Manic Typist

Re: Afterlife based upon world geography Also as I said, I'd suggest that areas with strong or significant/relevant afterlifes are "neutral." So, sort of generic terrain that vaguely reflects the culture of the land that it "overlays." Remember, this is supposed to be flexible, almost poetic. Things are slippery, shifting.

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction? No, it would definitely be the second person. "I know nothing about science." "You (who is really I) know nothing about science." "This one/He/Name knows nothing about science." See, I was using that quote to show how he must have really been talking about himself since he was so very wrong, and since he used "you" I framed it as the second person. But now any cleverness that MIGHT have existed is definitely dead.

Re: Afterlife based upon world geography I'd suggest that different denominations of Christianity sort of blend together unless you want a campaign that deals with that level of... interdepartamental rivalry and detail. But maybe your players would enjoy the nuances of the various sects!' As for the second part, well, they're certainly welcome to try, but since I'm talking Fantasy Hero and no real world religions with even the possibility of a truly all powerful being and yadda yadda.... I'd go with the classic "Because the other guys will do it right back to them. How do you think the last Godwar got started?" Probably denizens of various "heavens" are less powerful outside of their kingdom, and even specifically weaker in the area of a hostile "nation." Classic magic/wizard/spiritualism trope.

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction? Talking about yourself in the second person eh?

Re: Bizarre Crimes for Any Genre Go one step further and make sure it has a barcode AND a price in the store computer. The clerk will be baffled, and never find any more of that item in their inventory...

Re: Afterlife based upon world geography If they can get their angels through the Native American defenses and drag your soul back? Otherwise, I don't follow the question.

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction? ...except that you didn't. You supplied the name LATER, in the same post where you berated him for not doing the research that he couldn't have done since you didn't cite anything except a vague description. You also seemed to take it personally that he even asked a question about it. Physician, heal thyself!

Re: Alien Jedi's No, it was carrying a bioweapon. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Honoghr

Re: Afterlife based upon world geography I would suggest that the spiritual world is determined by the "real" world (the fictionally real world of your setting). That is, the spiritual kingdoms cannot overtake one another.... but they can send agents/emissaries and interact with one another. So, if you REALLY angered another faith in life... well, they might send a spiritual extraction team after you to bring you back to their land to face their justice, for instance. They might also seek to try to influence the real world to sustain benefits in the spiritual world, i.e. ensure that their followers are better aided so that the faith spreads and the borders shift, etc. Most of this would probably have to be left vague, subjective, malleable based upon shifting interpretations. Could be part of the appeal. But I have a slight temptation to try to codify most it... What really confounds me is continuity through time. How long are grave goods (which provide a GREAT justification for ghosts- "Hey! I was USING THAT! GIVE IT BACK!" by reason of motivation and ritualized connection) associated with deceased? I'd say the spiritual world probably has its own kind of resources so that everything isn't dependent on grave goods.... maybe after a certain point the physical items are no longer as relevant, maybe when the deceased ceases to care about the physical world and is purely focused upon the spiritual world and its conflicts? So they are a crutch that is useful for a while?

Re: Alien Jedi's Wasn't it a crashed ship full of bio weapons??

Re: Afterlife based upon world geography Slight necro. I think there should be an tangible benefit for funeral/burial rites being performed, i.e. they actually affect the dead in the afterlife. How long though.... hm, perhaps you don't show up in the Afterlife until you Pass, which means when your spirit is satisfied/laid to rest/banished there.

Re: Possible HERO System Supplement Kickstarters From Steve -- What Interests You? I would be welling to pledge at least $25 for each, probably $50 for Dark Champs and STORMlords to get hardcopies plus PDFs, maybe more if the incentives were good enough.

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction? Not exactly. One wins an election (in the US) by appealing to a majority (sort of, electoral college yadda yadda), but one does so by playing games. Weighing and hedging, blending things to come up with the right milieu of voters. For instance, if I can take position X (Evolution= false) without losing too many of my mainstream voters ("Well, he's an idiot for not believing in evolution.... but really what do I care about that? I more care about his policies on gun control and taxes!), and pickup the fringe groups on top... I can do that. So all that signals is that they feel they can do that without alienating too many people, not that those people agree with them. Or, it could signal that they genuinely believe evolution is false, and are just campaigning on principle....

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction? Um, I feel like you're just making a claim here because it helps you. Because I sincerely doubt the majority of US Christians flatly denies evolution (believing in Intelligent Design, however....). Also, the candidates are definitionally a fringe group catering to fringe tastes in order to secure additional votes. Also, perhaps you shouldn't state so emphatically to someone (after seeming to be offended by their question) to "Look it up!" You provided a vague anecdote, the onus is on you to cite it. *Remembers a movie with a bunch of kids who were in this fairy land, but were captured by evil creatures and pretended to drink a drink that made them evil too so they were let out and thus they escaped.*

Re: Velocity Based DCV "Side movement" while attacking- weaponized trains. So at least as old as WW2, probably older.

Re: Quote of the Week From My Life. ....how old is this student?

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Hm. So, how did the GM take it then? I thought a part of the impetus was because of the number of "strikers," and so I was partly wondering why a certain number of a certain character type might cause the GM to try to push the story in a new direction. Sounds like the GM shouldn't have approved the character in the first place, if he had to go back and "tell" you where her powers came from in order to make it work with his plot/world. Sorry.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I'm sorry, I don't follow what this means, especially the "threatening to take the game in places I don't want to go." Please elaborate?

Re: Need help building up skill list/set for horseback riding archer Both. You know, for those times when she falls off the horse....

Re: How can I judge if an encounter is balanced? But this is another example of what Folded is talking about. Different conclusions can be arrived at than the one intended, especially when you intend for it to be a "lesson." As a PC, I might say "Wait, what? This isn't about not learning to spit in the punchbowl. This about that gang learning that this is MY neighborhood. Also, why are the gangers only mad at me and not the tavern owner? Are they the nice, rational sort of people who recognized that the tavern owner had nothing to do with it, or are they, y'know, a GANG who would not be able to tolerate anyone daring to call in a bounty collector on a debt they owed. That damages their image, after all. If they ARE that rational, then how DARE they be mad at me? What do THEY do to people who owe them money? Probably a lot more than I ever did to their guys." I would think most gangs would go after the tavern owner MORE than the bounty hunter, since he is the easier mark and gang members are not known for their bravery. However, if you want to play them like they are enlightened and recognize that there is give AND take in these sort of situations, then I would think they'd recognize that the bounty hunter was doing his job and that their members either need to pay their debts or NOT GET CAUGHT. Also, nice play by that PC with Jesse Jackson. Very nice.

Re: Help me populate a dying space colony Heh, I like that Christopher.

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction? .....didn't he say probabilistic?

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Ah, so that's a new PC and not just a new Navigator.... missed that memo.

Re: Potential issues with a Matrix like campaign premise Why humans are used as batteries as opposed to nuclear power. Why the machines need to reproduce at all. But that is very specific to the Matrix.

Re: Analyze Structure vs KS Architecture Demolitions is the right answer to most any question.