gewing Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 all the superman threads then the pulp thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oruncrest Posted July 5, 2003 Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 I don't think so. but Susano's written up a literary 'decendant' of his, Axel Brass that you should be able to alter to suit your purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Scrivner Posted July 5, 2003 Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 I think it would be easier to write up Doc's companions, or even The Shadow. I mean, Savage himself is an expert at everything! He has every conceivable skill in HERO System at 18-, great physical stats, and an arsenal of gadgets. He'd cost more points than Doctor Destroyer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted July 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 Like Superman in amny eras would be cheap? I actually figured he would have the "universal scientist" that was proposed during the cybergames days at about 14 or 15-. The rest of his advances would be from combining skills. just off the top of my head... Originally posted by Kevin Scrivner I think it would be easier to write up Doc's companions, or even The Shadow. I mean, Savage himself is an expert at everything! He has every conceivable skill in HERO System at 18-, great physical stats, and an arsenal of gadgets. He'd cost more points than Doctor Destroyer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 Originally posted by Kevin Scrivner Savage himself is an expert at everything! He has every conceivable skill in HERO System at 18-, great physical stats, and an arsenal of gadgets. Plus one power that I always found disturbing in a "hero," the ability (and willingness) to lobotomize lawbreakers and Transform them into law-abiding amnesiacs. Let's see, Take the "normal characteristic maxima" disad, max out characteristics, 167 points. He knows so many languages it's cheaper to take Universal Translator. While we're there, add other talents. Speed reading, perfect pitch, lightsleep, Lightning calculator, fast draw, eidetic memory, double jointed, does anyone recall if Clark was ambidexterious? Then perks, "Doc" was not a courtesy title, in New York he was licensed to practice medicine, and law, and I believe he had a license as an architect (licensed for some sort of engineering anyway). Humm, we've broken 200 points. Add some overall levels. This is begining to look like a Thousand Pointer. Only thing I can think of is to do it the way Dent did it, all talents and skills into a pool, and create whatever needed by the plot from the pool. Likewise an obscene gadget pool. This doesn't even touch bases (plural), vehicles, and most central to the character, followers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted July 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 I wonder, should we just give him every martial arts manuever? jow many supers characters would be comfortable knowing DOc was upset with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted July 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 I,m having some trouble posting, slammed middle finger in door last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 Originally posted by gewing I wonder, should we just give him every martial arts manuever? Maybe just me, but I don't recall Doc (or Renny) using much in the way of martial arts maneuvers, just straight boxing. Monk was more the brawler and dirty infighter, Ham avoided HTH at all cost, don't recall that Johnny or Long Tom ever fought close quarters, all preferred pistols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSweeney Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 Off topic, but could someone tell me where I can get copies of some of those old titles...I'm not interested in ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 Originally posted by JSweeney Off topic, but could someone tell me where I can get copies of some of those old titles...I'm not interested in ebay. Guess they're all out of print now. Amazon.com has some used copies, in my experience better prices and much better service than e-bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent X Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 Try this for free: http://galileo.spaceports.com/~earlydoc/ There are a bunch of pdfs of Doc Savage stories. Many of the old characters have public domain stories available for reading. So hit the computer and head over to Doc Savage, Fu Manchu, whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Originally posted by Oruncrest I don't think so. but Susano's written up a literary 'decendant' of his, Axel Brass that you should be able to alter to suit your purposes. Actually, I wrote it. Susano Hosts it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oruncrest Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 Originally posted by Enforcer84 Actually, I wrote it. Susano Hosts it. Oops. Sorry 'bout that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 No worries. I just felt a twinge of self centeredness. It shouldn't happen again:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Scrivner Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 It's a matter of concept Originally posted by gewing Like Superman in amny eras would be cheap? I actually figured he would have the "universal scientist" that was proposed during the cybergames days at about 14 or 15-. The rest of his advances would be from combining skills. just off the top of my head... True, Superman could be built on a godawful number of points depending on your interpretation. The difference, though, is the definition of the character. Despite variations over 60-odd years of comics, movies, TV, etc., we all have a pretty good idea of what Supes can do: he's strong, can fly, is hard to hurt, and sometimes displays unusually accute "super senses." You can quibble about exactly how strong he is or how fast he can fly but you don't have to worry about whether he could perform brain surgery or not. He can't. In a critical care situation he'd have to depend on Batman or one of his many Contacts or DNPCs. In contrast, while we know Doc Savage is just strong enough to bend steel bars with his bare hands (if the metal is softened by acid from his utility vest) we never know exactly what he can do -- because he can do nearly anything and do it well. Brain surgery? No problem. He's a licensed physician, surgeon, and medical researcher. Decipher that ancient text? He writes monographs on lost civilizations in his spare time. Tackle that musical theme villain? Easy, since Doc is a master musician and composer himself. Master of disguise, inventor, street brawler (I'd give him Boxing and Wrestling), best friend of any public official the heroes encounter. He's like Superman, Batman, and Reed Richards all rolled into one, and that makes him hard to pin down. He doesn't have a single identifiable schtick. Another difference is personality. Over 60 years we've gotten inside the heads of Superman, Batman, and Reed Richards. We know how they think, how they're likely to react to a situation, we've suffered with them through all of their personal trials and triumphs. But Doc Savage remains an enigma. Even his closest companions don't know what he's up to. He never confides his plans, reveals his feelings, or has a non-business relationship with anyone. He lets his colorful and entertaining assistants bumble around during most of the story, then shows up at the end with all the icy efficiency of the Terminator to rescue them and dispatch the bad guy. Who is he when he's not playing "modern Galahad"? We'll never know. Which may be OK when you're reading a novel but is bad when you're trying to figure out Disadvantages for a write-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent X Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 Re: It's a matter of concept Originally posted by Kevin Scrivner True, Superman could be built on a godawful number of points depending on your interpretation. The difference, though, is the definition of the character. Despite variations over 60-odd years of comics, movies, TV, etc., we all have a pretty good idea of what Supes can do: he's strong, can fly, is hard to hurt, and sometimes displays unusually accute "super senses." You can quibble about exactly how strong he is or how fast he can fly but you don't have to worry about whether he could perform brain surgery or not. He can't. In a critical care situation he'd have to depend on Batman or one of his many Contacts or DNPCs. In contrast, while we know Doc Savage is just strong enough to bend steel bars with his bare hands (if the metal is softened by acid from his utility vest) we never know exactly what he can do -- because he can do nearly anything and do it well. Brain surgery? No problem. He's a licensed physician, surgeon, and medical researcher. Decipher that ancient text? He writes monographs on lost civilizations in his spare time. Tackle that musical theme villain? Easy, since Doc is a master musician and composer himself. Master of disguise, inventor, street brawler (I'd give him Boxing and Wrestling), best friend of any public official the heroes encounter. He's like Superman, Batman, and Reed Richards all rolled into one, and that makes him hard to pin down. He doesn't have a single identifiable schtick. Another difference is personality. Over 60 years we've gotten inside the heads of Superman, Batman, and Reed Richards. We know how they think, how they're likely to react to a situation, we've suffered with them through all of their personal trials and triumphs. But Doc Savage remains an enigma. Even his closest companions don't know what he's up to. He never confides his plans, reveals his feelings, or has a non-business relationship with anyone. He lets his colorful and entertaining assistants bumble around during most of the story, then shows up at the end with all the icy efficiency of the Terminator to rescue them and dispatch the bad guy. Who is he when he's not playing "modern Galahad"? We'll never know. Which may be OK when you're reading a novel but is bad when you're trying to figure out Disadvantages for a write-up. One of the most recent novels written about Doc Savage stressed his discomfort with women. He doesn't like being attracted to them. He can't read them well. He finds them unpredictable. He got a cold sweat thinking about the female soviet agent he was going up against. However, when in disguise and playing a role of a man who has no such hangups, he has no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 I'm the only one bothered by him lobotomizing his opponents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archon Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 During the days when Doc was being written, many people believed that an evil person had a mental/chemical imbalance. Dent took this and had Doc invent a process that cured this problem and erased the memories of the person operated on. This person was then taught to hate such evil acts, what sort of person he was before the surgery, and a useful trade to take back to the world. He used a death of personality instead of lobotomization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Scrivner Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 Libido and lobotomies Yep, sexy women are Doc's one weakness. He doesn't know what to about them yet he attracts them like a magnet. And he never passes them on to his appreciative henchmen. Re: lobotomies. Well, the novels don't specify that Savage actually removes parts of criminals' brains, just that he performs brain surgery on them to, uh, increase their sense of civic responsibility. Gotham City would be a nicer place to live if Batman were to adopt such tactics. The Shadow or the Spider would just kill the goons and be done with it. On the other hand, there IS something calculating and inhuman about Doc. His emotional aloofness from lesser mortals, his insecurity about woman, his tendancy to manipulate others without developing real relationships all indicate that his super-scientific training may have done strange things to his psyche. You get the uncomfortable suspicion that Clark Savage, Jr., and Marvel Comics' Magneto might see eye-to-eye on some things. On a side note, Superman creators Seigel and Schuster toyed with the idea of an evil genetic superman before they introduced their famous hero. I think their early notions eventually produced the Ultra-Humanite. Also, read the pulp novelette "But Without Horns" (can't recall the author) if you can find it. It's about a group of public-spirited heroes trying to prevent a mutant superbeing from taking over the world. Seems any normal human who encounters him becomes a fanatical worshipper will to throw away his life to satisfy the "god's" slightest whim. And the mutant is pretty callous in how he uses his worshippers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Re: Libido and lobotomies Originally posted by Kevin Scrivner Re: lobotomies. Well, the novels don't specify that Savage actually removes parts of criminals' brains, just that he performs brain surgery on them to, uh, increase their sense of civic responsibility. And remove their memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted July 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 I think I only read about the first 4 stories... maybe I'd better start hunting them up, 25 years is a long time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherSkip Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Hmm I know the Movie Shadow did do some lobotomizing....... and Sure, converting the "evil" people into "good" people is that not what the whole Justice system/prison reform is about? He just did it "Doc's way" more humane in many ways to be sure...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 If we are talking Doc from the film with Ron Ely then yes, he has EVERY martial arts manouvre ! In the climactic fight with the viallainous Captain Seas he uses Kung Fu, Sumo, Boxing and some other martial arts (i've forgotten exactly which ones) , then finishes the fight with a wrestling manouvre (A drop kick!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 Why not just use a low point VPP to emulate the knowledge he's acquired? He's a brain surgeon ... okay, distribute the points to SC: Surgeon, SC: Brain Surgey and SC: Anesthesia ... if he's tracking down a lost Mayan artifact, just push the points into SC: Archeology, KS: History and KS: Mayan Treasures ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savinien Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 Yo, Enforcer ... any thoughts on other Hero renditions of Planetary characters? sorry for The High-jack folks. (Heheh.) Sav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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