graiae66 Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 but I've played/run Champions since 1984 (yes, I'm buffing my liver spots and only my hair dresser knows for sure--heck, he's the best source of gossip in this 1-bit town). Weylan, my spouse, posted a bit about the new campaign I'm starting over on the Champions thread (Powers classification or something like that), and though I don't frequent many game-related boards (lack of time, not interest), I thought I might try it out. LSS: I'm attaching the backstory of our campaign, and I would appreciate feedback. I'm more than willing to give it in return. We've played one game, wherein the two players met and made contact with a couple of key NPCs. I'll have a 3rd player coming in soon. So things are quite open and flexible now if I've made some glaring error or left a gaping hole. Fun notes and caveats: I didn't make up the stuff about Rhine and Ziner--that's real world. Why the Research Triangle? I grew up in NC and have visited there a lot, still have friends in the area. Plus it's got plenty of juicy things a campaign can use (science, tech, libraries, etc.) Why am I so mean to Merck? I think they did some very naughty and unethical things in our world. So I appreciate any comments, and like I said, I'd be happy to reciprocate. Best, Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vassoom Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Welcome! I'll gladly take a look at your attachment and provide any feedback as appropriate. But in any event, welcome to the forums (from another HERO gamer who's also been playing since the early 80's)! - Vassoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vassoom Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Having now read your intro, all I can say is it looks like a very intriguing setting for a supers game. Although you refer to many other influences in the footnote, your historical timeline actually seems to follow several of the same social threads used in the X-Men, which surely is a good thing since that is a tremendously smart and well-crafted franchise. As you say, however, your world looks to be a tad darker, which I also think will work well and make for some exciting gameplay. Although I can only surmise from the intro what the exact scenario is that your players initially find themselves, I would like to offer one note of caution (although it may not be needed, especially if I have presumed incorrectly that your players are some of the "renegade" paranormals pursuing vigilante justice while avoiding the PRA and PAUS): Be advised that basing much of the entire campaign on the players' ability to remain "elusive" and "hidden" from a massive, powerful, and omnipresent government (and many of its citizens) puts significant limitations on various scenarios, and also creates numerous additional burdens for you as the GM. If you haven't already, I would strongly encourage you to always have at least 1 (and possibly even 2 or more) Deus Ex Machina scenarios in your back pocket for those times when the players blunder badly and by all accounts should end up completely exposed or even caught. It is almost certain to happen eventually, and it would otherwise shatter any tension and hard-earned dramatic realism to be forced to "hand wave" an implausible and unrealistic "escape". Having run such games before, I speak from experience...but this is just one GM's humble opinion. Good luck with your game! - Vassoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Excellent point, Vassoom. I hadn't really thought of them as such (but you are right, I should), but I have two or three "informal" deus ex machina--1) Padaeia, who is still alive but in hiding and 2) Prototype, albeit a normal, who has great connections. Right now, I am counting on the players not to be too stupid. Thanks for the feedback! dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Right now, I am counting on the players not to be too stupid. Famous last words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Never underestimate player stupidity. Seriously, even smart players occasionally make stupid mistakes, so you need to have thought out how you're going to handle it when it happens. Your background info made for a great read - thanks! I'm a tad confused, tho, about the specifics of the Owens-Parr Act and surrounding legislation. There's a world of difference between saying 1) paranormals have no right to take the law into their own hands, and 2) paranormals have no right to life or other basic human rights. From our point of view the two may seem inexorably linked, because we we’ve been conditioned by 50+ years of comics to equate superhumans with vigilante crimefighters. But from a legal standpoint, those are two very different things; passing a law saying “paranormals acting outside the law are vigilantes” doesn’t automatically equate to trying to kill or forcibly “cure” law-abiding paranormals. I’m not saying you can’t have both things going on, just that they are two distinct points that ought to be addressed separately, and it seems to me like you’ve got them blurred together a little. But that’s nitpicking, really. Overall, it sounds like a fun campaign. Good luck, let us know how it develops, and welcome to the Boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Points well taken, and everyone is right about the stupid players. Even I've been a stupid player on occasion. About the Owens-Parr Act, points well taken--One of the things I am working on is drafting the actual legislation, but the intent of the law was never to define paranormals "automatically" as hostile simply because they had odd abilities--yet that's exactly what happened. (I thought I might even have one of the pair, Owen or Parr, backtrack on the law's passage at some point, stating "I never meant it to be that way!" Too late, dude). The interpretation of the law went awry, overboard, and too far in a "better be safe than sorry" direction, spearheaded (behind the scenes, actually) by the PRA. The model I was looking at, if it wasn't already apparent, was based on the sorts of things that started happening in Nazi Germany. The government took little steps at first--curfews, limits on public transport, etc. Then, the effects on various members of the population became much more brutal and harsh and then finally genocidal because of religious beliefs, sexual preferences, or even national/ethnic origin. (And I'm not letting the US off the hook--between the treatment of the Nisei and various other ethnic groups in this country, we've done some pretty awful things). Anyway, bottom line is that I agree--there are two separate issues at work here that need addressing. My short term goal is getting the players involved in the "underground" which Prototype and some colleagues are leading. Thanks for reading-I'll keep you posted! Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weylan Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... There are several points (about the law and other things) that still need to be worked out before things really get going. But I agree that A) otherwise-normal looking folks with superhuman powers C) representing a tiny minority of the population could be enough to scare the general population to committing some very unconstitutional actions. And since the GM knows how I feel about insurmountable odds, I expect she'll be gentle in the beginning. Anyway, the current two characters are basically Zeds (unknown, unregistered) to the government. There are rumours coming from the local criminal community about the shadowy Nemesis but he hasn't made enough of a nuisance of himself they haven't pushed to nab him. The other character, a Ninja-type, is new in town and not on the registry either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... About the Owens-Parr Act' date=' points well taken--One of the things I am working on is drafting the actual legislation, but the [i']intent [/i]of the law was never to define paranormals "automatically" as hostile simply because they had odd abilities--yet that's exactly what happened. (I thought I might even have one of the pair, Owen or Parr, backtrack on the law's passage at some point, stating "I never meant it to be that way!" Too late, dude). The interpretation of the law went awry, overboard, and too far in a "better be safe than sorry" direction, spearheaded (behind the scenes, actually) by the PRA. The model I was looking at, if it wasn't already apparent, was based on the sorts of things that started happening in Nazi Germany. The government took little steps at first--curfews, limits on public transport, etc. Then, the effects on various members of the population became much more brutal and harsh and then finally genocidal because of religious beliefs, sexual preferences, or even national/ethnic origin. (And I'm not letting the US off the hook--between the treatment of the Nisei and various other ethnic groups in this country, we've done some pretty awful things). Ah okay, sounds great to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I'm reading your document right now, and have (in the first page or so) run into problems with history. Sorry if some of this seems nit-picking, but I've got a good background in history, and some of this stuff grates. Since little (if any) of it is vital to the setting, I'll just wade in and let you know what I see as "off". "There, in 1928, a small group of maverick scientists in the new field of nuclear physics built an atomic reactor." Since it wasn't until ~1934 that Enrico Fermi did the experiments that gave such peculiar results that the idea of a "chain reaction" was reached (~1939), there's no way anyone could have made a reactor in 1928. Put simply, no-one would have the beginnings of an inkling that anything even vaguely like a reactor was worth trying to build until a decade after your date. "never mind Hawai’ian sovereignty" Hawaii became a territory of the USA in 1897, with the full cooperation of the internationally recognized government of Hawaii. Thus, no such thing as "Hawai’ian [sic] sovereignty" for half a century before your date. "Rhine had been around far too long and had way too many supporters and fans in Congress for McCarthy’s accusations to carry much weight." Supporters, in Congress, of a mere "egghead," willing to stand up to one of America's most successful demogogues? In the virulently anti-intellectual early '50's?? Un-freaking-believable. The early 1950's is a bit early to be talking about "the babby boomer generation," at least as determining general public sentiment. "Following Rhine’s model, the Stanford Center operated under the most rigorous scientific and ethical principles possible." Check CSICOP or similar groups: Rhine's "research" was so sloppy it scarely seems possible he got away with it. "Connors vs. Astra" I'll let Steve Long, or one of the other lawyers there may be on these boards, explain amicus curiae. A non-historical matter: "Skill points range: 25-80" 80 points spent on a Skill?!?? Are you sure this isn't an error? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vassoom Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... A non-historical matter: "Skill points range: 25-80" 80 points spent on a Skill?!?? Are you sure this isn't an error? I think what she means with that is between 25 and 80 total points spent on all skills. It's quite common for GMs to set point limits for the various categories for new campaigns, such as no more than 60 total points can be spent on Characteristics, no more than 50 points on Skills, etc. That helps ensure that the players make well balanced characters rather than one-dimensional Stats Monsters™ or Skills Whores™. And as for the historical quibbles, I gave her a little latitude since I assumed she "tweaked" historical realism to better fit her fictional world. To use your objection to the research on nuclear power as an example, since it was critical that the technology be around for quite a while before WWII, I figured she pushed its initial development back several years before Fermi in order for the "effects" of the radiation to set in and create the first paranormals in time for her scientists to discover them in the 30's. Et cetera. You know, creative license and all that... - Vassoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I'm reading your document right now' date=' and have (in the first page or so) run into problems with history. Sorry if some of this seems nit-picking, but I've got a good background in history, and some of this stuff grates. Since little (if any) of it is vital to the setting, I'll just wade in and let you know what I see as "off".[/quote'] Gee whiz, and here I am a college history professor. Let me double check and make sure UGA is an accredited instition (checks diploma). Yep, 'fraid it is. I was taking a LOT of liberties; I wasn't trying to replicate history "perfectly" in any way. I was trying to take "bits" of real history and fold them into the game world and/or alter them to create a semi-realistic background. Sure, Fermi came up with the idea of a chain reaction later...but in my game world, the Duke folks were doing top secret experiments based on their own research. It was a miserable failure. This was entirely fiction on my part--I wasn't trying to write "real" history by any means, and sorry if I implied otherwise. "never mind Hawai’ian sovereignty" I was referring not to the present in that statement, but to the past...Yes, by WW II, Hawaii was an official territory. Doesn't excuse the fact that the legitimate government years before had been usurped by the US. "Rhine had been around far too long and had way too many supporters and fans in Congress for McCarthy’s accusations to carry much weight." Supporters, in Congress, of a mere "egghead," willing to stand up to one of America's most successful demogogues? In the virulently anti-intellectual early '50's?? Un-freaking-believable. Anti-intellectual? In many ways, yes. But there was also a tremendous push for education in the math, sciences and foreign languages to keep up with the Russians in the Cold War/Space Race (which most historians agree started around 1946-48). And the US Congress has done some really foolish decision making over the years. FWIW, a lot of people did NOT support McCarthy, and although a lot of lives were ruined, he did finally get knocked down pretty hard in the end. The early 1950's is a bit early to be talking about "the babby boomer generation," at least as determining general public sentiment. Maybe so, but the writer is looking at it in retrospect, giving her own historiographical spin on things. "Following Rhine’s model, the Stanford Center operated under the most rigorous scientific and ethical principles possible." Check CSICOP or similar groups: Rhine's "research" was so sloppy it scarely seems possible he got away with it. Again, bending/twisting some real history for the game...Stanford greatly improved on Rhine's track record, but I didn't dwell overlong on that. But I'll certainly give CSICOP a look. (Just did) "Connors vs. Astra" I'll let Steve Long, or one of the other lawyers there may be on these boards, explain amicus curiae. I'd certainly appreciate more information. I'm not a lawyer. I got the idea from the way Julian May set up the law for parapsychics in her "Intervention" and "Galactic Milieu" books. I liked the model, so I borrowed it. A non-historical matter: "Skill points range: 25-80" 80 points spent on a Skill?!?? Are you sure this isn't an error? Total points on skills, in case someone wants to come up with a small power, lots of skills... I'm a little dismayed that you didn't realize that I was NOT trying to write down a completely accurate history of the US from the 1920s to the present, and then sticking in paranormals on the side. I was trying to take a skeleton of US history, and then change things so that the existence of heroes and the present state of paranormal affairs would come to the point (for the start of the game) that I wanted. Again, if I implied in any way that I was writing accurate and real world history, I apologize. Vassoom essentially summed it up nicely--I tweaked historical realism to make it fit the world I wanted. IF you want the real history, let's see, I teach US to 1865 on MW and US from 1865 on TR. Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weylan Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I suppose she could have just had a strange green meteor skip through the atmosphere, bringing about a world of superpower do-gooders who have free-run of the planet, but I thought a little bit of real history mixed in made the setting more interesting. There are some pretty darn silly notions in your standard superhero comic, after all. Geez, Basil, don't you think that was a bit harsh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... OK, well, back to brainstorming. One NPC the players have met (so yeah, it's all right for me to talk about her on here) is a normal who helps out paranormals. Her code name is Prototype, and it was from her POV that the player handout was made. (No, she's not a lawyer OR a history professor ) She acts as a go-between, for example, and is as good as Sidney Bristow at disguising her appearance when she wants to do so. (Do you remember the Alias episode with the color hairspray and the animal print sticky contact paper "skirt"? Amazing). I have some ideas why a normal would want to help paranormals in such a way--she is risking her life--but they're all kind of trite ("My mommy was a para and they took her away and left me all alone" or "I believe in a greater good" stuff). I'm looking for a new spin on things. Any thoughts? dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vassoom Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... OK, well, back to brainstorming. One NPC the players have met (so yeah, it's all right for me to talk about her on here) is a normal who helps out paranormals. Her code name is Prototype, and it was from her POV that the player handout was made. (No, she's not a lawyer OR a history professor ) She acts as a go-between, for example, and is as good as Sidney Bristow at disguising her appearance when she wants to do so. (Do you remember the Alias episode with the color hairspray and the animal print sticky contact paper "skirt"? Amazing). I have some ideas why a normal would want to help paranormals in such a way--she is risking her life--but they're all kind of trite ("My mommy was a para and they took her away and left me all alone" or "I believe in a greater good" stuff). I'm looking for a new spin on things. Any thoughts? dee Aww...but the "trite" rationales are so much easier! <thinks a little harder> OK, here are a few off the top of my head: There's the equally trite but still somewhat compelling option of having her married to a paranormal. Excellent motivation for her to help them out. Slightly more poignant variation: She was engaged to a paranormal and either a) "they" killed him, he killed himself, or c) her initial reaction was very negative when she found out, and she lost him as a result, and later realized how petty, foolish, and cruel her initial reaction was...and is disgusted with the society/government that conditioned her to react that way against another human being who is simply "different". An also trite variation on the theme, but what if instead of her significant other, it was her brother that was a paranormal, and she witnessed firsthand his persecution and vowed to do whatever she could to put a stop to it. Perhaps she is a staunch civil libertarian, and sees this as her duty to help the latest in a long string of persecutions by the American government of a particular class (e.g., Blacks, Women, Japanese [during WWII], Communists, Gays, Muslims , and now Paranormals...). Or perhaps she was/is a member of such a persecuted class, and is therefore motivated to help. Along the same line, perhaps her family was Jewish and suffered through the holocaust, and she sees the recent government trend toward "identification" and then "purification" as just a little too similar to what happened in Nazi Germany... You would need to tweak the opening language in your document a little, but what if she *used* to be a paranormal herself, but succumbed to the pressure and underwent the "cure" of the Hyche vaccine, and now knows the decision was a tragic mistake...one that she wants to ensure no other paranormals are ever faced with. Perhaps an unknown paranormal saved her life or the life of someone in her family, and was then immediately caught as a result of risking his life to save her (without even knowing who she was) and was consequently "punished" for using his paranormal powers in public... Final thought: what if she secretly longs to have the amazing powers of a paranormal, and is thus strongly motivated to help them and surround herself with them. She might even try to persuade them to let her be their "sidekick" of sorts, if you want to make her a "full-time" NPC. Also, if her desire is a bit pathological, it would certainly explain the extraordinarily risky behavior she engages in, and it would also allow for some very interesting roleplaying interaction between her and the PCs. That's all I've got off the top of my head. I'll mull it over a little and see if I can offer up anything more compelling... - Vassoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Play4Keeps Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I have some ideas why a normal would want to help paranormals in such a way--she is risking her life--but they're all kind of trite ("My mommy was a para and they took her away and left me all alone" or "I believe in a greater good" stuff). I'm looking for a new spin on things. Any thoughts? She knows how to (or only thinks she does) create metahumans. So she wants the restrictions off so she can offer to turn people into metas--for a price, of course. Or she can turn them into metas who will obey her. That means of course she's as evil as the people she fights. Kinda a surprise for the PC's. :eg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ephelides Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I have some ideas why a normal would want to help paranormals in such a way--she is risking her life--but they're all kind of trite ("My mommy was a para and they took her away and left me all alone" or "I believe in a greater good" stuff). I'm looking for a new spin on things. Any thoughts? dee She wants to keep "the super resistance" alive, the anger of superpeople building, until they lash out at the government. In the confusion that follows, she will take over the country! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Over the top? What does that mean? You have not said what the rest of the world is like, regarding supers. Perhaps the rest of the world has a calm, rational reaction to supers. She is so embarrassed by the USA's reaction that she is determined to change it so her country is not a laughingstock. She wants to "investigate" supers to find out how they do what they do. She cannot experiment on-=-=-oops, "test" and "research" them-=-=-if they are all in hiding or neutralized. I will think on this to see if other ideas occur to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Thanks, everyone, for the ideas. To answer Ephelides' question, we're still working on the rest of the world. One player is writing up Britain, the other Japan, and we'll fill in the rest of the holes gradually, I think. Ultimately, Prototype IS a good guy. She has a desire to help, no megalomania, and definitely hasn't the training or inclination to hurt paranormals. I took several ideas from y'all, and kind of rolled them into her personality profile. I finished her stats and such a couple days ago, but I'm still working on her complete background. So I very much appreciate all the help with brainstorming. I asked Weylan if he'd write up the first adventure log and post it, so maybe he'll find the time to do that soon. Thanks again, Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ephelides Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Thanks' date=' everyone, for the ideas. To answer Ephelides' question, we're still working on the rest of the world. One player is writing up Britain, the other Japan, and we'll fill in the rest of the holes gradually, I think.[/quote'] Um, I was more thinking about the general attitude sorta thing. Like, are most nations cool with supers, or as freaked out paranoid as the Entire States? But it's all good. Ultimately' date=' Prototype IS a good guy. She has a desire to help, no megalomania, and definitely hasn't the training or inclination to hurt paranormals. I took several ideas from y'all, and kind of rolled them into her personality profile. I finished her stats and such a couple days ago, but I'm still working on her complete background. So I very much appreciate all the help with brainstorming.[/quote'] If she's all goody-nice, that kills my more interesting ideas. Perhaps she knows (or thinks) that the more supers there are, the more there will be. IOW, the number of supers is increasing at a rate that itself increases. So soon there's gonna be tens of thousands. She knows the gummint can't keep that many oppressed, and wants to change the way supers are handled before there's a war of supers vs. norms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I apologize for the tone of my last post. I was running late, trying to deal with off-line stuff, and (though I didn't know it at the time) coming down with a really bad head cold. I let my frustration and scatter-minded-ness overcome me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i3ullseye Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Great intro... and in any game, liberties certainly may (Should?) be taken. One point I would look to, depending on your gaming group, is your presentation of Merck. How black and white is this world? How prone are your gamers to look up real world info to help them with game decisions since so much of your world is based on real history and companies, albeit shifted for your preference? In an Ethics course I am currently in, Business Ethics to be more specific, Merck is a very active topic of discussion. Not only their new HPV Vaccine, and the way they are trying to roll it out... but also times in the past where they have taken a bath on certain meds but still released them to third world nations where they were needed most. Sometimes their domestic products cost more to counter losses with foreign distrobutions that help those nations mroe in need. All in all, painting that company with a single Black or White brush would be impossible, so it would be really fun to use them as a backdrop since you coudl never be sure just where they stand as a whole. One player may come with info showing how altruistic they are, and another could argue they are trying to force their HPV vaccine into schools unethically. Fun stuff for politically minded gaming groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... ...and is as good as Sidney Bristow at disguising her appearance when she wants to do so. Actually I never thought Sidney was any good at disguise: no matter what she did, she always looked like Jennifer Garner to me. Perhaps she is a staunch civil libertarian' date=' and sees this as her duty to help the latest in a long string of persecutions by the American government of a particular class (e.g., Blacks, Women, Japanese [during WWII'], Communists, Gays, Muslims , and now Paranormals...). Any of Vassoom's suggestions would work, but I think I'd be inclined to go along these lines: she helps paras because it's the right thing to do. Most of the people who ran the Underground Railroad in the early 1800s didn't have any ulterior motive, didn't have black family members, or were themselves former slaves or whatever. They just believed that slavery was wrong and that good people had a moral duty to oppose it. Even in the darkest campaigns it's sometimes nice to have one bright light of decency, even if only for the contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Perhaps she knows (or thinks) that the more supers there are, the more there will be. IOW, the number of supers is increasing at a rate that itself increases. So soon there's gonna be tens of thousands. She knows the gummint can't keep that many oppressed, and wants to change the way supers are handled before there's a war of supers vs. norms. In fact, she tipped the heroes off to this very suspicion last game...now they have to find the hard evidence. One of the questions is, why is the number of paras being hidden? Why is the truth being kept hush hush? All things the players should be wondering... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... I apologize for the tone of my last post. I was running late' date=' trying to deal with off-line stuff, and (though I didn't know it at the time) coming down with a really bad head cold. I let my frustration and scatter-minded-ness overcome me.[/quote'] It's okay. Hope you feel better. dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graiae66 Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: New campaign, new member here... Great intro... and in any game, liberties certainly may (Should?) be taken. One point I would look to, depending on your gaming group, is your presentation of Merck. How black and white is this world? How prone are your gamers to look up real world info to help them with game decisions since so much of your world is based on real history and companies, albeit shifted for your preference? Thanks, and you make a fine point. It would be boring of me to make Merck totally without some kind of remorse and/or ameliorating factors. I'm not quite sure what those will be, but it's given me something to think about. I believe the day I worked on the Merck part of the campaign was when NPR broke the bit about how the company had KNOWN the adverse effects of Vioxx...and released it anyway, but kept the side effects quiet. What ARE they doing with the HPV vaccine anyway? Isn't that the one that some scientists are suggesting be given to girls as young as 9 and 10 (hopefully before they are sexually active) to prevent cervical cancer? Or am I wrong? Science isn't my strong suit... I'm all for stopping cervical cancer. I would worry, though, about long-range effects in such a young population. dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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