Mavnn

... brain ticking over slowly ... I seem to remember a few posts after this once Fred was out, detailing ideas for using multiple manuever sweeps to perform some of the forms. (ie. for the ones that suggest AF, reserving that for a real master and letting everyone else perform it as a sweep - and maybe letting real masters sweep the AF attack, although that's more Exalted than Wheel of Time). Michael

Good man!

Damn! It's a pity you don't have NuSoard's blademaster posts - they were a great example of using HERO's martial arts system, giving lots of forms with a small number of martial maneuvers. I kept on meaning to save them to use as flavour text in games. "Your opponent starts the flowing arcs of the 'Dragonfly's Beating Wings' Defense." - GM "That's a Defensive Block with skill levels in DCV normally followed by a counter strike, right?" - Player "Make an Analysis Skill roll and hope you beat his feint..." -GM Michael

Aaarrgghhh! Analysis! *Looks a bit more closely.* Oh, you're stopping at the sum of infinite series? That's OK then - I can cope with that. The first person to use Complex Analysis as a valid justification for a power modifier gets pimp slapped, though. Michael

Looks good, but I'm puzzled by the Ego roll 11- and Ego roll 8- comments. Shouldn't it be straight Ego roll and a Ego roll -3? Michael

Have a higher limit on the MP reserve than on the individual spells. (This assumes you either have AP limits, or pre-generate spells - I would strongly recommend one or the other in a heroic campaign). That way, you pay for how many spells you want to be able to run at once (MP reserve) - which is expensive, and should be IMHO. You then pay a cheap cost for the actual spells (the ultra slots), allowing a wide variety of effects for a low cost (also desirable IMO - YMMV). Alternative number two only works if your magic system requires charges - continuing charges keep working after you've swapped out of the slot. This only works with some magic systems, though. Hope you like, Michael

I'm with Victim here - as long as the summoned creatures have a way of leaving, you can tell them to (given you've paid points to have them obey you already). EDM to the 'RAM' dimension seems a good choice. IDHMBIFM, but I don't recall dispel being stated as the 'only' way to get rid of summoned creatures. In fact, I seem to recall that it states most summoned creatures are assumed to be able to travel back to where ever you summoned them from. I always read the dispel bit as a way of a) getting rid of creatures you fail to coerce/control and getting rid of someone else's summoned creatures. Michael

Mark, I love the idea of the 'visible invis' - I'm so going to have to steal that. Anyway, character generation. Normally, what I do is start with a very general concept, either a one sentence background, or a particular ability I want to play/see in the campaign. Cyris (the example Final Fantasy esque character I posted elsewhere on the site) is a good example of this - I wanted a character who was devastating with a sword. Now, armed with my one sentence description ('Devastating with a sword') I moved over to Hero Designer. I generally start with stats - so, I flick over to the stats tag and start looking through them. (I do this on paper, too, btw - I generally write down the stats first). He's a fighter, so I'm looking at the physical stats first. Immediately, I have to make a decision on my mental image of this guy - do I see him as the huge lumbering brute, or the thin agile duelist? The answer is somewhere inbetween, which is where experience with the system comes in. I know, from experience how many points I can thump into these attributes and still have some left over for powers and skills (well, within a little bit of 'fine tuning'). I then move onto the mental stats, again, being forced to make decisions about my mental image of this guy - does he need to be perceptive and quick witted? (Yes, but not extremely - moderate INT) Does he need to be strong willed? (Yes, he's a hero - but he's fairly young and inexperienced... assign him a slightly above average value in EGO). And so on, down the list. Again, the thing which makes this much faster is I have a good idea from experience of what these stats mean in game terms - which means I can pick values to support my mental image easily. Skills are where the character really gets defined - I ask similar questions as to when I'm assigning stats, but about the characters background rather than my image of him. Generally I go through, adding every skill he could have as part of the concept and then go back and trim (either completely or down to fams - remember, in HERO a full blown 3pt skill is a fairly indepth knowledge/ability). This is one of the reason HD makes character gen much quicker for me! At each skill I decide a) whether I want it, and how he could have acquired it. The skills I keep need both, and this builds most of the background for me. Power are the funky bits, and generally I just brainstorm on them, although by this stage I normally have a theme in mind (especially with superheroes, where the power theme is often my 'one sentence description'). I then move onto disadvantages, building on the background ideas I've come up with while assigning skills. A lot of disads will come straight from that, or from my 'mental image' (which normally adds a couple of distinctive features or physical lims). And then I spend some time tweeking - making sure those last few points match up, and adding in any last minute ideas. The other thing I check at this point as that the character has the stats he needs to survive - does he have either a high DCV or resistant defenses? If he's non-combat based, does he have reasons for other characters to defend him? Can he actually do what the original one sentence said he should be able to? Finally - is he interesting? Whew! I've never really looked through my character generation methods like this before, so it's kind of interesting for me too. Obviously, I don't generate all characters like this - sometimes I will have a very complete background in mind, sometimes I'll think 'I feel like playing Conan today' and sometimes I want an excuse to play with a rules effect or clever idea (I came in to RPing through wargames ). So, for example, I'll probably be writing up a martial artist this weekend using Markdoc's idea above . Hope some of this helps trigger ideas (or at least somebody finds it interesting). That's all for now, Michael

*Off Topic* I had a quick look at this website - great fun, and I was intrigued by this idea: Aerial Cavalry: The "Charging Storms" - Minotaurs, riding giant mecha-magical birds, armed with warhammers and muskets. This unit is mainly used for covert operations. "Covert Minotaur Strike!" Michael

To be honest, I was assuming the JMT would be a temporary boost to PRE in some kind of framework (although a Jedi should have a fairly impressive PRE anyway, in my opinion). And remember, other characters can do what the Jedi do, just with a different special effect - they can be the lovable rogue who can convince anyone of anything, for example. Largely, it all depends on taste . Michael

I think personally I'd give players the choice, in most situations. In the same way I'd give players the choice when they buy things like magic items in character generation. For example, if I was creating Elric it would destroy my character concept for someone to (perminately) run off with Stormbringer - while if I'm playing Frodo and someone runs off with Sting, I'm irritated at losing my sharp pointy stick but it doesn't really change the character. So if I was playing a mage in a game like this I'd probably get a few basic or signature spells as focusses (it would ruin the 'mage' concept to be without any spells for long periods, but they could be removed on occassion) and then buy some of the more unusual and possibly powerful spells with independent. Michael

While I agree with both your logic and your conclusions, I don't see that making much difference to which mechanics you can choose to use. After all, against NPCs Mind Control and skill or PRE based Persuasion are pretty much the same thing mechanics wise (make some dice rolls, with penalties based on how opposed the person is to the course of action - if you succeed, they do what you want). Given the limits that seemed to be implied on the JMT, I think PRE would do a fairly good job of representing it - although I might want to add a -1/4 Mental Defense adds to PRE/EGO limitation on the PRE boost. Michael

In HERO that's easy . Don't take the Independent limitation. As long as you don't the GM should always give you a chance to recover the points - look at the descriptions of the limitations. It's one of the less intuitive things about HERO, but remember that the Focus limitation was originally developed for superhero games where the focus is part of the character concept - somebody can (and sometimes does) steal or snatch a batarang. But Batman always has it back or has a replacement by the next comic. Random rule of HEROing - unless you're cheap enough to take independent, it's very hard to lose points perminantely. Although long term drains can lose you points for a very long time... Michael

Depending on your point of view, maybe low level shaping stones should be common. After all, if any reasonably competant mage can pick up a cheap gem and turn it into a 10-20 AP Shaping Stone with little time or effort, there's going to be a lot of them lying around with useful spells on. I would expect even things like family heirlooms would frequently be shaping stones - it would only take one improverised mage in the family (after all - it's not like it's doing the gem any harm). Of course, large scale 40+ AP shaping stones probably should be rare. It depends a lot on how rich a 'magic environment' you desire . And you're not allowed to use my posts as a reason to slow down ! They're supposed to inspire ideas, not kill them! Michael

Well, this guy isn't quite Captain America, but he definately a tribute. He's also built on the standard 350 points, if that makes any difference to you. This particular character is an ex-soldier who has been recruited by an Archmage to help prevent a mystic invasion (yada, yada). He's been given an indestructable Magic Shield and told to get on with it... American Aegis Player: Val Char Cost 20 STR 10 20 DEX 30 20 CON 20 13 BODY 6 20 INT 10 20 EGO 20 25 PRE 15 18 COM 4 8/13 PD 4 8/13 ED 4 5 SPD 20 8 REC 0 40 END 0 34 STUN 1 6" RUN02" SWIM04" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 144 Cost Power END 11 Predictive Tactics: Clairsentience (Hearing Group; Precognition) (40 Active Points); Requires A Tactics Roll (RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests, Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 5 Active Points -1 1/4), Precognition/Retrocognition Only (-1), Time Modifiers (-1/2) 4 10 Armoured Suit: Armor (5 PD / 5 ED) (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (added to Secondary Value) The Aegis Shield 9 1) Shield Bash: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 46 2) Unbreakable Shield of Magic: Force Wall (13 PD / 13 ED), Hardened (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (114 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-1/2) Powers Cost: 76 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Shield-jutsu 4 1) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 3) Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, +15 STR vs. Grabs 4 4) Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, STR +2d6 Strike 1 5) Weapon Element: Empty Hand, Shields Martial Arts Cost: 17 Cost Skill Tactical Genius 3 1) Analyze: Combat 13- 10 2) Defense Maneuver: I-IV 9 3) Tactics 16- 3 4) Teamwork 13- 9 5) +3 with Analyse, Tactics, Teamwork 18 6) +5 with All Combat (40 Active Points); Requires A Tactics Roll (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 5 Active Points, RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests -1 1/4) 5 7) +1 with DCV Natural Leader 3 1) Conversation 14- 3 2) Oratory 14- 3 3) Persuasion 14- Intense Physical Training 3 1) Acrobatics 13- 3 2) Breakfall 13- 3 3) Climbing 13- 3 4) Stealth 13- Life Skills 3 1) AK: America (INT-based) 13- 3 2) KS: Current Events (INT-based) 13- 3 3) KS: Guitar Music (INT-based) 13- 3 4) PS: Play Guitar (DEX-based) 13- 0 5) PS: Soldier (Everyman Profession) 11- 3 6) KS: Superhumans (INT-based) 13- 20 +2 Overall Skills Cost: 113 Total Character Cost: 350 Val Disadvantages 20 Psychological Limitation: Honourable, Common, Total 20 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Many Enemies) - James Henrys, Frequently (11-), Severe 10 Hunted: Pulsar, As Powerful, 8- (Occasionally), Harshly Punish 10 Hunted: Green Dragon, As Powerful, 8- (Occasionally), Harshly Punish 20 Hunted: Viper, More Powerful, 8- (Occasionally), Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 20 Psychological Limitation: Fearlessly Heroic, Very Common, Strong 15 Dependent NPC: Jason Henrys (Adopted Son), Incompetent (-20 points or lower), 8- (Infrequently) 15 Hunted: The Arch-Mage Vandorian, More Powerful, 11- (Frequently), Watching, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 10 Reputation: Hero Who Will Help Anyone in Need, Frequently (11-) 10 Psychological Limitation: In Love with Sapphire, Common, Moderate Disadvantage Points: 150 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Let me know if what you think. Hopefully some of the ideas might be useful, if nothing else. Michael

Hmm... question number two. To be fair, what I actually did was base these numbers off a character who looked right, rather than build the character from the numbers, but here goes: Stats: FF characters give me the impression of being very tough, so I went for No Normal Characteristic Maxima. It makes it much easier to create someone who can chew up the mooks like Mr. Typhoon above. However, most of them arn't the 'throw cars around' type - I'd go with calling 25-26 about as good as it gets for a human, and build from that assumption. There is, of course, no reason all the PCs should be human . Defenses: I kept these fairly low, partly because it seems that bonuses would be relatively easy to come by from magic, and partly because at high level Damage Reduction would seem the way to go for FF characters. I'd call Cyrus about average on that with 15 odd - he mostly relies on Dodging and Parrying against serious opponents. Combat luck seemed more appropriate than armour, and I'd be wary about letting characters buy both (especially if you're not charging points for mundane armour). Speed: I'd probably keep that in the 4-6 range, with maybe really big bruisers going down to 3. Powers: I arbitarily decided that 40 AP sounded a good limit for readily available powers. This might have to be adjusted for each character - remember, Cyrus gets to add his STR to a lot of his slots. Also remember most (or at least a lot of) characters should be buying skill levels and Martial Arts which will crank up the damage further. I decided on 60 AP for the desperation moves, as I know from experience in superheroic games that for 60 AP you can build an ability that while either do noticable damage to a lot of 'normals' or smite a single normal person completely. Given the FF feel, I thought that seemed the minimum level of ability a 'limit break' should have. I then piled on the limitations (particularly note the 2 charges on the multipower pool) to make sure these were desperation moves, and not pulled out at the beginning of every fight. Notice this will be very cheap to increase once the games started, and probably should be. Skills: Rack 'em up. Cyrus doesn't have enough, in my opinion . Despite the lack of NCM and the fact characters are buying equipment with points, this is still primarily a heroic game. Characters should be smart as well as tough. Well, maybe not smart in all cases - but useful in other situations than combat... If you think about most FF characters, they do have random knowledge skills lying around - you just don't control their use, and only see them as part of the plot. Hope that helps, Michael

Re: Dedicated He is, isn't he? . Fortunately, flattery will get you anywhere . I'm not a huge fan of the FF7 magic, mostly because it externalises the magic abilities so much - anyone can pick up a materia and just start casting. I'd suggest looking at the Gem Magic thread for some other ideas, or in fact almost any of the other FF games (apart from 8...). Having said that, I can see at least 3 ways of doing FF7 materia in HERO: a) Give characters a Mana END Reserve with slow recovery. Declare that all Materia are fully independent powers that cost Mana. Advantages: Captures the feel of FF7 very well - materia can be swapped, bought, sold, given to allies and the only limit on casting them is how much mana you have. Disadvantages: Makes magic very cheap, especially if you think (like me) that FF characters should be buying mundane equipment with points. Can be slightly off-set by giving all the materia huge Increased Endurance limitations. Buy a Variable Power Pool. Buy off the requires skill roll, and add the OIF, 'Only carried materia' and Incantations limits. Probably still buy a Mana END Reserve. Advantages: Can pick up and use any materia with less AP than the pool, places a fixed limit on how many materia you can use at a time. Disadvantages: Makes it expensive to be a spell caster. The main thing you pay for in a VPP is flexibility, and unless you give out a lot of materia, the character won't have that and may feel cheated. Also, you can't pick up and use materia with higher AP powers than your pool allows. Probably works much better in an established game than for starting characters. c) Buy a Multipower like the VPP above. Buy each materia as a fixed slot. Advantages: Price more in line with other abilities, new materia can be added for a small number of xp. Disadvantages: It costs xp to pick up and use a new materia, and you can't just toss it over to a friend (unless they've paid the xp already). Adding high AP materia may require you to increase the multipower reserve, which will be expensive. Any of these options assume that materia have fixed, pre-generated abilities. I would then stick a 'Aid Materia' ability onto specialist mages for that they can be more effective with a materia than Joe Bloggs. Hope one of these inspires you, Michael

Example Character Just thought you people might want to see the kind of level I would consider a FF character to be. In case you don't guess, I like my games fairly 'epic' in scale . The character has been built as a low-powered superhero because IMHO: a) NCM should not apply in FF games - these guys appear to pull off a lot of superhuman stunts without breaking a sweat. Almost all weapons and equipment in FF games appear to be unique, and all the characters tend to have a weapon type and stick with it (apart from in FF4). Therefore it made sense to me to have characters spend points on weapons and armour. It also made building the special skills easier and more balanced - it seemed unfair to be able to pick up a bow for free, but have to spend points on creating blade beams with a sword. I have deliberately built this character as a non-spellcaster, to avoid getting into the various different ways of magic working in FF, but might give a couple of magic using examples a try if people really like the idea. His background should ring a bell with most FF players: an amnesiac ex-special forces member who has hooked up with a rebellion lead by a guy called Cid, to right the world of injustice (and accidently seduce an awful lot of women whenever the GM feels like some fun). Cyrus Typhoon Player: Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 23 DEX 39 23 CON 26 13 BODY 6 10 INT 0 11 EGO 2 15 PRE 5 14 COM 2 15 PD 6 15 ED 4 5 SPD 17 8 REC 0 46 END 0 33 STUN 0 6" RUN02" SWIM09" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 112 Cost Power END 18 My Sword Dances To My Will: Multipower, 37-point reserve, all slots: (37 Active Points); OAF (-1) 2u 1) Sword Blade: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 1/2d6 (plus STR) (vs. PD), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (37 Active Points) 1u 2) Blade Beam: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6 +1 (vs. ED) (35 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (2x END; -1/2) 6 1u 3) Faster Than The Eye Can See: Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack), Ranged (Adjacent Hex; +1/2) (30 Active Points); Will Not Work Against Heavy Missiles (-1/4) 2u 4) Chi Strike: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 1/2d6 (plus STR) (vs. ED), Armor Piercing x1 (+1/2) (37 Active Points) 4 11 Anime Leap!: Leaping +6" (9" forward, 4 1/2" upward) (Accurate) (added to Primary Value) 1 9 Desperation Moves: Multipower, 60-point reserve, all slots: (60 Active Points); 2 Charges (-1 1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (4x END; -1 1/2), OAF (-1), Extra Time (Full Phase; -1/2), Delayed Phase (-1/4), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Incantations (Move Name) (-1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 24 1u 1) Slash All!: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (plus STR) (vs. PD), Personal Immunity (+1/4), Area Of Effect (2" radius; +3/4) (60 Active Points) 24 1u 2) Crimson Wave!: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6 (vs. ED), Area Of Effect (12" Line; +1) (60 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) 24 1u 3) Destruction Strike!: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 4d6 (plus STR) (vs. PD) (60 Active Points) 24 Powers Cost: 47 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Swordsmanship 4 1) Parry: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Lightning Strike: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike 5 3) Passing Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Weapon +v/5; FMove 5 4) Probing Attack: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Weapon Strike 5 5) Massive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, Weapon +4 DC Strike 4 6) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort Martial Arts Cost: 27 Cost Skill 3 Acrobatics 14- 3 Climbing 14- 3 Fast Draw 14- 2 KS: Sword Fighting Styles 11- 3 Paramedics 11- 2 PS: Soldier 11- 5 Rapid Attack (HTH) 5 Seduction (15 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2) 18- 3 Shadowing 11- 3 Stealth 14- 6 Survival (Desert, Mountain, Temperate/Subtropical) 11- 3 Tactics 11- 3 Teamwork 14- 2 WF: Common Melee Weapons 6 +2 with Swordsmanship Skills Cost: 52 Cost Talent 12 Combat Luck: 6 PD/6 ED Talents Cost: 12 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 15 Physical Limitation: Amnesia of Life Prior to Joining the Military, Frequently, Greatly Impairing 10 Psychological Limitation: Tired of the Killing, Common, Moderate 15 Psychological Limitation: Protect Those Weaker Than Yourself, Common, Strong 10 Psychological Limitation: Rivalry with Other Swords Wielders, Common, Moderate 10 Distinctive Features: The Hair!, Concealable, Noticed and Recognizable, Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses 15 Hunted: The Military (Biggs and Wedge, normally), As Powerful, 11- (Frequently), Harshly Punish 5 Dependent NPC: Cid, Slightly Less Powerful than the PC, 11- (Occasionally), Useful noncombat position or skills 5 Reputation: Dangerous Rebel Special Forces Member, Sometimes (8-), Extreme, Known Only To A Small Group (Military types) 15 Hunted: Person who Caused the Amnesia, More Powerful, 8- (Occasionally), Mildly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence Disadvantage Points: 100 Base Points: 150 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Feel free to tear into this - he's more designed to provoke ideas then as an actual character, although he might be quite fun to play in the right game. I'm afraid I've completely ignored the profession side of things, but I have tried to avoid effects that I think should be the realm of spell casters - he has no elemental damage effects (Black Mages), mystic healing (White Mages) or transforms (either). Michael

Personally, I think a sufficient roll should allow you to give commands like "Commit suicide here and now." After all, to carry off a command like that you need: a) a huge effect roll (I might even GM rule it as EGO +40); the target to fail their break out roll; c) any opposing mentalists to not help the target break out in time (with sufficiently powerful aid). Depending on how tough the target is, commiting suicide might also take a while, allowing a few more break out rolls and opportunities for others to help out or incapacitate him. Acheiving all this will generally involve spending an awful lot of points on Mind Control, and even then a creative victim might find a way to take you with him (I commit suicide by NCM Move-throughing Mind Man!). Had I spent the same number of points on a huge RKA (and the GM allowed it), nobody would be claiming my target shouldn't die when I shoot him in the head. And it's much less likely to get twisted by a clever target into something detrimental to me - unless he has missile reflection, of course... Also, purely aside from the game mechanics/cost effectiveness argument there is also the genre argument. Almost all backgrounds that involve mental powers have villians forcing weak willed opponents to kill themselves. Michael

Thanks for these, Storn. I must admit, as someone just starting to learn to draw properly I actually quite enjoy seeing pictures like this in their 'rough and ready' stage (and with the occassional construction line). Both these guys look pretty good, especially Socket (although I'm not 100% convinced by the name ). Scope looks good but her helmet is ... odd. With a design like that, I'd almost be tempted to go with a name like 'Target' or 'Headshot' for that duel meaning. BTW, I hate you for having already practiced enough to sketch figures this accurately . Michael

Well good ideas are an obvious consequence of my escalation to 'Skilled Normal' . As an aside, Susano (our very own Mike Surbrook) has several FF character write ups on his web site. They aren't written up the way I would (I'd make FF chars much more 'superheroic'), but they're internally consistant with some good ideas for how to do materia etc. Check his sig for the URL (I can't remember it off hand). Michael

I was looking into doing this as powers brought to a huge END cost (maybe with a few other compulsary limitations) and then giving characters a 0 Recovery END Reserve and Absorption to power them. Similar to how I do 'desperation moves' in fighting Hero games. Another alternative might be 1 Charge per day, but that's much less interesting as a PC. Or I suppose just allow each character 1-3 desperation moves, which are allowed to exceed any AP/damage limits in place, but must have at least, say, -5 or -6 worth of limitations. Hope some of these at least spark inspiration. Michael

Personally I think any house keeper for a superhero group should have at least +20 PRE (defensive only). Possibly only while on duty. Most of these people seem completely unbothered by world-conquering supervillians trying to take over their home every week. Michael

Nope. I've gamed to Surfing, and on these boards I count as a young 'un (24). I think most of my suggestions are already up, but a special mention has to go to 'Jimmy Olsen Blues' by the Spin Doctors. I used this track to start every session of my last Champions game - it helped set the mood . Michael "I've got a pocket full of kryptonite" Newton

The last time I ran a time travel game, the characters themselves never time travelled - but they were the result of someone else's time travel. Some of them were given training and equipment by a mysterious benefactor (who knew what they were going to do from his history books, and so what they needed to be provided with for history to work out correct) while one of them was his own daughter! Basically, he had been testing a new starship (insert ad ala Heart of Gold here) when he all went wrong. He assumed he'd been thrown through space with no way to get back, and so married a local and had a daughter who he named after his childhood historical heroine. Only later did he work out that he'd been thrown back he time and that she _was_ his childhood heroine - and that the reason all psychics were decended from her was because she was decended from him (he came from a time when they'd become common). Then he found out that he had lived back through to his own time, come back again and that an older, more cynical him was trying to manipulate both him and the PCs. Meanwhile, the PCs were starting to find all this out in various ways. Great game which I _really_ didn't expect to work, but carried by great players who actually got and appreciated what was going on. (Although Saskia did balk slightly about being her own ancestor ). Michael