Balabanto

Re: Signature Request *CW #7 SPOILERS* Uh, no, 1950's Captain America was someone different. Besides, Captain America vs. 1950's Captain America is probably one of my all time favorite comic book fights ever, even if it's not in the top ten anymore.

Re: Signature Request *CW #7 SPOILERS* Again, Hugh, that's the fault of the writers. The problem really with the series is the host of crap that has been done to Iron Man, if you really think about it. Those of us who have been reading comics forever say things like "My god! You !@#$$!ing nutbar! You can't SERIOUSLY put this ex-alcoholic who was formerly both A) Kang and Ultron in charge of registering all superheroes. Do I think that host of crap sucked? I sure do! I'm a huge Iron Man fan. But that doesn't mean that it didn't happen, and that now the people of 616 have to live with the richest man in the world being an A-1 cuckoo. If Iron Man and Reed Richards seemed unreasonable, it's because the premises behind their actions seemed unreasonable. It really seems to me that what they were writing about WASN'T fascism at all. It was about writer bitchiness versus fan desire, and telling us how much we suck. Iron Man and Reed Richards represent marketing researchers, who do their research and try to establish a corporate model that will make money for the corporation based on these equations and projections. Captain America represents the ideal employee who says "Why the hell are you punishing me for the incompetence of these other morons?" And let me tell you, I face this situation at work EVERY DAY.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! Well, actually...I AM a functioning (Albeit Moderately) Asperger's Syndrome sufferer. The difference is, I wasn't foolish in my choice of jobs! I sell clothing for a living. Anal retentiveness is a STRENGTH! However, I'm not sure Stan Lee WOULD fire Millar. For one, he doesn't have the power to. For another, he never envisioned a world like the one that exists now when Jack Kirby created Captain America. As for Geoff Johns, the reasons I dislike him have to do with the fact that he throws common sense of social interactions completely out the window when dealing with the Original Seven. I'm very frightened about what might happen with Superman, since he fights for "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" in this new unpleasant comic book world. If Millar and Quesada cause a virus, DC will surely be infected shortly. Remember, these companies pay marketing analysts tons of money to figure out what the other company is doing, and then replicate it.

Re: Signature Request *CW #7 SPOILERS* That's outrageous. A guy who's been Kang, Ultron, Mindwiped the WORLD, and engaged in multiple illegal private corporate military operations on foreign soil is in the right against someone who is fighting for the right to operate legally under the second amendment. Fascinating. If Millar and Quesada actually KNEW anything about constitutional law, maybe they'd understand what "Provide for the Common Defense" means. If Captain America were forming a militia for the purpose of maintaining a private army, that would be unconstitutional, but he formed a militia for what he believed was providing for the common defense of all men. That's still LEGAL under the Second Amendment.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! Oh, as for the government's level of power in games, Mind Over Matter is a "Government's level of power" scenario. But the difference here is that is that unlike Mark Millar, I'm not a complete moron, and I understand the difference between "Hero" and "Villain." The heroes might not by the end of the story, but that's not my problem. I'd talk more about the adventure, but I'm still playtesting it.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! For me this isn't a taste issue. This is Jewish guy sees "Jackboot fascists in capes as supporters of the government" as the first step towards Marvel Comics, supporter of fascism. If I wanted that sort of asinine environment, I'd just play City of Heroes. While it's possible that this might be some sort of video game promotion, that would only make the whole thing more contemptible. I'm really not pleased with Civil War because it just proves that these people have no respect for the characters, for what's good, or what's right. When your WRITER is morally ambiguous about what good and evil are, you can't really expect the SUPERHEROES to be any different.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! I have no respect for Geoff Johns, and really haven't since the whole Green Lantern fiasco. The scene where Green Lantern coldcocks Batman, who should be totally ready for anything from someone he HATES at the time. The reason why I loathe Geoff Johns is because I read his stuff and say "If this character was my PC, I would not do anything this stupid." Johns only LOOKS like a great writer. The truth is, he's a sock puppet.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Eiko calls the base to see if Gideon is there. "Hello,Gideon! Are you there? Are you there? If you can hear me, this is your last chance, or I will build a butt-kicking machine and you will prepare for 36 hours of buttkicking. This is your second last chance....okay...."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... OOC Comment from Romula's player, brought to you live!!!!: This guy is smart enough to manipulate the time stream without getting it to implode! I THINK HE'S SMART ENOUGH TO BUILD A GUIDED TARGETING SYSTEM!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Yes, that really is what it says, I've met Rich a couple times and that really is exactly what happened. Ironically, I was able to use this against one of my own parties later, where the gazebo was a giant mimic, and it killed and ate two party members when they cockily went up and sat down in it, thinking I was kidding around.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! Two words, Bill. Wally West. What Geoff Johns did to the Flash was a crime. Bart Allen is NOT the Flash. Not even close. And the cheesemonkey things they did to make him the Flash were moose dung itself. I dug Barry, though he got goofy towards the end. I liked Wally, and he had to grow on me. Bart Allen was a NEEDLESS CHARACTER IN THE FIRST PLACE! Let's not even talk about Infinite Crisis. Geoff Johns is a total idiot. JSA is the drop of wine in the bucket of crap, but when you put it all together, it's still crap. For what he did with Hal Jordan, he should be publicly executed in boiling oil. Parellax is a yellow roach? Come on! I understand you're a Hal Jordan fan, Geoff Johns, but don't let erectile dysfunction get in the way of continuity. Respect continuity above all else. Yes, I did not buy Hal Jordan's looniness in the first place, but that doesn't excuse a stupid justification later. Two wrongs don't make a right, Kyle Rayner was Green Lantern, they should have just gotten over it. IF Geoff Johns was going to do the things that he did, he should have paid more attention to Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis so that Batman was not half-insane. Batman never should have been half insane in the first place, he is DEDICATED TO HIS MISSION. Just wait for him to break something else like he broke Titans. You may like it, but I think that he's terrible.

Re: CHAMPIONS REVISED -- If We Do It, What Would You Like To See? I'd like to see Cryotron and the Corruptors of All, as Dennis Mallonee has never even BOTHERED to use them. Rights be damned. If he hasn't used them in 20 years, he's voided his right to.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... During a conversation where Prestige reveals to Sarah Lawrence (Silver Sentinel in normal ID) that she is who she is. Prestige is a stage magicianess style character. Prestige: I have a gift for you. Sarah: If you pull a big fat rabbit out of that hat, and it poops on the floor, we are so done.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! The problem is, that unless there is a real villain and he has the power level of Galactus or worse, there is no chance that the genie can ever be put back into the bottle. Captain America....Arrested? You know, maybe I should write a book called Captain Canada...no...wait...I can't. My HERO got arrested. Some of these Candy Asses have forgotten that there's this thing called the Doc Savage Oath, which looks like this: Doc Savage Oath Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it . Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice. Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do. Let me do right to all, and wrong no man. When did SUPERHEROES stop remembering the basic principles contained in these words? This is why Geoff Johns, Dan Didio, and people like them suck. They don't understand the TRADITIONS out of which these comics come. But WE do. Why aren't WE writing these books? No, seriously, I mean it. We should launch a buyout. Unfortunately, there's no way Hero System can do it.

Re: Signature Request *CW #7 SPOILERS* It is a complete outrage. The jackboot fascists win. And Cap is in JAIL? Only a total traitor to the causes and ideas of the USA would consider putting Cap in Jail as the CONCLUSION to a story arc where a villain didn't do it. The one time this happened in the past, it was the RED SKULL. Now it's THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN? And the PEOPLE OF AMERICA STOP HIM FROM KNOCKING TONY OUT? What kind of crackmonkey story is this? Are these even superheroes at all? Mark Millar should be investigated for his connections to terrorism. This is ridiculousl

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... The characters in my Teen Champions game decided to have a seance in SECRET ID, unaware that they summoned a REAL monster. Several of the characters are legacy heroes, so one of them calls their parent hero to rescue them after several phases of brutal beatings, as many of the characters have little to no defenses and all their gear is at home. Mervin (Plastron in Secret ID): How did those superheroes get here so fast? Seizure: Oh, I called them from inside my pants!

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! That was very satisfying. The only satisfying moment in the entire thing. My problem with the results of Civil War is that it pretty much creates a hostile environment for the classics. If you really loved the idea of secret identities, for Marvel, that's OVER. All the classic superhero troops are out the window. Unless they reboot the universe, which they should probably do anyway, reading Marvel is likely to suck until the NEXT Scarlet Witch fiasco.

Re: Civil War in the Champions Universe! The problem with Civil War, quite frankly, is not the badly written unheroic actions. It's the fact that the unheroic actions should be the cause of the event rather than the solution. When you see Mind over Matter (THis will probably be late 2009 for you guys), I'm pretty sure you'll see that characters can have REAL reasons to fight each other. But they have to make sense.... This, quite frankly, didn't. Plus, HUGE SPOILER..... The Jackboot Facists won. Is this really a world you want to live in?

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... In my D+D game this tuesday night, the following situation took place. Having captured the minion of one of their adversaries, one of the PC's drags him bodily from the dinghy he is standing in in the sewers after a nasty fight in the mulch occurred. Not thinking too clearly, and down to his last few hit points, he takes his captured adversary through the sewers to the nearest exit point in the middle of the day. He's been poisoned, he's weak, and he's covered in dung and sewage. The PC climbs out with his unconscious burden, also covered in sewage and dung, and begins heading out, into the middle of the market district at one of the busiest times of day. He is accosted by a local sewer cleaners guild member, who is offended by his violation of guild membership laws. Sewer Cleaner's Guildman: Hey! What's that you've got there? Have you been cleaning in the sewers without a permit? PC: No, I've just been rummaging around the sewers chasing this man who tried to kill me! Guildman: A likely story. You're in violation of guild membership laws! I'm calling the watch! (Raises a hue and a cry.) Keep in mind, all this is going on in the merchant district during the busiest time of day while he and his heavy burden are both covered in dung. The watch arrives. Watchman: What's going on here? Guildman: He's in violation of the sewer cleaners statutes. See, there's his burden right there! PC: This man tried to kill me, sir! And I didn't CLEAN him, I captured him! Watchman: Right, we'll get this all settled down at the watchpost! Currently, you are being charged with violation of guild statutes, as well as the spreading of filth in the mercantile district. PC: Yes! Arrest me! It's got to be better than this! Can you clean me off? Later, as the watch tries to contact the other PC's... Watchman: There's a man we've got in a cell nearby, he says he knows you. PCs (In unison): What did he do NOW? Watchman: Well, he's currently charged with violation of the guild membership statutes and spreading of filth in the mercantile district! PC Half-dragon: These are misdemeanors, right? Here! (Pays fines on the spot) He's guilty! He pleads guilty! Just get him OUT, please?

Re: Golden Age Campaign City - HELP! Don't forget that in this era, most ordinary police patrolmen have a truncheon and that's it. Only illegal criminals and detectives have guns.

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease I can't tell you that, Mephron's character is part of Secret Origins II, that's under NDA.

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease The adventure was effectively over. While the characters were on the phone with the hospital, a PC (Who is no longer playing with us) grabbed the requisite parts and tried to activate them without really understanding them or having a paramedics score. The blood of three different people was all over the character when the PC did this. No one made their PER rolls to see what the PC was doing, and these characters had pretty high rolls. This was a case where I pretty much had to figure out what was going to happen afterwards. Mephron took one look at me and said "Realistically, I should die right here." And I said "You're right, but roll 3d6 for me." Now, I am not a mean GM ALL the time, but I didn't tell the player what the roll was. Mephron made the roll. Keep in mind, the player DID have the option of not playing the character anymore, and chose to stick with it. Then I randomly determined from among the available DNA strands what was going to happen to Mephron's PC. Quite frankly, he's been exceptional about it, and quite frankly, if he walked out of my game at that point, I would not have blamed him at all. You guys really must think I'm a total bastard, but that's okay.

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease The thing I'm seeing here, Hugh, is that you're using the "Unheroic" decision as your benchmark decision in your example. I don't consider the Avengers, by any means, to be necessarily a specific example here, they could be Team of Totally Unrelated Superheroes Gathered By Writers to Make Money. The point is, the decision you've chosen is inherently an unheroic one to make your point. My contention here is that by doing this, the character MADE himself into a pariah who the other PC's hated, and most of them had good reasons for doing so. And yes, the character had this belief, but MOST of the people at the table didn't A) Know that or Expect him to do something without the approval of the scientist whose research it was. The point was that the action came out of left field completely, no one was really expecting it, not even the GM, he just did it. The thing is, the character had a history of doing unpredictable stuff like this, but actually, he didn't make it clear until he actually DID it. The characters just all woke up one morning and there was the result right in front of them, and everyone was like "Oh, my GOD! He did it! I can't believe he did it." Technological characters the world over were !@#$!ed, people began ramping up their "Collective Nanotech Growth Factories" and the problem is, truthfully, some of these people were in countries that were secretly supported by "Talks Through Skulls Evil Organization" previously mentioned. All the player really did was raise the power level of the opposition until someone got rid of it, because the UN was also, obviously, manipulated by "Talks Through Skulls Evil Organization." If there's one thing I've learned, Hugh, it's that nothing makes a player angrier than busting your rear end for a year to fix something and then having someone else storm in and tear up your work in five minutes. You're right. Someone broke the social contract. But the problem is, the social contract in games is designed to remain unspoken. There shouldn't be a NEED for the GM, out of game, to say "I think you're breaking the social contract." during a session. That's handled AWAY from the table. AWAY from the other players. And there simply WASN'T time to do that.

Re: Signs your Champions GM is now (fill in the blank) Signs your champions GM is now ME! (Yes! I am unafraid to laugh at myself) 10) Players sometimes ask you "How many of my PC's will be showing up THIS week?" 9) Players sometimes ask you "Will I get a higher property damage rating if I do this?" 8) People travel 267 miles or more to resolve a single massive combat once every five years or so. 7) Because the Brawling Balabanto pays for All the Food! 6) The GM's cat leaps onto the table, causing people to ask how many levels of growth it has. Usually, it sits down, allowing us to estimate based on the hex map. Picking up all the miniatures afterwards, however... 5) Your face screws up in an expression best left to cartoon characters when the PC does something completely unexpected, and then you say "I'm not sure there's rules for that..." 4) Some people have four hour conversations with you about what's going on in game. 3) You get paged over the internet with "What the hell was so and so thinking this evening?" and then a three hour "I'm not really sure either" discussion starts. 2) You mail your stuff to the GM at 2 AM, expecting it to be ready by tomorrow's game, and he PROCESSES IT, LIKE A MORON, INSTEAD OF SLEEPING! 1) You're pretty sure the villain has a plan. Unfortunately, some of the villain's plan fruition dates are sometime in the year 2050, just before the GM dies.

Re: Richest Man in the World Disease Well, the problem is that some people are builders, and some people are not. And if people have a classic idea of what a superhero is supposed to be and they run into a builder type personality, the sparks are going to fly, Hugh. I really don't know what the consequences will be or who will decide what. Right now, a lot of the demarcations are going in completely different ways than I expected. So it's interesting. The main reason I see this as a problem is that the group kind of polarizes along "More realistic" and "More Comic Booky." And that seems to me to be a little more of "Personal Desire to have the world be more the way I, the player want it to be." I'll be honest. I'm a bit more of a comic booky guy. I just put situations out there. It's just that every so often, like every other comic book guy, I don't think about the consequences of everything I do before I do it. This moral dilemma was unexpected, and given the nature of the realists in my group, I probably should have been PREPARED for this. But I wasn't.