Publius

Re: Subway Cars Wouldn't know. I have several HERO projects which he has done some work for, but I don't know if I have seen anything like this. Didn;t really think about it too hard either. Not that it is altogether difficult plan to do mind you, as it is basically a box with seats. I used a common New York subway car as my basis for verisimilitude. I guess I just put it up because I thought it might be helpful to have something like this for GMs: a simple, easy to use map for a quickie-hostage adventure or that sort of thing. I used it in my Shadowrun Adventure last week as an elevated train in 2064 Detroit (a properly funded People Mover in essence, which right now is a kind of mini-me version of an El-train :cough: pork:cough: that doesn't really do much for general mass transit).

Re: Comments on sexism and racism at the outset of Pulp Hero While I understand your feelings, keep in mind that not all pulps are entirely historical (especially mixed genre). Sure a lot of them were, but not all even at the time, and in a gaming environment they don't have to be. For instance, much of the Steampunk I have done in the past (which is similar to, but not the same as, a Pulp setting) has taken place in "worlds that might have been" type settings, where key events of the past are altered or entire cultures inverted. Not all pulp has to be bound by the history of our mundane world, if we can invent worlds where guys shoot lightning bolts from their behinds we can craft a world that is better than ours in some respects, worse in others or somewhere in between. As long as it is not passed off as "historical" I see little problem. Space-pulp is a broad example, but it isn;t always in space. I have a copy of a Sam Jacks pulp for instance which is set in a "might-be" future, which is so amazingly 40s that without the robots you'd hardly know the difference. There is a hint of sexism, but it doesn't have to be throughout the culture; it might just be that the main character has a ...problem with women like Doc Savage :meaningful look: Amazon Anne (http://home.comcast.net/~clayburnham/amazonanne.htm) is another example of a 'might-be' universe.

Re: Superhero Magazine: Tolle, lege! You are most welcome, I have to say that I truly enjoy most of their stories even if they do get a bit angsty. Not "angsty" in that White Wolf fashion again, like Peter Parker it-sucks-to-be-Spidey-sometimes. Some stories are better than others, as with all things, but on the whole I am very impressed. They take Superheroic fiction up a notch. Good luck on submissions, I sent in one (shot down, at least not immediately) but I may try more. One good idea is to look at some of the stuff they have published. It used to be much easier because the magazine was online and had some of the stuff up for perusal, now it is a little harder to get (especially since the Archives where you could buy reasonably priced older stories on pdf is apparently down for a bit).

Re: WWYCD: The Spray's The Thing...(some mature themes) Jack Malleus: Would collect all of the material he could lay his hands on and stockpile it ("You know, to study later") and then get a rebreather of some sort, assuming that he wanted to disentangle himself from the action very badly. Harv (his Incorporeal-Duplicate-"sidekick") would attempt to save Jack from himself despite the tongue lashing he would no doubt later get. "Warning: We take no responsibility for you girlfriend's mom, her mom's friend, her friend's mom and any other combination of Mom, girlfriend and or friend we haven't mentioned..."

Re: Superhero Magazine: Tolle, lege! Wow, I guess I'm really surprised that a new Superhero themed magazine engenders... absolutely no response whatsoever. I'd have thought someone would be maybe a teensy bit interested. Never mind.

Re: Pulp Locations/Vehicles/Nifty Stuff! The Control Gondola is underslung in the r100. I'm not entirely certain as to exactly where it is though. From the exteriors, it seems to be right beneath the living areas marked out here. The plans I had available however don't show it. Now possibly the middle section there in the crew quarters deck, which is the lowest (and thus closest to the Gondola), and which is unmarked in the original plans, might lead to the gondola below. The other side features steps to the deck above, it would make sense to have steps to the Gondola below, but I am not certain (or at least, not certain enough to mark it yet. That is one of the reasons I left it blank. Other than that, the Gondola access is somewhere down the long corridors at either end of the crew deck, both of those run the length of the ship as I understand.

Re: Subway Cars Just in case you aren't cruising by those boards, I have posted my Zepplin living area plans in the Pulp area. Who knows what will strike my fancy next? (I actually have a train half done that I have wandered away from)

IHero has recently come out with a hardcopy magazine, which is not a bad read at all. Some of their characters are a bit heavy on the angst, but it is all part of their "keeping it real" (in the non-Chapelle Peter Parkerish sort of way) motto. Overall, I enjoy the stories very much even if they are a bit angsty sometimes, because it really does try to feature superhero tales as real literature rather than a caricature. http://ihero.net/ If you go to the Advertising Info area, you can download a pdf snippet (the 25-page preview) taken from the printed version. My hardcopy arrived yesterday and was consumed upon arrival (by me, not the dog). Just an FYI, I wasn't sure where to post this but I figured that it relates more to "Supers" than it does to NGD. If this is in the wrong spot, my apologies.

Re: Pulp Locations/Vehicles/Nifty Stuff! Thanks, funny that I was discussing that with my parents this afternoon. If we would know at 17 what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives... ah well. Besides, I dig teaching at the University level. Co-eds. flexible hours. Co-eds. Practical autonomy. Did I mention the Co-eds?

Re: Pulp Locations/Vehicles/Nifty Stuff! That I would like very much.

Re: Pulp Locations/Vehicles/Nifty Stuff! Thank you, thank you. Here is a quick and dirty modification I made for a R100 to be used as a mobile base. One thing not on the map is a storage area on either side of the Crew quarters area, probably accessed from the Provisions/Food locker areas. It would probably be used for things like arctic clothing and other "durable" (i.e. non-perishable, non-fragile) gear (In the original R100s I think it was used for passenger storage, although they may have had another area for that altogether). I just haven't gotten around to making the markings for those hatches on this map. Another thing I would have done had I had more time would be to get rid of one set of facilities. Assuming that this truly is a modified R100 (i.e. your hero buys one and makes alterations to suit), they might have left it as is and maybe stacked gear in the showers and stalls or something (just to mess with the lady adventurer that joins the expedition at the last moment). Anyway, here it is:

Re: Pulp Locations/Vehicles/Nifty Stuff! Funny that you should mention that, I found the site yesterday and decided to clean up the deckplans and I just now got done (about five minutes before making this post) and was about to post. I used the R100 and made a few minor modifications (the bathroom facilities on the main deck being the most obvious, there are still way too few for that number of people though). The pdfs of this will be (probably in a much more modified form) in my eventual book of maps, a gif of them though, would be interesting to see. There are still a few crunchy bits I have to clean up, but then there always are... Note, because this one is an illustrator file, I can modify the existing passenger plans and create a kind of lair if need be. The semester begins tomorrow so time is kind of tight here.

Re: Some Cheap Gadgets One of the things you could build into your vision is a heightened ability to detect camoflagued and even invisible stuff (unless you alreayd have that). Also microvision (zooming in on the wireframe image essentially) and related. Could be a way to go. Is there a need/desire for someone to specialize in vehicles? "Move over, let the blind guy drive." (about to make a dangerous manuver) "I'm really glad I can't see this, otherwise I might be worried." He is "Doctor" Phenomenal so I presume that you have purchase all sorts of SS and the like, but is he also the Detective type? Is there a need for such, and if so think about some of the Detective-related superskills over and above the standard skills like "Deduction". Contacts. Always nice to have someone who can point the group in the right direction. Of course, this sort of depends on the style of GM you have, some of them (like me) utilize contacts and some ignore them. Your game, your call. Also, I had a player of a low-powered brick really tweak himself out, his strength never got over something like 30, but he had all kinds of superstrength tricks, damage reduction to simulate his toughness, that sort of thing. If he is a utility fighter with all the standard stuff but none of the fixings, you might want to think about giving him a few strength tricks. Edit: OK, I just read that you had 4 XP to work with, that changes a few things, like some of the stuff I just mentioned might not be attainable just yet. Gadgets would be good, especially if you have been tweeaking them out. You also might want to start with stuff that is more bulky/fragile/prone to failure to indicate how they are still in the late stages of experiments. As for what gadgets, how does he get around? a set of rocketboots, powerskates or a retractable glider might come in handy (unless he has some sort of superleap and would thus be redundant). As a Quantum Phys... Physi... Doctor maybe something that has a super-tech edge to it would be more appropriate, like a short range teleport device...

Re: Shaping up a VPP- help with Limited effect: magic To be honest, I have struggled with this one as well. A VPP should be for a limited SFX from the get go, kind of a built in limiting factor so when it is defined as Mystic Power Reserve or whatever it is by definition magical. I have considered how to do a Potter-esque system of magic before and this is what I came up with: "-1/4 only known spells". This way the player uses points to buy their capacity for magical power, and role-playing wise have to search out and learn spells to allow them to utilize that power in a directed fashion. Then use skill rolls and what have you to specify how well the spell comes off (maybe requiring a different skill for different types of magic like "Spell Skill: Transformation" and "Spell Skill: Illusions"). Of course, you can simply state from the outset that they can only use known spells as well and just make it another part of the natural limiting factor inherent to the VPP. If there are no other types of VPPs (no power rings or whatnot) then this would be fine too. It really depend son how you would like to set it up and whether or not there are other VPPs in your setting.

Re: Harrington Center: A multi-purpose public building L is ladder, I haven't been able to figure out "F" yet. Oh, and I have a pdf of the Center which allows you to turn on and off the various sections of the map, the only problem is that it is a tad on the large side (1.8 meg or so, 1.4 when I zip it). I have here some of the gif versions... (of course with the pdf you can turn this stuff on and off layer by layer, as well as overlay the hex grid on everything). Still more or less a work in progress...

Re: Subway Cars

Re: [review] Solar Smith and the Sky-Pirates of Arcturus

Re: [review] Solar Smith and the Sky-Pirates of Arcturus Wasn't the whole point to be frill-less? I thought all of that stuff coming out in a similar vein, most of which is adventure material, was supposed to be quick and dirty, the kind of little gemstones that one finds and puts into your pocket without someone having to go through all of the bother of shining it up first. If they did feel the need to pretty it up more, it might never have come out. I for one think the idea is brilliant. I bought it, I have yet to print it out yet (old guys like me cannot stand reading onscreen) but on initial perusal it looked like a great read if nothing else. A solid $5 purchase.

Re: Subway Cars The subway car I used here is basically a Kawasaki R143 (New York subway car) with a few modifications for clarity and such. The Engine Car is an "A Car" and the Passenger Car is a "B-Car". As with all of my drawings of this type btw, the blue indicates furniture and other "ground fixtures", I try to reserve black for solid floor to ceiling type objects, the car itself and the poles for example ('floor to ceiling' is also mighty subjective on a subway car). Green indicates a elevation change (none on this drawing, but we are talking "in general" here). Yes, a bus would be a good idea. They are used in hostage situations and that sort of thing, so they are something that the intrepid character might run into.

Not that the attached is remarkable in any way for its complexity, but a good gritty street type adventure will sometimes require folks getting into, out of, on top of and through subway cars. To wit:

Re: Harrington Center: A multi-purpose public building Thank you. I can do nice layouts like this, I just details about the interior of buildings. The work that you and El Tripon did to provide that authentic detail is marvelous, preciely what I need to do good work. I did a Nova-class deckplan for Trek, but it is almost 95% guesswork, and uninformed guesswork at that. That was actually one of the reasons I decided to redo this with Illustrator. I have a grid pattern, I could also do it grid-less and change stuff like backgrounds etc. Rub it in man I have a neat pattern for catwalks and such that I want to try out here. I may have to mess with it a bit, but I have used it before and the overall effect is very nice.

Re: Harrington Center: A multi-purpose public building I redrew the map that Treb was kind enough to provide. Here is a preliminary gif file, as there are still a few points I'm going to need to iron out.

Re: Harrington Center: A multi-purpose public building Great work, I'd love to see more of the building.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? The 4-disc limited edition soundtrack "CD Box". I'm on disc 2 and it is pretty good. I asked on another thread which would be the CD someone would suggest I get next but I think the thread got buried on page 3 before anyone noticed it.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? My brand-new just arrived Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack.