Skills

I do not intend to make a lot of changes here. As would be expected, the cost of skills double to 1 PP per rank. The nice thing about that is there are no longer "skill points" which are separate from Power Points.

As seen on the Combat Values section, Close Combat and Ranged Combat skills have been removed.

There are a couple skills that I find to be too overloaded. Addressing that might be an option in a 4th edition. The only reason I might hesitate is the skills were consolidated in 3rd edition down to 13 plus combat and expertise skills, down from over 20 skills plus profession, perform, and knowledge in 2nd edition. I do think the idea of trained only needs to be reexamined. Skills with multiple subskills probably have subskills that can be used without training.

Gateway Advantages: Assessment is an Advantage that gives you a "trained only" ability based on Insight. Assessment, Inventor, Ritualist, and similar advantages are basically gate keeper on special uses of skills. This ruleset proposes adding more gateway advantages. It seems odd than anyone who can Gather Information can also Analyze DNA.

Acrobatics (AGL): Four subskills are part of acrobatics: balancing, maneuvering, standing from prone, and tumbling. Balancing does not need to be trained only. Otherwise, there are no changes to this skill.
Athletics (STR): No change.
Close Combat: No longer a skill, see CCB in the Combat Values section.
Deception (PRE): No change.
Expertise (INT): No change. Additional emphasis on non-Intellect based Expertise should be explored in the rule book.
Insight (AWE): No change.
Intimidation (PRE): No change.
Investigation (INT): Like Acrobatics, there is no reason for the base subskills of Investigation to be trained only. Gather Evidence and Analyze Evidence should be gated by an advantage called Investigator. Search and Gather Information should not require training.
Perception (AWE): No change.
Persuasion (PRE): No change.
Ranged Combat: No longer a skill, see RCB in the Combat Values section.
Sleight of Hand (DEX): Concealing, Escaping, and Stealing should be possible without training. Contorting and Legerdemain should require training. But they probably do not need a gateway advantage.
Stealth (AGL): While this is normally an untrained skill, giving Tailing the trained requirement might make sense.
Technology (INT): This skill presents a lot of issues. It is practically a kitchen sink of all "manipulate stuff" skills. I'll go into more depth on this one below.
Treatment (INT): No change. All of this skill should require training.
Vehicles (DEX): This skill should probably be part of Technology. After all, what is Operating a tech device that is not similar to Operating a vehicle? More details below.

Interaction Skills and Raw Presence Checks

It should be very rare that one needs to make a Presence check without applying one of the three Presence-based skills to the roll. In general, Interactions with others are either attempts to deceive, persuade, or intimidate. If the interaction does not involve one of those things, it is probably not a Presence-based interaction: teaching, for example, would be an Intellect-based interaction; reading someone's mood is Awareness (insight) based.

Technology

Technology has the following sub-skills: Operating, Building, Repairing, Demolitions, Inventing, and Security. Inventing has three different gate-keeper Advantages: Artificer, Inventor, and Ritualist. The proposal here is to add Demolitions and Security Systems as Advantages that gate-keep those trained abilities.

Vehicles

Like technology, gate-keeper Advantages are needed here for sound logic. Someone who knows how to drive a car is not also adapt at piloting a submarine or a blimp. Pilot, Seaman, and Space Jockey are the new gate-keeper Advantages for access to non-ground vehicles. In some campaign, Heavy Equipment might also exist gating off backhoes and tanks from SUVs.

Summary

All skill ranks cost 1 PP.

Close Combat and Ranged Combat have been turned Combat Values

Acrobatics, Investigation, and Slight of Hand have untrained uses.

New Advantages: Investigator, Demolitions, Security Systems, Pilot, Seaman, Space Jockey.

Combat Values, formerly known as Defenses

There are eight Abilities and there are eight Combat Values but they aren't called that. Now they are.

The Combat Values are the five defenses (Parry, Dodge, Will, Fortitude, and Toughness), Initiative, and Close Combat Bonus (CCB) and Ranged Combat Bonus (RCB). By creating a category for Combat Values, there's a certain symmetry that can be exploited on the character sheet:

ABILITIES
Strength	Stamina	Agility	Dexterity	Fighting	Intellect	Awareness	Presence
2	5	4	1	3	0	2	2
	OFFENSE		DEFENSE
Initiative	Close Combat	Ranged Combat	Dodge	Parry	Toughness	Fortitude	Will
4	3	1	4	3	5	5	2

This means that Improved Initiative, Close Attack. and Ranged Attack are no longer Advantages. Close Combat and Ranged Combat are no longer Skills. If you want a bonus to close combat with Unarmed attacks independent of your Close Combat Bonus, buy CCB with the Limited Flaw (only for Unarmed attacks).

Similarly, you can just buy Toughness. The Protection Power is no longer there. You can buy Toughness with a -1 flaw, 'must be aware of the attack', replacing the Defensive Roll Advantage.

Summary

Initiative: 2 ranks per 1 PP plus ranks in Agility
Close Combat Bonus: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Fighting
Ranged Combat Bonus: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Dexterity
Parry: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Fighting
Dodge: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Agility

Will: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Awareness
Fortitude: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Stamina

Toughness: 2 PP per rank plus ranks in Stamina

What about Impervious? Later...

Abilities

In M&M3, all abilities have the same cost but they are not all created equal. Worse, I've seen a lot of character builds where a lot of the abilities have values of zero! To start, let's look at what the abilities do:

Abilities

Strength - Strength gives each character two things, a Close range Damage effect. And a Close range Move Object effect. Damage costs 1 PP per rank. Move Object costs 2 PP per rank reduced to 1 PP per my changing it to Close range instead of its default range of Ranged. Strength is also the base value for the Athletic skill. So Strength is actually slightly under priced for its value.

Stamina - Stamina also gives each character two things. One rank of Toughness and one rank of Fortitude. There is almost no reason not to set Stamina to the lessor of these defenses and then buy up the other defense when you are making a character.

Agility - Agility gives each character one rank of Dodge. It is also the basis of two popular skills: Acrobatics and Stealth. But not all characters conceptually need these skills. Each rank of Agility is also one-quarter of a rank of initiative. Spending 2 PP on Agility is not always points well spent depending on the character concept.

Dexterity - Dexterity gives each character one rank of range combat attack bonus. It is also the basis for two less popular skills: Slight of Hand and Vehicles. Any character that can fly or leap or just run fast has less need for Vehicles. And Slight of Hand is like Acrobatics. It just isn't appropriate for some character types.

Fighting - Fighting is the basis of Parry Defense and close combat attack bonuses. These two items mean buying Fighting pays for itself.

Intellect - This one is heavily dependent on the character concept. The only thing it affects in the game is skills. For a character taking Technology and/or Investigation and two or three Expertise skills, Intellect will pay for itself. And additional Expertise skills are basically free. For character concepts lighter on expertise, Intellect is less useful.

Awareness - Awareness is the basis for Will defense. And it controls two of the most useful skills in the game: Insight (who is lying to me?) and Perception (what dangers lurk nearby?). Most character concepts in a superhero game will gravitate toward improving both of these skills and when you do so, each rank of Awareness can pay for itself.

Presence - Like Intellect, Presence is only used as the basis of skills in the game. And there are only three of those skills: Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion. And, generally, few character concepts require one to excel at all three of those skills. Most character concepts will focus on only one or two of those skills and, if necessary, use Advantages to cover the remaining skills. Presence lacks bang for the buck.

So, out of eight abilities, only four are generally cost effective, Strength, Stamina, Fighting, and Awareness. One is cost effective for a narrow group of character concepts, Intellect. And the remaining three are rarely if ever cost effective.

So what are the PP costs of abilities in 4th edition rules?

Strength, Stamina, Fighting, and Awareness - 4 PP.
Agility, Dexterity, Intellect, and Presence - 3 PP.

Intellect might seem like a problem here. But remember assumption number 2, combat is the focus of power point costs. In most combats, Doctor Skill Monkey having 6 ranks of Intellect at a cost of 24 PP or having 8 Intellect ranks for the same cost probably won't matter. And being able spend more on Expertise skill for Doctor Skill Monkey won't generally help him stay conscious in combat. It might allow him to modify the phase inverter of Death Gloom's death raygun though. Is that such a bad thing?

Presence is also an issue. I'm tempted to price it at 2 PP. Superheros should have Presence. They should command a room with their presence. Making it cheaper might make someone toss a few extra ranks into it just "because". There is a common house rule where for each rank of Presence the character receives a free Interaction Skill based Advantage rank. Essentially, that house rule sets Presence at 1 PP per Rank. The real problem with Presence is there are lot of combat uses for Presence that most people never use. But when they are used, the character in question specializes in one of the three Interpersonal Skills: Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion and uses Advantages to make the other two Interpersonal Skills unnecessary. Of course, some characters want all three forms of interpersonal action, and now buying Presence at breaks even on the cost of buy all three skills.

Aren't you undervaluing skills?

Yes. And no. But mostly yes. Most skills, beyond expertise can be simulated or obsoleted by powers and advantages. Who needs Athletics to jump across the pit when most characters can fly, leap, wall crawl, teleport and who knows how else bypass the pit without trying to figure out the Jumping rules under Athletics? Acrobatics allows you to stand up from prone as a free action with a DC 20 check. So does the Stand Up Advantage that costs 1 PP and needs no check roll.

But, for Awareness, I consider the skills it is the basis for very valuable. Perception and Insight are important pre-combat and during-combat skills for a variety of reasons.

Absent Abilities

This whole subsection of the game goes away. -5 is the lowest an ability can go. If you want a creature that cannot move, use a complication. If you want a mindless machine, use a complication. If you want an attack that makes someone mindless, use an Affliction. If you want you character to be a construct, take the appropriate immunities. If normal healing cannot heal your construct, take a complication.

Summary

Strength, Stamina, Fighting, Awareness: 4 PP per Rank

Agility, Dexterity, Intellect, Presence: 3 PP per Rank

Optionally, Presence: 2 PP per Rank
There are no absent abilities.

So that's my justification. Defenses are probably next.

Why a 4th Edition?

"Yeah, so why a fourth edition when the third edition works?" asked no one, really.

Well, let me state a couple goals first:

1. Characters built using 3rd edition rules can be used, as is, in a 4th edition game. I don't want to invalidate all the existing 3rd edition material. Thus,
2. Almost all of the changes will be made in character generation. Playing 4th edition will be nigh identical to playing 3rd edition. The point costs of something might change, but at the table, these changes can easily be glossed over.

And a couple assumptions:

1. The main purpose of Power Points is to balance the combat effectiveness of a character. Notice, I said Power Points, not Power Level. The corollary to this is that character traits that do not affect combat should have little to no cost in terms of Power Points.
2. The way combat works now is "good." There will not be any changes to how Damage and Affliction compare in terms of power, for example.

As I said, M&M3 is an excellent game. But there are a few holes in it. And I think I can plug up those holes by making character generation changes and leaving the "playing the game" parts of the rules relatively untouched.

"So, if backward compatibility is a high priority, what's changing?"

That's what the rest of the blog is about. But essentially, the main change is granularity. The Power Point cost of everything is doubled: Strength is 4 PP per rank, Damage 2 PP per rank. The Area Extras add 2 PP per rank to a power. Skills will cost 1 PP per rank. And so on.

And then, some things will NOT have their costs doubled. Dexterity will cost 3 PP per rank because it is not as effective as raw Strength, for example.

Now, the "why" of all these changes is important. And each article will tackle some small part of the system and explain why it is or is not having its costs tampered with.

"Are there downsides to this?"

Admittedly, doubling all the costs means your standard PL10 character will have 300 Power Points to use to build their character. That might seem like a daunting number for the new player.

And there will be fewer cost shortcuts in the game. All abilities will not be 4 PP per rank, it will vary by ability. All Advantages will not be 2 PP per rank, it will vary by advantage. Some Flat Power Extras will be 2 PP per rank and some will still be 1 PP per rank.

And a very common house rule of getting 3 Skill ranks per Power Point will become inconvenient to use. The book keeping on 3 Skill Ranks per 2 Power Points might rankle some players.

I hope that gives you a reason for doing this. The next post will jump head first into the issues associated with the current costs of ability scores.

Welcome

Hi, I'm not sure if this blog will last very long or not. The intention though is to publish a few articles about Green Ronin's Mutants and Masterminds. The main thrust being an attempt to create an M&M 4th edition. Why? Why not. M&M3 is very good but everything can be improved. So again, why not?

Who am I? Nominally, I'm the guy who wrote d20 System RPG material under the Throwing Dice Games imprint. That was a long time ago and I've been itching to get back into RPG writing. Time is always a rare commodity though.