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I have been surprised by the interest in a Mutants and Masterminds here on the boards, so I thought I would toss out some ideas and see if I can get a campaign together. I am currently running two Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition games with an Urban Fantasy setting and a low power level called Monsters and Men Table 1 and Table 2. You can take a look at those if you are interested in my GM style, post rate, or player expectations. I would expect at least one post a day from players, but I can post a lot if the campaign wants to keep up.
I’d like to run something with more overt superheroes at a more typical PL 10 or even higher. I would like to use or riff on an established setting or settings, I don’t want to make everything up from scratch.
As for system, I much prefer 2nd edition, even though it is quirkier and perhaps not as well balanced. I feel like it does a much better range of characters and I like the skill system. That said, I’ve run both versions so if a majority of people wanted to do 3rd I could probably be swayed. In all of these proposals, what happens in the campaign would be highly dependent on what characters we end up with.
Here are some ideas, but I am open to other ideas as well.
Reign of the Batmen: This is riffing on the title of the year after Superman died and was replaced by 4 Supermen. The campaign concept is that Batman and Joker either disappear or die in a big explosion or something. The void must then be filled by those who are left over, the Bat Family, a new hero perhaps, a reformed villain, or someone else. Players would choose existing characters, but we would not be bound to continuity, just trying to capture the heart of the characters and setting. I realize this one is super specific, but I’ve wanted to run it in some system since the mid nineties.
Something grand and a little cosmic, or at least high powered. Maybe PL 14, at the level of Justice League or the bigger Avengers, maybe a mashup DC Marvel Universe. Thor, Supergirl, and a Green Lantern fight Kang and Mongul? Darkseid vs Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers). The possibilities are many.
MCU expansion: There are lots of characters the Marvel movies don’t plan to use. We adapt those characters into something that fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Could be interesting. I’d love to do an MCU Thunderbolts, but there aren’t really a lot of villains to choose from. We could just make adapt villains that haven’t appeared.
I have Emerald Knights, but I imagine most people have played that. I’d be willing to run it again.
I have a campaign I've run a few times called Code Blue where you create characters and their background, but your characters are unaware they have powers and of their true history. This is always a lot of fun, good mysteries, fun enemies.
Up for other ideas if you want to pitch them.
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interested. prefer 3rd but can work w 2nd
I'm more familiar with Marvel, and certainly the MCU than DC, although I am familiar with most of the major titles. (I prefer detective Batman to gadget Batman, for example.)
I have not played Emerald Knights further than
Code Blue could be alright, but I think I would prefer something based off Marvel/DC or both.
I would prefer 3rd just because the M&M SRD is for 3rd edition.
Might I tempt you though with this superhero expansion for d20 Modern? http://phoenixprojectrpg.com/
I don't think I can be tempted to learn new rules right now.
What would you guys want to play?
And, more importantly, to give up all of the characters and monsters I have for these games.
Reign of the Batman was already kind of done in the comics. Battle for the Cowl. Just throwing that out there.
I think doing a We Are Robin-type campaign would be really cool. Your Code Blue campaign also sounds interesting.
Personally, I strongly favor DC over Marvel.
I've never played M&M before, so I'm not familiar with the system or anything. Likewise, I've never played Emerald Knights. Because of this, I'd prefer if we did a low PL game.
Funny, I think I wrote pretty much exactly what they did. Wasn't even aware it existed. I've been out of reading comics regularly for a while. Sometimes pick up a TPB.
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What about a DC-based team set in a kind of mashup of the Arrow/Flash CW series and the new Superman movies- this would be a world where heroes are emerging, metahumans have started appearing in Central City, Earth 2 villains have come through portals, and then the Kryptonians lit up and tore down Metropolis (I see the Supes stuff happening after events so far in the TV series- I'm pretty sure DC is keeping them separate universes...
In any case, I guess what I'm purposing is a "cinematic" version of DC comics. The nice thing about DC if you own the DC rules from Green Ronin, they're the same as 3rd Edition, so most of your work on villains is done there.
Yeah, I have all of that DC stuff from Green Ronin. I'm up for DC Cinematic if that is the way we want to go.
Whatever we do, I want to stay away from being wedded too much to continuity, whatever that means these days.
The system is really easy to play, and a real challenge in character creation. It is incredibly customizable, but I'm sure we can help people get characters together.
I'm currently applying in another M&M game - based on how that turns out, I may or may not be interested. I prefer 3rd, because that's the one I'm actually able to make characters for. XD
Yeah, I'm applying in that one too.
As is Reckless, I believe.
What about a DC-based team set in a kind of mashup of the Arrow/Flash CW series and the new Superman movies- this would be a world where heroes are emerging, metahumans have started appearing in Central City, Earth 2 villains have come through portals, and then the Kryptonians lit up and tore down Metropolis (I see the Supes stuff happening after events so far in the TV series- I'm pretty sure DC is keeping them separate universes...
In any case, I guess what I'm purposing is a "cinematic" version of DC comics. The nice thing about DC if you own the DC rules from Green Ronin, they're the same as 3rd Edition, so most of your work on villains is done there.
Maybe we can do a DC/Marvel Amalgam game. I already have an alias for that one. =p
My messageboard name (tumbler) was from an Amalgam character who was a combination of Nightwing and Spiderman, so I could go for that too.
I'd like the high PL option in 3rd ed. We did have a high PL game going on here for a brief time, but it ended before it really got going.
I've never played at high PL before, so I'd like to try it out. I think the highest I've properly played is PL 8.
Dot dot dot dot!
I prefer 2nd, only because I haven't purchased 3rd on hero lab. Will throw in more of an idea once I'm out of work
Count me in, as far as interested parties are concerned! I love M&M. I've mentioned to the GM before that I prefer 2nd, and why. It's true that 3rd may be a little more beginner friendly, but it comes at the cost of stripping out so many interesting layers that were options for powers in 3rd.
I've played PLs 7-10, but nothing higher than that. I'd be fine giving it a whirl though; high powered games can be a lot of fun!
Setting wise, I think tumbler is already doing a few "Street-Level" games, so the Arrow/Flash idea is probably out; I think what he's aiming for is out and out heroes of super-human proportion.
I kind of like the idea of using unused/underdeveloped properties, but original character can be great too - I'm easy in that respect.
Echos here.
If we're shooting for an amalgam, this is my Nightwing/Shadowcat amalgam.
Honestly, I'd be fine with anything, though high powered would be a nice change
I feel like we have the opposite of consensus here. But I would like to run something at least PL 10. Something truly super.
Keep the discussion going.
What about a big cross multiverse sort of thing? That could let everyone do their thing.
That sorta thing is basically baseline assumption for comics anyway, s I see no reason why it wouldn't work.
Truly super. So we're talking JLA/Avengers-level?
Due to the nature of PbP, could we maybe shoot for a short Event-style story arc instead of an ongoing game? Less burn out if we know there's a light at the end of the tunnel and whatnot.
Also, I wouldn't mind playing in an established setting (i think it makes it easier for both GM and player), but I'd rather play my own character than take on another character with history and continuity.
Very interested, at that level it will be a lot of fun.
Also interested.
I'm doing an in-person game of 3E and in tumbler's pbp of 2E, so I'm comfortable with either.
I'd lean towards 2E because of the skill system and the over-all feel of the edition.
3E is just a bit blander/smoother for me.
And I've got small pile of 2E books.
As for campaigns- PL 10, definitely.
Maybe with extra points for real higher power.
I'd like to do original characters rather than published heroes, though the amalgam idea is appealing.
I like the idea of fill-in heroes while the standard big guys are unavailable.
Or we do a riff on the Earth # idea where we're from a more familiar world but have been tossed into a version of the setting where we are the top of the line heroes instead of Supes or the Avengers.
And have to deal with figuring it out while taking on all comers.
That takes care of matching any existing setting but makes things a bit familiar.
Think about having your male character check out the living space he has on the team satellite and finding a bunch of women's (for example) clothes.
Who is she?
What does she know?
Or are they his?
Could be interesting.
Truly super. So we're talking JLA/Avengers-level?
Due to the nature of PbP, could we maybe shoot for a short Event-style story arc instead of an ongoing game? Less burn out if we know there's a light at the end of the tunnel and whatnot.
Also, I wouldn't mind playing in an established setting (i think it makes it easier for both GM and player), but I'd rather play my own character than take on another character with history and continuity.
At the moment I am thinking PL 12, which is where official write ups puts Batman, Aquaman, and The Flash. Superman and Wonder Woman are PL 15 and most Green Lantern's are 14.
I would put typical (non-Odinforce) Thor and Hulk around PL 15 and Cap at 12. (Comic book versions, not MCU versions, who are probably lower.)
I think an event style story arc is a good way to go.
What if we took a Kingdom Come approach and take away the floating timeline of whichever setting we go with so that characters have aged, calling for new heroes to take up their roles?
That way, if someone wants to play a new captain america or batman, they can, or we can make new characters in the established setting.
I like that suggestion! Kind of a Twenty Years from Now idea, where existing heroes are still around, but aged, retired or retiring, and handing their mantles over to new heroes or new successors...
I'm fine with DC or Marvel, or the mashup idea. I was always more a Marvel fanboy while I was growing up, but I really enjoyed Justice League and the Unlimited version, and I thought Young Justice was excellent, and it was a major shame that it was canceled.
Yeah, don't get me started on them offing Young Justice just when it was getting good.
I like that idea. If you are talking the DCU, how far would you have to go to age out the heroes? I guess you could say 20 years past the prime of the heroes, so they are in their sixties? That would make for an almost Batman Beyond Bruce Wayne. Depending on which story you go with, Superman is either about the same or more powerful, so you might want to ship him off to deal with something. You could always just kill off swaths of the Justice League to make some room, and someone could always play an older version of a character if they really wanted to.
On the business side of things, my hope is to hammer out a campaign idea here before I open recruitment and start looking for characters.
The upside of that as well is that to many of the classic villains, age is mostly irrelevant. Lex Luthor isn't going to stop machinating just because he got old; ditto for the joker. Vandal Savage, Ras al Ghul, and Solomon Grundy are immortal, Braniac is mostly machine, so the same likely goes for him. I'd have to think on it for a bit to come up with others, but I would imagine many of the classic rogues woul easily still be around!
I would be planning on making a custom character anyway, so time setting doesn't concern me much. I'm OK with whatever the rest like.
Putting it in Marvel or DC does make it a lot easier to relate to the world since I'm reasonable familiar with both.
True, true. And the New Gods.
I don't follow comics very close any more, but didn't they off the New Gods?
Yeah, Death of the New Gods.
Not a big fan of that, or Final Crisis in general.
It's been awhile since I've read anything DC (pre New 52 basically), but I wouldn't mind going DC.
Pretty much everything I know about DC comes from the DC Animated Universe; for those that don't know the setting, the DCAU might make a good compromise setting.
For submissions, we have the PL (12), now we just need to know what edition...
I vote 2nd, as I tend to feel that while 3rd is slightly more balanced, on the whole it's basically a watered down version of 2nd.
I've already indicated a preference for 3rd. Though I did buy the 2nd version for Herolab, so it won't kill me either way.
I tallied up interest earlier and things were split pretty evenly between editions. I'm wondering if those early responders want to chime back in about setting?
And yeah, the DCAU is a nice distillation of the setting and a good foundation.
I don't care which. I've noticed no appreciable difference between editions.
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Hello again!
I'll modify a bit and say that should we go 2nd ed. (and it seems like that's the way popular opinion is trending) I'm fine with getting those. If 2nd is simply the better edition, let us not be fettered from its choice. ;)
I'd be in the minority asking for a pure-Marvel setting. There just seems to be more data and atmosphere in that universe right now. I admit that the movies have made the cast of Marvel a bit more 'real' in the minds of folks. We all probably have good mental images of not only the X-Men but also the Avengers and GotG and a random scattering (Daredevil, because he has show, etc) but for DC, other than the big 5, would meeting anyone else really be as impactful? Who would your character rather interact with: Jean Grey or Zatanna? Deathstroke or Deadpool? Poison Ivy or Magneto?
Of course I mean no disrespect to DC. They have a wonderful and rich universe by any standards. But for the current era, the initiative seems has been conceded to Marvel.
With that said, tumbler, I really like your 'Reign of the Batmen' idea. The 4 supermen gave us Steel and a new Superboy, and I'd be excited to see what 4 different incarnations of the Batman you'd throw at us. =)
In answer to your questions: Zatanna, Deathstroke, and Magneto.
Always thought Jean was a b#@~*, and Zatanna is pretty neat. Detahstroke is my favorite cmic villain, though it's a close call between him and Deadpool. Magneto seems a weird match for Poison Ivy, Magneto just oozes cool...Poison Ivy isn't even close.
That said, I'm largely more a Marvel guy myself, but with all the Marvel saturation, maybe go DC just to switch things up?
I only have the d20HeroSRD to go on for rules, and that's 3rd edition. Might be the case for some other people too. Not willing to buy 2nd edition at this time.
Any Original setting or DC setting has my vote.
If you looking for A 2ed PC builder Herolab has it,
I'm for 2ed.
As for setting, Im from he UK, and used to a load of comic types outside the more. Lets face it best super heros/Heros UK has is Doctor Who also Judge Dredd and LXG Alan Moors 'league of extraordinary gentlemen'. Let alone Sand-man and others. From he US there is Watch men, Hell Boy etc.
With DC Alt-Dimensions are fine for Origin stories and time settings.
So setting the time out side the norm is fine.
edit
Also there is a lot of help here for GM and setting
Archive of the old official Mutants & Masterminds boards.
IF its 100% DC then Bags John Constantine at 60
Advanced DC setting gives us some familiarity but space for new, so that sounds do-able.
I'll have to figure what present or previous hero I will be a legacy from.
Next question is previously organized team, new team, group of loners, or responding to crisis, which leans towards what tumbler wants to do as a story.
Sorry to be a downer guys, But, I think this needs to be pointed out, We have to be careful not to brake Paizo's rules on Copy right laws and the use of copyrighted IP.
As this site is a commercial site and not a Fan-fiction not-for-profit site. I think we can says, have a Bat-Man like PC I think that's ok, but to use that name and copy right owned DC character by name and background will be braking Paizo's T&C's on IP.
Paizo Inc Community Use Policy
Most of it covers Their own IP but should you use IP form a 3ed party on their site that may be problematic