Gold Rush Games

I was digging through an old hard drive and I came across this old gem from way back. I had originally written it for Dark Champions with the intention of including a modified version in a future supplement. I thought I would post it here for folks to enjoy. Mind you, it wasn't written up using 5th Ed. rules but I hear that half the fun of HERO System is converting cool older material into the new rules. Apologies in advance for not having the table formatted properly. ARREST CONTROL (Beta playtest version) A Martial Arts Style for Law Enforcement Characters by Mark Arsenault (12/9/94) COST MANUEVER PHASE OCV DCV NOTES 4 Wrist Lock 1/2 -1 -1 Grab (one limb), +10 STR 1D6 NND 3 Weapon Retention 1/2 +0 -2 Abort, Bind, +20 STR, Can only be used after Grab weapon manuever 4 Arm Lock 1+ -1 -1 Grab, +10 STR 3 Pain Compliance 1/2 -1 +0 1 1/2D6 NND, Must follow Wrist Lock 3 Takedown 1/2 +2 +2 Throw, Must follow Wrist Lock 3 Take-away 1/2 +1 +0 Grab Weapon, +15 STR, Must follow Block, Can only be used after weapon strike 3 Break-away 1/2 +1 +1 +15 STR, STR Dmg, Can only be used after Grab 4 Sweeping Block 1/2 +3 +1 Abort, Block 3 Side Step 1/2 -- +5 Abort, Dodge, 1/2 Move required (Min. 1") 3 Mandibular Press 1/2 +0 +1 1D6 NND 3 Pig Pile 1/2 -1 +1 Grab, STR +1D6, Throw, You Fall, Take 1/2 Damg 3 Thrust 1/2 +1 +0 STR + 2D6 Elements Weapons: Use art with Batons/Clubs (no cost) Use art with Tonfas/PR-24s (1 pt) Skills Breakfall KS: Arrest Control Style Disadvantage: -10 pts Total: 30 pts. NOTES: The Wrist Lock manuever is typically performed on a subject when approaching him from the rear (DCV 0). While it can be performed on a resisting subject, it can be very difficult in real life. This can be simulated by simply stating that the manuever cannot be performed on a resisting (i.e., full DCV) subject, but must instead follow a successful Grab manuever. This limitation is inherent in the technique and is worth no points, and encourages "realistic" use of the manuever. The Weapon Retention technique is designed to prevent a subject from removing an officer's weapon, whether it be a handgun, shotgun or chemical spray cannister; the manuever works equally well with any weapon. The manuever can only be used after a subject has successfully grabbed the officer's weapon, including most Disarm manuevers. The Abort element allows the officer to immediately "hug" the weapon (with the barrel pointed in a safe direction) or otherwise prevent the subject from getting full control of it. While not entirely allowed within the rules (as presented in The Ultimate Martial Artist), the Abort element is necessary to allow cop characters the opportunity to "instinctively" protect their most important piece of equipment; their firearm. The Arm Lock is a manuever that forces a subject's arm or arms behind their back and renders them immobile. It causes little actual pain, but is difficult to escape from when performed properly. This manuever accurately depicts the technique performed by many cops on TV and in the cinema where the suspect is thrown or pushed against a wall with their arm(s) behind their back. The Pain Compliance maneuver is actually a follow-up to the Wrist Lock manuever. It causes intense pain by twisting the wrist forward and into the body. The manuever must follow a sucessful Wrist Lock. The Takedown manuever is another manuever executable only after a successful Wrist Lock. By leaning backward, the officer creates intense pain that in turn causes the subject to naturally fall backward. By "following" the subject down, the officer is able to maintain the Wrist Lock on the prone subject. When used, the subject goes prone in the same hex, and the officer maintains a leaning (or kneeling) position over the subject. The Take-away is used as a "counter attack" of sorts against subjects who attack with officer with a hand-held weapon such as a knife, bottle or club. The Take-away manuever must follow a successful Block in order to be used. The manuever allows the officer to grab the subject's wrist, or the item itself, and rotate it past the maximum rotation of the wrist, causing the subject to immediately release the item. If the item itself is twisted, the officer can maintain a hold on the item after taking it from the subject. The Break-away manuever is used after a subject has successfully grabbed the officer. It assumes that the subject's arms are extended (rather than "hugging" the officer), but can be used in either case in more cinematic campaigns. The officer simply swings his arm(s) or baton in a circular motion, arcing over and across the subject's arms. The force of the blow and the rotation causes the subject to release the officer and causes damage to the subject as well. The Sweeping Block is executed with a wide, circular motion. Either the middle section of the baton or the meaty portion of the forearm is used to block when the manuever is executed. This manuever is better suited for blocking HTH attacks than many styles (+3 OCV), but leaves the officer more vulnerable to attack as well (thus the lower DCV bonus). In order to avoid oncoming attacks, such as a lunging attack, Flying Tackle, Move Through, Move By, and so on, the officer may execute the Step Defense. By simply rotating his body into the attack while stepping out at a 45 degree angle, the officer takes himself out of the direct line of attack. To be performed, however, the character must have a minimum of 1" of free space to move into. (This one is hard to describe. Imagine a tic-tac-toe board. The officer is in the center square facing "up," and the attacker is approaching the officer from the top center square. The officer steps into the top left corner square and rotates his body to the right as the attacker goes by, until the officer is facing "down." The attacker ends up in the bottom center square. -Mark) The Mandible Press is performed by pressing the thumb knuckles, thumbs or forefingers into the nerve center just behind the hinge of the jaw on both sides of the subject's head. It causes intense pain in most people and causes them to stand up (reflex action). It should be noted that some people are not affected by this nerve manipulation. The GM should allow characters to by a 2 pt Immunity to the Manuever (which serves as the "Defense" against the NND). The manuever will not work against subjects with rigid armor covering their head and jaws. The Pig Pile manuever is a representation of the time-honored tradition of law enforcement... the "Pig Pile!" To use it, the officer grabs the upper portion of the subject's body and forces them to the ground, sometimes leaping up on top of the subject in order to generate more downward force. If executed successfully, the subject immediately goes to the ground in the same hex and takes STR+1D6 damage, with the officer on top of him. The impact is great enough to cause 1/2 damage to the officer. The Thrust is an open handed palm strike or a thrust using the tip of a baton against the subject's mid-section (or upper body). It generates a good amount of force (STR+2D6) and can be quite effective, especially when used with a baton or PR-24. It should be noted that law enforcement agencies have policies prohibiting the use of this manuever against the head, groin, kidneys, spine and neck of subjects. Of course, this is Dark Champions... What the agencies don't know won't hurt them.

Re: Enemies of San Angelo That gives me an idea for an interesting supplement: San Angelo Legends - a book of past heroes and villains (including deceased ones, ones from the Golden and Silver Ages, etc.). They would all be officially "out of circulation," yes, but they could easily be introduced into an existing campaign with any justifcation the GM wanted. Thoughts?

Re: Enemies of San Angelo Always. I prefer not to speak about such financial details. Suffice it to say that selling at least 800 copies through distribution (or 400 copies via direct sale) would be enough to get the books published. Unfortunately, The Dragons Gate, SACoH 1.5 and other more recent releases have sold far less than that. Thus the hiaitus as we develop a new strategery for the SACoH and other lines. Knowing that folks are still interested in an updated SACoH line of products (with HERO 5th Ed stats) is certainly encouraging, however! Cheaper to pblish, yes, but they cost the same to develop (i.e., paying authors, artists, time to design/layout, etc.).

My understanding is that some people were referring to converting from Action! System to HERO System, not the other way around.

My pleasure. Btw, the same conversion notes allow you to convert between HERO System and M&M. Just FYI.

Hey, gang. Just wanted to let you know that I have changed the permissions on the GRG Forums to allow Guests (unregistered users) to view the Forums. I thought this was the default setting for the boards, but just learned that wasn't the case. Anyhow, you should be able to go view the posts without needing to log in now. You can view the Forums here.

Thanks much, Scott.

Thanks, Bryce. Btw, I saw you at DDC, though I regret we didn't get a chance to pal around at all. Maybe next time.

Yes, the Sengoku is written for Fuzion, though you will find conversion notes to a number of other games in the book, including HERO System (to keep this on-topic for the Hero boards ). You will find links to all of our product info pages at http://www.goldrushgames.com/products.html .

Just FYI, Gold Rush Games is having its 10th birthday this year! For additional details, visit the Gold Rush Games website at http://www.goldrushgames.com Note: If you are a past customer (i.e., have ever bought a GRG product, from us or a retailer) and you have *not* received a special notice from us, please contact me off-list. If this sale interests you in the least, you will *want* the special notice for prior customers. Trust me.

If you're going to spoil for a fight, could you at least use shorter quotes when you do it? Good to see you back, btw.

Oh, we haven't foprgotten people like you. You're among those we've been trying to market the books to. Don't think that just because it's an 'established setting" that the products are not usable in any campaign. Quite the contrary. All HERO System/Champions fans can get use out of any of our SACoH books. They are, after all, Champions supplements first and foremost. We're not spending money on licensing the HERO System with the intent of having most HERO System fans overlook ou products!

The Dragon's Gate is a supplement designed for SACoH first edition (and 1.5), though. It was not overhauled to support SACoH 2nd Edition (which hasn't even been developed yet). I can understand about folks that may have bought the PDF before, but I also know that there were not a huge number of those folks (in part because CyberGames pulled the PDF from their store shortly after it was released).

We're evaluating the development of SACoH2E and future SACoH supplements right now, based in no small part on the performance (i.e., sales) of The Dragon's Gate. That book has performed far below our expectations, both in distribution sales and direct sales. When projecting sales of future books, if we used The Dragon's Gate as the benchmark, there is no way that we could afford to publish more SACoH books. In fact, if we published 4 sch books this year we would be out of business. However, there are other factors to consider and I am aware of that. Releasing the book in the traditionally slower-selling Winter season was not a good decision on our part, and our marketing for our products in general has not been strong this last year. Even so, there are certainly a goodly number of HERO System, M&M Superlink and Action! System fans that know about The Dragon's Gate but for some reason they're not buying it. Publishing a book costs more than just the print cost (which itself is no small amount). We have to pay the author(s), artist(s), pay for marketing, and so on. I won't post the exact numbers but it costs us several thousand dollars to develop and publish a "proper" print book. With those things in mind, Rob and I are closely watching sales trends of it and other recent releases to help us determine if it will be fiscally feasible to continue developing and publishing future SACoH books.

Just to bring the thread back on topic briefly... Buy The Dragon's Gate today!

Allow me to clarify something. When the general power level of the characters in The Dragon's Gate were criticized as "too low" I assumed that the poster was referring to all NPCs in the book. I was not specifically thinking of the few "supervillains" in the back of the book when I posted my reply, but rather I was thinking of all of the NPCs. So when I said "they're NPCs" I was thinking in terms of the (predominantly) "Normals" in the book. Rethinking my response with the actual "supervillains" -- and only the supervillains -- in mind, I can see where folks would find them "too low-powered." I don't disagree with that assertion one bit. However, I still stand by my own assertion that "power level" preferences are very subjective. Not every player or GM "demands" that NPC villains be created based on the "standard" 350 points. Some, like me, take the approach that the NPC should be created on as many (or as few) points as are necessary to express the character based on the needs of the story that the character is a part of. I have used NPC villains in my games that were built on twice as many points as the PCs and yet those villains were "defeated" quite easily via non-combat means. On the flip side of the coin, I have also introduced extremely "low-powered" NPCs that made the players literally shudder when I mentioned the NPCs name because the NPCs were perceived as nigh undefeatable (outside of combat)! A similar example of the latter type from SACoH: Benjamin Morgan. Any GM worth their salt can play Benjamin Morgan as a bigger "enemy" to the PCs than even Doctor Destroyer, IMO. So, to sum up: It seems to have been a misunderstanding. Yes, I agree that the supervillains were built on fewer points than most PCs are in 5th Ed. I disagree, however, that they are "too low-powered" -- I feel that they are at the power level that they need to be for their story. But I also agree that some players and GMs would prefer to use "higher power" versions and I fully support their right to do so for their game. I hope that clears things up.

Um... I never said that the villains 'weren't villains." What I said was that all of the characters in the book are NPCs, as in "non-player characters." Now, perhaps you have some very unique definition of NPC that I unaware of, but nothing I said was misleading or dishonest, as you seem to imply. As for losing you as a customer, that's a shame but I fully support your right to stop buying our books, no matter how silly I think the reason is.

Prowler is an NPC. Also an NPC. In fact, every character in the book is an NPC. I'm sorry you feel dissatisfied with the NPCs presented in the book. As a GM, you are free to "boost up" any of the NPCs to provide a better challenge for the PCs if they are to be used in combat. As for buying less of our books, that's certainly your right as a consumer. Nothing I posted was meant to be adversarial. I was simply letting people know what our design considerations were for the book. If a lot of people are unhappy with the power levels of the NPCs, then that's something we would certainly consider when developing future books, such as SACoH2E. That's true, and a valid point. Players' and GMs' tastes for power levels in NPCs varies quite a bit, in my experience, however.

If we intended The Dragon's Gate to be a book of combat opponents for Champions PCs then we'd have provided tougher NPCs. But the NPCs in The Dragon's Gate were designed primarily to fill a role in the SACoH backstory. They are people who live and work in Chinatown. Not every banker or healer or Tong members has (or needs) a 25 DEX, 40 STR and 16 rPD. The NPCs in the book have the scores that they have because that's what best reflects the characters in the setting, not because that's what we thought was appropriate for NPCs to go toe-to-toe with in combat. The above is just a bit of insight into our design philosophy. Surely Champions players understand "story" elements. Or does everyone simply go around beating the crap out of newspaper reporters and young tennis players?

Too low powered? The Dragon's Gate is a setting book, not an Enemies book. We may yet introduce some high-powered NPCs based in Chinatown, but the Dragon's Gate book itself, like SACoH before it, is more about the place and the people living there than about the high-powered supers that one may encounter there; the really "premier" supers are supposed to be the PCs and the GM's own NPC supers. That's been our philosophy with the line from day one. Just FYI. I'm glad you like it, in any case. There's certainly a wealth of information in the book (as you well know now ).

Thanks for the comment about the web site, specifically the product info page. I'm always trying to improve the site and your comments will help. Though the book's specific status (available or not) is reflected in the online store, I agree that people should be able to see at a glance whether or not it's"Coming Soon" or "Available right now!"

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the book and finding it so useful. Now to convince those two players of yours that they need their own copy to help enrich their characters' backgrounds...

Absolutely. Most distributors are run by great people, many of whom are knowledgeable about the companies and products that they rep to the retailers. So please don't think that I am down on distributors, as that's not the case at all. Nor retailers, for that matter. There are some terrific retailers who go out of their way to satisfy their customers, including ordering books that they think their customers will enjoy (and buy). Those retailers deserve your support and dollars, and we encourage you to do just that. But since one of my many jobs is to try to sell product to distributors (who then, presumably sell them to retailers), then I feel it is important to quickly address any issues that arise involving a sales rep telling a retailer that our books are unavailable when they are very much available. The bottom line is, if a retailer won't do its job to sell a product to a consumer, and a distribution sales rep won't do their job and sell our books to retailers who ask for them, then to what extent do I continue trying to sell our books through distribution? We'll keep plugging away, but when consumers and/or retailers are literally being turned away from the next higher step on the distribution ladder, then I will pound my chest and say "Buy 'em from us, becase WE want to sell them to you!"

That's still giving misinformation (i.e., lying). That's not to say that that's what's happening, but the end result to me is the same -- my books aren't being sold to stores and aren't reaching consumers. So my primary concern is that our books be made available to consumers -- to you kind folks. That's terrific! But, just out of cusiosity, what good is a 25% discount on a book that they don't have in stock to sell to you in the first place? Hm...

Yes, it's very easy to adapt to your own campaign city. You should download the Preview PDF. That should help you get an idea of how cool the book is. I hope you do find a copy to peruse at your local store, but chances are you won't find one. If that's the case, I encourage you to buy the book from us.