ThothAmon

Re: The Empire Club: recruiting drive! Winston Churchill Charlie Chaplain John Huston

Re: [Character] Planetary's Doc Brass? Brass and his cohorts could do with an integrated writeup. And the lady Suskind from The Four has some intriguing abilities IIRC.

Re: More Who Stuff: Build a TCE I'd assume heroic level and all of this is equipment. Alternatively I might use 'Shaved Points' for the translator Gift. Janus Thorns are just a weapon but with limited charges. The TCE is a tough one (probably built as Transform with additional 'Does Stun' and 'Does Body' power advantages) but then the Master is a significant mastermind / megavillain so he can probably afford it Sonic screwdriver would be a form of telekinesis built into a gadget. The TARDIS would pretty much have to be either a plot device or a teleporting base bought with mastermind-style points c.f. the lair of the Crimson Claw.

Re: Military HERO You could try and find the old HERO supplement 'Here Be Tigers' which deals with the modern US military (and mercs) and their training in some depth

Re: Friendly faces in the Post-Apocalypse A few suggestions: Jon Shannow AKA The Jerusalem Man the blessed religious gunslinger from the post-apocalypse novels of David Gemmel. Ash the hard man survivalist type thawed out from his magical sleep in 'Army Of Darkness'. Tank Girl feminist warrior of the Australian desert. Middenface McNulty mutated Scots bounty hunter from 'Strontium Dog' comic strip.

Re: Is Doctor Who pulp? Pulp-ish but not really as the main man is an anti-hero. Certain elements are shared with pulp genre e.g. cliffhangers, assistants, recurring villains. The series uses pulp memes as do most soap operas e.g. Star Dreck.

Re: Pulp Film Recommendations Just thought of an oldie but goodie - Amazon Women On The Moon

Re: Speedball Look to 2000AD comics for ideas - specifically their MegaCity One series featuring 'The Harlem Heroes' and 'Judge Dredd'

Re: Pulp Villain: Monstrodamus Nice. Must come from a Shadow story I haven't read

Re: New-model Dalek The closing episode had some great Dalek moments (zero G dalek flashing "Exterminate", God-Emperor dalek) but had a poor deus-ex. I'm sure successive writers will feel free to ignore it and bring back the pepperpot tyrants.

Re: Let's Talk Lovecraft Chiming in late I'd make a few points thus: (1) Lovecraft was a bit of an upper class intellectual snob, racist and slightly mysoginist. Stories such as Call of Cthulhu, Innsmouth and Dunwich Horror play on the fear of the inbred, unwashed et al. Classic pulp elements yes, but reflected through the 'lens' of a man who was effectively the last of an old New England family who couldn't adjust to the world he found himself in. Paranoia and ancestral / primal fears along these lines (fear of the different, the new, the fecund etc) should definitely feature (2) IMO it's a mistake to exlude later Mythos writers (with the exception of August Derleth). Sad to say it but the non-Lovecraft stuff is often stronger and better than Lovecraft himself. Three examples: Ramsay Campbell excels in Mythos tales of alienation and madness in both city and country, Thomas Ligotti is a stunning fabulist and Robert Bloch was just sublime in his Mythos tales. (3) Chaosium's product is a mixed bag featuring Derlethian and Lovecraftian influences. IMO ignoring it would cut you off from some good stuff as the best Chaosium material is awesome indeed. The Lovecraft Country supplements (Arkham Unveiled, Tales Of The Miskatonic Valley) and the scenario packs The Great Old Ones and Unseen Masters are all fine roleplaying products. (4) Game mechanics don't necessarily help the horror angle. There is no substitute for players who are prepared to play the role to the hilt.

Re: Drugs, man... Drugs... There's sufficient real-world, literary and RPG precedence for using drugs in a campaign. The obvious r/l one would be the hashish allegedly fed to the Assassins to help mess with their minds - hallucinogenic and euphoric properties to assist in brainwashing. Another very obvious one would be the use of narcotics and hallucinogens by shaman types - peyote, psilocybin shrooms, aminita shrooms, pulque drinks, such practices occur in almost every corner of the globe. Also look at the use of benzedrine by US Marines (for example) during WWII - strong stimulant helps in repetitive/strenuous tasks, obviates need for sleep, hefty comedown as with all such. Finally, the use of coca leaf as a stimulant by S. American natives - journeys on foot were often measured in the number of leaves required. Literary examples would include pretty much everyone in the Thieves World stories doing their versions of speed and hash, Gandalf in LOTR doing the demon weed and the trippy fantasy tales of Lord Dunsanay and Clark Ashton Smith. RPG wise the most serious cultural inclusion of drugs that I can think of occurs in Empire Of The Petal Throne. Recreational narcotics are woven into the fabric of the society and used in a manner similar to good whisky or liqueurs.

Re: There's No "REAL HORROR" in a Horror RPG setting...is there? I'll refute the opening statement. I've managed to scare players such that they subsequently have nightmares featuring in-game events. And not munchkin kids either. Nevertheless I'd suggest that such a reaction is a product of both players and GM getting into the zone.

Re: Scottish Martial Arts Training Intriguing link. Not sure about the presentation of 'historical accuracy' but nonetheless very interesting...

Re: Real world Pulp characters IMO the most obvious one (but nobody seems to have mentioned him yet) would be Howard Hughes - aviator, director, womanizer, millionaire... A definite would be W. E. "Delicate Dan" Fairbairn, the Shanghai chief of police who was one of the few Westerners to study Oriental martial arts in the era. During WWII he was one of the HTH 'dirty' combat instructors/gurus for the OSS and other Allied special forces. His partner Bill Sykes would also qualify - he too served in the Shanghai police force during the 30's (Sniper Squad IIRC) and as a representative for Remington Firearms. I'd also pitch in Bugsy Siegel - megalomaniac mobster who started building Las Vegas AND said no to the Mob - go read Tim Powers' novel 'Last Call' for a really good pulp/fictional take on Siegel A last 'pulp' figure I'd nominate would be Evelyn Waugh. An incisive reporter, stunning wit, ego to match and writer of scurrilous good fiction such as 'Vile Bodies', 'Handful of Dust' and 'Brideshead Revisited'.

Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time For making of myths I'd choose: Once Upon A Time In The West Outlaw Josey Wales Rio Bravo Cat Balou The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Blazing Saddles

Re: What have you done with the Asesinos? Ignored them as a poorly written bunch of NPCS. The only one of merit (after reworking) was the Tombstone Kid - slighly altered he made a reasonable mystic villain.

Re: Places to steal plots... umm, Inspiration? If you want a ton of Horror plots then look here for some great stuff: http://www.flar.demon.co.uk/terror/welcome.htm These are very simple plot seeds, primarily intended for Call of Cthulhu but useful for inspiration in other games Since you are mixing Dark Champs and Horror might I draw your attention to this modern Tale? http://www.flar.demon.co.uk/terror/tale060.htm Might I also suggest that you take a good look at the Delta Green modern-day background for Call of Cthulhu? You will find much goodness in there that could be 'upped' to suit a Dark Champions campaign; the brand new reprint comes in at $28.00 from Amazon instead of the $100(ish) the OOP copies have been fetching on eBay over the last couple of years

Re: Using nanotech (SPOILER ALERT) Charlie Stross has great nanotech examples in his stunning novel 'Singularity Sky'. These illustrate the power of creatively applied nanotech. Do not read any further if you're afraid of spoilers... (1) One of the lead characters has a luggage chest that contains only a nanotech compiler and a significant quantity of uranium (to provide energy and mass). Ostensibly it is a wardrobe manufacturing system for a diplomat - instant formal wear with shoes to match. However in a key scene she uses it to restructure her spaceship cabin into an emergency 2-man lifeboat (with limited drive) so that she can escape the ship prior to it's engagement with a vastly superior enemy. The uranium provides mass for the restructuring, the most difficult item to come by (unobtainum) for any nanotech-based solution. (2) The powerful enemy uses nanotech weaponry in lieu of energy beams, quantum missiles etc. They simply shoot nanotech particles at the fleet of oncoming ships (giant battlecruisers each of the size/order of, say, the B5 spacestation). The nanites are effectively a very low energy, high speed nigh-undetectable weapon. The nanites are programmed to the seek the quantum FTL drive and decompile it into goo. The unfortunate spaceship crew never know what hits them because there is no record of impact, no hull breach and no deaths up until the point where the nanites decompile the generator that stabilises the singularity at the heart of the stardrive. The ship is disabled (no gravity or power) and then simultaneously 'eaten' by the nanites and torn apart by the freed singularity. (3) There is a third major nanotech use in Singularity Sky but I won't reveal it here as it is the heart of the story. Go read the novel

Re: Adult themes in gaming, a rant of sorts Way back in the day I made GM saves/checks for STDs for male seducer types. Not only did it make the munchkin players think (changing their attitude) but the plot leverage on such arrogant D&D players was great: "sure the healer can cure your pox but first she has a job she wants you to tackle..." I might be lucky in that my first gaming group included a female and we never really suffered from the geek-freak problems you describe. The problems we had were slightly different. Our gaming group has included PCs who have married NPCs and had children. in one particular case the male player (who is generally unlucky in love in r/l) lived out his desire to settle down, raise a family etc. The fact that female players are there only adds to the fun. 'Adult themes' can add a lot to the gaming experience. Note the deliberate use of quotes there. Confrontation of issues such as sex can be emotionally powerful and really up the ante. Let me cite a classic D&D example, again from way back in the day. Orcs seem to breed fast (they certainly die in their dozens so they must breed quickly) but you rarely see female orcs. Why? because it is a matriarchal society, the males fight and the females rule the roost. So, when a bunch of D&D killers invades the orcs lair and gets overrun, they aren't killed or tortured - the male PCs are taken to provide breeding stock - turns the fantasy sex convention on it's head. As for fantasy (or SF or other genre fiction for that matter) it's pretty much a case of 'what you see is what you get'. Are you really surprised that some authors (male and female) cater to those seeking Sex / Fantasy? BTW I love the John Norman dig I have pretty much always had an alt-lifestyle group so the munchkin attitude is absent. Sexual contexts are always there to be exploited. My thought is generally that a GM should take the time to psychologically assess the players and their needs (in the gaming context). If you have an unsuitable player then bite the bullet - tell him (it's 99% certain it's a him) to wise up, give him the chance to do so and if he can't simply remove him from the group. The gaming experience is a cooperative experience and there's no point in having the group disrupted by one player. I won't ask people to turn up to game unless I'm sure that they can all get something from it. In my experience good player groups are self-policing. They get to know the limits that a GM will set/allow and they can and do caution each other regards acceptable behaviour. Those inter-player bonds are important and can really make for good gaming. Don't tackle adult themes (not just sex but politics, abortion, human rights et al) unless your players are capable - a while back I had one player who was a fundamentalist Christian who could handle the idea of magic and demons but couldn't take the sexual aspects of the genre we were playing and had serious issues with some of the sociopolitics of the world. The latter caught me out and derailed the gaming session. Always learn from mistakes and don't shy away from confonting players with the consequences of their actions.

Re: I present the Atlas Assault BattleMech!

Re: Herophile Fantasy art I'm liking Archamus' stuff very much. More please...

Re: Cybermen You speak true words. One of the things that sets Dr Who apart from most TV series is the quality of the writing. As for the return of the Sea Devils one of the Sea Devils / Silurians eBooks is now available on line (can't recall originator the linky but here it is anyway): http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/ebooks/scalesofinjustice/index.shtml And here's the index page for a bunch of the eBooks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/ebooks/index.shtml

Re: New-model Dalek As originally statted in the Dr Who RPG the Daleks were bulletproof anyway. The new force field seems a logical extra. The flight ability has been there since the Sylvester McCoy era *spit spit*.

Re: Femme Fatales IMO this lady is the classic femme fatale