Hello. Going to be playing in an Xmen Mutants and Masterminds 3e game, any advice?
I am going to be playing as one out of two mutant characters I came up with from the Superpowered Wiki random button. They'll be posted in PDF
Anything basic involving the setting I should keep in mind without researching hours on end(I'm not extra keen on Xmen comics but I'm somewhat familiar with the themes and elements as a whole.)?
Any thoughts on mah builds? Also Mutants and Masterminds General I guess.
Other urls found in this thread:
mediafire.com
twitter.com
Second character concept
Neither has any range or mobility worth mentioning: They'll both chump hard to anyone they can't just saunter up to and smack.
They're both decent melee combatants, but Miranda doesn't really feel interesting mechanically, what with not having any real noncombat powers. Reaction healing is also something to ask your GM about, since it's absurdly powerful.
My my defense Rupert does have his Chains and his Create power, which have Ranged and are built for taking out most mobile character.
Miranda's basepoint was literally the one of the most boring "powers" you could ever roll on the wiki: Peak Human Endurance if you wanna look it up. So I didn't really have much to work with there.
The chains are iffy. I mean, they're not bad, but they're not damaging. It also won't down a flyer unless they've got Wings.
Rules as written, you can't ranged attack with your create due to the extras you chose.
You're better off than Johnny Smash or the core Martial Artist, but you're not really good. That said, many of the x-men are utterly incapable of fighting a flyer.
Wait, why would adding Move Object, or any extra, rob me of my ability to damage enemies via the Drop attack? The whole point of an extra is to add, and when someting adds and takes away, it's usually 0/rank.
Because you added Stationary, which gets to be a +0 since it both adds and subtracts. .
Or pardon, never mind. I needed to reread the core Move Object power and the Damaging trait, since it's worded god-awfully.
I was about to say, that would be really dumb.
I think that elongation might work better and cost less given that my character has 8 Strength and grappling allows you to move or throw enemies downward. Might also mesh better with his melee capabilities, might also give him projection additional limbs.
Elongation would definitely be better, yeah.
Because you made the Create effect Stationary, you would not be able to get area damage by dropping things. Since you made it Movable, you'd be able to get thrown object damage, but unless I'm missing something you'd have a net of +0 to-hit with thrown things.
>from the Superpowered Wiki random button
lmao
Nice.
>DROPPING OBJECTS
>Simply dropping a created object on a target is treated like an >>>>Area Effect>>>>can
And if they resist being moved with a STR equal to the effect rank, then they're able to carry their own weight against 1g of force. So they don't fall.
So I'm working on a character that summons monkeys, with the Jinx ability from the Luck power profile.
>You “curse” a target with bad luck and difficulty in accomplishing tasks. One degree of effect halves the target’s active defenses and imposes a –2 penalty on checks, while two degrees reduces active defenses to 0 and imposes a –5 penalty. The effect is such that the target is not even aware of the Jinx until things begin going awry.
>Jinx: Perception Ranged Affliction (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Impaired and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Disabled), Extra Condition, Indirect 4, Insidious, Subtle 2, Limited Degree • 7 points + 3 points per rank.
I made some modifications to it, particularly that the effect is no longer Perception Ranged or Indirect, rather simply transmitted by touch from the monkeys,
Gah, posted it too early. Continuing, if the person is disabled, does that mean that they take -5s even on the will saves that they'll need to make every round to remove the affliction? And if the monkeys dispel, does the affliction go away with them?
Another question, does the Aura Reading ability work even through concealment?
>Aura Reading: You can “read” the invisible psychic auras around all creatures, showing their mood, physical condition, and any outside psychic influences. Aura Reading is a mental sense, although the information (the aura) is
perceived visually.
>Aura Reading: Senses 5 (Detect Mood, Ranged; Detect Physical Condition, Ranged; Psychic Awareness) • 5 points.
>Gah, posted it too early. Continuing, if the person is disabled, does that mean that they take -5s even on the will saves that they'll need to make every round to remove the affliction?
Yes, which is why no sane GM would permit it.
>And if the monkeys dispel, does the affliction go away with them?
What do you mean by "dispel"? If you mean the monkeys are Summons and dispel means being incap'd, then no that won't end the affliction.
>Another question, does the Aura Reading ability work even through concealment?
Depends on what senses they're concealed from. Those are mental senses, so mental concealment would thwart them.
With the perception ranged power, you don't really need indirect since it ignores any sort of attack check.
And technically, it doesn't say it DOESN'T apply to further checks so...you can assume yes.
Not mental concealment, just in darkness or, more importantly, through walls. Which reminds me that I need to give these monkeys low-light vision, too.
Mental senses are obstructed by, and only by, mental concealment. What exactly that means is up to the GM, but generally "darkness" isn't mental concealment. Though, without the Penetrates Concealment modifier you'll likely have a hell of a time trying to argue you get its benefits.
The need for Indirect depends on the descriptors. A laser might be perception range but unable to shoot through a wall your mind-vision can see through.
That said, it is a blatant concept tax so meh.
IF they resist...which they wouldn't if they're MY objects. The STR check applies to enemies that would want to move them out of the way.
Nothing personal, but I'd hate to have you as a GM. I really don't see why a bonus feature you pay a point for should inhibit a power to such a degree.
Here are the monkey's powers as is. PL6, 60 points available, 47 put towards powers.
I gotta cram low-light vision in to this somehow. I may just drop their improved initiative or Luck advantages. Not like they're ever actually going to be in combat anyway.
===Powers===
"**Monkey Physiology:**
Tail: Extra Limbs 1, Prehensile Feet: Feature 1 [Use feet as hands], Shrinking 6 [Permanent; Innate], Mobility: Movement 5 [Sure-Footed 2, Safe Fall, Swinging, Wall Crawling], Leaping 2 [30 Feet]
(27 points)
**The Trees Have Eyes:**
Invisibility 1, Silence: Concealment 1 [Auditory], See All Evil: Senses 5 [Aura Reading (Detect Mood, Ranged; Detect Physical Condition, Ranged; Psychic Awareness)]
(11 points)
**Monkey Business:**
Jinx: Affliction 6 [Resisted and Overcome by Will; Impaired and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Disabled; Extra Condition; Limited Degree; Insidious, Subtle 2]
(9 points)"
I mean, if other mental senses aren't blocked by ordinary walls (i.e. basic mind probing) there's no reason that aura reading wouldn't be either, right? The visual manifestation is just that, the way your mind processes it.
That's why I figured indirect was meaningless, if it's subtle 2.
It does not say they "can" resist. It says they do.
It inhibits it precisely because you DON'T pay points for Stationary. If you want to actually pay for it, then by all means drop as much as you want. I'd charge exactly one point, since you'd basically be adding an AE that's the same shit without Stationary. But you don't get something for nothing.
>I mean, if other mental senses aren't blocked by ordinary walls (i.e. basic mind probing) there's no reason that aura reading wouldn't be either, right? The visual manifestation is just that, the way your mind processes it.
You're arguing that you get a 4 point effect for free by declaring your sense to be mental instead of, say, visually which would better fit seeing their emotions. That's a giant load of bull, to be frank. Doubly so since the base mental sense does not have Penetrates Concealment.
Anyways, descriptors and narrative is king in MnM. If your power says you read emotion by seeing colors on people, then you can't read what you can't see.
It being mental is straight out of the book.
Maybe I wouldn't be able to see what things are, but at least a general blob/glow through the walls, without necessarily knowing if I'm seeing the aura of a terrorist, a hostage, or the big bad himself, or what they're holding, or even standing near, just their relative position.
Again, you're arguing that you get Penetrates Concealment for free. Mental senses do not, by default, penetrate concealment. What constitutes mental concealment is of course a GM call, but I can't see many GMs letting you mind-see through solid walls without paying for the ability to do so.
Another question. Can a dazed character with fast grab make the grab check as a free action when they successfully attack? Or should I not bother giving it to my ape summons?
I might just leave this up to the DM, then. But if the Mental Detection power works even when you can't see the person, one has to assume that other mental powers can to.
>You can detect the presence of other minds, whether you can perceive them with your physical senses or not. With the Acute modifier you can distinguish and identify individuals and, with the Accurate modifier, you can target perception ranged effects at minds you detect. Your Perception checks for Mental Detection still have the normal –1 per 10 feet between you and the subject, unless the sense is also Extended.
>Mental Detection: Senses 5 (Detect Minds, Ranged, Acute, Accurate) • 5 points.
>Another question. Can a dazed character with fast grab make the grab check as a free action when they successfully attack? Or should I not bother giving it to my ape summons?
Read the definition of Dazed and the text of Fast Grab.
>I might just leave this up to the DM, then. But if the Mental Detection power works even when you can't see the person, one has to assume that other mental powers can to.
That doesn't mean you can mind-see through walls, though.
I may be able to hear a person even if I can't see them. That doesn't mean that an obstacle that prevents me seeing them will never hinder my hearing them.
Wait a minute...I am paying a 1 point cost on Herolab for it, is this 1 point SUPPOSED to represent the AE cost for switching between the two?
Goddamnit...I look like an idiot and a cunt. But at least I know for certain I can still choose to Drop because I'm technically paying for an AE.
My corebook says +0 points per rank. If Herolab is billing you a point, it's fucking up.
I think it's just Herolab approaching things different when it comes to certain extras (like instead of having Affects Objects and Limited: Affects Objects only, it just lists Affects Objects only at 0/rank).
Quick question: Does power attack apply to things like the grab resistance check?
It's not "different", it's outright wrong.
Yes and no. PA increases effect rank. So you can PA with an affliction, for example, and it'll bump up the DC. But STR isn't an effect.
That said, your DM is likely to permit it.
That's weird. Is there an attack roll to see if your affliction actually hits that I didn't see?
Afflictions have a save DC just like regular attacks.
PA affects save DC at the expense of the attack bonus.
A Grab check is an attack, followed by a contested check (best of Strength or power rank vs best of Strength or Dodge).
Personally, I would rule that PA/Accurate Attack/Defensive Attack/whatever would not apply to a Grab action.
The grab section doesn't say anything about the person grabbing having to roll, just a resistance check for the grabbed target. On Herolab, the grab is just a DC 10 plus Strength, which makes sense. Wait, actually:
>ESCAPE:
>You attempt to escape from a successful grab (see Grab). Make a check of your Athletics or Acrobatics against the routine check result of your opponent’s Strength or grab effect rank. If you succeed, you end the grab and can move away from your opponent, up to your normal ground speed minus one rank, if you choose. If you fail, you are still grabbed.
It actually does.
> Make an attack check against the target. If successful, the target makes a resistance check against your Strength (or the rank of a grabbing effect) using the better of Strength or Dodge. If you win with one degree of success, the target is restrained (immobile and vulnerable).
There's nothing in there that I see that indicates that any of the Advantages I named would apply to besides the Attack Check that starts it off.
Alright. For stuff like area attacks, does PA take away from the Dodge DC or is it incompatible?
Well obviously there's an attack check.
If the DC to resist was based on a roll of Strength, you could easily end up with a DC that's 10+ higher than it should be for PL for its Affliction-like effects. That's not including usage of hero Points or even Ultimate effort: Strength to give your 10 Strength character a DC 30 (basically a rank 20 Affliction effect on a flat 20 roll with a +10 attack roll to hit in the first place) resistance check for grappling.
PA doesn't affect Area effects, since you don't roll an Attack Check for Area abilities - there's nothing for it to pull Attack DC from to put towards a Save DC.
PA specifically removes Attack Bonus to put towards Power DC for the attack.
The opponent in the Grab saves against the DC of your Strength, or the power's rank if you used a power to Grab. Not the DC of your attack's strength.
Never got any advice playing in an Xmen setting...
Depends on how closely you want to stick to X-Men. You going for legitimately playing as an X-Team, or sticking to the themes that the X-Men play with?
To be honest, only thing GM told me that it was a school or something setting, and the characters we could play as vary from students to even teachers.
Alright. If that's the case, you'll want to look for the Hero High book - there's a version for both 2e and 3e, though I haven't read the 3e version yet. That'll give you a lot of information for how school settings tend to play out.
mediafire.com
That's a link to most (I don't believe it's all, it definitely doesn't have anything for 1e beyond the core book) of the books.
Hero High, like most of their stuff, is themed around the Earth Prime/Freedom City/Emerald City setting - their example characters are ones from that setting, though in introductory chapters they'll usually reference other settings like DC and Marvel, usually for their historical merit.
I could show this to my GM and maybe we can get a physical copy since we're playing in person.