Basil

Re: Problem with creating a FH spell.

Re: Problem with creating a FH spell. After thinking about it, I'd have to disagree. 5th Ed., p. 176, says "Usable By Other This is the typical, or default, Usable On Others Advantage. It means the Power is usable by any one person the character targets -- in other words, the character 'gives' a Power to another character." The way I read that, the character who has the Advantaged Power can decided to give, or not to give, control and use of the Power to someone else. I don't think you can stretch the idea to forcing the owning character to give the power. That, to me, sounds like something much more significant.

Re: Questions and Suggestions for my next campaign. Have the philanthropist say something like, "Thanks to a heretofore undiscovered source of helium, contacts around the world, and careful shipping that means I may securely cache said helium, you will always be able to replace expended lifting power. Furthermore..." That will hand-wave away the problem. Until the PCs have to confront the question of just what is the source, and just how secure are those caches.

Re: I need a name for a society of adventurers You called it. Ulysses/odysseus was THE greatest adventurer in mythology. You could use Jason, or better the Argonauts as a valid option. Marco Polo. Prestor John. (hmm, Knights of Prestor John as a society seeking that which might, or might not, be there...) Gewing is right. Naming it after a famous adventurer/explorer/traveller is the best way to go, IMO. Gewing also grabbed the best examples. So, I'll list a few more, more explorers than "adventurers": Christopher Columbus (esp. good for a group from The Americas) Ibn Batuta (too obscure?) --the fellow who lead the Chinese Treasure Fleet explorations in the mid-1400's; sorry, I'm blanking on the name Vasco de Gama any of the "conquistadors" Zebulon Pike (Pike's Peekers? ) Scott, Amunden, Perry, etc. Magellen Captain Cook (explorer and leader of scientists) Leif Ericson Hmmm... adventurers more than explorers.... Theseus Hercules (sorta, kinda) Bellerophon (sorta, kinda) Horatio Hornblower Horatio Nelson (more fighter than adventurer) I'll have to think about it, let you know if I have any ideas.

Re: The Empire Club: recruiting drive! Females? Irene Adler, of course! Along with Nellie Bly, surely. Annie Oakley as well, in the early days, with Babe Didrickson (spelling) in the later days. Inspector John Raymond Legrasse, inspector of police in New Orleans might be a member, though he's more likely merely a visitor from time to time. Mycroft Holmes will, of course, not ever visit the Empire Club's building (assuming there is even a branch in London), but may be a member none-the-less. However, Captain Nemo would never imperil his alias to even that extent. Jim Thorpe would a natural; not only is he an excellent athlete, but he had quite a few adventures in the wilds of deepest (bigoted) America in his day. Ditto Jack Robertson, Satchel Paige, and a number of others. In a similar vein, "The Babe"---Babe Ruth---would be a welcome addition. A selection of boxers might be a good idea; I leave to those more knowledgable and/or interested the task of choosing a few. John Thunstone and Judge Pursuivant are naturals. So is Garrett (first name unknown)(of The Garrett Files), if interplanar travel is permissible, and certain explanations re. magic vs. technology are made to him. The same can be said for Lord Darcy. Douglas Gorce "Wrong-Way" Corrigan, Charles Lindberg, and Amilia Earhart are practically required, as they represent the grand new world of aeronautics. If Victorians and Edwardians are permitted (as I believe they are) Scott, Amundsen, and Perry definintely belong. And do tell me that, if Sherlock is a member, so is Dr. Watson; he might not be among the brightest, but is is a courageous as anyone could ask for, and a boon companion in any adventure. That's all I can think of now; if any more come to mind I'll let you know.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: You're putting footware on a cow while skinning a boar, because why?!!? A: No, that's when Judge Crater disappeared.

Re: I need a name for a Robin Hood-like fantasy character I'll join in with the chorus approving Fox. Might I suggest Lord Fox? It has that "nobleman unjustly deprived of his inheritance" shtick that fits the whole RobinHoodian feel. It might be <100% original, but since you're talking about a convention game, you want to pull people in quickly, and a judicious use of cliches helps that. As a slight twist on that, if none of the PCs/NPCs are nobles, the name Lord Fox is a good red herring to throw at the bad guys. BTW, Vulpes (or Volpes) is Latin for "fox" -- pronounced in two sylables, the "e" in the second sylable sounds much like the "ey" in "hey". Could come in useful, or not. Hm... Tod Volps/Volpy as an alias? Needs work. As for non-fox names: the fox is the pre-eminite trickster in European folklore, though the crow (not the raven so much) is a runner-up. However, crows are also seen as greedy, and ravens as associated with death, so I don't think those would work. Coyotes are unknown in Europe. However, if you don't want/need to be specifically European, names like The Crow, Raven O' The Woods, and such are all possibilities. Hope that helped.

Re: Problem with creating a FH spell. I think you're right for the "Mind Control, only to control the Images" idea, but not for the "Transfer, Images to Images" idea. Transfer can be said to attack the Power (or Characteristic), not the "owner" per se. Thus, I'd say it can be used on an Image even if the caster is not present (e.g., if it's Independent or Triggered). So Super Squirrel's ideas, and similar ones, should be fine. As always, YMMV.

Re: Secret decoder Hence my post, #34 above.

Re: Pulp-era resources, if anyone is interested. Well, that's gone over with a resounding splot. Perhaps nobody saw my post. Let's try a *bump* cleverly disguised as a mention of other resources. How about a Concealed Carry Permit from Washington State, from the 40's? Or a few dozen pieces of sheet music from the 20's, 30's, and 40's? Any interest now?

Well, I feel like an idiot. I've got unlimited access to a couple of resources from the Pulp era, and never thought to mention them until this evening. You may throw rocks (very, very tiny ones) at me for spacing out on this. #1) the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Eleventh Edition, copyright 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920 ,1922, 1924, 1925, 1926. This covers the college-level (and beyond) scientific knowledge of circa 1926; well, tables, formulae, and such. Highly useful if your character is a scientist, or any scientific training, and quite helpful if he's an engineer. It's way too much for me to scan the whole thing if there's no interest; if there is interest, I could scan the Table of Contents, and put the result up on a Freewebs website; if there's a lot of interest I could OCR the TOC as well. After that, people could ask for whatever they need, and I'd scan that portion. Saves me from scanning anything no-one cares about. #2) Encyclopaedia Britannica, Fourteenth Edition, Copyright 1929, 1930, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940; there's also the Yearbooks for 1940-1948, complete. This is definitely too big to scan even the index; if anyone is interested in a subject, ask me and I'll look it up and scan what's available. NB: large articles, multiple articles, and general subjects may get answered "no way, Jose." P.S.: there may be some more stuff from the 40's and (possibly) the 30's around here, but I'm not going digging unless there's a good deal of interest in what I've mentioned so far. P.P.S.: Like, say, the 1942 World Almanac. Yeah, it's largely post-Pulp, but a good deal of the data it has is from a few years before. Anyway, it's just plain cool.

Re: Secret decoder Ahem. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=814109&postcount=3 5-7-2 18-15 14-5-18-15 15-8-20-1-8-14 14-1-3-17-15-9-18-15-15-18-7-17 23-18-6-8 20-5-1-18-15-14-9-3-15?

Re: Secret decoder 18 14-5-18-17-6 25-7-11 9-8-3-17 "12-23-11-8-17-14" 5-3! 5-3! 5-3!

Re: Secret decoder 8-26-8-1-25-7-17-8 2-5-7 11-15-8-15 14-5-8 15-8-20-1-8-14 20-7-4-8 18-15 20-7-7-23!!

Re: Secret decoder 18-12 25-7-11 4-18-4-17'14 4-1-18-17-6 20-5-8-3-16 13-8-8-1, 25-7-11 2-7-11-23-4-17'14 24-8-14 15-7 24-3-15-15-25

Re: What's in a Name? Thanks. Knowing a bit of Greek myths, and having good reference books, can come in handy. BTW, isn't anyone going to do "Miss Mistletoe?"

Re: Magic Items Thread The Cord of True Hearts Upon creation, this item looks like nothing more than a piece of leather cord, about 25 cm long, with a loop tied in each end with a slip knot. The creator of the Cord brings together any two people who consider themselves to be truly in love with each other, and who are willing to take on the Cord. The caster puts one of the loops over the finger of each of the two people, completes the spell, and cuts the cord between the two. If the two people both believe themselves to be in love, and are truly willing, the cord cuts with ease; within a few minutes the ends of cord fade away, and from then on there's only a thin band of unbroken leather. Note that if either person is not in love, or not willing, the cord cannot be cut. It is important to remember that the "rings" are not actually such; they are a physical alteration, and connot be removed. If the connection is somehow forcibly disrupted, it will restore itself as soon as the disrupting power is removed or overcome. If successful, from then on each of the two will be able to mentally contact the other, across any distance and even between planes. Note that the Cord of True Hearts continues to function even if the two people involved fall out of love or even become enemies. Since all mental powers can be transmitted through the connection the two have, if love turns to hate, each is highly vulnerable to the other. The Cord of True Hearts The item itself: Mind Link, One Specific Mind, Psychic Bond, Any Distance, Through The Dimensions; Inherent (+1/4); Always On (-1/2). Base/Active/Real: 20/25/17 How the creator "casts" it; the above becomes the basis for a UOO power: Base cost 17 points; Usable As Attack (+1), Delayed Effect (+1/4); One Charge That Doesn't Recover (-4), OAF (-1), Independent (-2), Only If Both Persons Are In Love, And Willing (-1/2). B/A/R: 17/38/4 It is done as "Usable As Attack" rather than "Usable By Others" because the creator/caster does it to the two people, rather than giving the two the power to do it to themselves, when and if they want. You might want to add Gestures to the UOO part. It's up to you.

Re: Magic Items Thread No. Sorry, I thought I was clear, but perhaps not. An intelligence cannot enter the other plane; an attempt leaves the intelligence in the bag in "this" plane of reality. Yes, you could. Now, if you "jumped in", leaving your head sticking out, and then tried to pull you head through to the other plane, well.... The result I'd leave up to the GM. Perhaps all of you suddenly returns to "this" plane, inside the bag, which would be a tight fit since it's two feet deep and a foot-and-a-half wide. Or, the bag rips apart, with who-knows-what effect on the XDM power (probably lost forever). A truly cruel GM might rule that your head lands up in the bag in "this" plane, while the rest of you stays in "the other" plane. :eg:

Re: open door spell Oooo! I like. Yes, that's the way to go, IMO. And, as others have said, you do have to go though the door, you can't open it and look through, if you're doing Teleport. Which makes it more interesting, IMO.

Re: Astrogator's Handbook

Re: Magic Items Thread Stone of Finding The magic item, usually in the form of a stone about the size and shape of a crab-apple (though amber is frequently used, as is bone, and other substances) has a hole trough it and is threaded on a fine chain, a rawhide thong, or a bit of twine. It is used by holding it between the hands, and speaking a magic word (different for each Stone of Finding). The user then concentrates on everything he knows about the target. The Stone of Finding, if it works, will then let the user know the location of the target; this takes but a moment, and the Stone gives no more information than location. Note that only living (more or less) beings that can be said to have a mind (in the most generous sense of the term) can be located. This item only works twice per day. Stone of Finding: Mind Scan, 5d6, +15 on ECV Roll, both Human and Animal Classes of Minds; 0 END (+1/2); Incantations (-1/4), 2 Charges (-1 1/2), Instant (-1/2), OAF (-1), Independent (-2), Gestures (-1/4), Must Achieve EGO+20 Result "Mentalist knows exact location of the target" (-1), Only For Location, Cannot Use Other Powers Through The Link (-1/2). Base/Active/Real: 65/97/12 Note that if an EGO+20+20 result is obtained, the Mind Scan will be undetectable by the target.

Re: Secret decoder 14-7 5-8-20-6 2-18-14 5 7-26-3-23-14-18-17-8, 2-5-8-1-8 18-15 9-25 13-8-8-1?

Re: Good News For Time Travelers! Is that actually good news? I mean, isn't one of the draws, one of the fun parts of time travel the ability to change things? It certainly makes it less fun for role-playing, if you can't alter the past so as to get a present to your liking.

Re: open door spell If what you want is specifically an unlocked door, the Transform method is the most obvious. Lockpicking + TK is another good method. If what you want is getting to the other side of the door, then Tunnelling works. So does Teleportation 1 Hex, Increased Mass (x16), Only From One Side Of A Door To The Other (-1 1/2) (22 Active Points; Real Cost 9) plus one Fixed Location, defined as one hex straight ahead (1 point). Total cost: 10 points. The problem of Teleporting into solid object(s) is left as an exercise for the fiendish GM.

Re: Anonymity vs magic that is, the correct official name includes the thing detected. The same applies, mutatis mutandis, to Senses. So, clearly you cannot be invisible to all the Unusual Sense "Group" with one Power. Further, it seems to me that "Detect" is not a Sense, but a category of Senses. If a bunch of Detects are taken, and all are not made part of a Sense Group, then you'd have to buy Invisibility versus each one separately; "Invisibility vs. Detect" is not, AFAICT, a legitimate build. YMMV, of course.