OddHat

Re: [Twisted Game Concept] VG Supers If we went by how long we played a given game, I'd end up as the Bhaalspawn from BG1&2. Let Evil taste my Timestop followed by chain contingencies and spell triggers!

Re: Hero Talk Magazine Very nice work. I think I prefer the font used on #168, but it might just be the composition as a whole when compared with #169.

Re: WWII Era Superheroes and Villains New character for the player who posts here occasionally as Winston. Welcome Rex Dart of the Science Patrol!

Re: 10 Real-life Superheroes Angle Grinder Man is technically a Supervillain, albeit one the police don't seem too worried about. Terrifica seems really annoying. Your date gets drunk, and an annoying woman in a costume shows up and starts threatening you with mace. These guys would make for a great campaign, especially given low level powers. I love the comments by the employed members of the crowd on only being able to patrol a few nights a week.

Re: Musings on Random Musings Colorado: The New Jersey of the West.

Re: Musings on Random Musings NJ has casinos, no panties strip clubs, and plenty of places to dump bodies. I'm sure someone would pay to get in.

Re: [Just for Fun] "Aging" Heroes I think I'm not a fan of enough "Iron Age" Supers to properly Silver or Gild them, and characters like Tom Strong already have their Gold and Silver versions built in. However, the Planetary Team as Steel Age WWII heroes could work well. The Snowman - Born with the amazing ability to control the temperature so as to freeze any object at will, Elijah Snow traveled the world to hone his detective skills in order to pursue his war on crime! Recruited by the War Department, the Snowman now fights threats against liberty, both at home and abroad! Jungle Girl - Daughter of the mysterious Queen of the Jungle Kingdom of Opar, Jakita Wagner was sent to civilization to find allies against the Nazi threat! With her jungle strength, speed and keen senses, she now fights to preserve Freedom and Justice for all! The Little Drummer Boy - A musical prodigy, Johnny Jones wowed audiences all over the world until the night his parents were brutally murdered by gangsters before his very eyes! Taken in by the Snowman (who'd been attending the boy's concert), Johnny soon proved he could put his genius for music, languages and machines to use in the Snowman's war on crime! Now Johnny stands with his hero, fighting to make sure that no other child is ever orphaned by crime again!

Re: Okay, Lightsabres rule... but Star Wars is so-so. I always liked the Space Opera explanation that Lightsabers / Energy Swords make better weapons on a ship and in an artificial habitat, as well as being useful for cops and as weapons of honor in a culture with a strong dueling tradition. The interior of a space ship or artificial habitat is full of delicate equipment and other people; you don't want a missed shot blowing up something irreplaceable or ricocheting around. Combat is also usually close, and a quick, well trained man can often be on you well before you have time to aim and fire a pistol; in those circumstances, you want something that doesn't require careful aim, especially if you want to avoid accidentally shooting a friend or non-combatant. Which brings us to cops. Sure, a cop will carry a blaster, but opening fire in a crowd is almost never a good thing (hitting citizens means lawsuits and paperwork). Besides, a bullet or blast that can get through armor will kill an unarmored man or tear through most walls, making the risk of unintended consequences considerable. An energy sword is precise, can be turned down for crowd control to just shock the target, or turned up enough to chop thorough the heaviest civilian grade armor (or even military grade, if you get the right permits). When it comes to duels, gentlemen use energy swords. Easier to display your skill, much easier to avoid killing your opponent before he has a chance to honorably surrender, almost no chance of looking like an idiot by accidentally killing a spectator. Besides, you just look cooler posing with a sword than with a pistol, and coolness counts.

Re: Why hasn't magic changed the world? Lysenkoism is a core concept in some Superhero worlds. The child of a Super is almost always a Super.

Re: Why hasn't magic changed the world?

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Tracked down and re-read Temps and Eurotemps. Think Wildcards with a UK sense of humor. Very good.

Re: Why hasn't magic changed the world? If you want "realism" in your fantasy game, say goodbye to magic, miracles, and monsters. If you want your characters to be demographically average folks, they're now illiterate peasants without weapon skills who'll never see more of an adventure than being slaughtered by bandits or soldiers. Of course, not many players would stick with a campaign like that for more than a session or two. If you don't like D&D magic and magic users, don't use them. There's no rule that "Fantasy" has to mean a Gary Gygax hodgepodge.

Re: HERO: Future Generations High stress increases the chance of having daughters. Superheroing is a stressful profession. Add in the constant exposure to radiation, dimensional rift energies and worth, and most Superheroes are shooting blanks. If it weren't for the constant abuse of booze and happy pills, Reed & Sue would never have managed Franklin. Character proposal for next campaign: Doc Virile, Super Sex Therapist.

Re: Best Avengers Group Thor, Hercules, Wonderman, Starfox, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Quicksilver, Hank Pym, Wasp, Iron Man, Captain America and Hawkeye. Not much that gang can't deal with, other than the infighting.

Re: Magicians without magic Depends on the campaign. In mine, Supers apply for a Fictitious Name License, just like small businesses. Only the government needs to know that Frank Butterman is the Amazing Captain Excitement; as far as the bank is concerned, Amazing Captain Excitement is his name. If you choose not to get a Fictitious Name License, no endorsement contracts for you.

Re: Thinking of replacing one of the Friends of Justice I noticed that Maxine didn't get picked that often. Shame to lose her, though. Maybe she could be spiced up a bit? Given some key knowledge skills (KS: Mad Scientists, Masked Vigilantes, Conspiracy Theories, etc) that you could inform the group may come into play? As to new characters, how about a Girl Scientist with an unrequited crush on Doc? She may overlap a bit much with Doc and Duncan, but it's a type that turned up now and then. Alternatively, how about a Jungle Queen, with acrobatics, a "Jungle Fighting" martial art, and some survival, tracking and animal handling skills? She's with Doc to save his life, as he saved her people, and may return only when she has succeeded. Or a Chinese Flower, a girl who attached herself to the gang on a trip to Shanghai, with a raft of China / Chinatown related KS and contacts, language skills, deadly hair pins, a derringer, and a surprising knowledge of both poison and Chinese Medicine. She's secretly the third daughter of Doctor Fang, and has joined the FoJ as part of a sinister plot, but finds her heart moved by the simple American idealism of Our Heroes, and is considering mending her ways. Looking forward to whatever you do. It's a great group of characters.

Re: Magicians without magic Sure. Let Mystery Men lead the way.

Re: Magicians without magic Sure, and they'd keep doing so. On the other hand, there's even better quality escapism to be had by watching clips of Incredible Man or Amazing Woman, imagining it's you pounding Doctor Kill'em and saving bus-loads of schoolgirls and nuns. Also, I'd expect at least a few Super Sports if the Supers population was high enough. I disagree here. People are endlessly fascinated by War and Politics. For evidence, I give you the Internet. Add in some Super's costumes and the battles are also like Porn. Maybe. This is a case where I go from "I'd like bookies to take bets on Super Battles in this setting, because it suits my sense of humor" and then go backwards and say "They figure out ways to make it work", just like the other bits I want in my campaign world that don't exist in the real one. If another GM says "There's no way that could work in my campaign", fair enough.

Re: All Of Them Damn Martial Bricks Speaking as a moderator, this thread features multiple ROC violations. Thread locked, warnings will be issued.

Re: Why hasn't magic changed the world? The solution I usually use is "It has, but on the surface things look similar". Don't think D&D. Think the early 19th century mixed with 1980s Hollywood fantasy settings. Somewhere out there, people get miracle cures and have incredible machines. The richest families in a large town or small city have a few pretty nice tools and conveniences. If you're poor, very little of that really affects you. Yes, the whole town can get together and hire a wizard to come slay a dragon, but there's not a magic shop on every corner. Sure, if cousin Billy gets his leg cut off, somewhere there's a Healer who could grow him a new one, but unless you're wealthy or well connected he'll probably have to live with a wooden leg, if he lives at all. War becomes very different thanks to the early addition of reliable battlefield communications and intelligence, and the greatest nobles and richest merchants can communicate easily across the globe, but for most people life is only improved in small ways. Crop yields are a bit higher, child mortality a bit lower, plagues and epidemics less common, population pressures and banditry a bit more common. On the surface, it still looks like Ye Olden Tymes. As Ken Hite says, start with your end goal in mind and work backwards. Going the other way is a fun exercise, but there's no guarantee you'll end up with a playable setting.

Re: Yet Another Organization Question: Trismegistus Council Nothing much is out there right now. However, The Algernon Files for Hero features the Covenant; it makes a great stand in for the TC. And the New Circle makes a great TC strike team.

Re: World at War!: The Yggdrasil Conundrum Even better for the Christmas idea. Loki is being fed power by the Nazis, their murder and deceit acting as "worship"; to counter him, the PCs must help Odin gain a pool of worshipers, millions of souls who sincerely believe in a benevolent yet mysterious all knowing old man as the embodiment of winter. One red suit and appearance in the Macys parade later, and yes, Virginia, there is a Woden Klaus.

Re: World at War!: The Yggdrasil Conundrum Paragon Alpha's ideas rock within your campaign mythos, and I owe him rep. Still, I love the Christmas Tree idea as well. Gives you a chance to bring the avenging Santa Claus in at the climax of the battle, his crude oak sleigh pulled by an eight legged steed, and a patch over one eye...

Re: How do you keep your dark knights from going "squish"? As far as the problem (when and if it is a problem) of Supers unloading with deadly force on normals and accidentally hospitalizing or killing them, I find a short, direct discussion with the players usually works; "Normals usually can't take 12d6 blasts without ending up in intensive care or the morgue; this is a game where that can have serious consequences for your character and the story." I'd rather take that option than hint or impose mechanical solutions beyond the already high durability of the average person in HERO. As to excessive force used on costumed enemies, a combination of design consideration and direct communication with the players works best there as well. There's something to be said for the comic book convention that some characters are just normals with a gimmick and their underwear on the outside of their tights, but both the GM and the player should be on the same page about such characters being present in the campaign. If the players have to show restraint to avoid hospitalizing the bad guys, I as GM should tell them that up front.

Re: Power Type: Espoir Compound Power: Heal all characteristics below starting value + Heal Flash Damage (option under Healing) + Aid Ego (grants a bonus breakout roll against pesky Mind Controls) + Dispel Entangle (optional). That should do it.