Ranks & Measures

Mutants & Masterminds uses the term rank when talking about the value of a game trait. So you might say a hero has “rank 8 Strength” or simply “Strength 8” (which mean the same thing), or that an effect is rank 5, 9, 15, or what have you. Every quantifiable trait in M&M has a rank assigned to it.

The game also uses a system of measures, real world values like pounds, seconds, minutes, hours, feet, yards, and miles, to name a few. There is a direct relationship between rank and measure, as shown on the Measurements Table. (You can find a metric version of the Measurements Table in the back of the book.)

USING THE MEASUREMENTS TABLE The relationship between rank and measure has a number of uses in Mutants & Masterminds. First, the capabilities of many traits are translated from their rank into a measurement. So the amount of weight a Strength rank of 3 can lift is determined by finding the equivalent weight measurement on the table, or 400 lbs. Similarly, the mass, distance, or time affected by various other traits, especially powers, is determined on the Measurements Table.

Also, because the measurements on the table operate at the same scale (roughly doubling every rank), it is possible to use it to quickly figure out relationships between things like mass, distance, speed, and time:

Distance Rank = Time Rank + Speed Rank

To determine the distance a hero covers in a given amount of time, add the rank of the time to the rank of the hero’s speed, with normal human ground speed being rank 0. So a normal person can cover 2 miles in an hour (time 9 + speed 0 = 9, the rank for 2 miles). In fact, with normal human speeds, you can just directly compare the time and distance columns of the table! As another example, a hero with Flight 12 can cover 8,000 miles in an hour! That’s 12 (speed) + 9 (time) = 21, the rank for 8,000 miles. The same character can go an amazing 16 miles in just 6 seconds (the time of one action round)!

Time Rank = Distance Rank - Speed Rank

Reversing the previous formula, we can also figure out how long it takes someone at a particular speed to cover a given distance, by subtracting the speed rank from the distance rank to get a time rank. So a normal human (speed 0) walking 30 miles (distance 13) takes about 16 hours. A hero with Speed 14 covers the same distance in (13 – 14 = –1) just 3 seconds!

Throwing Distance Rank = Strength Rank - Mass Rank As another example, the distance rank a hero can throw something equals the hero’s Strength rank minus the mass rank of the object. So a hero with Strength 10 (able to lift 25 tons), picks up a 10-ton truck (mass rank 8). Since 10 – 8 = 2, the hero can then toss the truck rank 2 distance (120 feet)!

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