Frequently Asked Rules Questions

[pawsplay]

Why are Devices so delicate? With a Toughness equal to point/5, even things like swords and shields have a Toughness of 1 ("glass").

[Black Mamba]

Why are Devices so delicate? With a Toughness equal to point/5, even things like swords and shields have a Toughness of 1 ("glass").

As with many things in M&M Device Toughness requires GM intervention for it to make sense. The basic system was put in place due to the expansive nature of Devices in M&M: they can cover everything from the 4 pt Device in your example to 105 pt example Battlesuit Archetype, to even more expensive Devices for characters playing at higher limits. If you simply follow a linear cost-progression system you are going to get strange results at both ends.

Ultimately the Player and GM should just look at the item and assign a Toughness value that is reasonable: a sword is generally steel so should be around a 9 Toughness even though it is only 4 pts. Likewise the Battlesuit might only have a 15 Toughness (titanium) rather then the 21 the mechanic would call for. And even then we have to remember that Indestructible is only a 1 point Feature on a Device to make it immune to harm.

[pawsplay]

I am kind of annoyed that the two choices are Indestructible (1 point feature) or rather fragile. The difference between many if not most devices being literally Toughness 1 and Indestructible is 1 point. It's hard to say whether a Toughness 9 sword should be Indestructible with a note that it's not actually indestructible, or breakable, with a hand-waved Toughness rating. In many cases, statting stuff as Equipment is advantageous for all the wrong reasons.

[pawsplay]

Since each condition has its own recovery DC, is it possible for a character with an Affliction to keep saddling an opponent with further instances of the condition?

[Taryble]

Since each condition has its own recovery DC, is it possible for a character with an Affliction to keep saddling an opponent with further instances of the condition?

I don't believe so - I mean, if your Affliction is (Resist:Fort, Dazed, Exhausted, Incapacitated), getting a "Daze" and then another "Daze" doesn't do anything - the two Dazes don't stack.

Unless you have the "Cumulative" extra, of course - in which case if you hit him once and he gets 1 Degree of Failure, he's Dazed. Assume he fails the resistance check on his turn to remove that. You hit him again, and he gets 2 Degrees of Failure. Normally, he'd just be Exhausted, but with Cumulative, he's now Incapacitated.

[saint_matthew]

Why are Devices so delicate? With a Toughness equal to point/5, even things like swords and shields have a Toughness of 1 ("glass").

An there is an option in the devices section of the HH that allows you to make a device essentially unbreakable. I know this info is a little late, but i noticed no one added it.

[pawsplay]

Since each condition has its own recovery DC, is it possible for a character with an Affliction to keep saddling an opponent with further instances of the condition?

I don't believe so - I mean, if your Affliction is (Resist:Fort, Dazed, Exhausted, Incapacitated), getting a "Daze" and then another "Daze" doesn't do anything - the two Dazes don't stack.

The question is whether both are there. Waht if one has a DC of 15 and the other has a DC of 18?

Another question: as built, is Dazzle intended to affect attack checks based on that sense?

[Black Mamba]

The question is whether both are there. Waht if one has a DC of 15 and the other has a DC of 18?

Assuming you were hit and under the influence of both both you make a Resistance Check against the highest - Saving against the highest would automatically mean you also Saved against the lower.

Another question: as built, is Dazzle intended to affect attack checks based on that sense?

Yes, if the "Dazzled" Sense is your only Accurate Sense. If you are Visually Dazzled but also have Accurate Hearing then the Attack Check would not be bothered.

[Nekros22]

This is going to sound silly, but bear with me.

How does Skill Mastery work in game?

Could I get an example?

[FuzzyBoots]

This is going to sound silly, but bear with me.

How does Skill Mastery work in game?

Could I get an example?

You'd probably be better off posting this as a question by itself in the forum, but Skill Mastery simply lets you "Take 10" on a skill even when under pressure. Normally, one cannot do that in combat or under stress. So, for example, if you had a Disable Device skill bonus of +10, you could normally, when not under stress, "Take 10" and get a result of 20 without having to roll, guaranteeing a dependable average performance. When in combat or otherwise stressed, you would have to roll which could result in as low of a roll as 11.

[Thunderspell]

Alright, can anyone give me an idea about how specific the Immunity and Negation powers are with regards to descriptors? For example, if my character has a plasma blast that has the descriptors fire and electricity, would it hurt a foe who is immune to only fire? Same with the negation power.

Any ideas?

[FuzzyBoots]

The rule is that it's all-inclusive for vulnerabilities and for defenses. The more descriptors you have, the more likely you are to hit a defense against it, but also more likely to hit a complication. So, for example, if I have a magical cold iron sword (descriptors of physical, slashing, cold iron, and magic), an immunity to physical, slashing, cold iron, or magic would mean no damage. On the other hand, any power with a power loss of "except against" would also stop it. So if my opponent had Protection 10 (Quirk: except against slashing), then I'd get through. Same if it had a quirk where anything magical got through.

[Quistar]

I've had this one come up and I'd like a better idea of how to handle it than my ad-hoc solution (whatever it was at the time, I forget).

Someone uses a Nullify (technology) effect on a Battlesuit character (or a Gadgeteer, same basic problem). How do I determine which effect(s) are affected by the Nullify?

Thx in advance.

- Andrew <:-(}

[pawsplay]

How do you calculate the initiative score for a construct with no Agility?

[FuzzyBoots]

-5 penalty for having a 0. Alternately, they simply act last.