Heroic Abilities
If you've been playing RPGs at all in, well, ever, odds are you're familiar with the primary ability scores in Mutants & Masterminds. The new edition retains the same ability scores as before, but handles them a bit differently. For one thing, the split between normal and super-abilities isn't as major. For another, ability scores no longer affect a character's skill in combat.
Here are descriptions of the six abilities and how they affect characters, along with some additional notes on abilities in Mutants & Masterminds 2e.
Strength (Str)
Strength measures sheer muscle power and the ability to apply it. Your Strength modifier applies to:
- Damage dealt by your melee or thrown weapon attacks.
- Climb and Swim checks.
- How far you can jump and throw things.
- The amount of weight you can lift, carry, and throw.
Dexterity (Dex)
Dexterity is a measure of coordination, agility, speed, manual dexterity, and balance. It's particularly useful for heroes relying more on speed and agility than sheer strength and toughness.
Your Dexterity modifier applies to:
- Reflex saving throws, for avoiding danger based on coordination and reaction time.
- Initiative checks.
- Acrobatics, Stealth, Sleight of Hand, and other skill checks based on Dexterity.
- Dexterity checks for feats of agility and coordination when a specific skill doesn't apply.
Constitution (Con)
Constitution is endurance, health, and overall physical resilience. Constitution is important because it affects a character's ability to resist most forms of damage.
Your Constitution modifier applies to:
- Toughness saving throws for resisting damage.
- Fortitude saving throws, for resisting disease and poison, fatigue, and effects involving the character's health.
- Constitution checks to recover from damage and injury.
Intelligence (Int)
Intelligence covers reasoning ability and learning. Intelligence is important for characters with a lot of skills like Craft and Knowledge.
Your Intelligence modifier applies to:
- Craft, Knowledge, Search, and other skill checks based on Intelligence.
- Intelligence checks to solve problems using sheer brainpower when a specific skill doesn't apply.
Wisdom (Wis)
While Intelligence covers reasoning, Wisdom describes awareness, common sense, intuition, and strength of will. A character with a high Intelligence and a low Wisdom may be an "absent-minded professor" type, smart but not always aware of what's going on. On the other hand, a not so bright (low Intelligence) character may have great common sense (high Wisdom).
Your Wisdom modifier applies to:
- Will saving throws, for resisting attempts to influence your mind.
- Notice, Sense Motive, and other skill checks based on Wisdom.
- Wisdom checks to resolve matters of intuition when a specific skill doesn't apply.
Charisma (Cha)
Charisma is force of personality, persuasiveness, leadership ability and (to a lesser degree) physical attractiveness. Charisma is useful for heroes who intend to be leaders as well as those who strike fear into the hearts of criminals with their presence.
Your Charisma modifier applies to:
- Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidation, and other skill checks based on Charisma.
- Charisma checks to influence others through force of personality when a specific skill doesn't apply.
Insight into Wisdom
There was a point during the development process when the Wisdom score was renamed "Insight," since "Wisdom" can be seen as more of a fantasy quality. "Insight" sounds more modern, and reflects the ability's connection to noticing things. However, it wasn't long before it was changed back to Wisdom. For one thing, it was far more familiar to readers and compatible with the other RPGs they knew. For another, who says superheroes don't have great "Wisdom"? After all, Captain Marvel has the Wisdom of Solomon and Professor X is said to be a "wise" and capable teacher. So ultimately Wisdom fit just fine into the scheme of things.
Ability Benchmarks
The Ability Benchmarks table provides some guidelines on where a particular ability score falls in comparison to the general population. This helps players to assign ability scores to their heroes and for Gamemasters creating NPCs with particular capabilities.
Ability
Score | Modifier | Description |
| 1 | –5 | Completely inept or disabled |
| 2-3 | –4 | Weak; infant |
| 4-5 | –3 | Younger child |
| 6-7 | –2 | Child, elderly, impaired |
| 8-9 | –1 | Below average; teenager |
| 10-11 | +0 | Average adult |
| 12-13 | +1 | Above average |
| 14-15 | +2 | Well above average |
| 16-17 | +3 | Gifted |
| 18-19 | +4 | Highly gifted |
| 20-21 | +5 | Best in a nation |
| 22-23 | +6 | Best in the world |
| 24-25 | +7 | Best ever; peak of human achievement |
| 26-27 | +8 | Low superhuman |
| 28-29 | +9 | Moderate superhuman |
| 30 | +10 | High superhuman |
| 40 | +15 | Very high superhuman |
| 50 | +20 | Cosmic |
Enhanced Abilities
Some ability scores may be acquired as Enhanced Abilities, as described in Chapter 5: Powers. Enhanced Abilities are powers rather than entirely innate or natural. The key differences between Enhanced Abilities and normal ability scores are Enhanced Abilities can be nullified (normal abilities cannot) and Enhanced Abilities can have power feats and be used for power stunts with extra effort (normal abilities cannot).
Enhanced Abilities and normal abilities have the same cost (1 power point per ability score point). The player decides if a character's ability score is normal or enhanced and, if it is enhanced, how much of it is enhanced. Enhanced Abilities are noted with the normal ability score in parenthesis after them, such as 50 (16), indicating if the character's Enhanced Ability is nullified, the character still has a score of 16 in that ability.
Changes to Abilities
Mutants & Masterminds 2e makes a few changes to ability scores, as mentioned at the beginning of this column. Let's look at what those changes are and why they were made:
Strength and Dexterity: Strength and Dexterity in Mutants & Masterminds do not directly influence a character's chances to hit in combat, and Dexterity doesn't improve a character's Defense score. These capabilities are purchased separately with attack and defense bonus.
This change brings the value of Strength and Dexterity in line with the other abilities and allows players to fine-tune their characters' combat abilities (so not all strong heroes are good melee combatants, for example, and not all graceful heroes are automatically good at avoiding attacks). If you want a character whose great Strength or Dexterity provides greater combat ability, simply buy the character's attack and defense bonus in proportion to those ability scores. On the other hand, you can also have a strong or dexterous character who's not especially good in a fight, if you prefer. It's up to you.
This approach also makes it easier to manage power level limits on attack and defense bonus and to calculate those bonuses in the game.
Intelligence: Unlike other d20-based games, your Mutants & Masterminds character's Intelligence modifier does not alter the number of skill points your hero gets. In Mutants & Masterminds, skill ranks are purchased with power points, just like everything else.
This isn't a change from the previous edition, really, more of a clarification, but it goes along with the idea that high Strength and Dexterity don't necessarily make you a great fighter; high Intelligence doesn't necessarily mean you know a lot, it just means you're smart (and, with unskilled use of Knowledge checks, you still know a lot of general things).
Next: The skills to get the job done. We take a look at the new Skills table for M&M, how skills have been refined, updated, and exactly what a level of skill means in the World's Greatest Superhero RPG.
