ThothAmon

Re: Person of Steel, Significant Other of Tissue paper Now you know why Grond is so angry all the time - he ain't getting any...

Re: Illuminatus!: Champions From the original card game have the supers be in the employ of one of the main factions (The Gnomes Of Zurich, The UFOs, The Cult Of Cthulhu) with associated abilities. From the trilogy you have to have psychic/mystic powers and a consporatorial feel such that the public never know the truth (c.f. The Invaders, X-Files).

Re: Cybermen I always felt that the Borg were a pretty blatant rework of the Cybermen IMO most of the non-classic Star Drek was rather second-rate and not on a par with the original series (which featured some rather good SF writers on occasion). The current Dr Who series is still looking good, a nice combo of humour and SF-lite. If the writing standard is maintained there is hope for a Dr Who renaissance.

Re: Class in Fantasy My own fantasy world has many more governmental structures than just the standard feudal model: Republic - modelled on post-revolution France with no slavery, no sexual division and a pseudo-democratic voting system Iron Fist Feudal - a solidified, stratified, male-dominated feudal Empire drawn on medieval Germany in which exists a powerful middle class and a guild / family structure Commune - Communism happened in some areas during the medieval period, with an underlying matriarchal familial / clan structure Divine Empire - modelled on classical Rome with Imperial bloodline passing on psychic traits as well as the right to rule, citizenship can be 'obtained' in a number of ways Celtic Clan - as Amanda has already suggested, modelled on the classic (Ulsterian) model in which rulership is not a right but a burden of responsibility (go read the 'Slaine' comics or the Sister Fidelma novels for a quick fix) Amerind Tribal - a societal model for the cat-people of the game world, drawing on Amerindian ideas Eastern Clan - modelled on Genghis Khan's meritocratic Mongol Empire but with equal rights for women Highly Stratified Empire - based on classic Confusionist China before the rise of Buddhism (see Barry Hughart novels for reference) The feudal model of society is probably a consequence of the geographical layout of Western Europe. There is a rather good non-fiction book which discusses this fact in some depth but the title eludes me ATM as I got it on inter-library loan many moons ago. Perhaps someone can refresh our collective memory? It's amazing how many people think of fantasy in terms of multiple races, magic etc yet fail to consider diverse political structures. Big mistake and a big loss of potential plotlines

Re: Astrum Quadrivium Explorers If it's not too controversial, you could go read the first 2/3 of the really bad Clive Cussler novel 'Atlantis Found' for some ideas Antagonists - Nazis of course Game year - circa 1938 (coinciding with Nazi expedition to Tibet, looking for signs of the Lemurian / Muvian master race) Archetypes - explorer, archaeologist, soldier of fortune, macho woman with guns, jornalist / writer, transportation goon (pilot/sailor), psychic, occultist Technologies - advanced astronomy and navigational abilities

Re: Character Writeup Critique: Black Widow (Natalia Romanova) I recall something from the Marvel Super Heroes RPG writeup of Black Widow that had the electric bite being very short range only, certainly not as long as presented here. Otherwise, good stuff

Re: New Book: Superheroes and Philosophy I'd like to see 'Supervillains and Philosophy'

Re: Looking for an example of a Dragon Lady character from TV/Movies for a Pulp campaign. The titular character from 'Bride With The White Hair' would fit the bill nicely

Re: Masked Vigilantes In Trial I may be wrong but the real-world US legal system requires disclosure of witness ID, doesn't it? And the USA is the home of frivolous litigation? In my own games masked vigilantes are only allowed to give evidence if they are legally sanctioned and thus have a verifiable identity on file. Villains (or errant heroes) are unmasked and prosecuted under their real names. Federal trials involve the use of sanctioned telepaths to ensure that trials are fair. As for tolerance of vigilantes, nope, they are prosecuted as any other criminal unless they have official sanction to permit them to behave as cops or Feds. Lawsuits can and do occur but it's hard to prosecute them against non-sanctioned vigilantes. Sanctioned vigilantes have at least the protection equivalent of the Police Federations. The most famous campaign lawsuit involved the bankruptcy and split-up of a West Coast super team - one of their members went to Stronghold for a long stretch after killing a corrupt policeman and the team was sued. Thankfully they had been their some of their advertising, toy figure, TV show and other tie-in revenues to pay for expensive Paranormal Indemnity Insurance and so the individual members didn't come off too badly Doing a 'suspension of disbelief' end-run around the US legal system cuts off so many scenario options and roleplaying avenues. I'd counsel in favour of a more realistic approach. It's not about continuous courtroom drama although the odd one does work wonders for player attitudes. As ever YMMV.

Re: Herophile Fantasy art

Re: Pulp archtypes. Honourable Oriental good guy - samurai equivalent for the Pulp era Honourable ethnic bad guy - motivated by patriotism to oppose the heroes Clever, quirky ethnic minority detective - Charle Chan, Hercule Poirot Hard man criminal - trying to go straight but weaving back and forth across the line Con man / grifter - an expert in urban survival Pulp serial author - doing a little research for his next tale Archaeologist / anthropologist - getting out amongst the natives to bring back the goods Sports star hero - good looks imperative, shoelace tying skills optional e.g. USA football (Flash Gordon / Buck Rogers), boxing (the stories of Robert E Howard) Bored war hero - often with a dark secret or two (Bulldog Drummond, Lord Peter Wimsey, Biggles) Last of the cowboys - free spirited, two fisted and ready to dish out Western justice

Re: Pulp Reading Historical accuracy (or accuracy of any sort really) tends to be anathema in the pulps. I can think of many pulp tales of lost civilisations which just couldn't exist as written, survival of prehistoric creatures etc etc. Pulp reality is a different sort of reality and should be read accordingly

Re: Pulp Reading You missed the novel 'The Mad Goblin' which is the Doc Savage equivalent novel to the Tarzan novel 'Lord of The Trees' . Both these novels are sequels to 'A Feast Unknown' noted above and both involve further adventures against the Nine. Also known by an alternative title 'Keepers Of The Secrets'. Further worthy PJF reading is the novel 'White Tyger' which (SPOILER AHEAD HIGHLIGHT TO SEE) has a Tarzan protagonist who is actually a Nazi genetic / sociological experiment. Recommended as a real headf*ck.

Re: The best of Other Pulp RPGs The daddy of the pulp games is probably Call of Cthulhu but it handles a very specific subgenre and is thus not likely to be threatened by Pulp Hero. As long as Pulp Hero builds on the quality of the original (Justice Inc) I will be happy.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Woken Furies by Richard K Morgan. Another entertaining SF novel with Takeshi Kovacs as the lead. Some intriguing technology items such as custom 'sleeve' genetech (gecko-grip and advanced life-preserving reflexes), heavy duty cyberware and advanced virus software. Again features a lot of politics to go with the extreme violence. It's an enjoyable combo.

Re: Characters: The Time Machine Very nice Susano On a related theme (end of the world etc) have you read 'The Night Land' by William Hope Hodgson? The lead character would be an intriguing HERO write-up...

Re: YOU KNOW THE d20 WELL HAS RUN DRY WHEN... You know the d20 well has run dry when... ...they publish the d20 Atkins Dietbook

Re: Pulp pictures. Rocketeer - she was top tottie in that flick

Re: Pulp Film Recommendations

Re: Pirate-Theme Villains Needed Spyglass - clairvoyant / image projector Black Spot - mutant life drain powers Cannonball - brick / speedster Black Dog - shapeshifting werewolf Doubloon - golden brick / duplicator Flintlock - gadgeteer / energy projector

Re: Ten Best Superhero Martial Arts Intriguing list. However, if you can master any 10 systemized arts it doesn't really matter what they are you'll still be death on legs. Take a close look at Steven Segal on screen - although a possibly controversial example and a fat git to boot he has a number of different arts in his repertoire and it shows - flexibility and focus combined to make a real badass. I've had training in traditional Goju karate, shorinji kempo, Muay Thai, judo and military unarmed combat. Despite this I'd suggest that mental approach is more important than any specific style. As a famous warrior once quoted "Train hard, fight easy". OddHat's comments also find resonance with me - my record has never been better than 50/50 and I have the scars to back up my experiences - there's always someone faster, stronger, younger, luckier, with more buddies, less drunk or better armed. If I can walk away from a confrontation then I will do so as the real winners are those who don't have to fight. Sun Tzu and Musashi Miyamoto have left wisdom in this area for us to grasp Most people do not have the time and dedication required to become truly skilled whereas supers have it easy. In the Western world we are mesmerized by the idea of a gaining a black belt. In actuality the belt system is a trick invented to keep Westerners interested. The real meaning of a black belt for traditonal Japanese practitioners is when your white belt turns black because you never wash it during all the time you train - typically 10 years of hard training two to three times a week. If you can do that in any one style then you should be confident, never mind multiple styles. I'd also venture to suggest that the single most useful real-world 'street' style is actually jujitsu or it's allegedly gentler cousin judo. Most formalized martial arts are useless once you are on the ground - these two are not. A strong super trained in these forms would be formidable indeed. Boxing is also worthy of consideration as (A) it concentrates on a small number of techniques ( you actually fight when practicing and © footwork and conditioning are a significant part of the mix. Finally I'd like to echo those who have suggested Sinanju - it is indeed the One True Art

Re: Pulp Film Recommendations 'Deep Rising' is definitely in the pulp category - remove the modern high tech elements and you have a classic pulp South Pacific / China Seas piracy horror crossover. I may have missed it... nobody seems to have mentioned the excellent 'Flash Gordon' movie For pulpy horror try 'Night Of The Demon', the movie version of an M R James short story, and the Hammer movie version of 'The Devil Rides Out' to get that classic 30's feel. For an SF twist you could do worse than the original Quatermass movies, rockets, monsters and all I'll add more as I think of them...

I've been designing a campaign that features East-West political shenanigans as the motivating force behind the campaign scenarios (think old school Mission Impossible or Alias meets the novels of Stuart Kaminsky, Robert Ludlum et al). All supers activity will be kept as clandestine as possible with much emphasis on skills and roleplaying rather than overt shows of power on TV The PCs will be Western supernormals brought together on a per-mission basis to tackle thorny problems before the U.N. or other concerned groups can (mis)react. The agency responsible for PC missions will not be 'official'. The players are all adults (chronologically at least) and used to being handed topics of a mature nature so there will be scope for more extreme situations I'm running low on back history ideas involving USSR-era supers (e.g. the Supreme Soviet) and the current state of the Eastern Bloc. I know there's mileage in looking at prostitution rings, orphan children for sale, heroin distribution, diamond smuggling, ethnic cleansing et al. Chernobyl features in the background of some of the NPC supers; so too does the KGB parapsych experiments of the 1960's and 1970's As there are some very well-read people on the forums I'd like to solicit ideas. Any sensible suggestions as to post-Gorbachev Eastern Bloc history intermingled with powerful non-funded supers would be looked upon with much kindness. I may not use any of them but I'm curious about other GM's ideas.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... My most recent SF read was 'The Golden Globe' by John Varley. In common with most of Varley's work this is a deep, rich novel that contains big concepts, fine characterisation, thought-provoking material and great attention to detail. Varley mixes topics as diverse as hard physics, developmental psychology, sociology, asymmetric warfare, survivalism and it makes for a heady brew. IMO it was a very good read, a worthy addition to Varley's so-called Eight Worlds universe. Those unfamiliar with Varley should read him. You can mine an entire roleplaying campaign from just one of his novels. You'll also see why he is pretty much the progenitor of genres such as cyberpunk. For the life of me I cannot understand why (virtual) hacks such as Neal Stephenson have flourished in Varley's shadow. I guess thus it ever was. EDIT: Plotwise this is the story of an itinerant actor who has to get from the outer reaches of the solar system to Luna so that he can play King Lear on stage. Sounds simple but Varley does his usual sleight-of-hand to add in many other subplots. The actor is also a conman, a shapeshifter (very interesting power set for cyborgs), a wanted criminal and an interplanetary hobo.

Re: Pulp Hero Sweet site Wolfjack. I recognize some of the imagery but not all - do you have an artist who draws for you or do you repurpose other material?