The first sectiongoes over superhero setting tropes, the second & third looks at villains, andthe fourth & fifth cover general plots and scenario planning. Instead it's more of a basic superhero GM primer. Where the earlier book delved into the game’scrunch, the GM Guide almost studiouslyavoids that. The Gamemaster's Guide for 3e might look like the parallel volume, butit has a very different objective. The Mastermind's Manualfor 2e provided a host of options and mechanical insights. M&M3e has other changes scattered throughout: putting more focus on motivation, standardizingmodifiers (+2, +5 now), and retooling (but not really reducing) conditions. The game consolidates advantages and skills.Now only 16 skills exist, and some of those represent combat abilities.
Other factors likeDefenses have also been streamlined. M&M 3e also changes up Abilities, with a new selection andratings now only modifiers (rather than classic “3-18” values). Affliction-typeeffects now clearly echo damage template and advantages more clearly fit withthe power system. That shifthas in turn driven the designers to make effects consistent across systems. The supplement Ultimate Power began to redefine that, offeringa way to get under the hood of powers and construct even more interesting options.If you know Ultimate Power, then you'llrecognize that system in M&M 3e, though even more stripped down. Originally M&M had some effect-defined powers and alarger pool of essentially pre-built common ones. Moving from 'bundled' powers to effect-based buildschanges things the most. So a Poison effect might cause Impaired/ Immobile/ Paralyzed,depending on degree. Non-damage effects usually have three stages of severity as well, withoutthe a stacking penalty.
Damage effectshave specific results: miss by one degree and you gain a cumulative -1 to furtherdamage saves miss by two degrees and you get that -1 as well as becoming dazed miss by three and you get the -1 and become staggered. M&Mbreaks this into four degrees, one for each 5 points of failure. In the case of a damage, the target # is the attack’srank+15 in the case of other power effects the target # is the attack’s rank +10.If the defender saves, nothing happens. The defender then rollsa resistance versus the effect. If they equal or beat that target, they hit. Playersroll most attacks by adding a rating to a d20 roll and comparing the result to adefense value. I suspect most GMs willrough those out, given the nature of supers flying around a battlefield. Distances are given and can be determinedfrom movement tables, but in play feel fairly abstract. Rounds cover sixseconds and initiative determines action order. At heart, M&M works like other d20 games.
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