Posts tagged m&mweek

Let’s talk Time Travel. The Mutants & Masterminds Core Rules strongly recommend that it’s primarily used as a plot-device rather than something that the players have control over. I’m going with that line of thought for our multiverse campaign.

There are two Powers directly related to time manipulation – Time Control and Super-Movement. The first is basically a variant of Super-Speed which lets you go into Bullet Time; the world slows down and you, conversely, speed up. Grab a couple of Alternate Powers such as Paralyze (“freezing” someone in time) and Precog/Postcognition (being able to see events from the past or future) and you’ve got a rather nice time-based hero or villain without all that tricky time travel stuff.

Super-Movement offers Temporal Movement as an option. This is the ability to directly travel from one time to another. For just a single rank (2 points) your hero can travel between now and just one point in the past or future. The point is fixed relative to now, so you could time-travel exactly 50 years into the past, 1,000 years into the future, for example. This is great if you want a hero who can travel between, say, 15th Century France and the modern day, or play Johnny Stars, Dream Hero of the Future who battles Martians in the 43rd Century while he sleeps. 2 ranks (4 points) gets you the ability to travel in the past or future, whereas 3 ranks (6 points) gives you the ability to travel to any point in time. Nice.

Temporal Movement is one of those powers that’s best suited to being in some kind of device, be it a Time Bracelet or a certain blue police box. I can’t think of many heroes or villains with innate time-travelling abilities – can you? Beyond Superman’s overused “turning back time by flying really fast round the world” trick (which he hasn’t actually used that often but let’s face it, once was too often. Awesome use of the Hero Point though) you’re probably looking at the magical heroes such as Zatanna and Dr Strange.

In the campaign, our heroes can travel through multiversal time using the teleport room in the Singular Citadel. This transports up to 5 heroes to anywhere, any dimension and anywhen as required. The time travel element isn’t under the players’ control (yet – Captain Triumph is working on it), but merely a plot device to get the characters where the action is (so costs no points). It’s not entirely…. uhhhh…. reliable, either. Don’t you just love giving players kewl toys that don’t quite work right? I do!

Next time: a grab bag of scenarios and plot hooks!

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“Why?” Just three letters, yet it’s the most difficult question in the world to answer. Why do the heroes and villains do what they do? What motivates them? Answering these questions sets the tone of the campaign, and that’s what we’re going to look at in today’s contribution to Mutants & Masterminds Week.

The history of Superhero comics is generally divided into five ages (or four, or six, depending on who’s counting): The Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze, Dark and Modern. There’s considerable overlap between all the different eras (to the point where it’s difficult to define them at all),  but they serve a convenient shorthand when it comes to talking about a characters’ motivations, style and backstory. Just look at Golden Age Batman, for example.

Dude, Batman is smiling. He’s a happy, optimistic guy who appears in adverts for Hostess Twinkies. This is a Batman who’s….. nice! Compare and contrast:

Not smiling.

What motivated the Golden Age Batman (or Superman, or Aquaman, or….) was a strong sense of justice, fairness, truth and decency. The Modern Day Batman is just plain driven – to the point of serious psychosis, not to mention death. Or not, depending on which Batman comics you read. Sheesh. Of course, I’m generalising (talking about comicbook ages does that to a person), but when we’re building a Multiverse-level campaign it’s worth thinking about the general tone and style of play – and then being willing to break it. To keep things familiar I’m aiming for a Modern Age style, but throw in a few characters and settings from earlier eras to re-enforce the multiversal variety. This is a setting where Captain Canine of Tooniverse-17 can rub shoulders with the Revenger, dark anti-hero of Earth-512, all wrapped up in the shades-of-grey moral tone of the Modern Age where there are consequences for your actions. Nice.

Mutants & Masterminds has a mechanism whereby the GM can reward players for great role-playing, acts of heroism, living up to the genre and acting in accordance with their motivations. If you’re running a gun-toting Dark Age anti-hero and the GM gives you a kill shot and you take it (whatever the consequences), your character gains a Hero Point for working in line with his motivations. Captain Canine of Tooniverse-17 might gain a Hero Point when his Complication of Must Chase Cats comes into play. Similarly, if a Golden Age-style hero has to choose between saving a kindly old lady from a runaway truck or catching the bad guy….. you get the idea.

These Hero Points can be spent in-game to perform suitably Heroic Deeds. They’re like 4e D&D’s Action Points, only more flexible and useful. For example, a Hero Point can be used to gain a temporary Feat or Alternate Power to help save the day, improve a roll, overcome fatigue or even escape death!

But what of the villains?

Their motivations are as varied and complex as the villains themselves. In this campaign setting we’re going to dealing with villains who (intentionally or unwittingly) breach the multiverseal barriers in some way. This could be as simple as a hostage situation which endangers an innocent destined for multiversal greatness (the John Connor Syndrome), or a multiverse-spanning villain on a grand scale. Villains don’t get Hero Points to help them win – but they do have the GM on their side, and he can use GM Fiat to give the villains an edge. This might mean they pull off a dramatic escape, somehow capture our heroes or otherwise further the story by winning the battle – only to be defeated in the final climactic scene. Yes folks, Mutants & Masterminds is a game where it’s cool for the Heroes to lose! If the GM uses with awesome GM Fiat-wielding powers, the heroes get a Hero Point in return. See how it all hangs together?

Next time, we’re going to look at how Mutants & Masterminds handles breaking the greatest barrier of all – time travel.

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“What kind of heroes?” and “What makes them a team?”. These are questions we’re going to look at today in Day 3 of Mutants & Masterminds week!

Our multiversal superheroes come from all walks of life, and in some cases we’re using the word “life” pretty loosely. Perhaps the dominant lifeform in Universe-15003 is intelligent pools of acid, or your hero is a borg-like entity from Jupiter-812. One of the joys of having a multiverse to work with is that the players can run different versions of the same character through the campaign if they want, replacing the millionaire playboy hero Ironclad or Earth-517 with the millionaire canine Ironclaw of Earth-7125 or the United Soviet States’ Ironlady of Earth-981. One hero, many possibilities.

All of this choice can seem pretty daunting, so we’re going to provide two things to help make the players’ life a little easier: archetypes, and standard equipment.

Archetypes are the closest that Mutants & Masterminds comes to providing character classes. These are pre-designed boilerplate characters that the player can use as-is, adapt or simply use as inspiration. They are entirely optional, and there’s nothing mechanically different between a character created using an archetype and one that’s created from scratch. For example, if a player wants to play a Batman-style hero he’s free to choose (and adapt) the Costumed Adventurer archetype from the M&M Core Rules, or create their own.

They also provide another service: archetypes help to re-enforce the genre. For example, if I was running a horror-themed game I’d offer archetypes such as Vampire Slayer, Reformed Werewolf, Zealous Priest and the like. This sends a message to the players that these are the style of characters I expect them to create, even if they don’t use the archetypes themselves.

As we’re intentionally keeping the options wide open for this campaign, all of the Archetypes from the M&M Core Rules, Instant Superheroes or any other supplement are free to use. A few of the archetypes could be used to represent specific organizations and groups within the multiverse, of which the heroes can be ex-members. For example, from Instant Superheroes:

Ring Bearer: The Guardians of Light are a misguided group of arrogant do-gooders who “police” a number of universes across the multiverse. While there’s a few good cops, most of them think they’re above everyone else, and our heroes all too frequently clash with them when their paths cross.
Demons: Universe-666. ‘Nuff said.
Cyborg: Universe-812 has been quarantined due to a serious Borg infestation. Occasionally, isolated members manage to break free of their conditioning and somehow find a way into the wider multiverse. Some become heroes, but all too often…..
Jungle Lord: Earth-744 is a lush planet coated entirely in plantlife. It’s history has followed that of our own Earth pretty closely with the two World Wars fought between elephant-riding warriors on a massive scale. Heroes from this realm are entirely unsuited to high-technology life, but that doesn’t stop them from being great fun to play!

Of course, these examples aren’t the only cases of these archetypes across the multiverse – cyborgs and demons can originate anywhere – they’re just here to kickstart the players’ imaginations.

It’s important that the team has a sense of identity. I’ve intentionally not given the group a name. I’ll leave that to the players; it’s their group, after all. Each character has access to certain items of equipment: an in-ear commlink, anti-flash contact lenses, a standard-issue jumpsuit (provides a +3 Toughness bonus and they’re free to pick the design and colours themselves) and an Insignia which gives them Flight 2 (up to 250mph). The Insingia can be adapted to be worn as a belt buckle, bracelet, brooch, etc as desired, and it’s only usable by registered members of the team. It is their badge of office and (to those who recognise such things) identifies them as members of the team. Altogether this little lot costs just 10 character points. Bargain! Not every hero will require all of the items (a hero composed of solid Rock will have little use for a jumpsuit), so the items will be replaced with other pieces of equipment of equal value.

Next time we’re going to take a closer look at the multiverse, and introduce the heroes’ Base of Operations: The Singular Citadel!

Meantime, here’s a sample hero and member of the team. Meet Skylark, AKA Muro Voigt.

Skylark was a dancer from the 51st century on Zao-9532, a realm where a perfect genetically enhanced utopia hid an undercurrent of depravity and corruption on an epic scale. She was inadvertently caught in a cross-fire between two crimelords, one of whom was meant to die that day. She was rescued, then assisted the team sent in to ensure events proceeded as expected, and accepted their offer to join them at the end of the mission.

Skylark is a superb acrobat and can create psionic baton-like Eskrima sticks at will which she uses to deadly effect in combat. She wears a yellow-and-black standard issue jumpsuit with her Insignia on her left breast.

Skylark AKA Muro Voigt, PL10, 160pp
Str 16, Dex 34, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 22
Tough +4/+7, Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +8
Attack +8, Defense +11, Init +12

Psi-Eskrima Sticks: Strike 7 (+10 DC 25, Mighty, Thrown 1 50′, Accurate 1, Dimensional 2 (Tangent Dimensions), Affects Insubstantial 1, Ricochet 1, Split Attack 1)

Insignia: Device 2 (Flight 5, 250mph)
Commlink, Flash contacts, Standard-issue suit (Toughness +3), 5ep Base contribution

Acrobatics +16, Climb +8, Gather Information +12, Investigate +8, Stealth +12
Acrobatic Bluff, Ambidexterity, Elusive Target, Evasion 2, Improved Defense 2, Improved Disarm 2, Precise Shot 2, Quick Draw 1, Redirect, Set Up, Throwing Mastery 2, Ultimate Effort 1 (Acrobatics), Uncanny Dodge 2 (Visual), Equipment 2

Till next time!

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I’ve set this post as Day 1.5 because I meant to make yesterday Day Zero and begin proper with this post as Day One. Hence the little numerical tweak to correct. Now, on with the show.

Ah, Mutants & Masterminds, how I love thee. Shall I compare thee to a (Scott) Summers day? Weighing in at 256 pages, M&M is to my mind the single greatest superhero RPG ever made, and one of the best generic systems too. It’s a single-book system where all that’s needed to play the game is contained in just one tome meaning it’s a third the price of Certain Other Games (mentioning no names), yet offers an infinite range of play styles and possibilities. It’s an evolution of the d20/OGL system we know and love from Third Edition D&D and manages to tread a fine line between feeling familiar and excitingly different at the same time. M&M keeps the d20 resolution mechanic (roll d20, add modifiers and reach or exceed a target number) but introduces many new elements to the game. From points-based classless character generation to fast and furious combat without hit points, M&M takes the core D&D concepts, examines them and replaces them with something that works better. It’s d20 as you know it, evolved.

While Mutants & Masterminds is unashamedly a superhero RPG it’s flexible enough to handle pretty much any genre, setting or play style without needed any additional supplements, house rules or ephemera. After all, “superhero” is a notoriously broad church covering everything from the savage tales of Ka-Zar to the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century and beyond. This is a system designed to handle heroes (and villains) of all styles, from mystical to cosmic, from gun toting ex-marines to playboys in battlesuits, from mutant to magical. The Superhero genre is generic, by definition.

That said, M&M also has supplements by the bucketload. While none of them are essential whatever your style of gaming, they’re also darned useful. Freedom City provides a complete base of operations for your heroes, and Instant Superheroes offers many more archetypes (more on those another time) for your heroes and villains. Of all the M&M supplements, these are the two I’d place on the “most useful” pile. My copy of Instant Superheroes is certainly the most well-thumbed by my players! Other supplements provide a closer examination of certain sub-genres (Golden Age, Iron Age, Hero High, Paragons), or more pre-built villains and archetypes for your game. The Mastermind’s Manual is M&M’s version of Unearthed Arcana offering a whole raft of optional tweaks and rules options, and Ultimate Power provides an in-depth and thorough look at how Powers are constructed. Neither supplements are for casual M&M gamers, but provide an excellent insight into how the game is put together.

But enough of that. This week we’re going to look at Mutants & Masterminds from the ground up. We’re building a complete campaign setting complete with a handful of archetypes, villains, a Base of Operations and some Kewl Tech thrown in for good measure. Can we create a world in just seven days?

No. We’re going to create a multiverse in seven days!

To do that, we’re going to answer the classic five questions: “Who?”, “What?”, “Where?”, “Why?” and “When?”. Pay attention class. The order is important.

All to often, new campaigns begin with a place. It might be a large-scale overview of the campaign setting such as a hand-drawn fantasy map of a continent, or as small-scale as a dungeon layout or notes about a town that’s going to be the adventurer’s home at the start of their career. This puts the emphasis on the WHERE.

That’s (pardon my forthrightness) the wrong way to do it.

The single most important question to ask when creating any campaign is WHO. And that, dear reader, is what we’ll cover tomorrow.

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