Publius

Re: Dyson Sphere (shell) - Dysonica Anyone? I have the same problem with these as I do with Ringworld. Too darned big. Way way too darned big in this case, since it makes the Ring look small by comparison.

Re: Planet Building Help Needed Yeah, what Cancer said. Actually, the Albedo thing I might comment on. The Albedo of the Moon is .12, so reflected light is going to be a little higher than what we get from the Moon here. Earth’s albedo is 0.37; Mars is 0.15; Jupiter, 0.52; Saturn, 0.47; Uranus, 0.51; Neptune 0.41. Pluto’s albedo varies from 0.5 to 0.7. None of these numbers however are carved in stone, earths for example fluctates by cloud cover. The Gas Giant in your story then is going to have an Albedo in the .5 range, waaaay higher than the Moon. Plus, the surface area has to be considered, it is a lot larger than the moon (unless it is quite distant, that will depend on the numbers you are using) and therefore the light which it reflects will be consequently greater.

Re: Planet Building Help Needed I have an excellent planet building book, but it is presently at home and I am not. As far as the world around gas giant concept, that is fine. It might not be fine in a few years, but since we have lots of theories and not a lot of facts about planetary formation, it is within the boundaries of acceptablility. Gas giants have been detected in the life zones of distant stars. Like a star, it is basically a ball of gas. Did they form there are did they form in the outer zone and move inward? Was the gas giant a smaler mass that broke away from the larger mass during the formation of the accretion disk and was caught in the gravitation of the stellar mass, which sucked off enough mass that the gas giant never ignited? Who knows. Rival theories do exist though, and others are of course possible which could allow for the planetary arrangement that you describe. As far as temperatures, remember that the gas giant is both bouncing light onto the planet and heats the planet itself (thus the planet is warmed not only by the Sun (direct from the source, indirect from the Gas Giant) but also by the Gas Giant.

Re: The Mushashi Flex The Man who Never Missed and Matadora were cool. I think that he has had some other stuff in the same universe, I seem to recall one involving a prison break and another involving a search for ancient technology on some other prison planet. I have never used the Matador universe as-is, but I have used some of the elements of it like the stetspod.

Re: Superpowered Worlds

Re: Superpowered Worlds Interesting thread. Speaking from an evolutionary angle (purely as an armchair sort of guy, my knowledge of the subject is strictly pedestrian) this raises some interesting issues: the Neanderthals were much stronger than we are today, so why didn't they advance? While some folks point at intellect (such as the inability to manipulate symbols) causing them to be left behind in the dust, there is a darker possibility that the thread suggests: they were too well adapted. Or more precisely, they didn't have to develop the same level of technology as the homo sapiens sapiens, and thus got left behind. Human evolution could in part be caused by the fact that certain desirable traits have been emphasized by need. One of these traits is intellect, tool-using intellect to be precise. Because we were better equipped to deal with the environment (in part due to tool use spawned by the relative lack of musculature) we outlasted them on the evolutionary scale (although looking at some of my Freshmen I have come to realize that throwbacks may indeed be among us). Would these 1-ton lifters have developed technology? They would have been able to survive in relatively primative conditions much better than puny humans. Even if the animals and plants were denser et al. the 1-ton lifters would have had an easier time of it in the evolutionary sense and thus might not have become tool-users. But as stated before, I may be totally off base here. This is not my subject. Interestingly enough, it does set the stage for the oft-used cliche of the big strong alien culture that is somehow always primitive compared to everyone else around them.

Re: Something for your lost world... ....Gut reaction says "ew"...

Re: Does this make ANY sense? Ditto. If you feel that way, pump your INT. Unbalancing is how I would label that. Better yet, get yourself an 8 point General Skill Level and be able to bump any skill, only a few points more. Heck, buy it with a limitation that it can only be used when the individual has a clear head (i.e. non-combat situations, not too tired, not in imminent threat) and it will come in at around that many points anyway.

Re: Supermax Prisons in Europe But Alex, they have those cool cats with no tails. There's something afoot amongst the Manx Cats dude.

Re: Lost World Map Very cool, players like the tactile stuff. Of course, I have also played with groups that you create stuff like this for and they say "meh"

I posted the rough draft on the other Mongo thread (since deleted to save on bandwidth). Here is the updated version of the map, I made a few changes/additions but it is basically a more clear version of the original. I have a larger map for those who would like.

Re: Map of Mongo! Thank you, took me the better part of the day to draw it up. I was trying to be as accurate as possible with the countours and added a little detail here and there like some hills and changing the "worlds" to "lands" in a few spots. I just noticed that the version I posted lacks the rocket sled track and one of the other sites, so I ust have posted the rough draft ratrher than the final version. I'll grab the right one when I get home tonight and repost. Oh, and I'm not on strike either, which is good in a way but I had been looking forward to getting some time off.

Re: Map of Mongo! I'm trying to avoid real work today while I wait and see if I'll be out on strike...

Re: Champions universe created by magic? Not at all. The "magic" manifests in different ways. It could have been a pseudo-scientific device that drained the magic away too, because they are powered from the same source. As I defined both sorcery and the pseudo-scientific powers as having the same basis, it could have been either. The character who performed the action simply used Sorcerous skills/knowledge/power. Again, I see no problem with that at all and use it, you do and thus do not use it. No worries.

Re: Champions universe created by magic? Entirely incorrect as I see it. This is just one of those agree to disagree things, but it is starting to sound like the term is being used personally.

Re: Champions universe created by magic? I'm not going to worry about it until 2020, If I am here by them, I'll be happy about that. And I don;t see it as a "complete" deviation, simply ignoring one thing in the metasetting that would only really matter unless you were running a crossover CU/GC campaign. Regarding the "naught" comment, I don't see it that way at all. The Heroes performed a function during the era in which their powers worked, they saved lives, fought against evil and accomplished goals. When their powers started to wind down, many of them labored on in the remaining years doing what they could with what was left. That is the essence of heroes to me. I think I get where you are coming from, I just don't see it as that "bad".

Re: Champions universe created by magic? But the more subjective term "magic" is different than the decided less subjective term "cheese", thus the example isn't representative of the CU. Try this: The Moon is made up of atoms. The cheese is made up of atoms. The basic building blocks are arranged in different ways. The form of magic known as Sorcery manifests through mystic formulae, difficult hand gestures and the force of will. But the motive force behind sorcery, what makes it work in essence, is "magic". Without "magic", your sorcery is merely muttered words and useless hand gestures. Super-technology functions because of the same force, manifested through a different process. It works because the "magic" backs it up, allowing the circuit board that shouldn't work according to mundane physics function perfectly. The basic building block ("magic") is simply arranged in a different way.

Re: Champions universe created by magic? People who have been around for sometime already know all this, so it is directed at the newer players, per Jeff T's comment about those trying to comprehend this concept. For people that don't like the fact that magic is the basis for superpowers just ignore it. The CU actually works fine without it. Superpowers and fantastic tech appear in the 1930s and no one knows why. Plus, the characters don't know that this is the source of superpowers, so why should the players. After all, we don't know the meaning of life in the here and now do we? Frankly, I think people are getting hung up over the word "magic". There is a difference between the mysterious cosmic pan-dimensional force which manifestations as sorcery (Dr. Strange at al) and the manifestations of this mysterious cosmic pan-dimensional force which manifests through pseudo-science technology. End of story. The shorthand is "magic" but the mysterious pan-dimensional force goes much deeper. Ditto the first comment there for the end of the supers timeline btw. No need really to retcon it unless you are playing a Champions/Galatic Champions crossover. It just doesn't happen in your version.

Re: Door opened in an airplane in flight. What next? Little Known Fact: Jack Bauer doesn't suffer from decompression, decompression suffers from him.

Re: Champions universe created by magic? In response to Chimpiras question, I would say that the use of magic as the defining characteristic in the Champions Universe is completely functional. Having said that, it isn't bad at all. Ultimately, I think it works better because it is functional, not worse. History doesn't need to be retconned How different would history have been with functioning superpowers. Did the Partisan aid Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo? With so many seminal events in history, having the potential for superpowers at any time period would mean a serious amount of re-figuring, or if the events had the same outcome (the mystic warriors of the Saxons were evenly matched by the mystic warriors of the Normans, thus cancelling one another out) there would be a far more serious amount of handwaiving involved. And if the existence of superpowers were merely factored into some of the more extreme/bizarre parts of history (the Battle of Thermopylae) I think it would take away from the very real human sacrifice and ingenuity involved (sort of like WW making every frickin historical figure a Vampire, which I understand is an exaggeration). It helps explain how powers appear and disappear. It also allows for the dramatic introduction/subsidence of powers, the Galactic Champions book is important here because it describes both the exit of the superpower era and the entrance of the Galatic Champions era. This provides certain seminal events in your (manufactured) history which act as departure points. It is as good as anything else What else are you going to float? I did a CHampions game in a setting of my own which used a "cosmic source" which found itself as magic in the hands of some and super technology in the hands of others. Ultimately, it looked like.... magic. I was always the guy that created new game worlds for existing systems. I have used two or three different metasettings of my own design for champions. But the more I look at the Champions Universe, the more I like it.

Re: Encyclopaedia Turakiana Omission Maybe he asked to be unlisted. What nefarious scheme is he up to?

Re: C25 Island of Dr. Destroyer: Official? I like the idea of a Dr. D book too. Maybe as a chapter in a Megavillains book (although there is a section for that in CKC, this would be more about Megavillain plots, minions and bases).

Re: Super Human Registration Act in 5th ed First, Re-read Page 5 Champion's Universe where is says something to the effect of 'if you don't like the relation between supers and government just tone that aspect down or throw it out.' All the vitriol in the thread overall seems excessive for something the text points out is optional and even if taken 'as is' is remarked on as being "toothless". Some folks, like myself, who would want to make this an aspect of the game ignore the "toothless" part and beef it up rather than strip it away. Heck, all you have to do to remove it is start one of your sessions off with a bunch of superhumans at a party celebrating "the end of that stupid law" and voila! it is done. No More ASPRA in your CU games. Second, take a look at the last post I did on the subject, clearly marking how it is different from the Marvel version in both tone and function. The Marvel version is race-based (subspecies based?) the CU version is more like the USA PATRIOT Act than anything: specific incident creates (fearful) response. Dumb laws get passed all the time because politics is run by popularity contests rather than people in our society taking responsibility as citizens. Look at Copyright extensions deigned specifically to keep Mickey Mouse "safe" for Disney, Prohibition, the Eugenics Laws of the late 19th and early 20th century, Laws in seven states which outlaw heterosexual couples from co-habitating without benefit of marriage (ironically homosexual couples are protected by Lawrence v. Texas). That list is far far longer than the legs and arms of a basketball team. BTW, are we still talking about Registration in the CU Universe in this thread? Most of these posts are about Marvel's version. If you don't want to use the Marvel version that is great, I thought we were discussing the 5th edition CU which is totally different.

Re: Super Human Registration Act in 5th ed Ah, I think I see. You feel that the Registration Act is akin to race-based prejudice, like the Japanese Internment or Black Codes as was the Marvel Model, an undisguised parallel to race issues. I would agree with you more-or-less if it were but I do not see the CU version of registration in that way at all (I of course could be entirely wrong here). I see this sort of law totally differently, coming as a prophylactic for some folks who are dangerous* because of their differences not simply because they are different. Akin to "hands as lethal weapons" laws (which I know is a separate issue). First thing to remember here is that we are talking only about the CU (that is the title of the thread) using the printed material from Champions Universe. Of course anyone can use whatever rationale that would like for their own versions of registration, again just the printed one here. On Page 35 of Champions Universe, the text states that the American response to superhumans was relatively "relaxed" until security issues started to come to the fore in the Cold War era. This is of course going on at the same time as the civil rights struggle, but the stated purpose of this effort is to catalogue superhumans for security purposes: the first DoD Superhuman Survey is in the early 70s and designates the threat level of a superhuman not in terms of their raw power but their potential threat to national security (Page 39). The American Superhuman and Paranormal Registration Act (ASPRA) is not passed however until after Dr. Destroyer uses several superhumans as pawns in a bid to take over the United States. Dr. Destroyer had apparently manipulated these individuals behind the scenes, prodding them in such as way that their actions served his greater goals (this is supposition). The public response to this particular event provided the stimulus to the ASPRA. There was no hatred of the "muties" involved, but a specific response to a specific event that sowed fear into the hearts of the public. I've heard those laws sometimes pass without much debate. From there, sprinkle in what I have said previously about the feasibility of the act being inconsequential to the popularity of its passage and thus the carrot for our Pavolovian class of politicos. The fact that the text remarks that it is "toothless" allows it to be used or disused as preferred by individual GMs. All-in-all I think ASPRA as written is an elegant solution to both bowing to the trope and making it as inoffensive as possible both in terms of its rationale and its effect. Like you, I feel there is nothing inherently wrong about using either the Marvel Model of race intolerant laws or laws such as I have outlined above. I just think of ASPRA (i.e. specifically the CU version) to be the latter rather than the former. *True, it would be hard to say that the Psychometric's abilities are "dangerous", but because of the infinite variety of abilities in a superpowered world, the fact that she has extraordinary powers alone would be sufficient (that way you would not have to create all sorts of distinctions in the law that would be problematic in execution). In fact, the registration itself would be more a prophylactic for her in the legal sense as her abilities would be designated non-lethal, whereas the guy that spouts spikes would be designated as lethal. Mrs. Johnson would never have to worry about being labeled as "dangerous" if she registers...

Re: Super Human Registration Act in 5th ed