Kharis2000

Re: WWYCD: Illegal Worker

Hmmm... depends on who I'm playing Isuppose.

If I'm in my "white-knight" phase for characters, then I'd likely see what I could do about setting up a visa, getting a green card, and making sure the fellow hero's civilian ID was clear of approach. all of that, assuming, of course, that they'd let me.

If I was in my "shadowy knight" phase for characters, then I'd simply create an entire other identity for the hero through whatever means were required to make it unimpeachable (hacking, bribery, favor swapping, etc.) and then set things up to make it look like the hero's actual identity was a scam to entrap the villain who knows it so we could get that threat out of the way.

Re: Help: powers for the super heroine Maxima.

Next question - what kind of point costs/campaign limits are you operating under?

Re: Horrific HERO Magazine

Creepy without being overwhelmingly powerful. Very nice work. (Potential players in my games or my wife's - depending on uses it first - may not, however, thank you...)

Re: Help: powers for the super heroine Maxima.

Do you see her as being primarily STR-based for doing damage (50-60+ range), or as someone that's a combination of STR and skill for damage purposes (30-40 STR and a martial art)?

Re: Hero Plus Adventure #18 -- The Tablets Of Destiny -- Now Available!

Too late by 14 days, dear!

Re: Help: powers for the super heroine Maxima.

There was /is a DC character with that name: a red-head with brick/TK powers who wanted to marry Superman as he was the "perfect mate" for her or something.

Do you have any ideas regarding the character's origins?

Re: Have You Used Characters from Masterminds And Madmen?

When you do, let me know how that works out. I'm interested to see how folks interact with them in different campaign settings.

Re: Have You Used Characters from Masterminds And Madmen?

By way of example, in my Huntsman game, the big bruiser (who campaign history established medaled in the late 20's Olympics in Boxing) actually located someone who had a copy of Krieger's infamous training film, watched it, and swore he'd never let himself get within arm's reach of the German. He gets jumpy if people just mention Krieger's name on-game without a punch having ever been thrown.

Re: Have You Used Characters from Masterminds And Madmen?

So how did Kreiger, Forsythe, and the rest go over with folks at the convention games?

And I'm glad that TP has stuff in it that it looks as if you can use for your game - although your players might not be, depending on which "Thrilling Places" they get to visit.

Re: Have You Used Characters from Masterminds And Madmen?

All Hail the Mighty Editorial Powers!!!!

Re: Have You Used Characters from Masterminds & Madmen?

I'm glad you found so many folks in the book worth mentioning - having never written anything like that before, I was a bit worried that no one (besides me, anyway) would wind up liking any of the characters!

Re: Have You Used Characters from Masterminds & Madmen?

Okay, I hereby nominate myself as the doofus of the year for mistyping the title of my own book!

Sigh.

Re: Have You Used Characters from Madmen & Masterminds?

I'm glad you liked it! Was there a character or characters that you found particularly useful inspiration-wise?

I sent Steve the draft of Thrilling Places yesterday, so with any luck you'll get to see it soon.

Re: Have You Used Characters from Madmen & Masterminds?

Bad guys are always doing things like that to family members.

How are Skymaster, Lothar, the Airmada, and everything else working for you from the player perspective? I knew he (Skymaster) was on the high-end of the scale power-wise (which is why I added Lothar in, to give characters a less high-end opponent in the Airmada), so I'm curious to see how he and his organization are working out.

If so, how did they work out for your games? What were your player's reactions? What worked for you about some of them and didn't work about others?

Inquiring writers want to know!

Re: A phaser in hero

Realistically speaking (if you'll pardon the use of that phrase!), the weapon write-up in Star Hero is designed to define the weapon within the rules so as to allow people to use one if their game has "phasers" - not be something that character are expected to pay for with character points. It's designed for a game where phasers, tricorders and communicators are simply issued equipment that everyone has. If everyone has one, or some variation on one (disruptors, polaron beams, etc.) then it's effective cost is null, just like a character owning a .38 revolver in a game based on modern television shows and action movies.

Re: Creatures from Skull Island

You can get everything else there, why not critters like this?

Re: Is this a mistake?

Mea culpa, mea culpa - they should both be 'Eichenwald.'

Re: Madmen & Masterminds Question:the Skymaster

Actually, the only conscious reference to G-8 that I put into Skymaster's writeup was the nod in the section where the different versions of his (Skymaster's) 'origin story' were discussed. I'm not going to claim that there were not any other G-8 influences that crept in, but I have to (embarrassingly) admit that I actually don't own anyof the G-8 stories. I've read a number of summaries of the character and the like, but I've never had the opportunity to sit down and read the novels.

Mostly what I had in mind was to create a faceless threat that would be easy to tailor to an individual campaign if desired; also, by giving Skymaster no defined backstory other than that created by his actions, I hoped to come up with something a bit different and 'pulpish' in a different way as opposed to Dr. Fang or the other masterminds.

That said, there's nothing to say that you can't decide that Skymaster *is* G-8 in your game and give the players a chance to reverse the effects of whatever happened to make him turn evil. That's what makes everyone's game unique!

Re: PRIMUS or UNTIL

Shelley Mactyre's PRIMUS book (and the PBEM game it sprang from) were almost literally the first time I saw anyone take PRIMUS and make them into something other than a flag-suited whipping boy for villains and heroes alike. They were interesting, effective, and somone that you didn't want to take as a Hunted for a quick 20-points 'because they're goobers.'

I had some success as a GM by making them a more of a paramilitary force and less of a law enforcement one, complete with access to the US Military arsenal. The players' introduction was a battlesuited villain laughing at the PRIMUS command to stand down and deactivate his armor, starting to take off, and catching four Stinger missiles at about 50' - no one laughed at the PRIMUS teams after that, but they never felt 'right' to me (and I was the GM). Shelley's stuff was - and still is for me - dead on. I hope Steve contacts her when the PRIMUS book comes around.

Re: 70's and 80's Master Villians

I appear (frighteningly for one of us - most likely him) to be thinking along similar lines to GestaltBennie on this one, only my first two thoughts were:

1) The forgotten headquarters of 'The Man' - a 70's establishment villain dedicated to grinding down the lower classes and keeping himself on top. (Stolen from - I am ashamed to admit it - the blaxploitation film parody I'm Gonna Git You, Suckah!) He'd have been a normal with lots of connections, money, contacts, and minions as opposed to a physical threat.

2) The hideout of 70's master villain 'Casanova Frankenstein' from the film Mystery Men, complete with disco balls, and bad 70's themed henchmen in suspended animation.

Re: Patriotic Heroes

Somewhere I recall an independent comic starring 'the Americommando' - AC maybe?

Although I hadn't realized that he was going to, Steve has included a group of characters that didn't make it into M&M in Digital HERO #35 as part of the 'Leftover Hero' series.

It also has a bang-up article by Mike Surbrook presenting his riff on the Sayians from Dragonball Z, a take on Zombie Hero, and a handful of other Hero goodness. I'm not a big enough egotist to suggest that you check it out for my stuff, but I have no reservations about suggesting that you to check it out for Mike's article - the man is good.

Re: Pulp Hero Resources

I stumbled across another Pulp Era Resource for the list:

http://www.archive.org/details/neworleanscity00writmiss

It's a PDF file of the New Orleans city guide, written and compiled by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration in 1938. It covers everythign from local entertainment spots to hotels (including prices and what amenities they offer) to cemeteries, to anything you can think of. It is, essentially, a Pulp Campaign Setting in a box.

It was also written in 1938, so be prepared for opinions, assumptions, and comments fostered by the mindset of the day - some people may be offended by them.

Lastly, it's a BIG file - 64 MB - and the site isn't a fast download. I suggest starting the download and walking away to watch a few episodes of Flash Gordon or Radar Men From The Moon.

Re: Character: Sora-hime (Sky Princess)

Who else is in the crew, and are there any any general notes on them, Mike?

I make no promises, but if I need a break from Thrilling Places I'll see if something comes to mind.