Iuz the Evil

Hey folks,

Just thought I would ask the question: what do you guys use for props in your campaigns? Do you use them at all? This is an open ended discussion regarding any sort of prop usage... music, art, photo-manips, what have you.

I myself have used a lot of music and lighting to set the tone for my players. Music (when I haven't had a hearing impaired player at the table) has really helped get everyone into full on "suspension of disbelief" mode. During fights I like Carmina Burana, music from the Conan soundtrack, and LOTR soundtrack for fantasy scenarios. Compilations of super-heroic movie themes, Cyber-punky soundtracks (like from Strange Days or Barb Wire - and yes, I know the second one was a terrible movie), and anything by John Williams is good stuff for my superheroic campaigns. Modern Pop, Metal, and the aforementioned Cyber-punky soundtracks for my "dark future" campaigns. I like to dim lighting when doing a horror theme, and have even busted out with unusual colored lightbulbs and candles - though I've always drawn the line well short of (/shudder) LARPing.

One time I brought in a twisted chunk of metal from a scrapyard as a prop to show what a villainous brick (I think it was Durak) had torn from a nearby automobile and hurled at a player with his "casual strength" (in that campaign I'd ruled that at 50% of listed strength you could use feats of strength as a 0 phase action as long as it wasn't an attack - for added superheroic juicyness). That got one of those fun "moments of silence" from everyone at the table every GM loves. And it's always been fun to bust out with the art around the table... I can only imagine the fun that occurs in Storn's groups with that respect, I've always had to swipe mine from the internet, college libraries, sketches derived from comics, etc. since I lack his artistic talent (like most people).

So what do you folks use in your campaigns? Inquiring GMs want to know!

Re: Storn Art from Idea to Full Picture Year 2

So some ground restrictions and rules.

 

(1) The picture has to be for Champions. It is what I play and it is in this forum that the thread is posted.

 

(2) No Patriots. Still. Last year Etherio posted a whole bunch on his campaign thread and Storn did me one of Britannia.

 

(3) No standard gun users. I have lots of pictures and a standard gun user has no appeal for me. No matter how "cool" you may think the idea is.

 

(4) No animal motifs. I had one done last year, The Leopardess, and there is another in the pipeline.

 

(5) No kid heroes/villains. I like the over 18 crowd and proper heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman etc. Anyone even suggesting something akin to the Power R*****S will be summarily subject to a dousing with crude oil. And this year we set you alight as well

 

(9) No Superman or Green Lantern types. Storn did two of the former and one of the latter last year.

How about an AD&D system based, gun using super-patriot with bunny ears that's a 12 year old child? If the kid has a really REALLY kewl gun? And really REALLY fluffy bunny ears? Maybe give the kid a green lantern ring and symbol ? YEAH, NOW WE'RE COOKIN' WITH GAS!!!

Re: Sacramento Area Campaign - VINDICATOR

Well, you certainly hit all the appropriate locations. West Sac, Del Paso Heights, North Highlands...

 

...hey! No Rancho Cambodia? No South Sac ("South side repreZEEEEEENNNNT!")? Blatant discrimination!

 

By the way, Sacramento Metro is actually "Sacramento International Airport" now. I guess Canada counts, and they have their own Starbucks and everything. Let's not sell Cow Town short, pal.

 

Good stuff, though

Well Vindicator's a local boy, so he still calls it Sacramento Metro like everyone else who grew up around here. ...and don't you worry, I have a feeling we'll be hitting South Sac, Rancho Cordova, and even maybe roll on over to Stockton following up on leads (at least ONE of the many homicides must be due to someone in Stockton if I'm to maintain my suspension of disbelief).

It's been pretty fun stuff, the last campaign I ran was set in San Francisco, the one before that in Oklahoma City. We always set the heroe(s) somewhere geographically proximate so there's the mutual knowledge of geographic features and major city sites IRL. I'm hoping she'll let me get in a fight with baddies at Rivercat Stadium

Re: journal of a hero

Very entertaining stuff, I'm enjoying the development. Keep it coming!

Re: Happy B-Day TheRealLemming

Happy birthday!

Re: Sacramento Area Campaign - VINDICATOR

Sounds like a pretty fun game so far. It has a lot of that "don't trust govt/corporations" feel that you can get lots of good subplot mileage from. Sure it's all iron age but if it's fun, run with it.

 

As to the character, he seems fine to me. Only thing I'd want is more Flight, but I suspect that's just personal preference on my part.

Yeah, I'm planning to buy up flight in the near future with my experience. I have his mutant power structure defined as a physiology that adapts to stressors rapidly, growing increasingly resistant to damage, hostile environments, and the like while increasing the existing powers as they are pushed to new limits. My GM/wife is a stickler for "you want to pay exp for what? Ok, give me a viable reason or forget it!" (damn me for all those years of hard line experience policedom). So I made sure to give myself SOME wiggle-room or I'd be limited to straight up skills... which wouldn't be awful, but at 350 points I wanted to be able to upgrade a bit. I'm going to aim at about 15" flight with a x8 noncombat multiple (and maybe a 1/2 END cost) down the road a piece... I've been pushing my flight like crazy just to move around the battlefield and will use that as impetus for both increased speed of movement and decrease in endurance cost over a couple of campaign months. I also noted that I forgot to include the list of resistances/recoveries that my VPP draws from (GM selects them in response to specific negative effects), so I'll Edit it into my first post. It was the best way I could think up to simulate his adapting to the most recent damaging effect on a 350 point scale.

Thanks for the feedback

Re: Need some "Smart" powers

As mentioned above, it's pretty nebulous, but here are some I either did, or considered, for Checkmate. (38 Int)

 

Chains of Logic: Precognition, defined as Super-Deduction. With some time and access to media, the character can determine the actions of a person or group, or the coming of a given event.

 

Strategic Mastery: Bonuses to entire party's OCV and DCV. Requires time, communication, and knowledge of the battle's terrain. Requires opposed skill roll, Strategy.

 

Tactical Mastery: The character is able to study a fighter or group and diminish their advantages. Bought as Drain to Dex, requires 1 turn, Requires opposed skill roll, Tactics.

 

Tactical Study: A super-powered version of Analyze Style. The character can, with just a bit of study, determine what kinds of attacks and defences the target has. (I.E., Hand to Hand, Ranged, Killing, Stunning; Resistant or Non-Resistant, energy, physical or other) by simply watching their actions and reactions. Bought as Telepathy, limited to attack/defense type, extra time, Requires Skill Roll 'Analyze Style'

 

I could come up with more, but those are the ones I recall off hand.

Very nice! Rep for you.

Re: Sacramento Area Campaign - VINDICATOR

2/8/05: Occult Incident Follow Up

The attorney whose office was being used by the demoness was a hapless dupe, one Steve Wood. He agreed (with some persuasion) to return to the paganistic group meetings he had met her at, and attempted to inquire as to whether anyone knew her (during their new moon services). No joy however, and from what I observed it’s highly unlikely any of the people present would know a real arcane entity if it bit them on their ass. Steve expressed a strong desire to avoid future contact with either the group or me, though I gave him a hotmail e-drop address which I’ll access through a county library based dynamic IP address. Doubt I’ll hear from him, but if he gets into trouble maybe I can help... seems like a decent fellow who just got used.

2/12/05: The Organizatsiya and Gem Smuggling

The Russian Mafia has gotten quite involved in various illicit activities in the West Sacramento and Harbor regions of the city, and recent news stories alerted me to their traffic in stolen gems through local jewelers. I followed a “mule†from one such cover operation, tracking him to the harbor drop and waiting patiently while he made the exchange. Then I followed the individual who recieved the gemstones to a trawler of Russian registry where he handed them to a sizeable number of Organizatsiya goons. Having learned from some of my recent engagements, I did not act at once, but continued to follow him after the drop to a very substantial house in the older neighborhoods of central Sacramento. He made another exchange, turning in a small card recieved at the ship to a woman who came out of the building before departing. I waited a bit, but nothing else of interest was happening at the house, so I returned to the dock expecting some action against

the Russians. I was not dissapointed.

There were eight armed Organizatsiya enforcers on the ship, three on the gangplank, and five more on the dock. All were armed with sub-machineguns when I initially engaged them, and they flattened light ammo against me like they bought it wholesale. Noticing the lack of effectiveness, two of them ran to their vehicle on the dock and got out a couple AK-74 assault rifles. I caught a round in the face from a lucky hit, and it stung enough that I may have hit the guy a bit hard. He’ll live with decent medical care though. After I established the guns weren’t going to help them, and gave about half their number some minor broken bones and light bleeding, the Russians gave up. I gathered them up, called the Coast Guard on the ship-to-shore radio, and stuck around until the feds showed up. There was a couple of million dollars worth of diamonds in that safe I broke open, and I’m guessing the local mob boss is going to be seriously pissed off. The feds asked me to come with them, but I let them know “I don’t take requests†before flying off. At least they were smart enough not to waste ammo on me. Tomorrow I’m going to stake out that manor house in central Sacramento, my guess is there are more activities these guys are up to in my city that I won’t approve of. I also figure they won’t appreciate how I express my displeasure.

Re: Sacramento Area Campaign - VINDICATOR

12/28/04: Child slavery ring

Rumors of child slavers operating in North Highlands and Del Paso Heights reached my ears, and I determined to investigate. Roughed up a bunch of scumbags looking around, but didn’t find much aside from the usual mid-teen prostututes selling themselves for crank, until I caught Raoul “Dimebag†Peres peddling kiddie porn out of a van. Broke his left femur and right arm before he spilled, the guy kept telling me how he knew “wouldn’t do nothing†as I’m a “super-suitâ€. Dumbass. Left him and his goodies with an audiotaped confession tied up in rebar knots in front of the downtown police station. Then I went to the safe house those scum were running, in western DPH. The less said about what I found there, the better... clearly so-called “supervillains†are not the worst evil in the world. The couple running the place will pull through I hear, courtesy of Sutter Memorial Hospital, and given enough physical rehab they’ll probably even be able to walk by the time they get out of prison in 10-20 years. Almost lost it in there. CPS showed up thanks to my phone call and took the

kids to the shelter, wish there was something more I could do. Makes me feel sick and dirty just thinking about it.

1/19/05: Meth lab explosion

Responded to a three alarm apartment fire in West Sacramento, meth lab blew up and the fire was burning through the three story structure like it was gasoline soaked newspaper. I assisted local fire departments in evacuating civilians (and a lucky pooch), and flew in a rather large quantity of water in a ripped open milk truck to dump on the blaze. Estimated damages are in excess of $3 million, and three people lost their lives in the fire, but it would have been much worse if I hadn’t been along. Felt good to make a difference with something so straightforward. Still haven’t heard from Smith, starting to wonder what’s going on with all that...

1/25/05: Arcane Adversary (Primary Criminal: Demoness)

On my way home from the Capitol Plaza, I became alerted to widespread traffic signal disruption and injury accidents. I assisted the EMTs repeatedly in moving vehicles aside and rescuing injured passengers, when I discovered on further investigation that centered in each of the traffic signal

“zones†was a specialized transistor wired into the main junction box. Someone was remotely triggering the incidents. I determined that the shape of the incidents corresponded to a five pointed star, and after a bit of thought located a sizeable structure at the center of the region. This office building had flickering lights on the second floor, and I broke in to confront a scaled demonic woman during some arcane ritual. Four of the candles in her pentagram were lit, which I later learned corresponded to the four deaths during the accidents. I lost my cool given the widespread loss of innocent life, and rather seriously injured her with a series of Wu Shu strikes and kicks. Unfortunately, interrogation proved impossible as she collapsed into a cloud of sulphuric smoke when I rendered her unconscious. The attorney whose office was being utilized might prove an interesting follow up,

or possibly the circuit boards left at the scene...

Re: Sacramento Area Campaign - VINDICATOR

11/11/04: Solosoft Case (Primary Criminals: Shamrock)

Investigated the theft of unknown materials by the

known brick-for-hire and former strongarm of the Irish

Republican Army, Shamrock. Unknown who is was working for

at the time, but he and the gunsels supporting him were well

equipped. Armor Piercing ammunition, FBI identification good

enough to fool local authorities, and biometric locks on the

doors of the facility they were utilizing. Fancy, shmancy. Also

found credit card number for Swiss Geimenshaft Bank, no

credit limit. Clearly they were in the employ of someone with

considerable resources, and it was extremely concerning to

discover that they appear to have been released following

their apprehension by local authorities (well, by me... but the

police had arrived by the time I was departing). Not my best

day, and next time that big Mick will find himself parked on an

island too far to jump to shore from. Note to self, return

materials to Solosoft (or other aggrieved party) personally

next time rather than trust ‘the authorities’. Least my first

activity as Vindicator showed me how much I’ve lost my edge

these past years, sheesh. I need to practice, the only thing

that hasn’t slowed way down is my ability to take a punch for

cryin’ out loud. I must be either getting old, or need to brush

up on basics. Thank my lucky stars that Shamrock is such a

goon, or I’d be in a world of hurt.

11/12/04: Contacted by ‘Mr. Smith’

Contacted in my ‘civvies’ by a ‘Mr. Smith’, who knows about

my work with the government during the Oil Wars. Shady

character, but had an interesting proposition for me

regarding countering the forces that threaten liberty and

freedom in this country. I’m inclined to believe him for now,

simply because I think it’s likely the folks behind Shamrock’s

activities would have tried killing me rather than recruiting

me. Doesn’t seem their style, but I’m definitely keeping my eyes

open on this one. I don’t trust this fellow at all yet, he just

reeks of government or corporate backing. The guy actually

offered me money to work for him, but seemed pleased when I

straightened him out on that. Not sure if it was avarice or a

shared agenda that made him happy, but I figure that time will

tell. He says he will ‘be in touch’... I’ll just bet he will.

11/25/04: Eco-Trans Assassination Plot (Primary Criminals:

Terror Inc.)

Contacted at home through mysterious gray envelope

that revealed coming assassination attempt at Sacramento

Metropolitan Airport against the President of Eco-Trans.

Suspected operatives were to be members of Terror Inc., and

this proved to be the case. I managed to warn the flight crew

and get them and the passengers to safety just prior to

engaging Scorpia, who had boarded the plane disguised as a

flight attendant. After a pretty vicious exchange, I escaped

with her unconscious body as Professor Muerte arrived on

the scene. Decided to turn her over to the British Embassy in

San Francisco, since my experience with Shamrock has me

somewhat suspicious of the American authorities. Turns out

that Eco-Trans was developing a fuel additive which will

greatly reduce emissions and fuel consumption, also the

president of their corporation is openly gay and planned on

attending a GLA (Gay-Lesbian Alliance) business mixer. My

guess is that the gay thing is a red herring, it’s all about the

oil, just like in Desert Storm.

12/14/04: High speed robbery

While getting some holiday shopping done in the Capitol

Mall, I observed a trio of ski-masked, armed perpetrators

fleeing from Macy’s in an armored Wells Fargo truck...

obviously making off with a considerable haul of seasonal

proceeds. Ducked into restroom and shucked my civvies,

intercepted them and used a combination of my strength and

flight to upend the truck. The cretins were swiftly subdued,

despite their rather feeble efforts at resistance.

Unfortunately, some clever fellow with a hi-res phone camera

filmed me during the final moments of the conflict... made the

ten o’clock local news, and clearly established my

imperviousness to small arms fire (also my strength given the

picking up and upending of the armored car). Would have

preferred to avoid widespread broadcast of my powers, but

there was unfortunately little recourse. At least no

bystanders were hurt.

Hi folks, here's the campaign my wife has been running... giving me the rare and treasured opportunity to be a player rather than GM for a change! Anyway, I'm going to post my character (he's mostly 4th Ed., and there are a few odd house rules... heck I'm not even sure everything adds up right it's been so long). And then I'll post the "crime journals" as the campaign progresses... it's sort of bronze age with shades of iron right now, kind of a rusty bronze hue? Feedback is welcome, but be gentle please - the wife is pretty sensitive and it's her first shot as a GM.

The setting is mostly in the greater Sacramento area, with some carry over into the San Francisco Bay area. So far I've battled government conspirators, Russian mobsters, child pornographers, drug dealers, hoodlums, and a lone incident of occult demonic forces.

VINDICATOR

(Michael “Mike†Anderson)

50** Str. 35 CHA Cost = 190

23 Dex. 39 Power Cost = 160

23 Con. 26 Exp. Spent = 21

12 Body 4 Total Cost = 371

14 Int. 4

14 Ego 8 Phases: 2,4,6,8,10,12

20 Pre. 10 OCV: 8

12 Com. 1 DCV: 8

26** PD 16 ECV: 5

20** ED 14 Experience: 0

6 Spd. 27

14 Rec. 0

46 End. 0

57 Stun 11

Pts. Power

23 Tough As Nails: 26rPD, 20rED Damage Resistance

18 Combat Armor: 10 rPD, 5 rED hardened Armor, Act. 14/less (OIF - Combat Armor)

10 Shakes Off Almost Anything!: 25% resistant Physical Damage Reduction, requires Con. roll (-1/2)

3* Cyberimplants: 1 level Density Increase, always on, 0 END cost (already figured in)

12 Adapts instantly to damage: Variable Power Pool (10 points): only for defenses or recovery from damage (-1/2), requires a “Con†roll to change (-0), Little conscious control over powers manifested (-1/2), Powers change only when “damaged†or suffers a negative effect (-1/2), self only and no powers may be outside of person (such as force fields, force walls, etc) (-1/2), change powers as a 0 phase action (+1), if 5 turns pass without damage or negative effect then pool automatically switches to recovery from damage if any (-0) [Total Disadvantages -1, Total Cost 12 points]

25 Defies Gravity: Flight, 10†(4x Noncombat)

3*** Armored Visor: 5 pts. Vision Flash Defense

4 Psi-Shielding: 8 pts. Mental Defense (IIF - Combat Armor)

9 Acrobatics, Breakfall, Deduction

12 Stealth, Shadowing, Systems Operations, Streetwise

3 Weapon Familiarity w/ Small Arms

2 KS: Government Paranormal Operatives

8 Combat Sense, Defense Maneuver

10 2 Levels with Unarmed Combat

2 PS: Regional Water & Power Manager

1 Perk: Water Treatment Operator Certification

31 Martial Arts - Kung Fu/Wu Shu, Commando Training

Block (10 OCV, 10 DCV; Block/Abort)

Dodge (- OCV, 13 DCV; Dodge/Abort)

Escape (10 OCV, 10 DCV; 65 Str. vs. Grabs)

Kick (6 OCV, 9 DCV; 14d6 Strike)

Punch (8 OCV, 10 DCV; 12d6 Strike)

Throw (8 OCV, 9 DCV; 10d6 + v/5, target falls)

Grab (7 OCV, 7 DCV; grab two limbs, 60 str hold)

(+1 DC with Martial Arts)

*OIF - Cybernetic Implants

**Stats from Density Increase Already Figured

***OIF - Visor/Mirrorshades

Disadvantages:

1 1/2 x Stun vs. Poisons & Toxins (15 points)

Susceptability 2d6 stun/phase from very strong magnetic

fields/EMP (20 points)

Enraged if Companion or Innocent Injured, 11/less, recover

11/less (15 points)

Overconfidence (15 points)

Strong Sense of Social Justice (15 points)

Protects Innocents (10 points)

Distrustful of ‘Super Patriots’, representatives of

Government or Industry (15 points)

Watched by US Government, 11/less (10 points)

Hunted by Secret Government Cabal, 11/less (20 points)

Hunted by Campaign Villain Group, 11/less (20 points)

Distinctive Features (Mutant) (10 points)

Distinctive Features (Cybernetic Implantation & Physiology

Modification) (10 points)

Secret Identity (15 points)

Dependence on ‘Cyberline’ Drug, 3d6 drain vs. str/dex/con/

spd. down to ‘normal char. maxima’ per day

without use. (40 points)

Reputation (Violent Vigilante) (10 points)

Rivalry with other ‘super soldiers’ (10 points)

Background/History:

Mike was always pretty special, with gifts both athletic and intellectual. How special wasn’t clear until his mutant gifts of flight and invulnerability manifested in adolescence, and Mike found himself “volunteered†to join the Oil Wars of the 1990s along with many of his classmates. The Super Soldier program was in full swing, and his body’s resistance to damage made him an excellent candidate for the augmented

warrior cybernetics being tested as the next step in advanced battle systems during these conflicts. Mike served his two tours, and when the winds of political fortune shifted found himself with the opportunity to take an honorable discharge and be “decommisionedâ€. Returning to civilian life, he took a job with the State Department of Water Resources as a Water and Power Dispatcher. Less demanding work than covert ops and battles with terrorist supers, but fulfilling as the weeks drifted into years...

The winds of politics appear to have turned once more. Mike spotted some of his old comrades in arms, the kind that didn’t mind so much if there was a high civilian body count associated with their activities, and they were stateside! Clearly something shady is afoot, but he figured that some other paranormal would handle it. He’d done his duty, and was enjoying the fruits of his service... but then the toll on Liberty and the welfare of his fellow citizens began to grow. “Supervillains†who he recognized as disguised Super Soldier operatives began sanctioning civilian targets, obviously

aligned with the same oligarchs of industry who orchestrated the Oil Wars a decade and a half agone. As his frustration built, Mike realized that somebody had to do something, someone had to take action... and he was that somebody. Digging out his cache of “war trophies†(his battle-armor and a significant stockpile of Cyberline), Mike made a few cosmetic changes to the armor and Vindicator joined the ranks in the fight against villainy.

VARIABLE POWER POOL OPTIONS (examples):

Damaged by “specific type†Energy KA – Armor +12rED (+8 rED hardened if penetrating/AP) only vs “specific type†energy KA (-1)

Damaged by Physical KA – Armor +6rPD (+4 rPD hardened if penetrating/AP)

Damaged by “standard†physical attack – +25% physical damage reduction

Damaged by “standard†energy attack - +25% energy damage reduction (or +50% only vs “specific type†of energy (-1))

Damaged by ego power – 10 points mental defense (13 points total)

Damaged by drain/transfer/suppress – 10 points power defense

Damaged by NND/AVLD – appropriate defense (if applicable)

Environmental damage – appropriate life support (up to 10 points)

Recovery from damage – 1 body regeneration OR 3d6 Aid to appropriate CHA/Powers, only to starting values (-1/2), Self only (-1/2), Always On (-1/2), 0 END Cost (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2)

Re: A Secret Service Question

I have this hilarious image of the VP's daughter confronting her first vampire and suddenly... "PROTECT THE PACKAGE!!!! BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM! GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!!!" Too great.

Re: Naming Help

Need a name' date=' feminine if it's gendered, meaning "Dagger of Light". She's named D. O. L. (say it "Doll") now, but that's kind of crummy.[/quote']

 

Well... I just hit the ol' Universal Translator Superpower and got the following.

 

Russian - Кинжал Света (ahem... sorry, that'd be something like "Kenshaal Sveta")

German - Dolch die Lichtes

Spanish - Daga de Luz

 

That's if you are looking for literal translations of "Dagger of Light".

Re: Character Post: Android and Gadget

I like the purchase of Gadget as a follower with the DNPC limitation to reflect the inherent "problems" she causes the player. Pretty clever and worth a few points for something that may bite you in the nether-regions later... nice combo, I made a mental note for possible personal use later with one of my chars/npcs.

...actually (I just thought of this), kind of reminds me of 'Modular Man' from the Wildcards series.

Re: Seeds of Change PBEM

Fascinating PBEM concept Nexus, a very interesting thread. How do I get to read about this as it develops? Can I get on the list and lurk?

Re: Character Post: Android and Gadget

Dude, he's doin' his mom. That's just wrong.

ROFL, rep for you.

Re: The Black Paladin is vanquished....

BTW, one other reason I'm posting is just to get opinions on the nature of the weaponry BP used. Is it EVIL? or just power, neither good nor bad? It may end up in the hands of someone else... you see, GRAB stole some of the gear... well, don't want to bore you folks

 

Still, any thoughts on Eater of Shadows, and Crusher of Hope (BP's sword and Mace respectively) would be appreciated.

If you are wanting to get rid of this Eater of Shadows or Crusher of Hope I'm sure we could work something out... got plenty of henchmen and never seem to have enough dark relics to really equip them to my tastes.