Mutants & Masterminds III: How to build some powers?

[Scowling Dragon]

It works both ways depending on interpretation. Id say its fine as it is.

[Hazrond]

Hey guys, i am making a character for a M&M game and i wanted to see what you thought of it, concept was a mix of Aiden Pearce (Watch_Dogs), Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who), and Blink (X-Men: Days of Future Past) with a mercenary flavor, game is power level 11, GM said we had infinite points as long as we stay reasonable with it, so i made this character, does this sound overly powerful or rediculous?

Spoiler: Character Stats

Show

{Self-Scrubbed}

i spent a while crafting this whole backstory involving him covering up his past and working as a mercenary to make money

[Sith_Happens]

Hey guys, i am making a character for a M&M game and i wanted to see what you thought of it, concept was a mix of Aiden Pearce (Watch_Dogs), Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who), and Blink (X-Men: Days of Future Past) with a mercenary flavor, game is power level 11, GM said we had infinite points as long as we stay reasonable with it, so i made this character, does this sound overly powerful or rediculous?

Spoiler: Character Stats

Show

Abilities: Str 0, Agl 6, Fgt 0, Awe 0, Sta 0, Dex 8, Int 4, Pre 0
Skills (Post-Modifiers): Investigation +14, Ranged Combat +18, Stealth +6, Technology +14, Vehicles +12

Advantages: Benefit: Cipher 10, Contacts, Quick Draw, Well-Informed, Equipment 9
Languages: English

Powers:
Teleportation Portal: Teleport 10 Extras: Portal, Change Direction, Accurate
Descriptors: Biological, Mutant, Talent

Alternate Effect: Teleport Self Only: Teleport 10, Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity
Descriptors: Biological, Mutant, Talent

Alternate Effect: Teleport Through Objects: Movement, Permeate 3, Affects Others
Descriptors: Biological, Mutant, Talent

Unkillable:

Return to Life: Immortality 19, Innate
Descriptors: Accidental, Biological, Cosmic, Life Force

Undying Body: Immunity 11, Poison, Aging, Disease, Enviromental Conditions (All), Starvation/Thirst, Suffocation (All), Innate
Descriptors: Accidental, Biological, Cosmic, Life Force

Equipment:
Targeting Scope
2 Suppressors
Smartphone (Functions as)

Cell Phone (Smartphone)
Commlink
Flashlight
GPS Receiver
Video Camera

Bulletproof Vest
Light Pistol
Sniper Rifle (Stored on Motorcycle)
Motorcycle:

Speed 8
Features:
Hidden Compartments
Navigation System

Complications:
Identity x2: one for hero identity, one for mercenary
Motivation: Thrills

Total PP spent according to Hero Lab: 179

i spent a while crafting this whole backstory involving him covering up his past and working as a mercenary to make money

Were you planning on contributing to fights in any meaningful way besides teleporting allies around? Because mundane weapons and no defenses is not the way to do so.

[Hazrond]

Were you planning on contributing to fights in any meaningful way besides teleporting allies around? Because mundane weapons and no defenses is not the way to do so.

are mundane guns that bad? also, teleportation can be used on enemies as well, open a portal under him that drops him into the sky, dump a lake on him by opening a portal at the bottom of the park lake, and i had an idea involving Portal-style physics where i gain speed till im falling really fast through two portals then aim one horizontal so i fly into the enemy. also, is there a way to increase the gun damage somehow?

Edit: i also had to tone him down a tad to 150 power points by trimming the immunities list, weakening the skills a tad, and dumping hand to hand combat

[Broken Crown]

Unless I've made a grievous mistake in my calculations, your character, including equipment, is defensively PL 5 at range, PL 2 in melee, and PL 0 for saving throws. In a PL 11 campaign, your character will be knocked out very quickly; in fact, he's not actually capable of resisting a PL 11 Affliction.

Bear in mind that while Immortality does clear all your damage conditions when you come back to life, you have to actually die first, and M&M combat is not very lethal. As written, your character is quite likely to get hit early on in any fight, and then lie helpless for the rest of the battle.

The rules for Teleportation state that it requires a move action to move through a portal. If you want to be able to teleport opponents against their will, or objects (which can't take move actions), you'd have to buy it as an attack.

At PL 11, a lot of characters will be effectively bulletproof. You can increase the Effect of guns using Power Attack, at the expense of accuracy, but not by much.

[Sith_Happens]

are mundane guns that bad?

Light Pistol: Damage 3 (DC 18)
Sniper Rifle: Damage 5 (DC 20)
Average Toughness bonus of a PL 11 character: +11

So you tell me.

Edit: i also had to tone him down a tad to 150 power points by trimming the immunities list, weakening the skills a tad, and dumping hand to hand combat

A standard PL 11 character gets 165 points.

You can increase the Effect of guns using Power Attack, at the expense of accuracy, but not by much.

Alternatively, you could build a "Really Nice Pistol" power and "Really Nice Sniper Rifle" power at whatever rank you care to have.

[Hazrond]

Light Pistol: Damage 3 (DC 18)
Sniper Rifle: Damage 5 (DC 20)
Average Toughness bonus of a PL 11 character: +11

So you tell me.

Well im sorry, i am brand new to this system, i have yet to play a game and this is literally my first character

A standard PL 11 character gets 165 points.

i ended up bringing this character to a different game which is PL 10

Alternatively, you could build a "Really Nice Pistol" power and "Really Nice Sniper Rifle" power at whatever rank you care to have.

and care to explain how i would do something of the sort?

[Broken Crown]

and care to explain how i would do something of the sort?

Generally, you would build a gun as a Ranged Damage effect with the Easily Removable flaw.

For example:

Really Nice Pistol: Damage 8, Ranged, Easily Removable: 10 Points

[Hazrond]

Generally, you would build a gun as a Ranged Damage effect with the Easily Removable flaw.

For example:

Really Nice Pistol: Damage 8, Ranged, Easily Removable: 10 Points

is there a way to upgrade it instead of making a new weapon, im kinda strapped on character points

Edit: im really starting to get frustrated with trying to build this, maybe i should start from scratch that way i can have a more precise control over the various things :/

[Broken Crown]

is there a way to upgrade it instead of making a new weapon, im kinda strapped on character points

Not really. Equipment saves you a lot of character points, but it only lets you buy normal items: Any equipment upgraded beyond its normal effect needs to be bought as a power. You could replace the rifle with a rocket launcher (Damage 10!) for three more points, though your GM might well rule that you'd have trouble finding one.

Alternatively, you might buy a power that adds to the damage of any gun you're using:

Deadly Accuracy: Ranged Damage +2, Limited: Only adds to the damage of guns the character is using. (4 points)

(I'm guessing this Limitation wouldn't actually be worth any points, or would be a 1-point Quirk at most, since the fact that you need a gun to use it is countered by the fact that it adds to the gun's base damage. It would be something like Strength-based damage.)

Also, Improved Critical is a nice way to make low-powered attacks more effective. It's also fairly inexpensive, but only applies to one attack, so the cost adds up if you want to get it for all your attacks.

On the other hand, at PL 10, the sniper rifle isn't that bad. You get Damage 5 (up to 7 with Power Attack), and a level of Improved Critical. Some of your opponents will be difficult (or impossible) to hurt with it, but as I understand your character concept, the rifle's not your main attack anyway: the teleportation is. (I wouldn't bother with the pistol, though; at PL 10, it's pretty useless.)

Edit: im really starting to get frustrated with trying to build this, maybe i should start from scratch that way i can have a more precise control over the various things :/

I sympathize. I haven't fully got the hang of the system yet; while I see its potential, I still have some trouble getting it to do what I want it to.

[Hazrond]

Not really. Equipment saves you a lot of character points, but it only lets you buy normal items: Any equipment upgraded beyond its normal effect needs to be bought as a power. You could replace the rifle with a rocket launcher (Damage 10!) for three more points, though your GM might well rule that you'd have trouble finding one.

Alternatively, you might buy a power that adds to the damage of any gun you're using:

Deadly Accuracy: Ranged Damage +2, Limited: Only adds to the damage of guns the character is using. (4 points)

(I'm guessing this Limitation wouldn't actually be worth any points, or would be a 1-point Quirk at most, since the fact that you need a gun to use it is countered by the fact that it adds to the gun's base damage. It would be something like Strength-based damage.)

Also, Improved Critical is a nice way to make low-powered attacks more effective. It's also fairly inexpensive, but only applies to one attack, so the cost adds up if you want to get it for all your attacks.

On the other hand, at PL 10, the sniper rifle isn't that bad. You get Damage 5 (up to 7 with Power Attack), and a level of Improved Critical. Some of your opponents will be difficult (or impossible) to hurt with it, but as I understand your character concept, the rifle's not your main attack anyway: the teleportation is. (I wouldn't bother with the pistol, though; at PL 10, it's pretty useless.)



I sympathize. I haven't fully got the hang of the system yet; while I see its potential, I still have some trouble getting it to do what I want it to.

the rifle is my secondary weapon, my main would actually be the pistol, my teleportation is more for defense, i ended up rebuilding from the ground up, this time allocating some points to build my sniper and pistol out of powers, the rifle is rank 10 and the pistol 9, they each have a variant of bullets specialized in penetrating, the sniper rifle has a knockout round, and the pistol has long range (for a pistol anyways) bullets. i ended up toning down the teleportation a bit but all ended well in the end i think, and i also have a speed 8 motorcycle with wall-crawler fluffed as it going so fast as to defy gravity :D

[Sith_Happens]

Well im sorry, i am brand new to this system, i have yet to play a game and this is literally my first character

In that case I'd familiarize myself with how damage works. It's kind of important.

the rifle is my secondary weapon, my main would actually be the pistol, my teleportation is more for defense, i ended up rebuilding from the ground up, this time allocating some points to build my sniper and pistol out of powers, the rifle is rank 10 and the pistol 9, they each have a variant of bullets specialized in penetrating, the sniper rifle has a knockout round, and the pistol has long range (for a pistol anyways) bullets. i ended up toning down the teleportation a bit but all ended well in the end i think, and i also have a speed 8 motorcycle with wall-crawler fluffed as it going so fast as to defy gravity :D

If you haven't done so already, making the pistol and sniper rifle a single array (rather than one for each) will save you a decent bundle of points. Just use the Activation flaw to represent however long you want it to take to switch guns and/or ammo.

Mind posting the new version?

[Hazrond]

You asked for the new version and you know what they say

Spoiler: Ask and ye shall recieve

Show

Game PL: 10
Abilities: Str 0 Fgt -5 Sta 0 Int 6 Agl 6 Awe 0 Dex 8 Pre -4,

so my guy has two main weaknesses, social skills (he is by no means a social person) and close combat fighting (his entire kit is based on range combat, he has a freaking sniper rifle for petes sake)

Skills (Post modifiers): Investigation 20 Ranged Combat 10 Technology 20 Vehicles 10

One half of this character was Aiden Pearce (Watch_Dogs) so of course he is going to have insane technology and investigation skills, ranged combat is only a ten due to the who damage/skill balance enforced and vehicles got two points because they character has a motorcycle that i intend for him to drive decently (more on that later)

Powers:
Teleport self: Teleport 4 miles as a move action, carrying up to 50 lbs, Extras: Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Long Distance Teleportation Portal (Alt to Teleport Self): Portal which can travel 1000 miles in 2 move actions, Extras and Flaws: Accurate, Extended, Portal, Limited to Extended, Resistable: Will, Tiring, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Teleport Through Objects (Alt to Teleport Self): Move through objects at full speed (Permeate 3), Extras: Affects Others, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Frozen in Time: Immunity to Aging, Sleep, Starvation & Thirst, Suffocation (All), Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic
Unkillable: Immortality 19: back in 6 seconds/1 round, Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic

So this is the basic setup i described before, you will notice the toned down teleportation abilities, as well as the cross-country portal effect, but now with descriptors! which i figured out midway through rebuilding the hero.

Devices:
PGM Hecate II: 20 PP total cost, has Rounds which is an array of bullets that it fires
Type 54 "Black Star" (Alt to PGM Hecate II): Has Bullets which is an array of bullets that it fires
Rounds Array: Contains Knockout Round and Standard Round
Standard Round: Damage 10, Extras: Extended Range 2, Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 1000/2000/4000
Knockout Round: Affliction 10, 1st degree: Vulnerable, Dazed, 2nd degree: Defenseless, Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Asleep, Resisted by Fortitude, Extras and Flaws: Cumulative, Extra Condition 1, Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Distracting, Descriptors: Ballistic, Chemical, Range: 250/500/1000
Bullets Array: Contains Accuracy Shot and Penetrating Shot
Accuracy Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 250/500/1000
Penetrating Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Diminished Range 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 50/100/250

So this is my weapon setup, if you recognize the weapon names sue me, i like a good anime ;), i figure i have made the various types of attacks strong and varied enough to take on whatever, of note though is the fact that i can deal with enemies at about all ranges except very close, so if an enemy were to attack me in melee my character would need to get out of there fast (generally through use of Teleport Self), the sniper rifle has an insane range and is also useful for its Knockout rounds, which may come in handy if we are taxed with taking an enemy alive, or could be used by knocking a grunt out then bringing him back to interrogate

Equipment:
Smartphone (Profiler):

• Cell Phone (Smartphone)
• GPS Receiver
• Video Camera

Bulletproof Vest
Motorcycle:

• Hidden Compartments
• Navigation System
• 8 Toughness
• Extreme Speed:
  
  • Speed 8, 500 MPH, 1 Mile per Round
  • Vertical Climb: Movement (Wall-Crawling) 2, Full Speed

Total EP: 25

Advantages:
Benefit, Cipher 4, -20 on investigation checks regarding me
Contacts
Quick Draw
Well-imformed
Equipment 5 (25 total EP)

Complications:
Hero Identity: Blink
Mercenary Identity: Deadshot
Secret Identity: Not stating because other players can read this forum and i am gonna link them this post.
Motivation: Thrills
Total PP Spent: 150

[Hazrond]

Oh and incase anybody was wondering, i built the character in HeroLab and then copied the stats over, that is where i got the prices for all of the various powers and such

[Hazrond]

i was also considering dropping one point off one of my abilities so that i could gain the summon power and add the summonable feature to my motorcycle, is this a bad idea?

[Broken Crown]

You asked for the new version and you know what they say

Spoiler: Ask and ye shall recieve

Show

Game PL: 10
Abilities: Str 0 Fgt -5 Sta 0 Int 6 Agl 6 Awe 0 Dex 8 Pre -4,

so my guy has two main weaknesses, social skills (he is by no means a social person) and close combat fighting (his entire kit is based on range combat, he has a freaking sniper rifle for petes sake)

Skills (Post modifiers): Investigation 20 Ranged Combat 10 Technology 20 Vehicles 10

One half of this character was Aiden Pearce (Watch_Dogs) so of course he is going to have insane technology and investigation skills, ranged combat is only a ten due to the who damage/skill balance enforced and vehicles got two points because they character has a motorcycle that i intend for him to drive decently (more on that later)

Powers:
Teleport self: Teleport 4 miles as a move action, carrying up to 50 lbs, Extras: Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Long Distance Teleportation Portal (Alt to Teleport Self): Portal which can travel 1000 miles in 2 move actions, Extras and Flaws: Accurate, Extended, Portal, Limited to Extended, Resistable: Will, Tiring, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Teleport Through Objects (Alt to Teleport Self): Move through objects at full speed (Permeate 3), Extras: Affects Others, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Frozen in Time: Immunity to Aging, Sleep, Starvation & Thirst, Suffocation (All), Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic
Unkillable: Immortality 19: back in 6 seconds/1 round, Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic

So this is the basic setup i described before, you will notice the toned down teleportation abilities, as well as the cross-country portal effect, but now with descriptors! which i figured out midway through rebuilding the hero.

Devices:
PGM Hecate II: 20 PP total cost, has Rounds which is an array of bullets that it fires
Type 54 "Black Star" (Alt to PGM Hecate II): Has Bullets which is an array of bullets that it fires
Rounds Array: Contains Knockout Round and Standard Round
Standard Round: Damage 10, Extras: Extended Range 2, Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 1000/2000/4000
Knockout Round: Affliction 10, 1st degree: Vulnerable, Dazed, 2nd degree: Defenseless, Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Asleep, Resisted by Fortitude, Extras and Flaws: Cumulative, Extra Condition 1, Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Distracting, Descriptors: Ballistic, Chemical, Range: 250/500/1000
Bullets Array: Contains Accuracy Shot and Penetrating Shot
Accuracy Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 250/500/1000
Penetrating Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Diminished Range 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 50/100/250

So this is my weapon setup, if you recognize the weapon names sue me, i like a good anime ;), i figure i have made the various types of attacks strong and varied enough to take on whatever, of note though is the fact that i can deal with enemies at about all ranges except very close, so if an enemy were to attack me in melee my character would need to get out of there fast (generally through use of Teleport Self), the sniper rifle has an insane range and is also useful for its Knockout rounds, which may come in handy if we are taxed with taking an enemy alive, or could be used by knocking a grunt out then bringing him back to interrogate

Equipment:
Smartphone (Profiler):

• Cell Phone (Smartphone)
• GPS Receiver
• Video Camera

Bulletproof Vest
Motorcycle:

• Hidden Compartments
• Navigation System
• 8 Toughness
• Extreme Speed:
  
  • Speed 8, 500 MPH, 1 Mile per Round
  • Vertical Climb: Movement (Wall-Crawling) 2, Full Speed

Total EP: 25

Advantages:
Benefit, Cipher 4, -20 on investigation checks regarding me
Contacts
Quick Draw
Well-imformed
Equipment 5 (25 total EP)

Complications:
Hero Identity: Blink
Mercenary Identity: Deadshot
Secret Identity: Not stating because other players can read this forum and i am gonna link them this post.
Motivation: Thrills
Total PP Spent: 150

I can't help but notice that Blink still has no defences. Against a PL 10 opponent, he's going to get hit by almost every attack, and he has a very high chance of being taken out by only one or two attacks. He's got a good chance of losing to low-level mooks if he's fighting more than one of them at a time. Even at range, where you will presumably be doing most of your fighting, his defensive PL is only 5.

It's very risky to count on always being able to fight in circumstances advantageous to you; if you're ever indoors, or in a forest, or anywhere else with poor sight lines, long range won't protect you. Similarly, if your opponent has high mobility, or equally long range (or perception-range) attacks, Blink is a sitting duck.

[Sith_Happens]

So in the campaign I'm hoping to start soonish I'm thinking of letting Create and Transform be made instant for +1 point/rank. Is that too much, too little, just right, is it just asking my players to break the game? As far as I can tell the effect on the power is pretty much the same as permanent + innate, with the added benefit that it can be in an array without problems.

[Hazrond]

I can't help but notice that Blink still has no defences. Against a PL 10 opponent, he's going to get hit by almost every attack, and he has a very high chance of being taken out by only one or two attacks. He's got a good chance of losing to low-level mooks if he's fighting more than one of them at a time. Even at range, where you will presumably be doing most of your fighting, his defensive PL is only 5.

It's very risky to count on always being able to fight in circumstances advantageous to you; if you're ever indoors, or in a forest, or anywhere else with poor sight lines, long range won't protect you. Similarly, if your opponent has high mobility, or equally long range (or perception-range) attacks, Blink is a sitting duck.

Yeah well this was one of those "you can pick to of these no more" Offense-Defense-Utility Triangles and you forget this guy has NO fear of death, if he gets hit with an affliction or something similarly disabling he can just shoot himself in the head and be back in a round if it is really that bad, the main weakness i can see him facing would be something like mind controlled, im going to look into getting some kind of protection from that but i wont be able to do it out of the gate

Edit: also you say "Taken out" like killing him would set him back by alot, really all it does is keep him out of the action for one round

[Sith_Happens]

Okay, I see what's going on here, you're under the impression that dying is easy to do in this game. In fact it is extremely difficult.* Barring complications, there are exactly two ways to become dying:

1. Fail a damage resistance check while already incapacitated.

2. Have your Stamina Weakened to -5.

And one way to skip dying and go straight to dead:

1. Fail by at least three degrees against a finishing attack (M&M-speak for a coup de grace) from an opponent with intent to kill.

While I imagine most GMs would let you eat your gun, most conditions serious enough that you'd consider doing so will preclude doing so.


* The Gamemaster's Guide has optional rules for lethal damage, but even if your GM is using them you'll almost always go to dying rather than straight to dead, and even with no Fortitude bonus it'll usually take at least a round to bleed out.

[Hazrond]

Well the GM allowed me and my buddy another person joining, to do a sort of "trial run" against a premade hero of his to test our weaknesses and improve our build, the first thing i noticed was that: yes my fort save being nonexistant sucked when i got hit by a DC 22 daze condition, and the second thing i noticed was that i needed several vision based abilities that i simply didnt have, this all resulted in me taking potshots from underground using my sniper rifle and eventually opening a portal beneath him that led to the pacific ocean, with these weaknesses noted i went back to my build and sacrificed a bit more of my social skills, intelligence, agility, and dexterity as well as some skill points that way i could 1: get some ranks in fortitude, and 2: build a pair of fancy goggles to improve my vision

so i will update the build to reflect this, now as far as i can see i am still going to be in trouble if we ever fight a will based villain but for now i think i am fine

Spoiler: Updated Stats

Show

Game PL: 10
Abilities: Str 0 Fgt -5 Sta 0 Int 5 Agl 5 Awe 0 Dex 6 Pre -5,

Skills (Post modifiers): Investigation 15 Ranged Combat 10 Technology 15 Vehicles 8

Powers:
Teleport self: Teleport 4 miles as a move action, carrying up to 50 lbs, Extras: Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Long Distance Teleportation Portal (Alt to Teleport Self): Portal which can travel 1000 miles in 2 move actions, Extras and Flaws: Accurate, Extended, Portal, Limited to Extended, Resistable: Will, Tiring, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Teleport Through Objects (Alt to Teleport Self): Move through objects at full speed (Permeate 3), Extras: Affects Objects, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Frozen in Time: Immunity to Aging, Sleep, Starvation & Thirst, Suffocation (All), Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic
Unkillable: Immortality 19: back in 6 seconds/1 round, Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic

Devices:
PGM Hecate II: 20 PP total cost, has Rounds which is an array of bullets that it fires
Type 54 "Black Star" (Alt to PGM Hecate II): Has Bullets which is an array of bullets that it fires
Rounds Array: Contains Knockout Round and Standard Round
Standard Round: Damage 10, Extras: Extended Range 2, Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 1000/2000/4000
Knockout Round: Affliction 10, 1st degree: Vulnerable, Dazed, 2nd degree: Defenseless, Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Asleep, Resisted by Fortitude, Extras and Flaws: Cumulative, Extra Condition 1, Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Distracting, Descriptors: Ballistic, Chemical, Range: 250/500/1000
Bullets Array: Contains Accuracy Shot and Penetrating Shot
Accuracy Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 250/500/1000
Penetrating Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Diminished Range 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 50/100/250
Hawkeye Goggles: Vision Enhancement and Information Package: Senses 9, Analytical: Vision, Extended: Vision 2, Penetrates Concealment: Vision, Radio, Ultravision, Descriptors: Electricty, Technological

Equipment:
Smartphone (Profiler):

• Cell Phone (Smartphone)
• GPS Receiver
• Video Camera

Bulletproof Vest
Motorcycle:

• Hidden Compartments
• Navigation System
• 8 Toughness
• Extreme Speed:
  • Speed 8, 500 MPH, 1 Mile per Round
  • Vertical Climb: Movement (Wall-Crawling) 2, Full Speed

Total EP: 25

Advantages:
Benefit, Cipher 4, -20 on investigation checks regarding me
Contacts
Quick Draw
Well-informed
Equipment 5 (25 total EP)

Complications:
Hero Identity: Blink
Mercenary Identity: Deadshot
Secret Identity: Not stating because other players can read this forum and i am gonna link them this post.
Motivation: Thrills

Total PP Spent: 150

[Broken Crown]

Well the GM allowed me and my buddy another person joining, to do a sort of "trial run" against a premade hero of his to test our weaknesses and improve our build, the first thing i noticed was that: yes my fort save being nonexistant sucked, and the second thing i noticed was that i needed several vision based abilities that i simply didn't have.... with these weaknesses noted i went back to my build and sacrificed a bit more of my social skills, intelligence, agility, and dexterity as well as some skill points that way i could 1: get some ranks in fortitude, and 2: build a pair of fancy goggles to improve my vision

so i will update the build to reflect this, now as far as i can see i am still going to be in trouble if we ever fight a will based villain but for now i think i am fine

Spoiler: Updated Stats

Show

Game PL: 10
Abilities: Str 0 Fgt -5 Sta 0 Int 5 Agl 5 Awe 0 Dex 6 Pre -5,

Skills (Post modifiers): Investigation 15 Ranged Combat 10 Technology 15 Vehicles 8

Powers:
Teleport self: Teleport 4 miles as a move action, carrying up to 50 lbs, Extras: Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Long Distance Teleportation Portal (Alt to Teleport Self): Portal which can travel 1000 miles in 2 move actions, Extras and Flaws: Accurate, Extended, Portal, Limited to Extended, Resistable: Will, Tiring, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Teleport Through Objects (Alt to Teleport Self): Move through objects at full speed (Permeate 3), Extras: Affects Objects, Descriptors: Mutant, Biological, Talent
Frozen in Time: Immunity to Aging, Sleep, Starvation & Thirst, Suffocation (All), Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic
Unkillable: Immortality 19: back in 6 seconds/1 round, Extras: Innate, Descriptors: Accident, Biological, Life Force, Cosmic

Devices:
PGM Hecate II: 20 PP total cost, has Rounds which is an array of bullets that it fires
Type 54 "Black Star" (Alt to PGM Hecate II): Has Bullets which is an array of bullets that it fires
Rounds Array: Contains Knockout Round and Standard Round
Standard Round: Damage 10, Extras: Extended Range 2, Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 1000/2000/4000
Knockout Round: Affliction 10, 1st degree: Vulnerable, Dazed, 2nd degree: Defenseless, Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Asleep, Resisted by Fortitude, Extras and Flaws: Cumulative, Extra Condition 1, Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Distracting, Descriptors: Ballistic, Chemical, Range: 250/500/1000
Bullets Array: Contains Accuracy Shot and Penetrating Shot
Accuracy Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Subtle 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 250/500/1000
Penetrating Shot: Damage 8, Extras: Increased Range 1, Penetrating 8, Subtle 2, Diminished Range 2, Descriptors: Ballistic, Range: 50/100/250
Hawkeye Goggles: Vision Enhancement and Information Package: Senses 9, Analytical: Vision, Extended: Vision 2, Penetrates Concealment: Vision, Radio, Ultravision, Descriptors: Electricty, Technological

Equipment:
Smartphone (Profiler):

• Cell Phone (Smartphone)
• GPS Receiver
• Video Camera

Bulletproof Vest
Motorcycle:

• Hidden Compartments
• Navigation System
• 8 Toughness
• Extreme Speed:
  • Speed 8, 500 MPH, 1 Mile per Round
  • Vertical Climb: Movement (Wall-Crawling) 2, Full Speed

Total EP: 25

Advantages:
Benefit, Cipher 4, -20 on investigation checks regarding me
Contacts
Quick Draw
Well-informed
Equipment 5 (25 total EP)

Complications:
Hero Identity: Blink
Mercenary Identity: Deadshot
Secret Identity: Not stating because other players can read this forum and i am gonna link them this post.
Motivation: Thrills

Total PP Spent: 150

You say you improved your Fortitude, but I can't tell whether your defences are any good or not, because they're not on your character sheet. From what you've got written here, your Dodge defence (the one that matters most to you, because it applies against ranged attacks) is actually worse than the last version you posted, because you lowered your Agility.

Ideally, your defences should be appropriate to your power level:

Dodge + Toughness = 20 (PL x2)
Parry + Toughness = 20
Fortitude + Will = 20

With your build, you can probably skimp on Parry, since you'll be avoiding melee, but it's risky to have your other defences much lower than this. If you need more points to do it, consider a Flaw on your Teleportation. (Distracting would be a good choice: Halved defences are still better than no defences.)

...this all resulted in me taking potshots from underground using my sniper rifle and eventually opening a portal beneath him that led to the pacific ocean....

As I mentioned before, you can't use a Teleportation Portal to transport people against their will:

Anyone stepping through the portal (a move action) is transported.

If you want to teleport opponents or unattended objects, you need to buy a separate Alternate Effect to do it, using Teleport with the Attack extra. (Teleport is even the specific example they use for how the Attack extra works.)

[Hazrond]

You say you improved your Fortitude, but I can't tell whether your defences are any good or not, because they're not on your character sheet. From what you've got written here, your Dodge defence (the one that matters most to you, because it applies against ranged attacks) is actually worse than the last version you posted, because you lowered your Agility.

Ideally, your defences should be appropriate to your power level:

Dodge + Toughness = 20 (PL x2)
Parry + Toughness = 20
Fortitude + Will = 20

With your build, you can probably skimp on Parry, since you'll be avoiding melee, but it's risky to have your other defences much lower than this. If you need more points to do it, consider a Flaw on your Teleportation. (Distracting would be a good choice: Halved defences are still better than no defences.)



As I mentioned before, you can't use a Teleportation Portal to transport people against their will:



If you want to teleport opponents or unattended objects, you need to buy a separate Alternate Effect to do it, using Teleport with the Attack extra. (Teleport is even the specific example they use for how the Attack extra works.)

oh what do you know i did forget to add those didnt it? well my fortitude and dodge are now both a +6, a bit low, i may boost up my other two by, yes putting a flaw on my teleportation, good idea :)

[Sith_Happens]

How important is having that high of an Immortality rank to you? It's eating up a big bundle of points and, as I explained before, combat-time Immortality is a trap.

[Sith_Happens]

Still hoping for an answer to:

So in the campaign I'm hoping to start soonish I'm thinking of letting Create and Transform be made instant for +1 point/rank. Is that too much, too little, just right, is it just asking my players to break the game? As far as I can tell the effect on the power is pretty much the same as permanent + innate, with the added benefit that it can be in an array without problems.

[Scowling Dragon]

I just make permanent usable in arrays most of the time.

It makes sense.

[The_Snark]

It seems reasonable to me, yeah. Permanent Create/Transform can have dramatic setting effects, like being able to break economies or conjure food from nowhere, but making it instant/usable in an array won't really change that. Makes it a bit less costly, I guess, but it's not significantly better in a fight, and M&M doesn't usually charge a lot for powers like that (see: time travel, precognition).

[Absol197]

So I return to my own thread!

I have a question for the mighty minds of M&M!

One of my characters in the game I'm running has a power that is basically he can push or pull on metals, but they push or pull on him in return. I'm trying to find a good way to model the difference in damage, range, and accuracy with him throwing different mass objects. What it the best way to do this, do you think?

The other thing is that another player is wanting to create a device to control their jet from anywhere, and I can't think of how to stat that, either. I was thinking Move Object double limited to only affecting that specific jet, but would that cover using its weapons and other things too? I didn't think Summon or Create would work, because it's not creating a new jet, and if the jet is far away it has to take time to get to them.

Help, plz?

[Sith_Happens]

I'm trying to find a good way to model the difference in damage, range, and accuracy with him throwing different mass objects. What it the best way to do this, do you think?

I don't know a simple way to do this with Move Object, you probably need to make an array of Ranged Damage powers with quirks or limitations to represent that the right kind of object has to be around.

The other thing is that another player is wanting to create a device to control their jet from anywhere, and I can't think of how to stat that, either. I was thinking Move Object double limited to only affecting that specific jet, but would that cover using its weapons and other things too? I didn't think Summon or Create would work, because it's not creating a new jet, and if the jet is far away it has to take time to get to them.

That's just a Feature of the jet itself, says so in the Vehicles section of the SRD.

[JeenLeen]

Okay, I see what's going on here, you're under the impression that dying is easy to do in this game. In fact it is extremely difficult.* Barring complications, there are exactly two ways to become dying:

1. Fail a damage resistance check while already incapacitated.

2. Have your Stamina Weakened to -5.

And one way to skip dying and go straight to dead:

1. Fail by at least three degrees against a finishing attack (M&M-speak for a coup de grace) from an opponent with intent to kill.

While I imagine most GMs would let you eat your gun, most conditions serious enough that you'd consider doing so will preclude doing so.


* The Gamemaster's Guide has optional rules for lethal damage, but even if your GM is using them you'll almost always go to dying rather than straight to dead, and even with no Fortitude bonus it'll usually take at least a round to bleed out.

I think it is possible to make a linked or triggered power (I forget the terminology), and design to activate when you are KOed. Have that power do enough damage to you to kill yourself, and then you resurrect.
In one game, we had an idea of a joke villain who had no defenses and terrible Stamina. He defeated enemies by having himself get KOed, have that trigger a massive explosion that killed him and at least hurt those around him, then he'd regenerate in a round.

[Kymme]

Hello thread! I'm starting up a Mutants and Masterminds game (refluffed to model Exalted) and I'm wondering how I should model weaker mooks or flunkies. Are there any useful tips or tricks for creating those kinds of enemies?

Thanks in advance!