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First and most important: This is just an interest check. I'm not at all ready to run this campaign. Lots of personal stuff going on right now and school and work happening. Actual recruitment wouldn't happen until late September/Early October.
Second: I'm looking to run a Cosmic style campaign in the vein of Guardians of the Galaxy/Star Wars/Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon/Starcrash/etc.
This campaign would start with the published Prodigal Sun adventure (which is written for PL 12) but we would start at PL 10. There is a forthcoming Cosmic adventure path called "Event Horizon" that I might use parts of or might not.
Characters would be weird and quirky. Star Lord, Rocket, Groot, Green Lantern, Jedi, Star Wars characters, Gamora, Nebula, Nova, Lobo, Kryptonians, and weird things would be appropriate.
Recently wrapped up a Mutants and Masterminds campaign, and since it is my favorite system, looking at doing another one.
This would be 3rd Edition.
The design hook for this campaign would be something James Gunn said about GotG. To paraphrase, I wasn't looking to recreate Star Wars, but to recreate the feeling I had when I first saw Star Wars.
Well if this every takes flight count me interested.
I would be very interested. If possible I would love to upgrade Doctor Night to PL 10. He is currently on the bench as the GM disappeared into the ether last year. I can add all sorts of technological and alchemical strangeness with the additional points. :)
Very curious GM Supertumbler!
I've never played Mutants and Masterminds, but the campaign idea sounds great.
Would the rules provided by the d20herosrd function well enough for what you're looking for?
Very curious GM Supertumbler!
I've never played Mutants and Masterminds, but the campaign idea sounds great.
Would the rules provided by the d20herosrd function well enough for what you're looking for?
That will get you all of the rules that you need. There are other books that have pre-built powers, but they are basically just examples and shortcuts.
If we get to a recruitment there are usually plenty of people to help out with builds, which is the hard part. The game plays pretty much like an d20 game, but character creation can be a beast.
Character creation can be straight forward or hard depending on how much you need to squeeze your imagined power set into the existing rules (and how efficient you want to be with your points). Some builds are easier to realise than others. :)
Overall it is much less complex than PF and runs much faster IMO.
This sounds fun. My wheels are already stating to turn.
The SRD works, but if you need a little more to grok a game system, it might be good to check out the book.
M&M usually takes a while to figure out. People who are used to class/level systems sometimes take a while to figure out point-buy.
I would recommend picking up a book as well. The more examples you read the better you will be at building your own characters.
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Very curious GM Supertumbler!
I've never played Mutants and Masterminds, but the campaign idea sounds great.
Would the rules provided by the d20herosrd function well enough for what you're looking for?
That will get you all of the rules that you need. There are other books that have pre-built powers, but they are basically just examples and shortcuts.
If we get to a recruitment there are usually plenty of people to help out with builds, which is the hard part. The game plays pretty much like an d20 game, but character creation can be a beast.
Absolutely a beast - and I will be happy to help with character gen when the time comes: I have a very robust build of HeroLab which is super helpful for MM3 (pun intended).
There are hundreds of builds of almost every character you can think of out there to crib from. Echoes of the Multiverse is a great resource.
One thing to think about is what your character's weaknesses are. i.e. Drax' literalness, Rocket's kleptomania and bad attitude, Star-lord's ego. I think that will be the key to this game.
The genius of this game is that your character's flaws help to power their heroic behaviour (by often granting hero points). This encourages more interesting and realistic play. :)
I would just like to say that because of this thread I am finally watching the recent Green Lantern animated series - super epic and super fun.
THANK YOU!
Yep, that is a good one.
Im interested
I also like games where there are more points than normal for the PL. The PL limit keeps you from getting too powerful, but the extra points make you more flexible.
^At lower PL you really feel it but at PL 10 (150 points) seems like a lot to play around with. More points does often equate to more powerful characters anyways despite the PL limits on your attacks and defences. There is also something to be said about being a little green and growing into your character as you gain experience.
This really is all up to the GM and it is all a wash anyways as your opponents will probably be adjusted to compensate for your point total one way or another. :)
One thing to think about is what your character's weaknesses are. i.e. Drax' literalness, Rocket's kleptomania and bad attitude, Star-lord's ego. I think that will be the key to this game.
I love this idea!
Is it odd that I want to throw a little attitude from 'Firefly' in here as well? I realize its characters would be a 'lower level' of PL, but the idea is still there.
If I read the rules right, an individual, or individuals, could use points to purchase a vehicle. So, our own spaceship would not be out of the question. Or would you throw that in for free GM ST :)
I'm happy to talk about concepts and mold the campaign idea in response. I was initially checking to see if it is worth doing the development work, and it looks like it is.
My thoughts at the moment are PL 10 with more than 150 points to reflect that heroes are scrappy and dealing with threats of higher PL than they should be in this cosmic setting.
As for vehicles, yes. You build vehicles with pretty much the same rules as heroes. Vehicles are cheaper because the game assumes you aren't using them all the time.
Spaceships get into some weirdness between whether they are an installation or a vehicle or a blend of the two.
Something like the Milano would be a vehicle, or Lobo's cycle is in the core rules, I think.
The Death Star is probably an installation even though it can move.
Characters can have their own vehicles or even have vehicles in an array (you have more than one but only use one at a time). Teams can share points to have a shared vehicle.
Vehicles can even have different forms so you can build Voltron or the Bowie from GG3.
I would probably not give you separate points for a ship, but let people decide how many points they want to contribute.
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The genius of this game is that your character's flaws help to power their heroic behaviour (by often granting hero points). This encourages more interesting and realistic play. :)
For those new to the system, what this is talking about is Hero Points. On the d20herosrd site these are called Victory Points because the whole system is under the OGL except for Hero Points and one other thing I can't remember.
You get Hero Points at the beginning of each session (which is something you have to tweak in PbP, naturally), for Luck powers.
But most importantly, you get Hero Points whenever your Complications come up. Complications can be people, attitudes, or pretty much anything that causes you a restriction in the way you behave.
So Superman gets a Hero Point when Lois is in danger. Peter Parker when he needs to make rent, or MJ is in trouble, or Aunt May, or something thinks he is a menace. One of the reasons I love this game is how well it models comics. The reason Spider-Man is so awesome is he has so many Complications he is a Hero Point machine. You can have a Complication for having enemies, so every member of your Rogue's gallery gives you a Hero Point.
These can also be more abstract things, like a Code of Honor, Green Lantern's code, Last of your Kind, things like that.
From a GotG perspective, (in the first movie) Gamora and Drax have Thanos, Peter has Hunted by Ravagers, Wanted, Obsessed with Walkman. Rocket has a thing for robotic limbs, is a racoon, overcomplicates plans.
The most fun thing is that you can invoke your complications (with GM approval). So you can add a villain to a scene or change a scene to make it interact with your Complication.
Consider me super interested as well! I've always wanted to play in an M&M game, and this whole concept sounds hella awesome!
I'm happy to talk about concepts and mold the campaign idea in response. I was initially checking to see if it is worth doing the development work, and it looks like it is.
We should probably start to figure out what our main purpose is. Are we smugglers? Mercenaries? Heisters? That will help us focus our characters and help GMST set up plans.
My thoughts at the moment are PL 10 with more than 150 points to reflect that heroes are scrappy and dealing with threats of higher PL than they should be in this cosmic setting.I would probably not give you separate points for a ship, but let people decide how many points they want to contribute.
I would prefer if it was either given separately or a specific contribution was required. When it's "pay as you want" sometimes you see the tragedy of the commons. Other times you end up with one person putting in a lot more or less than everybody else and that can get awkward.
This also lets us know what points to build our characters too. If we're figuring this out later it can be hard to undo points.
We're also influenced by how important space combat is. In Firefly, space combat doesn't make sense for them. In GotG, they had a little, but they really spent most of their focus on character scale interactions.
Perhaps we could be space faring "problem solvers". Essentially mercenaries but with a heart. I think that it would be best if our group was somewhat heroic (as we are using a superhero system with superhero mechanics) but not necessarily all white (or even dark) knights. Character motivations can vary widely as can their individual propensity for doing good. Friction in the group is great for role playing as long as there is comity (and a sense of humour) between the team members.
I'm happy to talk about concepts and mold the campaign idea in response. I was initially checking to see if it is worth doing the development work, and it looks like it is.We should probably start to figure out what our main purpose is. Are we smugglers? Mercenaries? Heisters? That will help us focus our characters and help GMST set up plans.
Perhaps we could be space faring "problem solvers". Essentially mercenaries but with a heart....
The question in my mind is if we would be a preexisting crew who were together before the game starts or if we are individuals hired to do a job or if we fall into a situation that brings us all together, Like a car wreck....
I would also be very interested in any expectations you might have for us that would effect your selection process: like posting rate or familiarity with the system.
SPACE!
I made a character for one of your games years ago named Forzare; his powerset was actually based on another character I had for a freeform roleplay even more years beforehand who was an ace space pilot with sort of tactile telekinesis (he could control anything within arm's reach with his mind).
I might toss out some kind of variant of that character if I can get the powerset to actually feel good in M&M; it was unsatisfying on Forzare.
Alternately (or perhaps additionally), the call of technomancy rings loudly in my ears...
I think either way I'd like to be a pilot.
Perhaps we could be space faring "problem solvers". Essentially mercenaries but with a heart. I think that it would be best if our group was somewhat heroic (as we are using a superhero system with superhero mechanics) but not necessarily all white (or even dark) knights. Character motivations can vary widely as can their individual propensity for doing good. Friction in the group is great for role playing as long as there is comity (and a sense of humour) between the team members.
Leverage meets A-Team?
The question in my mind is if we would be a preexisting crew who were together before the game starts or if we are individuals hired to do a job or if we fall into a situation that brings us all together, Like a car wreck....
I usually think it's better to know each other at the start, or at least know of each other.
The question in my mind is if we would be a preexisting crew who were together before the game starts or if we are individuals hired to do a job or if we fall into a situation that brings us all together, Like a car wreck....I usually think it's better to know each other at the start, or at least know of each other.
I actually prefer meeting in game, it helps me flesh out the character a bit. When I build a character I select a few tropes build a background, add a hobby or character flaw. But RPing the character makes them more three dimensional for me.
Of course, I won't mind doing it however GM ST wants to :)
Meeting in game at a crisis is the classic trope. Why mess with a classic. :)
As for our previous experiences I guess that can vary from character to character. Some of us can be new to this lifestyle while others might be old hands and even have an established reputation. Of course the GM will get to weight in on this aspect as well.
@Storm Dragon - I get you. Some builds just do not feel right within the limitations of the system. Point based games are more flexible than class based systems but still some characters are harder to realise than others. :)
@Storm Dragon - I get you. Some builds just do not feel right within the limitations of the system. Point based games are more flexible than class based systems but still some characters are harder to realise than others. :)
Yeah, though TBF that was I think my first experience with M&M; I sucked at building characters. Still kinda do but I might be able to execute on it better now.
The issue I had is that the drawback in the freeform RP also came with upsides; his telekinesis was limited to a small range, but was massively powerful and flexible comparatively to other telekinetics in the setting. M&M doesn't really allow for that since the power of your abilities is still rank-locked, so the reduced range was ALL downside and made him feel like the 5th wheel in a part with characters like "dude with maxed super speed ranks who can essentially be omnipresent on the planet" lol.
There is no need to overly limit your character's powers unless you want to. You can always have a very limited TK ability as a niche side power for a different type of build or create a powerful set of abilities around TK that are much more powerful.
I'd be interested. I'd have to think about what to play.
Would it be possible to purchase immunity to a condition (like Dazed or Staggered)? If so what would the cost be?
If I recall the guidelines, yes you can purchase Immunities to many things and yes the more general the more expensive and the less general the less expensive. Although I think someone mentioned where you can find the guidelines and I am sure you can find your answer there.
If/When we get into the character generation state, after players have been accepted, I can help with building characters. I used to run it a while back and helped many a folk to build quality characters. I even figured out how to make a semi-broken character by completely legitimately using the vehicle guidelines as there is a minor loop-hole in there.
I looked through the guidelines in the rule book I have and I see no examples of being immune to conditions. Generally you are immune to a source of something but not necessarily the results of an effect.
Alright I will dig into my book and see how it would be done, as I know it can be done, because those guidelines do let you pretty much create whatever you want as long as you stay within the power boundaries.
I mean you should be able to build Thanos or Superman using those guidelines if you have enough points.
I don't think you can buy immunity to Conditions. You can buy immunity to fatigue effects, but not to fatigue.
You mostly buy immunity to descriptors, and at high costs you can buy immunity to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will, and at very high costs immunity to Toughness saves.
In character creation, there are plenty loopholes and game breaking shenanigans that players can get up to. The game relies heavily on the Game Master to prevent that by approving builds.
I'm not too worried about that aspect of the rules. I'll humbly say that I think I'm pretty good at telling stories that work with characters, and in this particular campaign I'm not that interested in game breaking shenanigans. But I put in the initial post that Green Lanterns and Kryptonians are on the table. Not much could be more silly and broken than those.
What I mean by that is don't try to break the game. The game comes broken. It isn't hard to create things that are broken. That isn't the point of Mutants and Masterminds. The point is that the build is defined by what effects you can have on the world, the environment, and other players. Then you add descriptors to those effects.
For example, I recently created a character who is invisible, intangible, and lives in a dimension inaccessible to others. He could communicate with anyone on Earth, use luck powers to boost or debuff anyone on Earth. It would have been trivial to give him the power to summon minions anywhere on Earth who could be killed and replaced.
You can build characters who are untouchable. Don't.
That isn't to say don't build characters who are crazy.
I played a character who was immune to pretty much all damage and was otherwise just pretty good with normal guns. He couldn't really hurt people at his own power level that much, but he was a useful tool to his team.
I don't wanna get too deep in a character concept before an official recruitment is created, but I am currently leaning towards some sort of high tech type. Hopefully the setting has tech levels beyond the norm, or at least can via the right build.
Generally in these types of game you want to build a fun character concept that you want to play and not necessarily the most powerful (or broken) concept available. Also as it is a campaign game certain skills (or a character's demeanour or reputation) might be much more relevant to the success of a mission then their power set. Sometimes it is the small things that count. :)
There is no need to overly limit your character's powers unless you want to. You can always have a very limited TK ability as a niche side power for a different type of build or create a powerful set of abilities around TK that are much more powerful.
The issue, of course, being that I DID want to. =p
It just doesn't really work in this system. A Character with TK 10 will always be as strong as a character with TK 10 (Limited: Within 6 feet of the user) in terms of raw lifting strength; the difference is that the flat TK 10 character will be able to exert the same force at up to 4 miles away. The Limited user gets a point refund (up to half the cost) but you can't funnel that back into having a higher rank since Move Object is a combat-oriented power.
There is no need to overly limit your character's powers unless you want to. You can always have a very limited TK ability as a niche side power for a different type of build or create a powerful set of abilities around TK that are much more powerful.The issue, of course, being that I DID want to. =p
It just doesn't really work in this system. A Character with TK 10 will always be as strong as a character with TK 10 (Limited: Within 6 feet of the user) in terms of raw lifting strength; the difference is that the flat TK 10 character will be able to exert the same force at up to 4 miles away. The Limited user gets a point refund (up to half the cost) but you can't funnel that back into having a higher rank since Move Object is a combat-oriented power.
True, but you could funnel it into a 2ndary effect like a force field that always goes into effect when the power is active, which the TK10/4mile character would not have, making the short range character more impactful in close combat AND potentiallly giving them like an addiction high because they could feel invincible when they used their powers.
Just a thought.
If anyone wants to look at some DC builds, I am happy to post a link to DC Adventures Heroes & Villians (Vol 1+2)
Also happy to post my PL8 Blue Lantern build which I built based on the much more powerful Hal Jordan build.
Is this still an interest check, or an actual recruitment?
I don't wanna get too deep in a character concept before an official recruitment is created, but I am currently leaning towards some sort of high tech type. Hopefully the setting has tech levels beyond the norm, or at least can via the right build.
Tech levels will be Space Opera. Lasers, blasters, personal force fields, laser swords. Space ships with FTL. Those things will be available as equipment. Of course, you can also buy even more high tech things as Devices.
There is no need to overly limit your character's powers unless you want to. You can always have a very limited TK ability as a niche side power for a different type of build or create a powerful set of abilities around TK that are much more powerful.The issue, of course, being that I DID want to. =p
It just doesn't really work in this system. A Character with TK 10 will always be as strong as a character with TK 10 (Limited: Within 6 feet of the user) in terms of raw lifting strength; the difference is that the flat TK 10 character will be able to exert the same force at up to 4 miles away. The Limited user gets a point refund (up to half the cost) but you can't funnel that back into having a higher rank since Move Object is a combat-oriented power.
I wouldn't build close range TK that way. It is really hard to get the numbers to work on a limitation like that because of the way Move Object range scales.
If you want it to be just within a few feet you could do tactile telekinesis with reach.
If you wanted to play someone who can use TK with a limit of 10 feet or 30 feet, I'd do that with Tactile Telekinesis (basically just strength from powers) and then take Elongate. throw in some area and shapeable. Make the limbs intangible if you don't want things to be able to be touched. You can take Power Lifting to boost lifting strength. (Strength limited to lifting).
Obviously you are still limited to PL for attacks, but you can now use Power Attack and other advantages to boost your damage.
Is this still an interest check, or an actual recruitment?
Still an interest check. Has morphed into a broader conversation, I guess.
I'm working on gathering resources and getting ready. For supers games especially I like to have a lot of stuff on hand since characters usually have so many options.
I expect to do a recruitment thread sometime between the 18th and 29th of September.
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This has generated more interest than I anticipated.