Ternaugh

Re: Nothing personal Ben, but I killed you last night. Did a search on switchboard.com and pulled up 9 Zaphod Beeblebrox entries. Now, how would I explain to my players that I just grabbed the name out of the phone book? What worried me the most is that the site offers an "instant criminal records check on Zaphod Beeblebrox" For those keeping score: 6 Ford Prefect entries 15 Arthur Dent entries 2 Dirk Gently entries 6 Luke Skywalkers 3 Darth Vaders 0 Anakin Skywalkers JoeG

Re: Massive engineering projects? A few projects: The Transatlantic Tunnel: Imagine shuttling from London to New York under the Atlantic on a maglev train in a little under an hour. Of course, the tunnel has had the air evacuated from it so that the train can hit 5000 kph+ speeds. For maglev info, try: http://travel.howstuffworks.com/maglev-train.htm For Transatlantic Tunnel info, try: http://media.dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/transatlantictunnel/interactive/interactive.html And for a fictional, alternate earth treatment, try: A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! by Harry Harrison (oop, though probably available used) Floating Cities: These are large arcologies designed to travel on the oceans of earth. An early design, the Freedom Ship, is basically a huge ocean liner with room for 50,000 residents. http://travel.howstuffworks.com/floating-city.htm Laser Launch Facilities: Why burn reaction mass, when you can get the boost you need from a ground-based laser? Put the lasers in space, with large solar arrays, and you have a way to apply a push to ships without them requiring large amounts of reaction mass aboard. Try The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle for a truly powerful example. David Brin's Sundiver also mentions the use of laser rocketry, but in a less "hard science" manner. Terraforming: Of course, Mars is the primary choice for terraforming, but why stop there? With a lot of work, Venus could be converted to a more habitable world. Or, how about restoring parts of earth ravaged by slash and burn, stripmining, and global warming? JoeG

I was lucky enough to purchase my copy directly from the author, Aaron Alston. Unfortunately, he does appear to be sold out of LOM. However, he does have other pre-5th material for sale on his site, and he is willing to autograph the stuff you buy. You can find him at http://www.aaronallston.com Joe

You might want to take a look at The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump by Harry Turtledove. It describes a world where magic has replaced technology, complete with avatars who inhabit a library dimension, viewable through scrying screens. It doesn't allow mortals to cross over, though (at least not alive, anyway). JoeG

Well, A long time ago, A GM gave me a pre-generated character that fit right into this discussion: a genuine Ninja Halfling. Lots of stealth, lots of pointy things (caltrops, throwing stars, and the like), and a tendency to borrow anything not nailed down too well (especially food and drink). The other players nicknamed his fighting style as "Death from Below" Just remember to adjust the Hit Location Chart accordingly. JoeG

I seem to picture a druid walking around in a dungeon with a little bonsai tree, just so he can cast magic. Of course, if he's any good, he should have a little light spell and perhaps a small raincloud spell, just to keep it happy. JoeG My wife adds, "Is that a lichen in your pocket...?"

Actually, Ley lines are more of a modern thing, having been "found" by connecting the dots formed by churches and historical sites in England on a map. The sacred geometry of ancient Egypt is much more interesting: There is increasing evidence that the layout of the pyramids is an earth-based model of the constellation of Orion. Other astronomical ties could surely be found. Of course, without Ley lines, the ancient Egyptians would have trouble levitating all of those stones, (and von Daniken wouldn't have anything to write about). If you want to use Ley lines as a major power source, then you need to decide how wide they are, and how far away from them you can be to cast magic. If, like Skeeve in the Myth series, you just have to locate one nearby( within a few miles or so) before using it, then it is probably at -1/2, or even less. If, however, the line is narrow, and you have to be right on top of it, this could be -2. Splitting the difference, your limitation of -1 would be right if the lines are wide, or can be tapped into from a little ways away. Another way to do it would be to assign modifiers to casting based upon proximity and strength of the lines. Maybe casting on the line is easy, giving a +3 to the casting roll. A little ways away, tapping into the line is a bit more difficult, perhaps +0, And maybe a mile away, it's at -5. You could still try to cast a spell away from a Ley line, but it would be extremely difficult. YMMV, JoeG

Page 66 of Justice, Inc has an entry for "Wisbrod Super Bullet Proof Vest", which is essentially a vest with 3" by 5" metal plates sewn in it in an overlapping pattern. The vest is described as +6 resistent Def or +12 non-resistant Def, only for locations 10-13, and weighing 16kg. Since encumbrance rules weren't built in at that time (3rd Edition), it cost 2 END per phase just to wear it in combat (and just 2 END per turn out of combat). For a less fictional source, try the following site: http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/korea/armored_vest.htm They have a brief blurb about a vest with aluminum plates being developed by the end of WWII. Hope it helps, Joe

You shouldn't have any problem at the power level chosen with mages overshadowing the other characters. The writeups are suitably different to force a party to seek the help of different characters at different times. A few questions, though. Under Herbalism, would Trigger be allowed, to represent decoctions that are to be taken later? Under Alchemy, is the VPP needed? With Trigger, the potion could be made, handed out, and then used. It would only have to be in the VPP for the actual creation, not use. Having a VPP would allow an alchemist to have access to a large variety of potions, and if this is what you want, would work fine. I would probably combine Wizardry and Thaumaturgy, making a requirement that larger spells need the ritual and multiple casters. Then again, I've been rereading all of the Deryni books lately, and that's kind of how they did it. All in all, looks good, JoeG

Try a rogue with a stiletto. You have a nasty AP attack (by targeting the joints in the armor), coupled with the stealth needed to get up close. Or, for a change of pace, get that fighter out of the armor--drop him in water, heat it up, chill it, use lightning, lock up the joints, have little itchy bugs attack (NND, of course). Hit it with a Potion of Rusting. Require the party to be stealthy to get by a nasty encounter. Or, present him with a foe as heavily armored as he is, and let them bash it out. For the others, let them take care of lesser opponents, or those with ranged weapons. Or let him fight a few mounted knights. Trip him.To that end, try this: Quarterstaff Combat Package This package is often employed by city guards and others who wish merely to restrain or subdue. Prod/strike (Strike 5 pts.) Swing (Offensive Strike 5 pts.) Knockdown (Legsweep 3 pts.) Parry (Martial Block 4 pts.) Disarm (Martial Disarm 4 pts.) Total: 21 points Skills: WF: Quarterstaff Breakfall Just a few ideas... JoeG

I'd thought about the Charges route, but Uncontrolled actually allows you to "fire and forget". The lights will remain on until dispelled or some condition is met (you could easily say that they burn out or fade on their own over time). And due to the mechanics of Uncontrolled, you only pay points for the power, not each instance of the light. To limit wizards from going around illuminating every surface of a city, maybe add some Extra Time. By the way, this type of spell could also be used as a repeating audible message. Joe

Here is a basic writeup for the continual light needed for your streetlamps. Note that it is up to the GM to decide if the O END + Uncontrolled is too damaging for the campaign (for a basic light spell, I'd allow it, but for an attack, I wouldn't). Also, in my campaign, I'd load this down with additional limitations, just to make it a little more difficult to make, and cheaper to buy. And as it is written, you could easily define the lights as just floating in mid-air, or you could require a material to bond the light to (and just imagine the pranksters who go around stealing the "lightbulbs"). You could add a few + to the Images to make magical "neon" signs, perhaps requiring an artistic skill to form pictures. And, yes, I have had a magic quarter in one of my fantasy worlds that was illuminated by strings of Continual Lights. Continual Light Spell Images (vs Sight Group, Base 10 points) Advantages: Uncontrolled (+1/2) 0 END (+1/2) Active Cost: 20 Limitations: Only to create light (-1) Real Cost: 10 Joe

Mainly because, as noted before, he doesn't own the intellectual property rights. Larson has another vision of what the Battlestar:Galactica setting should be, and it doesn't gel with what Richard Hatch wants. And, so far, neither of them seem to have the financial backing. Joe

Actually, it is based upon a season and a half of episodes (and a better left forgotten Galactica: 1980). Whatever you do, don't watch any marathons straight, or you'll see just how much they recycled the special effects footage. Still, it was the most expensive series up until that time, with a budget of about $1 million an episode (ST:TNG was making due on about $800,000 an episode for its first several seasons almost ten years later). It was actually in the Top Ten when converted into the family-friendly (and much cheaper) spinoff, mainly because of the expense. Though not Hero resources, you can get additional information at http://www.battlestargalactica.com (though it loads really slow and gave me a server too busy when I just tested it) and http://www.battlestarpegasus.com There is an active fan base that is eagerly awaiting a movie, though who exactly would get to make it is still a matter of contention. Glen Larson (the creator) has one set of plans, Richard Hatch has another (and, from what I've read, a really good test reel), and apparently, Universal has yet other plans. I must admit, when I saw the Star Hero rules, Battlestar: Galactica did come to mind. I just haven't had a chance to watch the episodes again, or to play around with the Star Hero book. By Your Command... Joe

And imagine that more and more items are using that natural flow of magic, that the flows of magic are not infinite, and that soon, there will be a "mana crisis". Mix it with a suitably-altered Victorian age, and you have an interesting Steampunk/Magepunk crossover, where the players could be agents attempting to gain mystic real estate or defend it from the treacherous spells of foreign governments. You could even have a strange type of "smog" hanging over cities as a byproduct of releasing all of that energy in a concentrated location. And what lurks in the swirling mists would be best left to a Victorian horror tale. Of course, YMMV, Joe