Mutants and Masterminds 3e Fix 2023

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I'm trying again to build my ideal system by modifying M&M extensively. I admit I haven't actually played with it yet, but I'm really happy with how it's going in theory (ie I've built lots of characters, whether PCs or monsters, and I'm happy with how they're turning out).

So it's time to share some of what I've got going on.

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Abilities

Strength is pretty much unchanged.

Stamina costs 2.5 points per rank.

Agility costs 1.5 points per rank.

Dexterity and Fighting are merged into a single Dexterity ability, which still only costs 1.5 per rank even though it covers Parry Defense, Attack checks, and the other skills (mostly Sleight of Hand and Vehicles) that Dexterity used to cover.

Intellect costs 1.5 points per rank.

Awareness costs 1.5 points per rank.

Presence costs 1 point per rank.

The idea is that all of these should now be a very worthwhile way to spend points if you want most of what they offer. Except Stamina I guess, where you just break even. (Before, some of them could only break even, and only if you wanted extremely specific capabilities on your character.)

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Defenses

All defenses must be at least PL/2.

Protection costs 1.5 points per rank. Defensive Roll is still a way to get Toughness for only 1 point per rank.

PL limit for Dodge, Parry, and Toughness has changed slightly: Dodge + Parry+ (2*Toughness) <= PL*4. So you can have Dodge and Parry be different values (recommendation for GMs: only allow them to differ by 2) and still have them meeting PL limits, instead of both of them always being the same unless you wanted to deliberately gimp a defense.

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Skills

All SKILLS are bought at a cost of 1 point per 3 skill ranks.

Accuracy: in RAW m&m, it was considered cheesy, but was actually pretty balanced points-wise, to purchase the Enhanced Accurate Extra, with a Variable Descriptor that defined what attacks it could apply to. This is the formula that my Fix embraces. Your full Accuracy skill applies to one narrow group of attacks (such as "knives" or "fire rays") by default, but for 1 or 2 extra points to apply the Variable Descriptor Extra, you can broaden its application significantly. (Or you can use it on any attack with a -5 non-proficiency penalty.) Dexterity-based.

Acrobatics: not changed much, except absorbing the whole-body uses of Sleight of Hand such as Contortion.

Arcana: broken out from Expertise as a separate skill, but that's pretty much just a cosmetic change.

Athletics: not changed much.

Expertise: not changed much except for some adjusting of the categories, like making Tactics into an explicit (and potentially more important than others) specialty. I can still imagine non-INT-based subskills, but I've broken some of the most prominent ones out into independent skills.

Glibness: absorbs some pieces of both Deception and Persuasion, representing in either case the ability to be persuasive quickly. Presence-based.

Insight: not changed much.

Intimidation: not changed much.

Investigation: not changed much.

Leadership: the slow, trust-based counterpart to Glibness, representing more genuine personal magnetism. Takes over some uses of Persuasion as well as Expertise: Leadership. Presence-based.

Legerdemain: absorbs most of Sleight of Hand (pocket-picking, "magic" tricks, lock picking). Dexterity-based.

Notice: basically just a rename of Perception (because the word Perception is used other places in m&m too, and it could be confusing).

Performance: absorbs Expertise: Music and some uses of Deception. Presence-based. Must choose a specialty, which can include things like musical instruments but also includes the option of Bodily Deception, the default skill for the Feint and Trick maneuvers. Can be broadened to other specialties with 1 or 2 points in Variable Descriptor or used anyway with a -5 penalty.

Stealth: not changed much.

Survival: a general in-tune-with-nature skill, Trained Only and based on Awareness.

Technology: now must select a Specialty (eg mechanical, chemical, electromagnetic), although it can be broadened with one or two points in Variable Descriptor or used anyway with a -5 penalty.

Treatment: not changed much.

Vehicles: not changed much.

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Advantages

Greater Accurate Attack: cosmetic rename of Accurate Attack, so it doesn't share the name of what it modifies.

Agile Feint

Greater All-Out Attack: cosmetic rename of All-Out Attack, so it doesn't share the name of what it modifies.

Animal Empathy

Artificer - GONE. Use Variable with Downtime Prep and Arcana Check Required.

Assessment: improved, so at a glance (and with success on your secret Insight check), you can tell if a creature is higher (or lower) Power Level than it seems, and approximately by how much.

Flirtatious: cosmetic rename of Attractive. Modifies Glibness and Performance, maybe other skills at the GM's discretion.

Beginner's Luck - GONE. Use Ultimate Effort: Untrained Skills instead.

Benefit: most of this advantage's sub categories have been broken out into their own explicit advantages but otherwise aren't changed much. Ambidexterity is GONE (if your GM enforces off-hand penalties and they make you fail, that's a Complication).
Alternate Identity
Cipher
Diplomatic Immunity
Security Clearance
Status Benefit
Wealth

Chokehold: improved to explicitly keep the grabbed creature quiet while it slowly suffocates. Still recommended that you use a Grab-Based Affliction if you really want to be good at this.

Close Attack - GONE.

Connected

Contacts

Conviction: Now an Advantage instead of a Feature; use Leadership to Demoralize.

Daze: can use Performance, Intimidation, or Glibness.

Greater Defensive Attack: cosmetic rename of Defensive Attack, so it doesn't share the name of what it modifies.

Defensive Roll: described earlier.

Diehard: you know, I really should come up with an improvement to this that's worth taking.

Eidetic Memory

Equipment - GONE, except to buy headquarters. Use the Equipment modifier on normal Devices.

Evasion: improved so, if you succeed on your Dodge check and spend a hero point, you can automatically resist the area attack.

Extraordinary Effort

Fascinate

Fast Grab - GONE. Use an attack that is a Reaction to successfully Grabbing.

Favored Environment - GONE.

Favored Foe: I might change it so it represents enmity instead of overall social advantages, but I haven't yet.

Fearless - GONE. Use Second Chance: fear or Immunity 2: fear.

Grabbing Finesse

Great Endurance - GONE. Absorbed into Second Chance, also allows using Fortitude instead of raw Stamina for most or all of these hazards.

Hide in Plain Sight - GONE.

Improved Aim

Improved Critical - GONE. Use Dangerous extra on attacks.

Improved Defense

Improved Disarm: similar to Improved Trip, lets you choose whether the target Resists with Strength or Parry.

Improved Grab

Improved Hold

Improved Initiative

Improved Smash

Improved Trip: nerfed so it doesn't give you a Reaction Attack without paying for a Reaction Attack.

Improvised Tools

Improvised Weapon - GONE. Use Variable Descriptor on Accuracy, and a power that boosts Damage with improvised weapons.

Inspire

Instant Up - GONE. Use Slithering, Prone Fighting, or just make the Acrobatics check.

Interpose

Inventor - GONE. Use Variable with Downtime Prep and Technology Check Required.

Jack-of-All-Trades

Lair: like Equipment just for headquarters.

Languages: you can be bi-lingual without an Advantage (mono-lingual is a Complication). Each rank of Languages doubles your repertoire (to 4, then 8, languages).

Leadership - GONE. Use Luck Control Limited to Recover.

Luck: can cover other uses of Hero Points as suggested in Luck Power Profile. But luck points are nerfed to be per-Quest instead of per-Session.

Minion - GONE. Use Multi-Body Power.

Move-By Action

Greater Called Shot: cosmetic rename of Power Attack. (The maneuver is similarly renamed.)

Precise Attack

Prone Fighting

Quick Draw - GONE. If Devices need to be drawn, that's an Activation Flaw.

Ranged Attack - GONE.

Redirect: haven't modified it yet, but shouldn't the normal Trick maneuver be able to do this?

Ritualist - GONE. Use Variable with Downtime Prep and Arcana Check Required.

Second Chance

Seize Initiative - GONE. Use Ultimate Effort: Initiative.

Set-Up

Sidekick - GONE. Use Multi-Body Power.

Skill Knack: a general "situational +5 to a skill" Advantage, to avoid -5 penalties or make Limited skills unnecessary.

Skill Mastery: explicitly doesn't work with things like Check Required.

Startle

Takedown

Taunt: uses Glibness.

Teamwork

Throwing Mastery - GONE. Use Variable Descriptor on Accuracy, and a power that boosts Damage with thrown weapons.

Tracking - GONE, absorbed by Skill Knack.

Trance - GONE, should probably be a Feature instead with some effect.

Ultimate Effort: broadened to include things like initiative and untrained skills as options.

Uncanny Dodge: gives a +3 to active defenses while Vulnerable instead of essentially negating Vulnerable penalties entirely.

Weapon Bind

Weapon Break

Well-Informed

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Power Effects
Affliction

Base DC 15, but 2nd degree of Resistance failure just leads to the same consequences as 1st degree, so the truly crippling or defeated conditions are the same effective DC that they used to be.

1st & 2nd Degree choices: Dazed, Entranced, Immobilized, Impaired, Prone (can't Stand), Vulnerable.
3rd Degree choices: Defenseless, Disabled, Stunned.
4th Degree choices: Compelled (can still Resist each round), Incapacitated, Transformed.
5th Degree (only with an Extra): Controlled.

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Communication

1 Point per Rank; ranges re-worked: (1) 500 ft; (2) 15 miles; (3) 1500 miles; (4) planetary system; (5) solar system; (6) anywhere. "Mental/telepathic" sense-based is banned without an Extra. Communications are one-way without an Extra.

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Comprehend

1 point per rank, but needs an Extra to make it apply to normal languages. Without that, it can apply to one-way communication with Animals, Plants, Software, or Spirits.

Using this to completely ignore the need for languages is now 6 points instead of 8, the way Extras are structured.

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Concealment

Now requires 4 Ranks for normal-sight Invisibility. The Blending Flaw is also built in by default.

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Create

I need to figure out what I'm doing with Create, but I'll probably relegate it to being an aspect of Transform, since it's essentially transforming ambient fluids into solids.

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Damage

I'm going to experiment with making normal Damage consequences include 2 Bruises instead of 1, to make combat overall faster and Healing slightly less effective.

Damage is otherwise not changing much.

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Deflect

No substantial changes.

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Enhanced Trait

No substantial changes (i.e. this is still more of a modifier to Traits than a separate Effect; compared to buying that Trait normally, this means the Trait can be Nullified or cease to function if you can’t spend a Free Action each round to Sustain it; but it means you can apply Extras and Flaws to the Trait, and can improve its Rank temporarily with Extra Effort.)

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Environment

No substantial changes. Or are some needed, to make this a worthwhile power than people will actually use?

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Feature

No substantial changes. Still a catch-all that the GM can use to adjudicate any powers that don't fit under any other Effect.

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Figment

A re-name of the Illusion effect. Costs 2 Points per Rank and applies automatically to Visual senses; adding other Senses is just a +1 Flat Point per sense added.