Apalala
2010-05-31, 03:28 PM
Starting up a game of mutants and masterminds soon. I love the system, love love love it, but it's a bit easy to unbalance, and some choices are highly optimal while others are only so so. Melee attacks vs ranged attacks, save or die vs save or minor status effect, for example.
So, I'll be using a few houserules to hopefully make the game run a bit smoother. Here's what I have so far.
1. Attack & DC/Damage and Defense/saving throw tradeoffs may not exceed 5.
2. Melee attacks and saving throw DC both have an inherent bonus of +2 that does not count against the power level limit.
3. You are no longer stunned from failed toughness saves. Staggered, unconscious, and dying effects remain the same.
4. Bruises are applied to all failed saves, not just toughness. So failing your fort save will reduce your will save by 1, along with the others. For example, one hero were to punch the villain, another web his feet, while a third dazzled him with a flare, the villain would take a -3 penalty to the saving throw to resist the fourth hero's mind control attack.
5. Effects that take a character out of combat, such as Transform, require the target to fail the save by 10 or more. Minor effects, such as trip or snare, require only that target fail the save. All others fall somewhere between this 0-10 range.
6. Maximum power ranks are equal to 2xPower Level.
7. Autofire may not raise the save DC past +2 of the normal power level limit.
8. The first power point you spend in a skill gives you ranks equal to your PL. Each point after that gives you +4 ranks. The maximum rank of any skill is PL+12.
Thoughts?
So, I'll be using a few houserules to hopefully make the game run a bit smoother. Here's what I have so far.
1. Attack & DC/Damage and Defense/saving throw tradeoffs may not exceed 5.
2. Melee attacks and saving throw DC both have an inherent bonus of +2 that does not count against the power level limit.
3. You are no longer stunned from failed toughness saves. Staggered, unconscious, and dying effects remain the same.
4. Bruises are applied to all failed saves, not just toughness. So failing your fort save will reduce your will save by 1, along with the others. For example, one hero were to punch the villain, another web his feet, while a third dazzled him with a flare, the villain would take a -3 penalty to the saving throw to resist the fourth hero's mind control attack.
5. Effects that take a character out of combat, such as Transform, require the target to fail the save by 10 or more. Minor effects, such as trip or snare, require only that target fail the save. All others fall somewhere between this 0-10 range.
6. Maximum power ranks are equal to 2xPower Level.
7. Autofire may not raise the save DC past +2 of the normal power level limit.
8. The first power point you spend in a skill gives you ranks equal to your PL. Each point after that gives you +4 ranks. The maximum rank of any skill is PL+12.
Thoughts?