Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition Revised: Week 1 - Abilities

[Nintendogeek01]

I always thought that Fighting should be scrapped as an Ability. It doesn't fit the same innate capability system the other Abilities and the ranking is way out of whack too. The theoretical human maximum is something like a 7 or 8, but melee combatants often have Fighting starting at like 10-12.

I would take the Close Combat association and give it to Dexterity to make that the one and only aiming/offense Ability. Then take the Parry association and give that to Agility, making it the only avoiding/defense Ability.

I think that this would give Dexterity the boost it needs and make the game a lot more self consistent. You can still get Ranged and Close Combat Feats and particular weapon Skills if you want the huge attack bonus, but this distinguishes attacker character from defender characters and people who can fight with everything vs people who really specialize. It also leaves more room to pick up a weapon and not go past your PL cap since you maxed Strength/Fighting.

The suggestion to make agility defensive and dexterity offensive has been suggested before, and I must admit I do love the theory. However...

Proposed revision of Agility

• Dodge Defense = 1 Power Point
• Parry Defense = 1 Power Point
• Acrobatics Skill = 0.5 Power Points
• Stealth Skill = 0.5 Power Points
• Initiative = 0.25 Power Points

Proposed revision of Dexterity

• Vehicle Skill = 0.5 Power Points
• Ranged Attack Skill = 0.5 Power Points*
• Close Combat Skill = 0.5 Power Points*

NOTE: This is after other adjustments already made to the abilities between this and Ronin Army forums.

As you can see, Dexterity is now in as bad or worse a position as it was before, and Agility is now technically worth 3.25 points; while 3rd ed's baseline agility was already worth slightly more than it costs, an extra point and then some is too much.

EDIT: Though... a thought; what if we give acrobatics and stealth to dexterity like it was in 2E (and by the same token like it is in other d20 systems)?