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Who hasn’t wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Who hasn’t wanted super-strength, invulnerability, or—most of all—the power to fly? Superheroes have been a major part of our culture for generations. They have become a kind of modern mythology, of heroes and villains with powers and abilities beyond those of ordinary mortals, locked in a never-ending battle of good versus evil. Superheroes have been a part of the world of roleplaying for quite some time, too. It’s been decades since the release of the first superhero roleplaying games, which allowed players to create their own heroes and tell stories of their battles against the forces of evil. Mutants and Masterminds joined their ranks with its first edition in 2002, expanding the frontiers of d20-based roleplaying. Now this edition of Mutants and Masterminds takes the game a step futher. Whether you’re a long-time fan or this is your introduction to the world of Mutants & Masterminds, you hold in your hands the key to limitless worlds of superheroic adventure. All you need now are some dice, some friends, and your imagination in order to join the never-ending battle for justice!
What is a Roleplaying game?
Introduction
A roleplaying game, or RPG for short, is a game of the imagination, where you and some friends get together and create fictional characters, then play out their adventures around a tabletop. One player takes the role of Gamemaster (or GM) and describes the setting and the challenges your characters encounter. The Gamemaster plays the supporting characters and villains in the story. The GM also acts as referee to adjudicate the rules of the game and make sure everything’s handled fairly.
Your imagination is the only thing limiting the sorts of adventures you can have, since you and your friends create the world, the characters, and the adventures. It’s like writing your own comic book, with your characters as the heroes! All of the action takes place in your imagination, and the story can go
on for as long as you want, with one exciting adventure after another.
What is Mutants & Masterminds?
In the Mutants & Masterminds RPG, you take on the role of a costumed superhero safeguarding the world from threats ranging from marauding super-criminals to alien invasions, hulking monsters, natural disasters, and would-be conquerors. This book contains all the information you need to play the game. This Introduction provides a quick overview of how the game works. After you read it, flip through the rest of the book and see the various options for creating heroes. Then you can read through the following chapters thoroughly to see which options appeal to you the most.
Characters
The characters you create to play Mutants & Masterminds are like the heroes of their own comic book series, television show, or movie. Your character might be...
• A patriot subjected to an experiment to create a government supersoldier.
• An alien from a distant world, unfamiliar with Earth and human customs, protecting the world from cosmic evil.
• A brilliant invent less honorable men had he not taken them and turned them into weapons in the fight for justice.
• A teenager coping with sudden strange powers in addition to all the
other difficulties of adolescence.
• An immortal champion of the gods who has fought the forces of darkness
throughout
history.
• The daughter of a legendary hero, trained to follow in her father’s
footsteps, but longing for a normal life.
• A master of the arcane arts protecting humanity from forces beyond
its ken.
• An android with abilities beyond those of humans, searching for the
meaning of concepts such as “goodness” and “humanity.”
• A hell-spawned avenger sent to Earth to visit retribution upon the
wicked.
• Or anything else that you can imagine!
What You Need to Play
Here’s what you need to start playing the Mutants & Masterminds Superhero Roleplaying Game:
• This wiki, which contains all the rules to create a hero and play the game.
• A copy of the character sheet.
• A pencil and some scratch paper.
• At least one twenty-sided die (d20). You may want to have one die for each player, or you can share dice.
Dice
Mutants & Masterminds uses a twenty-sided die—available at game and hobby stores—to resolve actions during the game. References to “a die” or
“the die” refer to a twenty-sided die unless stated otherwise. The die is often abbreviated “d20” (for twenty-sided die) or “1d20” (for one twenty-sided die). So a rule asking you to “roll d20” means, “roll a twenty-sided die.”
Modifiers
Sometimes modifiers to the die roll are specified like this: “d20+2,” meaning “roll the twenty-sided die and add two to the number rolled.” An abbreviation of “d20–4” means, “roll the die and subtract four from the result.”
Using This Site
The best way to read this site depends on whether you plan to be a player or Gamemaster in your Mutants & Masterminds game. The Gamemaster creates the world in which the heroes live and controls all non-player characters (NPCs) such as thugs, cops, and supervillains, as well as the supporting cast. Each player controls a superhero of his or her creation, interacting with other player characters as well as with the world and stories created by the Gamemaster.
Gamemasters
If you plan to be a Mutants & Masterminds Gamemaster, you should familiarize yourself with the whole book. Start by looking over the character creation (Chapter 1 through Chapter 7) and the Gamemaster chapter (Chapter 9). Then read through Chapter 8: Combat, and familiarize yourself with those rules. You may want to run a few sample combats using the character archetypes in the book, just to get a feel for things. Then you can decide what sort of game you want to run by reading Chapter 10 and try running the introductory adventures at the end of the book.
Players
If you’re creating a hero for a Mutants & Masterminds game, take a look through Chapter 1: Hero Creation for a basic overview. Chapter 2 through Chapter 7 contain all the information you need to create your own hero. You may want to consult with your Gamemaster before creating a hero to find out what sort of series your GM is interested in running.
The Basics
Mutants & Masterminds provides a framework for your imagination. It has rules to help you decide what happens in your stories and to resolve conflicts between characters and the challenges they face. With it, you can experience adventure as a hero fighting against the forces of evil. Any
adventure you can imagine is possible.
Rule Number One
The first, and most important, rule of Mutants & Masterminds is: Do whatever is the most fun for your game! While we’ve made every effort to ensure M&M is as complete a game system as possible, no system can cover every situation an imaginative group of players may encounter. From time to time, the rules may give you strange or undesirable results. Ignore them! Modify the outcome of die rolls and other events in the game as you see fit to make it fun and enjoyable for everyone. It’s your game, so run and play it the way you want!
The Core Mechanic
Mutants & Masterminds uses a standard, or core, mechanic to resolve actions. Whenever a character attempts an action with a chance of failure, do the following:
• Roll a twenty-sided die (or d20)
• Add any relevant modifiers (skills, abilities, powers, or conditions)
• Compare the total to a number called a Difficulty Class.
If the result equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class (set by the GM based on the circumstances), your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the Difficulty Class, your character fails. This simple mechanic is used for nearly everything in Mutants & Masterminds, with variations based on what modifiers are made to the roll, what determines the Difficulty Class, and the exact effects of success and failure.
The Gamemaster
One of the players in a Mutants & Masterminds game takes the role of Gamemaster or GM. The Gamemaster is responsible for running the game, a combination of writer, director, and referee. The Gamemaster creates the adventures for the heroes, portrays the villains and supporting characters, describes the world to the players, and decides the outcome of the heroes’ actions based on the guidelines given in the rules. It’s a big job, but also a rewarding one, since the gamemaster gets to create the whole world and all the characters in it, as well as inventing fun and exciting stories. If you’re going to be the Gamemaster, you should read through this whole book carefully, particularly Chapters 9 and 10, which talk about how to run the game and how to create your own game settings for adventures. You should also have a firm grasp of the rules, since you’re expected to interpret them for the players to decide what happens in the game.
The Heroes
The other players in a Mutants & Masterminds game create heroes, the main characters of their own adventures, like an ongoing comic book or animated series. As a player, you create your hero following the guidelines in this book with the guidance of your Gamemaster. There are several components to creating a hero, described in detail in Chapters 1 through 6, and outlined here.
Abilities
All characters have certain basic abilities. These are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. They each have a numeric ability score averaging 10 or 11 for a normally capable human being. Higher ability scores grant bonuses while lower ability scores impose penalties. As part of creating your hero, you decide how strong, smart, and tough your hero is by choosing the appropriate ability scores.
Skills
Skills represent training in a particular sort of task, everything from complex acrobatics to defusing bombs, programming computers, or piloting a plane. A skill acts as a bonus for actions involving those tasks. Someone trained in climbing can climb faster and with more confidence than someone who isn't trained, for example. Skills are measured in ranks, reflecting ho much training a character has in the skill. You choose the skills your hero knows and how well trained the hero is in them.
Feats
Feats are special abilities—talents or knacks. A feat allows your hero to do something other characters can’t normally do, or makes your hero better at doing certain things. They give the hero an advantage over others. You select your hero’s feats based on what you want your hero to be able to do.
Powers
Powers are special abilities beyond those of ordinary human beings. They’re like feats, only more so. Whereas a feat might give your hero a
minor special ability, powers grant truly superhuman abilities. You choose the powers you want your hero to have. Chapter 5 presents a wide range of powers, along with power modifiers and power feats, allowing you to mix and match to create nearly any super-power you desire.
Drawbacks
Finally, heroes often have challenges to overcome. They have drawbacks. Overcoming these drawbacks is part of what makes a real hero. Drawbacks range from physical disabilities to unusual weaknesses or vulnerabilities. You choose your hero’s drawbacks, allowing you to define the sorts of challenges your hero must overcome in the game.
Game Play
A session of Mutants & Masterminds resembles an issue of a comic book or an episode of an animated series. The Gamemaster and the players get together and tell a story by playing the game. The length of the game session can vary, from just a couple hours to several hours or more. Some adventures may be completed in a single session while others may take multiple sessions, just as some comic book stories are told in one issue, while others span multiple issues. The episodic nature of the game allows you to choose when to stop playing and allows you to start up again at any time at which you and your friends agree. Just like a comic book, a Mutants & Masterminds adventure consists
of a series of interrelated scenes or encounters. Some scenes are fairly straightforward, with the heroes interacting with each other and the
supporting cast. In these cases the GM generally just asks the players to describe what their heroes are doing and in turn describes how the other characters react and what they do. When the action starts happening, such as when the heroes are staving off a disaster or fighting villains, time becomes more crucial and is broken down into rounds, each six seconds long, and the players generally have to make die rolls to see how their heroes do.
Die Rolls
There are a number of different die rolls in Mutants & Masterminds, although they all follow the core mechanic of a 20-sided die + modifiers
vs. a Difficulty Class. The three main die rolls in M&M are checks, attack rolls, and saving throws checks
To make a check, roll d20 and add any modifiers for traits (abilities, skills, or powers) relevant to the check. The higher the total, the better
the outcome.
Check = d20 + modifiers vs. Difficulty Class
Difficulty Class
Some checks are made against a Difficulty Class (DC). The DC is a number set by the GM which your check must meet or exceed in order for you to succeed. So for a task with a DC of 15, you must roll a check total of 15 or better to succeed. In some cases, the results of a check vary based on how much higher or lower the result is than the DC.
Difficulty classes
Df f c u l t y (Dc) Ex a m p l E (Sk l l uS E D )
Very easy (0) Notice something in plain sight (Notice)
Easy (5) Climb a knotted rope (Climb)
Average (10) Hear an approaching security guard (Notice)
Tough (15) Disarm an explosive (Disable Device)
Challenging (20) Swim against a strong current (Swim)
Formidable (25) Break into a secure computer system (Computers)
Heroic (30) Climb a slippery overhang (Climb); overcome a
sophisticated security system (Disable Device)
Superheroic (35) Convince the guards to let you into the building,
even though you’re not wearing an ID badge and
aren’t on their list (Bluff)
Nearly impossible (40) Track a trained commando through the jungle on a
moonless night after 12 days of rainfall (Survival)
Opposed Checks
Some checks are opposed. They are made against a randomized number, usually another character’s check result. Whoever gets the higher result wins. An example is trying to bluff someone. You roll a Bluff check, while the GM rolls a Sense Motive check for your target. If you beat the target’s Sense Motive check result, you succeed. For ties on opposed checks, the character with the higher bonus wins. If the bonuses are the same, roll d20. On a 1–10 one character wins and on 11–20 victory goes to the other character; decide which character is “high”and which is “low” before rolling. Alternately, you can just flip a coin to see who wins.
Opposed Check Examples
ta S k Op p O S n g Sk l l Sk l l
Sneak up on someone Stealth Notice
Con someone Bluff Sense Motive
Hide from someone Stealth Notice
Win a car race Drive Drive
Pretend to be someone else Disguise Notice
Steal a key chain Sleight of Hand Notice
Break computer security Computers Computers
checks
To make a check, roll d20 and add any modifiers for traits (abilities, skills, or powers) relevant to the check. The higher the total, the better
the outcome.
Check = d20 + modifiers vs. Difficulty Class
Difficulty class
Some checks are made against a Difficulty Class (DC). The DC is a number set by the GM which your check must meet or exceed in order for you to succeed. So for a task with a DC of 15 you must roll a check total of 15 or better to succeed. In some cases, the results of a check vary based on how much higher or lower the result is than the DC.
Difficulty classes
Df f c u l t y (Dc) Ex a m p l E (Sk l l uS E D )
Very easy (0) Notice something in plain sight (Notice)
Easy (5) Climb a knotted rope (Climb)
Average (10) Hear an approaching security guard (Notice)
Tough (15) Disarm an explosive (Disable Device)
Challenging (20) Swim against a strong current (Swim)
Formidable (25) Break into a secure computer system (Computers)
Heroic (30) Climb a slippery overhang (Climb); overcome a
sophisticated security system (Disable Device)
Superheroic (35) Convince the guards to let you into the building,
even though you’re not wearing an ID badge and
aren’t on their list (Bluff)
Nearly impossible (40) Track a trained commando through the jungle on a
moonless night after 12 days of rainfall (Survival)
Trying Again
In general, you can try a check again if you fail, and keep trying indefinitely. Some tasks, however, have consequences for failure. For example, failing a Climb check may mean the character falls, which makes it difficult to try again. Some tasks can’t be attempted again once a check has failed. For most tasks, when you have succeeded once, additional successes are meaningless. (Once you've discovered a room's only secret door, using the Search skill, for instance, there's no further benefit to be gained from additional Search checks.)
If a task carries no penalty for failure, you can take 20 and assume the character goes at it long enough to succeed, or at least determines the
task is impossible at the character’s level of ability (see Checks Without Rolls).
Conditional Modifiers
Some situations make a check easier or harder, resulting in a bonus or penalty to the modifier for the check or the check’s Difficulty Class.
The GM can change the odds of success in four ways:
1. Grant a +2 bonus to represent conditions improving performance.
2. Impose a –2 penalty to represent conditions hampering performance.
3. Reduce the DC by 2 to represent circumstances making the task easier.
4. Increase the DC by 2 to represent circumstances making the task harder.
Bonuses to the check and reduction in the check’s DC have the same result: they create a better chance of success. But they represent different circumstances, and sometimes that difference is important.
Tools
Some tasks require tools. If tools are needed, the specific items are mentioned in the description of the task or skill. If you don’t have the appropriate tools, you can still attempt the task, but at a –4 penalty on your check.
A character may be able to put together impromptu tools to make the check. If the GM allows this, reduce the penalty to –2 (instead of –4). It
usually takes some time (several minutes to an hour or more) to collect or create a set of impromptu tools, and it may require an additional check as well. Characters with the Improvised Tools feat (see page 62) suffer no penalty for not having the proper tools to perform a task. They can make do with whatever is at hand.
Checks Without Rolls
A check represents performing a task under a certain amount of pressure. When the situation is less demanding, you can achieve more reliable results. Applying these rules can speed up checks under routine circumstances, cutting down the number of rolls players need to make.
Taking 1
If your total bonus on a check is equal to or greater than the DC minus 1, you will succeed regardless of what you roll on the die, even under pressure.
In this case, the GM might not require you to roll and just assume you succeed, since the task is a trivial effort for someone of your skill. If the check has varying levels of success, you’re assumed to achieve the minimum possible (as if you’d rolled a 1). You can choose to make a roll to achieve a greater level of success, or the GM may assume a greater level of success, depending on the circumstances.
Taking 10
When you are not under any pressure to perform a task, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling the check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For average (DC 10) tasks, taking 10 allows you to succeed automatically with a modifier of +0 or greater. You cannot take 10 if distracted or under pressure (such as in a combat situation). The GM decides when this is the case. Characters with Skill Mastery (see page 64) can take 10 with some skills even while under pressure.
Taking 20
When you have plenty of time and the task carries no penalty for failure, you can take 20. Instead of rolling the check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20. Taking 20 means you keep trying until you get it right. Taking 20 takes twenty times longer than a single check, or about 2 minutes for a task requiring a round or less. If there are penalties or consequences for failing the check, such as setting off an alarm or slipping and falling, you cannot take 20 on that check.
Comparison Checks
In cases where a check is a simple test of one character’s ability against another, with no luck involved, the character with the higher score wins automatically. Just as you wouldn’t make a “height check” to see who’s taller, you don’t need to make a Strength check to see who’s stronger. When two characters arm wrestle, for example, the stronger character wins. If two flying characters race, the faster character wins, and so forth. Note this does not include the use of extra effort (see page 120) to temporarily increase a character’s score, which can affect the outcome of a comparison check. In the case of identical bonuses or scores, each character has an equal chance of winning. Roll a die: on a 1–10, the first character wins, on an 11–20, the second character does.
Aiding Another
Sometimes characters work together and help each other out. In this case, one character (usually the one with the highest bonus) is considered the leader of the effort and makes the check normally, while each helper makes the same check against DC 10 (and can’t take 10 on this check). Success grants the leader a +2 bonus for favorable conditions. For every 10 full points the helper’s check exceeds the DC, increase the bonus by +1, so a result of 20–29 grants a +3 bonus, 30–39 a +4, and so forth. In many cases, outside help isn’t beneficial, or only a limited number of helpers can aid someone at once. The GM limits aid as he sees fit for the task and conditions.
Types of Checks
You use three main traits for checks: skills, abilities, and powers:
• Skill Checks: A skill check determines what you can accomplish with a particular skill. It is a roll of d20 + your rank in the skill and
the key ability score of the skill against a Difficulty Class. Skill checks sometimes have gradations of success and failure based on how
much your total roll is above or below the DC. For example, if you fail a Climb check, you don’t make any progress. If you fail by 5 or more,
you fall.
• Ability Checks An ability check is like a skill check, but measures raw ability, without any skill, like strength, endurance, or intellect.
It is a roll of d20 + your ability modifier against a Difficulty Class. Ability checks tend to be all or nothing (you can either accomplish
the task or you can’t) although there are sometimes gradations like skill checks. Attempting a skill without training (in other words, without
ranks in the skill) is an ability check.
example ability checks
ta S k kE y ab l t y
Breaking a board Strength
Tying a rope Dexterity
Holding your breath Constitution
Navigating a maze Intelligence
Recognizing someone you’ve seen before Wisdom
Getting noticed in a crowd Charisma
• Power Checks: A power check uses one of your hero’s powers as its modifier. It is a measure of what the hero can accomplish with that
power. It is a roll of d20 + the power’s rank, which measures how strong the power is, against a Difficulty Class. Some powers do not
require power checks; they just work automatically, while other powers have some automatic aspects and others require checks.
Attack Rolls
An attack roll determines whether or not you hit an opponent in combat. It is a d20 roll + your attack bonus. The Difficulty Class is your target’s Defense, which measures their ability to avoid attacks. If you equal or exceed your target’s Defense, your attack hits. Otherwise, you miss. A natural 20 on an attack roll (where the die comes up 20) always hits and may be a critical hit (see page 152). A natural 1 on an attack roll (where the die comes up 1) always misses.
Saving Throws
Saving throws are efforts to avoid different forms of danger, ranging from damage and injury to traps, poisons, and various powers. A saving
throw is:
1d20 + the appropriate ability modifier + your base save bonus+ any bonuses for powers
Constitution is the ability modifier for Toughness and Fortitude saves, Dexterity is the ability modifier for Reflex saves, and Wisdom is the ability modifier for Will saves. The Difficulty Class is based on the strength of the hazard, such as the power of an attack or the strength of a disease or poison.
Like skill checks, there are sometimes gradations to a saving throw. For example, a Toughness save against damage results in no damage at
all if you beat the DC, but could result in a glancing blow, a stunning blow, or an immediate knockout if you fail, depending on how much the
save result misses the DC.
The Combat Round
When things really start happening in a Mutants & Masterminds game, time is broken down into six-second segments called rounds. A round
isn’t very much time. Think of it like a panel in a comic book, just long enough for a hero to do something. The types of actions your hero can
perform during a round are standard actions, move actions, full actions, free actions, and reactions. During a round you can:
• Take a standard action and a move action.
• Take a move action and then another move action (in place of your standard action).
• Take a full action.
You can perform as many free actions and reactions in a round as you wish, although the GM may choose to limit them to a reasonable number to keep the game moving.
Standard Actions
A standard action generally involves acting upon something, whether it’s an attack or using a power to affect something. You’re limited to one
standard action a round.
Move Actions
A move action usually involves moving. You can take a move action before or after your standard action, so you can attack then move, or move then attack. You cannot normally split your move action before and after your standard action, however. Move actions also include things like drawing weapons, standing up from being prone, and picking up objects.
Full Actions
A full action, or full-round action, occupies all your attention for the round, meaning you can’t do anything else. Full actions include a full speed charge at an opponent which ends in an attack, or spending the whole round moving as quickly as you can. Certain powers or maneuvers require a full action to perform, as do some skills.
Free Actions
A free action is something so comparatively minor it doesn’t take a significant amount of time. You can perform as many free actions in a round as the GM considers reasonable. Free actions include things like talking (heroes and villains always find time to say a lot during a fight), dropping something, ending the use of a power, activating some powers, and so forth.
Reactions
A reaction is something you do in response to something else. A reaction doesn’t take any time, like a free action. The difference is you might react when it’s not even your turn, in response to something else happening during the round.
Victory Points
Heroes in Mutants & Masterminds have hero points players can spend to improve the heroes abilities in various ways. You can spend a victory pointto improve a die roll, push an ability or power beyond its normal capabilities, bounce back from being hurt, and achieve various other effects (see Victory Points, page 121).
Important Terms
ability score: The numerical rating of an ability.
ability: One of the six basic character traits: Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence (Int), Wisdom (Wis), and Charisma (Cha).
accurate sense: A sense you can use to pinpoint something’s location accurately enough to target in combat. Vision is an accurate sense for
normal humans. Other accurate senses are available from the SuperSenses power.
accurately perceive (also accurately sense): To notice something with an accurate sense.
action: A character activity. There are standard actions, move actions, full actions, free actions, and reactions.
acute sense: You can sense fine details about anything you can detect with a particular sense. Visual and auditory senses are acute for humans.
adventure: A story for players to experience, like a single issue of a comic book.
alternate power: One power that may be substituted for another, but not usable at the same time, giving a power different options or "settings.”
array: A collection of alternate powers.
attack bonus: A modifier used to measure a character’s combat skill.
attack roll: A roll to determine if an attack hits. To make an attack roll, roll d20 and add the appropriate modifiers for the attack type. An attack hits if the result is equal to or greater than the target’s Defense. An attack die roll of 20 always hits, while a die roll of 1 always misses.
attack: Any of numerous actions intended to harm, disable, or neutralize an opponent. An attack is usually a standard action.
bonus: A positive modifier to a die roll.
campaign (also series): A series of linked adventures, forming the backdrop against which the characters interact and participate in the
setting. Think of a campaign as an ongoing comic book series.
character: A fictional individual in the game. The players control player characters, while the Gamemaster controls all non-player
characters.
check: A method of deciding the outcome of an action (other than attacking or making a saving throw). Checks are based on a relevant character ability, skill, power, or other trait. To make a check, roll d20 and add any relevant modifiers. If the check result equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class (DC) of a task or the result of an opponent’s check, it succeeds.
condition: A character’s overall health and state of being (see page 170
for details).
critical hit (crit): An attack inflicting additional damage. To score a critical hit, an attacker must first score a threat (usually a natural 20 on an attack roll, depending on the attack being used) and the attack total must exceed the target’s Defense. A critical hit does +5 damage.
damage bonus: A modifier used to determine the damage of an attack.
damage: Harm caused to a character by injury, illness, or some other source.
DC: Difficulty Class.
deal damage (also inflict damage): Cause damage to a target.
defense bonus: Modifier used to determine how difficult a character is to hit in combat.
Defense: A measure of how difficult a character is to hit in combat. Defense equals 10 + defense bonus.
descriptor: A term describing the nature of a power. A descriptor may define how certain effects appear or function.
Difficulty Class (DC): The number a player must meet or beat for a check or saving throw to succeed.
dodge bonus: Half the defense bonus (rounded down). Characters lose their dodge bonus when they are flat-footed, stunned, or otherwise
incapable of reacting to an attack.
dying: Near death and unconscious. A dying character can take no actions.
effect: An aspect of a power with a particular game effect.
encounter (also scene): A portion of an adventure, like a chapter of a story.
extra: A power modifier that enhances a power, increasing its cost.
fail: Achieve an unsuccessful result for a check, saving throw, or other die roll.
flat-footed: Especially vulnerable to attacks at the beginning of a fight. Characters are flat-footed until their first turn in the initiative cycle. Flatfooted characters lose their dodge bonus to Defense.
flaw: A power modifier that limits a power, reducing its cost.
free action: A minor activity, requiring very little time and effort.
full action (also full-round action): An action requiring all your effort in a round. Some skills, feats, and powers require a full action (or longer) to use.
Gamemaster (GM): The player who portrays characters not controlled by the other players, makes up the story setting for the game, and serves as the referee.
hero (also superhero or player character): A character controlled by a player, one of the main protagonists of an adventure or series.
victory points: Points players can spend to gain bonuses with particular actions.
lasting: An effect requiring additional saving throws to overcome.
lethal: Damage that can disable or kill a target.
melee attack: An attack used in close combat.
melee weapon: A handheld weapon designed for close combat.
modifier: Any bonus or penalty applied to a die roll.
move action: An action intended to move a distance or to manipulate or move an object. You can take up to two move actions per round.
natural: A natural result on a roll is the actual number appearing on the die, not the modified result obtained by adding bonuses or subtracting penalties.
nonlethal: Damage that stuns or knocks out a target, but does no permanent harm. Unless specified otherwise, damage in Mutants & Masterminds is nonlethal.
non-player character (NPC): A character controlled by the Gamemaster (as opposed to a character controlled by a player).
penalty: A negative modifier to a die roll.
player character (PC, also hero): A character controlled by a player, one of the main protagonists of an adventure or campaign.
power feat: An enhancement or alternate use of a power.
power level (also level): A limit on overall power and ability in a campaign, also sometimes used to describe the overall power of a character.
power modifier: An increase or decrease in a power’s capabilities, also increasing or decreasing its cost.
power points: Points allocated to a character’s different traits during character creation, also awarded for advancement after each adventure.
power stunt: A power feat acquired temporarily through extra effort (see page 120).
power: A superhuman trait, like the ability to fly or shoot blasts of energy.
range increment: Each full range increment of distance between an attacker and a target gives the attacker a cumulative –2 penalty to the
ranged attack roll. Normal ranged attacks have a maximum range of ten range increments. Thrown weapons have a maximum range of five
range increments.
ranged attack: Any attack made at a distance.
ranged weapon: An energy, projectile, or thrown weapon designed for attacking from a distance.
rank: A measure of a character’s level of mastery with a skill or power.
reaction: An action that takes place in response to some circumstance. Reactions take no time or effort on the character’s part, occurring automatically.
round: A six-second unit of game time used to manage combat. Every character in combat may take at least one action every round.
saving throw (save): A roll made to avoid or reduce harm. The four types of saving throws are Toughness, Fortitude, Reflex, and Will.
stack: Combine for a cumulative effect. If modifiers do not stack, it is specified in the rules. In most cases, modifiers to a given check or roll stack. If the modifiers of a particular roll do no stack, only the best bonus or worst penalty applies. Sometimes there is a limit to how high a stacked bonus or penalty can be, based on the power level.
staggered: Badly beaten and barely holding on to consciousness.Staggered characters can take a standard or move action each round, but not both.
standard action: An action intended to do something within about 3 seconds. You can perform a single standard action per round.
target (also subject): The intended recipient of an attack, action, or power.
threat range: All natural die roll results constituting a threat when rolled for an attack. For most attacks, the threat range is a roll of 20. Some attacks have greater threat ranges.
threat: A possible critical hit.
trained: Having at least 1 rank in a skill.
trait: Any of a character’s game-defined qualities: abilities, bonuses, skills, feats, and powers are all traits.
unarmed attack: A melee attack made with no weapon in hand.
untrained: Having no ranks in a skill. Some skills cannot be used untrained.
villain (also supervillain): An adversary controlled by the Gamemaster.