input.jack

Re: Super humans populations in cities Ive been running a long-time campaign called "Metaworld", where alot of the paranormals are....you guessed it...called Metas. While occult masters and living avatars and accidents of science -do- exist, along with incredibly strong-willed normal Humans who put on costumes -anyway- and play in the big leagues, at least half of the known paranormals have recieved their powers through the Metavirus, which can only be carried by about 7% of the population. Everyone else is immune, and the virus dies out in their systems. And of that 7%, only about 1% of -them- actually manifest actual, full-blown super-powers, although the carriers usually gain some secondary benefits (better overall health, stronger bones and teeth, etc). The kicker here is that...the Metavirus is transmitted through fluid transfer. Its like an STD. So, naturally, Metas are more prevalent in areas where sexual attitudes are more open-minded. (It's also -very- important to note that attitudes toward sexuality in Metaworld resemble the 1960s-1980's more than the 1990s-present, since their advanced science, due to having super-scientists around since the 1800's, has allowed them to find a cure for things like AIDS and HIV, which we havent in -our- world because we dont have the advantage of Metaworlds medical technology base). So far, only a few people have figured out how the Metavirus works; that its a DNA-altering retrovirus, and that its transmitted thru fluid transfer. No one has figured out -where- it came from, or why it is that those individuals capable of manipulating magic are immune to the virus, and those individuals with the active Metavirus are -totally- incapable of manipulating magic...

Re: I Give Up!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay. I -might- get 7th Sea...

Re: Superhero Images Well, the open mouth was supposed to be evocative of Batman's mask, but not identical. The mask is also armored underneath, and at least his protects more of his face. ...Now Im gonna have to modify a version and see what he looks like with a full-face mask....

Re: I Give Up!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just read all of those Wick articles that were attached to the thread, and I have to say, hes got several really solid ideas.... Mixed in among the horse manure. Peronally, Id never want to game with this guy. He strikes me as an elitist s.o.b., and frankly, thats my job. The very idea of keeping a player waiting 6 weeks -at the gaming table- because his character was in jail, ostensibly for life, and he "wont allow you to make a new character until the one youre playing dies". NO amount of payback to the NPC is worth hours and hours of that players life, spend staring into space or watching his friends get to play. I know Wick would say "...But the Player -was- playing; his character was confined and unable to act, and thus so was he". Not good enough. Wick seems to think that a Player getting fed up with his guff and leaving the game somehow reflects a weakness of the -character-. If I had had as many players stomp away from the gaming table as he has, Id be alot less eager to dispense advice on how to GM. That said, he -does- have a few good ideas. Having secondary action running to spice up a fight ("Hurry! The train is about to leave and we -have- to be on it!"). Keeping index cards for NPC's to remind you of who they are, what they are like, and what their goals are. Thats sound advice. Pretty much the rest of it was rubbish. Well written. Sometimes funny. But generally indicative of a man who deeply, truly believes that his Players are creatures far, far inferior to his own, Godly self. Sorry, Wick. I was -thinking- about maybe picking up 7th Sea. Now Ive made up my mind, and my money will not be finding its way to your pocket, Im afraid.

Re: Superhero Images The bandoliers were supposed to evoke a "skull and cross-bones" effect. Actually, the character has been running around since the 1650's; I worked up the evolution of his costume (more or less) from the "gentleman highwayman" look from back then, until this modern costume. His family were killed by pirates, and he took their flag to use as his original mask. Oh...he was killed by the pirates, too. But...he came back

Re: Superhero Images Hi all. Im going to try to post a pic or two. Im a semi-professional artist; my roomate and I drew all the cardboard figures for the "Stand-Ins" line available at RPGnow.com. (We did alot of the coloring too, but the editors wife did some also). Anyway, for a long time now weve used what we call "Heroforms"; blank figures that I drew a while back, just to give a good idea of the overall costume. Im going to try to post the costume for Revenant. Hes our current campaigns "dark brooding avenger of the night" type. Hope you all like him

Re: Building the Animated Justice League JmOz, Im very impressed with these write-ups. I know that you occasionally had to "cut some corners" to get people in "on points" (as you mentioned with Batman), but overall the work is -really- impressive. I had been thinking of running a DC/WB campaign, myself, and while I had balked at the idea of having to write up the JLU.....youve really saved me alot of work, here Seriously, thank you from all of us out in the Reffing trenches. This is exactly the kind of stuff that makes a thread like this a goldmine to come across! *raises Dr. Pepper can* I salute you!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... This ones' from a Champions game I ran a few years ago... The characters had gone to see a concert by one of the oldest rock bands still around, the Standing Stones (basically the campaign world's analogue to the Rolling Stones). Early on, they get gouged for ticket prices, and people comment. It turns out that the Standing Stones are secretly a group of black-magic creatures; the lead singer is basically a Death Knight, the drummer is basically a Liche, the lead guitarist is an animated Wood Golem (created as a guard) and the bassist is a Vampire. A harrowing fight ensues, during which the Standing Stones almost kill Mockingbird, one of the team's heroines and a very well-loved character. Her fiancee goes basically bananas, and while usually the heroes capture villians, this time Starfire, the plasma-projecting flying energy blaster, just has a total freak-out, and systematically destroyes the Standing Stones, one by one. And looking at the carnage of their remains, strewn about the stage in front of thousands of horrified fans, Silk, the little blonde martial artist with the spirit of an Eastern Gold Dragon bound into her (basically looking like Buffy in a costume) says this... "Gee...*toes at a bit of smouldering remains of what had minutes before been the worlds most widely-know rock band*...if they know it was going to be their last show...they could have charged more" ________ Okay, different game, same player. Our characters are all high-school students who have recently found out that we have been granted super-powers by ancient Gods. The aforementioned player's character is named Michael, and hes a football player...and the most popular boy in our grade...and hes smart...and hes also a nice guy (which makes people secretly hate him even more, especially Eric the nerd whom nobody notices when Michael's around). Michael is the only one of us with a car, so hes picking people up so that we can go outside of town and practice with our new powers. He arrives at the home of Indira, who was raised in California, but whose parents immigrated to the US from India. Indira drags Michael inside to meet her mother, thinking that this will somehow defuse her mothers temper, if she gets to meet the boy with the car. Apparently it didnt work out as well as shed hoped...and Michael didnt really help, but you gotta give the guy credit for guts, when the following exchange takes place... Indiras mother: Very well....I agree to allow my daughter to accompany you in your car....BUT!...if you impregnate my daughter, i shall call down a thousand thousand curses upon you! Michael *looks thoughtful for a half second*: ....Thats fair.

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive Hi. New poster, veteran HERO player (since 1980, I think). In our games, the group I'm in takes COM into careful consideration for -all- characters. Most Supers, male and female, end up with COM scores of 16-20 because, as was mentioned, if youre athletic, well-built, and active, you just -are- more attractive. Our campaigns dont allow COM to go over 20 for Humans; you'd have to be a Diety or something to exceed the limit. But since we tend to "bodycast" characters (meaning we pick a celebrity whom the group is familiar with for the character to look like), our PC's tend to be pretty attractive, on the whole. Someone mentioned that their female gamer friends play "attractive characters, but not -too- attractive". Ive seen this too, although one of the women we game with -definately- fits this behaviour pattern, another -always- plays high-end COM characters. Of course...shes rather attractive herself, and might just not be as hung up on the whole jealousy of other people thing