Mutants & Masterminds vs Sentinel Comics RPG
Compare Mutants & Masterminds and Sentinel Comics RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Mutants & Masterminds | Sentinel Comics RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Modern, Superhero | Modern, Superhero |
| Tags | Superpowers, Heroic, Crunchy, Character Building, Tactical, Cinematic | Heroic, Narrative, Superpowers, Combat-Heavy, Cinematic, Theater of the Mind |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier against a Difficulty Class. Heroes are built from a Power Points budget capped by a series Power Level (usually 10), which limits paired trait totals (attack bonus + effect rank, dodge + toughness) to twice the level. Damage is resisted with Toughness checks that escalate conditions (bruised, staggered, incapacitated) instead of tracking hit points. Hero Points let players reroll, edit scenes, or recover from conditions; complications coming into play earn them back. | Roll three dice (from powers, qualities, and status) and use the middle result vs. difficulty. Your status zone (green/yellow/red) changes available abilities as you take damage. |
| Dice | d20 | d4–d12 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | OGL | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Green Ronin Publishing | Greater Than Games |
| Year | 2013 | 2022 |
| Languages | English, Italian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want unlimited freedom to design any superhero concept (from masked vigilante to cosmic powerhouse) with a flexible point-buy build system and tactical combat that emphasizes power-level balance. | Superhero campaigns that feel like reading a comic book, with a unique status-shifting system and structured hero/villain/environment turns. |
| Highlights | Modular power-construction system builds any superpower from effects, modifiers, and flaws; Power Level caps enforce balance even when individual traits vary widely; Hero Points reward roleplaying complications with mechanical benefits; conditions track damage progression instead of using a hit point pool | Captures comic book pacing well, status system creates dramatic arcs, villain/environment turns keep things dynamic, developed published setting |
| Considerations | Character creation requires significant rules mastery to navigate the point-buy power construction; resolving an attack involves multiple checks per action: attack roll, Toughness resistance, condition tracking; Power Level caps can frustrate players who want to push paired-trait limits like attack and effect rank | Tightly tied to the Sentinel Comics universe, status dice tracking requires careful bookkeeping, can feel constrained for freeform players |