#mutants&masterminds

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Super power idea:

You are immune to being harmed by an elephant gun because you’re not an elephant. In fact, you can’t be poisoned by wolfsbane or stabbed by a butterfly knife. Only something designed to destroy you can have any impact!

This is a great power when you’re first starting out, since common criminals won’t be ready for this immunity. Watch out for proper supervillains, who have the tenacity and malice to forge a weapon just for you! Your secret identity will also be important, in case your name is Jack (jackknife) or Herb (herbicide) or Mouse (mauser rifle).

[nymiethepooh]

Me dropping a song into one of the five mood playlist for one game I run: I hope this doesn’t give too much away to my players. My Players: There’s a playlist?!?

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Supervillain Idea: The mutant known as Polygraph was a sidekick in her youth, trained by the legendary Cricket. Reporters like to sketch out her path to evil, beginning when Cricket named their protege “Pinocchio Lass”, but surely a silly hero name wouldn’t make someone turn to a life of crime.

Polygraph has one major power, which appears in some cases as a weakness. Whenever she tells a lie, the earth shakes violently (increasing in intensity with the severity of the lie). This has great destructive power, but also can be directed quite skillfully by lying about specific things. Once, while fighting their former mentor in a stadium, Polygraph targeted the sound system to prevent Cricket from broadcasting their soporific music. Bystanders said the lie that shattered every speaker in the building was “I actually quite enjoy Seven Nation Army.”

Don’t make the mistake of assuming Polygraph is a one trick villain. She has done countless hours of research, learning many subjects in depth in order to lie about them more effectively. And she usually has a few minions on hand to collect MacGuffins or block a punch - while the seismic schemer has Cricket’s martial arts training, she’s not unnaturally strong or bulletproof.

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Superhero (or villain) Ideas for your next Mutants & Masterminds game

Captain Subterrane, immune to damage from magma (not lava) and vastly enhanced strength/agility while underground

Roadrage, capable of driving cars remotely. They can control one vehicle at a 100 mile range and multiple vehicles within a mile or two.

The Mothematician, who uses probability to predict the future by watching lepidopterae. Each flap of a butterfly’s wing tells them about threats and important events.

Alpaca 2.0, a cybernetically enhanced camelid that can scale any vertical surface, speak two dozen languages, and shoot lightning from their mouth.

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Idea: Wild and epic adventure movie type game (think Fast and Furious, Uncharted, etc) where physics will always operate by rule of cool. How fast does a plane fall from 30,000 feet? Just fast enough for you to beat up three mercenary goons and drive off a ramp to jump onto another plane with your motorcycle.

However! You can earn special points (fate points, or a system-specific token for rerolls or powers) by allowing realism to apply in a situation in a way that limits you. “Actually,” you tell the GM, “I think most people would pass out during a sudden drop from that height. It’s all I can do to drag myself to the parachute rack and bail out.” You’re unable to get onto the other plane, but you’ve got your bonus to use in the next scene.

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Minion Necessities

Do you need hordes of easily-defeated fighters to keep heroes busy while you complete your ritual? Are you looking for lab assistants who can be easily fooled?

Here are some tips for what minions should be, mechanically: 1. Each minion can be bypassed by a single successful roll - one hit knocks them out, one clever ruse makes them leave you alone for the moment, etc. 2. Minions need an interesting gimmick that makes them dangerous, beyond simple weight of numbers. Some might have ranged attacks! Others might be able to combine and enhance their allies, or take a hit meant for the more important villains. I would probably avoid anything that requires too many rolls, since you'll have to use these powers for each minion. 3. An enjoyable catchphrase, voice, or running theme. If the minions are people, maybe they all have rhyming names. Robots might threaten the heroes by announcing their programmed attacks.

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Campaign Idea: characters with the power to teleport between any cities that have the same name. From Memphis, Tennessee to Memphis, Egypt or from Hastings, England to Hastings, New Zealand. They use this special ability to chase down infamous geographical villains like Carmen San Diego, Jack London, and even Mr. Worldwide himself!

I can see this as a Mutants and Masterminds game, or maybe something similar to Masks or Spirit of the Century? The emphasis would be on traveling and solving mysteries with clever tricks rather than combat or intense powers. Keep this page handy when you need a quick bus ticket from San Jose to Aleksandrovka!