The Mad GM

Re: ?? Kindarus (mercenary captain) - offer to hire him. Ventiun (thespian thaumaturge) - distract him by telekinetically waving my cloak in his face, trying desperately to think of a better plan. Reginald (mage spy) - go invisible and follow him.

Re: I need a name for a society of adventurers National Geographic Society - these guys went EVERYWHERE. While the society doesn't explicitly state any sort of 'foiling dastardly plots' item in their charter, it could easily put a group of people in harms way on a regular basis: "On the evening of January 13, 1888, thirty-three men traveled on foot, horseback, and in horsedrawn carriages through the streets of Washington to the Cosmos Club, then on Lafayette Square across from the White House. They convened around a large mahogany table to discuss “the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.†The entity they were about to create would become the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institution in the world." (quoted from NGS website). You can't get much more pulpy than that! "They readily approved a resolution that the Society be organized 'on as broad and liberal a basis in regard to qualifications for membership as is consistent with its own well-being and the dignity of the science it represents.'†(ibid)

Re: The Network: Campaign Setting Idea That would make sense if their fourth dimensional technology is resisted by being in a gravity well - they could only break through whole troops if they went into orbit. But they might be able to pass smaller things, like ammo and medical supplies, down on the surface. It would explain why they didn't have a navy - a full ship might need to be taken way, way out to pass through. Perhaps with the exception of this 4D tech, they aren't too far advanced from us.

Re: "Hudson City" like graphic novels And oh yeah, much of Brian M Bendis work is good for ultra-street level (not Powers, which I would recommend for a Rust Age supers campaign, but the stuff like Goldfish and Jinx)

Re: "Hudson City" like graphic novels If time is tight, you can scim over a lot of the powers, advantages, disadvantages, and frameworks. But if you're serious about running, you'll have to go back to them eventually. While you don't need to be able to recite the value for an OAF, or all the adders for Mind Link on demand to run a DC game, you do need to know the hows and whys of character points. The index of 5E and 5ER is highly praised for a reason. Frankly, these forums are also an excellent place to get answers to questions as you go.

Re: The Network: Campaign Setting Idea Some questions to answer as a GM, and some answers provided by other authors: A big question is why are they here (Compatible biospheres are rare? This used to be their home? Some other bizarre astrophysical reason why our planet is valuable, like it sits at a wormhole junction or something, and they want a base of operations? Complete accident, they've invaded the wrong place?). Keep in mind that just about any physical resource would be easier to extract from the asteroid belt, or at least another planet without vicious talking apes on it. Another is why did they land troops first, as opposed to, say, dropping big rocks on all our important cities, etc (They need our biosphere intact, and didn't want to risk an ice-age? They didn't expect us to be here when they came home, and didn't bring big weapons? Some other political force in the cosmos would retaliate if they wiped out an indigenous intelligence? Planet based defenses are so advanced in their tech that 'boarding' is the only real option for warfare?). A third is why did the ships leave the troops here (The ship engines would eventually warp and degrade the planet's magnetosphere, letting in lethal radiation that would spoil the precious biology? They went to get some reinforcements; they never expected to have to fight, and these troops aren't soldiers so much as outraged explorers returning to an infested home? What they're doing is illegal, and jump-ships orbiting a low-tech world would be a dead giveaway? They expected to have advanced tech resources to plunder to fuel their ships, but without that, they're restricted to 'in-system' drives and hydrogen scooping - they're all out by Jupiter until the troops can build a refueling depot?) Answers to questions like these will greatly inform the overarching plotline of the game, but not necessarily the game to game stuff - you're still plugging aliens on Main Street. In fact, you can have the accepted theory be totally wrong from the real one, and have the heroes be ostracized for advancing a rival (correct) theory. For instance, if the President thinks they just want to share our ecology, but they really are pirates setting up a base, then his proposed peace initiative (we can share Gaea's bounty) is useless or worse, etc.

Re: pulp hero over opinions? Look closely. The guy isn't shooting her. No muzzle flash, no smoke, no 'zing' lines. He is refraining from shooting her.

Re: Pulp archtypes. Hmm... looks like a whole series of books of his I haven't read. Time to warm up the credit card. Thanks!

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Given time constraints, I'd rather have a couple dozen good hooks than one or two adventures. But then I'm a seat-of-the-pants style GM. And I'm mad. Ooh yeah, and a random Nazi naming generator would be cool too.

Re: Pulp archtypes.

Re: Mythology and Superhumanity David Brin recently had a story published as a graphic novel, "The Life Eaters", with art by Scott Hampton. The premise is along those lines, but with a more sinister twist. It's set in WWII, in what might be an interesting Golden Age setting. You might want to check it out.

Re: Mythology and Superhumanity Tim Powers is great! Drawing of the Dark deals very obviously with Arthurian and older Celtic mythos, whereas Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather are more modern interpretations, but they all deal with people filling the roles of these archetypes, and how those roles affect the world, and how the people affect the archetypes themselves. Great stuff! In a campaign where the characters are central to the events of the world, this is a great reference.

Re: Mythology and Superhumanity And of course, Luke stops whining and settles down even by the end of the first movie! But back on topic, using either Campbell's analysis of the Hero's Journey, or others (and there are many others) to plan out a campaign is an interesting idea. However, the players are the heroes, and if they don't want to roleplay a hero's spiritual progression, then it's all for naught. You could easily incorporate some of the steps in the classic journey into your campaign. One thing to remember is that they are not necessarily in strict chronological order. Session 7 might have Tests and Trials, but that doesn't mean Session 8 needs to be Meeting the Goddess. Nor should you feel constrained to keep every sub-step in there. This is just a framework to help shape your ideas: Seperation: This is the part where the hero decides to leave behind the protected existence of childhood for the challenges and rewards of adulthood. This might be covered by background rather than being played out. In Campbell's model, the sub-steps included The Call to Adventure, the First Refusal of the Call, Supernatural Aid, Crossing the First Threshold (leaving the familiar and safe), and The Belly of the Whale (the death star sequence in Star Wars). Most players wouldn't refuse the first call, but none of the substeps are essential, really. Most campaigns start at or after Crossing the First Threshold, where the hero embarks on the quest. Initiation This is the heart of a campaign. Substeps include: Tests and Trials (think danger room, boot camp, "let go of your feelings, Luke" type of thing) The symbolic or actual death or dismemberment (Now hold on a minute, you might be saying, there's no resurrect in my campaign. Well, that's why it's symbolic. It signifies a major setback or obstacle. Hey, adversity builds character, my dad always said.) meeting the goddess (or other spiritual teaching/encouragement) Temptation from the true path Atonement and/or Recognition by the father (or father-type figure, king, leader, what-have-you) --The goddess and the father are the easiest to screw up, because it typically involves necessarily butch NPCs, which everyone hates because it minimizes the importance of the characters to the campaign. The goddess and father figures should be constrained in some way so that they don't do the heroes job for them, but instead grant the players knowledge or powers. Apotheosis (becoming godlike, or finally spending a major wad of xp) The ultimate boon (big victory, not necesarily the final victory) Return - In the mythology sense, this is the return of the hero to his or her home, and using their new-found powers to clean up the problems that sent them out in the first place. Refusal of return - This is an element that depends heavily on the Players, but it could be done. Perhaps the ultimate boon is finished yet, or there's some reason the characters would want to stay in harms way Magic Flight - Pretty straightforward. Rescue - Again, we stand close to the abyss of having an uber-PC cast their shadow on the Hero, but it might be a simple matter of having Re-crossing the threshold Master of two worlds - usually the recognition of the heroes achievements by friends and family, the parade and ticker tape. Freedom to live - happily ever after. At least until the sequel. Again, this is just a framework, and it isn't the only one out there. As far as applying it to a game, much of the "Departure" and "Return" are normally pre and post game stuff. It is a little dangerous to see this as a step-by-step guide to game design. It might serve as a tool for analysing a game you're thinking of running. You shouldn't feel you need to cram a goddess figure into every game, or a symbolic death. As far as using mythical elements, even transposed into modern day, it's hard to swing a dead metaphor without whacking into an archetype or three.

Re: What do you do onboard a starship? I like Supreme Serpent's idea - keep em busy with tasks that have some survival value. Maybe hollow out a small planetoid and have them build a city on the inside as practice for building a new world somewhere else. Oh yeah, and you'll need at least one phone-sanitizer.

Re: Extra Extra: Is 5ER actually bullet proof It was set and clamped, which in turn means that all inertia went into penetration, as opposed to knockback. A better (and more germaine) test would be to put it loose in a backpack, put that on some d20 player's back and tell them to run. (I'm not saying you should shoot them, but if they're gamers, they could probably use the exercise.)

Re: Jack-Jack Parr Incredibles 2 might answer it. Plus, Mr. Incredible had to re-train his strength (and flexibility). If it could atrophy, it can also improve. So his strength may be something he could increase with dedicated workouts. Violet and Dash both trained new powers during the movie. Gotta love the hamster ball-speedster combo.

Re: Tentative 2006 Schedule Who authors it isn't as important as what it will be about, which I guess we won't know till the poll. An expensively bound retrospective wouldn't be a good seller. Besides, 25 is the silver anniversary, not leather. Maybe material from Digital Hero..? This should be a pop-up book!

Re: Dark Galactic Champions Take a theme of technology, extrapolate outward, and twist into a desired shape: Nano-technology 1. A cyber-organic virus that simulates a known drug and is contagious. 2. Someone figures out how to reprogram the nano-bots that are in everyone's bloodstream since birth - with a wave of his data-wand he can cause debilitating pain and tumor like growths leading to an unexplainable death. Only someone from a colony world without advanced nano-medicine (or whatever) is immune. 3. The repair nanobots that keep the infrastructure of the city working have been subverted by a mad scientist, allowing him easy access to any part of the city through mysterious tunnels. Computers 1. The police droids go amok whenever they enter a certain area of the city. Is it a localized 'wifi' virus? Some strange broadcast signal? Bizarre radiation? Or something even more sinister? 2. Everyone is so bored with cyberspace that no one but historians go there anymore, so why have several historians wound up dead from brain hemmorages? The same can be done for any genre tech, as Steve and others have pointed out. I haven't even touched on Space Piracy, or the murder mystery on the isolated deep space station, etc. I'm at work or I'd keep going.

Re: Convention Character Write Ups After I posted that, I re-read the first post and realized he was taling about experienced Hero System gamers. You could very well be right; they might be put off by it. My experience was with novices.

Re: Convention Character Write Ups Don't be afraid to use cliches and stereotypes. The players have an hour to get into a character they've never seen before, so subtlety isn't always possible. Under similar circumstances, a friend recommended that I make clones or melds of commonly known characters. You know, the stuff you hate to see your players hand in. Ex: "This character 'Pshark' is kind of like 'Blade' in personality and general tactics but he uses mind powers instead of hand-to-hand combat." It gives them an easy handle on the character. If they're a good player, they can make it their own. Also, let them run with the personality. It's their character, and as long as they stay within the psych lims and breif description, let them play them how they want. And in saying that, letting people play your old characters, its hard to not 'correct' them.

Re: The use of desolid There's also the question of AoE attacks. Desolid would take no damage from a fireball, while just upping your DCV would. Also suprise attacks. Unless the character has danger sense, they would still hit, right? What about in combat. The character is 'evading' and a master bowman from a distant roof shoots him, using suprise in combat bonus. But no, he is unhittable while evading. Or movement. When you abort to a dodge, you can't also make a full move, but with this you can. Can they use it to get out of an existing entangle? Or even avoid being entangled, since entangles don't do damage? How about walking through a constant attack, like a wall of fire (which is just avoiding damage, right)? In short, if the player is apt to take advantage of these loopholes, just say no. If the player is actually trying to roleplay the world's artfullest dodger, then okay.

Re: Jane's Superhumans My point is, a precog would forsee the future repercussions of 'Fast Money', and so avoid it.

Re: Jane's Superhumans If I was a precog, and wanted to make a ton of money at a casino, rather than several tons of money a little more slowly on the stock market, I'd hire myself out to the casino, or become a booky. Pitting yourself against the rich and the powerful (and potentially shady) is asking for trouble. If you want riches, side with the rich, buy them out, and eventually run the casino. If I were a precog, I'd know the outcome of cheating at roulette, so I wouldn't bother with small change just to wind up in cement overshoes. Meanwhile, somewhere back where the thread was originally heading, Jane's is a great idea, and there is no way it wouldn't get published 'in-game'. It would be like a celebrity-signature, bird-watchers, and train-spotters guide, all rolled into one. "Ooh look dear, a gold breasted fire projector with red googles! Look im up in Blackstones! Beautiful ploomage!"

Re: Another Steampunk Fantasy This is a great place for symbols. It takes a little more searching, but you get some in depth knowledge. They also have Hobo signs - the trail markers hobos left to warn or advise others. The whole site is fascinating.

Re: Some help with a character If you're just looking for ideas of electrical powers: Offensive: NND EB - defense is insulating armor or FF Flash vs Radio Hearing and High Range Radio Hearing Entangle based on CON - locking muscles rigid Indirect EB - can send an invisible electrical pulse through any conductive material at hand to shock a target Dispel (or suppress) vs electronics - Electro-Magnetic Pulse to scramble computers and gadgets Defensive: FF - Electro-magnetic repulsion field FW - same Movement: Teleport - turns into electricity and arcs from point A to Point B (MegaScale only through power or phone lines or other conductors) Flight - glides along the earth's magnetic fields Other: Detect electrical fields (great for foiling security systems) Aid to Multipower pool, only in presence of a lot of electrical power (building mains, high tension wires, substations, etc.) Extra REC in same situation Change environment - Magnetic field, minor TK on metal, etc Should be plenty of others. The main limit is that you don't want ALL your defenses in the same MP with your attacks, unless either you have a big enough pool to run several powers at the same time (hence the Aid above), or some of the continuous powers are on something like continuing charges, so you only have to use up your pool for one phase to 'activate' them.