M&M How to...

[Callos_DeTerran]

This is just a general Q&A thread for people with questions about Mutants and Masterminds since I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Anyone can ask a question I suppose and hopefully get an answer.

My question...? How do most people get a group together in a super-hero game? The whole 'super-team' aspect is good, but it strikes me as somewhat forced if it starts with the team already assembled and knowing each other. The 'all present to have the same origin' thing doesn't sound bad, but it seems rife with chances for players to not be present and thus miss out on getting an origin and whatnot... So, to experienced GM's, how do you get your PCs in one spot and working toward a common goal?

[Kid Jake]

My current group met on a city bus when a supposed terrorist accidentally blew it up with green mystery gas, they became the first recorded superhumans and the other surviving members of the bus are their adversaries and colleagues. It took almost a week for them to wake up from their experience and as they were in the hospital they literally saw a dozen other comatose people who were still undergoing their transformations. That way it left things open for new heroes and villains to pop in and out and still share an origin story.

[Broken Crown]

When I ran a superhero game, the first session had all the heroes coincidentally being nearby (for various reasons) when the bad guys held up an armoured car. Naturally, the heroes all changed into their costumes and confronted the villains, and that's how they met.

My understanding is that this is a fairly common way to start superhero campaigns. It has the advantage over "You all meet at an inn," because it lets you cut straight to the action.

[Esprit15]

When I ran a superhero game, the first session had all the heroes coincidentally being nearby (for various reasons) when the bad guys held up an armoured car. Naturally, the heroes all changed into their costumes and confronted the villains, and that's how they met.

My understanding is that this is a fairly common way to start superhero campaigns. It has the advantage over "You all meet at an inn," because it lets you cut straight to the action.

Pretty much this. Worked very well in one game if you have enough to keep people together after. One game had everyone meet up that way. A different one crashed when the action dispersed over the town though. Make sure you keep them together, pushing for everyone meeting each other.

[JeminiZero]

When I ran a superhero game, the first session had all the heroes coincidentally being nearby (for various reasons) when the bad guys held up an armoured car. Naturally, the heroes all changed into their costumes and confronted the villains, and that's how they met.

A variant on this is that there is a major event (like a rampaging supervillain) which no hero would ignore, and that lasts for some time. And rather than all of them being coincidentally nearby, the heroes have time to rush down to the scene and meet there. I believe that is how Avengers EMH kicks off (the first boss fight vs Graviton).

[Man on Fire]

As a comics fan I'm gonna share with you some bit of observation - every superhero team that you want to work should have some sort of unifying theme that applies to all the members.
For example, Runaways - original team is all kids who found out their parents are members of the same supervillain organization, the Pride. Later, after Pride is destroyed, new members join in and what always connect them is that their parents are evil (genocidal robot, warmongering aliens, people who sold her 11-years old daughter to marriage with 40-years old dude).
You need something that connect the characters and then you can easily use this to add to the team new members - they need some common ground and reason to be there.

[Sith_Happens]

Why not just pull an Avengers and have them all recruited for the same team by a third party?

[JeenLeen]

In a DC Universe game, we had our PCs be relatively new supers who were being trained by a hero known to take new heroes under his wings and train them (Red Tornado, I think). We all basically new each other through him and had worked together in minor ways. Then, when the plot hook for the game (group of baddies are taking over Gotham, and Batman is just out of his league) happened, we decide to go there as a team.

So, common mentor. Or common plot hook/motivation.