Mastermind’s Manual primarily takes an in-depth look at the rules in the Mutants and Masterminds system. It gives a lot of explanation as to why the designers chose to design the game system as they did. For example, it lists all the super-powers presented in the Mutants and Masterminds source book and how the game designers derived the power cost for each power. It also singles out powers that can cause a disruption in play and explains exactly what disruption the designers are concerned about. The book continues to do this throughout, examining each section of the Mutants and Masterminds sourcebook, giving a critical analysis of rules and offering suggestions as to how things could be done differently.

 

Admittedly, many players are likely to grow frustrated or bored reading through an analysis of role-playing rules. Many gamers are not interested in customizing the rules for their favorite game. It’s quite possible that Steve Kenson is overrating the intelligence of the average gamer, many of whom are more concerned about campaign setting and maximizing the killing power of their character rather than building an intricate shared world with its own laws and personality.

 

Of course, for all the wannabe game designers out there, the Mastermind’s Manual is a made for you. It really allows you to run your game however you want. For example, the book begins with a discussion of probability and dice. The Mutants and Mastermind source book is designed so that everything uses a twenty-sided die. However, that gives a lot of equal probability to die results. So, the Mastermind’s Manual discusses the pros and cons of using other sided-dice. It even goes further and talks about the pros and cons of using playing cards, trading cards, or having nothing random.

 

The Mastermind’s Manual is a supplemental book filled with optional rules. If you want to mimic a particular fighting style, it gives you rules for that. If you want character skills to be easier to add up, it gives you rules for that. If you want a high-fantasy or scifi space-opera game instead of a super-hero game, it tells you how to do that. If you are one of those horrible people who actually likes attacks of opportunities, it even appeases you. Environmental conditions, vehicle combat, campaign construction, energy points, energy surges, critical failures, automatic hits, instant death, and a whale-load of other option rules can all be found.

 

Saying all that makes does bring to mind that it could be very confusing for players to keep track of what optional rules are in play, and which rules are not in play. Fortunately the Mastermind’s Manual is aware of that problem and provides a convenient checklist that permits players to reference what rules enforced in the game by the game-master and what rules are being ignored. A lot of thought has obviously gone into how to make this 158 page, full-color book something useful and not just fluff pushed-out to get the designers more money.

 

For many gamers, the Mastermind’s Manual is a great resource that will open the eyes of some as to what can be done in a game system. Yes, Mutants and Masterminds was built on the d20 system, but the Mastermind’s Manual comes back and says that if you don’t like d20, we’ll find something that works for you. Now when was the last time an RPG book gave you that kind of service?