BcAugust

Re: Holding the end of the world Hmm.... Artemis actually likely just shifts around it permanently...and I imagine the reason she's immune is because she did the same with the Sangreal(known as the Grail in modern times...) She'd let Hermes and the others do the planning, maybe grumbling a bit that they don't let her go and do the usual travelling she does. If need be, she'd head out to space, but I'm pretty sure in our world, there would be people to stop it.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The End of the Story, a collection of Clark Ashton Smith stories that was put out by Night Shade books. I've been trying to get into the older pulp stories(Also picked up "And their memory was a bitter tree", a collection of Conan stories, which I'm reading slowly, I don't think I like them as much as the Solomon Kane stories) and Lovecraft's inspirations are usually interesting in their own rights. It's an interesting read, but it feels...not quite dated, but as a relic in some stories(There is an astonishing number of planetary romances, the view of Venus as a tropical jungle feels quaint, rather then horrifying.) However, when he hits, he hits well(A night in Malneant, the Metamorphosis of the World, The Devotee of Evil, The Uncharted Isle) It also has some relics of the age(One of the stories has as it's main conceit an astonishingly racist view of Africa) Strangely enough, given that he's usually mentioned with Lovecraft and the two were apparently great friends, I find his writing closer to Machen and Burroughs in this book. It's very English for someone who lived in California. However, given the collection is done chronologically, and I like how his writing was changing(And the fact I'm a huge fan of Night Shade Press's work), I went ahead and ordered the second book.

Re: WWYCD? #80: Future Hope or Hellspawn? Huh, I should totally poke meta to post Hermes reply to this. But for Artemis... Okay, Artemis's and Telemachus's daughter being a conqueror would not surprise, though Artemis would not like the time travel part at all. Of course, she's also as likely to take Artemis's caring for others if she was raised by her. Of course, if we're going with less likely parents, especially given Artemis's adoptive mother has already spoken of setting up a suitor's party for her...hmm, I'll have to ask the group, any of the five I can think of would shock the hell out of the group. Of course, Artemis's reaction to this is shaking her head, cuffing them both when they start to fight, and a look to Hermes to work on this while she works at keeping the peace between them...If they really are her children, she wouldn't hurt them, and she's quite comfortable with people who have very, very different philosophies.

Re: Thebes is Doomed Well, in our Aberrant game, we've pretty much seen for sure(by time travel, and various proclamations) that our home is doomed. As to how we've reacted, I'll leave the others to my friends who also post, but my character has taken it as a step in her personal philosophy. Which sounds odd, yes, but realizing the impermanence of what man builds, and the fact that her entire world is going to end in fire just means she takes the time to love the people she loves now, as well as being able to take the various proclamations that would otherwise drive her nuts(She considers herself "Nature", or at least headed there) with an "This too will pass" attitude.

Re: How flawed is your Super? Hmm....well, it depends on how you define flaws. Two of my characters are very much "nonhuman" in views, some of which could be seen as flaws. Cyrande had her pride and sense of duty stopping her from connecting with people, along with having very little idea of what "good" is. That plus no real knowledge of the value of property(She comes from a world where zero point energy and replicators are a reality, at least Malva is in our game) and being the result of over a million years of transhumanism led to quite a few issues. She also had no CvK and just a code to protect innocents. Artemis...well, she's not much of a "superhero". Then again, the game she is in's tagline is "What would you do with the power of a god...and everyone treated you as one." For flaws...well, how about not thinking of herself as human at all, loves certain people with all her heart(Which includes several members of the party, several enemies of the party, and a couple of npcs), has no compunctions about killing if it's needed, and tends to view "politics" with the kind of distaste most people reserve for vissection. Nox is the only character of mine with a CvK, and it's a total. Then again, she is actually powerful enough now that it's valid for her to have tons of options that are non-killing. She has no compunctions against violence against "souless" creatures, like non sentient robots, golems or demons. Flaws....original version, well...self esteem, and she was also spending a lot of time soul searching about what the role of a hero was. Vanguard? She keeps secrets, and there's always a bit of distance she puts herself at from others. She's certainly not evil, but being a bit of the Dr. Strange part of the team with the mystical side leads to that.

Re: Mutants and Masterminds Paragons Paragon was before that, wasn't it? But yeah, that one is...pretty bad. Still, they have a really good ratio.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Well, I started reading it on the advice of people who said it sounded like my game's setting(Ancient Aberrant, I play Artemis and I'm sure lots of people have seen Metaphysician's characters too) And no, it doesn't surprise me. Just...well, the moment was of such utter stupidity and "evil for evil's sake" that I couldn't read further. The bleakness of the world just pushed it in the direction of putting it down. I can deal with a bleak world if the villains are interesting and smart. Hmm, to get back into the spirit of the thread, just read through a bunch of the Dark Hunter books(Romance, but some neat gameable ideas, and a treatment of the greek gods that doesn't do any whitewashing). Petshop of Horrors:Tokyo Which is on my list to give people who don't like manga to read. It continues the tradition of the first series of telling stories that can make you laugh or cry, or curl up in a ball. In it's own way, it's a direct descendant of EC comics. Though, if you read the first series, this one is less Gremlins and more....hmm, it's own thing, the change in location seems to have freed up the creator. Currently waiting to read Vampire Hunter D 8 and 9. I'm sure they'll work with the rest of the series, just need to reread seven. Oh, and halfway through Traitor of the Blood. The first few books were really good, even if they felt like the setting was taken from a homebrew D&D world. This one, I don't know, it doesn't feel as genuine as the first ones, though that may simply be that the character motivations are too murky to read at the start.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...

Re: WWYCD: Escape Stronghold! Interesting. Assuming they do succeed. Cyrande: Well, the one power she'd likely still have is the mental link to Aemoth, her ship's AI. And he can help her override any computer system in the building, or even hack the electric company to lose power to certain areas. Though she'd likely let out the most durable member first, depending on if she can get the power disrupters dampened first or not. Artemis: Well, presuming we're going for a Dispel based idea...They'd likely counter her Shapeshifting and Animal Control. However, even if they put her in a slightly reinforced cell(Minor superhuman strength, major superhuman durability), she still has her claws, which most people still think are tied to her shapeshifting. So, use that to "dig" her way out, when the prison staff are on night shift, then free the others by sneaking past to their cells. If all her powers are locked down...well, she has what amounts to a literal "get out of here" card(Dimensional Travel, basically an independent way to contact an ally), she just has to convince the person involved that she needs to be put back outside the prison. Nox: Hmm, she'd likely be one of the ones that need rescuing, considering that to capture her she'd need to be out cold.

Re: A question of power level Hmm, I'd be a bit upset with a 125 "supers" game, but mainly because I tend to like spending a few points on "concept" skills/powers that that tight a budget doesn't generally allow. That, and I find hacking the system minigame a bit boring. Admittedly, I'd play a normals game at that budget. And I don't have a problem with low powered games in general. I suppose it depends what he considers the universe. I mean, from what it sounds like, the players did try to work with it, and found that there was no happy medium.

Re: How would Stronghold imprison your character? Yeah. The thing is, there's a note in one of the books about several Aberrants regrowing their node after removal, aka, why they have their prison. Given the general powerlevel, and the fact Artemis tends to have all the regen, stamina, and even healing, I figured she probably qualifies for that. Oh, and the extra health levels and so on....

Re: How would Stronghold imprison your character? Surprisingly, my "most powerful" character would be the easiest. Cyrande actually has a complete power loss Disadvantage, though finding out how to use it would be a pain. But if found, she's basically reduced to a 250 or so point character with some martial arts skill and a slow regen. Of course, keeping her there when Firewing or, gods forbid, her father finds out? Artemis, the problem is capturing her in the first place. And even if you do surgery to remove her node(Aberrant)....she's got enough regen and stamina to regrow it in short order. Plus, Shapeshifter and Animal Control. Hot sleep would likely be their best bet, followed by mind control. Nox(Vanguard): Hahahaha. They couldn't. Both her body changes (pure mystical energy, insubstantial to any physical material that isn't exotic), a teleport that can cross the world in seconds, being a doorway to another dimension, and having creatures that will rescue her, plus having a will that will shake off any mind control in minutes at the most. Oh, and being a near Master level mage in and of itself. That said, if she truly believes that her imprisonment is just, yeah, she'd stay there, with the caveat that she needs to spend a few hours in her home dimension every day.

Re: Mutants and Masterminds Paragons Eh, I liked it. And they had a neat social change system to make you think, plus a lot of explanation of why things were put in. Oh, and a logical system for stuff like Aberrants Taint or changing people with powers. That said, if you read straight through and don't realize that it's meant as a toolkit rather then a default setting, it's confusing. There's a lot of villains and heroes that can't exist in the same world. Honestly, I don't think M&M has put out a bad hero sourcebook yet, and this is no exception.

Re: Champions Babies Hitchhiking? As a five year old? You'd be lucky not to be turned over to child services. Or, rather, lucky not to be picked up by someone who's planning something quite worse. Hmm... The weird thing is, this could actually happen in our Aberrant campaign, I can even name you the power construct. So... Artemis: Unaffected, she likely turns into the group's "babysitter", both because she loves kids, and because she's likely the only one tough enough and fast enough to deal with their powers being used as kids would. Heck, she'd likely get to like Quetz a lot better. Affected...huh. That would be hard for the rest. Though, White Crane would likely enjoy it, maybe take the chance to have her dress up "properly" by making it a game.

Re: WWYCD: "Tell me about your teammates." Nox (Vanguard) "Exemplar. He's the biggest hero, and as a child, I idolized him. With reason, of course. Now, it's hard to believe I'm on the same team as him." A pause, as she looks at the writing. "And yet, while there's still that acknowledgment of his heroism, the differences in how we think are there. I'm not sure how it will work out, but trust that good will turn out. I don't think either of us will settle for less." On Daedalus "There are those out there that don't trust his change to a hero. I'm not one of them. Even as a villain, his heart was in the right place. Though his focus on technology to the exclusion of his spiritual development worries me. "What matters the whole world..." after all, is true." "Striker...worries me. I don't have a problem working with him. There's a dark cloud around him. And his insistence that he knows my nature better then I do irritates. We will see." Cyrande, in the ship, talking to Aemoth as he asks her Horus is...attractive. Very much so. The god thing is amusing. But he's certainly...attractive. Starguard. Innocent. Too much so. She tries so hard. *another sigh* And is too damn pretty for any piece of mind. A smile. "Microman is such a find. I find it strange he's here, but I certainly plan on helping him as much as we can while we're here." Warp, I understand. Perhaps too well. I can't blame him, I'm just surprised he's alone in saying those things. Warmaster...Looking at the ceiling again. "I don't know. Part of me screams that he's the biggest danger here. The rest points out that killing him would ruin my chances to enjoy this world. But...he's too hard for me to read."