Starwolf

I think one of the better references was the old Handbook of thr Marvel Universe series. It was not a game supplement, but it tried to describe each hero or villain and his abilities in real world terms (i.e. Thor can lift 45 tons, etc.) In the descriptions it described powers, tactics, background info, location, affiliations, etc. I haven't seen these around for a long time, but I would almost kill to get a set. I believe DC tried to copy this format for a breif series of thier own but I can't recall what they named it.

The Imperial Kahn said "By that logic military aircraft should have both props (for fuel economy) and jets (for speed). And ships should still have sails and oars. Admittedly in the early Jet and Steam Ages this was so but the practice died out after a while as it was inefficient. " Some aircraft do have both, the P3 Orion and the C130 for example, they use props for extended long range flight, and the JATO system (JET ASSISTED TAKE OFF) for take off from very short runways. The modern aircraft carrier also has 4 engines, be they nuclear or diesel to drive the screws. Typically they only use 1, 2, or 3 engines at once. In my 18 years in the Navy I only saw all four MMRs online simultaneously once.

STARFLASH: Use quantum speed created tornadoe to topple the robot then intercept the bad guys.....in the blink of an eye! Dark Avenger (My quasi wolverine/batman/punisher type): let the bad guys rescue Impulse so that he can follow them back their hidey hole using an implanted tracking device. Then he can snipe the baddy's without pesky army interference to reduce the body count.

Quite a few years back there was a scene where Ghost Rider had gone berserk, he had either knocked out of paralyzed with fear all of the Avengers except for Cap, who kept moving in spite of his fear, and.....Thor. When Thor was blasted by the hell fire instead of being frozen with fear he strides forward through the flames and says... "I have trod the frozen plains of nifflehiem...the cold of your fire will avial thee nought" throws mjolnir.....smack!

You may be good, but me, I'm magic... I'm the best there is at what I do.... And did I mention SPOOOONNNNN!!!

SPOOOONNN!!!!

Another great classic is the novel "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank. I am probably dating myself but this was required reading for H.S. students back in the 70s.

The old RPG Aftermath gave a lot of good background. I have also referenced Twilight 2000. For reading material that I have adapted to game settings, I have used both Battlefield Earth by L. Hubbard. and The Siege of Earth by John Mathew Faucette. I have also used a series called the Guardians, but I can't recall the author right now.

I searched out the unknown authors and added some other entries from the list. Here is the zipped file. I think SyberDwarf has hit on a very cool idea here.

Ok I'll leap... The Siege of Earth (a paperback but I can't remember the Author). Wing Commander Wing Comander Privateer Star Trek: TOS Battlestar Galactica the Dumarest of Earth paperback series Battle Circle by Piers Anthony Bio of a Space Tyrant (series) by Piers Anthony Anything by Robert Heinlein Any thing by Asimov The Skylark series by E.E. Doc Smith Anything by Poul Anderson Anything by Larry Niven Titan A.E. for a near future campaign that has cross genre possibilities. The Dreampark series. More to follow later.....

" God-like being: Major Transform 50d6; Self into "Thin Air"; 1 Non Recoverable Charge; No Conscious Control (GMs Option); Standard Effect Rule 150 BODY; SFX: Forces of Game Balance Cost: Free" LOL I can see it now... Paladin: "Charge!" Monk: "Noooo! If we gain one more experience point we cease to exist.....then evil wins!" Bad Guy: "MUhahahahahaa! At last I am untouchable!"

I make copies of the PC character sheets and highlight rolls and abilities that I might roll in secret (i.e. good/bad luck, disadvantages, certain skills like stealth where a character believes he is being quiet but the bad guys hear him are setting up an ambush, perception rolls, danger sense, etc.) I also have several sub-plots going on. I give the players clues by handing out news at appropriate times during each game session. This comes in different forms depending on the genre (i.e. town crier, bards tales, or rumors in fanstasy; Newspapers or news broadcasts in modern, Vidcasts in Starhero, etc.) Don't compete against the players. It isn't the GM versus the players, it is the bad guys versus the PCs, and the GM is a nuetral referee. Intrigue is your friend... Mystery is your friend... Be adaptable. The devil is in the details, keep your players interested by having enough detail to make it real. I keep a list of names, and generic equipment price lists handy so that I can throw out prices or make NPCs seem more detailed by naming them. I keep a log of events that have transpired, not real detailed by summarized. This gives me fuel for future adventures/plot lines. Hope these help.

"No. I did as I was bidden and voted for Champions." See, mind control 10d6 really does exist...

Hey that was pretty cool....now do epic levels....

Here are a few thoughts I have about Western Hero gunfights. This assumes you are trying to create a cinematic feel, real gun fights were very rarely like the movies. 1) Assmume all opponents have held prepared actions. 2) all opponents make a dex roll (modified by lightning reflexes). The skill sleight of hand and the talent combat sense would act as complimentary skills. This determines the order of the to hit rolls. 3) Roll to hit, roll hit location, roll damage. 4) if any dex rolls match then fire is simultaneous and those opponents get to roll hits, locations, and damage even if the rolls inidicate kills (this could result in both gunfighters dieing). Note that this is not Phased movement, just a single action. If there are more than one opponent then use this system during phased movement starting when the first shot is fired. Rapid/autofire rules apply to shooting more than one opponent. And Finally while there is no plate mail, or kevlar, there is DCV levels, combat skill levels, and Combat Luck (this one is the most appropriate for WH IMO). Having said all that I think my favorite Western Hero Movie Genre characters would be Matthew Quigley (played by Tom Seleck in Quigley Down Under), Texas Ranger Augustus McCray (played by Robert DuVall in Lonesome Dove), and Rex O Hurlihan, The Singing Cowboy (played by Tom Berringer in Rustlers Raphsody).

If you aren't using the RSR then why buy the POWER: Magic (based on Int) 13- ? That is the only inconsistency I see. I would either dump the power or add RSR to the spells.

For an early setting try Bio of a Space Tyrant.

I tried to start up a Hero/D20 group, and after only 3 sessions the group is close to migrating to TOTAL HERO!!! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!

There was a great time travel paperback called "The Ship That Sailed The Time Stream". It is probably OOP, and I can't remember the author but if you can find it the story deals with time paradox very well.

There was a great package in Here There Be Tigers by firebird ltd. It had a basic training package for each of the Armed Forces. It then had you pick an MOS or in Navy Terms a Rating. And then you picked a special forces package. Each of the packages was cumulative. It even had a couple of Non-com rank packages to reflect more advanced training for Non-coms. I would be willing to update this to 5th ed in the next couple of weeks. I am pretty busy with work/family/church/school/and GMing our local group, but I will post it somewhere when I get it done.

I have created a character for my wife. She-Devil has a VPP Demonic Spells (Magic Pool) 50 point base and 25 point control cost. I understand that she can have any combination of powers whose total real cost does not exceed 50 points. She requires a skill roll with no active point penalties to change her power, and the powers can be changed as a zero phase action. this makes the pool 100 active points. Now I understand that she can have for expample 1 50 point spell, or a mix of one 20 point spell and one 30 point spell. Is there a limit on the number of spells I can design that she can change to when she makes her skill roll?

Battlemaster shoots the badguy with a tranq dart loaded with a paralyzing nuerotoxin developed by the inventor of Botox. Once he is paralyzed from the neck down, use a fast acting truth serum to exract the bombs location. Drop a stasis field over the bomb then deliver the bad guy to the authorities, and the bomb to a nuclear bomb test site for explosion/disarmament. Battlemaster is a soldier from the far future, sent back to prevent a sequence of events that cause his timeline to end in earths destruction in the 30th century. He is highly trained and well equiped, but lonely. For him this was a one way trip. He has no time travel capabilities of his own, and just as he faded into the past he saw an explosion detroy the time machine that sent him here. He is trapped in the past....

here is one I would like to see. A short blurb on siege engines and body/def of common fantasy items like castle walls, Oak doors, Treasure chests, etc.

The Novels....Don't forget the Novels... I have a collection of all 89 issues of Doc Savage written by Lester Dent aka Kenneth Robison. There were a couple of Doc books written by ghost writers but you can definately tell the difference in Dent's writing. My Champions campaign characters didn't know that their HQ sponsor, The Hidalgo Trading Co., was Doc and da boys (in their twilight years). Hmm...gives me an idea for a new champions character Quick to HD.....

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... Wait wrong movie!! A long time ago there was a book published that listed every firearm from flintlocks to machine guns. It included hand grenades and bazookas. It even included mortars and flamethrowers. It listed each weapons stats including a standard ammunition load. At the back of the book in the appendix it listed Hero stats for every weapon. I think it also listed MSP&E stats but I'm not sure. Does anyone know the name of the book or the publisher. I know it is out of print, but with the name/publisher I can start my search.