Mutants & Masterminds: need a little help

[Ecalsneerg]

I just got my grubby mitts on the PDF and it has seriously made me reconsider the two options of stick to 3.x or switch to 4e (don't like Pathfinder, sorry. )

And I seem to have got stuck on the one piece of M&M a lot of people do, that of power arrays. Due to the wonder of reverse engineering a sample character, I believe I understand it, but could someone correct me.

- Alternate powers are a feat costing 1 pp you can slap on your power, effectively granting you a second one. This new power is of equivalent rank (i.e. 12 ranks of a 2pp power will have 24 ranks of a 1 pp alternate power) but only one can be used per round.

By paying 2 pp rather than 1, you can make the power dynamic and at the start of each turn allocate pp to each power (i.e. in my previous example you'd have a 24 pp power. You could allocate 10 pp to your main power for 5 ranks and put the other 14pp in the other to get it at rank 14). Is that correct?

- Magic is really borking my mind. Let's assume I've spent 10 pp on magic, giving me 5 ranks. I get one free alternate power, and can buy others normally, that's not confusing me. But what rank are they at? do I follow the standard method of convering the pp spent on my Magic to the rank that power would normally be at?

Thanks for your time, this game has really grabbed my imagination so I would like to be able to play some of the more complex stuff like mages. Marvel 1602 will replaced D&D!

[hewhosaysfish]

As far as I understand M&M myself, yourunderstanding of arrays and dynamic arrays seems to be correct (well, I can't remember how much it costs to make an array dynamic but I'll assume you're right).

As for magic, it's simple: just treat it like any other array.

Pick a primary power ("spell"), let's say a Lighnting Bolt spell. Pay for that as you would a normal Lighnting Blast power. Then add other spells (Flight, Invisibility, etc ) as alternate powers of that Lighnting Bolt, for the usual 1pt each.
Yes?

[Tsotha-lanti]

You've got it all precisely right. Magic works just like any other Array, since that's what it is - a specific example of an Array power. (Or a power Array...)

M&M is probably be best system to be born of the d20 licence. Congratulations!

[Ecalsneerg]

You've got it all precisely right. Magic works just like any other Array, since that's what it is - a specific example of an Array power. (Or a power Array...)

M&M is probably be best system to be born of the d20 licence. Congratulations!

I just need to force my group to play it now...

[Pinnacle]

The Core Book Powers chapter can be a bit confusing at times. Look at the Blast power; it says right there that you can describe your blast as any kind of damaging attack, but then there are other example powers in the book like Cosmic Energy control which is just Blast with a specific descriptor.

Magic is like that. It doesn't do anything, but you get one free alternate power--that's exactly the same as picking a base power.

[fireinthedust]

indeed, congrats friend!

And welcome to the wide, wide world of M&M.

Power Arrays: it's not really that bad or diferet from Dnd. Take the warlock: you've got an ability they can use every round, and they can switch between it or their invocations.
I'm a fairly experienced player of M&M (going on three years soon), and some things that seem huge at first turn out to... well, not be so huge. Power Arrays are one of those.

What makes them okay is you *cannot* do the other stuff in the array while using one of the powers. If the main power is to make an impervious force field +10, and the alternate powers are telekinesis 10 and blast 10 (say, and eldritch blast), it seems like the master mage can handle any situation.
However, what if a monster with really tough claws is slashing away at our hero? they could blast back, but that would give the monster a round of free shots at soft sorcerer skin. Or they could pick up the monster and throw him with telekinesis, but same problem. You can't be in two places at once (without duplication ;) ), and you can't use two powers at once.
Dynamic arrays are another option, but you're spending points: eachof the additional powers costs 1pp for alternate power, and 1pp for dynamic. That means that for a rank 10 of Magic (2pp each) is now more expensive jsut for a weaker option.
Monsters have impervious (so a dynamic power of blast at a lower rank won't always hit them); and PCs have a PL limit (so without juggling pp, they have a limit of what they can accomplish already). Also, villains get dynamic arrays as well.

I figure for DnD mages converted to MnM, give them a limit of 1 alternate power (spell) for each "level" you want them to be. That way you can have a PL15 archmage who's the equivalent of a DnD epic mage; while saving higher PLs for BBEG's like Orcus or Bane.