Post originally by dalmagar at 2005-06-20 00:21:52
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The qualities that make a game "the Greatest Game" are by all means subjective. I wouldn't suggest that M&M is the right game for you, because obviously you've tried it and it wasn't a good fit. However, as a perspective, I'd like to share how gamers who do enjoy the game resolve the issues you describe.

In the case of "wild randomness" you find disagreeable, myself and my group don't really see it. Certainly a D20 roll will give you some reall lucky/bad breaks, but then again, so does life. Certainly fiction and movies do so even more. In the battle you describe above, thats the sort of thing I really enjoy about the game, and in fact most games, because if you're rolling a dice, I don't see how you're going to avoid hitting the extremes of the spectrum sometimes. A run of really good rolls can turn a ho-hum encounter into something exciting, a blank slate NPC suddenly becomes more interesting, the players put some emotional investment, and can even change the entire mood of the game. When we paly, we enjoy describing the combat in cinimatic terms. If combat is simply a series of "You roll. You hit. You roll. You miss" Than it can seem random, but with descriptive flavor, it becomes a challenge.

"Your blow catches Badguy #1 off gaurd. A surprise hit to his solar plexis and he's on his knees, the wind knocked out of him."

"Your opponents is dancing around like a weasel on crack. every hit just doesn't seem able to connect. Your strongest blows are just grazing him."

This sort of thing helps us to change the admittedly random chances in the game, to a more believeible story line.

Game challenge inflation is hardly a problem that is unique to M&M. I've encountered it in every game I ever played. As the charecters get stronger, the monsters get stronger. One thing I do to avoid this is expand the types of threats. Everyone has a weakness. Instead of upping the opponents combat stats, hit them from a different direction. J.J. Jameson wasn't any kind of combat threat to Spider-man, but still caused him lots of problems. How's your Strongmans mental saves? A hostage situation can stymie the most skilled charecters. Yur super ninja's katana may be able to slice through a tank, but can it cut the tension in the air when he misses his fiance's dinner with her folks?

This style of play doesn't appeal to everyone, and there are lots of games to fit lot's of styles. I just wanted to share how people could enjoy the game in spite of, and in some cases because of, the conditions you mentioned.