Duke Bushido

Now there is a flashback to TFT if ever I saw one! "Buff wizards!" Thank, Steve Jackson!

Ninja-bear: if you don't have it, pick up the campaign book for Champions 3e: more than just VIPER's Nest: there are a couple of scenarios leading up to it as well. If I can find it in my collection, I can also point you to the magazine in which Microfilm Madness was finally published- it was cut from the campaign book (I think because if a page count vs printing cost decision, but I cant say for certain). Now, I _am_ getting old, and I have a serious (Diet) Coke habit, and,I can confirm the rumors that long-term addiction affects the memory, but I believe I recall Taylor discussing revamping the 3e campaign book to 6e, complete with Microfilm Madness reinserted. I dont know if it came to pass, or if it was just a (Diet) coke-fueled dream...

And the PDF of Champions 2e is only five bucks, and only 80 pages long (88, if you count the character sheets), and slightly less, since 5e and later do not use the Elemental Control rules (they were replaced by the "Unified" power modifier), so you skip those.

The most interesting substitution I am aware of (someone suggested it on these boards a long time back; I have never tried it myself) to win over players who are used to rolling initiative is to bring a D12 to the game. At the beginning of each phase, roll the d12. Anyone with a Speed of greater than or equal to the result on the roll "has initiative" this phase. Actions proceed in the order of the Character's individual Speed scores (highest SPD chooses first, moving downward), and ties are broken by highest DEX score. In any individual scenario, resukts may be wildly different, but across the entire campaign, it should work out about the same as using the chart. The only modification I would make to this is that you track the number of rolls. If, upon the sixth roll, a 2 has not turned up, then declare that roll to be a 2 (so that your NPCs and "normies" can at least try to get out of the way). If, upon the 12th roll a 1 has not yet come up on the die, then declare that roll to be a 1. This gives the elderly, the infirm, and the children a moment to attempt to protect themselves. Or you can ignore all that and just roll the die. There was allegedly a unique methid of handling Speed in the Champions LARP, but I do not know what it was. I have attemoted to read that book more than a dozen times, and I have get to make it beyond page thirty without falling asleep. No; that is not hyperbole. There is something about the writing style that knocks me out like a light. I had a similar wxperience with a Microbiology text book back in college: I could not read ten pages without falling into it face-first, sound asleep. I am sure that someone else here has read it, and may offer the alternative chosen for that book (if it will work at the tabletop, anyway). It is kind of frustrating, because I bought that book specifically to learn what that Speed option was, but it seems I am destined to never know.

It is funny you took this tack. Way back in the 2 and 3e days, our group had decided, based on results and effect on the campaign world through the various publishwd items that we shared between that VIPER was very much doing mankind a service, as they were cranking out superheroes left and right, and actively hunting down supervillains. Sure, they wanted do control and harness the villains, but they were better at nabbing them than UNTIL was. In fact UNTIL, by the books of that era, was responsible for creating or driving more existing supers toward villainy that VIPER even dreamed of achieving themselves, and UNTIL worked harder to tie the hands of superheroes than any secret agency, and did so with the full support of the law (which they could evidently override or recreate at will). UNTIL was the most dangerous-to-the-public organization there was in the early editions; only VIPER stood a chance of stopping them.

Wont be the good one when I have to fire up the Valkyrie to go home from work and it is eight or ten degrees cooler and there is no chance of sun on my back....

Thanks, but briefly: that was another poorly-chosen opener; I wanted to pull focus away from soap-opera level complicated and toward a mini "workshop" of sorts, I shouod have gone with "more soecifically" or something, but I went with the first thing autocorewct spelled properly.

Yeah, when they were little, I biught my kids one if those doodle in aluminum powder by controlling a pair of knobs toys. I meant, anyway. I accidentally bought an Escher sketch instead and every so often I have to go in after them.

I was quite serious: While he may not 100 percent believe that onky VIPER can keep him alive, he acceots that it is _possibly_ true, particularly as often as he hears it, .and they _do_ provide hun lots of opportunities to use his powers and demonstrate hiw awesome he is by downing famous heroes, so there is that.... Do there is no real reason I favir of leaving, so why take the chance that they are taking him the truth. Perhaps "complicated" was a poor word: I find it more believable when there is both a push and a pull.

I think a combination of the two, personally. But I find things a but more believable when they are just a little but complicated-- not soap-ooera complicated, but just enough layers of motivation to sell the situation.

Actually, I have a floating location like that on a lot of my campaigns (inspired by a line or two in one of May favorite guilty pleasure movies). "Between the Joshua trees." Moon's up, so you'd best mind the path. After about thirty minutes, you'll round a bend that carries you near a lone Joshua tree. Whatever you do, don't stop, and don't leave the path until either you're standing in sunlight or you pass the second Joshua tree a short piece later. Just don't do it, Son. Stay on the path, and keep moving. And of course, things conspire to make the Players seriously consider doing both.

Was working on a series of thematic adventures when the computer started to disagree with various websites (to include my G-drive, where last year's work is stored). The set up is "magic rock causes random havoc as it resurfaces across the best parts if the year." Short version? Foxbat stole it because he needed a cool stone to use as the head of his walking stick to really sell himself as a revival preacher to ensure the success of his church scam. Magic rock creates lors and lots of zombies (this was the Halloween game). I had just started to write the nexr bit when I got locked out of G-drive (could I do it from my phone? Sure; I can- and have-accessed it. But look at my posts from this phone! Can you imagine trying to write up lengrhy adventures like this?!) Anyway, we played that one on through Thanksgiving (so I will have to write that one later) and I decided to skip ahead to December. Without giving away too much about the adventure itself (I have heaed a rumor that one of my youth group players has been lurking here), the title of the adventure and the stones strange life-giving powers should tell you all that you want to know: "...Oh, Christmas Treant, oh Christmas Treant..."

Of it wasnt for That baseball field behind him, I would jave sworn that was my grandfather Paul.

Nice list! For what it is worth, I would think that the god of just endings and the god of feuds would be one and the same, what with each side praying and fighting for their "just ending." In fact, you can consider that idea stolen,,,,

thanks, BJB! I will check it out when I get home tonight.

To be fair, though: while I tend to do this anyway, I make absolutely certain that if no one is using it, my FH hardcover is shelved completely flat. I have zero doubts that that binding will self-destruct under even minor abuse. I much prefer to let some on pour over the softcover: I boight a couple just for that.

I cant believe I forgot this one! Bureau 13. Just delightful!

Well, great. Now I gotta hunt up a hardcover Star HERO. Thanks a lot, Brian!

The original Starships and Spacemen. To this day, I have no idea how they got away with it. Expendables was way better than it should have been; there was one idea from it that I still use to this day in my most-commonly-used Traveller universe. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-- okay, not a fan of the soource material. I enjiyes Eastman and Laird's original concept in the short-lived independant comics, but after the Archie comics group reinvented it as teenage nerf suit surfer turtles.... A bit too kiddie for me. Anyway, the RPG was built on quite possibly the best reinvention od the Palladium system. The Street Fighter RPG was better than it should have been. I received it as a gag gift, but found it to be totally playable. True gems, though- that game that makes you say this is more fun thanbit has any right to be! A game that you never heard if until it was in front of you and you couldn't play it enough? A game that you wait thirty years to meet someone from a different group who also played it? I can come up with the trilogy of game,booklets that xombine to be Macho Women with Guns- ignore all the sexism, all the cheesecake, all the black leather- that game,was a hoot! Bushido fits that mould. It was a _great_ game, and I think Scott Rugles on this boaed isbthe first person I have encountered outside of my old group who has also played it. Magical Kitties Save the Day. Yeah- forget everything you are thinking, because that is not what it is. (Except Scott; Scott is probably right). This game more than any other I have pkayed emphasises role-playing above all else: the way stats are assigned, and the facr that your odds can only,be improved by chits that can only,be earned through role-playing.... Dependinf on your play style, you can play severalnsessions and never enter anythinf resembling combat-- all of which makes this a great family game, even with really young kids... And I am sure that wveryone is foinf to choke,on this, but 1st edition Vampire: the Masquerade was enchanting- the dice pool system,I had only encountered once before, and this game did it better. The production values were at that time three steps above everything else on the market, the world was fresh, original, and tantalizing. White Wolf killed my joy simply with over-exposure; every game that made was VTM reskinned, and they coylsnt be both we ed to create a new feel, either. Way, way, -way- too much of a good thing turns it sour in a hurry.

This is an especially important distinction when determining the value of a limitation. Is the VPP limited only to those powers that use mental power _mechanics_- in which case it is extremely limited- or can powers with BOECV be created as well? In this case, it is still limited, but less so. Is the limitation "powers that have psychic special effects"? If that is the case, the value of that limitation (which should default as extremely low) may be absolutely nothing, depending on bothe the experience and imagination of the player. I dont think that there is a single person on this board who could not justify every single power via "psychic powers" as the SFX, and again with magic. We had a fun conversation here some years ago about justifying every single power through Stretching, just to kind of help one guy "get it" with the split between mechanics and SFX. For what it is worth, the difficulty of nailing down in-game what the restrictions are of an SFX-based limitation (demonic powers only, for example) is one of the reasons the player and I "contract" the limitation- writing down as best as is possible how the pool is limited, what is a definite yes, and what is a definite nthe fact that even contracting up front doesnt solve all the complaints or disagreements is the number one reason I dont often allow them in my games.

How so? How are they more than those descriptions?

Friendly nitpick: So your only complaint with this is the semantics laid on top of the abusive mechanics? Bad semantics (it is far to slow to dodge, maybe?) Then the mechanics are abusive. Good semantics (here be gypsies and magic muskets), it's okay? As stated: this ia a friendly nitpick. The example was pulled as an analogy to Independence day, where jet fighters had no chance against the alien interceptors, but a cropsustinf biplane took out the mothership. Yeah- goldblum,and Smith, yadda yadda yadda.. I don't disagree, mind you. Touchscreen sucks mule anus as a means of communication; I have to guess at what can and cannot go unstated; what can be reliably considered shared assumption or at least understood context, else I get to shove the straw up th3 mule'a butt again and,drink even deeper of the touchscreen juice. >:-{

I meant to adress this earlier; didnt want to touchscreen again so soon. I submit that this particular suggestion-- only attacks is -1/4-- has a small bit of metagaming behind it. Given that even today, the average RPG fan is most-motivated by the chance to beat something up, and that typically characters are built offense-first (with most published characters touching their various campaign limits in combat-related powers, and almost nowhere else) -anyway, I submit that the value of -1/4 was suggested based on the mindset that "but beating people up is the whole point of this game! That's the good stuff! That is precisely what you wamt to do! Limiting the pool to 'only the powers I am most-likely going to want anyway' isnt much of a Limitation!" Not saying That this is the reasoning behind that, but certainly the case can be made. It is one of the reasons I always "charged just a bit more" (via reduced limitation values) for Desolid as the perfect defense- all the various "Desolid, but only versus damage" type builds that started pouring out of 4e. To be fair, I was generous enough when it made sense: yes; Johnny Nova probably should be nigh-immune to fire-related damage, etc. But when your Ninja can dodge bullets from a hail,of minibus (via Desolid) and gets dropped by a musket ball with 'affects Desolid," there might just be a better way....

Agreed, but in so doing, you create a version of telekinesis that pays for being essentially STR at range. Simultaneously, "no fine manipulation" becomes a valid limitation. It ia wired what got changed because closer examination shows that X is really just Y, and what did not get changed after meeting the same criteria. At first I thought "well, maybe they didnt want to fool with legacy powers," but Instant Change was a legacy power replaced with something from much later. We can talk "because it ahould be expensive," but there is no point in that, either: everyone that used to argue that Dex should be expensive applauded the 6e move to everything's-a-dollar for Characteristics, too. If you are a points-must-be-equal person, then it should be hard to justify getting sight, hearing, and the other senses for free anyway. Given that those senses can be sold back (my character is deaf) they have either a real points value (whether you want that to be true or not) or a Physical Limitation value (if neither, than lacking a sense does not impede, even without coping mechanisms or special powers). Either of those choices provides a points value onto which advantages can be tacked. They can be naked ans tackes onto nothing up front, but can't be tacked onto senses "because" is nothing but forcing a reason for the existence of other powers or builds. If the reason for that is "it should be expensive," see the Dex argument above. If That still doesnt hold water for you, then I invite you to re-evaluate the opinions on this side of the "points balance is a myth; points are at best a means of controlling a character's rate of development and a tool,to dorce players to make often-difficult decisions about that progression" side of the fence.

Fantasy HERO for 6e was available in both hardcover and perfect bound softcover.