Supreme Serpent

Re: Brainstorming Euopean bad guys?

There's a church in Prague or somwhere in that area that has all of its decorations made out of actual bones - chandeliers made of bones and skulls, etc. A villain perhaps with an origin tied back to that place with the power to animate and control bone? Don't let him get to the Museum of Natural History!

Of course Eurostar and (yeah, yeah) European Enemies could serve as inspiration, even if you don't use any of the characters themselves. Same with Red Doom.

Howabout a kooky Swiss theme villain with all sorts of clock and clockwork-based gadgets?

Partition - twins with Rogue-like power-theft abilities. Must both target same person, then split their powers between them.

Re: Hey, what's in those ruins?

How come nobody's been back since the place was sacked? Scared of something?

The war led to the Empire's fall and splintering, and each of the resulting areas had their own issues to deal with. Too dangerous for small groups to try to reclaim, too much effort for any large-scale effort. Rumors (perhaps with some basis, since the Brothers' Wars involved a good bit of magic) of the place being cursed helped keep the casual visitors away, and as remaining trade routes didn't need to pass through the area it gradually became forgotten. I'm sure that over time some folks have come across it, but by then the place was dangerous enough that few if any made it back out. After all, they aren't PCs! I'll make a note to include some signs of previous ill-fated expeditions.

(lots of good stuff)

Re: Hey, what's in those ruins?

Well' date=' aside from the various nasties that would move in, the is one hazard that most folks, GMs and players alike, tend to miss, (I know I do most of the time). The hazards of the terrain itself. Condemed buildings have rotting floors, ceilings, walls and the like that can trap, and injure unwary PCs.[/quote']

 

Oh, definitely. Already plan on a number of those sorts of things.

 

People frequently bury in the ground valuables they want to hide. Depending on errosion patters, stuff that was not reclaimed may be buried even deeper, or it might be sitting right on the surface.

 

There could some hiding places that still hold the occupants, just waiting for the PCs to open the door and have the bones spill out onto them. Not zombies, just clear, tragic stories that can be deduced from setting.

 

Both good things to keep in mind.

 

The zone will have a new established eco-system; all kinds of strange plants that may have once been simply sitting in someone's windowsill as a conversation piece may have now taken over entire zones (see: Kudzu' date=' but think an evil, intelligent Kudzu). In the game [i']Mass Effect,[/i] a similar premise (intelligent plant) was used, so for a non-traditional, mind-controlling type threat (see also: Outlaw Star) this could go a long way towards being both different and dangerous.

 

Ah yes, definitely plan on a dangerous "garden" or two.

 

A broken down smithy, where rain has punched through the roof and ruined everything except the extremely well preserved anvil, forge and a couple of tools that appear to be entirely free of rust (enchanted tools that he couldn't take with him; remarkable in that they grant Forging bonuses (+X skill levels to taste) and are impervious to decay. Why would someone leave something so shockingly valuable? Did he expect to return? What could have happened here? As to why they're there, the aura of magic is extremely faint and most people wouldn't "waste the effort" to carry something so "simple."

 

Good thought. Some valuable things that could be overlooked in a kept-up setting could stand out a lot more in an otherwise run-down one. Flipside of time obscuring some other things.

 

Most cities are built near sources of water; the river running beneath the area may have very well popped up and severed the city in half. If they had a sewage system, it's long since cleaned out as water always finds a way.

 

Wells, broken fountains and the like fed from the river plan on, don't think I'll go with the river actually having come to the surface for this one, but a good thought - could be fun having some of the places PCs want to get at be submerged. Plan on plenty of basements and tunnels, adding sewers onto that is a good thought.

 

Murals - painted, relief-carved or in inlaid tiles - are some of the most useful archaeological finds in ruined cities. They may record religious subjects, major events, notable personages, or representations of ordinary daily life. Just having them present in the rooms the PCs explore can add a lot of local color, and give them a sense of how the people in this city lived and what they valued. OTOH they can also provide valuable background information and give clues to where important sites may be found.

 

I'm sure you could Search for lots of appropriate online examples to show your players.

 

Ah, excellent idea. Planned on tilework and such being around, but hadn't considered using them as clues.

Hi all. In my sometimes-run fantasy campaign my players are about to enter a lost ruined city from a loosely Roman-type civilization. The basic city layout is going to be based on Pompeii.

http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/pompeii/PanPompeii.htm

It's been a number of centuries since the city was abandoned after having been stormed in the Brothers' Wars. It's going to be pretty overgrown and crumbling from neglect and time, though it's only really been looted once during the intial takeover, so some valuables that were too hidden for the initial invaders to notice might still be around if their owners were either killed or just didn't have time to retreive them before fleeing. Various critters have moved into the area, but no people. The city is located in a temperate region, deep in what is again a dense forest, though the area immediately around the city is clearer but more overgrown than it was when the city was inhabited.

A city, even a ruined one, is a pretty big place. I haven't had a lot of time to put things down for it lately, and I'm hoping for some ideas to make the various ruined buildings and such more interesting. Doesn't have to be anything dramatic or dangerous - though those are good too - even relatively mundane things like "This is what a bakery might look like after a few centuries of neglect" would be good. Gotta let the players let their guard down, after all.

I hope a lot of the ideas floated here can be incorporated into my game, but I hope others find them useful too. While I'd especially appreciate thoughts that fit with the basic premise above, others are of course welcome as someone else might find them a good fit. We've had some similar threads on the boards (Creepy Hotel, etc.) and I've always enjoyed the results.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Giant Brick Tricks

Massive Lungpower: AE Cone No Range TK Only for Pushing or Pulling Affects Whole Object

Could also do as a dispel or suppress vs. fire or smoke/gas SFX powers. Blowing the fire out or blowing the gas out of a room.

Re: Giant Brick Tricks

Yeah, I don't care for the FW. I could see a FW, just done up as he knocks something over in the way or something. Or, could skip the FW and just have him knock something over in the way.

A lot of the standard type brick tricks work fine, maybe scale some up to AE, like rolling up the street into an AE entangle, things like that.

Re: MOTU Style game

"Late Bronze" doesn't connect to much with me -- i.e.' date=' I'm not into comics enough to be able to understand what you mean. If you'd be willing to enlighten me, that would help.[/quote']

 

The comic-age shorthand as applied to gaming goes sorta like:

 

Silver Age - very clear-cut distinctions between good and evil. Often no killing, at least by the good guys. Moral quandries are easily resolved. Good guys win.

 

Bronze Age - shades of grey introduced, some crossover between good and evil. Lethality up, moral quandries tougher, good guys sometimes lose.

 

Iron Age - lots more grey, at its most extreme hard to tell the difference between the good guys and supposed bad guys. Ironically moral quandries are more easily resolved than in the Bronze Age - by always taking the low road. Good guys may win less, but with little difference who can tell anyways?

 

Somewhat extreme and simplistic explanations, but hope gets the basic shading across. Also left out the various comic/super-specific bits and other ages like Golden Age and "Steel/Diamond".

 

For Fantasy type examples:

 

MOTU is very Silver Age. He-Man is good, Skeletor is irredeemably evil and always loses.

 

Lord of the Rings is pretty Bronze IMO. Pretty clear deliniations among good and evil, though some nominally good humans/etc. get corrupted/tempted by evil. Mix of victories, triumph comes with a cost.

 

Thieve's World series leans pretty heavily into Iron Age territory. As one example, the raping supersoldier of the occupying Empire gets betrayed by his own guys and sold to a vivisectionist who carves him up over and over since he regenerates. Who's the good guys or bad guys in that story?

Re: Was the GM right or wrong in limiting my Gadgeteer?

The last Superhero game I played (M&M), I was a Gadgeteering Adventurer called Techie. The Character concept was inspired by MacGyver, Scotty, Briana Diggers, and Agatha Hetrodyne. Techie's Powers where some gizmos that gave him flight, force field, blaster, gas mask, wi-fi hookup, and unreliable gravity control.

 

When we were in combat, the GM wouldn't let me jury rig on the fly to help defeat the baddies, (most of the time, a hive mind of robots no one is sure where they came from). Things that I could've done do help or at least hinder the robots, which came in rather large groups, the GM wouldn't let me do or at least attempt. The Jury-rigging rules in M&M back him up somewhat.

 

As a player, it was rather frustrating being hobbled like that while the rest of the party was off KATN.

You have flight, a FF, a blaster, and gravity control and you were "hobbled" because something else wouldn't work?

If your gadget-abilities allow quick changes/improv (like a HERO Gadget Pool that can be altered in combat) then you should be able to. If they don't, work up something in the lab between fights. If you don't have "on the fly" instant abilities, trying to rewire the tanning bed to a teleporter likely won't work in the time available.

If you want to do minor, mostly SFX type things taking advantage of the environment ("I break open the wiring. Next turn I hold action and if a robot gets near me I try to zap him." or "I hotwire the bulldozer, put a brick on the gas and aim it towards the villain.") I'd say some of it should work, with varying degrees of success.

But, as always with gaming, communication and shared expectations are key. We can't really help you - as others have said, you and the GM really need to hash this out and come to an understanding of the types of techie stuff you CAN pull in a combat.

Re: Impromptu Teams

Back in the Enemies I and II days, I formed a sorta "Wrecking Crew" type group out of Sledge, Piledriver, Bulldozer and an 'original' villain Jackhammer who followed the Sledge/Piledriver one-hand weapon theme. Later on they joined with Fire & Ice, Skyqueen(Bora with serial numbers filed off), Scorcher(Fuer with serial numbers filed off) and Richter (original villain) as the Masters of Disaster.

Re: Adonis and his ladies (New Mastermind and henchwomen)

Fair enough. Perhaps he should instead have temporarily empowered some outraged women who were protesting. Thirty or more women with pocket brick powers could probably scare the #$#$ out of the Business owners.

"You want to 'take back the night'? Here you go..."

Re: Adonis and his ladies (New Mastermind and henchwomen)

Folks' date=' let me know what you think of the plot seed ideas, since they are on the table.[/quote']

 

Seem fine, though some you might have a hard time having the heroes deign to interfere with ("Macho Beer"). Might have to introduce Macho Beer several episodes earlier, let it become a running joke in the campaign, then use it. Even better if a macho PC takes a liking to it.

 

Some other possibilities:

 

*Cyrano deAdonis - Adonis learns that one of the heroes is having problems with "the ladies" or with a particular lady and decides to "help" him. At least at first, the hero likely won't know who's doing it. Presents sent on their behalf, "coincidentally" encountering women Adonis thinks would be a good match, etc. Eventually Adonis may have to take a more direct role, offering to take the hero under his wing and cheerfully ignoring refusals. How the hero - and their potential love interest - might react to his new "coach" is a matter of conjecture.

 

*Hate Potion #9 - Somehow Adonis' pheromone powers start backfiring. Not only do his associates no longer have special hots for him, they and any other women he comes near start hating men in general, and him in particular. Unfortunately in his panic Adonis forgot to think about what effect this might have on the female members of the superteam, who quickly join the escalating man-bashing madness engulfing the city. Can the heroes protect him long enough for a cure to be found, or will Campaign City devolve into a massive War of the Sexes?

 

*Tryouts - depending on how Hunted Adonis is by the authorities at the time, this could be more or less public. Adonis decides to hold open auditions for the position of his newest henchwoman. Contestants are initially sorted out by genetic potential, personality and attractiveness then run through a series of contests, potentially with immoral and/or illegal aspects. The winner gets amazing power and the opportunity to hang with Adonis himself...baby. If the contestants are already super-powered, could be even more interesting/dangerous. Combo various dating-game shows like "The Bachelor" with The Great Super-Villain Contest.

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

Damn. And I wanted to offer up Freedom -- Magneto's first daughter' date=' Anya, the one that 'died in the fire'. Sniffle. Ah, well.[/quote']

 

Ooo...that makes me think of a possible What If? world...one where Magneto and family safely escape to the US and Magneto goes on to become the fourth 'major' Invader, proudly fighting alongside Captain America, Namor and the Human Torch.

Re: What is Your Favorite Item?

Out of FH items, I really liked the 'forcewall chalk' from some earlier book. Trace outline with chalk, tah dah, forcewall.

In games I've been in...let's see...there's been the "Really Comfy Chair" - the world's most relaxing seat. All other chairs pale in comparison.

Re: Mis-matched Team Members

We should play an Avengers game! I'll be Thor, and you can play Hawkeye or even Black Widow!

 

Yep. As I've said before:

In my experience' date=' when players propose a "varied power level campaign", they want to be the one playing Thor, not Falcon.[/quote']

Re: What's it based on?

You fellas ride on ahead. Ah'd like t' make sure Ms. Walkur here gets safely home.

Teamwork and Cramming sound like appropriate skills then.

Re: What's it based on?

Teamwork IIRC is based on DEX. Cramming is not based on anything, it's just an 8-.

Yes, they have special rules.

Re: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Bunnyverse

For all the Marvel: TNG GMs, players and those who want to lurk there's a group set up for it now. Go to your User CP and down the left side click on Social Groups.

Or go here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/group.php

Re: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Bunnyverse

Some of what we think of as 'American' teams were pretty international.

Avengers had members from Wakanda, Russia, Transwherever S.Witch/Qsilver came from, not to mention the various gods and aliens.

X-Men relaunch team had folks from Canada, Russia, Kenya, Ireland, Germany, etc.

Quite possible to take a 'standard' team and make it international based on membership and what they do, don't specifically have to make a 'JLI'. Plop a bunch of furriners into the Champions, have them globetrot, tadah, international team.

Re: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Bunnyverse

Micronauts

Spaceknights

Re: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Bunnyverse

This kinda makes me want to run a Bunnyverse game.

 

Who's left? Hmmm, Defenders, New Warriors, Squadron Supreme...?

Alpha Flight

Power Pack

FF (though both FF and PP harder to do without losing the family vibe)

Guardians of the Galaxy

New Mutants

Blud Strom Commando Blud Dark Night Force

Heroes for Hire

Freedom Force

West Coast Avengers

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.

Hmm, can't rep Storn again yet, so I'll just put the comment here:

"We're gonna need a bigger coop."

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.

Dah duh...

*cluck*

Dah duh...

*cluck*

Dah duh dah duh dah duh dah duh

*WOOFWOOFcluckcluckWOOF*

Re: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Bunnyverse

Must spread the rep around...

re: Red Ronin, to be more precise it's a new version based off of the old designs...well, it was before it scragged itself (due to its target suddenly being inside its cockpit).

IIRC from Stilt-Girl's background, the old Daredevil thug Turk is running around from time to time as a villainous Stilt-Man.

Don't forget Cinnabar's baneful brother Antimony.

Re: Help with a "Susceptibility"

Flattery will get you anywhere: Vulnerability: PRE attacks based on flattery 1.5x effect

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

Since we are proposing updates to the excellent summary of characters, Compassion's origin was given as "Is she granddaughter of Nightcrawler? Was she spawned from Venom?"

 

She is definitely a mutant bastard who lies about her origin. Granddaughter was proposed because Kurt Wagner was an adult in his 1975 X-Men debut, and Compassion was born some 15 years later. However, daughter would also work, as I know men that are still potent past their 40's.

 

I am partial to the spawn of Venom origin, but I'm not sure MilkmanDan wants any Spider-Man crossover.

In a Marvel-verse her powers could very well have some Darkforce connection, opening up a number of possibilities.