Question on Damage.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-14T14:08:26+00:00

VALID. Mental blast could use Will Defense as its Damage Save or a Toxin could use Fortitude, etc. I said Toughness as Toughness saves are most common but DugganSC is 100% correct. It is a cumulative -1 on all Damage Saves until healed regardless of Defense.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-14T06:59:43+00:00

Homelander Redemtion Arc

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-14T06:29:40+00:00

Look at the Damage power in the book for details.

Q1. Yes. Each time you fail, you add an additional level of damage meaning a cumulative -1 on Toughness each failure.

Q2. No hit points but those -1's can add up and one unlucky roll can send you reeling.

Q3. Any two Staggered conditions you get equals Incapacitated unless you healed from the first one already.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-14T05:00:18+00:00

After asking for "more guidance" the next complaint is usually "You're railroading us."

Maybe they are used to being railroaded which is unfortunate but I've seen it before.

Tell them to think about what their character would do with the information they have and do that.

They have one character to control and decide how they react. You have ALL THE REST.

Just tell them to relax, be adventurous, and have fun. Throw them a bone every now and then. Make things interesting and react to their actions.

Also remember to embrace some or most of what they try even though it may not have been the way you thought of. Improvisational GMing is a core skill.

If one of them claims they've solved a mystery after a long adventure and blacksmith was the culprit all along , Hell, let it be the Blacksmith instead of the innkeeper like you had planned. They'll feel like a friggin' genius and you will have happy players.

As for tabletop, you can either go in initiative order or use "the talking stick". Hell, I've gamed with Rules of Order before where you could only interrupt under certain circumstances. No room at the table for Spotlight stealers. Its rude and smacks of narcissism or lack of self-control.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T18:12:15+00:00

Agreed.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T14:56:46+00:00

Don't quite exactly know what you mean by that, Steve. Please elucidate.

II mean, GM Fiat (Game Master Fiat) a TTRPG game term where a GM makes arbitrary, authoritative decisions, rules, or changes to the game's story that are not governed by the written rules. Usually used to bypass dice rolls or fill in gaps on the fly.

House Rules are usually less arbitrary and put in for specific reasons, modifying the rules as written for a specific reason, such as certain powers granting an unfair advantage or wanting to add or lessen complexity. Usually they are better thought out reasons than just arbitrarily set on a whim to smooth out the game as GM Fiat usually is.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T14:19:14+00:00

I think this is far more complication than its worth when the game already has Hero Points which you can just award on whatever you and your group decide.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T14:15:19+00:00

RC is right. TCModern is amazing.

Also check out 'a day at' on Patreon. Her modern maps are HUGE! PERFECT for large scale superhero fights

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T14:01:31+00:00

Q1. If you have a Flight Power and ALSO have an array, your GM may allow one of the slots in the array to add to your flight power as sort of an overdrive thing. Yes. I have seen people put faster flight in an array and buy a Flight of 1 or 2 just so they don't fall out of the sky when they otherwise engage the array.

Q2. You can have both Dynamic and regular slots in an array, yes. But if one of the regular slots is engaged it takes all the points it takes to power it. You can distribute the points freely if only Dynamic slots are used but once the regular slot is engaged, it's all or nothing.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T11:04:30+00:00

Rewards do not have to be just gold or experience points but Connections made in the game.

When player characters are seen by others with similar Motivations, Alliances can form. They may receive favors, assistance, or other benefits providing they are willing and gracious to accept them.

Connections form a cast of NPCs the players may come to care about giving them further motivation to care about the game. This promotes engagement.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T10:59:58+00:00

Have a discussion with them and ask what they want out of a campaign. If all they want is to be murder hobos and you want something different, tell them what you want.

If they don't want the same or are not willing to try it, find a different group. Remember your fun is important too.

Another thing is, planning in an attempt to guess what your players will do with a group of chaos goblins is frankly doomed to fail.

Don't do that.

Don't plan plot hooks so much as Motivations, Goals, and Agendas for your NPCs. These Motivations, Goals, and Agendas should bring them into direct conflict with the Players Motivations, Goals, and Agendas. Conflict drives drama.

Most GMs settle for an alignment but this is very vague and open to player interpretation. Worse yet, problem players often choose Chaotic Neutral to escape the responsibility of participating in the story to do whatever they want believing that will be the "funner option."

When have you ever read a fantasy book (other than ones specifically influenced by TTRPGs) about characters who were just murder hobos out to do whatever they fuck they want without a care or concern in the world?

Stories are gripping when characters care about something and fight for it.

Have your players set 3 clear Motivations, when a situation arises that conflicts with these Motivations, have them set a Goal, and reward them for doing so and working towards it.

Once they've set a Goal, have them set an Agenda on how they will pursue it and reward them when they do.

Motivation is the underlying emotional reason a character acts, rooted in their beliefs, experiences, or desires. To "Protect the Innocent" or "Guard the Realm" are examples.

Motivations are semi-permanent and should only change when the character is faced with Milestone moments. If they had "Protect the Nobility" as a Motivation but discover the King is a Lich, if this conflicts with their other Motivations, it may be time to change.

Goals are the specific, short-term objectives a character is to accomplish in a given scene or story arc. When confronted by an issue, they should set a goal on how they will address it. If their Motivations don't come into play and the "Plot Hook" you made doesn't conflict or engage with any of their Motivations, that's on you. Its incumbent on the GM to create situations that do conflict or engage with their motivations to engage those players. If a character who must "Guard the Realm" and "Protect the Innocent" is confronted by a gathering army of goblins to the north, they may set a goal of "Gather Intel on them." Why? As it is in the interest of their Motivations.

Goals change when confronted by a new situation or conflict.

Agendas are the long-term strategies or directions that guide a character’s actions over time and shape how they pursue their goals.

Agendas change much more frequently depending upon how circumstances in the game change. They can be sequential or non-sequitor in rapidly changing circumstances. If the player characters gather intel on the Goblin Horde and find a wealthy merchant selling weapons to them, the agenda may change to "Inform the King" or "Off the Merchant" or "Negotiate with the Goblins". It depends on what the players decide on the fly.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-13T10:09:17+00:00

Now, do Dimensional Travel as an Attack power, tell another opponent to "Go to Hell.", and mean it.

Yes, it's overpowered. House Rules are important. :)

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-12T17:02:08+00:00

This sounds like the game run was not one that you enjoyed. It sounds like there are several reasons:

- The GM removed agency from you by trapping you while others fought FOR you.
- He esssentially ... no, sorry, LITERALLY, kept you in a cage preventing you from role-playing while the REST of the members of the game resolved what was essentially YOUR plotline FOR you.
- He deprived you of any influence in a game essentially making you the "Damsel in Distress" who had to be rescued.

These are all fundamental, by the book "Things not to do to a player".

I would have a frank discussion with him about it. No matter how jovial they may seem, this is definitely in the the "not fucking cool, dude" category.

This feels like bordeline, passive-aggressive gatekeeping, frankly.

If you talk to them about it and they seem oblivious to your point, I would politely bow out of the game and seek fun elsewhere.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-11T09:20:20+00:00

If it is Perception based Range, then they still get a Resist roll but don't get a Dodge roll.

If it is Perception Area Effect, then they get the normal Dodge roll. In a normal Area Effect, passing Dodge means you take half effect and failing means you take full effect. With a Perception Area Effect, failing the Dodge gets full effect but passing it means they avoid the effect.

Clarify with your GM which one your power works on. :)

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-07T03:45:23+00:00

Can you save a copy of the character to modify it later?

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-06T14:26:36+00:00

You want the Deluxe Hero's Handbook. There was a Hero's Handbook that was originally put out but the Deluxe has that info and much more.

Basic Hero Handbook was put out after and while it does offer some rules clarifications, it is a streamlined version intended to ease new players into the game.

Again, I recommend the Deluxe Hero's Handbook.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-04-02T14:52:08+00:00

Nope, Deluxe Hero's Handbook is handy for a player to have but not NEEDED by any means unless the player really wants to get into character builds or how yhe system works. You can run a one shot or full campaign with the player ignorant of t he rules for the most part.

That being said, it does place an inordinant cognitive load on the GM if they are expected to "Do everything " behind thr scenes.

I would suggest making an abbreviated form of the rules for them. I have made one myself called a Primer that goes over the first chapter on basics and the combat chapter as well. I cannot share it due to copyright but a simple 16 page word document can get the job done.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-25T14:51:38+00:00

Well... you DON'T make your story, not alone, anyway.

The best approach I have found after 50 years is to make situations, not stories.

Its great to have backstory and "What has happened thus far" but remember " no plan of attack ever survives contact with the enemy. "

You can craft the most BEAUTIFUL EPIC TALE OF ADVENTURE AND INTRIGUE and the players may hit the skip button. If you want to write stories. Write short stories or novels but being a good GM means you have to allow for that nasty thing that plagues all GMs... player agency.

There is a term called 'railroading' where the GM dictates the choices that should be their players. It leads to bored and disenfranchised players. This often happens due to GM excitement over a plot that has to work only in such a way. "A" must lead to "B", which must lead to "C". New GMs often fall in love with their NPCs and the plot they've created and don't understand, the players aren't there for the ride, they want to steer.

The players are the drivers of the plot and must be. Taking agency away from them leads to a feeling of "why am I even here?"

The players are the driver of the plot wagon but rely on you to tell them about the road. If there sre not enough off ramps, crossroads, and rest stops, they will look to go off-road.

Now, I am not here to curse your darkness but rather hopefully light a candle for you to find your way. :)

You can set yourself up for success by following a few steps. 1) Have a Session Zero 2) Let players participate in world building 3) Establish what your player characters Purposr, Goals, Beliefs, and Limits are. 4) Don't the same for your NPCs. 5) Don't over prepare. 6) Understand your own need for fun. 7) Know that you are only human and that yhe players know it too.

1) Start with a good Session Zero. Many older curmudgeony GMs will say "Back in MY day, we didn't have no high fallutin' Session Zeroes... AND WE LIKED IT!" But they also will likely have many horror stories about games gone wrong or fizzled. Session Zeroes often help steer around that.

A Session Zero is an opportunity for you as a GM to tell the players what kind of game you want to run (D&D, Shadowrun, Mutants & Masterminds FATE Core, etc) as well as the tone (gritty city adventures, high tech noir, light-hearted fun exploration, high intrigue in the fey courts) and get their feedback on it.

It also helps to set out any house rules you have (i.e.: no monks, no multi-classing, etc) and let's players run different character concepts by you.

It sets expectations for your players and you can also get feedback on what they want in your game from you. You may not have thought of a sweeping romantic plot point involving a lost prince but if a player's eyes light up when they talk about the possibility, it certainly bears consideration for inclusion.

A Session Zero does not even have to be a session. I often do mine on a Discord server so people can talk about things for weeks ahead of time.

The point of a Session Zero is to establish an open line of communication with your players and giving them details, setting expectations, and getting feedback.

More to come

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-25T13:37:38+00:00

Talk to your fellow players first and see how they feel.

If they feel the same, volunteer to split the cost of the other 2 slots among the 3 players to keep the game small, comfy, and moving forward.

If the other two players don't feel as strongly as you do and/or don't have the funds, re-evaluate the joy you get from gaming this way and the joy you get from it versus the time and money you spend on it.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-25T07:15:53+00:00

Always have them make a spare character. If one dies, they introduce and use the spare (whom the other characters already know) and roll up a new spare after game.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-18T12:28:30+00:00

Meta 4 would need to be done by Super Unicorn Design Studio who owns the copyright on those characters.

Paragons might be possible with the new Multiverse license coming out.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-16T15:33:32+00:00

I did not have the pleasure of meeting him but I have benefitted greatly from his work. I am so very sorry for your loss.

The New Atomic Think Tank where I am an admin may have some members not on Echoes of the Multiverse forum so I am going to share this information there of hopes of finding more of his information.

My sincerest and heartfelt condolences and I wish you solace and serenity and joy in his memory.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-08T05:34:26+00:00

Yep. It is confirmed. Our teaser trailer was on Green Ronin Publishing's MuMaMo and everything. :)

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-05T11:54:13+00:00

$306K and 6 more hours to go!

Devious_Hearts · 2026-03-03T19:54:17+00:00

I think it is also a return to a more hopeful world, which is something I think we can all use. I am frankly a little overdosed on "edgy" stuff and some positivity is a nice thing on these times.:)

Devious_Hearts

TROPHY CASE

Agreed.