SSgt Baloo Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 I've always been partial to the depression/WW II era as a campaign setting. I'm starting this thread to exhange ideas and information about campaigns set in this era. Years ago when I was stationed in Korea, I was part of a pretty good-sized gaming group. We were all familiar with Hero System (3d & 4th ed. rules) and there were enough of us that there were at least three or four of us off-duty at the same time so we could game if we were so inclined. We tried to ensure that each sssion ended at a point where, if someone couldn't make it, we could explain that "Super-Guy" had other obligations so the rest of the team would fill in the gap as best they could. When it came my turn to run a campaign, I set the start date for mid-1938 (pre-war) so the players could see the changes in American Society and attitudes as war loomed on the horizon. I had already come up with the first version of my WW II Supplement, cobbled together from information gleaned from various sources, most notably the 3d edition-compatible Golden Age of Heroes. The first two PCs created for this campaign were both based loosely on Indiana Jones. One, whose name I forget now, was a "Great White Hunter" kind of guy, with loads of survival skills, plenty of skill in boxing and wrestling, stealth, etc. The other, Tex Jones, was an inventor/pilot with his own "super" plane capable of the astounding speed of 400 miles per hour, in other words, the sort of character I'd always wanted to play! I drew more than a hundred planes for this guy's character to have invented.* One adventure was based around recovering one of his prototypes which had been stolen from the Army. Other characters were based loosely on the Golden Age heroes. Superman, in Golden age form, was created for 250 points according to his description as printed in Action comics #1: "Able to lift tremendous weights (I estimated STR 50), leap an eighth of a mile (howevermuch superleap) and nothing short of a bursting sell could penetrate his skin" (resistant physical/energy defense). Golden Age Flash (not the name we used) was able to run about 300 miles per hour. One character was an elastic superhero (Elastico) with an Italian accent. It seemed like somebody had to vouch for this poor guy every few minutes. He had some pretty wild special effects for some of his abilities. He had extra HTH dice, the special effect being his fists swelling to the size of watermelons. He could superleap by assuming the shape of a ball and bouncing, he could glide by flattening himself into an airfoil shape. * Examples, the first of which is a 1930's-style racing plane propelled by a ducted fan within the barrel-like fuselage. The second plane is a Fighter/Attack plane based upon the original concept of the cancelled P-59 (the P-59A was a completely unrelated jet-propelled design). The last is a small-scale prototype for a very large wing-in-ground-effect cargo plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Liked your WW2 facts/comments on your web page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... If I get time later, I might post the "back of the envelope" version of the Golden Age Green Lantern I wrote up yesterday. He comes in nicely on 350 points. He doesn't look much like he does these days though - he's strictly from the original material. I probably could crunch a 250 point homage, but he would be designed on the "he buys more multipower slots with experience" basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKJAM! Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... My first Golden Age campaign character was the Angel of Music, as I'd just purchased a cassette of music from a certain Broadway show. He was the hideously deformed ghost of an opera singer, risen for vengeance against the criminals who'd killed him. And then he stuck around to deal with other crooks, since he wasn't ready to move on. I gave him some pretty buff stats, then discovered that I'd misheard the point allowance. So the only ghostly power the Angel had was Desolid. I later turned him into Totengeist for the Allies book. As it turned out, the Angel was pretty much the straight man for the campaign, as most of the other characters ranged from "slightly silly" to "Harlequino the Killer Klown." My current Golden Age character is the Mask of Justice, a two-fisted investigative reporter with vision powers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Years ago when I was stationed in Korea, I was part of a pretty good-sized gaming group. We were all familiar with Hero System (3d & 4th ed. rules) and there were enough of us that there were at least three or four of us off-duty at the same time so we could game if we were so inclined. We tried to ensure that each sssion ended at a point where, if someone couldn't make it, we could explain that "Super-Guy" had other obligations so the rest of the team would fill in the gap as best they could. This reminds me of the "Perpetual Poker Game" described in the original M*A*S*H novel--it went on round the clock, with players being dealt in when they were off-duty and being dealt out when they had to go back on. While I've heard of marathon RPG sessions over three-day/four-day weekends, I've never heard of tabletop sessions running twenty-four/seven. Computer MMORPGs, on the other hand. . . Good stuff on your site. I'll award you Reputation as soon as I'm able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustytomes Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Jeepers that was the Bees Knees! Mr. Baloo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted January 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Liked your WW2 facts/comments on your web page. Thanks! It was a lot of work and some of the references need updating, but it's nice to hear some appreciation. This reminds me of the "Perpetual Poker Game" described in the original M*A*S*H novel--it went on round the clock, with players being dealt in when they were off-duty and being dealt out when they had to go back on. While I've heard of marathon RPG sessions over three-day/four-day weekends, I've never heard of tabletop sessions running twenty-four/seven. Computer MMORPGs, on the other hand. . . Thanks! I'd forgotten about the marathon poker game. I enjoyed M*A*S*H so much that I read all of the sequels, or at least as many as I could get my mitts on. Our games weren't quite as perpetual as my description may have let on, but we'd sometimes go 2 days continuously with breaks only for the necessities (bathroom, food, liquor, & occasionally a "haircut" downtown). Sometimes we'd continue the roleplaying on the way over to the chowhall (excuse me: dining facility*), while we stood in line for our grub, while we were eating, and during the walk back (we were really big on character interaction). Sleep came when the scenario was finished. Good stuff on your site. I'll award you Reputation as soon as I'm able. Thanks in advance, then! Jeepers that was the Bees Knees! Mr. Baloo. [Captain Aphorism] Study hard, listen to your elders and obey your parents and someday it will be YOU doing great things! [/Captain Aphorism] * The Chow Hall staff would always correct you if they heard the term: "Chow Hall". So we always did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zane_Marlowe Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Excellent WWII info, repped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted September 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... It seems that the web pages referenced in the OP are going away Real Soon, Now. If anyone would like, you may save whatever you can with my permission. The only caveat is that when I finally get my own computer again, someone (anyone) please send me copies of what you preserved. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... did this come from the golden age of champions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... It seems that the web pages referenced in the OP are going away Real Soon, Now. If anyone would like, you may save whatever you can with my permission. The only caveat is that when I finally get my own computer again, someone (anyone) please send me copies of what you preserved. Thank you. You could just use this website's "blog" feature to preserve the information... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... occasionally a "haircut" downtown). Ah me, I was in Korea back in '79 - YeoSu - with trips up to Ulsan to slap suppliers around. I well remember getting several "haircuts" in a single week. Stayed near the Seamen's Mission where the blankets were mink. Nice collection of info there, young SSgt Baloo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... You could just use this website's "blog" feature to preserve the information... I just looked at "My Blog" and I don't quite understand how to get started. Is there a manual? ETA: Never mind, I figured it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Our games weren't quite as perpetual as my description may have let on' date=' but we'd sometimes go 2 days continuously with breaks only for the necessities (bathroom, food, liquor, & occasionally a "haircut" downtown).[/quote'] Tell us more, in extreme detail including pictures if you have em, about these "haircuts". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Tell us more' date=' in extreme detail including pictures if you have em, about these "haircuts". [/quote'] Modesty (and community standards) forbids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Quote: Originally Posted by DocSamson Tell us more, in extreme detail including pictures if you have em, about these "haircuts". Modesty (and community standards) forbids. While I actually don't KNOW the answer, I believe it means there were/are barber shops that were also "massage parlours." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Re: Golden Age Heroes... Incidentally, the Red Panda just used the Hindenburg to travel from Germany to the United States. One guess how that story ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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