Zen Archer

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC? Fair question. A leader isn't necessarily someone trying to control every detail of combat or throw their weight around. In a lot of cases, a leader is basically the decision maker. As a GM, I wanted the input of all the players and I wanted the players to work things out amongst themselves. But if there's an impasse, and their often is, I've found it a good thing for game pace to have somebody make the final call.

Re: Curious about your view on the current state of CO. (Anybody still play regularly I've never been interested enough in the idea of the thing to play. Not a troll; I hope it is doing well. Frankly, I wish the character creator would be marketed separately.

Re: The bystander safety trope and your game Pretty much. Besides, the real question isn't why Batman doesn't kill the Joker, it's why Gotham City doesn't change its death penalty laws. Same answer, just a better question IMO. But I'm digressing.

Re: The cranky thread Got back from my festival on Monday, and was pumped up enough to do laundry, make a grocery run, and otherwise do some organizing around here. Since Tuesday, I've been sick as a dog. I'm feeling better now, though, and I'm hoping to get to a show tonight. Adding to this, I've just found out that a co-worker and friend passed away over the weekend.

Re: [Xenozoic Tales / Cadillacs and Dinosaurs] Lost technology idea needed. Can't think of many. IIRC, according to some surviving letters from sailors, the Dodo was considered tasty. And there are several species of hen that have gone extinct. Wikipedia probably has a full list.

Re: Cassandra's Corner Not completely sure about the reference. Our characters in Champions would get captured on occasion, if the GM had a deathtrap worked out. This wasn't often, and usually if we lost a fight we were just left out cold as the villains absconded with whatever. I think this worked out for the best, as not all the players in the group got the whole captured/escape trope.

Re: The "Nice Happy" Thread

Re: I like Playing Bricks! Is that wrong? And the heroes who could do those things often settled for punching the bad guys. My guess is that it seemed more dynamic on the page.

Re: Do you use Teamwork? Only ever used something like that in a Golden Age game, when I played a sidekick to another hero. It was only the two of us, so there was no risk of unbalancing. Otherwise, either the GMs didn't like it or not enough players were interested. IIRC, the Leadership skill in the old Mayfair DC RPG had similar benefits, and we used that a few times.

Re: I like Playing Bricks! Is that wrong?

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson turns to fantasy and sci-fi: Star Trek: The Next Generation of Swine Fear and Loathing in Westeros

Re: The bystander safety trope and your game In the games I've played, it's never come up. In the games I've run, I've brought the issue up. The players were too smart to endanger innocents in any case.

Re: What CU supervillains could work on a fake superhero team? Good call on Cateran. She seemed designed to be the kind of character that might go hero as part of a romance subplot, but she certainly doesn't need that. I could see somebody like the old Utility being involved at first just to show that he could do the hero thing better than the super-powered types.

Re: The "Nice Happy" Thread It was the final NEARfest festival. Friday was Aranis, a fine chamber-rock ensemble from Belgium making their debut in North America, and the mighty Van der Graaf Generator. Got to meet the VdGG guys after the show, and they were all cool and generous with their time. I'm seeing them again at a local theatre in a few days. Saturday was Helmet of Gnats (USA, fusion), Twelfth Night (England, neoprog, making their US debut), Anglagrd (Sweden, epic instrumental prog), and Renaissance (England/US, folk-prog with strong influences from Russian classical). Sunday was the Gosta Berlings Saga (Sweden, post-rock, North American debut), Il Tempio Delle Clessidie (Italy, goth-prog, North American debut), the Mike Keneally Band (US, mostly jam bandish) and the recently reunited U.K. (England, classic prog). Awesome festival. Got to hang out with a good friend I don't get to see much, talk to interesting people, and spend entirely too much money on music. I'll miss it.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? "Nevermore" by U.K., who put on a fantastic show at NEARfest last night.

Re: I like Playing Bricks! Is that wrong? Happy B-day. Nothing wrong with preferring bricks. Heck, that's been the standard in comics since the Golden Age.

Re: The "Nice Happy" Thread I have arrived safely in Bethlehem, Pa. The trip was largely stress-free. The prog rock apocalypse begins in less than six hours.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? "Funky Women" by Maceo and All the King's Men.

Re: Mother Box, Legion Flight Ring...DCU Writeups The pre-Zero Hour version did have a thing for Brainy, though she ended up marrying and having a child with Rond Vidar. The psych lims you mention go with the "Archie" version.

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Space: Above and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Children of a Lesser Godzilla Ultraman of La Mancha Kamen Riders of the Purple Sage

Re: Mother Box, Legion Flight Ring...DCU Writeups The rings the "Archie" Legion had (I'm guessing their the "Earth-Prime" bunch) could also be used to track other members. Which could be covered under "Distress Beacon" but isn't quite the same thing.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

Re: GM vs Player narrative authority Fever was clearly drunk, so I'd go with the second but not the first. He might have some kind of tolerance, though.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Disc 1, Side 1 of Space Ghost and Dino Boy: The Complete Series. Space Ghost: Still awesome after all these years. Dino Boy: Not so much.