Post by Jongluer on Sept 21, 2006 16:20:52 GMT -5
Alright, so let me fully explain Mutants and Masterminds now that I have the time to do so.
As I said, M&M is based on the True d20 System, in fact it is the game that brought that system about. The creator of the game found that superheroes are just too broad to be covered by different classes and their modes of damaging each other too obscure to really be effectively covered by a hit point system. So what he did was simplify it, which not only makes it easier to deal with but easier to learn.
The basis of doing anything in this system is simple: You roll a 20 sided die, you add a modifier, and then you see if your total matches or is greater than the number that determines how difficult it is to do something (the Difficulty Class or DC). Some things are so simple that they require no roll. Now then, a d20+modifier pretty much covers anything you will ever do outside of combat, skills and feats of strength or something are pretty simple.
The more complex thing is combat. In combat there are several things that come into play, 1) Your Attack Bonus, 2) Your Target's Defense Bonus, 3) Your Target's Toughness Save, and 4) Your Damage Bonus. Your attack bonus if fairly straightforward, it's how likely you are to hit something, and it is the modifier you add to your d20 roll. This attack roll goes to beating the Defense of your target, which is 10+Defense Bonus (a number thus anywhere between 10 and generally around 20 or so), if you match or beat your target's Defense you hit it. Now then here comes the more difficult part, actually dealing damage. Your damage bonus is simple to figure out, it's how much damage you do (generally your Str Bonus, or ranks in an attack power such as Blast), it creates what is called a Toughness Save which is what the target must roll. A Toughness Save is a d20 roll+Toughness Bonus (generally your Constitution Bonus and other modifiers), and it must either match or beat 15+Your Damage Bonus for the person to be unharmed.
Receiving damage is another set of modifiers, depending on how much you fail your Toughness Save by. You can receive Bruised/Injured status (which is a set of -1 modifiers, adding up over and over again, to your following toughness saves), Stunned (out for a turn), Disabled (can only perform certain actions), Unconscious (self-explanatory), and finally Dying (near death). No you cannot die from one attack. Beyond this basic stuff there are plenty of other things you can do in combat, trips, rushes, grappling, even combination attacks, but overall we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
So as you can see, it's pretty straightforward, everything revolves around a d20 roll and some modifier.
As I said, M&M is based on the True d20 System, in fact it is the game that brought that system about. The creator of the game found that superheroes are just too broad to be covered by different classes and their modes of damaging each other too obscure to really be effectively covered by a hit point system. So what he did was simplify it, which not only makes it easier to deal with but easier to learn.
The basis of doing anything in this system is simple: You roll a 20 sided die, you add a modifier, and then you see if your total matches or is greater than the number that determines how difficult it is to do something (the Difficulty Class or DC). Some things are so simple that they require no roll. Now then, a d20+modifier pretty much covers anything you will ever do outside of combat, skills and feats of strength or something are pretty simple.
The more complex thing is combat. In combat there are several things that come into play, 1) Your Attack Bonus, 2) Your Target's Defense Bonus, 3) Your Target's Toughness Save, and 4) Your Damage Bonus. Your attack bonus if fairly straightforward, it's how likely you are to hit something, and it is the modifier you add to your d20 roll. This attack roll goes to beating the Defense of your target, which is 10+Defense Bonus (a number thus anywhere between 10 and generally around 20 or so), if you match or beat your target's Defense you hit it. Now then here comes the more difficult part, actually dealing damage. Your damage bonus is simple to figure out, it's how much damage you do (generally your Str Bonus, or ranks in an attack power such as Blast), it creates what is called a Toughness Save which is what the target must roll. A Toughness Save is a d20 roll+Toughness Bonus (generally your Constitution Bonus and other modifiers), and it must either match or beat 15+Your Damage Bonus for the person to be unharmed.
Receiving damage is another set of modifiers, depending on how much you fail your Toughness Save by. You can receive Bruised/Injured status (which is a set of -1 modifiers, adding up over and over again, to your following toughness saves), Stunned (out for a turn), Disabled (can only perform certain actions), Unconscious (self-explanatory), and finally Dying (near death). No you cannot die from one attack. Beyond this basic stuff there are plenty of other things you can do in combat, trips, rushes, grappling, even combination attacks, but overall we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
So as you can see, it's pretty straightforward, everything revolves around a d20 roll and some modifier.