Any Advice for a GM New to M&M?

[pyrefiend]

I've been the primary DM for my 3.5 group for... I suppose four years now. Wow. Anyway, I thought we should try something new, and I'm a bit of a comic book fan, so I picked up mutants and masterminds and loved what I saw. Now we are finally beginning our M&M campaign, and I'm wondering how different GMing will be from 3.5 to the M&M system. Any advice?

[Copacetic]

I've been the primary DM for my 3.5 group for... I suppose four years now. Wow. Anyway, I thought we should try something new, and I'm a bit of a comic book fan, so I picked up mutants and masterminds and loved what I saw. Now we are finally beginning our M&M campaign, and I'm wondering how different GMing will be from 3.5 to the M&M system. Any advice?

The M&M System can be broken so hard it loops into a curve. Watch out for Alternate powers and Drawbacks.

Also, The M&M system is more open to Rule 0 so don't be afraid to let something slip by.

[Grynning]

Remember, primarily, that it is not 3.5. No tactical movement, no complex simulationist rules, none of that. It's a great game if you remember that it's meant to be played pretty fast and loose for the combat. It's a comic book, so don't get too caught up in the rules and remember to a combalways obey the Rule of Cool.

Most of the uber-breakable powers have it pointed out for you in the book how they can be broken. Make sure you read those parts so you can help keep the players somewhat balanced. The Power Sourcebook (Ultimate Power, I think? My friend owns it, not me) is a great book because it breaks down how the designers create powers, giving you the tools to help people fully realize their concepts.

[jmbrown]

Mutants and Masterminds by design allows for greater leeway with GM fiat. If you screw something up, the players are overpowered or the enemies are overpowered don't be afraid to warp the game world while handing out points for it. It's a loose and fast game so don't bog yourself down with details. Let your players feel powerful but remind them the enemies are just as strong.

[Starscream]

Play it loose. Don't take it too seriously. With the ridiculously breakable rules, and the lack of simulation compared to 3.5, it's easy for M&M games to end up a tiny bit on the "silly" side.

So don't be upset when things get a little absurd. This is a superhero story, absurdity is built in to the very premise. A slight undercurrent of satire and self-awareness is common even in the most big-name comic books these days. If you incorporate that into the game, I think everyone will have more fun.

[Evilfeeds]

YMMV, but I found that using a lower power level such as 5 (rather than the suggested 10) was more enjoyable; its slightly harder to break, and players tended to focus more on a few powers, rather than just buying everything that looked cool. Also, at PL 10, your only concerns are other superheroes: at PL 5, you still need to be careful around crazed "normals".

Also, Id just do away with the point buy system. I found that point buy encouraged people to spend points on things they didnt need; if you just say something like "get a concept/core power for a character, you can spend as much as you want, but if you do anything stupid I get to break your knees". This worked incredibly well for us: we had a fun (slightly silly) few games with characters such as "starfish man" (whose only power was the ability to regenerate anything short of total disintegration) and "ant-boy" (who could break his body down into millions of tiny ants). The game became much more about trying to use powers in creative ways, rather than just "blast blast blast" through every situation.

[potatocubed]

I think the key is to ensure that every character can do something that the others can't. In the game I ran for six months there were three characters: a werewolf, who provided close combat power and outright strength; a flame-projector who was the ranged attacker and the only one who could fly under her own power (and the only one who could interact with the public); and a mad scientist who filled the 'whatever else needs doing' slot. Although it was obvious (to me) what the 'power hierarchy' was, no one really felt marginalised or out of place because they each had their own chances to shine.

That said, the key problems any game is likely to face are Alternate Power abuse and any use of Variable Powers (from Ultimate Power) at all, since both provide ways for characters to invade other characters' niches. AP is less of a problem because it is, more or less, fixed after character creation. Variable Powers are just... yeah, no.

[pyrefiend]

Thanks everyone.
There's two rules questions I have, though, that I cant find the answer to in the book.

First, if a character buys force field or protection past the limit for their toughness save, does their toughness remain at the same bonus even when they are damaged a few times, as their bonus is still above the limit for their power level? That is, if I have a PL 10 character with twelve ranks in protection, do I stay at +10 toughness even when I have two bruised conditions? I'm guessing no, but still.

Second, can situational effects like taking a full-round to aim bring attack bonus past the limit for power level?

[Regis]

I've been wary to make an MnM thread for fear that it wouldn't be well received - I'm paranoid that way, sorry. Since this is a thread for GM advice, could I get someone to weigh in on the Summon Minions power? Specifically, would you allow a player to play a character that used this as their main power? I've built a character based on King Solomon, whose power is derived from an enchanted ring that allows him to summon five PL8 djinn to do his bidding, and I would like to hear your opinions on this, if possible. Over-powered? Too quirky and/or confusing?