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Now that we have completed Book One of Kingmaker, using Mutants & Masterminds 2ed, here is a recap of the events. I will describe the story events as well, but mostly focus on the effects of using another system, and how that changed things for better or worse.
Character Creation
Even from the beginning, it felt like a very different system when we set down to make characters. Using M&M for characters at PL4 or below is difficult and the number systems can start getting wonky, so I decided to start the characters at PL5. This provided a boost over the typical starting level in Pathfinder, creating a party that was probably the equivalent of 4-6th level characters. However, I did restrict certain power effects to preserve the integrity of the map encounters, primarily flight and teleportation, but others on a case-by-case basis. I plan on allowing characters to take flight and teleport as we reach the appropriate points in the campaign when those abilities would normally become available.
Another issue was how to distinguish between 'casters' and 'non-casters'. In the M&M system, all characters can have powers, but none can really be loaded down with as many powers as a high-level Pathfinder caster. There is one option, called the Variable power, but I refuse to allow that in my campaign because it is game cancer. Therefore, I decided to employ some options found in the Warriors & Warlocks supplement book.
Casters are characters who use the skill check drawback with a power array. What this means is they build a power set (for example, one called Wizardry). This power set can have a number of additional powers (spells) attached to it, but using it requires succeeding at a skill check. If they fail the check, the action is lost. The DC is not particularly high, and maxing out the attribute and skill associated with the check ends up giving one a very low chance of failure, however it is still there. Casters were restricted to an array with a maximum number of powers equal to their PL (so 5 powers in this game).
Non-casters are allowed to have powers as well, even 'magical' ones like breathing fire or such. However, they are restricted to a single power and only one additional power attached. The advantage, however, is that they do not need to make a skill check to use the power. It is more like a natural ability, or spell-like ability.
The freedom of using this system netted some characters that are less strictly defined that is typical in a Pathfinder game (or at least involved less scrambling for supplement books to allow for traits, races, and level dips to justify strange combos).
Our final party was:
-Corvinus Jelen, a human ranger/paladin hybrid who focused on using bows and channeling holy energy into arrows.
-Verrus Orlovsky, a human demon-blooded monk who could temporarily transform into a horned demonic form.
-Sevus Ilmas, a human 'dragoon' who focused on spear-fighting, leaping, and fire-based powers (his fire array used the 'caster' rules, so he would have been more like a half-caster in Pathfinder)
-Nero Aldori, a human Aldori swordlord (in training) who only took fighting feats and no powers.
-Braccus, a half-elven bard (the closest we had to a true caster, and surprisingly easy to build with the rules)
-Zhorra, an elven ranger who focused on two-weapon fighting.
The only person who could heal was the bard, and he dropped out of the game after the second session. The elven ranger had sporatic attendance, only being able to make it about half of the games. So our core group end up being the first four characters.
We did have one additional character, when someone showed up during a session. So we let him play a giant-blooded barbarian that had been captured by the Thorn River Bandits. He played during that session, but did not make it to any other games.
Interesting.
Why is it important to differentiate between casters and non-casters?
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The players came into this campaign with certain expectations, based on experience in D&D and Pathfinder. As we were playing in Golarion and running an adventure path, I felt it was important to make some effort to preserve certain setting and fluff details of the Pathfinder game. Also, if everyone's power sets worked exactly the same, I worried that people might get bored (as I was restricting certain overt super powers that wouldn't fit the tone of this campaign).
If we wanted to play 'fantasy superheroes' or something a little more distant from a Pathfinder campaign, I wouldn't have worried about it.
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Session One
In the first session, we had five members, Zhorra the elven ranger did not join until the next session. The characters each went through a flashback style introduction that brought them up to the present, meeting for the first time at Oleg's. Things played out pretty typically, the characters thought Oleg was gruff and Svetlana was sympathetic. The bard flirted with her when
Oleg was patching the roof. They agreed to set up an ambush for Happs and the bandits.
The group's tactical approach was fairly direct. They arranged an ambush, all of them hid around the courtyard. They got a little fancy by placing their archer, Corvinus, in one of the towers. Also, they filled a cart with hay and left it conveniently near the wall beside the open entrance. The plan was for the monk to hide in there, and then jump out and push it into place, trapping the bandits. This was feasible because the monk was very strong, and could reach low superhuman levels of strength when he went into demon form.
To make things more interesting, I made Happs tough enough to be a good match for any player. Particularly, I gave him the ability to use his bow for melee attacks without penalty. He also had a few other tricks. His men were fairly basic. Four bandits who carried three handaxes that were also balanced for throwing, and wore leather armor. There was also another NPC that I added to the encounter, a character named Warner, who would end up becoming a recurring encounter. He was there as a representative sent by the Stag Lord (not that the players knew that).
While the players hid out of sight, Happs and his men rode into the courtyard. They terrorized Oleg a bit, while Svetlana stayed in their bedroom. I played Happs as a bully and sadist, and as he teased the possibility of shoving Oleg's hand into a pot of boiling stew, Corvinus lost his patience and acted. He fired an arrow and hit Happs. In this system, instead of doing hit point damage, Happs was forced to roll a 'toughness' saving throw, which he failed by a small margin. The result is that he took an injury (a cumulative -1 penalty to future toughness saves). Because the party had not arranged a signal, only Corvinus acted in the surprise round.
The first combat round started on a rough note. Nero the swordsman jumped out to engage Happs. Instead of attacking, he readed an action to deflect arrows (an ability he had acquired through feats). Happs responded by attacking him, but Nero lost the opposed roll and ended up getting shot. Unfortunately, he rolled a natural 1 on the toughness saving throw. This was further compounded by the fact that he was playing a character that was geared towards avoidance more than tanking, so he had a lower toughness save but a higher defence (Armor Class).
Nero failed the roll by more than 15 points, which skipped past all the status effects and directly into 'dying'. Needless to say, the party was shocked to see one of the characters almost killed by the first attack of the campaign.
Braccus (the bard) moved out to stabilize Nero with his magic. While he was doing that, the other members engaged the bandits. Corvinus and Sevus focused on Happs, but both had trouble hitting their target. Verrus (the monk) pushed the wagon to block the open gate, but there was still a gap wide enough for a horse to pass single file.
Things went better on the second round, with Verrus gutting one of the bandits, and Corvinus changing targets to shoot another. Sevus still had trouble hitting Happs, but managed to keep his attention off of Braccus and the severely wounded Nero. With some magical aid, Nero managed to stabilize and downgrade his condition to disabled, but was unable to act on this round.
The two remaining bandits focused on Verrus, but his demonic toughness repelled their attacks. Happs wounded Sevus this round, not as severely as Nero, but managed to stun the spearman. Corvinus managed to wound Happs again, but did not put him down. Verrus took out one more of the bandits on him.
The third round saw things improve as Nero used a hero point to push himself another status level back towards functionality, so he came to his feet to engage Happs. Seeing how things were turning out, Warner took the opportunity to bolt on his horse. The others were unmounted and so he slipped through the gap between wagon and gate, escaping smoothly. I rolled a morale check for Happs and the remaining bandit, as the heroes closed in on them. Neither one passed, and so they surrendered. The heroes took them into custody and tended to their wounded companions.
Nero had been shot in the throat and nearly killed, but magical healing helped make things right. Sevus was less severely wounded, and was tended through the healing skill. With Happs and his companion tied up, Braccus used charm magic to get information out of the patrol leader. They learned about Kressel and the Thorn River Camp. Then after some party debate, they executed the bandits (as the charter had specified by sword or rope).
Final thoughts: Having a 1st level character die from a critical hit is certainly possible, and what happened to Nero was the Mutants and Masterminds equivalent. So, it was too soon to observe many differences between systems in that regard. However, combat rounds did seem to go somewhat quicker. I had the feeling that the differences would become more pronounced at the equivalent of higher character levels (and that was indeed the case later in this adventure path).