Matt Frisbee

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I agree -- our number one priority is to stop the flow of this (little yellow) river of toilet humor puns. We're not (toilet) bowling over anyone with this (yellow) snow job of lexicon, crowing to the world about our prowess. It's time to choke this chicken and tie a knot in it! Matt "I-P-Freely" Frisbee

Re: Dumbest thing... 1) Matt Murdock's evil twin skippy Mike Murdock (which was Matt's way of explaining Daredevil's "Secret Identity" for a while). 2) Fascination by Superman writers of coming up special effects for "different colored kryptonite" and "different types of sunlight" to handicap him for various galactic challenges. 3) The whole symbiote storyline(s) in Spiderman as an explanation for a costume change, instead of saying that the artists were tired of drawing all the details on the old costume. 4) The New Warriors ripping off the Avengers' Quin-Jet. (Funny, though.) 5) The Fantastic Four having their very public headquarters in downtown Manhattan -- with other tenants in the same building -- and still being able to afford both rent and insurance premiums... Matt "Funkiller" Frisbee

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I was going to tell a wee joke about the situation urine, but everybody beat me to the punchline -- oh well, bladder late than never! Matt "Feeling-punchy-tonight" Frisbee

Re: For the Adam West Hold Outs Robin: "Atomic batteries to power...turbine to speed." Batman: "Ready to move out." *SFX* Turbine flare and squealing tires. *MUSIC* "Transitional Twist" stinger into Batman theme music CREDITS OVER Stock footage of Batmobile driving from the Batcave to Gotham City Police Headquarters. Yeah, it's a sweet ride -- but did you ever notice the nosedive it always did under braking in the live drive shots in the show? Such yummy fanboy goodness. Matt "Drooling-Yvonne-Craig-and-Julie-Newmar-fanboy-for-all-these-years" Frisbee

Re: Now that is a space suit...

Re: The Grand List Of Overuse Science Fiction Cliches Yo, people, just remember that Mars needs our women while Venus needs our men! (Or was that the moon? Or Mongo? Or Risa?) Matt "I-know-I'm-needed-somewhere-in-the-universe-so-don't-they-come-pick-me-up-already?" Frisbee

Re: What does YOUR underground mutant organization do when: Okay -- this guy is going to be a royal pain in the @$$, since he seems intent on trashing your storyline and inserting his own. Short and sweet -- have the big baddies maul his personage badly enough to put him on the sidelines, then leave him as bait for a hardcore ambush if the rest of the team is stupid enough to walk into it. (If they're smart, they'll smell a trap and act accordingly.) While that is happening, have the baddies use the information they have gained from him to take down his "Brotherhood" while he's laid up. He gets to watch the action unfold around him rather than participate (much) which will hopefully inspire him to (1) respect party intent, (2) respect the effort you put into making a campaign plotline that includes all of the characters, and (3) quit trying to hog the spotlight. Remember, if it's a dark and gritty world, nobody is playing by the rules -- feel free to be creatively sadistic to the screw-ups as a warning to the others as to what happens to somebody who gets on your bad side. And good luck with the campaign, by the way... Matt "Bonejack-the-cyberware-and-sell-the-entrails-to-Tasty-Ghoul" Frisbee

Re: WWYCD: Fans and cons Low Rent: He would insist that any comic based on his likeness pay into a charity fund for the people of the Lodo, but wouldn't do public appearances, figuring that his enemies would use them to stage ambushes and get a bunch of innocent people hurt. If Claire "Crystal" Vosser asked him to attend one, however, he would be there on time and in costume... Scrapyard: He would be there because he usually needs money to make ends meet in his personal life, though most likely in his heroic identity. Sky: Public appearances are his idea of a good time -- so long as they're for a good cause. Since he is always on call (he's a public superhero who is a member of the local fire department as an EMT), he would have a bail clause in his contract and the appearence money would go to a local charity. Thunderbolt: "I'm too busy to give autographs to a bunch of drooling fanboys! The Illegal Army is still on the loose!" Matt "Living-the-dream" Frisbee

Re: What does YOUR underground mutant organization do when: Well, my campaigns play pretty gritty, but if the other players actually allow the idiot to live (because a screw-up will also rat you out eventually), he's also going to come to the attention of the big baddies the target was working for -- so will the other characters, for that matter. And being my usual nasty self, I'd make the screw-up priority target number one for a kidnapping and telepathic probe (interrogation, mind sifter test subject, etc.) for all the information he has on the rest of the group. Of course, I'd give the rest of the characters the option of attempting a rescue -- but said screw-up is going to be on the sidelines for most of the adventure, which should teach him a lesson about going rogue in the future. Plus, I would have one of the interrogation staff have all of the information I wanted my original NPC to impart to the characters in the first place. Thus, two problems fixed, though the plot's timeline steps up considerably, unless the characters have the good sense to lay low for a while to let the bad guys think they've scattered rather than regrouped... Hope things work out for you and yours -- but yeah, I probably would've slapped this moron after he gleefully wastes a major plot element of mine. Matt "Anger-Management-Candidate" Frisbee

Re: How to kill characters? Sorry that your group folded, but in the end, you definitely have the right attitude now. Here's hoping your future gaming efforts (and players) work out a little better. Matt "Old-school-still-rules" Frisbee

Re: Hero name RetroGen -- Retro-Genetic mutation (human to dinosaur) Throwback -- another historical reference B.C. -- short for Beast Creature and an obvious play on the age of the dinosaur The Raptorian -- a cool way to say raptor, dude -- plus if the hero had some street cred, it would be even better Primaul -- admittedly kind of a villain name, but still pretty cool Hope that helps! Matt "Used-to-be-a-copywriter" Frisbee

Re: Dies the Fire Trilogy... PA inspiration? Read it -- based a FUDGE campaign that ran until all of the characters tried to bite off more than they could chew and got gakked. But they all agreed it was fun while it lasted! Characters were typical human types like us and actually went through The Day and managed to survive for about a month (game time) before dying at the hands of bandits. If you want more, I'll see if I can scrounge my notes. Matt "Aftermath-junkie" Frisbee

Re: How to kill characters?

Re: How to kill characters? Cardinal rule of role playing: If you're not having fun, don't do it. Cardinal rule of GM-ing: It's your game, run it how you want it. If the players don't want to play in it, then don't invite them and find new ones. Second cardinal rule of GM-ing: It's your game -- so it's your fault if you let stupid characters in that ruin it. Fix the problem diplomatically, but if that doesn't work, engineer a situation and waste 'em. If your players can't handle the loss of the occasional character, they aren't worth the trouble -- so lose them. Final comment: Your posting makes you sound like you are desperate to have the companionship of these people. If that's the case, you should find something else to play that is less taxing for you and more fun for everyone. If that's not the case, there are plenty of other players out there -- go find better ones than you have. Oh, and don't forget the magic of peer pressure -- if these stupid characters start causing grief for everyone, the others will eventually start stepping in to nip the problem in the bud. Matt "The-tough-love-GM" Frisbee

Re: How to kill characters? Cardinal rule of role playing: If you're not having fun, don't do it. Cardinal rule of GM-ing: It's your game, run it how you want it. If the players don't want to play in it, then don't invite them and find new ones. Second cardinal rule of GM-ing: It's your game -- so it's your fault if you let stupid characters in that ruin it. Fix the problem diplomatically, but if that doesn't work, engineer a situation and waste 'em. If your players can't handle the loss of the occasional character, they aren't worth the trouble -- so lose them. Final comment: Your posting makes you sound like you are desperate to have the companionship of these people. If that's the case, you should find something else to play that is less taxing for you and more fun for everyone. If that's not the case, there are plenty of other players out there -- go find better ones than you have. Oh, and don't forget the magic of peer pressure -- if these stupid characters start causing grief for everyone, the others will eventually start stepping in to nip the problem in the bud. Matt "The-tough-love-GM" Frisbee

Re: Post-Apoc Adventures That concept works if the city can generate the resources it needs to operate. Synthetic food and/or hydroponic gardens, resources from mines below the city, a petrochemical source for the creation of plastics, a highly managed birth rate so that the population doesn't outstrip the city's capacity, a highly structured society to pidgeonhole the young into essential services while the priviledged few remain in power (or could be managed by sentient computers) -- yeah, that's really not a place I would want to live. But then, if the alternative is trying to make a living in the wastelands, a freedomless society might not seem so bad... A better take on that would be a city based on the preservation of society, much like the monastery in Canticle for Liebowitz that preserves pre-holocaust information and technology. If you're really looking for something like Keith's vision, check out the Samauri 7 anime series -- during the first few episodes, they nail this concept down cold. Matt "Loves-YouTube.com" Frisbee

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares I think the worst music experience I've ever lived through was the Star Wars Christmas Special, though the Star Wars Robot Chicken "Empire on Ice" sketch was a pretty close second. Matt "Needs-a-selective-memory-wipe" Frisbee

Re: My Cool Color Hudson City Map I don't care if Steve and company are busy, I still want a Hudson City Street Map! And I'd kinda like it sooner rather than later, too. Please? Pretty Please? Pretty Please with Sugar on it? Pretty Please with Sugar and Chocolate Sprinkles? Pretty Please with Sugar and Chocolate Sprinkles with a complementary insulin shot? Matt "Okay-I've-debased-myself-enough-now" Frisbee

Re: Post-Apoc Adventures Your basic scenarios -- Grocery Run Your group needs basic supplies and has a lead on where to get some. Problem is, the way you got the information, anybody else who's looking probably knows the same things you do. Turf War A group of toughs is raiding nearby settlements and your crew is hired to take them out. The twist? These guys are from a hospital complex that's sheltering hundreds of homeless children. If they're stopped, it'll be mass starvation and most of a generation lost. Treasure Chest People are suddenly dying from radiation poisoning. Your group is tasked with finding the source before anyone else on the home turf succumbs. (If you've read Alas, Babylon you'll figure it out.) Siren Song A ham radio operator on the home turf is picking up a strange signal that sound like a distress call of some kind. A group of volunteers is selected to seek out the source of the strange signal and render what aid they can. (If you've seen On The Beach, you'll see how this one ends, too.) A More Perfect Union The groups in the region decide to hold a conference to hammer out some issues involving trade and mutual defense. Unfortunately, there are also some grudges to settle and before too long, there's a murder or two, but the most likely suspects claim innocence and have the proof to back it up. The group, decidedly neutral in these affairs, is asked to solve the murders, but not take too long, as the violence just below the surface of diplomacy is set to boil over... Snipe Hunt A group of wolves threaten the home turf's precious supply of farm animals, but every hunter set against them has died. Now it's your group's turn to solve the problem -- can you piece together the clues to save your own lives from the pack's deadly secret? Hope that's what you were looking for, Captain. Matt "Bubbling-over-with-ideas-on-a-slow-radio-night" Frisbee

Re: Post-Apoc Adventures Some of the more basic plotlines from PA movies and books: Damnation Alley (book): Shanghai a former Hell's Angel to run from California through the nuke-blasted Midwest chock full of radioactive mutant monsters to deliver serum to people dying of an epidemic on the East Coast. The Survivalist (book series): Survive World War III long enough to find your estranged wife and reconcile, then raid a secret lab for cryohibernation units to ride out the spontaneous combustion of the atmosphere. Reawaken five hundred years later and try to put the pieces of the shattered earth back together for a new beginning, despite the fact that a lot of really bad guys managed to survive as well. Dies The Fire (book trilogy): Have all the world's modern technology suddenly stop working, find a way to make it through the great die-off during the first year, then start building your own neo-communes and neo-feudalistic societies while some SCA nutcase with a bunch of punk thugs for lackeys who thinks he's Sauron reborn constantly challenges your very existence through superior resource exploitation. The Day After (TV Movie): World War III in Mid-America. Guess what? Nobody survives for very long. Jericho (TV Series): An extremely efficient terrorist group simultaneously nukes dozens of cities in the United States, leaving a Mid-American town in chaos and confusion as the citizens face one crisis after another while still trying to clean up the debris of their lives from before the bombs. Still more to come... Matt "Still-waiting-for-it-Steve" Frisbee

Re: Post-Apoc Adventures Okay, seriously -- here's the adventure types I've used in the many PA campaigns I've run. The absolute two best story arcs ever done for a PA game occur in the Twilight:2000 game. The Black Madonna is one of those "What do you do if you have something that everybody wants?" After spending half of the adventure back-stabbing and getting double-crossed by nearly everybody in Poland, the group finally gets their hands on that country's most famous Catholic relic. The other half of the story arc is the character interactions with the various groups and warlords that are (mostly) willing to kill to get it, and what the characters are willing to trade for it. (Thankfully my group decided to give it to what was left of the Catholic church in Poland, forever earning the blessing of the country's common folk.) The other one was The Last Train To Clarksville adventure where the final ship for the United States has announced it's leaving in two months, and the characters have to refurbish a museum antique steam locomotive, rescue the only guy who's had any experience running it from the local warlord, and then make the desperate run on the rails through contested territories to reach the ship in time. (My group saw several long-running characters make the ultimate sacrifice for their buddies, including two who died fighting within sight of the port -- that was intense.) If you're more for road action in the wasteland, check out role-playing materials for Steve Jackson's Car Wars games, especially the older stuff. That had a wasteland United States with remote pockets of civilization scattered about, all tied together with satellite television. And what's the hottest sport on television? Autodueling -- combat rigged vehicles blazing away at each other on old race tracks, burnt out shopping malls and specially designed arena facilities for fun and profit! More to come... Matt "Can't-wait-for-PA-Hero" Frisbee

Re: Post-Apoc Adventures Just remember that all Post-Apoc stuff doesn't have to be gritty to be fun -- remember the kids' show ARK II? A group of young scientists trying to save the world in the 24th Century after pollution brought the biosphere to the brink -- driving around in a Damnation Alley-esque vehicle with a dune buggy, motorcycles and jet pack inside! They had futuristic weapons, of course, but never really used them, plus they had an uplifted chimpanzee of human intelligence helping out the crew... Yeah, I watched every episode -- how'd you guess? Oh! and if that doesn't fill your schmaltz quotient, how about the old Logan's Run series? Logan, Jessica and an android kicking around a post-nuclear world in a hovercraft... Matt "Action-Saturday-mornings-junkie" Frisbee

Re: What's in a Name An interesting thought on the matter from my favorite webcomic Freefall: http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1200/fv01115.htm Be sure to check out the rest of the series -- it goes slow, but it's a hoot! Matt "The-shameless-fanboy" Frisbee

Re: Armageddon 1946 Interesting stuff, Zach. Thanks for sharing it! Just a note to the rest of you -- Armageddon 1946 Playtesting Rules are currently in their third rewrite. This is due to the fact that many of the so-called "Open License" systems come with a lot of strings attached these days. So, now it is going to be a home system to run everything, which adds a lot of complications to a project I've attempted (and failed miserably) once before. *sigh* But, on the bright side, it has forced me to address some issues with the game universe that were only vague notions before, so in the end, I am making progress toward the ultimate goal of getting this thing written. Unless Steve and company object to my little bit of self-promotion, I'll continue to post updates on the progress. Matt "Working-the-keyboard-as-fast-as-I-can" Frisbee

Re: What Kind of Heroes do you GM? I like the kind of character that has realistic problems (even if they are about unrealistic situations). I like characters that actually interact with the rest of the world in their secret/civilian identities and try to have a life in spite of their powers, since that gives me a chance to role-play as well. I like characters that not only work with the other supers in the group, but can socialize with them as well. I like slightly underpowered characters in comparison to the villains because they have to work for their victories by using their brains rather than just rolling dice. I like heroes that really want to be heroes by helping and protecting complete strangers -- not glory-hound posers who are only in it for the endorsements and ego-stroking publicity photos. I like heroes who stand up to the really big baddies, even though they know they're seriously outclassed, and use inventiveness and teamwork to thwart the plans of evil. I like heroes who are modest and thankful for the trust the local authorities and populace have placed in them and feel the awful responsibility of that trust every time they answer the call. I like heroes who can treat their enemies as people too, showing compassion and concern for those they have vanquished, offering to help them become better people and turn their lives around. And most importantly, I want characters in my campaign to be cool -- to have that something special that sets them apart from every other character I've run over the years -- so that the player will love that character enough to want to make him or her better, to take the lumps and early defeats in stride and keep coming back for more. Yeah, that's what I want. Matt "Knows-what-he-wants" Frisbee