TEXT: STEVE KENSON · GREEN RONIN PUBLISHING
  MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS
  SUPPLEMENT
  GRR2504e
  
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  Design & Development Steve Kenson
  Editing Steven Marsh
  Graphic Design Hal Mangold
  Cover Art Udon with Chris Stevens
  Executive Producer Chris Pramas
  Art Direction Hal Mangold & Steve Kenson
  A GREEN RONIN PRODUCTION
   
   
  Interior Art Attila Adorjany, Brett Barkley, Eric Canete, John Christopher, Storn A. Cook, Tom Feister, Tariq Hassan, Scott James, Georges Jeanty, “Rey” 
  Lewis, Tony Parker, Ramon k Perez, Steve Scott, Kevin Stokes, Craig Taillifer, Udon with Chris Stevens, Dexter Vines
  Green Ronin Staff Chris Pramas, Nicole Lindroos, Hal Mangold, Steve Kenson, Evan Sass,  Robert J. “ Dr. Evil” Schwalb and Marc Schmalz
  Playtesters Rui Anselmo, Dwyane T. Butchino and the Midnight Legion (Charity Ens-Butchino, Sara Dean, John Szczypien, Jamieson Long, James Taylor, 
  Ralph Duell, David Laramie, James Kavanagh), Bob Huss, Tom Miskey, Jason “Valdier” Orman, Ben Robbins, Garth “The Shadow” Rose,  
  Stephen Scholz, Robert Stehwien, Aaron Sullivan, Ron Willingham, and all the fans on the Atomic Think Tank forums \
  who provided questions, feedback, and inspiration.
  
  Special Thanks to AEG, Guardians of Order, Malhavoc Press, Sword & Sorcery Studios, Wizards of the Coast, and all the other publishers who have honored the spirit of the 
  Open Game License by contributing content and helping to make this and other products more than just the sum of their parts.
  Mastermind’s Manual is ©2006 Green Ronin Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes a challenge to the 
  respective copyright holders of that material. MASTERMIND’S MANUAL, MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS, M&M Superlink, FREEDOM CITY, World of Freedom, Green Ronin, and their associated 
  logos are trademarks of Green Ronin Publishing, LLC. The Atomic Brain, Butcher Boy, Cyclone, Damocles, the Enthusiast, Gepetto, Gimmick, Headcase, Hyena, Inferna, Kalak 
  the Mystic, Knock-Off, Lady Hex, Marathon, META-4, Minotaur, Mister Mystery, Moodswing, Murder Man, Protonik, the Pugilist, Remlok the Rover, Silver Shrike, and the Twist 
  are ©2002 Super Unicorn and are used with permission. 
  The following is designated as Product Identity, in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a: all character and place names and descriptions, all 
  artwork and images, power points, and hero points.
  The following text is Open Game Content: all text in Chapters 1 through 9 and the Appendices, except for material previously declared Product Identity.
  Printed in Canada
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  Mutants & Masterminds was typeset in ITC Quay Sans, designed by David Quay in 1990,  
  and HTF Gotham Condensed, designed by Tobias Frere-Jones in 2002.
  MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS
  
  4
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  T A B L E • O F • C O N T E N T S
  INTRODUCTION .....................................6
  Rules Options & Variants ........................6
  Optional Rules and  
  First Edition M&M .................................6
  Rules from Other Games ..........................6
  How to Use This Book ..............................6
  CHAPTER 1: THE BASICS ......................8
  Just the Basics ................................................. 8
  Basic Rules Options & Variants ................. 8
  Stunt Bonuses ..............................................8
  Automatic Success and Failure .............8
  Alternate Dice .............................................8
  Players Make All Rolls ............................10
  Card-Based Resolution ............................11
  Card-based Hero Points ..........................11
  Challenges ..................................................12
  Team Checks ..............................................15
  Templates ........................................................15
  Template Format .......................................15
  Template Stacking ....................................15
  Racial Templates .......................................15
  Vocational Templates ..............................16
  Power Templates .......................................16
  Advancement .................................................16
  Skills and Feats .........................................16
  Powers ..........................................................17
  Downtime and Advancement ..............17
  Advancement During Play ....................17
  Hero Creation Options & Variants .........17
  Additional Power Level Limits ..............17
  Re-allocating Power Points ....................18
  Level-Based Advancement .....................18
  Faster or Slower Advancement ............18
  Unlimited Power Level ............................19
  Unlimited Power Points ..........................19
  CHAPTER 2: ABILITIES ........................20
  Ability Options & Variants ........................20
  Random Ability Scores ...........................20
  Shorthand Abilities .................................20
  Casual Strength .......................................20
  Mandatory Super-Strength ...................20
  Ability Strain .............................................20
  Innate Attack and  
  Dodge Modifiers ..................................22
  Attack Focus and  
  Attack Specialization .........................22
  Intelligence and Skills ............................22
  Aging and Abilities ................................22
  Super-Abilities ...........................................23
  Saves Based on Different Abilities ....23
  Best of Two Saving Throws ...................23
  Additional Saving Throws ....................23
  Speed & Jumping ....................................23
  CHAPTER 3: SKILLS ............................24
  New Uses for Skills ......................................24
  Bluff .............................................................24
  Computers .................................................24
  Notice ..........................................................26
  Sense Motive .............................................26
  Sleight of Hand  ......................................26
  Creating Skills ................................................26
  Sample New Skills ................................... 27
  Skill Options & Variants .............................29
  Simple Skills ..............................................29
  Background Skills ....................................29
  Combat Skills ...........................................29
  Variable Skill Costs .................................30
  Mix-and-Match Key Abilities ................30
  Broad Skills ...............................................30
  Narrow Skills .............................................30
  Full and Half Skills ..................................31
  Active, Secret &  
  Passive Skill Checks ............................31
  Multitasking ...............................................31
  Critical Skills .............................................32
  Skill Synergy ..............................................32
  Extended Skill Checks ............................32
  Masterful Tactics ......................................35
  Graded Language Ranks ......................35
  Language Checks ....................................35
  Notice Specialties ....................................35
  Professional Skills ....................................35
  Stealth Specialties ...................................35
  CHAPTER 4: FEATS ..............................36
  Creating Feats ...............................................36
  Powers as Feats ........................................36
  Options as Feats ......................................38
  Fighting Styles ...............................................39
  Unarmed vs. Weapon Styles ................39
  Skills and Styles .......................................40
  Attack and Defense and Styles ..........40
  Creating Fighting Styles ........................40
  Sample Fighting Styles ..........................40
  Feat Options & Variants .............................42
  Feats as Options ......................................42
  Access Feats ..............................................42
  Combat Feats and Power Level ..........43
  All-out Attack and Defensive Roll ......43
  Lower-Power-Level Sidekicks ..................43
  Reverse Sidekicks .....................................43
  Ultimate Effort and  
  Niche Protection ..................................43
  Optional Feats ..........................................43
  CHAPTER 5: POWERS ..........................48
  Power Creation ..............................................48
  Effects .........................................................48
  Modifying Existing Powers ...................50
  Creating New Powers ..............................51
  Other Traits as Powers ...........................56
  Power Creation Examples:  
  Martial Arts Powers ...........................56
  The Art of Power Design .......................59
  The Care and Feeding  
  of Power Arrays ...................................60
  Power-Ups and Power Level ..................62
  Gamemastering Powers ..............................64
  Managing Power Stunts ........................64
  Gaming Powers vs. Power Gaming ....64
  Consistency vs. Realism .........................66
  Keepin’ It Real ...........................................67
  Plot-Stopping Powers ...............................67
  Game-Stopping Powers .......................... 70
  Power Options & Variants .........................70
  Power Level Point Limits ........................ 70
  Unreliable Powers .................................... 70
  Partial Concentration Checks ..............71
  Stun Timing ................................................71
  Partial Countering ...................................71
  Energy Points ............................................ 72
  Fatigue Saves ............................................ 72
  Power Boosters ......................................... 72
  Alternate Progressions ............................73
  Partial Saves vs. Trait Powers ...............73
  Dynamic Variable Powers ......................73
  Flight Maneuverability ...........................74
  Point-Based Nullify ................................. 75
  Power Combos .......................................... 75
  Null Arrays ................................................ 75
  Wide Arrays ............................................... 76
  Alternate Power as a Flaw ................... 76
  Alternate Effects ...................................... 76
  Area Knockback ....................................... 76
  Aura and Stacking Effects ....................77
  Other Impervious Saving Throws .........77
  Stacked Impervious & Penetrating .....77
  Linked Power Saves ..................................77
  No Saving Throw Power Modifier ........78
  Power Surges ..............................................78
  Power Surge Variants ..............................81
  CHAPTER 6: CHARACTERISTICS ........82
  Characteristic Options & Variants ..........82
  Calling ........................................................82
  Extra Effort and Advancement ...........82
  
  FOREWARD 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  FOREWARD 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  FOREWARD
  5
  Concentrating on Extra Effort ............82
  Extraordinary Effort ................................82
  Power Strain ..............................................84
  Hero Points & Drawbacks ....................84
  Proxy Hero Points ....................................85
  Maximum Hero Points ...........................85
  Standard Hero Points .............................85
  Nonrenewable Hero Points ...................85
  Hero Points for Advancement .............85
  Hero Point Penalties ...............................85
  Enhanced Hero Points ...........................85
  Villain Points .............................................86
  Reputation .................................................86
  Taint ..............................................................87
  CHAPTER 7:  
  DEVICES & EQUIPMENT ..................92
  Tech Levels ......................................................92
  TL 0: Stone Age ........................................92
  TL 1: Metal Age .......................................92
  TL 2: Middle Ages ...................................92
  TL 3: Age of Reason ...............................92
  TL 4: Industrial Age ................................94
  TL 5: Information Age ...........................94
  TL 6: Fusion Age ......................................94
  TL 7: Gravity Age .....................................95
  TL 8: Energy Age .....................................95
  TL 9 and Beyond .....................................95
  Skills and Tech Level ...............................95
  Equipment and Tech Level ...................95
  Lower Tech Levels .....................................95
  Vehicle Combat .............................................95
  Attacking Vehicles ..................................96
  Vehicle Damage ........................................97
  Mounted Combat .....................................97
  Pursuit ..............................................................98
  Starting Pursuit ........................................98
  Pursuit Steps .............................................98
  Terrain .........................................................98
  Speed ...........................................................99
  Maneuvers .................................................99
  Device and Equipment  
  Options & Variants ................................101
  Proficiency ................................................102
  Free Equipment ......................................102
  Ammunition ............................................103
  Armor Penalties ......................................103
  Requisitioning Equipment ..................103
  Alternate Ritual Skills ..........................103
  CHAPTER 8: COMBAT ...................... 104
  Combat Pacing and  
  Gamemaster Fiat ...................................104
  Using Maps and Figures .........................104
  Combat Options & Variants ...................104
  Re-rolling Initiative ................................104
  Automatic Hits .......................................104
  Combat Challenges ..............................104
  Margin of Success .................................106
  Defense Roll ............................................106
  Out-of-Turn Defense ...............................107
  Mental Combat ......................................107
  Toughness Save Failure ........................107
  Automatic Damage ..............................107
  Tougher Minions ....................................107
  Damage Roll ...........................................107
  Save vs. Stun ...........................................107
  Instant Death .........................................108
  Double Critical Hits ..............................108
  Critical Misses ........................................108
  Lethal Knockback ..................................108
  Lethal Penetration .................................108
  Lethal Attack Cost ................................108
  Save vs. Fatigue .....................................108
  Additional Fatigue Levels ...................108
  Active Defense ........................................109
  Attacks of Opportunity .......................109
  Multiple Attacks .................................... 110
  Immediate Recovery ..............................111
  Hit Points ..................................................111
  Wound & Vitality Points ......................112
  One-Hit Insurance ..................................112
  All-or-Nothing Damage ........................112
  Threshold Modifiers ...............................113
  Changing Damage Thresholds ..........113
  Percentile Thresholds .............................114
  Maximum Hit Totals ..............................114
  Variable Critical Hits .............................115
  Tactical Movement .................................115
  Flanking ....................................................116
  Mental Grappling for Effect ...............116
  Mental Strain ...........................................117
  CHAPTER 9: GAMEMASTERING .......118
  The Environment ........................................118
  Getting Lost in the Wild .......................118
  Altitude .....................................................120
  Environmental Hazards .......................120
  Weather ....................................................122
  Urban Environments ............................123
  Aquatic Environments .........................124
  Radiation Sickness ................................125
  The Legal System ....................................... 126
  Trial Checks .............................................127
  Adventures ................................................... 128
  Spotlight Time ........................................128
  The Human Touch .................................128
  Meaningful Challenges .......................129
  Meaningful Rewards ............................132
  Prevalence of Powers ............................133
  Powers and Society ...............................134
  Secrecy ......................................................136
  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ ....................137
  APPENDIX II: M&M ERRATA ........... 145
  AFTERWARD .......................................147
  RULES CHECKLIST ........................... 148
  INDEX .................................................151
  REFERENCE TABLES
  3D6 THREAT RANGES .........................10
  LEVEL-BASED ADVANCEMENT ...........19
  SKILL SYNERGIES ................................32
  EXTENDED SKILL  
  CHECK EXAMPLES ...........................33
  LANGUAGE MODIFIERS ......................35
  OPTIONAL FEATS .................................44
  EXISTING POWER CONSTRUCTION ...52
  RANDOM POWER GENERATION ........63
  FLIGHT MANEUVERABILITY ...............74
  DAMAGE ROLL ...................................107
  OFF HAND ATTACK PENALTIES ....... 111
  PERCENTILE TOUGHNESS  
  SAVING THROWS ...........................114
  PERCENTILE DAMAGE  
  DIFFICULTY ....................................114
  STANDARD SCALE .............................116
  MENTAL STRAIN ................................117
  CHANCE TO GET LOST ......................118
  COMBAT ADJUSTMENTS 
  UNDERWATER ................................124
  RADIATION EXPOSURE ....................126
  RADIATION SICKNESS ......................126
  CRIME SEVERITY ...............................127
  CIRCUMSTANCE MODIFIERS ...........127
  TRIAL RESULTS ..................................128
  
  6
  INTRODUCTION
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  INTRODUCTION
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  INTRODUCTION
  M
  ost comic book universes are actually multiverses, infinities of 
  parallel worlds where anything is possible. One of the goals 
  of Mutants & Masterminds is to allow for infinite worlds of 
  superhero roleplaying, where different rules may apply in 
  each world. Of course, the task of creating entire worlds can be a 
  daunting one, even for the experienced Gamemaster.
   Enter the Mastermind’s Manual. This book is a collection of 
  expanded, optional, and more-detailed rules for your M&M games, 
  along with helpful advice and suggestions for Gamemasters. With this 
  book you can create exactly the kind of M&M game you want to run.
  RULES OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  No single game system suits everyone’s needs and interests, and 
  M&M is no exception. As you read and play M&M you may find 
  some rules or game systems work better for you and your group than 
  others do. You might wish to modify or add to the rules given in the 
  core rulebook, adjusting them to better suit your preferred style of 
  play. By all means, please do! One of the advantages of roleplaying 
  games is that the rules are not fixed, and you can change them to 
  suit you.
   With the goal of modifying and fine-tuning the M&M rules in mind, 
  the Mastermind’s Manual presents a wide range of rules options 
  and variants for your consideration. In general terms, an option is an 
  additional rule, usually providing more detail and depth at the cost 
  of some additional complexity, dice rolling, or bookkeeping (or all 
  of the above). A variant is a way of handling certain aspects differ-
  ently from the standard rules, which may suit alternate campaigns 
  or styles of play. Options work in conjunction with the core rules 
  given in the M&M rulebook, while variants change them in different 
  ways.
   Feel free to try any or all of these options and variants to see if 
  they suit your game. Keep in mind you don’t need to use any of the 
  rules options or variants contained in this book. They are ultimately 
  all optional. While other M&M products may refer to these optional 
  or variant rules in cases where they’re appropriate, they will other-
  wise assume the options and variants discussed in this book are not 
  in use, focusing on the core game rules.
   Don’t let the wealth of options in this book overwhelm you. There 
  are a lot here, but there’s also no way you can possibly use them all, 
  if only for the fact that some of the options are mutually exclusive! 
  Don’t try plugging everything in the Mastermind’s Manual into your 
  M&M game at once; you’ll just overload it (and your players!). Take 
  the time to read the book over carefully, and select the specific rules 
  options and variants you feel will enhance your game. Add them 
  in gradually and feel free to “playtest” them a bit before you make 
  them a regular part of your M&M series.
  OPTIONAL RULES AND FIRST EDITION M&M
  The Mastermind’s Manual contains all the options and variants 
  necessary to use your first-edition M&M characters and materials in 
  conjunction with the second edition of the game; just plug in the right 
  rules. In general, if a rules option is based on something from the first 
  edition of the game, this is noted in the text. This allows you to choose 
  which elements of the second edition of M&M to use in your game 
  and stick to the way the first edition did things in some cases, if you 
  prefer. You might use some, all, or even none of the new or optional 
  rules in this book, as best fits your game and your group’s play style.
  RULES FROM OTHER GAMES
  On occasion, you might want to borrow rules or traits from other 
  games to use in M&M. This is just fine, so long as you keep in mind 
  that rules balanced for different games aren’t always suited to M&M. 
  You may have to do some tinkering and playtesting to make the bor-
  rowed rule a good fit and to make sure that it doesn’t unbalance 
  things. That said, it’s fairly easy to import other rules from similar 
  RPGs, especially traits like skills and feats, giving you additional 
  resources you can use in your M&M games.
  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
  Like Mutants & Masterminds, the Mastermind’s Manual is organized 
  into chapters covering the major aspects of the game, starting with 
  hero creation, proceeding through equipment and devices, then com-
  bat and finally gamemastering and related topics. The breakdown of 
  the book is as follows.
   Chapter 1 covers the basic game rules and mechanics and looks 
  at options for changing these, including using different sorts of dice 
  and even playing cards as randomizers.
   Chapter 2 looks at ability scores, including saving throws and 
  modifiers associated with abilities. It provides different ways of cal-
  culating and using those modifiers.
   Chapter 3 focuses on skills, including new uses for old skills, 
  optional new skills (and how to add new skills to your game), and 
  a number of skill options and variants, including skill synergy and 
  extended checks.
   Chapter 4 is about feats, from creating your own feats to using 
  some powers as feats and importing feats from other games. It also 
  offers a number of optional feats for use with some of the other 
  options in this book.
   Chapter 5 looks at powers in greater detail. In particular, it covers 
  power design and creation and more advanced options like variable 
  powers.
   Chapter 6 is on various characteristics, including hero points and 
  extra effort. It also offers options like reputation and taint (the slow 
  deterioration of a character for various reasons).
   Chapter 7 has devices and equipment, from technology levels to 
  vehicle combat, pursuit, and options for inventing, proficiency, and 
  wealth.
   Chapter 8 offers options for customizing combat, including tac-
  tical movement, attacks of opportunity, combat challenges, and 
  damage variants.
   Chapter 9 looks at gamemastering, the effects of the environ-
  ment, the legal system, and how to run the game.
   The Mastermind’s Manual concludes with Frequently Asked 
  Questions and Errata & Corrections appendices to update the core 
  rulebook with the latest information and a checklist of all the options 
  and variants in the book.
  INTRODUCTION
  
  INTRODUCTION 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INTRODUCTION 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INTRODUCTION
  7
  
  8
  THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  CHAPTER 1: THE BASICS
  T
  his chapter focuses on the basic elements of M&M, from using 
  only the bare bones of the game system to a number of add-
  ons and variations on the basic rules you can utilize to change 
  the style and flow of the game. This includes some variant 
  resolution rules, using different types of die rolls, different dice, or 
  alternate randomizers like playing cards.
   This chapter also includes templates, hero creation and advance-
  ment options, and a look at power level variations, from different 
  power point totals to doing away with power level altogether!
  JUST THE BASICS
  It’s quite possible to play M&M using just the basic systems given 
  in the Introduction of the rulebook, along with the essential combat 
  rules from Chapter 8, ignoring the more detailed modifiers and rules 
  options. Take a look at the Essentials of Mutants & Masterminds sec-
  tion at the beginning of the Gamemastering chapter of M&M for a 
  summary of the game’s core mechanics.
   In this rather freewheeling style of play, you can ignore the specif-
  ics of more detailed mechanics like combat modifiers and certain 
  powers. Just apply modifiers for circumstances as needed in combat 
  and use the power descriptions as broad guidelines rather than spe-
  cific limits on what characters can and can’t do. In particular, you 
  can use the guidelines for opposed checks to resolve many conflicts 
  just by choosing two opposing traits (abilities, skills, powers, and so 
  forth).
  BASIC RULES  
  OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  The options and variants in this section have a significant impact 
  because they alter some of the fundamental ways in which the 
  game is played. A few (like stunt bonuses and automatic success 
  and failure) are fairly minor, but most affect nearly every game situ-
  ation. Consider these options carefully before adopting them. You 
  may want to try a “test” game or two using a variant before includ-
  ing it in the campaign permanently.
  STUNT BONUSES
  Exciting descriptions and actions are part of what makes M&M 
  games enjoyable. Characters in M&M are heroes, so they should do 
  the kinds of things heroes do in the comic books. Awarding hero 
  points is one way of promoting this; the more challenges the heroes 
  face with aplomb, the more hero points they earn.
   Another means of encouraging interesting actions and descrip-
  tions is by awarding stunt bonuses. Essentially, when a player comes 
  up with an interesting action or describes a hero’s action in a fun 
  and exciting way, the GM can assign a bonus for “positive condi-
  tions” between +1 and +3 (or so) to any check associated with the 
  action. For defensive actions, the GM may assign the stunt bonus to 
  the character’s Defense score instead.
   Alternately, in place of a check or defense bonus, the Gamemaster 
  can choose to grant a free use of extra effort (see the Characteristics 
  chapter of M&M) as a bonus for a particularly innovative or well-
  described stunt. Among other things, this can provide free power 
  stunts to the heroes, encouraging players to attempt them more 
  often and giving the game a more freewheeling style.
   Assignment of stunt bonuses is entirely at the GM’s discretion, but 
  Gamemasters should be liberal in handing them out to encourage 
  dramatic action in the game. The more stunt bonuses you grant, the 
  more likely players are to take actions to earn them.
  AUTOMATIC SUCCESS AND FAILURE
  When a player rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll, it’s an automatic 
  miss. When a natural 20 is rolled, it’s an automatic hit. This is not 
  normally the case with other kinds of checks. A natural 1 will prob-
  ably result in a failure, but not necessarily if the character has a 
  bonus of +20! Likewise, a natural 20 will probably result in a suc-
  cess, but not if the DC is 40 and the character has only a +3 bonus.
   If you want to add an additional element of chance to the game, 
  use this variant: a natural roll of 1 on a check is always a failure, 
  regardless of the character’s bonuses, while a natural roll of 20 is 
  always a success. That means characters always have a 5% chance 
  to fail and a 5% chance to succeed, no matter what the odds. 
  Among other effects, it always allows weaker characters to have a 
  chance of success while making skilled characters more cautious, 
  since there’s always a chance they could fail. However, this variant 
  may slow down play a bit or result in improbable outcomes (like an 
  ordinary person being able to accomplish a nearly impossible task), 
  so consider it carefully before implementing it.
  –10/+30 ROLLS
  Rather than automatic success or failure, you can choose to treat a 
  roll of a natural 1 as a –10 modifier for a check or roll and a natural 
  20 as a +30 modifier. This means characters are more likely to fail 
  on a natural 1 and succeed on a natural 20, but are not guaran-
  teed to do so, depending on their relevant traits. So, an especially 
  capable character could generate a modifier of –10 and still succeed 
  on a check, while a character with a poor or average trait could gen-
  erate a modifier of +30 and still fail a check with a high enough 
  Difficulty.
  ALTERNATE DICE
  Mutants & Masterminds is designed so the players and the GM only 
  need a single 20-sided die, and all rolls are resolved using that die. 
  This has certain effects on game play: A 20-sided die produces what 
  is known as a “flat” probability curve; the chances of rolling a 20 on 
  the die are the same as rolling a 1, 7, 12, or any other number: 1-in-
  20 or 5%. The chances of rolling a particular number or better differ, 
  of course (which is where Difficulty Classes and modifiers come in), 
  but the chances of any particular number coming up on the die are 
  identical.
   This produces a certain amount of randomness in the flow of the 
  game. A character might make several saving throws in a row only to 
  
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  THE BASICS
  9
  
  10
  THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  fail a save unexpectedly. Anyone might get a lucky shot (or, conversely, 
  manage to miss the mark). Things like hero points and the ability to 
  take 10 and take 20 on certain checks help to limit this randomness 
  in some cases. There are also situations where the difficulty or differ-
  ence in abilities is so great the die roll hardly matters. The “wildness” 
  of the d20 roll contributes to the comic book feel of the game, where 
  sudden strokes of luck or reversals of fortune are common.
   Some groups may prefer a less random distribution of probabili-
  ties. In this case, they may substitute a different die roll for the d20, 
  such as three six-sided dice (3d6) or two ten-sided dice (2d10) with 
  the results on the individual dice added together. These rolls pro-
  duce a “bell” curve, with results in the middle or average being more 
  likely to occur. For example, you’re likely to roll a 10 or 11 on 3d6 
  about one-quarter of the time, while a roll of 3 (all 1s) or 18 (all 6s) 
  shows up only about 0.4% of the time (1-in-216).
   These alternate die-rolling methods (either 3d6 or 2d10) produce 
  more predictable results, with less of the randomness (and, to a 
  degree, suspense) of a flat roll like 1d20. These more reliable results 
  make certain aspects of the game more predictable and routine.
   Gamemasters who want to switch to an alternate die-rolling 
  method may wish to change the DCs of some tasks slightly, since 
  the chances of achieving a very high roll are somewhat less with a 
  bell curve system. For example, if using 3d6 instead of 1d20, reduce 
  DCs about 20% to reflect the generally lower rolls that will occur 
  (plus the fact that 3d6 only goes to 18 rather than 20). 
   In place of a natural 20, use a natural 18. You can’t take 20 in the 
  3d6 variant. Instead, you can take 16, which takes ten times as long, 
  or you can take 18, which takes one hundred times as long. As with 
  taking 20, you can only take 16 or 18 if the task carries no penalty 
  for failure. For a check normally requiring a standard action, taking 
  16 takes a minute and taking 18 takes 10 minutes. Rules for taking 
  10 remain unchanged.
   Because it’s impossible to roll a 19 or 20 in the 3d6 variant, the 
  threat range of critical hits needs to change. Refer to the following 
  table.
  3D6 THREAT RANGES
  OLD THREAT RANGE
  NEW THREAT RANGE
  20
  16-18
  19-20
  15-18
  18-20
  14-18
  17-20
  14-18
  16-20
  14-18
  15-20
  13-18
  Also note that combats tend to last longer using a bell-curve die roll, 
  since the chances are lower that characters will fail saving throws 
  badly enough to knock them out or disable them quickly. These 
  results tend to occur after characters have taken some hits, unless 
  overwhelming amounts of damage are involved.
   All the game systems in this book assume a single d20 as the die 
  roll. Simply substitute the alternate dice (3d6 or 2d10) and adjust 
  DCs as needed to change the die-rolling system.
  HIGH-LOW ROLLS
  Another means of adding a “curve” to M&M die rolling is by using 
  high-low rolls: in place of any single d20 roll, roll three 20-sided dice 
  and take the middle number (dropping the highest and lowest). If 
  two or more dice come up the same number, use that number (since 
  the third die is by definition higher or lower).
   This method tends to produce results weighted more toward the 
  middle range, with 10 as the average. Rolling a “natural 20” requires 
  two of the dice to come up 20 (a 29-in-4000 chance, or 0.725%; 
  rather than 1-in-20, or 5%). The same is the case for a “natural” 
  1. Generally, this means characters achieve the effect of taking 10 
  more often, but succeed at high Difficulty tasks less often, and have 
  fewer critical successes or failures. High-low rolls involve more dice, 
  but are only slightly more involved than rolling and reading a single 
  d20.
   Spending a hero point with high-low rolls allows the player to 
  keep the best die roll of the three dice rather than the middle roll. 
  So a roll of 4, 11, and 18 would normally count as an 11. Spending 
  a hero point makes it an 18 instead. If all three d20 rolls are below 
  11, take the highest and add 10 to get the result of spending a hero 
  point on that roll.
   You may wish to have something special occur on the rare occa-
  sion that a high-low roll comes up with the same result on all three 
  dice: a major or automatic success on a high roll or a serious or auto-
  matic failure on a low roll, for example.
  PLAYERS MAKE ALL ROLLS
  In this variant, the GM doesn’t make any rolls except for results that 
  need to be kept secret from the players (such as some Notice or 
  inventing skill checks, for example). Otherwise, the players make all 
  rolls from their characters’ perspective, while the NPCs only provide 
  fixed Difficulty Classes for those rolls.
  
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   This variant uses several of the variants elsewhere in this book, 
  including damage rolls (see Chapter 8). Essentially, any time an 
  NPC interacting with a PC would make a roll, the player makes a 
  roll instead. So instead of an NPC making a Fortitude save to resist 
  the hero’s power, the player makes a power check with a DC of (10 + 
  the NPC’s Fortitude save bonus). Instead of an NPC Toughness save, 
  the player makes a damage roll (1d20 + damage bonus) vs. (DC 15 
  + NPC’s Toughness save bonus). In cases where NPCs oppose each 
  other, assume they all take 10 and apply the results normally (or roll 
  dice in that case, if you prefer).
   This variant greatly reduces the amount of die rolling performed 
  by the GM, and gives the players a bit more control over the flow of 
  the game, since they can influence more die rolls by spending hero 
  points. It can be a bit of work in figuring out the Difficulty Classes 
  for “reversed” rolls (things normally rolled by the GM) but becomes 
  easier once you’ve done it a few times.
  CARD-BASED RESOLUTION
  Another possible resolution mechanic is to give players cards 
  instead of dice. Each player decides when to use any given card in 
  his hand, giving them more control over the success and failure of 
  their heroes. Players can time dramatic speeches to coincide with 
  success and skew their characters’ results to match their character 
  concept. For example, a player who wants his hero to be hard to hurt 
  or capture can save high cards for saving throws and Escape Artist 
  checks, spending lower cards on other rolls and checks.
   Obviously, the GM must get a deck of cards with an even distri-
  bution of numbers from 1 to 20. This can be done with a standard 
  deck of playing cards. Remove all jokers and face cards. Treat an 
  ace as a “1.” All red cards are worth the value shown; all black 
  cards are worth the value shown +10. Some games designed 
  around card mechanics have their own numbered decks that also 
  work well, as long as there are enough cards for good, random 
  distribution.
   A 52-card deck culled of face cards produces 40 cards, which is 
  about right for three players and a GM. If more players are present, 
  two decks may need to be shuffled together. All players are dealt a 
  five-card hand. Whenever a d20 roll is called for, the player decides 
  which card from his hand to use instead. Thus, a player having his 
  character make an attack roll adds the value of one card played to 
  the character’s attack bonus to determine the result.
   Once a player has spent all the cards in his hand, he’s dealt a new 
  hand. This forces players to use all the cards in their hands, so char-
  acters don’t escape bad results (though players have some control 
  over when they do well and when they do poorly).
   Situations where a player is allowed to re-roll a die roll—such as 
  spending a hero point—allow the player to discard his hand and 
  draw a new one.
   If players are allowed to spend cards whenever they want, this 
  system can be abused. Players simply expend hands with lots of low 
  cards on unimportant things and hoard hands with high cards for 
  combat and saving throws. There are three ways to handle these 
  issues. The first is to ignore them: warn players you don’t want to 
  see abuse and trust them to be mature enough to respect that. The 
  second is to forbid frivolous card spending: anytime a character can 
  take 10 on a check, he must, and cards are not played for unimport-
  ant actions (such as target practice). The third option is to gather all 
  hands between scenes and deal out new ones—this way, there’s no 
  point in trying to save a good hand for a fight, as a new hand gets 
  dealt out before each fight anyway.
   Whatever system is used, it should apply to you and your players 
  equally. You may be given a slightly larger hand (up to eight cards), 
  since you frequently run multiple NPCs in each encounter, and allied 
  NPCs may draw from a separate deck than adversarial NPCs, but 
  otherwise the same rules apply. Be careful not to “pick on” a par-
  ticular hero, but otherwise play out your cards in whatever way that 
  seems appropriate.
   This system can be used to help set up a higher level of drama: 
  villains who need to escape are given high card results to do so, 
  and those designed as cannon fodder are stuck with lower results, 
  without players feeling the GM decides everything by fiat. Everyone 
  is generally more effective, which tends to favor PCs since they have 
  more opportunity to maximize their card results than you. On the 
  other hand, the system also tends to favor whoever is more powerful, 
  so be careful if designing an encounter with a foe of a higher power 
  level than the heroes.
  CARD-BASED HERO POINTS
  Another option using playing cards is for replacing the standard 
  hero points in M&M. Instead of tracking hero points with counters 
  or marks on a character sheet, use a deck of cards. Each player is 
  dealt one card for each hero point the character has at the start of 
  the game and earns a new card each time the character earns a hero 
  point.
   Players may “spend” cards from their hands for any of the hero 
  point benefits given in M&M, with the following changes:
  • 
  Numbered Cards: If used to improve a roll, don’t re-roll the 
  die. Instead, add 10 to the face value of the card and treat that 
  as your roll.
  • 
  Jack: If used for a heroic feat, the emulated feat lasts two 
  rounds rather than one.
  • 
  Queen: If used to recover, you can make two recovery checks 
  rather than one, gaining the benefits of both.
  • 
  King: If used to dodge, a king doubles your entire defense 
  bonus for the round rather than just your dodge bonus.
  • 
  Ace: If used for an instant counter, your power check is rolled 
  like an improve roll use of hero points: add +10 if the roll is 10 
  or less.
  • 
  Joker: Can duplicate the effect of any other card, or you can 
  discard it and draw two new cards.
  Spent cards go into a common discard pile. When there are no more 
  cards left to draw from the deck, shuffle the discard pile and start 
  again.
  TRADING CARDS
  If using card-based hero points, you may wish to allow players to 
  trade cards between them under certain circumstances. Generally, 
  card trading should be limited to situations where one character 
  provides aid to another, in some way justifying the trade-off of 
  cards. Encourage players to come up with in-game explanations 
  for how their characters are helping each other. For example, one 
  character might call out a warning to another, providing a rea-
  son for that player to trade a king card (allowing the other player 
  to double the character’s defense bonus) in exchange for a lower-
  value card.
  
  12
  THE BASICS
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  CHALLENGES
  Challenges reflect a capable character’s ability to perform some 
  tasks with superior panache and efficiency. They allow heroes to 
  achieve greater results by making already difficult checks harder.
   To take a challenge, increase a check’s Difficulty Class by 5 or 
  suffer a –5 penalty to the check result. In return, you gain an extra 
  benefit in addition to the normal effects of a successful check. If 
  you fail due to the penalty or increased DC, however, you suffer the 
  normal results of failure. Note that, if failing by more than a certain 
  margin imposes a particular outcome, you suffer that outcome as 
  normal if you fail to meet your newly increased Difficulty Class. So, 
  for example, a character who misses a Disable Device check by 10 or 
  more accidentally sets off the device. If the standard Difficulty is 20 
  and your challenge increases it to 25, then you accidentally set off 
  the device with a skill check result of 15 or less, instead of the usual 
  10 or less.
   You can accept more than on challenge to a check. In some cases, 
  you can take a challenge more than once to gain its benefits mul-
  tiple times. These are noted in the challenge descriptions.
   Generally, challenges allow you to gain added benefits when you 
  face a relatively low DC and have a high modifier. You can also use 
  challenges to attempt heroic actions, even when faced with a high 
  DC. In these cases, spending a hero point can help ensure success 
  with all the added benefits of the successful challenge.
  STANDARD CHALLENGES
  The challenges in this section apply to any ability or skill check. The 
  Gamemaster has final say whether a challenge applies to a specific 
  situation. Each challenge imposes either a +5 modifier to a check’s 
  DC or a –5 penalty to the check result.
  • 
  Fast Task: You reduce the time needed to complete the check. 
  If the check is normally a full-round action, it becomes a stan-
  dard action. A standard action becomes a move action, while a 
  move action becomes a free action. For checks requiring time in 
  rounds, minutes, or longer, reduce the time needed by 25 per-
  cent per challenge. You cannot make a check as a free action via 
  challenges if it normally requires a standard action or longer.
  • 
  Calculated Risk: You can take a calculated risk on one check 
  to make a follow-up check easier. For example, you could use 
  Disable Device to overcome an initial safeguard to make disarm-
  ing the whole trap easier. If you succeed at this challenge, you 
  gain a bonus on the second check equal to the total penalty you 
  accepted on the first. The two checks must be related and the 
  first, penalized, check must carry some consequence for failure 
  (that is, it cannot be a check where you can take 20).
  • 
  Simultaneous Tasks You can accept a challenge in order to 
  perform two checks simultaneously. To attempt simultaneous 
  checks, make the challenge check, followed by a second check 
  using the same or a different trait. Your secondary check suffers 
  a –10 penalty or a +10 increase in Difficulty. The combined task 
  requires the same time as the longest normal task, so if both 
  tasks require a standard action, you accomplish the simultane-
  ous use in a single standard action rather than two.
   In addition to these standard challenges, various skills have spe-
  cific challenges associated with them, described in the following 
  section.
  ACROBATICS CHALLENGES
  • 
  Accelerated Acrobatics: You can try to cross a precarious sur-
  face faster than normal. If you increase the Difficulty Class by 5, 
  you can move your full speed as a move action. Moving twice 
  your speed in a round requires the penalty plus two skill checks, 
  one for each move action. You can also accept this penalty to 
  charge across a precarious surface; this requires one skill check 
  per multiple of your speed (or fraction thereof) that you charge.
  • 
  Perfect Balance: In return for increasing the Difficulty Class 
  by 5, you move with such grace and agility that you maintain 
  your dodge bonus to defense while balancing.
  • 
  Perilous Balance: You can shake or disturb the surface on 
  which you are balancing (e.g., swaying on a tightrope). If your 
  check succeeds after increasing the Difficulty Class by 5, you 
  keep your balance and impose a +5 modifier on the Difficulty 
  Classes of all Acrobatics checks that others must make on the 
  surface until the next round.
  BLUFF CHALLENGES
  • 
  Conversational Paralysis: In return for a –5 penalty to your 
  Bluff check, a successful check dazes your target for one round. 
  Your claims are so strange or outlandish that the target can do 
  nothing but sputter or reel in confusion. This skill challenge does 
  not work in combat situations (for that, see the Distract feat in 
  the Feats chapter of M&M). Each additional –5 check penalty 
  you accept increases the duration of the effect by one round.
  • 
  Durable Lie: In return for a –5 penalty on your check, your 
  target believes your bluff longer than usual. The target contin-
  ues to act as you wish for an additional round. You can apply 
  another –5 penalty to extend this to two rounds. This skill chal-
  lenge does not work with the feint use of Bluff.
  CLIMB CHALLENGES
  • 
  Accelerated Climb: You can try to climb more quickly than 
  normal. By accepting a +5 DC modifier to your check, you can 
  move half your speed instead of one-quarter your speed while 
  climbing. You can accept this challenge twice, for a total DC 
  modifier of +10, to move at your normal speed while climbing.
  • 
  Fighting Climb: By accepting a +5 DC modifier to a Climb check, 
  you can maintain your dodge bonus to defense while climbing.
  • 
  Secured Climb: If you take a +5 DC modifier to your Climb 
  check, you do not have to make a Climb check to maintain your 
  position if you take damage. You climb in such a way as to brace 
  yourself for any attacks.
  CRAFT CHALLENGES
  • 
  Fast Work: You may add +5 or +10 to the indicated Difficulty 
  Class to craft an item. This increase allows you to make the item 
  faster than usual, reducing the time to half or one-quarter nor-
  mal, respectively.
  DIPLOMACY CHALLENGES
  • 
  Combat Diplomacy: You can make a Diplomacy check in com-
  bat as a full-round action by accepting a +10 modifier to the 
  
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  13
  Difficulty Class. Opponents in combat with you are considered 
  hostile. An unfriendly opponent doesn’t attack you unless you 
  give him reason to do so. An indifferent foe stops fighting alto-
  gether, while a helpful one actually joins your side, even turning 
  against former allies.
  DISABLE DEVICE CHALLENGES
  • 
  Hide Tampering: If you add +5 to your Difficulty Class, you can 
  conceal any tampering with a device. Anyone who inspects the 
  device must make a check against your Disable Device check result 
  to notice your tampering. On a failed check, it goes unnoticed. 
  DISGUISE CHALLENGES
  • 
  Face in the Crowd: With a –5 penalty to your check result, you 
  can craft a disguise that is less likely to draw attention. Only 
  people who specifically single you out and try to notice your 
  deception receive Notice checks to do so. Guards and other 
  passive observers take no special notice of you unless you draw 
  attention to yourself or interact directly with them.
  • 
  Quick Change: You can adopt a disguise as a full-round action 
  by taking a –5 penalty to your check. However, anyone who 
  comes within one visual range increment of you (usually 10 
  feet) automatically sees through your disguise due to its hurried 
  and makeshift nature.
  ESCAPE ARTIST CHALLENGES
  • 
  Conceal Efforts: In exchange for a +5 to the DC, you can con-
  ceal your efforts to escape. Anyone who inspects your bindings 
  must make a Notice check with a Difficulty Class equal to your 
  Escape Artist check result. If the Notice check fails, they do not 
  notice your efforts to escape. So, for example, you could leave 
  your bonds seemingly intact so a villain doesn’t realize that 
  you’re actually free.
  DRIVE CHALLENGES
  • 
  One Hand on the Wheel: By taking a +5 Difficulty increase to 
  your Drive check, you can perform a standard action in the same 
  round as your Drive check with no penalty.
  GATHER INFORMATION CHALLENGES
  • 
  Discrete Inquiry: While looking for news and information, you 
  keep a low profile. You increase your Gather Information check 
  DC by +5, but you avoid leaving any clues about the informa-
  tion you seek. If your check fails, you may be detected as normal, 
  but you still avoid spreading clues about what you were trying 
  to find.
  INTIMIDATE CHALLENGES
  • 
  Forceful Intimidation: By taking a –5 penalty on your 
  Intimidate check, you can force your subject to take an action 
  that is against his interests (but not life threatening).
  • 
  Mass Intimidation: You can attempt to intimidate more than 
  one subject at a time. You suffer a –2 penalty to your check per 
  opponent beyond the first (instead of the usual -5 penalty for a 
  skill challenge).
  • 
  Powerful Intimidation: In return for a –5 penalty to your 
  Intimidate check, you can either increase the penalty you inflict 
  for demoralizing a foe by –1. You can take this challenge mul-
  tiple times to increase the demoralize penalty.
  NOTICE CHALLENGES
  • 
  Accurate: In return for a –5 penalty to your Notice check, you 
  can treat a normally inaccurate sense (such as hearing) as accu-
  rate for one round. A successful check tells you the exact spot a 
  subject occupies. A failed check means you don’t notice anything.
  
  14
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  • 
  Lip Reading: By careful observation of the movements of some-
  one’s mouth and lips, you can tell what he is saying. Lip reading 
  is a +5 increase to the DC of your Notice check.
   
   
  You must be within three Notice range increments of the 
  speaker and be able to accurately see him speak. You must 
  also be able to understand the speaker’s language. You have to 
  concentrate on reading lips for a full minute before making the 
  Notice check, and can’t perform some other action during this 
  time. You can move at half speed but not any faster, and must 
  maintain a line of sight to the lips being read. If the check suc-
  ceeds, you understand the general content of a minute’s worth 
  of speech, but may still miss certain details.
   
   
  If the check fails, you can’t read the speaker’s lips. If the 
  check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion 
  about the speech.
   
   
  The GM rolls the Notice check so you don’t know whether 
  you succeeded or failed and therefore don’t know whether or 
  not any information you picked up is accurate. You can spend a 
  hero point to re-roll a lip reading attempt, but you do so “blind,” 
  not knowing what the original die roll result was (and there-
  fore whether or not you can do better).. You can retry a failed 
  attempt at lip reading once per minute.
  PILOT CHALLENGES
  • 
  One Hand on the Wheel: By taking a +5 Difficulty increase to 
  your Pilot check, you can perform a standard action in the same 
  round as your Pilot check with no penalty.
  SENSE MOTIVE CHALLENGES
  • 
  Combat Clarity: For a –5 penalty to your skill check, you increase 
  the bonuses provided by the combat sense use of Sense Motive by 
  +1. You can take this challenge up to twice on a single check. The 
  penalties you suffer for a failed check do not increase.
  • 
  Read Situation: For every +5 you increase the DC of your Sense 
  Motive check, you learn one fact about the situation at hand 
  when evaluating a situation (see Sense Motive in the Skills 
  chapter of M&M). The GM may tell you things like someone’s 
  apparent goal(s), the nature of an interaction, and so forth.
  STEALTH CHALLENGES
  • 
  Accelerated Stealth: You can move up to your normal speed 
  in exchange for a –5 penalty to your Stealth check. In return for 
  a –20 penalty to your check, you can move faster than your nor-
  mal speed, such as by running or charging.
  • 
  Slip Between Cover: You can make a Stealth check at a penalty 
  to quickly cross an area lacking cover or concealment without 
  automatically revealing yourself. For every 5 feet of open space 
  you cross, you take a –5 penalty to your Stealth check. You also 
  take the normal Stealth penalties for moving faster than half 
  your normal speed and such. For example, you could slip past a 
  5-foot open doorway without being seen, or duck from shadow 
  to shadow. Characters with the Hide in Plain Sight feat don’t 
  need cover or concealment to hide, so these rules do not apply 
  to them. The same is true for characters with the Concealment 
  power, since they’re capable of making their own concealment.
  • 
  Vanishing: Stealthy characters in the comics regularly “disap-
  pear” when no one is watching them. This is essentially a use 
  of Stealth to hide when the character has some concealment 
  or a distraction (no one looking directly at him, essentially). It 
  requires a Stealth check with a –5 penalty, and the character 
  must be within a normal move action of an exit, or some cover 
  or concealment (a window, skylight, ventilation duct, etc.). A 
  successful check means the character seems to disappear; an 
  observer looks only to discover he is gone. Characters can use 
  Bluff or Intimidate to gain the momentary distraction needed 
  to vanish in this way. Those with the Hide in Plain Sight feat 
  CHALLENGES AND OPPOSED CHECKS
  Some challenges, if successful, use the result as the Difficulty Class of the 
  opposed roll (such as Hide Tampering for Disable Devices and Conceal Efforts 
  for Escape Artist). This has the unusual side effect that the more difficult a 
  task was for the person doing the challenge, the more difficult it is to undo 
  that effort if the hero was successful. This can be especially compounded if 
  a character accepts multiple challenges; for example, if a character takes two 
  Fast Task challenges and a Hide Tampering challenge on a Disable Device 
  check, and he’s successful, he will have made it more difficult by +10 for his 
  work to be noticed, because his final DC was raised by +10! 
   If this seems counterintuitive, you may want to add the modifiers from 
  any challenges that don’t specifically affect the opposed check as a bonus 
  to the opposed check. In the previous example, the +10 from the Fast 
  Task challenges would be added to any Notice checks to spot the Hide 
  Tampering efforts.
  
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  do not need this challenge, as they can already make Stealth 
  checks without the need for cover or concealment.
  SWIM CHALLENGES
  • 
  Accelerated Swim: For a +5 DC increase, you increase your 
  swimming speed by one-quarter your normal speed. You can 
  take this challenge up to three times to increase your swimming 
  speed up to your normal speed. You suffer the normal effects of 
  failing your Swim check.
  OPTION: CHALLENGES AS FEATS
  Optionally, the GM may wish to allow characters to spend 1 power 
  point to acquire any listed challenge as a feat. This allows the char-
  acter to use that challenge at any time without a check penalty or 
  increase in Difficulty Class.
   For example, Raven takes the Perfect Balance challenge as a 
  feat, paying 1 power point for it, as usual. Now Raven maintains 
  her dodge bonus to defense while balancing at all times, with no 
  increase in the Difficulty Class of her Acrobatics checks.
   For standard challenges acquired as feats, the feat only applies to 
  a specific task. So, for example, if you choose the Fast Completion 
  challenge, you need to specify a task, such as the feint application 
  of Bluff, or making an item with Craft. If you take Risky Prospect, 
  you need to specify the two checks (and the skills used for them) 
  and if you take Simultaneous Action, you need to specify the two 
  tasks. Once specified, these things do not change.
   For challenges you can take multiple times, the GM may allow a 
  ranked feat that works in the same way. However, beware of such 
  feats providing too much of a routine bonus; keep in mind that even 
  with a skill challenge feat, the character must first succeed on the 
  necessary skill check to gain the bonus.
   If skill challenges are available as feats, then players can also 
  spend hero points to acquire them temporarily for their characters. 
  In essence, a player can choose to spend a hero point to allow a 
  character to perform one particular skill challenge without a check 
  penalty or DC increase. You may choose to allow the option to spend 
  a hero point in this way even if skill challenges are not available as 
  feats, just as a new feature of hero points, if you wish.
  TEAM CHECKS
  Sometimes an entire team performs a task as a unit and individual 
  success is irrelevant. In this case, the GM may call for a team check 
  for the task.
   A team check works just like a normal check, except only one char-
  acter makes the check for the entire team. The situation at hand 
  determines the character who makes the check, as follows:
  • 
  If only one character must succeed for the entire team to gain 
  the benefits (e.g., one character can make a Notice check and 
  inform others of what he finds), the character with the highest 
  relevant bonus makes the check.
  • 
  If every member of the team must succeed to gain the benefits 
  of the check (e.g., every member of the team must succeed on a 
  Stealth check to slip past a sentry), the character with the lowest 
  relevant bonus makes the check.
  In either case, if two or more characters qualify to make the check, 
  the team can jointly choose which of them makes it. If a character 
  goes solo, then the character is no longer a part of the team for 
  purposes of the team check (good reason for the stealthy character 
  to scout ahead, for example, making Stealth checks independent of 
  the rest of the team).
   The character making the team skill check may spend hero points on 
  it normally. Also, a character with the Leadership feat can spend a hero 
  point on a team check, even if he is not the character making the check, 
  so long as he’s a part of the team making the check, and able to interact 
  with the character making it (to offer direction and encouragement).
  TEMPLATES
  Templates are tools for faster character creation. They are collections 
  of “pre-packaged” traits representing a particular type of character 
  with the total cost of the traits already figured out. So a “Martian” 
  template has all the traits common to every Martian all together 
  with a single total cost. Likewise a “soldier” template has all the 
  traits common to every soldier (or every soldier of a particular army, 
  at least) put together with a single cost. You just pay the cost of the 
  template and give the character all of those traits.
   The various archetypes in M&M can be seen as templates covering 
  all aspects of a character. By picking an archetype, you get a pre-
  packaged set of traits, a complete character. Templates may also be 
  less complete, covering just an aspect of the character and leaving 
  the rest for the player to design.
   Templates may include any traits suitable to the type of character 
  they describe: abilities, skills, feats, powers, combat bonuses, save 
  bonuses, or drawbacks. Generally speaking, if a template consists of 
  nothing more than one or two traits, it’s probably not worth creating 
  a template; it’s better suited as a new trait.
  TEMPLATE FORMAT
  A template starts out with a listing of the template’s power point 
  cost—how many points a character pays to acquire the template and 
  all of its traits. Generally, templates are added “wholesale,” rather than 
  allowing players to pick traits “a la carte,” but the cost is the same in 
  either case, so the GM is free to bend this guideline as needed.
   Following the cost are the template’s various traits, beginning with 
  adjustments to abilities (positive or negative), then skill ranks, feats, 
  powers, equipment or devices, and finally any drawbacks that come 
  with the template. Template drawbacks reduce the template’s cost and 
  affect the character normally. They may or may not count against any 
  campaign limit on drawbacks as the GM sees fit. The default assump-
  tion is that template drawbacks count normally against any such limit.
  TEMPLATE STACKING
  In general, traits acquired from templates stack, that is, add together 
  to give a total bonus. So if one template grants ranks in a particular 
  skill or feat, and another template provides ranks in the same trait, 
  the ranks are added together to determine the character’s final rank 
  in that trait. For example, a character with a racial template that 
  grants Stealth 4 who acquires a vocational template with Stealth 4 
  gets a total of 8 ranks in Stealth.
   The GM may decide in certain cases that a template trait does not 
  stack. If a character already has that trait, simply subtract it (and its 
  cost) from the template, since the character doesn’t need to take it.
  RACIAL TEMPLATES
  A racial template represents the traits of a particular race or species 
  other than human (as the “average” human forms the baseline for 
  
  16
  THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  character traits in M&M). What constitutes a “race” is up to the GM 
  in the context of the campaign, but it generally means non-humans, 
  whether fantasy races like elves and dwarves or alien races from 
  other planets. In some campaigns, racial templates may also repre-
  sent variant “human” races.
  EXAMPLE TEMPLATE: ATLANTEAN
  Atlanteans look much like surface humans with a mixture of features 
  (mostly European). They tend toward Roman noses and jaw-lines. 
  Atlanteans are generally sleek, muscular swimmers, and have denser 
  muscle tissue than humans, giving them super-strength (the average 
  Atlantean can lift 1,400 lbs.).
   These Atlanteans do not have gills. Instead, the lining of their lungs 
  has adapted to allow them to extract oxygen from water and to with-
  stand considerable water pressure. Atlanteans can also breathe air, 
  although they’re most comfortable in an aquatic environment.
  ATLANTEAN 
  TEMPLATE
  Abilities: Strength +4
  Feats: Environmental Adaptation (aquatic)
  Powers: Immunity 3 (cold, drowning, pressure), Swimming 2, Super-Senses 1 
  (low-light vision), Super-Strength 2
  Cost: 15 power points
  VOCATIONAL TEMPLATES
  Vocational templates represent the traits possessed by characters 
  of a particular profession or position. Usually they are “packages” 
  of skills, representing the typical or minimum training of someone 
  with that vocation. Sometimes they include certain ability modifiers 
  or feats necessary for that profession. Vocational templates rarely 
  include powers unless they’re designed for a job requiring them. 
  For example, a “telepathic investigator” template would include the 
  Telepathy or Mind Reading power, obviously. The skill sets of the 
  various supporting cast archetypes in M&M can be considered voca-
  tional templates for characters belonging to those professions, such 
  as firefighter, police officer, soldier, and so forth.
  POWER TEMPLATES
  A power template is a collection of particular powers (along with 
  power modifiers and power feats) to represent a particular power-set 
  or type of character. The power-sets of the hero archetypes in the 
  M&M rulebook can be considered power templates of those arche-
  types, for example. The primary use of power templates is to create 
  quick “pre-packaged” sets of powers for creating characters.
  ADVANCEMENT
  As an M&M campaign progresses, characters can be expected to 
  advance in overall capability, improving their various traits. In the 
  standard M&M rules, advancement is through power points awarded 
  during play. These points are spent exactly like power points during 
  character creation to improve a character’s traits. This section looks 
  at some additional details of advancement that Gamemasters may 
  wish to use in their games.
  SKILLS AND FEATS
  Improvement in a skill or acquisition of a feat usually comes through 
  training and practice. The GM may require a particular training time 
  in addition to spending power points to improve an existing skill or 
  
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
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  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  THE BASICS
  17
  to acquire an additional rank of an existing feat. As a rule of thumb, 
  four weeks per power point is sufficient; that’s one week per skill 
  rank. For more realistic games, the GM can stretch this time out (to 
  as much as 12 weeks for a single skill rank, and almost a year for an 
  entire power point). Until the character has completed the needed 
  training time, no power points can be spent.
   Acquiring an entirely new skill or feat may require more time than 
  simply improving an existing one. You can use the same base time, 
  or double or triple it. The GM may also require some special circum-
  stance in order for a character to learn a new skill or feat, such as 
  an instructor, or a use of the trait during play via a hero point to 
  emulate the feat. This provides the “push” the character needs to 
  start learning that trait.
   Finally, some feats may only be available during character creation 
  and not through advancement, at the GM’s discretion. Generally, 
  all feats can be learned traits, but the Gamemaster may decide in 
  certain settings that acquiring something like Attractive or Eidetic 
  Memory later on is unrealistic or not suited to the style of the game.
  POWERS
  Improving powers is usually just a matter of spending power points 
  for the appropriate traits. You can improve powers by adding ranks, 
  adding new power feats, or applying modifiers, if the GM allows. 
  You may also be able to add entirely new powers to a character, but 
  the GM could place additional restrictions on this.
   The simplest way of improving a power is to spend earned power 
  points to increase its rank. This has the same cost as buying ranks 
  of the power during character creation, and remains limited by the 
  game’s power level and whatever other restrictions the GM chooses 
  to apply. Some of a character’s powers may be “maxed out” at the 
  power level limit already; you cannot improve these powers until the 
  GM chooses to raise the game’s power level. If the GM allows, play-
  ers can set aside power points for such improvements, waiting for 
  when the power level increases.
   Alternatively, improving a power could require things like training, 
  practice, or a minimum number of uses of extra effort to represent 
  “stretching” the power’s capabilities (see the Characteristics chapter 
  of M&M). The GM sets the guidelines to best suit the style of the game.
   You can also improve a power by adding various power feats to 
  it. These often represent characters learning to apply their existing 
  powers in different ways or refining their capabilities. Since using 
  power feats is optional, they expand a power’s flexibility and utility. 
  Adding a power feat may just require spending a power point, or the 
  GM can call for some prerequisites. Examples include training time, 
  a capable instructor, or spending a hero point in play to gain that 
  feat at least once, allowing the hero to get a “feel” for it enough to 
  acquire it permanently.
  DOWNTIME AND ADVANCEMENT
  If advancement demands a set amount of time, then the Gamemaster 
  may wish to plan in a certain amount of “downtime” between adven-
  tures to allow players the opportunity to spend their earned power 
  points or to at least work towards that goal by having their heroes 
  spend time training, meditating, or doing whatever else they need to 
  do to advance their traits or gain new ones.
   Generally, a certain amount of downtime between major adven-
  tures is a good idea to allow for the advancement of subplots and 
  recovery from the events of the previous adventure as well as charac-
  ter advancement and improvement. A series of adventures with little 
  or no downtime will tend to cause heroes to accumulate unspent 
  power points (or encourage players to spend them on enhancements 
  requiring little or no time). Conversely, adventures with lots of down-
  time in between allow heroes plenty of opportunities to spend their 
  earned power points and improve.
  ADVANCEMENT DURING PLAY
  It’s up to the GM to decide whether or not players can spend earned 
  power points for their heroes during play to improve traits or even 
  acquire new ones. Even if no downtime is normally required for 
  advancement, the GM may still wish to put a limit on character 
  improvement during play.
   Nevertheless, things like extra effort might lead to opportuni-
  ties for advancement. Perhaps a hero performs a power stunt the 
  player especially likes. Since the hero has an unspent power point, 
  the player asks if he can spend it to make the power stunt a regular 
  power feat for the character rather than a one-time ability. This is 
  a good example of advancement during play that shouldn’t overly 
  affect the game (provided the Gamemaster wants to allow the power 
  stunt as a regular character trait at all).
  HERO CREATION  
  OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  This section presents options and variants involving hero creation 
  and spending power points on advancement.
  ADDITIONAL POWER LEVEL LIMITS
  Gamemasters may choose to use power level as a means of limiting 
  other character traits, to help ensure characters are balanced and 
  well rounded. The more power level limits applied, the more heroes 
  will need to fall within specific parameters. Some examples include:
  • 
  Grapple Bonus: While a character’s grappling bonus is already 
  somewhat limited by restrictions on attack and damage (Strength) 
  bonus, the GM may wish to set a limit on additional power modifi-
  ers, say a total grapple bonus of no more than PL x 3, for example.
  • 
  Feats: Characters may be limited to a set number of feats per 
  power level, such as only one or two. 
  • 
  Power Cost: The power level may be a limit on the number 
  of points players can spend on a single power (including modi-
  fiers), such as no more than PL x 2. This will limit (in some cases 
  severely limit) the rank of more expensive powers.
  • 
  Power Rank: Instead of (or in addition to) total cost, power 
  level can apply a limit on the total number of ranks a character 
  can have in a particular power. This doesn’t take into account 
  power modifiers and their effect on overall power cost.
  • 
  Drawbacks: Gamemasters may set a limit on the number of 
  bonus power points characters can have from taking drawbacks. 
  This is generally equal to the campaign’s power level, or twice 
  the power level.
  Note that more power level limits may make certain hero concepts 
  difficult or impossible to create at certain power levels, and may 
  prove too limiting for some players and groups. Additional power 
  level limits can be useful for new players or groups in need of more 
  strict character creation guidelines, however.
  
  18
  THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS
  RE-ALLOCATING POWER POINTS
  Normally a hero’s traits are relatively fixed; once power points are 
  spent on traits, they remain there. In some cases, however, the 
  Gamemaster may allow players to re-allocate their character’s points, 
  changing their traits within the limits of their power level, perhaps 
  even losing some traits and gaining entirely new ones. This change 
  may come about as the result of events in the series, such as a hero 
  encountering something that alters his powers (intense radiation, 
  mutagenic chemicals, cosmic power sources, and so forth).
   It’s up to the GM when these character-altering events occur, but 
  they should be fairly rare happenings in a series unless their effects 
  are intended to be strictly temporary (lasting only for one adven-
  ture, for example). Very few players enjoy changes to their characters 
  made without their consent, so GMs should be very careful when 
  implementing this type of change.
  LEVEL-BASED ADVANCEMENT
  In place of the free-form system presented in this chapter, where 
  players spend their power points however they desire within the lim-
  its of the campaign’s power level, Gamemasters may wish to use a 
  power level system that provides certain standardized abilities for 
  each power level, leaving the rest for players to customize as they 
  see fit. This variant creates a certain reliability among player charac-
  ters, but also a degrees of sameness. 
   Good save refers to one of the three saving throw modifiers the 
  character chooses as his primary one at the time of character cre-
  ation.
   The GM may specify other level-based traits, such as a minimum 
  4-8 skill ranks per level (reducing the bonus power points per level 
  by 1 or 2) or a +1 increase to an ability score every four levels, start-
  ing at 4th (reducing the available power points for those levels by 
  1). This system can be used in conjunction with the standard power 
  level limits as well as the optional limits and the power level trade-
  off guidelines (allowing players to trade a point of attack bonus for 
  a point of defense bonus, for example).
  FASTER OR SLOWER ADVANCEMENT
  The Gamemaster controls the pace of advancement in a M&M game 
  by the awarding of power points. Normally, this is fairly conserva-
  tive—one or two points per game session. Still, even a single power 
  point can go a fair way in M&M, paying for a new feat or 4 skill 
  ranks, for example—even a new rank in some powers.
   Some GMs may prefer to set a faster or slower rate of advance-
  ment (even to the point of no regular advancement; see the Under 
  the Hood sidebar in this section for details). This is a simple matter 
  of adjusting the number of power points you award to the player 
  characters at the end of each game session.
   For faster advancement, award more points, as many as 5 per 
  game session. This will allow players to quickly fill out their heroes’ 
  capabilities and acquire new traits for them. Note that such a quick 
  pace of advancement tends to butt up against the game’s power 
  level limit, so you may want to consider raising it by 1 for every 15-
  20 power points awarded, allowing the heroes a little “elbow room” 
  to improve their existing traits rather than having to spread their 
  points out into diverse new traits.
   For slower advancement, you might not even award power points 
  for every game session, but only for every second, third, or even 
  fourth session. This reduces the number of points the players have to 
  spend and allows you to keep the game at the same overall power 
  level for much longer without the heroes becoming too limited by it. 
  UNDER THE HOOD: LEVEL-BASED ADVANCEMENT IN OTHER GAMES
  Gamemasters can use the level-based advancement option to make M&M more compatible with other d20-based games. In this case, you can treat “Hero” 
  as a character “class” or “role” of its own—albeit a powerful one—which provides bonus feats and power points the player can spend to give the character 
  suitable traits. This makes M&M and the Mastermind’s Manual useful as supplements for games like Green Ronin’s True20 Adventure Roleplaying.
  UNDER THE HOOD: WHY ADVANCEMENT?
  Character advancement is intended to model a certain type of story, one in which a fairly insignificant nobody learns and grows over time to become 
  an important or epic hero. You can see this kind of story in lots of myths, novels, and films.
   However, you rarely see it in comic books. Why is that? Because ongoing comic book series are open-ended. There isn’t a predetermined ending, a 
  pinnacle for the main character to achieve. On the contrary, comic books try to maintain a certain status quo among their characters: they might change 
  names, costumes, and powers from time to time, for one story or even for years (until another writer comes along and alters the character again). 
  However, comic book heroes and villains rarely advance in incremental levels of ability over time. They’re more likely to undergo complete “revisions,” 
  getting rebuilt from the ground up.
   This difference in expectations can affect superhero RPGs. Whereas a fantasy hero (for example) who’s a “farmboy with potential” and goes on to 
  become a powerful champion logically progresses through levels of achievement, advancement in a superhero game like M&M can sometimes seem 
  contrived and artificial. After all, if your favorite comic book hero accumulated another 20 power points, how would you spend them?
   One solution, if advancement feels forced in your game, is to eliminate it altogether. Characters in the game don’t earn power points, and their traits 
  don’t improve over time. You can still allow players to re-design their characters sometimes, redistributing their powers to give them different powers and 
  other traits (as happens with comic book characters) but a “world’s greatest” martial artist doesn’t get “greater-er” and a super-strong character doesn’t 
  get significantly stronger.
   This option works best with some variation of Unlimited Power Points, since players need to be able to create the kind of heroes they want right 
  from the start; they won’t be improving much (if at all) during the game! This removes any “delayed gratification” from advancement: Your hero doesn’t 
  need to start out small-time; you can play the character you want right from the get-go.
   Also, just because the characters don’t regularly earn power points and advance doesn’t mean the Gamemaster can’t occasionally hand out some 
  power points or raise the campaign’s power level and allow everyone to rework their characters to fit. It just makes such changes significant events rather 
  than routine aspects of the game for everyone to track.
  
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CHAPTER ONE: THE BASICS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  THE BASICS
  19
  LEVEL-BASED ADVANCEMENT
  POWER LEVEL
  ATTACK BONUS
  DEFENSE BONUS
  GOOD SAVE
  OTHER SAVES
  FEATS
  OTHER
  1
  +1
  +1
  +2
  +0
  +1 feat
  +8 power points
  2
  +2
  +2
  +3
  +0
  —
  +10 power points
  3
  +3
  +3
  +3
  +1
  +1 feat
  +8 power points
  4
  +4
  +4
  +4
  +1
  —
  +10 power points
  5
  +5
  +5
  +4
  +1
  +1 feat
  +10 power points
  6
  +6
  +6
  +5
  +2
  —
  +8 power points
  7
  +7
  +7
  +5
  +2
  +1 feat
  +10 power points
  8
  +8
  +8
  +6
  +2
  —
  +10 power points
  9
  +9
  +9
  +6
  +3
  +1 feat
  +8 power points
  10
  +10
  +10
  +7
  +3
  —
  +10 power points
  11
  +11
  +11
  +7
  +3
  +1 feat
  +10 power points
  12
  +12
  +12
  +8
  +4
  —
  +8 power points
  13
  +13
  +13
  +8
  +4
  +1 feat
  +10 power points
  14
  +14
  +14
  +9
  +4
  —
  +10 power points
  15
  +15
  +15
  +9
  +5
  +1 feat
  +8 power points
  16
  +16
  +16
  +10
  +5
  —
  +10 power points
  17
  +17
  +17
  +10
  +5
  +1 feat
  +10 power points
  18
  +18
  +18
  +11
  +6
  —
  +8 power points
  19
  +19
  +19
  +11
  +6
  +1 feat
  +10 power points
  20
  +20
  +20
  +12
  +6
  —
  +10 power points
  Some players may find the pace of slower advancement frustrating. 
  To help alleviate this, consider allowing them to spend fractional 
  power points on things like individual skill ranks or powers with frac-
  tional costs due to modifiers (see the Powers chapter of M&M for 
  details). This helps give the players a bit more of a sense of advance-
  ment even when the pace is slow.
  UNLIMITED POWER LEVEL
  This variant is recommend only for fairly experienced groups inter-
  ested in setting aside some of the limitations of the character 
  creation system. The Gamemaster may choose to remove the power 
  level and all its associated restrictions from the campaign, allowing 
  players to spend their power points in any way they wish (with the 
  GM’s final approval). This allows for considerable freedom in charac-
  ter design, but may lead to unforeseen problems in game balance 
  or in some characters having major advantages over others in play. 
  The Gamemaster should carefully monitor such free-form character 
  creation (even more than usual), and players should be prepared to 
  modify their character designs as needed to fit the Gamemaster’s 
  guidelines for the campaign.
  UNLIMITED POWER POINTS
  This is another variant recommend only for fairly experienced groups 
  interested in setting aside some of the limitations of the character 
  creation system. The Gamemaster sets the power level for the cam-
  paign, with its limits on character traits. However, players are given 
  an unlimited number of power points to create their characters 
  within those limits. This provides considerable flexibility, of course, 
  since some character concepts may be more or less expensive than 
  others. It also has considerable potential for abuse, so Gamemasters 
  should review the players’ characters carefully, discouraging those 
  able to do anything in order to encourage teamwork and coopera-
  tion.
   Groups using this variant should consider the Temporary 
  Drawbacks as Complications option from the Characteristics 
  chapter of M&M, since the bonus power points drawbacks nor-
  mally provide have little use in this variation, giving drawbacks no 
  effective value. The GM may choose not to award power points for 
  advancement, either leaving the characters where they began or 
  just advancing them when the campaign calls for it (see the Why 
  Advancement? sidebar for details).
   This variant is somewhat like the approach taken with non-player 
  characters in M&M: given an unlimited number of power points (as 
  many as the GM sees fit) but usually designed with an eye toward 
  a particular power level. It has the virtue of freeing up the imagina-
  tion from the restrictions of power point costs as well as lessening 
  the need for “efficient” character design, while keeping power 
  points as useful in-game tools for measuring the effects of some 
  powers.
  
  20
  ABILITIES
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER TWO: ABILITIES
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER TWO: ABILITIES
  CHAPTER 2: ABILITIES
  A
  bility scores form the foundation for characters in Mutants & 
  Masterminds, defining their most basic qualities. Therefore, 
  changes to ability scores can have a wide-reaching influence 
  on the game and how it plays. This chapter looks at some 
  different ways of applying ability scores and modifiers and some 
  options for expanding the influence of abilities over other traits, 
  such as combat bonuses and skills, if so desired.
  ABILITY OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  This section presents optional and variant rules involving the basic abili-
  ties. Most of these rules relate to how you apply or interpret the ability 
  scores rather than changing the actual numeric values of the scores.
  RANDOM ABILITY SCORES
  The standard system of allocating power points to ability scores 
  allows players to choose which scores their heroes will have within 
  the limits of the points they have to spend. Alternately, Gamemasters 
  may wish to have players generate their character’s ability scores 
  randomly. Fate provides the hero’s basic abilities. Then experience 
  allows the hero to improve on those abilities. 
   Roll four six-sided dice and drop the lowest die roll, adding the 
  other three together. Do this six times, then assign the rolls to the 
  six abilities in whatever order desired. Total up the character’s ability 
  scores, subtract 60 from this total, and subtract the remainder from 
  the character’s total power points, reflecting the cost of the ability 
  scores. So, for example, if you generate ability scores of 12, 9, 16, 11, 
  15, and 14, they total 77. Subtracting 60 from this total leaves 17, so 
  the character has spent 17 points on ability scores.
  SHORTHAND ABILITIES
  This variant drops the numerical ability scores and uses only the abil-
  ity score’s modifier, set at a default of +0 for starting characters. So 
  characters have ability scores of –1, 0, +1, +2, and so forth. An ability 
  score bonus can be increased at a cost of 2 power points per +1 or 
  decreased, giving back 2 power points per –1.
   The maximum ability score bonus remains based on the cam-
  paign’s power level with the minimum score at –5. So a character’s 
  ability scores might be Str +2, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +8, Wis +4, Cha 
  +0, for example. In cases where characters normally gain or lose 
  ability score points, they lose 1 power point from an ability modifier 
  instead (with every 2 points shifting the modifier up or down by 1).
   This variant has the same effect on Enhanced Abilities: instead of 
  costing 1 point per rank and adding +1 ability point per rank, they 
  cost 2 points per rank and add a +1 ability bonus per rank.
  CASUAL STRENGTH
  Especially strong characters may be able to achieve some effects 
  with greater ease; a super-strong hero may be able to snap steel 
  chains as easily as thread, for example. To simulate this, you can use 
  the option for challenges in Chapter 1 in conjunction with Strength 
  checks: by taking a –5 penalty to the check result, a character can 
  perform a Strength check in less than normal, accomplishing a stan-
  dard action in a move action, for example, and a Strength check 
  normally requiring a move action as a free action.
  MANDATORY SUPER-STRENGTH
  Mutants & Masterminds separates lifting and controlled applica-
  tions of muscle power somewhat from the raw Strength score, 
  allowing for a wide range of lifting capabilities within the narrower 
  range of Strength bonuses allowed at a particular power level. Some 
  Gamemasters may prefer a more direct correlation between Strength 
  and Super-Strength, in which case the following option can be used.
   For each point of Strength bonus over +5, a character must 
  also have 1 rank of the Super-Strength power. So a character with 
  Strength 22 (a +6 bonus) must also have Super-Strength 1; Strength 
  24, Super-Strength 2; and so forth. Characters can have more than 
  the required amount of Super-Strength, but must have at least that 
  amount. Since Super-Strength costs 2 points per rank, this effectively 
  doubles the cost of Strength past Strength 20 to 2 power points per 
  point rather than 1 (or 4 power points per +1 Strength bonus).
  ABILITY STRAIN
  With this option, characters can choose to suffer a temporary reduc-
  tion in an ability score in order to gain a brief, one-time bonus with 
  an ability score check, essentially pushing the ability beyond its nor-
  mal limits, resulting in some strain from which the character must 
  recover. Ability strain is in addition to the effects of spending hero 
  points in play, allowing characters to go that extra distance when 
  the odds are against them.
   When attempting an ability check, you can accept a temporary 
  –1 penalty to your ability score to receive a +1 bonus on your check. 
  The penalty goes into effect the round after the results of the check 
  (successful or not). You can gain up to a maximum bonus of +5 (and 
  therefore a maximum penalty of –5) in this way, but you cannot suf-
  fer a penalty great enough to debilitate the ability score (lowering it 
  to 0 or less).
   Once you’ve strained an ability score to its limit (having taken the 
  full +5 bonus and resultant penalty over one or more checks), you 
  can’t do so again until it is fully recovered. The length of recovery 
  depends on the ability: strained Strength and Dexterity recover in 
  an hour, strained Constitution recovers in six hours, and strained 
  mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) recover 
  in four hours.
  ABILITY STRAIN AND EXTRA EFFORT
  Additionally, at the Gamemaster’s option, ability strain can serve 
  as a substitute for the fatigue caused by extra effort (see the 
  Characteristics chapter of M&M); one rank of fatigue is equal to 
  the maximum penalty of -5. This may be across the board or only for 
  particular abilities (such as physical abilities or only Constitution). 
  Allowing ability strain for extra effort in conjunction with fatigue 
  gives players some additional options and the opportunity to use 
  extra effort more without their heroes passing out from the fatigue. 
  It can also be combined with the options for extra effort, like extraor-
  dinary effort. See Chapter 6 of this book for details.
  
  CHAPTER TWO: ABILITIES 
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  CHAPTER TWO: ABILITIES 
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  21
  
  22
  ABILITIES
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  CHAPTER TWO: ABILITIES
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER TWO: ABILITIES
  INNATE ATTACK AND DODGE MODIFIERS
  Strength and Dexterity don’t provide attack and dodge modifiers 
  in M&M. Those traits are bought separately with power points, 
  and may or may not reflect capability based on high ability scores. 
  Some may prefer to include a measure of innate bonus in these 
  abilities.
   In this case, increase the cost of Strength to 3 power points for 
  every 2 points of Strength. The character’s Strength modifier now 
  applies to all melee attack rolls (and counts toward power level 
  limits on attack bonus). Increase the cost of Dexterity to 2 points 
  per ability score point (4 points per +1 Dexterity bonus). Dexterity 
  modifier now applies to all ranged attack rolls and provides a dodge 
  bonus (and counts toward power level limits on attack and defense 
  bonus). 
   Optionally, Strength might provide no bonus, while Dexterity pro-
  vides both an attack and defense (not dodge) bonus. In this case, 
  Strength has its normal cost, but Dexterity costs 3 power points per 
  ability score point (6 points per +1 Dexterity bonus).
   Likewise, a Strength or Dexterity penalty in this variant imposes 
  a negative modifier to attack or defense. So if Strength modifier 
  applies to melee attack rolls, for example, then a negative Strength 
  modifier imposes a penalty on those rolls. If Strength and Dexterity 
  have a higher cost per point, then lowering either ability below 10 
  should also return more power points per point, since the lower abil-
  ity is a greater drawback.
   In this variant, attack and defense bonus should still be available 
  separate from ability scores, so characters don’t have to have high 
  abilities to have a good attack or defense modifier. You may find 
  players more inclined to give characters high ability scores simply for 
  the combat bonuses in this variant, which can lead to “inflation” of 
  abilities beyond the usual benchmarks given in M&M.
  ATTACK FOCUS AND ATTACK SPECIALIZATION
  Rather than having these traits as feats (as they are in M&M), you can 
  allow players to buy specific increases to attack bonus directly with 
  power points: 1 point per +1 with a specific type of attack (ranged 
  or melee) or per +2 with a single specific attack. The mechanics are 
  the same; the bonus is just bought directly rather than being consid-
  ered a feat. The key difference is players can spend hero points to 
  perform Attack Focus and Attack Specialization feats, but cannot do 
  so if the bonuses are no longer considered feats.
   The GM should decide if the Accurate power feat is available 
  or not using this option, since it is essentially a type of Attack 
  Specialization (associated with a particular power).
  SPECIALIZED ATTACK BONUS LIMIT
  In addition to the power level limits on attack bonus, you may 
  choose to limit the additional bonus from the Attack Focus and 
  Attack Specialization feats to no greater than the appropriate abil-
  ity score bonus: Strength for melee attacks and Dexterity for ranged 
  attacks. Alternately, you can make Dexterity the limit for both types 
  of attacks (to emphasize Dexterity further).
  DODGE BONUS LIMIT
  In addition to the power level limits placed on defense bonus, you 
  may choose to limit any additional dodge bonus from the Dodge 
  Focus feat to no greater than the character’s Dexterity bonus. Thus 
  high-Dexterity characters can have a higher dodge bonus, while 
  low-Dexterity characters have a reduced maximum dodge bonus 
  available from the Dodge Focus feat.
  INTELLIGENCE AND SKILLS
  Normally, Intelligence only affects skills that have it as a key ability. 
  In this variant, smarter characters know more skills in general. Each 
  point of Intelligence bonus provides a free skill rank. So, a character 
  with Intelligence 16 (+3 bonus) has 3 extra skill ranks for free. You 
  can increase this bonus to 2 free skill ranks per point of Int bonus, or 
  even a free skill rank per point of Intelligence score, so even charac-
  ters with a +0 or negative Int modifier get some free skill ranks.
  AGING AND ABILITIES
  Ability scores do not remain constant over a character’s lifetime. 
  As characters age, they may undergo changes in their abilities, like 
  reductions in physical abilities, but gains in mental abilities like 
  Wisdom.
   Gamemasters who wish to reflect this can use the following guide-
  lines: when a character is middle-aged, subtract 1 from all physical 
  abilities and add 1 to all mental abilities. An old character subtracts 
  2 from all physical abilities and adds 1 to all mental abilities, and a 
  venerable character subtracts 3 from all physical abilities and adds 1 
  to all mental abilities. These effects are cumulative; a decades-long 
  hero who became middle-aged and then old would have subtracted 
  3 from all physical abilities and added 2 to all mental abilities, all 
  told. Humans are middle-aged around 40, old around 60, and vener-
  able around 70 or so. Other races may vary.
   Characters with Immunity to Aging gain the benefits of age, but 
  none of the penalties (so immortal characters tend to have higher 
  than average mental abilities due to their considerable life experi-
  
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  23
  ence). For player characters, these benefits can only be gained 
  during the game; a player can’t declare his hero with Immunity to 
  Aging is a thousand years old, and expect to get +3 to all his men-
  tal abilities!
  SUPER-ABILITIES
  Enhanced Abilities in M&M allow you to treat some or all of an 
  ability score as a power. This variant requires ability scores greater 
  than 20 be considered powers, costing 2 points per rank. Each rank 
  in a super-ability grants a +1 bonus to that ability’s modifier, as in 
  the Shorthand Abilities option in this chapter. Characters can 
  combine normal and super-abilities, so a hero might have Dex 16 
  and Super-Dexterity +5, for example (for a total Dexterity modifier 
  of +8). This variant was in use in the  first edition of Mutants & 
  Masterminds.
   You can vary the “threshold” where a super-ability is required. For 
  example, M&M places “maximum human ability” at around an abil-
  ity score of 24, so you can require super-abilities for higher bonuses 
  than +7 under this variant. You can also lower the threshold, making 
  18 the maximum “normal” ability score, for example.
  SAVES BASED ON DIFFERENT ABILITIES
  In certain situations, you may want to apply different ability score 
  modifiers to particular saving throws to more accurately model how 
  certain abilities affect certain saves. This gives you broader options 
  for saves, but is also more complicated, since you have to not only 
  decide what save is appropriate, but what ability should go with it. 
  In all of these cases, the assumption is the base bonus for the save 
  purchased with power points always applies, just with a different 
  ability modifier.
   Fortitude saves against pain, mental effects, or other hazards 
  where willpower is as much a factor as endurance can substitute 
  Wisdom for Constitution, use the higher of the two modifiers, or just 
  substitute Will save for Fortitude.
   Reflex saves involving mental rather than physical acuity and reac-
  tion time can substitute Intelligence for Dexterity, representing the 
  importance of quick wits and perception.
   Will saves against certain mental powers or interaction skills can 
  substitute Charisma for Wisdom, representing the character’s force 
  of personality. Will saves against illusions and similar deceptions 
  can substitute Intelligence, for the character’s ability to see through 
  trickery to the truth.
   Generally speaking, Toughness saves shouldn’t be based on 
  another ability score unless dealing with a power with the Alternate 
  Save modifier (see the Powers chapter of M&M).
  BEST OF TWO SAVING THROWS
  In the default M&M rules, Reflex save is based on Dexterity and Will 
  save is based on Wisdom. In this option, the player can choose the 
  better of two ability scores for the bonuses for these saving throws. 
  Reflex save is based on the better of Dexterity or Intelligence bonus 
  (representing the character’s quick-thinking), while Will save is based 
  on the better of Wisdom or Charisma bonus (representing the char-
  acter’s force of personality). The costs of ability scores and saves do 
  not change with this option, although characters will tend to have 
  slightly higher save bonuses overall, since they can choose the best 
  of two options.
  WORST OF TWO SAVING THROWS
  Similar to the previous variant, except the character uses the worse 
  of the two ability score modifiers. So, for example, Reflex saves are 
  based on the lesser of Dexterity or Intelligence modifier, so those that 
  are slow (in body or mind) have lower saves. This variant tends to cre-
  ate lower save modifiers across the board, except for characters good 
  at everything, and it encourages those sorts of characters in order to 
  cover all the bases. It may suit some more realistic settings, however.
  ADDITIONAL SAVING THROWS
  Mutants & Masterminds characters use one of the four main saving 
  throws (Toughness, Fortitude, Reflex, or Will) to resist all effects in 
  the game. Groups looking for a little additional detail, particularly in 
  differentiating effects normally requiring Will saves, may wish to add 
  other saving throws.
   If you use these optional saving throws, decide whether or not 
  their bonuses are purchased separately (at the normal cost of 1 point 
  per +1 save bonus) or if they merely substitute a different ability 
  modifier with an existing save (generally Will), as in Saves Based 
  on Different Abilities. In the former case, you may want to give 
  the players an additional number of starting power points equal to 
  the campaign’s power level to cover the cost of the extra save(s). In 
  the latter, additional points are generally not necessary, since char-
  acters with a bonus to one save gain it on these other saves as well.
  INSIGHT SAVE (INT)
  An Insight save represents applying quick and clear thinking to a 
  problem, either to pick out a vital clue or avoid a hazard through 
  intellect. Insight saves may replace Reflex saves in some situations 
  where quick thinking is more important than fast reflexes. They can 
  also replace Will saves in cases where penetrating insight is more 
  important than strength of will, such as in recognizing illusions.
  STABILITY SAVE (CHA)
  A Stability save represents force of personality and strength of char-
  acter, along with a touch of healthy ego and sense of self. Stability 
  saves can replace Will saves in situations involving social interac-
  tion as well as powers or feats affecting the personality or emotions 
  (such as Emotion Control or Fearsome Presence).
  SPEED & JUMPING
  In the basic M&M rules, how fast you’re moving has no real effect on 
  how far you can jump; this is simple, but not as realistic as it could be. 
  In this variant, if you’re using the Speed power before you jump, treat 
  your ranks of speed as ranks in the Leaping power for that jump only. 
  So if you have Speed 5 and get up to full speed before you make your 
  jump, you can jump 50 times your normal jumping distance! Note this 
  does not affect your standing or vertical jumps—only long jumps after 
  you’ve gotten up to speed. If you can only attain a lesser degree of 
  speed (in the GM’s judgment) use the lowered rank for your increasing 
  jumping distance rather than your full rank.
  
  24
  SKILLS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS
  S
  kills are often overlooked traits in superhero settings, less glam-
  orous than amazing powers or feats. However, many heroes and 
  villains rely heavily on their skills to get the job done and skills 
  in M&M provide a number of basic and essential bonuses. This 
  chapter looks at some ways of expanding the capabilities of skills, 
  and even adding entirely new skills to the game, along with a num-
  ber of skill options and variants.
  NEW USES FOR SKILLS
  While the M&M rulebook covers the most common uses for the 
  various skills, there are a potentially limitless number of situations 
  heroes can encounter. This section offers some ideas for new uses of 
  existing skills in the game and new ways to apply them.
  BLUFF
  Bluff is used for any attempt to trick, fool, or otherwise deceive 
  someone. There are a number of ways clever characters can attempt 
  to Bluff opponents to gain an advantage.
  FAKING MIND CONTROL
  A subject who successfully saves against Mind Control can make 
  a Bluff skill check against the result of the mind controller’s Sense 
  Motive check. A successful Bluff means the subject fools the attacker 
  into believing he has succumbed to the Mind Control, which may 
  buy the subject both time and the opportunity to make a surprise 
  attack by catching opponents off guard.
   Mind controllers with the Mental Link power feat get a +10 bonus 
  on the Sense Motive check (they’re more sensitive to the subject’s 
  reactions). Mind Control with the Subtle feat doesn’t allow the 
  opportunity to try and fake being controlled on a successful Will 
  save unless the subject is aware of the attempt in some other way.
  GLOATING
  A hero can make a Bluff skill check against the result of a villain’s Sense 
  Motive check to encourage the villain to waste time gloating, giving the 
  hero an opportunity to do something. This works like the Fascinate feat 
  (see the Feats chapter of M&M), except the hero doesn’t need to do 
  anything to maintain it. Each round, make a new Sense Motive check or 
  Will save for the villain; if it fails, the villain goes on gloating. The GM 
  can apply modifiers to the check for villains particularly prone to gloat-
  ing over their foes. Generally, any attack or other threatening action 
  from the hero ends the villain’s gloating. Players can (and often should) 
  spend hero points on the Bluff check to encourage villains to gloat.
   This option is best-suited to Golden Age and Silver Age campaign 
  styles rather than Iron Age or Modern campaign settings.
  COMPUTERS
  The Computers skill description in M&M covers the essential uses, 
  but challenges involving more detailed use of Computers, particu-
  larly to “hack” into secure systems or networks, can use the following 
  guidelines.
  COMPUTER HACKING
  Breaking into a secure computer or network is often called hacking. 
  Here are some more detailed rules for GMs who want to include 
  computer hacking in the game.
   When you hack, you attempt to invade a site. A site is a vir-
  tual location containing files, data, or applications. A site can be 
  as small as a single computer, or as large as a corporate network 
  connecting computers and data archives all over the world—the 
  important thing is access to the site connects the user to every-
  thing within it. Some sites can be accessed via the Internet; others 
  are not connected to any outside network and are only accessible 
  from particular locations.
   A system administrator is in charge of a site and maintains its 
  security. Often, the system administrator is the only person with 
  access to all of a site’s functions and data. A site can have more 
  than one administrator; large sites have a system administrator on 
  duty at all times. You are the system administrator of your own per-
  sonal computer.
   When you hack into a site, the visit is called a session. Once you 
  stop accessing the site, the session is over. You can go back to the 
  site in the future; when you do, it’s a new session.
   Several steps are required to hack into a site:
  COVERING YOUR TRACKS
  This step is optional (albeit often a good idea. By making a 
  Computers check (DC 20), you can alter your identifying informa-
  tion. This imposes a –5 penalty on any attempt made to identify you 
  if your activity is detected.
  ACCESS THE SITE
  There are two ways to do this: physically or over the Internet.
  • 
  Physical Access: You gain physical access to the computer, or 
  a computer connected to the site. If the site being hacked is not 
  connected to the Internet, this is probably the only way you can 
  access it. A variety of skill checks may be required, depending 
  on the method used to gain access.
  • 
  Internet Access: Reaching a site over the net requires two 
  Computers checks. The first check (DC 10) is needed to find the 
  site on the net. Increase the DC for hidden or concealed sites. 
  The second is to defeat the site’s security (see the Computers 
  skill description). Once you have succeeded in both checks, you 
  have accessed the site.
  LOCATE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
  To find the data (or application or remote device) you want, make a 
  Computers check. See Find File under the skill description.
  DEFEAT FILE SECURITY
  Many networks have additional file security. If so, you need to make 
  another check to overcome it.
  CHAPTER 3: SKILLS
  
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS 
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  DO YOUR STUFF
  Finally, you can actually do what you came to do. If you just want 
  to look at records, no additional check is needed. (You can also 
  download data, although that often takes several rounds—or even 
  several minutes, for especially large amounts of information—to 
  complete.) Altering or deleting records sometimes requires another 
  check to defeat computer security. Other operations can be carried 
  out according to the Computers skill description.
  NOTICE
  In addition to the basic use for noticing things, the Notice skill can 
  be used in any situation where careful observation or general aware-
  ness of one’s environment is a factor.
  WAKING UP
  Characters can make auditory Notice checks while they are asleep, 
  but with a +10 increase in the Difficulty. A successful Notice check 
  to detect a noise is sufficient to wake the character up, but charac-
  ters are dazed (defending normally, but unable to act) on the round 
  they wake up. Characters with the Light Sleeper feat are not affected 
  by either of these modifiers: they make Notice checks normally while 
  asleep and are not dazed upon awakening (see Optional Feats in 
  Chapter 4).
  SENSE MOTIVE
  Along with resisting the effects of interaction skills and getting a 
  general feel for an individual or situation, Sense Motive can have 
  some additional combat applications:
  ANTICIPATE ACTION
  You can anticipate the actions of an opponent. Make a Sense Motive 
  check (DC 10 + opponent’s attack bonus) as a full-round action 
  against an opponent you can accurately sense. If successful, you 
  gain a +1 dodge bonus to your defense for the next round against 
  attacks made by that opponent for every 5 points your check result 
  exceeds the DC.
  COMBAT READINESS
  You can anticipate when a fight is about to break out. Make a Sense 
  Motive check against the result of an opponent’s Bluff check result 
  as a full-round action. If the check is successful and combat with that 
  opponent breaks out during the encounter, you gain a +1 bonus on 
  your initiative check per 5 points your check result exceeds the DC. 
  You can only use combat readiness before a fight breaks out. Once 
  initiative has been rolled, you can’t use it.
  MENTAL NOTICE
  You can make Sense Motive rather than Notice the skill used for 
  checks involving the mental sense type. There’s some precedent for 
  this; Sense Motive already involves a measure of “sixth sense” and 
  empathy, an awareness of what other’s are thinking or feeling. It 
  works in line with division of sense types in M&M and separates 
  mental senses from the physical senses of sight, hearing, taste, 
  touch, and smell.
  SLEIGHT OF HAND 
  In addition to Sleight of Hand’s non-combat applications, the art of 
  prestidigitation has several uses for those who find themselves in a 
  fight.
  FEINT 
  You can use Sleight of Hand to feint in combat with quick and clever 
  moves. Make a Sleight of Hand check as a standard action against 
  the results of your opponent’s Notice check. If you are successful, 
  your opponent is flat-footed against your next attack, losing his 
  dodge bonus to Defense. Except for the difference in skill checks, 
  this works just like feinting in combat using Bluff (see the Skills 
  chapter of M&M), but may be better suited to agile characters and 
  fighting styles.
  QUICKER THAN THE EYE
  In melee combat, you can make a Sleight of Hand check as a move 
  action to slip past an opponent’s defenses. Your foe opposes this 
  check with a Notice or attack bonus check. If you succeed, your 
  opponent loses his dodge bonus against your next attack. If you fail, 
  you suffer a –2 penalty to attack rolls for the next round.
  CREATING SKILLS
  While the skills in M&M—coupled with the new uses provided in the 
  previous section—cover most situations, you may occasionally wish 
  to add a new skill to the game. There are several reasons to do so. 
  First, a new skill may combine tasks normally handled by two or 
  more different skills under a single heading, allowing characters 
  to be skilled solely in that aspect without any training or ability 
  in the other skills. Second, a new skill may be useful with certain 
  rules options or new systems (including those detailed in this book). 
  
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS 
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  SKILLS
  27
  Lastly, a new skill can provide additional detail or may be important 
  in a particular sub-genre or style of campaign.
  SAMPLE NEW SKILLS
  The following skills are all optional. Their functions are covered by 
  other skills in M&M. However, in some settings it may be worthwhile 
  to break these capabilities out into their own distinctive skills, in 
  which case the GM may adopt any or all of the skills given here.
  APPRAISE 
  INT
  You can estimate the value of an item.
   Check: You can appraise common or well-known objects within 
  10% of their value (DC 12). Failure means you estimate the value at 
  50% to 150% of actual value, off by 5% (plus or minus) per point 
  you missed the DC.
   Rare or exotic items require a successful check against DC 15, 20, 
  or higher. If successful, you estimate the value within 30% of its 
  actual value. Failure means you cannot estimate the item’s value.
  Proper tools like a magnifying glass, scales, reference materials, and 
  so forth grant a +2 bonus on appraising an item’s value.
   Try Again: Not for the same object.
   Action: Appraising an item takes 1 minute.
   Special: If the character is making the Appraise check untrained, 
  for common items, failure means no estimate, and for rare items, 
  success means an estimate within 50% of the item’s actual value.
   Normal: Appraising items can normally be handled as a Craft or 
  Knowledge skill check, using the same guidelines.
  DEMOLITIONS 
  INT, MANIPULATION, TRAINED ONLY
  This still encompasses all of the Demolitions uses of Craft in the 
  Skills chapter of M&M. It replaces both Craft (chemical) and Craft 
  (mechanical) for making, setting, and disarming explosive devices. 
  It also replaces Craft (structural) for setting explosives for maximum 
  effect against structures. At the GM’s discretion, Demolitions can 
  replace the Knowledge and Craft checks for inventing explosive 
  devices using the inventing rules in the Devices & Equipment 
  chapter of M&M.
  FORGERY 
  INT, MANIPULATION, REQUIRES TOOLS
  Forgery breaks the ability to make believable forgeries of documents 
  or artwork out of Craft and into a separate skill. It works the same way 
  as given in the description of Craft in the Skills chapter of M&M.
  GAMBLE 
  WIS
  Use this skill to win games involving both skill and luck. Games 
  based solely only luck—such as flipping a coin—or skill—such as 
  chess—don’t involve Gamble checks, unless the character cheats.
   Check: To join or start a game, you must first pay a stake. You 
  set the stake if you start the game, while the GM sets it if you join a 
  game in progress. The other participants also pay a stake, which may 
  be equal to yours or a different amount, depending on the rules of 
  the game.
   Your Gamble check opposes the Gamble checks of all other partici-
  pants in the game. If there are many NPCs participating, the GM can 
  opt to make a single check for all of them, using the highest Gamble 
  skill modifier and adding a +2 bonus on the check.
   If you beat all of the other participants, you win and claim all the 
  stakes in the game. Otherwise, the gambler with the highest check 
  result claims the prize pool.
  • 
  Cheating: A skilled character can attempt to cheat while gam-
  bling. To cheat, you must make a Bluff check as a free action 
  before making your Gamble check. This Bluff check is opposed 
  by the Sense Motive checks of the other gamblers. If the Bluff 
  check succeeds, you gain a +2 bonus on your Gamble check. If 
  the Bluff check fails, the attempt to cheat did not gain you any-
  thing; if the Bluff check fails by 5 or more against any opposing 
  Sense Motive check, that gambler spots your attempt to cheat 
  and reacts accordingly.
  Action: A Gamble check requires anywhere from a few minutes to 
  an hour, depending on the game being played.
  Try Again: No, unless you want to put up another stake and keep 
  playing.
  Special: You can’t take 10 or take 20 when making a Gamble 
  check.
  Normal: In most campaigns you can use Bluff and Sense Motive 
  checks to resolve games of chance.
  NAVIGATE 
  INT
  You’re trained in finding directions and plotting courses from place 
  to place.
   Check: Make a Navigate check when trying to find your way 
  to a distant location without directions or other specific guidance. 
  Generally, you do not need to make a check to find a local street or 
  other common urban site, or to follow an accurate map. However, 
  you might make a check to wend your way through a dense forest or 
  a labyrinth of underground storm drains.
   For movement over a great distance, make a Navigate check. The 
  DC depends on the length of the trip: DC 20 for a few hours, 22 for 
  a few days, 25 for up to a week, and 28 for more than a week. If you 
  succeed, you follow the best reasonable course toward your goal. 
  If you fail, you still reach the goal, but it takes twice as long, since 
  you lose time backtracking and correcting your course. If you fail by 
  more than 5, you travel the expected time, but only get halfway to 
  the destination, at which point you become lost. 
   You can make a second Navigate check (DC 20) to find the right 
  path. If you succeed, you continue on to your destination; the total 
  time for the trip is twice the normal time. If you fail, you lose the 
  normal time of the trip before you can try again. You can keep trying 
  until you succeed, losing the normal time of the trip each time.
   When faced with multiple choices, such as at a branch in a tunnel, 
  you can make a Navigate check (DC 20) to intuit the right choice. If 
  unsuccessful, you choose the wrong path, but at the next juncture, 
  with a successful check, you realize your mistake and can correct it. 
   You cannot use this function of Navigate to find a path to a site if 
  you have no idea where the site is. The GM may choose to make the 
  Navigate check in secret, so you don’t know from the result whether 
  you are following the right or wrong path.
   You can use Navigate to determine your location without the use 
  of any high-tech equipment by checking the constellations or other 
  natural landmarks. You must have a clear view of the night sky to 
  make this check. The DC is 15.
   Time: A Navigate check is a full-round action.
   Special: You can take 10 when making a Navigate check. You can 
  take 20 only when determining your location, not when traveling.
  
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  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS
   Normal: The functions of Navigate are normally covered by the 
  Survival skill (see the Skills chapter of M&M). Some navigation may 
  also be covered by appropriate Profession skills like sailor or, obvi-
  ously, navigator. This skill is intended to break those functions off 
  into an independent skill.
  POWER USE 
  ABILITY VARIES, SPECIALTY
  This skill covers proper and careful use of a power. It incorporates many 
  of the functions of Concentration given in the Powers chapter of M&M. 
  It’s most useful for campaigns where you want to differentiate between 
  a power’s effectiveness (determined by its rank) and a character’s skill in 
  applying the power (determined by rank in this skill).
   There is a different Power Use specialty for each power, although 
  you can allow a single Power Use skill for an array of Alternate 
  Powers, since they are all essentially aspects of the same power (see 
  Alternate Powers in the Powers chapter of M&M).
   Check: You may make Power Use checks for the following:
  • 
  Activate Power: A Power Use check may be required to acti-
  vate a power. The DC of the check is usually 10 + power ranks 
  activated, and characters may choose to activate fewer than a 
  power’s maximum number of ranks in order to make the check 
  easier (at the cost of making the power less effective). If a Power 
  Use to check to activate a power fails, then the power doesn’t 
  work, but any effects on the character for activating the power 
  (action required, fatigue, side-effects, etc.) occur.
   
   
  If a Power Use check isn’t normally required to activate pow-
  ers, needing one is a very common, minor power drawback, 
  worth 3 power points (enough to pick up some ranks in Power 
  Use...).
  • 
  Extra Effort: The GM may require a Power Use check in order to 
  use extra effort with a power with a DC of 10 + power rank. A 
  successful check means you can use extra effort, a failed check 
  means you cannot.
  • 
  Maintain Power: Power Use can take the place of the 
  Concentration skill for maintaining powers with a Concentration 
  or Sustained duration. Substitute a Power Use check where a 
  Concentration check would normally be required.
  • 
  Power Stunts: At the GM’s option, a Power Use check can sub-
  stitute for extra effort to perform a power stunt (see Extra 
  Effort in the Characteristics chapter of M&M). The DC is 
  usually 15 + the power’s rank, although the GM can modify 
  it depending on the desired power stunt. If the check is suc-
  cessful, the hero can perform that power stunt without fatigue 
  or spending a hero point. If the check fails, the attempt to 
  perform the power stunt fails, but the hero uses up the normal 
  action the power stunt would have taken. Making a Power Use 
  check to perform a power stunt takes no time in and of itself 
  and is a free action.
   
   
  A harsher option is requiring a Power Use check in addition 
  to the extra effort normally required for a power stunt. If the 
  check succeeds, the extra effort is successful. If it fails, the power 
  stunt doesn’t work, but the character suffers the fatigue (or 
  spends a hero point to avoid it) normally.
  • 
  Precision: You can make a Power Use check (DC 10 + power 
  rank) to apply the benefits of the Precise power feat to the 
  power (see Power Feats in the Powers chapter of M&M). In 
  fact, the GM may require a Power Use check to use a power 
  precisely, and can either ban acquisition of the Precise power 
  feat, or have it apply a +5 bonus to the Power Use check result 
  rather than granting automatic precision with a power. This 
  approach makes powers less precise and controlling them less 
  certain.
   Action: A Power Use check is normally a free action associated 
  with some other action in which a power is used.
   Normal: Any of the applications of Power Use can be 
  Concentration checks instead, if the GM prefers not to add a new 
  skill.
   Option: If you prefer, you can make Power Use checks based on 
  a power’s cost rather than rank. Where it says “power rank” in the 
  skill’s description, substitute “one-half power point cost” instead. This 
  keeps DCs the same for powers costing 2 points per rank, but makes 
  them slightly easier for lower-cost powers and harder for higher-cost 
  powers.
  REPAIR 
  INT, MANIPULATION, REQUIRES TOOLS
  This skill essentially takes the repair functions of Craft (see the Skills 
  chapter of M&M) and makes them a separate skill, covering all five 
  Craft specialties. Thus you can use Repair to fix any item, regardless 
  of the Craft skill used to make it. This also includes the jury-rigging 
  function of Craft.
  UNDER THE HOOD: NEW SKILLS VS. NEW USES OF SKILLS
  When should you create a new skill and when should you create a new use for an existing skill?
   It’s largely a matter of taste. Generally, adding a new use to a skill is easier in terms of game structure and balance; you don’t have to worry about 
  adding another skill to existing characters who ought to have it, or retroactively redesigning any characters to fit the new skill. Instead, it just becomes 
  a less-often used aspect of an existing skill. It’s easier to integrate new uses for skills into an ongoing game than it is to add entirely new skills.
   If you want to create a new use for an existing skill, but don’t necessarily want everyone trained in that skill to have access to it, you can create a 
  feat that grants access. Examples in M&M include the Startle and Taunt feats, opening up new options for the Intimidate and Bluff skills, but only for 
  characters with the feats. This is a good middle ground between creating a new skill and a new use for an existing skill, plus it becomes something 
  characters lacking the feat can still do occasionally, if they’re willing to spend a hero point to emulate the feat.
   Another middle-ground option is the Skill Challenge system in the Skill Options & Variants section of this chapter, which allows certain “advanced” 
  uses of skills at a penalty to the skill check or Difficulty Class. This ties in with the previously mentioned feat option if there are also feats for performing 
  certain skill challenges without penalty.
   Still, there may be cases when you want to create an entirely new skill. This is especially so for esoteric or unusual skills that don’t match up with any 
  existing skill and aren’t suitable as new aspects of a skill, even with an enabling feat.
  
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  29
   Repair is useful for modeling characters able to fix things and get 
  them working again, but not particularly skilled at designing or mak-
  ing entirely new items.
  RESEARCH 
  INT
  You are skilled in researching and finding information on various 
  topics.
   Check: Researching a topic takes time, skill, and some luck. 
  The GM determines how obscure a particular topic is (the more 
  obscure, the higher the DC) and what kind of information might 
  be available depending on where the character is conducting his 
  research.
   Information ranges from general to protected. Given enough time 
  (usually a few hours) and a successful skill check, you get a gen-
  eral idea about a given topic. This assumes no obvious reasons exist 
  why such information would be unavailable, and you have a way to 
  acquire restricted or protected information.
   The higher the check result, the better and more complete the 
  information. If you want to discover a specific fact, date, map, or 
  similar bit of information, add +5 to +15 to the DC.
   Try Again: Yes.
   Action: A Research check takes at least an hour, maybe more 
  depending on the information.
   Special: You can take 10 or take 20 on a Research check. 
  Normal: In M&M, research is normally taking 20 on a Knowledge 
  check to consult various resources. If this skill is in use, charac-
  ters cannot take 20 on Knowledge checks, but must use Research 
  instead.
  SKILL OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  This section presents optional rules and variants for skills in M&M.
  SIMPLE SKILLS
  Skills in M&M are normally 4 skill ranks per 1 power point, but those 
  skill ranks can be distributed among different skills as desired. This 
  option requires all 4 skill ranks to apply to a single skill, thus skills are 
  bought up in increments of 4 ranks for 1 point per increment. This 
  tends to simplify the acquisition of skills at the cost of some flexibility.
  BACKGROUND SKILLS
  While the skills in this chapter cover most of the abilities characters 
  are likely to have, there are a handful of miscellaneous skills involving 
  specialized knowledge or ability that exist primarily as background 
  elements. These are called background skills. Background skills 
  include things like Knowledge of a particular city or locale, trivia 
  like comic books, movie quotes, or world’s records, hobbies, games, 
  and things like sports. Background skills are acquired at a cost of 1 
  power point per 8 skill ranks. The Gamemaster should approve any 
  background skills, and skills in the core M&M rules cannot be consid-
  ered background skills.
  COMBAT SKILLS
  Rather than acquiring attack and defense bonus using power points, 
  you may prefer to treat combat abilities like other skills. In this case, 
  a character’s attack or defense bonus is based off his ranks in the 
  appropriate skill for the situation.
  
  30
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   There are four combat skills: Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, Melee 
  Defense, and Ranged Defense. Combat skills cost four times as much 
  as normal skills (4 skill ranks per rank in a combat skill, or 1 power 
  point per rank) and maximum rank in a combat skill is determined 
  by the power level limits on attack and defense bonus rather than 
  skill rank (see the Hero Creation chapter of M&M for details).
  VARIABLE SKILL COSTS
  Gamemasters may wish to adjust the cost of skills to better suit 
  the campaign. There are two main ways of doing this. The first is 
  to change the overall costs of skills, providing more or fewer skill 
  ranks per power point—anywhere from 5 ranks per power point to 
  only 2 per point. This makes skills more or less common in the game. 
  Having skills be more expensive also tends to emphasize the value of 
  ability scores over skills (at least for those skills usable untrained).
   The other option is to change the costs of individual skills, making 
  some more expensive than others, so ranks in a particular skill might 
  costs 2, 3, or more skill points per rank whereas other skills still cost 
  1 skill point. Background and Combat Skills (previously) are both 
  examples of skills with different costs from the norm.
   Gamemasters looking to duplicate the skill cost of the first edition 
  of M&M can change skills to 1 power point per skill rank, but this 
  puts their cost out of balance with ability scores, which have the 
  same cost but are considerably more effective and broadly useful. 
  A minimum of 2 skill ranks per power point is recommended when 
  using this option.
  MIX-AND-MATCH KEY ABILITIES
  While each skill in M&M has a key ability score, the GM may choose to 
  apply whatever key ability seems appropriate for the task, rather than 
  having a set ability for each skill. Thus a character might use Ride + 
  Dex modifier to maneuver a mount, but Ride + Charisma to gentle a 
  panicked mount and Ride + Wisdom to judge the value of a poten-
  tial mount, and so forth. The cost of skills and their ranks remain the 
  same; the key ability just changes from situation to situation.
  BROAD SKILLS
  Skills in M&M are fairly specific, while characters in the comic books 
  are often good at a broad range of things, particularly in their areas 
  of specialty. It may be useful shorthand in some campaigns to allow 
  characters to have broader skills that incorporate several different 
  skills into one.
   The broad skill list cuts the number of skills by more than half, 
  down to an even dozen, two per ability score. Characters get 1 rank 
  in a broad skill per power point rather than 4 ranks in skills as usual. 
  At the GM’s option, characters can also acquire any sub-skill of a 
  broad skill at a cost of 4 ranks per power point or two sub-skills at a 
  cost of 2 ranks per power point (to create a character who’s only a 
  good swimmer or escape artist, for example). Suggested broad skill 
  groupings follow, although the GM is free to create new ones cus-
  tomized to suit the campaign.
  • 
  Athletics: Includes the Acrobatics, Climb, Ride, and Swim sub-
  skills.
  • 
  Awareness: Includes the Concentration, Notice, Search, and 
  Sense Motive sub-skills.
  • 
  Interaction: Includes the Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, 
  and Intimidate sub-skills.
  • 
  Knowledge: Includes the Arcane Lore, Art, Business, Civics, 
  Current Events, History, Popular Culture, Streetwise, and 
  Theology and Philosophy sub-skills of Knowledge.
  • 
  Languages: Instead of choosing a language per rank, charac-
  ters make language checks to determine if they understand a 
  particular language (see Language Checks in the following 
  section). This simulates a broad knowledge of languages and 
  linguistics.
  • 
  Science: Includes the Behavior Sciences, Earth and Life Sciences, 
  and Physical Sciences sub-skills of Knowledge and the Medicine 
  sub-skill.
  • 
  Performance: Includes Craft (artistic), Disguise, and all Perform 
  sub-skills.
  • 
  Profession: Includes all Professional sub-skills.
  • 
  Technology: Includes the Computers, Craft (electronic, mechan-
  ical, and structural), and Knowledge (technology) sub-skills.
  • 
  Thievery: Includes the Disable Device, Escape Artist, Sleight of 
  Hand, and Stealth sub-skills.
  • 
  Vehicles: Includes the Drive and Pilot sub-skills for all vehicles.
  • 
  Wilderness: Includes the Handle Animal, Ride, and Survival 
  sub-skills.
  NARROW SKILLS
  The opposite of Broad Skills, this option sub-divides many of the 
  skills in M&M into more specialized skills with a narrower focus. 
  It’s best for skill-intensive games where the heroes are expected to 
  rely heavily on their skills (and may not even have powers), since it 
  allows a group of heroes to further specialize and diversify without 
  everyone having the same skill-set.
   An example of ways to split up the existing skills is given here, 
  but feel free to sub-divide them as you wish. The base skill retains 
  any functions not specifically given to the listed sub-skills. You might 
  find some of the new skills in this chapter useful additions to the list 
  as well.
  • 
  Acrobatics: Acrobatics, Balance (for balancing actions and 
  avoiding being tripped), Jump (for jumping actions).
  • 
  Bluff: Bluff, Innuendo (for sending secret messages), Taunt (for 
  taunting, in place of the Taunt feat), Trick (for trick actions).
  • 
  Computers: Computer Use, Computer Programming (find file, 
  write program, operate remote), Computer Hacking (defeat or 
  defend security).
  • 
  Concentration: Each power requires its own specific Power 
  Use skill. The general Concentration skill is used for situations 
  where a character must focus on a task not involving power 
  use.
  • 
  Craft: Each Craft type can be sub-divided into more specific 
  skills, such as Craft (automotive), Craft (carpentry), Craft (com-
  puters), and so forth.
  • 
  Disable Device: Open Lock (for locks), Disable Security (for 
  security devices).
  
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  31
  • 
  Drive: Each vehicle type becomes a separate Drive skill: Drive 
  (cars), Drive (boats), Drive (tanks), etc.
  • 
  Knowledge: Each Knowledge type can be sub-divided into 
  more specific skills, such as Knowledge (physics), Knowledge 
  (modern art), Knowledge (urban legends), and so forth.
  • 
  Medicine: First-Aid, Medicine, Surgery (for performing opera-
  tions, Medicine retains the other functions).
  • 
  Notice: Each sense type has its own separate Notice skill: Notice 
  (spot), Notice (listen), Notice (smell), etc.
  • 
  Perform: Each Perform type can be sub-divided into more 
  specific skills, like Perform (guitar), Perform (opera), Perform 
  (drama), and so forth.
  • 
  Pilot: Each vehicle type becomes a separate Pilot skill: Pilot 
  (helicopter), Pilot (jet), Pilot (starfighter), etc.
  • 
  Ride: Each type of mount becomes a separate Ride skill: Ride 
  (horse), Ride (camel), Ride (dragon), etc.
  • 
  Stealth: Each sense type has its own Stealth skill: Stealth (hide), 
  Stealth (move silently), Stealth (mental), and so forth. Tailing 
  also becomes a separate skill.
  • 
  Survival: The skill must specialize in a particular type of terrain: 
  Survival (arctic), Survival (desert), Survival (forested), etc.
  FULL AND HALF SKILLS
  While skills are handled fairly simply in M&M (1 power point buys 
  4 skill ranks), this variant further simplifies skill acquisition. In it, 
  skills are either “half skills,” costing 2 power points, or “full skills” 
  costing 4 power points. A half skill always has half the maximum 
  ranks for the campaign’s power level (or power level +5, divided by 
  2, and rounded down) while full skills always have a rank equal to 
  the maximum allowed by the campaign’s power level (or power level 
  +5). This makes the allocation of points to skills simpler; they all cost 
  either 2 or 4 power points. So in a PL10 campaign, half skills are all 
  rank 7 and full skills are all rank 15.
   In any campaign over PL7, this makes skills somewhat less expen-
  sive, but also sacrifices some flexibility, since players cannot allocate 
  skill ranks as they wish among their characters’ skills. It’s useful for 
  quick and easy applications of skill ranks, particularly for introduc-
  tory games. In games below PL7, you may want to lower the cost of 
  half and full skills to 1 and 2 power points, respectively, to keep skill 
  costs at a reasonable level.
  ACTIVE, SECRET & PASSIVE SKILL CHECKS
  Skill checks may be defined as active, secret, or passive, with par-
  ticular effects on die rolling and the application of hero points and 
  modifiers.
   With an active skill check, the player rolls the die to determine the 
  outcome, and the result is therefore obvious. The player may spend 
  hero points to enhance the result, and the character may take 10 or 
  take 20 on the check.
   With a secret skill check, the Gamemaster rolls the die to deter-
  mine the outcome, and the player is not informed of the result of 
  the check unless it becomes obvious (when a sabotaged item fails 
  to function, for example). The player may spend a hero point on a 
  passive check, but does so without knowing the outcome of the die 
  roll. The character may take 10 or take 20 on the check as circum-
  stances allow.
   With a passive skill check, the Gamemaster rolls to determine the 
  outcome and the player is not informed of the result unless its suc-
  cess informs the character of something (such as a Notice check 
  revealing something to the character). The player may not spend 
  hero points to enhance a passive check and may not take 10 or take 
  20 on a passive skill check. This grants the GM a bit more leeway in 
  dealing with the results of passive checks.
  MULTITASKING
  Sometimes a character must complete more than one task at once: 
  simultaneously performing two computer operations at once, or 
  opening a lock while balancing on a precarious surface, for example. 
  In these situations, the character can perform up to two actions at 
  once. Neither task can require more than a full action and the char-
  acter must be reasonably able to perform them together (e.g., the 
  character cannot attempt two skill checks each requiring the use 
  of both hands, drive two vehicles at once, etc.). What a character 
  can reasonably accomplish depends greatly on the character’s traits: 
  someone with more than two hands could attempt simultaneous 
  tasks someone else couldn’t!
   When multitasking, the character can attempt an additional stan-
  dard action skill check per round, but suffers a –5 penalty to both 
  
  32
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  skill checks attempted that round. Alternately, the player can choose 
  to take a –10 penalty on one check, designated as the secondary 
  skill check, and no penalty on the first (designated as the primary 
  skill check). This is essentially the same as the simultaneous action 
  challenge (see Challenges in Chapter 1).
  CRITICAL SKILLS
  In this variant, a natural 1 on a skill check is always considered a 
  failure and a natural 20 is always considered a success, regardless of 
  the task’s DC. A natural 20 may also be considered a critical success, 
  while a natural 1 may be a critical failure.
  CRITICAL SUCCESS
  When you roll a natural 20 on a skill check, you automatically suc-
  ceed and score a threat, much like a critical hit. To turn the threat 
  into a critical success, you must make another skill check against 
  the original Difficulty Class. (This is a re-roll of the die, unlike the 
  critical hit rules.) If that check is also a success, you have scored a 
  critical success. Otherwise, the threat is just a normal success. You 
  can spend a hero point to automatically confirm a critical success 
  with a skill check. An automatic success is always at the check total 
  or minimal result required for success. A critical success is the best 
  possible for the situation.
  CRITICAL FAILURE
  When you roll a natural 1 on a skill check, you automatically fail; 
  you may also critically fail. Roll the check again against the same 
  Difficulty Class; if the second check fails, the failure is critical. The 
  Gamemaster may also automatically confirm a critical failure as a 
  complication (awarding you a hero point). A failure has the normal 
  effects, while a critical failure has the worst possible effects for the 
  situation.
  CRITICAL RESULTS AND HERO POINTS
  At the GM’s option, spending a hero point can automatically confirm 
  a critical success or avoid a critical failure (converting it to a normal 
  failure). The hero point is spent after a critical threat is scored but 
  before the roll to confirm. The hero point has no effect except to 
  automatically confirm or avoid the critical result.
  SKILL SYNERGY
  Characters may have two skills that work particularly well together. 
  In general, having 5 or more ranks in one skill gives the character a 
  +2 bonus for favorable conditions on skill checks with its synergis-
  tic skills. This is a situational bonus and therefore does not count 
  toward power level limits. Multiple bonuses applied to the same skill 
  do stack. If a skill cannot be used untrained, then the character must 
  have at least 1 rank in the skill to benefit from any synergy bonuses 
  to it. The GM should feel free to assign other synergy bonuses to 
  skills as appropriate for the game.
  SKILL SYNERGIES
  5 OR MORE RANKS IN…
  GIVES A +2 BONUS ON…
  Bluff
  Diplomacy checks
  Bluff
  Disguise checks to act in character
  Bluff
  Intimidate checks
  Bluff
  Sleight of Hand checks
  Disguise
  Intimidate checks with an appropriate disguise
  Disguise
  Stealth checks with an appropriate disguise
  Handle Animal
  Ride checks
  Knowledge (streetwise)
  Gather Information checks
  Search
  Survival checks to follow tracks
  Sense Motive
  Diplomacy checks
  Survival
  Knowledge (earth and life sciences)
  HIGH SYNERGY
  Optionally, especially high ranks in a skill may grant an even greater 
  synergy bonus. Every additional 5 skill ranks in this option grants an 
  additional +1 synergy bonus (+3 at 10 ranks, +4 at 15 ranks, and 
  so forth). The Gamemaster may set a maximum synergy bonus as 
  desired; +6 at 25 ranks is recommended.
  EXTENDED SKILL CHECKS
  With most skill checks, a single die roll immediately determines 
  whether or not a character succeeds. If a character wants to make 
  something or recall a specific fact, success or failure is apparent 
  after a single skill check.
   For complicated and time-consuming tasks (such as disabling a 
  complex device or researching an obscure bit of knowledge), or at 
  times when the GM wants to build tension and suspense, you can 
  use the extended skill check variant described here.
   In an extended skill check, a specific number of successful skills 
  checks must be achieved to complete the task. The complexity of 
  the task is reflected in the DC of the required check, the number 
  
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  33
  of successful rolls required to complete the task, and the maximum 
  number of failed rolls that can occur before the attempt fails. In 
  most cases, one or two failed rolls do not mean an extended skill 
  check has failed; however, if three failed rolls occur before the char-
  acter makes the required number of successful rolls, the attempt 
  fails. Although three failures is a common baseline, GMs are encour-
  aged to change the number if the situation warrants it.
   The GM can also apply a penalty to future rolls in the extended 
  check if the player rolls one or more failures. For instance, an intri-
  cate negotiation requiring an extended Diplomacy check might 
  assess a –2 penalty on checks for each failed check made as part of 
  the extended check for poor conditions.
   The Difficulty Class of an extended skill check should usually be 
  5 to 10 less than a standard skill check to allow for the number of 
  additional successful checks required and the possibility of failure. 
  So a normally formidable task (DC 25) should only be DC 15–20 for 
  an extended check.
  EXTENDED SKILL CHECK EXAMPLES
  SUCCESSES
  COMPLEXITY
  EXAMPLE
  2 or 3
  Slight
  Training a horse (Handle Animal)
  4 to 6
  Ordinary
  Making a common item (Craft)
  7 to 9
  Good
  Bypassing a fiendishly complex trap 
  (Disable Device)
  10 or more
  Amazing
  Figuring out an alien device (Knowledge 
  (technology))
  TRYING AGAIN
  Extended skill checks can usually be retried. However, like normal 
  skill checks, some extended skill checks have consequences and 
  those consequences must be taken into account. For example, a trap 
  that requires an extended Disable Device check to disarm is trig-
  gered if the attempt fails, just as with a normal trap and a normal 
  Disable Device check.
   Some skills are virtually useless for a particular task once an 
  attempt has failed, and this includes extended skill checks. The 
  Extended Skill Use section describes which skills can be used in 
  extended skill checks and which allow retries after failed attempts.
   Like skill checks, ability checks and even power checks can also be 
  complex.
   Extended skill checks are rarely used in situations calling for 
  opposed checks.
  INTERRUPTING AN EXTENDED CHECK
  Most extended skill checks can be interrupted without adversely 
  affecting the outcome of the check. However, the Gamemaster is 
  free to decide that an interruption affects the outcome. An interrup-
  tion can count as one failed roll in the check’s progression or it can 
  mean the extended check fails altogether.
  AID AND EXTENDED CHECKS
  You can aid another as normal with an extended skill check. 
  Characters aiding the one making the attempt must roll their aid 
  attempts each time the character makes a new roll as part of the 
  extended skill check, and only apply the aid bonus to those rolls 
  they’re available to aid. Assisting characters don’t have to aid the 
  entire extended check unless the GM rules otherwise.
  TAKING 10 AND 20
  You can take 10 on any die roll during an extended skill check in 
  any situation where you could normally take 10 on a check using 
  that skill.
   You can’t take 20 when making an extended skill check. Taking 
  20 represents making the same check repeatedly until you suc-
  ceed, but each successful roll in an extended skill check represents 
  only a portion of the success you must achieve to complete the 
  task.
  OPTION: UNDER PRESSURE
  If a character is under pressure or stress during an extended skill 
  check (trying to disarm a bomb as the timer ticks down, performing 
  a complex magical rite in the midst of a roaring battle, decipher-
  ing the combination to unlock a door before a guard discovers her, 
  etc.), you can require a Concentration check at each stage of the 
  extended check with the same DC as the skill check for that stage. 
  If the Concentration check succeeds, the character can attempt the 
  skill check normally, if the Concentration check fails, the character 
  suffers a –4 penalty on the skill check, making it more likely to fail.
   Optionally, a certain number of failed Concentration checks (three 
  or more) may result in failure with the entire extended task, forcing 
  the character to start over again from the beginning. Conversely, a 
  higher level of success with the Concentration check might apply a 
  bonus to the corresponding skill check, like a use of aid (+1 bonus 
  per 5 points the Concentration check result exceeds the required 
  DC).
   To really pile on the pressure, you can also require Fortitude or 
  Will saving throws during especially stressful extended checks to 
  avoid suffering fatigue from the effort involved, with the DC of the 
  save rising as the extended check progresses.
  COMBINED EFFORT AND EXTENDED CHECKS
  At the GM’s discretion, some extended checks can allow multiple 
  characters to combine their effects. All the participating characters 
  make the check and combine their successes toward the require-
  ments of the extended check. For example, a group of four characters 
  combine their effort to work on a project requiring six successful 
  checks. Each makes the necessary check, adding up the results. The 
  goal is still the same—to accumulate six successful checks before 
  three failures.
   If a group achieves the number of successes it needs at the same 
  time it gets three or more failures, the extended check is considered 
  a success.
  TIMED EXTENDED CHECKS
  The previous rules for extended checks assume time is not a factor; 
  the process goes on until the character accumulates enough suc-
  cessful checks to complete the task or accumulates enough failed 
  checks to fail. However, some extended checks may also feature a 
  time-limit, such as disabling a device before it goes off, or fixing a 
  starship’s engines before it crashes into the sun. The GM can use 
  a time-limit as an additional source of tension for an extended 
  check.
   If the time involved is as long or longer than the required number 
  of successes plus three, then it isn’t relevant, since the character will 
  either have succeeded or failed before the time runs out. If you want 
  to stretch this out, remove the automatic failure for three failed skill 
  checks.
  
  34
  SKILLS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS
  EXTENDED SKILL USE
  The following section provides general guidelines for using extended 
  skill checks with the skills in M&M. If a skill is not listed, you can 
  assume it is not suitable for extended checks.
  BLUFF
  Almost all uses of Bluff require only a single check to indicate suc-
  cess or failure. However, in certain complex situations, the GM might 
  want to use an extended Bluff check in place of several simple 
  checks. For example, a hero spends several days undercover trying 
  to infiltrate a criminal gang. Rather than play out the entire series of 
  interactions, the GM decides to use an extended Bluff check, setting 
  the DC at 25 and requiring five successful rolls before rolling three 
  failures. This is sufficient for the hero to infiltrate the gang, but the 
  GM decides to play out the hero’s meeting with the gang leader, 
  since he’s a more important character.
  CONCENTRATION
  Typically the Concentration skill doesn’t require extended checks, 
  but special circumstances might use them. For example, navigat-
  ing through a mental puzzle or maze, or meditating for a long 
  period of time under difficult conditions, could require an extended 
  Concentration check.
  CRAFT
  Normal use of Craft resembles an extended check in many ways. If 
  you want, you can replace the standard Craft check rules with an 
  extended Craft check. In this case, a single failed check doesn’t ruin 
  the project; instead, rolling three failures before achieving the requi-
  site number of successes does.
  DIPLOMACY
  The GM might simulate long and involved negotiations for an 
  extended period of time with an extended Diplomacy check.
  DISABLE DEVICE
  Nearly any device can require an extended check rather than a sim-
  ple one. A device requiring an extended check may have a lower 
  Difficulty Class (say between 5 and 10 lower) to represent the addi-
  tional work required. Extended Disable Device checks are especially 
  useful for heroes with skill bonuses unable to reach the highest DCs; 
  they trade off time for a better chance of success in the long run.
  ESCAPE ARTIST
  A few specific situations might call for an extended Escape Artist check. 
  An obvious example is a long, narrow passage only wide enough to let 
  a character wiggle through. In this case, each successful roll represents 
  navigating a portion of the passage, and a failed roll means the char-
  acter is stuck for a moment. Escaping from involved restraints (such as 
  being bound in a straitjacket and chains, upside-down in a tank rapidly 
  filling with water) may also be an extended check.
  GATHER INFORMATION
  Gather Information allows characters to get a general impression of 
  the news or find the answer to a specific question. As long as the char-
  acter only has a few questions or rumors to follow up on, a simple skill 
  check should be used. In situations where heroes are following a half 
  dozen or more leads, the GM might want to use one extended skill 
  check to resolve the information-gathering attempt. In this case, the 
  number of successes required equals the number of leads or questions 
  pursued, and the GM determines the number of failures that can ruin 
  the extended check. In an extended Gather Information check, each 
  die roll represents 2 hours spent pursuing the investigation.
  HANDLE ANIMAL
  Extended skill checks work well with the extended times required 
  to train animals. Each roll in the check represents a week of work, 
  and three failed rolls mean the training fails and must start over 
  again.
  INTIMIDATE
  Intimidate doesn’t usually lend itself to extended checks, although 
  the GM can allow them in situations similar to those described for 
  Bluff and Diplomacy.
  KNOWLEDGE
  Researching particular information is a good use of extended skill 
  checks. To attempt an extended Knowledge check, a character must 
  have access to research materials (just like taking 20 on a simple 
  Knowledge check). The GM is also free to rule that several successful 
  rolls using particular research materials exhausts their useful infor-
  mation, sending the character to find other resources. In this way, an 
  extended Knowledge check can become the basis for an adventure 
  as the heroes seek out information.
  MEDICINE
  The GM might require an extended Medicine skill check to treat a 
  particularly virulent disease or similar complex medical condition.
  SEARCH
  Certain hidden items might require an extended Search check, partic-
  ularly if they are obscured with layers of concealment. An extended 
  Search can also represent searching a large area for something (com-
  pare with the extended Search rules in the M&M core rules).
  SENSE MOTIVE
  Most uses of Sense Motive are simple checks, but the GM can allow 
  extended checks in situations similar to those described for Bluff 
  and Diplomacy.
  SLEIGHT OF HAND
  A character performing a lengthy demonstration of sleight of hand, 
  consisting of many smaller tricks (such as a magic show) might have 
  to make an extended skill check to accomplish it properly.
  STEALTH
  Stealth doesn’t normally lend itself to extended checks. However, the 
  GM might call for an extended Stealth check to simulate navigating 
  through an area, such as a crowded urban environment, without 
  being noticed (and without needing to make opposed checks for 
  every single person the character might encounter).
  SURVIVAL
  An extended Survival check might be required for long-term survival 
  in a particular climate or terrain.
  
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CHAPTER THREE: SKILLS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  SKILLS
  35
  EXTENDED CHECKS USING MULTIPLE SKILLS
  While extended checks usually involve a single skill, you can use the 
  same guidelines for extended checks involving multiple skills, where 
  each stage of the check requires a certain number of successes 
  before moving on to the next stage. Examples include research and 
  development of a device using Knowledge, followed by a check 
  using Craft to actually build a prototype; or tracking someone down 
  using Gather Information, followed by an extended Stealth check to 
  establish a tail or surveillance. As with other extended checks, the 
  GM sets the Difficulty Class and the number of successes required.
  MASTERFUL TACTICS
   The Knowledge (tactics) skill is largely a background skill in M&M: 
  concerned primarily with theory, but providing no direct in-game 
  benefits. Gamemasters who wish to beef up the skill can apply one 
  or both of the following options.
   First, characters can make a Knowledge (tactics) check in place of a 
  Stealth or related skill check to set up an attempt to surprise opponents 
  in combat (see Surprise in Chapter 8 of M&M).  Likewise, characters 
  can substitute a Knowledge skill check for the Notice or Sense Motive 
  check needed to detect an ambush or to avoid a feint in combat.
   Second, the GM can allow a Knowledge (tactics) skill check to 
  substitute for the Intelligence check normally associated with the 
  Master Plan feat to represent the character’s greater tactical plan-
  ning (see the feat description in Chapter 3 of M&M).
  GRADED LANGUAGE RANKS
  The default assumption of the Language skill is a character either speaks 
  a language or does not; a rank in a language grants complete fluency.
   Optionally, Language skills may be graded, with rank 1 in a language 
  granting only poor fluency (simple words and phrases). Rank 2 provides 
  fair fluency, rank 3 is good fluency, and rank 4 is complete fluency, 
  with no discernable accent. Characters begin with good fluency in their 
  native language for free. For languages with different regional dialects, 
  fluency is considered one level lower than fluency in the basic language. 
  A language rank applied to a dialect eliminates this penalty.
  LANGUAGE MODIFIERS
  Having less than good fluency with a language may impose penal-
  ties on a character’s interaction skills for unfavorable circumstances, 
  while complete fluency may provide a bonus for favorable circum-
  stances when interacting with speakers of that language likely to be 
  impressed by the character’s command of it (at the GM’s discretion). 
  A language penalty may also apply to tasks involving reading mate-
  rial in a language, like technical instructions or research materials.
  LANGUAGE MODIFIERS
  FLUENCY
  MODIFIER
  Poor
  –4 (This includes a translator with good or fair fluency.)
  Fair
  –2 (This includes a translator with complete fluency.)
  Good
  +0
  Complete
  +2
  LANGUAGE CHECKS
  Normally, there are no Language skill checks. However, Gamemasters 
  may allow a character who knows a number of languages a check 
  to see if the character understands some of an unknown language 
  when encountering it. The DC of the check is 15 for a language simi-
  lar to one the character already knows (such as another Romance 
  language for a character who already speaks one), 20 for languages 
  different from those the character already knows, and 30 for com-
  pletely different languages. Complex or technical subject matter 
  increases the DC by 5 while very simple words and phrases may 
  decrease it by 5. Make a skill check using Intelligence as the key 
  ability and the number of languages the character speaks as the 
  skill rank. A successful check means the character understands the 
  gist of the communication or gets his meaning across, although it’s 
  by no means exact. A failure by 5 or more means a miscommunica-
  tion or misunderstanding.
  NOTICE SPECIALTIES
  The GM may choose to treat each sense type as a separate specialty 
  of the Notice skill (see Sense Types in the Powers chapter of 
  M&M). Thus characters could have ranks in Notice (listen), Notice 
  (spot), Notice (mental), and so forth, acquired as separate skills. This 
  allows for some fine-tuning of the character’s sensory abilities at the 
  cost of some added complexity. See Narrow Skills in this chapter 
  for one application of this option.
  PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
  The Profession skill given in the Skills chapter of M&M generally 
  provides background flavor for characters and may occasionally see 
  use in the game. Gamemasters who feel the skill doesn’t really serve 
  any purpose can choose to eliminate it, replacing its function in the 
  Wealth system with a professional skill. This is essentially any other 
  regular skill a character uses to earn a living. For example, a diplo-
  mat would choose Diplomacy as his professional skill and a doctor 
  would use Medicine. A lawyer might use Knowledge (civics), or pos-
  sibly Bluff or Diplomacy, depending on the type of law practice. The 
  chosen professional skill is used for all Profession skill checks for per-
  forming the character’s job and influencing Wealth.
  STEALTH SPECIALTIES
  Just as characters use Stealth to avoid being seen and heard, the 
  Gamemaster may choose to allow some characters to take Stealth 
  specialties in avoiding other forms of the Notice skill. These other 
  specialties work the same way as Stealth: make an opposed check 
  between the Notice skill and the Stealth skill, with modifiers for 
  “cover” and distractions. For example, a character with a Stealth spe-
  cialty in radar will find it easier to hide amidst a cloud of metallic 
  chaff, a character hiding from Notice (mental) can more easily do so 
  in a crowd of other minds, and so forth.
   A Stealth specialty should generally apply to an entire sense type, 
  although in some cases a single sense may be more appropriate. 
  It’s up to the GM what, if any, other Stealth specialties are available 
  in the campaign. Stealth specialties have the same cost as normal 
  ranks in Stealth.
  
  36
  FEATS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER FOUR: FEATS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER FOUR: FEATS
  F
  eats help to round out M&M characters, providing options and 
  resources. With the right feats, a character with no powers can 
  often take on superhuman opponents and challenges and suc-
  ceed. This chapter looks at ways of expanding the available 
  feats in the game, how to package them together to create distinct 
  fighting styles, and optional feats for defining characters in different 
  ways associated with the variant rules in this book.
  CREATING FEATS
  Players and Gamemasters may want to expand the list of feats in 
  M&M by coming up with their own. Some general guidelines for new 
  feats include:
  • 
  A feat improving a character’s base attack or defense bonus 
  with no corresponding penalty should only add a +1 bonus 
  usable about half the time (like the Attack Focus and Dodge 
  Focus feats).
  • 
  A feat improving common die rolls should only add a +2 bonus.
  • 
  A feat improving a narrowly defined or uncommon die roll can 
  add up to a +4 bonus.
  • 
  A feat improving a single skill should generally add +4, while 
  feats improving two skills should add +2 to each (equivalent 
  to putting 1 power point into skills). Such skill bonuses count 
  against the power level limit on skill ranks.
  • 
  A feat cannot apply a bonus to a roll more than once for any 
  given roll.
  • 
  A feat can negate up to a –5 penalty from an action. This 
  includes things like the various challenges given in Chapter 1 
  (see the Challenges option).
  • 
  A feat can allow a character to ignore some of the restrictions 
  on an action (such as Improved Disarm or Improved Trip).
  • 
  A feat can allow a character a bonus action by succeeding at 
  some other action (such as downing an opponent with Takedown 
  Attack or making a grapple check after an unarmed attack with 
  Improved Grab). The bonus action should be specified rather 
  than an open-ended “free” action.
  • 
  A feat can allow a character to substitute one skill check for 
  another in certain circumstances (such as with Taunt or Acrobatic 
  Bluff).
  • 
  A fortune feat allows characters to spend hero points in differ-
  ent ways (as with Seize Initiative and Ultimate Effort).
  Some of the things new feats should not (or need not) do include:
  • 
  Provide a general bonus to an ability score, skill, attack bonus, 
  defense bonus, or saving throw. Characters can already acquire 
  these by spending additional power points on those traits.
  • 
  Provide a variable bonus based on another trait, such as add-
  ing the character’s Intelligence bonus to attack rolls or Wisdom 
  bonus to Defense. This grants a potentially huge bonus to some 
  for a bargain price (1 point). (A feat where one trait substitutes 
  for another is more acceptable, provided the two traits are 
  roughly equivalent.)
  • 
  Grant a benefit greater than another similar trait for less cost.
  As always, the Gamemaster has the final say whether or not a par-
  ticular feat is suitable, and may veto any proposed feat, or request 
  the player modify it to make it acceptable.
  POWERS AS FEATS
  At the GM’s discretion, a power with a final cost of 1 power point 
  can be made into a feat. The difference is primarily stylistic, since it 
  doesn’t affect the trait’s cost or usage whether it’s called a feat or 
  a power. The key difference is the new feat cannot be nullified, but 
  also can’t be used in conjunction with extra effort; it’s a permanent 
  capability—a feat and not an actual “power.” It also has different 
  descriptors, which can affect interaction with other traits.
   Players and Gamemasters can use various minor powers to cre-
  ate new feats, particularly if the GM has decided to restrict the 
  availability of powers in the campaign. In fact, for a low-powered 
  action-hero game of M&M, the Gamemaster may choose to allow 
  only 1-point powers, treating them all as feats (some of which char-
  acters may be able to acquire in ranks) and disallowing all other 
  powers.
  SAMPLE POWERS AS FEATS
  The following are some examples of 1-point powers suitable for use 
  as feats. They’re by no means the only ones, and you should feel free 
  to come up with your own.
  COMBAT CONCEALMENT 
  COMBAT
  Make a Stealth check against your opponent’s Notice check as a 
  move action. If you win, you gain partial concealment from sight 
  until your next round. If you make the check as a full-round action, 
  you gain total concealment. This is based on Concealment (visual) 
  with the flaws Partial and Action (Move), for a cost of 1 power point 
  per 2 ranks.
  DEFLECT ARROWS 
  COMBAT, RANKED
  You can make block rolls to deflect thrown weapons and projectiles 
  like arrows with an effective attack bonus of +1 per rank. This is 1 
  rank of the Deflect power.
  DIRECTION SENSE 
  GENERAL
  You have an innate sense of direction. You always know which way 
  is north and can retrace your steps through any place you’ve been (1 
  rank of Super-Senses).
  CHAPTER 4: FEATS
  
  CHAPTER FOUR: FEATS 
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  CHAPTER FOUR: FEATS 
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  FEATS
  37
  
  38
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  EAGLE EYES 
  GENERAL
  Exceptionally sharp-eyed, your visual Notice checks have a range 
  increment of 100 feet rather than 10 feet. This is 1 rank of Super-
  Senses (extended vision).
  EXTRA LIMB 
  GENERAL
  You have an additional limb, like a prehensile tail. This feat is likely 
  only available at character creation (1 point of the Additional Limbs 
  power).
  IMMUNITY TO DISEASE 
  GENERAL
  You are unaffected by diseases and pathogens. Other 1-point 
  Immunities (such as aging, fatigue, fear, or poison) may also be suit-
  able as feats.
  IMPROVED STRIKE 
  GENERAL
  Your martial prowess makes you a formidible hand-to-hand fighter. 
  Your unarmed attacks can inflict lethal rather than non-lethal dam-
  age and count as armed attacks for all purposes (essentially an 
  Alternate Power feat for your unarmed damage). This feat is only 
  suited for campaigns that distinguish the ability to inflict lethal and 
  non-lethal damage.
  LIGHTNING CALCULATOR 
  GENERAL
  You can perform mathematical functions in your head ten times 
  faster than normal, like a human calculator. This feat is 3 ranks of 
  Quickness, limited to doing calculations (a –2 modifier) for a total 
  cost of 1 point for 3 ranks using the guidelines for fractional costs 
  in the “Power Modifiers” section of the Powers chapter of M&M. 
  You can use it as the basis for similar feats allowing for quick perfor-
  mance of certain routine tasks.
  LOW-LIGHT VISION 
  GENERAL
  You can see twice as far in low-light conditions as normal (1 rank of 
  Super-Senses).
  MENTAL GRAPPLE 
  GENERAL, RANKED
  You can reach out and affect others with your mental power. You 
  can initiate a mental grapple with an opponent you can accurately 
  sense. The target makes a Will save (DC 10 + your Mental Grapple 
  rank). If it fails, you have started the mental grapple.
  RAPID HEALING 
  GENERAL
  Your body posseses amazing powers of physical recovery. You make a 
  check to recover from being disabled once every 5 hours rather than 
  once a day (1 rank of Regeneration).
  SPEAK WITH (ANIMAL) 
  GENERAL
  You can speak and understand the language of a particular type of 
  animal, such as birds, cetaceans, equines, and so forth. This is a 1-
  point version of the Comprehend power.
  STEADFAST 
  GENERAL, RANKED
  You have a +4 bonus per rank in this feat against all attempts to 
  push, rush, trip, or throw you, and also add your rank to your knock-
  back modifier to determine how far you’re thrown by an attack (1 
  point of the Immovable power).
  TALENTED 
  SKILL
  You are especially adept at a certain type of activity. You have a +2 
  bonus with two related skills, the same as buying 4 additional skill 
  ranks.
  TIME SENSE 
  GENERAL
  You always know what time it is and have an accurate idea of the 
  passage of time (1 rank of Super-Senses).
  TOUGH 
  GENERAL, RANKED
  You have a +1 bonus on Toughness saving throws per rank in this 
  feat. This is the same as 1 rank of the Protection power.
  UNDER THE HOOD: FEATS FROM OTHER GAMES
  Players and Gamemasters may wish to import feats from other games into M&M. Some will work just fine, but others may have requirements (including 
  particular traits or mechanics) that don’t exist in the M&M system, while others grant benefits—such as general skill bonuses—already available to M&M 
  characters by spending power points. Some feats from other games may also violate the guidelines given under Creating Feats. The Gamemaster 
  should carefully evaluate any such feats using these guidelines and compare them to the existing feats in M&M to ensure they fit into the game and 
  don’t provide too great (or too little) of an advantage for their cost.
  UNDER THE HOOD: ACCESS TO FEATS
  Feats in M&M come in two levels of accessibility (and therefore usability). First there are fortune feats, which require you to have a power point 
  invested in the feat and spend a hero point to use the feat. Then come standard feats, which require you to either invest a power point in the feat 
  to use it on a regular basis or spend a hero point to get a single use of the feat in a particular situation. Finally, there are various options and 
  maneuvers, which require neither an investment of power points nor an expenditure of hero points to use (meaning they’re not really feats, but 
  options open to everyone).
   You can control access to certain capabilities in the game by changing where they fall in this hierarchy of feats. For example, if you want to restrict 
  certain feats, then you can make them fortune feats, preventing characters who don’t have them from emulating them and requiring the characters 
  who do have them to spend hero points to use them (so they’re see use less often). Likewise, you can make some options into feats, or some feats into 
  standard options available to everyone, as discussed in other sections of this chapter.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR: FEATS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CHAPTER FOUR: FEATS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  FEATS
  39
  OPTIONS AS FEATS
  As a halfway point between allowing some of the options given in 
  this book to everyone and not allowing them at all, Gamemasters 
  can make some options into feats, charging players 1 power point 
  to give a character the ability to use that option (or 1 hero point for 
  a one-time use).
   So, for example, the extraordinary effort option in Chapter 6 
  might not be available in the campaign in general, but any charac-
  ter with the Extraordinary Effort feat can do it, and anyone spending 
  a hero point to emulate the Extraordinary Effort feat can do it. The 
  same can apply to options like Last-Ditch Effort, Heroic Inspiration, 
  or any other discrete option in this book. 
   Naturally, not all options are suitable for use as feats, particularly 
  variant rules that significantly change how the game works. It’s up 
  to the GM to decide what, if any, options become available in the 
  campaign, as feats or otherwise.
  FIGHTING STYLES
  Mutants & Masterminds presents the idea of using various collec-
  tions of feats to duplicate different fighting styles, including various 
  styles of martial arts. This section expands upon that idea and offers 
  some suggestions for creating your own fighting styles.
  UNARMED VS. WEAPON STYLES
  Some fighting styles focus on fighting unarmed, others with a par-
  ticular weapon or weapons, and a few with both. The distinction 
  between unarmed and armed fighting styles is largely one of fla-
  vor and description. Combat feats work the same whether you’re 
  using them unarmed, armed, or with super-human powers. The GM 
  may choose to apply certain situational modifiers based on a style’s 
  usual weapons as needed.
  OPTION: WEAPON ELEMENTS
  If you want a more detailed way of defining what weapons or 
  attacks are usable with what fighting styles, you can use the follow-
  ing guidelines.
   Each fighting style gets one “weapon element,” an attack it’s 
  intended to work with, automatically at no cost. So an unarmed 
  style works automatically with unarmed attacks. An armed style 
  must choose a particular weapon (or narrow category of weapons, 
  like blades, at the GM’s discretion). Adding another weapon element 
  to the style is a feat (called Weapon Element), allowing you to use 
  that style with an additional type of attack.
  Example: The kung fu style is defined as unarmed, so all 
  of its feats are usable with unarmed attacks automatically. 
  However, various types of kung fu also teach the use of weap-
  ons, including nunchaku, swords, and staves. Each of these 
  types of weapons is considered a Weapon Element feat for 
  the style. A character must have the feat in order to use the 
  style’s combat feats in conjunction with those weapons.
  Note that characters can spend a hero point to emulate the Weapon 
  Element feat like any other feat, granting a one-time use of a differ-
  ent attack in conjunction with a particular fighting style when the 
  character doesn’t have that attack as a standard weapon element.
   This option is best for fairly realistic games where it’s important 
  to differentiate between otherwise similar martial artists. For more 
  
  40
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  general superhero settings, it’s probably more detail than the setting 
  or characters require.
  SKILLS AND STYLES
  Some fighting styles teach particular skills in addition to feats. A 
  true expert in the style is likely to have at least some training in 
  these associated skills although, like the style’s feats, you can choose 
  how many points (if any) to invest in them.
   The most common skills for fighting styles are Acrobatics, Bluff 
  (primarily aimed at feinting in combat), Intimidate (primarily aimed 
  at demoralizing an opponent in combat), Sense Motive (primarily 
  aimed at detecting and avoiding the previous two effects), and 
  Sleight of Hand (for quick hand movements and feinting dependent 
  upon them).
  ATTACK AND DEFENSE AND STYLES
  Note that none of the fighting styles in this section have any specific 
  bonuses to attack or defense other than those granted by their feats, 
  although some may have the Attack Focus or Dodge Focus feats. You 
  might also decide that a particular fighting style calls for the Attack 
  Specialization feat for a particular type of attack associated with the 
  style. Like other ranked feats associated with a fighting style, these 
  feats are available in multiple ranks, up to the campaign’s normal 
  power level limit.
  CREATING FIGHTING STYLES
  Creating a fighting style is a simple matter of building a list of the 
  style’s feats, plus any associated skills and weapon elements (if that 
  option is in use). Characters trained in a style invest power points 
  into its traits. They don’t have to take all of them at once; indeed, 
  most students do not gain complete mastery of a fighting style all 
  at once.
   Generally speaking, a complete style should consist of between 
  a half dozen and a dozen or so feats; fewer usually isn’t enough to 
  constitute a coherent style, while more tends to represent branching 
  out to master multiple styles of combat, unless you want to create a 
  “master style” or secret martial art for your game encompassing every 
  combat feat (true masters of such a style should be rare indeed!).
  SAMPLE FIGHTING STYLES
  A number of sample fighting styles are presented here. You can use 
  them in your game as-is, modify them to suit your own view of the 
  style, and use them as models for creating new fighting styles of 
  your own.
   A note to real-world students of these and other martial arts: the 
  material here isn’t intended for a detailed simulation of martial arts 
  combat, but a general set of fighting styles usable in a superhero 
  RPG. Feel free to modify these styles as you like and to create your 
  own, but keep in mind they’re intended to provide a useful short-
  hand for collections of fighting feats.
  AIKIDO
  Aikido is a Japanese martial art school founded by Sensei Morihei 
  Uyeshiba in the 1920s. It is the epitome of a “soft” martial arts 
  style, strongly focusing on “flowing” with an attack and using the 
  attacker’s momentum against him. Aikido emphasizes throws and 
  evading attacks, along with a few holds for “guiding” an attacker to 
  the ground.
  Feats: Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus, Evasion, Grappling Finesse, 
  Improved Grapple, Improved Pin, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, 
  Uncanny Dodge
  BOXING
  Called “the sweet science” by some, modern boxing is a fairly bru-
  tal and direct fighting style involving powerful punches and evasive 
  footwork, usually close in with an opponent. Feinting is a common 
  skill, used to get an opponent to lower his guard for a devastating 
  attack.
  Skills: Bluff. Sense Motive
  Feats: All-out Attack, Attack Focus (melee), Defensive Attack, Elusive 
  Target, Improved Block, Power Attack, Takedown Attack.
  CAPOEIRA
  The national martial art of Brazil, capoeira originated with ritual 
  dancing among African slaves. When these slaves rebelled, they 
  developed an unarmed fighting style and disguised it as folk danc-
  ing. Capoeira involves many handstand moves, allowing practitioners 
  to use it while their hands were bound or chained. It’s usually prac-
  ticed to music like a dance form.
  Skills: Acrobatics, Performance (dance)
  Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Dodge Focus, Improved Grab, Improved 
  Throw, Power Attack, Prone Fighting
  ESCRIMA
  This Philippine stick-fighting style typically uses a pair of short batons, 
  but is also practiced with a balisong knife or unarmed (and may 
  include either as a weapon element at the GM’s discretion). It focuses 
  on deflecting or blocking attacks and fast strikes to the body.
  Feats: Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Block, Improved 
  Disarm, Improved Pin, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Stunning 
  Attack
  FENCING
  “Fencing” is used here to describe western sword-fighting styles in 
  general. Traditional fencing uses a slim, slight sword like a foil, but 
  characters in M&M can fence with whatever sort of sword the GM 
  approves. Fencing focuses on speed, with a combination of defen-
  sive blocks and offensive strikes and thrusts, along with feints to 
  fake-out your opponent. The more “swashbuckling” style of fencing 
  also involves Acrobatics and Acrobatic Bluff.
  Skills: Sleight of Hand
  Feats: Accurate Attack, Attack Focus (melee), Defensive Attack, 
  Improved Block, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power 
  Attack, Taunt
  JUJUTSU
  This style, also known as judo, grew out of a number of Japanese 
  fighting styles over hundreds of years, and spread to the western 
  world in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its primary techniques focus 
  on throws and holds to put an opponent on the ground and keep 
  him there. There are hundreds of modern sub-styles teaching variant 
  
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  techniques, allowing you to justify including most unarmed combat 
  feats in it.
  Feats: Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Disarm, 
  Improved Grab, Improved Pin, Improved Trip, Stunning Attack
  KARATE
  Karate originated on the Okinawa Islands. When Japanese conquer-
  ors forbade the natives from carrying weapons, they focused on 
  this style of unarmed combat. Karate incorporated various farming 
  tools that could be discretely carried as weapons, including the staff, 
  nunchaku (threshing flail), kama (sickle), rope or chain, and tonfa 
  (mill-wheel handle). Modern karate tends to focus on unarmed tech-
  niques. It spread widely to the west after American soldiers learned 
  it in Japan after World War II. Karate is a “hard” style focusing on 
  powerful punches and kicks. A karate teacher is called sensei and 
  the practice hall or school is a dojo.
  Feats: All-out Attack, Attack Focus (melee), Improved Block, 
  Improved Disarm, Instant Up, Power Attack, Stunning Attack
  KRAV MAGA
  Krav Maga developed about 40 years ago for use by the Israeli 
  Defense Forces (and later Israeli police and Mossad intelligence 
  agents). It’s a highly practical style borrowing moves from many dif-
  ferent fighting styles and focused entirely on quickly and efficiently 
  disabling an opponent. It lacks the “forms” of other fighting styles, 
  since it’s intended solely for fighting, not for show. This fighting style 
  can be used for other modern, constructed styles taught to comman-
  dos and military personnel.
  Feats: All-out Attack, Chokehold, Dodge Focus, Improved Block, 
  Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Trip, Power Attack
  KUNG FU
  Kung fu means, essentially, “hard work” or “great skill.” It is the com-
  mon name of an ancient Chinese style of martial arts dating back 
  a thousand years or more. It’s most famously associated with the 
  Shaolin Temple, where it was taught beginning in the sixth century 
  AD. It spread to the west with Chinese immigration in the 1800s, 
  but did not become popular among westerners until the mid-1900s. 
  There are hundreds of kung fu variants and styles, many based on 
  the movements of animals (Crane, Dragon, Leopard, Mantis, Monkey, 
  Snake, and Tiger, to name some). A kung fu teacher is called a sifu 
  and the practice hall is called a kwoon.
  Skills: Concentration
  Feats: Defensive Attack, Improved Block, Improved Critical, Improved 
  Sunder, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Power Attack, Startle
  MUAY THAI
  Also known as Thai kickboxing, Muay Thai is a brutal fighting style 
  of kicks, knee- and elbow-strikes, and punches. It relies on blocks for 
  defense and has no holds or throws, the intention being to beat an 
  opponent to a pulp as quickly as possible.
  Feats: All-out Attack, Improved Block, Improved Critical, Power 
  Attack, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack
  NINJUTSU
  Not a “fighting style” per se, ninjutsu is associated with Japanese 
  ninja and similar stealthy assassins. The ninja fighting style is techni-
  cally called taijutsu, but the style here assumes the broad range of 
  “ninja” training. It does not include whatever superhuman capabilities 
  the GM wishes to grant ninja; those are better acquired as powers.
  Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Stealth
  Feats: Blind-Fight, Chokehold, Dodge Focus, Evasion, Hide in Plain 
  Sight, Sneak Attack, Startle, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack
  
  42
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  SUMO
  Sumo wrestling is a Japanese martial art, usually practiced by large, 
  heavy fighters. The object of a match is to push the opponent out 
  of the fighting ring or pin him down within the ring. Sumo matches 
  tend to be short, but involve a great deal of lengthy ritual. Unlike 
  most Asian martial arts, sumo focuses heavily on strength and size.
  Feats: Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Pin, Improved 
  Trip, Power Attack, Stunning Attack
  TAE KWAN DO
  The name of this Korean martial art means “the way of kicking and 
  punching.” It’s a forceful fighting style, widely taught in schools through-
  out the world. As its name implies, tae kwan do relies on both powerful 
  strikes and various types of kicks, including side and flying kicks.
  Feats: All-out Attack, Defensive Roll, Improved Block, Power Attack, 
  Takedown Attack
  WRESTLING
  Wrestling includes numerous grappling techniques, ranging from 
  Greco-Roman style to modern televised wrestling matches (which 
  may involve more uses of Perform than fighting feats).
  Feats: Chokehold, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Pin, 
  Power Attack, Weapon Bind
  FEAT OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  The following are optional and variant systems for use with feats 
  in M&M. It includes various optional feats used in conjunction with 
  other optional rules in this book.
  FEATS AS OPTIONS
  Although hero points allow characters to access virtually any feat in 
  the game on at least a temporary basis, Gamemasters may wish to cre-
  ate a different style of game by making certain feats “innate” options 
  available to everyone without the need to spend power points or hero 
  points to acquire them on a permanent or temporary basis.
   For example, combat feats—such as Defensive Attack and Power 
  Attack—can become “combat maneuvers” available to all char-
  acters. Fortune feats become regular options for spending hero 
  points, and so forth. Such “free” feats should be removed from the 
  campaign’s list of available feats (since there’s no reason to spend 
  power points to acquire them; everyone has them). Turning feats 
  into options tends to create a higher-powered game, and adds a 
  bit of complexity because they give players more options to choose 
  from during play.
  ACCESS FEATS
  As the reverse of feats as options, the GM can take existing maneu-
  vers and options in M&M and require specialized feats to “unlock” 
  them for characters. For example, perhaps the ability to spend hero 
  
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  points to temporarily acquire feats is not open to everyone, but 
  requires a fortune feat, or even several, each applying to a different 
  list of feats. This variant is suitable to more realistic settings and 
  genres, where special abilities and options are more limited.
  COMBAT FEATS AND POWER LEVEL
  In the standard M&M rules, permanent bonuses from combat feats 
  are limited by power level just like any other trait, even when they 
  only apply in certain situations (such as Favored Opponent or Sneak 
  Attack). This variant treats such situational combat bonuses as half 
  their actual value (round down) when determining their effect on 
  power level. So a +2 damage bonus from Sneak Attack counts as 
  only a +1 damage bonus when determining the character’s power 
  level. This approach is a bit more complex, but allows a bit more 
  “breathing space” for characters with lots of limited situational 
  bonuses. This variant may also open up loopholes encouraging play-
  ers to stack on situational bonuses, and GMs may want to monitor 
  their use closely.
  ALL-OUT ATTACK AND DEFENSIVE ROLL
  Rather than reducing defense bonus, you can allow the option of 
  All-out Attack reducing the save bonus from a character’s Defensive 
  Roll feat. If this option is in use, the character can apply the penalty 
  from All-out Attack to defense bonus or Defensive Roll, or possibly 
  split it between both (although the total penalty should still not 
  be greater than –5). This gives agile fighters with Defensive Roll an 
  additional option in combat, by potentially opening themselves up 
  to some additional damage.
  LOWER-POWER-LEVEL SIDEKICKS
  Sidekicks normally have the same power level as heroes in a cam-
  paign. This option sets a lower power level for sidekicks, requiring 
  them to be a little (or a lot) less powerful than the heroes; this 
  doesn’t necessarily limit ranks in Sidekick or how many points side-
  kicks can have, since power level is independent from power point 
  total. The Gamemaster can set the power level for sidekicks any-
  where from the general PL for the campaign to 4-5 levels lower (or 
  a fraction, like half the campaign’s power level). Any lower than this 
  isn’t recommended unless sidekicks are intended to be much less 
  powerful than the heroes and remain mostly on the sidelines.
  REVERSE SIDEKICKS
  On rare occasions a sidekick may actually be more powerful than 
  the main character, rather than less! For example, a character might 
  have a powerful genie as his servant. The main character has no 
  powers at all, while the genie has considerable powers. How do you 
  handle this in the game?
   Since a sidekick is fanatically loyal, there’s no reason not to allow 
  the player to control both the sidekick and the main character. The 
  player makes the character with the lower point total the other char-
  acter’s sidekick and plays them both! In the preceding example the 
  higher-point genie would actually be the “main” character, with the 
  genie’s lower-level master bought as his “sidekick.”
   If the main character and sidekick are both NPCs, you don’t need 
  to worry about it. The more powerful character just happens to work 
  for the less powerful one for some reason. The exact game terms of 
  who is the sidekick aren’t that important.
  ULTIMATE EFFORT AND NICHE PROTECTION
  One potential use for the Ultimate Effort feat (see the Feats chapter 
  of M&M) is “niche protection,” that is to say, allowing certain char-
  acters to have an “ace in the hole” when it comes to their particular 
  specialty. For example, a speedster hero might want Ultimate Effort 
  (Super-Speed) to have an edge over the character with Speed as a sec-
  ondary trait. When pulling out all the stops and making a Super-Speed 
  check, the speedster can spend a hero point to ensure the best result.
   In some campaigns the GM may even wish to allow each hero to pick 
  a thematic Ultimate Effort feat for free (or require each hero to pay the 
  1 power point to have one). So long as they’re all different, this ensures 
  all characters have a particular “niche” where they can shine like no one 
  else, at least for as long as their hero points hold out.
  OPTIONAL FEATS
  The feats in this section are not in standard use in M&M but are 
  presented for Gamemasters interested in additional detail or 
  using certain other options in this book to create a more realistic 
  or detailed feel to the game. The GM decides when and if these 
  feats are available and if they are suited for the campaign based on 
  the optional rules in use. In particular, some of these feats rely on 
  the optional rules for Proficiency and Attacks of Opportunity 
  found in this book.
  AIRCRAFT OPERATION 
  PROFICIENCY, RANKED
  Select a class of aircraft (heavy aircraft, helicopters, jet fighters, or 
  spacecraft). You are proficient at operating that class of aircraft.
  The heavy aircraft class includes jumbo passenger airplanes, large 
  cargo planes, heavy bombers, and any other aircraft with three or 
  more engines. Helicopters include transport and combat helicopters 
  of all types. Jet fighters include military fighter and ground attack 
  jets. Spacecraft are vehicles such as space shuttles.
   You take no penalty on Pilot checks or attack rolls made when 
  operating an aircraft of the selected class. Characters without this 
  feat take a –4 penalty on Pilot checks made to operate an aircraft 
  that falls in any of these classes, and on attacks made with aircraft 
  weapons. There is no penalty when a character operates a general-
  purpose aircraft.
   Each time you acquire this feat, select a different class of aircraft.
  ARCHAIC WEAPONS PROFICIENCY 
  PROFICIENCY
  You take no penalty on attack rolls when using any kind of archaic 
  weapon. Characters without this feat take the –4 non-proficient 
  penalty when making attacks with archaic weapons. If this feat is 
  available in the campaign, it should be considered a prerequisite 
  for learning any armed fighting style (see Fighting Styles in this 
  chapter).
  ARMOR PROFICIENCY 
  PROFICIENCY
  You take no penalty to your attack or defense bonus for wearing 
  armor. Characters without this feat take a penalty to attack and 
  defense bonus equal to the armor’s Protection bonus.
  CHALLENGE 
  GENERAL, RANKED
  Choose a specific challenge (see Challenges in Chapter 1). You can 
  pick a standard challenge or a particular skill challenge. For standard 
  challenges, the challenge only applies to a specific task. So, for exam-
  
  44
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  OPTIONAL FEATS
  OPTIONAL COMBAT FEATS
  FEAT NAME
  BENEFIT
  Crushing Pin
  Inflict grapple damage on any target you have 
  pinned.
  Defensive Strike
  +4 attack bonus against an opponent that misses 
  you in melee.
  Finishing Blow
  Perform a coup de grace as a standard action.
  First Strike (+)
  +2 damage when you attack a flat-footed 
  opponent.
  Improved Flank
  +4 attack bonus when flanking an opponent.
  Improved Ranged Disarm
  No penalty on ranged attack rolls to disarm.
  Martial Artist
  Treat your unarmed attacks as armed.
  Martial Strike (+)
  +1 unarmed damage per rank.
  Oathbound
  +1 to aid others of your allegiance, +1 to attack 
  foes of an opposing allegiance.
  Speed of Thought
  Use your Int bonus for initiative checks.
  Sweeping Strike
  Combine a successful unarmed attack with a free 
  trip attack.
  Unbalancing Strike
  Remove an opponent’s dodge bonus with a melee 
  attack.
  OPTIONAL GENERAL FEATS
  FEAT NAME
  BENEFIT
  Challenge (+)
  Gain the benefits of a challenge without a 
  penalty.
  Dedication
  +4 on Will saves and Sense Motive checks when 
  your allegiance is challenged.
  Improved Concealment
  Improved miss chance from concealment.
  Improved Mental Grapple
  +2 bonus on mental grapple checks.
  Light Sleeper
  No Notice check penalty for being asleep. Act 
  immediately upon waking.
  Tough (+)
  Add your rank to your Toughness saves.
  OPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FEATS
  FEAT NAME
  BENEFIT
  Combat Reflexes (+)
  Gain attacks of opportunity per round equal to 
  your Dex bonus.
  Counterattack
  Gain an attack of opportunity against an 
  opponent that misses you in melee.
  Defensive Throw
  Trip an opponent that misses you in melee.
  Follow-up Strike
  Follow up a critical hit with a free attack action.
  Grappling Block
  Initiate a grapple as a free action after blocking a 
  melee attack.
  Improved Opportunity
  +4 attack bonus with attacks of opportunity.
  Opportunist
  Gain an attack of opportunity against an 
  opponent affected by an ally.
  Mobility
  +4 dodge bonus against attacks of opportunity 
  when you move out of a square.
  Sidestep
  Take a 5-foot step in place of an attack of 
  opportunity.
  OPTIONAL PROFICIENCY FEATS
  FEAT NAME
  BENEFIT
  Aircraft Operation (+)
  Pilot different classes of aircraft.
  Archaic Weapons 
  Proficiency
  Use archaic weapons without penalty.
  Armor Proficiency
  Use armor without penalty.
  Exotic Weapons 
  Proficiency (+)
  Use an exotic weapon without penalty.
  Improvised Weapon 
  Proficiency
  Use improvised weapons without penalty.
  Personal Firearms 
  Proficiency
  Use personal firearms without penalty.
  Simple Weapons 
  Proficiency
  Use simple weapons without penalty.
  Surface Vehicle Operation
  Drive different classes of surface vehicles.
  OPTIONALREPUTATION FEATS
  FEAT NAME
  BENEFIT
  Low-profile (+)
  –3 reputation bonus.
  Renown (+)
  +3 reputation bonus.
  ple, if you choose the Fast Task challenge, you need to specify a task, 
  such as the feint application of Bluff, or making an item with Craft. If 
  you take Calculated Risk, you need to specify the two checks (and the 
  skills used for them) and if you take Simultaneous Tasks, you need to 
  specify the two tasks. Once specified, these things do not change.
   You can perform the challenge chosen under this feat with a 5-
  point lesser modifier than usual. So, for challenges with a –5 penalty 
  or a +5 DC, you perform them like normal checks. For challenges 
  with a greater modifier, reduce the modifier accordingly. So a hero 
  with Fast Feint, for example, can feint in combat as a move action 
  with no Bluff check modifier (since the normal modifier is –5).
   You can take this feat multiple times. Each time, it applies to a dif-
  ferent challenge or reduces the penalty with an existing challenge 
  by 5 more.
  COMBAT REFLEXES 
  OPPORTUNITY, RANKED
  The maximum number of attacks of opportunity you can make each 
  round is increased by your rank in this feat. You can still only make 
  one attack of opportunity against a single opponent. You can also 
  make attacks of opportunity when flat-footed. A character without 
  this feat can make only one attack of opportunity per round and 
  can’t make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed (see Attacks of 
  Opportunity in Chapter 8).
  COUNTERATTACK 
  OPPORTUNITY
  If an opponent attacks you in melee combat and misses, you get an 
  immediate melee attack against that opponent as a free action at 
  your full attack bonus. This counts toward your attacks of opportu-
  nity for that round.
  
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  45
  CRUSHING PIN 
  COMBAT
  While grappling, if you pin an opponent, you can also inflict your 
  normal unarmed damage against that opponent each round for as 
  long as you maintain the pin. You hold your opponent immobile as 
  normal, but must remain immobile yourself to continue the crushing 
  pin. You suffer a –4 defense penalty while maintaining a Crushing 
  Pin, in addition to losing your dodge bonus against anyone you 
  aren’t grappling, as normal.
  DEDICATION 
  GENERAL
  Your dedication to your allegiance makes it very difficult to sway 
  you. You receive a +4 bonus on Will saving throws and Sense 
  Motive checks for any effect causing you to act against your alle-
  giance.
  DEFENSIVE STRIKE 
  COMBAT
  If an opponent attacks you in melee combat and misses, your next 
  melee attack against that opponent has a +4 bonus to hit. You 
  gain no bonus against opponents who do not attack you or who 
  attack and hit you successfully (whether or not the attack has any 
  effect).
  DEFENSIVE THROW 
  OPPORTUNITY
  If an opponent attacks you in melee combat and misses, you can 
  make an immediate trip attack against them as a free action at your 
  full attack bonus. This counts towards your attacks of opportunity 
  for that round.
  EXOTIC WEAPON PROFICIENCY 
  PROFICIENCY, RANKED
  Choose one exotic weapon. You are proficient in that weapon and 
  suffer no penalty to attack rolls when using it. Characters without 
  this feat take the –4 non-proficient penalty when making attacks 
  with exotic weapons. You can take this feat multiple times, applying 
  it each time to a different exotic weapon.
  FINISHING BLOW 
  COMBAT
  You can perform a coup de grace as a standard rather than a full-
  round action. (See Helpless Defenders in the Combat chapter 
  of M&M.)
  FIRST STRIKE 
  COMBAT, RANKED
  When you make an attack against a flat-footed opponent (someone 
  who hasn’t yet acted in combat) whose initiative is lower than yours, 
  increase your attack’s damage bonus by +2. Opponents immune to 
  critical hits suffer no additional damage. Additional ranks increase 
  your First Strike damage bonus by +1, to a maximum of +5. First 
  Strike damage stacks with the Sneak Attack feat. Your total damage 
  bonus is limited by the campaign’s power level.
  FOLLOW-UP STRIKE 
  OPPORTUNITY
  If you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can make an addi-
  tional melee attack against the same opponent immediately as a 
  free action, with the same attack bonus as the attack that scored the 
  critical hit.
  
  46
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  GRAPPLING BLOCK 
  OPPORTUNITY
  When you successfully block a melee attack while unarmed you can 
  initiate a grapple against your attacker as a free action without an 
  initial attack roll.
  IMPROVED CONCEALMENT 
  GENERAL
  When you have concealment, the miss chance for attacks against 
  you is improved by 2 (from 17 to 15 in the case of normal conceal-
  ment). The miss chance cannot be lower than an 11 (on 1d20), so 
  this feat does not improve total concealment.
  IMPROVED FLANK 
  COMBAT
  When you and another character flank an opponent, you gain a +4 
  attack roll bonus rather than the usual +2 bonus (see Chapter 8).
  IMPROVED MENTAL GRAPPLE 
  GENERAL
  You have a +2 bonus on mental grapple checks.
  IMPROVED OPPORTUNITY 
  OPPORTUNITY
  When you make an attack of opportunity, you receive a +4 bonus on 
  your attack roll. This bonus only applies to attacks of opportunity; it 
  doesn’t count for other attacks such as surprise attacks or situations 
  where your opponent is flat-footed.
  IMPROVED RANGED DISARM 
  COMBAT
  You have no penalty to your attack roll when making a disarm 
  attempt at range.
  IMPROVED TRICK 
  COMBAT
  You can use Bluff to trick an opponent in combat as a move action 
  rather than a standard action without the usual –5 penalty.
  IMPROVISED WEAPONS PROFICIENCY 
  PROFICIENCY
  You can use an improvised weapon (an ordinary object reasonably 
  sized and shaped for use as a weapon) without penalty. Characters 
  without this feat take a –4 non-proficient penalty on attack rolls 
  made with improvised weapons. Note that characters who are 
  strong enough may use nearly any large, heavy object as an impro-
  vised weapon (see Improvised Weapons in the Combat chapter 
  of M&M).
  LIGHT SLEEPER 
  GENERAL
  You do not suffer the +10 DC modifier to Notice checks for being 
  asleep. This means you’re much less likely to be caught by surprise 
  while sleeping. You can also act immediately upon waking (charac-
  ters are normally dazed for one round after waking).
  LOW-PROFILE 
  REPUTATION, RANKED
  You’re less well known than your capabilities would suggest. 
  Lower your reputation bonus by 3 for each rank in this feat (see 
  Reputation in Chapter 6).
  MARTIAL ARTIST 
  COMBAT
  Your unarmed attacks are considered armed, meaning you do not 
  provoke attacks of opportunity for attacking unarmed, and oppo-
  nents attacking you unarmed may provoke attacks of opportunity 
  from you (see Attacks of Opportunity in Chapter 8). If this feat 
  is available, it should be considered a prerequisite for learning any 
  unarmed fighting style (see Fighting Styles in this chapter).
  MARTIAL STRIKE 
  COMBAT, RANKED
  Prerequisite: Martial Artist
  Your unarmed attacks inflict additional damage: +1 per rank in this 
  feat. Your maximum damage is still limited by the campaign’s power 
  level, and the GM may set an additional limit on the number of 
  ranks you can have in this feat based on things like fighting style 
  and other campaign limits.
  MOBILITY 
  OPPORTUNITY
  You get a +4 dodge bonus against attacks of opportunity provoked 
  when you move out of a threatened area.
  OATHBOUND 
  COMBAT
  Your strong devotion to your allegiance gives you an additional +1 
  modifier on aid another actions for allies who share your allegiance 
  (providing a +3 bonus rather than a +2 bonus). You also gain a +1 
  bonus on attack rolls against opponents with an allegiance opposed 
  to your own.
  
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  47
  OPPORTUNIST 
  OPPORTUNITY
  When an ally successfully attacks an opponent in an area you 
  threaten, you get an immediate attack of opportunity against that 
  opponent. This counts against your normal attacks of opportunity 
  for the round. A successful attack is one that hits and against which 
  the opponent fails a saving throw. (Thus a successful Dazzle or Snare 
  attack would count for purposes of this feat.)
  PERSONAL FIREARMS PROFICIENCY 
  PROFICIENCY
  You can fire any personal firearm without penalty. Characters with-
  out this feat take a –4 non-proficient penalty on attack rolls made 
  with personal firearms.
  RENOWN 
  REPUTATION, RANKED
  Your reputation precedes you. For each rank in this feat, increase 
  your reputation bonus by +3 (see Reputation in Chapter 6).
  SIDESTEP 
  OPPORTUNITY
  When you are eligible to take an attack of opportunity, you can instead 
  choose to take a 5-foot step without provoking an attack of opportu-
  nity. This counts toward your attacks of opportunity for the round.
  SIMPLE WEAPONS PROFICIENCY 
  PROFICIENCY
  You make attack rolls with simple weapons normally. A character 
  without this feat takes the –4 non-proficient penalty when making 
  attacks with simple weapons.
  SPEED OF THOUGHT 
  COMBAT
  You can use your Intelligence modifier rather than your Dexterity 
  modifier when making initiative checks. Other initiative modifiers 
  stack with your Int modifier normally.
  SURFACE VEHICLE OPERATION 
  PROFICIENCY, RANKED
  Select a class of surface vehicle (heavy wheeled, powerboat, sail-
  boat, ship, or tracked). You are proficient at operating that class of 
  vehicle.
   The heavy wheeled class includes all kinds of semi-trucks and trac-
  tor-trailers, as well as wheeled construction vehicles (such as earth 
  movers) and wheeled armored vehicles (such as some armored 
  personnel carriers). Powerboats are engine-powered water vessels 
  designed for operation by a single person and usually no more than 
  100 feet in length. Sailboats are wind-powered water vessels. Ships 
  are large water vessels. Tracked vehicles include bulldozers and tanks 
  and other military vehicles.
   You take no penalty on Drive checks or attack rolls made when 
  operating a surface vehicle of the selected class. Characters with-
  out this feat take a –4 penalty on Drive checks made to operate a 
  surface vehicle that falls under any of these classes, and to attacks 
  made with vehicle weapons. There is no penalty when you operate a 
  general-purpose surface vehicle.
   You can gain this feat multiple times, selecting a different class of 
  surface vehicle each time.
  SWEEPING STRIKE 
  COMBAT
  When you make a successful unarmed attack against an opponent, 
  you can split your damage bonus between damaging your opponent 
  and a free and immediate trip attack. So, for example, if you have a 
  +4 unarmed damage bonus, you can inflict +1 damage and make a 
  trip attack with a +3 bonus in place of your normal Str bonus, or +2 
  damage and +2 trip, or any such combination. You must assign at 
  least a +1 bonus each to damage and trip to use Sweeping Strike. 
  The trip attack is resolved normally, including your opponent poten-
  tially having the opportunity to trip you.
  TOUGH 
  GENERAL, RANKED
  You are unusually tough; add your rank in this feat as a bonus to 
  your Toughness saving throws. Your maximum Toughness save 
  bonus is limited by power level as normal. The GM may choose to 
  set a limit on how many ranks you can have in this feat; Tough is an 
  innate talent or knack, as opposed to the Protection power, which is 
  a superhuman trait. A maximum of three ranks of Tough is usually a 
  fair limit for semi-realistic games.
  UNBALANCING STRIKE 
  COMBAT
  When you hit an opponent with a melee attack, you can choose to 
  throw him off balance rather than inflicting damage. Your opponent 
  makes a Reflex saving throw (DC 10 + your attack’s damage bonus). 
  A failure means he loses his dodge bonus to defense for the next 
  round.
  
  48
  POWERS
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  S
  uper-powers are at the heart of the Mutants & Masterminds sys-
  tem, the first thing most people think of when they consider 
  a superhero character. Powers can also be the most complex 
  element of the game, so this chapter looks at how to create 
  your own powers, how to handle potentially problematic powers, 
  and how to modify the way in which powers work to fit a variety of 
  different styles and settings.
  POWER CREATION
  The material in the Powers chapter of M&M allows you to create vir-
  tually any power using existing powers, power modifiers, and power 
  feats. This chapter provides more detailed guidelines for creating 
  and modifying powers to customize your M&M characters. 
   The power creation guidelines in this chapter are the underlying 
  logic used to build the existing powers in the M&M rulebook (as 
  shown later in the chapter). They add some additional complexity 
  to the power rules to provide more flexibility and customization. As 
  with all of the rules in this book, you can choose to use these guide-
  lines, or not, as you see fit for your own M&M game.
  EFFECTS
  Powers are made up of different types of effects. Some powers have 
  only one effect, while other powers have several.
   Effects come in types: Alteration, Attack, Defense, General, Mental, 
  Movement, Sensory, and Trait effects. These are given and explained 
  in greater detail in the Powers chapter of M&M. An effect’s type 
  determines the general rules governing it and is used for effect 
  interactions, particularly involving things like Immunity to certain 
  effects.
   Effects also come in three basic levels: minor effects cost 1 power 
  point per rank, moderate effects cost 2 power points per rank, and 
  major effects cost 3 power points per rank. Power modifiers can 
  change these costs, and some powers have higher costs per rank 
  based on broader effects or multiple combined effects.
  MINOR
  A minor effect costs 1 power point per rank. Minor effects with 
  personal range (affecting only the user) are usually sustained or per-
  manent in duration and provide an effect equivalent to a +1 bonus 
  to an ability score or saving throw per rank. Minor effects that work 
  on others usually have touch range and a +1 damage bonus or sav-
  ing throw DC modifier per rank.
  MODERATE
  A moderate effect costs 2 power points per rank. Moderate effects 
  with personal range tend to have broader applications or benefits 
  than minor effects, benefiting multiple traits or useful in a wider 
  range of situations. Moderate effects that work on others are either 
  ranged versions of minor effects or have a broader or more debilitat-
  ing effect, such Nauseate, Paralyze, or Stun.
  MAJOR
  A major effect costs 3 power points per rank and has a significant 
  impact. Major personal effects may completely transform the char-
  acter in some fashion; major effects that work on others may be 
  perception-range versions of minor effects, ranged versions of moder-
  ate effects, or other powers that significantly impact their target or 
  the surrounding environment.
   Some M&M powers are based on a “variable” effect, an effect that 
  simulates or duplicates other effects, depending on circumstances. It 
  works as follows:
  VARIABLE POWER
  Effect: General
  Action: Standard
  Range: Personal 
  Duration: Sustained
  Cost: 4–8 points per rank
  You have a pool of (rank x 5) power points you can use to acquire cer-
  tain other traits. No trait can have a rank greater than your Variable 
  Power rank. The cost per rank determines what types of traits you 
  can acquire:
  • 
  4 points: One trait of a particular type (ability scores, skills, 
  feats, or powers of a particular type or descriptor) at a time. 
  Thus you could acquire any one skill at a time, for example, or 
  any one power.
  • 
  5 points: Any one trait at a time.
  • 
  6 points: Multiple traits of a particular type (ability scores, 
  skills, feats, or powers of a particular type or descriptor), so long 
  as the total traits do not add up to more than (rank x 5) power 
  points.
  • 
  7 points: Multiple powers of any type or descriptor at once, so 
  long as the total traits do not add up to more than (rank x 5) 
  power points.
  • 
  8 points: Any combination of traits adding up to (rank x 5) 
  total power points.
  It takes a standard action to change the allocation of your Variable 
  Power’s points. The allocation of those points is sustained, so if 
  you stop maintaining your Variable Power for any reason (failing a 
  Concentration check, for example), your allocated points “reset” to 
  a “null” value: you lose any acquired traits and you must use the 
  Variable Power again to regain them.
  Any Variable Power points you are unable to spend due to your 
  power’s limitations are “wasted” and not usable. So, for example, a 
  character with Variable Power 1 (any one skill, 4 points/rank) can 
  acquire 1 rank in any one skill at a time (since the trait is limited to 
  the power’s rank). This costs only a fraction of a power point, but the 
  remaining points can’t be allocated to anything, since the power is 
  also limited to one skill at a time. The same is true with feats and 
  some low-cost powers.
  CHAPTER 5: POWERS
  
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  50
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  You must also place a particular descriptor on your Variable Power, 
  limiting its scope to traits suited to that descriptor. For example, a 
  Variable Power that mimics other traits is limited to the traits its 
  subjects possesses, a Variable Power providing adaptations is lim-
  ited to the stimulus to which it adapts, and so forth. This descriptor 
  does not reduce the cost of Variable Power unless it’s particularly 
  narrow, and the GM is the final arbiter of what constitutes a suitable 
  Variable Power descriptor and what descriptors are narrow enough 
  to be considered flaws. Use the powers based on Variable Power in 
  this chapter as examples of good descriptors.
   At the Gamemaster’s option, you can trade-off maximum trait rank 
  with a Variable Power for additional power points on a 1-to-5 basis 
  (that is, a 1 rank change in maximum trait value equals a 5-point 
  change in available power points). For example, Variable Power 4 is 
  normally 20 power points up to rank 4 traits, but you could lower 
  the maximum rank to 1 to increase available power points to 35, or 
  lower power points to 10 to increase maximum rank to 6. Narrowing 
  the points available to a Variable Power can limit the rank it can 
  reach simply based on cost. Maximum trait rank can’t be lowered 
  below 1 and maximum power points can’t be lowered below 5.
   Here’s an example of a new variable power: creating different 
  sorts of Devices largely at will.
  GADGETS
  Effect: General
  Action: Standard
  Range: Personal
  Duration: Continuous
  Cost: 6–7 points per rank
  You can produce a wide variety of Devices (see the Powers chapter 
  of M&M) essentially at will. As with Device, Gadgets gives you 5 
  power points per rank to create these items, and you can split your 
  points among multiple devices, if desired. Changing your Gadget 
  points around is a standard action and lasts until you choose to 
  change them again. (The power has a continuous duration, although 
  the powers of the individual devices themselves may have different 
  durations.)
   Your gadgets function in all ways like normal Devices (see the 
  Devices & Equipment chapter of M&M for details).
   The cost of Gadgets depends on how easily they can be taken away 
  from you. If your gadgets are easy to lose (can be taken away with a 
  successful disarm) then the power is 6 points per rank. If they’re hard 
  to lose (can only be taken away from you while you’re helpless), the 
  power is 7 points per rank. If you cannot lose your gadgets at all (they 
  are an integral part of you in some way), then you actually have a 
  different sort of power, possibly Shapeshift (allowing you to transform 
  parts of yourself into different devices, for example).
  MODIFYING EXISTING POWERS
  The easiest way to create a “new” power in M&M is to modify or 
  customize one of the existing powers from the rulebook, giving it a 
  new name and description.
   For example, you want to create a “Pain” power that inflicts 
  debilitating pain on a target. You look through the existing powers 
  in M&M and come up with some pre-existing possibilities, mainly 
  Nauseate and Stun. Looking the descriptions over, Stun does more 
  of what you want, since it renders the target unable to act, and the 
  Fortitude save works well.
   You can simply re-name the power “Pain” and use it as-is or modify 
  it slightly. Perhaps you decide a Will save works better for it (a +0 
  Alternate Save modifier since the power’s save is normally Fortitude). 
  If you want it to work at range (Stun is normally touch range) then 
  another modifier is called for. For example, if you can mentally 
  inflict pain on any target you can perceive, that’s a +2 modifier 
  for Perception range; if you can concentrate to maintain the effect, 
  that’s a +1 modifier for Concentration duration; and so forth.
   You can list the power as a modification of the existing power, 
  or create an entirely new power description for it, as best suits your 
  game. Sometimes simply creating a new description for a power helps 
  to establish it as a new and “independent” power rather than simply a 
  modification of an existing one, such as the following example:
  PAIN
  Effect: Attack
  Action: Standard
  Range: Perception
  Duration: Concentration (lasting)
  Cost: 4 points per rank
  Saving Throw: Will
  WITH VARIABLE POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
  Powers based off Variable Power are obviously very flexible, capable of duplicating a potentially wide range of different traits. Responsibility for 
  controlling Variable Power use in the campaign is placed largely in the hands of the Gamemaster and responsible players. To do otherwise would 
  require weighing the power down with numerous limitations, which would keep it from doing what it is supposed to do, namely create a wide range 
  of effects.
   Keep in mind that Variable Power is not supposed to be an “anything I want” power. That kind of unlimited power doesn’t belong in the hands of the 
  player characters, and is better reserved as an X-trait for NPCs. The limits of power flexibility in M&M are deliberately set by Variable Power, the use of 
  extra effort, and hero points.
   Many comic book heroes who appear to have the power to do anything are actually using one of those options in M&M terms. For example, the master 
  mage or the hero with the all-powerful wishing ring can do practically anything. However, generally speaking, those characters have certain abilities 
  they use all the time (powers and power feats they’ve bought with power points) and “tricks” they only do from time to time, essentially power stunts 
  performed with extra effort (and possibly hero points). This is why the Magic power, for example, isn’t a Variable Power in M&M: all powers in the game 
  have the potential to do “stunts” via extra effort, so the “variability” of Magic as seen in the comics is already built-in without having to give players 
  license to duplicate any effect in the game at will (which is likely to slow things down and cause game balance issues).
   While you can certainly allow unlimited Variable Powers in your own M&M game if you wish, be aware of the consequences of doing so. In particular, 
  the need for extra effort and hero points for power stunts becomes much less, and players are encouraged to “customize” their characters’ powers to 
  suit every challenge and situation, making it that much harder to properly challenge them. Unlimited Variable Powers also reduce the need for teams 
  and teamwork. If every hero can do everything, why do they need to work together?
  
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  51
  You can mentally 
  inflict debilitating pain 
  on any target you can accurately perceive. Take a 
  standard action to use the power. The target makes a Will 
  saving throw (DC 10 + power rank). A failed save means 
  the target is dazed. A save that fails by 5 or more means the 
  target is stunned, while a save that fails by 10 or more means the tar-
  get is rendered unconscious by the pain. The target gets a new saving 
  throw to shake off the effects of Pain for each interval that passes on 
  the Time and Value Progression table, beginning one minute after 
  it takes effect, or until you stop concentrating on the power.
  CREATING NEW POWERS
  In some cases, modifying existing powers, even with the use of 
  power modifiers and feats, can’t create the effect you want. In these 
  cases, the first thing to ask is if the effect is one you even want to 
  allow in the game. The reason the existing powers can’t model it 
  might be due to it being impractical, even for the scale of a super-
  hero comic book. For example, modeling a power like the ability to 
  shift the positions of celestial bodies (planets, suns, etc.) is largely 
  beyond the scope of the M&M system. You could theoretically do it 
  with enough ranks of Telekinesis or a similar power, but overall it’s a 
  capability best left as a plot device in the hands of the GM (where it 
  doesn’t really need game stats).
   If the power is just unusual, and doesn’t fit smoothly with the 
  existing powers, your best option is to simply create a new power 
  out of whole cloth. Use the guidelines for effect levels in this chap-
  ter and the existing powers as models. Try and use pre-existing 
  power mechanics where you can, and compare the new power’s 
  cost against the costs of existing powers.
  POWER EXAMPLE: 
  MENTAL DUPLICATION
   For example, a player wants 
  a character with an unusual 
  power: the ability to mentally 
  duplicate the minds of other people. Essentially, the character 
  “absorbs” and “copies” the subject’s mind, gaining all of the sub-
  ject’s memories and knowledge. This is well beyond the scope of 
  simple Mind Reading, as given in the M&M rulebook, and calls for a 
  new power.
   Talking it over with the GM, the player concludes that the Mimic 
  power is probably the best model for this power. After all, the char-
  acter is essentially “mimicking” the subject’s entire mind. The GM 
  decides that in game terms, this means the character gains all the 
  subject’s mental skills (which includes Knowledge, or “everything 
  the subject knows”). This is like the 3-point level of Mimic (“all traits 
  of a particular type”) but narrower than “all skills,” so the GM says 
  2 power points per rank sounds about right. So the character gains 
  5 power points of mental skills per rank of the power, up to the 
  subject’s total ranks in skills.
   Looking at the other qualities of Mimic, they use them as a basis: 
  it’s touch range and sustained in duration. The player wants it to 
  be ranged, but the GM vetoes this, saying a ranged power able to 
  “take” all of a subject’s knowledge is just too effective for the game. 
  So it remains touch range. Additionally, the GM says the power has 
  to allow for a Will saving throw; if successful, it has no effect. The 
  player wants the power’s duration to be continuous: the character 
  can hold on to the knowledge as long as desired. The GM agrees, 
  and that bumps its cost up by 1 to 3 power points per rank.
  
  52
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  COST
  EFFECT
  ABSORPTION (PHYSICAL/ENERGY)
  1
  Minor Defense Effect (Impervious Protection to Physical or Energy Damage)
  plus one of:
  3
  Boost (Trait, 1 point), Linked to Defense (+0), Reaction (+3), Self Only (–1)
  3
  Healing (2 points), Linked to Defense (+0), Reaction (+4), Self Only (–1), 
  Cannot cure disease or poison (–1), Cannot cure stunned conditions (–1)
  Since the two additional effects aren’t usable simultaneously, characters can 
  take the other as an Alternate Power of the first.
  ADAPTATION
  6
  Variable Power (multiple traits of a particular descriptor, 6 points), 
  Action (full, –1), Duration (Continuous, +1)
  ADDITIONAL LIMBS
  1
  Minor Alteration Effect
  (ALTERNATE) FORM
  5
  A collection of powers totaling 5 points per rank. You could buy Alternate 
  Form powers individually for much the same effect, but grouping them 
  together into a single power provides some strong thematic unity and 
  ease of reference.
  ANATOMIC SEPARATION
  2
  Moderate Alteration Effect
  ANIMAL CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Mental Effect, Duration (Sustained, +1), Limited (animals, –1)
  ANIMAL MIMICRY
  9
  Variable Power (any combination of traits, 8 points), Action (free, +2), 
  Duration (Continuous, +1), Limited (animal traits, –1), Limited (physical 
  traits, –1), Doesn’t assume subject’s appearance (+0)
  ANIMATE OBJECTS
  3
  Major General Effect
  ASTRAL FORM
  5
  Communication (mental, 1 point), ESP (three senses, 4 points)
  BLAST
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  BOOST (TRAIT)
  1–5
  Minor Trait Effect, plus enhancements (at higher levels)
  BURROWING
  1
  Minor Movement Effect
  COLD CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect, equivalent to Environmental Control (cold)
  COST
  EFFECT
  COMMUNICATION
  1
  Minor Sensory Effect
  COLD CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect, equivalent to Environmental Control (cold)
  COMMUNICATION
  1
  Minor Sensory Effect
  COMPREHEND
  2
  Moderate Sensory Effect
  CONCEALMENT
  2
  Moderate Sensory Effect
  CONFUSE
  1
  Minor Mental Effect
  CORROSION
  2
  Minor Attack Effect (Damage) linked to Minor Alteration Effect (Drain 
  Toughness)
  COSMIC ENERGY CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect (Blast)
  CREATE OBJECT
  2
  Moderate General Effect
  DARKNESS CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Sensory Effect (Obscure)
  DATALINK
  1
  Minor Sensory Effect
  DAZZLE
  1
  Minor Sensory Effect (for one sense type, +1 point per additional sense 
  type)
  DEFLECT
  1–3
  Minor, Moderate, or Major Defense Effect
  DENSITY
  3
  Major Alteration Effect: Each rank provides: +2 Strength (2 points), 
  half a rank of Impervious Protection (1 point), and one-third of a rank 
  of Immovable and Super-Strength (3 points, or 1 point per rank), 4 
  points total, with a –1 modifier for overall limitations.
  DEVICE
  3–4
  5 power points per rank used to acquire device traits, with a –1 or –2 
  modifier for device type.
  EXISTING POWER DESIGNS
  This section takes a look at the existing powers from the M&M rulebook, breaking them down into their component parts so you can see how they 
  were constructed. This allows you to reconstruct or revise these powers as you see fit and also offers various examples of power design when it comes 
  to creating your own unique powers, as described in the following sections.
  
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  POWERS
  53
  COST
  EFFECT
  DIMENSIONAL POCKET
  2
  Super-Movement (Dimensional), Attack (+0) = 2 points for rank 1. Each 
  additional rank is +1 Progression (mass) and +1 save DC (2 points).
  DISINTEGRATION
  4
  Moderate Attack Effect plus Moderate Alteration Effect (Drain 
  Toughness, Ranged)
  DRAIN (TRAIT)
  1–5
  Minor Trait Effect, plus enhancements (at higher levels)
  DUPLICATION
  2
  Moderate General Effect (based off Summon)
  ELECTRICAL CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect (Blast)
  (ELEMENT) CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect (Telekinesis), Limited (only element –1), Range 
  (perception +1)
  ELONGATION
  1
  Minor Alteration Effect
  EMOTION CONTROL
  2
  Minor Mental Effect, Duration (sustained +1)
  ENHANCED ABILITY
  1
  Minor Trait Effect
  ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
  1–2
  Minor or Moderate General Effect
  ESP
  1–4
  Minor Sensory Effect, plus enhancements (at higher levels)
  FATIGUE
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  FLIGHT
  2
  Moderate Movement Effect
  FORCE FIELD
  1
  Minor Defense Effect
  FRICTION CONTROL
  3
  Minor Attack Effect, Area (burst +1), Range (ranged +1)
  GESTALT
  1
  Minor General Effect equal to Summon (2), Duration (continuous +1), 
  Heroic (+1), Action (full –1), Limited (no simultaneous existence –1), 
  Range (personal –1)
  GRAVITY CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect similar to Telekinesis (2), Area (burst +1), 
  Limited (only up or down –1)
  GROWTH
  3
  Major Alteration Effect: each rank grants +2 Strength (2), +1 Con (1), 
  and one-fourth of a rank of Super-Strength, a +5 ft. move, and an area 
  attack against smaller foes (worth 1 point per rank total), with a –1 
  modifier for overall limitations.
  HEALING
  2
  Moderate Alteration Effect
  COST
  EFFECT
  HELLFIRE CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  ILLUSION
  1–4
  Minor Sensory Effect with enhancements (at higher levels)
  IMMOVABLE
  1
  Minor Defense Effect
  IMMUNITY
  1
  Minor Defense Effect
  INSUBSTANTIAL
  5
  Major Alteration Effect plus some enhancements. Similar to Alternate 
  Form, but more generalized.
  INVISIBILITY
  4
  Two moderate sensory effects equal to 2 ranks of Concealment
  KINETIC CONTROL
  2
  Minor Attack Effect
  LEAPING
  1
  Minor Movement Effect
  LIFE CONTROL
  4
  Moderate Attack Effect (Nauseate), Range (perception +2)
  LIGHT CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect equal to Environmental Control (illumination)
  LUCK CONTROL
  3
  Minor General Effect, Range (perception +2)
  MAGIC
  2
  Moderate General Effect
  MAGNETIC CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect (Telekinesis), Limited (metals only –1), Range 
  (perception +1)
  MENTAL BLAST
  4
  Moderate Attack Effect, Alternate Save (Will +1), Range (perception +1)
  MIMIC (TRAIT)
  1–5
  Variable Power, Range (touch –2), Requires Subject (–1)
  MIND CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Mental Effect
  MIND READING
  1
  Minor Mental Effect
  MIND SHIELD
  1
  Minor Defense/Mental Effect (Will save bonus), Impervious (+1), 
  Limited (only mental powers –1)
  MIND SWITCH
  2
  Moderate Mental Effect, Duration (sustained +1), Side-Effect (target 
  controls your body –1)
  MORPH
  1–3
  Minor to Major Alteration Effect
  NAUSEATE
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  
  54
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  COST
  EFFECT
  NEMESIS
  8
  Variable Power (7 points), Action (free +2), Duration (continuous +1), 
  Limited (nemesis powers only –1), Requires Subject (–1)
  NULLIFY (POWER)
  1–3
  Minor to Major Trait Effect
  OBJECT MIMICRY
  6
  Variable Power (7 points), Action (move +1), Limited (object powers 
  only –1), Requires Subject (–1)
  OBSCURE
  1–4
  Minor Sensory Effect with enhancements (at higher levels)
  PARALYZE
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  PLANT CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect, Area (burst +1), Limited (requires plants –1)
  PLASMA CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  POSSESSION
  4
  Moderate Mental Effect, Duration (sustained +1) plus a Minor 
  Alteration Effect (merging with the target)
  POWER CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Mental Effect, Duration (sustained +1), Limited (only 
  controls subject’s powers –1)
  PROTECTION
  1
  Minor Defense Effect (Toughness save bonus)
  QUICKNESS
  1
  Minor General Effect
  RADIATION CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  REGENERATION
  1
  Minor Alteration Effect
  SENSORY SHIELD
  1-2
  Minor Defense Effect, Impervious (+1), Limited (only Dazzle attacks –2), 
  for a cost of 1 point per 2 ranks (or a bonus of +2 per rank, essentially). 
  Moderate Defense Effect for all senses (increasing cost by 1 point)
  SHAPESHIFT
  8
  Variable Power (8 points), Action (move +1), Limited (physical traits 
  only –1)
  SHIELD
  1
  Minor Defense Effect (dodge bonus)
  SHRINKING
  1
  Minor Alteration Effect
  SNARE
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  SONIC CONTROL
  2
  Minor Attack/Sensory Effect (Dazzle), Area (burst +1)
  SPACE TRAVEL
  1
  Minor Movement Effect
  COST
  EFFECT
  SPATIAL CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Movement Effect
  SPEED
  1
  Minor Movement Effect
  SPINNING
  2
  Two Minor Defense Effects
  STRIKE
  1
  Minor Attack Effect
  STUN
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  SUFFOCATE
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect
  SUMMON (MINION)
  2
  Moderate General Effect
  SUPER-MOVEMENT
  2
  Moderate Movement Effect
  SUPER-SENSES
  1
  Minor Sensory Effect
  SUPER-SPEED
  5
  Moderate Attack or General Effect (array) plus Minor Trait (Initiative), 
  Minor General (Quickness), Minor Movement (Speed)
  SUPER-STRENGTH
  2
  Moderate Trait Effect
  SWIMMING
  1
  Minor Movement Effect
  TELEKINESIS
  2
  Moderate General Effect (equivalent of Strength with Range and 
  Limited to no damage)
  TELEPATHY
  2
  Minor Mental Effect (Mind Reading) plus Minor Sensory Effect (Mental 
  Communication)
  TELEPORT
  2
  Moderate Movement Effect
  TIME CONTROL
  7
  Super-Speed, Affects Others (+1), Range (ranged +1)
  TRANSFER
  2–10
  Drain plus linked Boost
  TRANSFORM
  3–6
  Moderate Alteration Effect, Range (ranged +1), with enhancements at 
  higher levels.
  TRIP
  1
  Minor Attack Effect
  VIBRATION CONTROL
  2
  Moderate Attack Effect (Blast)
  WEATHER CONTROL
  2
  Moderate General Effect equal to Environmental Control
  
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  55
   In exchange for the Will save requirement, the player wants the 
  power to be able to duplicate more than one mind at once. The GM 
  is agreeable and says it can duplicate up to two minds simultane-
  ously, like one application of the Extra Subject modifier of Mimic, 
  with no change in cost. Additional minds require application of the 
  Extra Subject modifier, but are not made part of the base power.
   Taking this foundation, the player goes away and writes up the 
  new power, submitting it to the GM for approval.
  MENTAL DUPLICATION
  Effect: Alteration
  Action: Standard
  Range: Touch
  Duration: Continuous
  Cost: 3 points per rank
  You can “duplicate” the qualities of another character’s mind. You 
  must touch the subject, who makes a Will saving throw. If the save 
  succeeds, there’s no effect. If it fails, you gain mental skills equal to 
  the subject’s, up to a total value in skills equal to your power rank x 
  5 in power points. So Mental Duplication 8, for example, allows you 
  to gain up to 40 power points in skills.
   Since this power duplicates Knowledge skills, you know everything 
  the subject knows, although the GM may require a Knowledge skill 
  check (using the subject’s skill rank but your Int modifier) to recall 
  a particular fact. You retain the duplicate of the subject’s mind and 
  knowledge for as long as you choose.
   You can duplicate up to two minds at once, and your power points 
  in skills per rank applies to each mind separately. So, again, with 
  Mental Duplication 8, you can gain up to 40 power points in skills 
  each from two different characters at once. You must use your power 
  separately against each subject.
  FLAWS
  • 
  Split Personality (–1): The minds you duplicate can over-
  whelm your own on occasion. An absorbed mind can initiate a 
  mental grapple (See the Combat chapter of M&M) against you, 
  using the subject’s original mental traits. If it wins, it controls 
  your body like a use of the Possession power. You need to make 
  a successful Will save with a DC of 10 + the possessing mind’s 
  Will save bonus to wrest back control. You also regain control if 
  your Mental Duplication power is nullified in some way.
  POWER EXAMPLE: PROBABILITY CONTROL
  For another example, a player wants a character with control over 
  the forces of chance. While the player could create a character with 
  lots of ranks of the Luck feat and the Luck Control power, neither is 
  exactly the effect the player is looking for. Talking things over with 
  the GM, they come up with the idea that the character can affect die 
  rolls, since they represent “chance” in game terms.
   This is an example of a power created from whole cloth, just using 
  existing mechanics (like taking 10) and other powers as examples 
  for how much the new power should cost. While many new pow-
  ers can be based on existing ones, sometimes it’s necessary—or just 
  more effective—to create something entirely new.
   Initially, the player suggests a “floating” bonus to die rolls; 
  essentially adding a power’s rank to one die roll a round. The GM 
  has concerns about this because it adds to the die roll. It’s good 
  for improving poor die rolls, but it makes the good ones amazingly 
  good, especially when added to the character’s existing modifiers, 
  and it might throw the game out of whack. It also doesn’t work well 
  with taking 10 and taking 20, the usual ways characters deal with 
  random chance.
   So the GM proposes a slight variation; instead of a bonus to die 
  rolls, the character gains a certain “reliability factor” when it comes 
  to “random” rolls. Luck isn’t so much “luck” where the character is 
  concerned, but a degree of certainty. Considering the broad ben-
  efits this grants, the GM looks over existing powers, particularly 
  the Variable Power, and decides a cost of 4 points per rank is rea-
  sonable. Most checks and rolls don’t have a cost of greater than 
  2 points per rank for modifiers (e.g., attack and defense) and 4 
  points is the Variable Power level for “any one trait at a time.” The 
  GM says the effect is instant, only lasting for that one roll, but also 
  makes it so the power only requires a free action. The Gamemaster 
  writes it up and the player agrees that it suits the concept of the 
  character.
  PROBABILITY CONTROL
  Effect: Alteration
  Action: Free
  Range: Personal
  Duration: Instant
  Cost: 4 points per rank
  You have some control over the otherwise random whims of chance. 
  Each round, you can make your Probability Control rank the mini-
  mum result of any one die roll you make. If the die comes up with a 
  lower result, use your power rank instead. So if you have Probability 
  Control 12, you can choose a die roll and be ensured a minimum 
  result of 12 on the die, treating any roll of less than a 12 as a 12. A 
  
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  20 on the die roll acquired through Probability Control is not consid-
  ered a “natural 20.”
   At rank 1, Probability Control only ensures that a natural 1 on an 
  attack roll is not an automatic miss, if the total attack roll would 
  still hit the target’s Defense. Higher ranks increasingly ensure reli-
  ably good outcomes (or at least a degree of immunity to poor ones) 
  while the highest ranks ensure the character can regularly accom-
  plish amazing things. Probability Control’s maximum rank is the 
  campaign’s power level or 20 (whichever is less).
   At the Gamemaster’s discretion, you can split your Probability 
  Control among multiple die rolls in the same round, having a lesser 
  effect. So, for example, you could split Probability Control 12 into 
  two minimum die rolls of 6, for example, or any other combination 
  adding up to 12. In this case, the GM may wish to allow Probability 
  Control ranks greater than 20, but with no more than 20 ranks 
  assigned to any particular die roll in a round.
  EXTRAS
  • 
  Fortune (+1): You can grant the benefits of your Probability 
  Control to someone else by touch.
  • 
  Jinx (+1): You can affect someone else with bad luck by touch 
  (requiring a successful melee attack roll for an unwilling sub-
  ject). The target gets a Will saving throw to avoid the effect. If it 
  fails, on one of the subject’s die rolls for the next round (chosen 
  by you), a roll equal to or less than your Probability Control rank 
  is treated as a 1, or any other number up to your power rank (so 
  having 6 ranks would allow you to declare any roll of between 1 
  and 6). A 1 on the die roll acquired through Probability Control 
  is not considered a “natural 1.”
  • Range (+1): You can use Fortune and/or Jinx at normal range as a 
  +1 extra. For a +2 extra, you can use either at perception range. You 
  must have the Fortune or Jinx extra(s) to benefit from this extra.
  FLAWS
  • 
  Limited (–1): You can only use the Fortune or Jinx ability of 
  Probability Control; the power doesn’t benefit you. You must 
  have the appropriate extra (Fortune or Jinx) to take this flaw.
  OTHER TRAITS AS POWERS
  Enhanced Abilities in M&M offers a guideline for turning other traits 
  in the game into powers, including combat bonuses, saving throw 
  bonuses, skills, and feats.
   At the Gamemaster’s discretion, any or all of these traits can 
  become powers using the same guidelines as Enhanced Abilities: 
  the chosen trait has the same cost, but is a continuous duration trait 
  power, meaning it can be enhanced using extra effort but also coun-
  tered or nullified by other powers.
   This suits certain concepts, such as characters gaining unusual 
  Fortitude or Reflexes from their powers (outside of having Enhanced 
  Constitution or Dexterity), powers granting unusual combat skill, or 
  skills or feats granted to characters by outside forces like Devices, 
  enchantments, or super-human “talents.” For example, a particular 
  character might be an incredible inventor—with the Inventor feat 
  and ranks in the appropriate Craft and Knowledge skills—due to an 
  innate mutant power rather than talent or training. This character 
  can “push” his skills through extra effort, but can also lose them to 
  mutant-power nullifiers, for example.
  POWER CREATION EXAMPLES:  
  MARTIAL ARTS POWERS
  A number of legendary powers are attributed to martial arts mas-
  ters. These are beyond the scope of the fighting styles described 
  in Chapter 4, but may be suitable powers for martial arts heroes 
  and villains in a M&M game. Some common martial arts powers are 
  described here, and Gamemasters can use the power design guide-
  lines in this chapter to create others as desired.
  CHI
  Many legendary martial arts abilities are based on the cultivation 
  and control of chi or ki, meaning “life force.” It is the vital energy 
  flowing through living beings, and true adepts learn to strengthen 
  and harness it for various effects. In particular, masters of chi can 
  increase their physical abilities to superhuman levels. They heal rap-
  idly, and are highly resistant to diseases and poisons. They may even 
  be immortal.
   Looking over these qualities associated with chi we see several 
  M&M powers: Boost for physical ability scores, the power of Healing, 
  and various types of Immunity. One could create a perfectly effective 
  chi master by simply taking these three powers and giving them a 
  “chi” or “life force” descriptor. However, the GM wants to build a 
  customized Chi power for the game, and starts looking at the basics 
  of the powers.
   Boost affecting any one physical ability score at a time costs 2 
  points per rank. However, chi is a personal force, so the GM decides 
  the Personal modifier is appropriate, lowering it to 1 point per rank. 
  Healing also costs 2 points per rank, and the GM decides to apply a 
  Personal modifier to it as well. Since the two powers have the same 
  cost per rank and the same descriptors, they make natural Alternate 
  Powers for an array.
   Looking to Immunity, the GM sees a few suited to a chi master: 
  aging; disease; poison; and environmental conditions like cold and 
  heat, to reflect the kind of yogic adepts who shrug off temperature 
  extremes. Given the nature of chi, the GM decides these immuni-
  ties should be sustained in nature, rather than permanent. This is 
  a net +0 modifier, but it has two important effects: first, it makes 
  the chi-user’s concentration important, as it appears to be in the 
  source material. Second, it allows a character with Chi power to 
  enhance his Immunity through extra effort, perhaps even gaining 
  another Immunity temporarily. This, too, fits with the source mate-
  rial.
   Taken all together, the GM writes up the new power:
  CHI
  Effect: Alteration/Trait
  Action: Standard/Full
  Range: Personal
  Duration: Instant
  Cost: 1 point per rank
  You can control and channel your chi or life force. Choose one of the 
  following effects when you acquire this power:
  • 
  As a standard action, you can temporarily improve one of your 
  physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution) like 
  a use of Boost (see the Powers chapter of M&M). You gain abil-
  ity score points equal to your power rank, which fade at a rate of 
  1 point per round until gone.
  
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  57
  • As a full action, you can heal yourself, like a use 
  of Healing (see the Powers chapter of M&M).
  You can acquire the other effect of Chi as an Alternate 
  Power feat of your primary effect.
  POWER FEATS
  • 
  Immunity: You can acquire any of the following Immunities 
  (see the Powers chapter of M&M) as power feats of Chi: aging, 
  cold, disease, heat, poison, starvation and thirst, sleep, or suf-
  focation. These immunities are sustained in duration, meaning 
  you must take a free action to activate them, a free action 
  each round to maintain them, and may enhance them using 
  extra effort. If you are unable to maintain your immunity, it 
  lapses.
  DIM MAK
  Dim mak is the legendary “death touch” ability of some martial 
  artists: capable of only lightly touching an opponent to cause instan-
  taneous death, or to inflict an effect like a terrible wasting disease.
  The GM decides the Dim Mak power should have both abilities: 
  near-instant death and causing a victim to slowly waste away. While 
  the former could simply be a huge damage bonus, it doesn’t really 
  reflect how the power works, through a manipulation of life force. 
  Instead, the GM looks over the existing powers and decides Drain 
  fits the bill, particularly Drain Constitution.
   A target completely drained of Constitution is left dying, with a 
  penalty on the check required to survive. That sounds exactly like 
  the effect of a “death touch.” Additionally, the power would have 
  no effect on targets lacking a Constitution score, like constructs 
  or nonliving objects, which also suits the legends surrounding the 
  power.
   Draining a single ability score costs 1 point per rank. Since Drain 
  has a saving throw, maximum power rank will be limited by the cam-
  paign’s power level. Drain has a range of Touch already, which fits 
  a lethal melee attack, and its saving throw is Fortitude, which the 
  GM decides fits the powers concept, representing the health of the 
  target’s chi.
   For the other aspect of the power, the GM looks over the power 
  modifiers and comes upon the Disease modifier (see the Powers 
  chapter of M&M). It sounds just like a “wasting disease”: a daily 
  effect on the victim. It can even be countered by Healing, just as 
  some Chinese healers were said to be able to counteract a death 
  touch.
   Since an attacker by definition won’t use both aspects of Dim Mak 
  at once, they can be Alternate Powers of an array. With that in mind, 
  along with the greater cost of Drain with the Disease modifier, the 
  GM writes up the power.
  DIM MAK (DEATH TOUCH)
  Effect: Trait
  Action: Standard
  Range: Touch
  Duration: Instant
  Cost: 1 point per rank
  Saving Throw: Fortitude
  Your martial arts mastery is so well trained and focussed that you 
  can inflict potential death with a mere touch! You must touch your 
  opponent in combat with a melee attack roll as a standard action. 
  If successful, the victim makes a Fortitude saving throw to avoid los-
  ing Constitution points equal to your power rank. Targets reduced to 
  Con 0 are dying and suffer a –5 penalty on checks to stabilize. Lost 
  Constitution otherwise returns at a rate of 1 point per round if the 
  target does not die.
  
  58
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  POWER FEATS
  • 
  Wasting: Instead of inflicting instant lost of Constitution, 
  your touch can cause a slow, wasting disease. Your effective 
  power rank is one-third normal (rounded down). The target 
  makes a Fortitude save against your touch. If it is successful, 
  there is no effect. If it fails, on the following day the target 
  makes another Fortitude save against the same DC. If it also 
  fails, the target loses Constitution points equal to your reduced 
  rank. The target makes another save each day; failure means 
  loss of additional Constitution, while success means no effect 
  for that day. Two successful saves in a row stops the wasting 
  entirely. Healing can also cure it with a power check (DC 10 
  + 1/3 your Dim Mark rank). The target cannot recover lost 
  Constitution until the wasting is halted or the target’s condi-
  tion becomes dying at Con 0.
   Looking over the power, the GM decides that Dim Mak is indeed 
  a dangerous ability and so it will be a “secret technique” in the 
  context of the campaign. To learn it, a character must first achieve 
  worthiness by meeting a series of requirements, not the least of 
  which is mastery of a suitable fighting style (see Chapter 4), 
  and study under a capable teacher. This allows the GM to control 
  which characters acquire the power, and at what rank, and is an 
  example of an instance where the Gamemaster may need to exert 
  additional control over a power’s acquisition and use in the con-
  text of a campaign.
  KIAI
  The kiai or “spirit shout” is a technique used by martial artists to 
  channel ki (life force) into their voices. By giving a powerful, forceful 
  yell, the adept can put opponents off-balance, strengthen their own 
  attacks, and more. Truly powerful kiai shouts can deafen foes, heal 
  the injured, or even smash objects.
   This is quite an array of powers, and the GM decides it should be 
  just that: an array of Alternate Powers all connected to the common 
  descriptor and effect of kiai.
   Looking over the source material, the Gamemaster comes up 
  with the following list of effects for the Kiai power: deafening, stun-
  ning, shattering, and healing, plus the enhancement of martial arts 
  attacks.
  A quick look through the Powers chapter of M&M turns up most of 
  the suitable powers: an auditory Dazzle, a ranged Stun, Disintegration 
  against inanimate objects, and Healing. For the enhancement of 
  attacks, the GM decides to go with the Strike power, which enhances 
  melee damage.
   Those power effects are just the beginning, however. The GM con-
  siders that a Kiai shout affects a cone-shaped area in front of the user 
  (the Area modifier). However, it’s limited to that area immediately in 
  front of the user, meaning the powers are effectively touch range (a 
  flaw for Dazzle and Disintegration, but not Healing or Stun). Since 
  Kiai Healing is usually focused on one subject, the GM decides the 
  two power modifiers don’t apply to it, or to Strike, which enhances 
  the user of the power. Also, since the effect is touch range, the GM 
  decides to go with Corrosion rather than Disintegration, since it is 
  the touch range version. With these things in mind, he writes up the 
  following:
  KIAI (SPIRIT SHOUT)
  Effect: Trait
  Action: Standard or more
  Range: Touch
  Duration: Instant
  Cost: 2 points per rank
  Saving Throw: Varies (see following)
  You can emit a powerful “spirit shout” with various effects. Choose 
  one of the following effects when you acquire this power. You can 
  acquire the other effects as Alternate Power feats.
  • 
  Deafen: You can make an auditory Dazzle attack (see the 
  Powers chapter of M&M) against all opponents in a cone-
  shaped area in front of you with a length and width (at its end) 
  of 10 feet per power rank. Targets receive a Reflex save, as usual, 
  and a Fortitude save to recover.
  • 
  Stun: You can make a Stun attack (see the Powers chapter of 
  M&M) against all opponents in a cone-shaped area in front of 
  you with a length and width (at its end) of 10 feet per power 
  rank. The DC of the Fortitude save is 10 + two-thirds your Kiai 
  rank (rounded down).
  • 
  Shatter: You can smash inanimate objects with the sound of 
  your voice. This affects a cone-shaped area, as previously, like a 
  use of the Corrosion power (see the Powers chapter of M&M) 
  at your Kiai power rank, but only affects inanimate objects, not 
  living creatures or constructs.
  • 
  Heal: You can use the power of your spirit shout to heal inju-
  ries. This works exactly like a use of the Healing power (see the 
  Powers chapter of M&M) at your Kiai power rank.
  
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  59
  • 
  Strike: By emitting a forceful shout, you enhance the force 
  of your unarmed attacks. Add your Kiai rank to your unarmed 
  damage like a Mighty Strike (see the Powers chapter of M&M). 
  Your total unarmed damage is limited by the campaign’s power 
  level.
  If you are mute, silenced, or otherwise unable to shout, you cannot 
  use your Kiai power.
  Glancing over the power, the GM decides that the minor drawback 
  of having to be able to shout to use the power balances out not 
  charging a point for the Mighty power feat for Strike and is easier 
  than fiddling over 1 power point, and so leaves it as-is. As with Dim 
  Mak, the GM may choose to limit access to Kiai to characters with 
  certain training in a fighting style or other prerequisites, as best suits 
  the campaign.
  SPECIALTY STRIKES
  Like the fabled death touch (previously), many martial arts have eso-
  teric lore about special touch attacks able to cause many different 
  effects, from blindness to pain to disease-like symptoms. It’s fairly 
  easy to create these kinds of specialty attacks as touch-range pow-
  ers, like the following:
  BLINDING STRIKE
  By striking the right nerve points or the like, the attacker can cause 
  temporary blindness in the target. This is a visual Dazzle attack, 
  which normally costs 2 points per rank. The touch range modifier 
  reduces this to 1 point per rank, requiring a melee attack roll rather 
  than a ranged attack. The GM also decides to apply the Alternate 
  Save modifier, changing the initial Reflex save against the attack to 
  a Fortitude save to better represent the attack’s effect. This is a +0 
  modifier, so it has no effect on cost, leaving it at 1 point per rank. 
  Rank (and therefore saving throw DC) is limited by power level.
  CHI STRIKE
  Rather than striking at the target’s body, the attacker strikes the chi 
  or life force directly. The GM decides this will be a damaging Strike, 
  but with the Alternate Save power modifier, shifting the saving throw 
  from Toughness to Will (representing the spirit or psyche). This is a 
  +1 modifier. Since the strike isn’t reliant on the attacker’s physical 
  strength, the Mighty power feat doesn’t apply in the GM’s judgment. 
  This gives a final cost of 2 points per power rank. The Mind Shield 
  power (see the Powers chapter of M&M) protects against this sort 
  of strike like any other mental power.
  COBRA STRIKE
  This is a damaging strike that works like a cobra’s venom, affect-
  ing the target like a poison. Looking over the powers and modifiers, 
  the GM decides that Strike with the Poison power modifier fits the 
  desired effect. Poison is a +1 modifier and requires the power to 
  have a Fortitude saving throw, so the Alternate Save modifier is also 
  required. Since Strike is a Toughness save effect, that’s another +1 
  modifier, for a total of +2. This makes the strike cost 3 points per 
  rank (1 for Strike, plus a +2 total modifier). Because the technique 
  doesn’t rely on the attacker’s Strength, the GM decides against 
  applying the Mighty power feat (which also saves some complication 
  in terms of applying the power modifiers to the attacker’s Strength 
  score). So the final cost is 3 power points per rank. The victim of 
  the attack makes a Fortitude save against the initial damage, then 
  another Fortitude save one minute later against the same damage; 
  Healing can help against the secondary damage by clearing away 
  the “negative chi” the strike inflicts.
  PARALYZING STRIKE
  Striking against certain nerves or muscles, the attacker can induce 
  paralysis. This is an application of the Paralyze power; since it is 
  already touch range, it’s a straightforward use of the existing power 
  at 2 points per rank.
  SICKENING STRIKE
  Rather than inflicting normal damage, the strike disorients or sickens 
  the target. This is a direct application of the Nauseate power; it’s 
  already touch range, and requires a melee attack roll and a Fortitude 
  saving throw, so it costs 2 power points per rank, as usual.
  SPECIALTY STRIKES AS ALTERNATE POWERS
  In addition to the various strikes being available individually, the 
  GM also decides they can be Alternate Powers of an array of strikes. 
  So once a character learns one specialty strike, he can acquire others 
  as Alternate Power feats, although the cost per rank may limit the 
  ranks available to some of them, depending on how many points the 
  character invests in the primary power (and the campaign’s power 
  level limits, as usual).
  THE ART OF POWER DESIGN
  Power design in M&M is more than just a matter of crunching num-
  bers to come up with the most efficient, effective, and useful power 
  possible, or at least it should be about more than that, and it’s part 
  of the Gamemaster’s job to handle it.
   You’ll note that many of the power design guidelines in this 
  chapter are just that: guidelines, deliberately vague in many cases 
  to allow for the sort of judgment calls and “eyeballing” necessary 
  to accommodate the breadth of powers found in the comic books 
  and in various M&M campaigns. There isn’t always a single “right” 
  answer to a power design question; there may be multiple right 
  answers, and not every answer is right for every game.
  CONTROLLING POWER ABUSE
  Any purely mechanistic power-creation system is open to abuse. 
  Sooner or later, players will find and exploit loopholes in the system 
  to create the “killer app,” a power that is overwhelmingly efficient, 
  and most likely completely unfair to everyone else in the game. As 
  Gamemaster, you’ve basically got three options when that happens.
   The first is to shrug, saying, “Well, it’s in the rules,” and accept that 
  your game is going to be ruined. The other players will be forced to 
  adopt similar “optimizing” tactics, coming up with other game-break-
  ing powers for their heroes in an “arms race” of improvement; things 
  will quickly break down into arguments over the rules, or whole adven-
  tures will be over in just a single die roll. Not much fun.
   The second is to bluntly wield GM Fiat like a club and toss out 
  villains with Immunity to the problematic power(s), effectively 
  neutering the unbalancing trait(s). This leads to understandably frus-
  trated players who feel they’ve spent points on a capability they’re 
  never allowed to actually use. The same is true of an “arms race” 
  where the GM comes up with other killer-powers to trump those of 
  the heroes, who in turn come up with still better defenses and pow-
  ers. The game degenerates into a debate of what’s “legal” according 
  to the rules.
  
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   The third, and most effective, option is to exercise some GM con-
  trol and oversight over power design, whether it’s choosing powers 
  and modifiers out of the core rulebook or creating entirely new pow-
  ers from scratch. If you feel a particular trait will become a problem 
  in your game, or discover that it has, inform the players of this and 
  politely—but firmly—tell them you have decided to limit that trait. 
  This may be in the form of required flaws, a maximum power rank, or 
  an outright ban on heroes having the trait at all. There’s absolutely 
  nothing “unfair” about this, so long as the rules apply equally to all 
  of the players.
   In all cases refer back to Rule Number One (see the Introduction 
  of M&M): do whatever is the most fun for your game! The 
  power creation system—or any of the game rules—shouldn’t trump 
  common sense, and they certainly shouldn’t overrule Gamemaster 
  judgment about what’s best for the series. Do not allow players to 
  steamroll you with the argument “but it’s legal.” Just because it’s in 
  the rulebook doesn’t mean you’re bound to allow it in your game. By 
  the same token, just because a particular power or concept shows up 
  in the comic books, you don’t have to allow that type of character 
  or power in your M&M game! You set the guidelines and ultimately 
  you need to make the decisions about what will be the most fun for 
  everyone (including yourself).
   Note that it’s not “favoritism” if power restrictions on the heroes 
  don’t apply to the villains! The villains are often supposed to have 
  capabilities the heroes do not. So long as you’re not creating an 
  overwhelming challenge without any means for the heroes to win, 
  you’re not being unfair. Thus, even if you ban any heroes from hav-
  ing, say, the Summon Minions power, it doesn’t mean a villain can’t 
  have it, if it suits the villain’s concept. So long as you show proper 
  restraint and provide the players with sufficient challenges, there 
  shouldn’t be any problem.
  THE CARE AND FEEDING OF POWER ARRAYS
  Power arrays—collections of Alternate Powers—are one of the more 
  complex power constructs in M&M and require some special care 
  in terms of their creation and use in the game. Players should take 
  these things into account when creating characters with power 
  arrays, and GMs should consider them when approving such charac-
  ters and dealing with them in play.
   The main reason for the Alternate Power feat is to allow a degree 
  of flexibility in terms of a character’s powers within the cost restric-
  tions laid down by having a finite number of power points. It’s based 
  on the assumption that a wide range of powers has a diminishing 
  return in terms of value, since characters can only use so many pow-
  ers at once. A power with various “settings” usable one at a time is 
  more valuable than a power with only one use, but not as valuable 
  as various powers all usable at once.
   The Alternate Power feat also forms the basis of the power-stunt 
  use of extra effort in M&M. Alternate Power is the most often-used 
  power feat via extra effort. It gives players a lot of flexibility in com-
  ing up with novel applications of their heroes’ powers while also 
  providing a built-in limit in the form of fatigue and cost in hero 
  points (to avoid said fatigue). This helps encourage creative play 
  and simulate the feel of the comic books.
   However, Alternate Powers can be abused to try and squeeze 
  the most “efficiency” out of the character’s power points, gaining 
  the most powers from the lowest cost. The guidelines for Alternate 
  Powers are intended to help limit this somewhat, but there is no 
  way they can eliminate the possibility entirely and still provide the 
  benefits of flexibility they’re intended to offer. Some Gamemaster 
  oversight is therefore necessary when it comes to the creation and 
  use of power arrays.
  CREATING AN ARRAY
   Before creating an array, it’s wise to ask, “Is a power array needed for 
  this concept?” Some concepts, such as a variety of different attacks, 
  clearly call for an array. Others, like a power with a few rarely used 
  stunts, may not call for an array. Such a power may be better served 
  by acquiring such occasional stunts through extra effort and the 
  spending of hero points rather than the creation of a permanent set 
  of Alternate Powers.
   If it’s decided that a power array will be appropriate, the first thing 
  to decide is its overall theme and associated descriptors. Is it an 
  array of different attacks, like a “weapons array” of a battlesuit? Is it 
  a collection of regular power stunts for a themed power like Earth 
  Control, or spells for Magic? Is it a series of Alternate Forms for a 
  metamorph character? And so forth. Power arrays should have some 
  unifying them beyond “all the powers I want,” and Gamemasters 
  should feel free to veto inappropriate arrays or collections of powers 
  lacking a strong theme.
   The next thing to determine about a power array is its base power. 
  This is the power that technically has all the Alternate Power feats. 
  The two key things about the base power are: 1) its total cost, not 
  including the Alternate Power feats, but including any other power 
  modifiers or feats, and; 2) the base power must qualify as an alter-
  nate power itself, meaning it cannot be permanent in duration.
   Once the base power is chosen, you can add Alternate Powers to 
  the array. As outlined in its Power Feat description in the Powers 
  chapter of M&M, each Alternate Power can cost a total number of 
  power points equal to the cost of the base power (including all of 
  its power modifiers and feats other than Alternate Power feats). 
  So if the base power costs 24 power points, each of its Alternate 
  Powers may cost up to 24 power points. If the base power has six 
  Alternate Powers, the total cost of the array is 30 points, but the 
  base power and its alternates are still only based on 24 points 
  each.
   Cost is not the only factor limiting the Alternate Powers, however. 
  They are also still subject to the power level limits of the series, as 
  well as Gamemaster approval. For example, 24 power points are suf-
  ficient for a power like Blast 12. However, if the character’s power 
  level limit for damage is 10, the alternate cannot have a Blast rank 
  greater than 10. The player may want to spend the “extra” power 
  points on power feats, or the GM may just choose to cap the power 
  at rank 10. Likewise, while 24 power points are enough to get Speed 
  or Swimming 24, the GM may judge those powers too strong and 
  require a lower maximum power rank.
   In some cases this may result in “wasted” power points; that is, 
  the Alternate Power may cost less than the base power. So long as 
  it’s more than 1 power point, however, the character is still getting 
  a bargain in terms of the Alternate Power’s cost ; players should be 
  reminded of this and encouraged not to nitpick or insist on squeez-
  ing out all the points they’re “entitled” to for that Alternate Power. 
  Remember that any Alternate Power should have GM approval, and 
  the Gamemaster can feel free to set any reasonable limits.
   The base power of a power array or one of its alternates may be 
  used one at a time, switching the “setting” of the array once per 
  round as a free action. An additional power point per Alternate 
  Power can make any of them Dynamic, allowing the player to mix-
  and-match, splitting the available power points between them. Keep 
  in mind that it costs 1 point to make the base power Dynamic as 
  
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  well. A Dynamic array is still limited to the total points of the base 
  power. In the previous example, the player would be limited to divid-
  ing 24 power points among the powers in the array from round to 
  round.
  OVERALL MODIFIERS AND POWER FEATS
  Some power modifiers and power feats may apply to an array over-
  all, that is to the array as a whole rather than to any of its individual 
  powers. These modifiers and feats go “on top” of the array and do 
  not change when the characters shifts the array’s setting.
   A good example of this is the Innate power feat. If an array is 
  Innate, then the feat is applied once to the array as a whole. The 
  array’s active power may change from round to round, but the array 
  remains Innate. So if a character has an array with a 24-point base 
  power, three Alternate Power feats, and Innate, the entire array costs 
  (24 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1) or 28 power points, and all of its powers are 
  Innate.
   The GM should be certain that an overall modifier or feat actu-
  ally applies to all the array’s powers before allowing it. For example, 
  while many powers in an array might have the Area modifier, unless 
  all of them do, it’s best to apply the modifier on an individual basis 
  rather than as an overall modifier on the array itself.
  IMPROVING A POWER ARRAY
  The cost of the Alternate Power feat assumes the Alternate Power 
  has a total value equal to or less than that of the base power in the 
  array. Therefore, when the value of the base power increases, the 
  value of any Alternate Powers may do so as well at no additional 
  cost.
   For example, if a character has a 24 point array (value of the base 
  power) and spend power points to increase the value of the base 
  power to 27 points, then all of the array’s Alternate Powers may 
  increase to a value of 27 points, while their actual cost remains 1 
  power point each. This reflects improvement in all aspects of an 
  array, as if the array were a single large power with multiple effects 
  (which, essentially, it is).
  ARRAYS IN PLAY
  The primary issues concerning power arrays in play are when the 
  individual powers can be used and how long they last if the player 
  switches to another alternate in the array.
   The Gamemaster may wish to have the players declare on their 
  characters’ turns the setting of any power arrays. A fair assumption 
  is that an array defaults to the base power before an encounter 
  and that it remains set on the last power used during an encounter, 
  unless the player specifically states otherwise.
   Changing a power array’s setting, whether it is Dynamic or not, is a 
  free action performed on the characters turn and available only once 
  per round. This is an important limitation, since it prevents things 
  like having a Force Field power, switching to an alternate Blast or 
  other attack power (as a free action) then immediately switching 
  back to the Force Field (also as a free action), all in the same round. 
  Gamemasters should be very cautious about any proposal to allow 
  changing an array’s setting multiple times in the same round.
   When a character is using a power in an array, the other powers 
  are effectively “turned off.” This is primarily relevant when it comes 
  to power duration. When a character uses a power, then switches to 
  an alternate, what happens to the effect of the original power?
  
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   The answer depends somewhat on the original power’s duration. 
  If it’s instant, then the effect remains. If you hit someone with a 
  Blast power and inflict damage, then switch to an Alternate Power, 
  the Blast damage doesn’t go away. The target still has to recover 
  normally. The same is true of other instant powers like Dazzle and 
  Snare.
   Powers with a concentration or sustained duration stop work-
  ing if you switch to an Alternate Power. For example, if you have a 
  Force Field up (a sustained power) and switch to an Alternate Power, 
  the Force Field disappears and you no longer receive its benefits. 
  Permanent powers cannot be in power arrays, since they can’t be 
  turned off voluntarily.
   Powers with lasting durations do continue working after your 
  switch to an alternate power, provided you continue doing whatever 
  is necessary to maintain them (if anything). So, for example, Mind 
  Control has a lasting duration, normally concentration. So long as 
  you continue concentrating to maintain your Mind Control effect, 
  you can switch to an alternate of your Mind Control power, and 
  even use it, while still maintaining the Mind Control. Note that the 
  required action(s) for any lasting powers may limit your ability to do 
  other things (you can’t take another standard action while concen-
  trating, for example, because concentrate is a standard action). Still, 
  this built-in limit doesn’t prevent you from changing the setting of 
  your array.
   In cases where it’s unclear whether or not a particular power effect 
  continues after the characters switches an array, the Gamemaster 
  decides. Use common sense and the guidelines given here. For 
  example, if a fiery Blast sets a wooden building ablaze, switching 
  to an Alternate Power of that Blast isn’t going to put out the fire; 
  it’s burning on its own. On the other hand, if a character’s sustained 
  Telekinesis is holding up a building, then switching to an Alternate 
  Power will cause that effect to end and the building to collapse 
  unless it’s braced to stand on its own in some way (even for just a 
  few moments). 
  POWER-UPS
  Characters in comic books and fiction often have higher levels or 
  ranks of power they can only access with difficulty, or that have par-
  ticular limitations to them. One way M&M simulates this is through 
  extra effort (and the additional options for it given in Chapter 6): 
  in exchange for some fatigue (or a hero point), the character gets a 
  small boost in power or a power stunt. However, some concepts and 
  games may call for additional options for “power-ups”—ways charac-
  ters can push their powers to the limit.
   A power-up is essentially additional ranks in a power (applied on 
  top of the power’s usual rank) with one or more power flaws gov-
  erning them. When the character accesses the extra ranks, the flaw 
  comes into play. So, for example, a character might have Blast 8 and, 
  as a power-up, Blast 4 with the Distracting flaw (see the Powers 
  chapter of M&M). When the character “powers-up” to use his full 
  Blast (at rank 12) he has to concentrate more than usual and loses 
  his dodge bonus for the round. He can use his normal Blast rank of 
  8 without being distracted.
   This makes power-ups cost less than the regular power, but also 
  limits their usefulness. Good flaws for power-up ranks include 
  Action, Distracting, Fades, Limited (by time, circumstance, etc.), 
  Side-Effect, Tiring, Uncontrolled (the power-up only happens at 
  the GM’s discretion), and Unreliable (the power-up doesn’t always 
  work).
  Example: Mind Mistress has Mental Blast 6. In times of 
  great stress, when a friend or loved one is threatened, she’s 
  capable of throwing out a rank 12 Mental Blast, but she 
  has no control over when this happens (Uncontrolled) and 
  doing so fatigues her (Tiring). The additional 6 power-up 
  ranks of Mental Blast cost only 12 points, or 2 power points 
  per rank, since there is a total –2 power modifier on the 
  usual 4 points per rank cost.
  POWER-UPS AND POWER LEVEL
  It’s up to the Gamemaster to decide whether or not power-ups in the 
  campaign are affected by the power level limit and, if not, what the 
  limits on them actually are.
   If power-ups are affected by the campaign’s power level, then the 
  power’s total rank, including all power-ups, should be taken into 
  account. For example, a Blast power with a power-up should use the 
  total maximum damage, including the power-up, for determining if 
  the power falls within the limit. This tends to make power-ups rare, 
  since players are less likely to create characters that are routinely 
  weaker than the power level limits.
   If power-ups can exceed the campaign’s power level limits, you 
  need to decide by how much. This makes power-ups more like extra 
  effort, which can also exceed PL limits. A good guideline is to set a 
  fraction of the normal power level, such as one-quarter or one-half, 
  and allow power-ups to go up to that limit. So in a PL 10 game, for 
  example, power-ups might be able to go up to PL 12 or 15, while the 
  normal powers are limited to PL 10.
  
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  63
  D20
  CATEGORY
  1–2
  Attack
  3–4
  Body Control
  5–6
  Defense
  7–8
  Energy Control
  9–10
  Magical
  11–12
  Matter Control
  13-14
  Mental
  15-16
  Movement
  17-18
  Power Control
  19-20
  Sensory
  D20
  ATTACK
  1–3
  Blast
  4
  Corrosion
  5
  Disintegration
  6
  Fatigue
  7
  Mental Blast
  8–9
  Nauseate
  10–11
  Paralyze
  12–14
  Snare
  15–17
  Strike
  18
  Stun
  19
  Suffocate
  20
  Trip
  D20
  BODY CONTROL
  1
  Additional Limbs
  2–3
  Alternate Form
  4
  Anatomic Separation
  5
  Boost
  6
  Density
  7
  Drain
  8
  Duplication
  9–10
  Elongation
  11
  Enhanced Ability
  12–13
  Growth
  14
  Healing
  15
  Insubstantial
  16
  Morph
  17
  Shapeshift
  18
  Shrinking
  19–20
  Super-Strength
  D20
  DEFENSE
  1–2
  Absorption
  3
  Adaptation
  4–5
  Deflect
  6–8
  Force Field
  9–10
  Immovable
  11–13
  Immunity
  14–15
  Mind Shield
  16–18
  Protection
  19
  Sensory Shield
  20
  Spinning
  D20
  ENERGY CONTROL
  1–2
  Cold Control
  3
  Cosmic Energy Control
  4–5
  Darkness Control
  6–7
  Electrical Control
  8
  Friction Control
  9
  Gravity Control
  10
  Kinetic Control
  11–12
  Light Control
  13–14
  Magnetic Control
  15
  Plasma Control
  16
  Radiation Control
  17
  Sonic Control
  18
  Spatial Control
  19
  Time Control
  20
  Vibration Control
  D20
  MAGICAL
  1–3
  Animate Objects
  4–8
  Astral Form
  9–12
  Hellfire Control
  13–14
  Luck Control
  15-20
  Magic
  D20
  MATTER CONTROL
  1–3
  Air Control
  4–6
  Earth Control
  7–10
  Fire Control
  11
  Life Control
  12–13
  Plant Control
  14
  Transform
  15–17
  Water Control
  18–20
  Weather Control
  RANDOM POWER GENERATION
  D20
  MENTAL
  1
  Animal Control
  2
  Confuse
  3–4
  Emotion Control
  5–6
  Mental Blast
  7–8
  Mind Control
  9–10
  Mind Reading
  11–12
  Mind Shield
  13
  Mind Switch
  14–15
  Possession
  16
  Power Control
  17–18
  Telekinesis
  19–20
  Telepathy
  D20
  MOVEMENT
  1–2
  Burrowing
  3
  Dimensional Pocket
  4–6
  Flight
  7–8
  Leaping
  9–10
  Quickness
  11
  Space Travel
  12–13
  Speed
  14–16
  Super-Speed
  17–18
  Swimming
  19–20
  Teleport
  D20
  POWER CONTROL
  1–2
  Animal Mimicry
  3
  Gestalt
  4–6
  Mimic
  7–8
  Nemesis
  9–11
  Nullify
  12–13
  Object Mimicry
  14–15
  Power Control
  16–18
  Summon
  19–20
  Transfer
  D20
  SENSORY
  1–2
  Communication
  3–4
  Comprehend
  5–6
  Concealment
  7–8
  Datalink
  9–10
  Dazzle
  11–12
  ESP
  13–14
  Illusion
  15–16
  Obscure
  17–20
  Super-Senses
  To randomly determine a super-power or set of super-powers, use the tables found in this section, which list the 
  major powers from the M&M rulebook, broken up by category. Either assign the power’s rank as you see fit or 
  roll 1d20 to determine it randomly.
  
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  GAMEMASTERING POWERS
  One of the most difficult aspects of running M&M is handling all 
  the various effects of the diverse powers heroes may have. This sec-
  tion offers some advice to Gamemasters on handling powers in the 
  context of the game.
  MANAGING POWER STUNTS
  The option of performing power stunts in M&M gives players con-
  siderable room for creativity, often allowing them to come up with 
  stunts or solutions to problems you haven’t foreseen. One unex-
  pected power stunt can turn your well-crafted obstacle into little 
  more than an inconvenience for the heroes. How do you keep the 
  use of power stunts under control in your game?
   First consider if you need to “control” power stunts. If a player 
  comes up with a clever stunt as a solution to a problem, great! 
  That’s what they’re for! It’s better to have your players coming up 
  with interesting applications of their powers rather than relying on 
  the same old saws all the time. If the players managed to overcome 
  a particular challenge faster than you’d expected, you can always 
  put another one in their path, perhaps giving them another opportu-
  nity to earn hero points before the final scene of the adventure.
   The trouble usually comes in when a power stunt either really 
  pushes the bounds of credulity (even for a superhero setting) or 
  else proves so effective the player begins relying on it, perhaps even 
  wanting it as a regular power that would only compound the prob-
  lem.
   Keep in mind that power stunts are not license for characters 
  to gain any power feat the player wants. The stunt has to fit with 
  the power’s descriptors and overall theme, and the GM is the final 
  authority on when that’s the case. If you feel a particular stunt isn’t 
  appropriate, tell the player so and ask for a different one.
   If a power stunt you approve turns out to be far more effective 
  than you’d anticipated, tell the players so and inform that that you’re 
  suspending the availability of the power stunt, either temporarily 
  while you re-evaluate it or permanently because it’s unbalancing the 
  game. Again, just because a particular power stunt is possible “by 
  the book” doesn’t mean you are in any way required to allow it in 
  your game. Make your decision and be firm about it.
  GAMING POWERS VS. POWER GAMING
  Powers give players a lot of additional options for solving problems. 
  Unfortunately, players sometimes go for the easiest or most obvi-
  ous solution rather than the most dramatic or interesting in terms of 
  the overall story. More importantly, some players try to solve all the 
  problems in the adventure by themselves, making the other players’ 
  heroes superfluous!
   This can turn adventures into tactical problem-solving exercises, 
  where the powers are more important than the heroes wielding 
  them. It can also become a headache for the GM who forgets about 
  a particular power when planning or running the adventure. So what 
  keeps heroes from using their powers to the greatest possible effect 
  all the time?
  FORGETFULNESS
  Heroes in fiction often seem to “forget” about their most useful 
  powers whenever it’s dramatically appropriate. Players, on the other 
  hand, rarely do so. Having paid powers points for a hero’s special 
  abilities, players rightly expect to use them, which may create some 
  problems for the Gamemaster who happens to forget about a par-
  ticular hero’s power! How do you, as the GM, simulate this aspect of 
  fiction and occasionally restrain player use of powers when dramati-
  cally appropriate?
   One way is outright bribery. If players are willing to play along 
  for a little while—long enough for the villain to make his dramatic 
  speech (or to get away at the last minute)—they get a hero point 
  award they can use later. This rewards players for staying in-genre 
  and cooperating, but it only works if everyone is willing to play 
  along.
   Another option is to make the heroes literally forgetful! Various 
  hazards and traps may addle them enough to forget to use some 
  or all of their powers at the opportune moment. Under the right 
  circumstances, you can call for an Intelligence check or a Will save 
  to simulate the hero struggling to cope with circumstances. Keep in 
  mind while the players tend to be completely clear-headed during 
  play (one would hope), their heroes may not be. A hero just waking 
  up from unconsciousness, for example, or drugged and bound in a 
  trap, may take some time to come up with a clever plan, even if the 
  player grasps the solution immediately. Use this option sparingly, 
  since it can make players feel frustrated and not in control of their 
  characters. Again, hero points may make them feel better.
   Finally, under some circumstances you can simply take away the 
  heroes’ powers, or just the problematic ones. Smart opponents are 
  sure to take full advantage of any countermeasures available to 
  them, and solutions obvious to the players are probably obvious to 
  the villains as well. You can even do this retroactively. When players 
  surprise you with a power you forgot they had or a new power stunt, 
  just smile and tell them how the villain apparently thought of that, 
  and arranged an appropriate countermeasure to thwart them. While 
  this may seem like cheating, it’s really just giving prepared and intel-
  ligent bad guys their due. You can award players a hero point for 
  this use of GM Fiat as compensation for their otherwise clever plan 
  not succeeding, if you want.
   Again, you don’t want to take away the heroes’ powers too often, 
  since having and using them is part of the fun of the game! Still, 
  you can occasionally confront the heroes with challenges their pow-
  ers can’t immediately solve.
  COMPLICATIONS
  Personal codes of behavior may keep some heroes from using their 
  powers in certain circumstances. For example, many superheroes 
  won’t use their power to gain an unfair advantage. Even if it would 
  make sense for the hero to use his power to make himself fabulously 
  wealthy, for example, he doesn’t do it because it’s against his beliefs. 
  The same is true of personal codes calling for fair fights, or forbid-
  ding the illegal or dishonest use of some powers.
   Most true heroes aren’t going to use their powers illegally, whether 
  the authorities are likely to find out about it or not! Since the GM 
  largely defines the legal and illegal uses of powers in the setting, 
  this provides some control over those powers.
   Pacifist heroes aren’t going to use their powers violently, at least 
  not casually. Most four-color heroes won’t use their powers if it means 
  the possible death of an opponent, even if that solution is the most 
  expedient. Such characters forced into situations where they have no 
  choice but to kill have a serious moral dilemma. For example, does 
  the hero save a hostage held at gunpoint by killing the criminal, or 
  does he attempt a riskier plan that won’t kill the criminal, but might 
  result in the death of the hostage?
  
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   Certain other complications may limit a hero’s use of powers. 
  Perhaps an inexperienced or reluctant super has a phobia about cer-
  tain aspects of his power (imagine someone with the power to fly 
  who’s afraid of heights!). Conversely, a hero may feel compelled to 
  use a power in certain situations, even if that’s not the wisest course 
  of action. For example, a divine healer with a sense of duty to all 
  living creatures won’t refuse his healing touch to any being in need, 
  and would even aid a villain so long as there’s the slightest hope of 
  redemption.
   Some may simply not use their powers as efficiently as they could 
  because it wouldn’t be “fun” or “right” (whatever those things may 
  mean to the individual). For example, impulsive heroes aren’t likely 
  to go along with plans requiring patience and slow, deliberate 
  action. Those with a particular trademark are going to want to leave 
  it, even if it doesn’t make sense or is risky to do so.
   As an upside to these complications, when players choose to do 
  things the hard way because it suits their characters and makes for 
  good roleplaying, they get hero points, so they have reasons to act 
  in-character.
  CONSEQUENCES
  Even if heroes have no particular reasons to limit the use of their 
  powers, there are still consequences to consider. Things like social 
  pressure and a negative reputation (see Chapter 6) can be pow-
  erful tools to convince players of the wisdom of restraint when it 
  comes to their heroes’ powers. Possible consequences include a 
  bad reputation, legal entanglements, acquiring enemies, and so 
  forth.
   First come the immediate repercussions of uncontrolled power use. 
  Heroes demonstrating no restraint in combat, for example, may acci-
  dentally hurt innocent bystanders (or each other)! They can cause 
  collateral damage, endangering not only the general area, but also 
  historical sites, monuments, priceless artifacts or artwork on display 
  in museums or private collections, and so on.
   Then come the immediate reactions. Blatant disregard for the law 
  invites arrest (or at least outlawry, if the local authorities are unable 
  to arrest the heroes). Reports of the heroes’ misdeeds are broadcast 
  far and wide. Witnesses may be shocked or outraged, and bystand-
  ers might flee, turn away in disgust, or even swell into an angry 
  mob! This can lead to further fumbles from the heroes, compound-
  ing the problem.
   There are long-term consequences. Abuses of power are virtually 
  certain to give heroes a bad reputation. People mistrust them and 
  avoid them (lest they become the next victims of their disregard 
  for public safety). The groups’ superiors (if any) may take punitive 
  action. If crimes were committed, charges are pressed. Otherwise, 
  civil suits may still be brought against the characters for their negli-
  gence.
   In addition to the official reaction, the heroes’ victims (real or 
  perceived) may take it upon themselves to do something. They may 
  seek revenge, ranging from all manner of legal hassles to outright 
  attempts at killing or maiming the heroes.
   At the same time, peers shun and disdain the characters. They 
  may get lectures about proper behavior or just the cold shoulder 
  from people they respect (and who once respected them). In extreme 
  cases, they may find themselves hunted by former allies who now 
  see the heroes as fugitives to be brought to justice.
   Finally, some misuses of power can have far-reaching effects. Heroes 
  who abuse their power to read and control minds, for example, may 
  bring about draconian laws banning the use of such powers, and per-
  
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  haps even resulting in the imprisonment or execution of everyone with 
  mental powers! Irresponsible supers worsen public opinion toward 
  supers in general, and can create a backlash against them.
   The key to using consequences to control power use (and abuse) 
  in a game is to allow players the opportunity to atone for their mis-
  takes and fix things before they go too far. There should always be 
  a way for the players to reform their behavior and get rid of most, if 
  not all, of the problems they have caused. It doesn’t have to be easy 
  or immediate, but it should at least be possible, otherwise the play-
  ers feel arbitrarily punished and aren’t encouraged to do anything 
  differently. After all, if they’re going to be reviled social outcasts, 
  why shouldn’t they do whatever they want? Repercussions without 
  hope of reparation can ruin a campaign.
   Also, this approach assumes the players actually care about the 
  consequences of their actions. If they don’t, they have no reason to 
  reform, and may use a backlash as an excuse to escalate things (“I 
  had to do it! That cop shot at me first!”). In these cases, one of the 
  other methods in this section may work better.
  OVERSIGHT
  A “higher power” might be monitoring the heroes, be it a govern-
  ment, organization, or cosmic entity, with the authority to discipline 
  them and perhaps even strip them of their powers. For example, an 
  authority may force criminal psionicists to wear “psionic dampeners” 
  that nullify their powers, and a secret society of wizards may have 
  spells or rituals to remove a wrongdoer’s magical abilities (maybe 
  even permanently).
   In some cases, heroes may not even know they are being moni-
  tored! As a last resort you can have a previously unknown higher 
  power intervene to deal with out-of-control powers in the campaign. 
  The gods might remove a particularly problematic power, or a cosmic 
  regulatory organization might show up to place limits on a hero’s 
  power “in accordance with intergalactic statutes.” This is a heavy-
  handed approach, but an effective one.
   When the authority is satisfied the violator has learned his les-
  son, any removed powers are restored, although there may be 
  crimes serious enough to result in permanent removal of powers! 
  Just the threat of such punishment may be enough to keep wayward 
  heroes under control. For first-time or minor infractions, you should 
  be lenient, applying sufficient punishment to teach violators a les-
  son, without spoiling or ending the campaign altogether. Encourage 
  players to see the situation as a roleplaying opportunity, and remind 
  them it is a situation they can avoid in the future through proper 
  behavior.
  GENRE ENFORCEMENT
  A more nebulous, but still effective, means of controlling powers is 
  simple agreement between the players and the GM to respect the 
  conventions of the genre. The Gamemaster has the right to veto any 
  action on the part of the players if he feels it does not suit the genre. 
  A simple, “No, I don’t think that’s appropriate; why don’t you try 
  something else?” is usually sufficient.
   While this is a rather heavy-handed approach to controlling 
  power-gaming, it can be effective, so long as everyone in the group 
  is comfortable with it. It becomes a problem when the players feel 
  stifled or “railroaded” by the Gamemaster. If they can’t do anything 
  except what the GM wants, they may wonder why they need to be 
  involved in the game at all. The GM could simply tell them what 
  their heroes do from round to round!
   Try to keep genre enforcement to polite suggestions and helpful 
  advice rather than heavy-handed control over the players and the 
  campaign. Instead of simply forbidding actions, offer suggestions for 
  things heroes can do instead. Create some “table rules” ahead of 
  time so players know what’s expected, such as lethal combat being 
  considered out-of-bounds for true heroes in the campaign, no blatant 
  misuses of Mind Control, or the like.
  CONSISTENCY VS. REALISM
  Comic book super-powers aren’t very realistic; they often violate 
  physical laws as we understand them! However, powers can (and 
  generally should) feature a measure of consistency. That is, powers 
  follow certain reliable rules, even if they allow characters to do fan-
  tastic things people normally cannot. The M&M game rules provide 
  some consistency for powers, but the rest comes from the nature of 
  the setting and the guidelines set by the Gamemaster.
   Unless powers in the setting are particularly mysterious, players 
  should at least know what they can expect from their own heroes’ 
  powers, and generally those of typical NPCs. Thus, for example, if 
  you plan on restricting certain powers and abilities solely to NPCs, 
  you should tell the players so up front. The same is true if there are 
  any exceptions to the way powers work in the setting. If there are no 
  divinely granted powers except for one unique hero and his nemesis, 
  for example, then there needs to be a very good reason for another 
  divinely empowered character to appear.
   While you can change the way powers work or reveal what the heroes 
  thought they knew was entirely wrong, you shouldn’t do it often unless 
  you specifically want to undermine the players’ sense of comfort and 
  familiarity with the setting. This may be appropriate in some horror or 
  conspiracy-themed settings, but should otherwise be avoided.
  
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  KEEPIN’ IT REAL
  How do you reconcile a superficially realistic setting with powers 
  that should turn the world on its head? There are a number of ways 
  you can limit the influence of powers on the overall setting, allowing 
  you to keep things fairly realistic, if you wish (at least as realistic as 
  a setting with super-powers can be).
  EMERGING POWERS
  An emerging-powers setting hasn’t really had time to change signifi-
  cantly due to the existence of powers; they’ve only just appeared! 
  While the setting may eventually become quite different due to the 
  influence of powers, right now it’s similar to a world without any 
  powers, so most things remain realistic.
  RARE POWERS
  The rarer powers are, the less overall impact they have on the setting 
  (unless they’re especially powerful). A small handful of individuals 
  with powers is quite different from hundreds or thousands. Powers 
  with accidental and mysterious origins reinforce this. If powers are 
  difficult or impossible to replicate, they tend to stay rare.
  HIDDEN POWERS
  Powers have less effect on the setting if they’re kept secret and only 
  used behind the scenes. Powers have to be either subtle enough 
  to remain hidden or supers need a good reason to conceal them 
  from the rest of the world. For example, a setting with low-level psy-
  chic powers limited primarily to things like ESP and Telepathy may 
  not be all that different from our world, especially if psychics have 
  deliberately misled research in the field (or skeptical researchers are 
  actually psis with Nullify powers!).
  UNRELIABLE POWERS
  The less reliable powers are, the less they affect the setting, since 
  people can’t always count on them. People aren’t going to create 
  institutions around powers that only work occasionally. If powers are 
  especially unreliable, people might not even believe they exist! It 
  certainly makes scientific investigation of powers difficult, since the 
  scientific method requires a degree of reliability.
  COSTLY POWERS
  Likewise, if powers are dangerous, difficult, or costly to use, they’re 
  less likely to be used casually, and therefore less likely to affect daily 
  life. If it’s more cost-effective to use an X-ray machine rather than a 
  super’s X-ray vision, then X-ray machines will remain in wide use. If 
  powers are expensive to grant (assuming they can be granted), then 
  the process won’t be used often. This is particularly true of powers 
  with a cost other than money or material resources. For example, if 
  there’s a dependable process to grant powers, but it always results in 
  the subject’s death within a year, a lot fewer subjects will be eager 
  to undergo it.
  DEPENDENT POWERS
  Making power effects heavily dependent on their wielders for main-
  tenance helps to limit the “reach” of a power to change the setting. 
  For example, a particular person can transmute matter, but the trans-
  mutations only last for a short time or until the transmuter stops 
  maintaining them (having a sustained duration). So the possibilities 
  of mass-producing rare elements, plutonium, or valuable materials 
  like gold or diamonds (and their effects on the world) are limited. 
  Settings featuring super-intelligent inventors often posit a “power” 
  component to their Devices; they only work for them and other 
  supers like them. Attempts to mass-market them, or even to get nor-
  mal scientists and engineers to understand them, always fail.
  SEMI-REALISTIC POWERS
  Some powers become less effective, or less likely to change things, 
  if they are restricted to more realistic results. Take super-human 
  strength, for example. The general assumption is that characters 
  can apply their Strength and carrying capacity freely; a person 
  strong enough to lift up a tank can do so, despite the fact that 
  a human-sized and -shaped figure can’t exert the kind of leverage 
  needed to lift something so large and heavy (to say nothing of 
  the lifter sinking into the ground or the strain breaking the object 
  apart). The more realistic and practical restrictions placed on pow-
  ers, the less overall impact they have. The GM may decide these 
  restrictions are simply +0 modifier (since they affect everyone) but 
  can also consider a flaw value for them if they limit some powers 
  more than others.
  REALISTIC IMPLICATIONS
  While most powers are themselves unrealistic, their effects—on indi-
  viduals and on the world—may or may not be. Some worlds, like 
  the four-color comic books, are remarkably like our own despite the 
  existence of superhumans with tremendous powers. Things like the 
  social and legal implications of certain powers may help keep them 
  under control and prevent them from changing the world too much. 
  Indeed, laws and social mores may develop with that intention 
  in mind. If functional telepaths exist, laws may appear to protect 
  the privacy and rights of “mundanes” unable to shield themselves 
  against mind-readers, for example.
  PLOT-STOPPING POWERS
  Powers in general complicate plots. They provide weapons and 
  defenses that aren’t easily taken away, and give players many addi-
  tional options. Some powers are particularly problematic, however, 
  and have the potential to completely derail plots if they’re not taken 
  into account. Give some thought to these powers when creating 
  your adventures. Keep in mind: even if the heroes don’t have them 
  on their character sheets, they may be able to acquire some or all of 
  them as one-use power stunts!
  ESP AND X-RAY VISION
  If a mystery or secret is behind a barrier of some sort, these and simi-
  lar sensory powers can short-circuit the entire plot.
   Keep in mind the guidelines for extended searches given for the 
  Search skill in M&M. Just because a character can see through walls 
  and other barriers doesn’t mean he automatically knows where to 
  look for something! Searching a large area can be like looking for a 
  needle in a haystack even with the advantage of sensory powers.
   Certain things may be able to block X-Ray Vision and do the same 
  to ESP. Neither power grants additional sensory abilities; they just 
  overcome distance and physical barriers. Of course, simply being 
  able to see something doesn’t mean heroes can understand it. 
  Things like codes, ciphers, and even obscure or secret languages can 
  foil super-powered voyeurs.
   If there are means of detecting the use of ESP, X-Ray Vision, and 
  similar sensory powers (such as Detect), then characters are likely 
  
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  to be more cautious about using them. Such detection might come 
  from others with similar powers, technology, or devices (such as crys-
  tals that glow in the presence of magical or psychic energies, for 
  example).
  HEALING
  With the ability to allow characters to instantly recover from injury, 
  Healing can reduce otherwise serious hazards to minor inconve-
  niences. This may encourage heroes to take risks because the players 
  know they can get patched up immediately.
   Of course, while the players are aware of this, it may still be dif-
  ficult for the heroes to knowingly hurl themselves in harm’s way. Just 
  because you know your group’s healer can fix up your injuries in 
  an instant doesn’t make getting hurt any less painful or traumatic. 
  In realistic campaigns, the GM may want to require Will saves for 
  heroes to put themselves into deliberate danger of serious injury 
  (such as “I’ll just let the trap crush my arm, then the healer can fix 
  it!”). A failed save means the character loses his nerve at the last 
  moment and can’t go through with the plan.
   A useful limitation for Healing is the Empathic flaw: the healer 
  takes on the patient’s damage conditions, and must recover from 
  them. This can make healers wary about healing massive injuries, 
  since they take a risk when doing so. The GM may want to keep the 
  exact nature of a subject’s injuries secret; healers are less likely to 
  take on a victim’s wounds when they don’t know their severity. A suc-
  cessful Medicine check (DC 10) can give a healer a general idea of 
  the seriousness of a patient’s injuries.
   Another problem with Healing is it can save characters who are 
  supposed to die: the mysterious stranger who gasps out a dying 
  message, the target of an assassination intended to set the plot in 
  motion, and so forth. If a healer is on-hand, the victim may recover, 
  throwing the plot off completely.
   This is only a problem if the healer has time to react, however. 
  An attack that instantly kills its target leaves no opportunity for a 
  rescue attempt. On the other hand, if the target has 
  to gasp out those last few words, that’s also enough 
  time for a healer to intervene. In those cases, you 
  may need to stack things against the healer. Some 
  options include having the attack that fatally 
  wounds the target also stun (or even knock out) 
  the healer, arranging for the healer to be elsewhere 
  when the dying stranger shows up, or having the 
  subject die from something the healer can’t immedi-
  ately treat.
   
  Lastly, it’s usually best if the ability to raise the 
  dead (via the Resurrection extra) is kept out of the 
  hands of the heroes. It should be more of a plot 
  device, under the Gamemaster’s direct control and 
  used only when appropriate.
  INCORPOREAL
  The Incorporeal level of the Insubstantial power 
  allows heroes to go virtually anywhere, bypassing 
  most barriers, and becoming virtually invulnerable 
  at will. The price is that incorporeal characters can’t 
  affect the physical world, for the most part.
   
  A general countermeasure against incorporeal 
  beings is some form of harm other than a physical 
  or energy attack, such as poison gas or vacuum. The 
  same is true of mental effects. These countermea-
  sures work against most incorporeal targets (unless 
  they have the other appropriate powers like Immunity).
   Power stunts are a useful means of keeping characters with 
  incorporeal from becoming overconfident. Extra effort can permit 
  characters with the appropriate powers to fire off a one-time Affects 
  Incorporeal attack, which may be all that’s needed, if being incorpo-
  real is the target’s primary defense.
   Carefully control the Affects Corporeal enhancement, since 
  it overcomes the primary drawback of the power, allowing char-
  acters to use their abilities freely while incorporeal. A potential 
  compromise is to require limitations on the Affects Corporeal extra. 
  Perhaps heroes can only acquire or use Affects Corporeal powers 
  as power stunts.
  INVISIBILITY
  Invisibility bypasses many common problems and may eliminate the 
  need for skills like Stealth. Invisible heroes can simply walk past sen-
  tries, listen in on conversations, strike from surprise, and so forth. In 
  many cases it’s right to allow them to do so, but the power can also 
  short-circuit some challenges in an adventure.
   The first thing to keep in mind is there are other means of detect-
  ing an invisible character. The basic version of Invisibility is visual 
  concealment, meaning it doesn’t affect things like sonar (or nor-
  mal hearing, for that matter), scent, or exotic methods of detection, 
  including high-tech scanners and mental senses.
   Common tricks for foiling invisibility include coating the target 
  with flour, soot, paint, or the like. The target is visible only for a 
  second, then the foreign material becomes invisible as well. Things 
  like spreading water or flour on the floor (so the invisible character 
  leaves visible footprints) may be more effective.
   As a last-ditch effort when confronted by an invisible opponent, 
  turn out the lights! Plunging an area into darkness (or filling it with 
  fog, smoke, etc.) doesn’t overcome the invisibility, but it can even 
  the odds; you can’t see them, but they can’t see you, either.
  
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  MIND CONTROL AND POSSESSION
  These advantages can force cooperation from NPCs and not only 
  neutralize an enemy in combat, but turn him into an (unwilling) 
  ally! This is especially problematic with major antagonists; the 
  heroes have their final confrontation with the villain and one hero 
  wraps it up by dominating the dastard’s will so he surrenders. Rather 
  anticlimactic, isn’t it?
   One means of dealing with these powers is to ensure your major 
  villains have sufficient Will save bonuses to ward them off most of 
  the time. You can even grant them Mind Shields for an extra bonus 
  on Will saves to avoid being controlled. This is perfectly in character 
  for world-conquering megalomaniacs and other master villains, espe-
  cially if the antagonist has some mental powers of his own.
   If a hero does use Mind Control on a major adversary, it doesn’t have 
  to end the adventure. Instead of being the decisive move, you can have 
  a struggle of wills, essentially a Mental Grapple (since most enemies 
  will be strongly opposed to simply giving up!). The hero’s Mind Control 
  serves as a momentary distraction and may weaken the villain, adding 
  to the drama of the struggle rather than taking away from it.
   On the other hand, feel free to allow the heroes to control or pos-
  sess minor antagonists. Indeed, many of a villain’s lackeys are likely 
  to have fairly low Will saves, making them vulnerable to this tactic. 
  If you want to challenge a mind controlling hero, either use a group 
  of adversaries too large to control at once, or opponents with essen-
  tially no living minds to control: undead, robots, or the like.
   You may even want to grant a cost-break on Mind Control and 
  Possession if they effectively carry the flaw “Limited to Unimportant 
  Characters.” You may also find the option Mental Grappling for 
  Effect in Chapter 8 useful for limiting these powers.
  MIND READING
  If a mystery or secret hinges on something the NPCs know and the 
  PCs don’t, Mind Reading can end the adventure in a single power 
  check. Heroes may have personal codes keeping them from using 
  mind reading powers casually. However, even that may not restrain a 
  hero when the need is great enough.
   As with Mind Control, you can give important characters sufficient 
  Will save bonuses to resist mind reading attempts, but this can be 
  something of a cheat. It’s fair for some opponents, but if it happens 
  all the time, the player is likely to become understandably frustrated. 
  The same is true of using opponents immune to mind reading by vir-
  tue of being machines, undead, or other non-human creatures.
   A middle ground in settings where mind reading is a known abil-
  ity is to allow antagonists to take precautions, but present them as 
  challenges rather than insurmountable obstacles. For example, oppo-
  nents might use their own mental abilities to condition their agents 
  to forget certain sensitive information, requiring an opposed power 
  check against the conditioner’s check total to retrieve the informa-
  tion. The same is true of villains who condition their minions to die 
  or otherwise self-destruct rather than yield to a mental probe. Can 
  the hero recover some useful fragment of knowledge in time?
   Antagonists with mind-reading enemies are likely to hand out 
  information sparingly; a lackey can’t reveal what he doesn’t know. 
  Instead of immediately getting the answer to a question, a mind 
  reader might instead pick up further clues to lead the heroes 
  deeper into the adventure. Reading the mind of the would-be assas-
  sin provides clues about his employer, who in turn is connected to 
  the mastermind’s lieutenant, who can lead the heroes to the main 
  antagonist, who all the while is plotting to eliminate them before 
  they get too close.
  MORPH
  The ability to look like anyone (or anything) can be as useful as 
  invisibility in many situations, more so when a hero can impersonate 
  someone; for example, the metamorph can gain access to restricted 
  information or order enemy subordinates around.
   Morph requires a Disguise check to determine its effectiveness, 
  and allows a Notice check to overcome it, or at least perceive some-
  thing is amiss. Although Morph may allow you to look and even 
  sound like anyone, it doesn’t provide the ability to act like them. 
  Bluff and Perform (acting) checks are entirely appropriate when 
  trying to fool someone into believing you are the genuine article, 
  especially when you’re acting in a manner inconsistent with the 
  original. So when someone who looks exactly like the Evil Overlord 
  orders his guards the let him out of the cell, a skill check should be 
  required to get the guards to buy it (with a substantial penalty if 
  they know they just locked a metamorph in that cell!).
  POSTCOGNITION
  The ability to “read” the past of a place or object can provide heroes 
  with considerable information. Want to know who the murderer 
  is? Trying to figure out what happened in a locked room? Just use 
  Postcognition and its secrets are revealed.
   The Gamemaster can keep some psychometric readings vague, 
  providing enough clues to move the plot along without giving every-
  thing away. Postcognition may provide unclear images or visions, 
  perhaps colored by the points of view of the people involved in the 
  events.
   Savvy criminals may use certain countermeasures to cover their 
  tracks, erasing or “blurring” psychic traces, perhaps even leaving 
  magical or psychic “traps” for any would-be postcognitive investiga-
  tors, triggered by an attempt to view the events in the future. For 
  example, a mastermind who killed a would-be informant of a com-
  ing plot might assassinate a random person in the same spot 24 
  hours later, creating psychic disturbances that obscure the earlier 
  crime and leading any postcogs on a wild goose chase.
  MENTAL GRAPPLING
  Another potentially problematic aspect of Mind Reading is the ability 
  to initiate mental grapples (detailed in Chapter 6 of M&M). A mental 
  grapple is a potential means for a mind-reader to incapacitate an 
  opponent, or at least provide a hefty distraction while teammates pound 
  on the hapless villain. The mechanics are meant to represent a mental 
  struggle, common in comics with mentalist characters, but cunning 
  players may try to abuse it.
   One option for managing mental grapples is to rule that the require 
  the normal effort and actions from the aggressor, but none for the 
  defender; that is, the target of a mental grapple defends against it 
  as a free action, so players cannot use mental grapples as a way of 
  psychically “tying up” an opponent and keeping them from acting in a 
  fight. Note that mentally pinning a target is still effective, but up until 
  that point, the defender is not at all limited in his options, up to and 
  including launching a physical attack against the mental grappler.
   Freeing the targets of mental grapples up in this way makes initiating a 
  mental grapple a much riskier proposition, and encourages the grappler’s 
  allies to spend time safeguarding their friend from counterattack. It 
  doesn’t limit the defender’s option unless he is mentally pinned, putting 
  the effect more on par with various other mental powers.
  
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  PRECOGNITION
  Precognition is a particularly problematic ability, since the players have 
  to have free will to make decisions about their heroes’ future actions, 
  or the game isn’t much fun! Therefore Precognition is rarely reliable.
   Gamemasters should often couch precognitive visions in symbol-
  ism and dream-like imagery, leaving them open to interpretation. 
  This gives you the most possible latitude to make the vision fit the 
  events of the game as they unfold. You should consider whether 
  or not a precognitive vision is something that must happen or 
  something that may happen, but might not if the heroes take 
  a different path. The latter choice is far easier to deal with, but 
  encourages the use of precognition as a means of detecting and 
  avoiding problems.
  TELEPORT
  This power allows heroes to bypass the normal limitations of 
  distance as well as overcoming many barriers. It renders many chal-
  lenges—locked doors, cages, and chasms, for example—largely moot.
   This isn’t a problem so long as adventures don’t rely on those 
  sorts of challenges. If they do, you need to find a way of limiting 
  the hero’s mobility. This can be as simple as using an appropriate 
  countermeasure for the power, or as involved as creating other chal-
  lenges for the hero to overcome. As a simple but effective obstacle, 
  remember that Teleport requires being able to accurately sense the 
  destination; placing the teleporter’s cage hanging over a pit in a 
  dark room will stop him from teleporting blindly outside.
  GAME-STOPPING POWERS
  In addition to the previous powers able to train-wreck plots, some 
  powers can bring the game itself to a screeching halt as players fid-
  dle with their mechanics.
   The worst offenders in this category are the “pool” powers that 
  allow players to allocate various power points to different traits, 
  often from round-to-round. Examples include Adaptation, Animate 
  Objects, Mimic, Nemesis, and Shapeshift. How do you keep the 
  game from grinding to a stop while players calculate and re-calcu-
  late the points in their various powers?
   One way is to encourage players to pre-figure many of the configu-
  rations of their powers in advance. Come up with lists of animated 
  objects or established forms a shapechanger uses often. Have the 
  player with the Animal Mimicry character put together a list of ani-
  mals and the costs of their powers, and so forth. A little prep work 
  can cut down the time lag for these powers tremendously.
   You can then treat the pool powers as open-ended power arrays; 
  the character has a list of established traits, but can do “power stunts” 
  essentially without extra effort by re-allocating points to a new set 
  of traits. Treat this like a power stunt in terms of frequency. Don’t let 
  players dither over deciding what to do or where to put their points, 
  but encourage them to use their established shticks and come up with 
  only a few truly new things each game. Then have them write out 
  those new things after the game, so they’ve got them for later.
   You can also “ballpark” the effects of pool powers as needed, 
  using the power rank as a general guideline for how effective the 
  character’s allocated traits will be. If things are off by a few power 
  points plus or minus, so what? The point is to keep the game moving 
  along rather than arguing over the allocation of a couple of imagi-
  nary points here and there. Take a look at the Dynamic Variable 
  Powers option later in this chapter, which explores this idea in a bit 
  more detail.
  POWER OPTIONS  
  & VARIANTS
  The following options and variants can modify the way powers work 
  in M&M to suit particular games and styles of play.
  POWER LEVEL POINT LIMITS
  In the standard M&M rules, power level limits the rank of some pow-
  ers by the limitations is places on save DCs and traits like ability and 
  saving throw modifiers, but does not otherwise restrict the availabil-
  ity of powers.
   In this variant, in addition to the normal limits, power level also 
  restricts powers that provoke saving throws to a point value, based 
  solely on power rank, of no more than (PL x 2) points. Note this does 
  not include the addition of power feats, but does include extras and 
  flaws; the limit is final power point cost.
  Example: In a PL 11 game, powers with saving throws are 
  limited to a (cost x rank) total of 22 points. So a character 
  could have at most 11 ranks in a power costing 2 points per 
  rank, 7 ranks in a 3/rank power, and 5 ranks in a 4/rank 
  power. Since the save DC limit also applies, a 1-point per 
  rank power is also limited to 11 ranks (+11 to save DC).
  UNRELIABLE POWERS
  While some powers require an attack roll or check to succeed, 
  powers in M&M don’t normally require a roll in order to use them. 
  Gamemasters interested in making power use less reliable can 
  require a power check with a Difficulty Class of 10 + the number 
  of power ranks the player wishes to use. If the check succeeds, the 
  power works normally (requiring whatever rolls or checks it does nor-
  PRECOGNITIVE DO-OVERS
  One option for handling Precognition is to give the player of a 
  precognitive hero the meta-game ability to use that foresight. For 
  example, with a successful use of Precognition, the player can spend a 
  hero point to declare a “do-over” of a particular scene, “resetting” things 
  to a point in the past, like the “save point” in a video game. The events 
  that occurred in the game after that point were nothing more than a 
  precognitive vision!
   So, for example, when the group falls into a trap, the precog player 
  declares a use of Precognition and spends a hero point. Events “roll 
  back” to just before the heroes set off the trap. The precog grabs the 
  arm of his teammate, saying, “Wait, there’s a trap!” Note the hero still 
  loses the hero point even though those events “never happened.” The 
  GM can likewise use this as an “escape hatch” if things go awry in the 
  adventure; declare the problematic events a precognitive warning and 
  reset the adventure to a previous moment so the heroes can try again.
   Be careful not to let this ability become problematic in and of itself. 
  If players feel they have an “escape clause” for every bad situation, they 
  may adopt a videogame-like system of exploring every possible option, 
  knowing they can return to their “save point” when things go badly. 
  Available hero points should limit precognitive “do-overs,” but you 
  should also feel free to use GM Fiat to limit them as needed.
  
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  mally). If the check fails, then the power doesn’t work and the action 
  required to use it is wasted.
   This means using a power at full-strength has a 50/50 chance 
  of success, since the DC is always equal to the power rank +10, but 
  more powerful characters have a better chance of success using their 
  powers at a lower level. It also means spending a hero point on the 
  power’s reliability check ensures success (since a hero point re-roll is 
  always at least an 11).
   Naturally, this option is best suited to campaigns where powers 
  are supposed to be less reliable than in most superhero comic books. 
  Possibilities include untrained young supers, comedic campaigns, 
  secret psychics, and similar settings.
   If only some characters’ powers are unreliable while others are 
  not, then this can be treated as a –1 power flaw for the unreliable 
  power(s).
  PARTIAL CONCENTRATION CHECKS
  Normally a Concentration check to maintain a power is all-or-nothing; 
  either the check succeeds or it fails. With this option, a Concentration 
  check may partially succeed: for each point the check result exceeds 
  DC 10, the character manages to maintain one rank of the power, up 
  to its full rank (if the check result equals DC 10 + power rank). This 
  makes it less likely for a character’s power to completely fail.
  Example: Sonic, flying overhead, gets stunned by a hurled 
  subcompact car. He needs to make Concentration checks to 
  maintain his Flight and Force Field powers, both DC 19 (10 
  + power rank). He rolls a 10 on his first check and a 14 on 
  his second. The first check doesn’t exceed DC 10, so Sonic’s 
  Flight power shuts off. Fortunately for him, his second check 
  exceeds DC 10 by 4, so he retains 4 ranks of his Force Field. 
  He’s gonna need them as the ground comes rushing up 
  toward him…
  STUN TIMING
  When a character is stunned, the effects of that condition, particu-
  larly the Concentration check necessary to maintain any sustained 
  powers, are applied immediately. The stun condition is removed 
  on the initiative count just before it occurred, but the hero cannot 
  restore any lost powers until his next action.
   In this variation, the Concentration check to maintain a power 
  doesn’t come until the character’s action. When a character is 
  stunned, any sustained powers remain active until the character’s 
  action, when a free action is required to maintain them. If the char-
  acter is incapable of taking actions due to being stunned (or some 
  other condition), only then is a Concentration check required to keep 
  the sustained powers going. If it fails, the power shuts off, but the 
  amount of time the character must do without the power’s bene-
  fits is generally shorter—exactly one round rather than somewhere 
  between one round and two.
  PARTIAL COUNTERING
  Normally, an attempt to counter a power is all or nothing—it either 
  succeeds or fails. With this option, a countering attempt may par-
  tially succeed: even if the countering attempt fails to exceed the 
  opposing power’s check result, the effects of the opposing power are 
  reduced to the difference between the check results, if that amount 
  is lower than the power’s normal rank or bonus.
  
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  Example: Siren attempts to counter White Knight’s flame 
  Blast 11 with her Water Control 10. Both make opposed 
  power checks: Siren gets a result of 18, White Knight 23. 
  Normally Siren’s attempt would fail and White Knight’s 
  Blast would have its full effect. In this variant, the racist 
  villain’s Blast effect is reduced to 5 (23 – 18), the difference 
  between the power checks. If Siren’s check result had been 
  an 11 (for a difference of 13), White Knight’s Blast would 
  have remained 11, since the difference would be greater 
  than his normal power rank.
  ENERGY POINTS
  Normally, using a power or effect requires no more effort than using 
  a skill or other trait. In some campaigns, the Gamemaster may wish 
  to institute the use of energy points to measure how long and how 
  often characters can use their powers.
   Characters have energy points equal to 10 times their Constitution 
  score, so a character with Con 11 has 110 energy points. Using an 
  instant, concentration, sustained, or continuous duration power 
  costs energy points equal to half the power’s total power point 
  cost, rounded down. So using Blast 11, for example, costs 11 energy 
  points (half of 22). Energy cost is paid each round the effect is in 
  use, at the start of the character’s action. Characters regain their 
  Constitution score in energy points every minute (10 rounds).
   Characters can increase their base energy powers at a cost of 
  1 power point per additional 20 energy points. These additional 
  energy points are used and regained normally.
   Characters with 10 or fewer energy points are fatigued. Characters 
  with 0 energy points are exhausted. If a character with 0 energy 
  points spends further energy, the character must make a Fortitude 
  save (DC 5 + total additional energy spent) at the start of each 
  round to remain conscious.
   If the energy points option is in use, the GM may allow power 
  modifiers to change energy point cost, as follows:
  • 
  Reduced Energy Cost: For a +1 modifier, an effect costs half 
  the normal amount of energy (one-quarter the effect’s total 
  point cost without the modifier). For a +2 modifier, the effect 
  costs no energy.
  • 
  Increased Energy Cost: An effect costing 50% more energy 
  than usual has a –1 modifier. An effect costing +100% (or 
  double) the normal amount of energy has a –2 modifier. Every 
  additional 100% increase in energy cost is another –1 modifier.
   Characters with no Constitution score have no energy points. Their 
  powers must have the Reduced Energy Cost extra, but a +1 modifier 
  is sufficient for a power to cost no energy for them. Characters lack-
  ing Constitution cannot be fatigued or exhausted, since they have 
  no energy to deplete.
   Devices either draw on the user’s energy points or must have 
  their own independent source, costing 1 power point per 20 energy 
  points, as usual. A device that can draw on either the user’s energy 
  or its own is a power feat on the Device power called Dual Energy 
  Source.
  FATIGUE SAVES
  As an alternative to energy points, the GM can rule that some or all 
  powers in the campaign require a saving throw against a Fatigue 
  effect when the power is used. The type of save is determined by 
  how the powers work: Fortitude for powers placing a physical strain 
  on the user, Will for powers requiring mental strain or effort. All pow-
  ers may require the same save, or the GM may set different saves for 
  different powers and descriptors.
   The DC of the save is (10 + number of power ranks used), so 
  players can deliberately limit their characters’ power use to make it 
  easier to overcome the fatigue. A successful save means there is no 
  effect, while a failed save means the character is fatigued. A save 
  that fails by 5 or more means the character is exhausted and a save 
  that fails by 10 or more renders the character unconscious. Fatigue 
  results also accumulate, so three fatigue results render the character 
  unconscious as well. The GM may wish to limit the effects to no 
  more than a fatigue result regardless of how much the save fails. 
  This keeps any single power use from exhausting or knocking out a 
  character; at least three failed saves are required for a power user to 
  become unconscious due to fatigue.
   This approach better suits settings where power use isn’t supposed 
  to be effortless, and needs to be more balanced against mundane 
  skills and feats, such as many fantasy worlds or modern-day “psychic 
  powers” settings. As with the other options in this chapter, the GM 
  decides if required fatigue saves counts as a flaw to reduce power 
  cost or not.
  POWER BOOSTERS
  The extra effort rules describe specific ways of improving a hero’s 
  traits in exchange for a measure of fatigue, limiting how often 
  heroes can push themselves. Hero points can help alleviate this 
  fatigue, encouraging players to use extra effort more often.
   This option allows for further uses of extra effort by substituting 
  some component for the fatigue normally required. The exact nature 
  of this component is left up to the Gamemaster, but it should be 
  something rare and kept under control, so as not to become too eas-
  ily accessible in the campaign. Examples of power boosters include 
  designer drugs or biochemicals, mystic crystals, super-science energy 
  sources, and so forth.
  Example: Chris decides certain rare crystals act as boosters 
  for psionic powers in his campaign. Focusing power through 
  the crystalline matrix causes it to crack and “burn out,” 
  however, so each crystal is only usable once. A psionicist 
  using a booster-crystal can apply extra effort to his powers 
  without suffering any fatigue.
   Note that power boosters only allow certain uses of extra effort; 
  things like improving carrying capacity or movement speed may not 
  work, depending on the booster and the kind of traits it affects.
   Several things can limit power boosters in a setting, including rar-
  ity, cost, and side-effects.
  • 
  Rarity: Power boosters shouldn’t be easily available at any 
  corner store. Consider making them things heroes need to spe-
  cifically seek out and acquire. Getting the booster can be a 
  challenge for heroes to overcome in an adventure just like any 
  other hurdle. Supplies should also be limited enough so heroes 
  can’t stockpile a lot of boosters; they should have only a little 
  on-hand at any given time. Boosters aren’t quite as valuable as 
  hero points (they can’t do as much) but should be provided on a 
  similar basis.
  • 
  Cost: One way of making boosters rare is by making them 
  expensive. A purchase DC of 25-30 makes getting boosters dif-
  
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  ficult for most people. Unless a hero is wealthy, or has a patron 
  with extensive resources, boosters will tend to be in short supply. 
  Expensive boosters may become valuable contraband and the 
  targets of theft.
  • 
  Side-Effects: Some power boosters may cause different side-
  effects, ranging from the relatively harmless to serious problems 
  like addiction, ability damage, and such. Fatigue is obviously a 
  poor side-effect, since power boosters are supposed to substitute 
  for the fatigue caused by extra effort. Other side-effects should 
  usually be less severe, or more long-term, offering the trade-off 
  of short-term advantage (not suffering fatigue) for long-term 
  disadvantage (like addiction to the booster). One possible side-
  effect of a power booster is taint (see Taint in Chapter 6).
  ALTERNATE PROGRESSIONS
  While the Time and Value Progression Table in M&M provides a fairly 
  wide range of improvement for various effects in the game, some 
  groups may want a slower or faster progression, to suit a particu-
  lar style of play, either low-powered or high-powered “cosmic” level 
  characters. The easiest way to achieve this without severely limiting 
  effect ranks, or requiring huge numbers of them is to change the 
  rate of the Time and Value Progression Table.
  • 
  Slow Progression: A slow progression is 1.5 times the previous 
  value on the table, rounding up to the nearest whole number. 
  So it progresses 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, 18, 27, 41, and so forth.
  • 
  Fast Progression: A fast progression removes all the entries 
  on the Progression Table starting with 2 and progresses like this: 
  1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and so forth.
  • 
  Epic Progression: An epic progression removes all the entries 
  starting with 2 or 5 and increases by factors of 10: 1, 10, 100, 
  1,000, 10,000, and so forth.
  PARTIAL SAVES VS. TRAIT POWERS
  In this variant, trait powers allowing a saving throw (such as Drain 
  and Transfer) may have a reduced effect based on the result of the 
  target’s save. Rather than a failed save automatically resulting in 
  the power’s full effect, it instead has ranks of effect equal to the 
  power rank or the amount by which the saving throw failed, which-
  ever is less.
  Example: A character is hit with Drain Wisdom 8. Normally, 
  this power requires a DC 18 (10 + 8) saving throw, and 
  drains 8 power points’ worth of Wisdom score if the save 
  fails. In this variant, the Drain still has a save DC of 18, but 
  the character suffers only 1 point of Wisdom drain per point 
  the save fails by, to a maximum of 8 (on a save total of 10 
  or less). A save total of 15 still fails, but results in only 3 
  points of Wisdom drain.
  DYNAMIC VARIABLE POWERS
  Variable power effects (given earlier in this chapter) generally grant 
  a “pool” of power points that can be assigned to different powers as 
  suits the power’s effects from use to use. For example, the Animal 
  Mimicry power grants a pool of points the player can assign to dif-
  ferent powers to duplicate animal traits. While this gives a clear 
  definition of exactly what traits a variable power can grant to a char-
  acter, it can require a certain amount of “on the fly” math to allocate 
  those points, which can take time away from the game unless a lot 
  of the work has been done in advance.
   Groups that find variable powers too time consuming or detailed 
  can use this option, which allows a variable power (any power that 
  normally grants a variable pool of points) to simply give the charac-
  ter ranks in any powers equal to twice the variable power’s ranks, 
  with no single power have more ranks than the variable power. So a 
  character with Shapeshift 10, for example, could gain up to 20 ranks 
  in other powers, with no single power having more than 10 ranks.
  This option is generally faster and easier to handle in play, but 
  sacrifices some precision, since powers obviously vary in cost per 
  rank. The GM may need to monitor the allocation of power ranks 
  and veto certain uses, such as acquiring a power with many extras 
  applied for a truly “bargain” cost. Still, for groups comfortable 
  
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  playing a bit fast and loose with power allocations, it works well 
  enough for general uses.
   This arrangement is also similar to how the first edition of M&M 
  handled variable powers, and may suit groups looking to duplicate it.
  FLIGHT MANEUVERABILITY
  Flying movement is assumed to be the same as other forms of 
  movement in M&M, for simplicity’s sake. Those interested in a more 
  detailed system of flight movement can use the following optional 
  rules.
   Flying characters have a maneuverability rating measuring how 
  graceful they are in the air. Maneuverability starts out at average 
  (clumsy for gliders) and can be increased through the use of power 
  feats: each power feat increases maneuverability by one level. 
  Reduced flight maneuverability is an uncommon physical drawback: 
  mild (–1 point) for poor maneuverability, moderate (–2 points) for 
  clumsy. Gliders cannot have more than average maneuverability. 
  Consult the Flight Maneuverability table for information on the 
  effects of different maneuverability ratings.
  MANEUVERABILITY CHECKS
  Optionally, the GM can have players make Acrobatics checks for 
  their characters to perform maneuvers listed on the previous table. 
  This is a kind of skill challenge for flight maneuvering (see Skill 
  Challenges in Chapter 3). A maneuver at the character’s maneu-
  verability level is DC 10, each increase in level is +5 DC, and each 
  decrease is –5 DC. So an average flier must succeed on a DC 20 
  Acrobatics (or Dexterity) check to climb at full speed (requiring per-
  fect maneuverability). On the other hand, the same character can 
  make a 45˚/10 ft. turn automatically (DC 0) since it requires only 
  clumsy maneuverability. Characters can take 10 on maneuverability 
  checks, but can’t take 20.
  FLIGHT DRAWBACKS
  As a halfway option between using the Flight Maneuverability 
  system and not using it at all, you can make elements of maneuver-
  ability into drawbacks for the Flight power, as follows:
   As a default, Flight has essentially perfect maneuverability. 
  Limitations of a flier’s maneuverability are handled as drawbacks, 
  with the usual requirement that the total value in drawbacks cannot 
  equal the Flight power’s cost (that is, cannot reduce its effective cost 
  below 1 power point). The following drawbacks are each worth –1 
  point.
  • 
  Minimum Speed: You must fly no less than half your maximum 
  speed or you stall and begin falling. You can restart your Flight 
  power as a move action unless other circumstances prevent it 
  (including other drawbacks).
  FLIGHT MANEUVERABILITY
  MANUEVER
  PERFECT
  GOOD
  AVERAGE
  POOR
  CLUMSY
  Minimum Speed
  None
  None
  Half
  Half
  Half
  Hover
  Yes
  Yes
  No
  No
  No
  Fly Backward
  Yes
  Yes
  No
  No
  No
  Reverse
  Free
  –5 ft.
  No
  No
  No
  Turn
  Any
  90˚/5 ft.
  45˚/5 ft. 
  45˚/5 ft.
  45˚/10 ft.
  Turn in Place
  Any
  +90˚/-5 ft.
  +45˚/-5 ft.
  No
  No
  Maximum Turn
  Any
  Any
  90˚
  45˚
  45˚
  Up Angle
  Any
  Any
  60˚
  45˚
  45˚
  Up Speed
  Full
  Half
  Half
  Half
  Half
  Down Angle
  Any
  Any
  Any
  45˚
  45˚
  Down Speed
  Double
  Double
  Double
  Double
  Double
  Between Up and Down
  0
  0
  5 ft.
  10 ft.
  20 ft.
  • 
  Minimum Speed: A flying character who fails to maintain minimum speed must land at the end of the round. Characters who cannot land will stall and fall 150 feet 
  on the following round. Characters hitting the ground suffer normal falling damage. Otherwise, the character can attempt to pull out of the stall by making a Reflex 
  saving throw (DC 20). A failed save means the character falls again on the following round, and so forth until the character recovers or hits the ground.
  • 
  Hover: The ability to stay in one place while airborne.
  • 
  Fly Backward: The ability to fly backward.
  • 
  Reverse: A character with good maneuverability uses up 5 feet of its movement to start flying backward.
  • 
  Turn: How much the character can turn after covering the stated distance.
  • 
  Turn in Place: A character with good or average maneuverability can “spend” some of its movement to turn in place.
  • 
  Maximum Turn: How much the character can turn in any one space.
  • 
  Up Angle: The angle at which the character can climb.
  • 
  Up Speed: How fast the character can climb.
  • 
  Down Angle: The angle at which the character can descend.
  • 
  Down Speed: A flying character can fly downward at twice normal speed.
  • 
  Between Up and Down: An average, poor, or clumsy flyer must fly level for a minimum distance after descending and before attempting to climb again. Any flyer 
  can begin descending at any time without an intervening distance.
  
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  • 
  Forward Only: You cannot back up while flying; you can only 
  fly ahead.
  • 
  Wide Turns: You cannot execute a greater than 45 degree turn 
  per move action while flying, although you can slow your flying 
  speed while turning, if you wish.
  • 
  Runway Required: You need a level runway to take off and 
  land. You can’t take off or land vertically or hover.
  POINT-BASED NULLIFY
  Normally, a use of Nullify (see the Powers chapter of M&M) is an 
  opposed check between the Nullify power rank and the opposing 
  power rank (or the subject’s Will save, whichever is greater). This is 
  somewhat advantageous when nullifying powers with a cost per rank 
  greater than 2 points, since such powers are disproportionately easy 
  to overcome in comparison to their cost. Gamemasters concerned by 
  this may wish to use the following variant:
   Roll the Nullify power check as usual, but for the opposing power 
  check, use a bonus of the power’s total cost in power points divided 
  by 2. Thus a power with a total cost of 30 power points has a +15 
  bonus on checks against being nullified. For power arrays, add up 
  the total cost of the base power and all the array’s Alternate Power 
  feats and divide by 2 to get the bonus.
   This makes the difficulty to nullify a power proportionate to its 
  cost. It’s somewhat easier to nullify powers costing 1 point per rank 
  (because their effective bonus is halved), the same difficulty with 
  powers costing 2 points per rank, and more difficult for other pow-
  ers. This option is a bit more complicated than the default and may 
  slow down play when Nullify is in use.
  POWER COMBOS
  This variant encourages players to group together similar powers 
  into singular powers with common descriptors and offers an overall 
  discount for doing so.
   To create a power combo, take a group of effects that constitute 
  a single power, such as “Weather Control.” Reduce the cost of each 
  effect by 1 point per rank, but not lower than 1 point per rank, then 
  sum the effects’ costs and add 1 to the total to determine the total 
  cost per rank for the combo. Power flaws that apply to all effects in 
  the combo may be applied to its final cost, reducing it further.
   The drawback of a power combo is it is treated as a single effect 
  with regard to alteration effects like Drain and Nullify. So, an altera-
  tion effect works on the entire combo at once, even if it normally 
  only works on a single effect at a time.
  NULL ARRAYS
  The default power array in M&M is made up of a base power and a 
  series of Alternate Power feats that can substitute for that base power.
   In this variant, the “base” power for an array is a “null” power, 
  a collection of power points that make up a blank slate. The array 
  then requires at least one Alternate Power feat to make it useful. In 
  essence, Power Array becomes a power unto itself, like so:
  POWER ARRAY
  Effect: Trait
  Action: Free
  Range: Personal
  Duration: Continuous
  Cost: 1 point per rank
  You have a collection or array of power points you can use to dupli-
  cate the effects of other powers. You have 1 power point per rank in 
  Power Array you can allocate once per round as a free action to any 
  powers your array may have.
   Each power configuration you can give your array is a separate 
  power feat. So being able to spend your Power Array points to dupli-
  cate the Blast power is one power feat. To duplicate Blast with the 
  Area extra is another power feat, to duplicate the Flight power is a 
  third feat, and so forth.
   You can only change the point allocation of your Power Array once 
  per round, although it is normally a free action for you to do so.
   This approach makes arrays more of a discrete power of their own. 
  If it’s used, then the Alternate Power feat should not exist, except per-
  haps as an option for extra effort. If you want to remove this capability 
  from extra effort as well, then this Array variant is a good option.
  UNDER THE HOOD: POWER COMBOS
  Power combos are essentially how powers were constructed in the first edition of M&M and they’re offered for players who prefer that method. It rewards 
  coherent character concepts, but may also make powers too inexpensive as well as making some concepts more costly than others because they lack 
  the same unified theme.
  
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  WIDE ARRAYS
  As given in the core M&M rules, an array of Alternate Powers is 
  normally a base power and one or more Alternate Power feats. 
  The points of the base power can be shifted between it and the 
  Alternate Power(s). Dynamic Alternate Powers allow those points 
  to be shared, but they still cannot exceed the value of the base 
  power. A wide array increases the number of power points avail-
  able to distribute among powers in the array, using the following 
  power modifier.
  WIDE 
  +1 MODIFIER
  When applied to the base power of an array of Alternate Powers, 
  this modifier provides an additional 2 power points per power rank 
  to distribute among the powers of the array. No power can have 
  more power points allocated to it than the base power’s total cost 
  without the Wide modifier, but points can be shared among the 
  Dynamic Alternate Powers of the array. You can apply the Wide 
  modifier multiple times; each time, it increases the number of power 
  points available to the array by 2 per rank in the base power. You 
  can apply Wide as a partial modifier to fine-tune the number of 
  additional power points it grants (see the Powers chapter of M&M 
  for details on partial modifiers).
  Example: Daedalus’ player Rich creates a wide array of 
  powers for his power-armor. The base power is the armor’s 
  Blast 12 power (24 power points). The array’s Dynamic 
  Alternate Powers are Dazzle 12, Snare 12, and Telekinesis 
  12, each costing 2 power points (for 2 ranks of the Alternate 
  Power feat). Rich then applies the Wide modifier to Blast 
  (the base power). This allows Daedalus to distribute a total 
  of 48 power points among the powers in his array: 24 for 
  the base power, plus 24 for the Wide modifier. This means 
  Daedalus can use two of the powers in his array simultane-
  ously at full power.
  ALTERNATE POWER AS A FLAW
  Alternate Powers are power feats, granting an alternate option or 
  “setting” for a power. In this variant, Alternate Power is not a feat, 
  but a –1 flaw applied to each power in an array except for the base 
  power. The Alternate Powers cannot exceed the base power’s cost 
  before the Alternate Power flaw is applied. So a 20 point base power 
  can have Alternate Powers where their cost does not exceed 20 
  points before the application of the Alternate Power flaw.
   The flaw has the same limitations and guidelines as the Alternate 
  Power feat from M&M, the primary changes are: 1) Alternate Powers 
  are more expensive, and; 2) Alternate Powers are no longer avail-
  able as power stunts, since power stunts can only add power feats to 
  a power, not modifiers.
   Gamemasters may wish to still allow Alternate Power power 
  stunts, since they’re a significant element of M&M, but disallowing 
  them can help restrict the range of power effects available to heroes, 
  if that suits the style of your campaign.
   In this variant, a dynamic Alternate Power (normally 2 ranks in 
  the Alternate Power power feat) is a power feat (called Dynamic) 
  applied to a power with the Alternate Power flaw, giving it the 
  usual benefit of being able to split power points between different 
  Alternate Powers in an array. Dynamic can also be applied to the 
  base power in an Alternate Power Array, as normal.
  ALTERNATE EFFECTS
  In this variant, the Alternate Power feat is replaced with a power 
  feat called “Alternate Effect” because it is limited to replacing a 
  power with another power of the same type. For example, it can 
  only replace an attack power with another attack power, or a 
  movement power with another movement power. This limits the 
  range of potential alternates for any given power array and makes 
  them more controllable.
   An even more restrictive variant is to limit Alternate Power 
  to only alternate versions of the same power. That is, the only 
  alternate powers you can have for Blast are other Blast powers, 
  presumably with different power feats and modifiers. So you could 
  have an array with a standard Blast, Blast with the Area modifier, 
  Blast with ranks of Homing, etc., but no power other than Blast. 
  This option provides a small measure of flexibility and cost-savings 
  (reflecting the “diminishing returns” of having multiple types of 
  Blasts, for example) while lacking the breadth and options of stan-
  dard power arrays.
   By default, the modifications to Alternate Power also apply to 
  emulating the feat using extra effort for power stunts, although 
  the GM can decide to allow more or less leeway there, as desired.
  AREA KNOCKBACK
  At the Gamemaster’s discretion, an area attack can apply a +0 mod-
  ifier for its knockback to send a target flying inward, toward the 
  source of the effect, rather than outward away from the source of the 
  effect. The benefits and drawbacks of this modifier generally even 
  out and, like other power modifiers, it is a permanent modification 
  
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  77
  to how the power works (so for an area attack that has both inward 
  and outward knockback, you need to acquire one as an Alternate 
  Power of the other).
   This option can simulate attacks like implosions, gravity fields, and 
  area attacks that originate from outside the area and move inward 
  rather than bursting outward from a common origin point.
  AURA AND STACKING EFFECTS
  Generally speaking, M&M works to minimize effects and powers that 
  involve multiple saving throws, particularly multiple saves to avoid 
  essentially the same effect (such as damage). The reason for this is 
  that multiple saves favor the attacker, since there is an increasingly 
  greater chance of the target failing a save. So, for example, an attack 
  power that requires two saves against damage is disproportionately 
  effective compared to a power that requires only one, since there’s 
  more of a chance of the target suffering damage.
   However, the Aura power modifier (see the Powers chapter of 
  M&M) allows for just that because it allows any touch range power 
  to affect anyone touching the character automatically. Thus, a Strike 
  Aura can allow a character to “hit twice” forcing two Toughness 
  saves: one against the unarmed attack, the other against the aura’s 
  Strike power. This can create the problem described before: the aura 
  is disproportionately effective, particularly when it and the unarmed 
  attack are relatively close in damage bonus.
   Should this problem arise in your game, there are a number of 
  options for addressing it, including stacking the power level limits 
  for aura attacks, using the combined attacks rule, and limiting the 
  circumstances where auras are effective. Use these options as you 
  see fit in your game.
  STACKING AURA POWER LEVELS
  In this option, an aura power with a Toughness saving throw (that 
  is, one that has the same save as an unarmed attack) stacks with 
  the character’s unarmed attack for purposes of the power level limits 
  on damage. So if a character has +2 unarmed damage in a PL10 
  game, then, assuming no trade-offs, the character’s aura can’t have 
  a damage bonus greater than +8 (for a total of +10 with the base 
  unarmed damage).
   The target still saves against the damage separately, but the 
  stacking limit means the average save DC will be lower, and it pro-
  hibits characters from having two “attacks” both at the PL limit for 
  damage. This favors low melee damage characters with auras, which 
  actually fits the source material fairly well. Most comic book charac-
  ters with aura powers tend to rely on them rather than brute melee 
  damage and rarely stack the two.
  COMBINED AURA ATTACKS
  You can treat an instance where a damaging (Toughness save) 
  aura and an unarmed attack stack as a combined attack (see the 
  Combat chapter of M&M). Essentially, use the highest damage, 
  increasing it by +2 if the other damage bonus is within 5 points. If 
  not, just use the highest bonus. This shifts aura/unarmed attacks 
  back to a single Toughness save and tends to “factor out” a small 
  unarmed bonus in comparison to a high aura damage bonus (and 
  vice versa).
  GRAPPLING AURAS
  Lastly, you can apply a variant that says powers with the Aura extra 
  don’t work in conjunction with unarmed attacks (use the Linked 
  power modifier for that instead); a quick punch isn’t enough to 
  affect someone else with your aura. Instead, the aura only takes 
  effect if someone touches you (including making an unarmed attack 
  against you) or if you successfully grapple someone (ensuring more 
  long-term contact). This makes the aura more defensive and less of 
  a stacked bonus.
  OTHER IMPERVIOUS SAVING THROWS
  The Impervious modifier normally applies only to Toughness saves. 
  However, it can also be applied to the other three saving throws 
  in the same manner. It costs 1 point per +1 save bonus made 
  Impervious, and effects with a save DC modifier less than the saving 
  throw’s Impervious bonus are automatically ignored (saved against). 
  So a hero with Impervious Will +5 ignores effects with a Will save 
  DC modifier of +4 or less, saving against them automatically.
   This can speed up certain aspects of play, but broad use of the 
  Impervious modifier may result in “spot defense,” where characters 
  become impervious to virtually everything (everything below a par-
  ticular threshold, at least). You may wish to limit its use to only one 
  or two of a character’s saving throws, or decide the amount of a save 
  that can be made Impervious cannot exceed the campaign’s power 
  level (allowing powers at the same level to still affect the character).
   If Impervious is applied to other saves, the Penetrating modifier 
  should be available for non-damaging attacks as a countermeasure.
  STACKED IMPERVIOUS & PENETRATING
  With this option, Impervious and Penetrating modifiers may be 
  “stacked” on powers, with the following effects:
  • 
  A defense with one more Impervious modifier than an attack’s 
  Penetrating modifiers ignores the attack completely if the 
  attack’s save DC modifier is less than the defense’s save bonus 
  (the way Impervious defenses normally work).
  • 
  An attack with one more Penetrating modifier than a defense’s 
  Impervious modifiers forces a saving throw against the attack 
  even if the attack’s save DC modifier is less than the defense’s 
  save bonus (the way Penetrating attacks normally work).
  So, an attack with Penetrating 3 (a +3 modifier) versus a defense 
  with Impervious 2 (a +2 modifier) still overcomes the Impervious 
  modifiers because it has one more Penetrating modifier. Conversely, 
  a defense with Impervious 2 ignores the damage from an attack 
  with Penetrating 1 and a lower bonus, because its Impervious modi-
  fier is more than the attack’s Penetrating modifier.
  IMPERVIOUS & PENETRATING PROGRESSION
  Since the returns on additional Impervious and Penetrating modifi-
  ers is somewhat limited, the Gamemaster may choose to make them 
  an application of the Progression power feat rather than additional 
  modifiers to keep costs under control. Keep in mind, however, this 
  variant encourages players to stack multiple levels of Impervious 
  and Penetrating on powers because it is more cost-efficient to do so.
  LINKED POWER SAVES
  When a character makes saving throws against a set of Linked 
  powers with different saves (see the Linked power modifier in the 
  Powers chapter of M&M), you can allow the spending of a single 
  hero point to re-roll all of the saving throws, since the Linked pow-
  ers constitute a single “attack,” even if they require different saves. 
  
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  This includes any power that requires two or more different saves at 
  once, such as Corrosion and Disintegration, or powers with the Aura 
  modifier. This helps make hero points equally as effective against 
  these powers.
  NO SAVING THROW POWER MODIFIER
  Some particular power concepts may not allow for a saving throw: 
  for example, consider a Drain power that always works on contact 
  with the target, regardless of Fortitude (or other saves). This modifier 
  is somewhat like a perception range power, which doesn’t require 
  an attack roll and bypasses normal Defense. Therefore, it should be 
  considered at least equal in cost to applying the Perception Range 
  modifier to a touch range power: a +2 modifier to power rank cost. 
  Thus a Drain costing 2 points per rank would cost 4 points per rank 
  if no saving throw is allowed against the Drain’s effect.
   No Saving Throw is a very powerful modifier, and the Gamemaster 
  should be especially cautious about allowing it for heroes in a M&M 
  game. It should never apply to any effect requiring a Toughness 
  save, only Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves, and it’s usually best if it 
  applies to powers with other limitations, particularly Uncontrollable, 
  since that places the power largely under the GM’s control and helps 
  prevent any abuse of the capability to bypass most saves. It should 
  also never apply to a power that doesn’t require an attack roll, such 
  as an area effect or perception range power. A power that automati-
  cally hits and doesn’t allow a save is an almost certain game-breaker 
  for anyone but a plot device non-player character.
   Also note that a No Saving Throw power should still have a saving 
  throw; the target is simply not entitled to one in normal situations. 
  However, any effect allowing a target to automatically succeed on a 
  saving throw, such as the Immunity power, does protect against a No 
  Saving Throw effect. So if a character has Immunity 30 (Fortitude), 
  then Drain 5 (No Saving Throw) still has no effect against that char-
  acter.
  Example: Absorbine has the uncontrolled ability to drain 
  the life-force of anyone she touches. She has Drain All Ability 
  Scores 5 with the following modifiers: Aura (+1, her power 
  affects anyone she touches automatically), Permanent (+0, 
  rather than Sustained, she can’t turn her Aura off), and 
  No Saving Throw (+2). This is a total cost of 5 points per 
  rank (2 point base + 1 +0 + 2) or 25 power points total. 
  Any time Absorbine touches someone, that character loses 
  5 points from his ability scores; the only defense is not to 
  touch her. Subjects immune to Fortitude effects—such as 
  those with no Constitution score—are unaffected by her life-
  force drain because they have no “life-force” as such. So, she 
  can’t drain robots or zombies, for example.
  POWER SURGES
  Sometimes superhuman powers surge out of control, often with seri-
  ous consequences. This is a new power drawback, known as a power 
  surge. The Power Surge drawback is generally Common and Strong, 
  worth 4 power points. Power surges are optional, since they’re 
  somewhat complex and require a separate system of tracking surge 
  points, outlined here.
  BUT DO I GET POINTS FOR IT?
  It’s up to the Gamemaster whether or not characters get the 
  drawback points for Power Surge. If Power Surge is required of all 
  superhumans in the setting, the GM can simply say it isn’t worth 
  any points, since it’s campaign-specific and all superhumans suf-
  fer from it. On the other hand, the GM can also decide characters 
  deserve the extra points for having to deal with the risks of power 
  surges.
  WHEN POWER SURGES OCCUR
  A power surge may occur when any of the following conditions are 
  met:
  • 
  The hero uses extra effort to enhance a power in some way, 
  whether increasing the power’s rank temporarily, or gaining a 
  temporary power feat. The chance of a power surge is the same 
  whether or not the player spends a hero point to ignore the 
  fatigue of extra effort.
  • 
  A player rolls a natural 1 on any roll involving an active use 
  of a power (including attack rolls, and skill, ability, or power 
  checks). This does not apply to passive uses of powers, such as 
  Protection.
  • 
  The character is stunned. This may occur in combat or from other 
  effects.
  • 
  When the character is under extreme emotional stress. This may 
  be due to mental or psychological complications, or decided by 
  roleplaying and the Gamemaster’s judgment. It’s also possible 
  to goad someone into a power surge using interaction skills like 
  Bluff and Intimidate, but the GM should require at least two 
  successful checks against the target, and may wish to give the 
  character a +2 or better bonus on checks to avoid this sort of 
  manipulation.
  When any of the previous conditions are met, the player makes a Will 
  saving throw, with a Difficulty Class of 10 plus the character’s power 
  level (the campaign’s power level for player character heroes or an 
  NPC’s calculated power level). Thus as superhumans become more 
  powerful, their powers become more difficult to control, although 
  their Will save bonus may also increase.
   In cases where multiple conditions apply, each additional con-
  dition increases the DC of the saving throw by +2. A character 
  is only required to make one Will save per round to avoid power 
  surges, regardless of the number of conditions, and makes only 
  one save per condition for as long as that condition applies. So 
  only one saving throw is required for a particular emotional stress 
  or stunned condition, for example, even if it lasts longer than a 
  round.
   A successful Will save means no power surge but the character 
  gains a surge point. A failed Will save means a power surge occurs. 
  Players may spend hero points to improve Will saves and avoid 
  power surges.
  POWER SURGE EFFECTS
  A power surge causes the character’s powers to go out of control. It 
  is much like an uncontrolled use of extra effort, with results dictated 
  by the Gamemaster.
   The character is stunned by the power surge with the usual 
  effects: loss of the character’s next action and loss of dodge bonus 
  to Defense, with an additional –2 to Defense. The player can spend 
  a hero point to shake off this stun condition normally, although this 
  does not prevent the power surge from occurring.
  
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  79
   On the round after the power surge ends, the character is 
  fatigued and recovers from this fatigue normally. If the character 
  was already fatigued (such as from a previous use of extra effort), 
  then he is exhausted, if exhausted, then he becomes unconscious. 
  The player may also spend a hero point to ignore the fatigue of a 
  power surge.
   For a normal power surge, apply the effects of extra effort and the 
  Uncontrolled flaw to one of the character’s powers. The Gamemaster 
  decides the exact effects of any given power surge, with input from 
  the players, as desired. Possible power surge effects include:
  • 
  A power is used for an immediate attack against a random tar-
  get with a +2 bonus to power rank. The attack is rolled normally, 
  using the character’s normal attack bonus.
  • 
  The character acquires a new power feat (like a normal use of 
  extra effort) that activates wildly on its own. A superhuman 
  with Energy Blast might suddenly acquire an area version as a 
  power stunt, emitting an omni-directional blast of power, or a 
  Dazzle effect as a power stunt, releasing a cascade of blinding 
  light.
  • 
  One of the character’s other powers activates at random and at 
  +2 power rank, such as a flying character suddenly taking off at 
  full speed or a teleporter vanishing into thin air.
  CONTINUOUS POWER SURGES
  If a power surge involves an instant power like Energy Blast, then its 
  effects occur and end immediately, although the after-effects may 
  linger for some time. A surge involving a sustained or continuous 
  power may continue after the initial round. Each round after the 
  initial surge, the player makes another Will save for the character 
  with the same DC, but a +1 bonus for each round. A successful save 
  means the superhuman gets the surge under control and its effects 
  stop.
   A failed save means the surge continues another round. The surge 
  may continue with the same effects as before, or it may change, 
  depending on the Gamemaster’s whim. The surge doesn’t grow any 
  more powerful, but an out-of-control flier may suddenly change direc-
  tion, or a character uncontrollably broadcasting his emotions may 
  change the feeling he’s generating.
   A successful Will save to stop an ongoing power surge does not 
  earn a surge point, unlike a save to prevent a power surge from 
  occurring.
  SURGE POINTS
  The previous section describes the normal effects of a power surge. 
  Those change if the character has garnered any surge points from 
  resisting previous power surges. Each successful Will saving throw to 
  avoid a power surge causes the character to acquire a surge point. 
  Characters can accumulate an unlimited number of these points and 
  they are difficult to get rid of (see following). Surge points represent 
  a build-up of power; by resisting a power surge the character only 
  delays it, and ensures the surge will be more severe when it finally 
  does happen.
   When a character with surge points fails a Will save to avoid a 
  power surge, the surge points augment the effects of the surge. The 
  Gamemaster applies all accumulated surge points as if they were 
  hero points, except surge points must be spent at all once and their 
  effects are cumulative. Surge points can have any of the effects hero 
  
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  points do and enable a power surge to apply multiple levels of extra 
  effort (much like Extraordinary Effort in Chapter 6).
  Some examples of the effects of surge points include:
  • 
  Applying additional increases to the affected power’s rank: +2 
  per surge point. As a general rule, most powers won’t exceed 
  twice their normal rank, but this is at the GM’s discretion.
  • 
  Applying additional power feats. The most common is the 
  Progression feat (see Power Feats in the Powers chapter of 
  M&M).
  • 
  Improving die rolls associated with the power surge. One surge 
  point allows the GM to add +10 any die roll associated with 
  the surge that’s 10 or less. Two surge points turn any such die 
  roll into an automatic 20 (although not a natural 20). This only 
  applies to rolls made by the Gamemaster for the affected power, 
  not things like saving throws or other checks made against the 
  power’s effects.
   After a character suffers a power surge, the character’s surge point 
  total is reset to 0 and he begins building up surge points again from 
  successful Will saves until a new power surge occurs.
  ELIMINATING SURGE POINTS
  Naturally, characters try to avoid power surges as much as possi-
  ble. However, the more you avoid a power surge, the worse it will 
  be when you inevitably succumb and lose control. A character 
  with enough surge points built up can do considerable damage. 
  Therefore, character may try to find ways to “bleed off” their excess 
  power, developing various sorts of “pressure valves” to keep them 
  under control.
   One means is for the character to trigger a deliberate power surge, 
  under controlled conditions. You can always choose not to make a 
  saving throw to prevent a power surge, so some may choose to go 
  somewhere suitably isolated, where they can trigger a power surge 
  with a measure of safety and “blow off steam” before they lose con-
  trol.
   The drawback is the unpredictable nature of power surges. The 
  character doesn’t have any control over how the surge manifests 
  and, the broader the character’s powers, the more unpredictable the 
  surge becomes. Since power surges can add power feats to a power 
  (including Alternate Powers), there’s no telling what might happen. 
  Therefore, it’s questionable whether or not any place is entirely 
  “safe” for setting off a surge. For example, a character out in an 
  isolated area like the Sahara Desert or Antarctica might trigger a 
  power surge that creates an environmental catastrophe, such as a 
  massive shockwave creating a desert storm or a heat pulse melting a 
  tremendous amount of polar ice or turning desert sand into a sheet 
  of glass.
   Characters capable of surviving in space and leaving Earth have 
  an additional option: they can trigger a power surge in deep space, 
  with nothing nearby for millions of miles. This is the safest possible 
  alternative, but there’s still no way of knowing what might happen. 
  A space-faring character is still capable of generating energy pulses 
  that might affect Earth in some way, from interfering with communi-
  cations to bombarding the planet with increased levels of radiation, 
  for example. Bring things like mental powers into play, and almost 
  anything could happen.
   The other drawback to deliberate power surges is a surge stuns 
  the character (unless the player uses a hero point to overcome 
  this). This means characters may be momentarily bereft of their 
  protective powers after they surge. So a space-faring character 
  must have appropriate Immunities; otherwise the cure is far worse 
  than the malady as the character is exposed to the vacuum of 
  space. An opponent may lie in wait and try to take advantage of 
  the character’s momentary disorientation and fatigue. There’s also 
  the possibility of encountering trouble on the way to an isolated 
  locale to safely trigger a power surge. This may cause the character 
  to surge prematurely.
   The other means of eliminating surge points is the opposite of 
  a deliberate power surge. A character who refrains from using any 
  powers at all for a length of time can slowly “bleed off” the excess 
  energies leading to power surges. This takes considerable time: a 
  character must not use any powers for a full week to eliminate a 
  single surge point. This includes continuous powers, which must be 
  “switched off” during this time. Permanent powers still function, but 
  the character cannot use any other powers during this time. Use of 
  any power, even for a moment, means he has to start the process all 
  over again.
   The difficulty with this approach is it renders the character an 
  ordinary mortal while eliminating surge points. This leaves superhu-
  mans vulnerable to their enemies, although they don’t necessarily 
  advertise their vulnerability (and their enemies may not know the 
  character’s powers are “on hold”). It also generally keeps them from 
  pursing any goals or activities requiring their powers. In fact, some 
  superhumans simply can’t take a week off when there’s so much for 
  them to do. The GM may call for Will saves to resist the temptation 
  to use powers while trying to shed surge points.
  
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  81
   A character trying to avoid using any powers, but forced into a 
  situation where power use is necessary, may be considered under the 
  kind of stress that can cause a power surge. So, the effort of trying 
  to desperately refrain from power use may actually trigger the power 
  surge the character is hoping to avoid in the first place!
  POWER SURGE VARIANTS
  The default assumption is power surges are potentially harmful to 
  everyone except the character causing them. That doesn’t have to be 
  the case, however. Gamemasters wanting to add a different element 
  of risk to power surges may decide the characters are at the greatest 
  risk. Surging powers may destroy their users or alter them beyond 
  recognition.
  FORTITUDE SURGES
  In this variant, substitute Fortitude saving throws where power 
  surges normally call for Will saving throws. This makes controlling 
  power surges more a matter of health, endurance, and constitution 
  rather than willpower and self-control. Strong, healthy characters 
  are less prone to power surges than physical weaklings, and mental 
  discipline has nothing to do with controlling a power surge. This typ-
  ically means surges are more of a biological process, perhaps even 
  linked to a kind of degenerative illness or physical defect more likely 
  to affect those with less Fortitude.
  SURGE POINT PENALTY
  The default assumption is the buildup of surge points has no adverse 
  effects on characters until they fail a Will save and a power surge 
  occurs. Some Gamemasters may wish to have the buildup make char-
  acters more prone to power surges. In this case, apply a penalty to 
  the Will save against power surges equal to his current surge point 
  total. So a character with 3 surge points suffers a –3 penalty on saves 
  to avoid further power surges. This means there’s a finite number of 
  surge points a character can build up before inevitably failing a Will 
  save, and it makes racking up surge points a more serious matter.
  SURGE DAMAGE
  Instead of or in addition to their other effects, power surges are 
  potentially harmful and may cause lasting or permanent damage to 
  the characters causing them, even leading to death. When a damag-
  ing power surge occurs, the player must make a Fortitude saving 
  throw against a lethal damage bonus equal to half the character’s 
  power level. Players can spend hero points normally on the save 
  against a damaging power surge. You can also choose to have dam-
  aging power surges resisted by a different save, such as Will.
   At the GM’s option, the number of surge points the character pos-
  sesses may increase the damaging effects of a power surge. Increase 
  the surge’s damage bonus by 1 per surge point. This means massive 
  power surges are more likely to seriously injure or kill.
  SURGE TAINT
  Out-of-control powers may reshape or warp their wielders in various 
  ways. Instead of or in addition to its normal effects, a power surge 
  gives the character taint (see Taint in Chapter 6). Each failed 
  power surge check usually results in 1 point of taint, although the 
  GM can vary this amount to achieve the desired effect.
   Taint caused by power surges may be of any type found in the 
  campaign, although mutations and psychological taint are the most 
  common results. If super-powers are innately “immoral” in some way 
  (all derived from an evil source, for example), then even moral taint 
  is an option.
  DEATH SURGES
  A superhuman’s death throes can potentially unleash a catastrophe. 
  The default assumption is a character’s death doesn’t cause a power 
  surge if the superhuman dies instantly or is unconscious at the time 
  of death. If there’s no chance to react, there’s no chance of provok-
  ing a power surge. On the other hand, a prolonged or painful death 
  almost certainly requires a Will save to prevent a surge, and some 
  may choose to forgo the saving throw, hoping to get a last chance at 
  revenge against their killers.
   At the Gamemaster’s option, a power surge may occur when a 
  character dies under any conditions. This approach may actually 
  decrease the amount of violence in the campaign if Power Surge 
  is a common or default drawback, since superhumans won’t be so 
  quick to kill each other if they know each of them is essentially a 
  bomb waiting to go off. Better to defeat or overpower a foe and 
  then dispose of them somewhere relatively safe, where the resultant 
  power surge isn’t as dangerous, such as leaving them in a “sure-fire” 
  deathtrap…
   Finally, there’s always the possibility of a superhuman’s dying 
  power surge doing something unusual. Perhaps a dying curse is 
  given life by the power surge, or maybe that last surge of power 
  creates an incorporeal “ghost” to cause more trouble in the future. 
  Is it really the spirit of the deceased character or just some power 
  construct? Only the Gamemaster knows for sure.
   Death surges, if they exist, may also be far more intense than 
  normal power surges. Gamemasters may decide to apply additional 
  surge points to a death surge, using the guidelines for last-ditch 
  effort in Chapter 6; this will ensure the death of any superhuman 
  becomes a spectacular (and potentially cataclysmic) event.
  
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  M
  any characteristics go into bringing a Mutants & Masterminds 
  character to life, and this chapter looks at different ways of 
  handling them. It focuses on options for extra effort and 
  hero points, two major character resources, but also includes 
  definition of a character’s motivation and reputation, as well as a 
  system for handling different kinds of “taint” ranging from physical 
  mutation to creeping madness or moral corruption.
  CHARACTERISTIC  
  OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  This section describes optional and variant rules for different charac-
  teristics, including extra effort, hero points, allegiance, complications, 
  and drawbacks.
  CALLING
  A character’s calling is his purpose, motivation, or reason for being. 
  It’s often what motivates a hero to become a hero—the defining 
  aspect of the character’s personality.
   In game terms, a hero’s calling represents a kind of complication, 
  influencing the hero’s behavior and presenting opportunities for the 
  player to earn hero points. When heroes do things in accordance 
  with their calling, they earn hero points. This encourages players 
  to establish clear personalities for every hero and to roleplay each 
  character’s motivation and personality traits. Examples of possible 
  callings include:
  • 
  Patriotism: “My country, right or wrong,” is the character’s 
  motto. Duty and obligation to country supercedes other con-
  cerns, and may cause complications when the character’s 
  patriotism conflicts with other goals or motives.
  • 
  Responsibility: It comes with great power; the hero feels 
  a responsibility to others, enough to make personal sacrifices 
  when necessary, along with the associated complications.
  • 
  Seeks Justice: The hero puts justice above all else, including 
  the law at those times when the two conflict. The hero might go 
  outside the law to see that justice is done, or violate unjust laws, 
  creating conflict with those sworn to uphold them.
  • 
  Vengeance: A character with this calling seeks revenge for 
  some slight, real or imagined. A hero may want to avenge the 
  death of a loved one, unjust treatment, a terrible accident, or a 
  similar wrong.
  Gamemasters should feel free to create callings, and to encourage 
  players to do the same for their characters.
  EXTRA EFFORT AND ADVANCEMENT
  With this variant, extra effort is required for advancement using 
  earned power points. Since you can’t really improve without chal-
  lenging yourself, you must use extra effort at least once, if not more 
  often, on a trait before you can spend power points to acquire it. 
  This only applies to character advancement after play begins, of 
  course.
   For example, to acquire a new power feat, you must have acquired 
  the feat at least once through extra effort during play. Likewise, 
  you may need to use extra effort to improve your Strength to buy 
  a Strength increase, or to improve your movement to increase your 
  rank in a movement power. The Gamemaster decides how many uses 
  of extra effort are required before you can buy a trait, depending on 
  the speed of advancement in the campaign. It might be only once or 
  it could be as many as ten times!
   Once you’ve used extra effort enough times on a trait, you can 
  spend power points to improve that trait. See Advancement in 
  Chapter 1 for more information about this and other advancement 
  options.
  CONCENTRATING ON EXTRA EFFORT
  Normally, extra effort requires no, well, effort to use. The player 
  simply declares the character is using extra effort and the character 
  automatically gains the bonus as well as suffering the fatigue (or 
  spends a hero point to overcome the fatigue condition). Alternately, 
  the Gamemaster may require players to make Concentration checks 
  to allow their characters to use extra effort. The Difficulty Class of 
  the Concentration check should be at least 15, with a successful 
  check allowing a normal use of extra effort. A failed check means 
  no extra effort but also no fatigue. The Concentration check itself 
  is a reaction. This option not only encourages characters to develop 
  Concentration but also reflects how important a hero’s concentra-
  tion is in some comic book stories. This option makes extra effort a 
  bit less dependable, so players may rely on it less. Characters cannot 
  take 10 or take 20 on the Concentration check, since extra effort is 
  by definition not a “routine” check.
  EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT
  Extra effort and hero points allow characters to accomplish a lot. 
  However, there are those times when even extra effort isn’t enough 
  and extraordinary effort is called for. In these cases, you may wish to 
  use the following option. 
   Once per adventure (more or less at the GM’s discretion) a player 
  can decide to use extraordinary effort. The player may spend any or 
  all of the character’s remaining hero points as well as up to three 
  fatigue results (which renders a normal character unconscious). 
  These can apply to any of their normal uses, and the benefits stack. 
  So a hero who uses extraordinary effort, expending three hero points 
  and suffering two fatigue results, can apply five levels of extra effort 
  to a task. The player cannot spend hero points (if there are any 
  remaining) to offset the fatigue from extraordinary effort.
  LAST-DITCH EFFORT
  This option goes beyond even extraordinary effort (previously): in addi-
  tion to all the effects of extraordinary effort, characters can also suffer 
  damage from pushing beyond the limits of their abilities. The progres-
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  sion is staggered, 
  disabled, uncon-
  scious, dying, dead; each grants an 
  additional level of extra effort. This 
  extra effort can be combined with 
  hero points and the expenditure of 
  fatigue levels as desired. So a hero could 
  gain up to five additional levels, but it means the character dies at the 
  end of the effort. Last-ditch effort is usually reserved for truly dramatic 
  situations where the heroes sacrifice all in order to succeed.
  POWER STRAIN
  With this option, characters can choose to suffer a permanent loss 
  of power points invested in a power for a one-time bonus equivalent 
  to extra effort. Each power point lost permanently from the 
  power grants the character a free use of extra effort, up to 
  a limit set by the Gamemaster. Points equal to the power’s 
  total value or the power level of the campaign, whichever is 
  less, is a good guideline.
   Gamemasters who feel this is too powerful may wish to 
  have each additional use of power strain cost twice as much 
  as the first; thus the first costs 1 power point, the second costs 
  2, the third costs 4, and so on. In addition, the Gamemaster 
  might also allow the hero a Last-Ditch Effort (see previously) 
  for an additional boost.
   Power strain is suited to situations where heroes exert their 
  powers to the utmost, but lose some or all of their power as a 
  result of the tremendous strain. It’s well suited for the “great 
  trick, but you can only do it once” situations of literally mov-
  ing mountains, or achieving similar amazing effects. It’s 
  a particularly spectacular way for a hero to go out in a 
  blaze of glory, saving the world (or the universe, for that 
  matter) but having to quit the superhero game after it’s all 
  said and done.
  TEMPORARY POWER STRAIN
  A variation on the permanent loss of power points is the 
  temporary imposition of the Power Loss drawback (see 
  Chapter 6 of M&M). Essentially, the player chooses for 
  the hero to suffer Power Loss as a complication immedi-
  ately after a power use in order to get an “advance” loan of 
  a hero point. This is good for those situations where a hero 
  strains his powers to the utmost, temporarily disabling them, 
  but without the unconsciousness that usually accompanies 
  things like Extraordinary Effort.
  HERO POINTS & DRAWBACKS
  One difficulty heroes have to overcome is their drawbacks. 
  To reflect this, the GM may wish to adopt the following 
  option. When taking a drawback for a character, the player 
  may choose between either the drawback’s bonus power 
  points, or an additional hero point every time the drawback 
  enters play (above and beyond any other hero points the 
  character might earn from circumstances). In effect, you’re 
  handing the GM a weapon to use against your charac-
  ter in exchange for the understanding that you get 
  hero points when the GM takes advantage of your 
  character’s weakness.
  Example: A hero is Vulnerable to Fire, 
  and the player chooses not to give the 
  hero any additional power points for 
  that drawback. Any time the hero 
  faces an opponent with fire pow-
  ers, or has to overcome a challenge 
  involving fire, the hero gets a hero 
  point. If a villain uses a flame blast 
  to defeat the hero and put him in a 
  flaming death-trap, that’s four hero 
  points (one for defeat, one for the death-trap, 
  and one for each use of the fire Weakness).
   Generally, multiple invocations of a drawback must occur over sepa-
  rate encounters for them to count for hero points: you don’t get a hero 
  
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  point for each attack an opponent makes using your Vulnerability, for 
  example, just for it being in that particular encounter.
   This option may encourage players to give their heroes drawbacks, 
  although the GM should be careful in not allowing too many; a 
  maximum limit of the campaign’s power level in drawbacks is rea-
  sonable.
  PROXY HERO POINTS
  Finally, rather than actual hero points, the GM may occasionally 
  choose to reward players with something similar when conditions 
  call for giving them a hero point. Usually this is something of equal 
  value that gives the heroes an advantage in a later encounter and 
  may be the equivalent of a hero point; the GM has just chosen to 
  “pre-spend” it on an advantage or opportunity for the heroes.
   For example, instead of a hero point, the GM may give the players 
  the equivalent of Heroic Inspiration, handing them a vital clue to 
  the villain’s plans, the location of his base, or perhaps the villain’s 
  secret weakness.
   The GM can choose to give the heroes a free use of extra effort 
  in dealing with a particular challenge. Perhaps if one of the hero’s 
  loved ones is kidnapped or threatened, the hero gets a free extra 
  effort to help that person or overcome the danger to them. This may 
  encourage heroes to push to the limit or develop new and innova-
  tive power stunts more often.
  MAXIMUM HERO POINTS
  Using this optional hero point system, the Gamemaster can still set 
  a limit on the number of hero points characters can accumulate dur-
  ing an adventure. Typically this is half the character’s power level, 
  plus any extra hero points granted by the Luck feat. Players should 
  be encouraged to spend some hero points if they reach their maxi-
  mum before the end of the adventure, since they will be unable to 
  acquire any additional hero points and any unspent points are lost 
  at the end of the adventure.
   If some or all of the heroes have reached their limit of hero points, 
  the GM may wish to provide additional hero point awards in the 
  form of proxy hero points (previously).
  STANDARD HERO POINTS
  In this variant, the GM does not award hero points during play. 
  Instead, heroes start out each adventure with a set number of hero 
  points, generally half the campaign’s power level, plus any bonus 
  points for the Luck feat, with a maximum number of hero points 
  equal to the campaign’s power level. That’s all they have for the 
  duration of the adventure.
   This variant can speed up play, since the GM doesn’t need to 
  worry about handing out hero points during the game, and it makes 
  hero points more of a manageable resource, since the players know 
  exactly how many they have to last the entire adventure. Players 
  should be encouraged to conserve hero points at the start of the 
  game so they’ll have some left over by the end. The temptation with 
  standard hero points is to spend them all right away, leaving none 
  when the heroes really need them. On the other hand, this nicely 
  models situations where a hero’s luck “runs out” if he relies on it too 
  often.
   This variant is essentially how hero points work in the first edition 
  of Mutants & Masterminds and may be used to capture the feel of 
  that edition.
  NONRENEWABLE HERO POINTS
  Standard hero points recover at the start of each adventure (or each 
  game session, as the GM sees fit). In this variant, hero points do 
  not renew at all; once spent, they’re gone permanently. Therefore, 
  characters must earn hero points through game play in order to 
  gain more (see Awarding Hero Points for some ideas on this). 
  The goods news is earned hero points carry over from one adventure 
  to another. Making hero points nonrenewable tends to make them 
  more valuable, curbing hero point spending in game. Players will be 
  less likely to spend hero points if they’re not sure they’ll get them 
  back.
  HERO POINTS FOR ADVANCEMENT
  When awarding hero points, the GM may choose not to give the 
  characters additional power points at the end of a game session. 
  Instead, the GM can allow players to convert any or all remaining 
  hero points into power points on a 1-for-1 basis. This leaves players 
  with the choice of spending a hero point in play or saving it for later 
  advancement. It tends to slow advancement, which may suit certain 
  styles of play, since heroes who regularly use their hero points in 
  play don’t advance as quickly as those who don’t (and suffer the 
  drawbacks thereof).
  HERO POINT PENALTIES
  Awarding hero points serves as a “carrot,” encouraging players to do 
  things in character (and within the spirit of the game) to accumulate 
  hero points. The GM can also use hero points as a “stick” to discour-
  age “bad behavior” by taking hero points away from characters who 
  do certain things. For example, in a four-color game, a hero who kills 
  or even makes a lethal attack against an opponent may lose a hero 
  point (or even all of his hero points!). Essentially, the player pays a 
  hero point “premium” for stepping outside the bounds of the game. 
  Gamemasters should use this variant sparingly, and should always 
  warn players before imposing a hero point penalty, allowing them 
  the opportunity to change their mind and take a different (non-
  penalizing) action.
  ENHANCED HERO POINTS
  Hero points are an effective resource, but Gamemasters may wish to 
  enhance their usefulness in some campaigns, especially over-the-top 
  four color settings or adventures like the pulp serials or Saturday 
  morning cartoons. To do so, apply one or more of the following 
  options:
  • 
  Rather than just re-rolling and adding +10 to a low roll, spend-
  ing a hero point allows the player to roll the die again and add 
  the result to the previous roll. If the second roll is less than a 10, 
  treat it as a 10. So, a hero point always ensures at least a +10 
  bonus on any check, possibly more.
  • 
  A player can spend a hero point and treat any die roll as a 20. 
  This is not considered a natural 20, but acts like a roll of 20 
  on the die for all other purposes. Essentially, this allows the 
  player to spend a hero point to “take 20” on any roll, even those 
  where taking 20 is not normally possible. This option makes the 
  Ultimate Effort feat obsolete, since it does the same thing.
  • 
  By spending a hero point, the character automatically suc-
  ceeds on one saving throw against a particular effect, including 
  
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  Toughness saves. This lets a hero point provide a free chance to 
  completely avoid an undesired effect.
  • 
  Players can spend hero points to dramatically alter or “edit” the 
  events of the story to suit their characters. What degree of “edit-
  ing” is permitted is up to the GM. More extreme changes may 
  even cost multiple hero points.
  VILLAIN POINTS
  Another option Gamemasters can use to enforce a comic book feel 
  in a M&M game is to assign “villain points” to characters for vil-
  lainous or evil actions on their part; in other words, they act more 
  like villains than heroes. This option is most suitable for campaigns 
  where the lines between good and evil are fairly clear, although it 
  may be suited for campaigns with moral grays; it doesn’t work well 
  for campaigns where there’s little clear difference between heroes 
  and villains.
  ACQUIRING VILLAIN POINTS
  Characters can acquire a villain point when they do something 
  clearly villainous, including killing an opponent, committing a crime, 
  needlessly endangering innocent lives, and so forth. Generally, the 
  Gamemaster should warn players when their planned course of 
  action will earn them a villain point, allowing them the opportunity 
  to change it, if they want.
   If a hero earns a villain point, that hero’s maximum hero points are 
  reduced by one point. Each additional villain point further reduces 
  the hero’s available hero points by one point. A hero whose accumu-
  lated villain points equal or exceed the hero’s original hero points 
  goes over to villainy entirely.
   Heroes who have some villain points have a reduced number of 
  hero points to spend. The hero’s player can choose to spend the 
  hero’s villain points. However, spending a villain point earns the 
  character another villain point (and the original villain point doesn’t 
  go away), so the hero’s slide into villainy accelerates.
  ELIMINATING VILLAIN POINTS
  Heroes can eliminate earned villain points 
  through acts of heroism and redemption. The 
  player can choose not to accept a hero point 
  award for a heroic action and remove a villain 
  point instead. If using the standard hero point 
  system, the Gamemaster decides when the hero 
  has performed a sufficiently heroic act to elimi-
  nate an earned villain point.
  REPUTATION
  This system models how well known a character 
  is and how that reputation affects interaction 
  with others. A good reputation can be a useful 
  advantage, but a bad one can be a troublesome 
  hindrance.
   Reputation affects non-combat interaction 
  checks between characters by providing a modi-
  fier. A positive reputation makes others more 
  likely to favor and help the character, while a 
  negative reputation makes the character’s social 
  entreaties less effective.
  FAME OR INFAMY
  Reputation bonus represents a character’s notoriety. Those with a 
  Reputation of +4 or higher can be considered well known within 
  their professional and social circle. Whether the character is famous 
  or infamous depends on the point of view of the person recognizing 
  the character.
  REPUTATION AND SECRET IDENTITIES
  Characters with secret identities effectively have two separate repu-
  tation bonuses: one for the costumed identity and another for the 
  secret identity. The character should use whichever bonus is appro-
  priate. One reason many supers maintain secret identities is to leave 
  their Reputation (and the recognition that comes with it) behind for 
  a while to live a “normal” life.
  REPUTATION CHECKS
  Most of the time, the character doesn’t decide to use reputation; 
  instead, the GM decides when your reputation is relevant to the 
  scene or encounter. When it becomes relevant, the GM makes a rep-
  utation check for an NPC that might be influenced in some fashion 
  by your character’s notoriety.
   A reputation check is d20 + reputation bonus + the NPC’s Int 
  modifier. The GM may substitute a Knowledge skill bonus for the 
  Int modifier if your activities apply to a particular field. Knowledge 
  (popular culture) is particularly appropriate for known superheroes 
  and supervillains, while Knowledge (arcane lore) might apply to a 
  hero with magical powers, and Knowledge of the various sciences 
  could apply to characters known as leaders in various scientific 
  fields.
   The standard DC for a reputation check is 25. If the NPC suc-
  ceeds on the check, he recognizes the character. That recognition 
  grants a bonus or penalty on subsequent interaction skill checks 
  based on the NPC’s reaction. A character with a Reputation bonus 
  of +24 or more is instantly recognizable and known to virtually 
  everyone.
  
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  SKILL CHECKS
  When an NPC with an Intelligence of 5 or higher has a positive 
  opinion of your reputation, you get a bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, 
  Gather Information, and Perform checks equal to half your reputa-
  tion bonus, rounded down.
   When an NPC with an Intelligence of 5 or higher has a negative 
  opinion of your reputation, you get a penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, 
  Gather Information, and Perform checks equal to half your reputa-
  tion bonus, rounded down, but gain a bonus of the same amount to 
  your Intimidate checks.
   The bonus or penalty only applies when you are interacting out-
  side of combat with an NPC who recognizes you and is therefore 
  aware of your reputation. Those unaware of your reputation are 
  unaffected by it either way.
  NPC REPUTATIONS
  Players decide how their characters act. Sometimes, however, it’s 
  appropriate for the GM to call for a skill check using an interaction 
  skill affected by reputation. For example, an NPC might use Bluff 
  to lie to the heroes, who, in turn, use Sense Motive to detect the 
  lie. If an NPC tries to intimidate a hero, the GM can use the NPC’s 
  Intimidate check result to determine which heroes see the NPC as 
  intimidating and which don’t. Similarly, a Diplomacy check can tell 
  the GM which characters find an NPC persuasive and which don’t. 
  Players may also want to know if their heroes recognize a particular 
  NPC. Reputation checks can be useful in these situations.
   The GM should make a reputation check in secret to see if player 
  characters recognize an NPC. This prevents the players from using 
  the results of reputation checks as a means of measuring the impor-
  tance of every NPC they encounter.
   Modify the results of the NPC’s interaction skill checks by their 
  reputation bonuses when they interact with characters who recog-
  nize them.
  DETERMINING REPUTATION
  Determining a character’s reputation is based on two factors: power 
  level and points invested in the Renown and Low-Profile feats.
   As a default, all characters have a reputation bonus equal to their 
  power level. For heroes, this is the power level of the campaign. For 
  NPCs, it is their power level relative to the campaign; more powerful 
  characters tend to be better known. So, heroes in a PL11 campaign 
  have a base reputation bonus of +11 (meaning their reputation 
  comes into play on a roll of 14 or better with a DC 25 reputation 
  check).
   The GM may wish to vary the base reputation bonus according 
  to the needs of the campaign. If the heroes are some of the only 
  super-powered individuals in the setting, for example, they may 
  have greater reputations, perhaps one-and-a-half to twice the cam-
  paign’s power level. If they are covert agents or otherwise out of 
  the public eye, their reputation bonus may be lower or even a base 
  of +0.
   Each rank in the Renown feat increases a character’s reputation 
  by +3. Each rank in the Low-profile feat reduced a character’s repu-
  tation by –3. See Chapter 4 for descriptions of these feats.
  EVENT-BASED REPUTATION
  Reputation also changes based on the things characters do… at least, 
  the things other people know about. When a character performs 
  some important action, the Gamemaster can assign a Reputation 
  modifier based on it. This can range from +1 for acts of local fame 
  (saving the city, stopping a major crime wave, etc.) to +4 or more for 
  things like saving (or trying to take over) the world. Keep in mind 
  that the Reputation bonus only measures how well known a charac-
  ter is, not how people feel.
   The GM can likewise decrease a character’s Reputation for staying 
  out of the limelight, lying low, and otherwise not attracting atten-
  tion for a while. People move on and forget about old headlines. 
  Still, a hero or villain with a significant Reputation usually has to be 
  out of circulation for years before most people forget.
  TAINT
  Some characters in the comics suffer from progressive problems, from 
  some sort of taint, whether it’s the corruption of pure evil, uncon-
  trolled mutation, chaos energy, or some sort of progressive disease. 
  The optional rules in this section look at ways to model these and 
  other kinds of taint in a M&M game.
  TYPES OF TAINT
  “Taint” is just a general term for some imbalance or progressive 
  problem a character faces. It can come in many different forms and 
  it’s up to the Gamemaster which, if any, forms of taint exist in the 
  campaign setting. Some possible types of taint include (but are not 
  limited to) the following:
  • 
  Biological taint is some sort of mutation or transformation of 
  the victim’s body. It can be anything from a rampant disease to 
  a kind of “evolution” toward some other form, something other 
  than human.
  • 
  Moral taint is sometimes referred to as corruption. It is essen-
  tially the taint of evil on the character’s mind, heart, or soul 
  (or all three). It represents an erosion of the character’s morals; 
  moral taint paves the path to wickedness and villainy, whether 
  willingly or unwittingly.
  • 
  Psychological taint is the touch of madness, a creeping lunacy 
  intruding on the character’s psyche. The more it progresses, the 
  more the individual’s grip on reality weakens, sliding down the 
  slope toward complete and utter insanity.
  ATTITUDES: HERO VS. HERO
  In the comic books heroes always seem to end up in a fight before 
  they team up against a villain. Sometimes this is because of villainous 
  trickery or mind control, but often it’s just a simple misunderstanding. 
  Heroes often assume anyone else in a costume is up to no good and 
  react accordingly.
   If you wish to reflect this comic book staple, assume the attitude of most 
  NPC heroes upon encountering the player characters is hostile, particularly 
  if the PCs are engaged in any sort of suspicious activity. If the heroes are 
  especially well known, NPC hero attitudes may be indifferent at first rather 
  than hostile (although they’ll become less favorable if the famous hero is 
  up to something suspicious or the NPCs have reason to believe the hero 
  might be untrustworthy).
   Naturally heroes can try to convince their NPC counterparts of their 
  good intentions, but they may only be able to do so after a fight breaks 
  out!
  
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  CAUSES OF TAINT
  Any number of things can cause taint, but ultimately, taint in the 
  game should be caused by the character’s choices in some way for 
  it to be anything other than an arbitrary punishment. That is, taint 
  should be a side-effect of a choice the player makes on behalf of the 
  character. This makes taint into a mechanism to give that choice a 
  definite consequence.
   So, for example, moral taint may result from the moral choices 
  someone makes. If you choose to do evil, then you risk becoming 
  tainted by that choice. Likewise, if someone does something psy-
  chologically scarring, then psychological taint may result. Even 
  biological taint can occur as the result of a choice to use certain 
  devices or powers with mutational or toxic side-effects, or to go into 
  an area filled with dangerous energies, for example. Of course, the 
  choice to avoid taint isn’t always easy—heroes may need to use those 
  dangerous devices, go into that forbidden area, or bargain with evil 
  forces—but it should still be a choice, in order to be meaningful.
   The only real occasion when taint should be imposed from without 
  is in a horror-themed game, where a slow and inevitable progression 
  into corruption and madness are important elements of the genre. 
  There, taint can be used to emphasize feelings of helplessness and 
  unfairness. In most M&M games, however, it’s best restricted to a 
  matter of choice.
  ACQUIRING TAINT
  Taint is measured, like most things in M&M, in terms of points, simi-
  lar to ability score points or power points. How do characters acquire 
  taint points?
   Once you’ve decided on the cause of a particular kind of taint, it 
  may just happen. That is, if you make a choice that causes taint, you 
  get a taint point automatically. This makes the consequences of that 
  choice certain (at least in terms of taint). This may make some play-
  ers especially cautious, however. If they know they’ll get taint from 
  doing something, they can (and likely will) just avoid doing it.
   Alternately, doing something that causes taint may only lead to a 
  possibility of acquiring a taint point. The best mechanic for this is a 
  saving throw: if the save succeeds, the character acquires no taint; 
  if it fails the character acquires 1 (or more) taint points. The type 
  of save—and the difficulty class—depends on the type of taint, and 
  often the cause.
   Fortitude saves are best suited to biological taint affecting the 
  character’s body and health. Will saves are better for taint that’s 
  moral, psychological, or spiritual in nature, and can also be suited for 
  biological taint caused by willful actions (such as the psychic feed-
  back from a device causing biological taint). Reflex and Toughness 
  saves generally aren’t suitable for resisting taint.
   The Difficulty Class of the saving throw is based on the cause of 
  the taint. Did the character commit a minor infraction or a terrible, 
  mortal, sin? Was it a small dose of mutagenic energy or a massive 
  one? Was the action disturbing or sanity-shattering? As a general 
  guideline, the DC for a taint saving throw should be 10 + half the 
  campaign’s power level on average, giving most heroes a fair chance 
  of success.
   Another good way for characters to acquire taint is through extra 
  effort. Some or all of the uses of extra effort, particularly those 
  involving powers, may cause taint. So, for example, whenever you 
  use extra effort to perform a power stunt or enhance a power, you 
  may incur taint. Alternately, you can make taint an alterative to suf-
  fering fatigue from extra effort; then players have a choice of a level 
  of fatigue or a point of taint. In this case, you may want to rule that 
  hero points cannot reduce the fatigue from extra effort; only taking 
  taint points can. This keeps extra effort useful, but gives the edge to 
  those willing to suffer taint.
  EFFECTS OF TAINT
  So what do taint points do once you’ve acquired them? Generally, 
  taint imposes some sort of disadvantage (or, again, there would be 
  no reason to avoid it). Taint may also provide some benefit, although 
  it’s usually outweighed by the drawbacks.
  DRAWBACKS
  The most common effect of taint is the imposition of drawbacks. 
  These drawbacks may include things normally considered complica-
  tions, like personality quirks, unusual appearance, addictions, and so 
  forth (see Drawbacks vs. Complications in the Characteristics 
  chapter of M&M for details).
   As a general rule, the drawbacks imposed by taint should have 
  a power point value equal to the total taint points. So a character 
  with 3 points of taint has 3 power points’ worth of drawbacks. Note 
  that characters don’t get any additional power points for these draw-
  backs, nor do they count as complications for awarding hero points; 
  they’re the price the character pays for having taint.
   It’s up to the GM whether or not characters have to acquire taint-
  related drawbacks immediately, or if they can “defer” some taint and 
  not acquire a drawback until their taint reaches a certain total. A 
  good guideline is to allow the player to choose, but to require a 
  drawback when taint reaches a total of 5 points and to require the 
  drawback to have a value equal to the unallocated taint points. So, 
  the longer you put off acquiring a taint-related drawback, the worse 
  it becomes, going from an uncommon, minor (1-point) drawback to 
  a very common, major (5-point) drawback.
   Gamemasters can also create particular structures for taint-related 
  drawbacks, such as a “pyramid” structure, where the first drawback 
  can be as little as 1 point, but each successive drawback must be 
  worth 1 point more. So the second taint drawback must be 2 points, 
  then 3 points, and so forth. The time between acquiring drawbacks 
  increases, but so does their severity.
   The GM also decides what kinds of drawbacks are appropriate and 
  may allow players to choose them, or impose them directly. Certain 
  kinds of drawbacks suit particular kinds of taint, as shown in the 
  Examples of Taint section.
  ABILITY LOSS
  A particular drawback of taint may be loss of ability score points. 
  For example, a character may lose a point of Wisdom (or some other 
  ability) for every point of taint acquired. This loss affects the charac-
  ter normally, and if a score is debilitated, the effects become more 
  severe. This effect is best for taint representing a kind of disease or 
  other slow erosion of the character’s physical or mental health.
  BENEFITS
  Taint may also have some beneficial side-effects, although the draw-
  backs should generally outweigh them. The most common benefit, 
  apart from the benefits encouraging characters to risk taint in the 
  first place, is to make taint points a prerequisite for acquiring certain 
  traits.
   For example, if you want to make magic a “forbidden power” if 
  your campaign (perhaps including some other troublesome powers 
  
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  like Mind Control and Summon), you can decide a character must 
  have a certain level of moral or psychological taint before being able 
  to invest power points in magical powers. This makes all sorcerers 
  tainted by their arts, whatever their original intentions for learning 
  magic might have been.
   This kind of “taint prerequisite” is an effective tool for controlling 
  access to certain traits and creating the right feel for certain kinds of 
  settings, particularly those where power (or certain kinds of power) 
  comes at a price.
  TAINT LIMITS
  The Gamemaster should decide if there’s a limit to how much taint 
  you can accumulate and, if so, what it is and what happens when 
  you reach the limit.
   The effects of taint may create an inherent limit. For example, 
  if each point of taint results in the loss of a point of Constitution, 
  then victims die when the reach Con 0, so they can’t have more taint 
  than their Constitution score, minus 1. On the other hand, some taint 
  effects don’t have built-in limits. Theoretically, a character could con-
  tinue accumulating taint-related drawbacks indefinitely, for example.
   It can be useful to set a maximum taint limit for two reasons. The 
  first is to keep taint undesirable and give players reasons to avoid 
  it. The other is to provide some dramatic tension as characters draw 
  closer to an ultimate effect of accumulating taint.
  Whatever the exact effect of reaching the taint limit, the game 
  system effect is the character is taken out of the player’s hands, 
  becoming a non-player character. This can be due to permanent 
  insanity, irredeemable corruption, total physical (or psychological) 
  transformation, or even death.
   Where to set the taint limit depends on how soon you want char-
  acters to get there, but a limit of between 10 and 20 taint points 
  is a good guideline. A lower limit (around 10 points) is best for set-
  tings where any taint is a serious concern and tainted characters 
  often hover close to the limit. A higher limit is better for those cam-
  paigns where taint is a problem, but rarely gets so out of hand that 
  a character succumbs to it completely.
  ELIMINATING TAINT
  Once you have taint, can you get rid of it and, if so, how? Generally, 
  getting rid of taint should be possible, but difficult, and it should 
  again be a choice made by players to do what’s necessary to rid 
  their characters of their taint.
   The process of eliminating taint should be difficult enough for 
  taint to remain a significant risk. If it were easy to get rid of, every-
  one would do it. Some possible means of eliminating taint include 
  the following.
  • 
  Abstinence: The character must abstain from some activity to 
  get rid of the taint, usually whatever caused the taint in the first 
  place. For example, if using certain powers causes taint, then 
  the character has to abstain from using those powers for a time 
  (which may be an inconvenience). A minimum of a week per 
  point of taint is recommended, although it could be longer.
  • 
  Penance: The character has to take some action to address the 
  cause of the taint in order to get rid of it. For example, taint 
  caused by wrongdoing might require the character redress those 
  wrongs and seek forgiveness to remove the taint, while taint 
  reflecting a character out of tune with his nature might require 
  
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  actions more in tune with the character’s true self to eliminate 
  the problem.
  • 
  Treatment: There is some treatment able to remove taint. 
  Generally, it should be time-consuming, difficult, expensive, or 
  all three. Physical taint might be treatable using medicine, and 
  characters could remove psychological taint through therapy. 
  The Gamemaster should decide the course of treatment, any 
  check(s) required, and how much taint each treatment removes.
  EXAMPLES OF TAINT
  Here are three examples of how taint can work. These are by no 
  means the only ones, and Gamemasters should feel free to come up 
  with their own variations. Any or all of these examples could coexist 
  in a setting, providing multiple forms of taint that characters can 
  incur!
  CORRUPTION
  In this application of taint, good and evil are more than just abstract 
  moral concepts—or at least evil is, anyway. Those who do especially 
  wicked deeds have a stain upon their souls. This darkness can eat 
  away at the spirit, until there’s nothing left inside but emptiness and 
  corruption.
  ACQUIRING CORRUPTION
  Characters acquire corruption by doing evil deeds. The exact defini-
  tion of “evil” is left up to the Gamemaster, but generally means any 
  deliberately harmful action undertaken for reasons other than the 
  defense of one’s self or others. In some cases, you may want to limit 
  the list of potential “sins.” For example, perhaps murder and torture 
  are corrupting, while simple theft is not.
  EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION
  Corruption points impose mental drawbacks associated with socio-
  pathic or even psychopathic behavior. The more corruption the 
  character accumulates, the worse (or more numerous) the drawbacks 
  become, and the more likely the character is to acquire further cor-
  ruption, continuing the cycle. A corrupt character also loses the 
  ability to use powers with a holy or good descriptor; the character is 
  simply too tainted. On the other hand, a corrupt character may gain 
  the ability to use unholy or evil powers.
  ELIMINATING CORRUPTION
  Corruption is removed not only by refraining from doing evil deeds, 
  but also by actively doing good deeds in an effort of redemption. 
  A truly good and noble act removes a point of corruption from the 
  character’s tally. Of course, any corruption-induced drawbacks will 
  make it more difficult to stay on the straight and narrow; the player 
  may need to spend hero points to allow the character to overcome 
  the drawback long enough to do the right thing.
  MADNESS
  The mind can only stand so much pressure before it breaks. There 
  are things no one was meant to see, or do, or know, and they can 
  bring on a creeping madness, leading to total insanity.
  ACQUIRING MADNESS
  Characters suffer madness from exposure to traumatic events. These 
  events require a Will saving throw (or a Stability save if you are using 
  that variant—see Chapter 1) with the Difficulty Class of the save set 
  by the intensity of the trauma, ranging from DC 10 (suffering a pain-
  ful injury or receiving a sudden shock) to DC 30 or more (prolonged 
  torture or witnessing Things Man Was Not Meant to Know). A failed 
  save results in a madness point. A successful save means there’s no 
  effect this time.
  EFFECTS OF MADNESS
  Accumulated madness points result in mental drawbacks with a 
  point value equal to the total madness points. The player and GM 
  should choose these drawbacks to reflect the effects of the trauma(s) 
  causing the madness: being attacked by a swarm of spiders may 
  cause arachnophobia, for example. As madness points accumulate, 
  the character may acquire new drawbacks, or existing ones may 
  become more severe.
   In settings where madness is linked to certain powers—particu-
  larly psychic or magical powers—madness points may increase a 
  character’s level of power. For example, perhaps magical powers in 
  the setting are only available to characters with madness points and 
  any individual power can’t have a rank or point cost greater than the 
  character’s madness point total (or total times some multiplier like  
  x2, x5, etc.).
  ELIMINATING MADNESS
  Eliminating madness points takes time, rest, and usually some form 
  of psychotherapy or psychological treatment. The Gamemaster can 
  set an amount of time or treatment for characters to eliminate accu-
  
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  mulated madness points, such as a month’s quiet rest, or a week (or 
  more) of therapy. Depending on the style of the game, these times 
  could be even longer, like months of therapy per madness point, with 
  rest alone having no real effect. Any occasion where the patient has 
  to make a Will save against madness again means no progress dur-
  ing that time.
  MUTATION
  Life is impossibly complex, a galaxy of countless cells. It takes so 
  little: just a small change in a DNA strand for things to alter. Such 
  changes can spread, transforming an ordinary person into some-
  thing … else. Something unnatural.
  ACQUIRING MUTATION
  Characters usually acquire mutation points from exposure to muta-
  gens like radiation or certain chemicals. In some settings exposure 
  to things like “chaos energy” or certain powers may also cause 
  mutations. Characters usually get a Fortitude saving throw to avoid 
  accumulating mutation points, with the DC determined by the 
  intensity of the mutagen: DC 10 for a fairly mild to 30 or more for 
  especially intense mutagenic sources.
  EFFECTS OF MUTATION
  Mutations generally cause physical drawbacks equal in value to the 
  accumulated mutation points. Note that multiple mutations affecting 
  appearance don’t count separately but are treated as a single more 
  intense version of the same mutation (so long as their sole effect is 
  the reaction others have to the character’s unusual appearance).
   Mutations might also grant new or additional powers, depending 
  on their nature, although the character doesn’t usually get much 
  say in the nature of these powers; they may come with certain flaws 
  or power drawbacks like Side-Effect, Uncontrolled, or Full Power. 
  Exposure to mutagens can be the origin for a character’s powers 
  without necessarily accumulating any mutation points. This is a plot 
  device rather than an application of taint.
  ELIMINATING MUTATION
  Mutation points are difficult to eliminate, since they are permanent 
  changes in the character’s physical makeup. Short of the character 
  getting an entirely new body, the only means of removing mutation 
  points may be extensive (and complex) gene therapy or the use of cer-
  tain powers. Perhaps Healing with the Regrowth feat (or a customized 
  power feat or extra) can remove mutation points on a 1-for-1 basis. In 
  some settings there may be no way of eliminating mutation points!
  UNDER THE HOOD: TAINT
  Taint is pretty nasty stuff, not especially suited for traditional four-color M&M games. However, it is useful for more realistic settings with superhuman 
  powers, particularly when it comes to dealing with the effects of those powers on the people wielding them. Many tales of people with power involve 
  the risk of taint: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” as they say. Taint provides a tool for exploring that and similar themes in the 
  game.
   The trick with balancing taint is to make it difficult, but not impossible, to avoid. After all, if it was easy to avoid, it wouldn’t be much of a problem, 
  would it? There should be reasons why heroes might incur taint, even if they don’t want to. Extra effort is one good example. There’s a clear benefit to 
  risking or taking on taint: you’re not fatigued by extra effort where everyone else is. That’s a useful edge, if you’re willing to suffer the consequences. 
  The same is the case with moral taint. Certain actions may be more expedient, but if they run the risk of taint, then there’s also a price to pay for taking 
  “the quick and easy path.”
   Taint is a useful tool for balancing some problematic traits, particularly powers. If you want to limit the effectiveness of a power like Mind Reading or 
  Precognition, for example, attach a taint “price tag” to it. Maybe reading someone’s mind without permission (the most useful application of that power) 
  leads to corruption. Seeing into the future might expose precogs to things “outside of time” the mortal mind wasn’t meant to see. Time travel might 
  cause “quantum breakdown” of the traveler’s molecules, resulting in any number of side-effects. And so forth. You don’t have to ban the troublesome 
  powers outright, but players have good reason to approach and use them with caution.
   Alternately, you can make taint a prerequisite for even having certain powers, limiting them to tainted characters only (which is a good way to limit 
  them to the bad guys without flatly saying you’re limiting them to the bad guys only). See Benefits under Effects of Taint for more on this.
  
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  T
  he Mutants & Masterminds rulebook provides the essentials of 
  devices and the various equipment characters are likely to use. 
  This chapter looks more in-depth at things like the overall “tech-
  nology level” of a setting (defining the availability of “common” 
  equipment), a more detailed system of vehicle combat, pursuits and 
  chase scenes, and various options involving equipment, particularly 
  proficiency (training in the proper use of certain equipment).
  TECH LEVELS
  Tech Levels provide a more detailed means of tracking and describ-
  ing differences in technological development, and are presented 
  here as a Gamemaster tool for settings where technology is an espe-
  cially important element.
   A Tech Level (TL) is an indication of the technological progress of 
  a particular society or civilization (which may be located on a planet 
  other than Earth). This state of technological progress generally per-
  vades all aspects of a culture, particularly at higher levels (TL 5 and 
  beyond) when long-range communication is virtually instantaneous. 
  Even at lower levels, it’s unlikely—but not impossible—for a group of 
  humans (or other sentient beings) to be at one Tech Level in some 
  respects and at another level in other respects.
   Tech Level may vary widely from place to place on the same world 
  or even the same continent.
  TL 0: STONE AGE
  The major achievements of a Stone Age society are the use of fire, 
  the domestication of animals, and the invention of agriculture. An 
  individual living in a Stone Age society is primitive, but isn’t neces-
  sarily gullible, stupid, or easily frightened by advanced technology. 
  Common weapons in a TL 0 civilization include the club, the dagger, 
  the spear, and the bow. Armor made from hide or leather is pos-
  sible, as are wicker shields. Communication beyond the local tribe or 
  settlement doesn’t exist. Travel is accomplished by foot or by simple 
  rafts or canoes. Simple pottery, stoneworking, and woodworking are 
  possible.
  TL 1: METAL AGE
  Early human civilizations began to work metal toward the end of 
  the Stone Age. The malleability of copper led to its becoming the 
  first metal to be “tamed.” Adding tin to copper created a much 
  stronger alloy: bronze. This advance allowed for the crafting of tools 
  and weapons of great durability. In turn, those improved tools made 
  possible the working of iron, which replaced bronze as the metal of 
  choice for tools and weapons.
   In a Metal Age society, advances in pottery, construction, and 
  agriculture allow for the concentration of populations into larger 
  groups, with a corresponding upswing in the accumulation and shar-
  ing of knowledge. The rise of nations, city-states, and empires begins 
  in the Metal Age. Organized efforts to improve communications 
  allow regional societies to exist. Galleys and small sailing vessels are 
  capable of relatively long voyages, and some cultures build exten-
  sive road or canal networks to link distant places. Improvements in 
  agricultural efficiency permit the rise of artisans, craftsmen, profes-
  sional soldiers, and other occupations not directly concerned with 
  gathering food.
   The sword replaces the club and the dagger as the preferred 
  weapon of infantry. Chariots briefly dominate warfare before cav-
  alry (aided by the introduction of the stirrup) renders them obsolete. 
  The first true military forces or tactical systems appear. Armor can 
  now be made from sewn plates or scales, metal links, or even forged 
  breastplates, and a variety of metal melee weapons dominate the 
  battlefield.
  TL 2: MIDDLE AGES
  Maturing civilizations experience a period of turmoil and adjustment 
  at this Tech Level. Developments continue in architecture, commerce, 
  metallurgy, and mathematics. Wider dissemination of information 
  becomes possible thanks to more advanced printing techniques. Sea 
  communications dominate in the later part of this stage of develop-
  ment, and sturdy seafaring carracks and galleons open the door to 
  the next Tech Level.
   As the number of people increases and knowledge of agricul-
  ture evolves, an increasing percentage of the population relocates 
  to cities and towns. Toward the end of this Tech Level, the feudal 
  system—in which a small class of nobles rules a large population of 
  agricultural workers—begins to collapse. Specialized crafts develop, 
  universities appear, and the middle class is born. The first corpora-
  tions emerge in the form of trade guilds. The evolution of strong 
  systems of trade and finance distribute a society’s wealth more 
  evenly among its members, diluting the power of the nobility.
   Tools of warfare undergo a significant revolution. Sophisticated 
  chain and plate armors protect warriors from harm, and elaborate 
  fortifications become something of an art form. Toward the end of 
  the Middle Ages, the introduction of simple gunpowder weapons 
  signals the end of knights, heavy armor, and organized armies of 
  swordsmen.
  TL 3: AGE OF REASON
  The Age of Reason is an era in human history when the development 
  of ideas and systems of thought takes precedence over technologi-
  cal invention. The scientific method improves understanding of the 
  world. Experimentation becomes the means by which the physical 
  properties of nature are systematically examined. The study of the 
  various scientific disciplines—chemistry, electromagnetics, medicine, 
  biology, and astronomy—flourishes. Instruments such as microscopes 
  and telescopes enable scientists to extend the range of their observa-
  tions and discoveries greatly. The new reliance on science generates 
  waves on all levels of society. Superstition falls away, and explora-
  tion of the world reaches its apex. Society begins to experiment 
  with new forms of organization, such as democracy. Corporations 
  and economic alliances continue to evolve. Economically, this Tech 
  Level is a transition from the cottage industries of the Middle Ages 
  to industrialization.
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   The cannon becomes the dominant factor in naval warfare, while 
  massed musket fire and horse-pulled field pieces rule the battlefield. 
  Even the reliable bow vanishes, replaced by the flintlock. Light melee 
  weapons remain common.
  TL 4: INDUSTRIAL AGE
  In the fourth Tech Level, the theoretical knowledge of the previous 
  era matures into widespread practical application. The harness-
  ing of hydraulic, steam, and electric power creates an explosion of 
  commerce and industry. Developments such as the telegraph, the 
  telephone, and the radio make global communication possible. 
  Breakthroughs in manufacturing techniques allow the construction 
  of heavy ironclad vessels, rail transportation, and architecture of 
  previously unimaginable size. Pioneers venture high into the atmo-
  sphere and descend into the sea’s depths.
   Urbanization is complete as individuals gather in smaller 
  environments where they can more easily exchange goods and 
  information. Corporations expand in power, many establishing them-
  selves throughout the explored world. Governments are based on 
  political and economic factors.
   The means of war change swiftly through the period. Aircraft and 
  submersibles join the list of military assets. Reliable and accurate 
  rifles, pistols, and machine guns become common. Mechanized war 
  machines herald the first great change in the art of battle since the 
  end of the knight.
  TL 5: INFORMATION AGE
  The Industrial Age relied on chemical power, but in the Information 
  Age, computer technology and electronics rule the day. Satellite 
  information systems and the Internet connect the globe digitally. 
  This Tech Level also sees the introduction of fission power, reducing 
  the importance of fossil fuels. The automobile replaces the locomo-
  tive as the common form of travel. The first steps toward space travel 
  involve massive chemical rockets, unmanned probes and satellites, 
  and short-term manned missions.
   The technology of the era allows greater citizen participation in 
  government. The emergence of international alliances begins to dis-
  solve borders between nations. Corporations gather power and begin 
  to threaten governmental authority. Technology has a greater effect 
  on individual lifestyles than on society as a whole. Most weapons 
  at this time are refined versions of Industrial Age equipment. Rifles, 
  machine guns, and heavy howitzers are still used by the world’s sol-
  diers. Computerized targeting systems and guided weapons make 
  warfare much more precise and efficient. Strategic weapons, tested 
  but never used, exhibit the species’ power to exterminate itself in 
  minutes.
  TL 6: FUSION AGE
  The development of fusion power provides an efficient, nonexpend-
  able energy source, almost completely eliminating the need for 
  chemical fuel sources. Advanced space exploration and colonization 
  become possible. Computers become even more accessible, reliable, 
  and powerful, leading to the development of virtual systems and 
  widespread access to a global Internet.
   Slowly, society experiences another revolution as individual 
  nations are replaced by world powers. Megacorporations number 
  among these new super-powers as the line between national citi-
  zen and corporate employee is rendered indistinct. Armed with the 
  means to eradicate the entire species, the world powers keep con-
  flicts to the level of skirmishing and posturing, and integration of 
  the Information Age’s improvements proceed peacefully.
   Scientific advances in genetic engineering lead to artificial evo-
  lution and the first government- and corporate-sanctioned attempts 
  to genetically manipulate the species. Early results are encouraging, 
  with the manifestation of positive and negative mutations in the 
  species toward the end of the age. Scientists also perfect cloning 
  technology, and the first full-fledged clones are created.
   In the later years of this age, the first crude applications of grav-
  ity induction technology appear, in the form of civilian and military 
  vehicles that can move through the air without physical propulsion 
  or the consumption of fuel.
  VARIANT TECH LEVELS
  The Tech Levels and progression presented here are obviously by no means the only possibilities, particularly with regard to “future” technology that 
  hasn’t been invented yet! Gamemasters should feel free to reorganize or restructure Tech Levels to suit their own settings and games. Some may call for 
  a more detailed set of TLs, extending beyond TL 9, while others may substitute the “Diamond Age” of nanotechnology for the TL 8 Energy Age or even 
  TL 7 or 6. The basic structure of Tech Levels is to provide a way of comparing the relative technological sophistication of settings (and parts of settings) 
  and determining what can be considered “common” equipment for the setting.
  
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   Chemical explosives and firearms remain the weapons of choice; 
  fusion technology can’t be effectively miniaturized for personal 
  combat. Nevertheless, advanced chemistry and superconducting 
  technology change the materials and capabilities of many weap-
  ons. True spaceships become possible, propelled by powerful fusion 
  drives, but still require a reaction mass to traverse space.
   The age sees the tenuous settlement of other planets and aster-
  oids within the same star system.
  TL 7: GRAVITY AGE
  As this Tech Level opens, the invention of two key technologies her-
  alds the climb to the stars. The gravity induction reactor replaces 
  fusion power as an even more efficient energy source, which can be 
  miniaturized with ease. With the use of mass reactors, world powers 
  explore, divide, and colonize the entirety of the local star system. For 
  the most part, life on the home world is unchanged.
   The introduction and integration of gravity induction technology 
  leads to the creation of the induction engine, allowing starships to 
  bridge the gap between the stars. Political and economic reorganiza-
  tion occurs as the species spreads far from home.
   Projectile firearms are in their last days, as crude energy weapons 
  become available. Powered armor is available to warriors of this age. 
  Personal (melee) weapons enjoy a resurgence, due in large part to a 
  shift in military tactics—armed conflict between individuals seldom 
  occurs on an army scale, but more frequently involves engagements 
  of small units in conditions where ranged weapons are not the most 
  effective.
   Computer technology links every society, settlement, and outpost 
  of a star system in a single information net, creating an unparalleled 
  exchange of information for business, entertainment, and research.
  TL 8: ENERGY AGE
  The continuing miniaturization of induction engine technology 
  allows power plants the size of marbles to harness the primal forces 
  of creation. Powerful personal force fields and energy weapons 
  dominate the battlefield, as projectile weapons finally disappear. 
  Miniaturized sensors, shields, and engines allow mass production 
  of small, practical starfighters. At the other end of the spectrum, 
  advanced construction techniques allow for the construction of enor-
  mous, self-sustaining cities in space.
  TL 9 AND BEYOND
  Generally, these Tech Levels are beyond reach or comprehension, 
  although isolated worlds or undiscovered species may exist that 
  have access to them. In many cases, the signature technologies of 
  an earlier age are abandoned in favor of more elegant and powerful 
  technologies.
   Practical control of matter at the subatomic level, total conversion 
  of matter to energy and back, the ability to travel through time or 
  other dimensions, and the power to “fold space” to shorten travel 
  distances may all be possible at this stage of development.
  SKILLS AND TECH LEVEL
  Generally speaking, attempting to use a technological skill (such as 
  Computers, Disable Device, or Knowledge) on a subject of a higher 
  Tech Level is more difficult. Increase the DC of the task by +5 per 
  additional Tech Level. In some cases, using a technological skill on 
  a subject of a lower TL may also impose a +2 DC penalty per differ-
  ence in TL. (A modern computer programmer would have a difficult 
  time working with one of the first vacuum-tube-based machines.) 
  The GM may wish to waive or reduce this modifier in some M&M 
  campaigns. Keep in mind: superheroes in the comics regularly work 
  with advanced alien technology, so the overall Tech Level of the 
  campaign may actually be higher (perhaps even much higher) than 
  the Tech Level of Earth itself.
  EQUIPMENT AND TECH LEVEL
  At the GM’s discretion, the Tech Level of the campaign or primary 
  campaign setting (such as the planet Earth) may dictate what items 
  are available as Equipment as opposed to Devices. For example, on 
  an Earth at TL 5 (the same as the modern world), more advanced 
  technology is not considered Equipment, even if it’s common on 
  alien worlds with a higher Tech Level. On the other hand, in a futur-
  istic, star-spanning campaign setting, TL 7 items may be considered 
  Equipment, with only technology from the Energy Age and beyond 
  considered “super-science” Devices.
  PURCHASING ITEMS OF  
  LOWER OR HIGHER TECH LEVEL
  Tech Levels are relative, and depending on the economics of a cam-
  paign, a GM may choose to make certain items of a higher or lower 
  Tech Level unavailable, cheaper, or more expensive to purchase. For 
  the sake of game balance, GMs who want to make lower-TL and 
  higher-TL items available to characters should adjust the purchase 
  DCs of items as follows.
  •  –2 to Purchase DC for each Tech Level lower than the current 
  Tech Level, except in the case of valuable antiques.
  •  +5 to Purchase DC for equipment from the next highest Tech 
  Level (the limit for purchasing cutting-edge technology).
  LOWER TECH LEVELS
  Most modern campaigns are set at Tech Level 5. Consequently, cam-
  paigns set in Earth’s future typically feature societies with access 
  to Tech Level 6 technology or higher. However, characters may still 
  encounter technologically backward societies, possibly through the 
  exploration of time travel, a visit to another world (or an undevel-
  oped area of their homeworld), or some other plot device. For this 
  reason, the lower Tech Levels are included here. Also, as previously 
  mentioned, superhero campaign settings often have a higher overall 
  Tech Level (owing to super-geniuses and alien cultures), even if the 
  Tech Level of Earth is largely unchanged.
  VEHICLE COMBAT
  This section lists some general modifiers you can use when dealing 
  with vehicles in combat, leaving the specifics up to the Gamemaster 
  and common sense. When some or all participants in combat are in 
  vehicles, use the following guidelines.
  PASSENGER ACTIONS
  Passengers in a vehicle (anyone who’s not piloting the vehicle) suf-
  fer a –2 penalty to attack rolls while the vehicle is in motion. The 
  GM may require Acrobatics checks for characters to maintain their 
  balance in fast-moving vehicles.
  
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  PILOT ACTIONS
  The pilot (or driver) of a vehicle must take a move action each round 
  to handle and direct the vehicle. The pilot can also take a standard 
  action each round, but suffers a –4 to any maneuver check that 
  round when doing so.
  VEHICLE SPEED
  Vehicle speed should be handled in all ways like character speed, 
  including modifiers to defense for fast-moving vehicles. Note that a 
  vehicle’s speed is its only speed value, since vehicles don’t take mul-
  tiple move actions for accelerated or all-out movement (but vehicles 
  also don’t suffer from fatigue).
  ATTACK RANGE
  Attacks made from vehicles have their normal range. You can only 
  use a melee attack from a vehicle if the target is in the same vehicle 
  with you, or the lead to another vehicle is 0 lengths (see Pursuit for 
  details).
  FALLING FROM A VEHICLE
  Falling from a vehicle inflicts damage equal to the vehicle’s speed 
  rank, to a maximum of +20 damage, or based on the distance fallen 
  (whichever is greater), and is treated like falling damage in all other 
  respects.
  VEHICLE COMBAT ACTIONS
  Actions during vehicle combat are handled the same way as actions 
  during personal combat. In general, a character can take two move 
  actions, one move action and one standard action, or one full-round 
  action in a round. Free actions can be performed normally, in con-
  junction with other actions. If not specified otherwise, actions take 
  the same time in vehicles as outside of them.
  • 
  Free Actions: Communicating and ducking down behind a 
  door are examples of free actions. Characters can perform as 
  many free actions as the GM permits in a single round.
  • 
  Move Actions: Changing position within a vehicle is usually 
  a move action, especially if the character has to trade places 
  with another character. If the character’s movement is short and 
  unobstructed, the character can do it as the equivalent of a 5-
  foot step. Otherwise, it requires a move action.
  • 
  Standard actions: Anyone aboard a vehicle can make an 
  attack with a personal weapon, and drivers and gunners can 
  make attacks with any vehicle-mounted weapons controlled 
  from their positions.
  • 
  Full-Round Actions: Since the driver must use a move action 
  to control the vehicle, he can’t take a full-round action unless 
  starting it in one round and completing it on the next turn.
  ATTACKING VEHICLES
  Attacking a vehicle is just like attacking a character. Vehicles gener-
  ally have an applicable size modifier included in their Defense, and 
  tend to be easier to hit than characters overall.
   The driver of a vehicle can take a standard action for “evasive 
  maneuvers” during a round. If so, substitute the result of the char-
  
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  acter’s relevant skill check (Drive or Pilot), modified by the vehicle’s 
  size, for the vehicle’s normal Defense that round. For example, a 
  character piloting a gargantuan fighter jet (–4 size modifier) takes 
  evasive action and gets a Pilot check result of 22. Subtracting the 
  jet’s size modifier gives a Defense score of 18 for that round (much 
  better than the jet’s default Defense of 6).
   Just as in melee combat, one can also “fight defensively” while 
  driving a vehicle, which grants a +2 dodge bonus to the vehicle’s 
  Defense and applies a –4 penalty on attack rolls made by any occu-
  pants of the vehicle.
  TARGETING OCCUPANTS
  An attack against a vehicle occupant is made like any other attack. 
  Remember, however, that a character in a vehicle gains bonuses to 
  Defense from both the vehicle’s speed and any cover it provides. The 
  speed bonus to Defense does not apply to attackers moving at the 
  same or greater relative speed to the vehicle.
  VEHICLE DAMAGE
  Vehicles suffer damage like equipment (see Damaging Equipment 
  in the Devices & Equipment chapter and Damaging Objects in 
  the Combat chapter of M&M): an “injured” vehicle suffers the nor-
  mal –1 penalty to Toughness saves per injured result plus either a –1 
  penalty to checks involving the vehicle or the loss of a feature or a 
  point’s worth of capability per injured result. A “disabled” vehicle no 
  longer functions. A vehicle that is disabled while moving drops one 
  speed rank each round until it comes to a stop. The driver cannot 
  attempt any maneuvers except a 45-degree turn. A disabled water 
  vehicle may begin to sink slowly. A “dying” vehicle is destroyed.
  REPAIRING VEHICLES
  Repairing vehicle damage requires the proper tools and a garage, 
  hangar, or similar facility. A character without the proper tools suf-
  fers a –4 penalty on the Craft (mechanical) skill check, as usual. 
  Repairing an injured result is a simple Craft check (DC 15, one hour), 
  and repairing a disabled result is an extended Craft check (DC 25, 
  one day). Destroyed vehicles cannot be repaired; they must be rebuilt 
  from scratch. 
  CRASH CHECKS
  Crash checks are required when a maneuver calls for a crash check, 
  or the vehicle suffers damage that causes a crash check.
   The crash check is a maneuver check, DC 15 for ground and water 
  vehicles, DC 10 for air and space vehicles. You make only one crash 
  check per round per vehicle even if more than one is called for: every 
  additional crash check required increases the check DC by +5. Open 
  terrain is –5 DC, tight terrain is +5 DC, and close terrain is at the 
  normal Difficulty.
   On a failed check, the vehicle crashes into an obstacle (or another 
  vehicle, if a maneuver specifies). The vehicle and the obstacle (and 
  any occupants of either) suffer +1 damage per rank of vehicle speed, 
  and +1 per point the maneuver check failed. Occupants can make 
  Reflex saves (DC equal to the DC of the crash check) to suffer half 
  damage from the crash.
   An air or space vehicle may stall on a failed crash check if there is 
  no hard terrain or other obstacle to crash into. The pilot can restart 
  the vehicle with a successful Craft (mechanical) check (DC equal to 
  the crash check).
   A failed crash check for a character is the same as for a vehicle: 
  the character collides with an obstacle and suffers damage. A char-
  acter failing the Reflex save against crash damage is considered 
  prone after the collision.
  MOUNTED COMBAT
  Characters may ride into combat on various sorts of mounts, from 
  horses to dragons, griffons, or sea-monsters. Such mounts are gener-
  ally minions, although some can be sidekicks (see the Feats chapter 
  of M&M). Use the following guidelines for mounted characters in 
  combat.
   Your mount acts on your initiative count as you direct. You move 
  at the mount’s speed, but the mount uses its action to move.
  COMBAT WHILE MOUNTED
  With a DC 5 Ride check, you can guide your mount with your knees 
  and use both hands to attack or defend yourself. This is a free 
  action.
   You can “ride defensively” while mounted, using the evasive 
  maneuvers and defensive options for vehicles, but substituting 
  a Ride skill check for a Drive or Pilot skill check. See Attacking 
  Vehicles in the previous section for details.
   When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on 
  foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher 
  ground. Even at your mount’s full speed, you don’t take any penalty 
  on melee attacks while mounted.
   If your mount charges, you take the Defense penalty associated 
  with the charge as well. If you make an attack at the end of the 
  charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge.
   You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double 
  move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged 
  weapons while your mount is moving all-out at a –8 penalty. In either 
  case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half 
  its movement. You can take move actions (such as drawing a weapon 
  or using a skill) normally while your mount is moving.
   If your mount falls, you have to make a DC 15 Ride check to make 
  a soft fall and take no damage. If the check fails, you take +1 falling 
  damage when you hit the ground (more if your mount is higher off 
  the ground).
   If you are knocked unconscious while riding, you have a 50% 
  chance to stay in the saddle. Otherwise you fall and take +1 falling 
  damage (more if your mount is higher off the ground). Without you 
  to guide it, a mount generally avoids combat.
  INTELLIGENT MOUNTS
  The guidelines for mounted combat assume mounts of animal-level 
  intelligence, like horses. If you’re riding an intelligent being (one 
  with an Intelligence score higher than 3), then the GM may want to 
  give your mount greater freedom of action.
   The normal assumption is your mount acts on your initiative 
  count as you direct, and nothing more. At the GM’s discretion, roll 
  initiative separately for you and your mount. The mount carries you 
  automatically and moves using its own actions on its own initiative 
  count and can take other actions as it sees fit or as you direct. So a 
  mount could move and then take a standard action (such as making 
  an attack) on its initiative, then you can take your actions on your 
  initiative.
   This option is more detailed but involves keeping track of both 
  your and the mount’s initiative and actions in combat.
  
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  PURSUIT
  Action involving vehicles often involves pursuit, with characters 
  and vehicles chasing each other. Pursuit in this system is handled 
  abstractly, making it easier to run without a map, counters, and simi-
  lar tools. It’s intended to provide quick and simple results.
  STARTING PURSUIT
  During a pursuit, one party—the pursuer—is assumed to be trying to 
  catch the other—the target. The distance between the two is called the 
  lead, measured in lengths, abstract units adjustable to the situation. A 
  length may only be a matter of feet in a pursuit on foot, but it could be 
  hundreds or even thousands of miles for a pursuit in deep space!
   A pursuit starts out with a lead of 8 lengths, although the GM 
  can adjust this as desired to fit the conditions. The lead may never 
  be less than 0 or greater than 30. If any maneuver puts the lead 
  beyond those bounds, adjust the lead to the closest number.
   The pursuer wants to decrease the lead enough to perform a 
  finishing maneuver and catch the target, while the target wants 
  to increase the lead enough to perform a finishing maneuver and 
  escape. Pursuit continues until a successful finishing maneuver, a 
  crash, or the pursuers choose to break off pursuit.
  PURSUIT STEPS
  Follow these steps during a pursuit:
  1. CHOOSE MANEUVERS
  Each character or vehicle involved in the pursuit chooses a maneu-
  ver from those available.
  2. MANEUVER CHECKS
  The participants reveal their maneuvers. Each then makes a maneu-
  ver check using the appropriate trait, including any modifiers. This 
  is an opposed check between the pursuer and the target. If one’s 
  check succeeds, apply the effects of the maneuver. If neither suc-
  ceeds, or their check results are tied, the chase continues. If both 
  succeed, apply the maneuver effect with the higher check result.
   The trait used for a maneuver check depends on the conditions of 
  the pursuit. For characters in vehicles, the maneuver check is usually 
  a Drive or Pilot skill check. For individuals, it’s usually an Acrobatics 
  skill check. The GM may call for different skill checks for maneuvers 
  as suits the situation and the particular pursuit.
  3. RESOLVE MANEUVERS
  Apply the winner’s maneuver to the pursuit and adjust the lengths 
  between the pursuer and the target as necessary.
  4. OBSTACLES
  Obstacles may crop up during a pursuit. Obstacles are intended 
  to provide flavor during the pursuit, with frequency depending on 
  terrain. The GM should feel free to add obstacles to help liven up 
  otherwise uninteresting pursuits.
   When an obstacle occurs, the target and then the pursuer make 
  an obstacle check. This may be a Reflex save or a skill check, as 
  appropriate, against the obstacle’s DC. The GM may further apply 
  a +2 or –2 modifier for circumstances. On a failed obstacle check, 
  make a crash check.
  5. OTHER ACTIONS
  Whether pursuit has ended due to a finishing maneuver or not, 
  those involved now perform any actions open to them.
  6. DAMAGE AND CRASH CHECKS
  Apply any damage inflicted against participants in the pursuit (from 
  attacks and so forth) and see if any participants must make a crash 
  check. Situations requiring crash checks are given in the text.
  TERRAIN
  Terrain falls into three categories for pursuits: open, close, and 
  tight. Each applies certain conditions to the pursuit, including how 
  often obstacles crop up and the Difficulty Class of checks to avoid 
  them.
  OPEN TERRAIN
  Open terrain is easy to traverse, with few obstacles. Examples include 
  open highways and salt flats on the ground, open and calm water, 
  and clear skies and mostly empty space.
  Speed: Pursuit in open terrain begins at three-quarters maximum 
  speed. The fastest participant receives a +2 bonus on maneuver 
  checks. If only one participant is in open terrain, then that par-
  ticipant receives the +2 bonus.
  Obstacle Chance: 18 or better on d20
  Obstacle Difficulty: 12
  CLOSE TERRAIN
  Close terrain is generally narrow and filled with things to run into, 
  sideswipe, or burst through. Examples include city streets, winding 
  dirt roads, narrow rivers, busy docks, cloudy mountaintops, scattered 
  asteroids, and so forth.
  Speed: Pursuit in close terrain begins at half maximum speed.
  Obstacle Chance: 17 or better on d20
  Obstacle Difficulty: 18
  TIGHT TERRAIN
  The most dangerous terrain type, tight terrain is filled with obstacles 
  and conditions that change from moment to moment. Examples 
  include busy highways, steep inclines, rapids, indoor parking 
  garages, asteroid and debris fields, and such.
  Speed: Pursuit in tight terrain begins at one-quarter maximum speed.
  Obstacle Chance: 16 or better on d20
  Obstacle Difficulty: 24
  SPEED
  Obviously, faster characters and vehicles have an advantage in a 
  pursuit. The type of terrain determines the starting speed, based on 
  the speed of the fastest participant. Speed changes during the pur-
  suit according to the various maneuvers selected.
   Whenever pursuit speed exceeds a participant’s all-out speed or a 
  vehicle’s listed speed, a character suffers a level of fatigue, while a 
  vehicle suffers a level of stress (see the Device power in the Powers 
  chapter of M&M for details of item stress). Participants can choose 
  
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  to avoid this by decreasing speed, but this imposes a –2 maneu-
  ver check modifier per rank of speed decrease to reflect the tricky 
  maneuvering needed to make up for the lost speed. Hero points can 
  eliminate this fatigue or stress as usual.
  Example: Johnny Rocket is chasing after a getaway car. 
  Johnny has Super-Speed 10 (with a speed of 10,000 MPH) 
  while the car has Speed 4 (a speed of 100 MPH). Pursuit 
  begins in close terrain on the city streets, so starting speed 
  is half Johnny’s maximum, or 5,000 MPH. That’s well above 
  the car’s maximum speed, so the driver either has to let the 
  vehicle take a level of stress each round, or suffers a –10 
  maneuver check penalty, since there’s a difference of 5 ranks 
  between 5,000 MPH and 100 MPH. Either way, the car’s 
  speed doesn’t really increase: the stress or maneuver pen-
  alty reflects the wear-and-tear or tricky maneuvers needed 
  to try and avoid such a fast pursuer. Odds are Johnny is 
  going to catch the crooks pretty easily, or their car will conk 
  out after a few rounds of stress. Still, a daring driver might 
  be able to pull something off in a couple rounds with the 
  right maneuvers (risking a crash in the process).
  MANEUVERS
  Since pursuit is left abstract, the distance covered and specific loca-
  tions of each participant are left to your imagination. What’s really 
  important is the lead—the distance between the pursuer and the tar-
  get at any given time. Many maneuvers require a certain lead, so 
  make sure to update the lead at the start of each round.
  MANEUVER DESCRIPTIONS
  Maneuvers are split into pursuer and target categories. Each maneu-
  ver has a general description you can modify to suit the particular 
  conditions of a pursuit. Maneuvers include the following information:
  • 
  Finishing: A finishing maneuver has prerequisites that must 
  be met before it can be attempted, but ends the pursuit if per-
  formed successfully.
  • 
  Lead: The minimum or maximum lead required to perform the 
  maneuver.
  • 
  Speed: Some maneuvers modify current pursuit speed. If both 
  pursuer and target choose maneuvers that alter speed, only the 
  highest modifier (positive or negative) applies.
  • 
  Success: The maneuver’s effect if the character wins the 
  opposed maneuver check for the round.
  • 
  Special: Any additional information about the maneuver.
  PURSUER MANEUVERS
  Pursuer maneuvers are aimed toward slowing down and catching 
  the target.
  PURSUIT AND GM FIAT: CLEAN GETAWAYS
  You can choose to have a fleeing NPC automatically escape pursuit by exercising GM Fiat. You should award players a hero point when this happens, 
  usually ensuring a villain’s getaway to appear in a later scene of the adventure.
   You can also help ensure a clean getaway for certain targets by giving the heroes other things to worry about. If a fleeing villain blasts the support 
  cables of a bridge, for example, the heroes should break off pursuit to help the people endangered by the bridge’s imminent collapse. Players should 
  also get a hero point for this sort of setback and allowing the villain to escape (as well as any great acts of heroism during the rescue attempt).
  
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  BOX-IN  
  FINISHING
  It takes skill to trap an opponent without any damage, but some-
  times it’s essential to do so.
  Lead: 5 lengths or less.
  Success: The pursuer wins the chase, forcing the target into a cor-
  ner where there’s nowhere left to run.
  CROWD  
  FINISHING
  The pursuer comes up behind the target and forces him into a crash.
  Lead: 2 lengths or less
  Success: The pursuer wins the chase. If the pursuer’s maneuver 
  check result exceeds the target’s by 5 or more, the target col-
  lides with an obstacle. The target is assumed to have failed a 
  crash check and the pursuer comes to a safe stop.
  CUT OFF  
  FINISHING
  The pursuer surges forward and cuts in front of the target, forcing 
  him to stop.
  Lead: 0 lengths
  Speed: The pursuer wins the chase, cutting off the target. If the tar-
  get fails his maneuver check, he collides with the pursuer. The 
  pursuer may make a Reflex save (DC 15) to avoid the collision. 
  In the case of the vehicle, the pursuer ejects or leaps clear as the 
  target collides with his (now vacant) vehicle.
  HERD
  By keeping the pressure on and cutting off the target’s options, the 
  pursuer drives the target into difficult terrain.
  Lead: 10 lengths or less
  Success: Reduce the lead by 1 length. Each participant must make 
  a crash check, but the target’s DC is increased by the difference 
  between the maneuver check results.
  Special: If the pursuer’s maneuver check result exceeds the target’s 
  by 5 or more, the pursuer may shift the terrain by one step at 
  the end of the round (open or tight becomes close, or vice versa); 
  this also reduces or increases the crash check DC by 5.
  INTERCEPT
  Coming at the target from another angle can be a useful shortcut, but 
  also often involves losing line of sight and unforeseen obstacles.
  Lead: Any
  Success: Reduce the lead by a number of lengths equal to twice 
  the difference between the maneuver check results. The pursuer 
  must make a crash check.
  MATCH
  The pursuer matches the target’s speed and movement, forcing the 
  relative speeds down to almost nothing and stabilizing pursuit for 
  others to attack.
  Lead: 10 lengths or less
  Success: Reduce the lead by 1 length. The pursuer (and any pas-
  sengers) gain the benefit of an aid action for the round when 
  making attacks against the target.
  RAM  
  FINISHING
  The pursuer speeds up and rams into the target.
  Lead: 5 lengths or less
  Success: The pursuer wins the chase, colliding with the target like a 
  slam attack (see the Combat chapter of M&M).
  
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  SURGE
  The pursuer puts on a burst of speed to catch up to the target.
  Lead: Any
  Speed: Increase pursuit speed by one-quarter (round down)
  Success: Reduce the lead by a number of lengths equal to the dif-
  ference between the maneuver check results.
  Special: If the pursuer chooses to use extra effort with a surge 
  maneuver, then increase pursuit speed by one-third and reduce 
  the lead by twice the difference between the maneuver check 
  results. However, the pursuer (or his vehicle) suffers the effects of 
  the extra effort.
  TARGET MANEUVERS
  Target maneuvers are aimed toward escaping the pursuer.
  LURE
  The target controls the direction of pursuit, leading the pursuer into 
  all kinds of trouble.
  Lead: Any
  Success: Increase lead by 1 length. Each participant must make a 
  crash check, but the pursuer’s DC is increased by the difference 
  between the maneuver check results.
  Special: If the target’s maneuver check result exceeds the pursuer’s 
  by 4 or more, the target can become the pursuer until the end of 
  this round (letting the target use forward-mounted weapons on 
  the pursuer, for example). If the target’s maneuver check result 
  exceeds the pursuer’s by 5 or more, the target can shift the ter-
  rain by one step at the end of the round (open or tight becomes 
  close, and vice versa); this also reduces or increases the DC of 
  each participant’s crash check by 5.
  OBSTACLE COURSE  
  FINISHING
  The target barrels through a cluttered area to evade pursuit.
  Lead: 25 lengths or more
  Success: The target wins the chase. Both participants must make 
  crash checks.
  PULL AHEAD
  A straightforward maneuver where the target puts on as much speed 
  as possible to widen the distance.
  Lead: Any
  Speed: Increase pursuit speed by one-quarter (round down).
  Success: Increase the lead by a number of lengths equal to the dif-
  ference between maneuver check results.
  REVERSE
  As the pursuer closes in, the target slows and turns suddenly in the 
  opposite direction!
  Lead: 10 lengths or less
  Speed: Reduce pursuit speed by one-quarter (round down)
  Success: Increase lead by a number of lengths equal to twice the 
  difference between the maneuver check results.
  SET UP
  Instead of running, the target leads the pursuer on a merry chase, 
  usually right into an ambush.
  Lead: 10 lengths or less
  Success: Increase the lead by 1 length. The target and all passen-
  gers gain the benefit of aid (+2 bonus) for any attacks against 
  the pursuer this round.
  Special: If the target’s maneuver check exceeds the pursuer’s by 4 or 
  more, the target may become the pursuer for this round (letting the 
  target use forward-mounted weapons on the pursuer, for example).
  STUNT  
  FINISHING
  The target pulls off a daring stunt, hoping the pursuer can’t match it.
  Lead: 20 lengths or more
  Success: The target wins the chase. If the target’s maneuver check 
  result exceeds the pursuer’s by 5 or more, the pursuer must 
  make a crash check.
  TIGHT TURN  
  FINISHING
  The target leads the pursuer at high speed into a tight turn until 
  one falls out of the pursuit.
  Lead: 20 lengths or more
  Speed: Reduce pursuit speed by one-third (round down)
  Success: The target wins the chase, taking one or more turns the 
  pursuer can’t match. Both participants make crash checks.
  VANISH  
  FINISHING
  The target disappears in a burst of speed, leaving all pursuers eat-
  ing dust.
  Lead: 30 lengths
  Speed: Increase pursuit speed by one-third (round down)
  Success: The target wins the chase and gets away.
  ZIG-ZAG
  The target clips obstacles, terrain, or even other vehicles to send 
  them into the pursuer’s path.
  Lead: Any
  Success: Increase lead by a number of lengths equal to twice the 
  difference between the maneuver check results. The target must 
  also make a crash check.
  PURSUIT AND HOMING ATTACKS
  You can use the pursuit system for attacks using the Homing power 
  feat if a target attempts to flee the attack. The homing attack is the 
  pursuer and uses maneuvers to attempt to catch up to the target. It 
  has a speed rank equal to its power rank. If it successfully catches the 
  target, the attack hits. If the target successfully gets away, the homing 
  attack misses. The homing attack gets as many maneuvers as it normally 
  would get attack rolls; when it runs out of rolls, it loses the pursuit. If the 
  homing attack “crashes” for any reason, it misses its intended target and 
  hits something else (usually an obstacle of some sort).
  
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  DEVICE AND EQUIPMENT 
  OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  The following are optional and variant rules systems for use with 
  devices and equipment.
  MONEY TALKS
  Wealth can be quite influential in some circles. To reflect this, the 
  GM might wish to allow a character’s Wealth bonus to substitute 
  for an interaction skill bonus like Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate in 
  situations where the character’s considerable wealth and influence 
  can be brought to bear, either through bribery, more subtle shows of 
  wealth, or “charitable donations.”
  Example: Hieronymus King is fabulously wealthy (Wealth 
  +30). When negotiating with certain balky government offi-
  cials, Mr. King makes it clear he can compensate them for 
  their trouble. The GM decides to use King’s Wealth bonus in 
  place of his Diplomacy bonus, allowing him to seal the deal 
  quickly and easily.
  Alternately, instead of substituting Wealth bonus for a skill bonus, 
  you can choose to treat Wealth as either a synergy bonus (from 
  Chapter 3) or an aid bonus (see the Introduction of M&M) to 
  a relevant skill check. This works particularly well with the option 
  for high synergy, allowing great levels of wealth to grant higher 
  bonuses.
   Regardless of which option the GM allows, each use reduces your 
  Wealth bonus by 1 point, which recovers normally (see The Wealth 
  Check in the Devices & Equipment chapter of M&M).
  PROFICIENCY
  The standard M&M rules assume characters know how to use their 
  equipment within the limits of their skill ranks and bonuses. The 
  Gamemaster may choose to include rules for proficiency to reflect 
  characters’ knowledge of particular aspects of more complex tasks like 
  wielding weapons or operating vehicles. Characters acquire proficiency 
  in different tasks through specialized feats (see Chapter 4). Characters 
  who are not proficient in a particular task suffer a –4 penalty when per-
  forming it, either a –4 to attack rolls or to skill checks made with the 
  non-proficient item. Proficient characters suffer no penalty.
   Characters who aren’t proficient with wearing armor suffer a pen-
  alty to attack and defense bonus equal to the armor’s Protection 
  bonus, since the character isn’t used to fighting in confining armor. 
  Proficient characters still suffer a skill check penalty from wearing 
  armor, but no penalty to their attack or defense bonus.
  FREE EQUIPMENT
  In some campaign settings, the GM may wish to give equipment no 
  cost in power points, just a monetary cost using Wealth. Characters 
  can have whatever equipment they can afford and the GM allows, 
  keeping in mind some items may be legally restricted or simply 
  unavailable. This option is best suited to campaigns where equip-
  ment doesn’t need to compete with innate powers, balancing the 
  cost of a gun or bullet-proof vest against being able to shoot energy 
  blasts or being invulnerable. Examples include super-spy games or 
  pulp era adventures where powers and devices are fairly rare, and 
  most characters have equipment or some sort.
  
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   Devices may still exist in this type of campaign, and the GM may 
  still charge power points for them, since devices are unique items 
  that exceed the capabilities of normal equipment. Note, however, 
  that some campaign settings may consider some devices “equip-
  ment.” For example, a high-tech setting in the far future may have 
  advanced equipment (see Tech Levels in this chapter for more on 
  the subject). Likewise, a fantasy setting may have magical equip-
  ment that doesn’t exist in our world but is common there. These 
  things aren’t devices if they’re commonly available to everyone in 
  those settings.
  AMMUNITION
  Ammunition has generally been disregarded for the ranged weapons 
  in M&M, much as tracking ammunition is ignored in comic books 
  most of the time. Assume a weapon’s ammo capacity is great enough 
  that it doesn’t constitute a significant power modifier. Reloading a 
  weapon is mostly for effect and characters rarely run out of ammo, 
  except as an occasional setback.
   Gamemasters interested in more realistic weapons may require 
  players to keep track of ammunition. Generally pistols have clips 
  or cylinders with 6-15 shots, machine pistols and submachine 
  guns between 15-30 shots, and assault rifles 30 or so. Blasters 
  have between 30-50 shots before they deplete their power packs. 
  Reloading a weapon is generally a move action, except for charac-
  ters with the Quick Draw feat, who can reload as a free action.
   Ammunition is simply one of the normal drawbacks of equipment, 
  worth no discount in cost. At the GM’s discretion, having to count 
  ammo may be a power drawback for a Device: 25 uses before reload-
  ing is a 1-point drawback, 10 uses is a 2-point drawback, and 5 is 
  a 3-point drawback. In this case, running out of ammo is not con-
  sidered a complication, since the character already has additional 
  points from the drawback.
   For a self-sustaining effect that fades over a set amount of time, 
  such as that of a rocket burst or a gas grenade, apply the Duration 
  modifier to a sustained power to make it continuous, then apply 
  the Fades flaw to its continuous use: the self-sustaining power loses 
  1 power point of effectiveness per round, slowly weakening until 
  its effect is entirely gone. So, for example, a smoke grenade might 
  provide Obscure 3 (visual) with the previous modifiers, lasting for a 
  minute (1 round per power point) but diminishing in size from 15 
  feet in radius to 5 feet before fading out altogether.
  ARMOR PENALTIES
  Armor tends to be heavy and bulky, making it difficult to move and 
  act freely. If the GM wishes, characters wearing armor have a pen-
  alty on all Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Stealth, and Swim checks 
  equal to the armor’s Toughness bonus.
   Additionally, characters not proficient in wearing armor suffer the 
  same penalty to their attack and dodge bonus (since it is difficult for 
  them to maneuver properly). Proficiency eliminates the attack and 
  dodge penalties but not the skill check penalty. Armor devices do 
  not impose these penalties, being as easy to move in as ordinary 
  clothing.
  REDUCED ARMOR PENALTIES
  If a penalty equal to the armor’s Toughness bonus seems too severe, 
  you can reduce it to a fraction (half or one-quarter) of the bonus. You 
  can also have proficiency either reduce the armor penalty to skill 
  checks or eliminate it altogether.
  REQUISITIONING EQUIPMENT
  In some settings, characters may have limited access to a variety of 
  equipment from a patron or organization. In these types of games, 
  you may wish to use one of the following rules options for characters 
  acquiring equipment from their organization.
   The simplest option is to allow players to reassign their characters’ 
  equipment points (from the Equipment feat) at the start of each new 
  adventure or “mission.” For example, if a character has 30 points in 
  equipment (6 ranks of the feat), the player can choose a total of 30 
  points of equipment at the start of each adventure. The equipment 
  that survives the mission is returned at the end, and the character 
  draws new equipment at the start of the next adventure.
   Another option is to use a system of “requisitioning” equipment 
  that measures the character’s influence with the organization. The 
  character makes a Diplomacy check (DC 10 + the equipment’s point 
  cost) for each desired piece of equipment. If the check is successful, 
  the agency or patron agrees to assign that equipment. If it fails, the 
  equipment is restricted or otherwise unavailable. Since the character 
  can take 10 on the check, equipment with a point cost equal to or less 
  than the character’s Diplomacy bonus is automatically available.
   Reputation bonus can substitute for Diplomacy if that option is 
  in use in the game (see Reputation in Chapter 6 of this book). 
  This bases requisitions on how well known the character is rather 
  than how persuasive. Allow players to choose if you want both to be 
  equally effective.
   You can mix-and-match options to suit the game. For example, 
  characters may have some equipment they always carry, some 
  equipment points they redistribute from one adventure to another, 
  and some restricted equipment they have to requisition (making a 
  Diplomacy check to access it).
  ALTERNATE RITUAL SKILLS
  At the GM’s discretion, skills other than Knowledge (arcane lore) 
  may be used to prepare and perform magical rituals. Examples of 
  suitable research skills include Knowledge (theology) for religious 
  rituals, Notice for awareness of local conditions, or Concentration for 
  mental focus. Possible performance skills include Craft, Knowledge, 
  Perform, Profession, or Sleight of Hand. By allowing different combi-
  nations of skills, you can create different styles of rituals. Each style 
  may be governed by a different Ritualist feat. Examples include the 
  following:
  • 
  Priest: Use Knowledge (theology and philosophy) for the 
  design and performance checks.
  • 
  Psychic: Use Concentration or Knowledge (behavioral sciences) 
  for the design check and Concentration for the performance 
  check.
  • 
  Shaman: Use Notice for the design check, representing 
  awareness of spiritual and natural forces, and Perform for the 
  performance check, representing earning the favor of the spirit 
  world.
  • 
  Stage Magician: Use Perform (acting or stage magic) for the 
  design check and Sleight of Hand for the performance check.
  • 
  Technomancer: Use Knowledge (technology) for the design 
  check and Computers skill for the performance check, represent-
  ing a character able to do amazing things through the medium 
  of computers or the Internet.
  
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  C
  ombat can be a major element of M&M adventures: what comic 
  book story doesn’t feature a showdown between the heroes 
  and villains? Combat is designed to be fast-paced and reflect 
  the “reality” of the comic books. The options in this chapter 
  allow you to modify the combat rules to suit styles from realistically 
  deadly to very simple.
  COMBAT PACING AND 
  GAMEMASTER FIAT
  One of the uses of Gamemaster Fiat is to help ensure combat is 
  exciting and paced according to the needs of the adventure. It’s 
  anticlimactic for the heroes to burst into the villain’s control room 
  and down him with their first attack! Likewise, it’s not much fun if 
  the villain’s supposedly “pushover” minions are beating the heroes 
  soundly due to poor luck on the die rolls.
   You can use Gamemaster Fiat to help guide the combat in the 
  desired direction, awarding the players additional hero points 
  accordingly. For example, if the first lucky attack would take out the 
  major villain, decide that it only stuns the villain long enough for the 
  heroes to stop his Doomsday Machine and award the lucky player 
  an extra hero point, which he may be able to spend on that vital 
  Disable Device check!
  USING MAPS AND FIGURES
  Some game groups may want to use maps with a grid or hex pat-
  tern and miniature figures to mark out the movement and position 
  of characters during a combat, either to use the tactical movement 
  rules (see later this chapter) or simply to more easily keep track of 
  and visualize the entire combat. This is particularly useful for fights 
  in complex settings or involving a large number of combatants.
  COMBAT OPTIONS & VARIANTS
  This section presents a number of optional and variant combat, move-
  ment, and damage rules, allowing you to customize the flow and style 
  of combat in your M&M game. Some of the combat variants shift 
  M&M combat more toward the style of other games, while others can 
  simulate the style of combat found in the first edition of M&M.
   As with all of the optional rules in this book, consider carefully 
  before adopting any particular option or set of options in your 
  game.
  RE-ROLLING INITIATIVE
  Normally, a single initiative roll determines a character’s place in the 
  initiative order for the duration of the combat. If some variability 
  is desired, you can have everyone make a new initiative roll each 
  round, creating a new initiative order. This means characters can 
  move up and down the order over a series of rounds and makes it 
  harder to know who’s going to act when in terms of planning out 
  actions. Re-rolling initiative each round does add an additional roll, 
  however, and tends to make combats play out slower.
   Characters not acting on a particular round (because they are 
  stunned, helpless, etc.) still roll for initiative, in case circumstances 
  should change to allow them to act (through spending hero points, 
  outside effects, and so forth).
  AUTOMATIC HITS
  In cases where the attacker’s attack bonus is equal to or greater 
  than the target’s Defense (not defense bonus), the GM may wish 
  to rule the attack hits automatically, without the need for an attack 
  roll. This eliminates the small chance of an automatic miss (from roll-
  ing a 1) as well as the chance of a critical hit. Alternately, the GM 
  may give the option of rolling in such a case (risking an automatic 
  miss for a chance to get a critical hit). This option cuts down on the 
  number of die rolls necessary in such an uneven combat.
  COMBAT CHALLENGES
  You can apply the skill challenge option from Chapter 3 to attack 
  rolls as well, allowing characters to accept a penalty to their roll or 
  an increase to their target’s defense in exchange for an additional 
  effect if their attack roll succeeds.
   Some existing M&M feats can be considered “combat challenges.” 
  Power Attack, for example, accepts a penalty on attack rolls for an 
  increase in damage. So if power attack is a combat challenge, no 
  one needs the feat, since anyone can do it. The same is true of the 
  other feat options given here. The standard options for combat chal-
  lenges are:
  • 
  Accurate Attack: When you make an attack, you can take a 
  penalty of up to –5 on your attack’s save DC and add the same 
  number (up to +5) to your attack roll. Your save DC modifier 
  cannot be reduced below +0 and your attack bonus cannot 
  more than double. The changes are declared before you make 
  your attack roll and last until your next round.
  • 
  All-out Attack: When you make an attack, you can take a 
  penalty of up to –5 on your defense bonus and add the same 
  number (up to +5) to your attack roll. Your defense bonus can-
  not be reduced below +0 and your attack bonus cannot more 
  than double. The changes are declared before you make your 
  attack roll and last until your next round.
  • 
  Defensive Attack: When you make an attack, you can take 
  a penalty of up to –5 on your attack bonus and add the same 
  number (up to +5) to your dodge bonus. Your attack bonus can-
  not be reduced below +0 and your dodge bonus cannot more 
  than double. The changes are declared before you make your 
  attack roll and last until your next round.
  • 
  Power Attack: When you make an attack, you can take a pen-
  alty of up to –5 on your attack bonus and add the same number 
  (up to +5) to your attack’s saving throw DC. Your attack bonus 
  cannot be reduced below +0 and your attack’s save DC modifier 
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  cannot more than double. The changes are declared before you 
  make your attack roll and last until your next round.
  • 
  Counter: When making an attack like a disarm or trip, where 
  the target normally gets the opportunity to attempt that same 
  attack on you, you can take a –5 penalty to your attack roll to 
  deny your target that opportunity. So if you take a –5 on your 
  attack roll to disarm someone, they don’t get the opportunity 
  to disarm you. This works much like the Improved Disarm or 
  Improved Trip feats, but without the attack bonus or the require-
  ment that you have the feat.
  • 
  Emulate Feat: By accepting a –5 penalty on your attack roll, 
  you gain the benefits of one feat for that attack, or until your 
  next action for feats that don’t apply to a specific attack. The 
  feats you can emulate with a combat challenge are: Blind-Fight, 
  Critical Strike, Elusive Target, Move-by Action, Quick Draw, 
  Ranged Pin, Sneak Attack, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack, 
  Weapon Bind, and Weapon Break. Emulating Critical Strike does 
  not require you to have Favored Opponent. The GM may choose 
  to add other suitable feats to this list, as desired.
  MARGIN OF SUCCESS
  Normally a successful attack roll in M&M has no effect on an attack’s 
  damage except on a critical hit (which does +5 damage). In this vari-
  ant, add the difference between the attacker’s attack roll total and the 
  defender’s Defense to the saving throw DC of the attack to represent 
  the effect of precise targeting. Critical hits no longer inflict +5 damage 
  (that benefit is included in the margin of success bonus). So an attack 
  roll total of 25 against Defense 18 is +7 to the attack’s save DC.
   In this variant, you may want to decrease the base save DC a bit 
  to compensate for the increased bonus granted by margin of success. 
  For example, using a base 5 + rank DC for powers and 10 + damage 
  bonus DC for Toughness saves will help ensure that extremely suc-
  cessful attacks aren’t so overwhelming.
   You should also decide whether to apply the margin of success 
  before or after the target’s Impervious defenses are taken into 
  account. If it’s after, then Impervious defense becomes more valu-
  able in resisting attacks, since margin of success can’t overcome it. If 
  it’s before, then Impervious becomes slightly less effective, since any 
  hit with a high enough margin of success will overcome it.
  DEFENSE ROLL
  More randomness in combat can sometimes take away those “fore-
  gone conclusions” about a hero who always hits or a lowly opponent 
  who never has a chance to. A good way to introduce this is to allow 
  defense rolls. Every time a character is attacked, rather than just using 
  his normal Defense, he rolls 1d20 and adds his Defense modifiers. 
  Every attack becomes an opposed roll, with attacker and defender 
  matching their modified rolls against one another. (One way to look 
  at it is that without the defense roll, characters are taking 10 on their 
  defense roll each round, and thus are using a base of 10 for Defense.)
   The Defense roll can be expressed like this:
  Defense Roll = 1d20 + defense bonus 
  + size modifier
  This variant adds some excitement to combats, particularly at 
  higher attack bonuses when heroes seem to hit almost every time. 
  Unfortunately, it can slow down play because it doubles the number 
  of rolls in any given combat. A compromise might be to have each 
  defender make a defense roll once each round, using that same total 
  against all attacks made against him that round, rather than once 
  
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  per attack. As an alternative, make a Defense roll once at the start 
  of combat and use it against all attacks in that combat. However, 
  these options can penalize players who roll poorly (and reward those 
  who roll well), so they should be used with care.
  OUT-OF-TURN DEFENSE
  Any time you are about to be attacked, you can give up your next 
  turn to take the total defense action, gaining a +4 dodge bonus 
  to Defense (so you can’t out-of-turn defend if you’re flat-footed at 
  the beginning of combat). You must declare an out-of-turn defense 
  before the attack roll is made. Your initiative does not change; you 
  simply don’t act on your next turn. You retain the dodge bonus until 
  your initiative comes up after your skipped turn.
   This allows characters to defend out of turn and provides an addi-
  tional tactical option. It works well for several attackers fighting one 
  opponent: whomever the target retaliates against can out-of-turn 
  defend to avoid it, while everyone else attacks the opponent.
  MENTAL COMBAT
  In this variant, perception range powers do not affect subjects auto-
  matically, but require a “mental attack roll” to target. This is like a 
  normal attack roll, except it uses a mental attack bonus, and possi-
  bly a mental defense bonus. These bonuses are acquired in the same 
  way as normal attack and defense bonus, but cost only 1 power 
  point per +1 bonus, and apply only to mental combat.
   Normal attack and defense bonus do not apply to mental combat 
  at all. Mental attack and defense bonus are limited by power level 
  just like normal attack and defense bonus: the average of mental 
  attack bonus and save DC modifier with a mental effect cannot 
  exceed power level, nor can the average of mental defense bonus 
  and Will save bonus.
   Mental combat proceeds just like ordinary combat: the attacker 
  makes a mental attack roll against a DC of (10 + the target’s mental 
  defense). If the attack is successful, the target makes a saving throw 
  against the effect.
   This variant slows combat a bit, since mental powers take more 
  rolls to resolve, and it adds some complexity to character creation, 
  since players must account for both physical and mental attack and 
  defense bonuses. It’s best reserved for campaigns were mental pow-
  ers are particularly common or if you want to make mental combat 
  feel more like physical combat.
  TOUGHNESS SAVE FAILURE
  Normally, only the result of a Toughness save determines the result. With 
  this option, a natural 1 on a Toughness saving throw always results in at 
  least a minimal result (bruised or injured) even if the save would other-
  wise normally succeed. This means no target is truly immune to damage 
  so long as a saving throw is required. It makes Impervious Toughness 
  slightly more valuable, since it eliminates the need for a save against 
  some damage (and therefore the risk of rolling a 1).
  AUTOMATIC DAMAGE
  In this variant, any time a character must make a Toughness save, 
  the character will suffer some damage. Essentially, even a success-
  ful Toughness save results in a bruised or injured result, with failure 
  having its normal effects. This means the only way a character will 
  suffer no damage from an attack is by having an Impervious defense 
  and not having to make a Toughness save at all.
   In this variation, it’s possible to wear down even the toughest 
  characters with small attacks, since every successful attack is a 
  Toughness save modifier; even a foe with Toughness +50 will accu-
  mulate enough penalties to badly fail a save eventually. Impervious 
  Toughness becomes more valuable as a means of truly ignoring 
  damage, and the GM may want to restrict access to it or increase its 
  cost (or place limits on how much of it characters can have).
  TOUGHER MINIONS
  A failed Toughness save normally leaves a minion unconscious or 
  dead. In this variant, minions suffer only a stunned result from a 
  failed Toughness save and must fail by 5 or more to be rendered 
  unconscious or dead. This allows for occasions when heroes merely 
  stun minions with an attack and makes minions a bit more difficult 
  to take out in combat. It’s best suited for genres where minions are 
  supposed to be a bit more of a threat.
  DAMAGE ROLL
  Instead of or in addition to having the target make a Toughness save 
  to resist damage, you can have the attacker make a damage roll to see 
  if the damage overcomes the target’s defenses. The damage roll is:
  Damage Roll = 1d20 + damage bonus
  The Difficulty Class of the damage roll is calculated as follows:
  Damage roll DC = 16 + Toughness save bonus
  The attacker makes a damage roll after a successful attack and 
  consults the Damage Roll table for the outcome. Otherwise dam-
  age works exactly as given under Damage and Recovery in the 
  Combat chapter of M&M. This option does tend to take a little of 
  the ability to avoid damage out of the players’ hands (since they 
  can’t spend hero points like they can on Toughness saves). However, 
  it does give them a bit more ability to inflict damage (since they can 
  now spend hero points on damage rolls), so it tends to even out. It’s 
  also more suitable for gritty series in which the ability to deal out 
  damage is more important than the ability to resist it.
  DAMAGE ROLL
  RESULT
  DAMAGE ROLL…
  STUN ATTACK
  LETHAL ATTACK
  Succeeds
  Unconscious
  Dying
  Fails
  Staggered
  Disabled
  Fails by 5 or more
  Bruised + Stunned
  Injured + Stunned
  Fails by 10 or more
  Bruised
  Injured
  Fails by 15 or more
  No Effect
  No Effect
  SAVE VS. STUN
  With this option, rather than automatically suffering a stun result 
  from damage, the character makes a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 
  + attack’s damage bonus) to avoid being stunned. This adds some 
  variability to the chances of a stun, and provides a slight edge to 
  characters with better Fortitude saves, but also adds another die roll 
  to combat, which may slow things down.
  
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  INSTANT DEATH
  At the GM’s option, a Toughness saving throw against lethal dam-
  age that fails by 20 or more can result in immediate death, rather 
  than changing the character’s condition to dying. This is suitable for 
  campaigns with more realistic lethal damage; such massive damage 
  is almost certain to kill poorly protected or unlucky characters. The 
  players can, of course, still spend hero points to improve such poor 
  Toughness saves.
  DOUBLE CRITICAL HITS
  Ordinarily, an attack roll of a natural 20 that would have hit the 
  opponent’s Defense is normally a critical hit, increasing the attack’s 
  damage by +5. Optionally, when a critical hit is scored, make an addi-
  tional d20 roll. If this second roll comes up a 20, then the target of 
  the attack is immediately rendered unconscious or dying, depending 
  on whether the attack is non-lethal or lethal. Alternately, a double 
  critical hit can increase the attack’s damage by +10, which often 
  has the same result but takes into account the greater Toughness of 
  some targets.
  CRITICAL MISSES
  In this variant, if a player rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll, there’s 
  the possibility of a critical miss. The player makes a DC 10 Dexterity 
  check. If it fails, the attacker fumbles in some way and is effectively 
  dazed for one round (losing the ability to act, but defending nor-
  mally). The exact nature of the fumble is up to the Gamemaster; it 
  may involve dropping a weapon, losing your balance, accidentally 
  striking an object (resulting in a round of hand-wringing, but no real 
  damage), and so forth.
   Critical misses tend to suit more realistic campaigns best. The GM 
  should decide if a critical miss constitutes a setback (and therefore 
  earns the player a hero point when it comes up).
  LETHAL KNOCKBACK
  For greater realism, you may wish to have lethal attacks use only 
  half their damage bonus when determining knockback. This reflects 
  that lethal attacks tend to have less overall “push” compared to non-
  lethal attacks.
  LETHAL PENETRATION
  To make lethal damage more dangerous and effective, you may 
  choose to consider lethal attacks Penetrating at no additional 
  cost (other than the normal cost for an attack to be lethal, see the 
  Lethal Attack Cost section). This means lethal attacks can over-
  come Impervious defenses unless “stacked” levels of Impervious are 
  available (see Chapter 5 for details).
  LETHAL ATTACK COST
  The default given in M&M is to allow any attack to inflict non-lethal 
  or lethal damage, depending on the attacker’s intent. This variant 
  requires characters to pay for the ability to make lethal attacks in 
  one way or another.
  ATTACK ROLL PENALTY
  With this option, characters choose a primary damage type for each 
  attack when it’s acquired. They can freely use the other type, but suf-
  fer a –4 penalty to attack rolls. So, for example, you can use a lethal 
  attack to inflict non-lethal damage (or vice versa) but you take a –4 
  penalty on your attack roll when doing so. At the GM’s option, a 
  power feat may be available to remove this penalty (the equivalent 
  of the Alternate Damage option that follows).
  ALTERNATE DAMAGE
  With this option, the type of damage an attack does (lethal or non-
  lethal) is set when the attack is created or acquired. So, when a 
  weapon is created, when a character acquires a power like Blast, 
  and so forth, choose what type of damage the attack does and that 
  choice is fixed. Effectively all damaging powers (like Blast and Strike) 
  have two versions—one non-lethal and one lethal. These can be 
  treated as separate powers; if you want the capability to use both, 
  take one as an Alternate Power of the other. Since it’s a power feat, 
  you can acquire the alternate type of damage using extra effort.
  LETHAL EXTRA
  Lastly, the ability to inflict lethal damage with an attack can be 
  defined as an extra (called “Lethal”) applied to any attack able 
  to inflict damage. So lethal attacks cost 1 power point more per 
  rank than non-lethal attacks and can be considered separate pow-
  ers (since extras permanently change how powers work). This option 
  makes lethal attacks the more expensive and less accessible, since 
  you cannot apply extras via extra effort, although you could acquire 
  a lethal version of a non-lethal attack as a power stunt (at a lower 
  rank, since the lethal version costs more).
  Example: In a campaign using the Lethal Extra option, 
  Captain Thunder’s lightning is defined as a Blast 12 doing 
  non-lethal damage. If Cap wants to inflict lethal dam-
  age with it, he can acquire Blast with the Lethal extra as 
  a power stunt of his normal Blast. The base Blast power 
  costs 24 points (2 x 12 ranks). A Lethal Blast costs 3 points 
  per rank, so Cap can only gain up to Blast 8 (Lethal) as a 
  power stunt.
  SAVE VS. FATIGUE
  Normally, when characters suffer fatigue results due to extra effort, 
  the result is automatic unless the player spends a hero point to off-
  set the fatigue. In this variant, when characters use extra effort, the 
  player makes a saving throw against the fatigue result. If the save 
  is successful, the character suffers no fatigue. If it fails, fatigue is 
  applied normally. The Difficulty Class for the saving throw is (10 + 
  power level) and the save can be either Fortitude or Will, as the GM 
  prefers. You can even give players the option of choosing which save 
  to use (making it easier for characters to succeed overall).
  ADDITIONAL FATIGUE LEVELS
  In the M&M rules, there are only two levels of fatigue: fatigued and 
  exhausted, after which the character is unconscious. This is intended 
  to make fatiguing actions significant in the context of the game: 
  when a character exerts real effort, there’s a real effect, and char-
  acters can’t go “all out” for very long since by definition they’re 
  stretching themselves to their limits.
   However, if you want to encourage a more epic style of game or 
  simply make extra effort more available to the players, you can extend 
  the levels of fatigue available, adding one or more. This allows charac-
  
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  ters to exert themselves longer and more often without passing out. 
  An example is to add a “Winded” level of fatigue before fatigued: a 
  –1 to effective Strength and Dexterity to represent a modest level of 
  effort. Likewise, you can add a “Weary” level after exhausted: –8 to 
  effective Strength and Dexterity along with being limited to either a 
  standard or move action each round (like being staggered).
  ACTIVE DEFENSE
  In place of the flat +4 bonus for the total defense action, the GM may 
  allow a defense roll, with a minimum roll of 12 (that is, the base bonus 
  of 10 all characters get for Defense and a +2 bonus for the defense 
  action). Any roll of less than 12 is treated as a 12. This adds some vari-
  ability to total defense, making it essentially an opposed roll against 
  the attacker’s attack roll, but adds another roll to combat. Characters 
  with the Improved Defense feat add another +2 to this roll.
  ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY
  The standard combat rules assume combatants actively avoid 
  attacks. You don’t have to declare anything special for your charac-
  ter to be on the defensive. Sometimes, however, a combatant lets his 
  guard down, and doesn’t maintain a defensive posture as usual. In 
  this case, combatants near him can take advantage of this lapse in 
  defense to attack for free. These attacks are called attacks of oppor-
  tunity.
   Attacks of opportunity add an element of complexity to combat 
  not appropriate for all M&M campaigns. Therefore the Gamemaster 
  can decide whether or not attacks of opportunity are allowed in the 
  game. They add a realistic edge to combat but also tend to slow 
  things down and make combatants more cautious. Attacks of oppor-
  tunity are most appropriate for gritty or realistic campaign settings.
  WEAPON TYPE
  You can use a melee weapon to make attacks of opportunity whenever 
  the conditions for such an attack are met (see Provoking an Attack 
  of Opportunity). In addition, you can make attacks of opportunity 
  with unarmed attacks if your unarmed attacks count as armed.
  THREATENED AREAS
  You threaten the squares into which you can make a melee attack, 
  even when it is not your action. Generally, that’s all squares adjacent 
  to your position, but some characters may have an extended reach 
  for melee attacks due to powers or feats. An enemy taking certain 
  actions in a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity 
  from you. You can only make attacks of opportunity with melee 
  attacks, never with ranged attacks.
  PROVOKING AN ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY
  Two actions provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threat-
  ened square, and performing an action in a threatened square that 
  lets your guard down.
  MOVING OUT OF A THREATENED SQUARE
  When you move out of a threatened square, you generally provoke 
  an attack of opportunity. There are two important exceptions, how-
  ever. You don’t provoke an attack of opportunity if only moving a 
  5-foot step, or if you withdraw, moving directly away from all oppo-
  nents threatening the area you are in.
   If you don’t start in a threatened square, but move into one, you 
  have to stop there, or else you provoke an attack of opportunity as 
  you leave that square.
  PERFORMING A DISTRACTING ACTION
  Performing some actions in a threatened square provoke attacks of 
  opportunity, because they divert your attention from the fight. The 
  following actions provoke attacks of opportunity:
  • 
  Unarmed attacks: Making an unarmed attack against an 
  armed opponent provokes an attack of opportunity. If you have 
  the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, your unarmed attacks are 
  considered armed.
  • 
  Striking a weapon: If you have the Improved Sunder feat, 
  striking an opponent’s weapon does not provoke an attack of 
  opportunity.
  • 
  Using a skill or effect requiring a full action: This includes 
  various powers requiring a full-round action, such as Healing or 
  a long-range Teleport.
  • 
  Manipulating objects: Picking up, putting away, or retrieving 
  an object provokes an attack of opportunity as does drawing, 
  putting away, or reloading a weapon.
  • 
  All Out Move: Moving all out draws an attack of opportunity if 
  you move out of a threatened area (see previous).
  • 
  Disarm: Attempting to disarm an opponent provokes an attack 
  of opportunity.
  
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  • 
  Grapple: Grappling with an opponent—physically or mentally—
  provokes an attack of opportunity from any other opponent 
  threatening the area you are in. If you have the Improved Grab 
  feat, starting a grapple does not provoke an attack of opportu-
  nity.
  • 
  Aim: Aiming an attack provokes an attack of opportunity.
  You can “fine tune” the use of attacks of opportunity in your cam-
  paign by varying the list of actions that provoke them. So, if you 
  want to make certain effects less useful in combat, have them pro-
  voke attacks of opportunity when used. Then characters will be less 
  inclined to use them. For example, if all powers requiring a standard 
  action or more provoke an attack of opportunity, things become very 
  different, with Concentration a much more vital combat skill.
  MAKING AN ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY
  An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack, and you can only 
  make one per round. You do not have to make an attack of opportu-
  nity if you don’t want to.
  ACTING ON THE DEFENSIVE
  As an option, you can allow characters to make a Concentration 
  check to “act on the defensive” and avoid the normal distraction 
  caused by performing a distracting action, thereby avoiding any 
  attacks of opportunity that action would normally provoke. The 
  DC of the Concentration check is normally at least 15, more for 
  particularly distracting actions, in the GM’s opinion. Using a power 
  that provokes an attack of opportunity on the defensive usually 
  requires a check with a DC of 10 + the power’s rank. Characters 
  can lower a power’s effective rank to make it easier to concen-
  trate.
   The drawback to acting on the defensive is, if the Concentration 
  check fails, the character does not accomplish the intended action, 
  the time it would have normally required is simply wasted and 
  nothing happens. The character does not provoke an attack of oppor-
  tunity, however. So an attempt to aim on the defensive, for example, 
  requires a Concentration check. If it succeeds, the character has suc-
  cessfully aimed without provoking an attack of opportunity. If the 
  check fails, the character has failed to aim, but has wasted the full-
  round action normally required to do so.
  OPTIONAL FEATS
  Some of the optional feats in Chapter 4 apply to making or avoid-
  ing attacks of opportunity. See the individual feat descriptions for 
  details.
  MULTIPLE ATTACKS
  The standard M&M rules allow for only one attack per round (as a 
  standard action). Characters can achieve some of the effect 
  of multiple attacks using the Autofire modifier or Linked 
  attack effects.
  One of the key reasons why multiple attacks are limited in 
  M&M is they have a disproportionately greater effect on their 
  targets. Since multiple attacks require multiple saving throws, 
  there is an increasingly greater chance the target will fail one of 
  the saving throws, and fail badly, resulting in some sort of take-
  down (unconsciousness, complete paralysis, transformation, and so 
  forth).
   
  One way of compensating for this is to allow a 
  player spending a hero point to re-roll a save against an 
  opponent’s attack to re-roll all saves against that oppo-
  nent’s attacks for the entire round, taking the better of the 
  two save results (with the usual +10 modifier for second rolls 
  of 10 or less). This means a hero point provides the same benefit 
  against an opponent with a single attack as it does against an oppo-
  nent with multiple or linked attacks, making those multiple attacks 
  somewhat less effective.
   If you want to include some sort of multiple attack actions in your 
  M&M game, you have several options: characters may be able to 
  make multiple attacks based on effect, combat skill (attack bonus), 
  or making off-hand attacks. All of these options complicate and slow 
  down combat somewhat, since characters can each make multiple 
  attack rolls in a round (and their opponents must make multiple sav-
  ing throws).
  EXTRA ATTACKS
  Effect: General
  Action: Full
  Range: Personal
  Duration: Instant
  Cost: 5 points per rank
  You can make multiple attacks in a round. By taking a full-round 
  action, you can make a total number of attacks equal to your Extra 
  Attacks power rank +1, all at your full attack bonus. All the attacks 
  
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  111
  must be made with the same weapon or power, but do not have to be 
  directed at the same target. You cannot move more than a 5-foot step 
  between your attacks unless you have the Move-by Action feat; regard-
  less, your total movement can never exceed your normal speed.
  Example: Combator is a robot designed to move with 
  blinding speed and fight entire groups of opponents. It has 
  Extra Attacks 3 for 15 power points, allowing Combator to 
  make up to 4 attacks per round as a full-round action.
   Note that Extra Attacks can be tremendously effective when 
  combined with the Takedown Attack feat, which grants additional 
  attacks when you incapacitate an opponent. A character with both 
  could attack, incapacitate an opponent, use Takedown Attack, inca-
  pacitate another opponent, use Takedown Attack again and fail to 
  incapacitate the target, but then move on to his second attack for 
  the round (from Extra Attacks), and so forth. Extra Attacks/Takedown 
  characters can be “one-person armies,” able to take on huge groups 
  of opponents at once.
  ITERATIVE ATTACKS
  With the iterative attack option, you gain an additional attack each 
  round, with an attack bonus equal to your base attack bonus –5. If 
  the attack bonus for the extra attack is +0 or less, you do not gain 
  an additional attack, meaning you must have a minimum attack 
  bonus of +6 to use iterative attacks. You can make a third attack at 
  an additional –5 modifier, and so forth. Thus a character with a +16 
  attack bonus could make up to four attacks, with the attack bonus 
  decreasing by 5 with each (+16/+11/+6/+1).
   Using iterative attacks requires a full round action, so you cannot 
  move other than taking a 5-foot step, and cannot take a standard or 
  move action that round. All the iterative attacks must be the same 
  attack, but not necessarily at the same target, so the attacker cannot 
  change attacks or weapons during the sequence. Characters eligible 
  for iterative attacks can choose not to use them and just take a nor-
  mal attack as a standard action during the round.
   Modifiers from feats such as Accurate Attack and Power Attack are 
  applied to the first attack in the sequence and then apply equally 
  to every other attack in that sequence for the round. If a modifica-
  tion to attack bonus reduces the characters bonus with an attack to 
  less than +0, the character loses that and any remaining iterative 
  attacks. So, for example, applying a full Power Attack (–5 modifier 
  to attack bonus) means the character automatically sacrifices one 
  iterative attack (since it is also a –5 modifier).
   Optionally, the GM can allow iterative attacks, but require players 
  to have a feat (Iterative Attack) or spend a hero point in order to use 
  them (see Options as Feats in Chapter 4).
  OFF-HAND ATTACKS
  With the off-hand attacks option, you can make one additional 
  attack each round with your off hand (that is, your non-dominant 
  hand). Fighting this way is difficult, however, so you suffer a –6 pen-
  alty with your regular attack, and a –10 penalty with your off hand 
  attack. You can reduce these penalties in two ways.
   First, If your off-hand weapon is light, the penalties are reduced 
  by 2 each. (An unarmed attack or an attack using a power is always 
  considered a light weapon.) Secondly, the Ambidexterity feat lessens 
  the primary hand penalty by 2 and the off hand penalty by 6.
   The Off Hand Attack Penalties Table, below, summarizes 
  these factors.
  OFF HAND ATTACK PENALTIES
  CIRCUMSTANCES
  PRIMARY HAND OFF HAND
  Normal penalties
  –6
  –10
  Off-hand weapon is light
  –4
  –8
  Ambidexterity feat
  –4
  –4
  Off-hand weapon is light and Ambidexterity feat
  –2
  –2
  IMMEDIATE RECOVERY
  At the end of a combat or encounter, characters that have sustained 
  damage may make an immediate recovery check for each damage 
  condition, starting with the most serious and progressing to the 
  least serious. These checks take no time and occur immediately. If 
  the check succeeds, erase that condition from the character’s dam-
  age track. If it fails, the condition remains; stop making recovery 
  checks for the character (since lesser conditions cannot recover until 
  more serious ones do). The character then recovers from any remain-
  ing conditions at the normal rate.
  This option allows characters to suffer normal damage during an 
  encounter, but recover quickly for the next fight, particularly from 
  relatively minor bruises and injuries. This immediate recovery is in 
  addition to the benefits of effects like Healing and Recovery or 
  spending hero points to recover faster.
  HIT POINTS
  The damage rules in M&M are intended to speed play and simu-
  late the kind of damage characters suffer in superhero comic books. 
  Some players may prefer a damage system more compatible with 
  other games, in which case the variant rules presented here may be 
  used. They require the use of additional dice used in other roleplay-
  ing games, available at game and hobby stores.
  HIT POINTS
  Characters in this system have hit points, which are a measure of 
  the character’s capacity to take damage. Characters have hit points 
  equal to their Constitution score plus their Constitution bonus mul-
  tiplied by 3. So a Con 10 character has 10 hit points and a Con 30 
  character has 60 hit points. Characters with no Con score have hit 
  points equal to five times their Toughness. Minions have half the 
  normal hit points of regular characters; determine the minion’s hit 
  point total normally, then divide it by two and round down.
   When the character suffers lethal damage, hit points are marked off. 
  Characters are disabled at 0 hit points, dying at –1 or fewer hit points, 
  and dead at –10 hit points. If a single lethal attack does more damage 
  than the character’s Constitution score, he must make a Fortitude save 
  (DC 15) or immediately go to –1 hit points and dying.
   Stun attacks do not inflict damage to hit points. Instead, they do 
  subdual damage. When the total subdual damage equals the char-
  acter’s hit points, he is staggered. When the total subdual damage 
  exceeds his current hit points, he is unconscious. If a single attack 
  does more damage (subdual or hit points) than the character’s 
  Constitution score, he is stunned for one round.
  RECOVERY
  Characters reduce their subdual damage by their Constitution bonus 
  for each minute of rest, with a minimum of 1 point per minute. They 
  recover their Constitution bonus in hit points for each day of rest with 
  
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  a minimum of 1 point per day. Recovery speeds up these recovery rates 
  as usual, while a use of the Healing power allows the character to 
  recover 1d6 hit points (or eliminate 1d6 subdual damage) per power 
  rank. Proper medical treatment doubles recovery rates, as usual.
  DAMAGE DICE
  Instead of having a damage bonus, attacks inflict a certain number 
  of dice of damage. An attack with a +1 damage bonus does 1d4 hit 
  points of damage, +2 = 1d6, +3 = 1d8, and +4 or higher equals a 
  number of d6s equal to the attack’s bonus, minus 2. So, an attack 
  with a damage bonus of +8 does 6d6 hit points of damage instead. 
  Stun and lethal damage remain the same. Attacks that do not inflict 
  damage, including Dazzle or Snare attacks, still require the normal 
  saving throw and have their normal effects.
   A critical hit doubles the amount of damage an attack inflicts. 
  Roll the normal dice and multiply the total by two before applying 
  the damage to the target.
  DAMAGE REDUCTION
  Instead of adding to the character’s Toughness saving throws, powers 
  offering a Toughness save bonus provide damage reduction, reduc-
  ing the amount of damage inflicted. Multiply the power’s Toughness 
  bonus by 2 and reduce the damage inflicted by each attack on the 
  character by this amount. If the damage is reduced to 0 or less, it 
  has no effect on the character. For example, a hero with Protection 
  11 ignores the first 22 points of damage from each attack.
   Impervious defenses multiply their Toughness bonus by 3 rather 
  than 2 to determine their Damage Reduction. So Impervious 
  Protection 11 provides damage reduction 33.
   The Toughness save bonus from Defensive Roll also becomes 
  Damage Reduction, but with the same limitations as before.
  DAMAGING OBJECTS
  Objects have hit points equal to their Toughness x 5 and hardness 
  (damage reduction) equal to twice their Toughness. When an object 
  reaches 0 hit points, it is broken or destroyed.
  HERO POINTS
  Heroes can spend hero points to recover from damage just as they 
  can in the regular M&M system. A hero point allows immediate 
  recovery of (Con bonus) hit points or subdual damage.
  FIXED RESULTS
  Rather than rolling for damage, the GM may choose to make it a 
  fixed result, such as 3 hit points of damage per point of damage 
  bonus (so +12 damage does 36 hit points of damage). You can even 
  combine fixed results with dice, such as having all but the last two 
  dice of an attack fixed (in which case +12 damage does 30 + 2d6 
  points of damage). Fixed results can speed things up, since players 
  won’t have to roll and add up as many dice.
  WOUND & VITALITY POINTS
  Wound & Vitality (W&V) points are a variant of hit points. Instead of a 
  single pool of points to reflect damage, characters have two values.
   Wound points represent the character’s ability to sustain injury. 
  Loss of wound points represents actual physical harm the character 
  suffers. Characters have wound points equal to their Constitution 
  score (or twice their Toughness for characters with no Con score). 
  Wound points operate like hit points in terms of the characters con-
  dition (see the Hit Points section, previously).
   Vitality points represent a character’s ability to avoid harm: duck-
  ing, weaving, or otherwise escaping injury. As vitality points are lost 
  away, the character is being worn down to the point where a wrong 
  move will result in injury. Characters have vitality points equal to 
  twice their Constitution score (four times their Toughness for charac-
  ters with no Con score). Characters with no vitality points remaining 
  suffer wound damage from attacks.
   Minions in the W&V system have no vitality points; they have only 
  wound points, so all attacks injure them and they’re more likely to 
  be taken out by an attack.
  CRITICAL HITS & WOUNDS POINTS
  As an optional rule, a critical hit in the W&V system bypasses vital-
  ity to deal damage directly to the target’s wound points, instead of 
  inflicting additional damage. This makes critical hits a serious mat-
  ter, since they’re far more likely to badly injure or even kill characters, 
  and this option is best suited to fairly realistic settings where charac-
  ters can expect to suffer such serious injuries from critical hits.
  ONE-HIT INSURANCE
  It’s possible in an evenly matched fight for a character to fail a 
  Toughness save badly and get staggered or disabled by the first suc-
  cessful attack. Spending a hero point generally eliminates this danger, 
  since it assures a minimum die result of 10, and an average result 
  between evenly matched opponents means no more than a hit.
   Some players may simply not care for any possibility of “one-hit” 
  staggered or disabled results between evenly matched foes (although 
  they’re actually fairly common in the comics). If you want to provide 
  “one-hit insurance” for characters, try the following variant.
   The first failed Toughness save a character makes in any given 
  encounter cannot inflict more than a bruised or injured condition, 
  regardless of the Toughness save result. Thereafter, the character’s 
  Toughness saves have their normal results. You can even extend this 
  so the character’s second failed Toughness save never does more than 
  a stunned result; then it requires at least three failed Toughness saves 
  (probably more) for a character to be staggered or disabled, and at 
  least four for a character to be unconscious or dying.
   This “insurance” only applies when the character is aware and able 
  to react to the attack. If the character is flat-footed or the attack is a 
  surprise (coming from an invisible opponent, for example) then it has 
  its normal effect, regardless or whether or not it is the first attack; 
  ambushes and surprise attacks can still have substantial effects.
  ALL-OR-NOTHING DAMAGE
  In this variant, the only damage conditions are bruised, injured, 
  unconscious, dying, and dead; remove the staggered and disabled 
  conditions. A failed Toughness save results in a bruised condition. A 
  save that fails by 15 or more results in unconsciousness. If the attack 
  does lethal damage, then a failed save also results in an injured condi-
  tion and a failure by 15 or more results leaves the character dying and 
  unconscious. There is no stunned result from a failed Toughness save.
   All-or-nothing damage imposes essentially no modifiers or other 
  conditions. Characters suffer no ill effects from damage until they 
  drop, and they tend to recover faster (since they don’t have to recover 
  from any intermediate conditions). Characters can also suffer more 
  
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  113
  damage, since there are no intermediate conditions to escalate what 
  might be a lesser attack into a takedown. In the standard damage 
  system, a character who is staggered and suffers another staggered 
  result is unconscious. A character in this variant who has suffered 
  several bruised conditions and fails a Toughness save by 10 is still 
  only bruised, not KO’ed.
   Combats tend to last longer in this variant, and sustained dura-
  tion powers are more effective, since the most common source of 
  stun conditions (damaging attacks) is removed. You can add stun 
  results on a Toughness save failure of 5 or more back into this vari-
  ant to address that issue.
  THRESHOLD MODIFIERS
  Rather than applying directly to the Toughness saving throw, the mod-
  ifier from bruised and injured conditions applies to the result only if 
  the save fails, increasing the margin (and severity) of the failure.
  Example: If Captain Thunder has three bruised conditions, 
  he normally suffers a –3 on Toughness saves. In this vari-
  ant, there’s no modifier to the Captain’s Toughness save, 
  but if he fails a save, the player subtracts 3 from the result. 
  So if Cap is making a DC 28 Toughness save and rolls a 26 
  (a failure), the modifier makes the roll a 23 (a failure by 5) 
  which means the hero is not only bruised but also stunned. 
  On the other hand, if the result had been a 28 (just enough 
  to succeed) the modifier wouldn’t have affected it.
   This variant makes it a bit more difficult to wear down oppo-
  nents and puts a bit more predictability into a failed Toughness 
  save, since a –4 modifier ensures a failure by at least 5 if the save 
  fails at all. Likewise, a –9 modifier ensures failure by at least 10, 
  and so forth.
  CHANGING DAMAGE THRESHOLDS
  The Gamemaster can change the existing damage thresholds for a 
  Toughness saving throw to get different results. For example, the GM 
  might change the results of Toughness saving throws so that a save 
  that fails still results in a hit, but a character must fail a Toughness save 
  by more than 10 in order to be stunned, and more than 15 (or even 
  20) in order to be staggered or disabled. This will mean characters can 
  suffer more hits and generally fight longer before accumulated dam-
  age or a bad Toughness saving throw takes them down.
   Alternately, a save that fails by more than 5 still results in a stun, 
  but the character must fail the Toughness save by more than 15 to 
  be staggered; this means that stun results are more common, but 
  one-hit knockouts are less common and require more accumulated 
  damage. Perhaps the damage thresholds are: success = no damage, 
  failure = 1 hit, failure by more than 5 = dazed (take only a half 
  action next round), failure by more than 10 = stunned, failure by 
  more than 15 = staggered, failure by more than 20 = unconscious. 
  The potential combinations are almost endless.
   Gamemasters can also change the Difficulty Class for Toughness 
  saving throws, making them easier or more difficult, such as a base 
  DC of 10 + damage bonus or 20 + damage bonus (instead of the 
  standard 15 + damage bonus DC).
  VARIABLE DAMAGE THRESHOLDS
  Some may find the fixed Difficulty Class for Toughness saving throws 
  too predictable, since it doesn’t change from one attack to the next. 
  One way to vary this slightly is to make the DC for a Toughness save 
  
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  equal to damage bonus + 10 + the roll of a six-sided die (d6). This 
  tends to give average Toughness save DCs similar to the standard 
  damage bonus + 15 method, but with a bit more variability.
  PERCENTILE THRESHOLDS
  Rather than determining the severity of a Toughness save by whether 
  the Toughness saving throw fails by 5, 10, or 15 points, the severity 
  of damage is determined by the percentage of the Difficulty Class by 
  which the save fails. This is shown on the Percentile Toughness 
  Saving Throws table.
   So, for example, a +10 damage attack has a save DC of 25 (15 + 
  10). A save total of 25 or more (100% or more of the DC) results in 
  no damage. A save total between 24 and 19 is a bruised result, 18 
  to 13 is a stunned result, 12 to 7 is a staggered result and 6 or less 
  is an unconscious result (compared to the standard ranges of 25+, 
  24-21, 20-16, 15-11, and 10 or less).
   This approach smoothes out some of the more extreme effects of 
  high and low damage bonuses. However, it requires more calculation 
  of Toughness save DCs in advance and more involved math during 
  play. Gamemasters using this option can consult the Percentile 
  Damage Difficulty chart for quick reference.
  MAXIMUM HIT TOTALS
  The normal M&M damage rules assume characters can accumulate 
  an unlimited number of hits, although in practice hits eventually 
  reach a point where the character cannot possibly make a Toughness 
  saving throw without being taken out of the fight. Gamemasters 
  may wish to use this idea of a maximum number of accumulated 
  hits to modify the damage system.
   In this variant, the only result of a failed Toughness save is a hit; are 
  no additional effects for failing a save by 5 or more. Instead, charac-
  ters suffer additional damage conditions when their hits accumulate 
  to a particular level set by the Gamemaster: three hits for relatively 
  quick combat, as many as five hits (or more) for extended combat. 
  Unless the maximum hit total is 1, there is no way to “one-punch” a 
  character under this system, since an attack never inflicts more than 
  a single hit. Effectively, the GM chooses the number of successful, 
  damage-inflicting attacks that it takes to defeat a character.
  DETERMINING MAXIMUM HITS
  A character’s maximum number of hits may be determined in vari-
  ous ways, depending on how the GM wishes to use the system:
  NARRATIVE
  The maximum hit total may vary depending on the character’s 
  importance to the story. For example, heroes and most villains may 
  have up to 3 hits while minions have only 1 (meaning any successful 
  attack takes out a minion). Conversely, master villains might have 5 
  or more hits, requiring more successful attacks—and the combined 
  efforts of several heroes—to defeat them. The number of hits needed 
  to take down a character may even vary from adventure to adventure 
  or scene to scene. For example, in the initial scene of an adventure, 
  the GM sets the characters’ maximum hits at 2, but in the climac-
  tic scene of the adventure the GM increases them to 5, making the 
  heroes much more of a fight for the master villain who trounced 
  them in the earlier scene.
  ABILITY SCORE
  Maximum hits may be equal to a character’s Constitution bonus. 
  Alternately, the GM may decide to use half the appropriate bonus 
  (so fights will go quicker). A single hit takes out characters with an 
  ability score modifier less than +1.
  POWER POINTS
  A character’s maximum hits may be based on total power points, 
  usually the character’s power point total divided by 30 and rounded 
  down. This means more powerful characters can take more hits, simi-
  lar to the optional hit points system.
  PERCENTILE TOUGHNESS SAVING THROWS
  RESULT
  SAVING THROW…
  STUN ATTACK
  LETHAL ATTACK
  is 100%+ of DC
  No Effect
  No Effect
  less than 100% of DC
  Bruised
  Injured
  75% or less than DC
  Stunned
  Stunned
  50% or less than DC
  Staggered
  Disabled
  25% or less than DC
  Unconscious
  Dying
  PERCENTILE DAMAGE DIFFICULTY
  SAVE DC
  <100%
  75%
  50%
  25%
  15
  14
  11
  7
  3
  16
  15
  12
  8
  4
  17
  16
  12
  8
  4
  18
  17
  13
  9
  4
  19
  18
  14
  9
  4
  20
  19
  15
  10
  5
  21
  20
  15
  10
  5
  22
  21
  16
  11
  5
  23
  22
  17
  11
  5
  24
  23
  18
  12
  6
  25
  24
  18
  12
  6
  26
  25
  19
  13
  6
  27
  26
  20
  13
  6
  28
  27
  21
  14
  7
  29
  28
  21
  14
  7
  30
  29
  22
  15
  7
  31
  30
  23
  15
  7
  32
  31
  24
  16
  8
  33
  32
  24
  16
  8
  34
  33
  25
  17
  8
  35
  34
  26
  17
  8
  36
  35
  27
  18
  9
  37
  36
  27
  18
  9
  38
  37
  28
  19
  9
  39
  38
  29
  19
  9
  40
  39
  30
  20
  10
  
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  HERO POINTS
  A player character’s maximum hits may be equal to the character’s 
  hero points. The twist here is that hits suffered by the character 
  actually reduce the character’s available hero points. When the char-
  acter is at 0 hero points, he’s unconscious or disabled; spending 
  hero points effectively inflicts “damage” on the character, reducing 
  his ability to suffer damage in combat. This option is best suited to 
  gritty games that force players to carefully manage their hero point 
  resources.
  MULTI-HIT ATTACKS
  The default assumption is a successful attack never does more than 
  one hit of damage, regardless of how much the Toughness save failed. 
  While this may suit some four-color styles of play, Gamemasters may 
  prefer to allow attacks to do multiple hits of damage. In this case, 
  for every 5 points the Toughness save missed the DC, the characters 
  suffers one hit of damage. So, a Toughness save that fails does one 
  hit; if it fails by more than 5, it does two hits; more than 10, three 
  hits, and so forth. In this case a single attack may still knock out or 
  disable a character with multiple hits if the Toughness save fails by 
  a sufficient amount.
  HERO POINTS AND MAXIMUM HITS
  Gamemasters using this system for tracking damage in M&M should 
  modify the spending of hero points slightly. Spending a hero point 
  eliminates a single hit, stun or lethal, from the character’s current total. 
  This reflects the greater importance of total hits under this system.
  VARIABLE CRITICAL HITS
  A critical hit normally imposes a +5 to the attack’s save DC, likely 
  increasing damage from the attack to the next highest result on the 
  Toughness save. This variant allows a successful critical hit to have 
  one of a number of different effects, depending on the intentions 
  and wishes of the attacker.
   Essentially, when a critical hit is scored with a particular attack, 
  the attacker can choose for the hit to have a different additional 
  effect of up to 10 power points in value (in place of the normal 
  +5 bonus to saving throw DC). This includes any power effect the 
  GM judges suitable for the attack. Particular effects most likely 
  to be associated with critical hits include Dazzle, Drain, Fatigue, 
  Nauseate, or Stun, but others may be appropriate at the GM’s dis-
  cretion.
  Example: The Bowman scores a critical hit with a boxing-
  glove arrow. Rather than the additional damage, he decides 
  to inflict an additional Stun effect along with the arrow’s 
  normal damage. The GM finds this reasonable and agrees. 
  Since the Stun power costs 2 points/rank, Bowman can 
  force the target to make a DC 15 Fortitude save against the 
  Stun effect along with the normal Toughness save for the 
  arrow’s damage.
   This variant adds some variety to the effects of critical hits in the 
  game, and allows players to choose them for greater effectiveness. 
  If desired, you can make this an option only available to players will-
  ing to spend a hero point to change the critical hit into some effect 
  other than just additional damage, making it less frequent and keep-
  ing decisions about the effects of critical hits from bogging down 
  game-play.
  TACTICAL MOVEMENT
  Mutants & Masterminds combat is fairly freeform in terms of charac-
  ter movement. However, some players may prefer to track character 
  movement using miniature figures and a tactical grid map. You can 
  do this using the basic M&M rules, but characters with movement 
  powers can easily go anywhere in the map in a single move action! 
  This may not suit a tactical fighting style; in this case, you can imple-
  ment the following option.
   Characters have three modes of movement under the tactical vari-
  ant: normal, accelerated, and all-out. These are the same for most 
  characters (30 feet, 60 feet, and 120 feet). The difference is for 
  movement powers. The power’s movement rank becomes its all-out 
  movement. Its normal movement is 30 feet, plus 5 feet per rank, 
  and its accelerated movement is twice that, 60 feet plus 10 feet per 
  rank. So a character with Flight 6 has a normal tactical movement 
  of 60 feet ((6 x 5) + 30), accelerated movement of 120 feet, and all-
  out movement of 500 MPH. 
   Movement and position are most easily handled using miniature 
  figures representing the characters and opponents. The standard 
  scale equates one inch on the tabletop to five feet in the game 
  world. Use units of five feet for movement and position whenever 
  possible. Calculating distance any more precisely is generally more 
  trouble than it is worth.
   If you want to use superhero action figures instead of miniatures, 
  adjust the scale proportionally. Action figures five times the size of 
  30mm miniatures would use a scale of five inches equals five feet, 
  for example.
  
  116
  COMBAT
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER EIGHT: COMBAT
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER EIGHT: COMBAT
  STANDARD SCALE
  One inch = Five feet
  “Next to” or “adjacent” = One inch (five feet) away
  30 mm figure = A six-foot-tall (medium-size) character
  A medium-size character occupies an area one inch (five feet) across.
  HOW FAR CAN YOUR CHARACTER MOVE?
  Generally, you can move your speed in a round (as a move action) 
  and still do something, such as making an attack. You can move 
  double your speed as a full action (two move actions). If you move 
  all out (also a full action), you can quadruple your movement rate 
  or more, but lose your dodge bonus to Defense. If you do something 
  else requiring a full action, you can only take a 5-foot step.
  Encumbrance: A character carrying a large amount of additional 
  weight moves slower than normal (see Carrying Capacity in the 
  Abilities chapter of M&M).
  PASSING THROUGH
  You cannot normally pass through an area occupied by an oppo-
  nent, since they are ready to fight you. The only way to pass through 
  the area is to overcome the opponent first. Sometimes you can pass 
  through an area occupied by another character.
  • 
  Friendly Character: You can move through an area occupied 
  by a friendly character, since they don’t oppose you.
  • 
  Unfriendly Character Not an Obstacle: You can move 
  through an area occupied by an unfriendly character who 
  doesn’t present an obstacle, such as one who is dead, uncon-
  scious, bound, stunned, grappled, or just cowering. The character 
  must be unable to take actions to be considered no obstacle.
  • 
  Acrobatics: You can use Acrobatics to move through an area 
  occupied by an enemy.
  • 
  Area Occupied by Target Three Sizes Larger or Smaller: 
  You can move through an area occupied by an opponent three 
  size categories larger or smaller than you.
  LARGER AND SMALLER CHARACTERS IN COMBAT
  Characters smaller than Small or bigger than Medium have special 
  rules relating to tactical position. These rules concern the characters’ 
  “faces,” or sides. 
  FACE
  “Face” is how wide a profile a character presents in combat. This 
  width determines how many characters can fight side by side in 
  an enclosed space and how many characters can attack a target at 
  the same time. A face is essentially the border between the square 
  or rectangular space a character occupies and the space next to it. 
  These faces are abstract, not “front, back, left, and right,” because 
  combatants are constantly moving and turning in battle. Unless a 
  character is immobile, he practically doesn’t have a front or a left 
  side—at least not one you can locate on the tabletop.
  BIG OPPONENTS
  Big characters (long, Large creatures, and Huge, Gargantuan, 
  or Colossal creatures) take up more space on the battlefield than 
  Medium-size ones. More combatants can attack them because more 
  combatants can surround them. As a rule of thumb, assume one 
  Small or Medium combatant can get to each 5-foot length of the 
  creature and four more combatants can fit into the “corners” where 
  one side meets another. (This rule is why you can get eight people 
  around a Medium-size creature at once: One fits on each 5-foot face, 
  and one fits on each corner.)
  VERY SMALL CREATURES
  Very small creatures (Fine, Diminutive, Tiny, and Miniscule) must be 
  in your area to attack you. You can attack into your own area if you 
  need to with a melee attack, so you can attack very small opponents 
  normally.
  VARIANT: HEX-GRID MOVEMENT
  Tactical affairs such as movement are best handled on a grid, but 
  the grid need not be a bunch of squares. This variant replaces 
  squares with hexagons. (Hex-grid paper and mats are available at 
  many game and hobby stores.)
   The primary advantage of this variant is it eliminates the “every 
  other square counts as double” rule for diagonal movement on the 
  grid, because it eliminates diagonal movement. Characters simply 
  move from hex to adjacent hex, changing direction as they like. To 
  determine the distance between two hexagons, just count hexes by 
  the shortest path (in most cases, there will be a number of equally 
  short paths).
   Using a hex-based grid changes relatively little about the game, 
  but it poses a mapping dilemma for the GM. Most buildings are 
  based on 90-degree and 45-degree angles, so superimposing a hex-
  grid on a structure leaves partial hexagons, not all of which are big 
  enough for a medium-sized character. Use this variant only if you’re 
  comfortable adjudicating partial spaces on the fly.
   Areas of effect are counted in hexagons rather than squares in a 
  hex-grid, but otherwise remain the same.
  FLANKING
  If you are attacking an opponent and an ally directly opposite you is 
  attacking the same opponent, you and your ally flank the opponent. 
  You both gain a +2 bonus on your attack roll. Characters with at 
  least 2 ranks of the Uncanny Dodge feat cannot be flanked.
  MENTAL GRAPPLING FOR EFFECT
  If you want to limit the usefulness of mental powers in your cam-
  paign, you can require the user to mentally grapple the target and 
  establish a mental pin before any mental power requiring a saving 
  throw can be applied. The target does not suffer the normal –4 mod-
  ifier for being mentally pinned; the save is at the normal bonus.
   For example, a character with Mind Control has to first engage a 
  target in a struggle of wills (a mental grapple); only when the tar-
  get is mentally pinned does the save against the Mind Control take 
  place. In this variant, any character with a mental power requiring a 
  saving throw can initiate a mental grapple, but only for purposes of 
  using that power on a target.
   This variant makes mental powers more difficult to use in the 
  midst of combat unless you have overwhelming mental superiority 
  (enough to mentally pin your target immediately). Even then, char-
  acters can’t establish a mental pin in less than a round, so all mental 
  effects essentially take at least an extra round (if not more) to use. 
  
  CHAPTER EIGHT: COMBAT 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CHAPTER EIGHT: COMBAT 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  COMBAT
  117
  You can mitigate this if you wish by saying the mental grapple itself 
  takes no time; the struggle takes place instantly in the minds of 
  the attacker and defender. Even then, mental effects become less 
  reliable, since the target effectively gains two (or more) chances to 
  avoid the effect, rather than just one.
  VARIANT: MENTAL GRAPPLING FOR ALL POWERS
  If you want to really limit the use of powers in the campaign, you 
  can require a successful mental grapple for any power use against 
  an intelligent target. So, not only do you have to mentally grapple 
  in order to mind control a target, you also have to do so to affect 
  him with a Blast, Transform, or any other direct power permitting a 
  saving throw. Perhaps all supers have some sort of innate reflexive 
  defense against others’ powers; the mental grapple represents over-
  coming that defense.
   This requirement may extend to all intelligent targets or only a 
  subset. For example, perhaps mental grappling is only required to 
  affect other supers; normal people are affected normally. This gives 
  supers—even ones with otherwise minor powers—some innate resis-
  tance to powers. Resistance could be limited solely to living beings: 
  intelligent machines or the undead, for example, don’t qualify.
   This option is best reserved to create a particular style of play, 
  wherein powers require more effort and rely heavily on force of 
  will to overcome resistance. It will tend to limit direct power effects 
  (which require mental grappling) and encourage indirect power 
  effects (which don’t). For example, it’s more efficient in this variant 
  to pick up a heavy object with your Super-Strength or Telekinesis and 
  clobber an opponent with it than it is to just Blast him (since the lat-
  ter provokes a mental grapple).
  MENTAL STRAIN
  Mental strain represents the psychological damage caused by ter-
  rible experiences: horror, violence, and trauma. When confronted 
  by these things, some people collapse under the strain. This vari-
  ant is most appropriate for very realistic settings where characters 
  are expected to deal with terrible situations and their consequences. 
  When confronted with a particularly stressful situation, characters 
  make Will saves. The DC of the save depends on the circumstances.
  MENTAL STRAIN
  DC
  SITUATION
  10
  Witness a friend killed. Kill an enemy in the heat of battle.
  15
  Witness a gruesome death or torture. Suffer torture.
  20
  Witness a friend or loved one killed in a terrible manner. Commit murder.
  25
  Commit cold-blooded murder. Witness death and destruction on a 
  vast scale.
  30
  Encounter a terrible horror of cosmic proportions.
  If you succeed on the Will save, nothing happens; you manage to 
  deal with the circumstances and move on. If you fail the save, then 
  your character momentarily loses control. You, the player, have three 
  choices:
  • 
  The character becomes panicked and attempts to flee as 
  quickly as possible. If unable to do so, the character cowers, 
  helpless.
  • 
  The character becomes helpless, cowering, curled up in the fetal 
  position, or just standing dumbstruck and unaware.
  • 
  You spend a hero point and the character is dazed for one round, 
  taking no action, but defending normally. The character then 
  shakes off the horror of the situation and acts normally.
  The first two effects last for the duration of the encounter (more or 
  less at the GM’s discretion). Spending a hero point at any time dur-
  ing either effect allows the hero to shake it off immediately.
  MENTAL STRAIN AND COMPLICATIONS
  If desired, mental strain can have a long term impact as well as a 
  short-term one. When a character fails a Will save, in addition to 
  the normal effects, the character racks up a number of psychologi-
  cal complications equal to the save’s DC/10. So, a failed Will save 
  vs. a DC of 20 results in two complications. The character suffers 
  the effects of these complications but does not gain hero points 
  for them. The complications are permanent, although the GM can 
  allow characters to eliminate them with time and psychological 
  treatment; a minimum of one month per complication is recom-
  mended. The player and Gamemaster should cooperate to come up 
  with complications suited to the nature of the mental strain that 
  caused them.
  MENTAL STRAIN AND POWER SURGES
  If you’re using the Power Surge rules from Chapter 5, a failed men-
  tal strain save can trigger a power surge in addition to the three 
  choices listed for a failed save. A combination of mental strain and 
  power surges makes for a grim setting where heroes struggle to 
  maintain control over their emotions and powers.
  MENTAL STRAIN AND TAINT
  If you’re using the Taint rules from Chapter 6, a failed mental strain 
  save can cause psychological (or even other forms) of taint.
  MENTAL STRAIN AND STABILITY SAVES
  If you’re using Stability saving throws based on Charisma (see 
  Chapter 1), you may wish to use them in place of Will saves for 
  mental strain.
  UNDER THE HOOD: GRAPPLING FOR EFFECT
  Mental grappling for effect is for when you want the use of certain powers in your game to be a struggle, more than just an attack roll and saving throw, 
  but a real back-and-forth effort. It’s useful, for example, if you want to make mental powers less effective and simulate the “must… not… give… in…!” 
  struggle often seen in the comics as two characters are locked in mental combat. It’s also good for settings where all powers involve a similar source or 
  effect—manipulating reality or primal magic, for example—where other superhumans automatically have some innate resistance or ability to counter an 
  opponent’s powers. It encourages subtlety and a degree of caution, which aren’t necessarily earmarks of a four-color superhero setting, but work quite 
  well in more realistic ones.
  
  118
  GAMEMASTERING
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER NINE: GAMEMASTERING
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CHAPTER NINE: GAMEMASTERING
  T
  here are a great many elements that go into running a M&M 
  game. This chapter provides additional tools and advice for 
  M&M GMs to use in running their games, in particular how 
  to make more use of the environment, how to handle various 
  hazards, the legal system and trials, creating adventures, providing 
  challenges for the heroes, and offering suitable rewards for their 
  efforts. It also looks at the role of super-powers in world-building 
  and offers some ideas on various ways they can impact your set-
  ting.
  THE ENVIRONMENT
  The environment of the world can challenge M&M heroes in a 
  number of ways, providing threats to the general public as well as 
  hazards to the heroes themselves. This section provides additional 
  details on such environmental hazards along with some options 
  you can use alongside the Environmental Control and Weather 
  Control powers.
  GETTING LOST IN THE WILD
  There are lots of ways to get lost in the wild. Following an obvious 
  road, trail, or feature such as a stream or shoreline prevents any pos-
  sibility of becoming lost, but travelers striking off cross-country may 
  become disoriented, especially in conditions of poor visibility or dif-
  ficult terrain. 
  POOR VISIBILITY
  Any time characters cannot see at least 60 feet in the prevailing 
  conditions of visibility, they may become lost. Characters traveling 
  through fog, snow, or a downpour might lose the ability to see any 
  landmarks not in their immediate vicinity. Similarly, characters travel-
  ing at night may be at risk, too, depending on the quality of their 
  light sources, the amount of moonlight, and whether they have any 
  Super-Senses like darkvision or low-light vision.
  DIFFICULT TERRAIN
  Character in forest, moor, hill, or mountain terrain may become lost 
  if they move away from a trail, road, stream, or other obvious path or 
  track. Forests are especially dangerous because they obscure far-off 
  landmarks and make it hard to see the sun or stars.
  CHANCE TO GET LOST
  If getting lost is a possibility, the character leading the way must 
  succeed on a Survival check or become lost. The difficulty varies 
  based on the terrain, the visibility, and whether or not the character 
  has a map of the area. Refer to the Chance to Get Lost table and 
  use the highest DC that applies. Check once per hour (or portion 
  of an hour) spent in local or overland movement to see if travelers 
  have become lost. In the case of a group moving together, only the 
  character leading the way makes the check.
  EFFECTS OF BEING LOST
  If a group becomes lost, it is no longer certain of moving in the direc-
  tion it intended to travel. Randomly determine the direction in which 
  the group actually travels each hour. The characters’ movement con-
  tinues to be random until they blunder into a landmark, or until they 
  recognize they are lost and make an effort to regain their bearings.
  RECOGNIZING YOU’RE LOST
  Once per hour of random travel, each character in the group may 
  make a Survival check (DC 20, –1 per hour of random travel) to rec-
  ognize they are no longer certain of their direction of travel. Some 
  circumstances may make it obvious the characters are lost.
  SETTING A NEW COURSE
  A lost group is also uncertain of determining direction to a desired 
  objective. Determining the correct direction once a group becomes 
  lost requires a Survival check (DC 15, +2 per hour of random travel). 
  If a character fails this check, he chooses a random direction as the 
  “correct” direction for resuming travel.
   Once the characters are traveling along their new course, correct 
  or incorrect, they may get lost again. If the conditions still make it 
  possible for travelers to become lost, check once per hour of travel 
  as described in Chance to Get Lost, previously, to see if the group 
  maintains its new course or begins to move at random again.
  CONFLICTING DIRECTIONS
  It’s possible several characters may attempt to determine the right 
  direction to proceed after becoming lost. Make a Survival check 
  for each character in secret; tell the correct direction to the players 
  whose characters succeeded , and tell the players whose charac-
  ters failed a random direction they think is right. The players get to 
  decide which one to choose.
  REGAINING YOUR BEARINGS
  There are several ways to become un-lost. First, if characters success-
  fully set a new course and follow it to the destination they’re trying 
  to reach, they’re not lost anymore. Second, the characters might run 
  into an unmistakable landmark through random movement. Third, 
  if conditions improve—fog lifts or the sun comes up—lost characters 
  may attempt to set a new course, as described previously, with a +4 
  bonus on the Survival check. Finally, certain powers may make their 
  location and direction clear.
  CHAPTER 9: GAMEMASTERING
  CHANCE TO GET LOST
  CONDITION
  DC
  Moor or hill, map
  6
  Mountain, map
  8
  Moor or hill, no map
  10
  Mountain, no map
  12
  Poor visibility
  12
  Forest
  15
  
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  119
  
  120
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  CHAPTER NINE: GAMEMASTERING
  ALTITUDE
  The thin air at high altitudes can be tiring, even dangerous. In gen-
  eral, there are three possible levels of altitude: low, high, and peak. 
  In addition to the effects of the thinner air, high altitudes are often 
  quite cold.
  ACCLIMATION
  Characters with Environmental Adaptation (high altitude) have 
  greater resistance to the effects of altitude and are considered accli-
  mated to it. Characters with Immunity (suffocation) are unaffected 
  by altitude, since they don’t need to breathe.
  LOW ALTITUDE (LOWER THAN 5,000 FEET)
  Most travel in low mountains takes place in low passes, a zone con-
  sisting largely of alpine meadows and forests. Travelers may find the 
  going difficult, but the altitude itself has no game effect.
  HIGH ALTITUDE (5,000 TO 15,000 FEET)
  Ascending to the highest slopes of low mountains, or most normal 
  travel through high mountains, falls into this category. All non-accli-
  mated creatures labor to breathe in the thin air at this altitude. Each 
  Character must succeed on a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, +1 
  per previous check) or become fatigued. The fatigue ends when the 
  character descends to an altitude with more air.
   Acclimated characters do not have to attempt the Fortitude save.
  PEAK ALTITUDE (MORE THAN 15,000 FEET)
  The highest mountains exceed 20,000 feet in height. At these 
  elevations, characters are subject to both high altitude fatigue (as 
  described earlier) and altitude sickness, whether or not they’re accli-
  mated to high altitudes.
  Altitude sickness represents long-term oxygen deprivation, and 
  affects mental and physical ability scores. After each six-hour period 
  a character spends at an altitude of over 15,000 feet, he must suc-
  ceed on a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1 
  point of damage to all ability scores.
  Characters acclimated to high altitude receive a +4 bonus on their 
  saving throws to resist high altitude effects and altitude sickness.
  ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
  Mutants & Masterminds covers the basic environmental hazards 
  heroes may encounter. This section expands on those dangers with 
  other disasters that can befall a group of heroes. These hazards also 
  provide some ideas for rescue missions, allowing heroes to save inno-
  cent people threatened by disaster.
  AVALANCHES
  The combination of high peaks and heavy snowfalls means ava-
  lanches are a deadly peril in many mountainous areas. While 
  avalanches of snow and ice are common, it’s also possible to have 
  an avalanche of loose rock and soil.
  
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  121
   An avalanche can be spotted from down slope like a colossal 
  object(reducing the DC of the Notice check by 16). It’s possible to 
  hear an avalanche coming even if you can’t see it. Under optimum 
  conditions (no other loud noises occurring), a character who makes a 
  DC 15 Notice check can hear an approaching avalanche or landslide.
   A landslide or avalanche consists of two distinct areas: the bury 
  zone (in the direct path of the falling debris) and the slide zone (the 
  area the debris spreads out to encompass). Characters in the bury 
  zone of a cave-in take +8 damage, half that amount if they make a DC 
  15 Reflex save. They are subsequently buried. Characters in the slide 
  zone take +4 damage, or none at all if they make a DC 15 Reflex save. 
  Characters in the slide zone who fail their saves are also buried.
   Characters must make an additional Toughness save per minute 
  while buried. The initial DC is 15, increasing by +1 per save. If a 
  character falls unconscious, further damage becomes lethal.
   Characters who aren’t buried can try to dig out their friends. In 
  one minute, a character can clear rocks and debris equal to five 
  times his heavy load limit. Loose stone and rubble filling a 5-foot-
  by-5-foot area weighs about a ton (2,000 pounds). Armed with an 
  appropriate digging tool, a character can clear loose stone twice as 
  fast as by hand. You may also allow a buried character to free him-
  self with a DC 25 Strength check. Super-Strength bonus applies to 
  this check.
   The typical avalanche has a width of 1oo to 500 feet, from 
  one edge of the slide zone to the opposite edge. The bury zone in 
  the center of the avalanche is half as wide as the avalanche’s full 
  width. Avalanches of snow and ice advance at a speed of 500 feet 
  per round, and rock avalanches travel at a speed of 250 feet per 
  round.
  CAVE-INS AND COLLAPSES
  Cave-ins and collapsing tunnels are extremely dangerous. Not only 
  is there the danger of being crushed by tons of falling rock, even if 
  characters survive they may be buried beneath a pile of rubble or cut 
  off from the only exit. A cave-in buries anyone in the middle of the 
  collapsing area, and sliding debris damages anyone in the periphery 
  of the collapse. The slide zone is generally about half the radius of 
  the bury zone.
   Characters in the bury zone of a cave-in take +8 damage, half that 
  amount if they make a DC 15 Reflex save. They are subsequently 
  buried. Characters in the slide zone take +4 damage, or none at all if 
  they make a DC 15 Reflex save. Characters in the slide zone who fail 
  their saves are also buried.
   Characters must make an additional Toughness save per minute 
  while buried. The initial DC is 15, increasing by +1 per save. If a 
  character falls unconscious, further damage becomes lethal.
   Characters who aren’t buried can try to dig out their friends. In 
  one minute, a character can clear rocks and debris equal to five 
  times his heavy load limit. Loose stone and rubble filling a 5-foot-
  by-5-foot area weighs about a ton (2,000 pounds). Armed with an 
  appropriate digging tool, a character can clear loose stone twice as 
  fast as by hand. You may also allow a buried character to free him-
  self with a DC 25 Strength check. Super-Strength bonus applies to 
  this check.
  EARTHQUAKES
  An earthquake knocks people down, collapses structures, opens 
  cracks and fissures in the ground, and more. The specific effects 
  depend on the nature of the terrain:
  • 
  Cave, Cavern, or Tunnel: The roof collapses (see Cave-ins and 
  Collapses, previously).
  • 
  Cliffs: Cliffs crumble, creating a landslide that travels horizon-
  tally as far as it falls vertically. See Avalanches, previously.
  • 
  Open Ground: Each person standing in the area of the quake 
  must make a DC 15 Reflex save or fall prone. Fissures may open 
  in the earth, and anyone in the area has a chance to fall in 
  (Difficulty 20 Reflex save to avoid such a fissure).
  • 
  Structure: Any wooden or masonry structure standing on open 
  ground is destroyed. Sturdier buildings are damaged. See Cave-
  ins and Collapses, previously, for anyone caught inside a 
  collapsing structure. Building fires also often follow in the wake 
  of an earthquake; see the following section for details.
  FIRES
  Large fires, such as house fires or forest fires, post three main dan-
  gers: heat, catching on fire, and smoke. 
  HEAT DAMAGE
  Characters caught in a large fire are exposed to extreme heat. Those 
  wearing heavy clothing or armor take a –4 penalty on their saving 
  throws. Characters with Immunity (heat) are unaffected.
  CATCHING ON FIRE
  Characters engulfed in an inferno are at risk of catching on fire 
  when the leading edge of the blaze overtakes them, and at further 
  risk once per minute thereafter.
   Characters at risk of catching fire are allowed a DC 15 Reflex save 
  to avoid it. A failed save results in +1 fire damage immediately. In 
  each subsequent round, the burning character must make another 
  Reflex saving throw. Failure means he takes another +1 fire damage. 
  Success means that the fire has gone out. (In other words, once he 
  succeeds on his saving throw, he’s no longer on fire.)
   A character on fire may automatically extinguish the flames by 
  jumping into enough water to douse them. If no body of water is at 
  hand, rolling on the ground or smothering the fire with blankets or 
  the like grants the character another save with a +4 bonus.
  SMOKE INHALATION
  Forest fires naturally produce a great deal of smoke. A character 
  breathing heavy smoke must make a Fortitude save each round 
  (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and 
  coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds makes 
  a Fortitude save against +1 damage. Also, smoke obscures vision, 
  providing concealment to characters within it.
   A forest fire can be spotted as a colossal object (reducing the DC 
  of the Notice check by 16). Characters who are blinded or otherwise 
  unable to make visual Notice checks can still feel the heat of the fire 
  (and automatically notice it) when it is 100 feet away or less.
  The leading edge of a forest fire (the downwind side) can advance 
  faster than a normal human can run (assume 120 feet per round 
  for winds of moderate strength). Once a particular portion of the 
  forest is ablaze, it remains so for 20 to 80 minutes before dying to a 
  smoking smolder. Characters overtaken by a forest fire may find the 
  leading edge of the fire advancing away from them faster than they 
  can keep up, trapping them deeper and deeper within it.
  
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  LAVA
  Lava or magma deals +2 lethal points of damage per round of expo-
  sure, except in the case of total immersion (such as when a character 
  falls into the crater of an active volcano), which deals +20 lethal 
  damage per round.
   Immunity (fire damage) also serves as immunity to damage from 
  lava or magma. However, a creature immune to fire damage might 
  still suffocate if completely immersed in lava.
  QUICKSAND
  Patches of quicksand are deceptively solid looking. A character 
  approaching a patch of quicksand at a normal pace is entitled to a 
  DC 8 Survival check to spot the danger before stepping in, but char-
  acters moving at an accelerated or all-out pace don’t have a chance 
  to detect quicksand before blundering in.
  EFFECTS OF QUICKSAND
  Characters in quicksand must make a DC 10 Swim check every round 
  simply to tread water in place, or a DC 15 Swim check to move 5 
  feet in whatever direction is desired. If a trapped character fails this 
  check by 5 or more, he sinks below the surface and begins to drown 
  whenever he can no longer hold his breath (see Swim in the Skills 
  chapter of M&M).
   Characters below the surface of quicksand may swim back to the 
  surface with a successful Swim check (DC 15, +1 per consecutive 
  round of being under the surface).
  RESCUE
  Pulling out a character trapped in quicksand can be difficult. A res-
  cuer needs a branch, pole, rope, or similar tool to reach the victim. 
  The rescuer makes a DC 15 Strength check to successfully pull the 
  victim, and the victim makes a DC 10 Strength check to hold on. 
  If the victim fails to hold on, he must make a DC 15 
  Swim check to stay above the surface. If both checks 
  succeed, the victim is pulled 5 feet closer to safety. 
  Powers like Flight or Elongation naturally make quick-
  sand rescues easier.
  WEATHER
  Sometimes weather can play an important role in an 
  adventure, either as a backdrop or due to the weather-
  controlling powers of a hero or villain.
  RAIN, SNOW, SLEET, AND HAIL
  Bad weather frequently slows or halts travel and 
  makes it virtually impossible to navigate from one spot 
  to another. Torrential downpours and blizzards obscure 
  vision as effectively as a dense fog.
  Most precipitation is rain, but in cold conditions it can 
  manifest as snow, sleet, or hail. Precipitation of any 
  kind followed by a cold snap in which the temperature 
  dips from above freezing to 32° F or below may pro-
  duce ice.
  RAIN
  Rain reduces visibility by half, resulting in a –4 penalty 
  on Notice and Search checks.
  SNOW
  Falling snow has the same effects on visibility and skill checks as 
  rain, and creates a bad surface for movement (see Hampered 
  Movement in the Abilities chapter of M&M).
  HEAVY SNOW
  Heavy snow has the same effects as normal snowfall, but also 
  restricts visibility like fog does (see Fog in the following section). 
  It creates a very bad surface for movement, restricting movement 
  speeds to one-quarter.
  SLEET
  Essentially frozen rain, sleet has the same effect as rain while falling 
  (except that its chance to extinguish protected flames is 75%) and 
  the same effect as snow once on the ground. 
  HAIL
  Hail does not reduce visibility, but the sound of falling hail makes 
  auditory Notice checks more difficult (–4 penalty). Sometimes (1-in-
  20 chance) hail can become large enough to deal +0 damage (per 
  storm) to anything out in the open. Once on the ground, hail has the 
  same effect on movement as snow.
  STORMS
  The combined effects of precipitation (or dust) and wind that accom-
  pany storms reduce visibility ranges by three-quarters, imposing a –8 
  penalty on Notice and Search checks. Storms make ranged attacks 
  with muscle-propelled weapons impossible, while other ranged 
  attacks have a –4 penalty on attack rolls. Storms automatically 
  
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  extinguish unprotected flames. They cause protected flames, such as 
  those of lanterns, to dance wildly, and have a 50% chance to extin-
  guish them. Storms are divided into the following types. 
  DUST STORM
  These desert storms differ in that they have no precipitation. A dust 
  storm blows fine grains of sand that obscure vision, smother unpro-
  tected flames, and can even choke protected flames (50% chance). 
  There is a 10% (2-in-20) chance for a dust storm to be powerful 
  enough to inflict +0 damage each round to anyone caught out in 
  the open without shelter and to also pose a choking hazard (the 
  same as suffocation, as per the rules in the Combat chapter of 
  M&M).
  SANDSTORM
  A sandstorm reduces visibility and provides a –4 penalty on Notice 
  and Search checks. A sandstorm deals +0 damage per hour to any-
  one caught in the open, and leaves a thin coating of sand in its 
  wake. Driving sand creeps in through all but the most secure seals 
  and seams, to chafe skin and contaminate carried gear.
  THUNDERSTORM
  In addition to wind and precipitation (usually rain, but sometimes 
  also hail), thunderstorms are accompanied by lightning that can 
  pose a hazard to characters without proper shelter (especially those 
  in metallic armor). As a rule of thumb, assume one bolt per minute 
  for a one-hour period at the center of the storm. Each bolt causes 
  electrical damage equal to a rank 1 to 10 Blast (roll d20 and divide 
  by 2, rounding up, to determine effective rank). One in ten thunder-
  storms (a 19 or 20 on a d20 roll) are accompanied by a tornado (see 
  the following).
  FOG
  Whether in the form of a low-lying cloud or a mist rising from the 
  ground, fog obscures all visual senses, including darkvision, beyond 
  5 feet. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment (attacks by or 
  against them have a 20% miss chance).
  WIND
  The wind can create a stinging spray of sand or dust, fan a large 
  fire, and blow gases or vapors away. If powerful enough, it can even 
  knock characters down, interfere with ranged attacks, or impose pen-
  alties on some skill checks.
  LIGHT WIND
  A gentle breeze, having little or no game effect.
  MODERATE WIND
  A steady wind with a 50% chance of extinguishing small, unpro-
  tected flames, such as candles.
  STRONG WIND
  Gusts that automatically extinguish unprotected flames (candles, 
  torches, and the like). Such gusts impose a –2 penalty on ranged 
  attack rolls with thrown weapons and on auditory Notice checks.
  SEVERE WIND
  In addition to automatically extinguishing any unprotected flames, 
  winds of this magnitude cause protected flames (such as those of 
  lanterns) to dance wildly, and have a 50% chance of extinguishing 
  them as well. Ranged weapon attacks and auditory Notice checks 
  are at a –4 penalty.
  WINDSTORM
  Powerful enough to bring down branches if not whole trees, wind-
  storms automatically extinguish unprotected flames and have a 
  75% chance of blowing out protected flames. Ranged attacks 
  with thrown or muscle-powered weapons are impossible, and other 
  ranged attacks are at a –4 penalty. Auditory Notice checks are at a 
  –8 penalty due to the howling of the wind. 
  HURRICANE-FORCE WIND
  All non-powered flames are extinguished. Ranged attacks with 
  thrown or muscle-powered weapons are impossible, and other 
  ranged attacks are at a –8 penalty. Auditory Notice checks are at 
  a –20 penalty: all characters can hear is the roaring of the wind. 
  Hurricane-force winds often fell trees and even buildings.
  TORNADO
  All flames are extinguished. All ranged attacks are impossible, as are 
  auditory Notice checks. Characters in close proximity to a tornado 
  who fail a DC 20 Strength check are sucked toward the tornado. 
  Those who come in contact with the actual funnel cloud are picked 
  up and whirled around for 1d10 (d20/2) rounds, taking +4 damage 
  per round, before being violently expelled (falling damage may also 
  apply). While a tornado’s rotational speed can be as great as 300 
  mph, the funnel itself moves forward at an average of 25 mph (a 
  Speed rank of 2). A tornado uproots trees, destroys buildings, and 
  causes other similar forms of major destruction.
  URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
  A great many M&M adventures take place in an urban environment, 
  whether fighting crime in the streets and alleys of the city or an epic 
  battle against supervillains or alien invaders among the skyscrapers 
  of downtown.
  CROWDS
  City streets are usually filled with people going about their daily 
  lives. Most of the time, you can generalize about the activity of 
  crowds of bystanders without worrying about the individual traits of 
  each person. If a crowd sees something dangerous (like a super-bat-
  tle), assume they move away from it at a rate of 30 feet per round 
  on initiative count 0 each round.
   Such fleeing from battle presumes a city filled with mildly realis-
  tic citizens. However, some four-color cities might become jaded and 
  complacent, secure that the heroes of their city will save them; to 
  simulate this, assume that 50% of the crowd moves away at 30 feet 
  per round, 40% of the crowd remains in place to watch the action, 
  and 10% move closer to the battle to get a better look!
   Crowds provide cover for characters within them, but also count 
  as a moderate obstruction, reducing movement speed to three-quar-
  ters. You can make Stealth checks to hide normally while within a 
  crowd of people.
  
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   It takes a DC 15 Diplomacy check or a DC 20 Intimidate check 
  to get a crowd to move in a particular direction. It takes a full-
  round action to make the Diplomacy check but only a free action 
  to make the Intimidate check. If multiple characters attempt to 
  direct a crowd, the character with the highest check result succeeds. 
  The crowd ignores everyone if none of the checks exceed the base 
  required Difficulty.
  ABOVE AND BELOW THE STREETS
  Getting to a rooftop usually requires climbing, unless the charac-
  ter can reach a roof by jumping or using a movement power. Flat 
  roofs, relatively uncommon, are easy to move across. Moving along 
  the peak of a roof requires a DC 15 Acrobatics check each round. 
  Moving on an angled roof surface without changing altitude (mov-
  ing parallel to the peak, in other words) requires a DC 10 Acrobatics 
  check. Moving up and down across the peak of a roof requires a DC 
  5 Acrobatics check.
   Eventually a character runs out of roof, requiring a jump across 
  to the next roof or down to the ground. Use the jumping guidelines 
  from the Abilities chapter of M&M to determine if the character 
  can make the jump. Keep in mind an Acrobatics check can increase 
  this distance, and characters can take 10 on the check under normal 
  conditions.
   To get into the sewer tunnels below the streets, most characters 
  open a grate (a full-round action) and jump down 10 feet. Comic 
  book cities virtually always have sewer tunnels large enough to 
  move around in, like a network of passages under the city, suitable 
  for villains to hide or try to escape. Most sewer tunnels are bad sur-
  faces, reducing movement speeds by half.
  PATROLLING
  Oftentimes, heroes may wish to patrol the streets of the city, on the 
  lookout for crime or unusual incidents. Rather than make a long 
  series of Notice or Search checks, you can handle a hero’s patrol 
  using the guidelines for extended searches (see the Skills chapter 
  of M&M), determining how much area the hero covers in a given 
  amount of time. If the hero is just generally patrolling, on the look-
  out for trouble, move the final area’s diameter two steps up the 
  Progression Table.
   The hero’s player makes a Notice or Search check (whichever has 
  the higher bonus). The hero can take 10 on this check. Anyone in 
  the patrol area attempting to conceal their activities must make a 
  Stealth check against the hero’s check result to go unnoticed, and 
  cannot take 10 or take 20 on the check. This is in addition to any 
  work the criminal must do to avoid other sorts of detection such as 
  alarms.
  AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS
  Of the locales most common for characters to encounter, aquatic 
  environments are the least hospitable because most heroes can’t 
  breathe underwater. These rules divide aquatic terrain into two cat-
  egories: flowing water (such as streams and rivers) and non-flowing 
  water (such as lakes and oceans).
  FLOWING WATER
  Large, placid rivers move at only a few miles per hour, so they func-
  tion as still water for most purposes. But some rivers and streams are 
  swifter; anything floating in them moves downstream at a speed of 
  10 to 40 feet per round. The fastest rapids send swimmers bobbing 
  downstream at 60 to 90 feet per round. Fast rivers are always at 
  least rough water (Swim DC 15), and whitewater rapids are stormy 
  water (Swim DC 20). Characters in flowing water move downstream 
  the indicated distance at the end of their turn. Character trying to 
  maintain their position relative to the riverbank can spend some or 
  all of their turn swimming upstream.
   Swept Away: Characters swept away by a river moving 60 feet 
  per round or faster must make DC 20 Swim checks every round to 
  avoid going under. Characters with a check result of 5 or more over 
  
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  the Difficulty arrest their motion by catching a rock, tree limb, or 
  bottom snag—they are no longer being carried along by the flow of 
  the water. Escaping the rapids by reaching the bank requires three 
  DC 20 Swim checks in a row. Characters arrested by a rock, limb, or 
  snag can’t escape under their own power unless they strike out into 
  the water and attempt to swim their way clear. Other characters can 
  rescue them as if they were trapped in quicksand.
  NON-FLOWING WATER
  Lakes and oceans simply require a successful Swim check or the 
  Swimming power to move through. Characters need a way to 
  breathe if they’re underwater; failing that, they risk drowning. When 
  underwater, characters can move in any direction as if they were 
  flying (with good maneuverability, if that option is in use, except for 
  the inability to swim backward).
  STEALTH AND DETECTION UNDERWATER
  How far you can see underwater depends on the water’s clarity. As a 
  guideline, creatures can see 60 feet if the water is clear, and 30 feet 
  if it’s murky. Moving water is always murky, unless it’s in a particu-
  larly large, slow-moving river.
  INVISIBILITY
  A solid invisible creature displaces water and leaves a visible, body-
  shaped “bubble” in the water. The creature still has concealment 
  (20% miss chance), but not total concealment (50% miss chance). 
  At the GM’s option certain power descriptors may be unaffected 
  by this, and a power feat may be available to extend invisibility to 
  aquatic environments.
  UNDERWATER COMBAT
  Land-based creatures have difficulty when fighting in water. Water 
  affects a creature’s Defense, attack rolls, damage, and movement. 
  In some cases opponents may get a bonus on attacks. The effects 
  are summarized in the accompanying Combat Adjustments 
  Underwater table. They apply whenever a character is swimming, 
  walking in chest-deep water, or walking along the bottom. 
  RANGED ATTACKS UNDERWATER
  Thrown weapons are ineffective underwater, even when launched 
  from land. Attacks with other ranged weapons take a –2 penalty on 
  attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through, in addition to 
  the normal penalties for range.
  ATTACKS FROM LAND
  Characters swimming, floating, or treading water on the surface, or 
  wading in water at least chest deep, have improved cover (+8 bonus 
  to Defense, +4 bonus on Reflex saves) from opponents on land. A 
  completely submerged creature has total cover against opponents 
  on land.
  FIRE
  Powers and effects with a fire descriptor are ineffective underwater. 
  The surface of a body of water also blocks the effect of any such 
  power.
  FLOODS
  In spring, an enormous snowmelt can engorge the streams and riv-
  ers it feeds. Other catastrophic events such as massive rainstorms or 
  the destruction of a dam can create floods as well.
   During a flood, rivers become wider, deeper, and swifter. Fords 
  may disappear for days, bridges may be swept away, and even fer-
  ries might not be able to manage the crossing of a flooded river. A 
  river in flood makes Swim checks one category harder (calm water 
  becomes rough, and rough water becomes stormy). Rivers also 
  become 50% swifter.
  RADIATION SICKNESS
  The basic guidelines for radiation exposure (see the Combat chapter 
  of M&M) assume “comic book” radiation, which is usually treated as 
  a damaging energy (like electricity or heat). For more realistic radia-
  tion exposure guidelines, you can use the following, best reserved 
  for high-realism settings.
   When characters are exposed to radiation, they may be afflicted 
  with radiation sickness. Radiation sickness functions like exposure 
  to any other disease, following the normal rules for diseases. The 
  Fortitude save DC and the effects of radiation sickness vary with the 
  dose of radiation.
   Radiation exposure has five degrees: mild, low, moderate, high, 
  and severe. To determine the degree of exposure, start with the 
  type of exposure: either an irradiated area (such as the area near a 
  nuclear explosion, after the fact, or a lab that has been flooded with 
  radioactive gas), or a specific source of radiation (such as a lump 
  of radioactive material). Then consult the Radiation Exposure 
  table to determine the degree of exposure based on the total time of 
  exposure within a given 24-hour period (rounding up).
   The degree of the exposure determines the severity of the radia-
  tion sickness, as indicated on the Radiation Sickness table.
  Example: Patriot, in recovering some cracked canisters of 
  highly radioactive material, suffers a high degree of radia-
  tion exposure. At the end of the day, the GM has Patriot’s 
  player make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 21 for high expo-
  sure). If the save fails, Patriot loses 3 points of Constitution 
  six hours later (the “incubation period” for high exposure). 
  COMBAT ADJUSTMENTS UNDERWATER
  CONDITION
  ATTACK
  DAMAGE
  MOVEMENT
  DODGE BONUS?
  Environmental Adaptation
  normal
  normal
  normal
  Yes
  Swimming power
  –2
  half
  normal
  Yes
  Successful Swim check
  –2
  half
  quarter or half
  Yes
  Firm footing
  –2
  half
  half
  Yes
  None of the above
  –2
  half
  normal
  No
  
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  Each day thereafter, Patriot’s player makes another DC 
  21 Fortitude save, and Patriot loses another 3 points of 
  Constitution per failed save. A successful save means no 
  Con loss that day, while two successful saves in a row mean 
  the radiation sickness has run its course.
  TREATING RADIATION SICKNESS
  Radiation sickness is considered a treatable disease that can be 
  cured using the “treat disease” aspect of the Medicine skill and 
  by the Healing and Regeneration powers. Advanced medicine and 
  advanced technology can also eliminate radiation sickness or obvi-
  ate its harmful effects, at the GM’s discretion.
  THE LEGAL SYSTEM
  The old adage “crime never pays” is more wishful thinking than gos-
  pel truth. If crime never paid, there would be no criminals, and yet 
  there are plenty of people willing to go outside the law to get what 
  they want. More importantly, without criminals, M&M heroes would 
  have a lot less to do.
   Even in a world of superheroes, it’s not difficult to imagine why 
  a villain might embark on a life of crime, especially when lots of 
  money is involved. Fame (or rather infamy) may also be a factor. 
  Think of the media attention focused on famous real-world crimes 
  and criminals, and imagine the same types of crimes committed by 
  villains in colorful costumes with superhuman powers and larger-
  than-life personalities. Think a lot of people were glued to their 
  television sets to watch some of the sensationalist trails of the past 
  decade? Put a super-criminal on trail and you have a ready-made 
  “reality show” sure to send cable news channel ratings into the 
  stratosphere.
   Superheroic involvement in crime fighting usually ends after the 
  villain is handed over to the authorities, but what happens when the 
  criminal justice system goes into action? These optional rules look 
  at handling criminal trials in the context of the game. They focus on 
  the American legal system (the setting for most superhero comics) 
  but can be modified to work with similar criminal justice systems 
  featuring adversarial trials.
   Mutants & Masterminds is a superhero RPG, not a game of 
  playing lawyers. Your players will have the most fun fighting the 
  supervillains rather than sitting in a courtroom listening to attorneys 
  wrangle over forensic evidence. Memorable superhero games focus 
  on action and leave the uninteresting details in the background. 
  That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t include the occasional 
  courtroom drama in your series.
   The system in this section allows you to quickly determine the out-
  come of a criminal trial without a lot of effort or preparation. It’s not 
  a detailed model of the criminal justice system, but should suffice to 
  determine if this week’s supervillain is going to prison and how long 
  before he’ll be able to exact revenge on the heroes who sent him 
  there.
   Keeping track of the legal status of your campaign villains has the 
  added benefit of providing your players with clear evidence of their 
  heroes’ successes. and can aid their future cases. If Dr. Stratos just 
  broke out of prison, and a new crime bears his modus operandi, then 
  chances are he’s involved. More interesting still, what if Dr. Stratos is 
  still in prison? Could he still be responsible for this new crime, or is 
  someone else imitating his M.O. and his powers? This kind of detail 
  can help bring your setting to life.
  RADIATION EXPOSURE
  TIME OF EXPOSURE (MINIMUM)
  SITUATION
  1 ROUND
  1 MINUTE
  10 MINUTES
  1 HOUR
  1 DAY
  Character in irradiated area:
  Lightly irradiated
  mild
  mild
  mild
  mild
  low
  Moderately irradiated
  mild
  mild
  low
  low
  moderate
  Highly irradiated
  low
  low
  moderate
  moderate
  high
  Severely irradiated
  moderate
  moderate
  high
  high
  severe
  Character exposed to radiation source:
  Lightly radioactive materials
  mild
  mild
  low
  low
  low
  Moderately radioactive materials
  low
  low
  moderate
  moderate
  moderate
  Highly radioactive materials
  moderate
  moderate
  high
  high
  high
  Severely radioactive materials
  high
  high
  severe
  severe
  severe
  RADIATION SICKNESS
  DEGREE OF EXPOSURE
  FORTITUDE SAVE DC
  INCUBATION PERIOD
  INITIAL AND SECONDARY DAMAGE
  Mild
  12
  1 day
  1 Con
  Low
  15
  12 hours
  1 Con
  Moderate
  18
  9 hours
  2 Con
  High
  21
  6 hours
  3 Con
  Severe
  24
  3 hours
  6 Con
  
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  TRIAL CHECKS
  So your players’ heroes have turned over the villain-of-the-week to 
  the authorities. With a single d20 roll, you can make a trial check 
  to determine the villain’s fate. First, however, you need to determine 
  the severity of the villain’s crime (or crimes) and the circumstances 
  surrounding it.
  STEP 1: SEVERITY
  A mass murderer is looking at a more severe sentence than the 
  costumed kid who knocked over a liquor store. Consult the Crime 
  Severity table to determine the severity of the character’s alleged 
  crime. Use only the most severe crime to determine the modifier, fall-
  ing back on grand theft or mass murder for crimes in which a lot of 
  stuff was stolen or a lot of people were killed. While the villain may 
  stand trial for many crimes at once, only the most serious matters for 
  purposes of the trial check.
  CRIME SEVERITY
  EXAMPLES
  SEVERITY
  MODIFIER
  Corruption, possession, pandering, theft, vice
  Minor
  –0
  Arson, assault, burglary, grand theft, larceny, 
  trafficking
  Moderate
  –2
  Kidnapping, murder, rape
  Newsworthy
  –4
  Mass murder, serial murder, terrorism, treason, war 
  crimes
  Memorable
  –6
  Genocide, world dominations
  Infamous
  –8
  STEP 2: MODIFIERS
  If facts were all that mattered in a trial, prison populations would 
  look a lot different. Circumstantial factors such as good lawyers, 
  biased juries, and even physical appearance can affect a trial one 
  way or another. To determine if these factors apply, consult the fol-
  lowing chart. All applicable modifiers stack to determine a total 
  modifier.
   For simplicity’s sake, you can use a shorthand of a +2 modifier 
  for favorable conditions and a –2 modifier for unfavorable condi-
  tions, as usual. You can also apply other modifiers as you see fit 
  for conditions not given on the table. For example, if a particular 
  type of superhuman in your setting is viewed with greater suspicion 
  (mutants, mystics, etc.) then such characters may suffer a negative 
  modifier when they come to trial.
  CIRCUMSTANCE MODIFIERS
  CIRCUMSTANCE
  MODIFIER
  Attractive feat
  +1
  Benefit feat
  +1 or more
  Connected feat
  +2
  Wealth
  +1 per 5 points over 10
  Prior convictions
  –2 each
  Prior retrials (this trial only)
  –2 each
  Unusual-looking
  –1 or more
  
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  STEP 3: TRIAL MODIFIER
  Determine the defendant’s trial modifier by adding the severity mod-
  ifier to any circumstantial modifiers that apply. Remember only the 
  most severe crime adds to the severity modifier, while all applicable 
  circumstance modifiers stack.
  STEP 4: CHECK RESULT
  Simulate the trial with a trial check: a d20 roll plus the defendant’s 
  total trial modifier. Consult the Trial Results table to determine 
  the defendant’s fate.
   Remember, just because a judge sentences a villain to a certain 
  time behind bars doesn’t mean the character will be out of circula-
  tion that long. Prison breaks are a staple of comic book stories, and 
  should appear pretty regularly in most M&M games.
  TRIAL RESULTS
  CHECK RESULT
  TRIAL RESULT
  20+
  Found innocent and released
  19–15
  Commuted sentence (counts as “prior conviction” for future 
  checks), released.
  14–10
  Convicted and sentenced to 1d20 weeks in prison.
  9–5
  Convicted and sentenced to 1d20 months in prison.
  4–0
  Convicted and sentenced to 1d20 years in prison.
  –1 or less
  Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment or death 
  (GM’s option).
  ADVENTURES
  It’s harder to provide challenges for heroes able to fly and ignore 
  gunfire, and some powers can short-circuit plots altogether, if they 
  are not handled properly. On the other hand, super-powers also pro-
  vide plot hooks and opportunities for new rewards players can earn 
  during the game.
   There are a couple things to keep in mind running M&M adven-
  tures. The first is to allow heroes the opportunity to actually use their 
  abilities. The second is to keep the game from becoming entirely 
  about those abilities and not the heroes.
  SPOTLIGHT TIME
  An important part of having powers is the opportunity to use them. 
  After all, each player has devoted points to powers, so they should 
  be able to have fun with them. Therefore, every adventure should 
  ideally offer “spotlight time” to each hero, letting them all show off 
  their abilities.
   This means spotlighting the particular abilities of each hero, which 
  may differ considerably. You can spotlight combat-related abilities 
  with a fight, but that doesn’t necessarily suit the skulker, who needs 
  an opportunity to sneak around, or the clairvoyant, who wants a 
  chance to demonstrate his unique insight. It also includes any non-
  powered characters in the group. They need spotlight time just as 
  much (if not more!) than the ones with powers.
   Try and ensure each adventure has opportunities for all of the 
  heroes to shine, whatever their powers and abilities may be. This 
  usually means some get to take center stage in one scene, then step 
  aside for others in another part of the adventure. Sometimes it’s 
  impossible (or just impractical) to include spotlight time for everyone 
  in the same adventure. When this happens, at least try and balance 
  things out over the course of multiple adventures. If you run a com-
  bat-intensive game where the skulkers and thinkers don’t have much 
  to do, try to have an espionage-style adventure not long thereafter 
  to give them their time in the spotlight.
   If there are particular powers or abilities you don’t think you’ll be 
  able to spotlight in the campaign at all—either because you don’t like 
  the type of adventures involving them or because they don’t fit into 
  your idea of the campaign’s style—you’re better off asking players not 
  to create heroes with those powers right from the beginning. That 
  way, you can be sure to include everyone and the players won’t feel 
  neglected or cheated of opportunities for their characters to shine.
  THE HUMAN TOUCH
  While it’s important to allow the heroes to show off their powers, it 
  is equally important to have adventures and encounters where the 
  heroes’ powers don’t really matter, where it’s the human and not the 
  superhuman element that’s significant.
   Focusing on interpersonal relationships and subplots is a good 
  way of doing this. Provide a recurring supporting cast for the 
  campaign to give the heroes opportunities to interact and form rela-
  tionships. Encourage the players to roleplay and interact in-character 
  during the game. Then you can include subplots to give the heroes a 
  human touch: a powerful wizard worries about his ailing mentor and 
  hopes to find a cure for the ravages of age; a teen superhero is hid-
  ing her powers from her family and trying to get a date for the prom 
  while battling supervillains downtown; the monster-slaying hero has 
  to reconcile his love for a beautiful and seductive vampire, who may 
  or may not be leading him on; and so forth.
   You can also introduce challenges in adventures where the heroes’ 
  powers don’t make any real difference. Being immune to bullets and 
  able to pick up buses doesn’t necessarily give a hero an immedi-
  ate solution to a tense hostage or rescue situation. Divinely granted 
  powers may not help a hero resolve a schism over religious doctrine. 
  Being able to read minds may actually complicate matters for a 
  heroine trying to have a “normal” relationship with a non-psychic… 
  especially when she suspects there’s something her significant other 
  isn’t telling her.
   When creating adventures, ask yourself these two questions: What 
  are the best opportunities to spotlight the characters’ capabilities, 
  and what are the best opportunities to spotlight the characters as 
  individuals?
  POWERS AS PLOTS
  Powers also serve as plot hooks, providing ideas for different adven-
  tures and complications. Some of the more common power-based 
  plots include the following:
  SECRET ORIGIN
  Clues may arise about the true origin or source of a mysterious 
  power. Perhaps someone turns up claiming to be a long-lost relative 
  with similar or identical powers and knowledge of a character’s true 
  origins. A religious cult might attach itself to a hero, proclaiming him 
  their messiah and fervently believing his powers are divinely given 
  (whether they are or not). Conversely, monster-hunters may attack, 
  claiming the hero’s powers are actually a sign of demonic influence, 
  or even possession. Some claims may be misguided, delusional, or 
  attempts to scam the hero, but others may be true (at least, from a 
  certain point of view).
  
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  POWER ALTERATION
  Some incident alters a hero’s powers in some way, creating new 
  opportunities and headaches. Examples include sudden temporary 
  increases or decreases in power rank, shifts in power focus (a fire-
  controller switches over to harnessing cold or water for a time), 
  temporary loss of powers altogether, or the sudden acquisition of 
  new powers. An accident may even cause a group of characters to 
  switch powers! Such alterations are usually temporary, lasting no 
  more than one or two adventures, and resolved by the end of the 
  story. Still, some power alterations may be permanent, or lead to less 
  serious lasting changes once they’re resolved.
  POWER IMPROVEMENT
  Chances to improve powers can lead to adventures. Heroes may 
  seek out teachers, guides, or experts to assist them. They may need 
  rare elements or devices to expand or alter their powers, and some 
  improvements may only be possible under certain conditions or at 
  specific times. A patron may require a quest or similar undertak-
  ing before granting additional power. Conversely, heroes may take 
  up a task to remove flaws or even rid themselves of an unwanted 
  or uncontrolled power. Antagonists may dangle opportunities for 
  power improvement in front of the heroes as bribes or tempta-
  tions.
  UNCONTROLLED POWER
  An uncontrolled power can certainly cause complications. A normally 
  controlled power can also become uncontrolled as a complication 
  due to accident, injury, and so forth. This can create problems dur-
  ing an otherwise routine adventure, as the hero and his allies try to 
  cope with the unpredictable power. Perhaps a particularly inauspi-
  cious event (celestial alignment, passing comet, holy day, sunspots, 
  dimensional shift, or whatever) causes some or even all powers to 
  become uncontrolled for a while!
  MEANINGFUL CHALLENGES
  How do you offer meaningful challenges to heroes able to shrug 
  off bullets, fly through the air, see through walls, or read minds? 
  (Or all of the above!) Some traditional adventure challenges become 
  almost meaningless when super-powers get involved, so you need to 
  either adjust the level of challenge according to the powers or find 
  new things to challenge the heroes.
  THREAT OF FORCE
  In many settings a gunshot or dagger thrust is a serious concern. 
  This isn’t the case when you’ve got sufficient Toughness to shrug off 
  such puny weapons, or even greater attacks, without even flinching. 
  How do you threaten heroes who are practically invulnerable, or pos-
  sess combat traits great enough to win any fight they get into?
   The first, and most obvious, way is using overwhelming force. A 
  hero is immune to bullets? How well can he handle a bazooka or a 
  shoulder-fired missile? He is one of the world’s greatest martial art-
  ists? What about one of his close rivals, or even one of the handful 
  of fighters in the world better than him?
   Oftentimes threats of force are a matter of scale: there’s nearly 
  always a greater force to use against the character, although it’s 
  difficult to justify that force all the time. An ordinary mugger isn’t 
  going to be carrying hand-grenades, and the guards at a top-secret 
  facility aren’t all going to be among the top ten unarmed fighters in 
  the world. Such routine challenges just aren’t challenging for some-
  one with extraordinary powers, which is just as it should be.
   One concern with overwhelming force is it can be too overwhelm-
  ing; the hero virtually immune to gunfire might be seriously hurt 
  by an anti-tank rocket. This becomes especially true when dealing 
  with very powerful attacks and defenses. There’s a huge differ-
  ence between a conventional weapon and a tacnuke, for example. 
  Beware that you don’t overwhelm characters when trying to chal-
  lenge them.
   When high Impervious Toughness scores are an obstacle, you can 
  use more exotic sorts of attacks, either with extras like Alternate 
  Save, Disease, or Poison, or powers like Dazzle, Drain, Nauseate, and 
  Stun. Tough heroes may still need to breathe, or have other weak 
  spots. Again, be careful attacks bypassing the target’s Toughness 
  aren’t too powerful. Still, having unusual attacks show up from time 
  to time can keep players on their toes and prevent them from becom-
  ing complacent in their invulnerability.
   Then there are always threats of force against others. Sure, the hero 
  may be nigh-invulnerable, but odds are his friends and loved ones, or 
  even his teammates, aren’t. Enemies may take hostages, or threaten 
  the hero with attacks he could surely survive, but which will also devas-
  tate the surrounding area. Even if you can walk away unharmed from 
  a nuclear blast, do you really want one to go off in the middle of your 
  home town? The collateral damage around an otherwise invulnerable 
  target can be as serious as personal injury in some ways, perhaps even 
  worse. This is typically an advantage villains have over heroes; many 
  care nothing for collateral damage or harm to others and so take full 
  advantage of their own invulnerability.
  
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  MYSTERIES
  Powers like ESP and Telepathy can make a mockery of any mystery in 
  an adventure. With a single successful check, the hero has it all fig-
  ured out. Game over. How do you pose a mystery for such abilities?
   The most straightforward means is to prevent the powers from 
  solving the problem. For example, perhaps the murderer has amne-
  sia and doesn’t know he’s the guilty party (keeping a telepath from 
  solving it). Or the criminal has powers of his own and uses them to 
  cover his tracks with, for example, a version of Nullify, clearing any 
  trace evidence that powers like Postcognition or Super-Senses might 
  pick up later. These tend to be rather brute-force methods, since they 
  render the powers the player paid points for relatively useless. You 
  shouldn’t over-use them or players may rightly feel cheated.
   A more complex option is to make the powers key to solving the 
  mystery without making it an easy solution. Perhaps it’s a crime or 
  riddle so baffling that powers are required to even have a chance of 
  figuring it out (a good reason for the heroes to get involved in the first 
  place: the problem is beyond the conventional authorities). Perhaps a 
  medium can contact the spirit of a murder victim, but there are spiri-
  tual obstacles in the way. A special ritual is necessary to contact the 
  victim, and even then things are not what they appear. For example, 
  the victim may have actually committed suicide, but a guilty relative 
  arranged things to look like murder to cover up the truth.
   Finally, you can start a mystery based on an extrasensory ability. 
  Perhaps someone has a precognitive vision of his own death, and has 
  to figure out how and when it will happen in order to prevent it. A 
  telepath may pick up a stray thought from someone in a crowd, sug-
  gesting a threat of violence. Now he must find the criminal before 
  his scheme can go forward, and also find solid evidence to take to 
  the authorities, since telepathic scans aren’t sufficient to arrest or 
  convict someone!
  TIME AND DISTANCE
  Many challenges in adventures involve issues of time and distance: 
  heroes have to travel from place to place (often through perilous 
  terrain), cross yawning chasms, ford rushing rivers, and get where 
  they’re going in the nick of time. Such challenges are far less seri-
  ous for those able to fly, teleport, or walk through solid walls, to 
  say nothing of heroes able to travel through time or jump across 
  dimensional barriers!
   In some cases, the ability to ignore trifles (like travel time) suits 
  M&M campaigns just fine. For example, superheroes rarely worry 
  about getting from place to place; they make the trip “between 
  panels” in a negligible amount of time. On the other hand, some 
  challenges rely on travel to one degree or another. If heroes can 
  bypass every wall, fence, gate, and locked door with ease, then those 
  things aren’t viable challenges.
   While lesser challenges of time and distance are simply irrelevant 
  to those with the right powers, you can pose others. For example, if 
  a teleporter needs to see or properly visualize his destination, then 
  a maze or a location an indeterminate distance underground may 
  make it more difficult (and risky) to make the jump. Perhaps a hero 
  can assume insubstantial form to pass through a wall, but risks 
  drawing the attention of evil wraiths, able to attack him in that 
  form; and should one of them happen to stun him while he’s inside 
  the wall…
  SOCIAL TABOOS
  Tremendous power allows its wielder to ignore many of the rules of 
  society, both written and unwritten. This is particularly true for those 
  largely immune to harm and having no need of society’s protection 
  or support. With the power to do as they please, heroes may wonder: 
  why should they follow society’s rules? Who’s going to stop them, if 
  they don’t?
   Probably no one, if the violations of social taboo are relatively 
  minor and infrequent. Throughout history, the powerful have been 
  able to get away with a great deal more than the weak and power-
  less. Odds are the same is true of those with superhuman powers. 
  However, the greater the violation, the more likely someone or 
  something will intervene to put a stop to it. Possibilities include the 
  following:
  PEERS
  he first, and most likely, reaction comes from the character’s close 
  friends, family, and associates (possibly including other player char-
  acters). Unless the violator is a hermit with no social life, and his 
  violations are comparatively minor, he will face the disapproval of 
  those close to him. The GM can use the reactions of these characters 
  to tell players they’re making inappropriate choices.
  ROLE MODELS
  A useful way of getting the message about socially unacceptable 
  behavior across to players is through a role model, someone the char-
  acter looks up to or respects. This might be a teacher, mentor, elder 
  statesman, or other experienced NPC. The reprimand might come 
  in the form of a stern lecture, the cold shoulder, or even stronger 
  measures. For example, an experienced hero might feel compelled 
  
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  to bring a wayward peer back to the straight-and-narrow (or to the 
  justice of a court!).
  SOCIAL OUTCRY
  After the people closest to the offender, society in general reacts 
  to any misdeeds. The offender may be shunned in polite society at 
  best, or face legal prosecution at worst. A negative reputation is a 
  virtual certainty, affecting reactions toward the character accord-
  ingly. In the extreme, there may even be an entire social movement 
  against the character (or supers in general).
  HIGHER POWERS
  The ultimate social arbiters may be higher beings, either actual gods 
  or others acting in their stead. In settings where higher powers inter-
  vene, they may do so to prevent abuses of power, especially if they 
  control those forces! Characters with divine abilities may lose them 
  for misbehaving, and wielders of other powers may still face higher 
  judgment if they flout social and moral codes. GMs should feel free 
  to give players due warning of such punishment, either in the form 
  of tales of others who have suffered it in the past or a “first warning” 
  from the Powers That Be when they stray too close to crossing the 
  line. (See Oversight in Chapter 5.)
  NORMALS
  When the heroes have powers, it can be difficult to make normal 
  people much of a challenge. That’s in keeping with the comic book 
  superhero genre, where heroes mow through hordes of minions and 
  lesser opponents, and stand head-and-shoulders above ordinary 
  humanity. However, when you want to have an otherwise normal 
  person pose a challenge, how do you do it?
   The solution lies in the definition of “normal.” While someone may 
  be entirely normal physically, and have no powers of any kind, that 
  doesn’t mean he can’t challenge a super-powered character, or even 
  a group of them. Just consider some of the advantages a normal 
  person might have:
  NUMBERS
  One advantage of normal people: there sure are a lot of them. No 
  matter how powerful a hero is, the normal population outnumbers 
  him by a considerable amount. He may be able to take down one 
  soldier easily, but what about ten, a hundred, or even a thousand? 
  What about an entire army? While throwing armies at the heroes 
  shouldn’t be commonplace (except in the most over-the-top adven-
  tures), it is a potential threat leveled against supers who get out 
  of hand. Even on a smaller scale, numbers can make a difference. 
  Trained fighters will use flanking techniques, try and gang up on 
  their opponents, and otherwise seek to take advantage of their 
  superior numbers.
  RESOURCES
  Wealth (and associated resources) can be a great leveler. While a 
  normal antagonist might not have the power to face the heroes in 
  a head-on confrontation, he may be able to hire people who can, as 
  well as bodyguards to keep any super enemies at bay. A wealthy foe 
  can buy out businesses (or simply ruin them), bribe people to cause 
  trouble, and spend money on things like media smear campaigns 
  and whatever countermeasures are available for powers in the cam-
  paign.
  EQUIPMENT
  Wealth and resources can also provide all sorts of useful technology. 
  This includes countermeasures against powers and other things that 
  help even out a mismatch. How much equipment can help depends 
  on what’s available: a normal person might only have access to com-
  mon equipment, but some could also afford various devices, edging 
  into the realm of having artificial powers of a sort.
  INFLUENCE
  As useful, as material resources, if not more so, is the goodwill of the 
  community. A normal adversary with a good reputation and a lot 
  of influence can cause plenty of trouble, and there’s very little the 
  heroes can do about it unless they want to provoke a tremendous 
  public backlash. For example, they may know a certain philanthropic 
  businessman secretly hates them and is trying to ruin them, but if 
  they move openly against him, they’ll only support his claim that 
  they are a menace to society, and the authorities will try to protect 
  him! The same can be true of an ambitious politician, or a crime-lord 
  masquerading as an “honest citizen.”
  BLACKMAIL
  Many people have skeletons in their closet, and the powerful can 
  have very dark secrets. Perhaps someone uncovers a secret about the 
  heroes important enough to provide leverage, especially if the black-
  mailer had the foresight to ensure it will get out should something 
  happen to him.
  DEPENDENTS
  A hero’s dependents—friends, family, and loved ones—can become 
  targets of foes looking for leverage or influence over him. A foe sim-
  ply out for revenge may resort to striking at his target’s loved ones, 
  knowing it will hurt far worse than if he simply killed the hero out-
  right!
  VULNERABILITIES
  Powers often come with weaknesses. In addition to the various 
  countermeasures that might take away or neutralize a hero’s pow-
  ers, there may be other things a knowledgeable enemy can use 
  against him. A demon vulnerable to holy relics might confront a 
  normal foe who has surrounded himself with them, for example, 
  and who seeks refuge on holy ground. A hero weakened by a mys-
  terious glowing mineral finds his worst foe has acquired a supply 
  he keeps close at hand. A vampire hero must deal with a crusading 
  priest supplied with garlic, holy water, and wooden stakes, and so 
  forth.
   Normal adversaries may combine some or all of these advantages. 
  For example, a government official designed as a foil may wield the 
  influence of the law and have the support of public opinion (as well 
  as law enforcement). A criminal businessman may have considerable 
  wealth, some equipment, and the willingness to use both to ferret 
  out his enemies’ secrets. The “demon-hunting” priest combines the 
  resources of the church with intimate knowledge of his prey’s weak-
  nesses and a flock of fanatically loyal followers.
  OPPOSITION POWER LEVEL
  Power level in M&M is used as a general guideline to balance heroes 
  against each other and to provide the Gamemaster with an idea of 
  what constitutes a suitable challenge for those heroes.
  
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   Generally speaking, an opponent of the same power level as a 
  hero should provide a reasonable challenge: able to affect the hero 
  in some fashion, with traits—particularly skill and powers—sufficient 
  to challenge the hero’s capabilities. Likewise, a similar sized group 
  of opponents of the same power level should provide a reasonable 
  challenge: four power level 10 villains against four PL 10 heroes, for 
  example.
   Differences in power level provide different challenges. As a rough 
  guideline, each additional power level over the campaign’s PL makes 
  a character suitable for taking on one additional opponent. So a 
  PL 14 villain in a PL 10 campaign is a suitable foe for a group of 
  five heroes; a PL 19 villain can likely take on many more! Note that 
  beyond a difference of five or so power levels, a foe’s power can 
  increase dramatically. The aforementioned PL 19 villain could poten-
  tially take on dozens of PL 10 heroes, with the right selection of 
  powers (such as Immunity and Impervious Toughness) and saving 
  throw bonuses making him nigh invulnerable to their abilities.
   Likewise, lower power level foes are less of a challenge: for every 
  decrease in power level, an additional foe of the same PL can be 
  added to provide a sufficient challenge. Four PL 7 villains can go up 
  against a single PL 10 hero, for example (although they can expect 
  to take some losses in doing so).
   These guidelines are estimates only: the liberal awarding of hero 
  points and use of GM Fiat (see Chapter 6 of M&M) allow you to 
  fine-tune a particular encounter. Keep in mind that you generally 
  want the early encounters of an adventure to be more difficult, 
  allowing the players opportunities to earn hero points they can carry 
  forward to the later encounters and the adventure’s climax.
   Finally there are plot device characters (page 211, M&M), the 
  ultimate challenge, since they are exactly as powerful as you, the 
  Gamemaster, want and need them to be. Even the most powerful 
  hero pales in comparison to cosmic forces able to alter reality as 
  they see fit. Plot device characters aren’t even on the power level 
  scale, since nobody has a chance in any sort of convention conflict 
  against them. Overcoming such a foe is usually more a matter of 
  cleverness or overcoming whatever other challenge(s) you pose to 
  the players, such as winning a riddle contest, or being willing to 
  make a great sacrifice (thereby robbing the villain of his power), for 
  example.
  MEANINGFUL REWARDS
  Just like many challenges seem insignificant to heroes with the 
  power to move mountains, so too the rewards of wealth, influence, 
  and so forth may not matter much to them. What’s the use of wealth 
  when a hero has no material wants or needs? What influence equals 
  the power to control minds? Game Masters need to consider appro-
  priate rewards for powerful heroes.
   These rewards are in addition to the simple enjoyment of playing 
  the game, of course, which is a reward everyone gets! It may well 
  be enough for some players, who don’t really care about getting 
  rewards other than having fun. This section addresses options for 
  those players who do care, and might find rewards otherwise lacking 
  in a M&M game.
  ACHIEVEMENT
  Those with great power are capable of achieving great things, and 
  players may want those achievements for their heroes. If so, you can 
  make accomplishing a particular goal a reward of sorts. Encourage 
  the players to come up with lists of goals or things the heroes want to 
  
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  accomplish. You can then work them into the overall campaign, intro-
  ducing them as subplots or even building adventures around them.
   The best goals for this purpose are ones you can break down 
  into steps, allowing the heroes to accomplish them a little at a 
  time until they reach the ultimate goal. Some goals may be short-
  term and others long-term, possibly lasting for the duration of the 
  campaign.
   For example, a group of heroes may have cleaning up crime in a 
  city as their overall goal. Each also has individual goals: vengeance 
  against an old enemy, attaining honor and recognition, redemption, 
  finding a lost parent, and so forth. Achieving each goal provides 
  a sense of accomplishment. The goals also suggest stories and 
  may even create conflict in the game; for example, maybe they 
  learn that the hero’s lost parent has ties to another hero’s nemesis. 
  Gamemasters can use goals as story hooks while players can use 
  them as roleplaying cues, and they may suggestion complications 
  for earning hero points.
  KNOWLEDGE
  Most stories have their mysteries and unanswered questions. Finding 
  the answers to those questions can be a suitable reward. What is the 
  secret source of powers in the world? What is the true origin of a 
  hero or villain? What happened to the mentor who vanished years 
  ago? What is the real nature of the conspiracy?
   Like other achievements, knowledge may come in stages. You 
  learn the name of a higher-up in the conspiracy, leading you to his 
  superior, and so forth toward the heart of the matter. Investigations 
  of an ancient ruin turn up fragments of information about a lost 
  artifact, pointing toward additional clues as to its whereabouts, and 
  so forth.
   Knowledge can also come in the form of useful facts: things like 
  a true name of a spirit, a villain’s secret weakness, or a clue to a 
  hero’s missing past. These rewards help guide adventures and plots: 
  once the heroes uncover the villain’s weakness, or learn the secret 
  to unlocking their own hidden powers, then they’re ready for the 
  big confrontation. Before that point, their nemesis may seem all but 
  invincible.
  POWER IMPROVEMENT
  In a game focused on powers, opportunities for power improvement 
  make suitable rewards, particularly unusual or limited opportunities. 
  For example, if power improvement is normally a slow and steady 
  process, then a transformation granting additional power makes 
  an excellent and immediate reward. The same is true of things like 
  finding a teacher, discovering information necessary to learn a new 
  ability, or earning the favor of a higher power, who grants access to 
  new abilities or powers.
  PREVALENCE OF POWERS
  Although M&M campaigns usually feature powers of one sort or 
  another, the prevalence of powers among the general populace can 
  vary greatly from setting to setting. In some, only the main heroes 
  and a few antagonists have any powers at all, while in others nearly 
  everyone has powers!
   Not all powers or origins need be equally prevalent, either. 
  Indeed, in many settings some powers are more common than oth-
  ers. A world could have common superhuman physical powers but 
  rare mental powers, with divine and magical powers being unique or 
  unknown.]
  UNIQUE POWERS
  In a unique powers setting, only a small handful of characters have 
  powers. This may not include the heroes! Usually, though, it means 
  the heroes and a small group of antagonists are the only ones in the 
  world with strange abilities. This may mean everyone gained their 
  powers in the same way, even at the same time. It may also mean 
  all powers come from the same source, although neither has to be 
  the case.
   For example, perhaps everyone in the world with powers was 
  present when one of the gods fell to earth and died, with each of 
  them gaining a portion of the god’s essence (and power). When one 
  power-wielder slays another, he gets that portion of divine essence, 
  thereby increasing his power, and setting the scions of divine power 
  at each others’ throats. As another example, perhaps the small num-
  ber of super-powered characters in the setting are all from alternate 
  worlds, brought together in a single place and time on a world where 
  no one else has powers (perhaps even our world!). The heroes may 
  come from diverse backgrounds with virtually any origin or power, 
  and the same is true of the antagonists.
   Unique powers may not remain so, depending on their origin. 
  In some settings, unique powers are just a stage the world passes 
  through on its way toward powers becoming more widespread.
  RARE POWERS
  Powers in this setting are rare; everyone may have heard of someone 
  with powers, but hasn’t necessarily met one. This tends to be the 
  default for most M&M settings; there are a substantial number of 
  super-powered individuals, but few enough that they’re not every-
  where.
  COMMON POWERS
  Common powers show up often enough that nearly everyone knows 
  someone with powers. The empowered population is a sizeable 
  minority, perhaps even the majority. This may affect how powers are 
  perceived (see Powers and Society in the following section).
   Common powers may be homogeneous, coming from a single source 
  or origin. Everyone may even have the same power! For example, a 
  world might have common mental powers, or even just Telepathy as 
  a common power. On the other hand, a setting with common powers 
  might have diverse smaller populations from multiple power sources 
  and origins: there are people with divine powers, psionic powers, mag-
  ical powers, and other powers they acquired in various ways.
  UNIVERSAL POWERS
  In some unusual settings, everyone has powers! This can range 
  from everyone having the same power to everyone having their own 
  unique power, from one origin or power source to multiple ones.
   For example, in a far future setting, humanity may become a 
  psionic species, with mental powers universal (although some indi-
  viduals have different degrees of power and talent, the same as with 
  any innate ability). A fantasy setting may feature inborn magical 
  knacks, with individual talents determined by the position of the 
  stars, the time of the year, phase of the moon, or some other mystic 
  tide in the universe.
   Note that “universal” is also relative. For example, if the campaign 
  takes place in a hidden city where everyone has super-powers, and 
  adventures take place there primarily, then it seems to be a universal 
  powers setting, even if the no one in the rest of the world has any 
  powers.
  
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  POWERS AND SOCIETY
  How does society at large react to super-powers and those who wield 
  them? Do people with powers hold a special place in society, or are 
  they treated just like everyone else? If the latter, then why? (They’re 
  definitely not “just like everyone else!”)
   Society can react in a number of different ways to powers, and 
  these are not all mutually exclusive. Some segments of society and 
  particular individuals react differently, and there may be different 
  attitudes toward different powers. A culture regarding divine power 
  as a sign of great favor may at the same time see magical powers as 
  a mark of evil. Some powers may be lauded as “natural” while others 
  are seen as “unnatural” or “perverse.” The classic example is mutant 
  powers, often looked upon with suspicion compared to other sorts of 
  super-powers.
   Society may view super-humans as ordinary citizens, special tal-
  ents, or outcasts. Some super-humans may even set themselves up as 
  rulers of society! Certainly, that’s the wish of many super-villains.
  ORDINARY CITIZENS
  People with powers are no different from anyone else, at least in 
  terms of society and its laws. There are three reasons for this: first, 
  society is simply unaware anyone has powers, so there are no laws or 
  social mores concerning them. How society reacts if and when pow-
  ers become known is up to the GM. Second, society has deliberately 
  chosen to treat power-users equally and fairly (or at least relatively 
  so); third is everyone has powers, so they’re not “unusual!”
   This does not mean there are no laws concerning the use of pow-
  ers, only that they’re no more restrictive than the laws concerning 
  everyone else. For example, a crime committed using powers is still 
  a crime. It also means the empowered have no special privileges; 
  they’re not immune to prosecution for misusing their powers.
  SPECIAL TALENTS
  Society acknowledges the “special talents” of supers in some fashion. 
  Of course, this acknowledgement isn’t always positive, since it may 
  entail legal or social restrictions on powers and their use. Powers 
  may also affect society as supers find different ways to use their tal-
  ents. Powers may completely transform some professions and social 
  institutions, including the following.
  COMMUNICATION
  Although technological forms of communication are common in the 
  modern world, they don’t exist in earlier societies. This power may 
  greatly speed up communication, especially in settings where the 
  speed of messages is that of the fastest horse or ship. Instantaneous 
  communication can hold together a large civilization, but can also 
  dog the heroes wherever they may go.
  EDUCATION
  Some mental powers may be effective in providing education and 
  monitoring the progress of students.
  ENTERTAINMENT
  A wide range of powers have entertainment value, ranging from 
  putting on shows to using powers to provide special effects. Some 
  powers even create entirely new forms of entertainment, or addic-
  tions, for that matter.
  EXPLORATION
  Super-explorers can reach places others cannot, at least not easily. 
  Movement powers like Flight or Teleport expand the bounds of explo-
  ration. Powers like Dimensional and Temporal Movement expand it 
  even further. Sensory powers allow explorers to perceive entirely new 
  things about the places and things they explore.
  LAW ENFORCEMENT
  Various combat-related powers are useful to police officers, giving 
  them innate weapons and protection. Even more likely to transform 
  law enforcement are mental powers. Imagine “thought police” 
  able to read a suspect’s mind to know whether or not he’s guilty, 
  or empowered to arrest people just thinking about committing a 
  crime! Abilities like Detect and Postcognition are useful for gath-
  ering evidence and, with the aid of someone with Precognition, 
  police may even stop crimes before they happen. Of course, this 
  raises questions like: if you intend to commit a crime, and a tele-
  path or precognitive senses you will, are you just as guilty as if you 
  had actually done it?
  MEDICINE
  While the Healing power is likely to have the greatest impact on the 
  practice of medicine, other powers may also be useful to empow-
  ered physicians. For example, X-Ray Vision or ESP can replace X-ray 
  machines, Telekinesis can perform surgery without cutting open the 
  body, and the ability to place a subject into a deep sleep or coma 
  can replace the use of anesthetics. There’s also the issue of how tra-
  ditional medicine reacts to the existence of super-powered healers. 
  Are they practicing medicine without a license? How do you license 
  them?
  POLITICS
  The political implications of powers are vast, but some can affect 
  the political process directly. In addition to simply using super-pow-
  ers to grab political power (see Overlords in the following section), 
  abilities like superhuman Charisma or outright Mind Control can 
  have a significant impact. Conversely, powers like Mind Reading and 
  Detect (truth) change the character of political hearings, allowing 
  society to know if their politicians are being honest!
  PSYCHOLOGY
  Mental Transform with a Continuous duration can be a tremendous 
  boon to psychology, allowing neuroses and even psychoses to sim-
  ply be wiped away. Of course, there may be long-term side-effects 
  to such a “brute force” approach to mental health. There’s also the 
  danger of unrestricted “editing” of minds. It’s one thing for someone 
  to volunteer to have his antisocial tendencies corrected, but what 
  about convicted criminals? For that matter, what happens when 
  society begins “correcting” other behavior, such as rebelliousness, 
  unacceptable religious beliefs, or “sexual deviancy” (which may all 
  have far-ranging meanings, depending on who defines them).
  RELIGION
  The existence of divine super-powers may or may not prove the 
  existence of a God or gods (or various other supernatural entities 
  like spirits and demons). At the very least, many powers and power 
  sources have religious implications. Clerics can benefit from the use 
  of powers in their roles as healers, intermediaries, spiritual leaders, 
  
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  135
  and counselors. Some may claim their powers give them special 
  insight into people’s souls, and they may be right! Just as many 
  might claim a super-powered religious figure is false and misleading. 
  Powers could lead to a new era of religious understanding and toler-
  ance or one of schism and holy war.
  SCIENCE
  Scientific study and understanding of some powers may lead to 
  major breakthroughs in science. For example, learning the mecha-
  nism of a teleportation power may lead to artificial teleporters, 
  and the mechanism of telepathy can provide the key to faster-than-
  light communication (or even travel). Of course, some powers may 
  be beyond the understanding of science, especially those powers 
  without a scientific basis (such as magic). Many powers can also 
  be helpful to scientists, allowing them to study phenomena directly 
  without instruments or perform certain experiments without the 
  need for expensive equipment.
  TRANSPORTATION
  Teleporters with enough carrying capacity could revolutionize travel, 
  at least for some. Even if abilities like Teleport aren’t widespread 
  enough for general use, they remain an option for those with access 
  to them in emergencies. Super-fast couriers can carry messages from 
  place to place, or even transport items instantly.
  OUTCASTS
  In some settings those with powers are outcasts: feared, hated, or 
  disdained by society. This becomes more likely if powers originate 
  from something outside of society’s control, making normal people 
  jealous of abilities they can’t have and fearful of what they can’t 
  understand or control.
   Prejudice against supers may take many different forms. At the 
  most basic level, society may institute draconian laws to keep 
  powers under control and prevent supers from having an “unfair 
  advantage.” At greater levels, people might consider certain pow-
  ers (and their wielders) innately evil or dangerous. Governments 
  may ban the use of super-powers and closely monitor and known 
  supers for infractions. The empowered may lose their civil rights, 
  forced to wear identifying marks (clothing, tattoos, bracelets, even 
  tracking implants) to warn “normal” people about them. In the 
  extreme, supers are hunted down and imprisoned, enslaved, or 
  killed.
   Strict regulation and even oppression of powers is often justified 
  by the greater good of society. Some supers may even buy into 
  this, working to police their own kind, or becoming “hounds” to 
  track down and imprison or kill other supers. Collaborators looking 
  to advance their own lot, or trying to keep revolutionaries from 
  rocking the boat, use their powers to support the existing struc-
  ture.
   Societal prejudice may inspire human rights organizations and 
  political groups supporting supers. Some sort of resistance among 
  those with super-powers is also likely. They may try to work within 
  the system to educate and overcome fears toward them, or work in 
  secret to escape from an oppressive society or to overthrow it! In 
  the latter case, supers may one day find themselves in charge of 
  the world that once oppressed them, whether they want to be or 
  not.
  
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  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ
  OVERLORDS
  Supers can use their abilities to set themselves up in charge of soci-
  ety, whether ordinary people like it or not (or whether the supers like 
  it or not, for that matter). Superhuman overlords might be ruthless 
  dictators or enlightened guardians of humanity, doing what they 
  feel is best for everyone. The second type of overlord must always 
  be on guard against turning into the first kind, abusing power and 
  privilege, even if it seems justified at first. 
   If the overlords all draw their power from the same source, then 
  control of that power source ensures rulership and may be a key 
  weakness for rebels to target. Overlords with different power sources 
  may come into conflict because of them. Perhaps there is a hierarchy 
  or caste system of overlords based on different powers or origins.
   Consider what powers overlords have at their disposal and how 
  powerful they are individually. A small handful of overlords can rule 
  the world if they’re powerful enough to sweep away conventional 
  military forces on their own, or if they have sufficient mental powers 
  to pull the strings behind the scenes. “Power” does not always mean 
  fighting ability, however. Less powerful overlords must be on their 
  guard against mundane threats. Some overlords may even be physi-
  cally weaker than normal humans, such as psionicists with atrophied 
  bodies but powerful minds.
   Settings with empowered overlords may have renegades of one sort 
  or another. Perhaps a member of the ruling class has grown dissatis-
  fied with the status quo, or a commoner has somehow tapped into the 
  power reserved solely for the elite. Imagine a theocracy ruled by those 
  empowered by the gods faced with a strange new prophet who claims 
  to have the gods’ favor, and the powers to prove it. Rebels among des-
  potic overlords may try to create a rebellion to overthrow them while 
  renegades from benevolent overlords may be corrupted by power, and 
  even taint the whole of society with their schemes.
  SECRECY
  How well known are powers in the setting? In some settings, powers 
  are a well-kept secret (although they may not stay that way). Powers 
  in other settings are public knowledge (for good or ill). Knowledge 
  of powers affects the style and tone of the campaign, since it deter-
  mines how openly supers use their own abilities.
  SECRET
  The existence of powers may be kept secret for a number of reasons. 
  Supers may fear society’s reaction to their existence (and rightly so). 
  Keeping powers secret provides the element of surprise. Powers may 
  be inherently dangerous or corrupting, things best kept out of the 
  wrong hands. A higher power or powers may forbid revealing their 
  existence to anyone; secrecy may even be a requirement to keep 
  powers functioning!
   Whatever the case, a secret powers campaign has two “worlds”: 
  the mundane world where everyone is ignorant of the existence of 
  powers, and the empowered world, hidden behind the scenes. The 
  mundane world may be similar to our own (from any time in history) 
  or it may not. Layers of secrecy are possible; imagine a setting with 
  physical super-powers but secret mental powers. Psychics have con-
  cealed their existence and true nature out of fear others would hunt 
  them down as threats.
   Subtle powers are best suited to a secret campaign, since keeping 
  powers secret is an important part of the setting. Therefore men-
  tal powers and others with little or no noticeable effect are best. 
  Characters have to be careful how and when they use their pow-
  ers to keep them a secret. Generally, the consequences of discovery 
  should be grave enough to encourage them to do so.
  PRIVATE
  In some settings, powers aren’t generally known, except to a particu-
  lar subculture, usually made up of the empowered themselves. This 
  subculture is large enough to constitute a kind of “world” of its own, 
  where powers are used relatively freely. Supers only need to be care-
  ful when they are forced to interact with “normals.” This approach 
  allows for a bit more freedom than a secret setting, where characters 
  are constantly looking over their shoulders to avoid discovery.
   As an example of a private setting, imagine a “society of night” 
  made up of various monsters and supernatural beings (including 
  humans with supernatural powers). At night, among their own kind, 
  they are free to use their powers as they wish, limited only by the 
  laws of their culture. During the day, or among normal humans, they 
  have to hide their true nature and rely on subtlety to get the job 
  done.
   A world may even have multiple empowered subcultures: a 
  secret magical society, for example, as well as a hidden society of 
  psis, another of genetic mutants, and so forth. These groups may 
  be entirely open with each other or only barely aware of the oth-
  ers. Perhaps the different factions are all locked in a shadowy war 
  behind the scenes with the mundane world none the wiser.
  OPEN
  On many worlds with powers, their existence is public knowledge. 
  People have different opinions and ideas about powers, but pretty 
  much everyone knows about them. This is usually the case in M&M 
  settings.
   Of course, just because the general public knows of powers doesn’t 
  mean they know everything about them. They may not know how 
  they work, for example (in fact, it’s possible nobody knows). Public 
  beliefs about powers may even be entirely wrong. For example, a 
  conspiracy may have convinced the general populace supers are the 
  chosen of divine forces, when in fact their powers come from an 
  entirely different source. In some cases even supers might not know 
  that public beliefs about their powers are incorrect. Superstition, 
  folk-beliefs, and urban legends may color the perception of powers.
  
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  137
  S
  ince the release of Mutants & Masterminds Second Edition, fans 
  have posed many questions about the game and its rules. This 
  Appendix address the most frequently asked of these questions 
  to provide clarifications and additional information for M&M 
  players and Gamemasters.
  GENERAL QUESTIONS
  ARE NPC HEROES CREATED LIKE VILLAINS (DETERMINING THEIR POWER 
  LEVEL BASED ON THEIR TRAITS) OR LIKE PC HEROES (LIMITED BY THE 
  CAMPAIGN’S POWER LEVEL)?
  The former; all NPCs in a Mutants & Masterminds game have their 
  power level determined by what traits they have. The campaign’s 
  power level limit is to keep the player characters on relatively even 
  footing.
  WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COSTUMED ADVENTURER ARCHETYPE’S FEATS?
  They were accidentally left out of the layout. See the Errata for 
  them.
  SOME ARCHETYPES HAVE “IMPERVIOUS TOUGHNESS,” WHERE IS THIS 
  POWER FOUND?
  See the Protection power on page 96, in particular the descrip-
  tion of the Impervious extra. It can specifically be applied to the 
  Toughness save as well, which is the case with those archetypes.
  WHY DO SOME ARCHETYPES HAVE ATTACK, DEFENSE, DAMAGE, OR 
  TOUGHNESS BONUSES GREATER THAN POWER LEVEL 10?
  As specified under Hero Archetypes (fourth paragraph, second 
  sentence): “Several of the archetypes use the Attack/Defense trade-
  off rule (page 24) to adjust their maximum attack, defense, damage, 
  and Toughness save bonuses, as determined by their power level.”
  ABILITIES
  WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR REFLEX SAVING THROWS WHEN YOU ARE FLAT-
  FOOTED?
  Nothing. Being flat-footed has no effect on Reflex saves. A help-
  less character, however, is unable to make Reflex saving throws and 
  automatically fails them. This includes other conditions that cause a 
  character to become helpless, such as paralyzed or unconscious.
  WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR WILL SAVING THROWS WHEN YOU ARE 
  UNCONSCIOUS?
  Also nothing, since it’s assumed that Will saves are an “uncon-
  scious” process, requiring no effort on the character’s part. In fact, 
  unconscious characters are essentially immune to certain mental 
  effects, since they’re incapable of interaction or sensing much of 
  anything.
  FEATS
  IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF FEATS YOU CAN USE IN A ROUND?
  There is no limit to the number of feats you can use per round or 
  per action except for the time required (if any) to use those feats 
  normally. If a feat doesn’t list a time to use it, assume it is a free 
  action.
  CRITICAL STRIKE REQUIRES FAVORED OPPONENT AS A PREREQUISITE. IS 
  IT THEN ONLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST YOUR FAVORED OPPONENTS?
  That’s correct. However, you only need to acquire the Critical Strike 
  feat once to use it against any Favored Opponent(s) you may have.
  THE MARTIAL ARTIST, WEAPON MASTER AND KUNG FU KILLER 
  ARCHETYPES ALL HAVE THE CRITICAL STRIKE FEAT, BUT DO NOT HAVE A 
  FAVORED OPPONENT. HOW IS IT THEY HAVE AND USE CRITICAL STRIKE?
  In this case, Critical Strike essentially grants those characters the 
  ability to spend hero points to emulate Favored Opponent and score 
  a critical hit against an opponent normally immune to them. The 
  player can choose to spend the hero point (or not) when a possible 
  crit is rolled.
  DOES THE TOUGHNESS BONUS FROM DEFENSIVE ROLL AFFECT KNOCKBACK 
  MODIFIER?
  Yes, since the character is assumed to take less of the brunt of the 
  attack.
  WITH THE FEARSOME PRESENCE FEAT, HOW LONG DOES THE EFFECT LAST?
  Treat it as a sustained lasting effect, allowing for a new save for 
  each time interval that passes after the initial saving throw.
  CAN YOU TAKE 10 OR TAKE 20 ON THE INTELLIGENCE ROLL FOR MASTER 
  PLAN?
  No, you can’t take 10 or 20.
  UNCANNY DODGE SAYS YOU “RETAIN YOUR DODGE BONUS WHEN 
  SURPRISED OR FLAT-FOOTED.” DOES THIS MEAN YOU CAN STILL LOSE 
  YOUR DODGE BONUS TO OTHER THINGS, LIKE WHEN YOU’RE CLIMBING 
  OR BALANCING, FOR EXAMPLE?
  Yes. As the feat description says, Uncanny Dodge does not prevent 
  loss of dodge bonus under other conditions, just when flat-footed (at 
  the start of combat) or when subject to a surprise attack.
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  138
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  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ
  POWERS
  WHAT’S THE LIMIT ON MAXIMUM RANKS YOU CAN HAVE IN A POWER IN 
  A CAMPAIGN?
  There is no upper limit to power rank, except those limits specifi-
  cally spelled out on page 24 of M&M. In particular, saving throw 
  Difficulty Class and any effect on saving throw bonuses and abil-
  ity scores are the primary limiters for powers. Powers with none of 
  these effects are limited solely by how many points the character 
  has to spend, and any series-specific limitations imposed by the 
  Gamemaster.
  HOW IS THE VALUE PROGRESSION TABLE APPLIED TO POWERS? IF A 
  POWER STARTS OUT WITH A 5-FT. RADIUS, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW DOES 
  IT PROGRESS?
  The rank of a power isn’t always equivalent to the rank on the Time 
  and Value Progression Table, since it starts out at 1 = x1 to give 
  it a baseline. Start out at whatever value the power begins at and 
  count up from there. So, if a power starts out with a 5 ft. radius, and 
  radius progresses one step up the table per rank, start counting at 5, 
  going to 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, and so forth.
   If you know the progression, you don’t even really need the table. 
  It’s easy to remember: 1, 2.5, 5, then start over again but x10: so it 
  goes 1, 2 (with the .5 rounded down for simplicity), 5, then 10, 25, 
  50, then 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, and so on. So if you 
  know that Flight starts out at 10 MPH and progresses from there 
  you can just count ranks: 1 = 10 MPH, 2 = 25 MPH, 3 = 50 MPH, 
  and so on.
  THE VALUES OF THE VALUE PROGRESSION TABLE CAN BE KIND OF 
  “GRAINY.” HOW, FOR EXAMPLE, DO I GET A CHARACTER WHO HAS ONLY 
  THREE ADDITIONAL LIMBS, OR WHO CAN ELONGATE ONLY 15 FT.?
  The progression skips over some intermediate values simply so 
  it can fit the necessary scale into a reasonable range. Mutants & 
  Masterminds needs to cover powers able to affect a single room to 
  those able to affect continents and planets. That results in a certain 
  amount of “graininess” in the resolution of the progression chart.
   There are basically two ways of handling intermediate values, 
  and it’s up to the GM to decide how they are handled in each indi-
  vidual game. The first is to charge for the next highest value and 
  allow the player to voluntarily limit the character: you can take 
  rank 3 Additional Limbs, for example (which is normally up to five 
  extra limbs) and decide your character only has three. It’s a minor 
  difference, worth only a fraction of a power point, so hardly worth 
  quibbling over.
   Alternately, the GM can allow some characters to take a drawback 
  to reflect that the power doesn’t exploit its full value. This is a 1-
  point drawback at best, and its often problematic, since it’s greater 
  in actual value than the point difference. In the previous example, 
  a character with Additional Limbs 3 with the drawback “Only three 
  Additional Limbs,” gets the power for an effective 2 power points, 
  which is the normal cost for two additional limbs. The character is 
  getting the benefit of the third limb for “free” (although it’s a fairly 
  minor benefit).
   The GM should decide which approach is best, but generally it’s 
  easier to allow players to voluntarily limit their characters to fit their 
  
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  139
  concept and not worry about a fraction of a power point here or 
  there than it is to assign tiny power drawbacks to “shave” points off 
  various powers.
  IF A PERCEPTION RANGE POWER IS REDUCED TO NORMAL OR TOUCH 
  RANGE DOES IT REQUIRE AN ATTACK ROLL? CAN POWER ATTACK WORK 
  WITH IT? CAN IT SCORE A CRITICAL HIT?
  Yes to all. Not needing an attack roll is an inherent part of perception 
  range. If the power’s range is changed, it now needs an attack roll, 
  and is subject to all the normal rules of powers that do so, including 
  attack/save DC trade-offs, the Power Attack feat, and critical hits 
  (along with an automatic miss on a natural 1). 
  YOU CAN’T PLACE A PERCEPTION RANGE POWER ANYWHERE YOU 
  CAN’T ACCURATELY PERCEIVE, BUT CAN THE POWER’S EFFECT WORK ON 
  TARGETS YOU CAN’T PERCEIVE IN THE POWER’S AREA OF EFFECT?
  Essentially, no, they can’t. Area powers are normally a “spread,” 
  which is to say the power spreads out from a starting point, but can 
  be blocked by things like cover. So, for example, an Area Blast (like a 
  fireball or explosion) spreads out from the starting or impact point. 
  A character behind cover relative to the impact point gains its pro-
  tection, and total cover lets him ignore the attack. 
   Perception range area effects can be spreads, in which case 
  they work as mentioned previously: spreading out from a starting 
  point, blocked by cover. They can also be “emanations” wherein 
  the effect covers the entire area at once, but only affects targets 
  the user can accurately perceive. As such, only concealment blocks 
  the effect (although opaque total cover is also total concealment). 
  Pick which type of area the power has when you build/buy it. 
  Mental powers are always emanations, unless they have some 
  physical effect. 
   For example, an Area Mental Blast can target the crooks in an 
  alleyway. The people in the buildings on either side are unaffected, 
  since the mental blaster can’t perceive them. So is the crook hidden 
  behind a dumpster, for the same reason, even though he’s in the 
  radius. 
   Now, if the mental blaster happens to have an accurate sense that 
  perceives through solid objects (e.g., X-Ray Vision, ESP, an accurate 
  mental sense, etc.) then the walls or the dumpster aren’t necessarily 
  barriers to his mental blast, and targets on the other side of them 
  can be affected normally. Of course, in that case, he might want 
  a Selective Attack so he can avoid affecting those innocent people 
  inside the buildings.
  HOW DO I CREATE A PERMANENT ALTERNATE FORM?
  Make the duration of all of the Alternate Form’s non-instant powers 
  permanent and you’ve got it.
  CAN YOU USE ANIMATE OBJECTS ON AN OPPONENT’S DEVICES OR 
  EQUIPMENT?
  You can’t use Animate Objects on devices, since they are powers in 
  their own right. Equipment is fair game, however. This is just one of 
  the limitations of equipment vs. devices. If the GM wants to allow 
  Animate Objects on devices, treat it like a use of Power Control 
  (M&M, page 96) since it’s essentially trying to seize control of one of 
  the subject’s powers.
  DO CONSTRUCTS GET A SAVING THROW AGAINST CORROSION AND 
  DISINTEGRATE?
  They should get a Toughness save in place of the normal Fortitude 
  saving throw against the Toughness reduction. Inanimate objects 
  get no save against the Toughness reduction.
  IS IMPERVIOUS TOUGHNESS MORE EFFECTIVE AGAINST CORROSION AND 
  DISINTEGRATE?
  Yes. Those powers reduce Impervious Toughness by half the usual 
  amount (half the power’s rank, rounded down, rather than the pow-
  er’s full rank).
  CAN YOU USE DEFLECT TO BLOCK MELEE ATTACKS AS WELL AS RANGED 
  ATTACKS?
  Yes, you can use any level of Deflect (except for Deflect usable 
  only against mental attacks) to deflect melee attacks as well. You 
  still use your Deflect rank in place of your attack bonus, so for this 
  to be useful, your Deflect rank should at least equal your melee 
  attack bonus (or it should have some extras that make it superior 
  in other ways).
  IS DEFLECT RANK LIMITED BY POWER LEVEL?
  Yes, the same as attack bonus (for characters with attack bonus 
  trade-offs). Optionally, GMs may choose to consider it a defense 
  bonus for characters, since its primary use is defensive.
  CAN THE HEALING POWER REMOVE A DAZED OR STUNNED CONDITION?
  Yes. It’s a DC 15 Healing check, like the Revive use of the Medicine 
  skill.
  IF YOU USE ILLUSION TO CREATE AN IMAGE, THEN WHO CAN SEE IT?
  Everyone who’d normally be able to sense the image if it were real 
  can do so. The Illusion power creates images rather than affecting 
  specific people, even through it technically “fools the senses.” If the 
  power has the Selective power feat, then the user can decide who 
  senses the illusion and who does not. Likewise, if the power has the 
  Phantasms modifier, then only intelligent beings (Int 1+) can sense 
  the illusion.
  DOES RANK 1 IMMUNITY TO COLD OR HEAT MEAN YOU DON’T TAKE ANY 
  DAMAGE FROM COLD CONTROL OR FIRE CONTROL POWERS?
  No. The rank 1 Immunities to cold and heat are to the environmental 
  effects (as given on M&M, page 167). Immunity to cold or heat dam-
  age is a rank 5 Immunity for a “common power descriptor,” while 
  Immunity to “all cold effects” or “all fire effects” (including all pow-
  ers with the appropriate descriptor, regardless of the type of saving 
  throw) is 10 ranks for a “very common” power descriptor.
  DOES IMMUNITY (FATIGUE) ALLOW YOU TO USE EXTRA EFFORT WITHOUT 
  SUFFERING ANY FATIGUE?
  No. The character is just immune to fatigue from normal exer-
  tion and fatigue-inducing powers and effects. Keep in mind that 
  Immunity effectively provides automatic success on a saving throw 
  
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  or ability check to resist an effect, and there is no such save against 
  the fatigue of extra effort.
  IS AN INSUBSTANTIAL CHARACTER IMMUNE TO SUFFOCATION?
  No, you need Immunity 2 (suffocation) or Immunity 9 (life support) 
  for that. Immunity is a recommended part of Alternate Forms for 
  that reason.
  CAN INCORPOREAL CREATURES INTERACT NORMALLY WITH OTHER 
  INCORPOREAL CREATURES (AS IF THEY WERE BOTH SOLID)?
  Depending on the power descriptors and the GM’s judgment, yes.
  IF AN INCORPOREAL CHARACTER THROWS A HELD OBJECT, WHAT 
  HAPPENS?
  The object becomes solid once it leaves the incorporeal character’s 
  grasp, and interacts with the world like a normal solid object.
   Note, however, the character must have the Affects Others modi-
  fier in order to take objects other than clothing and personal Devices 
  and Equipment incorporeal. He must then either:
  • 
  turn corporeal to pick up an object, and then turn incorporeal, 
  taking the object into an incorporeal state with him, or
  • 
  have the Affects Corporeal modifier on Strength to pick up a 
  solid object while incorporeal.
  WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF BUYING MULTIPLE 3 POINT RANKS OF MORPH 
  COMPARED TO JUST BUYING A SINGLE RANK, AND USING SKILL POINTS 
  TO INCREASE MY DISGUISE SKILL?
  Normal Disguise skill still takes the normal time to use, even if you 
  have Morph. So, if you have both, you can: 
  • 
  Use just your Morph bonus, taking the normal action it takes 
  you to use Morph (a free action by default). 
  • 
  Take 10 minutes of preparation and add your Disguise skill 
  ranks to your Morph bonus; this means you’re carefully observ-
  ing, checking your work in a mirror, making small adjustments 
  and the like.
   So the Master of Disguise (M&M, page 219) can instantly (as a 
  free action) assume a humanoid appearance with a +36 Disguise 
  bonus (from just his Morph rank and Charisma). If he takes time to 
  prepare a disguise, he adds his 12 ranks of Disguise to the bonus, 
  for a total of +48 (making his disguise virtually impenetrable).
   You can have an effective character with just Morph 1 and lots 
  of ranks in Disguise, provided the character has time to prepare; he 
  still wouldn’t need any tools like a disguise kit, for example. This 
  approach might suit certain character concepts, especially in low-
  power campaigns.
  DOES THE 1-POWER-POINT-PER-RANK VERSION OF NULLIFY ALLOW YOU 
  TO NULLIFY ONE POWER PER USE OF ANY DESCRIPTOR, OR DO YOU HAVE 
  TO CHOOSE THE DESCRIPTOR AT THE TIME THE POWER IS CHOSEN?
  You have to choose the descriptor at the time the power is acquired. 
  So, for example, if a character has Nullify Magical Powers 6, he 
  can nullify any one magical power per use.
  CAN POWER CONTROL TURN OFF POWERS? IF IT CAN, WHY TAKE 
  NULLIFY RATHER THAN POWER CONTROL?
  Power Control does let you turn off powers, but it’s not as effective 
  as Nullify for that purpose: 
  • 
  Power Control only lets you turn a power off if the subject can 
  normally do so; thus it cannot turn off Permanent or Uncontrolled 
  powers, whereas Nullify can. 
  • 
  Power Control doesn’t let you counter powers; Nullify explicitly 
  does. 
  • 
  Power Control’s lasting duration allows additional saves. If 
  Nullify is made Sustained or Continuous, the target doesn’t get 
  additional saves; the power is off as long as the Nullify lasts.
  • 
  Power Control doesn’t work on power effects, only power 
  users, whereas Nullify does both. So you can Nullify a created 
  object or a fire, for example, but Power Control doesn’t work on 
  either. 
  • 
  Power Control only works on targets with conscious control over 
  their powers. It doesn’t affect targets immune to mental effects 
  or lacking such control: you can Nullify a machine, but you can’t 
  use Power Control on it unless the machine is conscious (and 
  affected by mental powers). 
  • 
  Power Control is essentially Mind Control (M&M, page 92) 
  Limited to controlling the subject’s powers and sustained 
  (lasting) in duration. The GM should feel free to enforce the 
  requirements of Mind Control for it, particularly the required 
  move action to issue commands. The description of Power 
  Control leaves this deliberately vague, and assumes once estab-
  lished it only requires the normal action to use or control the 
  target power (whatever it may be), but it’s an option for the GM 
  if Power Control is abused.
  IF I USE MIMIC OR SHAPESHIFT TO COPY SOMEONE’S APPEARANCE, DO I 
  GET THE BENEFITS OF THE MORPH POWER AUTOMATICALLY?
  Yes. If you use Mimic or Shapeshift to copy the appearance of some-
  thing, you get a +5 bonus to Disguise checks per power rank to 
  pretend to be that something.
  HOW DOES THE SHAPESHIFT POWER WORK?
  Shapeshift allows a character to assume different physical forms. 
  Changing form is a move action and maintaining a given form is 
  sustained (requiring a free action each round, and a Concentration 
  check if the character is stunned or otherwise unable to take free 
  actions, but still conscious). 
   Now, when a shapeshifter assumes a new form, he has a “pool” 
  of (Shapeshift rank x 5) power points to spend on any physical traits 
  of that form. So, for example, if he turns into a bird, he’ll need the 
  Flight power, Super-Senses for the bird’s keen sight, and so forth. 
   Additionally, the shapeshifter can “move around” his pre-existing 
  physical traits: if he turns into a weaker form, he can shift points from 
  her Strength score elsewhere, for example. So, essentially, the “physical 
  traits” point pool is equal to the total cost of the shapeshifter’s nor-
  mal physical traits, plus 5 power points per Shapeshift rank, but this 
  requires buying all the physical traits of the new form “from scratch.”
  
  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ 
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  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  M&M FAQ
  141
   Generally, it’s a good idea to encourage players of shapeshift-
  ers to make notes on the costs of various forms in advance, to save 
  time during play. It’s also wise to limit Shapeshift from the “turn 
  into anything I want” level down to a particular subset like animals, 
  machines, etc. to help focus the player’s choices (as noted in the 
  power’s description).
  DO SUPER-SENSES HAVE TO BE CONTINUOUS DURATION (A +1 MODIFIER) 
  IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO TURN THEM OFF? HOW DO CHARACTERS WITH 
  SUPER-SENSES KEEP FROM BEING BOMBARDED BY SENSORY INPUT?
  According to the letter of the rules, yes, Super-Senses have to be 
  made continuous in order to turn them on and off at will. Although 
  it’s bending the rules slightly, you can allow characters to “switch 
  off” Super-Senses even though they are permanent, much in the 
  same way one can ‘turn off” vision by closing one’s eyes and such. 
  Characters still can’t use extra effort with Super-Senses (as they’re 
  still permanent duration), so it’s a minor advantage at best. It’s also 
  reasonable to assume that characters acclimated to having Super-
  Senses have learned to filter out extraneous sensory input, just like 
  we learn to do with our normal senses.
  THE RAPID ATTACK FEAT OF SUPER-SPEED SAYS YOU CAN PERFORM AN 
  ATTACK MANEUVER AGAINST ANY TARGET WITHIN POWER RANK X 5 
  FEET OF THE USER. CAN YOU APPLY DIFFERENT ATTACKS AGAINST EACH 
  TARGET?
  No, it has to be the same attack.
  WHEN DETERMINING THE TOTAL COST OF THE BASE POWER OF AN 
  ARRAY, DO THAT POWER’S POWER FEATS COUNT?
  Yes, except for Alternate Power feats. The same is true for the 
  Alternate Powers themselves. So if a power array has a base power 
  that costs 20 power points and it has six power feats, three of which 
  are Alternate Powers, then each Alternate Power can be built on up 
  to 23 power points (the total value of the base power plus its non-
  Alternate Power feats).
  IF YOU SPEND EARNED POWER POINTS TO IMPROVE THE BASE POWER 
  OF AN ARRAY, DO THE ALTERNATE POWER’S INCREASE AS WELL?
  Yes, they do. As the base power increases in total power point value, so 
  do the array’s Alternate Powers. So if you have a 23 point base power, 
  and spend 2 power points to improve it to a 25 point power, then all 
  of its Alternate Powers can be based on 25 power points as well.
  ARE THE ALTERNATE POWER FEATS LISTED IN A POWER’S DESCRIPTION 
  IN THE RULEBOOK THE ONLY ONES AVAILABLE OR CAN PLAYERS CREATE 
  THEIR OWN?
  Players can certainly create their own Alternate Powers with the 
  GM’s approval. The ones listed with the power description in the 
  M&M rulebook are simply examples.
  ALTERNATE POWERS CAN BE SWITCHED ONCE A ROUND. IS THAT THE 
  GAME ROUND OR THE CHARACTER’S ROUND?
  In this case, “a round” is measured from the character’s place in the 
  initiative order from one round to the next. So if a character goes on 
  
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  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ
  Initiative 14 and switches his power array, he can’t do so again (even 
  though it’s a free action) until Initiative 14 on the following round.
  IF I USE A POWER LIKE DAZZLE OR SNARE ON SOMEBODY AND THEN 
  SWITCH IT TO AN ALTERNATE POWER, DOES THE DAZZLE OR SNARE 
  EFFECT GO AWAY?
  No. The effects of instant powers remain, since you don’t have to 
  be “using” the power to maintain them. The same is also true of 
  lasting powers, so long as you meet the requirements of the power’s 
  duration. A power like Create Object, on the other hand, which has 
  a sustained duration, will stop working if you switch to an Alternate 
  Power. If your Create Object power is continuous, the objects will 
  last, since they “remain until they are destroyed, nullified, or you 
  choose to dismiss them” per the power description.
  IF A CHARACTER HAS AN ALTERNATE POWER, AND THE PLAYER LATER 
  DECIDES TO MAKE IT INTO AN INDEPENDENT POWER (SPENDING THE 
  POWER POINTS TO DO IT), DOES THE CHARACTER GET THE POWER POINT 
  FOR THE ALTERNATE POWER FEAT BACK?
  Yes, unless the player wants to reinvest that point into another power 
  fear (including another Alternate Power).
  WHEN APPLYING THE PROGRESSION FEAT TO THE SIZE OF AN AREA, 
  DOES IT INCREASE TOTAL SIZE OR SIZE PER RANK?
  Size per rank. So a normal Burst Area is 5 ft. in radius per rank. One 
  application of the Progression feat makes it 10 ft./rank, two makes 
  it 25 ft./rank, and so forth.
  IS THE USE OF EXTRAS ON A POWER OPTIONAL?
  No. Extras (and flaws, for that matter) are a permanent part of a 
  power and always apply when that power is used. If you want to 
  be able to use a power both with and without a particular extra, 
  take one version as an Alternate Power of the other. (Note: This dif-
  fers from how extras were handled in the first edition of Mutants & 
  Masterminds.)
  HOW DO POWERS WITH PERCEPTION-RANGE AND THE AREA EXTRA 
  WORK?
  Perception-range area effects do differ from normal area effects 
  (described on pages 159–160 of  Mutants & Mastermninds). See 
  the last sentence of the Area Attack section: “Area effects which 
  don’t normally require an attack roll do not allow for a Reflex save, 
  they simply affect all targets in the specified area.” Perception-range 
  attacks (which don’t require an attack roll) fall into this category 
  and are treated accordingly
  CHARACTERISTICS
  IF A CHARACTER HAS A PERMANENT AND INNATE SIZE CHANGE, CAN 
  THEY BUY ADDITIONAL POINTS OF ATTACK OR DEFENSE TO CANCEL OUT 
  PENALTIES INCURRED BY THE SIZE CHANGE?
  Yes, but keep in mind an increased-size character may need a trade-
  off to compensate for the increased Strength and Constitution (and 
  therefore Toughness) of Growth.
  
  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ 
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  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  M&M FAQ
  143
  CAN CONSTRUCTS USE EXTRA EFFORT? DO THEY SUFFER FATIGUE FROM 
  DOING SO?
  Yes and yes. Construct characters can use extra effort. The “fatigue” 
  they suffer has the same effect as fatigue does on other characters, 
  but in the case of constructs it represents damage or wear-and-tear 
  on the construct. Since constructs have no Constitution, they cannot 
  recover from fatigue, they must be repaired instead. Constructs with a 
  recovery bonus—such as self-repairing constructs with Regeneration—
  can recover from fatigue normally. Like all characters, constructs can 
  spend hero points to ignore the effects of a fatigue result.
  IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF HERO POINTS A CHARACTER CAN 
  EARN IN AN ADVENTURE?
  Only whatever limit the Gamemaster chooses to set. Since the GM is 
  the one who awards hero points, the GM can simply choose to stop 
  giving them out, if need be.
  WHEN YOU SPEND A HERO POINT TO ENHANCE A TRAIT, CAN IT GO 
  ABOVE THE POWER LEVEL LIMIT?
  Yes. Hero point spending is not affected by power level limits.
  CAN VILLAINS HAVE COMPLICATIONS?
  No, because villains don’t have or earn hero points, so they don’t 
  need complications. Generally, the heroes are complication enough 
  for most villains!
  DEVICES AND EQUIPMENT
  CAN YOU USE THE QUICKNESS POWER TO SPEED UP INVENTING?
  Yes and no. As specified in the power description, you can only 
  use Quickness for “routine” tasks where you can take 20. You can 
  take 20 on the design check to invent something, so you can use 
  Quickness to speed up the design process; for example, a character 
  with Quickness for mental tasks might be able to do much of the 
  design work “in his head.” On the other hand, you can’t take 20 on 
  the construction check for an invention, so Quickness can’t speed up 
  that check. The only way to do so is by taking a penalty on the Craft 
  skill check, as given on page 131 of M&M.
  IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF INVENTIONS YOU CAN HAVE AT 
  ONCE?
  Generally one, although the GM should feel free to vary things 
  according to the flow and style of the game. Requiring inventors to 
  spend a hero point per extra invention at the same time is a useful 
  balancing factor between one at a time and an unlimited number 
  of inventions.
  WHY DOES THE COMMLINK COST SO LITTLE (1 POINT)  
  COMPARED TO THE COMMUNICATION POWER?
  Because things like team commlinks (and other common com-
  munications devices like cell phones and walkie-talkies) are fairly 
  commonplace, enough to make them the equivalent of a Benefit feat 
  or a Feature for a piece of equipment. GMs concerned with the cost 
  differential can feel free to make commlinks and similar communica-
  tion equipment considerably less reliable than the Communication 
  power: affected by atmospheric disturbances, power outages, energy 
  emissions from villains. Essentially, feel free to have such equipment 
  fail whenever the plot calls for it without it being a complication 
  (that is, without awarding any hero points); it’s just the innate draw-
  backs of equipment.
  CAN VEHICLES USE ACCELERATED OR ALL-OUT MOVEMENT?
  No. Vehicles have one movement speed (listed as their speed) and 
  it is the vehicle’s top speed. Driving or piloting a vehicle is a move 
  action regardless of the vehicle’s speed. Vehicles do benefit from 
  speed modifiers to their Defense (M&M, page 33) as if they were 
  moving all-out. This modifier is relative; use the difference between 
  speed ranks for two vehicles or a character pacing a moving vehicle.
  COMBAT
  IF YOU SPEND A HERO POINT TO RE-ROLL AN ATTACK ROLL AND GET A 
  10 ON THE SECOND ROLL, YOU ADD +10 TO IT AND IT BECOMES A 20. IS 
  THIS CONSIDERED A CRITICAL HIT?
  No. Only a “natural” 20, when the die roll actually comes up 20, 
  counts as a possible critical hit.
  HOW MANY TIMES CAN A CHARACTER BE STAGGERED?
  Once. Staggered is a singular condition. Once a character is stag-
  gered, another staggered result means the character is rendered 
  unconscious. This means a staggered character is closer to being out 
  of the fight, even without any bruised results affecting Toughness 
  saves.
  IF YOU ARE STAGGERED OR DISABLED ARE YOU ALSO STUNNED?
  No, the character only suffers the effect of the staggered or disabled 
  condition and is not stunned.
  IS THERE A POWER LEVEL LIMIT ON GRAPPLE CHECK BONUS?
  No, although the power level limits do affect how much melee attack 
  bonus and unarmed damage bonus a character can have (two major 
  components of grapple checks). Grapple modifiers like size modifiers 
  and Super-Strength can be limited as the GM sees fit for the game, 
  although it makes sense for big, super-strong characters to be effec-
  tive grapplers.
  GAMEMASTERING
  WHEN YOU USE GM FIAT, WHO GETS THE HERO POINT?
  Generally speaking, it’s the player whose hero is most directly 
  affected by the use of GM Fiat (e.g., the one making or saving 
  against the attack, affected by the feat or power, etc.). If, in the GM’s 
  opinion, everyone is equally affected, you can choose a player or 
  award everyone a hero point.
  
  144
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  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  APPENDIX I: M&M FAQ
  EDITION CHANGES
  WHY A SECOND EDITION?
  When Mutants & Masterminds was first published, it was an experi-
  ment on many levels: it was one of the first RPGs published under 
  the Open Game License, it took considerable liberties with the core 
  d20 game system, and it was Green Ronin’s first superhero product 
  and first major product printed all in color.
  When Mutants & Masterminds was conceived, there were few, if any, 
  superhero RPGs in print. By the time it was published, there were 
  several. While we hoped for the best, we had no idea at the time 
  how M&M would fare in the RPG market.
   The game exceeded our expectations: fans appreciated its innova-
  tive approach and found it captured the kind of superhero roleplaying 
  they wanted. We sold out of the first printing of the rulebook, then a 
  second, and a third. Supplementary M&M products like Freedom City 
  also did quite well. Eventually Steve Kenson came on-board to oversee 
  the Mutants & Masterminds line as its full-time developer.
   In order to build on the success of Mutants & Masterminds and 
  give it the kind of robust game line it deserves, we wanted a really 
  solid foundation. So we went back to the basics, looked at the things 
  people liked, and the things they didn’t, and designed a new edition 
  of M&M, not as an experiment this time, but as the flagship prod-
  uct of its line, a foundation we can build on with new settings and 
  sourcebooks.
   Mutants & Masterminds is here to stay, and with the upcoming 
  second edition, we have some exciting plans for a game line worthy 
  of the world’s greatest superhero roleplaying game!
  SO, HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED FROM THE FIRST EDITION?
  It’s still the Mutants & Masterminds game you know and love at its 
  core. Most of the changes incorporate all we’ve learned from fans 
  of the game and our own experience to make M&M cleaner, clearer, 
  more robust, and more comprehensive than ever before.
   We’ll be giving you previews of how things have changed (and 
  how they’ve stayed the same), leading up to the new edition’s 
  release. We think you’ll like what we’ve got in store.
  DOES M&M SECOND EDITION FIX [INSERT FIRST EDITION RULES QUESTION 
  HERE]?
  We certainly hope so! One of the primary influences on M&M 2e 
  was feedback and questions from you, our fans, who play and know 
  the game better than anyone else. While no game system is perfect, 
  we want Mutants & Masterminds to live up to the moniker “World’s 
  Greatest Superhero RPG”!
   Speaking of feedback, we’ve been rigorously playtesting M&M 2e, 
  putting all the systems through their paces to ensure they meet the 
  standards you’ve come to expect from Green Ronin. The extensive 
  feedback we’ve gotten from our playtest groups has helped to refine, 
  clarify, and polish the new edition.
  WHY DID YOU CHANGE [INSERT FIRST EDITION RULE HERE]?
  While M&M 2e tries to summarize the major changes, there’s simply 
  not room to go into the reasoning behind every single tweak, modifi-
  cation, and rules change. Sufficient to say, we felt the changes made 
  the game better overall. We’re certainly aware that not everyone may 
  agree: the first edition of Mutants & Masterminds has plenty of fans, 
  and you can’t please everyone. Some people like all the changes, 
  some like some changes and dislike others. Fortunately, the two edi-
  tions use the same core system. So if you prefer an option from the 
  first edition, by all means, please continue using it!
   One of the reason’s for the Mastermind’s Manual for M&M 2e is 
  to include as many options and ways to customize the game as pos-
  sible. While we know that we can’t please everyone, that’s no reason 
  not to give it our best shot! The Mastermind’s Manual provides the 
  tools needed to make M&M into the game that’s best suited to you 
  and your gaming group.
  WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GADGETS POWER FROM FIRST EDITION?
  The refinement of the extra effort and power stunt rules in M&M 2e 
  made it largely redundant. Any character with a Device can poten-
  tially use extra effort to acquire an Alternate Power for one (or all) of 
  the Device’s powers, spending a hero point to ignore the fatigue (or 
  strain on the Device), essentially the same mechanics as the Gadgets 
  power.
   The Mastermind’s Manual includes a new version of Gadgets 
  that’s a bit broader and more flexible than the first edition version, 
  but also not as limited. Gamemasters should consider the advice on 
  handling Variable Powers before including this new Gadgets power 
  in their games.
  CAN I USE MY FIRST EDITION BOOKS WITH SECOND EDITION?
  For the most part, yes, you can. First Edition character stats are still 
  compatible with Second Edition (which naturally has the same abili-
  ties, saving throws, and so forth). Some First Edition specific rules, 
  such as certain feats or powers, work slightly differently in Second 
  Edition, but the basic material is compatible.
  
  APPENDIX II: M&M ERRATA 
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  APPENDIX II: M&M ERRATA 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  M&M ERRATA
  145
  Mistakes happen, but when they do, we try our best to correct them. 
  This file provides errata and corrections for the first printing of the 
  second edition of Green Ronin’s Mutants & Masterminds superhero 
  roleplaying game. Clarifications and answers to frequently asked 
  questions are found in the Mutants & Masterminds FAQ file. For this 
  and more information about Mutants & Masterminds in general, 
  please visit our website: www.mutantsandmasterminds.com.
  page 13 — dodge bonus: change “(rounded up)” to “(rounded 
  down)”.
  page 16 — Doing the Math: Change “Costimed Adventurer” to 
  “Costumed Adventurer”
  page 17 — Martial Artist: In the last sentence, change “+11” and 
  “+9” to “+12” and “+8”.
  page 17 — Battlesuit: Change heavy load under Super-Strength 
  to “45 tons”.
  page 18 — Costumed Adventurer: The archetype’s feats are not 
  listed. They are: Defensive Roll 3, Equipment 4, Evasion 2, Jack-
  of-All-Trades, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Disable 
  Device, Escape Artist, Stealth), Startle, Sneak Attack, Uncanny 
  Dodge.
  page 21 — Paragon: Change heavy load under Super-Strength 
  to “90 tons”.
  page 21 — Powerhouse: Change heavy load under Super-
  Strength to “180 tons”.
  page 26 — Costumed Adventurer Example: In the third to 
  last paragraph, change “Surprise Strike” in the last sentence to 
  “Sneak Attack”.
  page 28 — Ability Modifiers: In the second paragraph, third sen-
  tence, insert a space between “modifier” and “comes”. In the 
  third paragraph, change the last sentence to read: “Strength and 
  Constitution are affected by the power level limits on damage 
  and Toughness, respectively (see page 24).”
  page 32 — Debilitated Ability Scores: In the second paragraph 
  on this page, change “Abilities” at the start of the first sentence 
  to “Ability” so it reads: “Ability scores cannot...”
  page 46 — Craft: Under Action change “on” in the first sentence 
  to “to” so it reads: “The time to make something varies accord-
  ing to its complexity.” 
  page 60 — Defensive Roll: Delete the extra period at the end of 
  the second sentence.
  page 61 — Fast Overrun: The page reference to the overrun action 
  should be page 158.
  page 62 — Improved Overrun: The page reference to the overrun 
  action should be page 158.
  page 65 — Ultimate Effort: Change “Fortuine” in the header to 
  “Fortune”.
  page 65 — Fighting Styles: Under Wrestling, “Improved Escape” 
  should be “Improved Grapple”.
  page 69 — Opposed Power Checks: The page reference in the 
  last sentence is missing; it should be page 10. Also in the last 
  sentence, change “who’s” to “whose”.
  page 71 — Alternate Powers sidebar: In the second sentence, it 
  should be “form sculptures of flame” rather than “forms sculp-
  tures of flame”.
  page 72 — Powers Table: Add “Fortitude” under Save for Life 
  Control.
  page 76 — Anatomic Separation: The last sentence should begin 
  “You recover...” rather than “Your recover...”
  page 84 — Emotion Control: Range should be “Perception”. 
  Saving Throw should be “Will” as correctly given on the Powers 
  table on page 72.
  page 86 — Gestalt: Change Action in the stat block to 
  “Standard”.
  page 87 — Growth: Change Cost to 3 points per rank (as correctly 
  given on the table on page 72).
  page 88 — Illusion: Under Extras change Action to Duration.
  page 90 — Leaping: In the next to last sentence, change “(x1,000 
  your normal distance)” to “(x2,500 your normal distance)”.
  page 90 — Life Control: Add “Saving Throw: Fortitude” to the 
  power’s statistics.
  page 91 — Magic: Under Alternate Powers, remove “and rank” 
  from the second half of the first sentence.
  page 95 — Obscure: Change the Power Feats header to Extras.
  page 96 — Plasma Control: Change Cost to 2 points per rank (as 
  correctly given on the table on page 73).
  page 97 — Regeneration: In the last paragraph (before Power 
  Feats), change the cost of total Regeneration to 36 points, and 
  44 if it includes ability damage.
  page 99 — Snare: In the last paragraph changes the damage 
  bonuses to automatically break out of a snare to 10 or more 
  than the Snare’s rank and 15 or more, respectively.
  page 100 — Spinning: In the last sentence, change the second 
  “your” to “you” so it reads “...as long as you continue spinning.”
  page 100 — Strike: Under Cost change “points” to “point”. Under 
  Thrown change the first “Your” to “You”.
  APPENDIX II: M&M ERRATA
  
  146
  M&M ERRATA
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  APPENDIX II: M&M ERRATA
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  APPENDIX II: M&M ERRATA
  page 108 — Alternate Power: In the sentence “Each Alternate 
  Power can have a cost of up to 2 power points per Magic rank 
  (or 32 points total) and a rank no greater than 16” delete every-
  thing after the parenthesis.
  page 111 — Alternate Save: In paragraph three, first sentence, 
  change “save” to “saves”.
  page 112 — Disease: In the last sentence, insert “on” after 
  “effect”.
  page 115 — Feedback: Change the flaw’s description to read as 
  follows:
   
  You suffer pain when a manifestation of your power is damaged. 
  This flaw only applies to powers with physical manifestations, such 
  as Create Object, Duplication, Snare, or Summon, for example. If 
  your power’s manifestation is damaged, make a Will save against 
  damage equal to the attack’s damage, with a bonus equal to the 
  manifestation’s Toughness. For example, if you create a Toughness 
  12 object and it is attacked for +15 damage, you must make a 
  Will save against +15 damage with a +12 bonus (the object’s 
  Toughness) added to your normal Will save bonus.
  page 132 — Wealth Bonus: Change the third sentence to read: 
  “The Profession skill (see page 53) grants a bonus to Wealth: +1 
  per 5 full points of skill bonus.”
  page 137 — Sample Utility Belt: Change Stun Pellets to Flash-
  Bangs.
  page 138 — Melee Weapons: Change the knife’s equipment cost 
  to 4 points.
  page 139 — Ranged Weapons: Change the bow’s equipment cost 
  to 8 points.
  page 140 — Grenades and Explosives: In the table, the effect of 
  the smoke grenade should be “Obscure 2 (visual)”.
  page 141 — Archaic Armor: Under Chain-mail, change “hau-
  berk” to “coif”.
  page 143 — Ground Vehicles Table: Change the Cost of the 
  sports car to 7/2.
  page 143 — Navigation System: Change “per additional power 
  point” to “per additional equipment point”.
  page 144 — Immunity: Change the second sentence to read: 
  “Vehicles that travel in space or underwater provide life support 
  for their passengers at no additional cost.”
  page 149 — Damaging and Repairing Constructs: In the sec-
  ond paragraph, change “A construct” to “Constructs”.
  page 152 — Saving Throw Types: Under Will, change “Wisdom 
  bonus” to “Wisdom modifier”.
  page 156 — Combined Attack: Remove the first line on this page, 
  it’s repeated from the previous page.
  page 160 — Suppression Fire: “An opponent who chooses not 
  to seek cover ignores the attack modifier from by suppression 
  fire but is automatically attacked.” Delete the word “by” in this 
  sentence.
  page 167 — Damage to Objects: In the last paragraph, change 
  the last sentence to read:
   
  If the attacker’s damage bonus equals the object’s Toughness, 
  it’s damaged. If damage equals (object Toughness +10), the 
  object is broken, and if it is (object Toughness +15) or greater, 
  the object is automatically destroyed.
  page 168 — Poison: In the second paragraph, first sentence, delete 
  “the” and “feat” before and after “Immunity to Poison”.
  page 170 — Vacuum: Where it says “Constitution check” in this 
  section, substitute “Fortitude save”.
  page 171 — Staggered: Change the second sentence to read: “A 
  staggered character who is staggered again is rendered uncon-
  scious.”
  page 186 — Futuristic: In the third paragraph, first sentence, 
  change “stores” to “stories”.
  page 191 — Human Heroes: In the second paragraph, second sen-
  tence, change “martial” to “marital”.
  page 191 — Social Issues: Indent the second paragraph (starting 
  with “The major social issues...”).
  page 210 — Why the Villain Gets Away: In the third paragraph, 
  second sentence, change “changes” to “chances” so it reads “to 
  improve their chances in the future...”
  page 212 — Armored Megalomaniac: Change the header of the 
  page and the stat block to “Megalomaniac”. At the end of The 
  Enemy of My Enemy add the word “else”.
  page 214 — Deal With the Devil: Change “power” in the first 
  sentence to “powerful”.
  page 219 — Master of Disguise: Change “Mastre” in the stat 
  block header to “Master”.
  page 221 — Puppeteer: Under Variations and Capers, “pheremo-
  nes” should read “pheromones”. Under Only a Dream, “the 
  sleep” should read “their sleep”. Under Pawns of the Puppeteer, 
  “puppeteer” in the last sentence should be capitalized.
  page 227 — Ninja: Add Defensive Roll to Feats, increase Feats cost 
  to 3, lower Saves to 4, point total remains the same.
  page 229 — Scientist: The archetype’s ability scores should be: Str 
  8, Dex 10, Con 9, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 9
  page 232 — Wolf: Replace the last line of the stat block with the 
  following: Abilities 3 + Skills 1 (4 ranks) + Feats 1 + 
  Powers 3 + Combat 14 + Saves 6 – Drawbacks 8 = 20
  page 241 — Daedalus: Change the second sentence to: “The 
  Greek gods granted him immortality after the death of his son, 
  Icarus.”
  page 254 — character sheet: Change the second Abilities box 
  to Saving Throws.
  page 255 — character sheet: Add Investigate to the list of 
  skills.
  
  AFTERWARD 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  AFTERWARD 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  AFTERWARD
  147
  A
  F
  T
  E
  R
  W
  A
  R
  D
  A great many roleplaying game books offer a variety of advice on how to run games, and this one is no excep-
  tion. Ultimately, the biggest limitation of RPGs is the inability to package a great Gamemaster with every copy 
  of the rulebook to ensure each game is creative, fair, balanced, and fun. Creating the rules, the settings, and the 
  adventures—that’s the easy part. Running the game and making it a fun experience for everyone, that’s tricky, 
  and there’s only so much a book can do to help. We provide the tools, but it’s up to the GM and the players to 
  use them.
   That’s right, the Gamemaster and the players. It’s not just the GM’s job to make the game fun: it’s the responsibil-
  ity of the entire group. It’s not about the GM coming up with unbeatable villains, or the players beating down the 
  bad guys in the very first scene of the adventure. It’s about working together to create interesting characters and 
  fun adventures that hopefully make for some good memories to talk about later on.
   Sometimes, that group cooperation requires setting aside our sense of disbelief as well as our sense of competi-
  tiveness. Someone once defined “geek” to me as one who uses his love and knowledge of something to ruin it for 
  everyone else. While I’ve always personally been proud of my geek-hood, I can understand where this definition 
  comes from. What gamer hasn’t argued about how this, that, or another rule should work in theory? What group 
  doesn’t talk about which comic book heroes and villains would win in a fight, or how to duplicate their powers and 
  abilities in the context of the game? Such theoretical discussions can be fun. I know I’ve had more than more share 
  of them.
   But there’s also a point where you need to put them aside. Consider, whenever you start a statement with, “I 
  know this probably isn’t in the spirit of the game,” or “This sounds kind of unfair, but…” that maybe you’re better off 
  keeping those things in the realm of theory. Sure, it’s fun to figure out how to make a good, effective character, even 
  to find that particular kink in the rules that might make your character unbeatable, but is that really what the game 
  is about?
   Consider, when you feel frustrated as a player because the GM has posed a problem that your hero’s powers can’t 
  immediately solve, are you bothered because it’s “unfair” to you, or because you’re forgetting that the game is all 
  about solving challenges, oftentimes in ways other than the direct use of power or force? When you’re running the 
  game and a player throws you a curveball, do you immediately say “no” and resent the players departing from and 
  “ruining” your carefully planned adventure; or roll with it, say “yes, that might work,” and see where it leads?
  It’s easy to get caught up in the game and mistake the Gamemaster for your opponent, just because the villains 
  are under the GM’s control. It’s easy as Gamemaster to sympathize with “your” villains and want them to “win.” It’s 
  easy to get involved in arguing some arcane point of the rules, because you feel they should be handled in one way 
  and somebody else feels differently. It’s even easy to create unbeatable, unstoppable characters that violate the 
  spirit of the game and the superhero comics, easier still to create invincible villains with unlimited power points to 
  trounce the heroes.
   What’s not always easy is to cooperate, to remember you’re creating a story with your friends, and to remind 
  each other that it’s all just a game. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more rewarding when all the elements come 
  together, everyone is on the same page, and the game flows without anyone worrying about all the small stuff. 
  You’re creating a story you can share and remember for years to come, like your favorite comic books. It’s magic.
   The best advice this book can offer is to keep that spirit of cooperation and fun in mind when you play M&M or any 
  other roleplaying game. It’s more fun and effective working together; after all, isn’t that how true heroes should act?
   Have fun, help everyone else to have fun, and may your Mutants & Masterminds game be all that it can be. The 
  tools, the imagination, and the power are all in your hands. Enjoy!
  — Steve Kenson
  December 2005
  
  148
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  BASIC RULES
  Stunt Bonuses 
  ❏
  Automatic Success and Failure 
  ❏
  –10/+30 Rolls 
  ❏
  Alternate Dice (3d6/2d10) 
  ❏
  High-Low Rolls 
  ❏
  Players Make All Rolls 
  ❏
  Card-based Resolution 
  ❏
  Card-based Hero Points 
  ❏
  Challenges 
  ❏
   
  Challenges as Feats 
  ❏
  Team Checks 
  ❏
  CHARACTER CREATION
  Additional Power Level Limits 
  ❏
  Re-allocating Power Points 
  ❏
  Level-Based Advancement 
  ❏
  Faster Advancement 
  ❏
  Slower Advancement 
  ❏
  Unlimited Power Level 
  ❏
  Unlimited Power Points 
  ❏
  ABILITIES
  Random Ability Scores 
  ❏
  Shorthand Abilities 
  ❏
  Casual Strength 
  ❏
  Mandatory Super-Strength 
  ❏
  Ability Strain 
  ❏
   
  Ability Strain and Extra Effort 
  ❏
  Innate Attack & Dodge Modifiers 
  ❏
  Attack Focus and Specialization 
  ❏
   
  Specialized Attack Bonus Limit 
  ❏
   
  Dodge Bonus Limit 
  ❏
  Intelligence and Skills 
  ❏
  Aging and Abilities 
  ❏
  Super-Abilities 
  ❏
  Saves Based on Different Abilities 
  ❏
  Best of Two Saving Throws 
  ❏
   
  Worst of Two Saving Throws 
  ❏
  Additional Saving Throws 
  ❏
   
  Insight Save 
  ❏
   
  Stability Save 
  ❏
  Speed & Jumping 
  ❏
  SKILLS
  New Skills 
  ❏
   
  Appraise 
  ❏
   
  Demolitions 
  ❏
   
  Forgery 
  ❏
   
  Gamble 
  ❏
   
  Navigate 
  ❏
   
  Power Use 
  ❏
   
  Repair 
  ❏
   
  Research 
  ❏
  Simple Skills 
  ❏
  Background Skills 
  ❏
  Combat Skills 
  ❏
  Variable Skill Costs 
  ❏
  Mix-and-Match Key Abilities 
  ❏
  Broad Skills 
  ❏
  Narrow Skills 
  ❏
  Full and Half Skills 
  ❏
  Active, Secret & Passive Skill Checks 
  ❏
  Multitasking 
  ❏
  Critical Skills 
  ❏
  Skill Synergy 
  ❏
   
  High Synergy 
  ❏
  Extended Skill Checks 
  ❏
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  Gamemasters can use this checklist as a quick-reference to the optional and variant rules in this book and to show players which options and 
  variants are in-use in their Mutants & Masterminds game. You can photocopy these three pages for ease of use. 
  
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  149
   
  Under Pressure 
  ❏
  Graded Language Ranks 
  ❏
  Language Modifiers 
  ❏
  Language Checks 
  ❏
  Notice Specialties 
  ❏
  Professional Skills 
  ❏
  Stealth Specialties 
  ❏
  FEATS
  Feats as Options 
  ❏
  Access Feats 
  ❏
  Combat Feats and Power Level 
  ❏
  All-out Attack and Defensive Roll 
  ❏
  Lower-power Sidekicks 
  ❏
  Reverse Sidekicks 
  ❏
  Ultimate Effort and Niche Protection 
  ❏
  Optional Feats 
  ❏
   
  Combat 
  ❏
   
  General 
  ❏
   
  Opportunity 
  ❏
   
  Proficiency 
  ❏
   
  Reputation 
  ❏
  POWERS
  Unreliable Powers 
  ❏
  Partial Concentration Checks 
  ❏
  Stun Timing 
  ❏
  Partial Countering 
  ❏
  Energy Points 
  ❏
  Fatigue Saves 
  ❏
  Power Boosters 
  ❏
  Alternate Progressions 
  ❏
   
  Slow 
  ❏
   
  Fast 
  ❏
   
  Epic 
  ❏
  Partial Saves vs. Trait Powers 
  ❏
  Dynamic Variable Powers 
  ❏
  Flight Maneuverability 
  ❏
   
  Maneuverability Checks 
  ❏
   
  Flight Drawbacks 
  ❏
  Point-Based Nullify 
  ❏
  Power Combos 
  ❏
  Null Arrays 
  ❏
  Wide Arrays 
  ❏
  Alternate Power as a Flaw 
  ❏
  Alternate Effects 
  ❏
  Area Knockback 
  ❏
  Aura and Stacking Effects 
  ❏
   
  Stacking Aura Power Levels 
  ❏
   
  Combined Aura Attacks 
  ❏
   
  Grappling Auras 
  ❏
  Other Impervious Saving Throws 
  ❏
  Stacked Impervious & Penetrating Modifiers 
  ❏
   
  Impervious & Penetrating Progression 
  ❏
  Linked Power Saves 
  ❏
  No Saving Throw Power Modifier 
  ❏
  Power Surges 
  ❏
   
  Fortitude Surges 
  ❏
   
  Surge Point Penalty 
  ❏
   
  Surge Damage 
  ❏
   
  Surge Taint 
  ❏
   
  Death Surges 
  ❏
  CHARACTERISTICS
  Calling 
  ❏
  Extra Effort and Advancement 
  ❏
  Concentrating on Extra Effort 
  ❏
  Extraordinary Effort 
  ❏
   
  Last-Ditch Effort 
  ❏
  Power Strain 
  ❏
   
  Temporary Power Strain 
  ❏
  HerPoints & Drawbacks 
  ❏
  Proxy HerPoints 
  ❏
  Maximum Hero Points 
  ❏
  
  150
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  OPTIONAL RULES CHECKLIST
  Standard Hero Points 
  ❏
  Nonrenewable Hero Points 
  ❏
  Hero Points for Advancement 
  ❏
  Hero Point Penalties 
  ❏
  Enhanced Hero Points 
  ❏
  Villain Points 
  ❏
  Reputation 
  ❏
  Taint 
  ❏
  DEVICES & EQUIPMENT
  Money Talks 
  ❏
  Proficiency 
  ❏
  Free Equipment 
  ❏
  Ammunition 
  ❏
  Armor Penalties 
  ❏
  Reduced Armor Penalties 
  ❏
  Requisitioning Equipment 
  ❏
  Alternate Ritual Skills 
  ❏
  COMBAT
  Re-rolling Initiative 
  ❏
  Automatic Hits 
  ❏
  Combat Challenges 
  ❏
  Margin of Success 
  ❏
  Defense Roll 
  ❏
  Out-of-Turn Defense 
  ❏
  Mental Combat 
  ❏
  Toughness Save Failure 
  ❏
  Automatic Damage 
  ❏
  Tougher Minions 
  ❏
  Damage Roll 
  ❏
  Save vs. Stun 
  ❏
  Instant Death 
  ❏
  Double Critical Hits 
  ❏
  Critical Misses 
  ❏
  Lethal Knockback 
  ❏
  Lethal Penetration 
  ❏
  Lethal Attack Cost 
  ❏
   
  Attack Roll Penalty 
  ❏
   
  Alternate Damage 
  ❏
   
  Lethal Extra 
  ❏
  Save vs. Fatigue 
  ❏
  Additional Fatigue Levels 
  ❏
  Active Defense 
  ❏
  Attacks of Opportunity 
  ❏
  Multiple Attacks 
  ❏
   
  Extra Attacks 
  ❏
   
  Iterative Attacks 
  ❏
   
  Off-Hand Attacks 
  ❏
  Immediate Recovery 
  ❏
  Hit Points 
  ❏
  Wound & Vitality Points 
  ❏
  One-Hit Insurance 
  ❏
  All-or-Nothing Damage 
  ❏
  Threshold Modifiers 
  ❏
  Changing Damage Thresholds 
  ❏
   
  Variable Damage Thresholds 
  ❏
  Percentile Damage Thresholds 
  ❏
  Maximum Hit Totals 
  ❏
   
  Multi-hit Attacks 
  ❏
  Variable Critical Hits 
  ❏
  Tactical Movement 
  ❏
   
  Hex-Grid Movement 
  ❏
  Flanking 
  ❏
  Mental Grappling for Effect 
  ❏
   
  Mental Grappling for All Powers 
  ❏
  Mental Strain 
  ❏
  
  INDEX 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INDEX 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INDEX
  151
  Symbols
  +30 Rolls ....................................................................................................8
  –10 Rolls .....................................................................................................8
  3d6 Threat Ranges ............................................................................... 10
  A
  Ability Strain ..........................................................................................20
  Extra Effort and ......................................................................................... 20
  Absorption (Physical/Energy) ...........................................................52
  Access Feats ...........................................................................................42
  Active Defense ....................................................................................109
  Adaptation .............................................................................................52
  Additional Fatigue Levels .................................................................108
  Additional Limbs ...................................................................................52
  Advancement ...................................................................................16–17
  Downtime and .............................................................................................17
  During Play ..................................................................................................17
  Feats ...............................................................................................................16
  Powers ............................................................................................................17
  Skills ................................................................................................................16
  Adventures ..................................................................................128–136
  Aging .......................................................................................................22
  Aikido (ﬁghting style) .........................................................................40
  Aircraft Operation (new feat) ............................................................43
  All-or-Nothing Damage .......................................................................112
  Alternate Dice ..........................................................................................8
  Alternate Effects ................................................................................... 76
  Alternate Form ......................................................................................52
  Alternate Power as a Flaw .................................................................. 76
  Alternate Progressions ........................................................................ 73
  Alternate Ritual Skills .......................................................................103
  Altitude .................................................................................................120
  Ammunition .........................................................................................103
  Anatomic Separation ...........................................................................52
  Animal Control ...............................................................................48, 52
  Animal Mimicry .....................................................................................52
  Animate Objects ...................................................................................52
  Anticipate Action ..................................................................................26
  Appraise (new skill) ............................................................................. 27
  Aquatic Environments ..............................................................124–125
  Archaic Weapons Proﬁciency (new feat) ........................................43
  Area Knockback .................................................................................... 76
  Armor Penalties ...................................................................................103
  Astral Form .............................................................................................52
  Attacking Vehicles ................................................................................96
  Attacks of Opportunity .....................................................................109
  Attack Focus ..........................................................................................22
  Attack Specialization ...........................................................................22
  Aura and Stacking Effects ..................................................................77
  Automatic Damage ............................................................................107
  Automatic Failure ....................................................................................8
  Automatic Hits ....................................................................................104
  Automatic Success ..................................................................................8
  Avalanches ...........................................................................................120
  B
  Background Skills .................................................................................29
  Best of Two Saving Throws .................................................................23
  Blast .........................................................................................................52
  Bluff .........................................................................................................24
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Bonuses, Stunt ..........................................................................................8
  Boost (Trait) ...........................................................................................52
  Box-In (vehicle manuever) ................................................................100
  Boxing (ﬁghting style) ........................................................................40
  Broad Skills .............................................................................................30
  Burrowing ...............................................................................................52
  C
  Calling .....................................................................................................82
  Capoeira (ﬁghting style) .....................................................................40
  Card-based Hero Points ........................................................................11
  Card-Based Resolution .........................................................................11
  Casual Strength ....................................................................................20
  Cave-ins ................................................................................................. 121
  Challenges ........................................................................................ 12–15
  Acrobatics .....................................................................................................12
  as Feats ..........................................................................................................15
  Bluff ................................................................................................................12
  Climb ..............................................................................................................12
  Craft ...............................................................................................................12
  Diplomacy .....................................................................................................12
  Disable Device .............................................................................................13
  Disguise .........................................................................................................13
  Drive ...............................................................................................................13
  Escape Artist ................................................................................................13
  Gather Information ....................................................................................13
  Intimidate .....................................................................................................13
  Notice .............................................................................................................13
  Pilot .................................................................................................................14
  Sense Motive ................................................................................................14
  Standard ........................................................................................................12
  Stealth ............................................................................................................14
  Swim ...............................................................................................................15
  Challenge (new feat) ...........................................................................43
  Changing Damage Thresholds .........................................................113
  Chi (new power) ....................................................................................56
  Cold Control ...........................................................................................52
  Collapses ............................................................................................... 121
  Combat Challenges ...................................................................104–105
  Accurate Attack .......................................................................................104
  All-out Attack ............................................................................................104
  Counter .......................................................................................................106
  Defensive Attack ......................................................................................104
  Emulate Feat .............................................................................................106
  Power Attack .............................................................................................104
  Combat Concealment (new feat) .....................................................36
  Combat Readiness ................................................................................26
  Combat Reﬂexes (new feat) ...............................................................44
  INDEX
  
  152
  INDEX
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  INDEX
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  INDEX
  Communication .....................................................................................52
  Complications ........................................................................................64
  Comprehend ...........................................................................................52
  Computers ....................................................................................... 24–26
  Computer Hacking ...............................................................................24
  Concealment ..........................................................................................52
  Concentrating on Extra Effort ...........................................................82
  Concentration ........................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Confuse ...................................................................................................52
  Consequences ........................................................................................65
  Corrosion .................................................................................................52
  Corruption ..............................................................................................90
  Cosmic Energy Control ........................................................................52
  Counterattack (new feat) ...................................................................44
  Craft .........................................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Create Object .........................................................................................52
  Creating ..................................................................................................40
  Creating Feats ................................................................................ 36–39
  Creating Skills ................................................................................ 26–29
  Critical Failure .......................................................................................32
  Critical Misses .....................................................................................108
  Critical Success ......................................................................................32
  Crowds ...................................................................................................123
  Crowd (vehicle manuever) ................................................................100
  Crushing Pin (new feat) ......................................................................45
  Cut Off (vehicle manuever) ..............................................................100
  D
  Damage Roll ........................................................................................107
  Darkness Control ..................................................................................52
  Datalink ..................................................................................................52
  Dazzle ......................................................................................................52
  Death Surges ......................................................................................... 81
  Dedication (new feat) .........................................................................45
  Defense Roll .........................................................................................106
  Defensive Strike (new feat) ................................................................45
  Defensive Throw (new feat) ...............................................................45
  Deﬂect .....................................................................................................52
  Deﬂect Arrows (new feat) ..................................................................36
  Demolitions (new skill) ....................................................................... 27
  Density ....................................................................................................52
  Device ......................................................................................................52
  Dimensional Pocket .............................................................................53
  Dim Mak (new power) ......................................................................... 57
  Diplomacy ...............................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Direction Sense (new feat) .................................................................36
  Disable Device .......................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Disintegration ........................................................................................53
  Double Critical Hits ...........................................................................108
  Drain (Trait) ............................................................................................53
  Duplication .............................................................................................53
  Dynamic Variable Powers ................................................................... 73
  E
  Eagle Eyes (new feat) ..........................................................................38
  Earthquakes ......................................................................................... 121
  Effects ......................................................................................................48
  Electrical Control ..................................................................................53
  Element Control ....................................................................................53
  Elongation ..............................................................................................53
  Emotion Control ....................................................................................53
  Energy Points ......................................................................................... 72
  Enhanced Ability ..................................................................................53
  Enhanced Hero Points .........................................................................85
  Environmental Control ........................................................................53
  Escape Artist ..........................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Escrima (ﬁghting style) .......................................................................40
  ESP ............................................................................................................53
  Exotic Weapon Proﬁciency (new feat) .............................................45
  Extended Skill Checks .................................................................. 32–35
  Aid and ......................................................................................................... 33
  Combined Effort and ............................................................................... 33
  Interrupting ................................................................................................. 33
  Taking 10 and 20 ...................................................................................... 33
  Timed ............................................................................................................. 33
  Trying Again ............................................................................................... 33
  Under Pressure ............................................................................................ 33
  Using Multiple Skills ................................................................................. 35
  Extraordinary Effort ..............................................................................82
  Extra Attacks (new power) ............................................................... 110
  Extra Effort and Advancement ..........................................................82
  Extra Limb (new feat) ..........................................................................38
  F
  Faking Mind Control ............................................................................24
  Faster Advancement ............................................................................ 18
  Fatigue .....................................................................................................53
  Fatigue Saves ......................................................................................... 72
  Feats as Options ...................................................................................42
  Feint .........................................................................................................26
  Fencing (ﬁghting style) .......................................................................40
  Fighting Styles ................................................................................39–42
  Attack and Defense and ......................................................................... 40
  Skills and ...................................................................................................... 40
  Unarmed vs. Weapon Styles ................................................................... 39
  Weapon Elements ...................................................................................... 39
  Finishing Blow (new feat) ...................................................................45
  Fires ........................................................................................................ 121
  First Strike (new feat) ..........................................................................45
  Flanking ................................................................................................ 116
  Flight ........................................................................................................53
  Flight Maneuverability ........................................................................ 74
  Follow-up Strike (new feat) ................................................................45
  Force Field ..............................................................................................53
  Forgery (new skill) ................................................................................ 27
  Forgetfulness .........................................................................................64
  Fortitude Surges .................................................................................... 81
  Free Equipment ...................................................................................102
  Friction Control .....................................................................................53
  Full Skills ................................................................................................. 31
  G
  Gadgets (new power) ..........................................................................50
  Gamble (new skill) ................................................................................ 27
  Gather Information ..............................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Gestalt .....................................................................................................53
  
  INDEX 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INDEX 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INDEX
  153
  Getting Lost ......................................................................................... 118
  Gloating ..................................................................................................24
  Graded Language Ranks .....................................................................35
  Grappling Block (new feat) ................................................................46
  Gravity Control ......................................................................................53
  Growth .....................................................................................................53
  H
  Half Skills ............................................................................................... 31
  Handle Animal ......................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Healing ....................................................................................................53
  Hellﬁre Control ......................................................................................53
  Herd (vehicle manuever) ...................................................................100
  Hero Points & Drawbacks ...................................................................84
  Hero Points for Advancement ...........................................................85
  Hero Point Penalties ............................................................................85
  High-Low Rolls ....................................................................................... 10
  Hit Points .......................................................................................111–112
  I
  Illusion .....................................................................................................53
  Immediate Recovery ............................................................................111
  Immovable ..............................................................................................53
  Immunity ................................................................................................53
  Immunity to Disease (new feat) .......................................................38
  Improved Concealment (new feat) ...................................................46
  Improved Flank (new feat) .................................................................46
  Improved Mental Grapple (new feat) ..............................................46
  Improved Opportunity (new feat) .....................................................46
  Improved Ranged Disarm (new feat) ...............................................46
  Improved Strike (new feat) .................................................................38
  Improved Trick (new feat) ...................................................................46
  Improvised Weapons Proﬁciency (new feat) ..................................46
  Innate Attack .........................................................................................22
  Insight Save ...........................................................................................23
  Instant Death ......................................................................................108
  Insubstantial ..........................................................................................53
  Intercept (vehicle manuever) ...........................................................100
  Intimidate ...............................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Invisibility ...............................................................................................53
  J
  Jujutsu (ﬁghting style) ........................................................................40
  K
  Karate (ﬁghting style) ......................................................................... 41
  Kiai (new power) ...................................................................................58
  Kinetic Control ......................................................................................53
  Knowledge ..............................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Krav Maga (ﬁghting style) ................................................................. 41
  Kung Fu (ﬁghting style) ...................................................................... 41
  L
  Language Checks ..................................................................................35
  Language Modiﬁers .............................................................................35
  Last-Ditch Effort ....................................................................................82
  Lava ........................................................................................................122
  Leaping ....................................................................................................53
  Legal System ...............................................................................126–128
  Trial Checks ............................................................................................... 127
  Lethal Attack Cost ..............................................................................108
  Lethal Knockback ...............................................................................108
  Lethal Penetration ..............................................................................108
  Level-Based Advancement .................................................................. 18
  Life Control .............................................................................................53
  Lightning Calculator (new feat) ........................................................38
  Light Control ..........................................................................................53
  Light Sleeper (new feat) .....................................................................46
  Linked Power Saves ..............................................................................77
  Low-Light Vision (new feat) ...............................................................38
  Low-Proﬁle (new feat) ..........................................................................46
  Luck Control ...........................................................................................53
  Lure (vehicle manuever) ....................................................................101
  M
  Madness ..................................................................................................90
  Magic .......................................................................................................53
  Magnetic Control ..................................................................................53
  Managing Power Stunts ......................................................................64
  Mandatory Super-Strength .................................................................20
  Maneuvers ..................................................................................... 99–101
  Pursuer .................................................................................................99–101
  Target ..........................................................................................................101
  Margin of Success ...............................................................................106
  Martial Artist (new feat) .....................................................................46
  Martial Arts Powers .......................................................................56–59
  Martial Strike (new feat) .....................................................................46
  Masterful Tactics ...................................................................................35
  Match (vehicle manuever) ................................................................100
  Maximum Hero Points .........................................................................85
  Maximum Hit Totals .......................................................................... 114
  Medicine .................................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Mental Blast ...........................................................................................53
  Mental Combat ...................................................................................107
  Mental Duplication (new power) .....................................................55
  Mental Grapple .....................................................................................38
  Mental Grappling for Effect ............................................................. 116
  Mental Notice ........................................................................................26
  Mental Strain ........................................................................................117
  Mimic (Trait) ...........................................................................................53
  Mind Control ..........................................................................................53
  Mind Reading ........................................................................................53
  Mind Shield ............................................................................................53
  Mind Switch ...........................................................................................53
  Mix-and-Match Key Abilities ..............................................................30
  Mobility (new feat) ..............................................................................46
  Modifying Existing Powers .................................................................50
  Morph ......................................................................................................53
  Mounted Combat ................................................................................. 97
  Muay Thai (ﬁghting style) .................................................................. 41
  Multiple Attacks ................................................................................. 110
  Multitasking ........................................................................................... 31
  Mutation ................................................................................................. 91
  N
  Narrow Skills ..........................................................................................30
  
  154
  INDEX
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  INDEX
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  INDEX
  Nauseate .................................................................................................53
  Navigate (new skill) ............................................................................. 27
  Nemesis ...................................................................................................54
  Niche Protection ...................................................................................43
  Ninjutsu (ﬁghting style) ..................................................................... 41
  Nonrenewable Hero Points ................................................................85
  Notice ......................................................................................................26
  Notice Specialties .................................................................................35
  No Saving Throw Power Modiﬁer ..................................................... 78
  Nullify (Power) .......................................................................................54
  Null Arrays .............................................................................................. 75
  O
  Oathbound (new feat) .........................................................................46
  Obscure ...................................................................................................54
  Obstacle Course (vehicle manuever) .............................................101
  One-Hit Insurance ................................................................................112
  Opportunist (new feat) ....................................................................... 47
  Optional Feats ................................................................................43–47
  Options as Feats ...................................................................................39
  Other Impervious Saving Throws ......................................................77
  Out-of-Turn Defense ............................................................................107
  P
  Pain (new power) ..................................................................................50
  Paralyze ...................................................................................................54
  Partial Concentration Checks ............................................................ 71
  Partial Countering ................................................................................ 71
  Partial Saves vs. Trait Powers ............................................................. 73
  Percentile Thresholds ......................................................................... 114
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency (new feat) ........................................ 47
  Plant Control ..........................................................................................54
  Plasma Control ......................................................................................54
  Plot-Stopping Powers .....................................................................67–70
  ESP ..................................................................................................................67
  Healing ......................................................................................................... 68
  Incorporeal ................................................................................................... 68
  Invisibility ..................................................................................................... 68
  Mind Control ............................................................................................... 69
  Mind Reading ............................................................................................. 69
  Morph ............................................................................................................ 69
  Possession .................................................................................................... 69
  Postcognition .............................................................................................. 69
  Precognition .................................................................................................70
  Teleport ..........................................................................................................70
  X-Ray Vision ..................................................................................................67
  Point-Based Nullify ............................................................................... 75
  Possession ..............................................................................................54
  Power-Ups ...............................................................................................62
  Powers and Society ............................................................................134
  Powers as Feats .............................................................................. 36–37
  Power Arrays ...................................................................................60–62
  Creating ........................................................................................................ 60
  Improving ......................................................................................................61
  Power Array (new power) .................................................................... 75
  Power Boosters ...................................................................................... 72
  Power Combos ....................................................................................... 75
  Power Control ........................................................................................54
  Power Creation ...............................................................................48–62
  Power Level Limits .................................................................................17
  Power Level Point Limits ..................................................................... 70
  Power Strain ...........................................................................................84
  Temporary .................................................................................................... 84
  Power Surges ................................................................................... 78–81
  Continuous ...................................................................................................79
  Effects ............................................................................................................78
  Variants .........................................................................................................81
  Power Use (new skill) ..........................................................................28
  Probability Control (new power) .......................................................55
  Professional Skills .................................................................................35
  Proﬁciency ............................................................................................102
  Protection ...............................................................................................54
  Proxy Hero Points .................................................................................85
  Pull Ahead (vehicle manuever) .......................................................101
  Pursuit ............................................................................................ 98–101
  Q
  Quicker than the Eye ...........................................................................26
  Quickness ................................................................................................54
  Quicksand .............................................................................................122
  R
  Radiation Control .................................................................................54
  Radiation Sickness ....................................................................125–126
  Ram (vehicle manuever) ...................................................................100
  Random Ability Scores ........................................................................20
  Random Power Generation ................................................................. 63
  Rapid Healing (new feat) ...................................................................38
  Re-allocating Power Points ................................................................. 18
  Re-rolling Initiative .............................................................................104
  Realism ....................................................................................................66
  Regeneration .........................................................................................54
  Renown (new feat) ............................................................................... 47
  Repair (new skill) ..................................................................................28
  Reputation .......................................................................................86–87
  Requisitioning Equipment ................................................................103
  Research (new skill) .............................................................................29
  Reverse (vehicle manuever) .............................................................101
  S
  Saves Based on Different Abilities ...................................................23
  Save vs. Fatigue ..................................................................................108
  Save vs. Stun ........................................................................................107
  Search ......................................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Sense Motive ..........................................................................................26
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Sensory Shield .......................................................................................54
  Set Up (vehicle manuever) ...............................................................101
  Shapeshift ..............................................................................................54
  Shield .......................................................................................................54
  Shorthand Abilities ..............................................................................20
  Shrinking .................................................................................................54
  Sidekicks .................................................................................................43
  Lower-Power-Level ....................................................................................... 43
  Reverse .......................................................................................................... 43
  Sidestep (new feat) .............................................................................. 47
  Simple Skills ...........................................................................................29
  Simple Weapons Proﬁciency (new feat) .......................................... 47
  Skill Checks ............................................................................................ 31
  Active ..............................................................................................................31
  
  INDEX 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INDEX 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  INDEX
  155
  Passive ............................................................................................................31
  Secret ..............................................................................................................31
  Skill Synergy ...........................................................................................32
  High Synergy ............................................................................................... 32
  Sleight of Hand .....................................................................................26
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Slower Advancement ........................................................................... 18
  Snare ........................................................................................................54
  Sonic Control .........................................................................................54
  Space Travel ............................................................................................54
  Spatial Control ......................................................................................54
  Speak With (Animal) (new feat) .......................................................38
  Specialty Strikes ....................................................................................59
  as Alternate Powers .................................................................................. 59
  Blinding ........................................................................................................ 59
  Chi .................................................................................................................. 59
  Cobra ............................................................................................................. 59
  Paralyzing .................................................................................................... 59
  Sickening ...................................................................................................... 59
  Speed .......................................................................................................54
  Speed & Jumping ..................................................................................23
  Speed of Thought (new feat) ............................................................. 47
  Spinning ..................................................................................................54
  Stability Save .........................................................................................23
  Stacked Impervious & Penetrating ...................................................77
  Standard Hero Points ...........................................................................85
  Steadfast (new feats) ..........................................................................38
  Stealth .....................................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Stealth Specialties ................................................................................35
  Strike ........................................................................................................54
  Stun ..........................................................................................................54
  Stunt (vehicle manuever) ..................................................................101
  Stunt Bonuses ...........................................................................................8
  Stun Timing ............................................................................................ 71
  Suffocate .................................................................................................54
  Summon (Minion) .................................................................................54
  Sumo (ﬁghting style) ...........................................................................42
  Super-Abilities ........................................................................................23
  Super-Movement ...................................................................................54
  Super-Senses ..........................................................................................54
  Super-Speed ............................................................................................54
  Super-Strength .......................................................................................54
  Surface Vehicle Operation (new feat) ............................................. 47
  Surge (vehicle manuever) .................................................................101
  Surge Damage ....................................................................................... 81
  Surge Points ....................................................................................79–80
  Surge Point Penalty .............................................................................. 81
  Surge Taint ............................................................................................. 81
  Survival ....................................................................................................34
  Extended Skill Checks .............................................................................. 34
  Sweeping Strike (new feat) ................................................................ 47
  Swimming ...............................................................................................54
  T
  Tactical Movement .....................................................................115–116
  Tae Kwan Do (ﬁghting style) .............................................................42
  Taint ...................................................................................................87–91
  Acquiring ..................................................................................................... 88
  Causes ........................................................................................................... 88
  Effects ........................................................................................................... 88
  Eliminating .................................................................................................. 89
  Limits ............................................................................................................. 89
  Types ...............................................................................................................87
  Talented (new feat) ..............................................................................38
  Team Checks .......................................................................................... 15
  Tech Levels .......................................................................................92–95
  Equipment and .......................................................................................... 95
  Skills and ...................................................................................................... 95
  Telekinesis ..............................................................................................54
  Telepathy .................................................................................................54
  Teleport ...................................................................................................54
  Templates ..........................................................................................15–16
  Format ............................................................................................................15
  Power ..............................................................................................................16
  Racial .............................................................................................................15
  Stacking .........................................................................................................15
  Vocational .....................................................................................................16
  Threshold Modiﬁers ............................................................................113
  Tight Turn (vehicle manuever) .........................................................101
  Time Control ...........................................................................................54
  Time Sense (new feat) .........................................................................38
  Tougher Minions .................................................................................107
  Tough (new feat) ............................................................................38, 47
  Trading Cards ..........................................................................................11
  Transfer ....................................................................................................54
  Transform ................................................................................................54
  Trip ............................................................................................................54
  U
  Unbalancing Strike (new feat) .......................................................... 47
  Unlimited Power Level ......................................................................... 19
  Unlimited Power Points ....................................................................... 19
  Unreliable Powers ................................................................................. 70
  Urban Environments .................................................................123–124
  Utopian (template) .............................................................................. 16
  V
  Vanish (vehicle manuever) ...............................................................101
  Variable Critical Hits .......................................................................... 115
  Variable Power (new power) ..............................................................48
  Variable Skill Costs ...............................................................................30
  Vehicle Combat ..............................................................................95–97
  Vehicle Damage .................................................................................... 97
  Vibration Control ..................................................................................54
  Villain Points ..........................................................................................86
  Acquiring ..................................................................................................... 86
  Eliminating .................................................................................................. 86
  W
  Waking Up ..............................................................................................26
  Weather ........................................................................................ 122–123
  Weather Control ....................................................................................54
  Wide (new modiﬁer) ............................................................................ 76
  Wide Arrays ............................................................................................ 76
  Worst of Two Saving Throws ..............................................................23
  Wound & Vitality Points ....................................................................112
  Wrestling (ﬁghting style) ....................................................................42
  Z
  Zig-Zag (vehicle manuever) ..............................................................101
  
  156
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
  STEVE KENSON, DESIGNER & DEVELOPER
  Rocketed to Earth from a dying world orbiting a pink sun, Steve 
  was adopted by kindly parents who raised him in places all over the 
  United States, showing him the diverse nature of his new home. Under 
  Earth’s yellow sun, he developed amazing powers of comic book trivia 
  and game design and worked on over eighty different roleplaying 
  game products. In 2002, Steve designed the first edition of Mutants 
  & Masterminds, followed by Freedom City and the design and devel-
  opment of Blue Rose and True20 Adventure Roleplaying. He became 
  Green Ronin’s Mutants & Masterminds Line Developer in 2004. Steve 
  maintains a mild-mannered identity in New Hampshire with his part-
  ner, Christopher Penczak, and has a website at www.stevekenson.com.
  HAL MANGOLD, GRAPHIC DESIGN & ART DIRECTION
  Hal has been involved with roleplaying games since he was 9 
  years old, and shows no sign of stopping now. His graphic design 
  skills have been applied to over well over sixty gaming products, 
  and he’s written material for Pinnacle Entertainment Group, White 
  Wolf Publishing, Atlas Games, Twilight Creations, and Green Ronin 
  Publishing. Hal resides in Alexandria, VA.with a house full of books 
  and music a rather tempermental cat. 
  STEVEN MARSH, EDITOR
  Steven edited the book you’re holding and he enjoyed every minute 
  of it. He’s worked in every tier of the gaming industry, plays a lot 
  of games, and reads a lot of comics. He currently lives in Bellevue, 
  Washington and works at WizKids as the Director of Game Design 
  and the HeroClix Game Designer. He likes to keep busy.
  ATTILA ADÓRJÁNY, ARTIST
  Comicbook creator and sci-fi/fantasy artist Attila Adórjány was born 
  in Canada. He spent many years in Australia before returning to 
  Canada to attend OCAD. Since 1995 He has worked as an illustra-
  tor, conceptual artist, graphic designer and sculptor. He has worked 
  in all areas of the print and entertainment industries from maga-
  zines, gaming and comicbooks to film, TV and Video Games.  His 
  credits include work for Dungeon Magazine, Wizards of the Coast, 
  Image Comics, Udon Entertainment, White Wolf, Warner Bros, 
  Mirimax, Sony Entertainment, EA Games, and BBDO. His upcoming 
  comic projects include Breathe, and the Night. Attila collaborates 
  regularly with his friends Tom Fowler, Eric Kim and Ramon Perez in 
  a group called the Hive. They can be reached at www.enterthehive.
  com. Attila’s website can be found at www.600poundgorilla.com
  MICHAEL ATIYEH, COLORIST
  Michael Atiyeh has been a colorist in the comic book industry for 
  over 10 years. He has worked for every major comic publisher. His 
  latest project is the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 
  /Rebellion flip comic, due out in February of 2006. 
  BRETT BARKLEY, ARTIST
  Brett Barkley has always been driven to create.  As a boy, drawing 
  and writing occupied the majority of his energies, as a long list of 
  disappointed teachers will attest.  As he grew, he explored building 
  and working with his hands.  Today, a professional comic artist, illus-
  trator and writer, as well as having served in the television and print 
  advertising industries, he pulls from a wide spectrum of life experi-
  ence and interests.From working on the home he and his wife share, 
  to restoring his ‘67 Camaro RS, to building computers, illustrating 
  and coloring comics, and through his writing, Brett seeks to discover 
  the inherent expression of the Lord’s work. It is his sincere hope and 
  ambition this search can be evidenced in all he does. 
  ERIC CANETE, ARTIST
  Eric Canete  is an accomplished illustrator, designer, and storyboard 
  artist. He began his career as designer and board artist on Peter 
  Chung’s highly-acclaimed MTV series Aeon Flux, currently in develop-
  ment as a live-action feature at Paramount with Terminator producer 
  Gale Anne Hurd. He has since provided concept art, designs, and 
  boards for projects including Men In Black, Godzilla, and Starship 
  Troopers at Sony and the Cartoon Network’s revival of He-Man and 
  the Masters of the Universe. Select comics credits include Mr. Majestic 
  and Cybernary 2.0  at DC Comic’s WildStorm imprint, Superman , 
  and Marvel Comics’ Deathlok  (which is also in development as a 
  feature at Paramount). He is once again working with director Peter 
  Chung, this time on a brand new animated franchise at Universal 
  Pictures. For more of Eric’s talent and imagination, please visit his 
  studio website at http://www.blackvelvetstudios.com. 
  JOHN CHRISTOPHER, ARTIST
  John Christopher has worked as a commercial artist over the past 
  several years. He has worked in a variety of mediums including print, 
  multimedia, broadcast and videogames. He recently became the 
  newest member at Studio Revolver, and is looking forward to having 
  this opportunity to continue his growth as an artist. His passions 
  include drawing and painting, and hopes to continue his work in 
  illustration and conceptual art. 
  STORN A. COOK, ARTIST
  Freelanced through art school, Columbus College of Art and Design, 
  due to an insane love of Role Playing Games.  Which I’ve been 
  involved in since 1978.  I strive to be a little bit better every day.  I 
  continue to freelance, wishing to get my artwork in every superhero 
  (or villain) RPG possible. 
  TOM FEISTER, ARTIST
  Tom Feister was raised in the wild plains of the Eastern Pennsylvania’s 
  famed Amish country. His work has appeared on the covers and in the 
  pages of Legion, G.I. Joe Frontlines, Justice League Adventures, Legion, 
  Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Exiles, and Captain Marvel. As you are read-
  ing this Tom is at his at his desk inking Ex-Machina. Or sleeping.
  TARIQ HASSAN, ARTIST
  Tariq Hassan or “Riq” can be found in the pages of Arkadian: No 
  Witness, a book he pencilled, inked, and lettered. Arkadian is a one shot 
  put out by Devils Due Publishing in April 2006.  www.RiqArt.com 
  SCOTT JAMES, ARTIST
  Scott graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1995, and hasn’t 
  looked back since. He began freelancing right out of collage. He began 
  working for Fasa’s Battletech, Shadowrun, and Earthdawn. At this time 
  he began to do work for White Wolf and Pinnacle Entertainment Group 
  CONTRIBUTORS
  
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS 
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
  157
  as well. He then began doing work for AEG, which he parlayed into a 
  part time staff position for a year working on all their game lines. Aftre 
  that, he did conceptual design for Hasbro on the movie Small Solders 
  doing character designs, and creating the look for the toy and computer 
  animated cartoon Action Man. He continues to freelance for a multi-
  tude of companies, along with teaching collage art classes.
  GEORGES JEANTY, ARTIST
  Celebrating his 10th year in comics, Georges has had a rollercoaster 
  ride in the comic business. Studying fine arts in collage, but work-
  ing as a comercial artist for various companies including the Miam 
  Herald over the years, Georges has settled nicely in his dream prof-
  fession of creating comic books in the pages of Superman, Wonder 
  Woman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics and Bishop, Gambit, 
  Deadpool and Wolverine for Marvel. With future projects on the hori-
  zon, Georges is mostly thankful to his supporters and finally getting 
  his web site up and running. www.kabalounge.com. 
  GREG KIRKPATRICK, ARTIST
  Greg Kirkpatrick graduated from the University of Kansas with a 
  BFA. He’s worked on comic projects like Occupational Hazards for 
  the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and self published Novavolo 
  and Big Bang comics. His recent work includes Living in Infamy for 
  Ludovico Technique. He currently resides in South Florida  with his 
  wife Maggie and his kids Jessica, Rick and Johnny. 
   “REY” LEWIS, ARTIST
  Corey Lewis, “the rey,” was born in Los Angeles, California in 1982. 
  He relocated to Bremerton, Washington quickly thereafter. He spent 
  about 21 years there learning how to live, and how to love. He lives 
  a relatively peaceful life as a comic artist and illustrator and some-
  times writer in Seattle, WA. He self-publishes his own comics and 
  draws big, important things for big, important people. Soon he plans 
  on unleashing a magnum renaissance opus of stories to totally blow 
  your brain out the back of your skull. 
  TONY PARKER, ARTIST
  Tony Parker is a Phoenix, Arizona based artist. He still loves giving 
  hugs.  
  RAMON K PEREZ, ARTIST
  The majority of Ramon’s artistic catalogue can be found in Role-
  Playing Games, Collectible Card Games and related publications. 
  A veteran of the industry he has worked on Rifts, Mutants & 
  Masterminds, and Star Wars amongst many others. He is also a regu-
  lar contributor in the pages of both Dragon and Dungeon agazines. 
  Currently, Ramon is making his move into mainstream comics with 
  his current monthly book Spell Game for Speak Easy Comics as well 
  as his creator owned Butternutsquash. Other projects have seen him 
  work on Marvel’s elusive Hulk: Gamma Games and such high pro-
  file projects as The Incredibles for Dark Horse Comics. Check out his 
  work at calaverastudio.com and butternutsquash.net.
  KEVIN STOKES, ARTIST
  Kevin Stokes has been published under various small press comic 
  companies along with a short series under Image called Shut Up 
  and Die!. He has assisted with the inks on Batman books while 
  working on his own projects and cartoons for a  local newspaper.  
  CRAIG TAILLIFER, ARTIST
  Born November 29, 1968 in Ottawa Canada, Craig was raised on a 
  diet of crayons, play-doh, and comic books. An early exposure to Uncle 
  Scrooge, Asterix, Turok Son Of Stone, and the works of Edgar Rice 
  Burroughs left an indelible impression on the budding young artist’s 
  psyche. Against the urgings of much saner voices, he chose to pursue 
  art as a career. Stumbling into professional work at a very young age, 
  Craig has made a living of sorts at drawing for the better part of the 
  past two decades. His work has spanned the black and white boom 
  at Aircel and Malibu to a long residency at WaRP Graphics working 
  on the ElfQuest titles. Craig currently works in TV Animation, RPG 
  Illustration, and selfpublishes Wahoo Morris through his company 
  Too Hip Gotta Go Graphics. He splits his time between work with an 
  unhealthy obsession for comic books, old records, and hammocks.
  UDON WITH CHRIS STEVENS, ARTIST
  Udon is a collective of artists formed in 2000 based out of Toronto, 
  Canada. Udon provides top quality artwork and creative services 
  to many fields including gaming, comic books, toy design, video 
  games and advertising. Chris Stevens is a veteran Udon illustrator 
  working out of Winterville, North Carolina. His detailed line work 
  and dynamic action scenes have graced role-playing game books for 
  White Wolf, Paizo and Hero Games as well as comic book series for 
  Marvel and Devil’s Due Publishing. 
  DEXTER VINES, ARTIST
  Dexter Vines is a comic vet making this his 11th year in the biz. He 
  has made a name for him self bye slinging a mean brush stroke 
  over the likes of Leinil Yu, Ed McGuinness to name a few.  On the 
  weekends he likes to drive his car Fast & Furious at local Auto Cross 
  events. Dexter lives in Atlanta with his wife Nikki. 
  KARL WALLER, ARTIST
  An artist highly regarded for his amazing sense of design and a 
  precision linework that hints of a Michael Golden influence, Karl 
  Waller has been a comics professional since the mid-80s, breaking 
  in with 1980s indy mainstay Eclipse on titles such as New Wave 
  and Alien Encounters. Waller has been a part of a number of inter-
  esting creative teams during his diverse career. He was penciller 
  on the 1987 John Ostrander / Tim Truman mini-series Hotspur at 
  Eclipse; he pencilled the D.G. Chichester-written Dark Horse series 
  Motorhead, on which he was inked by Tim Bradstreet; he teamed 
  with Christopher Priest on a Legends of the DC Universe arc; and 
  worked with Jay Faerber for Marvel’s X-Men the Movie: Wolverine 
  special. Karl makes his online home at http://www.karlwaller.
  com.
  
  158
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
  MASTERMIND’S MANUAL 
  CONTRIBUTOR BIOS
  OPEN GAME LICENSE
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 
  Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
  1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have 
  contributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material 
  including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), 
  potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compila-
  tion, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed 
  or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, 
  publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the 
  game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the 
  extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over 
  the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by 
  the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations 
  and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) 
  “Product Identity” means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks 
  including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic 
  elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, like-
  nesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual 
  or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, 
  personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environ-
  ments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, 
  or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified 
  as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes 
  the Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, 
  designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated 
  products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or 
  “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise cre-
  ate Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee 
  in terms of this agreement.
  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice 
  indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this 
  License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms 
  may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License 
  itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distrib-
  uted using this License.
  3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your accep-
  tance of the terms of this License.
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the 
  Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with 
  the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
  5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original mate-
  rial as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original 
  creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
  6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of 
  this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game 
  Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the 
  copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any origi-
  nal Open Game Content you Distribute.
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as 
  an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent 
  Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to 
  indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in 
  conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed 
  in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered 
  Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute 
  a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity 
  used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that 
  Product Identity.
  8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which 
  portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content.
  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated ver-
  sions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify 
  and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this 
  License.
  10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the 
  Open Game Content You Distribute.
  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game 
  Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the 
  Contributor to do so.
  12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this 
  License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial 
  order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so 
  affected.
  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all 
  terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the 
  breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
  14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provi-
  sion shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc., Authors Jonathan 
  Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and 
  Dave Arneson.
  Modern System Reference Document, Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; 
  Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David 
  Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material 
  by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. 
  Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
  A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe Copyright 2003, Expeditious Retreat Press; 
  authors Suzi Yee and Joseph Browning.
  Advanced Gamemaster’s Guide, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Author 
  Owen K.C. Stephens.
  Advanced Player’s Manual, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing: Author Skip 
  Williams.
  Crooks!, Copyright 2003, Green Ronin Publishing; Authors Sean Glenn, Kyle Hunter, and 
  Erik Mona.
  Cry Havoc © 2003 Skip Williams. All rights reserved.
  Grim Tales, Copyright 2004, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.
  Hot Pursuit, Copyright 2005, Corey Reid, published by Adamant Entertainment, Inc.
  Immortals Handbook, Copyright 2003, Craig Cochrane.
  Modern Player’s Companion, Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics, Inc.; Author: Stan!
  Monster’s Handbook Copyright 2002, Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.
  Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes, Copyright 2005, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.
  Monte Cook’s Arcana Unearthed, Copyright 2003, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.
  Mutants & Masterminds Annual #1, Copyright 2004, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Editor 
  Erik Mona.
  Mutants & Masterminds, Copyright 2002, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Author Steve 
  Kenson.
  Mutants & Masterminds, Second Edition, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; 
  Author Steve Kenson.
  Possessors: Children of the Outer Gods Copyright 2003, Philip Reed and Christopher Shy, 
  www.philipjreed.com and www.studioronin.com.
  Silver Age Sentinels d20, Copyright 2002, Guardians of Order, Inc.; Authors Stephen 
  Kenson, Mark C. Mackinnon, Jeff Mackintosh, Jesse Scoble.
  Spycraft 1960s Decade Book, Copyright 2003, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors 
  Robert J. Defendi, B. D. Flory, Scott Gearin, Clayton A. Oliver.
  Spycraft Agency, Copyright 2004, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors Steve Crow, 
  Alexander Flagg, B. D. Flory, Clayton A. Oliver, Steven Peterson.
  Spycraft Battlegrounds, Copyright 2005, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors Andy 
  C. David, Alexander Flagg, Clayton A. Oliver, Jason Olsan, Patrick Parish.
  Spycraft Copyright 2002, Alderac Entertainment Group.
  Spycraft Espionage Handbook, Copyright 2002, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors 
  Patrick Kapera and Kevin Wilson.
  Spycraft Faceman/Snoop Class Guide, Copyright 2003, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; 
  Authors Alexander Flagg, Clayton A. Oliver.
  Spycraft Fixer/Pointman Class Guide, Copyright 2003, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; 
  Authors Scott Gearin.
  Spycraft Mastermind Guide, Copyright 2004, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Steve 
  Crow, Alexander Flagg, B. D. Flory, Clayton A. Oliver.
  Spycraft Modern Arms Guide, Copyright 2002, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors 
  Chad Brunner, Tim D’Allard, Rob Drake, Michael Fish, Scott Gearin, Owen Hershey, 
  Patrick Kapera, Michael Petrovich, Jim Wardrip, Stephen Wilcoxon.
  Spycraft Soldier/Wheelman Class Guide, Copyright 2003, Alderac Entertainment Group, 
  Inc.; Authors Chad Brunner, Shawn Carman, B. D. Flory, Scott Gearin, Patrick Kapera.
  Spycraft U.S. Militaries Guide, Copyright 2004, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors 
  Dave McAlister, Clayton A. Oliver, Patrick Kapera.
  Spycraft, Copyright 2005, Alderac Entertainment Group.
  Swords of Our Fathers, Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics.
  Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games., Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based 
  on original material by Gary Gygax.
  Ultramodern Firearms d20, Copyright 2002, Charles McManus Ryan.
  Unearthed Arcana, Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, 
  David Noonan, Rich Redman.
  The Mastermind’s Manual, Copyright 2006, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson.
  
  Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.
   
  —Franklin D. Roosevelt
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Super Hero Games/Mutants & Masterminds/Mutants & Masterminds Masterminds Manual.pdf