Michael Hopcroft

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "You're thinking I'm the sexiest thing on two legs, aren't you?" "Dave, I'm a PRIEST." NT: Signs your signficant other is a refugee from a video game.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "OK, from now on everybody is going to work 14-hour days seven days a week -- and did we mention that we're not actually going to pay you?" NT: Signs that your superior at work has betrayed Mankind to the Daleks.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat .... The UPS man delivers seventy paper shredders, a whole bunch of magnets, and tickets to Panama for the CEO.

Re: The Akane Tendo Culinary Institute

Re: Tsubasa Chronicle HERO Some thoughts now that I've seen more of the anime: 1. The dimension-hopping seems to be under the complete control of Mokona Midori, the fluffy rabbity-thing Yuuko gives the group. So none of the core group needs Extra-Dimensional Movement. However, it does mean that to get between worlds they all have to be in the same place when Mokona does the world-jump. the advanatge is that the most expeisnve abilties of the group can be in the hands on a plot-device NPC. 2. Two of the characters (Syaoran and Kurogane) are gifted with "Kudan", beings which grant them protection and attack power. I don't know for sure yet whetehr the Kudan go between worlds with the group, as they are still on their first world at the point in the series to which I have seen. 3. Kurogane has a curse that makes him weaker with every person he "murders". The reason Tomoyo-hime sent him on his quest, in fact, was so that he could disocver what "true stregnth" meant. (Kurogane believed he was the strongest man in his world, so Tomoyo-hime sent him away to show him how wrong he was). The deleterious side-effects of him killing someone in cold blood would evidently be permanent -- a characteristic Drain that never recovers, perhaps? it would probably be a weak Drain, as Tomoyo is trying to teach him a lesson rather than kill him outright (if she'd wanted to kill him she could probably have done so easily -- in fact she could have simply ordered him to commit suicide and he probably would have done it -- complaining all the way, of course....) 4. Social disadvantages would be difficult to handle in a dimension travel game where different worlds have different rules. However, I would think that such a disadvantage that drvies a character's actions even when spearated from their own world might be playable (although it may be better modeled aas a Psych Lim). An expample of such a Social Lim would be the class distinction between Syaoran and Sakura-hime -- she may not crae, but he painfully aware of the problems involved in being a commoner in love with a princess. which brings me to...... 5. Syaoran's Price, which gives the series much of its impact. To save Sakura's life, Syaoran had to accept as a condition that her love for him would be gone forever. It is unclear how this would come into play, but it lends an air of tragedy to the entire enterprise. Syaoran has sacrificed EVERYTHING -- his world, his future, his only hope for happiness -- because he would rather see Sakura-hime live without him than watch her die.

How do you model in HERO a character who is spectacularly, unbelievably BAD at a skill? Like Akane Tendo's cooking, which fails in amazing, spectacular and outright dangerous ways and is a menace to anyone who eats it (inlcuding herself)? And how do you model the fact that the character, despite their abysmal skills, keeps on trying and forcing their friends and loved ones to ednure their efforts? There are other examples of such spectacular incompetence, such as putting Azumanga Daioh's Yukari Tanazkui-sensei behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Twist that neck! All the way back! Now, all the way forwards! GOOD! Now do that a million more times...." NT: Signs you've been transported to a paralell universe.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "I just won a trip for two to Las Vegas!" NT: Signs your girlfriend was once a companion of the Doctor (Doctor Who)

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat You type in "How to Summon Cthulhu" and three seconds later your monitor explodes. NT: Signs that you're dating Supergirl.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Two people order food, one person eats. NT: Signs your girlfriend is the reincarnation of Lina Inverse.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Two dogs bark, one dog whimpers.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Hello. I used to play Seven of Nine, and boy am I pissed that someone else took the Miss Hot Cyborg title away from me!"

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Thread jump again. Tim, we need a topic.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "It's none of your damn business how fast I was going!"

Slayers is an example of an almost-all-humans fantasy world. For example, there used to be evles but nobody's seen one in centuries. But there are a few racial templates from that world that I am curiosu to see. note that like everything else in that ultra-powerful series they would be very expensive. Chimera: Although chimeras can be anything, I'm looking for an example of those abailites of Zlegad Greywards that could be desribed as "racial" Zelgadis is a chiera of three diifferent species: human, rock golem, and "brass demon". His skin has the consistency of stone, id hard when struck, and is impervious to nromal weapons such as swords and arrows. Zelgadis once took a cannonball to the head and it only knocked him unconscious. Gold Dragon: A gold dragon is a shapeshifter with two form. The base form is a dragon -- a big, winged lizard that occasionally has a mane of blonde hair. the other form, which they must learn to assume, is human, always blonde and always beautfful or handsome. Gold Dragons are intelligent, magically powerful, and can lvie for thousands of years. Filia ul Copt is a Gold Dragon. Ancient Dragon: Ancient Dragons, like the Gold Dragons, are shapeshifting dragons who can take human form. They were virtually wiped out ina war with the Gold Dragons of the Outer World (fought over a weapon the Anicnets were guarding). the last survivor, Valteria, was killed by the Demon Dragon King Gaav (a Mazoku Lord who later died in a power struggle among the Demon Race) and ressurected as the Mazoku Valgaav. later, after valgaav's death, he was reincarnated in the form of an egg which was fostered by Filia.

Re: And now something silly: Trouble Chocolate Excel Saga is not so much disgusting as incredibly bizarre. The good guys are trying to conquer the world, but they have only two agents -- a frenetic ditz and a princess with a slight death problem. They are opposed by a team of bureaucrats, a pair of androids, and a scientist with an extremely unhealthy interest in little girls. Excel's story intersects frequently with that of Pablo, an immigrant laborer who has attracted the favorable attentions of the Great Will of the Universe (she doesn't help him so much as she continually drags him into the sack). Each episode satriizes a different anime genre. The final episode's target seems to be hentai. And one of the most memeorable characters is Menchi -- a little white dog who has been assigned to Excel as an 'emergency food supply". Puni Puni Poemi is the seuqel, sort of, to Excel Saga. it is an OVA sereis about a little girl who disocvers she has magical powers after a stranger hands her a dead fish. It is frenetic, twisted, perverted and some poeple think it's hilarious. However, it wasn't quite to my taste.

The frist part of this three-epsiode OVA series just arrvied in fansub, and I was wondering how people would soggest gaming it. The central character is a junior high school boy named Souta who, unknown to himslf, has the power of the "key pof the Seal"/ Basically, God had been afraid of man's power so he split the world between a world of magic and a world of science. Souta lives in the 'world of science" (our world). Unfrotunately, a demon pricness from the world of Magic is looking for the key of the Seal and to kill the person who has it. So a "musketeer" named Akazukin and her wofl companion have come to our world to protect him. One of the pronblems with modeling the series is that, after only one epsidoe, it's hard to be sure what the "Ket of the Seal" does. But there are a lot fo inrteresting ideas here, particularly the comcept of a split universe, and I was wondering what people thought of as far as how they would handle it. By the way, if you want to take a look the fansub is available. The Aniemsuki directory has some links to it.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Put the dog in the microwave and drink it all up.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Well, if it isn't good old Doc 0-for-17,447!" NT: Sings that Phil Foglio has taken over your favorite superhero comic.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "I've got me under your skin...."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Psst. Battlestaff. Your turn for a new topic.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat The only agents you have left are Excel and Hyatt.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Dark Caveman HERO : with thirty different varietyies of club, fifteen stone azes, and twelve different types of flint arrowhead! not to mention the menace of the Og! NT: Things you don't want to hear from your obstetrician during childbirth.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Poll; Do pigs live in trees? "You live wher I lvie, and I live where you live, and we live where pigs live! In trees!" NT: Signs your high school guidance counselor is out of her mind.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat '"HEY! Ami-chan! Rei-chan! Minako-chan! what are you doing, and where are your clothes?" (I knew we never should have sold the Sailor Moon rights to Studio Foglio.....) NT: Things never to do after suddenly finding yourself transported to Middle-Earth.