allen

Originally posted by allen

It uses the Black Paladin presented in Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks.

 

For minions, so the GM can increase the difficulty of some of the encounters if necessary to challenge his players, it uses Demon Hounds and Lesser Demons, both of which are presented in HERO System Bestiary.

errr... forgot one...

It also uses Talisman from Champions

Originally posted by Victim

Is the adventure self contained, or does it require villain stats from other books?

It uses the Black Paladin presented in Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks.

For minions, so the GM can increase the difficulty of some of the encounters if necessary to challenge his players, it uses Demon Hounds and Lesser Demons, both of which are presented in HERO System Bestiary.

thanks for the kind words, guys.

Shades of Black... the preview copy is here: http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/ebooksamples.htm

Re: Character Creation

Originally posted by PerennialRook

I've got a lot of stuff figured out now, being a newbie to the system. The thing I am having the hardest time with is bringing it all together. Actually creating a character. Is there anywhere that I can find a concept to concrete character creation document?

 

-Preston

You can check out the FAQ (there's a link at the top of this page). The information here:

http://www.herogames.com/SupportFAQs/general.htm

or here:

http://www.herogames.com/SupportFAQs/effects.htm

pertains to your question (i think).

There's also "Intro to the HERO system, essentially a "rules primer," in the Free Stuff section of the web page. Again, the link to Free Stuff is at the top of the page.

Originally posted by Kara Zor-El

Actually, according to a back up story in Avengers #201, Edwin Jarvis was in the army and a boxing champ.

 

Real battle of the century: One piece swimsuits or two piece? lol

hmmm... i think i'd rather see Alfred and Jarvis duking it out while wearing two piece swimsuits.

Originally posted by Crimson Arrow

...but Alfred has all that, plus (depending on who's writing), commando training (never seen this particular one, but sounds reasonable)...

only in a comic book would it be reasonable for Batman's butler to have formerly been a british commando...

there was an issue of the Avengers, where Jarvis defeated a robot (or something) with an umbrella... i believe this was back when he also wore an eyepatch (result of the Mr. Hyde beating).

but seeing as how they're both British, it's probably safe to assume that, in the tradition of John Steed and other exemplars of merry ol', they are equals when the weapon of choice is an umbrella.

anyway, my money's on alfred.

6 pages of responses for master villains... 3 or 4 responses for super-thugs... the poor lugs just can't catch a break... anyway, some of the ones i'm fond of...

The Abomination. Big and ugly. Sometimes the writer even remembered he was supposed to be a Russian agent or some such.

Killer Shrike. Just thought the name and costume were cool when I was a kid.

Dr. Doom... just kidding...

The Blob. Look at that name. It doesn't get much better than that. There's a guy who's come to terms with both his appearance and his mutant power.

Batroc. Just for the sheer absurdity. He thought he could go up against Captain America. Worth a laugh everytime. Plus he was a fashion disaster. (To mention that he was French would be a low blow.) To make it even better: Batroc the Leaper.

The Wrecker. He had a magical crowbar. He went up against Thor. So tell me, you've got a magical crowbar... do you fight Thor?

Boomerang. 'Cause everyone from Australia walks around with boomerangs attached to their clothes. Heck, I would.

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

The book "The Dimwich Cuckoos" by (IIRC) John Wyndham, and the film inspired by it, "Village of the Damned" (not the remake, but the 1960's British original).

The Midwich Cuckoos

i think that's it... can't remember how to spell the author's name, but it sounds like John Wyndham...

Originally posted by James Gillen

It explains much.

 

What do people think about the general thesis at the end- that the comic book industry is dying (due to overspecialization and lack of young audience) and the medium may survive by moving to the Internet?

i think comics will survive (heck, if they still print gaming books on paper, comics have a long way to fall in readership, before they are forced to go the internet).

i do, however, think the recent success of movies based on Marvel comic book characters is the beginning of the end for Marvel comics. movies make more money. Marvel will shift its focus to cash in, and comics will definitely play second fiddle (third fiddle after merchandise and all that). anyway the intellectual property will become multimedia with film as the emphasis; one comic title per IP will exist to occupy that particular facet of multimedia (maybe) and it's point will be to push the IP, not to be a 'cool comic book.'

i expect DC to follow soon thereafter.

of course, the whole movie thing could be a fad i suppose. (i don't think so though. personal opinion time, but i think the success of the movies is predicated on advancements in SFX; not that the movie-going population is suddenly keen on comics.)

anyway, as Marvel and DC exit the comic book industry, third party publishers will fill the gap to a certain extent, so fans of the medium still have comics to read; just that those fans more concerned with continuity and following the adventures of [their favorite character here] will be alienated and leave the market (those still left after the mid-nineties that is).

basically to fill in RL examples... CrossGen would still be around, so those who like comic stories about superheroes have something to read. Those who have been reading Fantastic Four or Superman or whatever since the beginning of time will leave the market, as the characters change to resemble the movie versions of these characters and become farther and farther removed from what they originally read.

anyway, enough rambling... hopefully something made sense in there somewhere...

Re: Uptown

Originally posted by DevoDog

Uptown (capital U) is a neighborhood in Chicago. It doesn't have a great reputation. In fact, some of the newer condos going up in the area state that they are in Sheridan Park, which, AFAIK, isn't a real neighborhood in Chicago.

actually when i lived there (Lakeview, just north Clark and Diversey) i knew several artists who kept studios in Uptown (rent was cheap; not much worth stealing in a studio)... anyway...

i have to admit I have never heard of the Deep Tunnel project... the last thing I recall hearing about tunnels was in '92 (maybe; somewhere in there at least) abandoned tunnels flooded from the Chicago River (i think) and the flooding shut down the Red and Blue Lines (these two El trains are underground from the near-north side (actually northwest side for the Blue line) to just south of the Loop) and are major commuter lines. the Blue line runs from O'Hare to downtown (in neighborhood terms, downtown is the Loop although stretches into the Gold Coast (alternately called Streeterville)). afterward, they attempted to close up those abandoned tunnels.

to bring this back around to superheroes, the flooding tunnels phenomena always sounded like a good plot for an invasion by an aquatic race... Atlanteans or what have you...

Originally posted by Hermit

Indeed. It sounds like 'radiation/lab accident' heroes are definitely likely in Chicago given it's academic side.

one of the first (if not the first; can't recall) atomic piles was under the UofC football field (Stagg Field).

i think.

if you really want the difference between Chicago and NYC, IMHO, people in Chicago are less abrupt (more friendly is how some would put it, but i think it's more a politeness thing than a friendliness thing).

here, to stray a little off topic, is an example. if you stop a Chicagoan to ask for directions. he will stop and listen. if he doesn't have time to give direction, he shrugs and says, "Sorry don't know how to get there." and continues on his way without pausing. EVEN IF HE KNOWS HOW TO GET THERE.

New Yorker just shrugs while he keeps walking. he doesn't stop, doesn't say sorry.

see how polite the Chicagoan is when he blows you off?

(should also add: my experience though is it's more an East Coast/Midwestern difference. people from Boston and Philadelphia are just as... ummm... brusque as folk from New York.)

concerning LA: no one in Chicago really cares. everyone knows LA isn't a real city.

concerning 'second city' status to New York: it isn't that chicagoans have a chip on their shoulders. it's that New Yorker's insist the world revolves around New York. (haha)

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

About the only thing it lacks is major connection to ancient occult sites (but I have a suggestion about that).

none of these are ancient...

mortared into the wall of the Tribune Building are chunks of other famous buildings and sites. for some reason, this always struck me as vaguely occult.

some of the skyscrapers have vaguely gothic architecture, ie the Wrigley Building, (i can't recall the name of the school of design right now)... easy to apply the occult properties attributed to cathedrals to those buildings.

also there's a proliferation of five points on the north side... mainly where Clark Street intersects with main North-South and East-West roads, ie Clark-Broadway-Diversey. (there's another street, west of Clark, that does a similar thing -- for the life of me, i can't remember the name right now -- but it runs through Bucktown.) i've always thought if you stared long enough at a map you could find a pattern to the five points.

Re: Oriental

Originally posted by Nightshade

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as fantasy...I would like your thoughts on this.

i definitely consider Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fantasy...

has sword fights and a magic sword.

has a bar fight.

conflict is settled via violence.

romantic love, love at first sight stuff going on.

set in an historical never-was (at least, as far as my limited knowledge of Asian history goes).

*shrug* i think it's certainly more akin to fantasy than some historical adventure movies, like Gladiator, The Three Musketeers, etc.

haven't seen Iron Monkey...

allen

Originally posted by Thag13

BBCs Nevewhere is being released very soon. Neverwhere is a modern Dark Fantasy about a magic underworld excisting under modern London. Its a six part TV series. low budget, but it has the basis of a great game

hmmm... I think BBC did an adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels too.

Originally posted by D-Man

...The old Saturday afternoon Sinbad movies

throw in Jason and the Argonauts and you can have a Harryhausen film fest (Jason and the Argonauts also has a neat set for Hecate's temple).

Also Clash of the Titans.

The Kull movie (not to be confused with Krull) with Kevin Sorbo... don't pay to see it, but not bad if you catch it on TV and don't have anything else to do and can't even think of anything else worth doing.

Originally posted by TheEmerged

Works great if your bases happen to be hexes. Our bases happen to be circles (guess what we're using for minis ). Takes longer than we'd like even with the use of a hexagon base.

well, i'd recommend having a turning-template-making party then... lol...

Originally posted by TheEmerged

Actually, we've been using a tape measure and miniatures lately. Except for turn modes (there HAS to be a better way to do this with a tape than we've found), it works surprisingly well -- speeds up combat tremendously.

How are doing turns? Set the tape measure = Total Distance/5. Put down a die to mark original position. From the front of mini's base, rotate the tape measure. Move the mini along the arc. (This should look like a bicycle wheel sorta: Mini is on the rim, tape measure is a spoke.) When mini stops moving or at the apex of the arc (whichever comes first) measure distance from start along a straight line.

It's much easier than it sounds.

[EDIT: I don't think it does turn modes exactly as presented in FREd -- not positive -- but it should be really close and capture the feel.]

Originally posted by Blue

• I have one person making a former criminal with problems focusing on being heroic. In and of itself, this works fine for roleplaying. But there will be definite conflicts with...
• The character who is a judge, complete with gavel and robes, who brokers no criminal wrong-doing from anyone
  

These two sound like a great pair to have in a PC group, so long as the players are friends and/or good roleplayers.

• Two scientists with gadget pools that are based around different effects. I expect both guys to spend great amounts of time manufacturing powers and slowing gameplay, despite my strong suggestion that they get together some useful gadgets now.
  

I have two rules about VPPs in games I run (I am, admittedly, accused of being 'iron-fisted' at times). First, no VPPs unless the player submits a list (at least 8 - 10) "sample powers" including a mix of offense/defense stuff, AND a default point-allocation for the VPP -- basically if a villain ambushes you when you aren't prepared for combat where are your VPP points at. Second, I don't allow players unfamilar with HERO to have VPPs at the start of the campaign. I allow them a Multipower at first; after four game sessions (or so), the player may re-write his character to have a VPP. I do relax this restriction depending on the player and the group.

• Four of the characters have very weak stats. They're built like they are practically human. I expect two of the seasoned players to wind up doing most of the fighting while everyone else sits around regretting their 3 and 4 SPD.

I've done my best to cajole and coax them toward higher abilities. They seem completely unconcerned with making balanced characters.

If we're talking a SPD range of 3 - 5, I don't think it's that big of a deal. If we're talking 3 - 6, the person(s) with 3... I'd force them to raise it to a 4. Obviously, you know your players better than I, but the great Allendini foresees discontent SPD 3 player(s) sitting around stacking dice.

What I figure will happen is this: I'll get them into a fight, they'll realize that their characters have definite problems, then either a)They'll revise said characters (with my blessing)...

As a rule, I allow players to re-build characters after the first four or so sessions

Either way, I'll run and hope for the best. I'm defintely going to have to start with easier villains though.

My advice is to stick to one-night adventures for the first few game sessions with a variety of structure and challenges (straight-forward super-criminals rob bank; investigation-heavy scenario; whatever) until you get a sense of where the players' heads are at -- I'd do this before you decide on a particular campaign tone or theme or whatnot; or at least don't fall too in love with a particular campaign tone or theme until after the first few adventures-- square pegs, round holes, and all that.

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

That would explain it. Youd think in 20 years of doing something youd get better

I hear he can crank out a green like you wouldn't believe...

In fairness to Superfigs, they are well-posed and paint up nicely.

The Rackham stuff is great; very big though... also whoever paints them is probably (IMHO) the best painter(s?) in the industry... they also shoot the photos so the mini only shows 'its best side' (of course, right?) and some are kind of 2-D... and I'll stop totally nit-picking now... yeah, they are tre' good.

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Wow. Those minis are really crude. Remind me of GW circa 1980s. Sigh.

I *think* the superfigs are sculpted by Bob Naismith, who also sculpted for GW circa the eighties...

Originally posted by Toadmaster

You want bad PA films, anyone remember Night of the Comet?

is it that the movie where a comet goes by the earth, people start turning into zombies, and the survivors take over a radio station? tre' eighties, rigth?

if so, i love that movie. (i know, i know... no accounting for taste...)

Re: Closest I could get

Originally posted by Hermit

Tatterdemalion

(The last, I believe was actually a character in the Marvel U)

Yes, indeedy he was... he melted clothes off people or some other, equally ridiculous power.

Originally posted by C_Zeree

Did I/we say it had to be a good resource? Besides personal tastes may vary. I'm just putting together a big list of stuff. I think I'l put a warning sign on the list, use at your own risk.

In light of this...

Post Nuclear Holocaust

The Horseclans Series, Robert Adams.

Definitely slap a warning label on that one. (Although I admit I've read something like 16 of them.) There's also a GURPS supplement.

Also

Six-String Samurai, movie

It's a parody made by someone who likely loved the genre (and Buddy Holly too).