Quote:
Originally Posted by RPGnet Reviews
Post originally by SarimRune at 2005-06-20 17:08:36
Converted from Phorums BB System
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.
|
Okay using the M&M core book second edition here I am going to prove that you have not read the rules therefore you have no idea what your talking about. Firstly is this sad but likely event your player rolls a really bad save I know its happened to me too many times to count. Your player does have an alternative though then just accepting that bad roll he could have used hero points to Improve the roll under the rules on page 121 to get a result from 11 to 21. Secondly he could have been awarded a lot of hero points because he was "signficantly setback" (p 122) by those bad roles thereby making future failures less likely. And Thirdly (this is superstitious but we gamers are a superstitious lot) he just had some bad dice and should have gotten another one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RPGnet Reviews
Post originally by SarimRune at 2005-06-20 17:08:36
Converted from Phorums BB System
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.
|
The first paragraph made me go
especially when I looked up the rules for MINIONS on page 163 using those rules and the supporting cast starting on page 226 lets retry that scenario. Your friendly neighborhood Spidey runs into a AIM mook with the stats for the PL 5 Soldier whose defense and toughness are +5. Lets say Spidey has a +8 to hit melee and +12 melee damage due to his proportionate spider strength. Spidey has a high initiative so he goes first. Per the rules a non-minion (Spidey) can take a 10 on attack rolls against minions (AIM mook) this means without rolling Spidey gets a 18 on his attack roll the AIM mook only has a DC of 15 for defense Spidey smacks the AIM mook without even trying
. Now the AIM mook has to make a toughness save DC of 15 + 12 = 27 but wait the mook only has a +5 to that save meaning that at his best he can only get a 25! This means that this is an impossible toughness save, which again the MINIONS can't do, so he fails automatically. Now since our poor AIM mook is a minion if he fails his toughness save by any amount he is either a) knocked unconcious or b) dead as dirt depending on the damage type. Since this is Spidey no way would he do lethal unless its old Goblin he's fighting. So in less then one round our poor AIM mook is taking a long nap while Spidey moves quickly ahead to confront the Green Goblin
.
Oh and in that encounter since Spidey has so many hero points (From complications, setbacks, him acting heroic, and whatnot) he has a decent chance of kicking Gobbies butt and saving the day!
So please read the book next time before you comment because if you assume something you just make an a$$ out of you and me