allen

Re: AWESOME Custom Minis I apologize in advance if I'm being presumptuous and you already know all this; and I was only able to look at the first two pages of the link above (took too long to load in my browser, or I'm not patient enough...) so he may have already stated these things, but anyway... I'd recommend avoiding the GW blue-and-white stuff... it's mixed to have a long shelf-life, and alright for filling gaps. But if you're going to dive into sculpting, you should really get ahold of the green stuff. You can order it here... http://www.fortressfigures.com/ Keep it in the freezer -- it'll stay good longer. Break off pieces as you need them. Before mixing, cut out the strip in the middle that separates the yellow from the blue -- it's gunk and does weird things to the green stuff. When you use the green stuff, you'll find that it sticks to everything BUT what you want it to... Saliva will solve this problem, so frequent licking is in order. Lick your fingers, lick your sculpting tools. I know -- it sounds disgusting, but these are sacrifices you need to make (haha). (An aside: some sculptors use KY-Jelly.) Concerning Grond... I'm not real familar with the HeroClix line... but if you're using the Hulk displayed at the link you noted above, a couple of thoughts (I should also say I'm no expert on this...) The hair is going to be hard to get rid off, without making his head all lumpy looking... Is there an Absorbing Man fig for HeroClix? If so, I'd get one and do a head swap. The horns are easy: drill holes in the head, glue in short bits of brass wire, and build-up the green stuff around it. I would use my fingers to be honest, and smooth with an Xcto knife If you're basing it off the Zircher illo, the ears might be hard -- but it'd be important to keep in mind, that some of the ridges and such can be "faked" with good highlighting and shading, so no sense in banging your head against it if it's not perfect. Come to think of it... is there an Abomination fig for HeroClix? That's the ticket right there -- he's already got the goofy fin ears and the horns are easy. Getting those two arms on that Hulk fig might be rough... he's all crouched over and the torso might not be long enough. Honestly, I'd try to find a mini with his arms over his head, and if possible an over-long torso. Whatever you do, if it's for playing with, be sure to pin the arms to the torso. The resin/plastic WizKids uses is alot lighter than lead, but I'd still pin just to be on the safe side.

I think there are definite advantages to having the PCs as kind of, sort of insiders. Like Mulder and Scully right... FBI agents who are very, very low on the totem pole, but still a part of the over-all hierarchy. That way they're kind of protected from hostile elements within their own government. With PCs as average joes there seems to come that point in the campaign where I have to ask myself: who's going to miss the PCs, and if no one important and if the conspiracy is so wide-spread and powerful, why don't the hostiles just make them disappear? (On the other hand, this question can also make for good story elements, background stuff, and plot seeds.) Some other thoughts... If they're are a part of the conspiracy -- however unwitting -- it makes it that much easier to manipulate the PCs, which can lead to some good stories and "startling revelations" down the road. Police powers and the like are kind of important to uncovering information. And you want the PCs to have access to information that's not a matter of public record. The players have a role-playing excuse/motivation to investigate built into the campaign, which I think is useful. I prefer to run any modern game in the city I live in or near. I think it helps get you and the players on the same page concerning their environment. I also find it more interesting to research where I currently live, than to make up a fictional location. And I find it helps me learn the layout of the city and stuff like that. Off the top of my head, two issues though: 1. This may seem stupid, but arguments... err, I mean heated discussions sometimes occur about silly things, like the fastest way to drive from downtown to the northside during rush-hour, or whether the store in the local mall was closed down two months ago, or... here's a good one... if it's faster to take the Red Line to Belmont and walk to Clark and Diversey, or wait for the transfer to the Brown Line at Fullerton and then walk, or just take the 36/22 bus and get off at Clark and Diversey. I don't know... maybe it doesn't happen to other people... and I guess it does provide a level of realism to the game... 2. If I were running a game with people I didn't know very well, I'd be a little bit worried about offending someone... like turning a prominent Republican into an important member of the Trilateral Commission, and annoying every Republican at the gaming table.

Concerning techniques and such... I've used clippings from the real newspaper. Essentially, clipped three "seemingly" unrelated articles from Sunday's paper, had the PCs' handler say something like: "The boys in statistics say there's some connection -- find out what it is." and let the players go to town. If they're a lively bunch, they'll hypothesize some connection (or two, or three, or a billion... haha). I also recommend winging it at least to a certain extent. 4 players, sitting around a table and discussing possibilities amongst themselves, come up with much weirder stuff than me by my lonesome. Whatever the case, I recommend at least being prepared to run with the stuff the players believe and/or suspect. I'm stealing that Rolodex idea... that's brilliant. Wasn't sure if you were looking for source material outside of gaming, but if so, these are a couple I find essential: The Big Book of Conspiracies and The Big Book of the Unexplained Both are by Doug Moench and various illustrators, put out by one of DC Comics' imprints, available in comic shops as well as Borders and such (with the comics). I don't think they're out-of-print. They make excellent "cheat sheets" and, for me at least, are more palatable than most writing done by conspiracy theorists.

Re: Is there any way the HERO can do this power? I think more info would help (before I say I don't have a clue...haha). For instance, using the example given above, is this the sequence of events? 1. Fighter swings at nigh untouchable foe and hits. 2. Time Mage "casts" Duplicate. THEN EITHER 3. The Fighter gets to go again, outside of the normal turn sequence, and on this additional/free/extra action, he must perform the same action as in Step 1, and he automatically succeeds with the same level of success as previously. OR 3. On the Fighter's action, within the normal turn sequence and if the Fighter chooses to perform the same action as he did in Step 1, he automatically succeeds with the same level of success as previously. OR 3. On the Fighter's action, within the normal turn sequence, he must perform the same action as in Step 1, and he automatically succeeds with the same level of success as previously. Other questions... Is there a time limit, meaning could the action being duplicated have happened many, many game sessions ago; or is it strictly the character's action immediately proceeding the casting of Duplicate? Can the Time Mage cast Duplicate on himself?

Book of New Sun and Horseclans I had heard/read that GURPS had sourcebooks for Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun and Rober Adams' Horseclans. Does anyone have these, and if so, any thoughts/impressions?

in addition to the ones above, i think that Crimson Hawk (afraid i don't recall his real name) is writing a Meriquai Falls setting book and Michael Surbrook (Ninja Hero) an Asian Bestiary for HERO Plus this year.

yessir, good point. i think you are correct... it would be difficult to capture the 'feel' of the series w/o armies on the move and clashing, and a good set of mass combat rules would do wonders. allen ps. although, the novels avoid describing battle scenes as i recall... the occassional flashback or character describing the events of the battle to another, but otherwise avoided. still, i think in an RPG it'd be important to get those in there and allow the players to play an active part in the outcome.

My opinion may change as the series progresses, but if I were to run a campaign within the setting, I wouldn't allow the PCs magic. In fact, I might consider... ummm... convincing one or more players to take a Psych Lim: Doesn't Believe In Magic (or Believes Magic No Longer Exists or whatever). Mainly because, I think the "return of magic" story/plot element is one of the more interesting aspects of the story, and would like to capture that over the course of the campaign.

ummm... I don't have CKC in front of me, but doesn't Doc D's 30d6 EB have a Range of 750" and doesn't he have some Movement?

I have to admit, hearing this makes me go 'uh-oh'. But I'll attempt to swallow my doubt, since the man has written three entertaining books. *SPOILERS AHOY* Concerning character death: For me, that's one of the definite strengths of the series. The epic fantasy of nowadays (I guess specifically, Jordan, Goodkin, et al.) truly isn't my cup of tea; but Martin uses death to bring one story in the larger one to a close. For instance, Ned Stark is central to the first novel, and when you reach the end of Game of Thrones, his story is over. I mean, yeah, it's tragic -- even Tywin Lannister's death is tragic (to me at least -- I could sympathize with the man -- and I guess I should say presumed death). Basically, some individual stories comprising the series have their own closure, and I like that.

Hallelujah

Ah, Old Man, you are not alone... I too don't usually start reading a series until it's over, but Game of Thrones was really good (and I don't even like "epic" fantasy very much). And the next two were just as good... which was hard to believe, given my experience with other series in the same genre/sub-genre. I also read somewhere that the series was at least six books... have you heard it's definitely six? allen Ps. I find the time GRRM takes to write the books to be comforting. I mean at least he's not just hacking them out. Pps. There's a novella in the latest issue of Dragon Magazine (Arms of the Kraken I think it's called). I believe it's an excerpt from Feast of Crows.

Re: Relieved... Agency is a better word for it than organization... And, yeah, I've known individual players that would enjoy such a game, but never a whole group of them... I have thought that if I allowed the players to develop the agency, decide its goals, put them in charge of divisions and departments, make up parts of its background, they would "displace" their attachment to the characters to the agency itself -- kind of throw a bone to the plumbers out there -- but eh... Someday, when I'm in the retirement home, I'll have a captive audience (haha) and run this game, but until then I'm afraid it's not likely... allen

Re: Re: Modern & "Realistic" I've always felt that they way around the problem is a shift in storytelling... Most RPGs emphasize the PCs. The PCs are central to the campaign and individual sessions comprising the campaign. PCs develop, have goals, work to achieve those goals, etc. If the focus were shifted to the organization, to which the PCs belonged, PC death or disability would not nearly be so damaging to the campaign. The organization develops, has goals, works to achieve those goals. The death of a PC would not end the organization, but could conceivable further its goals, and so (hopefully!) the player would be satisfied with that, rather than disappointed by the death of his character. I mean you'd have to interest the players in the organization enough, that they were willing to perceive (and role-play accordingly) their characters as primarily a means of furthering the organization's story. In essence: that the campaign isn't about John Doe, international man of mystery, but about the organization John Doe belongs to. Most important though, you'd have to intrigue the players with the story told about the organization in order to hold their attention. And, of course, this is all hypothetical... I've never put it into practice, so take it for what it's worth. I think players, who could divorce themselves enough from a character to make it work, are in the minority.

Enhanced Senses I'd really like some well-built Detects... especially, I'd like to see what is essentially the same Detect built at several levels of "discrimination". For instance: This Detect allows the PC to sense an metal. This Detect allows the PC to sense an metal through walls. This Detect allows the PC to sense an metal through walls, and tell what type of metal it is. This Detect allows the PC to sense metal through walls, tell what type of metal it is, and the materials used in its manufacture. This Detect allows the PC to sense metal through walls, tell what type of metal it is, the materials used in its manufacture, and the precise amounts of those materials. I'd also like to see some descrip. of the special effects. I mean if a Detect is "attached" to a Sense Group or else has a Focus: Monitor, it's obvious enough. But if not, things get kind of vague for me. For instance, with the Detect Metal -- if it's defined as "not a Sense Group", then how precisely does it "look" to the character, or how does he "perceive" it exactly. The description of Tesseract's hyperperception in CKC is a good example of what I'm asking for. I don't know, maybe it's some weird gap in my HERO system understanding, but Enhanced Senses make me tear my hair out...