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Re: How to make the Loner feel not so Lonely? This comment made squick so badly, you have no idea Vondy: It's kind of strange, as he doesn't really do ANYTHING if I give him slack. He prefers to follow the group around, but won't do much besides fight. In a combat though, he's really different, as he very uh... vibrantly describes what he's doing and how he's hurting people. I'm not that much of a detail freak with combats, so I just nod and say "uh... sounds painful." Chris Goodwin, Steve: Thanks! I really like the open atmosphere here! Tasha: Thanks for the kind words too! Best, -SC

Re: How to make the Loner feel not so Lonely? Replies group #2 (this is great that I can write that ) DJ Blackrock: Hmm... Man of Mystery, sounds interesting... what's that? CourtFool: Well, he does like to make me work on it, I think, certainly he doesn't make it easy for me to bring him into the adventures, but I'm not getting frustrated (yet, at least, not conciously...) Balabanto: Haha, oh yes, his smell. Red Witch, one of the ladies, is a very snarky character, and loves to tease him about it. I think her best description was: "What do you use for cologne, festering Baboon a$$-wipes?"

Re: How to make the Loner feel not so Lonely? Oh my... goodness! You guys are great! It's like an idea explosion went off while I was away. I'll try and reply to everyone that I can! Tasha: I do like the idea of the rival and the backstory, but I don't think he's made it. I ask him once in a while, but I think I'm starting to get too nagging... I've wanted to make a plot with his background, but I'm just hesitant to take away too much of his creative input... Clonus: Ok, your response has (un?)fortunately opened up a whole story. It's one of my greatest (failed) attempts to get BloodClaw integrated in as a group. First, let me say that I love Kitty Pryde (not like that, you sickos), and I was thinking about using a similar device. So, I had a plot that started with a teenage girl running screaming in the middle of the night towards BloodClaw's bridge pursued by a pair of mysterious bad guys. Mr. Slashy takes them both out without any trouble, and they turn into mysterious piles of goo. (cue ominous music!) The girl turns to him, and tries to explain what's going on, but she's really hysterical. I was HOPING this would open him up, you know, vulnerable young girl, needing reassuring, potential turning point for removing the loner bits... but... BloodClaw then took out a handkerchief from his pocket, knotted it up (he made sure to tell me what kind of knot, which is just only SORT OF creepy), and gags her. He then proceeds to hog-tie her, throw her into a bag (why he has this, I don't know, but I was too shocked except just to nod that this point), throws her over his shoulder and casually walks to the nearest pay phone some distance away. He calls Harry (the party leader), and tells him rather deadpanly: "Got a girl. Chased by weirdos. Might need help." Harry tells him to stay there, and everyone piles into his car to head over there. When they find out what they've done, the two ladies are really upset with him, and Harry has a talk that pretty much boils down to, "Don't hogtie teenage girls. Thanks." They save the day and the girl, who turns out to be a dignitary's daughter. To this day, whenever they stop by their house, the girl runs screaming away from them. Just had to share that. More replies coming! -SC

Re: How to make the Loner feel not so Lonely? Ockham's Spoon: Thanks for your comment! First of all, great name! The thought baloon idea is actually a great idea!, maybe it'll at least get him to start talking. I know he hasn't really fleshed the character's background out, maybe if he gets to talking then it'll give him some incentive... It does also remind of the great session when he was first introduced, and Dream Girl (the PC psychic) decided (just to be on the safe side) to read his mind. In game, I just asked the player to say out loud what the character was thinking. He raised an eyebrow and asked if I was sure... Then went on to a full X-rated description of what he thought of Dreamy and our lady Mage. I think he went on for a full couple of minutes before the Psi PC couldn't take it anymore. We were all in hysterics for a while, as nobody had been so blatant about it before... KA: Thanks! I'll take a look! -SC

Re: How to make the Loner feel not so Lonely? Lemming: Thanks, I will talk with him (though I have done it before as well...) Hugh Neilson: You mean... you can be happy... being anti-social??? (:mind breaks: ) Sorry, it's just a... REALLY? I must say that it may be that, I mean, I know he listens, as he actually fills in things out of character that the others miss. And he seems to LIKE the game, but when I ask what should be improved, he always says he'd like more combat, but that's about it. Sorry for seeming so naive, but I didn't think that was an option... -SC

Hi All, Sorry to post ANOTHER one (I can already feel the "Stop posting N00Bz" replies...), but I wanted to ask some advice on something that I sort of gave up on a while back, and now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't have. (Plus, all of the great responses I've been getting have lead me to beleive that hopefully someone has had something similar?) We have a player (a Wolverine ersatz named BloodClaw) who is a Loner. A very die-hard loner that well... Ok, he lives under a bridge, doesn't wash, eats whatever comes along and hates talking. I've tried bringing him into the fold using NPCs, but all he does is stare at them with uncomfortable intensity until they go away. I've asked him why he does that, and he says that his character has a "Rambo-like troubled past" and that's just how he acts. He's also the lurker when the PCs make their plans, and although he doesn't mind once it gets to the fighting parts of the adventure, the time in-between is a bit... well... lacking. All of the other characters are a lot more social, and I've even tried asking them to bring him in, but with little sucess (I don't know how much they tried but...). I've yet to deal with a real loner character, and the player I can tell would like to do more, but he's not really bending on the character concept. Is there someway I can give him a more comfortable platform to start interacting with the world? Thanks, -SC

Re: My PCs are made of GLASS! An interesting idea. Haven't tried zombies with them yet. It would give BloodClaw many things to slash! Thanks, -SC

Hi All, I just realized that I may have something a bit different in my game that I'm not sure if anyone's been playing around with before. Our game has quite a few metahumans, and one thing that you can buy is an "independant metahuman liscence," which basically allows them to operate as super-heroes within a very limited margin (sort of like being PI's, but with super-powers). However, they have a lot of red tape and you have to jump through a lot of hoops, the least of which is having to go through quarterly evaluations, psych meetings, and keeping fastidious records. And, of course, if you do anything in the process of arresting a criminal that is deemed "excessive" you have to PAY for it. Our group has been wallowing in poverty in and out so many times, but it does make it a bit fun, as it's always tempting for them to go out and become "official" federal type super-heroes, but it requires them to fully disclose their powers (they have magic and psi powers in a world that doesn't believe in either). I was wondering if anyone's done something similiar, as I do like that the PCs will get themselves into sometimes questionable situations trying to pay the bills... Best, -SC

Re: Superpowers and the Law Oh, one thing that I forgot to mention (and it has been a driving force of some games) is that you can "purchase" an independant metahuman licence from the government, but it is pricey and you have to do a lot of really painfully buerocratic things (i.e. quarterly evals, govt people coming by to hassle, etc). Our group has one, and it's actually so expensive, it forces them to do side jobs (mostly PI sort of things) to be able to pay the bills. -SC

Re: Npc overload!! Doug McCrae: Well, it's a little more complicated than that... The 25% is actually... ok it's one player (my group is rather small and we have had 4 players for quite some time). But he's friends with the party leader, and I get the feeling that if he leaves, then we might lose both of them (signal destruction of campagin...). I might just be overreacting (I do that sometimes; Chronic Worrier Syndrome), but I'd like everyone to be happy... Thanks, -SC

Re: My PCs are made of GLASS! Wow, thanks for all the great power suggestions everyone! And for the advise on dealing with Mr. Slashy... I was hoping to do an individual response to everybody, please don't take offensive if I don't mention your name, I read every one! (and they're appreciated ) Hugh Neilson: I actually never did think about it that way, I guess she does have a nasty attack. It's just that it has the Extra END cost on it, so it's her "emergency" weapon. I think she can use it only 2-3 times before it makes her black out. Cygnia: Haha, that would be great. BloodClaw already knows the perils of Psi (I keep having to dissuade him to take a big block of Mental Defense), and in a way I think he already might be a little afraid of her. I gave it some more thought and perhaps one thing I should maybe be more clear on is that I don't know how to tempo a fight correctly for the team. Our core "3" are fairly fragile I'll spell them out so you can see: 1. HellRaiser (but nobody calls him that, he goes by "Harry") A modern combat mage with detective skills, contacts and a magic staff that lets him blow things up (8-9d attacks with various adv such as Area Affect, Autofire, and his favorite: Explosive). He has a magic force field that protects him from some attacks, but it's not that tough (I think its 12-15 PD/ED). He mostly acts as the sniper/room-cleaner and de-facto party leader. 2. Red Witch She's the defensive mage with more traditional spells (binding, detection, enhancements). She's more about adjusting the party with protection and healing and blasting ocasionally. She's also the Lore Warehouse, having most of the KS's in the book. She has a pretty strong magic force field (comparable to Harry), but she also has a strong force wall that she usually layers on. 3. Dream Girl She's the fragile Psi I've been talking about. She's so fragile that it's a joke as to how she'll be incapacitated next. She mostly acts as party coordinator. Our campaign "theme" as it is has changed over time, but now it's mostly about a hidden magic/psi hidden world within the standard 4-color universe, so the characters have to keep a fairly low profile as to their actual abilities. We've had 4-color heroes as part of the group, but they tend to rotate out more often than not. As much flak as we give BloodClaw, "Mr. Slashy" has been reliable in coming, and although a little abrasive (I think it's just that he doesn't have contacts/backstory as strong as the senior characters), he does play well with the party and is a friend of the Harry player. I hate to lose players in general, but I'm not really sure how to pace a fight, as the "3" usually plan fights out so they'll be as short as possible without anyone getting hurt (or hopefully noticing), but BloodClaw (from what I can tell), likes long, drawn out fights with a high amount of "high octane" smashing and whatnot. Any idea as to how I can balance them out? Thanks, -SC

Re: My PCs are made of GLASS! Also: What should I do about Bloodclaw ("Mr. Slashy" as we nicknamed him)? He's the main source of in the group at the moment, but I'm not sure how to challenge him. If I throw out a PSI, it'll cripple him, no doubt, but I don't know how to make a good mix of challenge/slash-fest that he'll like... Thanks, -SC

Re: My PCs are made of GLASS! ghost-angel: Thanks! I really do try and keep people balanced... (try mind you...) The Psi char is actually our pseudo-tactician, as she has powers that lets her detect all minds, thus "marking" all of the targets. She can also AA Telepathy at a low level, which lets her "hear" what the bad guys are actively thinking. That, tied with her ability to Mental Link everyone together, makes her pretty good at keeping everyone working like a well oiled machine and backing everyone up. She can also "ride along" people senses, so she can see what someone else is seeing/hearing as well. So, in combat, she usually finds cover and then starts coordinating people. If they're going in someplace, she usually does her powers first. I personally like her playing style, as she makes the teamwork of the whole party synch quite well. I think I might be able to get her to get the "Mental Blind Spot" power, but I've been a little worried about allowing too much invisibility into the game... I think it should be ok though... Thanks! -SC

Re: Female/Male Super-Forms Matt the Bruins: Hmm, I've never heard of Freak Force, but I wasn't a big Image Comics fan. I think Gen13 and the general lack of well... writing actually put me off. BNakagawa: That's all I have to say. I might use this in game, hope you don't mind. Thanks again, -SC

Re: Npc overload!! bigbywolfe: Actually by "out of action" I did mean dead. I started a new thread about the umm... fighty discrepancy if you would like to look at their stats. Tasha: I love those Fantastic Four books! I'm glad someone else does too! I'm a big fan of Namor-Sue relationships (I mean, come on Sue, what else does the boy need to have? He's a prince, handsome/hot, FLIES, and has morals built on ferro-crete!) Perhaps I've been overdoing it using handguns and the like in the normal "street fights" that the PCs occasionally run into. It feels better than having them use baseball bats all the time Thanks, -SC

Re: My PCs are made of GLASS! Thank you all for your replies! Sinaju: Sadly enough, I don't have copies of their character sheets (I really should I suppose). Old, bad GM habit I suppose (I did say that I'm not so good at this combat thing right? ) People have them written down on paper, some of which I must admit are getting pretty thrashed, but in a way, I suppose it makes them feel well loved. I know what level they have in terms of powers and combat abilities for the older characters, but for the new guys (the Wolvie char being one of them, I must admit I'm not 100% sure). Hyper-Man & Tasha: The invisibility idea might work well for my Psi player! Thanks. I don't think she has enough points to really justify getting enough DCV. ghost-angel: Hope you don't mind I saved your post for last, as I can go though the full onslaught of what I know: Although I did post the strongest and weakest characters, I did note that they are both "well outside the curve" of the game. The majority of the players have OCV/DCV 8 or so with a few combat levels. PD/ED's tend to be in the late 10's to early 20's (sounds like a club I know). Some have resistant defenses of some kind. They can put out around 9-10 dice of damage, more if they combine attacks. One of the characters has Aid STR which does help. The Wolvie character (Bloodclaw) has OCV/DCV 10 with 3-4 combat levels. I know he regularly puts out something like 12 dice of damage fairly easily and has powers that can do multiple hits to people at range (Autofire power and an Area Affect attack power respectively). He really likes hitting people. As for defenses, he has only PD/ED in the 20's, but he has a LOT of STUN and an atrocious CON (something in the 30's), so he really doesn't fall down. He has a regeneration factor too, and is immune to toxins. I don't think he has a mind-shield yet. He's one of the newer PC's, so I gave him a bit more freedom when making his character, as he is a bit behind in points (starting 250+100, most people are around 275-300+100 now). The Fragile Psi character is well... She's rather infamous for her stats in a way OCV/DCV 5 No Combat Levels PD/ED I think 3-4 STR 8 (yes, she bought it down) CON 12 Most of her psi powers cost No END, which is good, as she doesn't have a lot of it. She DOES have a lot of skills (We joke that she picks up so many skills from raiding people's brains; She always uses EXP at the end of the game to pick up new skills rather than improve old ones), and I think she has the Jack of All Trades Perk. She has an EGO blast that causes 6d6 damage (or there abouts). It's her only attack. However, she does have a good PRE, EGO (of course), INT that keeps her well as the "de-facto" party second in command. She DOES NOT like fighting. Here's more information, please help! Thanks, -SC As a side note, the incoming gender-bender Brick (from the Female/Male thread) is actually going to perhaps help things (maybe protect the Psi a bit?). Her/his STR is 55 with a very high CON and high resistant PD/ED (I think total 28/25) with a LOT of STUN and END. OCV/DCV 6-7 with no combat levels. ... Actually now that I look at that, I hope it won't complicate matters more :worry:

Hi All, I was working on a few fight scenes, as I'm trying to turn away from "talky" to "fighty," and I realize that I have a MASSIVE combat discrepancy. On one end, I have a PC who is basically Wolverine (I think he has Laser Claws or something) who can take ludicrous amounts of damage and maul everything that gets within leaping range. And on the other side is my good friend and psychic who has subtle (adders for not being noticed) psychic powers, mostly telepathy. I think she has ONE offensive ability. And no defenses. I think she may have a leather jacket that she doesn't wear. I'm just not sure how to balance it so that it's challenging for the Scrapper and yet will keep the psychic from being torn to shreds. Repeatedly. I've tried asking the Psi PC if she'd be interested in investing in defenses, but she's of the opinion that her character wouldn't like that (she's kind of a pacifist who dislikes fighting/ nasty emotions in general). And umm... she has a REALLY low strength. I'm amazed she doesn't get winded wearing her tank-tops. Combats aren't my forte, so I'd appreciate any help! Thanks, -SC

Re: Npc overload!! Thanks for the idea about the blog. It might be a way to get people to slowly move away from "too much talky." Sigh, now if only I could do "fighty" well... I like my combat scenes to be short, and kind of over with very fast. I actually do worry about the players a bit, as there are a few "made of glass" PCs who could be taken out of action by a normal bullet... -SC

Re: Paths Not Taken Clonus: Thanks! For some reason, that part of the movie was only lightly touched on. I was constantly hoping that Spider-Man would somehow get her out of that house. Turns out she had to do it herself :shrug: That's some Super-Heroes I suppose... -SC

Re: Who's your Nemesis? And... WHY? Thank you all! Please keep them coming if you can. I'm always interested to see people's motivations for their nemesis characters. I've found also that just making an "opposite" character isn't enough, there has to be some sort of chord that just strikes with them. Another example: Character: Sentinel; Fast-talking gun girl (magic guns, so it's ok ) Rival: Hotshot Why?: He's snarkier than she is, and possibly a better shot. Also, he's constantly mocking her and trying to ruin her game. However, if ANYONE else tries to mess with her, he'll take them out of the picture, usually with his trademarked incendiary sniper round. A strange love/hate relationship that for some reason clicks. -SC

Re: Superpowers and the Law I actually had to go to great lengths on this one. The mayor of the city is an ex-super hero who has developed his own method of distinguishing the heroes using a number of very hi-tech gadgetry. Using his own political power, he's been able to incorporate that into the local laws of the city, so the heroes can use his tech to ID themselves for law purposes. It's not 100% real, but I feel better than making them unmask themselves or such. Granted, there are a few who don't even want this much, and work outside the law, but it's hard to make a "real arrest." Another reason why it's not a horrible idea to have a public identity anyway... -SC

Re: Supervillains and Philosophy I personally really liked Ozymadeus from Watchmen. And Magneto from X-Men. -SC

Re: Female/Male Super-Forms Thank you all for the comments! As for the "grand experiment," it went well (I think)! I even got a dinner out of it (must be nice to have someone to cook for you all the time...) I'll try to get more into it, but really, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had a "test associate PC" there and we checked notes afterwards to make sure it was up to standards. In short, the Character is a really shy guy who gets generally ignored/picked on, and then finds the magic locket (amulet? I don't exactly remember), and transforms him into the Maiden. (Costume in the same trunk). However, his mind/chemistry is fully intact. (Yes, we were making "woman suit" jokes in the necessary voices on the way back) It was fun watching him freak out, and then running into my test PC, who is a psychic. Granted it was sort of unfair, in terms of keeping the "big secret," but I thought it was necessary. The fun part was that everyone knew who she was supposed to be, and no matter what the poor guy tried, the media had its own answers. (I haven't decided if cryogenics/stuck in space/time travel or immortality is going to be their reason why she looks the same) Towards the end, the guy is so miserable (he can't even look down, which he mimed perfectly), that he's about to just give up the heroics until he literally accidentally saves the psychic PC from a roving super-villain. (I think he/she just landed on him going really fast) I do like the fact that he's in almost constant terror of what the device is going to do next, and is totally freaked out about girls in general. Now that he can become one, he's even more freaked out, but our psychic PC laid some uh... "mental help" to ease him, at which he changed back. So, involuntary change due to stress (which high school never has, oh no) to Super-Form it looks like. It's very cute in a way Oh I did not write that... oh well... So in short, I'm going to let him/her have a shot and see what develops. We've already nominated the Maiden as official Media Distraction Device. Thanks again! -SC

Re: Female/Male Super-Forms Vondy: That was... just... wow. You've now become my ideal for internet communicae. A few bit points from me: Now that I think about it, I suppose most people like attractive characters. ( I know my char's COM is 14 ) As for communications, I'll talk them up and see what happens. But before that happens, I've decided to tread the waters and see what happens. I'm going to do a "test run" with the new character in a solo run and see how he/she reacts. Wish me luck! Best, -SC

Re: Npc overload!! Wow, thanks for everyone's advice! I'm amazed at to what happens at this forum! Vondy: 1:1 ratio might be a little harsh, I think I can slowly move them down, with perhaps 1:1 as a goal... My main problem is that the pedantic/talky types are about 75% of us, and if you let us, we'll talk all the game, but the others will be left out. I've actually had players say, "Can we get to the hitting things part of the game soon?" I suppose it's one of the reasons why my game has had a fairly frequent turnover... and the reason I started this thread. I just wonder how to integrate this in without scaring the others... BoloOfEarth: Sounds like a great campaign! Fighty NPCs? Hmm.. well, I suppose anything is worth a shot. Most of my NPCs have been a bit passive, if only that the PCs tend to be easily overshadowed. I have to FORCE most of them to do anything public (Most of us were LARPers at one time or another and "fighting from the shadows" is an unfortunate reflex. Even umm... if we're supposed to be wearing bright spandexy outfits...) Azato: Actually, this is the bit that I was trying to say, thanks! I want every player to feel special during the game, and right now, I've got about a 75% happy rate. 25% meh/displeased is making me It's just hard when a player's main character output is hitting things... Thanks again all! -SC