David Blue

Re: Are Defenses to low?

Re: The Incredibles and Registration In general, I would not agree to this, and I would be miffed. Some characters are meant to lose their secret identities. The early Bruce Banner could not have concealed his identity as the Hulk forever. A change to the champaign that took a character like that where he was eventually going to go anyway would be OK. Even so, I would like to talk about it with the gamemaster. Other characters are very much meant to stay secret. The freedom of action that comes from the fact that they and they alone know who they are is very important to them, and the heavy investments they make in secrecy are worthwhile for this reason. A character like this who has been played by a strong roleplayer for a good long while is likely to have a history of close calls and morally difficult and / or physically painful choices taken to keep his or her secrets secret, along with a lot of rather paranoid player toil put in. Sometimes you even have to argue with the gamemaster. (The gamemaster says that since you have investigated the Suicide Squad, you must have left your fingerprints everywhere, and Amanda Waller then blackmails you into not revealing her crimes. The player argues that he is running Batman, not a moron, and Batman does not leave his fingerprints everywhere.) If you're playing the latter kind of character, having that all wiped out by fiat is unwelcome to say the least. Instead of playing a character who's the captain of his own ship of fate, with possibly world-altering (and hopefully world-improving) long term schemes, you're reduced to running a grunt. While your powers still count, your character concept evidently does not.

Re: WWYCD: Dr. Destroyer vs Takofanes Any of my characters would die quickly, but in Doctor Destroyer's cause. Containing the damage afer my death would be Dr. D's problem if he won. If Takofanes wins, who cares?

Re: Sports Mechanics and Atheletes Thanks, Sean. Based on the ideas in this thread, I had already been moving to different but equivalent stats, and PS, Swimming rolls as a tie-breaker (possibly with butterfly, backstroke etc. as separate skills, just for the races), but this makes everything much more specific and ready to present to the gamemaster as something we can do in the lead-up races and in 2008. Definitely we'll be racing for places, not times.

Re: Sports Mechanics and Atheletes He is SPD 3. And thanks guys for these helpful comments!

Re: Sports Mechanics and Atheletes What does it take, normally, in Hero, to be a seriously hopeful Olympic level swimmer? I ask, because I'm playing a normal mentalist 14 year old kid whose big ambition is to win a medal in a sport where (a) his mental powers grant him no advantage and ( where 16 is a normal retirement age. His one big shot at glory will be the 2008 Olympics. He has 6" Swimming, 10 DEX, 13 CON, 13 BODY and 8 REC, PS Swimming 8-, and wants to swim 1500m freestyle. I haven't seen stats for what someone in his sport should have. Is he a bright, shining prospect, or does he need to be reincarnated with much better stats? The gamemaster has given me great freedom to define uncertain things in whatever way will best set up exciting struggles for the game. (Who cares if the villains distract him the night before, if the gold medal is either a lock or out of reach?) The best way to start seems to be to ask people who know the system better than I do for suggestions. What's important to build up? What would the competition look like? What would be a good way to simulate a hard race, or is that not something Hero would do well?

Re: Music To Raise The Dead Rebirth, track 13 of the soundtrack album The Mummy by Jerry Goldsmith. This is the music for Imhotep's revival. It is 8 minutes and 33 seconds, and it's highly varied, containing a variety of moods including copious amounts of comic adventure, which suits the movie. It's also very Egyptian-flavored (Hollywood Egyptian, but that is fine for this.) The Crypt, track 8 of the soundtrack album The Mummy by Jerry Goldsmith. At 2 minutes and 33 seconds, this is much more concise and sticks mostly to one mood, which is likely the one you want - provided you want big Egyptian magic. Crowd Control, track 12 of the soundtrack album The Mummy by Jerry Goldsmith. This is great music to get those zombies rolling forward to attack - but only if you think there can never be too much B-movie Hollywood Egyptian cornball bravado in your game, which is exactly what I do think, but that may not suit you. Terminator Revives, track 18 of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day soundtrack album by Brad Fiedel. This is the music for after the terminator has been impaled by the T1000, and he turns back on, drags out the spike that's impaled him, and returns at a crawl to the attack. It's 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and it's simple and crude but tells the right story. Give it a listen, see what you think. Relapse, track 10 of the Voices of Light CD by Anonymous Four. This is the music for when Joan of Arc has been beaten down and recanted her (true, divine) visions, and the violin solo express her alone, spiritually dying. That's it, nothing left to see, she's done... Then no she's not done! She "relapses" into her "heresy", that is into divine, self-sacrificing courage and bold life. This would be for a divine, virtuous resurrection, like the return of Gandalf, not for routine necromancy. It's 3 minutes and 43 seconds, and it's beautiful.

Re: Fashionwise, it's still the 1960s To start with you'll need positively enormous collars, and flares. The flares are more important, as they will have a greater influence not only costume but armor designs, with jet boots (dinky little sole-of-the-boot jets) giving way to wide-flaring armored jet pants. Waistcoats are good, but they don't have nearly the influence on powered armor aesthetics that super-chunky collar-like designs do. (These should be functional, for example a large Egyptian-style yoke that flashes mesmerizing patterns, or lapels that look big enough to be detachable power packs, and are.) Fringes are good. Especially buckskin. Fur is good too. Anything that's organic or trippy and will break up a simple straight edge is good. Of course this means killing animals and glorifying drug use. Both are good, so if you're squeamish about clubbing baby seals to death so you can look good, it's easy, just get high and get clubbing: win/win! If you just can't do that, don't de-fringe by halves: you'll need a uniform look with something like Nehru jackets and a bowl-shaped hairdo, to make it clear that you can't fringe because you have to do this other weird thing that you are doing. There are going to be more weirdo powers run off odd-looking glasses... tiny, tinted, odd-shaped, kaleidoscopic and moving... Mystic worry beads are good. These should go with turtle-necked shirts. (Most things go with turtle-necked shirts. If you're not going to have a big, exaggerated collar, don't have a collar at all.) Important choice: you go with a big medallion, or the big flashy belt buckle on your flared pants, not both. It you have worry beads, you have chosen the belt buckle, do not make mystic beads compete with mystic medallions as it's bad karma. Before we get away from pants: low waistlines and belt-lines! Anyone with a backside is going to be in serious fashion trouble, so much so that I recommend lairy big bracers to hold together what your super-low-slung belt won't be able to. This however is in contrast to... Bikinis! These are built like bank vaults: high, wide, thick modest and solid, and often metallic. (With super-heroines, this should be real metal.) Much more modest than... Hot pants! But getting back to swim-wear and related clothing, there is one occasion when the one piece costume is cool: Playboy bunny costumes have become as respectable as business suits, as the mega-mega-corporation just grew in fame, wealth and respectability till it defined good manners. (And some super heroine is going to have to have a bunny ID.) The bunny suit includes not only the cute tail but the ears. They're no odder than the false beard and wig formal wear of ancient Egyptians, and they (the bunny ears) are not so unusual, as headbands (with decals, religious and mystical symbols, company logos and the occasional feather) are going to be popular for both sexes. For example, in presidential debates, the parties of the candidates will be instantly recognizable by their (D) and ® logo headbands. Tie-dye and paisley are good, but the color is much more important than the pattern. Colors should have eye-melting intensity. At least give powerful purple and flaming tangerine a try before you settle for anything less. Unless you are a villain. If you are a villain, you wear green. If you don't have a green outfit, follow Catwoman's example and get one now. One final (for now) piece of advice: is you have a completely nonsensical idea in mind, like Red Indian warpaint plus a hussar's jacket in bright silk and/or crushed velvet with elaborated golden braiding: dare to be you!

Re: CHAR: Thundra How would you see Thundra's greatest enemy, the mighty Mahkizmo? http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/mahkizmo.htm Equal, or less than equal? (Maybe much less.)

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease In a game I'm enjoying a lot, Wealth is very common, and I'm playing one of the characters who did not buy it at first and soon will, so that's the trend.

Re: Historical Nexus Points Joan of Arc falls in love as a young woman and consents to get married. She lives a perfectly normal life as a medieval peasant woman - and the English win and keep Orleans and everything North of it. France becomes a geographic expression, like "the Balkans" rather than referring to a nation, and its contribution to history, including the French revolution and much republicanism deriving from it, is wiped out. There never is a British Empire as the Double Kingdom (of England and Northern France) is perpetually involved in European wars, often with or against the German states. This all has the merit of being much more probable than what happened. If you talked to someone in the France-less world and told them what happened in our world, they'd say "you've got to be kidding me. A medieval peasant girl did that? No way!" - Basil: "The pirates get tired of Gaius Julius Caesar's boasting about how he's going to kill them, and slit his throat despite the possibility of a big ransom." That's a great one. - Lord Liaden: "Temujin is captured and killed when fleeing his enemies as a young man, never becoming Genghis Khan. The Mongol Conquest never happens." (Etc.) Another great one.

Re: Stretching a point You're welcome. Reading the Reed/Reed fight... What the stretching fight boiled down to before Reed's order to change partners was a series of grabs and breakouts (with pushing), plus what looks like a one hex area effect killing attack against which Reed blocked successfully using his stretching as a special effect. I guess the moral for the gamemaster would be to think about pairing basic physical combat actions and flashy special effects before the fight starts.

Re: Stretching a point

Re: Would you like your character? Scarlet Scorpion - I'd have laughed at him like everyone else. To be a hero, you can't lose all the time. And Scarlet Scorpion was a bit like Remo Williams except for being humiliated in every fight - too inward-looking and focused on his training and so on to be interesting to talk to. Thunder - I wouldn't care about Thunder either way, and the feeling would be mutual. Thunder was a government head-kicker, her rewards were her hero licence and her salary. You can cheer for someone like that the way you would for a professional sportswoman who happens to play for a team based in your city, but I'm not a sports fan. Gladiatrix - I'd adore Gladiatrix as a fan, and I'm exactly the kind of fan she'd love - one who believes in showing your appreciation for a good act. Gladiatrix would die for her fans. I'd know that. I am the fan who would duck out of the crowd to give the downed and bleeding super heroine first aid at high personal risk. Chain Lightning - I'd probably respect him from afar, even admire him, but I'd never get to know him. He's too paranoid, and too focused on his real job, which is not being a hero in the public eye but beating up demons. Orgone Man - I don't think I'd like him. Which surprised me when I thought about it. I made him to be morally worthy and upright in every way. He was, and I would admire him for that. I think I'd find him a do-gooding stiff in real life though. Admirable is not the same as likeable.

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical?

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical? There's also what I call the "Silkwood scenario" - not because I have come to a final opinion of that case, which remains muddy and controversial, but just because it is an immediately recognisable label for cases where you want to keep a whistelblower alive. In cases like this, from an intelligent whisteblower's point of view, a superhero team with a reputation for competence and being beholden to nobody looks a far better idea than leaving your survival to uninterested authorities. Consider the case of highly decorated hero cop Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Rogerson A man like that fears nothing but a jury skeptical of concocted evidence and "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" testimony. Anyone testifying against or raising persistent fuss about a true police hero like this was likely to be murdered, either by one of his contract-killer friends or by one of his badge-wearing oh-so-supportive police colleagues. "Just handing her over to the authorities" would make you an upstanding citizen - and put blood on your hands. That's another kind of "Silkwood scenario". There are all sorts of situations where the power, wealth and privilege ranged against individuals is so disproportionate that the sole issue is to keep them alive for long enough for the great mass of ordinary people (because you can't bribe everybody) to be informed and to get interested in what in Hades' name has gone on. Policeman: "We're detaining you in connection with the murder of James McCord." Lincoln Six Echo: "What? He was helping us! He was my friend." Policeman: "Note that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.: Jordan Two Delta: "What's a court of law?" - The Island (2005) A situation like that doesn't call for supine deference to the powers that be and a cool lack of interest in what may happen to a couple of powerless individuals in the meantime, before the social contract, or Heaven, or Karma or whatever works its magic; it calls for bulletproof friends with immense moral courage, for the next ten minutes to a day or so. (And as much network news coverage as you can get.) And if those friends have a habit of wearing capes, and their underwear on the outside, that's not a problem.

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical?

Re: When you think "Superhero"....

Re: When you think "Superhero"....

Re: When you think "Superhero".... I'm very glad to hear it, and I'll defer to someone who is reading more Superman than I am. (At the moment, that's more than nothing, though I like the latest movie a lot.) OK, this isn't an ideal replacement example, as it uses animals rather than human beings, but it should be enough to get the idea across (I hope). Wonder Woman can talk to animals - and they can talk to her. A bird comes to her and appeals for help. It's a forest fire. Wonder Woman goes and takes a look. Yup, it's a fire. So she decides to let the forest burn, but protect some houses. Flash shows up too, and starts putting out the fire. Wonder Woman stops him. After all, she explains, death is part of life, and if we say life is a blessing we must say death is a blessing too. Flash hears out the New Age lecture, and goes back to stopping the blaze - but Wonder Woman stops him, offering combat right there and then. Nothing is going to stop the blessing of death being giving to its unwilling recipients (including presumably the mate and chicks of the bird that pleaded for her help), and Wonder Woman is just the heroine to see to it that no rescue comes for the doomed. What the bird had needed was not someone with better powers, but someone who heard "Help!" as a call for help rather than interesting free information obtained through their nifty listen to animals power. (Or, since Flash did show up and show willing, what the bird needed was someone with the right attitude, and tough enough to beat down Wonder Woman. And there's not a lot of people that answer to that description.) Wonder Woman is an odd character, because she's so political and so much about standing up boldly for her beliefs - yet at the same time she's so political in the other sense of being slippery. As Greg Rucka wrote her, she would always stand up boldly and be framed as being in the right - but then the scene would shift to keep secret the answer to the question "right about what?" Trying to figure out what she actually stood for was a lot like being an old Kremlinologist, teasing meanings out of where people stood in May Day parades. And that seemed deliberate. Even though she was about telling the truth, she was never going to do so, because it was more important not to alienate any portion of her potential readership by taking one (and only one) side of a divisive issue. She acts, or doesn't act, on the basis of what seem to be secret beliefs that follow the market. That's not the most reassuring and inspiring that a superheroine can be. I think Wonder Woman is the best there is. But I think you could design a superheroine who would be better than her, in the sense of being more a superheroine than she is. (If it's not obvious - I'm not picking on characters like Wonder Woman and Superman because I think they're no good. I'm picking on them because I want an example of what I find less than ideal about even the very best superheroes - which means I can't use examples based on people like Ultimate Giant Man.

Re: When you think "Superhero"....

Re: The Champion Protocols (ie how to take down your character) This my perspective also.

Re: Hair Tricks? Fantastic Four #41: Betrayed by Ben Grimm, story one in the third volume of Essential Fantastic Four, Medusa vs. Sandman: Sandman: "You can't hold me this way sister! I'll change my body to sand, and ooze right out of your useless hair-grip!" Medusa: "That is precisely what I expected you to do.. !" Medusa: "Now, by simply whirling my hair about like a giant fan, I can scatter your particles all over the room!" Medusa: "This is what makes Madame Medusa the most powerful member by far of the Frightful Four!" Either she's boasting that what everybody thought was a mere multipower is in fact a hair power pool that lets her put points into whatever she thinks of at the time, or she thinks having her own high-powered fan is the business, or she's just boastful. Or some combination of the above. In any case, you've got to have an area effect increased knockback air energy blast, or a telekinetic effect or something else that will do the same job, don't you?

Re: WWYCD: The Crossover from H E Double-hockey-stick It was sublime. It was everything you'd like to think, about how good it would be to do that, or how good it would be to play in a game where that happened. I think it works if you have at least one character in the group who gets that "eye of the tiger! It's the thrill of the fight, rising up to the challenge of our rival!" Big Red: "I'm sexy, I'm cute, / I'm popular to boot." The Toros Squad: "I'm bitchin', great hair, / The boys all love to stare, / I'm wanted, I'm hot, / I'm everything you're not..." - Bring It On (2000) Statler and Waldorf were built without points. They just heckled like crazy due to great gamemaster improvisation, the bystanders/audience reacted legitimately, and I played "Big Red" Gladiatrix's psychological limitations to the hilt. We all played it to the hilt.

Re: WWYCD: The Crossover from H E Double-hockey-stick Been there, done that. The world crossed over with the Muppet Show. Animal showed up and joined the team. When he turned out to be as tough as or tougher than anybody else on it, we should have known this was going to be trouble. Then his enemies - every other muppet - showed up. Every kind of bizarre disruption followed, and much tail-kicking. The muppets had a genius for humiliating the more-Iron-Age-Than-Thou characters. Crazy Harry exploded our gun bunny. Power-pecking dancing flamingoes kicked our resident ninja around the park (literally). When the world seems to change and limelight is power, black jammies, a menacing squint and a breathy, sinister whisper don't cut it. I don't even want to remember about the fish. Football Announcer: "Our next defeat is scheduled for next Friday, 8 o'clock." - Bring It On (2000) Gladiatrix revelled in show biz taking over the world, and beat the muppets on the level where they sought supremacy: she was a bigger scene-stealer than they were. Till Statler and Waldorf nailed her. Gladiatrix couldn't handle her act being mocked effectively. She had no sense of humor about the quality of her act, or the effort she put in to it, or the supreme importance of being loved and not laughed at by the crowd, and she had no ability to detach herself. She lost it, ignored the fight and went after the hecklers. Missy: "Well, look on the bright side - It's only cheerleading!" Torrance Shipman: "I am only cheerleading." - Bring It On (2000)