I have several of the 2nd Edition books (NEVER USED because my group won't play anything but Pathfinder, and before that D&D 3.5). But I love supers games and I'm going to get one going if I have to build my own skull shaped mountain of villainous power to do so.
Anyway, are the changes between editions enough to merit starting over? Are they backwards compatible?
Thanks in advance.
I didn't feel like the changes were huge, but they do clean it up a little. For the most part I like the new system.
For instance, instead of attributes have D&D style numbers, they only use the bonus or penalty (e.g., a 20 is now a 5 and a 9 is a -1).
They got rid of feats and called them advantages, but have made them encompass a slightly wider variety of things than feats did.
The powers section has been condensed, but now you have to build a lot of your powers. For if you want to make a character that can paralyze someone with a ray or a touch, you need to build it using the affliction power. The little power booklets they have on Drivethrurpg are cool for seeing how to build different powers with the new system.
The organization of the 3E book is a bit confusing in at least one respect- the rules for injuries are entirely explained under the damage power and not mentioned at all in the combat section.
Hmmm...
Sounds like it'd be handy only if I wanted to buy the supplements for M&M3e.
Thanks!
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The organization of the 3E book is a bit confusing in at least one respect- the rules for injuries are entirely explained under the damage power and not mentioned at all in the combat section.
Really?!!! That seems very bad (sort of like in Spirit of the Century putting minion rules under the Leadership skill).
I am reading the M&M 3e Heroes Handbook now (kindly gained free as part of Free RPG Day) as someone is going to run a 3e game soon. And although I did join the Kickstarter for the Deluxe Heroes Handbook I think I still prefer 2e as its an easier transition from other d20 games and also so much more material is available for it.
With 3e if you aren't using the DC Universe stuff, it seems like until the Emerald City books come out it just PDF supplements (Threats and Gadgets Guides).
So, like me, unless someone is offering to run a 3e game I would stick with 2e and save yourself some money.
There is much less support for 3e right now, but conversion is pretty easy. A lot of the 2e stuff is still pretty useful with 3e.
I have the book. I wouldn't say that it is really a setting. It's more a bunch of suggestions about how to use the system to effectively create different styles of sword and sorcery campaigns. It gives at detailed history of the genre as it has manifested itself in comic books over the years, which is pretty cool. It discusses the tropes of the genre and has a number of pregenerated archetypes that fit with the genre. It has advice for how to create magic items, spells etc.. using the M&M system. It's really more of toolkit than anything else.
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I ran a very successful game with M&M 2e Lite (utilizing the rules from the M&M Annual). It simplified character creation by a lot, while still keeping a lot of the versatility inherent in the system.
I've only started getting into 3e, and I like a lot of the ideas in it, there's some parts that take some getting used to if you only know d20.
The anniversary edition has a neat "random character generator", which also doubles as a quick character generator for all the archetypes.
The issue with M&M is that character creation is so versatile that it can scare players away, but once your character is built it's one of the simplest and most fun systems for superheroics out there.
I prefer 2e. I find the changes in Characteristics counter-intuitive. Powers moved even more towards Champions/Hero which makes them even more versatile but at added complexity. For me, the deciding factor is that 3e has even less granularity than 2e.
It is a solid system, but if you like 2e I see no reason to 'upgrade'
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I'm new to the M&M scene. Considering getting into it. Is 3e the newest edition out now?
And what's the difference between the Deluxe and regular Hero's Handbook?
3e is the latest edition. Deluxe I believe will include the random character generation rules that were originally in the GM Kit IIRC.
I was on the Kickstarter and so actually have the Deluvxe 10th Anniversary Edition that includes somke extra scenarios and stats for 1e and 2e heroes and villains along with a retrospective of the M&M game.
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So then i need the Heroes handbook! Is that all I'd need?
Yep, though you might want to get the deluxe version.
Despite there being a Heroes Handbook and a Gamesmasters Guide, they are not like the D&D Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide.
The Heroes Handbook includes a GMing section and stats for some common NPCs along with advice on campaign building. Its all in one.
Of course the GM Guide provides more GM help and statted up villains, but it isn't necessary to run an M&M3e game.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Anyone played Warriors and W@arlocks? The 2e fantasy M&M setting?
baalbamoth, that's actually my preferred system. At conventions, I run Pathfinder, because I run PFS Organized Play. But at home, I prefer to run W&W.
Three caveats: 1) I added Attacks of Opportunity back in, to make combat more tactical.
2) I use Paizo's Fumbles deck, with the number of wounds being the confirmation number for the fumble. (So you can fight uninjured for as long as you please without risk of a mishap, but the more damage you take, and the more you fight on ignoring those injuries, the more likely you are to have something bad happen to you.)
3) I don't think M&M magic works particularly well in a fantasy setting. It ends up feeling like you have a string of supernatural abilities, rather than magic spells. I'm not satisfied with any proposed fix. I may just rebuild a lot of D&D / Pathfinder spells in W&W.
I believe some of Killer Shrike's (killershrike.com) proposals for Magic using the Hero System could be ported into M&M with a little effort. I have never been happy with the Enchanter and Ritualist approach either.
Also, are you familiar with prodigyduck's spell list conversion?