Product Description: Paragons is the second campaign setting for the award-winning Mutants & Masterminds RPG. Into a world hauntingly like our own come people with superhuman powers. Are they the next stage of human evolution, the fulfillment of ancient prophecy, agents of supernatural forces or something else entirely? Paragons features a world grappling with the existence of powers beyond human understanding, and what happens when that power is placed in the hands of otherwise ordinary people. How will they change the world? How will you change the world?
Green Ronin does Aberrant... ^ ...better than White Wolf ever did. I hate to make the comparison, but that was my first thought reading through the book. A lot of the similar premises of Aberrant are present, but everything is presented in a tool-kit manner. No specific metaplot pushed on you as ST, the grand secrets of the universe ar whatever you decide they are (preventing players from "cheating" by reading everything). And you don't get powers from a swollen cancerous growth in your forehead, unless you choose to go that route.
In fact, there may be no scientifically defineable difference between a human and a superhuman in your setting. Further, as a follow-up to no set metaplot, not only can the heroes change the world but it is expected they will. One of my favorite sections describes basic advice for a gamemaster handling the players (purposefully or not) destroying the world, or at least civilization as we know it.
Compared to the Freedom City setting, it is just very different in tone and I find in mechanics. Make no mistake, Freedom City is an excellent setting, but it always felt a little "low-ceiling". Ancient and powerful figures (gods even) tend to cap out around power level 15, the worst of the worst pushing 19-20. Often felt like there was little room for growth in the heroes over a long campaign without eclipsing everyone else in the world. In Paragons there are power level 12-15 supers within a short span of time of The Breakout, with no indication that power growth will stop anytime soon. So less feeling of the "comic book stasis" than in Freedom.
Off-brand "Aberrant" ^ Let me start by stating that I'm a huge Mutants & Masterminds fan; I own all of the supplements in both book and pdf format and have been playing the game since first edition. I truly love this game.
Having said that, I must say that "Paragons" is a big disappointment. I like the toolkit nature of the material: you can pick and choose what origin, organizations and characters you want to use without having to adjust the setting at all. This is a very cool feature; unfortunately, the tools we are given to build our own setting are not high quality ones.
None of the characters are all that compelling, and I wouldn't use a good half or more of the organizations. They're just plain bland. In comparison, when I first looked through the "Freedom City" setting book, I was filled with a hundred ideas for scenarios, and many of the characters in the villains section just screamed out, "Use me in your game!" Not so with "Paragons."
The above comparison is especially telling because I prefer games with a realistic tone, which is what kind of setting "Paragons" is, ostensibly. Unfortunately, this kind of setting was done in a far superior manner years ago with White Wolf's "Aberrant," and I can't help but compare "Paragons" unfavorably. If you've never done "darker" supers, "Paragons" may be a good choice for you, but if you're experienced with that kind of thing, just save your money.
A really nice setting ^ Paragons is an excellent real world setting for the Mutants & Masterminds system. Unique sources for powers, and different ways on looking at the world and the universe around you. Its not a MUST have, unless you prefer to use your M&M for this kind of gaming.
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