Thrakazog

Re: New York Nights - Dark Champions PBeM Looking For Players Good morning, fellow gamers! The New York Knights campaign roster announcement will be delayed just another day or two, mainly because the GM is an idiot and failed to send a particularly bit of email to his work address this morning. That should be righted later this evening, and hopefully I'll have a roster announcement out then. The good news is that I've come up with what I think is one of my better and more imaginative plots. So, patience will be rewarded, I hope. Thank you for your patience.

Re: Pushing Two Powers Simultaneously This happened in our campaign recently. We (four supers plus three super NPCs) were fighting the major demonic villain and about a dozen other demons and getting served in the process. My brick has the charge maneuver which he uses with his leaping. In a particularly desperate moment of the fight, during my action, I stated that my PC was going to perform the maneuver on the main villain. I asked the GM if I could push both my leaping and my STR and after a moment's thought he agreed. The blow was very solid, CON-stunning the main villain. It bought us enough time to get what we were in hell for and turn our efforts to escape, which we barely did. I don't know about the rules validity of allowing the double-push, but it was heroic, cinematic, and changed the tide of battle just enough to allow our group to eke out a "mission accomplished" win, if not an outright battle victory. I can't imagine that's a bad thing in any game rulebook.

Re: Traveller for Hero...

Re: Traveller for Hero... Great news! Huzzah! I was wondering if you might give me a hint about one aspect of traveller Hero. I've just started a TH campaign and the issue of the "hotshot pilot" talent came up. Star Hero defines it as applicable to ships 100 tons and less. Does TH allow for the talent bonuses to apply to larger ships? The way I'm handling it now, I kept the const constant and just handwaived it to include ships up to 300 tons displacement, so as to include the most common small jump-capable ships (Type-S, free traders, private yachts, etc.).

Re: New York Nights - Dark Champions PBeM Looking For Players I received it, thanks. The call for submissions is over. I'm going to make a roster announcement as soon as I can get it together.

Re: New York Nights - Dark Champions PBeM Looking For Players *bump*

Re: Legion of Super-Pets What about Gleek and Wonderdog?

Re: Plot seeds? Being that I own most of the Classic Traveller little black books (yes, I'm bragging ), I find 101 Patrons and 101 Plots to be excellent resources.

Re: Fun Champions Resource That's great! KA-POW!

Re: Life Support: Longevity? I'm pretty strict when it comes to making sure that powers keep within the concept. Longevity conepts are usually obvious, so if it's questionable I tend to stay away (how many campaigns last a PC's lifetime?). Hard Eight is a Wonder Man clone, a being of ionic energy, so it seemed logical that he would have longevity.

Re: New York Nights - Dark Champions PBeM Looking For Players Thanks.

The woman’s dress was expensive, though not quite haute couture, and delicate, too, judging by how it had started to tatter along the hemline just from her running. She turned the blind corner into the alley at a full run, and right away she realized she’d made a fatal mistake. Hoping to find a short cut through the block, her arms now flagged in a mock semblance of their previous pumping, her strides slowing in defeat, until finally she reached the tall wood fence dead end and collapsed on the ground before it. Whoever had built that fence had likely done it to protect their garbage cans and rear exit. They might as well have put a gun to her head. As her head turned and she saw two running men enter the alley, she thought it might have been more merciful. Her dress, once white, would likely never be so again. Her high heels pushed her along the ground away from her pursuers, one two-inch point snapping off in the process, until her back hit the wooden slats of the fence. Even in her terror at what was about to happen she had a thought that the streaks of grime would never come out, and she almost giggled. Several more men, and another figure she couldn’t make out in the bad light from the street from the street behind them, came into the alley and slowed upon seeing her trapped. “Here chicky, chicky, chicky…” One of the two men closest to her was smiling and gesturing towards her with a finger whose nail hadn’t seen clippers or soap in a long time. It was the same smarmy, pirate smile he had when she first approached them fifteen minutes ago. “You run good, lady,” the other one, the black one, said as the others who had followed now drew close and formed a rough semi-circle around her, hemming her in against the fence. “You in good shape. Why don’choo lose the dress so’s we can see how good a shape you in?” There was laughter among them and the one with the dirty finger and bad-intentioned smile grunted in amusement and started to undo his belt. She saw the dull glint of a streetlight off a knife blade in the black man’s hand as he reached for her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The female voice cutting through the situation was unexpected enough to startle, but not enough that the seasoned street toughs showed it for more than a split-second. As a group they turned towards the figure standing behind them. She had gotten within ten feet but they had been too preoccupied with their nightly entertainment to notice. As the figure opened her trench coat and lifted the front of her fedora the toughs did flinch. ‘Good,’ she thought to herself, ‘they’ve heard about me, at least.’ She’d been on patrol when the woman’s Lexus had conked out while taking a short cut through central Clinton, probably a suburbanite making for the West Side Highway from a Midtown after-work party. Driving t hat car and looking like she did was stupid enough in that neighborhood but when she actually got out and started looking around for a pay phone – her cell must have been dead – Sally knew she better keep an eye on her until help arrived. Unfortunately, the 48th Street Devils arrived first. “I know you,” one of them, the one holding the knife, said. “Mustang Sally…what’choo want? Don’t mess wif Devil bidness.” The threat was punctuated by a movement of the blade in her general direction. He wasn’t exactly a brilliant conversationalist, she noted. The woman on the ground behind them whimpered and Sally tightened up. Time to get to work. “Option ‘A’, you let the woman go. Option ‘B’, I make you let the woman go. Now what’s it going to be?” The man with the knife noted the nervous shuffle amongst his brethren, which his lifetime on the street told him meant uncertainty. But he had a good knife and another in his boot, and Dirty next to him had his nine tucked into the back of his pants, and there were seven of them, and she was a broad, however tough Jimme K’s cousin said she might be. Sally watched them make up their minds, almost allowing herself to be hopeful. These gang types were universally too stupid or too proud to back down. There were seven of them and only one of her and who knew how many guns they might be carrying, but she’d been shot before with little more than an immediate pain and a lingering bruise. Not only that, but she hit like a Mack truck, and she could fight. Oh yeah, she could fight. The odds were fairly even. And you never knew. She tensed and braced at the sound of footsteps behind her. The other seven Devils’ timing was impeccable, and now they had her surrounded. So much for her medical insurance premiums. "Swell." The man with the knife smiled broadly. “Now who got the choice, bitch? Option ‘A’, you git down here on yo knees and [censored]. Option ‘B’, you can [censored] anyway! What’choo gonna do? Take all of us on?” Dirty Fingers next to him giggled maniacally and finished the thought with a big smile of his own. “Alone?” "Who said she’s alone, jackass?” Sally’s head and everyone else’s craned up towards the fire escape. A midnight blue and dark crimson figure leapt from the third floor landing, performing a perfect graceful somersault on the way down. Before he landed, something he’d tossed during his gyration exploded amongst the new group of Devils with a brilliant flash that brought an instant of full daylight to the alley. There were screams and loud complaints as the group behind Sally found themselves blinded. By the time she turned back to face the dead end, the guy with the knife was on the ground not moving and Action Man had immobilized the arm of the guy next to him, a 9mm now visible in the hand at the end of an awkwardly angled arm. There was a snap and a scream from the goon before Action Man delivered a spin kick, sending him off to crumple whimpering against the building’s side. He shot Sally a look over his shoulder while he turned to face the rest of them. He gestured with a sharp jerk of his masked head to the group behind her who were only now beginning to recover their bearings. “Well…What are you waiting for?” ***** Campaign Description: New York Nights is a street-level Dark Champions: The Animated Series campaign taking place on the streets of the capital of the world, New York City. The players are more vigilantes than superheroes, focused on the smaller criminal fish which the more powerful and flashier defenders of the city tend to ignore or overlook. The campaign will be episodic but serial in nature, wi th previous events affecting future ones. ***** Background: New York City has everything. It has expensive high-rise apartment buildings and warren-like ghettos, bright, flashy nightclubs where the social elite gather and small, dingy bars where daily drunks can still get served, powerful politicians and faceless nobodies, good guys, some very bad guys, and everything in between. It has variety in everything, as diverse internally as the outside world, possessing all manner of wonders, delights, pleasures, nightmares, sorrows, and vices. Every human race is represented. Some say one or two other races, too, but those people tend to sleep on subway cars and smell of cheap wine. Of course, depending on who you are, this may make them either less or more credible. Being the world’s greatest city carries some baggage. One thing New York City most certainly has is a superhuman presence, both good and bad. No small amount of evil geniuses bent on world domination, massively strong genocidal maniacs, or super-powered thieves have attempted to make their bones in the Big Apple. Fortunately for the city’s citizenry, The Defenders, New York’s very own team of fanta stic superheroes, stands by to defend it against all such super-powered menaces with the help of some independent but equally mighty heroes. But this is New York City, the city that has everything, and that includes a tier or villainy and organized evil that exists in that middle ground between NYPD routine and the powerful supervillains typically confronted by The Defenders. These well-trained, well-organized, sometimes super-powered criminals tend to slip under the superhuman radar, so to speak, operating on a smaller scale, but often making life very difficult for the police or the everyday victims of their crimes. But again, this is New York City, the city that has everything. There are those individuals who recognize the threat, and are prepared to deal with it. Having skills, abilities, equipment, and occasionally powers of their own which place them on a playing field above that of mere New Yorkers, and possessed of the proper motive – be it a sense of duty, revenge, justice, or just for the thrill – these persons put themselves on the line and bring the light to the deep, dark recesses where the NYPD fears to tread, gets paid off not to tread, or fails to get noticed by those focused on more powerful, more serious threats to the city. It is these individuals whose story this campaign seeks to tell; their actions, sacrifices, and successes which don’t often appear in the Post or the Daily News as more than a page twelve blurb, and which more often than not go unheralded except by those who are saved, protected, or revenged. ***** Area Of Operation: NYN will take place completely within the bounds of New York City and it’s immediate environs: the five boroughs, the greater Westchester area, New Jersey’s major Hudson County areas (Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark), and Long Island. The vast majority of the campaign will occur on the island of Manhattan. ***** Goals: Specific goals will vary from character to character, but in general, the goal will be to bring down the minor superhuman, gang, and organized crime syndicate threats to the city. ***** Reputation: This also will vary from character to character, based on both the PC’s background and modus operandi. Characters that serve justice over law and tend towards stronger violent methods will have different reputations among the police and communities they serve than a vigilante with a more law-abiding bent. Some of the characters might themselves be wanted by the NYPD. ***** Building A Character For New York Nights: Base Points: 300 (175 Base + 125 Disadvantages) Starting Points: 175 Maximum Disadvantages: 125 Maximum Points From One Category Of Disadvantages Other Than Psychological: 50 Maximum Points From Psychological Disadvantages: 70 Normal Characteristic Maxima: No Characteristics: 10-30 SPD: 3-6 CV: 5-12 inc. levels DC: 6-10, inc. advantages and maneuvers AP Limit: 60, but always respecting DC limits D/rD: 20/10 Rules Of Thumb: · Attacks should be similar in normal damage classes to real world guns, although maybe as high as guns available only to police or the military. · Defenses shouldn’t be so high that a character can bounce bullets off his chest. Bullets might only cause flesh wounds, but should definitely remain a threat. · Point distribution is suggested at around 100 each on characteristics, skills, and powers & gear. · Stay away from flashy powers, like unaided flight, teleportation, energy blasts, etc. · Highly thematic heroes or vigilantes will get fruit cup. Thematic heroes are those with a common theme running throughout their entire presentation, including costume, gear, powers, jargon, methods, etc. Good examples of highly thematic heroes would be Batman, Moon Knight, Spider Man, etc. Fruit cup is fairly meaningless, but I like fruit cup. **** I'm looking for 4 characters for this campaign (based on number and quality of submissions) and will be accepting submissions until 11:59 pm on Friday, September 1 - assuming of course that I have enough good submissions, otherwise I may extend the submissions period. I may expand the roster down the road depending on how the campaign progresses. You can find two sample characters – Mustang Sally and Action Man – on the campaign website which you can use as a baseline. Don’t worry if your concept closely follows theirs. I’d never allow an NPC to steal a player character’s schtick. Please PM character backgrounds in plain text or open document format (please, no HTML) to me. Character sheets or .hdc files are not required at the time of submission but may be included with the background if the player has one available. This link will show you what is needed for a complete character submission, though the above campaign requirements supersede any point values listed there. If you have any questions or would like more information please email me at the above address. I'm happy to work with anyone to make their character a better fit. Just please remember any suggestions and/or help I may provide is not a guarantee the character will be accepted. You can subscribe to the New York Knights list by sending an email to nynights-subscribe@googlegroups.com. This is an Uberworld campaign.

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log A great read!

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log Yay!

Re: Weird Desolid Question This seems simple. The desolid character's STR is 5. It's a straightforward STR vs STR contest, no?

Re: Campaign Limits: what's your formula? Our GM uses a spreadsheet to calculate a combat index number. The spreadsheet takes everything into account: CV, defenses, attack power, etc., and comes up with a number which can easily be compared to everyone else on the team. As long as everyone's index falls within a given range, we're good.

Re: WWYCD: Quantum Leap Hard Eight: He'd travel back in time to September 25, 1980, and stop John Bonham from choking to death on his own vomit.

Re: Plot Seed: Six Places to Nuke When You’re Serious Would a nuclear explosion at one of the poles disrupt the earth's magnetic fields?

Re: Plot Seed: Six Places to Nuke When You’re Serious

Re: The Champion Protocols (ie how to take down your character)

Re: Knightshift Stories -- Campaign Log This campaign rocks on wheels. Now if I could only find a PBeM or PbP campaign this good...

Re: Hyperspace Help Wouldn't it also depend on the level of realism you're gunning for or willing to accept? You could always just rule that a hyperspatial jump cannot be made within an atmosphere and leave it at that.

Re: Strangest Game Mechanic I Have Seen Yet From my defunct Mystery Men campaign, I give you Mr. Easter. His only power was immortality. Whenever he died, he'd rise again on the third day. Well, I thought it was funny.

Re: What pre-5th Edition Hero books do you still use? The Ultimate Mentalist and The Ultimate Martial Artist still see action in my game works. I have both 4th ed versions as .pdf files, so that helps.

Re: just ordered the entire set. also have a question Out of curiosity, of which Traveller computer game do you speak?