gewing

Re: What would you (or your character) do? #10: The Mugging Laugh my ass off and take the Mugger to either the Hospital or the Police. Probably the police.

some of the basic ides for lasers are pretty nifty. I like the low power targetting beam that when you are on target you press the trigger and a high powe pulse is fired. A very weak lens that can be rotated in front of it could give you a shotgun like spread, less damage but much easier to hit with. IIRC, In order to cover a larger target area (ease of hitting) and yet have high enough energy densities I think the SDI was talking about instead of one 10 meter diameter beam using say 5x 2 meter beams, one central and four smaller around it. Large area covered, high damage if hit. On a really large target (not what they were intended for) it would be kind of like an autofire probably. Same design could be used with smaller lasers, I suppose.

Army is hoping for a HMMVW mounted solid state anti-aircraft weapon within 10 years. They plot man portable within 20. Interesting as scary at the same time. Look up the SPIKE mini-missile the Marines are trying to buy. 6 lbs loaded with a fire control system. Missile is 2.2 lbs, uses a ccd camera for guidance and has a range of 2 miles. warhead is an Explosively formed projectile, supposed to penetrate about 1-2 inches of steel, but be effective versus machine gun nests, trucks, etc. Can hit a crossing helicopter moving at speeds of up to 60 mph. Originally designed for mounting on Remotely piloted vehicles, the marines realized it would give them a nice capability, each fire team can carry about 6 missiles and one re-usable fire control, system. IIRC ATK has the contract for the warhead. on the OICW/SABRE, etc the 20mm grenade is so the velocity and so range can be higher, the airburst capability is nice, and there is a HEAT anti armor round under development. NEAR TERM, however, The went to a somewhat slower 25 mm grenade.

Someone here on the board was running a game like this. The Elves are immortal, and total elven supremacists. They defeated the dwarves and enslaved them millenia ago. Now the Dwarves have been culled to the point they are "domesticated" imo, and they really make players who like dwarves nervous. Humans live barbaric tribal lives in the hinterlands, they can't compete technologically or, I guess, Magically. Orcs were nearly extinct, and the surviving ones live in isolated enclaves. They have had to adapt, becoming more "intelligent" and less savage. IIRC, there are Orcish groups that are like samurai or monastic Shao-lin. training in battle and working to control themselves. I am quite intriqued by the concepts, but since someone else had it first, I want to make sure I have permission to use it. I will make my own tweaks, of course, but... I really want to see the reaction of players used to "normal D&D worlds" when the elven character(s) are either kowtowed to or attacked berserkly on sight! :)

I really like the last 2 here... Lets see what were my last 3 Champions Characters. HMM Stalker, early years, he would probably go enrageds (innocents threatened can suck espcially when the Volshoth is dropped on Redmond by the Demonologist) and start whaling on him. Of course the kitten would die, but it might well have company from the psychopath. Later years he would shadow walk behind him, then NND him into unconsciousness. John Hawkshaw the 3rd... HMM, probably shoot mr. psycho in the head with his .50 Barrett M82 with the laser sight and sniper scope, probably loaded with either rubber bullets (he had enough money to have them made... or something like a glaser safety slug. He was an 8' tall HIGHLY trained supernormal. If he was close enough, he might try pepper spray, but kitten would probably still die. Mr. Takeda. Japanese government special agent... in a street level game. Probably either shoot him in the head with his .45 super or use his cybernetic tentacles (from his wrists, sicko!) to disarm him. He probably likes cats, but it would depend on whether he felt he had time out from his mission. Hmm... maybe I need to make a nicer Champions characater

I hope this is immediately prior to a microwave blast? That is cute. thoughts on previous post... I was told I was sick when I made the character many years ago with a 33 dex and an 18- mystic danger sense. I can hardly imagine a 43 dex!

Re: Re: What to do? I liked MANY parts of it, but it felt like the supers were the "New Gods" who reigned above puny mortals. among other things.

In the gaming situation that started this current round of "debate", maybe I have misinterpreted something. The "hero" who killed the villain, was he the ONLY person conscious, or was he the only HERO conscious. my interpretation of the whole situation was that the villains had incapacitated the rest of his team, and while fighting alone he accidentally killed some one. Obviously others interpreted it as he killed a downed target. Clarification please?

I have always liked the electromagnetic guns. done just right, you could use a variable amount of power with a variable range of projectiles. if I am not Totally off base, a coil-gun could be self centering with proper projectiles. imagine... 10mm coil gun variable ammo standard steel 4.7mm bb. cheap, light, small. autofire, MANY rounds for a given weight. Could be fed 3 or 5 at a time for a burst/shot effect. 5mm Armor piercing flechette. possibly autofire (newish version fragments after penetration... ouch.) 10mm HE, HEat, illumination, CS, or smoke grenades. 10mm bean bag- non lethal now to make it more flexible, there are 5 pre-set power levels. 1- one charge. BB travels 2500 fps. Flechette travels 2000fps, grenades travel 200 fps. 2- 2 charges BB travels at 3500 fps. Flechette travels at 3200 fps grenade travels 300fps 3 -4 charges BB travels 4200fps Flechette travels 4000fps grenade travels 400 fps 4- 8 charges Bb at 5500fps flechette at 5000fps, grenade at 500 fps this allows a range of attacks from 1d6+1 k to perhaps even 3d6AP. A really nasty person might go higher! range mod improves as velocity does. BBs take a modified reduced by range, they are ballistically inefficient. BBs are used by cheap forces as standard ammo, well equipped forces use them only as emergency ammo. The same size magazine that holds 10 grenades holds 5000 BBs. The basic idea can be scaled up to cannons or grenade launchers, though they don't work with bbs due to larger size making it less practical. Using strictly grenades/slugs would be even easier, Flechette could have a sabot around them. A bursting shot round could give a nice shot gun effect, modern cannons are being fitted with similar shells. oh, if the memory projectile is invisible to x-rays... I like it either way!

That may be what it takes to be a perfect 4-color superhero, but even Christ said that in some cases a man should sell his cloak and buy a sword. All violence is not evil. All killing is not "murder." I have usually played military or police characters. There are good reasons for it.

The problem I have is PUre 4 color is only a little more interesting to me than Richie Rich was as a kid. edit I was thinking further on my post. One of the problems i have with 4-color is kind of difficult for ME to really describe. The best solution I ever saw was Terja's scaling campaign that Dean Schomshak and the guys played. But more on that later. In true 4 color genre (imo) NORMAL people CANNOT affect supers in any direct harmful way. If the character sneaks into a warehouse looking for the evidence against the crime boss, the night watchman with his .38 (if he is just a honest Joe doing his job) not only cannot hit or hurt the character, the character can disable him without harming him significantly. If there is some kind of mix-up or mind control situation and the Army is sent after the characters, even tanks won't actually harm them. Now, I guess all characters could be made at 450 plus points, even the "unarmored" ones could have 7+ points resistant PD, etc. But... Do I really want to play where the characters are the untouchable "gods" (note small g) who affect the lives of the "mortals" beneath them? In some ways, that is what many games seem to be. Look at the Norse Myths. Loki and the Giants are the supervillains... damn, I really didn't intend to get going like this. I do understand to some level the appeal of 4color. But in many ways I like things a LITTLE more "gritty." It can easily get out of hand. Over the summer I played in a D-20 modern game. I came in late, and there were some real problems with the campaign. The ref was used to D&D, and all the players (except me) were too. NOt enough effort was made to explain our role in the organization we were in. Several of the players basically were thinking "Modern D&D" I misunderstood our role to think we were more like "Bureau 13" or a low end "La Femme Nikita" group. We killed too many of the gangsters who were involved in the conspiracies we were investigating. After he and I talked a few times, the Ref was bringing things back under control, but then school started. Our schedules conflict so I just get to hear about the D&D they are playing while I am at work.

and no one gets killed when Darkseid conquers a planet... I jsut fall in between. Some villains should die. One way or the other. But then, I always thought darkseid was poorly written and drawn, anyway.

Re: My old super-fantasy game sounds like some of my ideas.... Mutineers moon was good, I havet been trying to figure out how to bring in "Path of the FUry." though. may have to try.

Re: Re: Re: How to Prosecute? WHY did he run? That is the biggest thing that is likely to put him in jail. Otherwise, SOunds like a situation where the DA will press charges, but the character has a good chance of a not guilty verdict. Depends on the details, though. If he pushed his strength against an unconscious target and aimed for the head, premeditated murder conviction. If it was a mass fight and he was afraid for his life, maybe nothing but an unsuccessful prosecution on his record.

I had one character who might do it, but there is no way HE would be the only one that could, at least at first. Later he developed a penetrating attack. Another would think about it, check the records of the villain, then do it, but he was a supernormal, so there is also no reason he would be the only one who could. Most of my characters were basically enhanced normals/martial artists. No funky attack powers, so they would be unlikely to be the "only solution" The one with the AVLD does body attack was turned down. The weapon was a tool/anti cyborg weapon that had no effect on organic tissues, but still, I guess I can't blame the GM.

I'm sorry, I can't remember who had the Fantasy campaign where the elves were Uber Nazis, the Dwarves were slaves, Few Orcs survived, etc. I would like to use parts of this for a game I want to start. COuld you get ahold of me? I would like to talk it over with you. Greg

I tend to agree with you. SOme Time ago I was trying to come up with a character to fit in a "not dark" 4 color game. At the time, the only idea I had was that the character had the mind of a 12 year old boy, as I had a hard time envisioning anyone else being as utopian minded as I interpreted the GM to want. As it happened, i didn't get to play in the game, and it instantly turned into a MUCH darker game. Oh well. Killing was out, but mind controlling, mindwiping, etc were OK??? I tend to fall somewhere in between. Some characters should be unwilling to kill. Others should not. There should be some kind of consequences when killing is done. I have been thinking about running something more like super agents, or military special ops with some powers. Maybe something like "Strike Force Morituri." does anyone have ANY idea how many people the JOKER killed over the decades? I would think a Federal Death penalty would have applied at some point.

Good call. Hmm, I have based several characters on songs... Big john- a very large man in a fantasy game. I know there are more, but right now i'mhaving a brain fart. I'm almost tempted to make a character basedon Devo's "peekaboo" probably a villain. "peekaboo, I See you, and I know what you do, cause I do it too. Haw Haw Haw Haw" did I remember the title correctly?

Stalker- Either Another one Bites the Dust or more likely in the air tonight. He wasn't quite sane, but then the Mind Master complex was "experimenting"

Re: Re: Well this is another fine mess Well, you could have him get kidnapped to hell and tormented for an EON in Relative time, then finally escape a better man... Or an insane lunatic, which appears to be what he was "Tending towards" I come down somewhere in between. Throwing the book at him is appropriate. Negligent Homicide is still homicide. I'll read more before I comment further.

any chance for a version the rest of us can read?

So you feel they should have done what? Leave their team-mate in the hands of some of the most deadly terrorists in the world?

like I said, maybe I'm more grey than 4-color. This reminds me about one of my problems with "Kingdom Come" Superman iirc basically said- no superhuman has any need to kill, and if you do, you are a criminal and I will lock you up. Problem is, He is capable of flying through an armed mob and disarming them ALL on his higher dex before any of them have any action. Most are not. Kind of like if the US told Lichtenstein that they have to build an armored Corps to defend themselves. Only problem is, I don't recall, are there that many people in the country? and where would they get the money? OK, that is a little silly, but just because the next best thing to a god can do something, doesn't mean everyone can.

I was just thinking. The Israeli Gov't, iirc, and several others assumes hostages are dead and then if they get them back alive, GREAT. Maybe I am to Grey scale in my gaming, but I tend to think any well known super terrorist who kidnaps one of my team-mates intends to kill them. I don't know anything else about Stellar's powers, but I have to say, if it was me, I would have been more likely to blow Fiacho's head off, if I could. It hasn't been made clear, though, how is the power used structured? Was the removal of the floor deliverate, or a side effect that he might have forgotten about?

Nah, gnomes are dwarven Con-men who shaved their beards to pretend they are a different race. they are actually in collusion with certain Dwarven merchants, price fixing etc... "_