Mutants & Masterminds

The title is commonly abbreviated "M&M". The game is a prime competitor for Champions, sharing a number of similar qualities (such as a generic approach) but different play styles and rules philosophies. In general, Champions is a more detailed and rules-heavy game, while Mutants and Masterminds is faster playing, favoring playability over detail.

Campaign Settings

Although there are several settings published by outside companies, currently Green Ronin produces two for the Mutants and Masterminds campaign: Freedom City and the META-4 universe.

Changes to the d20 System

M&M's game mechanics are based off 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. The following information is provided under what M&M considers "open game content".

Power Level

M&M characters do not have class-based character levels. Instead, they have a "Power Level", and typically a character begins at level 10 instead of level 1. This allows a character to begin as an already establish superhero with incredible abilities. The power level is the maximum level of any super power a character can purchase. Each power level grants a character an allotment of points to purchase attribute levels, base attack bonuses, base defense bonuses, saving throws, feats, skill ranks and super powers.

Skills are restricted to only 3 ranks above the character's level (as in other d20 System games), but everything else may be bought freely as the player chooses. 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. M&M also offers the option to not use power levels. Instead, a Game Master assigns a point limit for the players to build their characters, but this could cause more unbalanced design. A character may also select Weaknesses, which return character points that can be spent elsewhere.

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 Damage Save, which is based of their Constitution score, (just like Fortitude). Weapons and powers that do lethal and subdual damage use a modified d20 die roll. For instance: a sub-machine gun does +6 Lethal (or 6L) in damage; meaning when it rolls damage, it rolls a d20 and adds 6 to the result. A character who is hit by the weapon rolls a Damage Save just like any other Saving Throw. If they make a higher roll than the weapon they still take damage, (because the weapon has hit them), but it is so minute the character is hardly phased. The character takes worse damage according to how much lower he rolled under the weapon's, or power's, damage roll. Even if a character takes a minor, grazing shot, the wounds begin to stack up. Each time they are hit, their Damage Save lessens in value.

This system of taking damage reflects better, the uncanny superhero's ability to shrug off incredible damage through most of a fight. A hero could fall off a skyscraper, and then be slammed down under a thrown bus, but then a bullet in the right spot can take the hero down at the worst possible moment. The system also makes using other polyhedral dice obsolete. Players use only one d20 die for everything in the game. For those gamers who still want to use hit point, the M&M system includes rules for converting Damage Saves to standard Hit Points. The designers of the game recommend against doing this however, since it takes away from the "comic book feel" of the setting and slows combat down.

Advancement

M&M does not use Experience Points. Instead, characters are awarded Hero Points that can do many beneficial things for the character. 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.

Green Ronin has also implemented the M&M Superlink program, which allows independent game producers to create their own material, fully compatible with the Mutants and Masterminds system. This is another form of open gaming license, similar to the d20 system license that Mutants and Masterminds was produced under.

External Links

• Mutants and Masterminds website
• Green Ronin Publishing
• Super Unicorn