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Duke Bushido

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Everything posted by Duke Bushido

  1. An often-overlooked benefit to the 3-sheet... uhmmm... "sheet".... is that it takes only minimal reducing to print them all on tabloid stock. If you can find a printer who carries tabloid-sized card stock, you can make a rather nice "folio" for your character, inside which you might keep other records (investigations, clues, or maybe you're in charge of tracking the story-- who knows? And of course, it's now a trifold single sheet, which is much easier to keep up with. (and if the GM screen makes you nervous, you can screen him right back! )
  2. What a minute. That's not the whole sheet. What you have is one of the sheets that was packed in with the 4e GM screen-- it was like "page 2" for Heroic (skills- and equipment-ladden characters). I don't have exactly what you want, but I do have a"page one" of a sort: there was an assortment of Character Sheets for "page one," all of which featured a little block with mannequins upon which to draw your character portrait. Except for the particular mannequin, they are all identical --with Characteristics, Powers, CVs, all that jazz. I don't know if it helps or not, but enjoy. (I just picked one at random.) That one was from the GM screen, as I said. I've affixed another from the HERO System Rules book (4e) that you might find more serviceable. 05.pdf 4th Edition Character Sheet - Long Form.pdf
  3. Well, I get a week off around the fourth of July, and a week off around Christmas. Other than that, it's 60 to 72 hours a week. If you can get them to schedule it during one of those weeks, and move it close enough that I don't spend two days driving each way, I'll be there.
  4. Just like Steriaca (I can't believe I've been spelling that right! ), I, too, thank you for the trouble, Sir; it is well-appreciated. And still like Steriaca, I don't think it's necessary to stat out, either. It's just a plot device: get out of / rid of the dome, and there are established methods (or will be) by which this can be done. Further, this is intended to be "an intro to Champions," with some characters you can look it (relatively simple builds), some "build guides," to help new players grasp character creation a bit more, and of course: some combat and Skill practice. I think stating out the dome is a complication we don't need yet, particularly since stating it out will do little more than create problems with actually destroying the accursed thing. Either it's too easy or too hard or can't be done or..... You get the idea. Still, it's a pretty sweet build, and I really appreciate you offering it up.
  5. okay, had a few minutes inside my own head today (can't recommend it ), and I had a thought I'd like to run by the folks chipping in: I mentioned that I'd like the Skull to get away at the end, and I gave my reasons why. I even mentioned that I am not generally a fan of a long story in which the bad guy gets away. I don't like it in fiction (Moriarty was the worst thing to happen to an otherwise fun series of stories), and I _really_ don't like it RPGs. Why? It's damned unsatisfying, that's why. And apparently I'm not the only one who thinks like this, as the idea of the Skull getting away (just this once, mind you) was met with mixed reception. So how do we make that satisfying? I think the cyber-powers guy is the key. After that attack at Prince A. Pal's joint, the players will learn that someone can control animatronics. Hopefully the will "unmask" Big Bubba, and discover that whoever did this can make essentially robot puppets out of anyone. And we know what a trope the robot duplicate is (even Superman had one, for Pete's sake!). Let's combine the two for something that puts a satisfying close to this adventure: The find the Skull's body-- he has fled, or is preparing to flee, or lurking and watching-- it doesn't matter. They find the Skull's body. And it is -- dunh-dunh-DUUNH!-- a robot, badly damaged, destroyed in the climatic combat, whatever. It's a robot. If we want to put a body count here (not my favorite thing, but hey; apparently I'm in the minority of grizzly deaths for NPCs. I prefer "clean kills" for NPCs, when it just has to happen), then so be it. This will lead the characters to believe that the whole thing has been an elaborate ruse by Cyber-guy. They can (or perhaps already have) take down "the villain" to much satisfaction and rejoicing. Dome's down; villain's captured; Hepzibah, Colorado is once again a great and wonderful place to live. The truth doesn't have to come out until we're ready to re-introduce the Skull, in the story where he will in fact be thoroughly caughten. The robot can either by a traditional comic's "robot decoy," or it can be one of the gruesome Cyber-guy things with a random NPC in there-- perhaps even someone they've met, if we want to up the pathos-- made by Cyber-guy at the request of the Skull, ostensibly for the purpose of "suppressing the masses" while he was dealing with "other things" important to his plan. Cyber-Guy will _not_ fess up that the dome was not his doing, out of sheer overwhelming fear of what this forward-thinking, intricate-planning genius lunatic will do to him should he not take the rap. unbeknowst to Cyber-guy, this is the _worst_ possible thing for his health, as hearing several months of media coverage of Cyber-guy and his technological genius that created the dome and held the city in terror---- well, we know what happened to the _last_ people that tried to take credit for something the Skull had done himself! This nicely paves the way (and reason) for the Skull's return (and defeat and capture), when he places Minerva, Wisconsin under a giant dome, destroys the nearby damn, and televises via satellite hijack how the town is completely impervious to the ravages of the flood water, protected by his powerful genius-- then the camera switches to shots from under the dome as the water rushes by, twenty-feet high, people staring out their windows or even gawking in the streets. "And for all those who _deny_ my genius...." and the cameras watch, mutely, as the dome turns off.... But that's for later, though. Thoughts?
  6. Here's one I forgot about (long, long time ago). As one or two of you know, I wasn't much of a comic book kid (or adult) but I did have some exposure to the old Captain Marvel comics (the loft over the milk room was packed with lots of things from the childhoods of older relatives, including a couple dozen of those). I always sort of liked the character, so I did an "homage" in the character The Billy Battalion. I'll cut to the quick of the origin: In some unremembered military conflict, Billy Johnson was a drafted soldier. During a firefight that was going horribly against his team, he lost his footing, slipped into a ravine, and came to light in a cave. In this cave was a Shrine, and it put him in mind of his own rejected Church-filled upbringing, and he began to pray to God, right here before this strange foreign diety, toward the end, he just kept repeating "Help Billy, God. Please, please, help your poor little Billy...." And Poof!" The super version was the player character. He could hang around as long as he wanted to, but when he was ready to stop being Billy Battalion (the schtick was that he was needed elsewhere) or got knocked out cold, "Poof" again and there was some guy standing there. Or some woman, occasionally. That guy was invariably named Billy, William, Will, Bill, Willie, and all kinds of really distant permutations. If there was nothing close to "Bill," then his last name would be something sort of approximating "Johnson." Getting odder: Keep in mind that this was before Multiform and Duplication and anything else we'd look at today to make such a character. The character was a set of powers and bonuses, period, with 125 pts spent on "Host." Jim would grab some random NPC out of his file, we'd apply the powers and characteristic bonuses, and Bam! That was Billy Battalion, at least this time. While Billy was his own personality with his own memories, he also had the memories of the NPC, and their personalities would have some affect on his own-- not a lot, just enough that he was never _quite_ the same person. The Host had an effect on how he looked: Caucasian athlete with a 17 STR? Cool! And that +35 to that, it was awesome! Slender Asian woman with an 8 STR? Well, he was less than half as strong! He was also a (not slender, with that +35 STR) Asian woman. Sometimes he was hispanic, black-- it all depended on the Host, chosen randomly. The only Skills Billy had were those that the Host brought with him. (that got really odd for characters that worked with Billy more than once .) Most amusing part (at least to me) was a bit Jim (my GM at the time) added: the NPC host remembered _everything_. They remembered being "taken over" by Billy Battalion, they remembered the bit of the adventure they participated in (and in great detail), and anything that anyone let slip (like "real names" or where the loot was, etc). Further, Billy also remembered everyone he had inhabited, flawlessly, and forever. And he _loved_ them all, which made for quite a fan club. Oddly enough, during that campaign, Billy became something of a media sensation (though I think that was just to put me personally on the spot every now again to come up with a new angle for the personality during an interview). The campaign was short (played through in something like a dozen all-night sessions, and the character was never revisited. Still, it was _lots_ of fun, and that was probably just about the right amount of time to spend with that character. I have no idea why I didn't remember him when this thread first went up. It was great!
  7. Someone will likely come along to give you a passable 5e build (I'm not terribly qualified for anything after 4, really, and just barely for that). However, I can't see any way that it's going to be _cheap_, no matter what. but as to your questions and such: After reading your reasoning, I totally get why you want to try this: the experience varies from group to group, after all, and you know your players better than any of us likely ever will. Still, personally, I don't know that a power build is the best way to demonstrate leadership ability, and honestly, what you're describing-- boosting other people's powers, etc, is really more of a rear-support sort of thing (like being the Cleric, way back when ). Consider skills a good leader should have: tactics is one-- when the leader announces his plan / instructions, perhaps a successful tactics roll, if his instructions are followed, might allow a small bonus to hit, or maybe a DC here and there. Tie it to a Find Weakness: Usable by Others if you want (still not cheap, but it suggests that the other characters get this bonus or ability by following the lead of the "brilliant tactician" as opposed "Imma do what he say and git sum bonus damitch!" It's _still_ something of a force, but it's more "this guy has the skills to lead a team" (at least tactically) and following that leader than it is "defending your crack dealer because he's your connection." You might also consider giving him bonus skill levels to use in cooperative or coordinated maneuvers with his teammates. Possibly even (I think this was a Stop sign; it was _definitely_ a cautioned ability) a low-level Danger Sense that he can use for himself and his group: "She-Girl! behind you!" etc, etc. I would even go so far as to allow him to have a couple of over-all Skill Levels usable by others for their own Skills (i.e., not really for combat, unless that floats your boat): "Detective Man! What do you make of this?" And Detective Man feels so inspired that he picked up a +2 on his Cryptography to break the code in the notebook, or something like that. Yes; this will generate a lot of flack that "you can't put power adders on Skill Levels, to which I say . If this system is truly universal, you can't break it. And I prefer this approach to just amping up anyone who says "you Big Chief; I follow." You're going to end up with a "team" of everyone who notices this effect in no time at all. Granted, these suggestions are still _something_ of a force, but it's a different flavor: I feel it has more that taste of his skill rubbing off on those who pay attention to his lead as opposed to him passing out steroids. Just my two cents, which you get for free, and I likely overcharged you at that. But if you have made up your mind that this is the way that you want to motivate someone to take the role (and again, you know your people better than we do): Forgive me; it's not clear to me what you're saying here. I _believe_ you are saying "even bigger steroids" if the knuckle under to his lead. Is that correct? To be clear, I'm not thrilled with the idea of passing out Now and Laters to all the kids who agree to be your friend, but _again_-- I won't tell you it's a bad idea, because... well, you know your people and I don't. If this is what it takes, then this is what it takes. Not keen on it, and yes; I see it as an overt force, particularly with that part that "if you agree to let me leader, the bonuses get even bigger." It's a very obvious force. Immensely, _but_-- and it's only fair to explain my point of view: I don't often have trouble with the players assigning a leader, and periodically I have something of a competition. From this perspective, it would come across to any of my groups as a definite Finger of Favoritism from on high, and I think it would move out from the characters and I'd end up with some disgruntled players. Though, as numerous times above: you know your players better than we do. Honestly, depending on how well they separate "Player" from "Character," you might even want to just flat-out run the idea by them and see how it goes over.
  8. That's the 4e "hero system". Sheet. When I get home I'll post the PDF of it, if that helps.
  9. Well Western HERO shows ten downloads. Granted, I'm pretty sure that six of them are _me_, checking to see if the "with covers" version is up yet. As of this very moment, it isn't.
  10. Yep. Kidnapping PCs sucks all the way around. First, you have to actually _do_ it, which means endless combat until the PC is beaten to near death or is exhausted to near death because he just can't quite bring himself to cooperate with the story.... Then when you have split the group, you have to simultaneously run for the non-kidnappees _and_ the kidnapee(s), who will _not_ give you ten seconds to work with the other group for spending every tenth of a second heckling about the intricate details and their plan to turn regurgitate the their stomachs and use the dripping acids to eat away at their bonds..... it's just an awful, awful thing to try, even if you bring it up beforehand and they _agree_, it's still going to be an _awful_ session: both groups see this session as "spotlight on me!" Just don't do it. Not now; not ever. Do _not_ kidnap a PC. That's what _DN_PCs are for.
  11. Oh, for those interested: rough draft of the "intro"-- at least, the intro thus far. Obviously there will more "what this is and why"-- not a lot; I'm not trying to drown them in the obvious. At any rate, check it out here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1apJUODa7wzi7hyYsUe-XWRUYo-BofZj55Tt0hNqKvUs Dump commentary here. Thanks, folks, and good night.
  12. Fair enough. Here's the deal. I've got to turn in (Another long day tomorrow), and likely won't be able to play with this for a few days. I will, however, try to get _something_ put to paper beyond that little intro at some point this weekend. Won't be much, as I've got a regular game Sunday afternoon. I'll get something put together though, and we can play with that and see what needs to happen. I'm already worried about running this out too long with just what we have. Those D&D adventurers we're trying to emulate: can someone familiar with them tell me how long they tend to run, and to what level of detail?
  13. Just walked in the door; not going to do any serious reading tonight-- another 14 hr workday. Had a thought, though: Steriaca: unless you're cool with the idea of tanks and army guys beating all over the dome, Consider this: "Make no attempts to breach the dome. Any attempt will result in the deaths of thousands. I am master here, and I am Lord of Death to all within my reach. Witness the power of the Skull!" With that, the dome "shrinks" say 500 yards, leveling trees, buildings, farm animals-- anything it touches. "Withdraw, now, or you will see the crisp remnants of baby strollers and wheelchairs...." The Army and the supers outside (if there are any) take the hint. I don't care either way; I just look at it as a lot less for a new GM to have to keep track of.
  14. Pretty sure we all do it; these are the things that make it a living, breathing world. I like to hear my players groan when they realize the only eatery open this late on this side of town is Truck's Tacos, featuring such delictable deserts as chocolate coated mayonnaise balls.... Among other bits, of course. Years ago I think I posted the tale of the werefish..... Ditto on all counts, for the same reasons, plus: If you want a GM to make this world his own, you have to leave him some room to do it.
  15. Not for the "watermark" option; no. And don't get me wrong: I love the sheet; I've already printed a couple just to see how they feel in use; I was offering the suggestion to Doc, who seemed to want something a bit more specific for the game at hand. Tomato, pineapple..... I get where you're coming from, and don't have problem with what you've done. I rather like it. Yes, but I never did like them, as they are just another barrier to teaching, as you pointed out. That's the best thing about your sheet, honestly, at least to me. And I expect it will shine in precisely those areas.
  16. Sudden flashback to Savanah Smiles, there.... Thanks!
  17. Not in my house, it can't. ;). Pizza is just _made_ for gluttons! Mmmmmm.... The great taste of wintergreen and milk..... Be sure to warn your patrons "it's like a shamrock shake, but thinner.". I have spent the last three hours working in a torrential downpour. I expect I won't be on tonight, but first chance I get ill look this over better and see what comes out of it.
  18. I have a soft solution for that; something we (the regulars) kind of let drop by the wayside, but I did it again for the youth group, just to let them have that little extra bit of participation. Many, many moons ago I got into the habit of scanning the logos from the books. As new editions and new genre books came out, I just kept doing in, in spite of not using them anymore. Open the genre file, pick the edition you like best (or just the logo you like best, period) and drop it onto the sheet. Do it small, if you just have a place for that sort of thing on your sheet (the way the ones in the book do), or do it as a larger, page-filling colored (if that's not a distraction to you, of course) watermark. It dresses the page up and kind of pins the character to a specific theme. It's not a perfect solution (a file of genre-appropriate custom characteristics is, though), but it's just one of those little fun things you like to do now and again.
  19. Uhmmmmm.... Nope. Let me shoot you a pm to address this
  20. Only if we're doing Marvel comics circa 1974-ish. If we're doing MCU, from what I can see, no one will react in any way at all save the head of some massive spy organization. From what I've seen of MCU, you can drain an entire river to launch for flying super-carriers, and only sixty people give any craps at all. It doesn't. I would have thought this would have been more obvious, but in most GMs' experience, from what I hear from other GMs, players _hate_ being rescued. It doesn't break for any reason other than direct player action. Solar farms and wind generation (as air is allowed through, I don't have an issue allowing wind, too, but it's minor either way. I thought I had mentioned this earlier (may have been in the other thread), but there is enough available power to keep _some services_ up and running: hospital, fire dept, police, large shopping areas-- sort of random sections of the grid, and mostly under the control of the Skull and his agents, who may change things around on a whim, just to create unrest or flaunt his control. Dude, consider that _stolen_! that is _too_ perfect! I also prefer the tampering, as it ties directly into a show of his "absolute" control. Already agreed. If we're going with "direct tampering by the Skull / his agent, then I see them being captured and presented to the town to further demoralize them, then an time for their public execution will be announced. Yes: if James Bond has taught us only one thing, it's "kill them right away," but the Skull sees this as prolonging the agony of the citizenry until they capitulate/ he decides what he wants them to capitulate to. People being people, he understands (super smart guy, just nuts) the ability to compartmentalize in a crisis, and understands that as soon as he kills them, the people will move on to the "next thing," whatever that might be in terms of plotting against him. So long as he has them counting down to the execution, hoping for some sort of amazing escape or an unlikely reprieve, they will be focused on that. After all, he's _not_ unintelligent. We'll need some ideas for a "cool scene," then. All I've got is "--and now you can watch them die!" Perhaps, should they be unable to save themselves, some unlikely assistance from a Thug whose mother or important figure was saved by the heroes in the pizza party ambush? Kind of thin, but rather traditional. Totally waiting for better ideas. I rather like the "similar powers" idea, but we'll need a GM note stipulating that this hero (or villain) should in all ways be inferior to the PC: much like being rescued, players hate to be out shown. (outshined? Bah-- y'all know what I mean.) That's certainly got more meat to it than being saved by a grateful thug. Perhaps his search for whoever ruined his normal life has led him vaguely in the direction of the Skull, and he's either casing the joint (if they're being held in his lair) or here specifically to rescue them simply because it will thwart his opponent's will. Still need to know more about MuckMan to figure out what his likely comings and goings (and motivations in general) are. So we have super-interaction potential twice (in a non-combat way): we have Captain Cluebat and MuckMan as a potential Captain Resque. I don't know what his abilities are (yet; I've shouted out to N-B, but he hasn't posted yet), but if they work like I _think_ they would, he may be able to move through the earth or through water and has discovered the hole in the aquifer. It might not directly help the PCs, but it _does_ demonstrate that there is a way out, and that holes can be made and held open, potentially (with the right mix of skills and talking to appropriately-skilled NPCs, we may have a third way to save the citizens. --ooh! Perhaps it will require locating equipment and a battery like that the thugs were instructed to bury periodically along the perimeter? Now we have a dangerous quest: into the caverns of the Skull. Dammit! Now I've got to have another map..... Magnets, why not? [/Zoidberg] Seriously, though, as the batteries are, currently, VSFX, there's no reason to think that they aren't held in position by discharging an amount of magnetic force toward and against each other. Perhaps it is merely the regulation of that magnetic field that will cause the dome to rise up slightly (ripping the magnets from their hiding places in the ground) and move toward each other, shrinking the dome..... Just one idea; totally looking forward to hearing better ones. Comments Steriaca made earlier -- the sphere "crumbling," etc, lead me to believe that it at least in some ways has physical barrier properties. This is why I suggested the hole in the aquifer: it's hard to ransom off a city full of dead people, and if you've got to have a hole, a hole hidden under a thousand feet or so of earth that is located entirely within an underground lake seems like the safest place to put it. Truthfully, I don't either. But as the majority seems to want a Marvelesque feel (and I'm going to level with you: I don't know enough about comics or the movies -- they have this nasty habit of making movies about characters, teams, and famous plot lines I couldn't give a half-cup of crap about), I didn't watch them. I watched all three Ironman movies (I kind of like Ironman: faux tech as opposed to faux magic) and really liked the first one. I watched the first three Spiderman movies and liked them, and I seem to be the only person who liked the Green Lantern movie, so clearly I am not the guy to ask about making something "Marvelesque." From what I've seen, the MCU universe is based on popular story lines from the comics ten or so years prior, culminating in a battle with a space tyrant I have always thought was just ridiculous even as a concept. And this comes from a guy who runs two superhero campaigns (my Brunswick group is space opera). From what I've seen in the movies, there is no "Marvel Universe." There's-- I am told-- an ongoing plot through all of them (which I flat didn't see from the movies I saw), the background is modern and cynical, and the average Joe on the streets doesn't give a rat's red roly damn about anything going on more than half-a-block away from him. The upshot of that is this: The MCU is.... New York. I can't do that. I can't emulate New York within the confines of this story. I can't just uproot the largest city in the country, drop it into rural Colorado, have it lie about relatively unnoticed, and throw a dome over it. Now from the NGD threads on the marvel movies, I have learned-- well, little. I have read it a bit the last couple days, but time is a problem for me. I should have been in bed ninety minutes ago, but i don't want any of us to lose the drive to complete this project. So if some of you MCU experts would care to spell out for me just what this esoteric quality is that defines a marvel universe, I'll be happy to make the attempt. The only thing I noticed (beyond that totally unbuyable fact that the general public is oblivious to anything that isn't actively trying to eat them _at that very moment_, is that it's well-lit, and I can appreciate that, having endured many, many movies from the dark and edgy nineties. Ugh. Oh-- and all old people turn into Stan Lee. I noticed that, too. (thanks, youtube!) And finally, I've noticed that there is just no need to question the bad guy's bank roll. or the good guys, for that matter. Except for the Spiderman Villains (though one of them was pretty rich, if I remember-- the Goblin? Wasn't he rich?), everyone evil in the MCU seems to either be so wealthy as to make you question why the hell he turned to crime, belongs to a secret society that apparently has back doors into every bank vault in the northern hemisphere, or owns a country. Opp-- no; that was a good guy. (though I saw that one, too! Yay, me! I _still_ want a sand table! The ultimate gaming map! ) Getting back on track, I _hate_ the villain gets away every time, or escapes in short order every time. I freakin' _hate_ it! But it's like the one inviolable rule of _every_ superhero universe to which I've had exposure. It's even weirder given that there seems to be a new villain in every comic! Clearly, there is no shortage of bad guys, so why do they all have to keep escaping and showing back up? Writer's block? Though, in this particular case, I have to sort of insist on it: the goal (which I think we _must_ freely accept will, like so many group projects, never get finished. Only through accepting that can we firm our resolve that this will _not_ be one of those projects) of this project is _ultimately_ to create a long story composed of several smaller ones. I would _love_ it if it culminated with the final capture of the Skull, after three or four or (just how long do these things go on in the other game systems? Five? Six? God, don't say more than six!) however many adventures. Get the characters good and _motivated_ to bring this guy down once and for all. Make the players absolutely _hate_ this guy, possibly even more than their characters do! Though even if he only shows back up once, there's another reason I have to insist on it happening: This is intended to be a teaching adventure-- get people interested in and used to the system. Would you rather take out your arch nemesis while you and the GM are still flipping through the rule book every few minutes, or when you've really got your act together and your game face on? Do you want it to be a purely mechanical (and likely heavily stilted) victory, or do want to do completely in-character, fully-knowing your abilities and your teammates' abilities, with your war paint and your game face screwed on tight? Let saving the town and taking down the minions-- maybe even making some contacts, and learning about the ol' home town be the reward this time. Bring down the big bad when you can _really_ enjoy it. Remember the Island of Dr. Destroyer? (the one that felt more like a military miniatures game than an actual superhero adventure?). You didn't get him, did you? Nearly forty years later, and the official word is that you still haven't. (No: I would _never_ do that to my players. That's such a colossal dick move I'd need surgery and two pounds of viagra to even consider it. It just _kills_ me that HERO still does, though.) As noted above, I'm not a huge fan of it, either. However, in this particular case-- as noted above, I think it's worth it to make an exception. And honestly, I think the vanish-in-a-flash is a good secondary plan (you know: in case the heroes find his submarine or something). Perhaps he has the sub specifically because he _can't_ teleport through the dome; who knows. Gotta run. As noted, I'm way overdue to turn in. Hotter than seven Hells today, and four AM comes mighty early in this heat....
  21. okay, just walked in the door. Let me check this out real quick-like then I've got to get cooking to get the kids fed. You know, I didn't know quite what to do with that scenario when you first put it up, but I really _like_ the idea of them being deliberately tampered with: it has a nice psychological aspect to it: "You stupid, stupid fools! Do you think a party to ease your fears will make me go away?! Are your minds so simple that you cannot grasp that I am God in this dome?! That you feast and celebrate only by my blessing, and there is no place you cannot die if that is my command!" That sort of thing. Steriaca, you mentioned before that there may have been a smattering of super villains already in operation in Hepzibah (small timers, I assume, at least for now). Surely one or two of them have seen the value of capitulating to the Skull early on, and one of them is either some sort of super-gadget guy or cyberkinetic? He could easily have been ordered to make this happen, as sure the Skull would be aware of the Mayor's public invite to a party at the local child casino. The place might even be packed with desperate people, looking for at least a moment of normalcy, even if that means sharing a salad bar with sneezing children. Then Bam! Attack and psychological torment, and the heroes to the rescue! I also like that this introduces a second "practice round," as the heroes will get another chance for combat, and the villains for this round can be destroyed without repercussions, but we've added the stakes of "how do we do this in an area _packed_ with crazed and frightened civilians?" I like that aspect because we've added one more element for new players to consider, and we've added a strong impetus for teamwork: they've got to work together to evacuate or work around the civilians. I _really_ like this! Yo, Ninja-Bear: we really need to know a little bit about MuckMan to work him into this. Thanks! This works fine, and I like the treble redundancy it provides. There is a chance, in the initial dome investigation, that excellent skill rolls allow the players to discover some sort of "receiving device." Even if they can't go any further with that, they may (or may not) decided to leave a character or two to stake out the location, who will have a chance to observe this for himself. Players being what they are, though, this is just as likely (more likely, if experience tells me anything) to _not_ occur to them, so rather than a third strike, let them get whacked with this bit of news. As Chris once said, "clues want to be found." I hate it when an adventure is derailed because an important plot point was hidden behind a failed die roll. This solves that nicely. It's working pretty well, I believe. I like the "black market" angle, and it might even figure into the Skull's decision to "part ways" with his lower echelons: profiteering off of his efforts is _not_ going to sit well with him, considering that's what started him down the nut job path in the first place. I'd like to know more about this angle, if you don't mind. Bingo! Sort of in line with my own thoughts based on the skeleton Steriaca provided. I think prior to engagement, we need a GM note asking him to consider the behavior of the players _as a group_ thus far. If they have yet to pick up on teamwork or coordinated / simultaneous attacks, etc, suggest that Captain Cluebat happens to be on the scene, and makes suggestions that the work together, act more cohesively, whatever. He should _not_ drive the player's actions or tactics, but make suggestions (i.e., toss out some teamwork concepts as mentioned in the CC rules, and let the players run with it. Once the players catch on, Captain Cluebat will be "swept away in the action" and leave the players to shine. Better still, they should know have a reasonable understanding of how combat works, _and_ they should at this point be well-aware that they can work together as a team; teamwork and coordinated efforts make them stronger and more effective. They are as ready as they are likely to be (being, we assume, totally novice players) to face the Skull when it's time to do so. All of them, or a certain "type?" I only asks because I am almost keen on the "oh ho! They think this is a simple game of money? Bah-- I knew they were savages and buffoons, but they have served a purpose. But now they have revealed themselves to be unimaginative and simple-minded fools as well, thinking my work is nothing more than a cog in their greed.... It is time, I think, that they understood precisely what it means to 'liquidate assets....'" At this point, the Skull turns off the their ID badges (so to speak)-- a few crossing the barrier at that moment die spectacularly. (Perhaps one or more of the players may see or hear of this as well?) Higher up, more loyal and dependable goons-- the Suits as opposed to the jackets-- have their ranks filled with "spies" from one or more of the local syndicates, keen to learn the game, the weaknesses, and how to cash in on the Skull's actions. The Skull, of course, has been aware of this since before the dome went up, and has been playing it very, _very_ close to the vest. Only he knows the details. As the city makes surrender noises, the Skull is filled with arrogance and over-confidence, and orders his supers and his suits to find and kill the heroes. When some of the Suits balk, he will announce "And so it is, the spies and the disloyals have been revealed with the _simplest_ of ruses! Those of you loyal to the Skull, those of you who know the power and the vision I possess, those of you who unhesitatingly leapt to my command, I give you _another_. Turn to these cowards and spies within our midst, and kill them. Kill them _now_, for only complete loyalty to the Skull will ensure our success!" (The Skull is, of course, quite pleased with the results. In his not-really-sane condition, he is convinced that all who balked at the idea of tackling super humans while armed only with handguns were in fact spies and plants, and had to be eliminated. Besides, with another "simple ruse" he has greatly reduced the amount of work he has to do in eliminating the Suits when they are no longer of use (or his paranoia gets even higher)). Steriaca-- any of that fly for you? Granted, most of that's just a bit of fun for the GM, seeing as how it's all "behind the scenes," but perhaps there was a witness. Or a survivor.... (It's also a great way to adjust the numbers if the GM finds his players aren't quite up a challenge like a small private army.) This is a _great_ idea, especially for the street-level thugs that have come to realize they are now trapped in the dome. It's a great way to filter information to the PCs that they have either missed earlier or that a novice GM may have dropped the ball on. unfortunately, they won't really know anything "game-breaking" with regard to the adventure. Still, they know that they're trapped, and that they are no longer on what they had thought was the "winning" side. (And honesty, the whole dome thing really had been making them worried, too) Perhaps later, if the PCs are stuck, a few surviving suits defect or run to the police, anxious to spill their guts. This might be how the PCs learn that the Skull is quite likely to crush the city even if they capitulate, just so that the whole world will know that he can. GM Note: if the PCs investigations and skills checks haven't been going their way, perhaps one of the defector street thugs is with them near the edge of the dome and comments something along the lines of "Hey! I been here before wit Jimmy and Ya-ya! Dis is right where the Skull had us diggin' all dem dam holes!" If the PCs haven't learned of the ring of batteries along the "equator" of the Dome's complete sphere, there's nothing like a loose-lipped goon to move things along. They know there's equipment, they can even begin to "carefully" dig for it. Oooh! interesting; I hadn't considered the sphere becoming a "solid." So now we've added "how to figure out which parts of the city are in danger, how to evacuate them, and how to minimize the damage" as a cerebral exercise. Let's add another option, in case they get stumped there: Let's add a reminder that it went up as energy and is being "projected" by equipment. (remember the amazing batteries can store and discharge a wide variety of SX). Perhaps they may also be able to figure out, with the right skill set, that this equipment can be used to modulate the output as energy, then adjust through the spectrum, and converted to some "relatively safe" output before being turned off or destroyed-- maybe everyone gets 6D6 Flash and a 3D6 NND sunburn or something. Just a thought. I'm just not sure that 3-6 PCs could "save the city" if this massive sphere began to implode, or that they would figure it out in time. I like that idea, don't get me wrong; I would just like to include another option or two to increase the odds of someone "hitting it right." One thing to keep in mind: if it's a sphere, we've got to have a "hole in the bottom" or something down in the water table, or water is going to become an issue relatively quickly. I like putting it _in_ the water table for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is it makes Tunneling a lot less dangerous to breaking the adventure (unless they have Tunneling, Gills, and Night Vision, of course), and it provides a "secret way out" of the Skull should things go wrong-- perhaps there's a tunnel in the mind that drops an escape vessel into the water table, where he can travel an aquifer and exit from a cave or river way far away from here? Sure; it's always a let-down when the main big-bad gets away, but if the idea (and if the drive remains long enough) is create one of these whatever-you-guys-called-it: serial adventures, then we can use him one more time somewhere down the road (one more time. Just one. I hate it when they _always_ get away. This was one of the strikes I had against Mechanon, against Ultron that inspired him, and against pretty much every comic book villain, ever.)
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