Mutants and Masterminds

Mutants and Masterminds: I have made tons of characters, and played around with the rules, and planned a campaign.  But never ran or played a game.

Many years ago some friends and I were attempting to get an RPG group together in our grown up lives, and M&M was the system the GM wanted to run.  I had heard of the game, but not much else.  I was still firmly in the fantasy RPG realm.

We got together around the table and brainstormed characters for the GM's version of Suicide Squad.  Honestly, it took me awhile to "get" the game.  The system made sense for the most part, being based on d20 D&D that I was familiar with, but I think it was the "build whatever you want" aspect that threw me.  Especially when you are playing along side others who can also build whatever they want.

 I recall I ended up making a time displaced Hyperborean Barbarian (still in fantasy RPG territory), another had made the Ghost of a cursed Egyptologist (think Evie from The Mummy, but a ghost), I think we had some sort of flying brick, and a few others.  I don't know how well our group would have worked. As I eluded to above, things fell apart before we could play.  

Now I had myself a set of books, but no use for them.  I eventually came across The Atomic Think Tank (now defunct) and could see all the builds and ways people used the system.  This helped me to really get the game.  It is also when it clicked for me personally, that Comic RPGs might work best if you just accept that you are going to play iconic characters (or reasonable facsimiles).

I spent the next few months just making my ideal version of the Justice League, Avengers, and other beloved characters. Mixing and matching, creating build templates for Atlanteans, the Super Soldier Serum, and eventually Autobots and Decepticons.

A lot of what I leaned about the system (and later M&M 3rd edition) would help inform many house rules for D&D as well.  But house rules and tweaks are another discussion...