I can't wrap my head around a....

[David Johnston]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

It is my theory that "good" fiction doesn't generally work all that well for fun roleplaying games, and vice versa.

[Robyn]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

I'm sorry..........

 

But, please don't even PRETEND to talk about the Deathstalker series like it is good SciFi.

 

I did say "Science Fantasy"

 

I can now play space opera by pretending it's Deathstalker.

 

Now' date=' it is really neat in terms of its setting and source material..... but otherwise, I get really frustrated at the constant powerlevel ramping.[/quote']

 

Interestingly, in one of his interviews he stated that one of the big ideas when writing that series was that the heroes, unlike in many other stories he'd read, wouldn't be able to just use their abilities constantly; he wanted their power to have limits. Effectively, he added an Endurance cost for character powers.

 

I still can't help but read it.

 

Have you read all eight books?

 

He swore he'd never write the sequels, but he did . . . yes, he did

[Jhereg]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

I could only make it 1/2 way through the first book. All I could think was "Drizzt in Space". I need more realism. And I hate it when every character is the best in the world at what they do. That was one of only two books in my life that were too bad to finish.

[assault]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

I've thought of another: Characters who are tactically inept.

 

Gm, "So Big Dumb Brick Boy. The bad guy just steps out of the bank with a bag of loot. What do you do?"

 

Big Dumb Brick Boy, "Eh punch 'em."

 

Eee Gads Roleplaying and the Hero System in particular offer you so many options I find it borders on the criminal not to excercise some of them.

 

Assault looks mortified.

 

He likes behaving like a Big Dumb Brick. It works for him, and has for years.

 

I wouldn't really call him tactically inept though. He knows how to work with other people. It's just that ultimately he's a toe to toe slugger.

[Robyn]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

I hate it when every character is the best in the world at what they do.

 

Why bother writing about anyone else? You want to write a universe-spanning epic, you've got to narrow it down to the primary players.

 

By the way, there were "normal" people who played a major role in the series. These recurring characters were reporters, who were originally among the best at what they did, and then became the best due to their coverage of the ongoing events

[GoldenAge]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

My gadgeteer's background takes this into account...

 

Golden Eagle: Dexter Morache was born into abject poverty. Orphaned at an early age, he went to MIT on a full scholarship, but dropped out after 2 years, having sold six patents for 3 million dollars. In three years, those patents were worth half a billion dollars, so Morache went back to school to study patent law, and became fascinated by criminal law in the process. Morache spent the next 10 years “hanging out†at universities around the world, never receiving a degree, but making his first billion by applying the knowledge he gained, patenting the applications, and selling the patents to someone else. Occasionally, he would work with venture capitalists to start a business, but as soon as it was feasible, he would sell controlling interest to a larger company, leaving him free to flit to his latest pet project. On September 11, 2001, Morache took a hard look at his life, and reflected on the trivial life he was leading. His personal fortune rivaled Bill Gates, but he had no responsibilities. Every patent he developed was owned by a large corporation, any good he might have achieved had been co-opted in the name of profit. Morache spent the next two years using his enormous wealth to build his own corporation, dedicated to defending the world from madmen, gangsters, and robber barons. DEXCorp is now the 10th largest corporation in the world, and the largest privately held corporation in history by any measure. The current Golden Eagle is believed to be a suit jockey, most people believe that Morache is too busy changing the world to play with force fields and boot jets.

 

Your Golden Eagle reminded me of an old pic I did back in '99

[GoldenAge]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

The Anti-Social Loner is never welcomed in my games...

I totally agree... Especially if he's a friggin alien!

[SKJAM!]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

I've met at least one person who couldn't wrap their head around Code Vs. Killing characters. ("But that's tactically inefficient!") That's as opposed to the players who just didn't want to play by the genre rules.

 

Myself, it's "non-heroic" superheroes. All of my characters believe at some level that there is right and wrong, and they deliberately chose right. They don't fight crime just because it's a paycheck, or they're being forced to.

[GoldenAge]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

Gun bunnies.

As a GM I love those PC's... My villains always seem to go home with a parting gift.

[casualplayer]

Re: I can't wrap my head around a....

 

I have a tough time making a pure Blaster. They always start drifting towards the turbo-brick category a la Captain Mar-vell. 40-50 STR when I should have bought more MP slots.