Vanguard00

Re: Seduction an Everyman Skill I like KA's description, and Derek's clarification. They said what I wish I had, and probably better. Positive rep, guys. And I rescind my earlier comment about making Seduction an Everyman skill. Derek's post made perfect sense to me.

Re: Astroman (Superman Tribute) Not a problem

Re: Astroman (Superman Tribute) http://www.herogames.com/USPD/index.htm

Re: Seduction an Everyman Skill I know I shouldn't chime in on this, but I'm gonna. Persuasion, as I've always understood, is the ability to convince someone that your particular point is valid. You're not necessarily persuading them to do something (although that might be a result), but rather you're trying to get them to agree that you're right. Y'all are engaging in Persuasion now, but not one of you could seduce me to do anything, based on what I've seen thus far (well, Kara and Rachel probably could, but I'm a dog that way). Some examples of (very basic) Persuasion: "Of course you should sleep with me. I'm a director. I can make you famous." "You have to understand that if you don't have rules in the game then people will just find ways to abuse the system." "We must go to war with Iraq because Saddam supplied aid to terrorists, the Al-Qaida bombed us and they're terrorists, so Iraq is a terrorist state." Seduction, on the other hand, is a more nebulous concept. You're appealing to a person's baser instincts, perhaps the baser emotions. It quite often has a sexual connotation, but not necessarily. Some examples of (again, very basic) Seduction: "I haven't seen you in here before. Are you with somebody? No? Me neither. Hey, let me buy you a drink..." "Come on, man. Just try it. It's not gonna kill you, and everyone's doin' it. You wanna be cool, right?" "Join me, my son. Together we can depose the Emperor and rule the galaxy as we were meant to." I think there's a valid argument for making Seduction an Everyman skill, actually. It's something I'll be considering for the future.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I remember when I liked my job. Well, not this one. But still...

Re: Blend of Beast and Forge

Re: So I'm thinking of running a Western HERO scenario...

Re: Blend of Beast and Forge

Re: Blend of Beast and Forge Computer Programming is the generic "I'm just that good with 'puters" skill. Beast is very much a scientist, and would have many of the biological sciences as skills (biology, chemistry, genetics (very high), and so on). Complimentary skills could be Electronics, Inventory, Deduction. He's also a good pilot and a good mechanic. Forge is a creator, both by profession and by mutant ability. Electronics, Mechanics and Inventor would be very high. Security Systems, Systems Operations, Weaponsmith (just about everything). Sciences could be physics, quantum mechanics, theoretical physics, particle physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer design, and the like. Both should have a healthy dose of KS skills to compliment their science skills. In fact, both would probably have a bunch of PS skills, too. Others might offer more specific direction but I think this is a good start.

Re: SF Novels for Star Hero? Bah! One half-hearted mention of Santiago by Mike Resnick? Resnick's books (Santiago, Widowmaker, Oracle, Paradise, Purgatory, etc) are a great source of material for any sci-fi/space opera gamer and just a fun read, to boot. I can't recommend 'em enough.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Yeah, but you resemble so many it seems pointless to take 'em personally.

Re: Rising Stars Seems pretty darn good for me. I like the whole "on the verge of discovery" feel to it with humans not yet having met any other race. Lots of "first contact" potential all around. Overall I'd say you've got the makings of a good campaign.

Re: Spiderman Vs. Firelord

Re: one question...

Re: one question... Varden, if you think that you might be the cause of the current unease, perhaps you should take a break. Skip a week of playing and see a good movie (X-Men, Spiderman, etc), and/or read a couple of good comics or trade paperbacks. Take a break from the actual mechanics of the game and get back into the fun part of it. I know Marvel has some comics online (not that I know which ones) if you'd prefer not to read any. There are a couple of good books regarding superheroes, as well. The Wild Cards series edited by George R.R. Martin; "Superheroes", a collection of short stories, edited by John Varley; "Other People's Heroes" by Blake Petit. There are others, I think, but these are the one's I've read and liked enough to recommend. Heck, instead of gaming one night, maybe you can get your players together for a movie night. Pop in both X-Men films and have a good time, pointing out what you like and what you don't. Remind yourself and your players that this is the stuff you enjoy most--the action, the witty banter, the figuring out of puzzles...whatever it is. Not the actual mechanics. Cyclops doesn't say "I'm gonna use my full 12d6 on this one." He just cuts loose with a full power blast. Wolverine doesn't say "I'll do my 3d6 HKA and add strength in." He just pops claws and cuts. Maybe all you need is a breather to get your head back into it. Consider taking a week (or two) off from gaming. Whenever it's convenient, of course. In fact, if you can arrange a cliff-hanger before your break, so much the better I'm sure you'll figure it out. G'luck to ya.

Re: one question... It sounds like the "flavor" you're looking for is a way to get away from the purely technical aspects of the game. Your example of "me too but it's an 8d6 EB" is what I'm basing this on. First, in regards to the strength of their attacks--don't make an issue of it. That's what they wanted when they created the character, so in some way they're trying to stay in context. Make sure they each have a bad guy they can hurt somewhere along the way and let them keep their individual powers at individual levels. In regards to the descriptions of their attacks, perhaps you should lead by example. Don't say "You're hit by Villain's EB". Say something like "a searing blast of superheated plasma strikes you in the chest, singing your hairs and briefly making you think your armor is melting. Once the steam clears, though, you realize that you've been fortunate enough to get away with a serious sunburn." Promote such descriptions in play, asking for technical descriptions only when necessary. If a player says, "I shoot him with my EB for 8d6", reply "Okay, HeroGuy fires his lightning blast at full power, causing Villain to scream as bits of electricity arc over his armored form." If someone says, "I hit him with my fire blast," don't ask him how many dice. Ask him "Full power, half power, something in between?" Try and lead them into descriptive responses rather than merely technical ones. When players start doing the same thing, reinforce it with "Nice description" or something similar. Also, give an extra XP to the guy who stayed in character most often and let them all know that's why he gets it. G'luck with it.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Heh...I don't know if you got that from me but that was my sig line here for a while way back when. It was on my email for years. EDIT: I'm not claiming it as original, by the way. I just used it for a few years.

Re: Cool Names for a Superman Tribute Character? But man can they sing!

Re: What's the most useless supplement you'd actually like to see? Dave Mattingly used to have the Power Point newsletter with a huge list of packages (4th Edition). It was one of my favorite resources until it was (relatively) recently removed. So yeah, I wouldn't mind a DH article or published supplement dealing with occupations and packages. Maybe an eBook?

Re: Base Maps Question and Request Here is a very cool site of some of the tallest buildings around the world. It includes site and floor plans for many of them. Very much worth checking out. http://moma.org/exhibitions/2004/tallbuildings/index_f.html

Re: Silly Challenge Unless they retconned it out when I wasn't looking yeah, he used to be "British Secret Service" (whether that means MI-6 or not I don't know).

Re: A Circle Of Rings You might consider Socrates' "theoretical" ring of invisibility, too (actually, it's Glaucon's, but it's Socrates' story).

Re: A Circle Of Rings

Re: A Circle Of Rings Wasn't there a ring that allowed the wearer to talk to birds in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Caffeine is my friend.