ClassifiedTSBBR

Re: Torchwood Style, Delta Green Brainstorming

[*]Possible first 'Eruption' of Super-powers from Alien contagion/plague/bio-engineering??? (Thinking of Progenitor here)[/list

I recently read a book (I won't specify 'cos I'm not sure it's been officially released yet & it's something of a spoiler) in which the expression "Super Powers" & "Magic" are essentially side-effects of the arrival of an Alien (whether Extraterrestrial or Extra-Dimensional is unspecified) refugee, so maybe the 'Eruption' in your game could also be an "Unintended Consequence".

Another idea the book gave me, that I've been considering for my own development, is that maybe the Refugee(s) chose Earth & Humanity for multiple reasons, specifically that (a) we're believed to be next on the agenda & might thus make useful allies, & ( we will also be the source of the problem & by coming here beforetime it might be possible to prevent the issue.

(but in fact, the problem arises because the refugees came here...)

I would therefore posit that the powers & abilities are "weak" because the 'Eruption' is recent, & the need to be trained & developed (& there is also a cycle the reverse Progenitors, those who get powers later have a "stronger" final power threshold [but all generations start with equivalency of ability] to which they can be trained, because of a feedback loop from those who came before).

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...

Killing Rocks, Book 3 of The Bloodhound Files, by L A Barant.

She started off strong in the 1st one, the 2nd wasn't so hot (IMAO), but #3 is a resurgence.

To be completely honest though, I think her greatest strength is in the world building, the plots are decent, & writing is craftspersonlike (& distinctly lacking in the sort of incoherency Laurell K Hamilton gets away with), but the amount of thought that appears to have gone into the world, & oblique exposition (as opposed to mass data dumps) in nice change from my favourite authors. (Ok, so I actually normally like Data Dumps)

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

The last 3rd of the anime Gosick, because my best friends 10yo daughter decided to use me as an excuse to make him watch them with her again... (now she wants me to find her something "just like that" since none of us see any probability of another season/series).

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

I'm just waiting for people to make their own Metalstorm system.

Why would you want to?

Each set of reloads also requires that you lug around a spare barrel...

Re: Fantasy Economies: How closely should we examine them?

So... what... you're thinking that 1st critical fail would produce a couple of tons of U-235 or something?

Re: Fantasy Economies: How closely should we examine them?

Not really. Economies are very complicated things' date=' and making one that would be completely internally consistent, especially considering adding magic to the mix, would qualify as 'too much work for too little return' in my personal book. I'm not even willing to fart around with exchange rates of coins between different countries. [/quote']

 

I sort of agree, one of the reasons my current attempt to design a fantasy setting (or reasonable chunk thereof) keeps stalling, is I keep getting sidetracked trying to work out how magic would affect things like Food Production (fertiliser spells, weather prediction, etcetera) & Storage, Mining (zombie & golem miners?) & Manufacturing (magical fire for smelters/forges/etcetera), Transport (zombies & golems rowing galleys, carrying palanquins, towing carts, etcetera), & Health (improved hygiene, curing diseases, mitigation of crippling injuries, etcetera).

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

At the instant I saw this thread? Madeleine by Wax.

By the Time I was entering this comment? Come Back & Stay by Paul Young

Re: Kazei 5 character; costume ideas needed!

Thank you for the welcome.

I was aware there are limitations on low-count posters, but my last post, & probably this one, should still be subject to them (& the former did not appear to be).

Re: Guards and Soldiers

Thank you for the clarification of the Taurians & Oorts.

Re: Guards and Soldiers

Taurian Army' date=' 2nd Regiment, 9th Company.[/b']

 

Everyone should be able to guess the origins of this unit.

Whilst I normally take great pride in not being "Everyone", in this case it just leaves me confused.

Re: Kazei 5 character; costume ideas needed!

Good suggestions. I missed this post when I did the character pic' date=' but some of these ideas ended up being used in her costume anyway, so thanks![/quote']

 

It had to be moderated, presumably because I got all linky, not realising doing so might require moderation.

 

(unless this post also ends up going to moderation, in which case I officially will have no idea what triggers it).

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

true. The Air Force is trying to put an Anti-radiation capability better than a current HARM into the next rendition of the AMRAAM' date=' as I understand it. I also saw something about AIM9x being able to use the helmet sight cueing to attack ground targets without reprogramming... [/quote']

That's probable' date=' but I have to wonder how effective a Sidewinder would be in that situation. They don't have a very big warhead (given their usual targets, they don't need one).[/quote']

Besides' date=' wouldn't using the cannon be just as effective and much cheaper to boot?[/quote']

 

Sidewinders are cheaper, & I expect faster, than most of the planes likely to carry them.

 

They also don't require more pilots to be trained when fail to return from their "missions".

 

And not having enough warhead to be useful for anti-armour might actually be a plus against soft targets in urban areas, limitation of collateral damage & all.

Re: Kazei 5 character; costume ideas needed!

IMAO & naturally it's worth what you paid me for it:

Points to address:

1) ESPer

2) Street Samurai

3a) "Escape from"

3b) "outbackistan" (failed post-Oz state?)

3a = Leather, Metals/Chains, Studs/Spikes, Dark Colours.

2 = Leather, Armour, Weapons, Studs/Spikes, Chains, Dark Colours chosen to not be spoiled by blood stains.

3b = Leather (Leather is occuring a lot in my thinking), Gems/Bling, Weapons.

1 = Gems & Crystals, Obvious Psi-Tech (sorry, not familiar with Kazei-5 per se).

2+3a+3b = (S)Punky hair-style.

1 = Odd Hair Colour/Growth/Texture.

So Let's See what I come up with:

Headgear:

• Outdoors, & assuming (3b) includes an Aussie-like influence, 'Western/Cowboy-styled hat banded with semi-precious stones with New-Agey meanings' (like these linked reference images, but with more appropriate materials: A, B, C).
  

• Indoors: Hairnets, Headbands, & Scarves with New-Agey Crystals (reference images, not quite what I described, but more accurate than the words I had: A, B,C).
  

Footwear: Boots, Combat Boots, The colour of dried blood (with lighter patches near the ankle preferably).

Legwear(?): Leather trousers, Shin-guards (appropriated from sporting code, then metal plates riveted on?), Dark Purple perhaps?

Torsowear: Leather again, slightly lighter than the trousers, but with a darker patten forming a bullseye apparently mid-torso (if they shoot for the bullseye, it's not the heart, & she can have an armoured plate under it).

Outerwear: Leather Duster with a mix of Metal & Kevlar(-substitute) plates & metal chains (not mail), Padded Studded shoulders & elbows.

Handwear: Leather Gloves with Studs on the back of the off-hand one.

Dunno if it'll be of any use, but there you go.

Re: A note on starship design: the engines point down.

Kinda sorta something like this. Apart from the cockpit placement' date=' the decks are perpendicular to the axis of thrust.[/quote']

 

I was actually trying to reply to the thumbnail more than anything, sorry for my failure.

 

I'd actually suggest making the cockpick/bridge perpendicular to the thrust axis too.

 

If it's a cockpit, say it's under the darker circle on the lower front of the sphere (& move that forward & make it viewports).

 

If it's a bridge, replace the entire "front" zone with armoured viewports.

 

Either way, rather than having the crew seated at a console, have them in lying acceleration counches/beds.

 

Or just put the flight control center in the middle of the ship somewhere not bother with a viewport on the "front"/top unless it's for an observation deck.

Re: a spell

Sure' date=' you could define it that way instead. Those are special effects changes, rather than mechanics. If it's a giant stone hand reaching up from the ground, and it has to be near the ground to reach the target, you might get an additional limitation in there, but I wouldn't give it more than -1/4.[/quote']

 

Actually, I had been thinking the entrapment/entangle effect would increase not decrease the cost of the power, but I hadn't considered the range limitation.

 

For some reason I seem to be stuck thinking in MMO terms, & I just can't stop picturing this spell as a "Root + DoT" rather than a "Nuke", so that's why I suggested what I did.

 

& yes I realise my suggestion pulls the spell further from the original proposal.

Re: a spell

I'm too new to HERO to have any idea how to stat my proposed change up, but I agree that suffocating the victim fits the motif more than pop his head open by teleporting a rock in, but I do think AlHazred's version of Special Delivery is still missing something. Specifically, it's still basically "Teleporting" the Earthen sphere into place, whereas if you add what an MMO-player would term a 'Root' effect, you can say it's the earth being reshaped up the targets body & enclosing, or at least obstructing, the face (& also preventing the earth/stone being dislodged). Maybe rather than a Sphere of Earth (or Stone) around the head, it becomes Giant Stone Hand reaching up, or maybe a Humanoid statue forming, grabbing & kissing... Just my my $0.02

Re: Alliance Star Ship Vorpal Blade

Nope' date=' only if you wanted to put together a setting supplement under your own name/company and [b']sell[/b] it with their IP and system. Then they need their cut (Hero would need their Share amd Baen would want theirs). As for a Game, all's fair.

 

~Rex

A Hero-System Voyage of the Bubble (I always forget to call it that, thanks for the reminder) Supplement or RPG would require a licence from Hero (DOJinc?), but I don't believe Baen would get a look in unless the RPG rights were included in the existing contracts. I believe that legally this applies to creating such a supplement & giving it away too (I have no idea what the policy on distribution of Hero System products is, but since there is, AFAIK, no such policy applicable to works by John or Travis, their permissions would probably be needed).

As for John, he authorised(/requested?) the creation of an RPG for free dissemination of one of series already (The Legacy of the Aldenata {d20/OGL} RPG was included on the bind in CD for... umm... Hell's Faire? it was created by fans, using the d20 system due to the free license & huge existing player base).

I doubt Doc Travis would object, but that's my personal opinion.

I believe Baen fans have at least one other RPG adaptation project in the works (not of a Ringo universe), & ISTR mention of a Ringo-universe one, but I think that hit some rocks.

& all of this is making me feel like I should reread the series again (I do it a couple of times a year, plus whenever it gets a new book).

Re: Alliance Star Ship Vorpal Blade

Remember, it's not just John Ringo that's writing in that book, but also the much cool and fun to talk to, Travis "Doc" Taylor......

 

Now as for the Dreen being reskinned Zerg......I have to disagree. The "Biotech Orientated Sci Fi bad guy" has been around about as long as the genre itself.......You could say for example, the Zerg, are nothing more then re-skinned Tyranids from 40K (Who made their first mention in the Rouge Trader game in 87 (aka Warhammer 40k Ver. 1), which puts the Tyranids around 11 years older then the Zerg......The Scope of the Dreen however is greater then Either of the other two races, as the Dreen will subjugate as well in a rather insidious fashion.

 

~Rex

Yes, I (at least) am well aware Doc Travis is the co-author & I've interacted with him some on Baen's Bar (not so much since I'm not a scientist, & much of what goes on in his corner of the bar is science geeking).

As for the Dreen != Zerg bit, disagree with me all you like, but IIRC I'm paraphrasing John from back when the "series" was just Into The Looking Glass, & Doc Travis played the science consultant & William Weaver. (NB: Dreen Fungus ~= Zerg Creep)

Re: Alliance Star Ship Vorpal Blade

I'm rather new to Hero, so I haven't.

But since the Dreen are basically reskinned Starcraft Zerg, maybe you should check for SC conversions?

And I believe there's an example for how to stat a Nuclear Bomb in one of core books, described as lacking in secondary effects due to simplification, which is probably exactly what you want to use for a Rhino Tank that's been interrupted mid-shot...