[Mutants & Masterminds] What Power Level should villains be?

[Breakstone]

I'm a bit confused on what power level villains should be in the one-shot adventure I'm running.

The heroes are going to be "second-string heroes," at Power Level 10 (while the main superheroes, at power level 15-20, are fighting an intergallactic battle at the edge of the universe), and will fight three or four separate battles with different "second-string villains," who have all been hired to distract the heroes from the real crime by the main supervillains of the city.

The three second string villains will be:

Alpha Sprout, with his mutant vegetable minions.

Himmel und Hölle (Heaven and Hell in German), two German supervillains.

Meanderthal and his two raptor pets.

For the "final battle," I was thinking that the heroes could actually join up with the second-string villains, who are a bit angry at being set up. They'll all fight against some of the Major Supervillains (probably the villains right at the end of Mutants & Masterminds).

How many do you think would be appropriate, and what would you say the power levels for all of these villains should be?

 

[Petrosian]

Ok, first off, power level has only a small part to play in balance.

Sure, as anyone can figure a +20 damage blast is going to fry PL10 defenses, but MnM has much wider scope than that.

A lot depends on the specific interactions of attacks and defenses.

if your villain is PL11 with protection 11 then a lot of your heroes straight up attacks will simply bounce harmlessly. So, if you build them with maxed bounce, PL10 is probably as high as you want to go.

If the villain has an Area stun or area dazzle and the heroes have poor fort or will saves, even Pl10 can be deadly especially if the villain also has surprise strike.

I would focus on not the PL of the villain but the specific attacks and defenses he has as compared to the attacks and defenses they have. A Pl12 villain with no attack bigger than 10 and no bounce bigger than 10 but with a variety of attacks, good saves and versatility will probably make for a good villlain threat.

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Now, stepping outside of the script you mentioned, when i am uncertain i typically script the scenario to have more villains but only expose the party to them piecemeal. This way, by deciding who leaves their post and who doesn't when the fight begins, i can adjust the threat level of some of the introductory brawls to suit what i learn as those battles progress. With bad guy communication and observation, it even makes sense, as the bad guys reason weaker PCs having trouble is not worth as much response but potent PCs mowing thru their "alarms with feet" warrant more intense reactions.

SO i might would suggest scripting a couple multi-BG scenarios after the first solo. It also breaks thingsd up, as a lot of tactics which make sense against SOLO BGs do not make sense against multiple BGs.

 

[MnM_UH]

Have to agree with Petrosian for the most part. It's going to be the way you build your villains (and the combat environment, by the way) that is going to determine the balance between the heroes and the villains.

Let's say you've got a hero with Incorporeal and Ghost Touch, and is only affected by Cold attacks. Unless one of the villains has either mental attacks, Ghost Touch on an attack, or cold attacks, this hero can run around indefinitely and wail on the villains (unless he can't hurt the villains either, which will cause a very boring fight).

Similarly, when you have a villain with protections such that the heroes cannot hurt him without critting him, the relative PL is irrelevant.

Remember, however, that mental attacks can harm almost anyone, except for another mentalist (for the most part). One hero with mental powers can help turn the tide against a number of villains that seem too difficult for the punchers to harm. The key will be for the other heroes to protect the mentalist long enough for him to use his powers.

The combat environment can also mean a lot in terms of how the heroes and villains can use their powers. Consider characters with flight and area effect powers in an enclosed area (such as a hallway with turns or small rooms). Also, consider one side with lots of melee characters versus another side with fliers and guys with area attacks in a very large room.

Good luck on your scenario.

 

[Valdier]

Ultimately it all depends on the villain itself and what power level you want them to represent. In one campaign a villain might be PL25+ in another the same villain might be PL 15... it just depends on how efficiently you build the bad guy and just how powerful you ultimately want them to be.

As an example of this, check out the differences between Neo's conversions that he does, and the ones I have done over on my website.

We have both done a couple of the same heroe's / villains, both at different times from each other, yet the PL's are vastly different. It just comes down to your game style, and what you consider to be a challenge for your PC's, as well as where you draw the baseline for your game world.

Valdier.com for all your MnM needs

 

[DanMcS]

In a couple of game sessions, MnM heroes have proven to be remarkably resilient. Our PL 10 group of four characters positively manhandled a group of 3 PL10-12 baddies and a bevy of robot minions (always have minions around for gratuitous carnage), culminating in a high-speed ramming attack that flattened the last one but good. Our PL 7 group was hardly able to touch a single PL 15 baddie, but it turned out he had a weakness which made him fairly easy once we figured it out.

If your heroes are PL 10, don't be afraid to make the villains a little tougher than them, because players have a way of overcoming odds. You list 4 villains, two sidekick raptors, and vegetable minions (hah), so your villains could average PL 11 and be a good climactic battle as a group for your PL 10 PCs.