I'm thinking about running an Iron Age style Mutants & Masterminds game but I have a lot of design decisions that I could make that I would like to open up to the M&M community here to see what they think.

1. Which edition? 2e vs. 3e?
   I'm partial to 3e myself but I could go either way. Just curious which way the community has preference for.
   
   
2. What setting?
   I could convert Freedom City (default M&M setting) into the meaner and grittier Iron Age setting using the 2e Iron Age setting book but I don't know if people are getting bored with Freedom City. For an Iron Age campaign I could also go even grittier and use a different setting that takes crime and grittiness to the extreme. Basically an Iron Age campaign set in a city like Detroit or Gary with very high rates of pollution, poverty, and crime. I am kind of leaning towards the latter but I don't know how much interest there is in a crapsack superhero game.
   
   
3. What Power level?
   I want this to be a street level game. Players will be facing off against drug dealers and mafioso not flying around in the skies fighting space aliens or runaway Greek gods. I'm thinking of either PL 6 or PL 8 for the start. Enough to be able to get a decent power or two but also low enough to actually have to worry about mundane enemies like muggers and corrupt cops. The 2e Iron Age book had archetypes listed out at PL 6 which makes me want to lean that way but I also know from past experience there is a vocal section of the fanbase that is uninterested in low power level so I'm really curious how many would be willing to play in a PL 6 street level kind of game.
   
   
4. Shared Character Backstories?
   The plot I am thinking of would involve players being given their powers "in-game" so to speak. They would all be escaped lab rats or took tainted drugs etc. to give them a shared starting point but I know that would really curtail character concepts going in. Would you be willing to play in one where you were told how you got your powers? Would people prefer a mix of some existing heroes vs. some brand new ones to help provide a bit of leadership and direction? I'd rather not use GM NPCs to force the players together but perhaps that is a possibility as well.

Other then that any other ideas or thoughts about an Iron Age game would be appreciated.

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I know I can just do whatever I want and put the game out there and I'm confident there would probably be interest in it but I genuinely cannot decide if I want to do PL 6 vs. PL8 or if I want to do Iron Age Freedom City or a Detroit-style city etc. I'm hoping that having conversations here will help me make those final decision.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was the wrong forum, at 18:16, Sun 16 June 2019.

In reply to praguepride (msg # 1):

I would definitely be interested! I've never gotten to actively participate in a Mutants and Masterminds game, but I've played around with character creation quite a bit, trying to recreate my favorite fictional characters.

As for setting, I'm not personally picky due to not having gotten a chance to play previously, so I won't leave an opinion there(I'm sure the m&m community has preferences).

Street Level is fine with me, I feel like it definitely raises interesting restrictions for character creation.

As for mentioning the world being crapsack, I'd personally not be upset with that, as long as the game isn't grimdark in very specific ways. I'm fine with over the top grimdark, but graphic depictions of certain adult themes may be a bit too much for taste. Superheroes are a fantasy, but that's not the kind of fantasy I'm here to participate in, personally.

I'm interested! I'm not terribly familiar with 3e, but I am with 2e and I really like that system.

I'm a little concerned that PL6 won't have the same degree of flexibility to create interesting characters that PL8 would, but I'll abide by either... or rather, the corresponding starting points associated with those PLs. If you were willing to have a PL6 with a higher number of points, I'd be open to that.

I’d give this game a look, especially in 2e, as I have experience there.

The setting and power level are less of a concern for me than a single mandated origin. I’m sure it can be made to work well, but like you said, it eliminates a lot of potential character concepts right off the bat.

I'm interested too

@2 or 3
Personally I think 2e is better for 'normal humans with a few powers', and m&m3 is better for everything else, but that's just a view. On the whole I prefer 3e. The healing and damage rules for 2e are really complicated, and I don't think the skills work as well

@Setting
I personally prefer real world places, but it's only a marginal preference.

@Power Level
I really like powerlevel 8, it's my favourite even more than the higher levels. I think it's M&Ms sweet spot

@Shared backstories
I like very much us all having the same source of being a super hero, whether a meteorite, a lab experiment, or whatever. I like it more if we mostly meet first time IC because then we can RP through what we feel about each other. I'm good with any option though, those are just preferences.

Have always wanted to learn M&M but no game has ever lasted.  Partial to 3e as well.  Have the books for it; just not the experience actually playing it.

For Iron Age any large city will work; it's more about atmosphere.  Use whatever city setting makes it easier on you.  As long as you have a good variety of places for confrontations (docks, sewers, alleys, warehouses, etc..) players are going to be interested.

If you're in doubt on PL split the difference and go PL7.  In a street-level HERO System game now and it's a refreshing challenge.  Plan your exits, worry the cops will show, in fact, worry a lot more in general than a high-powered supers game.  I really don't think you can go wrong here.

Shared background is a great way to immediately give all characters a reason to band together.  Good way to get the game off and running.

Hi,

I'd love to play in a M&M game. I've always been hindered by never actually sitting down to learn the rules. This is something I think I could do now. I have 3e books so that's what I'd prefer.

I like the earlier suggestion of splitting the difference and going for power level 7, but I'll concede I don't really know all the implications.

I'm fine with any setting, either real or Freedom City. I don't really favor too dark, although I've played dark games in the past. I can only take so much of things like Gotham or Daredevil before I walk away for a while.

I love the idea of a shared origin. I understand it eliminates certain things, but I like the bonds it has the potential to create at the outset.

I am also interested in a game of M&M if you're willing to take on someone relatively new to the system.

Q1: I prefer 3rd edition.  Mostly because that's all I've played and I have books for that edition

Q2: I would prefer a more high-fantasy-esque setting but I am still interested in a lower PL.  Your options seem, to me, to boil down to a choice of Defenders vs. Avengers.

Q3: As an extention of Question 2, I would prefer a higher power level

Q4: Shared Backstories would be interesting, much like the Fantastic Four, where we all are exposed to the same incident but develop into completely different heroes.

1. Which edition? 2e vs. 3e?
   
   I'm a 2nd ed guy mostly but I think both editions, though different, are fundamentally the same in the type of game they deliver. So if 3e's more available materials is the selling point, go for it!
   
   
2. What setting?
   Well I'm a Freedom City nerd so *shrug* I like Iron Age Freedom, I like that it's the one time in the setting where villains own the city, where heroes are driven away, the one time there's no one to defend people but vigilantes and the occasional good cop.
   
   But that aesthetic works anywhere, and a setting which isn't Freedom City can either A) strip itself of all continuity and have a world where Iron Age motifs rule (and can therefore be set whenever if that is a sticking point) or B) work to create its own narrative and continuity, perhaps in a world slightly more cynical than Freedom City?
   
   
3. What Power level?
   PL 6 means the group can get taken out with conventional weapons (a brick would need impervious 8 to resist a sawn-off shotgun loaded with slug, at which point the DM can start power attacking) which is a good way to make sure the team is really afraid of the cops and criminals. PL 8 there's enough wiggle room that a sufficiently motivated character can shrug off anything that's meant for an individual to be carrying.
   
   
4. Shared Character Backstories?
   
   Personally I like mixed characters but a shared backstory is a good way to limit the team to one which has a reason to work together. Could do it with test subjects and an underground resistance that frees them, if you want potential for mixed characters.
   
   It's important to decide how you feel about ancients, aliens, mystics and gods at the outset and if the characters can draw from that well. Also "badapple" normals will likely not be test subjects

This message was last edited by the user at 00:04, Mon 17 June 2019.

I'd play this, no question. As far as power level you can set a low PL but still allow people some character diversity by giving them more starting Power Points for their level in 2E or 3E. 90 PP is pretty low , but 90 PP + like 20 that can only be used on mundane abilities is a different story.

I definitely am interested. I recommened Pl 8 iron age 3rd ed. The fix a lot of skills issues that 2nd ed had. I recommend a shared supers orgin between the pcs.

I would need to see the game particulars before I committed to joining, but my vote would be for 3E and PL 8. Shared background is fine with me, I'm indifferent to setting. I'd also be fine with PL 6 if the players have extra PP, but I've tried playing at that low a PL and it really cuts into the ability to make a balanced character, since you have less PP to spend on extraneous things like a few ranks in hobby skills.

I’d be interested if using 3e.

Grittier settings always appeal to me.