zakueins

Re: [six Ages] The First Age-Glories

More talking about the Lilim and the magic of the "Middle East" analogue...

According to the legends, there are six Gods of Light-and only one Goddess of Night. When the Gods of Light ended the tyranny of the Goddesses of Night, one of them collected up what was left of her sister's bones and then began to tie herselves to the Gods of Light, whom she would seduce, fight to a standstill, trick, and entreat with them. This left the last Dark Goddess standing to be Lilim.

Women are the only ones that can call upon the Lilim-men can ask the Gods of Light to call forth powerful beings, but Lilim can only be drawn from the body of women. The henna that many of them wear when Noviates begin is the markings on Her body, calling forth an aspect of power from Her. Many women smile when men insist upon the henna markings when they take a woman as a wife-for the Lilim will protect their own.

The role of the Lilim worshipers in the society is always open to question. Officially, she is a barely tolerated "good bad example"-not outright infidel but not officially allowed in, either. Some rulers do not allow the enforcement of the laws against Lilim worship, while others are very vigorous in the hunting down of those that follow the Dark Goddess. These times are usually very bad, as only the Lilim can fight on even terms with the Atlantean Dragoons.

Re: Who are the top 5 most powerful characters in your Campaign.

More like eliminating the competition. Several very powerful vampires woke back up after a few thousand years of sleep.

So Vampires are Heroes? Or Does Ra just like killing his fellow villains?

Re: Who are the top 5 most powerful characters in your Campaign.

Five most powerful characters in the Third Age?

First place is tied between The Covenant and Lord White. In terms of power, the Israeli superhero The Covenant is one of the most powerful beings on the planet, but a good number of his abilities are non-combat (senses and movements, mostly). Lord White, on the other hand...pure combat monster with some social skills, but he's mostly pure toughness. Lord White, if he haymakers his HTH attack, can one-shot Grond into -30+ STUN. And, he takes blows from Grond with only a bit of suffering.

Second place is held by Ra-a very powerful supervillan. It should be noted that while he thinks he's a god, nobody else does-but his Sun Disk power is more than enough to instantly fry all but the most powerful vampires (which he does, regularly).

Third place is Jeremy Storm. Think John Constantine with less restraint and more willingness to use magical power. He might not be the most powerful mystic period on Earth, but there are very few with his level of ability on the mystical battlefield. Oh, doesn't smoke but does drink like a fish.

Fourth place is The Lone Gunman, a Chinese/Hong Kong superhero whom combines martial arts with a penchant for pulling out firearms and never missing a single shot. He pretty much is THE guy whom does GunKata as a major combat martial art.

Finally, Fifth Place is to Black Bolt, a guy whom wears a pretty kick-ass suit of powered battle armor, when he isn't the guy running MicroSim (think of it as Google on steroids), and his super-powered brain lets him build what his money can bring in...

This, of course, assumes somebody doesn't just show up (there are rumors that there is only two vampires in England-one Master and one disciple. Some say that he's good enough to beat out Ra.), and these are all "reasonably public" superheroes.

Re: [GROUP] Filthy Minions

Captain Jack

Player:

Total Character Cost: 550

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 200

Total Experience Available: 200

Experience Unspent: 0

Re: [six Ages] The First Age-Glories

Okay, some of the understanding of the magic system-

There are five "big" magic systems in the world, with a whole bunch of side colleges, sub-clans, etc, etc....

The Atlantean magic system is very much what would be called a "western" magical system. Harry Potter would find himself very much at home-spells and materials and invoking powers. Deals with critters and such are common.

The Mu style of magic is very much classical Chinese elements-each system is bound to a martial art and the personality of the user. Only the rarest and powerful of all mages can use all five elements-by learning all of the martial arts and casting techniques.

In the "Middle East" world, there are two major magical system. The first is the binding and summoning of spirits, almost always done by men. Women and ONLY women can summon the Lillim, think of them as letting powerful demons "share" their bodies. All but the most powerful must set binding contracts upon the Lillim, as the Lillim take over everything in their host's bodies.

The "Indian" world is the negotiations with the powers of the land and the air and the sea, to borrow a bit of their power for use, and to obey certain strictures for the access to that power.

Re: [six Ages]The First Age-Glories

So far, I have four "big" societies. We start with Atlantis, heavy mystical technology, "western" magic, organized society of quasi-divine god-kings that both control the religious and political aspects of the society-think of it as three chains or a three-legged stool of the military, the religious authority, and the political bureaucracy....

The society of Mu is our Chinese/Eastern society. Not quite as much mystical tech, they tend to use more "elemental" magic and it tends to run in more "elements/familes" with some overlap, and a core/cadre of multi-elemental combat agents that can use multiple elemental effects to engage their foes.

Not sure what our Middle-Eastern analogue is going to be named, but it'll have all the "problems" that Middle Eastern societies tend to have-amoral familism, corruption, conspiracies upon conspiracies, a general hatred of women (linked to fear, as women are the only ones that can summon the Lillim-powerful demons that bond only to women), and lots of fun arguments about religious faith and power.

The last analog, unnamed as of yet (suggestions are welcome) is a Hindi/India analog, lots of small gods, lots of Avatars (the heroic beings that are able to channel the powers of their personal gods).

Throwing out ideas for a game concept, and here it is-

Glories(title to be worked on), is a part of what I call the Six Ages game universe. Think of it as what a HERO version of Exalted would be-all the mythological cities of antiquity-Atlantis, Shangri-La, etc, etc, exist, mystical technology, armies of thousands, wuxia-style martial arts, Gods that exist in mythological time, heroes that can swing a sword and carve canyons...

The world isn't quite the continents they are today...think of them as between Pangea and the current world it is.

Suggestions, ideas, concepts?

Re: When Do Your Characters Know When The S**T Has Well And Truly Hit The Fan?

And, when he gets really settled in, and has the Gigantic bowl of popcorn and the 20,000 galleon soda...worry.

In the Marvel Universe' date=' it's whenever you spot the Watcher. He always comes early to the Apocalypse to make sure he gets a front-row seat.[/quote']

That's the question-in your game universe, when do you know that things have gotten REALLY bad? The sort of "Destroyer Stomping Detroit" kind of bad?

In the Third Age setting of the Six Ages Universe (coming to a game store near you...hopefully before 2010...), things are BAD when the Joint Metahuman Task Force calls in more than two Section teams, a couple of operational companies of JMTF troops, and at least one AC-130J "Nightmare Spooky" Spectre with the multi-megawatt laser cannon and the eight railguns on the left side....

(For reference, Section One is the "show the flag" team, about in terms of power level as the Champions. Many of the other teams are about 5-10% more powerful...)

This probably means that Ra has come out himself and at least three other of his fellow deities (and that Horus is probably going to come in spitting fire and farting thunderbolts) or Lord White has really decided to cut loose...

Stats to come shortly...wanted to toss the idea out....

BACKGROUND: The sacrifice was perfect, young adult virgin male, betrayed in the proper manner by an Initiate of DEMON, the stars were right, and in about thirty seconds, Game 2 of the Bay Bridge series was about to start. So, the Morbane of the San Francisco DEMON nest was just about to raise his dagger to strike...

...when at exactly 5:04 pm the Loma Prieta Earthquake hit, and knocked a brick out of the ceiling of the basement they were using for the sacrifice. The brick killed the Morbane instantly. The rest of the cult died soon afterwards as the walls came down, and if the sacrifice survived the earthquake, he died of starvation and dehydration in the lonely and unknown basement.

Fast forward a few years. On a street in San Francisco, a man was about to mug and kill a defenseless woman...when four claws as long as his arm impaled him through his chest. Gibbering in pain, the monster devoured his body and soul, tossing away the husk of what was left, and looked at the woman as if she were another meal...then, like a bolt out of the blue, something in the monster's brain said You Do Not Harm The Innocent, Only The Guilty You May Devour. And, this woman was...not quite innocent, but she certainly wasn't guilty. Shambling off, the woman screamed...and he moved a bit faster.

Ever since, the monster stalks the street. At first, barely able to speak, he can now speak reasonably well. For every soul of the guilty he devours, he grows more awake, more aware, and more knowledgeable about what he is-and what he's here for. The few DEMON nests in San Francisco have suffered from his attention-so much at the Inner Circle and Lucius Black himself are trying to find out what this creature is...but even their greatest attempts at scrying are in vain, as some great power obscures the monster from their sight.

PERSONALITY/MOTIVATION:The creature that somehow got the name Mr. Mean is at heart a simple soul. Find the guilty, devour them, protect the innocent. He loves chocolate in all forms, and he'll gladly accept payment in chocolate for a chance to talk. He would never hurt a child (unless he knew they wern't one), and what he does to rapists could only be described in horror movie terms. As things go, he's not a "bad" guy, except for when he eats people.

As time goes on, Mr. Mean becomes more of a person, in many ways. He seems to know bits and pieces-disconnected and confused-about his previous life. If somebody were to help him figure out the pieces, he would be a friend for life. And, for some reason, he seems to know odd pieces about DEMON and it's goals. Right now, he's trapped in about a eight mile radius near where he "died", but as time goes on, he will hunt ever further out.

QUOTE:"You are most certainly guilty. You are my lunch."

POWERS/TACTICS-Mr. Mean is most certainly a supernatural brick. With huge claws that are his hands, massive regeneration abilities, and a general toughness, Mr. Mean pretty much plans on getting in close to an enemy and tearing them apart. However, he has learned some subtlety (his Wrestling skills) and has a good knowledge of elementary tactics. He'll use hit-and-run attacks to peel back numbers, and will never hesitate to kill.

Besides his regeneration ability, he can see in the dark and possess a "perception sense" that let's him see moving objects all around himself. The perception sense is very new, and he can only detect-at best-objects that are moving. If someone was to be perfectly still...he might "miss" them. In addition, he can sense somebody that has guilt and how much of it they have.

An oddity of his powers is that DEMON in any way, shape or form-from summoned demon to Lucius Black himself-cannot find or track or detect Mr. Mean without using their own eyes and ears. Even the most powerful mystical detection spell has left them with no idea of where he is.

CAMPAIGN USE-Mr. Mean is an...interesting character. Players with a serious Code vs. Killing will have to bring him in, as Mr. Mean views killing as fun and a good way to eat.

His history with DEMON is another campaign hook. What happened in that basement? Why can't he be detected? Why do several members of the Inner Council fear what would happen if Mr. Mean were to find them?

APPEARANCE-Mr. Mean is grizzly-bear sized man/creature that looks like the mating of a polar bear and a man, covered in grey and black fir. His two arms have massive and sharp claw structures on the palms (the claws can be retracted to allow for delicate work), and the muscles are powerful and huge.

His face is animal-like, with two agile ears and big brown eyes. He normally wears some form of loincloth or pants when out and about.

Re: Prison facilities for super-human criminals in your Campaigns?

In my game universe, we have The Slab for metahuman criminals.

In the middle of the Alaska tundra, 500 miles from anything that can be called a city, The Slab has layered levels of criminal security from Level 1 (you get to see daylight occasionally, you just wear a tracking collar and more like a "regular" prison to Level 5 (sealed individual cells the size of a small studio apartment, each fitted with a lethal self-destruct mechanism if opened improperly, food and clean linens/clothing via an airlock structure that uses lethal securing system).

Guards wander around with heavy assault rifles and body armor, backed up by combat robots.

Re: Ben 10 (again!)

So, how many levels of growth do you need to get that much height? 270 degree vision?

Oh, and many, many brick tricks.

Anyone catch the Ben10 Movie with the godzilla sized alien?

Re: Ben 10 (again!)

I'd probably just call it a "plot hook" and it costs no points as long as the players manage to disarm it in time.

oh yeah. but now we need to add the following to the omnitrix:

 

 

a multi thousand point ability for the self destruct mechanism that can destroy the entire universe (long countdown and single charge though)

Re: [GROUP] Filthy Minions

Working on them as we speak...

Sounds Familiar,.... ah Empowered isn´t it ?

Do you have any Stats ?

Re: [GROUP] Filthy Minions

They're heroic. They'll stop robberies, keep the monsters from eating Sheboygan, and such.

Just...they'll try to figure out how to make some money at the same time, too. ("Get your authentic ground monster toenails here!")

And, I never said they had a PORN site...just the videos were online. It's amazing what you can find on YouTube...

Great team concept, but i do want to ask a question.

 

In what way are these people heroes? I mean at best they seem to be fence-sitters.

 

I mean you imply that two of them have an on-line porn site. There is nothing "heroic" about that.

 

Just my observation

Members: Captain Jack, Brass Monkey, The Lash, Big Guns, Sister Sinister, and MindSpace.

History: It was the perfect con, once you boiled it all down.

Most supervillians were so obsessed with the "big picture" that they would forget their own pants if they weren't wearing a one-piece jumpsuit. So, all you had to do was sign on as some filthy minions, and you could steal them blind. Hell, for some of them, you could actually resell them their own gear on eBay, and make a profit twice. Which was what the six con-men (okay, three con-men and three con-women) did. They, of course, stayed away from the big players, but it worked out perfectly. Until one day...

They were working with a new supervillian whom called himself "Mister Mister", and had a paranoid streak a mile wide about a "Captain Impossible", which made this run even easier. When they lifted the Mysterious Mystical Artifacts in Glowing Radioactive Goo, protected by Science Not Meant To Be Known By Man, Captain Impossible attacked. And, in that attack, the six were transformed and given super powers.

Now, there was a dilemma. They had superpowers, but the villain game had no appeal-and no profit to it. So, what did they do?

Became superheros, of course. And, of course, did some "battlefield salvage" for the collector's market...

Group Relations: While they aren't quite dysfunctional, the team has a lovely tendency of having all sorts of odd little mental and psychological quirks. Some days, it's the fact that Captain Jack really has a clue on what they should be doing that keeps them from falling apart-or getting hired on with somebody like Foxbat. The best way to put it is that they are a soap opera in all sorts of respects-and everybody has slept with a opposite gendered member at least once (tho The Lash and Sister Sinister do have that video series on the web that is most certainly X-rated...).

Tactics: The team actually works pretty well together, with Captain Jack using his teleport ability to harry an opponent, while Brass Monkey is the hand-to-hand combat specialist. The Lash works great with dealing with agents-and some martial arts enemies that just can't stay down. Big Guns will take good shots at a target, using one of his many guns in a deadly salvo of bullets. Sister Sinister is the magic-user of the team and will cheerfully use her spells to "punish" people that are being naughty, and she works well with MindSpace and his mental abilities.

Campaign Use: Filthy Minions are a good team if the players really, really need a laugh-and not going up against Foxbat or CLOWN counts. They are, for all of their flaws, a bunch of heroes, and while they'll be trying to negotiate salvage rights during the battle, they will stand tall and firm against a real threat. Some of the great plot hooks means that they can get involved in a battle with VIPER, DEMON, Dr. Destroyer, PSI, Foxbat....

Plot Seeds: Standard Plot #1-The Filthy Minions get ahold of an artifact/item that looks ordinary, but a whole bunch of the power players are trying to get ahold of it themselves. Chaos and havoc ensue.

Somehow, Ravenwood Academy hires the Filthy Minions for classes on superheroing. Can you say "Sister Sinister and a ruler across knuckles", anyone?

Standard Plot #2-The Filthy Minions "lost" something a few years ago that will save the world (very, very soon), and now they have to find it. As fast as they can...

Re: CHAMPIONS REVISED -- If We Do It, What Would You Like To See?

Add a "life cycle of the Superhero" from the early days to when he retires-shouldn't take up more than about 4-5 pages, with a few character sheets thrown in to make us know what it looks like as a character "grows up".

Re: (worst ever)...reasons to be a supervillain

"I owe the mad scientist that revived me from my frozen slumber and fixed my body a lot of money. A. Lot. Of. Money. So much so, that even "Filthy Rich" would only barely cover it."-LadyFeather

Re: Ben 10 (again!)

Ben 10,000 was up, and we saw(Spoilers)-

*Three more forms. One was "Spitter"-big ball thing that can squirt a lot of goo, maybe a multi-power that's flamerthower-like. Another is a Omnitrix-like "Megawhatt", in blue and can throw electricity. The third one is a Arcticguana, that breaths ice. And, Ben 10,000 turned into a real jerk...

*We can pretty much assume that Ben will have a form for everything...

*Gwen will turn into a pretty good martial artist (she's mentioned to have gotten a Karate black belt) and wizard.

*Grandpa has a nice flying RV...and a cybernetic right arm that has a pop-out BFG.

Re: (best ever)...reasons for becoming a supervillain!

"I slit open the belly the whore that claimed she loved me and strangled the man that cucold me, they called me a monster.

"I killed nearly a thousand men and women and children-often with a sniper rifle, sometimes with my bare hands, and they called me a 'Hero of Greater Serbia.'

"I killed that man because his enemy was willing to pay me a million dollar to see his death and you call me a villian.

"I don't care what you call me. One day, you will need my services. I can put a bullet through my choice of eye slot for Dr. Destroyer. My blade will be between Menton's second and third rib even before he knows I'm there. One day, you will consider the price I offer to be...fair."-Mr. Gogul, being dragged off by PRIMUS agents.

"One day, they will laugh at me no more! Steam shall save the world!"-Steammaster upon the declaration of his next campaign of conquest.

Re: (best ever...) reasons for becoming a superhero

"Because I believe in monsters, and that they should all ROT in HELL, along with their lawyers. And, my job is to arrange the trip there."-Ghost Sniper

"If I don't do this, I can't live with the memory of my wife."-The Hammer

Re: [Worst Ever...] Reasons to be a superhero

-Somehow, I got caught by a cult, got possessed by both an angel and a demon, and when I say my shoulder angel disagrees with me, my Chriopractor can buy a new BMW with cash...

-I'm trying to interest an investor in the gadgets I'm making.

-This is to try and pass my graduate degree program, and it's either this or face a panel...and most of the supervillians hurt a lot less.

-You mean, I can do something else? And get PAID?

Re: Just For Fun: Cartoon Network All Star Team Ups

It would probably resemble, in some really odd way, the whole Sarah/Rose conversation in "School Reunion". Hilarious-making, at the very least.

Kagome and Liz would have some interesting things to say to each other as well once they had a chance to talk.

Re: Just For Fun: Cartoon Network All Star Team Ups

And, we'd have the ever-popular "irresistable force" (Tetsaiga) vs. "immovable object" (Right Hand of Doom) question answered...

Don't forget the envy, too...as half-demon Inu-Yasha gets envious of full-demon Hellboy, while full-demon Hellboy is envious that Inu-Yasha can at least occasionally PRETEND to be human...

A crossover between Hellboy and Inu-Yasha has disturbing potential' date=' especially given the things the two characters have in common (both are demons who dare not admit they are in love with a human woman, and who must frequently fight against their own kind). And a reincarnated Naraku in the 21st century would give Hellboy and friends all kinds of grief.[/quote']

Re: Just For Fun: Cartoon Network All Star Team Ups

There's a possiblility that the Ghost Zone is merely an extension of the Hueco Mundo, the area between Earth and the Soul Society.

But, it's very true-what makes it worse is that if Hollows find their way to Amity Park. All the ghosts there-some of them very powerfu-would be a feeding frenzy for Hollows, and be extremely messy. And Danny doesn't have the power or mindset to truly destroy a Hollow. To do it, he'd have to ask for help...and most of the other authorities in the area would demand a hard price. Vlad Plasmus would make Danny pay through the nose, Valerie Gray would be shooting at him FIRST, and it would take major damage to the area to make Valerie think about teaming up. And to ask his parents would be to reveal his secret ID, a danger in itself.

They would probably find themselves asking "Are they dead' date=' alive or [i']neither[/i]?" Rukia would probably not understand the concept of DNA, much less the idea that the spirits of the dead might possess it. Thus a mortal-spirit fusion like Danny or Vlad would be completely beyond any frame of reference she could conceive. If she could comprehend the idea, she would find it an abomination -- hopefully she will recognize that Danny did not choose his condition and temper her response accordingly.

 

Should Vlad Plasmus learn of Hollows, he would seek some way to turn the knowledge of their existence to his advantage. Unfortunately, for his purposes Hollows would be the ultimate blunt instruments, and unleashing them would be an extreme escalation (remember that actually killing/destroying Danny does not figure into his plans -- in fact, his death would be a near-fatal obstacle to them). He might consider using them as a sort of ultimate blackmail weapon -- holding the havoc they would wreak as a Sword of Damocles over the head of his foes -- but Vlad has developed a healthy distaste for using forces he cannot control or restrain should the need arise -- and once a Hollow is loose, nothing can contain its fury short of its destruction.

 

As for Danny, learning about the Soul Society would alter his perception of everything he does. Rukia's beliefs about spirits directly contradict his own experience with them, and vice versa. The spirit realms Danny has visited (willingly or otherwise) bear no resemblance to the ones Rukia has, and even the cultural difference between her Eastern background and his Western one would be insufficient to explain it.