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Author Topic: Mutants and Masterminds via IRC/TTS - Interest Check, discussion, etc.  (Read 5148 times)

Cthulhu

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Ayyyyy, M&M?

What would people say to a Mutants and Masterminds game?  I've got some fun ideas but with a game like this I especially want to see what potential players want to do before I start committing to anything.  I'm making this thread now, very early in setting up a game, to see what the players want to make.

What the hell is M&M?
Mutants and Masterminds is a tabletop RPG using the d20 system.  Literally the only die used is a d20.  Since it's based on D20 if you've played Dungeons and Dragons you already know how to play, aside from learning the various options you have.  1d20+bonuses vs. the check's DC, easy stuff. 

As the name and banner image suggest, it's a game where you'll be playing superheroes fighting villains and saving the world and all that shit.  Within that framework the game is flexible enough to handle pretty much any superhero archetype and theme, from Golden Age dudes dressed like flags with no powers to Batman to X-Men all the way up to Superman and beyond.  The amount of customization is pretty staggering and a little intimidating.

So how do we do that?
I don't do play-by-post, so it's gonna have to be a get-together kind of thing.  IRC or Tabletop Simulator would work best, I love the tactility of TTS, but I'm open to other options.

Since I'm guessing most people who play will be new to the system, we'll probably dedicate a session at the beginning to character creation.  M&M is the kind of game where it's hard to create characters in a vacuum.  This thread'll be a place to conceptualize the kind of character you want to make. 

What kind of character do I want to make?
Good question!  One thing that's important, and part of the reason I'm making this thread so early, is that the game is very character-driven.  It's not like D&D where you can play a murderhobo with no personality and just enjoy the tactical challenge.  You really need to invest yourself in the character you're playing to enjoy it.  Luckily I've got a quick exercise you can do that'll both quickly develop a concept and give me things to work with when I set up the game:

Spoiler: 3X3 Character: (click to show/hide)


We'll be starting off in the lower-middle of the power spectrum (PL10 for those of you who know M&M).  Due to the nature of the setting pretty much anything reasonable is on the table.  There are plenty of normal humans with minor upgrades, and you could be a super-smart human in a battlesuit or with a ton of gadgets, or a time-traveling warrior or sorcerer from some neato ancient culture.  Or you could be a heavily augmented human with high-caliber superpowers, an alien or an extradimensional entity, pretty much anything within reason.

Let me know what you want to be, preferably using the 3x3 character generation in the spoiler, and we'll see what happens. 

As far as times go, I have a pretty hectic schedule right now so I can't make hard predictions about when I'll be available.  Wednesday and Saturday tend to be my best days.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 07:23:37 pm by Cthulhu »
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~Neri

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I would be interested.

I recommend using Discord for group discussions, it's a good program and has a lotta the things one would need for GMing. Including dicebots with a bit of fiddling.
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Cthulhu

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I edited the OP to make it less of a wall of text.  Discord would probably work too.
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RazielReaver

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I just hope voice isn't mandatory, I'll get a concept ready  soon.
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~Neri

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I'll write up a concept:
Spoiler: Ki, Herald Of The Void (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 07:07:10 am by Kevak »
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Cthulhu

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I guess my big concern with that one is the whole "superhero" element.  You could definitely stat that character out in M&M, but it doesn't seem like it has much motivation for being a hero or joining a hero organization.  It seems like it has the opposite, actually.  Can it speak?  It kind of sounds like it can't.
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~Neri

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It would know How to speak. It learned many things from the Being it encountered after all. The question is "Would it speak?" Which probably falls under 'Occasionally.'

Odds are is its reasons for joining would be along the lines of 'Food and attention is provided.' and 'Something to pass the time' No real altruistic motivations present. I've never been a fan of black and white good/bad. Nobody is wholey good, nobody is wholey bad. Everybody thinks they're the good guy even when they aren't. It's all shades of gray. Ki's intentions could fall under 'good' when looked at objectively from a human's perspective. He wants to show people Truth and get rid of lies, sounds noble in theory. However the thought process behind the intentions is quite alien in nature and some of the ways he could potentially go about doing such could fall under 'bad' from a human's objective perspective, he after all is not a human and does not have the same kind of mindset that humans do. What he sees as perfectly reasonable may not be reasonable at all to a human.

My stance when playing nonhumans is to actually play them as proper xenos. A thousands year old vampire isn't gonna think like a teenage human. A cat isn't gonna think like a human. An alien isn't gonna think like a human at All. What seems reasonable to them is not gonna seem reasonable to a human. And vice versa.
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TheBiggerFish

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Hi.

Oh, wait, not PBP...Why not?

And generally what timezone are we talking?

Eh, what the heck, I'll put up a sheet anyway.

Discord would be nice.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2017, 10:00:35 am by TheBiggerFish »
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Cthulhu

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Hi.

Oh, wait, not PBP...Why not?

And generally what timezone are we talking?

Eh, what the heck, I'll put up a sheet anyway.

Discord would be nice.

Because it's very slow and I prefer getting together to do things in real time
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TheBiggerFish

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You haven't seen my post rate.  ;P

But yeah, I suppose.
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Cthulhu

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Re: Mutants and Masterminds via IRC/TTS - Interest Check, discussion, etc.
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2017, 02:17:51 pm »

Not all of us post 60 times a day.  I have a job and stuff I have to deal with at the same time.

I'm GMT-5, and my best times will be late afternoon in that area.
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TheBiggerFish

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Re: Mutants and Masterminds via IRC/TTS - Interest Check, discussion, etc.
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2017, 02:28:35 pm »

Eastern?  I can probably make that, yeah.
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somemildmanneredidiot

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Re: Mutants and Masterminds via IRC/TTS - Interest Check, discussion, etc.
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2017, 07:04:16 pm »

Spoiler: The Boisterous Barbara (click to show/hide)

So in retrospect this is basically Batman if Batman had a Magician aesthetic, wasn't richer than God, and didn't have traumatic loss issues. And I'm good with that. If Barb needs to be restructured backstory wise to not be so connected with the Superhero organization, let me know and I can rewrite em to be earlier within the Barb Timeline.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2017, 08:34:09 pm by somemildmanneredidiot »
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"As to why you'd want to [throw your sword in combat] at all? The answer is pretty simple: There's someone you want to stab, but they're all the way over there, and walking is for peasants." - Starke of How To Fight Write

Cthulhu

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Re: Mutants and Masterminds via IRC/TTS - Interest Check, discussion, etc.
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2017, 04:25:11 pm »

From a game mechanics standpoint the technology angle is your best bet.  Devices can be purchased with your starting power points and basically work the same as superpowers with the caveat that you lose them if you lose the device (and a commensurate discount in power points, one of the ways mundanes keep up with supers)

Devices can be anything from a custom sniper rifle with infra-red scope (Senses power) and five different ammo types (and if you take the Artificer feat you can create specialized temporary ammo for specific missions), to a magic amulet that grants spellcasting powers, to a full-on nine foot battlesuit.

When I get home from work I'm gonna drop a big pile of world exposition and some new questions to help you figure out where your character stands in the world.

Short answer yes, you can start in the Guardians.  At the risk of spoilers, most of the Guardians' heavy hitters will find themselves indisposed and the PCs, members or not, will get to cover the city level affairs in the meantime.

So don't think you can't get yourself a secret batcave or anything.  It'll come in handy.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2017, 05:00:16 pm by Cthulhu »
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RazielReaver

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Re: Mutants and Masterminds via IRC/TTS - Interest Check, discussion, etc.
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2017, 05:03:40 pm »

Spoiler: Julius Gaius Caesar (click to show/hide)
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