SKJAM!

Re: Vicious Spells SKJAM!'s Sinister Spell of Stereotyping 2d6 Drain vs. EGO, Ranged (30 AP) plus 8d6 Mind Control (40 AP), mind control limited to "behave according to the stereotype of your species/gender/profession" -1/4, Requires Magic Skill Roll at -7 -1/2, Visible Effects -1/4 (37 "Real Cost" before applying charges) This spell is designed for evil or mischievous wizards who have to deal with people who outwit them by "thinking outside the box." It forces the offender "back inside the box" by lowering their willpower (which makes EGO rolls to deal with Psych Lims harder) and creating an overlay of "correct" behavior. The visible effect is that the victim's appearance shifts slightly to become more "stereotypical."

Re: from little plot seeds, mighty games do grow: Share you ideas! Were it not for my policy of waiting a few hours before replying, I would have made a post not unlike Kirby's, with the additional note that the Tiny Toons character is named "Elmyra." I'm afraid that I do not consider limited computer time to be an excuse for poor spelling either. For this thread in particular, where some planning is advisable in any case, some relief might be found by writing down the proposed plot seeds at home, checking the dictionary there, and revising before one gets to the library. (That's how I did it when I only had library access, and had to submit stories by a deadline.) I'd like to believe that you, Steriaca, are sincerely interested in improving your entries. Please prove me right. Content.... The Duke from Allies: Formerly a master mage and would-be conqueror whose repeated failures and defeats drove him to alcoholism. He joined AA, cleaned himself up, and created The Redeemed, a group of (mostly) reformed villains. The Duke still has magical powers, but has less control of them now. Sprig: A botched "multiple images" spell has resulted in the Duke splitting into two entities. One is his usual self, sans magical abilities. The other is Sprig, who appears to be a teenaged version of the Duke, and who has a decidedly immature attitude towards magic use. Sprig immediately flies off to commit magical pranks, leaving the Duke to try to find someone to reintegrate the two before it's too late. Wine is a Mocker: A supervillain whose powers work by ingesting alcohol takes exception to the Duke's temperance lectures. He decides to get the entire city drunk, so they can see how wonderful it is. Preferably during the Duke's next public speaking engagement. A Game of Thrones: Years ago, the Duke made a deal with the ruler of a magical dimension to gain more powerful. Now, the payment has come due. The Duke's non-magical daughter is to become the new Queen of the other dimension, will-she nil-she. She's strongly objecting, and the Duke needs to find a suitable volunteer to take his daughter's place quickly. And it's going to be tricky, given the ruler is very set on that daughter. SKJAM!

Re: from little plot seeds, mighty games do grow: Share you ideas! Then it's time to start carrying a dictionary, I fear. Or ask the person whose computer it is to help you out. Lack of a spellchecker is not an excuse for poor spelling.

Re: from little plot seeds, mighty games do grow: Share you ideas! Steriaca, while I do appreciate your enthusiasm, several of your plot seeds are near-unreadable due to typos. Could you take the extra minute to edit them? And now to actual content: Ad Astra Renamed Traveller for the Allies book for reasons I have never discovered, Ad Astra was a member of Executive Sanction, an US Government-sponsored hero group. A NASA astronaut, Ad Astra has FTL and Life Support, usable by the entire team at the same time. He's a bit of a ladies' man, and "hunted" by the Flat Earth Society. And Thus I Refute Galileo The Flat Earth Society has been infiltrated by a DEMON Morbane, who has tricked the group into performing a series of rituals that will "open the eyes of the unbelievers" and dispel the illusion that the world is round. In reality, the spell will cause a mass delusion that the world is flat, and incite rabid xenophobia. The final ingredient needed is "the blood of a mocker", which the FES believes fits Ad Astra to a tee. You Left It *Where*? The last time the player characters kicked out some alien invaders, one of their members accidentally left something important on an alien ship, which has now gone back to its home planet. Now they must convince Ad Astra to give them a lift there and find that item. Speaking of Aliens The Intergalactic Cops have finally arrived in the "neighborhood." They swiftly take a number of alien criminals into custody. But then it's announced that all contact with Earth's "not ready for interstellar flight" society is illegal, so all good-guy aliens are also now fugitives, as well as any native Earthling who happens to have access to FTL flight, naturally or by machine. And that includes Ad Astra. SKJAM! "Happy Birthday to me"

Re: New PRIMUS teams It could be an absence that prompts PRIMUS to plant a hero team in Pittsburgh. That is, there's no established group of heroes in the area, or all the previous heroes were wiped out.

Re: Subplots The Conspiracy Several corrupt government officials are working behind the scenes to replace the current administration (city, state, country as appropriate to the player characters) with one beholden to their interests. They're not supervillains themselves or on the massive scale of VIPER, so they have to be relatively subtle and behind the scenes. This subplot would play out over a number of sessions, with the conspirators doing things like hiring villians through proxies to mess with reform candidates, sabotaging the infrastructure, smear campaigns and the like.

Re: Thoughts on having a multi-racial game... I'd say that the multiple sentient species model will give you a certain flavor of campaign that a "humans only" won't. ("It must be fantasy, there's an elf over there!") In the standard D&D world, there are four or five main humanoid species, with ten to a hundred more marginalized ones depending on how you count and what the GM decides she wants to play with. This makes for a very "busy" world with all these separate peoples trying to find or make room for themselves and advance their individual causes. Often in alliance with others, of course. Any new territory found is likely to be swarming with sentients just as advanced as oneself, making colonization tricky at best. And since their gods are about as active as your own....

Re: Suggestions? Telepathic PCs just captured VIPER agent To carry my thought a bit further, there is likely at this point in Horror's game relatively little case law about whether a masked superhero can testify in court without revealing his secret identity, what evidence gathered by other supersenses is admissable, etc. There might even be a need to prove to the court that telepathy exists and that it can be used in a reliable manner. (I seem to recall that The Law is a Ass covered how that would be done in one of the columns.) How the player characters act in this situation will quite possibly determine how case law and legislation gets written. For example, *how* the heroes got Sam Snakethug to spill VIPER info might never come up if they refuse to appear in court to testify. If they're unsanctioned vigilantes, the prosecution can use whatever the heroes turned over to the police with no problem. VIPER's lawyers will simply use other methods to protect their clients. Meanwhile, their bought politicians will be introducing laws to make the player characters' lives hell, such as the "telepathically gained info is inadmissible in court." Then every time the heroes capture a villain without documenting every step of the process, she whips out the "telepathy defense". "The only way they could have known how to plant that falsified evidence in my apartment is if they used telepathy on me! Therefore it's inadmissible. And I don't see Mind Master here in court denying it."

Re: Suggestions? Telepathic PCs just captured VIPER agent It occurs to me that if in Horror's game the PCs are among the first costumed superbeings known, there might not yet *be* a body of law on telepathy. Thus the case of The People vs Sam Snakethug might be the legal precedent in and of itself.

Re: from little plot seeds, mighty games do grow: Share you ideas! Executive Sanction doesn't seem to exist yet in the 5E Champions Universe, but PRIMUS does, so a bit for one of the Allies characters.... Silver Avenger Rackham (For those of you who don't have Allies, Rackham is the sort of fellow who has always come in second best, but is otherwise a fairly standard Silver Avenger.) Silver Threats Against the Gold : The Golden Avenger has had several narrow escapes from death in the last few days, both direct attacks by supervillains and boobytraps. Whoever is doing this seems to have way too much inside information, and is therefore probably a member of PRIMUS itself. GA has noted Rackham's surly attitude towards him, and thinks Rackham the most likely suspect, but in order to avoid internal leaks, asks the player characters to look into the possibility for him. Full Court Press : This one is primarily for campaigns where the heroes are protecting a second- or third-tier city, as opposed to NYC, LA or Millenium City. Rackham is now the Silver Avenger assigned to said city. Obviously, this assignment is far below his capabilities. Something must be done. What Rackham decides to do is absolutely crush supercrime in the city, by any means semi-legally available to him. And do it quickly. That should impress the brass enough to get him a real assignment. Harrison Bergeron Lives : A raid against DEMON yields a bunch of prisoners, and a "lucky charm" that Silver Avenger Rackham feels compelled to pick up. It makes him feel more competent. What he doesn't know is that it does so by making sure that no one around Rackham is better than he is--at anything. (a large Suppress vs. Everything, Area Effect Radius, Invisible Effects, 0 END Persistent, "Only to bring Characteristics, Powers, Skills and Talents down to equal with bearer's.") DEMON's original plan was to trick one of the PCs' wimpier friends (Incompetent DNPC by choice) into wearing the charm, then attack while they were depowered. But Rackham will have to do. Oh, and the charm's powers don't work against extra-dimensional beings such as demons. SKJAM! http://www.livejournal.com/users/skjam

Re: Looking for ideas for my campaign (Danger: Long) Lucky Numbers An Asian man (Japanese or Chinese, most likely) shows up on the Fab Four's doorstep, demanding to join. According to him, four is an unlucky number, signifying death, and his I Ching readings indicate that the nest week is a crisis period. Unless he's inducted, one of the FF will die. He won't take no for an answer, either, despite the fact that his powers are considerably weaker than those of the player characters. GM's option whether Numbers is really able to predict the future or is just deluded.....

Re: The Legacy PBEM Hmm... Unfortunately, the first concept that comes to mind is one of those "too quirky" ones, so I'll just note it here for the amusement of the readers. Brain Boy's "power" is that he's really, really smart, to superhuman levels. But he's not a gadgeteer or a psychic. In game mechanics, he's a martial artist. He uses his vast intellect to know where not to be standing, where to strike his opponent to cause disproportionate damage, that sort of thing. In the 70s, Brain Boy is the sidekick of Slaughterhouse Jack, your stereotypical Big Dumb Brick, who got his powers from contact with a "downer" cow's contaminated flesh. A blood transfusion from SJ triggered BB's supersmarts. Sadly, Slaughterhouse Jack died young from a heart attack, and Brain Boy's powers quickly faded thereafter, forcing his retirement. Only now that disaster is striking does the former Brain Boy discover that his superintelligence is back.... SKJAM! http://www.livejournal.com/users/skjam Home of Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga Synoptic Theater

Re: Campaign Notes so far Some thoughts upon reading the thread so far.... No telepaths, yet Menton exists. Either he's the one eliminating the competition, or he's figured out how not to be zapped. Hm. I have to wonder if the character's political prejudices have influenced the way the campaign notes are written, or vice versa. Slate obviously has the hots for Frostfire, and she hasn't noticed yet. If this were a commercial comic book, I'd be very disappointed that all the characters caved so easily on the "must disclose everything to the state government" rule. (As a RPG campaign, I can understand the players not wanting to have to come up with new characters.) I'd like to see more followup on that last one, actually. An angry hero or two calling a press conference to announce their retirement in disgust, a superteam suddenly being very short-handed, opposition politicians making hay.... After all, it's a *state* law, so the information would be going into a state database, much more easily accessible by VIPER or VOICE than the Federal one (which is only safe by fiat, as far as I can tell.) If the GM is uncomfortable with presenting the consequences of such a database raid on the player characters, I'd suggest having it happen in one of the other states mentioned that had passed a similar law.

"GetBackers" is a manga from Yuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine, that has also been turned into an anime series. It's somewhere between Dark Champions and Champions; people with superpowers and code names exist, but they don't wear colorful costumes or feel compelled to fight crime for the sake of fighting crime. The most interesting thing about the GetBackers world is that no one seems to care that people with powers exist. There's no mutant hysteria, no scientists trying to discover their secrets, no press snooping around. The main characters of the first two volumes are Ban Mido and Ginji Amano, the GetBackers themselves. Ban is able to use his "Evil Eye" to cast absolutely convincing illusions in people's minds for up to a minute (he can zap every person in a room if they all happen to be looking at him, and animals too.) He can only use the power three times a day, and can only affect any given mind once per day. Ginji can increase his body's bioelectricity to superhuman levels. They use these abilities to repossess items that have been stolen from their rightful owners, thus "GetBackers." Sadly, while their success rate is 100% (as of Volume 3), the boys are hopeless with money, and are quickly broke after each adventure. Only fresh assignments from their buxom but manipulative agent Hevn keep them from being arrested for vagrancy. The characters are silly, but the action is exciting.

Re: Behind Bars Marvel's Punisher 2099 comic book had the title character building and maintaining his own little prison, complete with death chamber for those the Punisher decided really were guilty of capital crimes. While the 2099 technology really helped him out, there were all the problems you might expect, including escapes. I think a more likely situation in a Dark Champs campaign would be our vigilante "heroes" investigating some other group's private incarceration facilty. And most likely getting an inside look at the cells.

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Re: Case Closed aka Detective Conan Actually, only the title needed to be changed. All the other changes were made because the broadcast rights for the series were originally bought by Fox to be shown on their Saturday morning block. It was only after quite few episodes were already dubbed that one of the Fox execs actually bothered watching the rushes, nearly had a coronary and cancelled the order. Cartoon Network graciously stepped in, but redubbing would have taken months, so we get the silly name changes version.

Re: Superhumans pulling an Authority During the transition period, when the player characters have started overthrowing national leaders they don't like, but have not yet started choosing the new leaders personally, they'd create some problems for themselves. In a dictatorship, it'd be fairly easy to find someone who's willing to at least give lip service to the Pantheon's demands, and who doesn't really have an urgent need to revenge his immediate predecessors (after all, he was going to do the same thing as soon as he had the army co-opted.) And sure, he'll promise to hold free and fair elections as soon as things are settled. A few necessary delays, and with any luck (he thinks) the Pantheon will be taken care of by someone else. Nations theoretically under the rule of law are a different matter. Most of these have a clear line of succession in place, just in case the elected/appointed leader dies unexpectedly. And if the government is corrupt to the level they are in the Authority comic book, the Pantheon is going to have to kill/eliminate quite a few people before the succession comes down to someone who isn't quite so tainted. Do you really think the people of France (or any other nation) are going to be happy about the death/permanent disposal of the top level of their government, corruption or no? They'd certainly be suspicious of anyone the Pantheon doesn't kill/eliminate as a potential sellout to the mad gods.

Re: Superhumans pulling an Authority Offhand, I could see a number of interesting glitches: 1. "You're just like me now!" One of the more self-deluding master villains comes out of hiding enough to publicly praise the Pantheon for finally recognizing the only *real* way to effect positive change. In fact, he volunteers to join the Pantheon to help out. Problem is, he's a bit shakier than the Pantheon members on this "avoid killing innocents" thing. And his reputation is, shall we say, vile? Do you really want Doctor Depopulator on *your* side? 2. Lunatic Fringe Followers. "It's okay for us to kill anyone who we have arbritarily decided is a bad person, and anyone who disagrees with our right to do so. Just like our heroes, the Pantheon!" 3. The Competition. A band of "heroes" very much like the Pantheon, who have *also* decided to make the world a better place through killing anyone they don't like...except that their idea of a better world clashes strongly with the Pantheon's. 4. Go ahead. Beat down Eloquence Man on global TV for the sole crime of disagreeing with your methods. Kick around Passive Resistance Man. Sneer at the Self-Immolator's sacrifice. Prove your philosophical opponents right with every arrogant step you take. What goes around comes around.

Re: Japanese mastervillain/hero team aid requested. A master villain type popular in kiddie mecha shows and sentai series is the guy who generates "Monsters of the Week." This person may or may not have individual superpowers, but can use magic or sufficiently-advanced technology to create monsters to destroy the city on their behalf. Often the monsters will follow some sort of theme, such as "metaphors for social ills." In a standard superhero campaign, this type of villain probably won't last too long, as the hero team will quickly realize they can turn off the monsters by attacking the creator directly, and likely has the resources to find the criminal. One anime villain who was particularly off-beat was Don Carlos, the "champion destroyer", but he's technically a Spanish character.... SKJAM! http://www.livejournal.com/users/skjam

It's time for another exciting pulp hero! CAPTAIN HAZZARD Created by Paul Chadwick, writing as Chester Hawks for the May 1938 issue of Capt. Hazzard Val Char Cost 13 STR 3 15 DEX 15 13 CON 6 11 BODY 2 18 INT 8 15 EGO 10 15 PRE 5 12 COM 1 6 PD 3 6 ED 3 3 SPD 5 6 REC 0 26 END 0 25 STUN 0 Cost Powers 40 Variable Power Pool, "Utility Belt", 40 pt reserve 11 Control Cost for VPP, All powers must be Foci -1/4, can only be changed between adventures -1/2 6 "Telepathy" Mind Link w/aides, 1 at a time, No Line of Sight needed, Only w/others w/Mind Link -1, 0 DCV Concentration for duration -1, Unusual atmospheric conditions reduce to visual information only -1/4 Talents 32 "Clairvoyance" Danger Sense, Sense, +3 to roll, Out of combat, Any Danger, Immediate vicinity, Discriminatory, some mind in vicinity must be able to perceive danger -1/4 6 "Noticed that just in time" Combat Luck: Armor 3 PD/3 ED, Hardened, Danger Sense based, non-persistent Skills 3 Scientist 3 Scholar 3 Linguist 3 Climbing 12- 3 Combat Driving 12- 3 Combat Pilot 12- 25 Combat Skill Levels: +5 to DCV 3 Concealment 13- 3 Demolitions 13- 3 Electronics 13- 3 Inventor 13- 2 KS: American football 13- 2 KS: Anthropology 13- 2 KS: Architecture 13- 2 KS: History 13- 2 KS: Hypnotism 13- 2 KS: Shamanism 13- 2 KS: Tibetan Buddhism 13- 2 KS: World Geography 13- 2 KS: Yoga 13- 3 Lockpicking 12- 3 Mechanics 13- 2 Navigation (Air) 13- 12 "Able to operate in the dimmest light" Penalty Skill Levels: +4 to offset darkness penalties 2 Sci: Aeronautical Engineering 13- 2 Sci: Atomic Physics 13- 2 Sci: Botany 13- 2 Sci: Cartography 13- 2 Sci: Chemistry 13- 2 Sci: Hydraulics 13- 2 Sci: Optics 13- 2 Sci: Parapsychology 13- 2 Sci: Physics 13- 2 Sci: Psychology 13- 2 Sci: Radio Engineering 13- 2 Sci: Rocket Science 13- 20 +2 Overall Skill Levels 3 Stealth 12- 6 Languages: Fluent Braille, German; Basic Tzutahile, Chicastanago (English native) 4 Transport Familiarity: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Small Planes, Combat Aircraft 4 Weapon Familiarity: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms Perks 6 Contact: New York City Police Commissioner 11-, major institution, slavishly loyal 25 Followers: 8 50 point aides 5 Perk: Military rank equal to a US Navy Captain 5 Perk: Security Clearance equal to a US Navy Captain 6 Money: $1,000,000 per year 9 Reputation: Heroic Adventurer +3 to all Americans, 14- 75+ Disadvantages 15 Protective of Innocents (common, strong) 15 Fights for Justice (common, strong) 10 Famous 218 Experience OCV 5 DCV 10 ECV 5 Phases: 4,8,12 Char Cost 64 + Pow Cost 269 = 333 Background: There are a number of interesting gaps in Captain Hazzard's history, not the least of which is that he has no given name. What is known is that he was blinded in infancy, and remained so for fifteen years. During this time period, the young genius taught himself Braille and began a study of the mind and its powers, eventually developing extra-sensory perception. After his (presumably wealthy) parents died, Hazzard was able to have a delicate operation that restored his sight. (Unlike the similar operation on Captain Zero, this one was fully successful.) Once this was accomplished, Hazzard embarked upon a remarkable career of exploration, crimefighting and invention, gathering a like-minded group of exceptional men to assist him. Among the many things he did during this time period was work of a secret nature for the US Government in the field of aviation, which rewarded him with the honorary rank of naval captain. Personality: Captain Hazzard is a stalwart hero, dedicated to upholding justice and protecting the innocent. He is neither arrogant, nor overly modest, but takes his fame and reputation in stride. While he is able to appreciate the beauty of a healthy, intelligent woman, Captain Hazzard is not interested in romantic involvement at this time. The one flaw he would be considered to have by 21st Century standards is a condescending attitude towards non-Western civilizations, seeing them as either primitive or decadent. Quote: "The picture of Blind Justice--the lady holding the scales, and with the blindfold over her eyes...I want to be her eyes." Powers and Tactics: Captain Hazzard is a polymath genius, with a good grounding in a wide variety of subjects, though all are limited by the knowledge of 1938. (Gamespeak: All his Knowledge Skills and Sciences are bought INT-Based.) He is also, thanks to good genes and intensive training, gifted with telepathy and clairvoyance. The primary uses to which he puts those abilities are a) communicating with those of his aides who also have telepathic capacity, and being able to detect any sort of threat to himself or those near him. A healthy and well-trained combatant who knows how to use a variety of weapons, Captain Hazzard always carries a Colt automatic. In addition, he wears a special belt fitted with many pockets filled with small gadgets he's invented. Gadgets seen include: A buttonhole microphone connected by fifty feet of near-invisible wire to a tiny loudspeaker, tear gas pellets, the "Whistling Devil" (a small device containing gas under pressure, when activated, it shrieks loudly enough to drown out normal sounds in the area), smoke bombs, a hacksaw blade, flares, small time bombs (up to five minutes), acid/base detection kit, flashlights, IR goggles and a gas mask. In combat, Captain Hazzard is nearly fearless, thanks to his ability to detect and avoid most attacks. He will aim to wound when possible, but has no compunctions about killing when necessary. A favorite tactic is to use smoke bombs or tear gas to reduce opponents' visual range, while he is still able to function normally. Appearance: Captain Hazzard's actual age is indeterminate, but he appears to be a Caucasian male in his middle twenties. He is ruggedly built, with broad shoulders and slightly wavy dark hair. His eyes are normally blue, with the clearness of a flame, but become slate gray when he is troubled. He favors outdoorsy clothing that allows him to carry his pistol and utility belt without looking too out of place. Base and Vehicles: (Gamespeak: Bought with money, rather than points.) Captain Hazzard's usual residence, when he's at home, is a complex of labs, garages and hangars on the outskirts of New York City. Here, a small army of the best and brightest young scientists, engineers and mechanics work to create the world of tomorrow under Captain Hazzard's direction. There are numerous vehicles under construction or ready to go at a moment's notice. Two are mentioned in the story: Z2: A single-seater amphibious airplane with a 600 hp radial motor, capable of up to 200 mph. Captain Hazzard uses it for short hops around New York City. Silver Bullet: A large two-motored monoplane, capable of seating six comfortably. Its normal cruising speed is 280 mph. It is equipped with a rear machine gun, and a sharp-shooter's turret, but the Silver Bullet's most unusual feature is its retractable rocket engine. When deployed, the engine allows the Silver Bullet speeds of nearly 400 mph, at the cost of virtually no steering ability. Once switched off, the rocket requires an hour to cool off before it can be started again. Also of interest is the special combination compass/mapping device that Captain Hazzard devised, which allows far better navigation than normal instruments of the time period. Aides: Captain Hazzard has surrounded himself with numerous talented people, but only a few are in his inner circle. Several were sought out for their telepathic abilities (Gamespeak: Mind Link, with the same advantages and limitations as Hazzard's, but only with him.) Known members of this elite and completely loyal group include: Chester Hawks: A writer. Apparently a long-time friend, as he was there when Captain Hazzard regained his sight. Chronicles the Captain's adventures, but nothing else is known of him. Crawley: A journalist. Short, stocky, keen-faced but pleasant-looking. Had Mind Link. Sadly, 0 DCV Concentration does not mix well with Combat Driving, and he was sent to the hospital early in the story. Crandall: A grave young man. Pilot, mechanic and machine gunner. Not known to have Mind Link. Martin Lacey (once referred to as "Tracey"): A young, keen-faced man. He has Mind Link and smokes. His skills are unknown, but his job for the first part of the story was keeping a young woman company, so presumably he is personable. Washington "Wash" MacGowen: A tall, bald-headed man of forty, with owlish, shrewd eyes behind steel-rimmed spectacles. A genius second only to Captain Hazzard, he shows expertise in Mathematics, Physics, Electronics, Metallurgy, Paramedic, Atomic Physics, Quantum Physics and Inventor. His official job title is "lab technician." He has Mind Link. Jake Cole: A tall, lanky man with stiff, straw-blond hair, a deadpan face with a broken nose, and a gum-chewing habit. A cowhand from Montana, Jake has all the psychic ability of your average rock, but is a crack shot, lasso expert, trick rider and uncanny tracker. Campaign Use: Captain Hazzard is an omnicompetent adventurer in the Doc Savage mode. He'd make a good patron for a pulp hero team, especially if the player characters are willing to buy Mind Link with him. To make him more dangerous in combat, give Hazzard 3-6 more points in all his stats across the board. If you want a more superhero-capable version, pump up his abilities to include actual mind-reading, and perhaps hypnoitc powers. Oh, and some Mental Defense wouldn't hurt. However, it might be more interesting to use the Captain as an adversary. In this alternate version, Captain Hazzard went a little mad during those years of darkness, and has decided that the world would be better off run by an elite group of telepathic overmen such as himself. The primary problem with this idea is that he doesn't have nearly enough overmen yet to run a small state, let alone the entire world. So his current plan is to ingratiate himself to the United States (the most powerful country in the world) while recruiting as many overmen as he can, and starting a breeding program. Mind, not every telepath is necessarily going to be thrilled about joining Hazzard's little junta.... For a modern-day campaign, we could work off the fact that there was only one Captain Hazzard adventure ("Python Men of Lost City") ever published. What has the Captain been up to since 1938? Did his clairvoyance warn of a danger to Earth so horrendous that he had to go underground for sixty years? Did he and his aides use their telepathic abilities to form a gestalt mental being, only now returning to our plane of existence? Did a foe manage to freeze him in suspended animation, only to die before coming up with a really good deathtrap? Questions, comments? SKJAM! majks@yahoo.com

DAN TURNER, HOLLYWOOD DETECTIVE Created by Robert Leslie Bellem; First Appearance: Spicy Detective, June 1934 Val Char Cost 13 STR 3 13 DEX 9 13 CON 6 11 BODY 2 13 INT 3 11 EGO 2 13 PRE 3 12 COM 1 3 PD 0 3 ED 0 3 SPD 7 6 REC 0 26 END 0 24 STUN 0 Cost Powers 4 "Safe sex is making sure the dame ain't packing heat" Life Support: Immune to all STDs Skills 7 Seduction 14- 5 Deduction 13- 3 Acting 12- 3 Combat Driving 12- 2 Fast Draw (Handguns) 12- 2 Gambling (Golf) 12- 3 Interrogation 12- 3 AK: Los Angeles 12- 3 KS: Hollywood Gossip 12- 3 KS: Denizens of Hollywood 12- 3 PS: Private Eye 12- 3 KS: How to Pleasure a Woman 12- 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Streetwise 12- 1 TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles 1 WF: Handguns Perks 3 Access: Movie studios 10 Contact: Dave Donovan, LAPD Homicide detective, 14- 1 Perk: Private Eye license 2 Perk: Concealed weapon permit 2 Reputation: Top-notch private eye, +2 to Los Angeles residents 11- 1 Reputation: Stud, +1 to women 11- 50+ Disadvantages 15 Lecherous 15 DNPC: Clients (incompetent, 8-) 10 1 1/2x STUN from blows to the head 10 Watched by Police 11- 8 Experience OCV 4 DCV 4 ECV 4 Phases: 4,8,12 Char 36 + Pow 72 = Total 108 Note: This version was put together using the seventeen stories in _Roscoes in the Night_, recently published by Adventure House. Since these stories span Dan's entire career, this is a composite version rather than a particular one; and may be missing vital information presented in others of the 300+ Turner stories. Background: Little is known of Dan Turner's past. His first recorded cases as a detective working in Hollywood are in 1934, but he'd clearly been in the detective business for a year or two before that, as he'd already accumulated enemies. Dan had a very busy career from 1934 to 1950, the last recorded of his adventures; almost all of his cases involved murder. They also almost all involved beautiful women, who Dan was not in the least shy about having sex with. Personality: Dan Turner comes off much as a standard hard-boiled dick of his time period. He was macho, somewhat cynical, not given to displaying emotions other than anger or lust, and not overly respectful of authority. His stated goal in life was to accumulate enough money so that he could retire early and comfortably. Dan also had a raging libido, and had sex with any attractive woman who wasn't married, underage or actively trying to kill him. Dan's rough but persuasive courting attracted many women, but they quickly realized he wasn't a good marriage prospect, so he didn't have any long-term entanglements. Dan was also casually racist; while he wouldn't go out of his way to oppress or insult minorities, he would see nothing wrong with prejudging people based on skin color or national origin. On the other hand, Dan had a love of justice and a hatred of crime. Like many men of his time, Dan Turner smoked heavily, drank more Vat 69 whiskey than was good for him, and gambled at golf. Quote: "I don't know how long I remained in dreamland; but when the time came for me to open my glims, the Navarre quail was stretched out on the floor alongside me. Her midnight hair was clotted with ketchup where the bullet had dug its tunnel, and she was as dead as Coney Island in a blackout" Dan used a lot of tough-guy slang, although he could turn it off at will when speaking to a client who needed a more cultured approach. Use a lot of terms like "doll", "roscoe", and such. Powers and Tactics: Dan Turner was a healthy man with two good fists, but he wasn't overly trained in combat. It was usually a struggle for him to overcome one healthy and aggressive opponent in hand-to-hand combat, Dan had somewhat better luck with his .32 automatic (generally kept in a shoulder holster, with a backup in the car), but still vastly preferred to get the drop on opponents. Despite his tough-guy attitudes, Dan was actually quick-witted, and solved most of his cases by spotting the discrepancies in suspects' stories. A favorite Turner tactic was getting the real killer to go along with a plan that would railroad another suspect, only to have it turned around at the last moment. Dan was also given to using his sex appeal to pump female witnesses, or to intimidate them. (In at least one case, he threatened to rape a woman if she didn't tell him the truth.) Other than being distracted by women, Dan's biggest weakness was being whacked on the head. He spends a lot of time unconscious in the stories. Appearance: Dan Turner was a Caucasian male of indeterminate age; probably in his late twenties in 1934 and aging extremely well. He stood a bit over six feet tall and weighed 190 pounds. In most of the illustrations, Dan has straight black hair combed back with some sort of cream. He was ruggedly handsome, but not in a way movie cameras liked. Dan habitually dressed like a hard-boiled private eye, trenchcoat, fedora and all, but unlike most of them his clothing was not cheap, since he needed to impress well-off clients. Important People: Dave Donaldson was a detective on the Homicide Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department (possibly the head of that bureau by the end of his career.) Before making detective, Dave had spent time on the Chinatown beat, and was familiar with the crime and criminals of that area. While a fairly competent police officer, Dave had the bad habit of immediately fixing on the most obvious person as the killer. Even if that person happened to be Dan Turner.imself, as it often did. While the two men would describe themselves as friends, they weren't afraid to slap each other around if the circumstances seemed to require it. Campaign Use: Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective is a low-powered pulp character. By switching out a few of his area-specific skills, he can be transported to any major American city of the time period. As is, he makes a good Contact in the Los Angeles area, especially with his ability to get on movie studio property, which may be difficult for other characters. He'd only Hunt player characters if he was paid to, and only within the state of California. With a little updating of Dan's speech patterns and fashions, he'll work well into the Seventies. After that point, however, attitudes towards sex and women change in a way that makes Dan's usual behavior dangerous and liable to get him slapped with lawsuits. If you need to make Dan more physically dangerous, give him Brawling as a martial art, and a couple of Combat Skill Levels. It shouldn't be necessary to make him weaker. Questions, comments? SKJAM!

Various reactions Officer Kira Midori: She's a cop from a Utopian future, so Millenium City looks like a step in the right direction to her. Elijah Gaunt, Witch Hunter from an apocalyptic future: He'd admire all the neat technology. It's a pity it will all be destroyed in a few years when the Wikans conquer the world. The Hanged Lord: Believes himself to be the reincarnation of the Norse god Odin. Would despise Millenium City as an unnatural attempt to control fate. FWIW, SKJAM!

Well, that's a tricky one. Most of the obvious "alternate world villains" plotlines have been used, one way or another. One possibility that comes to mind is: The alternate-world versions of the player characters aren't really any different in terms of motivations--but the authorities have *labeled* them as villains for some reason. For example, some adventure early in the campaign went horribly wrong in the alternate universe, causing the govenment to outlaw all uses of superhuman abilities except by federal agents who are kept in line with bombs implanted in their skulls. (Anyone who wouldn't be bothered by a skull bomb is either killed or imprisoned somehow.) The player-characters' equivalents refused to submit, and now the media treats them like babyraping Nazis. Our heroes land in the alternate universe, discover that their counterparts have "gone bad", hilarity ensues. SKJAM! http://www..livejournal.com/users/skjam

Flying, huh? Of course, the version I did had only the skills and powers he showed in the first novella (recently reprinted by High Adventure). I'm sure he became more powerful as time went on. Thanks, SKJAM!