Mutants and Masterminds 3E variant rule question.

[Metahuman1]

So, I've been told there's a variant rule in Mutants and Masterminds 3rd edition. One were whenever you have a character wtih a high enough strenght or damage or whatever hit someone/thing, they automatically get knocked back/around by the blow.

Does anyone know if this is a real variant rule, and if so, what book and page number it can be found in/on?

[Cazero]

Not sure that's actualy a variant rule, as that sounds like linking an Affliction and/or a Move Object to your STR attacks.

[The_Snark]

It's a variant rule. Gamemaster's Guide, page 192.

If your game is not using that variant, you can get a similar effect with a linked Move Object/Affliction, yes, although you'll need your GM to do some rulings in order to get that to work (Affliction can knock people prone but not otherwise move them, and neither Move Object nor the standard grab rules ever talk about how throwing people works).

[Grod_The_Giant]

It's a variant rule. Gamemaster's Guide, page 192.

If your game is not using that variant, you can get a similar effect with a linked Move Object/Affliction, yes, although you'll need your GM to do some rulings in order to get that to work (Affliction can knock people prone but not otherwise move them, and neither Move Object nor the standard grab rules ever talk about how throwing people works).

The Strength Power Profile has some additional info:

Great strength is often associated with sending opponents
flying with a punch. The M&M Gamemaster’s Guide
discusses a by-the-numbers approach to handling the
knockback caused by damaging attacks on pages 192–
193. Gamemasters can also handle knockback with a
more narrative approach, simply describing it for some
attacks (with no game system implications) or applying
a temporary complication when the knockback causes
problems for the hero, awarding the player a hero point
in the process.

For attacks that just fling targets away, you can use the
Move Object effect, modified by the target’s weight
rank, with effect rank minus weight rank equalling
the distance rank the target is thrown. The target gets
a Strength check against the Move Object rank +10
to avoid being thrown. Optionally, you can base the
distance on the difference between a failed Strength
check and the Difficulty Class (effect rank + 10), with a
maximum distance of (effect rank – weight rank), for a
system similar to the knockback caused by damage described
in the Gamemaster’s Guide.

Another “built-in” offensive capability of Strength is the
ability to throw things as makeshift ranged weapons (or
to throw properly designed ranged weapons, for that
matter).
As described on page 12 of the Hero’s Handbook, a character
can throw an object a distance rank of (Strength rank
– object’s mass rank). Of course, throwing something and
throwing something accurately are two different things.
A Strength 12 hero can hurl a fist-sized rock over 100 (!)
miles but is not going to have any control over what that
rock hits when it lands.
When throwing things as weapons, determine the
character’s range using Strength rank like a ranged
effect (Hero’s Handbook, page 95): short range of (Str
x 25 feet), medium range of (Str x 50 feet) and long
range of (Str x 100 feet) with a –2 circumstance penalty
at medium range and a –5 penalty at long range.
Beyond (Str x 250 feet) range, the character can only
hit a target it the player rolls a natural 20 on the attack
check.
If you want additional detail for throwing distances,
apply a –1 to the distance rank for objects that are unbalanced
(a top-heavy lamppost, for example) and an
additional –1 for objects that are especially non-aerodynamic
(such as a large tree). These modifiers only apply
to throwing distance, not to the attack check to use
those items as weapons.

Area Attacks
Throwing an especially large object (anything bigger
than five feet on a side) may count as an area attack
(Hero’s Handbook, page 138), in which case targets
in the area make the usual Dodge check (DC 10 +
thrower’s Strength rank) to halve the Damage rank of
the impact by dodging out of the way. Note that area
attacks should be limited to a damage rank no greater
than the attacker’s power level.

Throwing Other Characters
Lastly, a strong enough character can throw another
character as a makeshift weapon! If the other character
is a willing partner, this is a standard action for
the thrower, who makes a ranged attack check to put
the thrown character on-target. The thrown character
gets to make either a charge or a slam attack using the
throwing distance rank as speed rank (Hero’s Handbook,
page 194 and 198, respectively), and the thrown character’s
initiative moves to directly after the thrower’s.
If the thrown character is not willing (another opponent,
for example), then the thrower must first grab
the character. If the grab is successful, the attacker
can pick up and throw the victim. This occurs as a free
action following the grab if indiscriminately hurling
the grabbed character away, on the following round as
a standard action (using a free action to maintain the
hold until then) if throwing the character at another
target. Treat a thrown character as an unbalanced,
non-aerodynamic throwing weapon, with the throw
doing Strength rank damage to the target and the
thrown “weapon”!

[Metahuman1]

The_Snark and Grod_The_Giant ,


Thanks! That's a hugh help! =)