oconnellmd

Re: The Forte campaign turned 20 today Thanks! Which part?

Re: The Forte campaign turned 20 today Thanks. Actually, one of the projects I'm working now is to try to get everyone's original sheets and their modern-day versions. Tricky stuff, since we're all spread around the country now (and too busy to be digging in the closet for stuff!). I'll see if I can track down my original Dr. Jackal (my main Forte character) sheet and get it up with the latest (5th edition) version. You're going to laugh, I'm warning you. We had a GM who didn't allow much with your experience. He had binders filled with villains that he didn't want to have to re-do as we grew, so our powers didn't grow a whole lot (at least not quickly). We all ended up buying a lot of skills, and adding some new powers (the ones that were allowed, and there was a big no-no list. No mental powers, no NNDs, no killing, etc). Is was a low-powered game (characters started at around 200) and you'll find it funny how so many XPs could be spent with so little obvious growth to show for it. But that was okay. Forte was about the story, not the number of dice, so no one really minded much. I'll see what I can dig up.

A Champions game that started on November 5, 1987, turned twenty years old today. True, the regular weekly campaign ended in 1995, but the game has continued on in semi-annual pick-up games (usually at Comic-Con in San Diego, but whenever we can manage to get together in the same town again) and in online fiction. And, most importantly, its players and GM are all still friends after all this time...friends for life. Sometimes, the stars can line up just right, and that little game you start playing with your buddies can become what Champions was meant to make. Thought I'd just share the photo album I put up, looking back at twenty years of our gaming group and the good times we've had: http://forteuniverse.com/20yearsoffortegallery.htm ...and a little story titled "20" that takes a look back on two decades of the campaign we all created: http://www.forteuniverse.com/forte-eu/20.htm Hope you check 'em out, hope you enjoy, and hope that new game you're thinking about starting rolls just right and starts its own long legacy. Thanks, Champions, for making it all possible. And thanks, Steve, for keeping Champions going so the magic can continue for all of us. Michael O'Connell http://www.forteuniverse.com/

Okay, I'm building my first character in a LONG time, and I find I'm pretty rusty on the rules (and I'm really just learning the 5th). Looking for an opinion. I'm building an ice guy (I'm particularly rusty because I normally only play bricks and martial artists, so I'm not used to dealing with power frameworks so much). I'm using an elemental control for his powers. I'm seeing him as having to switch into his ice form for his powers to work (he can't use them unless he takes the ice form). So I started off by adding Only in Hero ID to each individual slot. Now, I'm also thinking in his concept that this power comes through a mystical ring. He needs it to transform into his ice self. So there we have a focus. Should I be taking both Focus and Only in Hero ID on each slot? I am seeing two limitations here. The powers only work if he's transformed. but he can't transform without the ring. But is taking both of these limitations a rules no-no (or at least, bad form)? Or should I be doing something like buying a Transform (Instant Change) and only applying the focus limitation to THAT? How would you do it?

Granted, the Forte campaign "officially" only lasted 8 years in its weekly format, but it continued on in semi-annual one-shot games (whenever a few of us could all get together in the same state again...usually at Comic-Con in San Diego) and in fiction on the ForteUniverse site. One month from today marks the 20-year anniversary of the Forte Champions campaign. To celebrate (just a little early), seven of us that were able to make it flew to Seattle, the city that the Forte game took place in, for a three-day weekend reunion and...of course...the 20th anniversary run of the game, an adventure written and run by original Forte GM himself, K.C. Ryan. If you're curious to see what a 20th anniversary game looks like, you can read all about it, if you'd like, at the official write-up page of the game called "Forte Forever": http://www.forteuniverse.com/forte-eu/forteforever.htm And if you're curious how the team's anniversary is being celebrated inside the game world itself, you can read this fun little page here: http://forteuniverse.com/fortemuseum-forte20highlights.htm As always, feel free to roam around the ForteUniverse site itself and check out all the stuff there: http://www.forteuniverse.com Hope you enjoy, and may all our campaigns last so long! Thanks, Hero Games, for starting something that's been a part of our lives for twenty years (and counting). Champions rocks! Michael O'Connell

Re: Character monologues Nice. That was fun (da!). Exactly what I'm talking about. Helpful, too, if someone ELSE is asking you the questions, and you're not just interviewing yourself (as I did). I think the media interview should be a requirement in every campaign. Like, the GM writing up the interview questions for each character. Doesn't even have to be done live. Could be done by email or whatever. Helps you learn more about your character, and it's a great way for your fellow players to learn more, too.

Re: Character monologues There are other creative alternatives to the monologue, too. There's the interview, for example. I did a fictional interview with my (retired) character Dr. Jackal, for example. Great way to get inside their heads: http://forteuniverse.com/forte05/import-jackal-home.htm (Keep in mind it's a fake web page, so none of the links works on it except for the big one in the middle that goes to the interview). I just finished up our "Forte.com" page, which is a simulation of the Forte computer system, and includes fake message boards, a chat room, and an email system. There are fictional threads, chat room transcripts and emails there. Another great way to find the character's "voice". http://forteuniverse.com/fortedotcom/index.htm And there's always the old-fashioned fiction method. Plenty of those on the Forte 2000 Adventures page: http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kadventures.htm ...or the "Forte '05" page: http://forteuniverse.com/forte05/index.html You can do a lot of exploration IN the game, of course, but you can get a lot deeper and explore the character more outside the game.

Re: What does YOUR hero team's computer system look like? I did. Of course, I stole a lot of the parts (swiped the animated globe, for example, from some site somewhere...and stole the "control panel" for it from Google Earth...), but I had to put it all together. The serious pain was recreating our original team base map (existing only on graph paper for two decades) in Illustrator. And making banner ads for the Links page did take some time. But the whole thing, I think, gives you a good feel for the Forte campaign world and its characters.

http://forteuniverse.com/fortedotcom Here's what ours looks like. Just a simulation of what a hero team's computer might look like. Just for fun. A lot of stuff doesn't actually work, but is there just as window dressing. Use the "help" buttons too see what works and what doesn't. Have fun (I hope!). Michael O'Connell http://forteuniverse.com

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site!

Latest Forte art addition... http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/Moondancer-harrington-med.jpg Moondancer, by Sean Harrington. Holy CRAP! And he did that in less than two days. And yet, I just had to send a request for a refund to a guy who I ordered a commission from--for a pencil-only cartoony thing--six months ago. He still can't get it done. Whereas you get guys like Sean Harrington who say to themselves, "Hey, I just took this guy's money. Perhaps I should get started on the item he paid me for right away...". The joys of eBay art auctions. You take your chances.

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site! Sorry, got busy there for a few days. Yeah, Travis and I didn't get to talk for long, but naturally I had to mention the board thing. Unfortunately I was brain-farting at the time and couldn't recall your name, but I did mention that you went with him to my 21st birthday party. Didn't get to get too much reaction to that, as it was right at that moment he realized he knew me co-worker, Caramanza. Seeing as how that's a name you don't quickly forget, you should remember him if you know him. Sounds like Travis knows him though someone else, so that would be quite the coincidence, indeed, if you did.

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site! Okay, and the world gets smaller... So I'm at the office today, outside having a smoke with a co-worker of mine, chatting away about how crappy our jobs are. And who should come walking out of my building and spot me? Travis. I'm not kidding. Haven't seen him in almost 20 years. So what happens just a couple of days after we start talking about him here on this board? He happens to be delivering roses in my building for Valentine's Day (as a job. He's not a stalker or anything...), and coming back out just as I'm taking a quick smoke break. And he recognizes me right away. And even weirder, turns out he knew my co-worker, too. Neither of us had time to talk much, but he did mention "Slayzer" (heh), and I gave him one of my Nice Guy cards for my comic site so he could drop me an email there. Hope he does. Does the universe just rock? Or is Sacramento just WAY too small?

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site! Yeah, I remember the joke was always "Um...that's your HERO name?" Hate to think what his villain name would be... Does kind of sound like a band that...well, let's be honest, *I* would have listened to back during that time (I lived the hair band lifestyle for a couple of years there). I can't remember how many times Slayzer pops up in the post-campaign tales (I THINK it's more than once...), but the one I know for sure is this one off the Forte Expanded Universe site: http://forteuniverse.com/forte-eu/jericho1.htm That was a game report from an AWESOME Comic-Con game (and I'm not just saying that because I co-GM'd it!) in 1998 that joined up four different campaign worlds. Major fun. But by all means...feel free to rifle through everything to try and find more Slayzer. And feel free to watch the community center for extra cars in the parking lot in about a year and a half. Just in case they do the same thing for me on my 40th birthday...

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site! What am I, on "This Is Your Life"?! Yeah, that was my party, all right. Funny, I was just talking with an old friend about that party during Super Bowl. How if you had to pick out one day as the best day of your life, that was probably mine. Everyone from every part of my life--different groups of friends, every side of my family--was there in one place. Normally, you don't get to have that kind of experience until your funeral, and then you're not really able to enjoy it (you're too busy decomposing...). That was an amazing night. And apparently, even a few gamers snuck in that I'd forgotten about. If Travis is the one I'm remembering, I think he played "Slayzer". Which is funny, because I've had that character occasionally reappearing in Forte-world fiction and such over the years. Forte is part of the same game universe that you played in, so, therefore, Slayzer (and your Iceman clone) are part of the overall history. And if I AM remembering the right guy...great guy. Enjoyed gaming with him a number of times. Haven't seen him since the game, though. And yeah, I do remember the Dalek thing. What can I say? K.C. (the GM) was a Who fan...

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site!

Re: SO much new art at the Forte site! Hey, if you get to coloring, please feel free to share. Yeah, love the Storn stuff on there! I'm overdue getting some more...

http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kgallery-art.htm Just realized I hadn't shared in quite a while...and I love sharing art! We've packed the gallery at the Forte 2000 campaign site (mostly from eBay artists), and there's a lot of goodness to be seen. Check it out! And also, feel free to check out the whole ForteUniverse site. No, still no stats (sorry), but lots of cool stories and game reports to read, so I hope you might give some of them a try: http://forteuniverse.com/index.html But if too much reading without sheets to back it up ain't your thing, that's cool...at least check some art out. Eye candy is keen. Hope you enjoy. Michael O'Connell

Highlights In case you don't feel like fishing through all that, I thought I'd just toss some links up to some highlights. I just love sharing art... http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kcover189test2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kcover181test2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kcover135test2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kcover106test2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/moondancerblairmed.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/nightshiftenciso2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/fortefacesencisomed.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/dynagirljaworskimed.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/dynagirlhoamed.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/mistphong2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/nightshiftphongmed.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2ktoni2med.jpg http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/nightsablelandenmed.jpg And for some quick sample story stuff, these are really quick reads. Not even actual fiction, just phone call transcripts, but a fun read, I think, showing what happens when some average dude gets his hands on the phone number to a secret hero base: http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/hotline.htm http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/hotline2.htm And finally, a super-hero radio interview transcript. Please note that all the links accept the ones to the interview are dead links...they're just window dressing: http://forteuniverse.com/forte05/import-jackal-home.htm

Haven't mentioned the Forte site in a while, and since we added so much stuff to it, thought I'd share. Okay, the bad news? Still no sheets (pausing for grumbles and curses). Coming one of these days, honest. But a lot of new stories and "issues" added...but more importantly for those who don't have time to read all that stuff, BUTTLOADS of awesome new hero art. Most of it is in the Forte Forte 2000 art gallery, so head there and at least check out the pretty pictures. Just for fun, I'll gate you through one of our site ads: http://forteuniverse.com/fortead2.htm Just click anywhere on it to get to the main page, and then I'd advise clicking on the link to the Forte 2000 site, as it's the most complete and has the most new stuff on it (and almost all the art). Hope you enjoy the shots...and maybe even a tale or two... Michael O'Connell

Re: Eryck Webb art Yeah, I really like what he does. He's done a LOT of stuff for me (as you can see by the site), and he continues to surprise me with some of the takes he has on art requests of mine. And his design work. Being a NON-artist, myself, I've sometimes asked him to do a redesign on existing characters (from old art or from Heromachine basics I've come up with) or to just design something from scratch based on a general description of mine. He's really blown me away with some of his ideas, and he has a great sense of "hero fashion". Yeah, I'd definitely try him out, if only just for fun. He's up there on eBay every single week. And thanks for noticing the Forte 2000 site. Glad you liked. Yeah, the stories are divided between actual "issues" and the fiction pieces, and the "issues" are meant to emulate the old game reports from our original Forte campaign (and, being Champions, we considered each run of our campaign to be a comic book issue), written by our GM, K.C. Ryan. Before the next week's session, he'd always type up a summary to hand to us of the previous adventure...and over time those summaries became pretty good fiction reading on their own (and invaluable historical/research tools). So the Forte 2000 "issues" are meant to be fictional game reports, as though they were actual adventures we all played in the virtual campaign. I even try to write the characters and their actions with the player/creators of the characters in mind, as I know how they all game. They're fun. Kind of like I'm still gaming, even though all my old Champs peeps are now spread around the country. Only now I don't have those pesky players messing up my plots with their crazy ideas and refusal to do what I planned for them to do! Ha! Total control! BTW, Godsend looks great! I'm going to have to look into picking one up. I don't care if I'm not really gaming these days, it just looks like a cool as hell read. Nice work! And if you've read any of the "Dawn of Anubis" issues on the Forte 2000 site, you'll know I'm into that kind of thing... Michael O'Connell Virtual GM, "Forte 2000" http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZeryckwebb3QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEBIQ3aMESOI Just thought I'd mention. The artist on eBay I get a lot of my gaming art from, Eryck Webb, has put up a load of auctions for this week. About another three days left on those. If you're looking for some really great super art, you might want to give him a try. He's good, he's cheap, and he's fast. My work (even multiple pieces) have always been done before the next week is out...unlike other eBay artists who want you to wait 6-8 weeks for them to get around to it, and then the work ends up disappointing. He takes PayPal only, and he either mails the original to you, or just e-mails the high-res files to you for your own printing (I do this option myself, because I get the art much faster and all my art needs are web needs anyway, and it saves me the bother of scanning). If you're looking for some campaign art, just wanted to point out that this is a really good week to grab it if you want to try him out. He usually doesn't put up this many auctions, but I guess he's trying to make the most of his semester break. You can see a lot of samples of his work at our gaming site's gallery page: http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000/forte2kgallery.htm Or you can see samples right on the auction pages themselves. Hope you give him a try. He's worth the time. Michael O'Connell (Who in no way is getting a cut from this, I swear. Just know how hard it is for gamers to find decent art out there...). http://forteuniverse.com/forte2000

Re: Forte 2000 - My Campaign site

Re: Forte 2000 - My Campaign site

Re: Forte 2000 - My Campaign site Arg! I had it right the first time. Then I happened to have an old 'Times issue out and saw it with two R's, so I changed it. Got to learn to go with your instincts... Great to hear from you! Yeah, we all kind of miss the old Clobberin' Times. Actually, in case you hadn't heard, we've got a Yahoo group up for old 'Times members. Quite a few of the old gang there. I'll drop you a note and get your e-mail address and send you an invite. Love to see you on there for a little message board chat. Plus, it'll give you a chance to check out the all-new Clobberin' Times Online (yes, there is such a thing!).