OddHat

Re: CU - Wold Newton Sounds good. Maybe the trade routes were developed by a kingdom or kingdoms that he encountered and inspired along the way? The Norte Chico civilization (real world history) reache pretty respectable levels around 3000 BC in Peru, and their predecessors were in the area as far back as 11000 BC. Maybe Conan could have reached them and inspired them to send explorers back across to North Africa?

Re: Wold Newton: A letter from Clark Savage to Kent Allard Class D modified humans are those who trace their unusual abilities back to the research of Johann Conrad Dippel, father of Mad Science. Dippel's experiments provided inspiration for Shelley's novel, Frankenstein. Dippel's notes inspired such greats as Moreau, Jekyll, Griffen, Gibberne, West, and many others. Class D also includes those whose abilities stem from contact with alien or extradimensional technology, but this classification is hotly debated in the Mad Science community. Class E modified human stock displays extended life span, inhuman resilience, enhanced physical strength and reflexes, well developed Fortean Talents, regenerative abilities, and extremely low fertility or infertility. Many are subject to severe physical deformities and mental illness, possibly brought on by the regenerative process. Class E humans have been described by a variety of names (Nephilim, Theozoa, Eternals, Immortals, the Unknown, etc). A number of Class E humans have posed as (and possibly believed themselves to be) mythical entities during their long lives. (Actually, I'm considering renaming them Class N).

Re: CU - Wold Newton Great ideas. I'll think it over and decide how exactly I want to handle Kull and Conan. I like the idea of merging them, and of treating Ophir and Opar as two names for the same city. Primitive and tribal Atlantis doesn't bother me; it's either a remnant of the collapsed Atlantean civilization or a distortion of fact introduced by the storyteller. I'll need to scan the source material and time lines a bit, but you've convinced me to give it a look. Doc Savage using the treasure of Conan's forgotten visit to the Americas is a great bit, and could be tied into the presence of tobacco residue in Egyptian mummy wrappings and the implied trade between Ancient Egypt and South America. Maybe Conan laid down trade route's that were lost?

Re: Various Star Damage

Re: Various Star Damage You're either in a campaign where the GM wants people star diving or you're not. Worrying about the "realistic" amount of HERO system damage it would do is fun, but has almost nothing to do with any campaign people are likely to actually play. Darren Watts suggested Desolid versus Energy for this last year at Dundracon; I'm sure Steve Long would add that it's strictly GM's option whether that works, as Desolid versus environmental damage has been ruled illegal in the case of falling.

Re: HERO - Champions The Algernon Files for HERO from Blackwyrm games includes its own setting not tied to the CU, and is excellent. Full timeline, NPC Heroes and Villains, organizations, plot seeds, and a few bases and vehicles. Reminds me a lot of the best of the old school Champions supplements. Gestalt, by Scott Bennie, is also coming out this year from Blackwyrm. Fantastic book, including a complete non-CU setting, heroes, villains, plot seeds, etc. Very different flavor from the CU. There are a few other non-CU settings out there that are compatible with HERO, including Godsend and Omlevex, but I haven't looked into either particularly.

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters Fun battle scene, and good to see the terror that is Fannon! From the black cloud, I'm guessing you reserve the option of bringing him 'round again. He should have had an apprentice named Fanfic. Always great to read these.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings We are so passionate about such entirely trivial crap.

Re: When the good cosmic being motiffs are taken "Ayam teh Kozmik Katz. Ay wantz teh cheeseburgers." - Kozmik Katz

Re: Telekinesis - Earth Only It's a matter of control and predictability. The Brick who uses his STR to grab a car and make an impromptu wall, or the TKer who does the same thing, is depending on the GM being willing to allow that there's a car there, and the GM allowing him to do it as one attack action. The car only has a car's DEF and BOD. The Brick or TKer who pays for an Entangle or Force Wall has spent the points to have more control over the power. There should always be something he can make into a wall (unless he took limitations to change this), the DEF and BOD are predictable (unless he took limits on this as well), and it's always going to take just one attack action (unless limited). I'd let your son should use his Earth TK to form a wall of Earth, but you as GM would control the DEF and BOD of that wall, and would be free to come up with reasons it didn't work in a given situation. If he wants more predictability than that, ask him to spend points.

Re: Question about Hawkman villains I think DC's current editors and writers are still sensitive over the Adam West / Superfriends era DC villains. In most DC titles (but not all) there wasn't really a sense of peril, or that the Villains really intended to do anything Evil. You can't be that scared of a guy who wants to trap our heroes in a giant pinball machine. So now the pendulum is most of the way over on the other side. Meanwhile, Marvel has Ultimate Hulk and in one issue 616 Spider Man as cannibals; some readers love the humor/drama/"realism" value of that. Personally I think it's a lousy choice from a writing perspective; its faux edgy and reduces my ability to care about the characters. One man's (human) meat is another man's poison.

Re: Question about Hawkman villains Comics and cannibalism: Perfect together. Making villains a real threat is fine, a little camp or gross humor can work now and then, but when large numbers of villains (and a few "heroes") are chowing down regularly on their foes, and it's not meant as parody, a writer has to ask himself if he really has any ideas left. It's like a teen screaming "Look at me! I'm Extreme!" Only, as the screamers are guys in their 30s and 40s, without the cute factor.

Re: Contemplating a few house rules for my PBEM I've been using "Real Weapon includes a fixed STUN multiple" for a long time to get a higher powered feel for Supers. I was also in and co-GMed a campaign with a "no body through = no stun through" rule. Both work well. The Real Weapon variation you're proposing looks fine.

Re: Help me make a Casino based Super Villain group The Custodian - A minor gadgeteer, can fix absolutely anything, and has amazing cleaning related powers. Martial art revolving around cleaning appliances. El Jefe de Cocina - A chef who can prepare any meal, in a fraction of the time needed by a normal man. No guarantees as far as taste is concerned. Fights with knives, hot cooking oil. Eventually rebells when it becomes clear that the other villains are all being paid 3-5 times as much as he is. The Counter Used to make his living playing blackjack, until the casinos started using so many packs that card counting was impossible. Now plans pathetic, number themed crimes using out of date technology and methods. Would be a complete joke, but has developed a surprisingly effective combat style based around observing an opponent and then guessing where and how they'll move (Combat Skill Levels that only work with a successful Analyze Combat roll, Find Weakness).

Re: Help me make a Casino based Super Villain group The Broken Man- A businessman who lost all of his money, his wedding wring, his pink slip, and finally his savings from gambling addiction. His wife left him, and took the children, when he asked her to sleep with one of his creditors. His suicide attempt left him with nerve damage; now, unable to feel pain, the Broken Man takes his revenge by attempting to prey on other casino patrons. The Aging Good Time Girl- A once beautiful girl loosing her looks to too much booze, too many cigarettes and too many years of drug fueled nights, the Aging Good Time Girl can't rely on her charms to score cash, dope, free meals, free drinks and a free bed the way she used to. Luckily, years of seeing what "good" men do when their wives think they're at the tables have hardened her heart, and years of drugs have killed whatever sparks of empathy or restraint might have been left. Now she preys on young women and children, the younger the better, befriending them, getting the drunk or high, and then selling them to the local massage parlors to be broken for the use of conventioneers and respectable business men. The Casino Owner- He makes his living by cheating idiots out of their money, and the public loves him for it. He retains just enough mob contacts to protect himself from gangs, employs the highest quality security he can afford, and owns a few dozen local politicians outright. In a world with spandex clad Supers, he owns a few of them as well.

Re: SPD and DEX for superheroic martial artists? In the CU, SPD 7 is possible for humans. A SPD 6 or 7 for a "One of the World's Best" human martial artist type isn't inappropriate. Rapid Attack, Two Weapon Fighting, and levels with Sweep can also add up for those real world types who can throw a dozen meaningful punches before even a competent opponent can react.

Re: Make Love, not Warcraft All the babes are "hot lesbians" (not that they have sex with eachother either), and no one actually has reproductive organs. The hunks and babes will be extinct within a generation.

Re: WWYCD: "I Am Doctor Destryoer!" Doctor Destroyer has no powers; he has gadgets. I'm reading "a fraction of his power" as "You have no idea how to operate any of this junk; you can't even get the clock in the helmet's HUD to stop blinking 12:00". Style is a mage, his powers mostly knowledge based. He retains some of his magic, possibly all, but can't get Destroyer's armor to even move. He frees "his" body from the armor, gets dressed, and goes after Destroyer in the body of a crippled old man. Destroyer meanwhile may gain some residue magic in Style's body, but retains his own memories and knowledge. He enjoys having a much younger, healthier form and re-contacts his agents, smoothly taking control of his organization once more. Style attempts to reclaim his old body, but trapped in Destroyer's he finds himself prone to wild mood swings, paranoia, and delusions of grandeur. With a healthy brain for the first time in decades, Destroyer finds his own moods even, his mind reasonably free of flights of wild anger. He also finds that Style's brain, while excellent, can't support his own unrivaled genius. The physical architecture just isn't there. Destroyer begins racing to find a way to enhance that brain. Style, driven by his new psychotic genius brain, makes a deal with the Dragon, promising to break its chains in exchange for the power he needs to revenge himself on Destroyer. Leading a small army of Red Banner cultists and wearing a demon bound into the form of mystic armor, Style attacks Destroyer's invisible flying fortress above Washington, D.C. Destroyer fights back with almost his full might, wearing a suit of his best armor, but the mad genius his flawed brain provided just isn't there. Flaming vehicles plummet to the streets of Washington, and finally the fortress itself tumbles down, destroying most of the capitol in a single massive explosion. Destroyer and Style survive, protected by their armor. Destroyer attempts to reverse the mind switch, only to find himself blocked by the demonic armor Style now wears and impossibly sophisticated spells woven with Destroyer's own stolen brain. Style declares himself Shiva, true Destroyer of Worlds, and using the power of the Dragon smashes through Destroyer's armor, killing his old body and destroying Zerostein's soul. Roaring his triumph, Style opens gates to worlds of unspeakable horror in the ruins of Washington, in Paris, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, city after city, loosing radiation, disease, and demons of every description. The chains binding the Dragon will shatter, and the world will scream beneath the cloven hoof of a true Destroyer!

Re: Hulk vs Superman I'm fond of the Lex Luthor: Man of Steel retcon, in concept if not always execution. Lex as a human genius convinced that all of these aliens and freaks are going to lead to man's destruction, with Superman as the most obviously dangerous. They need to be controlled or destroyed for the good of humanity, and Lex is the only one who can do it. He then blinds himself to the harm he's doing in trying to bring the heroes down. It's a bit of a Marvel cross-seeding, Lex Jameson, but it's a good one. The Smallville Luthor was also fun for the first two seasons, "I'm doing the right thing and I'll do whatever it takes to get there" and the corruption inherent in that, but the shows pacing and failure to show me anything I cared about with Clark killed my interest. I understand the writing hasn't gotten any better since.

Re: WWII Era Superheroes and Villains Repped.

Re: WWII Era Superheroes and Villains

Re: WWII Era Superheroes and Villains *crickets* So, um, no love for Rex Dart?

Re: WWII Era Superheroes and Villains Rex Dart's Mark V Flying Disk, the pinnacle of 1993 technology!

Re: [Twisted Game Concept] VG Supers Baldur's Gate I and II, the PC versions by Bioware. AD&D CRPGs.

Re: 10 Real-life Superheroes True. One or two (particularly Superbario) are activists with a gimmick. Considering the other approaches to drawing attention to a cause, at least it's an entertaining gimmick.