BishopofB&W

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

I'll look it over at the store when they get it in.

I just remembered there is a sidebar character called Chrysador(sp?) who is a Greek demigod and the son of Aphrodite and a war angel. She seduced him just to prove she could. Don't know if that crosses your bounds, but the only other character I remember is the product of Archimago's experimental crossbreeding between human women and twelve devils that was mentioned in TMW.

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

Have they tied in their Mystic World mumbo jumbo about dimensions where a Pseudo-Yahweh is running around?

Not that I remember. I don't have the book with me, but I think he did all that in TMW. There is something about Mohammed having miracles attributed to him. Your best bet is to flip through the chapter on making a mage(that's where all the Campbell stuff is) at your FLGS or maybe Zornwill or one of the others can give you a second opinion. The rest is more generic "Here's how you could do ghosts, angels, devils, etc., in the game.

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

Tomorrow, I'll try to post something I came up with while trying to shoehorn some of TMW into my preferences.

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

Lost a customer for this book. It's not entertaining for someone to treat my religion as fiction' date=' as Shomshack has already done, and attempt to exploit my religion for role playing. Looks like DOJ doesn't want my business on the mystic-themed end.[/quote']

I should clarify. When I say that no religion gets special treatment in the book and Shomshak uses Campbell’s approach, I don’t mean that he debunks the New Testament. Shomshak carefully stays away from saying yes or no on the subject of Jesus’ or anyone else’s divinity. He simply points out the similarities between the story of Jesus’ life and the stories of other founders of religions(If one were feeling particularly ecumenical, one might deduce that there are certain events that are predestined to mark the lives of such individuals). I understand your dislike of the interpretation of kabballistic cosmology in TMW. It’s not to my taste, either, and I don’t use it. Shomshak only gives it a small mention because he already covered it exhaustively in TMW. The sample cosmology he gives is based on concentric crystal spheres and the pope persuading God to re-boot the world in 1000 A.D. to use science instead of magic and remove the direct influence of meddling spirits instead of ushering in Armageddon. I recommend that you at least look through the book or borrow a copy from someone before you make your final decision.

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

Yes' date=' that's true, but it's all still mystically related. Arcane Adversaries [b']is[/b] the Champions mystic enemies book and it is already out.

Now that I’m fully rested again, I remember that Dean Shomshak wrote [i}The Mystic World[/i] (oops!). I was confusing the TMW and TUM as far as where AE came from. I’d still like to know if the villain on the cover is going to show up in any official write-up, though.

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

I'm confused. How would a book full of mystic enemies apply to The Mystic World but not to The Ultimate Mystic?

I thought Arcane Adversaries was the stuff that Steve couldn't fit into The Mystic World, but I may be suffering from work-related sleep deprivation and simply switched the two in my head.

Re: Ultimate Mystic Review

Are you perhaps referring to Arcane Adversaries' date=' which has been out for several months now?[/quote']

 

Dunno. Could be. I thought that was for The Mystic World but I may be misremembering.

I’ve picked up my copy of The Ultimate Mystic on Friday and skimmed through it before really starting to read it Saturday. I’ve never read The Ultimate Super-Mage and I don’t remember reading anything else by Dean Shomshak, so here’s my first impression. Shomshak starts off by explaining that he doesn’t intend to offend anyone’s religious beliefs but no religion gets any special treatment. From my reading, that means he adopts the Joseph Campbell approach and describes magic and religion in terms of the common symbolism found among all the peoples of the world.

The book is patterned after Mystic Masters, but is far more detailed with a lot more ideas for your mystic character. He emphasizes the importance of the origin story because most mystics choose their path rather than fall into it through a radiation accident. The chapter on dimensions is brief, but covers all the bases, including a fairly detailed sample premise for a secret mystic subculture in the modern world including a cosmology. Next, there’s a run-through on real-world magical beliefs and practices and how they can relate to superheroic, heroic, and “realistic†campaigns. There are also a few sample Hero System spells. As far as specific rites go, it’s less detailed than the Harry Potter books, so I think you can read it without any fear for your immortal soul. The last chapter has plenty of ideas for ghosts, shapeshifters, angels, devils, etc., from folklore around the world as well as how to model a cult, ideas for how and why mystics relate to the mundane world. There’s even ideas for alternatives to the usual mystic sites(Mu, Lemuria, and, of course, Atlantis).

I’d say this book is far meatier than similar supplements I’ve read. It is so non-specific to the Hero System that it can be used in just about any game that includes magic or at least touch on the subject. There are no write-ups of sample characters, but I expect those will be in the upcoming Champions mystic enemies book. I’m very curious about who the technomage on the cover is. He looks like he belongs in a Cthulhu/cyberpunk campaign. He seems to be doing something to his victim with a genetic treatment enhanced by black magic and the favor of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. Finally, Shomshak’s dry humor permeates the book and makes it even more enjoyable. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s looking to run either a mystic campaign or even just add a little more “oomph†to mystic NPCs.

http://www.sanguine.com/Ironclaw/setting.shtml

I just heard of this. It's done for anthropomorphic fantasy, but it's probably easily adaptable to human and humanoid characters as well.

Re: Well, I finished reading Conquerors, Killers and Crooks, and...

I have something in the next (I think) Digital Hero addressing this exact question.

Funny, I had a dream where I was writing a Digital Hero article....(not really;))

Re: Well, I finished reading Conquerors, Killers and Crooks, and...

As is known??

 

The Slug survives, along with a band of his created Elder Worm.

 

( this, btw, being a big argument against Takofanes dropping dead; if the *Slug* can manage a way to survive low mana times. . . )

spoil]

I may be mistaken, but I thought that hibernation was a natural ability of Elder Worms.

Re: Teleios: The origin story

My candidate is the cosmic entity known as The Trickster. But then I think of his as like John DeLancie's Q from ST:TNG. A being whose ultimate goals are laudable but whose methods are utterly ruthless and sometimes horrifying.

Re: Well, I finished reading Conquerors, Killers and Crooks, and...

To be accurate' date=' he does. Bishop's description is an attempt to be humorous, I think, and it succeeds, but it ignores the text of [i']Galactic Champions.[/i] If you're really interested in the overall evolution of the setting, I'd suggest you pick up a copy; it's a fun read.

I can't help it. Every time I try to visualize the Warlord's flying base engines giving out, I juxtapose it with an image of Wile E. Coyote skating off a cliff and the expression on his face when he realizes he's run out of ground.

Re: Well, I finished reading Conquerors, Killers and Crooks, and...

In the CU, supertech depends on the ambient level of magic. When the magic drops low right before the cyberpunk era, Dr. D's armor fails along with its life-support and the octogenarian dies with a cough and a gasp.

That doesn't mean someone in the GC era couldn't style himself as Destroyer's heir.

Re: Language ????

Coptic is evolved from ancient Egyptian. When they made the movie Stargate, they hired a linguist to extrapolate backwards to come up with what Egyptian might have sounded like.

Re: Is a politician a good secret ID?

Senator might be easiest ... have you seen the Senate in action when it's not a "major" vote... you're lucky to get a third of those lousy schmucks. seriously.

 

Of course, there are plenty of ploitical positions that don't get nearly as much splotlight as a Senator, Congressman or Mayor.. all of those guys have cabinets of appointed officials and assistants.

 

Some of those might even know more about what goes on than the guy out front, seeing as they are the day to day workings of a politician in office.

The book How To Be A Superhero suggested if you're a senator and you have to step out to fight crime, tell your staff your going out for crack and hookers.

Re: The Cult of the Red Banner (long post)

To depart for a moment from the ARGENT/ IHA debate: I've been working on fleshing out the Cult of the Red Banner for an upcoming CU-based campaign. I wanted to use the Red Banner as the "super-ninjas" of this campaign, sort of like The Hand from Marvel Comics, but to expand on their role as the premier cult of the Dragon in the Orient. Here is a summary of what I've worked out so far; note that I'm putting these ideas in the public domain for any interested parties to use, including Hero Games:

QUOTE]

 

The horror flick “Double Vision†might give you some useful ideas.

 

http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/double_vision.htm

Re: DEMON: Opinions (some spoilers)

I second all the compliments I've seen posted. There's one thing I'm not clear on. Both the Dragon and the Kings want to turn the Earth into a place where life is miserable and short and ends in consumption and oblivion. Why is it worse if the Kings do it?

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request

Kal-Turak the Ravager, from what's been written about him in Turakian Age, had a grandeur and vision that Destroyer could only dimly ape. Plus, of course, he *was* the very first world-conquering megavillain the human race ever produced...

 

... which means it really really blows that such a villain lingered on in such a moldering, mindless, shell-of-itself fashion.

 

They should either have given them the grandly glorious death as the entire Turakian Age go boom, or kept him around as the Original Bad Guy all the way into the 31st century, in classic "Darkseid Is." style.

Pity.

All it takes is for someone, on Earth or elsewhere, to stumble on the Dragon Crown, be possessed by its power and destroy a world full of people to ressurrect Takofanes.

Re: Thoughts on Arcane Adversaries(Spoilers)

My thoughts exactly, but worse(as reading their background will inform you).

 

 

Rob

Does anyone remember “Celebrity Death Match†(claymation) with the fight between Sigfried & Roy and Penn & Teller?

Referee: All right. I want a clean match. No pentagrams, no voodoo, and I’d better not hear any invocations of either Satan or his minions.

Sigfried: But where does that leave us?

If you wanted to make the twins more like S&R, you could just add an Incation Limitation to their Teamwork skill. Shout in unison, “Illusion! Illusion!â€

Re: Thoughts on Arcane Adversaries(Spoilers)

7)Not much to say about the Vandaleurs, except this is probably the first example of gay supervillains I've ever seen in a Hero product(Eduard and Anais Vandaleur).

 

They make me think of an evil Sigfreid and Roy.

Re: The Greatest American Hero (book).

Dang it! You had me all excited 'cause I thought they were coming out with GAH Ralph Hinckley stories. I was all set to wallow in a warm pool of nostagia!. Now I have to settle for listening to my recording of the theme song.

Re: Alternate Earth 21: A Study In Emerald

I have this in a collection called Shadows Over Baker Street. Good Stories !

Re: H.P. Lovecraft, Otto Skorzeny, and the CU

Quick capsule review' date=' it's a good movie, but it's an amazing Elvis. Bruce delivers a performance well worth seeing.[/quote']

 

And the DVD also has a commentary of Bruce Campbell “in characterâ€.

Re: Gods and Champions

Thanks:). I’ve found it’s easier for me to work this stuff out as an NPC narrative. I liked pretty much everything in The Mystic World except the presentation of the “higher†realms as just a manifested hallucination. It also irked me a bit in The Turakian Age that someone could spend his entire life doing good and following the main good god and have it count for nothing when the evil god snatched his soul for his own purposes (food, presumably). So, I added in a good bit of In Nomine, a smidgen of What Dreams May Come and a dash of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. I know, B&TBJ was a horrible, cheesy movie. However, I liked how they took the idea of God having infinite form to its logical conclusion: All creatures are made in God’s image. In the film, that meant that Heaven had people from every species, not just humans.

Speaking of B&TBJ, the scene where Bill S. Preston is forced to confront his guilt over making his sister fall down a flight of stairs was pretty good. I thought it was a great depiction of a child’s nightmare. I know when I was a little kid, seeing that monstrous stuffed rabbit would have kept me awake for several nights afterward.