Plot Points (stored as Conviction)
For playing to a characters Virtue, Vice, Personality or goals the character may be awarded Plot points by the narrator. Plot Points may be spent at any time. You can have no more than 3 Plot Points at any given time. If you would ever have more than 3 PP you must trade them for a Character Point, 2 PP per 1CP. You will have to ask the narrator for Plot Points, he has a lot on his mind. Ex: When your character plays up something that goes with his virtue the player can ask the narrator if they can get a PP for it.
Things that can get you Plot Points:
- Good player qualities (attendance, bring food, creating your own story tools)
- Posting in character on the boards
- Playing out your characters Vice or Virtue in mind
- COMPLETING TASKS RELATED TO YOUR CHARACTERS GOALS
What you can spend Plot Points on:
- 1 PP: Altering the storyline minor. Ex: The police just so happens to walk by as towns mayor pulls a gun on you! (or you can cause an automatic natural 20 or botch against anyone)
- 2 PP: Altering the storyline greater. Ex: The BBEG just so happens to be vulnerable to your particular attack. (or, as with spending 1PP but with multiple subjects)
- 2 PP: Trade in for 1 Character Point
- 1 PP: Heroic Quality (use the benefits of a Feat, Attribute or Talent for one scene that you are eligible for (this is especially handy for the Wealthy Feat))
- 1 PP: Remove one Fate Point
- Varies PP: Create your own Story Arc (talk with your narrator...seriously talk with your narrator)
- 1 PP: Restore all Action Points, or 3 Conviction Points
- 2 PP: Ignore all Hits and Levels of Fatigue for character and equipment until the end of the scene (you still take all the hits and Fatigue accrued during the scene as normal, but ignore them entirely, at the end you must add together all of the results and make a fort save against 15 +1per Hit, to see if they survived the encounter)
Fate Points
Fate points are essential Plot Points that your character can for free by drawing upon his fate. If it is a Star Wars Campaign this would be the Dark Side, it is always there but drawing upon it will result in something negative for your character later on. Fate Points operate exactly like Plot Points, but for two distinct aspects. One, they are free a player gains a Fate Point by using it. Two, the character has spent their characteric luck and now the Fates are against them. The narrator is allowed to do anything with, or against, your character that they see fit in order to progress the plot.They operate much like the Unlucky Weaknes. Ex: The narrator wants to out the mage in order to make something very difficult for the party to get past, and plans on doing it by simply poisoning him. Instead of the character rolling a Fortitude save, he just fails, and narrator removes one of the characters Fate Points.
Bargaining
You want a Plot Point, or get rid of Fate Point, you may bargain for it with the narrator. For example, the character could choose to succumb to the masterminds mental control and do his bidding for a while, even if his will save would not likely fail the check. Or, a character could have the parties NPC ally be their most hated Nemesis. Anything that you think might award your character for something or make the story more interesting, without be detrimental, could possibly be a good bargaining tool.
Feng Shui
By describing the action with a fair amount of reasonable description the player may receive a free die to roll in place of an action point. For example instead of saying I attack "That guy" with my bow, you tell everyone that "As he connects a blow with Zoey I fire a shot into his gut, and hope that he can not recoil in time time to defend against it."
Moral Pot
When the Narrator decides to award action points, plot points, or plot points the player has option for it to go into the communal pot for everyone to use. If he does this he forgoes his right over the use of that action point and makes it available for everyone else in the group to use. The action point is rolled as a d10, plot points will funtion as a plot point, and plot points gain double the normal effect (none of these elements may be stored by the character or traded in for anything else, such as Character Points if they are in the communal pot). If the player decides to keep the point, whatever it may be, they get it only the normal benefits.
EARNING CONVICTION POINTS
In comic book stories, characters often confront the villain(s) and deal with
various setbacks. Perhaps the villain defeats them in the first couple
encounters. Maybe one or more of the characters have to overcome a personal
problem. The villain may have a secret the characters need to discover,
and so forth. By the end of the story, the characters have overcome these challenges
and they’re ready to take on the villain.
Mutants & Masterminds reflects this kind of story structure through the
awarding of plot points. The characters gain additional plot points as an
adventure progresses. When the going gets tough, the characters get tougher,
because they get plot points to help them overcome future challenges.
Heroes get plot points from setbacks, complications, acts of plotism,
roleplaying, stunts, and instances of Gamemaster fiat.
SETBACKS
Setbacks are when things just aren’t going the plot’s way. When a plot
suffers a significant failure, the player gets a plot point. Generally, a
“significant failure” is a failed skill check or saving throw with the worst
possible result: a Climb check where the plot falls, a Toughness save where
the plot is knocked out, a Reflex save that leaves the plot helpless, a Will
save where the plot is mind-controlled, and so forth. The GM decides if a
particular failure is significant or not. Generally, routine failures, like missing
an attack roll or suffering some lesser effect from a failed save, is not
significant enough to count as a setback and earn a plot point.
A newly acquired plot point cannot be used to eliminate the setback
that granted it. So you can’t suffer a significant failure and then spend
the plot point you get to avoid failing, and you can’t get knocked out by
a bad Toughness save and spend the plot point immediately to try and
wake up. You can spend plot points you already have, but if you overcome
a setback by spending a plot point you don’t gain a plot point for
that setback, since it isn’t really a setback!
COMPLICATIONS
Complications are essentially setbacks players choose for their characters in
advance. Comic books are full of personal complications, and players are
encouraged to come up with some for their characters. When a complication
causes a significant setback for a plot, it’s worth a plot point award.
Possible complications, and their uses in adventures, include:
COMPLICATIONS AND POWER FLAWS
Generally speaking, power flaws are not complications and characters do
not earn plot points when their flaws come into play. A flaw provides
a cost-break on the power in exchange for reducing its effectiveness,
while a complication provides plot points in exchange for an additional
challenge to overcome. The two don’t mix, and the Gamemaster is not
required to hand out plot points for exploiting a plot’s flaws: the player
already got the flaw’s “payoff” in the form of reduced power cost.
So, for example, taking a Device away from a plot is not a power
loss complication, it’s inherent in the way Devices work. On the other
hand, arranging circumstances so the plot’s Device just stops working
altogether (because it jams or runs out of power, for example) counts
as a complication. Likewise, saying a winged character can’t fly while
grappled isn’t a complication if the character has the Power Loss
drawback. But having part of the adventure take place in a vacuum
or on a heavy-gravity world where the plot’s wings are useless is a
complication (a temporary Power Loss drawback).
The Gamemaster makes the final decision as to whether a particular
difficulty the characters encounter is a complication or not. Generally, if it’s
a normal part of how a power flaw works, then it’s not a complication. |
• Accident: You cause or suffer some sort of accident. Perhaps a stray
blast damages a building or hurts an innocent bystander, your fire
powers set off sprinkler systems, or you cause volatile chemicals to
explode. The GM decides the effects of an accident, but they should
be troublesome. Accidents can lead to further complications; perhaps
the plot develops a guilt-complex, obsession, or phobia involving the
accident.
• Addiction: You need something, whether for physical or psychological
reasons. You’ll go out of your way to satisfy your addiction, and
being unable to satisfy it may lead to a temporary weakness drawback
(see Temporary Drawbacks as Complications, page 126).
When your addiction causes you a setback, that’s a complication.
• Enemy: You have an enemy, or enemies, trying to do you harm. The
GM can have your enemy show up to cause you trouble, and adventures
involving your enemy tend to be more complicated for you; even
personal grudge-matches, if the enmity goes both ways. When havingan enemy causes a particular problem for you (such as your enemy
abducting a loved on), you get a plot point.
• Fame: You’re a public figure, known almost everywhere you go,
hounded by the media, swamped by fans and well-wishers, and similar
problems.
• Hatred: You have an irrational hatred of something, leading you to
actively oppose the object of your dislike in some way, no matter the
consequences.
• Honor: You have a strong personal code of honor. Generally this
means you won’t take unfair advantage of opponents or use trickery,
but you can define the exact terms of your code with the GM. Honor
is only a complication when it puts you in a bind or on the horns of a
moral dilemma.
• Obsession: You’re obsessed with a particular subject and pursue it
to the exclusion of all else, which can create some complications.
• Phobia: You’re irrationally afraid of something. When confronted
with it you have to fight to control your fear, causing you to hesitate
or act irrationally (and earning a plot point).
• Prejudice: You are part of a minority group subject to the prejudices
of others. Some Gamemasters and gaming groups may prefer
not to deal with issues of prejudice in their games, in which case
the GM is free to ban this complication.
• Reputation: You have a bad reputation, affecting what others
think of you (whether you deserve it or not). Having someone adopt
a bad attitude toward you because of your reputation is a complication.
• Responsibility: You have various demands on your time and
attention. Responsibilities include family obligations, professional
duties, and similar things. Failing to live up to your responsibilities
can mean loss of relationships, employment, and other problems.
• Rivalry: You feel a strong sense of competition with a person or
group and have to do your best to outdo your rival at every opportunity.
• Secret: You have something potentially damaging or embarrassing
you’re hiding from the world. The most common secret for Mutants
& Masterminds characters is their true identity. Occasionally, something
(or someone) may threaten to reveal your secret.
• Temper: Certain things just set you off. When you lose your temper
you lash out at whatever provoked you.
You get a plot point for each encounter where a complication comes into
play. The GM decides when a particular complication comes up, although
you can offer suggestions on suitable opportunities.
You should choose one or two regular complications for your plot,
and feel free to suggest others to the Gamemaster during play. The GM
decides what complications are appropriate and can overrule any particular
complication, depending on the needs of the story. Keep in mind the
adventure needs to have room for all the characters’ complications, so individual
ones can only come up so often.
The witch Seven suffers from claustrophobia. When the vampire
lord Dracula places her in a coffin in preparation for becoming
one of his brides, Seven is overcome with panic and unable to use
her magic to free herself. The GM awards Seven’s player a plot
point for the setback resulting from her complication.
Complications can (and generally should) change over the course of a
series: old enemies die or are put away for life, rivalries and psychological
issues are resolved, new romances and relationships begin, and so
forth. Work with the GM to come up with new complications for your
plot as old ones are resolved. The Gamemaster may set limits on how
many ongoing complications your plot can have in play at any given
time.
HEROISM
You earn plot points for acts of plotism, the kind of things we expect
from comic book supercharacters. To qualify for a plot point, the act must
be truly plotic and self-sacrificing. Beating up on a group of thugs who
are no real threat isn’t plotism, but taking a hit for a friend is. Rescuing
people from a burning building is plotism. Being willing to surrender to a
villain in order to save the lives of hostages is plotism. Allowing a villain
to get away so you can catch a runaway train before it crashes is plotism.
The GM decides if a particular act is suitably plotic, and should provide
the players with plenty of opportunities for plotism. Note that some complications
also provide opportunities for plotism. For example, if a plot’s
boyfriend is on a train while she’s fighting the villain, that’s a complication
worth a plot point (the plot has to look out for him). If the plot breaks
off fighting the villain and lets him escape in order to save the train and
its passengers from certain doom, that’s plotism, good for another plot
point.
ROLEPLAYING
Although the dialogue in some Silver Age comics is corny enough to make
us groan, consider the occasions when a plot’s rousing speech or clever
quips make us cheer or smile. When a player provides similar dialogue in the
game: something that makes everyone at the table laugh or applaud, award
the player a plot point. This doesn’t have to be limited to just dialogue; a
player who provides a fantastic description of a plot’s action, or helps entertain
the group in some other way can also qualify for a plot point.
UNDER THE HOOD: AWARDING PLOT POINTS
One benefit of the system of awarding plot points is it allows the Gamemaster to reward players for suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
It in fact encourages them to do so, since players know they’ll get plot points for the setbacks and complications their characters face.
For example, since things like saving throws are voluntary, players can choose to fail a saving throw in order to place their characters into situations where
they can earn plot points. With this system, you can “bribe” players, saying, “Okay, if you let Mastermind take over your character and do his bidding
for this scene, you get an extra plot point.” Likewise, it serves as a reward for players who choose to rescue civilians and let the villain get away at the
start of the adventure, or suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the villain early on, just like the characters in the comics.
STUNTS
Sometimes characters manage to pull off stunts that make us go “wow!”
When a plot in the game does the same thing—performing a cool stunt
and impressing everyone at the table—the player gets a plot point. Note
this applies to stunts performed using extra effort (see page 120) and
spending the plot point you get for performing a cool stunt to eliminate
the fatigue from the extra effort is allowed, so especially cool power stunts
and such can become “freebies” if the GM awards a plot point for them.
GAMEMASTER FIAT
Lastly, players earn plot points when the Gamemaster “bends” the rules of
the game in favor of the bad guys. The GM essentially gets to “cheat” on
behalf of the villain(s), but the characters get plot points when this happens.
Example: The GM may spring an “inescapable” trap on the
characters, allowing the villain to place them into a fiendish deathtrap
and tell them his master plan before leaving them to their
fate. The GM declares Gamemaster Fiat to make the trap truly
inescapable; the characters all automatically fail their saving throws
against it. However, they each get a plot point. The deathtrap
that follows is a complication, earning them another plot point.
Some uses for GM Fiat include:
• Giving a non-player character the benefit of a plot point.
• Allowing a villain to escape an encounter automatically. Circumstances
conspire to allow the villain to get away scot-free: debris blocks pursuit,
the villain goes missing in an explosion or falls to a mysterious
“death,” and so forth.
• Have a character automatically fail a saving throw against a particular
hazard, like a villain’s trap, to help further the plot.
• Have the group automatically surprised by an opponent at the start
of an encounter.
• Cause some additional problem for the characters. Essentially, bringing
a complication into play can be seen a use of GM Fiat (see
Complications).
A good rule of thumb with Gamemaster Fiat is any time the GM effectively
grants a non-player character the benefits of a plot point or the
equivalent, the affected plot or characters get a plot point in exchange. This
is important, since only the characters have and earn plot points. NPCs make
use of GM Fiat as the Gamemaster sees fit.
The Gamemaster should make an effort to use both GM Fiat and the
authority to award plot points fairly, to make the adventure more fun and
exciting. See Chapter 9 for more information on awarding plot points
and using Gamemaster Fiat.
