Matt Frisbee

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book Not to promote another product line, but Politically Incorrect Games (PIG) produced an interesting take on PAH scenarios. The game system really sucks, but the campaign ideas are rather unique. I forget the website, but it is a cheap PDF to download for you Aftermath types looking for inspiration. Matt Frisbee

Re: Batman Begins: Batman When considering the base issue, don't forget the warehouse of toys inside the Wayne building, and the big area for vehicle testing they were driving around in... Sorry in advance for complicating your life. Matt

Re: Batman Begins: Batman Great work on the character so far! Only one thing I can nitpick is the lack of the batcave as a base. Otherwise, this is fantastic work for a self-styled "dabbler" in the superheroics field. If possible, consider yourself repped. Mat "Yeah-I-loved-the-movie-too" Frisbee

Re: post-apocalyptic genre book Please allow me to throw my hat in the ring for a PAH book! As a veteran GM of Gamma World, The Morrow Project and Twilight: 2000; I would be very quick to snatch up a copy! On a related note, I got some positive response on these boards for my idea for Sleepers GT -- a post-apocalyptic world where the characters have gained super-powers as the result of being experimental test subjects for a cryosuspension project. Matt "Lickin'-his-chops-at-the-possibilities" Frisbee

Re: This week on "Champions"... Sunday 7:00 pm Bay City Rollers -- "The Footsteps of Doom" Our heroes are on the trail of a maniac responsible for a series of steam-powered murders which threatens the delicate balance of power between street gangs in the city. To make matters worse, taking down the maniacal vigilante may endanger more lives than it saves! Is it a no-win scenario, or can our heroes find a way to stop the bloodshed without losing the city?

Re: Exodus 2025: A campaign idea looking for input! Sad news, people. Exodus 2025 has been shot down by all of the players around here -- they want another go at Cyberpunk 2020 when we get done with Champions (whenever that will be). Nice to know I do something right, though. Once again, thanks for the input, everyone -- feel free to steal, if you've got the urge. If it goes anywhere, let me know! Matt "Still-playing-gamer-politics" Frisbee

Re: Team Base... Who pays? Usually, if the campaign concept calls for a tightly knit team, then the characters split the cost of the base and any vehicles, which are bought at the time of character creation. I've only run one campaign where a character decided he wanted a base and bought it with experience points. One other campaign had the same player suggest purchasing a base and the characters pooled their points for a session and bought an ugly little hole in the ground with a kick *** mobile command post. The campaign fell apart two sessions after that. In fact, it has been my experience that the purchase of a base signals the impending end of a campaign in Champions. *sigh* I'm of the the opinion that if the characters really want one, they should shell out the points and design it themselves. Matt "Old-school-GM" Frisbee

Re: Rules For Picking A Superhero Name #& Oh Little Willie, Willie won't go home! But you can't push Willie 'round, Willie won't go! Tried tellin' everybody, but, Oh No! Little Willie, Willie won't go home! chorus from "Little Willie" by Sweet Matt "Been-working-in-radio-too-long" Frisbee

Re: This week on "Champions"... Sunday 7:00 pm Bay City Rollers -- "Spellbound For Trouble!" She's baaaack! And you better believe that being cast into Limbo because of the actions of our heroes earlier this year hasn't improved her attitude one bit! Plus, there's those rumors that Spellbound has merged with a demon who's locked horns with Artemis before, so be sure to tune in for this one, true believers!

Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers First and foremost -- check out San Angelo: City of Heroes. There are several character examples within its pages of normals with low-end superpowers, including a street gang of metahuman teenagers. Some other ideas: A criminal with Invisibility only vs. standard forensic techniques, dependent upon a Criminology skill roll, of course. A law enforcer (or stuntperson) with damage resistance to make him or her slightly bulletproof. A cameraman with the ability to fly, making him or her a living steady-cam. A fire fighter with Life Support (that costs endurance) vs. Intense Heat and Self-Contained Breathing, (limited by the need to take a deep breath first), linked with an END Reserve to power them both. A superstrength mechanic who literally can be his or her own vehicle jack (also works for various tow truck duties). Anybody with Danger Sense with a reasonably reliable roll to be right. A stock broker with precognition, only to predict stock prices and dividends, takes extra time and material resources (information on the corporation in question). A zookeeper with Telepathy, only vs. animals. An arsonist with a no-range RKA vs. flamable materials. A lifeguard with LS: Breathe in Water. A chemist with a Transform power to change chemical compounds, only in lab with extra time. Ye olde trench coat effect: Variable Power Pool, only to produce useful items that others need in a pinch, OIF - Trench Coat, no conscious control (others' needs determine objects produced), gestures (has to physically search trenchcoat pockets), Requires END (effort to search), no skill roll to change. Hope this helps! Matt "Always-making-the-effort" Frisbee

Re: Bubble gum crises to hero BGC was developed as an RPG by R. Talsorian Games -- this was a crossbreed system of Mekton Z and Fuzion. It is utterly and completely out of print. If you would like my interpretations of the suits as presented in that system, I will work on it, though don't take my work as canon. Matt "Still-mackin'-on-Nene" Frisbee

Re: Exodus 2025: A campaign idea looking for input!

Re: Star Hero Campaigns What's wrong with Fuzion? I ran a fantastic Traveller conversion for over a year using the system. If I run Traveller again, it'll be with Fuzion. Matt "With-apologies-to-Marc-Miller" Frisbee

Re: Help with Serial Killer story Hmmm...an absolutely human serial killer that superhuman characters would want to bag? There's a bit of a motivation problem, there. The challenge would be in the chase, so to speak, and not in the confrontation. A serial killer who had, say, an ability to cancel superpowers? That would be pretty scary to most superheroes. Especially a guy with an obscene level of deduction and some investigation skills who could work around secret identities to off superheroes... Just some random thoughts. Happy mayhem! Matt "Wondering-what-would-happen-if-Mr.-Nobody-decided-to-start-offing-people" Frisbee

Re: Chronology, Continuity, Comics and Champions I'm in the process of setting it up in my campaign -- I've been leading into something called "The Time of Gathering" when the dimensional barriers of the established parallels of earth (about 20) become so tenuous that modestly powerful creatures (i.e. superheroes and their ilk) can cross them without magical intervention. Because of this, new alternate earths are created as the merged realities mix and mingle and then separate again with creatures of alien dimensions still within. Essentially, each dimension must fight the influences of corrupting dimensions to remain intact. Of course, for the sake of adventure opportunities, there will be plenty of interdimentional enemies (including analogues of the characters themselves) who will be trying to end all existence for the game dimension. In the end, what stays and what goes will depend on what the characters do and when. As a way to tell when The Time of Gathering (TToG for brevity), Arcainus Prime of the game dimension (named Dr. Who, just because he looks a lot like Tom Baker after he's raided Dr. Strange's closet) created The Five Pillars of Reality, which would disappear one by one if the game universe were in danger of being lost in the shuffle. As of the last adventure, one of the characters in the group was in possession of one (unwittingly) and it was destroyed...only four left now, and the fun is just beginning. Actually, TToG was intended to be the major story arc for the campaign, but it has taken 13 game sessions just to set everything up for the big event to get started. I must be getting older or something. Matt "The-Don-Quixote-in-search-of-the-ultimate-campaign" Frisbee

Re: Quark! Thanks for posting the images site! Man, do those images bring back memories -- but does anyone have a link to an episode guide?

Re: Exodus 2025: A campaign idea looking for input! Sorry I haven't had time to post to this thread until now -- and WOW! A great big THANK YOU! to everyone who has posted to this point! I'm copying and printing many of these postings so I can seriously dredge the gray matter on some of the issues presented here. Okay, let's see if I can either clarify or muddy the waters here: The basic concept with the Commonwealth is that it has been around for at least several thousand Earth years, though not much more than say 10,000 Earth years. Why? I was hoping that the stars in this part of the galaxy, for the most part, would allow for "approximate" parallel development, at least as far as starfaring technology goes. A few of the races of the Commonwealth have interstellar histories stretching back tens of thousands of Earth years, though they have tended to stagnate and not continue the push outward and have dwindled in numbers due to the fact that as life expectancy goes up, birth rates tend to decline. Some former members of the Commonwealth have turned inward over the years and no longer participate in interstellar matters, as well. Thus, the need for new members on occasion, regardless of whether or not they are warlike, unpleasant or have a hard time doing cooperative work. By the way, this universe isn't going to be a campfire sing, as someone suggested. Here's a simple question, though -- "Why does someone help a complete stranger?" or more simply "Why should aliens care about anyone else?" If you need an answer to that one, look to the parable about The Good Samaritan sometime. Advanced races show compassion for others, and try to assist or save them from pain they themselves have already suffered. By that definition, I believe humans qualify. The Commonwealth needs humans as much as humans (in the aliens' point of view) needed the Commonwealth. How exactly, I'm still working on, but Utopian societies make for truly boring settings for role-playing games, IMHO. The Commonwealth, like most of the political systems on Earth, is functional from an economic standpoint, but isn't Utopian by any stretch of the imagination. Humans in this game are in great danger of being pawns of the major players, much like Cyberpunk characters sometimes are pawns of the Megacorporations, or the Native Americans were of expansionistic European Americans (provided they simply weren't exterminated, like many were by loss of lifestyle or disease). Hopefully, the characters will be able to steer their way clear of the pitfalls and forge their own destinies, rather than be the means by which someone else achieves the same goal. Space Pirates -- haven't decided yet, but I'm inclined to think not, just because I'm more interested in having the action take place on a planet or space habitat, than in the middle of the Big Black. Why? Because many other games do that sort of thing, and I'm looking to be somewhat different this time. Hopefully, I will get back to posting regularly here, but work is work sometimes, especially around the holidays in the radio business. Still, I hope to address some of the issues brought up by all of you with your thought-provoking posts. And once again, thanks for your input. Matt "I'm-working-on-it" Frisbee

Re: What Super-game you like? Not to sound arrogant, but I run my game. The Frisbee-verse is a place where the heroes start on the low end of the power scale while the villains are fairly powerful with loads of minions, killing attacks are rare but people get killed sometimes, the heroes sometimes have to earn their experience by taking some lumps and losing some battles, some adventures are just about being heroes and have no villains in them, and some adventures are just plain weird because I got an interesting idea and decided to run with it. All of my adventures give the characters a chance to win, but also give them myriad chances to make it more difficult to win. The characters have to deal with supervillains, law enforcers, the federal government, employers and supervisors, significant others and psychological problems, sometimes all at the same time. The characters get simple joys along with the weight of the world's safety, personal tragedies to be worked through while fighting their arch-enemies, and occasional have to make (or stand aside as another hero makes) the ultimate sacrifice for the good of all of us. My campaign universe has a historical timeline, a rogues' gallery, other superheroes who make cameos (especially when other people drop by to game on occasion), recurring villains who everyone was sure were dead the last time they all met, continuing subplots, universe-spanning story arcs in which the heroes play a small (but essential) part and the occasional straight-up one shot adventure with no repercussions or after-effects just to keep everyone on their toes. And sometimes, just sometimes, there is the gratuitous supervillain bank robbery with a knock-down drag-out combat session just to get all the angst out of our systems for serious roleplay... Welcome to my universe -- this is how I run. Is this how you want to play? Matt "Nuff-said" Frisbee

Re: Why we shouldn't worry about 2020 Personally, I'm still playing 4th Ed Champions and CP2020 and Fuzion and FUDGE and probably will until they pry the dice bag from my cold, dead fingers. If the publishers want to do something as moronic as end a good thing, it's their business, not mine. My gaming has survived the end of several dozen product lines and just about as many gaming companies with nary a hiccup. And if the world really is coming to an end, then somebody set a date so my friends and I can quit our jobs and spend our last few weeks in complete contentment at the gaming table! That's my two cents' worth and now I'm out of pennies. Matt "Diehard-dice-thrower" Frisbee

Re: Underwater Hotel One would presume there would be safeguards against that sort of problem built into the design of the structure, but yeah, chaotic weaponsfire is always more fun after the shooting is over. Matt

Re: Exodus 2025: A campaign idea looking for input! Characters for Exodus 2025 The characters can be any number of types, but the initial idea was to have the group be part of a corporate exploratory trade mission from Earth to one of the other worlds of the Commonwealth. According to information supplied by the Delarans (the race which undertook our initiation into the Commonwealth), the destination world has a number of raw resources the corporation requires to take the lead in its field on Earth. The corporation has given the group specific instructions to return with a trade agreement with an alien supplier that makes the corporation the only one on Earth to receive their raw materials for the next 20 years. The Problem: Rival corporations are also trying to get the same thing, so it is now a contest in bitter earnest between rivals and a supplier that may actually know how desperate the Earth corporations are to get its raw materials. (Ain't nothing like an "Everybody wants it" scenario to really bring a group together, right?) The Solution: Since the corporation is aware of its rivals' intentions, they are sending a group of diverse individuals so that any contingencies might have some chance of being solved to the corporation's satisfaction. Some of the character types conceptualized so far: Combat Specialists (Veterans of any of the brushfire wars around the solar system the Peacekeepers deemed too minor to stop.) Executives (Corporate ladder-climbers with the influence and power needed to forward the goals of their organizations as well as their own.) Spacers (Seasoned astronauts who are at home living and working in The Big Black.) Choppers (Skilled designers, builders and repairers of the various levels of technology needed to make things work or work even better.) Healers (The flesh mechanics who work not only on their own race, but others as well.) I'm thinking there will be others, but this should do for a start. In general, characters will be all sorts from Earth who have managed to finance a starship and are willing to take a chance on making money in The Big Black. What they don't seem to understand is that the other races of the Commonwealth have been doing this sort of thing for hundreds of years, and they know the rules while the humans are just learning them... Thanks for taking the time to look over this. Matt

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... We're playing a varient of the "Virtual Ice" adventure presented in Heroic Adventures, Volume One and the players' characters have just been introduced to what is essentially "City of Heroes" in the game universe. Player 1: Okay, OOG (Out of Game) so why did we just make characters for this minigame again? Me: It's the on-line character your character will be playing while you're trying to figure out what The Bandits are up to with this ripping off the virtual museum every night. Player 1: So I have to play this on-line character as if my character were playing it, right? Me: Exactly. Player 1: This is going to be so confusing... Me: Well, look on the bright side -- at least I didn't put in an arcade like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas... Player 2: (To Player 1) Yeah, 'cause I'm willing to bet your on-line character would just suck at Ms. Pac Man. Player 1: (To Me) All right, now I want that arcade to be there so I can kick his (Player 2's) butt! Player 2: (Obviously not paying attention) What? Player 1: That's right, I'm going to kick your butt at Ms. Pac Man! Player 2: Okay, now you've lost me -- which level of reality are we talking about again -- real life, the game universe or the virtual reality in the game universe? Me: He wants to kick your butt on Ms. Pac Man in an arcade in the virtual reality in the game universe. Player 2: They have arcades in this thing, too? Me: Since it would be even more confusing, no, because now I'm getting a headache. Matt

Re: This week on "Champions"... Sunday 7:00 pm Bay City Rollers -- "Virtual Villainy, Part II" As the characters race to save Bay City from Gravitar's home-built weapon of mass destruction, they keep a watchful eye on cyberspace as the online villains' group The Bandits begin stepping up their activity around the virtual construct of the Bay City Historical Museum. Can our heroes save the city and catch the bad guys, or will this be the end of Bay City and our heroes' careers as crimefighters? And what do sightings of a monster in Stoneshale Bay have to do with it all? Don't miss this exciting episode, true believers, because the worst is yet to come! (From Heroic Adventures, Volume One)

Re: Super Baby Battles Super Monkey! Today's Champions adventure was brought to you by the letters S and M and by the number 2... Matt "Member-of-the-'Can-you-tell-me-how-to-get-to-Sesame-Street'-generation" Frisbee

Re: WWYCD: think of the children Gray Ghost Call me idealistic, but a murderer is a murderer and needs to be brought to justice. Yes, there are some crimes which cannot be excused. But justice is not vengeance and vengeance cannot be tolerated in a civil society. Even in a world where the justice and penal systems are broken, there are still lines which must not be crossed, even by those who would dare call themselves vigilantes. For my part, I would check the various registries on-line to see if there was a pattern or order to the killings, then check with any police contacts I have for recent similar but lesser crimes. Next, I would check my local news archives for any recent case of child molestation where the alleged offender was acquitted or killed his victims, leaving a single mother or father. Finally, I would cross-reference the latter with the first dozen murders to see if any coincidences jump out at me. Any leads would get me onto the legwork of questioning social workers and other officials who might have personal experience and memories to fill in the blanks. What I discover will determine my actions from that point.