Mutants & Masterminds - [Review] Gadget Guides: Armor

[jameson (ST)]

,,

Gadget Guide: Armor

Vitals: Published By Green Ronin • 7(6) pages • $1.29 • full color PDF

I decided to take a break from weapons, and so I am skipping the firearm trio of guides in favor of Armor. I’m glad I did, because this guide provides a great deal of useful advice. In fact, Gadget Guide: Armor almost reads like a Power Profile, which is fairly high praise in my mind.

This guide opens with a discussion of the basic defensive effects, how they relate to armor, and rough limits of ranks for normal equipment versus removable powers. I would have liked to have seen a little more discussion around why Deflect as a free action can break the game (because I have dealt with this in the past), but its inclusion at all was appreciated.

The remainder of the guide is given to discussion of the various archaic, modern, and futuristic armor types, with suggested game effects, such as Protection ranks. Likewise description and discussion of major types of shields and protective gear (such as gas masks, and environmental suits) are given space. Thankfully these descriptions are light on readily available information and heavier on game usage.

The real strength in the guide, as was often the case in the Power Profiles series, are the little peeks into the workings of the system. Suggesting that the Unreliable flaw might be a good way to model armors that cover only part of the body for instance, or noting that traditional defenses like Will or Parry can be upgraded with extras like Impervious or Redirect.

Closing Thoughts

Gadget Guide: Armor is a step in the right direction for this series. Providing both a good depth with the chosen topic, but also giving suggestions and hints about ways to use the game’s rules in new or less common ways.

Rating: 95% - An overall very useful product that achieves the level of utility we saw with the Power Profile series.