Steve

In my Pirates of Drinax campaign, some of the characters are fighter pilots, so I came up with some ranged martial arts maneuvers they could use.
 
Fighter Pilot Skills
3  Defensive Shot:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +2 DCV, Range +0, Weapon  Strike
5  Dodge/Jink:  1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +4 DCV, Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove
4  Trained Shot:  1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, Range +0, Weapon  Strike
0  Weapon Element:  Vehicle Weapons
 
What might be some other maneuvers a skilled fighter pilot would have, like Maverick from the Top Gun movies?

There is a fellow at a local farmer's market who runs a Pokemon cards booth.  Not quite RPGs, but another often-denigrated hobby. He has a sign that notes that the game requires players to apply skills such as math and planning, and interact socially with their peers.

Remember when reading comic books would rot your brain? Now, teachers use them to encourage reading skills. My high school English teacher got a lot of disrespect from his peers for stating that he did not care what students read - whether classic literature, comic books or rank pornography, reading contributed to learning.

Early D&D was, or at least could be, the antithesis of playing a role. Why give your character any personality? They are short-lived and interchangeable anyway. Would rational people walk up to some machine that, pressing a random button, has about a 60% chance at impairing you, maybe 20% of killing or permanently disabling you, a 19% chance of providing some minor benefit and a 1% chance of granting massive benefits? Players pulled the switches because I can make another 200 characters later, and one of them will eventually beat the odds.
 
To me, the games became real "role playing" when PCs became expected to have personalities, backstories and survival instincts, evolving from the green pawn, red pawn and blue pawn on a game board.

❤️

I've been given permission by Jason to update one of my favorite 3rd edition supplements Neutral Ground to 6th edition.
 
Will be part of Hall of Champions on DrivethruRPG & of course the Webstore here

My apologies, Duke. Let me transcribe the relevant passages:
 
In order to move players from Gygax's familiar World of Greyhawk to their new vision, TSR planned a trilogy of modules that would familiarize players with events and conditions leading up to the coming war, and then take them through the war itself. Once players completed the war via the three modules, a new boxed set would be published to introduce the new storyline and the new Flanaess. Two World of Greyhawk Swords modules, WGS1 Five Shall Be One by Carl Sargent and WGS2 Howl from the North by Dale Henson, were released in 1991. These described events leading up to the war.
 
The third module was reworked into Greyhawk Wars, a strategy war game that led players through the events, strategies, and alliances of the actual war. A booklet included with the game, Greyhawk Wars Adventurer's Book, described the event of the war. In 582 CY (six years after Gygax's original setting of 576 CY), a regional conflict started by Iuz gradually widened until it was a war that affected almost every nation in the Flanaess. A peace treaty was signed in the city of Greyhawk two years later, which is why the conflict became known as the Greyhawk Wars.
 
In Gygax's setting, the major conflict had been between the Great Kingdom and the lands that were trying to free themselves from the evil overking. In Sargent's world, the Great Kingdom storyline was largely replaced by the major new conflict between the land of Iuz and the regions that surrounded it. Southern lands outside of Iuz's were threatened by the Scarlet Brotherhood, while other countries had been invaded by monsters or taken over by agents of evil. Overall, the vision was of a darker world where good folk were being swamped by a tide of evil.

When using a battlemap for a Champions episode, there are times when lots of agents show up. Since we use paper minifigs that we create, creating 18 minifigs is not fun. However, there is a way around that.
 
My brother used this when the hero team was surprised in a ballroom; the civilians turned out to be Viper agents in disguise. Suddenly, 18 minifigs are needed. Simply put: use D6. Get 3 sets of colored D6, each set a different color. Ex: red, green, blue. Now, put each die down with a number facing up. The set of blue D6 is Viper agents 1-6, second set of red D6 is Viper agents 1-6 and finally the third set of green D6 is Viper agents 1-6.
 
Of course, if you have alot of the other dice (D4, D8, D12, etc), you can use those as well.

I feel like such an ability should be called “None shall pass!”

I've made progress on this project.
 
Between querying my friend some more, reading on Wikipedia, and watching some episodes of Sailor Moon S, it's clear that the standard Sailor Moon story arc goes: Boss Villain sends minions and Monster of the Week to collect/harvest something from random people -- "energy," "pure hearts," whatever -- but these are only instrumental to achieve some greater goal. Queen Beryl wants to release/re-empower her dark master Queen Metaria, and has her four gem-named minions deploying the Monster of the Week to gather energy from people; the Professor and Kaolinite are sending one-shot Daemons in search of Pure Hearts, because three of them hold the Talismans that can summon the Win Button, i mean, Holy Grail...
 
Latter example shows the Master Plan does not need to make sense from an adult perspective: Why would the Professor assume the three talismans are all in this one neighborhood where, coincidentally, the Sailor Guardians live? Because this is a show for children, that's why. (Or maybe this is explained later in the season, but I doubt it.)
 
I haven't written Queen Nocturna yet, but then, she can remain in the background. Player says that Princess Moonray already had an adventure as part of her origin in which she returned to the Magical Moon Realm, gagthered her friends, and liberated the Light Side from Nocturna's rule; but of course Nocturna will try to conquer it again.
 
Nocturna's two chief lieutenants are, as mentioned, her son Balthazar Blackheart and her daughter Shadira. Both of them have point-and-shout Simister Sorcery (but only a few such powers -- most characters have limited power seclections) and a few Darkforce powers focused on mobility, defense and, of course, Darkness. Balthazar also conjures a magic sword that can cut through anything inanimate but can't actually inflict BODY on people, because cartoon for young people. Shadira also does whipfighting using Darkforce TK. Both are obsessed with Princess Moonray, in their own ways. Balthazar vows she will be his. He does the Wicked Chuckle. Shadira vows that she will DESTROY!!! Princess Moonray, the only woman who is prettier than she is. She does the standard Evil Princess Scornful Laugh.
 
Basic monstrous minion type: Vulture Bats. Queen Nocturna created them with her Dark Sorcery, and Shadira can summon small numbers of them. They are invisible to normal sight because they are creatures of dark nightmares, but anyone with magical senses (such as Princess Moonray) can see them. Used as spies, backup in fights, and to further evil schemes such as planting Psychic Siphon enchantments in sleeping mortals.
 
Other villains will be one-shots, such as the warrior Demonax (who wields a Demon Axe and is named for a prominent crater on the Moon) and Frozor, Duke of Frigoria, ruler of the Moon's north polar regions, embittered by Moonray's long absense from the Magical Moon Kingdom. I'll borrow the writeup fro Glacier in CV3 for the form he takes when drawing on the power of the Psychic Siphons. I'll probably repurpose other CU villains as Monster of the Week.
 
Naturally, all of Queen Nocturna's minions have a Rivalry with each other for her favor. It's easy to persuade or trick one lieutenant into undercutting another lieutenant's plan.
 
Magic jewels! Light Side magic items are usually set with Moonstones. Dark Side magic items are set with Black Moonstones. But there are also very rare, very powerful Blue Moonstones and Blood, or Eclipse, Moonstones, to serve as MacGuffins. Dorian Silversword's sword, however, is set with a Sunstone that makes it especially damaging to Dark Side creatures. And Nocturna can seek the apocalyptic, Win Button power of the Midnight Sunstone. (Thank you Raven McCracken and World of Synnibarr for the name. Originality through incompetence!)
 
Oh -- Nocturna has one other important minion to lurk in the background: Her teacher of Dark Sorcery, now her vizier, Magister Thorn. He's the one who actually comes up with the plans to find artifacts A, B, and C, and bring them together at Place X to obtain the Win Button. But he's not himself any more; and Queen Nocturna is not, in fact, the boss villain that she imagines. Because you can't have an entire magic land appear from nowhere and powerful people in the Mystic World don't notice.
 
I hope the other PCs (and players) will be suitably freaked out and amused.
 
Dean Shomshak

The old money. Major landowners for the surrounding region, magnates whose families have dominated guilds or trading companies for generations, former aristocracy whose titles no longer carry legal weight in the current governing structure but might carry social prestige (a recent issue of The Economist included a brief interview with the current heir to the Tokugawa Shogunate; Europe still has Habsburgs). A classic story-driver is the old family that's descended into genteel poverty and seeks to reclaim its fortune -- such as by marrying a daughter into a nouveau riche family (or an adventurer who made his fortune?), or by some criminal or political conspiracy.
 
Dean Shomshak
 

Think about who the PCs are most likely to interact with. For a start, where will they live? Assuming they are more or less transient, they probably stay at an inn. That means an innkeeper.
 
A few taverns, and tavern-keepers, too. For a more Asian or Post-Medieval feel, teahouses or coffee-houses. IIRC some early modern trading companies, such as the Dutch East India Company, began in coffee-houses, so you might want a coffee-house near the port where the merchants make deals.
 
A few colorful beggars. One of them might also be an information broker (beggars see everything, and this beggar knows who to talk to.)
 
Depending on the PCs' affluence and the availability of magical healing, maybe a neighborhood "leech" to stitch up their wounds and apply poultices.
 
But a lot of NPCs will come from the needs of scenarios. Like, somebody is poisoned. Where did the poison come from? Probably an apothecary, since many poisons are also medicines, depending on the dosage; or if nobody has the requisite skills, the PCs need to consult an apothecary to find out what poison was used and where it could be obtained.
 
Dean Shomshak

Actually there are some rules for this.  The optional guarding areas and ignoring opponents and interposing are in book 2 in 6th edition.   Something similar was in the ultimate martial artist for 5th edition, and I think the 4th edition Ninja Hero book also had them.
 
Guarding does not actually prevent someone from going past you, but if they do they are at ½ DCV.   Interposing is basically taking a penalty to DCV that becomes a bonus to OCV is the person attacking attacks what you are defending.  Both of them use a held action. 
 
While these do not prevent someone going past you they do put anyone who tries at a big disadvantage.  The penalties for doing this should be obvious so anyone trying to get past someone who is guarding an area is going to know they are at ½ DCV.  If you are guarding an area and the opponent moves up to attack you instead of ignoring you they are at full DCV.  Knowing that ignoring you is likely to get them hurt or killed will often be as effective as actually preventing them from moving.  A group of experienced combatants used to working together can probably get around you, but that is often the case in real life. 

There are problems with any area defense, too wide a defensive arc and you are bypassed, flanked and overwhelmed. The smaller the defense force the smaller the face required, so for a single warrior to hold the enemy at bay a facing of no more than 5-6 meters preferably narrower. when I was still active in the SCA we would play at Horatio at the bridge, the narrow was easy at 2-3 meter a defender could hold upwards of a half hour, as the face widens time drops, at 4-5 meters wide 10-15 minutes was the average, at 5-6 meter 5 maybe six minutes. The issue is that as the face widens the attacker can vary his line of assault, it does not matter much what weapon the defender uses. If the attackers were three or so, the defender had an easier time of it, the attackers kept getting in each others way, unless the attackers were a sword and board and two polearms the defender goes down so fast blink and you miss it.  As for the sweep sword and board doesn't do it the attacker closest to the shield will clobber you on the head, as for the polearm defender his problem is that against a competent team, that team will have their best om the side where the defender will most likely start his sweep. Advancing shield forward he accepts the sweep on his shield then traps it there with his weapon, (sword or axe) while his two companions make sushi. I have seen a successful single defender versus 2 pole and a sword, he went Viking style, round shield, center boss, center hand grip and a long hafted axe, as the trine advanced onto the bridge the defender quick advanced towards them sidestepping shield wards axe held under the shield he tabled the shield to his forearm and used it to deflect and block the polearm, sweeping the axe out from the shield into the swords mans shield lifting him off his feet and driving him backwards into the second polearm where they collapsed in a tangle, finishing off the first polearm at his leisure , then as the two managed to reach their feet dispatched them. The chaps name in society is Grendal Redtroll and hi is big. 6'5" -6''6" and plus 300 lbs. Sweep can be done, but only if you are big enough to pull it off, when I was gaming nobody in my group ever used it, no one thought it the least bit effective.

No. It was in some theaters on sunday, but tickets to those showings were available only to Amazon prime members

I saw Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among thieves yesterday due to having a friend who is an amazon prime member. I had mixed feelings about going. On one hand, it would serve Hasbro right if it flopped or sucked so it got bad reviews. On the other hand, I love high fantasy and a good D&D movie is long overdue. Quick sum up, it was good (A lot of fun imo). And I couldn't help think THIS is how Hasbro/Wotc should cash in on D&D.. not trying to shut smaller creators out, or squeeze every dollar out of folks for the 'privilege' of using their imaginations. I think it's going to be a hit, it has an early Marvel Movie vibe and energy (And I mean that in a good way), I just hope Hasbro/Wotc learns the right lessons from that rather than deciding they now have the money and goodwill to double down on the evil cash grab on the TTRPG players again.
 
 

I remember running a masquerade ball for a 7th Sea game and I used dice for all the NPCs (gave the d20s to the PCs).  A handful of green d6s were representing the servants and they were all with the 6 up top.
 
Except one.  Which I had at 2.  That one was an assassin.
 
During a fight between NPCs (two noble twits wore the same outfit), there was dice chaos on the dance floor. And in that chaos, I was able to palm my little 2 into his dirty work unseen...

I feel like such an ability should be called “None shall pass!”

I suppose you could have the character spend a Heroic Action Point (if the campaign uses them), but then it effectively works like using Charges.

I suppose another option would be to have the ninjas be a small horde of weaker “mookbots” that obey the main villain robots but are not very smart. I’m thinking of the combat robots from the Star Wars prequel movies, only instead of them saying “Roger! Roger!” when given orders, a Japanese equivalent phrase is substituted.
 
If one of the mookbots managed to be memorable, perhaps it could be promoted, rebuilt and increased in power.
 
Imagine an entire ninja clan composed of only AI robots, from agent-level types up to full superhumans.
 
Hmm. I’m starting to feel the beginnings of a Mechanon plot can be built from this.