CorPse

Hey Guys!

I know some of you well enough to realize you have all of this and more... but the time has come to go from two bookshelves of HERO goodness down to one bookshelf. Growing son + small apartment is the cause... otherwise I'd find a way to hang on to these. 

Even if you aren't interested, please pass along the auctions to any interested parties. I've put them into Lots by edition/genre. Not looking to get rich... just creating room and hoping for funds for the holiday season! 

In any case, thanks for having a look!

Hero System Fifth Edition LOT: 5 Star Hero Books (5th Ed) 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738594012

Hero System Fifth Edition LOT: 5 Fantasy Hero Books (5th Ed) 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738444580

Hero System Fifth Edition LOT: Ultimate Books and Sourcebooks

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738607261

HERO system RPG Fifth Edition LOT: 9 Champions books (5th Ed) 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738704610

old school HERO System/Champions RPG genre corebooks LOT: Star, Western, Robot Warriors, etc. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738723935

old school HERO system/Champions RPG LOT: 20 scenarios, sourcebooks, etc. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738794660

original Monster Hunter International role-playing game (mint condition, out of print)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153738812678

A conversion doc would be excellent.

Re: Training/Workout Facilities for a Base

As Lucius suggested' date=' I did buy 'labs' for my ninja base. I even had a shooting gallery for the ninja stars he uses. And to add to Derek, don't forget contortionist for strecthing skills![/quote']

 

Interesting, what skill did you shooting gallery "lab" use?

Re: Training/Workout Facilities for a Base

Interesting. I do like Lucius' suggestion of a PS: Phys Ed lab.

It's a Pulp-era base so creating extra defenses isn't really required.

I'll have to dig up Champions III.

Hey Gang,

Just wondering how to simulate Workout/Combat Training facilities for a Base.

Can't figure out how to define it, and therefore quantify it w/ points. It doesn't really seem to be a special effect associated with any Skill, Power, etc., that I can think of.

Suggestions welcome... especially if there's a commonly used technique for this.

--Charles

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

Cool to see a title appear on the horizon... and by none other than the Rhino himself.

Re: Star Hero 6E?

A second edition? Nice.

Hey Steve,

Thanks for being around to answer questions!

I'm trying to figure out if there's a default way to build an item that confers a Skill. I seem to remember something about labs-based skills, like the kind you'd build with a base, starting with a 9- roll. But I'm not sure if this holds with other sorts of equipment... or if this would hold for a skill defined as a General skill.

I'm flipping around in the 6E books and I'm not finding anything definite, but I'm probably just missing it.

Thanks!

Rather than burdening the Internets by reposting this here, I'll just direct you to the nicely formatted version I did on RPGGeek.

Feel free to comment here, or there if you're signed up...

http://rpggeek.com/thread/782224/san-francisco-pulp-noir-session-02-a-strange-i

Enjoy!

--Charles

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books?

ok folks, I have managed to scare up a few more books, they are 50.00 a set plus shipping, before I ate the cost of shipping, I really cant do that this time, shipping will be via USPS Priority Mail with return receipt, so total cost should be about 56.50

per set, this also assumes shipping inside the US

Thanks for digging these up and for your message... I just responded from my main email account. Stay in touch, and please let me know when they are ready to go.

--Charles

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books?

So, still interested in getting the books... either hardcopies or pdfs. Still happy to pay. Still have heard nothing from FFE.

(Also interested to see how all of the above turns out!)

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books?

Gotcha. Thanks for the update.

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books?

Gotcha, I'll send him a note.

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books?

Hmmm... looks like I've got the 0.9 pdf. It's good to know that it's somewhat similar to the later released version.

Haven't heard a thing back from FFE, and I kind of wonder if I will. You'd think I could buy the pdf somewhere... it's a little sad that something in pdf format could end up out of print.

Re: Source for Comstar Traveller Hero books?

I shot them an email. I'll see if anything comes of it.

Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you're going to regret not buying something, but you don't have any other options.

The seemingly brief period when Comstar had the license to do the Traveller Hero titles coincided with when my wife was in grad school. School + crappy economy killed our discretionary income.

Fast forward to now where I really have a hobby budget again... a lot of which has gone to Hero... but of course now there isn't a legit place to get the two Trav Hero books. (Not even at any of the usual online book buying places.)

So, if any knows where I can pick these up, please let me know.

Thanks!

--Charles

Re: Champions Villains, Volume 3: Solo Villains

I was poking around in the store today and discovered that along with the pdf (which everyone knows about) there's also an HD Character pack for this title... and a bundle that wraps up all three titles from the 6E Villains Series into on bundle for $39.99.

Just something to consider while awaiting the fate of the printed version...

Re: SF Pulp Noir: Session 01 - New Year's Eve 1932

My wife proofread this beast, which I certainly appreciate.

Re: Good resource for a pulp era breakdown of San Francisco's neighborhoods...

That's just fantastic.

Some Background

My SF Pulp Noir game is set in San Francisco starting at the beginning of`1933. It's as historically accurate as possible with a few very small tweaks here and there. Of course, the presence of the characters, who are essentially Masked Avengers, will alter the course of local politics, etc., but shouldn't be far-reaching enough to affect larger historical trends. But, hey, who knows…

One incredibly useful resource has been the WPA to Guide to San Francisco… find it free here with a lot of other WPA Guides from the era:

http://www.digitalbookindex.com/_search/search010histus20fedwriproja.asp

Also, before I forget, I'm running this game with Hero System 6th Edition. I'm also making liberal use of Pulp Hero (5th Edition), since there hasn't been a 6th Edition pulp sourcebook published yet.

Characters:

Justice Bringer (aka Jacob Pendleton) Originally a Midwestern farm boy, Jacob moved to San Francisco in his teens. He decided early on that he wanted to be politician, and he's managed to get elected as a San Francisco City Supervisor as an FDR/New Deal Democrat. This puts him philosophically at odds with the Mayor and some other Hoover Republicans that are also in local office. Not content to merely muckrake and work for the relief of the poor, he dons a padded custom by night. As the Justice Bringer he uses his natural strength and the wrestling moves that won him a college scholarship to bring the baddies to heel.

Crimson Kiss (aka Eleanor Rossi) At just 17 as the game begins, Eleanor Rossi has yet to take flight as the Crimson Kiss. Eleanor is the oldest child of Mayor Rossi, and because of her mother's reluctance to appear in public she often goes with the Mayor to various public events. Fascinated with Amelia Earhart, and with the possibilities of human flight, Eleanor has fashioned a costume out of an elegant red evening gown that allows her to glide around the city at night. Special climbing claws at the wrist allow her to scale the sides of most buildings, although not especially quickly, to gain altitude when she needs to glide. However, she's happy to take an elevator. Luckily her family lives in a tall apartment building, so at least her first jump of the night is easy. No one in her family knows of her activities, yet… [Historical Notes: Although I still haven't been able to track down her actual age in 1933, Mayor Rossi did have a daughter named Eleanor. Also, the real Eleanor did go with Rossi to many events, because her mother, Martha, did not like the spotlight.]

Doctor Gregem (aka Thomas Moore) Thomas Moore is a troubled soul. The Dust Bowl led him to take on all sorts of jobs to try to help save the family farm. Unfortunately, the odd jobs just kept getting odder until he found himself in San Francisco working as a opium smuggler. He eventually became an opium addict as well. When the competition found and killed his family, he turned to a path of vengeance. After killing the murderer of his family, and inadvertently killing the murder's wife, he had a breakdown and the police caught up with him. While awaiting trial, Moore starts detoxing and hallucinating. He becomes fascinated with a flock of origami cranes hanging from the ceiling of the Japanese prisoner across from him. The flock of birds tells him that he'll never be able to make up for what he's done if spends the rest of life in prison. He resolves to break out and become a force willing to do anything to stop the sort of man he was. He escapes. And makes his way back to San Francisco. Using what little fabric and material he can get his hands on, he fashions a mask that looks like something a plague doctor would have worn in Medieval Europe. He pairs a trench coat and floppy black hat with the somewhat birdlike mask to create a truly terrifying visage. His favored weapon, a crowbar painted purple, completes his ensemble. [Linguistic Note: Gregem means flock in Latin.]

Black Ghost (aka still waiting player input) Sadly, due to player procrastination, I still don't have the full background for this character. I'll do my best. The Black Ghost is a Chinese national who had to flee China because of the Japanese occupation. Hoping to start a new life in America, he comes to San Francisco to work for his aunt & uncle at the Lucky Dragon restaurant. A trained policeman in his homeland, Black Ghost is frustrated when he tries to join the SFPD… they just aren't interested in "his kind." What do to? He gets his answer when he notices that a group of local gangs keep Chinatown under their thumb. Vowing to do outside the law what he want couldn't do with the law on his side, he dons a black mask and haunts the night.

The Maestro (aka Ira Williams) Ira Williams has it all, but it's not enough. He inherited station KSFO from his father. It was already successful, but he poured hundreds of thousands of dollars back into the station's equipment to make it the envy of engineers and technicians up and down the Coast. It's not enough that Ira is a respected member of the community with his finger of the pulse of the city. Oh, no. Even with KSFO as the mouthpiece for his crusading journalism, he isn't satisfied. Only as The Maestro is he truly happy. Riding through the night in a 1930 Mercedes Benz Count Trossi SSK that he calls The Symphony, The Maestro chases down the prey that the cops can't. The criminal element in San Francisco has learned to fear the electric shock of The Maestro's Conducting Wand.

Session…

As we being it is New Year's Eve 1932. FDR is yet to take office and the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Golden Gate Bridge are still several weeks away. (I only lightly planned the beginning of the session because I wanted to give the players a chance to get comfortable with their character's "real lives" before we got into two-fisted masked avenging.)

New Year's Eve finds Thomas Moore (Doctor Gregem) hiding from police in a jury-rigged shack under a pier along a rundown section of the Embarcadero. He emerges from his lair long enough to share a little rot gut with a few rummies huddled around a fire in a beat up oil drum. They all drink to '33 being a better year. Meanwhile across town, Ira Williams (The Maestro) owner of radio station KSFO emcees a party for the city's smart set at The Palace Hotel. [At this point in history, KSFO was literally attached to The Palace by a corridor that allowed easy access for broadcasting events.] Eventually, freshman City Supervisor Jacob Pendleton (Justice Bringer) arrives. Sensing a fish out of water, Ira wanders over and chats with him for awhile to make him feel at home. On the other side of town Eleanor Rossi (Crimson Kiss) has convinced some of her friends… Sadie, Chester, and quasi-boyfriend and spoiled rich kid Walt Ralston, to go to the Lucky Dragon, a new restaurant in Chinatown. (Little does Eleanor know that a potential ally of hers, the Black Ghost, is working in the kitchen!) Walt makes a bit of an ass of himself when he loudly proclaims that he can't eat the food that "those people" cook, but ends up loving the roast duck. Eleanor does her best to keep Walt's obnoxiousness in check. After the meal they go driving along the coast in Walt's Dad's fancy car. Walt hints that he and Eleanor should get married, but Eleanor deflects this by bringing up her plans to go to Radcliffe.

After midnight comes and goes, Eleanor begs off and asks to be taken home. (She's resolved to try out her costume this very night!) She creeps into the apartment only to discover that her mother Martha is still drinking in the New Year by herself. Martha tells her that she's sad that her little one will soon be "flying away and leaving the nest" (some thematically excellent dramatic irony if I do say so myself!). Ellie has a sip of whiskey with her Mom and heads off to bed… or that's what she'd like everyone to think. She takes her costume (recall that it looks like an evening gown on casual examination) out of the closet and sneaks out of the apartment and over to the building's freight elevator. She changes and puts on a stylish hat that's fashioned into a mask that covers the top half of her face. After a balky start, she manages to take flight. It's a little chilly, but there's plenty of wind to keep her aloft. Wouldn't you know it, just when she decides that it's time to head home, something catches her attention on the roof of a tenement below. A man appears to be accosting a woman. Eleanor seems reluctant to become involved, at least until the man pulls a gun! At this point, she turns herself into an arrow headed straight for the man on the roof. She only manages to brush against him, but she certainly gets his attention. Luckily this goon is somewhat drunk and manages to only pepper the night sky with his gunfire. He soon regrets this lack of accuracy, because Eleanor lands next to him and punches him well into the New Year. Eleanor tells the woman that she "can do better," as the thug tells Eleanor that "she doesn't know who she's messing with" and that "the Colettis will hear about this." When the woman starts to get upset about what the thug will do once he wakes up, Eleanor tells her that she needs to get away from him. Eleanor hugs the woman and leaps off the roof into the night. The woman calls her a scarlet angel as she goes and Eleanor circles around and says… "I'm not scarlet, I'm crimson, and I'm certainly no angel… I'm… I'm the Crimson Kiss!" As she heads off into the night, she hears a single gunshot from the roof. She doesn't go back to check… she clearly feels that justice, a rough kind of justice, has been done.

A few of the characters pull some late night patrols, but nothing significant comes of it.

Monday, January 3rd, 1933

We pick up the action on Monday. At sunrise Thomas Moore gets a knock on his door. He opens it cautiously to find a weathered old man in a fisherman's cap. The man offers Thomas a bowl of fish stew. The stew (cioppina) turns out to be delicious. The old man, who never seems to speak, waves Thomas out of his primitive hut. He leads Thomas down to the edge of the water and hands him a bag. The old man proceeds to fill the bag with crabs; he then leads the bemused Thomas down the beach to an area where a bunch of half submerged hulks litter the water. He points proudly at a small bleached wreck on the beach. He points to himself and then to the boat. (Clearly he considers this wreck, which bears the name the Argos, his.) As they approach the wreck it's apparent that an intruder is on board. A tall sun-burned man with no shirt and no shoes is relieving himself off the prow. The old man is furious. Thomas looks at him and asks if he'd like him "to do something about this." The old man never changes expression, but Thomas gets the sense that he does in fact want him to do something. Thomas challenges the man who hops off the boat and stands over him. This man, Frankie No-Shoes, asks Thomas if he's supposed to be the Greek's boyfriend. (Henceforth the Old Man is referred to as the Greek.) When Thomas lets his crowbar slide down into his hand from it's hiding place in his sleeve Frankie No-Shoes decides it's time to leave. The Greek shows Thomas a dry place down in the hold where he can sleep. He's actually delighted, as delighted as his dark soul will allow him to be, with his new accommodations.

Over in a somewhat tonier zip code, Eleanor Rossi is eating breakfast with her mother and father. Mayor Rossi is nervous about the first day of the new legislative session. He's worried about having to deal with all of those "progressives" that got elected. When he leaves, Eleanor's mother tells her to "take care of her father." When Eleanor says that she's sure he'll be fine, Martha Rossi leans in close and says, "I'm serious, take care of your father." Eleanor is somewhat taken aback by her mother's intensity, but she agrees. Once in the car, Mayor Rossi fidgets with his bow-tie and complains that he only won the election by "7,000 Votes" and that he thought the people liked him better than that. He decides to stop by the family flower shop to get something for his lapel. Once there he ends up throwing on an apron and serving a few customers. (This is the one time all day he seems happy.) [Historical Notes: despite having several advantages, including being the sitting mayor appointed to finish out his predecessor's term, Rossi won the '32 election by a mere 7,000 votes. Also Angelo J. Rossi Company, the family flower business at 45 Grant Ave., was a going concern in this era and featured a three story facade and mirror-lined walls.]

The Mayor settles down once he's in his element at City Hall. As everyone gets lined up for a photograph of the incoming group of elected officials, Mayor Rossi introduces Eleanor around and she meets first-termer Jacob Pendleton. Pendleton in turn is button-holed by City Prosecutor Micah Wilson. Wilson turns out to be quite intense and seems completely fixated on the idea that the Colettis, the gang at the top of the local food chain, have to go. He's barely done with the sentence when a beat up jalopy turns onto Polk Street filled with Tommy-Gun-wielding thugs. Pendleton leaps on top of Wilson to protect him while Eleanor dives into a planter. Despite spraying the assembled officials with gun fire, no one gets hit. Wilson jumps to his feet and starts yelling, "This, this is what I'm talking about! The Colettis have to go!" Police Detective Arthur Corrigan, who has managed to put a few rounds into the fleeing car, disagrees. He argues that the Colettis aren't stupid enough to have done something like this, and they wouldn't have missed everybody. Wilson is unconvinced. Before he storms off to his office, he asks Pendleton to meet with him on Tuesday. Ira Williams, who is inside City Hall setting up for a broadcast of the swearing in, has KSFO release a story that the Colettis have attempted to assassinate the Mayor. (This story is picked up in the late editions of the papers.)

In Chinatown, the Black Ghost bides his time working at the Lucky Dragon. His uncle sends him to the front to toss out an unruly patron so that they can clean up after lunch service and get ready for dinner. He finds a husky (and drunk) Cantonese man who keeps saying "I'm going to get paid… I can eat all I want." He also says somewhat cryptically, "I'm going to do a job." When he's getting out his money, a slip of paper falls to the ground and the Black Ghost covers it with his foot. On the note there's a time, 9pm, along with three circles connected by something that looks like a branch. Black Ghost quickly deduces that it's the symbol for a pawn shop. He decides to stake out Chin Lo's Pawn Shop, since he already suspects Chin is fencing stolen goods. The appointed hour finds Black Ghost skulking in an alley behind the shop. He discovers a pipe where he can hear Chin Lo address a group of thugs about an upcoming job. Since Chin Lo is only occasionally facing whatever the pipe is attached to, Black Ghost can only make out bits and snatches. He hears something that sounds like "Mama Rat." He also discovers that this crew has been pulled in as a favor to someone else, and that they are assembling at Chan's laundry at 11:30pm the following night. Not wishing to push his luck, The Black Ghost fades into the dark.

For his part, Thomas spends most of the day looking around the docks for any unusual activity. He discovers a warehouse that appears to be mostly abandoned where men are loading in a fair amount of material and keeping it under constant watch. Even skulking around that night as Doctor Gregem he can't seem to get a good look. He goes so far as to nab a security guard patrolling the area, but the guard doesn't seem to know anything, so he lets him go. (However, this warehouse does come into play later!)

That evening Ira returns home to find that his Gentleman's Gentleman, Robert LaPlace, is working on The Maestro's car. Robert, who knows all about Ira's secret life, attempts to dissuade him from his daring and dangerous exploits. A French veteran of the Great War, Robert tells him that he "just needs a woman." (Robert offers me a chance to work my excellent French accent into the roleplaying mix.) Ira brushes him off, saying that the cops are overworked. In fact that night while monitoring police frequencies, Ira hears that there's a high speed chase headed towards the secret exit from The Maestro's lair. He joins the chase just as the police car in the pursuit spins out. The Maestro's car keeps gaining ground on the mysterious souped-up jalopy he's chasing. He taps the bumper of the jalopy at high speed, and the car rolls off an embankment. By the time The Maestro can wheel back around to the scene, his headlights reveal a young man wearing what might be a Stanford sweatshirt holding his arm. The young man waves to The Maestro for help, but the masked avenger cooly holds the boy in his glaring head lights for a brief interrogation. The boy, who says he's Walt Ralston (yes, dear reader, the same Walt Ralston that Eleanor Rossi is half-heartedly dating!) claims that he was just riding along with his friend Eddie, and he has no idea why he was running from the police. The Maestro gives Walt a solid jolt from his Conducting Wand and goes down to check on Eddie. Still pretty mixed up from the accident, Eddie admits that he was taking some stolen radios to a warehouse in San Mateo for a guy named Vito. The Maestro catches enough useful information on his Mini-Phonographic Recorder to leave an interesting record for the police. Not wishing to be questioned, The Maestro drives off into the night.

Tuesday, January 4th, 1933

The next morning Thomas hears a knock on the side of the hull of the Argos. He emerges to discover that the goon from the previous morning, Frankie No-Shoes wants to know if Thomas wants to do "some work." When Thomas presses Frankie about what kind of job it is, Frankie tells him that it's "man work." Intrigued, Thomas agrees to go with Frankie. Along the way he tells Thomas that the guy running the job is "eccentric," but that he pays well…

Despite going to bed early, Eleanor has a tough night. She has an apocalyptic-seeming dream where she's standing in the family flower shop unable to move. Flames erupt from the flower displays, and the ghastly light is reflected, and seemingly magnified, by the mirrored walls. Unable to sleep she goes downstairs in the hopes that the servants are up and that there's a fresh pot of coffee. She's surprised to find that her mother, Martha, is already up as well. Martha, who was born in Ireland… so some more fun accent work for me!, tells Eleanor that she's had a terrible dream full of hellfire. Martha chalks it up to the Devil trying to prey on her anxieties. Weirded out by the exchange, Eleanor claims that she's headed off to school for an early swim. Instead she swings by the flower shop to check to make sure that everything's fine. Gene, the manager, assures her that everything is going like gangbusters.

At the docks, Thomas discovers that "the job" is being staged in the warehouse he had under observation the previous night. He meets Eliot, apparently an out-of-work actor, who lets him know that there's a big score in the offing, and that if Thomas is in, that he'll have to train all day and that they'll never be out of each other's sight until the job is done. Thomas agrees. Soon he finds himself in a heavy fireman's uniform learning how to use a crude flamethrower!

Now at the Dolores Academy for Girls, Eleanor goes about a typical day at school. At lunch her best friend Sadie asks her point blank if she's planning on dropping Walt, because she's interested in him. Eleanor expresses surprise at how calculating Sadie is. Sadie defends herself by saying that "they're 17 now, and they have to think of the future!" Sadie doesn't want to end up like her 22 year-old sister who is now an Old Maid.

Ira Williams heads into work. He sends a couple of researchers over to City Hall to look up the property records for the warehouse in San Mateo he learned about as The Maestro. In an apparent attempt to find out something about what the Colettis are up to, Ira goes down to Campi's, the restaurant run the by the Coletti clan, for lunch. He's instantly recognized, and the man himself, Vinnie Coletti comes to his table and offers him a cigar. Williams declines, but Coletti stays. He confronts Williams over the station's recent accusations. Ira lamely claims that he doesn't have anything to do with what the newsmen say. Coletti offers up that he wouldn't be involved in something so incompetent as Monday's wild shooting. Ira seems relieved when he gets out of the restaurant in one piece.

In the first full day of the new legislative session, Jacob Pendleton makes an impassioned plea that the City has to get help from wherever it can in the current crisis. He says that they need to be willing to turn to Washington for help. At the appointed time he goes over to meet with Micah Wilson. Wilson shows Pendleton a big bulletin board where he's laid out all the connections in the Coletti Mob. He says they're the scourge of the city, and that "they must go." Pendleton counters with the fact that Detective Corrigan didn't think the Colletis were behind Monday's attack. Wilson says that that isn't important, that the Colettis have to go down whether or not they were responsible. Jacob tentatively agrees to help get measures targeted at the Colettis through the City Supervisor's various committees. On his way down the stairs Pendleton overhears a couple of thugs laughing and agreeing that they wouldn't want to be anywhere near the Mayor's little flower shop come midnight. (He files this away for when Justice Bringer can come out and play.)

Down on the docks, none of Thomas' ploys to creep away from the gang end up working. At 11:45 he finds himself crammed into a car full of flamethrower-equipped thugs driving into downtown for a job… location still unknown. In Chinatown, the Black Ghost stakes out Chan's laundry from an adjacent rooftop. When an old Ford delivery truck pulls up and men start getting in the back, the Ghost pounces on to the roof with feline grace. No one is the wiser when the truck pulls out and starts trundling uphill.

At this point I paused the game for a commercial break… and to draw the maps required for the coming combat.

Now let's set the stage for the set piece we've been building up to. The Crimson Kiss (aka Eleanor), who worries that there could be something to her strange dream, positions herself on a building where she can see the Rossi Company flower shop. Justice Bringer (aka Jacob) parks his black Indian 101 motorcycle in alley near the flower shop, based on the information gleaned from his earlier eavesdropping. The Maestro, who thinks there's something going down in the Italian neighborhood of North Beach is cruising around there, but his speedy car means that he won't be too far form the action. Hilariously, both Black Ghost and Doctor Gregem (aka Thomas) are getting delivered to the fight. In fact Thomas will be in attendance… as himself!

Thomas finally discovers that the target for the job is Shreve & Co., an extremely successful downtown jeweler at the corner of Grant & Post. [Historical note: Shreve & Co. stills runs a shop at the same address… to my knowledge they've never been robbed by a gang of flamethrower-wielding hoodlums.] Importantly, as it turns out, Shreve & Co., is only a block away from the location of Angelo J. Rossi Company.

As the hoods head for the door, Thomas hangs back and calmly fires his flamethrower at the last man in the door. He misses, but manages to turn the doorway into a hellish inferno. Eliot, the leader of the gang, turns to the rest of his cohorts and tells them to "kill him." Eliot heads into the back of the store. The Crimson Kiss sees the action, but is still worried about what might become of her Father's shop. Justice Bringer, on the other hand, doesn't hesitate; he starts running toward the action.

At the far end of the block, the truck full of Chinatown thugs pulls up and blocks the street. Black Ghost leaps down and starts throwing his fists around. The small knot of men he lands on proves no match for him. When the others start to gang up on him, he rolls under the truck. Meanwhile, Thomas finds himself in a flamethrower duel with the men inside the jewelry shop. None of them succeed in hitting much, but they do turn the front of the store into a flaming inferno. Sensing a chance to strike a decisive blow, Justice Bringer drives the thug-mobile, which he finds parked and running on the street, right into the store!

Crimson Kiss finally decides that nothing is going to happen at the flower shop and takes up a position in the alley, above the back door of Shreve & Co, just in case. The Black Ghost, worried about getting outnumbered, rolls out from under the truck, and starts sprinting down the street. The Black Ghost decides that Thomas is more of a friend than an enemy, and calls out to him for help. Thomas, happy to oblige, ends up watching the thugs melt into the alleys. Clearly, they've had enough. As Eliot burst out the back door, Crimson Kiss somehow misses her chance to pounce on him. (She does manage to salvage things by dropping to the ground silently.) She taps him on the shoulder and when he turns around she decks him. Already on the ropes, she manages to finish him off with another blow. As he goes down he drops a bag of uncut diamonds.

Things are starting to wrap up out front as well. Justice Bringer and Thomas force the thugs to submit, and a late-arriving Maestro prevents the delivery truck from getting away. Justice Bringer & The Maestro team up to take the badly burned Frankie No-Shoes to a hospital in nearby Chinatown. Crimson Kiss gets up to a rooftop and makes sure that the police take Eliot, and the diamonds, into custody. She watches Detective Corrigan give the diamonds back to the shop owners. Black Ghost tries unsuccessfully to catch up to some of the Chinatown thugs. And Thomas skulks away.

Even though the encounter was designed with the idea of having the heroes all meet each other, no one actually saw Crimson Kiss. In fact, quite hilariously to my mind, she saved the day while the boys were happily fighting it out in the front of the shop. Without her intervention there'd be a half a pound of hot ice on the streets of San Francisco!

The next day, their exploits were pushed to the bottom of the front page by a daring penthouse robbery that was happening at around the time of the jewelry heist. Coincidence? I think not!

-----------------

Everyone seemed pleased. And I felt good about having absorbed enough historical detail to field everyone's questions about SF… and I was even able to recall details around various locations that came up during the mostly improvised scenes. I hate to think how many hours of research I've already put in, so it's nice to feel like it's paying off!

In the end, this turned out to be an omnibus session that lasted 7 hours. The fight, which can sometimes eat up a lot of time in a Hero System game, was relatively brief. Everyone was just really into exploring their characters… and I was happy to let scenes run until they seemed to be losing dramatic steam. Funnily enough, there's a coda I had planned for this… so I'll get to add that to the beginning of the next session.

Stay tuned for more in a couple of weeks!

Re: Bas-Lag setting

Cool. Thank you.

Re: Bas-Lag setting

Sad to hear that Curufea left...

But this an extremely rich setting and I'd love to see builds etc. If I weren't knee deep in other projects I'd certainly like to dig into this myself.

I'd certainly pick up a third party title on these books just for the source material and the art. And I'd love to see a book devoted to New Crobuzon (did I spell that right) as a setting.

Re: Good resource for a pulp era breakdown of San Francisco's neighborhoods...

Excellent... looking forward to them.

Re: Pulp Hero

I've also done a review of Pulp Hero and posted it on the RPGGeek website...

http://rpggeek.com/thread/769138/a-great-pulp-sourcebook-regardless-of-your-system

(I also added a post after the review that mentions the Mythic Hero Kickstarter. I figure every little bit counts.)

Re: So, anybody got any Opium?

Danger International had a section on drugs and poisons' date=' which should be easily converted even though it's from many editions ago. If I'm not mistaken, it has heroin if not opium. I'm not sure where I put mine though...[/quote']

 

Nice, an excuse to crack open DI!