keithcurtis

Welcome, Arandmoor_Keet! Come on in and si by the fire.

Keith "Wipe your feet though, I just mopped" Curtis

Re: Fantasy art

Originally posted by 1Big Rich

We had an interesting discussion about the 'difference' between an 'artist' and an 'illustrator.'

I'm curious, Big Rich. What observations did you guys make and what conclusions did you come to?

Keith "Mr. Nosey" Curtis

Not to make an incredibly abrupt change of subject, but "V", where did you get your avatar?

Keith "Alan Moore Fan" Curtis

I believe Hero has stated that unless otherwise indicated, reprints will be just that: Reprints. It is far cheaper to go to a printer and say, "Print that project for me again." They have all of the bugs worked out and quite probably have the plates or files on hand. Reprints are far cheaper than first runs.

To fix the typos would mean sending a completely new book to the printer (as far as they are concerned). Of course, It may be Hero's intention to do this, but I would be surprised.

Keith "Interrupting answerer" Curits

Very Cool. Took me a minute to see the poor unfortunate in the water. Very clever, and yet subtle horror. It's difficult to get that emotion across in a daylight scene.

Keith "clap-clap-clap" Curtis

Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth

I had to delay it a bit while working on Champions Battlegrounds and some real life stuff. I should have the manuscript done soon, and off to Steve for fitting into the works in between his mammoth 300,000 word opuses (opii?).

o·pus

n. pl. o·pe·ra or o·pus·es

A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works.

Keith "The actual plural of 'Opus' is 'Penguins' " Curtis

I think an incredibly useful team would be a Hero Team sourcebook. Each chapter would cover a different type of superteam.

Examples:

The Governement Sanctioned Team (Avengers, some incarnations of the JLA)

The independant supernational team (The Authority, some incarnations of the JLA)

The Privately Funded Team (Teen Titans, Marvel's Champions, The FF)

The Outcast Team (The Doom Patrol and their copy, the X-Men )

The for-hire team (Power Man/ Iron Fist, Some team that DC recently had that I can't remember)

and probably others...

Each write-up would include the heroes, their HQ, vehicles and gadgets, how they operate, what tactics they use and a (GM vault) adventure for each. Each chapter would also include a lengthy section on how to adapt it for your PC's or campaign.

Keith "Just thinking out loud" Curtis

No, it was Horace Wimple, Fourth Earl of Orford.

Keith "Now that was obscure" Curtis

Just got mine in the mail about an hour and a half ago.

My gawd, but it's a thick tome of gamey goodness. As a matter of fact, I suggest that it's offical nickname should be "The Crunchy Book".

Keith "Patience rewarded" Curtis

Re: Has anyone on the west coast gotten USPD yet?

Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth

Has anyone seen the book in any west coast FLGSes yet? I'm gettin' antsy.

Not yet. I'm really looking forward to the art in this one.

Keith "Patience" Curtis

Thanks for the kind words. You can tell which ones are mine by the "KAC" signature.

Keith "Andrew" Curtis

I don't have my book yet, but I had to design a Vampire-esque animal controller for my wife the other night. I just whipped open the playtest and turned to "animal powers" Poof! Right there was all I needed with options to fine-tune it, to boot. Excellent! Saved me a ton of time and brainpower.

Keith "I can hardly wait to see the book!" Curtis

Originally posted by Dr.Unpossible

Keith "the sequals pale" Curtis . Have you read Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553107046/qid=1052520645/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-5098430-5680636?v=glance&s=books

 

I was hoping it would be a good read. A look at the life of the "Savages" in the setting of a Canticle for Leibowitz. I loved the first book. Especially the focus on the Catholic Church. It really added to the Dark Ages feel after the apocalypse.

Yes, I waded through it. It might have been a good enough book in itself, but it had none of the strong themes of the original. I felt it was ultimately "just a story". Canticle made me think on nearly every page.

I had heard there was a third book, but I know nothing about it.

BTW, have you ever heard the radio drama adaptation? Really first class job, that. They even had a college chant group do all of the canticles and such.

Keith "Lucifer has fallen" Curtis

Frightener?

Affrighter?

Rag Doll?

Ragged Man?

Night Terror?

Daunt?

Fred?

Keith "Off the top of my head" Curtis

Originally posted by Starwolf

Another great classic is the novel "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank. I am probably dating myself but this was required reading for H.S. students back in the 70s.

I read that in one day. I took a science fiction and film appreciation elective without realizing it was not college prep. The rest of the class took six weeks to finish it and over half flunked a simple plot question test. I made myself re-read it the day before the test so I would be ready, but I needn't have bothered. I could have gotten a passing grade wiithout ever having read it at all.

Keith "What a waste of a cool elective" Curtis

Re: Updated

Originally posted by C_Zeree

Things I'm not sure on:

 

Keith I could not find the book "World Enough, and Time," found some research projects and reports, but didn't think you were referring to them.

Del Rey 1980, by James Kahn. Spot illustrations, cover and map by Jill Alden Littlewood

It takes place in a distant future post-apoc California. It has a definite fantasy feel to it, so I'd put it into whatever category something like "Thundarr" would go under, but a little darker. IDR what caused the apocalypse, but a quick scan seems to indicate a nuclear war and subsequent ice age. There is also some flooding involved, the map of California plainly shows "Port Fresno."

Keith "Hey, I've got beachfront property!" Curtis

I agree about keeping your science internally consistent. More than any other genre, sci-fi requires you to have a good solid understanding of your world and its mechanics.

As for cool things I like:

Hard science (or at least science that feels hard, like Larry Niven's)

Really alien aliens. (no glueing a rubber frog to your head, painting it flesh tone and choosing a racial phycological quirk)

Political intrigue

Wondrous artifacts and phenomena (black holes, alien derelicts, strange but plausible planets)

Timelines with lots of plot hooks

Things I dislike:

Cyberspace (what a way to run a network)

Mixing magic with sci-fi (fine line to tread with psionics)

Traveller-esque character generation (Why are all starting characters retired, or already dead?)

Check out my Solar Colonies link below if you can find anything useful on it.

Keith "No rubber frogs" Curtis

Book: "World Enough, and Time"?

Keith "?" Curtis

Originally posted by allen

Nuclear

A Boy and His Dog, Harlan Ellison (Also a movie)

 

Virus (maybe Biological)

I am Legend, Richard Matheson (basis for the movie, Omega Man, also a movie starring Vincent Price that I _think_ was called I am Legend.)

I think the Vincent Price movie had the unfortunate title of "The Last Man on Earth."

Keith "A pocket lisp" Curtis

Great list, C_Zeree! Thanks for all the hard work.

Keith "Captain Kudos" Curtis

Oh yes, Canticle is a definite classic. Stay away from the "sequels" however. The first was a masterpiece; the others are afterthoughs.

Keith "From the place of Ground Zero... O Lord deliver us" Curtis

Within your own group (NOT a con), you should be able photocopy the map for your personal use. I think that would fall within "fair use". Steve, however, will probably weigh in with the final word.

Keith "Doesn't even play a lawyer on television" Curtis

Re: Hero Rules

Originally posted by taxboy4

Fair point, but i a good guy, a tax accountant...not a taxman...tho we do charge obscence fees...wel my bosses do...I charge out at $175+GST per hour and i get around $40 / hour

 

Good advice re books - ta.

 

xx

One of the (many) perks in marrying my wife is that I gained a Step-father-in-law who is a Tax Accountant. Which is a good thing, indeed. We had to make one alteration once the taxes had been submitted (our fault), and the IRS rep said it was one of the most complicated she had ever seen. In one year we added to our regular forms, the forms for a new dependant, a foreign adopion tax credit, a self-employment home business and all the deductibles thereof. The stack of forms was nearly an inch thick

Keith "We paid him with dinner and a play" Curtis

Re: Wow

Originally posted by taxboy4

Some People get real excited. Of course I meant to pay the Developers. "doesn't want me playing his Favorite system"- that comment is a bit sad man, its a RPG not a religion (tho it''s all Fantasy as far as I'm concerned).

 

I can only imagine after a comment like that , that person doesn't go out much..and owns 3 computers...

 

Re Christchurch comments - thanks for that I'll contact them tomorrow - just to make sure I understand, they have a 4th edition rules and its exact name is Champions?

 

Cheers

 

The Anti Christ (Apparently)

Actually, if your going to play Fantasy Hero and don't need all of the Superhero material, you might want to try looking for the HSR or Hero System Rulesbook 4th Edition. The Champions book basically reprints this book in its first half (which has the rules set), while the second half has a lot of superhero material and campaign info you may not need.

You can probably save yourself some money, since the HSR is soft bound and probably in less demand.

Keith "I never doubted you, but you gotta expect evil thoughts when you put the word 'tax' in your name :)" Curtis

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

That may be a little hasty, Chris. Not everyone may be aware of the etiquette governing electronic books. Besides, when taxboy4 was referring to "paying them a fee for it," he might have meant that he would pay Hero Games.

 

Maybe not, of course, but it's easy to misinterpret what's written in haste.

I assumed he meant paying DoJ. If DoJ wanted people to be able to buy the book in pdf, it would still be available in their stores. It's not like they have to warehouse an inventory of it. Since they don't want to sell it, I can't either in good conscience.

Keith "Besides, You'll enjoy Fifth much better" Curtis