, the Mutants and Masterminds manual recommends that the Power Level be increased by one with each 15 Power Points awarded.
Hero points
Like many other super-hero role-playing games, M&M uses the idea of a Hero Point. Hero Points allow an unlucky player to be able to hold their own in a battle, thus reducing the amount that luck plays into the gameplay. A Hero Point can do several things, like allow the reroll of a failed check at a crucial moment, or change a tremendous hit of lethal damage into stun damage. What could have killed a character can temporarily knock him out of the picture instead. Some powers and super-feats allow players to do additional things with Hero Points, such as use powers they ordinarily wouldn't have (the Versatile power, debued in the sourcebook Crooks!; in the 2nd edition, this is a default ability, and any character can spend a Hero point to gain a temporary power).Campaign settings
Both editions of the core M&M book don't come with a default setting, but do include an adventure that takes place in the Freedom City setting. Strangely, though, the 1st edition book has example characters players can use in this adventure that are generally associated with another M&M setting: META-4. Despite this, the two settings are officially separate and their worlds and characters do not intersect.
- Freedom City: A four-color, city-based setting by Steve Kenson that is filled with elements that are similar to the great icons and concepts of classic comic books.
- META-4: This setting, by Eric Mona, Kyle Hunter, and Sean Glenn, was finally detailed in the Crooks! sourcebook. It has been compared to edgier 1990's comic books.
- Nocturnals: Based on Dan Brereton's comic book series, the setting book was written by Mr. Brereton, with the assistance of Chris Pramas. It is a horror/pulp-based setting.
- Noir: Written by Christopher McGlothlin, Noir is based on classic film noir. The world of Noir is a dark one, where heroes are flawed and the friend you trust may be your greatest enemy.
Official First Edition Products
The following products from Green Ronin Publishing where published for the first edition game. Some products are still available:
Mutants & Masterminds GM Screen, a Gamemaster game aide.
Mutants & Masterminds Character Record Folio, an expanded Player Character Sheet
Freedom City, First Edition, a city-based setting book.
Lockdown, a prision for supervillians sourcebook.
Mutants and Masterminds Annual #1, a sourcebook of optional and expanded rules; as well as additional material for the Freedom City Setting
Time of Crisis, an adventure module set in the Freedom City Setting
Crooks!, a sourcebook of villians for the Meta-4 Setting. Also included additional setting material.
Foes of Freedom, a sourcebook of villians for the Freedom City Setting.
Nocturnals, a horror/pulp-based setting sourcebook.
Noir, a sourcebook on film noir-based adventures using the M&M rules.
Gimmick's Guide to Gadgets, a sourcebook of optional rules for gadgets. Also included tech-based Player Character Archetypes.
Official Second Edition Products
The following products from Green Ronin Publishing are available:
Mutants & Masterminds Second Edition GM Screen, a Gamemaster game aide.
Mutants & Masterminds Second Edition Character Record Folio, an expanded Player Character Sheet
Freedom City Second Edition, a 256-page update of the original Freedom City sourcebook.
Lockdown, a 120-page sourcebook that details a prison. Also available is , a PDF-only product featuring six new villains (produced by Ronin Arts for Green Ronin Publishing).
Mastermind's Manual, a hardcover of optional rules.
Golden Age, a sourcebook about comic books published from 1938-55 and creating adventures in that period. It also details the Freedom City setting during that era.
Archetype Archive Series, a series of PDF products, each with 10 new heroic archetypes (produced by Ronin Arts for Green Ronin Publishing).
Villainous Archetype Series, a series of PDF products, each with 10 new villainous archetypes (produced by Ronin Arts for Green Ronin Publishing).
Superlink program
In line with the Open Game License, under which M&M was produced, Green Ronin licences the use of M&M through the M&M Superlink program. Under this license, other publishers can produce their own material (such as adventure modules, character books, and new power books) using the M&M system. The license is free to use as long as the publisher receives permission ahead of time to use it.
Over a dozen publishers have produced over fifty products based on the license. A few have released their products as hard-back or soft-back books through the retail outlets; but most have produced products as PDF (or Portable Document Format) books bought on-line through electronic distribution systems.
Available Superlink products include:
Omlevex, a Silver Age setting book that also acts as an "official" RPG book for a fictitious comic book company.
Superline, a M&M Superlink magazine published by Ronin Arts, available at RPGNow and other game PDF sales sites.
[Day of Dr Null], [Zodiac Ring], and [Dr Null: Battle on the Bay Bridge] (free download), M&M Superlink adventures from [Lame Mage Productions].
External links
- [Mutants and Masterminds website]
- [Atomic Think Tank, the official Mutants and Masterminds discussion boards]
- [Green Ronin Publishing]
- [Super Unicorn]
- [Ronin Arts' M&M Superlink Products]
- [Lame Mage Productions, M&M Superlink adventures]
- [Spectrum Games (creators of Omlevex, a popular Superlink product)]
- [Mutants and Masterminds at RPGnetWiki]
- [The Rise of the Military Industrial Machine, a Campaign Page]
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