Jkeown

So Indianapolis seems to have more than its fair share of wackaloons who believe in ghosts. In fact, there is one sleeping about 20 feet away from me.

I have to run a one-shot game today, and I was thinking of Urban Fantasy HERO: Indianapolis. Also known around here as Crossroads.

One of the pregens will have James Whitcomb Riley as a contact. A kind, fairly boozy ghost who knows all the skinny on the supernatural in Indy. I think a ritual of summons might be required.

You have to travel to Lockerbie in Indianapolis. There, get out a decent bottle of alcohol, read Little Orphant Annie aloud to an audience and apply copious amounts of patience. If James is about, he'll materialize, and talk while (reluctantly) partaking of whatever drink you provided. Written up as a power, I got this:

James, Are You There?: Summon 548-point Ghost (110 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes, -2), OIF Immobile (Location 528 Lockerbie Street, Indianapolis IN; -1 1/2), Requires A Roll (Summoner roll; -1/2), Summoned Being Must Inhabit Locale (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) Real Cost: 18

But that implies James will be of more use than just talking about the magical happenings in the city. If he's not likely to go around Ghost-Touching folks, dropping them with cardiac arrest (hardly his style, you'll agree), then maybe this is just an elaborate Contact?

For 10 points, you get this:

James Whitcomb Riley's Ghost: Contact (Contact has very useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 16-

One is certainly more characterful, but campaign wise, the Contact makes more sense than the spell.

So I have this Darkness Orb that can, in addition to other darkness-related powers, heal a person. I had at first thought that a simple Healing effect would be sufficient. Upon further reflection, it seems like the Orb should mark the person it healed, with dark tattoo-like images on the areas healed.

This seems like a transform. I expressed it thus:

Dark Healing: Major Transform 5d6 (Wounded Person into Healed, Marked Person, Being Wounded Again) (50 Active Points); OAF (-1)

So you get your 5D6 of Transform, and if it's enough, you get healed and marked up as one who benefited from the orb's power. This last bit is a campaign thing, and will leave PCs and others vulnerable to later influences. I'm thinking of a side effect that marks the user in a similar fashion.

Your thoughts?

Re: Your "2010" Pet Gaming Projects

Most of 2010 will be consumed with Dark Heresy. I had originally intended to HERO-fy it, but that fell by the wayside.

I could try to bring Caleon (my homebrew) up to 6th edition standards... but that sounds like work.

I think I shall set my sights on running a Kazei 5 game... Just got the PDF, and I think I should convert my DH group to HERO and force some Zero Zone action on them...

So, it's my birthday, and we're playing whatever I want.

I want to play Fallout HERO. I've created 3 package deals: Admin, Security and Maintenance. This means 2 of my players will likely be the same branch. No big deal.

The scenario is that vault-dwellers are starting to go missing. A few "random" encounters with crazed folks turns into more frequent encounters with actual ghouls. They must be getting in somehow. Players search for the breach in the vault. There is no such breach. The ghouls are the missing vault dwellers, of course.

Long story short: Just as the ghoul population tips over and most everyone but the PCs are either mad, dead, dying or turned, the timer goes off and the door opens to the outside. Thus perhaps begins a long campaign of Fallout.

Any ideas on spicing this up? Especially from those who've never played Fallout?

Re: Jeffery Keown's Chronicles of Amber

I'd like some feedback on this. I originally tried using Mind Control, but it didn't seem long-term enough. Transform seemed to have the kind of "permanency" I was looking for. I also think a kind of Entangle could be written with this special effect.

Compelling

Compelling is the ability of a skilled conversationalist to subtly draw his target out and reveal hidden knowledge through casual talk. The subject matter shifts constantly, as the Compeller uses the relationship between opinion and fact to pull the truth from the target.

Truthsaying

At its most basic, a compeller can simply tell if the target is lying. With greater skill comes the Truth of the Matter. Facets of the reality of a line of questioning become clearer, and some can hear the truth with only a few words.

Parting the Veil of Lies: Detect Lie 11- (Hearing Group) Real Cost: 3

The Truth: Detect Truth 11- (Hearing Group), Discriminatory, Analyze Real Cost: 13

...And Nothing But The Truth!: Detect Truth 11- (Hearing Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, Rapid x10 Real Cost: 16

High Compelling

Sometimes, after exposure to a Compeller, the target's own memories are compromised. He sees the Compeller as an ally, or recalls facts differently.

Only some measure of therapy or physical evidence can reverse the effects of High Compelling.

Edit Memory: Major Transform 4d6 (Unaffected Person to Person with Edited Memories), Works Against EGO, Not BODY (+1/4), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense; Mental Defense applies; +1) (135 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Hour, -3), Limited Target Humans (-1/2), Requires A Conversation Roll (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4) Real Cost: 26

Re: Jeffery Keown's Chronicles of Amber

Any plans to incorporate the new tales of young Oberon?

Grudgingly. I have my own ideas about where Roger was going after reading Dancing Mountains and Hall of Mirrors. It would seem that Bettancourt is ignoring the previous novels by using the first person narrative to assume that Corwin and Merlin lied through their teeth, so that none of the stuff they talked about actually occurred.

They are a frustrating read.

Here's the file, feel free to call me out on any stupidity I may have drooled onto the page. Any contributions will go into the final product, HEROWiki and any other media I'm allowed to produce (stage play, hardcore Amber porn, or birthday wrapping paper).

Re: Jeffery Keown's Chronicles of Amber

I'll scribble something up tonight. I know what I want players to produce, but there is not a word of it written down. Thanks for the encouragement!

Re: Jeffery Keown's Chronicles of Amber

I hate to serial post...

The Extra Time Limitation on the various Shadow Walking abilities represents the full effort of walking from Amber to Chaos. While this might not actually happen in game (too many trumps around for that to be terribly common in most campaigns) I thought perhaps to limit it based on this, and let characters come up with tricks to shorten it, or subtly alter the powers, customizing them as the campaign matures.

Everyone starts with the vanilla versions of the powers and hopefully they diversify, such as the tricks Random described in Hand of Oberon.

Re: Jeffery Keown's Chronicles of Amber

More...

Juno is a character I was playing about with...just to see what a complete 3rd generation character would look like. She could be built better, methinks.

I'm still wrestling with Sorcery, Compelling and Black Channels...

Big risk, posting this stuff. Saturday, my Urban Fantasy stuff was no where near ready, so I decided to wing it and take mental notes. That ended up not happening. I stumbled across my physical notes for HEROes of Amber. This was supposed to be just a bunch of shadowdwellers who get caught up in some wacky plot to erase the Pattern and end up helping Corwin get some stuff done.

Well... my friend Brian wanted some higher powered gaming after The Book of Dragons came out. So I wrote up 3 brothers, all of whom are children of Amber yet Shadow-lost and ignorant of their true birthright and yadda yadda yadda. I did not tell them that this is what we were playing.

6 hours later, I had accidently hooked them on Chronicles of Amber: The HERO System Conversion. They had walked a broken pattern, learned of the existance of Amber and now wish to kill their guardian of many years and then, go seek the wider world that is Amber, Shadow and Chaos.

They will be exposed to a great many things, power being one of them. Experience will come fast and hard, and learning something you don't have points for will bring interesting people to your door, causing plots to spring up around you and generally making your life miserable until its paid off. This seems to be how its done in the Diceless game, and certainly simulates the novels well enough.

Anyway... enough of me... my .hdps:

Re: What effects would you see on a terrestial planet in a binary system?

There is a program I use called Celestia. I figured out how to write my own solar systems and then "stand" on one of the planets to watch the sky turn for a few virtual years to create a proper calendar for my main homebrew world.

After you get it working, you then alter the text files to move stars and planets around in infinite combinations until it looks and feels right. I even wrote a randomizer in TableMaster to output solar systems.

Re: Crossroads: Urban Fantasy HERO Indianapolis

I don't deny a basic similarity to Shadowrun. But rather than normal humans suddenly going all gobliny, you have folks arriving from somewhere. It plays on the whole idea of the rights of refugees, "Strangers in a Strange Land" and how Humanity reacts to their myths suddenly being facts. There are layers to this thing, if run properly. I'm not sure I can convey the depth here or at the table.

I mean, I can crow all I like about depth, but if the PCs just wanna burn goblins out of the ruins of the Athenaeum, how will it ever be taken in by those players.

GM: The protesters are against voting rights for Ghosts... They demand a referendum on...

Player: Yes, yes... but do they bleed?

GM: What? These folks are just standing up for what they believe in!

Player: Uh-huh.. and now they'll fall down for it, too...

Re: Crossroads: Urban Fantasy HERO Indianapolis

Good to see you back.

 

Going to be running games at the Arsenal again?

 

So, what's the story behind this game - sounds like Shadowrun? i.e. people turn into Goblins and Elves, dragons show up, spells start working....

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Summon Palindromedary

If I start running in public again, I'll let ya know... you were fun to game with...

Actually, the fantasy elements are invasive. They are coming from "outside" whereever that turns out to be. Uncovering that detail is one of the plot points of the campaign... I might try and get you involved heavily... you being local and all....

Re: Crossroads: Urban Fantasy HERO Indianapolis

The "magical crimes" division' date=' either part of the police department or a separate organization, is a staple of UF literature. How does humanity deal with crimes committed by a criminal that might not even have to be on location? Forensic science is useless when the unsub is using a ritual to remove the victim's heart from his chest 50 miles away. How long will it be before the government requires anyone with the ability to use magic to be licensed, or outlaws magic entirely?[/quote']

 

"While there are no easy answers to the question of magical crime. We can assure the good people of Indianapolis that the new IPD/M division is training with highly-qualified instructors at the Crossroads Academy Thaumaturgical Forensics Department (CATF). Perpetrators of magical crimes must be brought to justice, but rights must be preserved. We must, in the same breath, ensure the safety of the population against magical intrusion, defend the use of magic for beneficial purposes, such as healing and public works, and respect the rights of individuals, ghosts and various Otherworldly Demiurges to their own privacy.

 

"How does that sound?" asked Erin.

 

Telonian smiled his crooked elven grin back at her. "Like you're running for re-election."

-------------------

Public Safety

Reality is a bit harsher than the Good Mayor would imply. Magical crimes of any sort are rigorously investigated by full-blown Forensic Scientists, mages themselves, adept at tracking signatures left by ethically-challenged wizards of all types. The Crossroads Academy has been turning out highly-skilled investigators for a few years now. They may one day catch up to the criminally-minded mages out there.

 

Using magic in a crime (defined under IC 35-41-1-49.5 as "any act involving the use of extradimensional energy sources, channelled via mystic ritual or device, fetish, charm or focus"), whether resulting in death or not, upgrades the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony, regardless of other circumstances.

 

A number of spells are handled as Controlled Substances, for their intoxicating effects, while Mind Control is strictly illegal in all cases. IC 35-42-3-2 deals with kidnapping and confinement. Mind Control has been part of this part of the Indiana Code for almost 10 years (as of 2017).

 

In an RPG, you set the tone of players' behavior when you define laws. PCs will do almost anything to complete the missions laid before them. So if magic is illegal, I gaurantee you will be running games for a bunch of felons.

 

 

The Politics of Magic

I figure that society, as I mentioned previous, will become both more insular and more liberal. In the 8 years I'm moving my timeline forward from our current date, I find that defining society's goals and ethics to be a bit of a challenge. I really do believe that the discovery or recurrence of magic will result in conservative attempts at control and liberal attempts at employment for a multitude of causes. Liberals will try to open society up to the use of magic in areas like public health, the environment, scientific pursuits and the welfare of the homeless. Conservatives will leverage this power more openly for profit, in areas like the military and homeland defense (and rightly so). Both groups will employ less-than-savory methods, including public awareness programs, class warfare, and political agendas, all guided by primitive memetic formulas.

 

Special interest groups on both sides will look out for their own security, dovetailing specific purposes into the goals of their particular crowd. The ACLU plays a large role in CrossRoads, jumping to the defense of anyone using magic, lest it be outlawed across the board.

What changes in Urban Fantasy? I think that an event like the return of magic to a world would rock civilization to its core for several years. It would challenge our preconceived notions of religion, science and our perception of ourselves.

So what does it mean to be Black, White, Hispanic or Asian, when there are now Orcs working at your bank? Do "Normal" humans band together in supportive and/or hate groups against these newcomers? I think they do. I'd imagine that the hate groups that form would make the worst of Stormfront look like Mr. Rogers.

All of our Creation Myths would all have to be rewritten. From there, you could go on to question any other portion of those resulting religions. I don't think Westboro Baptist would appreciate worshippers of Elven gods requesting Constitutional protection of their rights. Not to mention that these alien gods might be capable of granting spells to their followers. You'd have some humans going over to these cults, tossing away the subjective religions of our world for the demonstrative proof of the new faiths. (which, if they have granted spells, isn't faith per se...)

When society recovers, we'd probably be more split than we are now. Conservatives would become more insular, and liberals would be celebrating the diversity like never before, trusting perhaps in things best left in darkness. Some folks would switch sides, I imagine.

What's the big deal with Marijuana when my spell book contains half a dozen Aids, Detects and Drains that make you higher than any earthly substance abuse ever could?

These are the things I'll be exploring in this thread as I write my Player's Guide for my summer UFH game. Come along if you like!

Re: Voice of the Ancestors

In my new game, ghosts will play a large part. I find this thread very useful. For years, they sat just at the edge of existance, until the Crossroads Event. Now they are summonable, and it's not terribly unusual to see one about every month or so in your normal travels about Urban Fantasy HERO Indianapolis.

This power could form an easy "start up" before a PC becomes proficient at summoning ghosts. I see a progression of powers:

1. Sense Ghosts
   
2. Communication with the Dead
   
3. Manifestation (limited to an area) Specific Ghost
   
4. Manifestation (limited to an object) Specific Ghost
   
5. Manifestation (no limits) Any Nearby Ghost.
   

I'll start an Urban Fantasy Thread of my own to hold all of my other ideas, but this is an inspiring start.

Re: Catalog of Fantasy RPG Settings

Do homebrew settings count for this effort? Or just published ones? By the look of the Wiki, it's just published stuff, but I wanted to get clarification.

Re: Urban Fantasy 'white event' idea

My White Event for Crossroads is August 9th, 2003 at 4:54 in the afternoon. The game is set in 2015.

Sightings of ghosts were the first sign. Afterward, actual physical beings and objects began appearing. Frightened and hostile at first, more peaceful beings followed hard upon the ghost sightings, by December, two thousand such beings had made "the Crossing." In 2015, the number of Crossers is estimated at twenty-five thousand. Any Mundane Hoosier (pick one... there are 6 million of us) can travel to Indy to learn magic knowledge, but few can actually cast spells. Perhaps one in fifty thousand was a Mage before the Event, and would have never known.

Unfortunately for the magical population, Indianapolis has The Cordon around it. This barrier prevents magical creatures from leaving its area. Outside the Cordon, they sicken and die within hours. This includes humans who have made the Crossing, as well as more magical creatures such as dragons. No one knows what generates the Cordon, and it seems to have grown several miles in the years since the Event. If it holds to its current expansion rate, it is estimated that it will encompass the entire planet some time just after noon on November 2nd, 2201.

Within the Cordon, magical beings can exist, and a separate community near Broad Ripple (perhaps its the progressive politics of that area that attracts them). Indianapolis is literally the Crossroads of the the two Universes. Many other nations have compounds, there is an increased military and government presence.

Character-wise, Crossroads employs some pretty flashy spells, shamanism and several races. Ghosts of specific people are summonable, as are named demons, elementals and magical animals.

Three dragons have come through, and two of them have set up criminal empires, the third is considering running for mayor.

There is an international element, as well as a territorial aspect. With limited magical real estate available, the city thrives as never before, but is being carved up along racial and political lines. Perhaps something dangerous is brewing in one of the "arenas" of interaction:

• Magical - All this power is tempting to those challenged in moral or ethical matters.
  
• Political - International intrigue is very popular within the Cordon.
  
• Social - New languages, new money, and new ways of thinking challenge the Midwest's usually conservative leanings.
  

I'm preparing a huge hand-out for my players. Indy natives (and others) are welcome to toss local myths, interesting ideas for ghosts (Scrapper Blackwell is my current favorite), locations or anything else my way. I might pass out a PDF around here if it's successful.

I'm planning a camera safari for some weekend soon to take all my own photos for the book.

Re: Urban/Modern Fantasy Questions

I have run Indy Arcana... that was fun, but prone to player problems. It's still all up in my head, it will get reborn as an Urban Fantasy Hero project soon enough.

The other one was Horror Hero waaay back when. It was all of Horror Hero at one time... very confusing and wacky.

Re: [PAH] Gear and Mutations...

*cough* Bump. *cough, cough*

 

I checked the contents list for Digital Hero and didn't find an article about this system. So I was wondering if you posted a full version of it anywhere, Jkeown.

Not yet. My upcoming game 238 to Yuma will definately use this system. I might be able to overhaul it and post it before then.

Re: Caleon in Indianapolis

I"ve spoken to a few others, and I may have us as many as 3 other players. This is good. Four is my optimal group.

Arsenal charges $5 for a whole day of gaming, and serves decent, if simple, maybe deadly, gamer-type foods.

That said, there seems to be a Vampire game there the same day, so I'll make sure the Dungeon room is ours before proceeding...

PM me for more details... Like contact info.

Re: Thor of the AESIR

I haven't looked at the suit Thor wears but does it give a Str boost? That would be my only real question so far.

The initial suit I gave him did not, however, I put a few up on the Wiki that do just that.

Looks like Caleon: Age of Storms is gonna be on at Arsenal Game Room in Indianapolis. If you're in Indy, have some Saturdays free and don't mind my weird GMing style, please stop by!

I've just been clued into this place, and I want to help them keep the doors open.

For a closer look at Caleon, click through to http://www.geocities.com/jephkay@sbcglobal.net. There's lots of it there.

Re: Thor of the AESIR

Have you checked out the Wiki articles? While there is some info there, it could bear tricking out.

I suppose that N.O.R.S.E. conforms to Star HERO ATRI 10 with some systems (YGGDRASIL and BIFROST) being as high as ATRI 12.

Carbon nanotubes, ultra-light, super-hard hypermaterials, self-healing hypermaterials, AI and brain uploading (especially in the case of EINHERJAR) are fairly common.

Essentially, the idea is that these guys are advanced, and when they interact with the natives of Northern Europe, they do seem to be gods. Not quite Clarktech, but nearly so. Outside of their starships and battle suits, they are simply very handsome, strong humans, not gods at all.

That said, anything you have to add would be welcome. I intend to write an adventure with pregenerated characters and PDF it to make it available to all.

Re: Thor of the AESIR

I have thought about adding my own battlesuits. The aim is that the mid-range suit makes a Midgardr or Asgardr (or Alfer or whatever) the equal of an unarmored Jotun.

Heavy suits are more powerful than a Jotun, by significant margin. I think I need to design some Jotun, just to see what Thor and his buddies are up against.