Tungsten Shephard

Re: So, How do you take over organised crime in Huson City? Yes and I happen to be a big fan of Hudson City and mafia themed adversaries for years. I was heavily inspired by a D&D game I was in many years ago where the chief antagonist of the players was an organization called Evil Temps. It was one of the best well run RPG drag out Thief guild scenario's I was ever in and the G.M. used tactics such as the Hegelian dialectic as a backdrop and boy was it just bloody vicious near the end. Since that time my Mafia style games have only improved. The busniess of vice and destroying lives is simply evil in its purest form. After that killing is easy.

Re: So, How do you take over organised crime in Huson City? I disagree. In a pyramid situation (most drug dealers work on a pyramid scheme) this secretive society runs on relationships. If I kill mob boss Fiorello and don't know Fiorello's contracts what's the point in killing him. However if I can alter Fiorello's supply lines I can control Fiorello and his contacts. No one died except perhaps the original supplier. Fiorello's dealers are happy and the customers are happy. This is why controlling the source is so very important. Fiorello's pays me instead of his former boss Tony and the other boss Tony eventually goes into debt, I offer to pay off Tony's debt (philanthropy) on the condition Tony works for me now. Anyone else see how this works? I now control Tony, Fiorello, and anyone else in the pyramid. Anyone who disagrees ends up at the bad end of a busniess decision.

Re: So, How do you take over organised crime in Huson City? The main problem here is that by killing the infrastructure you slow down the amount of profit you can potential earn. Instead if you can use a busniess model even if that busniess is the busniess of vice, you can maximize your profits. Killing would be for those who do not get a clue and get behind your plan as they should. Usually only as a way of influencing others. Please don't misunderstand the mafia and organized crime does kill people but busniess & profit almost always come first.

Re: So, How do you take over organised crime in Huson City? Actually its used on a daily basis, ever buy insurance you did not need? Ever give up something because you thought it was bad for you only to discover there was nothing wrong with it in the first place? Ever question the motivation of popular beliefs that turned out to be false? If you just open your eye's you can see it on a daily basis. The mafia, and other organized crime influences use this method daily. Why not use it against them? Furthermore you can apply this process to mafia cartel drug trade. (Your goal is to control the drug trade so the mafia works for you rather than the other way around.) Step 1: Mafia needs more more drugs to provide for a growing population. Step 2: Decrease the supply of Drugs available for street sale or eliminate the competition so that your drug supply is the only one. (This can be done by force or by trade control at the docks. Ever wonder why the docks are so important to the mob?) Step 3: Force dependence upon your supply, so that you control the economic forces of supply and delivery. (Never mind or dismiss the fact that your supply is so large because you stole or killed to gain control of the drug commodity in the first place.)

Re: So, How do you take over organised crime in Huson City? Now here is how to apply the stratagy stated above. Find out how the mafia or "guy in charge" does illegal business. Step 1: Create a problem for the mafia, (Batman, lack of drugs, lack of revenue from underlings, etc) Step 2: Offer your services to solve the problem by lending "philanthropy" or donating something you can offer to solve the above problem. Step 3: Make the mafia dependent on you for a continuing solution to the problem. You don't have to own the mafia, just control it. That is how you take over another mob family.

Re: So, How do you take over organised crime in Huson City? Taking over something is easy once you understand the theory. Step 1: Create a problem. This problem can be real, imagined, or theoretic. Step 2: Create opposition to the problem. Fear, panic, mass hysteria, lack of supply, lack of guns, loosing money etc. Step 3: Create a Solution to the problem. Higher taxes, clean supply lines, more controls into people lives, etc. (here sign your life over to me I'll help you) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis,_antithesis,_synthesis From here you should be able to find examples and arguments on how it works.

Re: Pulling Authority & Other Genres I enjoyed the little commentary by the OP. I think society has lost its understanding of high moral ground a long time ago with the socialization of the modern everyday public. For example: Wellington was a HERO for defeating Napolian but at what cost? Patton could not be stopped by Nazi's but at what cost? George Washington & Others overthrew Englands control of the colonies at what cost? Grant had massive casualties during civil war, at what cost? George Bush liberated a people from a despot regime at what cost? Captain America took an oath to uphold liberty at what cost? I think Marvel, DC, and most media in general need to separate the difference between "rule of law" and what is "lawful". What Saddam Hussein did to to dissidents when he threw them into meat grinders or when he encouraged rape gangs was an example of the rule of law. What George Bush did to Iraq during the Gulf War war was Lawful, there is a differance. If you don't agree on that analogy how about this one. "Edward the Lawgiver" made many laws. You can say that he had been a ruler who made laws. He believed in the Rule of Law. However William Wallace was right and lawful to make war upon him and liberate the Scott's. If you are still confused about what is the difference between Law and Lawful read "The Law" by by Frederick Bastiat It might also help you understand the importance of liberty, and why HERO's such as Captain America were right when they opposed the registration act.

Re: Name Something You'd Allow That The GM At The Convention Didn't I have been a GM at cons before and I can tell you it's always difficult to GM when you allow players to bring their own character no matter the game. However I do take cash bribes as I do need to feed my kid and his Role Playing Game & Dice collection habit. But seriously as a Convention GM I usually have 12 characters pre-written up for a 6 man game. Player are always free to look across the spectrum and I have rules on character creation. If a player can provide something similar and follow my balance rules then his character would fit in just nice. BTW I have never done a Convention as a GM with the HERO system but I hope I can someday.

Re: VPPs and Aid: Characteristics (please help me find the rule) I have a player in my group who wanted to do this. I made it clear up front that the moment he moved his points the power responds as if it was not used at all. In this way he does not wake up "boost" all stats at once, go about his day, then pull his points into something else. If he uses Aid and wants the fade to continue through out the turn he must retain the allocated points and accept the current fade rate. At any point he removes the allocated points in the VPP for the Aid for use of another power, the fade rate of the Aid disappears and the STATS return to normal immediately. To me the "fade" is an aspect of the power "Aid" therefore when there is no power then there is no fade rate. This is otherwise an abuse of intent of the rules IMO however many GM's are different with their interpretation. HERO system gives very strong leeway for intent on powers including VPP's. It is always advisable for players to speak with your G.M. about your characters and how you both interpret them. Don't forget VPP is based upon special effects, just because you can do something does not mean should do something if it does not conform to your VPP's special effect. GO over carefully what your VPP Special effect is. BTW... Yes I know this is not according to the rules but it works in my game and it does IMO avoid many potential abuses. VPP is powerful enough as is to not worry about the player feeling weak from any restrictions on it.

Re: You know the GM has it in for you when... All of the villains have Armor Piercing Body Drain, Body Transfer, Suppress vs Power Defense, or Dispel vs. Power Defense only.

Re: Champions Speed Chart Question. Need help. With my group we have a designated individual who calls and controls combat SPD who is not the G.M. This has eliminated the G.M. requirement to run EVERYTHING (less stress on me) and has made the game combat go very quickly. Trust is a big issue here and as a G.M. I just inform the record keeper to mark in adversaries DEX and SPD, he does the rest then calls out when it's someones turn. As the G.M. I still have the control and can interject at any time as needed. I just don't agree that G.M.s must run EVERYTHING. Players are more than capable of doing things that might not need GM control. I've even had players run villains when their characters are not present just to speed things up. Although I would strongly advise you know your players before you do this as it can lead to problems.

Re: Who is the best Super in comics? Aunt May, (pre Civil War because Civil War was stupid, I'm also referring to Aunt May from the Spiderman Movie. ) Every true super HERO needs a true moral compass to stabilize his judgment from right or wrong.

Re: You know the GM has it in for you when... The G.M. informs all the other players (players that are not you) it is required for them to have a 5 point Rivalry: Professional (; Rival is As Powerful; Rival is a Player Character; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Unaware of Rivalry) It's never the obvious threats, its those little subtle ones where the G.M. does not appear to be the master villain.

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City Hudson City IS the starting point for my Super HERO's superpowers game and here is why. 1) I want the players to understand just how powerful their characters are compared to real crime thugs. 2) I want the players to explore the more detective aspects of a game setting. I think some of Hudson City + C.S.I. episodes can make for an interesting twist when super powers are involved. 3) One of the aspects of the game I'm running is What happens when a sudden change of atmosphere, an escalation of force, occurs between rival mafia crime families when supers get personally involved. What happens when the supers take over the mob. (What if Tony Soprano was a super villain of sorts with super powers?) What happens when the mafia families use both advanced alien technology and super powers to fully take over a city then a nation then the world. 4) What happens when the B.M.K. gets in over his head, (is that possible?) on both sides and requests the P.C.s help to deal with the supers he ran into? That is the game I'm currently running right now. So far it's been a huge success the past 5 weeks.

Re: You know the GM has it in for you when... The Black Male War Horse your HERO just summoned is a white female riding horse because the "G.M." thinks they are better looking.

Re: What was Marvel's WORST decade? 90's followed by this decade. I mean c'mon they killed the Cap for crying out loud, then gave it to Bucky and with a gun even? Spider man made a deal with Mephisto? The Fact that Spider man actually gave up his secret I.D. in Civil War is just BS. He was always smart enough not to do such a thing (Aunt May anyone). The whole Civil War series is just B.S. its amazing what passes for hire at marvel it seems. It's been crappier ever since...

Re: Hudson City and It's Brilliance I know very little about Vibora or Millennium City. How does Hudson compare to these settings? Since my game store does not carry HERO products and I have to travel out of the area to pick them up, I'm unable to compare the settings for myself. Any info would help..

The Situation... I have a player who wants to make a character with a VPP. The VPP will have the advantage Reduced Endurance. I see no issue with it however we (the player and I) have a disagreement on where to apply the advantage cost. He believes the advantage should be on the control cost. I believe the advantage should be on the active pool cost via a naked advantage applied to the pool not the control. The question is... If you want to have all powers in a power pool have the no END advantage how do you do it? Would the cost of the advantage apply to the pool cost or the control cost? We have agreed to abide by your decision. ALSO we did read page 322-325 and read the EXAMPLE on adding a Reduced Endurance advantage but the example does not state the real cost of the advantage applied to the VPP. Thank you.

I just picked up a copy of both Hudson City and the HC PDF. All I can say is WOW, just WOW what an awesome setting this is. In the campaign I'm running right now the players have chosen to create a secret base HQ within the Hudson City area. They have chosen the area of Riverside Hills on the corner of Wilkes and Grant St. to set up a store front called, "It's all about the Pie". "It's all about the Pie" is a small walk in pie shop that specialized in Pie's from around the word. Almost any pie made around the world from strawberry pie to fish pie can be found here. What I want to know is if your players have set up any store front or HQ and what did they call it or where did they place it?

Re: Polar Wyrms Lord that is an excellent resource. Thank you for providing the link.

Re: Seeking a couple of Middle Eastern monsters. I agree we can start with this obvious false statement. Allow me to clarify further. I did not appreciate the attacks on Christianity as a whole by throwing in one sect's crime of adding to a book that predates Christ for the sake of color. Then lumping all of Christendom into the same category as in agreement with this horrendous act by it's perpetrators. My original reference was once again on Job 41 out of Ur. The Passige reads: Job 41 1-11"Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel? Can you lasso him with a rope, or snag him with an anchor? Will he beg you over and over for mercy, or flatter you with flowery speech? Will he apply for a job with you to run errands and serve you the rest of your life? Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish? Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children? Will you put him on display in the market and have shoppers haggle over the price? Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion, or drive harpoons into his huge head? If you so much as lay a hand on him, you won't live to tell the story. What hope would you have with such a creature? Why, one look at him would do you in! If you can't hold your own against his glowering visage, how, then, do you expect to stand up to me? Who could confront me and get by with it? I'm in charge of all this—I run this universe! 12-17 "But I've more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast, his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape. Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin or putting those jaws into bit and bridle? And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth filled with row upon row of fierce teeth? His pride is invincible; nothing can make a dent in that pride. Nothing can get through that proud skin— impervious to weapons and weather, The thickest and toughest of hides, impenetrable! 18-34 "He snorts and the world lights up with fire, he blinks and the dawn breaks. Comets pour out of his mouth, fireworks arc and branch. Smoke erupts from his nostrils like steam from a boiling pot. He blows and fires blaze; flames of fire stream from his mouth. All muscle he is—sheer and seamless muscle. To meet him is to dance with death. Sinewy and lithe, there's not a soft spot in his entire body— As tough inside as out, rock-hard, invulnerable. Even angels run for cover when he surfaces, cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence. Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide, harpoons ricochet wildly. Iron bars are so much straw to him, bronze weapons beneath notice. Arrows don't even make him blink; bullets make no more impression than raindrops. A battle ax is nothing but a splinter of kindling; he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke. His belly is armor-plated, inexorable— unstoppable as a barge. He roils deep ocean the way you'd boil water, he whips the sea like you'd whip an egg into batter. With a luminous trail stretching out behind him, you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard! There's nothing on this earth quite like him, not an ounce of fear in that creature! He surveys all the high and mighty— king of the ocean, king of the deep!" Although this text is very ancient and predates Judaism & Mosses it was written in the land of Ur, south of Babylon near the sea. The Babylonians also seem to have a creature that fits this description a creature of sorts bound within the depth of the sea. Tiamat from Enûma Eliš fits this description. Read the link of Timat on wiki (surprisingly it's fairly accurate although some of the information is in dispute) of sorts. Now I would like to point out that even though neither text says "Dragon" you can read of both and still get the idea of something similar within the depths of the sea south of Babylon. The OP was looking for some suggestions. I offered some info with references to check up upon and next post was an insult to my post. Go figure...

Re: Seeking a couple of Middle Eastern monsters. I'm sorry but the Christians did not add anything to the book of Daniel the Roman Catholic Church did, considering portions that contained within the book found pre date Christ I prescribe to the The Masoretic text rather than to what people made up. What you just said sounds more of common myth perpetuated by the ignorant where documents obviously prove otherwise. I was referring to the book of Job chapter 41. If you read the description you get loosely translated "Dragon-like-creature-who resides-in-sea" like where Tiamat is supposed hide. Many legends including the one about Tiamat have some basis in fact. A creature that has similarities of residing in the ocean feared by man could be a good basis for what the OP was seeking. Keep in mind also that Job was from Ur a real city of the Chaldeans that resided in southern Tigris and Euphrates region. Ur would be a Babylonian area in its south. Don't knock wiki so much as some of the information can be useful to point to other links or get a general idea of what someone might be looking for or what several theories of a particular topic might encompass. Although I do agree you should proceed with caution when looking up information on wiki.

Re: Seeking a couple of Middle Eastern monsters. Djinn are pre Muhammad as well as Babylonian mythos creatures. Biblical Leviathan and Tiamat have similarities as being a dragon of sorts. Pazuzu is an evil fiend of legond. Here is another from Babylonian mythos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pazuzu link about Tiamat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiamat Link about Leviathan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

Re: Cities that need heroes Funny you say this. For Halloween last year some kids at my sons school showed up for super HERO dress up day dressed as suicide bombers. When the teacher asked about it the kids said in the Middle east nations "suicide bombers" are HERO's. Funny how some super villains can be some people super HERO's and shows how screwed up the value of life is over there. You know San Francisco needs HERO's badly, but the City Council Government would just outlaw them.

Re: Possession I'm sorry Chris but please explain how mind control is not the appropriate power here? The subject of a possession is not in control of their actions, the Ghost, Spirit, Entity, or Demon is. The mind controls the body. Mind Control, by its very act, allows you to take over the drivers seat of someones short term or by applying continuous (making it a constant power bought at 0 END cost) handles any long term effects. Mind Control is possession by it's sheer definition of what it does, either you have a lack of understanding of historical possession or read to many bad novels on the subject. In an actual possession the subject is not in control of what they do (read Mind Control Page 203 5th edition Revised), but they do the actions influenced by the entity anyways. Many times a subject cannot remember their actions, or they think their actions are natural when indeed they are not. You seem to have a "Relativism" view of the definitions of powers it seems by applying transform when possession is clearly a form of control (either mind or body) and not a state of being such as blindness or a form of mental illness. If possession was an affliction, such as blindness, then I can concede to your argument for using transform. However since words must have real meanings and should not be subject to relativism thinking I tend to take the words literal to define what is happening to the subject. I don't just make this stuff up, someone else did a long time ago to describe what is actually taking place. Otherwise language looses it's understanding and meaning. If I were to ask you about your dog, but was referring to your your local weather how would you know what I was talking about? So yes I take the word possession literal. Plus since we have historical reference from the Roman Catholic Church, the Church universal at large, and other world religions we can gain an understanding of the cultural and historical reference to understand what possession is. As well as to why the word very word possession was applied to the situation in the first place. Keep in mind also the word exorcism means "To throw out, remove or abjure". Therefore you can also see in the process of how and why I tied EDM to the act of possession as a compound power. You cannot remove something unless it's actually there to begin with. The "theory" is that you must remove the ghost entity or whatever so it cannot gain control over its subject. Therefore the act of an exorcism is actually a form of Suppression (5edr page 227) to drive the entity away, this act of Suppression is not a transformation although a transformation can take place since the subject is no longer mind controlled or doing actions they would not normally commit. As for other forms of special effects such as "projectile vomiting", this can be achieved through forcing the body to perform actions it would not normally take through mind control as well. Ever study hypnosis? You can force the body to do things you would not think it can do. Other effects such as clinging to walls or moving objects can be purchased as powers themselves. The fact that the "entity" can control the body of the subject like a puppet, or a car (extra dimensional movement applied since the special effect is the entity is literally in the body) means the "entity" can manifest it's powers through the subject while still maintaining mind control to perform body actions as a multiple power attack. Use transform if you want but it's mentally lazy to do so in my opinion.