Game Mechanics Thread

[doc]

Where we go to talk about the game mechanics of the M&M 2nd edition system, as most of us are on the learning curve. If you have a question, put it here on an as-needed basis.

[bewareofgeek]

I have no objections to the Question build Nightvision provided... I just don't know how to interpret it.

[doc]

Post it up as its own thread (as I've done with Superman and Nightvision has done with the Atom) and I'll provide you the best translation I can.

[Nightvision]

Since we're all new at this, perhaps you could help everyone out that way, by interpreting the character stats in the various PC threads. Including your own.

[doc]

Fair enough - I'll get started on this sometime this weekend.

[doc]

Alright, I'm going to do the generic stuff here, and then I'll take specific questions on powers and feats for each PC and/or NPC if you send me a private message to do so, as I don't want to retype the entire Mutants and Masterminds books.

So, first, we'll start with Abilities (or the basic stats). In general:

1-8: Below Average
9-12: Average
13-15: Above Average
16-19: Gifted
20-25: World class
>25 - effectively Superhuman

Now, let's go into the actual Abilities, and their modifiers. Modifiers are calculated by subtracting 10 from the ability score, dividing in two and rounding down. These modifiers are added to specific skill, combat, or other check rolls.

The basic mechanism for just about everything in the system is based on what is called the Difficulty Class rating. It can be anything from Batman figuring out the thief's identity from his shoe size to Superman's ability to withstand an atomic death ray, it's all based on a DC rating that you have to roll to surpass. Just understand that the modifiers are extremely important to these types of rolls.

As for the abilities themselves,

INT - Intelligence
WIS - Wisdom
CHA - Charisma
STR - Strength
CON - Constitution
DEX - Dexterity

Next are Skills, which you have ranked - the more ranks you have, the better you are at something. If you have less than 4 ranks in a given skill and you have the "Beginner's Luck" feat, you can use one of your Hero Points (Points you are awarded at the end of a given session and you get to keep from game to game) to get 5 ranks in a skill that you either have no skill in or less than 4 ranks in.

<4 ranks - beginner
5-7 ranks - talented, but not quite professional
8-10 ranks - professional
>10 ranks - extremely professional.

So, back to Batman and him figuring out the perp's ID from his shoe size. Let's say he has 12 ranks in the Notice Skill (which allows him to notice things), and he has a +6 modifier to his Intelligence (the Ability most related to that skill). To figure out exactly the perp from his shoe size is a DC of say 30, but he rolls a d20 with a +18, which means he has to roll a 12 or more. A bit of a challenge, but only for the world's greatest Detective.

Next up are Feats, which are not skill related, but related to the character's combat, or his ability to interact with the world of the game. The former are feats like All-Out Attack, Power Attack, Improved Pin, Throw, punch, etc. All of these are about giving the character an edge in direct combat.

Then there's things like Benefits, Wealth, Contacts, Equipment, - things that have been acquired like a utility belt, a big bank account, or a reputation.

Finally, there are feats like the aforementioned Beginer's Luck, and the Ultimate save/check - these are for storytelling and help to use the drama of a heroic situation. For example, Superman is currently trying to stop a Jumbo jet from crashing into the Daily Planet (because, Metropolis). By using his Ultimate Strength check, he uses up a Hero Point to "purchase" a roll of 20 so he can actually achieve this feat without the plane ripping itself apart.

Hero Points - just to repeat - these are given out at the end of a chapter by the GM, and are used in the next session - they are given out on the basis of merit - i.e., good roleplaying, or allowing the GM to fiat something that normally wouldn't happen (i.e. Batman missing a clue), or other items. These Hero Points can then be spent on Fortune feats (as stated above) to get the characters out of a tough jam.

[dakota]

Well, Oliver is posted, but this is the first time I've ever looked at a char sheet upside down and it made as much sense...
so, tell me what to roll and when to do it, I can RP the rest of it

[doc]

Alright, so you already rolled initiative, which gives us the order of combat.

next, for actions, you can

A) Take an action of some sort (shoot, punch, etc)
B) Attempt some kind of feat
C) Hold off and see if there's some way to co-ordinate with other team members.


You roll your attack bonus to attack. when you are attacked, you can roll your defense to defend or dodge to dodge.

If you have specific ideas of what you want to do with your character for their action, put them here and we'll run through how you do that. Also keep in mind any power feats or other feats you might want to try.

[doc]

Alright, a bit on Attack, Defense, toughness, and a certain Feat.

So, you roll an attack (d20+attack bonus). Defense is a measure of how hard the opponent is to hit, and it's measured as 10+Defense bonus. So, in the case of Barda, her defense is 10+8 = 18. Meaning that any attack lower than an 18 will not even touch her as she's able to avoid, parry, or simply shrug off the shot.

So, say you hit - that's good. Next step is if you hit, you roll damage (d20+damage bonus). The opponent then gets to make a toughness save - basically whether or not the combatant is tough enough to just take the hit without taking a hint of damage. So, using Barda again, she has a +12 to toughness with her armor on. So in the case where say, the General were to punch Barda, beating her defense, and rolled 12+12 (his damage bonus) for a total of 24. Barda would have to roll a 12 to add to her toughness bonus to not take damage.

Now, there's a couple of feats I draw attention to here.

"All out Attack" - you sacrifice Defensive power for the ability to get through your opponents defense - you can sacrifice up to 5 points of Defense for the round (but your defense bonus can never go below zero) to get an equal number of points to your attack.

So, at the start of Next round (next set of actions) - Barda is going to go all out, this will raise her attack bonus from +8 to +13, while reducing her defense from +8 to +3. So she'll be much easier to hit, but she also has a better chance of hitting the general.

The Defensive Stance Feat is the exact opposite of this.

[josephkerr]

Here are some questions I could use examples of.

If I wanted to make something, restraints, mechanical things, whatever, how do I do it dice-wise?

More specifically, if I wanted to create the giant fan system that some people use to get the feeling of sky diving, how do I do that? How do I make three of those large fans that hover beneath the target, shifting to keep the target afloat?

Thanks,

- Joseph.

[Nightvision]

You'd do that with the Powers. Look at your character build, and you'll see descriptions of what you can do with the ring. You'd announce what you're trying to do ("Create a giant mecha to pound the snot out of Eiling" for example), then you'd check which power roll applies. In the instance that you describe, you'd look to "Create Object." You roll against that, and depending on the result, you'd know if you succeeded or failed. I admit I'm a bit at a loss regarding how to apply the "movable" qualifier comes in, that'll require some more rulebook reading to figure out, so either Doc or I will get back to you about that.

[doc]

Short version?

You use your next attack action to create that object, and roll your attack (ranged) bonus to have it in the right position.

That's it.