Savinien

Re: High End DC:TAS

Sure! I'll check it out, post haste!

Thanks!

Re: Mimm (sci-fantasy game)

That is good advice.

 

But it still might take me a while to get to appreciate all the cool features which I assume that they have.

 

Would I have to actually play in some games to see fully what is going on there? Or are all the posts/features pretty much accessable to the casual observer?

You could play, or lurk. You can read all of the posts in a game in which you are not a player, but cannot post to any board. It has grown exponentially in the past few months.

Re: Background Cliches

Supers existed and participated in major conflicts in the past (WWII, Cold War) but their actions primarily cancelled each other out, leading to historical outcomes identical to the "real world".

 

Pretty standard issue. Played in those games, ran those games. Someday I'd love to play in/run a long Champions campaign starting w/the 1930's or WWII and have the world drastically diverge more and more from our timeline as the game progresses.

Building this campaign now... It isn't easy though, and matching my vision with potential players seems to be a sincere hindrance.

BoT: Used to be a villian but realized his error after a short incarceration. Now, he uses his powers for good.

Re: Fourth Age Hero

As an aside, I found this link in Lord Laiden's thread of resource links. That rocks LL, thanks!

I'm reposting it here for its importance to the subject matter...

http://surbrook.devermore.net/lotr/lotrchar.html

Re: MADLIBS Champions style

I would have named him Fortress and you could use about anything for the names of the powers...

Re: Magic Item Creation

I wouldn't agree with the TK one. TK doesn't move people well and isn't really meant for that, AFAIK.

It sort of depends on how well you want it to work and what could be used to dislodge someone using the rope. Personally, I'd probably go with the clinging.

Re: Mimm (sci-fantasy game)

Just go check it out. It's free.

herocentral.net

Re: 5th ed Resource kit found!

If you bought it, Phydaux, I'd bet you could sell it rather quickly. I happen to know somebody wanting one pretty badly...

I have one myself, but forgot how much I paid. I might even buy it off of you to give lez for Christmas, or something.

Re: Mimm (sci-fantasy game)

Ah-ha! The ulterior motive!

j/k Warp9

I'm glad you let the cat out of the bag. Otherwise, Boz and I would have likely hounded you to use HeroCentral incessantly. I was just talkin about getting our ISP going at home again with the SO. I'll likely have something within a week or two (and possibly less).

Keep on keepin' on!

Sav, the Pedantic GM

Re: High End DC:TAS

The story begins!

After many futile efforts in finding some information on Los Angeles Neighborhoods and geographical layout, I've decided to wing it, for now. I made the first posts to the campaign and I'm liking the way it feels.

Guardian and Shrike were headed towards Chinatown to explore and investigate the rumors behind a new power trying to consolidate the Chinese Tongs and Triads. On the way, a plea for (back-up) slides across the Police Band. Shrike, though younger has taken well to the martial aspects of crime-fighting and Guardian is the better 'snooper'. Therefore, Guardian continues towards the Palace of Chinese Delights, while Shrike heads of to Nottingham (poor ghetto predominantly colored and infested with gangs).

In Nottingham: This is a small Caprini Green type location (as already mentioned infested with balck gangs). Recently, Malcolm XV, a long time leader among the nieghborhoods has passed away and the gangs are filling the vacuum with bullets and blood. A patrol cruiser ended up in the middle of two gangs gunning it out. Shrike will have to deal with that.

In Chinatown: Guardian is learning that Sillestro of the Venemous Snake Triad is accepting an invitation to a dinner party with a new Viatnamese Gang Leader in Little Saigon. The other members of the Tong are concerned what this means, as is Guardian.

To conclude, it's been a little while since I started this mess and I wanted to let you know how it's going. Slowly, but looking good!

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Another idea is that one of the Black Numenoreans got ahold of Saruman's collection of Ring lore (how they got into Orthanc when Treebeard holds the key is a tricky question, but I'm assuming that someone figured it out). Remember that Saruman made a Ring himself. My concept is that a Black Numenorean used his knowledge of sorcery and Saruman's collected Ring-lore to reenchant the Ninth Ring of Men, and didn't realize it was linked to the spirit of the Witch-King who eventually takes over the Ring-wearer.

 

Another of the concepts that I'm working on is that Radagast the Brown chose to stay behind in Middle Earth. He recognized that the Ents were doomed and the time of Men was coming, and wanted to stay behind to train an order of Men to become protectors of the woods and beasts. Essentially he goes and founds a Druidic order. This order doesn't play a big role in the Fourth Age, or any other Age. As Treebeard says, it's not so much that they're not on anyone's side is that no one else is on their side.

 

Likewise the last two of the Istari also founded orders, though I'm still working out the details there. Incidentally, I'm not feeling constrained to Tolkein's own notes on the Blue wizards. Tolkein himself quite frequently revised stuff that wasn't actually published in the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings. Galadriel's motivations for going with the Noldor to Middle Earth was something he fiddled with. All that is necessary is that the last two Istari were not present for any of the events of Lord of the Rings.

 

Another thought was the fact that while Elrond's sons both stayed behind, only one of them chose to become mortal and be counted among Men. I had the other one decide to remain an Elf and take over Rivendale after his father left. It's essentially a duplication of the Elros/Elrond choice.

I believe some of these details are expounded upon somewhere. I believe Radagast for certain disappeared into the East. There is no reason to believe he didn't found some sort of Druidic Sect. Besides, that just adds to the fodder of the Fourth Age setting.

I was thinking about allowing Imladris/Rivendell to fall into ruin and possibly become an area of investigative exploration. Haunted by the angry spirits of fallen Elves, the explorers deal with new inhabitants and learn the secrets of the long gone. (Or, perhaps, this would make a better 5th or 6th Age story?)

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Not a ringwraith, one of the so-called "Black Numenoreans". If I recall correctly, he was described as being a fairly hefty sorcerer in his own right, but utterly subservient to the will of Sauron to the extent that he no longer had a name of his own, but was just called the Mouth of Sauron.

 

He's an interesting character more for the implications of his presence than in himself; where there's one guy like him there's likely to be more. Assuming there are some pretty funky sorcerous lieutenants out and about taking care of slave-run farms and what-not when Barad Dur collapsed, and therefore not squished along with all the rest, there should be some really nasty characters available for some 4th Age gaming goodness.

I agree. This is partially the evidence that says ICE did it right by making it possible to be a spellcaster. I still stand by earlier convictions. Other spell casters existed in ME. Otherwise, the stories of the Necromancer would have been more closely inspected immediately. But, I've already decided there is a modicum of spell ability in an infintessimal minority of the population. I haven't worked out the details, but it will be there.

Now, where, or better, when to start?

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Much of Tolkein is taken from the myths of Europe.

 

Traditional Dwarfs were carved out of stone.

There were no female Dwarfs.

 

BTW - I don't ever remember reading about "Cave Trolls". In the books there are "Olog Hai" which are a breeding enhancement made to Trolls in the same manner as "Uruk Hai" are to normal orcs (called by the Elves "Yrch")

I've got the Hero Bestiary! Well, it isn't in my grubby little fingers, but it is out in the car, impatiently waiting for me to tear into it tonight after work. Actually, that's probably me and not it, but who's keeping score here?

BoT: I disagree with this. The Cave Troll is a domesticized aspect of the Trolls Bilbo and the Company of Thirteen tricked into waiting for supper during the Hobbit. An Olog Hai is something else entirely, IMO.

This begs another question: What is Canon? Movie, books, or a mix of both. One of the players is a geek, but not necessarily a Tolkien geek and the other is only familiar with the movie adaptation. Which is better for these purposes?

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Evil and Wicked cool!

Though, I'm still confused. I haven't read the actual books in an age and I'm not sure who 'The Mouth of Sauron' is. I thought he was one of the Ring-wraiths.

I'm with the good Cap. Obvious. This is sounding pretty cool.

I wonder if any of my possible players are working out character ideas...

Re: Fourth Age Hero

There's also a Dwarf realm in the Glittering Caves at Helm's Deep' date=' as I recall. I think Gimli talks of founding a colony there after the war.[/quote']

 

Exactly right, irishspy. Eosin's articles mentioned precisely the same thing.

Re: The City/Hero Connection

What about Houston? Being as large as it is, you rarely hear much about the vibe of the city. Many may mention NASA, but can anyone think of anything else concerning the flavor of Houston?

Re: Fantasy Web Resources

The link doesn't work. I get "The page cannot be found."

My bad. Take off the final 'l'.

http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Thanks guys, this is a bundle of great information and offers a lot of options.

Eosin - Those articles are a great help. I especially appreciate the detail that fleshes out the little blurbs I'd found previously at other locations. Rep for you!)

MFH - Your theory is similar to my own. The Ages are much like our own time, we just don't stop counting the years. I'd read somewhere that we were currently in the Seventh Age (Gondor Reckoning). I have to agree with Lez concerning the Rings of Power, though.

With the destruction of the One Ring, all the other rings lost their power. What about a Palantir housing some of Sauron's malevolence, though? There are Palantir's that were lost and one made its way up to the Lossoth, I believe (this is from one of the ICE adventures). What it someone found it and gained power and the taint of Morgoth...? (rep for you, too!)

Mark Taber - I don't have either of those books, but I do have access to the Bestiary. I'll start my workings, there.

Fitz - Concentration is a good start. I don't know how that would fit into Limb Running and the like. Clinging would work, only on trees, for that fantabulous dex the evles may have while in Mirkwood.

Great stuff all, everyone! Let's keep this going!

Re: Fourth Age Hero

There is some stuff about the Fourth Age in the Appendix to the Lord of the Rings but I can't remember much of it.

I've gathered that info and what there is at the Encyclopedia Arda. It is mostly just notations about what the Fellowship did and where they all died.

The Fourth Age should be an era of men as that is what Tolkien had in mind and I realize I have a lot of directions to go in. I was just hoping you guys could help me out.

And you have. I could always use more, though!

Thanks!

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Of course... There are all the orcs in Moria still, too.

The Ithilien is the valley between Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul. The Anduin flows southward through the center with teh ruins of Osgilitiath resting between the two fortifications/cities.

I'm planning on much of the danger from the South being taken care of by Forimir and the Lady in White before their subsequent deaths. I did want to create some subtle tension though, similar to the necromancer in the early Third Age. There will be those that wonder if Sauron or his ilk have somehow returned, but I'll leave it mostly in the background.

I'm looking towards creating a setting that could eventually hold multiple campaigns. But, I wanted the first to be near Ithilien.

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Powers with very few limitations and frequently Invisible Power Effects.

Thinking along these lines sort of reminded me of a lot of the more subtleties in MERP...

What about some stats for goblins, orcs, or Cave Trolls?

Re: Fourth Age Hero

From your suggestions, I plan on having Dwarves play a larger part in my Fourth Age setting, Mark!

Rep to you!

Now, if I can just come up with some more stuff and what I'm going to do about magic.

Also, wouldn't it stand to reason that a new threat will eventually be born in the Fourth Age? What might it be?

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Calling Ungoliant a "pet spider" is a wee bit misleading, considering that she was powerful enough in her own right that Morgoth would make alliance with her, and powerful enough to make Morgoth back down over the terms of the alliance

 

It's never made clear just how Ungoliant came into being, or what sort of being she was. I've always assumed she was coeval with the Valar because she could contend on more or less equal terms with Melkor (Morgoth), who was described as powerful among the Valar, but it's possible she was a very powerful Maia; the line between the two races gets a bit blurred in terms of power levels. Shelob was certainly nowhere near as potent as her progenitor -- again, it's never explicitly stated how far removed she was from Ungoliant.

 

Tolkienish magic in general seems to me to be omnipresent, but not flashy. Tolkien refers many times to the innate power inherent in beings like Bombadil, Galadriel or Glorfindel, but never makes clear just how that power manifests itself. Gandalf makes mention of "spells", but whether they equate to the hocus-pocus handwaving and gibbering that most roleplayers think of as spellcasting is unclear. There are a couple of examples -- the barrow wight's chant, and Gandalf's shaft of light (lightning bolt?) aimed at the Nazgul are two; there may be more if I bend my memory that far.

 

If I were trying to replicate Middle Earth in a roleplaying sense, I'd go heavily on inherent Talents, Enhanced Senses and lots of Ancient Lore KS's, and shy away from much in the way of spellcasting as it's usually presented. Magic use would have more in common with what's normally seen as Psionics, and would certainly take time and energy and generally have little in the way of spectacular SFX.

If Psionics is the way to go... What game-mechanic would best be used to represent it?

Something to remember is that I'm running this in the Fourth Age. What sorts of things could be added/used to best represent this fact (other than history).

Re: Fourth Age Hero

Your acquaintance is correct in that in Middle Earth it seems to be only the Istari and others of the Maia' date=' such as Sauron, who wield the traditional "spells 'n' fireballs" kind of wizardly magic we have come to expect from every Fantasy RPG, and judging by Gandalf's sparing use of his spells it is extremely draining even for them. The Maia (including the Istari) are not human, nor are they of any other mortal race. They walked the Earth even before the Elves. When Gandalf refers to other Wizards he is talking about the other Istari.[/quote']

 

 

Is it precisely draining or just looked down upon by Eru and his clan? In the struggle of the Lord of the Rings, the Viair wished for the Men to do wha they could in this struggle with as little help as possible from the Istari... Right?

 

It is plain that that is not the only kind of magic in Middle Earth, though.

 

Judging by references in both The Hobbit and LOTR the Elves have a magic all of their own. Though it does not seem to involve much in the way of hand-waving and incantations it is nonetheless powerful magic and it varies greatly from individual to individual; from Elrond's healing powers, to Galadriel's ability to touch the minds of others, to Legolas's trackless stride and his almost supernatural ability with a bow.

 

From references in The Hobbit it seems that the Dwarves can craft enchanted items of various sorts, though that seems to be the limit of their magical abilities.

 

The races is another point of distinction. It's fairly obvious that the Hobbits will still be around at the time I'm thinking of running in. What about the others, though? All the Elves but Thranduil's people have moved to the West (except maybe Elrond's Twins...). The Dwarves seem happy to hide in their lairs. (Where do the other Dwarves live? We know Moria has been scourged of Dwarves...)

 

Some humans of noble lineage possess superhuman abilities in combat and other areas' date=' and even have greatly extended lifespans, but no actual "magic" to speak of.[/quote']

 

The Dunedain. Remnants of Numenorean blood that is mostly gone with Aragorn being the last of Isildur's line. Yes, he has children with Arwen, but worrying about thir abilities in play won't likely be an issue.

 

 

The Hobbits are perhaps the least magical race of all' date=' but they do seem to possess almost supernatural stealth, and most probably (in HERO terms) a few levels of luck.[/quote']

 

Right. I'm not sure if I'll mess with Luck as a racial paradigm or not. I do think this is the best shot at PC races other than Men. Of course, you chould shift around the packages by Peoples (Rohirrim get Riding, etc).

 

Edit: P.S. On the subject of the MERP books' date=' it's plain that they "spiced up" the magic of Middle Earth to some degree to make it more attractive to roleplayers, and it does [i']not[/i] present an accurate picture of magic in Middle Earth as written about by Tolkien in his books. If you want to take this approach there is nothing to stop you from just converting MERP's idea of magic directly to HERO System.

 

P.P.S. I deliberately did not mention The Silmarillion because it is a long time since I last read it, but I cannot recall it containing anything that contradicts what I said above.

 

Thanks for your help! Just having other people bounce around ideas helps me figure out what I do or don't like. And, maybe, someone else will be interested in using stuff that comes of it!

Re: Fantasy Web Resources

Definitive Tolkien site:

http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.html