Post originally by SarimRune at 2005-06-20 17:08:36
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I see your points. And I'm sure that some people like M&M. However my experience was that everybody seems to talk that it was great and very few people seemed to have tried it out. I have read reviews which, only after, do I realize that the reviwer only read it.

"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. "

Doesn't EVERY good GM do this? I add flavor as much as I can. However with a system that is unpredictable, i.e. 7 shrugged off wounds in a row, even I have my limits. One of the characters in the group consistantly got KOed in almost every fight. His stats were comparable if not higher than others, but he just ended rolling 1's or 2's on almost every Damage Saving throw.

The reason why I (and I'm sure many others) dislike the randomness is that without something consistant, it's too difficult to gauge the situation. There is something exciting about overcoming a challenge, that's for sure, but that only exists when you realize that two people are very close in power. When Spiderman fights the Green Goblin, you just don't know how it's going to end. Both are comparable. But when Spiderman attacks an AIM thug and just can't take the guy out for the life of him because he misses or the AIM thug saves over and over again, there is a break down in the consistancy, in the challenge itself. The AIM thug isn't supposed to represent a threat to Spiderman. He was probably put into an adventure for flavor, for something for the player to plow through before he came across a real threat. But M&M handles the mechanic poorly I'm afraid, simply because your core die is a d20.

Furthermore, when comparing Green Goblin vs. Spiderman, because the d20 is present, the outcome isn't determined by skill, it's determined by luck. Green Goblin throws a pumpkin bomb. The Spidey player rolls, and utterly fails. Spends some points and uterrly fails again. Suddenly, for no reason other than betrayal of the dice, Spidey is defeated by the Green Goblin. Very few games are THIS deterministic. Most games would knock off a few HP, wound levels, etc and Spidey could make a recovery. Most games handle these sorts of mechanics very well. M&M, I found, was practically all or nothing. Half the time, fights would go on unnecessarily long. Other times, they would end without it starting. And ultimately that wild length wasn't in the hands of the GM or the players. It was in the hands of the dice. Yes, a GM can add flavor but it's just an excuse, a cover up for what the dice are doing. Thus, the dice control the game, instead of guide it along.

"Game challenge inflation is hardly a problem that is unique to M&M. I've encountered it in every game I ever played. "

You are correct. But the point I was trying to make was that it's VERY obvious in M&M. You can vary the powers as much as you like, but base attack bonuses and base defense bonuses are often going to be the same for every character at the same power level. Baring Feats the second the players realized how important base Defense was, they all spent their points to make sure they had the highest for their level.

"I just wanted to share how people could enjoy the game in spite of, and in some cases because of, the conditions you mentioned."

There are plenty of people who can enjoy this game. One of my friends loves it but he also loves the randomness of it. I just want to caution that not everybody will like it and it is hardly the greatest superhero game ever.
Champions is considered by most the greatest superhero game ever. I like Champions but my personal favor is a) Neccessary Evil (Savage Worlds) and b) the Marval Saga System.