pruttm

Re: Web page update and new miniature pictures Any possibility of putting Hero Designer files on the website for download as well as the sheets? Pete

Re: DEMON Adventures I hadn't reread those questions! "No, please believe me! Its just for my role-playing game. I am not a terrorist!" More to come on DEMON as I get the time.

Re: DEMON Adventures Ha ha...now that's a good one. Nice job.

Demon Agent Picture This picture is pretty ancient. This was before the days of photoshop for me. I think its done with colored markers.

Re: DEMON Adventures Here are some notes I wrote up on Ross Mason that expands his section in the doc that started this thread. It details his life and has some diary entries from his time at Sable Island. Sorry about the format. I don't know why it was saved this way: Ross Mason is one of those intense, involved people you meet perhaps once in a lifetime. Adventurer, explorer, outdoorsman, prospector, conservationist and by his own account, a gentleman -- Ross Mason is all of these things and more. In his youth, he was stationed for three years in Germany with the Canadian Army where he learned to speak and write fluent German. When he returned, he spent nine years with the Halifax Police Department. Ross Mason is a also a treasure hunter. He was involved with commercial diving for many years, exploring more than 50 shipwrecks off the coast of Nova Scotia, finding artifacts such as coins and bits of relics, but no great wealth. At least not yet. For 17 years, he was also an active prospector, travelling at times with a mule and saddlebags. Mason still has several claims staked in the province. He is reluctant to let them expire, as though he clings to the memory of the long years of work and effort he put into 'fiinding the motherlode'. It never happened. Today, Mason lives modestly on the Eastern Shore. His experience enables him to teach prospecting and conduct field trips for groups of hopeful treasure hunters. In the winter, he does research and plans the opening of his gold museum and in summer, he works as a park supervisor with the province. In a land where the woods and the sea served up a meagre wage for men on the shore and adventure was all in a day's work, Mason is still an enigma and still thirsts for adventure, if not riches. Sable Island, a windswept snake of sand off the coast, is famous throughout history for its shipwrecks, and now for its vast reserves of offshore oil. It is one of the few places in Canada that is restricted to visitors. Ross Mason has been there - been there, and spent a lifetime in a few short years, working as a handyman, a jack of all trades. He ran the diesel generating plant, the water treatment plant and the sewage treatment plant. He did the carpentry work, the plumbing, painting, welding, cutting, burning and sandblasting. He did the mechanical work on all the vehicles and was in charge of fueling the island. In spite of his busy schedule which he shared with two other men, Mason's restlessness and quest for knowledge took him to the isolated parts of Sable -- to study, to observe and to record what he learned. Today, Ross Mason has some of the most hauntingly beautiful photographs of mysterious Sable Island ever taken, which he guards closely. He'll do a book someday, he says. But for now, he's happy to reflect on his days on Sable Island, that mysterious drift of sand that has so imprinted itself on history. Sable is only a bit more enigmatic than Ross Mason himself. Following is Ross Mason's account of life on Sable Island. Part 2 - Ross Mason on Sable Island More on Sable Island from About Ross Mason's Sable Island - part 2 " The wind is continuously blowing.... There are millions of different-sized perfect circles in the sand from the wind whirling each blade of grass around, cutting the same circle." "The first day I arrived on Sable, my emotions were a mixture of excitement, amazement and curiosity. I first sighted the horses from the air as we approached the island. The horses have lived there several hundred years completely self maintained and not bothered by humans. They are called ponies although they aren't really -- they are small, densely haired horses that evolved over decades of adaptation to the harsh climate of Sable. They survive on beach grass and the several species of wild grains that grow on the island. The horses have the run of the island and it is the humans that are kept in a pasture behind fences. The free lifestyle of these wild animals is not allowed to be tampered with by people. Humans are forbidden by law to molest them in any way or feed them.. A change in their diet could have disastrous results. For example, eating a hard cored apple could kill one of these animals. However, the horses are hardy in other ways and can withstand ten times the infestation of digestive tract worms that a mainland domesticated farm animal can. The horses on the island total around 400 head, which is all the island's food supply will support. I believe that nature maintains a balance in natural population. They run in herds of three to nine members, usually one stallion and his mares of choice. The older stallions are often challenged by younger more spirited ones in their attempt to take over. Usually, it is the older stallion that settles the argument with a few kicks to the butt of the younger horse and some loud noises that send the youngster on his way, in search of less seasoned males. Like most of their domestic cousins, the foals are born in spring. It is usually windy and cool. It never goes below minus 10, so it stays very spring like all winter. I arise at 5:45 or 6:00 each day, very often to a beautiful sunrise which happens very quickly due to the fact that there is no obstruction on the horizon. Sable Island has no trees or rocks only towering sand dunes. It is sparsely vegetated with a variety of plants and flowers in summer. Some dunes rise to an altitude of 85 feet. On the island there is also a creation called the Bold Dune. It is a huge rounded mountain of sand continuously moving its massive granular form to the eastward. It may eventually disappear off the tip of the island. One has to see it to appreciate its uniqueness. The wind is continuously blowing. There is very seldom a calm day. Storms can pick up quickly and gain intensity very rapidly, but since Sable Island is a weather station , we are always aware of their coming. We have storm control . We check all the windows and batten down the hatches. In one storm , the roof was completely blown off one of the garages. The sand blows wildly and would blind someone without protection. During a bad storm at sea, the sea is so fierce that you can feel the whole island shaking. This again make me think about my theory that the fragile island must be resting on a tipped plate of earth's crust on the edge of the continental shelf. There are millions of different-sized perfect circles in the sand from the wind whirling each blade of grass around cutting the same circle. In approximately the centre of the south side of the island, lies a brackish inland lake called Wallace Lake. This lake floods and recedes continuously from the sea breaking over the beach head and pressuring the lake to burst a river through the sand draining the water back to the ocean. Oftentimes, this action will leave a perfect runway for a fixed wing aircraft to transport service freight and personnel to the island. The Labrador current flows into the Atlantic Ocean and meets the Gulf Stream flowing from the Southeast. This forms what is believed to be an oceanic whirlpool. This whirlpool has lifted sand which sat on the edge of a tipped plate of the earth's crust. The evidence of this is very deep water on the one side. Further evidence of the whirlpool activity is the amount of debris continuously brought ashore on all sides. There is also the historic fact of the shipwrecks, ships were sucked in with no means of fighting the current while under sail. Whales today pay the same price. They are beached on the sand and remain there forever. It is not uncommon to see several of them stranded on the beach. If beasts from the ocean in their element can be fooled by the current surrounding Sable Island, it is indication that there is a strong current that disrupts their sonar and natural ocean knowledge. Lloyds of London records tell us of over 500 shipwrecks of ocean vessels that have tried to navigate the treacherous ocean currents around Sable Island. Many more wrecks are unrecorded. Remains from ships of all sizes and from all countries rest in the sand, blown at by the wind until they are sandblasted into eternity. It is not uncommon to find steel sailing ship masts forty to fifty feet long or the odd cannon and the wheel it traveled on. Timbers, all hand hewn are still there with oak planking attached. It is common to find tools, coins and bottles. The bottles have been so sandblasted that they have a ghostly frosted appearance. Due to technology the human population is smaller than in years past. I have been told by my predecessors about the hard times, the good times, the loneliness and the compassion expressed for one other by fellow residents. At one time whole families- wives and children and dogs lived on the island. I have seen the remains of old barns where farms flourished. The house would be maintained by the woman who would cook while the men would work at the life saving stations and be busy maintaining the equipment pertaining to lifesaving and light housekeeping. One of the early superintendents, who was not a preacher would hold a church service every Sunday morning at his residence. He had an old ship's bell that he would ring and he insisted that everyone on the island attend. After a while, people stopped coming to church and he got very angry and smashed the bell with a hammer. Now, only three men and one woman live on the island, and have for twenty-five years. They are biologists who have been studying the horses, the seals and the conservation of the island with complete dedication. The woman's name is Zoe Lucas and she is also a famous author and photographer of horses. The three men are the officers in charge of the rotating weathermen and rotating handyman." Back to Intro

Thebaud When I decided to use the offshore natural gas platform, Thebaud. I emailed them some questions. Some of the answers help to define the location better: I am currently working on an article about Thebaud. I would greatly appreciate it if you can answer the following questions: 1) Can you see Sable Island from Thebaud? How far is Thebaud from Sable Island? The Thebaud central processing platform is located 10 km west of Sable Island. Yes, you can see the Island from the platform. 2) Does the Weather Station on Sable Island monitor the ocean at all or just the skies? That's a good question and one you might want to ask of the Sable Island Trust Preservation (they have a website) or Environment Canada. 3) Do you know where I could get some photographs of the layout of Thebaud from above or some type of diagram of the layout? Some type of blueprint or floor plan would be great too. Attached, please find a few aerial shots of the Thebaud Central Processing Platform. I don't have blueprints or floor plans on hand to give out. 4) How deep is the water below Thebaud? Thebaud stands in water just over 27 metres deep. 5) Would a medium intensity earthquake destroy Thebaud? The Thebaud platform and our two other satellite platforms (North Triumph and Venture) and constructed to withstand harsh North Atlantic conditions including huge wave swells, harsh winds, harsh temperatures. 6) How safe is Thebaud from a natural gas explosion? We have many, many safety systems in place to prevent such an event from happening. 7) Could you think of anything that could cause a natural gas explosion on Thebaud? I would recommend you speak an oil and gas industry education association to get a better sense of how such an incident could occur, not just at Thebaud, but at any natural gas facility. 8) How is fire safety handled on Thebaud? We have extensive emergency shut down systems onboard the Thebaud and an extensive firewater system throughout the facility. We also have highly trained personnel offshore who are equipped to handle such a situation. 9) How often do boats come and go from Thebaud? We have supply vessels supporting Thebaud on a continuous basis. 10)Are the staff left for days at a time or do shifts come and go throughout the day? The staff working offshore work two week on, two week off shifts. They stay overnight in the accommodation unit found on the platform. 11) What's the average temperature during the cold season at Thebaud? I couldn't begin to speculate. I recommend you ask that question of the Sable Island Trust Preservation or Environment Canada. 12) How much distance is there from the water to the platforms on Thebaud? 13) What and how high is the tallest point on Thebaud? It's tallest point is 70.7 metres. 14) What kind of sea life do you see from Thebaud? That's another question for the Sable Island Trust Preservation. 15) How often is Thebaud shrouded in fog? Another question for the SITP or a weather service such as Environment Canada. 16) Can one see all of the other gas field platforms from Thebaud on a clear day? Yes.

The Orb Document The ancient god that created and split the orb created a metallic plate that described how to reassemble the orb. The orb was split into 5 segments one for each human sense. Lost writing is inscribed on the plate. He hid the plate just in case he regretted his decision to leave his omniscience behind. The Egyptians managed to locate the plate and copy it on papyrus before it was lost again. They attempted to translate the document into hieroglyphics. Much later this copy was discovered in an Egyptian tomb and the archeologist Normal Ryder attempted to make sense of it. The orb document doesn't explain that one piece (the piece in the upper left) will become the vessel of the orb. The other four pieces will go into the circling holes in the orb. Then, in the center hole, goes the soul of the person that wants the omniscience. How one would remove his soul and get it into the vessel is up to them it seems. The pieces of the orb were as follows: The Silver arm of Nuada (touch) The Eye of Odin (sight) The Nose of Xochiquetzal (smell) The Ear of Pyaray (hearing) The Mouth of Dionysus (taste) All this can be seen in the Egyptian Orb map as it exists today. The metal one have not been found in modern times. Orb Doc

Ages ago I started a meta-plotline in my Champions game that lasted nearly five years. The main adversary was a version of DEMON that was based on Classic Organizations DEMON but enhanced with my own characters and ideas. I really liked the idea of the Inner Circle including different magical backgrounds. I decided that each Inner Circle member ran a branch of DEMON but had access to the DEMON technology, artifacts and wealth. I took the building blocks of Doctor Wu and created the Immortal sorcerer Blood Dragon. At his right-hand was a man named Blood Finger. He was a fiercely loyal but very sadistic martial arts master. Blood Dragon's goal was to build an ancient artifact called the Orb of Omniscience. This item was created eons ago by a god that wanted to part with his power. He poured his powers into the orb and split it into five sections. The god created pieces because his power couldn't be destroyed. Each section was flung to different corners of the world so it could not be easily assembled again. The god then walked away to experience the life of a mortal. Each piece was very powerful and wanted to be used. Each one found a way to evolve into something valuable to humanity in its region. When they fell into human hands it helped to fuel various groups into long lasting existence. The pieces managed to empower the lives of the Greeks, The Norse, The Aztecs, The Celts and the oddest being a cult based on the god Pyaray from Moorcook's Elric Saga. More on that strangeness later. The Egyptian people were also intertwined with these objects as they attempted to reassemble the Orb before anyone in history attempted the feat. DEMON and the player characters moved through each adventure that uncovered the pieces in modern times and attempted to secure the Orb piece before the other. During the creation of one of these scenarios I took a stab at writing an adventure book just to see how it would turn out. Here I present The Mystery of Sable Island.doc which details the first few acts in the adventure to locate the orb piece that fueled the now long dead Pyaray cult. Inside are details on the locales of Sable Island and The offshore energy platformThebaud. Character details for Blood Finger, the eccentric Russ Mason and the songstress Howler. rigs, a giant squid, sorcerers and song...what's not to like? All this is complemented by photos, art, and maps in Microsoft Word format. If there is interest I can locate more odds and ends from the final act of this adventure which didn't make it into the document above as well as other interesting pieces from my campaign's DEMON. Pete Ruttman

Re: Alien Wars Character Pack

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/04/26/odd.spidergun.reut/index.html

Re: Hero Character Portfolio -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd be interested in this if the characters included a full-color picture that I could display to my players. Obviously, I'd like the pictures to be included separate from the character sheet or of high enough quality that I could remove the character myself with software. Truly, I just wish a picture file can with each hero designer character pack. Pete

Ok, Dependence has a large list of options that cause an effect to the fellow with the dependence. Many of these effects get worse each time the time increment defined occurs. So, say that this fellow has had the time increment pass 6 times and then gets the substance he needs. Do all of the effects instantly go away or would they return one applicaton of the effect at a time per the time increment defined? Pete Ruttman

color picture packs I'd buy this as well. I color all of the published characters I use so this would be a time saver for me. Pete

excuses I hate to see you making excuses for the quality of your work be it for hobby or for work. Its all good and appreciated. With Hero moving more to greyscale artwork the books are less useful since they are harder to scan and color. I appreciate any color artwork that I stumble on. Good stuff. pete