Vanguard00

Re: Advice for Drawing Maps I have nothing to add to the already excellent advice you've received, but I thought I'd throw this tidbit of useless knowledge out there, just for flavor:

Re: New Campaign I can but echo the comments of my esteemed colleagues: Nice maps! I wouldn't change 'em if I were you. Maybe more specific local maps for area the PCs run into, but keep those for the overall feel. I like the "Social Lim: Adventurer" disad, as well, and will be incorporating that into my own future campaign. The character sheets are nicely formatted (got an HD template for those?) Overall feel is very cool. Nicely done!

Re: A Secret Service Question, version 3.0

Re: What do you think... Captain Chronos, in an uncharacteristically somber and solumn moment, speaks to the heroes about what they've done, what possibilities they've ruined, what futures they crushed by their accident. He'll take them back in time, not for their sakes, but for the sake of the future. They will, of course, remember. Especially when, months down the road, they are faced with a new villain/NPC/annoyance who knows what they did. He remembers. "I don't know how you fixed it, whether God himself decided you had screwed up so bad that he had to take a personal interest, but I know what you did. I was there. I saw it. I remember. And I won't let you do it again."

Re: Aspiring GM Ideas By the way, welcome to the forums

Re: Aspiring GM Ideas Yep. You almost have to since there's no way you could possibly out-think the player trying to get a cool and unusual non-magical ability. They'll always be able to come up with something for which you didn't plan. Yes, but I'd leave this loose. Again, case by case as some abilities can be more expensive than others but just as cool. Definitel promote an in-game reason why they shouldn't have too many (if any) "special" abilities. Maybe it's a sign of the Devil, or possession, or elven blood, or something crazy. My opinion is to make these new abilities Talents. Bezerk, precognition, animal empathy, dream walking...all good ideas that could have good non-magical reasons for existing, and are extremely rare in folks and maybe extremely rare only in certain races. For example, only the rare barbarian of the North can purchase Bezerk. Only those with some elven blood in their past can purchase precognition, only those who have been 'touched' by [insert God/dess of Earth or similar being here] can have animal empathy. Each talent might come with a suitable disad, as well (Bezerk causes negative reputation, animal empathy causes social outcast, etc). Just some ideas.

Re: A Secret Service Question, version 3.0 That seems plausible. The amount of employees wouldn't hinder the government from at least ensuring that none of the people were known criminals, though. Cursory checks on all employees would be performed as soon as their name was discovered--just a run through the database, basically. Minor crimes are likely to be ignored (speeding tickets, misdemeanor drug possession, etc), but capital offenses & violent crimes might flag an individual for a more thorough check. What seems likely to me is that one agent would be assigned to Holly--keep an eye on her, accompany her wherever, etc, depending on how close Holly will let the agent get. The other agent would be a 'rover', assigned to keep an eye on the general location in whatever capacity you think is best, but almost definitely in the circus itself. It's doubtful they'd assign an agent as an advanced scout unless it was obviously necessary (potential threat, future location is known threat to security, etc). It's more likely they'd enlist the nearest FBI office and/or state and/or local law enforcement to do cursory checks as soon as the next location was known. That would simply a matter of resources. Note, too, that the Secret Service might learn of the location from having someone's phone tapped or similar method. Remember that the Secret Service doesn't go undercover in the traditional sense, not when on protection detail. They won't dress up as clowns or anything of the sort. Casual civilian clothes, perhaps, but they'll always--ALWAYS--have a radio and a weapon on their person. It's part of the job description. Lastly, I've seen several references to Secret Service personnel under oath refusing to detail activities of those they protect. Immorality, poor judgment, embarrassing situations, etc, are never, EVER made public by Secret Service personnel, and there's legislation in place to ensure that they never have to testify to anything other than security- or crime-related activity. I don't know if you knew that already but I thought I'd throw it in there in case it came up.

Re: A Secret Service Question, version 3.0 Bring them where? The Vice President lives at Number One Observatory Circle. Yes, Jack's family could move in there--it's both expected and appropriate. If you're asking if Cathy and the kids can come to the White House with him, I don't think it'd be a problem, but they'd be restricted to certain areas--public/tourist routes, the office of the VP, etc. No wandering the halls. If Holly refuses protection there's not much Andrea can do about it. The best she could do would be to assign an agent or two to keep an eye on things in Holly's general location. They might keep tabs on her, run the protection like a stakeout (from a moderate distance), but I don't believe they're allowed to interfere with a family member's life unless there is clear evidence of danger (by "evidence" I don't mean tangible court-of-law style proof; a threat would be good enough). Now, this might necessitate a full-blown check on the circus and it's employees, as well, to ensure that there is no immediate threats to Holly's welfare or, by extension, the President. The Secret Service is notoriously tight-lipped on means and methods of protection, so internet searches aren't coming up with much.

Re: ITT: You Give Me Ideas, I Steal Them Djinn-inhabited computers? No CPU, just a captured semi-omniscient being. Consider a mechanized infantry unit consisting of zombies, goblins, vampires, what-have-you, but the guns are science-based. No real working parts or anything; just magic-powered versions of the industrial version we know and love. D&D-style pantheons of 'gods' who are in reality super-advanced Artificial Intelligences. I really like the nano-faerie idea (I had something similar in mind). Planes, trains, cars, motorcycles, etc, that don't run on gas but "spirit juice" or something (distilled essence of magic or magic-beings). What we would consider "natural" science (phones, computers, calculators, etc), but they run on magic-based crystals or runes or something similar. Nothing too complex or even meaty, I admit, but it could be flavorful. Modern glass-and-steel buildings that don't use modern engineering to hold them up (structurally unsound), but are reinforced by "earthquake runes" and "wind sigils" and the like. Labor unions comprised of elementals (earth for moving stuff, air for helping to build high-rises, fire for welding and the like, water for...um...mixing and/or cooling stuff, maybe). Again, not terribly interactive, but could provide good background.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Well, someone better give some info on these two. As always, Storn, good stuff.

Re: Comic books Kinda sorta on topic, the following article might give you some ideas. Note that this is not the original publisher. I used an edited version myself many years back but couldn't find the author even then. Anyway, it's good for ideas: http://jnana.wikinerds.org/index.php/Metahuman#Metas_And_The_Media

Re: New Global Guardians PBEM Campaign Looking For Players Well, first you get a duck, a garden hose and some peanut butter... ...wait, wrong forum. There are myriad sources available--some on the "General Roleplaying" forum (search for "PBEM"--but essentially it's "Play By E-Mail". Turns are sent out by the GM and responded to by the players, all via email. Combat is handled in a variety of ways, but the most common method is to simply state one's actions as a possibility ("PlasmaMan fires his nova burst at the Tarot agents, hoping to incapacitate as many as possible"). The GM will respond with the results ("The nova burst arcs into their midst, scattering the agents in an explosion of flame. Only a few are still moving"). Tech-talk is kept "OOC", or "Out Of Character", while character development and story stuff is "IC", or "In Character". Time rates vary, but it's common for a GM to send a turn out approximately once a week, with the players responded as often as necessary (at times the GM may simply sit out for a couple of weeks while the players interact). Sometimes you're required to post more (I've seen games requiring daily posts), and sometimes less, but once a week is average. It's as much an exercise in writing as it is in gaming. I've been involved in PBEMs for about 8 years now and in many ways prefer it to face-to-face gaming. If you want to know more, PM me and I'll see about directing you to some resources.

Re: Heroes of the Turakian Age Post your logs. I enjoy the read. However, I highly recommend a standard disclaimer at the top of each post (including the first one of the thread) that says something along the lines of: "WARNING: Adventures based on Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds. Spoilers abound!" Or whatever. But yeah, I'm a sucker for adventure logs/summaries. Post away, is my vote.

I don't have my books handy but I need a question answered (searching brought up WAY too many threads to go through): What's the approximate number of metahumans in the Champions Universe? I'm relatively certain it was glossed over, if not detailed, in either Champions or CU. Also, if possible, how many in the US? Much appreciated, folks.

Re: Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company - Omigod... Thrak needs to go check it out and give us the full scoop. Way cool, though.

Re: Corven's Heroes & Villains

Re: Eurostar is friggin' fast! I've never used all of Eurostar at once (except in storyline, and only indirectly) as a GM, but I gamed against them once. We had our collective arses handed to us the first time around. We spent the rest of the weekend-marathon-session hunting them down one by one. We still almost lost two PCs taking Pantera, IIRC, mine being one other (GM fiat kept me alive). I've just never thought I could do them justice...

Re: The Great Finality The only time I've seen a character die and come back was in an FtF game about a decade ago. A friend's PC was killed during a fight with Fiacho and Durak. He didn't do anything particularly dumb, and it was some serious bad rolling on his part, coupled with excellent rolling on the GM's part that landed him in morguesville. IIRC, it was a coordinated attack by Fiacho and Durak with both blows doing HEAVY damage, plus a failed dodge roll on the part of the hero, plus a failed activation roll for his extra armor (both costume and shield). He was paste, pure and simple. The reasoning behind his return many months later was that a previously-unknown meta was in the crowd helping to heal those innocents caught in the crossfire. He wasn't a traditional hero, and was afraid of using his abilities in public, but after seeing the PC go down he stepped forward and continued to keep the body "fresh". No deterioration or rigor mortis, and even stimulation to the brain. The EMTs staunched still-bleeding wounds and they rushed him off to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Government officials stepped in, took the "fresh" body away and essentially revived it using experimental chemicals and hi-tech machinery. The healing NPC became a recurring character, too, and was in fact played by the original PC for a while (while the 'dead' hero was recovering). At the end of six months (game time), the hero made a comeback just in time to save the healer and begin a new storyline. There were some minor tweaks to his disads for being watched by the gov't agency and for new/changed personality. The GM pulled it off masterfully and we all applauded his ability to maintain believability within the genre. Everyone else has pretty much stayed dead. Except the zombie/clone thingy another GM tried, but that was so silly we ret-conned it out later.

Re: Crazy idea for a magic "system". That’s unfortunate that you feel this way. I think the magic systems put forth allow for a great deal of variation and flavor. But opinions vary, of course, and it’s certainly not “wrong†to feel this way. This feels too limiting to me. As someone pointed out, unless magic use is extremely rare you’ll quickly run out of special effects. What’s the logic behind this? Why would Glen be able to develop an acid arrow spell but not Fritz? Granted, they might not be the exact same spell, but it seems that two accomplished wizards should be able to come up with similar effects given the time and resources. And Glen should be able to teach his spell to someone should he so desire. I’d be interested to hear the theories and reasoning behind the development of magic from an in-game perspective. It might go a long way to shed light on the subject. Well, you could come up with plenty of balancing effects. You listed two good ones. Without knowing exactly what you have in mind for the magic system, though, it’d be difficult to give a blanket list of effects. Reasonable. You must be a glutton for bookkeeping This is another reason (and a good one) why I think the absolute rule regarding unique spells is a bad idea. You’d have to keep track of PCs and NPCs both, everywhere in the gaming world. I think we’re all doing that for you Here is where you disagree with your basic premise. Now you mention “versionsâ€. You’re saying that Glen might develop an acid arrow, and Fitz might be able to develop an acid arrow, but they differ in the details? That’s much more reasonable and takes the burden of bookkeeping off you. Faulty logic, in my opinion, and you’re forgetting something very important. The hat is a magic item. It was created to do what it does, even if it has a personality, and it’s very good at it. Dumbledore doesn’t do that spell probably because it’s so time consuming and personally taxing. I can make something that writes on paper, but why would I when I can just grab a pen or pencil? It’s possible to solve extensive mathematic equations by hand, but why would you when you can use a calculator? I suspect Dumbledore could indeed mimic the hat’s ability, but there’s neither a need nor a desire. Plus, the hat appears to be sentient, so he might have a personal/emotional reason for not wanting to step on the hat’s proverbial toes. I’m thinkin’ both It’s not a bad idea to think of spells as unique. I’ve often thought that only the basics of magic could be taught a person, and that each mage would put his/her personal touch on every spell they use, but you could accomplish this different ways. 1) Have each magician write up his own spells. They’ll be unique by default, even if only in name. 2) Make each wizard do something ‘special’ with their spells. Add an images effect to mimic the glowing sigil brought about by the spell’s usage. Perhaps you the GM enforce the use of incantations to the point where the PC must say the spell in real life for it to be cast. You can also play with this and deduct from the magic skill roll if the player stutters, stammers, or messes up. Also, make sure they use the same incantation for the same spell each time they use it. 3) For you the GM, I’d recommend ceasing to look at the mechanics so closely and start looking at the spirit of the magic. Try and separate yourself from the game mechanics so that you can view each spell as an aesthetic and genre-enforcing device to better realize it’s in-game potential. Try and look at it from the player’s point of view: Glen loves his acid arrow, so much so that he wants to teach it to Fitz. Let him, but make some minor changes to reflect Fitz’s character. Perhaps the acid is reddish instead of greenish. Perhaps it doesn’t burn as much (less damage) but burns longer. Perhaps it doesn’t go as far (reduced range) but covers a greater area (AoE or Explosion). Perhaps he simply sucks at it (penalties on casting or side effects). The uniqueness and specialness (is that a word?) of any given spell, caster or system is dependent upon the players involved. There are ample ways you can play with this idea without enforcing the “one spell, one spell only†rule. Lastly, Markdoc's suggestion to emulate the Xanth "system" might be a good one. No two people have exactly the same spells/abilities, but they might have overlapping effects. Good luck whatever you decide.

Re: Corven's Heroes & Villains Just dropping in to say I'm still following. Good characters, Corven. Keep up the good work. EDIT: Please don't take my lack of detailed commentary amiss. I rarely pick apart posted characters as I don't think it appropriate, especially coming from me. I enjoy all ideas, new approaches to old themes, and plain old-fashioned w00tness of seeing other people's characters. EDIT #2: I also apparently don't use my rep button enough. I'll hit you again when I can, Corven.

Re: Alternate Marverlverses

Re: Scorpia: Pageant Mom or Compete Physco? Scorpia is pleased as punch to have a little darling girl to love and hug and train and kill with. First she touts her off to everyone who'll care, then she shows her the ropes (or ropes of entrails), then gets her into "the business". After that, when the little darling starts killing just a little better, and is a little prettier, and is better liked...well, that's when it's time to bump Mama's Little Darling off. In essence, a natural progression from #1 to #2 would probably be the way I'd go.

Re: Need a Superhero HQ? - Try this one Excellent work, GA!

Re: Alternate Fantasy "Earth" Go to google, type "World Map", hit enter, peruse at leisure. I see three or four that could be used very easily.

Re: Marvel Second Stringers. Help me out. Must've missed an issue, then, cuz that's as unfamiliar as it gets. Thanks for the heads up.