Mastermind’s Manual Design Journal: Feats

Feats serve as "in-between" traits in Mutants & Masterminds, not quite powers, but not exactly skills, either. They're especially useful for customizing characters and giving each one a different quality. With the ability of hero points to emulate feats, each feat is also a new "maneuver" or option for players, since they're virtually all available to every character willing to spend a hero point, and not just those who have spent the power points to use them on a regular basis.

The Mastermind's Manual expands the list of available feats with a lot of optional new feats based on the options found elsewhere in the book. It also take a look at creating your own feats or importing them from other games as well as using feats to build various fighting styles.

Powers as Feats

At the GM's discretion, a power with a final cost of 1 power point can be made into a feat. The difference is primarily stylistic, since it doesn't affect the trait's cost or usage whether it's called a feat or a power. The key difference is the new feat cannot be nullified, but also can't be used in conjunction with extra effort; it's a permanent capability—a feat and not an actual "power." It also has different descriptors, which can affect interaction with other traits.

Players and Gamemasters can use various minor powers to create new feats, particularly if the GM has decided to restrict the availability of powers in the campaign. In fact, for a low-powered action-hero game of M&M, the Gamemaster may choose to allow only 1-point powers, treating them all as feats (some of which characters may be able to acquire in ranks) and disallowing all other powers.

Sample Powers as Feats

The following are some examples of 1-point powers suitable for use as feats. They're by no means the only ones, and you should feel free to come up with your own.

• Combat Concealment [Combat]: Make a Stealth check against your opponent's Notice check as a move action. If you win, you gain partial concealment from sight until your next round. If you make the check as a full-round action, you gain total concealment. This is based on Concealment (visual) with the flaws Partial and Action (Move), for a cost of 1 power point per 2 ranks.
• Deflect Arrows [Combat, Ranked]: You can make block rolls to deflect thrown weapons and projectiles like arrows with an effective attack bonus of +1 per rank. This is 1 rank of the Deflect power.
• Direction Sense [General]: You have an innate sense of direction. You always know which way is north and can retrace your steps through any place you've been (1 rank of Super-Senses).
• Eagle Eyes [General]: Exceptionally sharp-eyed, your visual Notice checks have a range increment of 100 feet rather than 10 feet. This is 1 rank of Super-Senses (extended vision).
• Extra Limb [General]: You have an additional limb, like a prehensile tail. This feat is likely only available at character creation (1 point of the Additional Limbs power).
• Immunity to Disease [General]: You are unaffected by diseases and pathogens. Other 1-point Immunities (such as aging, fatigue, fear, or poison) may also be suitable as feats.
• Improved Strike [Combat]: Your unarmed attacks can inflict lethal rather than non-lethal damage and count as armed attacks for all purposes (essentially an Alternate Power feat for your unarmed damage). This feat is only suited for campaigns that distinguish the ability to inflict lethal and non-lethal damage.
• Lightning Calculator [General]: You can perform mathematical functions in your head ten times faster than normal, like a human calculator. This feat is 3 ranks of Quickness, limited to doing calculations (a –2 modifier) for a total cost of 1 point for 3 ranks using the guidelines for fractional costs in the "Power Modifiers" section of the Powers chapter of M&M. You can use it as the basis for similar feats allowing for quick performance of certain routine tasks.

• Low-Light Vision [General]: You can see twice as far in low-light conditions as normal (1 rank of Super-Senses).
• Mental Grapple [General, Ranked]: You can initiate a mental grapple with an opponent you can accurately sense. The target makes a Will save (DC 10 + your Mental Grapple rank). If it fails, you have started the mental grapple.
• Rapid Healing [General]: You make a check to recover from being disabled once every 5 hours rather than once a day (1 rank of Regeneration).
• Time Sense [General]: You always know what time it is and have an accurate idea of the passage of time (1 rank of Super-Senses).
• Speak With (Animal) [General]: You can speak and understand the language of a particular type of animal, such as birds, cetaceans, equines, and so forth. This is a 1-point version of the Comprehend power.
• Steadfast [General, Ranked]: You have a +4 bonus per rank in this feat against all attempts to push, rush, trip, or throw you, and also add your rank to your knockback modifier to determine how far you're thrown by an attack (1 point of the Immovable power).
• Talented [Skill]: You have a +2 bonus with two related skills, the same as buying 4 additional skill ranks.
• Tough [General, Ranked]: You have a +1 bonus on Toughness saving throws per rank in this feat. This is the same as 1 rank of the Protection power.