Pizza Man

Mary was a typical Las Vegas showgirl working for Penn and Teller. One day a magic trick went awry, spraying her with a caustic reactive magical liquid. Mary was rushed to the hospital. After many tests, the doctors told Mary that she would forever have...Bad Hair! Her career lay in ruins, her future was shattered, even her boyfriend left her for another woman. Mary went Mad. Donning her old showgirl outfit, Mary became Psycho-Chick. an evil world ruling dictator wannabee. Her first criminal effort to inject the magic liquid into various hair care products failed at the hands of heroes. Even Penn and Teller were forced to adopt secret Hero IDs to stop her madness. Although her scheme failed, Psych-Chick eluded capture. Where is she now? No one knows for sure, some say she is in the jungles of Florida searching for components for her next effort. others say she is in the avocado jungles of California working with some plan involving guacamole face creme. But wherever she is, she should know that heroes will not rest until she is facing a long term in a beauty salon behind bars.

The 5th could be " The Weasel" it's a giant and will rip and tear into the PCs.

Han Solo wore a leather jacket all the time in any weather. Here is the challenge: What can you put into a leather (looking) jacket with 500 years of technology to work with? Temperature control is obviously one of them: if you're going to visit 50 different planets in a week, you want to be cool in hot climes and warm in cold climates. Basic tech stuff. What else can you fit in there?

I imagine a group of fan boys out to photograph heroes acting like spies to get close, and possibly endangering secret IDs. They would post everything on Reddit, and pat each other on the back.

There would be a Hero insurance for the collateral damage from super fights. Not every lightning bolt will hit its target. Further there would be a rapid response clean up team for al the rubble left behind, and a specialized construction company for all the super fight damage. At least in big cities a few more jobs would be created. Of course hero hate groups would also arise. Supers make some people feel inferior. Secret IDs would make it difficult to sue a super, so these groups would likely turn lethal, adopting terrorist tactics. The balance would be the fan groups and media. Everyone wants to fly. The biggest change would be the govt. It would start with tech research for super prisons. This kind of research could only be funded by govt...and they would not stop with criminals, they would have containment cells for heroes as well. All supers would be treated as potential risks by the govt.

is the name taken?

Sylvia grew up in Quebec, training in Savate, the French martial art. Her love of the art proved prophetic when her mutant powers kicked in. She could run as fast as a racing car, leap 5 stories high, and kick in the side of a reinforced concrete bunker. The Canadian govt recognized her potential and they devised an armored costume and visor. The visor grants her night vision, infra-red tracking, flash defense, and a heads up display. Her gauntlets are equipped with a taser (left) and a single bola entangle (right). The govt occasionally uses her for missions, but her real talent is fighting super crime. Sylvia loves the thrill of the chase and the cold calculations of Criminology. The papers dubbed the new heroine, Blue Jay.

Collinwood NPCs Heather Underwood. Halfling female hedge wizard , 20 years old. Notable stats, PRE 20, with 3 levels of Stunning appearance. Skills of note: Faith 19 school of magic: 17 School of magic: illusion 17 KS herbalist KS island home charm, conversation, persuasion Notable possessions. A dwarven ring of warmth. A magic dagger (she doesn't know what it does, but it detect as magic), a lama with riding gear, Heather is a hedge wizard specializing in curative spells, food preservation spells, and a few magic spells. She maintains an apartment in the port town just above the shine to Hera. Her entire family are hedge wizards and she can be found in the family shop right here in town, the White Lotus. Heather prefers casting spells to making salves and is much loved by the townsfolk as they cannot always pay her, and she doesn't really care. She often returns to the shop with cheese, fresh bread, or pies. She loves to barter She is not afraid to cast spells for sailors and visitors, but expects coin in return. Unlike other hedge wizards, Heather is filled with a sense of adventure, and would love to set sail one day, but she has never set foot aboard a ship. Her willingness to talk with strangers paid off as she nursed a mage back to health who in turn taught her her the school of illusions, a light spell and an invisibility spell. Now Heather feels qualified to be an adventurer, testing herself by exploring the dwarven ruins in secret. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appolianos Severin. an elven merchant renting a room at the inn. he is actually a dark elf spy for Helios posing as a wool merchant. He is a mage/thief. Notable stats: 20 INT, 20 DEX, 20 PRE Skills of note: thief skills, mage skills, information gathering skills...charm Appolianos actually came here to purchase wool from another back water island. But his clairvoyance sweep discovered the hidden valley and dwarven ruins. He has since communicated with his superiors and is investigating further to see if there is anything worth an invasion or a raid. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Campion, Human agent of Caspar serving the merchant's guild. The good captain is as close to an embassy as Collinwood will ever have. He works out of an office at the docks and has arranged a small trading compact with the island. He also is aware of the hidden defensive nature of the island and likes the plucky nature of the people. Caspar also prefers to support free people everywhere. His six assistants are all solid fighters with half plate and assist the professional soldiers of the town. He is not aware of the Dark elf interest but they are well aware of him. Campion is the one behind the scholarship for the halfling sorcerer.

Collinwood is a mountainous island some 20 miles wide. The sole port is a small town of 2000. Their main defense is not appearing to have anything of value. The interior hides a hidden valley 15 miles long. another 2000 live in small villages in this valley. the sides of the valley are terraced and all the farms are here. The center of the valley is grassy and used for herding sheep. the leeward side of the mountains are also terraced, but hidden by trees grown on the edge. These terraces are accessible by hidden tunnels from the valley. save for the port of Collinwood, the coast is too rugged and steep to land a ship, and the people here like it that way. the population is evenly divided between humans and halflings, the two races get along well. If the main town comes under attack the people flee to the mountain valley, burning wooden bridges behind them. By law, all towns folk must maintain a cabin, or second home in the hidden valley. Hedge wizards (see post above) maintain magically preserved food stores in ancient dwarven ruins high in the mountains (dwarves built the terraces and underground ruins, but disappeared long before the people arrived), enough for several years. Humans use mules to ascend the mountain but halflings love lamas, and are small enough to ride them. The military consists or 60 professional soldiers supplemented by a militia. Every man (and woman who volunteers) is required to learn the bow. Halflings are deadly with slings and make for good hit and run skirmishers. All swords and hand weapons are of dwarven make and lovingly cared for. The island is run by the hidden mountain council, but the Mayor of Collinwood port maintains the ruse that he is the sole authority on the island. Adventurers are welcome on the island and if trusted by the council, may be granted land in the town, a sort of insurance policy against pirates. There are currently no mages on the island, only hedge wizards. A promising halfling was sent to the university on Caspar on an agreement with the republic. There are no temples on the island but shrines venerate every deity. The dead are cremated and the ashes cast to the wind.

NPC class (not open to players): ARTIFICERS Artificer makes magic items. He cannot cast magic, but can use any magic item including scrolls. He can handle cursed items without triggering the curse, and can detect/identify the magic and uses for each item with a touch. He will know how many charges are in a wand and the activation word. He can recharge an item by three charges a week. ---all of this is rather expensive, but I am free with handing out gold....players can still end up rather poor in my world. Making Magic Items. An artificer sucks the magic out of unwanted magic items and uses that magic to create new items. In game terms, he can suck the point cost of magic, store it within himself and use the points to create other magic. (this is my workaround for using only pre-written modules and it lets the player specializing in say: a trident, to get the magic weapon that he really wants). The party that ends up with 15 +1, evil aligned, flaming weapons now has an outlet for such unusable magic instead of leaving it for evil to find and use again. Of course the artificer overcharges the point cost and uses the extra to make magic for himself. Anywhere a university or large city can be found, an artificer can be found. Alchemists: found in every large city. They typically have a stock of potions for sale. Temples make healing potions and can fund themselves very well with such endeavors. again large cities are where temples with potion shops can be found. Temples can also cast spells for hire, and they can smell an adventurer with gold a mile away. Gold makes the world go around. Hedge Wizards: These NPCs are spell casters with both arcane and faith magics. They venerate one diety. they serve the common folk, healing wounds,and diseases. they do not make potions per say but curative salves. they prefer not to cater to adventurers but to the common rural folk they love.

I was in a rather mercenary DnD campaign, almost all of us died and started new characters. We had the money to revive characters but no one wanted to spend the cash, so we just looted the dead and split it among the survivors. only one character did not a die, a big bad pile of hit points named, Circum. He was also the richest having split the treasure of all his former comrades. We began to call the game session, "Circum and his amazing Friends." Before one session a player remarked, "We tend to roll-play and not role-play. Circum I don't even know what color your cloak is. Do you wear a hat? When you go to the tailor for a new suit...just what is Circum's size?"

Helios: This island was conquered by Dark Elves some 400 years ago. The dark elves were exiles - the losing side of a rebellion - fleeing for their lives. Today, the island is ruled by 12,000 Dark Elves lording over 20,000 halfling slaves. They have a standing army of 1000 Half Elves descended from human slaves. The half elves are free citizens, less that their Dark Masters, but free otherwise. They have a small navy, but their ships utilize enslaved elementals, calming the seas, filling their sails with wind, and spewing fiery death upon their enemies. This is the only navy that can safely sail in Winter. The dark elves command fierce sorceries. All attend a university of magic. They have twin temples of Hekate and Dionysus. Their city is one of the few walled cities in the Isles, but the few who have seen it marvel at its beauty. The elves ride huge domesticated elk. The port town is very cosmopolitan, with criminals and scum from across the world. slavers and privateers call this home. Casinos, brothels and slave markets serve many of the more evil kingdoms in the isles. There is no police force in this town so carry a weapon. those who earn the ire of the Dark Elves are released at night and a grand hunt is called - none have survived until morning.

Caspar, Island nation. Caspar is an island ruled as a free republic. Its population are all either escaped slaves or descendants of slaves. Caspar is like Switzerland in that every man and woman is considered part of the army. All are trained to fight. Caspar has never successfully been invaded. slavers who attempt to raid the island are hunted down and executed on the spot. Caspar has a capital city of the same name, 90 thousand strong. Two neighboring islands are used for farming, and a third has an iron mine. Caspar has a moderate sized navy, but they make up for their lack of numbers with the excellence and dedication of their crews. a number of privateers call Caspar home and they hunt slave ships, or raid shipping of slave using countries. Every free citizen knows how to fight and owns an excellent quality weapon and suit of armor. There are no slaves on Caspar. Master craftsmen are legion. All free men are welcome here. Dwelmerholm is a magic university and attracts all sorts of students - citizens receive training for free, sponsored by the state.

This exercise was inspired by a unique map I found on DA. https://black-falcon01.deviantart.com/art/Map-537204736 Here's the background. 1000 years ago a meteor struck and destroyed a continent. It should have been a mass extinction event, but it was not. The continent survived as a mass of islands. Many of the buildings survived intact and undamaged as did many of the animals...the people all died. The meteor introduced magic (both clerical and arcane) to the world. Very rare items of master craft make became magic overnight. Clerics found they could cast spells the next day, and studious types started inventing spells. Nations found themselves in a magic arms race. Today there is a magic culture a 1000 years strong, fully supported by the surviving nations and newer, independent universities. Even necromancers are not shunned, although they still creep people out. Further, it brought monsters. They spontaneously erupted everywhere. the intelligent races of goblins, orcs, etc, were planted on the remaining continents, though some have found their way to the Scattered islands. A new race of goblin men also arrived, they have all the stats and beauty of Half-elves, but are green and consider themselves "High Goblins." these High Goblins are civilized, love the arts, but are militaristic conquerors and slavers. This world uses the magic system that divides the cost of spells by three. its is a DnD magic heavy world, and players can start with a simple magic item purchased with character points if they wish. artificers exist who can suck the magic out of unwanted items and create new items to taste...but it will cost you. (I grew up with DnD and would like to play a similar world). The meteor also ripped through dimensions weakening the barriers. as a result, elementals and genies have been enslaves (while alive, elementals are unintelligent and are used to power certain items). Races: The brothers of Man: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Half elves (rare), Dark elves (they are identical to elves, have their own above ground nations, and are evil), halflings (they wear shoes and are just 3 foot tall people with pointy ears - no beards) Goblinkind: goblins, orcs. gnolls, ogres, giants, and High Goblins ( they have all the stats and beauty of Half-elves, but are green ). Religions of the world Jupiter: the head honcho. Leader of the pantheon. God of storms, emperors, war, the legal system, and humans. Hera: his wife. Goddess of family, hearth, home, and agriculture. Patron of the halflings. Hekate: goddess of magic, both good and evil. patron of the dark elves. Vulcan: God of the forge, creation, Artificers (makers of magic items), volcanoes and patron of the dwarves Dionysus : God of wine, hedonism, brothels, casinos, and parties Hades: god of the dead, necromancy, often involved in evil underhanded scheme to overthrow the gods and make himself ruler. secret patron of goblinkind Mercury: Animal Husbandry, Travel, Trade, Athletics, Language, Thievery, Good Luck, Guide of the Dead, Herald of the Gods Venus: Goddess of: Love, Beauty, Pleasure, Procreation, the Arts, patron of the elves Temples (and clerics) can be either pantheonic, or dedicated to a single diety. The alignment of a cleric matters not - good or evil they are not denied their spells. HEALING is run by a house rule: it can be cast as often as desired. The Scattered Islands: a continents worth of land has been shattered into millions of islands. The adventure is set here. Even after a 1000 years, most of the islands have never been explored. Every island, no matter how small has a fresh water source (its magic). evolution has sped up and land locked animals are all different from island to island. Civilizations have risen and fallen in the isles. People of all sorts have fled here, criminals, exiles, pirates and escaped slaves. Typically, kingdoms are restricted to one island. Every magical resource (no matter how rare) is found in the islands. The climate is temperate (ala, North America) with no deserts, and no snow in winter. Winter is a time of cold and very bad storms, sailing is impossible for much of winter. The season is short however, just three months. Players are required to have a skill involved with sailing of some sort (at least Profession Sailing). Boats are the only way to get around. Horses are rare. Lamas and mules are used to move cargo on land. Abandoned lamas are found on many islands. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CHALLENGE: You don't need to do the math or spell out in points, bur create an island kingdom, a ship (magical or not), or a character. I am not so worried about stats, just be creative. The characters are all 6E 175 point starting characters. starting magic has a limit of 45 active points (divide the cost of spells by three). Clerics need the faith skill and mages buy skills by school. Outside of that...have fun.

Question. What about an endurance reserve Mages have in the Fantasy hero sample character? The staff he weilded was an END reserve...would that be allowed in your campaign?

I will use the PDF format, so click on the link, please. I am treating all of these characters as starting level. Use them if you want, or not. I'm just looking for a place to post these. First up, The Shade. Background Marcus LeFluer worked at his dream job, oceanography. He was working as a chemist in an underwater lab when a Super villain infiltrated and destroyed the lab. The explosions detonated the air tanks, and suddenly the air pressure was at lethal levels. Marcus was a mutant with the survival gene, That gene lays dormant until such time as he encounters lethal conditions where it instantly adapts to the new environment. Marcus was found unconscious the next day, floating on debris. He was the only survivor. Personality Marcus is a nice guy. He has never cursed in his life. Marcus is a scientist, not a crime fighter. Still, his sense of personal responsibility has forced him into a life of crime fighting. He lives on a sailboat, and loves to use his new abilities to explore the ocean and go spear fishing. He is an excellent cook and enjoys cooking for the whole team. Seafood is his specialty. Marcus shifts his time between the institute lab (where he sets his own hours) and working at home. Quote "I am NOT the Shadow! I'm The Shade! The Shade!" Powers Marcus can generate a bubble of air from which all his powers come from. He can harden the bubble into a force shield, and that darkens the area round him like he's in deep shade...Hence his name, The Shade. From his bubble, he can extend extra limbs/tentacles. he attacks with these. He uses the force field to fly and he does so standing up. Appearance The Shade is always surrounded by deep shadow, but it looks like he wears either a trench coat or a lab coat. No good photos exist of the shade in clear light. Marcus is a 41 year old scientist, and he will likely look like that for the next 200 years. He always keeps in good physical shape. The SHADE.pdf

I can see that, but how about a simple magic sword bought with character points?

You are right, This is more a literary character than a player character.

With the right life support he will do just fine. But without that, I would rule it instant death and not bother counting dice.

That is true. This makes for an interesting story idea, but a lousy playing idea

I imagine this will be fairly common with players buying simple starting items with their character points. I have a character below with this amulet: Cost 4……..END 0. Summoner's Amulet : Power Defense (10 points) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), Perceivable (Amulet detects as Magic; -1/2) Cost 16…….END 0. Summoners Amulet: Endurance Reserve (80 END, 12 REC) Reserve: (21 Active Points); OAF (-1), Perceivable (Amulet detects as magic; -1/2) Cost 2………END 0. Summoner’s Amulet: Nightvision (OAF perceivable) I got no comments on the amulet, but it got me thinking...what magic items would you purchase as a starting character? I could imagine Bracers of Defense 10 PD/10 ED A ring of warmth, magic swords, all sorts of cool stuff...it just can't be all that expensive since this is a starting character. I am kind of wondering...how would you build the Portrait of Dorian Gray? Or say a vampiric blade, that heals its wielder as it drains BODY from its victims?

My concept is slightly different and it doesn't seem to work in a game setting. I think my ghostly girlfriend is more a story telling device. I was looking for a reason to continue the romance ala, the magical girl anime. That style of anime doesn't seem to translate well to gaming.

I'm wondering if it is easier to take a DNPC and just hand the character sheet to the GM.

I was thinking something more like this: she ends up at 355 points,,,or a 71 point follower. She is a lot more expensive than I thought. click the link to see the PDF file. and like I said I do not see her as a complication. I also gave her solidification for 1 charge of 6 hours because you cannot maintain a relationship with just visual stimuli. Ghost.pdf

I posted this pic on the Sunny Place thread, about a ghost that follows the heroes home. and it got me thinking. I'm not talking about a DNPC, but rather a follower. The ghost would have to be able to provide enough...benefits to justify keeping the relationship going (mere eye candy only lasts so long). and certainly the ghost cannot drain/feed off of her love if she is going to keep him. I'm thinking that the automaton powers won't really apply in this case, and they generally make a follower too expensive to purchase. How would you make a ghost girlfriend? I'm kinda stumped with this one.