Barton

Re: Aircraft that Never Were Actually according to the Military channel's Wings the jigs and machine tools were destroyed due to they were for the time the most advanced machine tools for titianium. Titianium is used as the skin for the SR71, still offically the world's fastest airplane [if Aurora does not exist]. I agree the Arrow should have gone into production and the US should have purchased it. It was WELL AHEAD OF ITS TIME!!! The stated reason the special gave was the Arrow was VERY EXPENSIVE, and Boeing made a deal with the Canada's goverment for future aerospace jobs.

Re: shadowcats Vehicular Insanity Shop: The British Are Coming What about writting up the Univerisal Carrier??? A early tracked open top APC.

Re: (Character) Saul "Salty" Flatts Gabbie Hayes homage.... PERFECT. I love the character, may I steal as a NPC????

Re: H.Hoover article One of the reasons I enjoy GMing PulpHero is the chance to show people history from the era. At conventions it is fun to show youngsters how much things have changed in the last 70 years.

The reason H.Hoover is famous in Europe, his post WW1 relief efforts: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=europe&sid=akEWiS14N480 This is a good article with some interesting facts. The money he raised for relief was HUGE in modern terms (in modern dollars over 50 Billion). The article did not mention the fact that Herbert was a "dollar a year man", meaning he was a goverment employee paid a dollar a year, but given sweeping powers in a limited area.

Re: I picked this up and only have this to say... Air based villian may have a secret base or two in the area.... If in the 1920's prohibition is on, and people making corn based illegal booze and of course attracting gangsters from the big cities...

Re: How often is the Skill: Acting used by your characters? Acting is covered in Ult. Skill. FYI: BUY Ult.Skill it is GREAT!!! I run two Pulp Hero games and acting is used almost every session (in the last 15 or so sessions). I am using it when people have to keep a straight face or resist the urge to blurt something out (a kind of house rule of mine, if you do not say "out of character" , then roll acting to NOT say that silly or insulting thing). Acting was used by a Pulp character of mine who wanted to avoid... well dealing with a woman that he had stood up. He wanted to act sick to have an excuse to leave. A perfect use IMHO of acting.

Re: on another note... WW2 aircraft still flying The PBY Catalina went into service for the US NAVY in the mid 30's (I want to say 1935??). GM's: A great plane for your players to have, it can land in water (and a slightly later version like the one in the photo in the link above) and on land. This would make much of the world accessable to them. Trivia: it got the name Catalina from the Brits, who when they used them in WW2 for anti-sub patrol and air/sea rescue. The US Navy then adopted the name. A rare case of a US warplane getting a name from a foreign source. FYI: the DC-3 or C-47 was called the Dakota by the British and my great aunt (Silver Star winner in WW2 as a Army Air Corps flying nurse) still calls the C-47 a Dakota.

Re: on another note... WW2 aircraft still flying The US Forest Service did have a tri-motor DC-3 (pre-DOUG). It was given a writeup in AOPA magazine about 10 years ago. I forgot about the DOUG program. Agreed about airtankers, a shame about the politics in this issue. Canada is even producing new flying boats that are designed for fire fighting. Agreed, good catch about the DC series (DC stands for Douglas Commerical). With proper maintainence the DC-3 should fly forever. It is speculated that the DC-3 will celebrate its 100th birthday with COMMERICAL in-service aircraft doing the flyover. FOR GM's: The DC-3 (or as the military calls them the C-47) has had skies, floats, and even jet assisted take off units. If your players wish to "modify" a Pulp-era aircraft the DC-2 and DC-3 should have the strength for wierd science additions. My characters are thinking of JATO (jet assisted take off) for there DC-2. I have told them that super science turbo chargers/super chargers would increase its speed. The air frame is VERY strong. Also the DC-3 can tow gliders. If your players need a quiet way to get into somewhere, this is an idea. Other modifications to the DC-3 were its use as a airborne radio/TV station. Purdue University operated a DC-3 in the post WW2 era that was a flying TV/radio station. With a large trailing antenna it could broadcast hundreds of miles.

Re: Flyboys: WWI pilots, dogfights, and zepplins!!! Believe it or not, quite a few DRI's were painted red or partially red (no specific precentages were quoted in the books I have read). After the success of the Red Baron his unit repainted their planes in red (not all red but with some red on them). Other units added red to plane color schemes. The idea was simple, RFC/RAF pilots had a fear of the Baron and if you could trick your enemy into believing you were the Baron it made you life easier.

Re: on another note... WW2 aircraft still flying Old aircraft are still in service! DC-3 is STILL flying passengers in the Yukon!!! DC-3 (AKA C-47, or Dakota) is still flying cargo (about 1,000 still in operation) worldwide. A modified DC-3 (a turboprop tri-motor version) is in use by the US Forest Service. DC-4 (C-54) is still flying cargo to this day. The Ford TriMotor is still flying sight seeing passengers in Grand Canyon. Some aircraft from the Pulp era were over enginneered and may be in commerical service for a long time.

Re: Is HERO an ideal or even an adequate game for those new to RPGs? Should it be? Another suggestion for Hero for newbies is something I did by accident and it worked great!! Have the new player set aside 20% or so starting points to be used later. As the player gets a couple of sessions it is easier for the player and GM to see how to spend these points to refine the character. It has worked out well in my PulpHero games.

Re: Which Villain Do You Want to Play? FOXBAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is foxbaterfic!!! A loon, a total loon, loveable loon, sometimes dangerous loon, but still a loon. FOXBAT !!!!!!!!!!! (Foxbat theme song) FOXBAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Flyboys: WWI pilots, dogfights, and zepplins!!! I will see it. I am worried about historical accuracy (zepplins not seen in daytime and were mostly but not all early WW1) but I will still see the movie. I am a Dawn Patrol player and that is why historical accuracy bugs me.

Re: Is HERO an ideal or even an adequate game for those new to RPGs? Should it be? I need to as a project before next year's Origins and Gen Con to make a page guide for newbies (a sort of index of the stuff you should know as a player). I hope to see you in a game at next year's GENCON. I am planning on at least seven slots for next year.

Re: Is HERO an ideal or even an adequate game for those new to RPGs? Should it be? As a GM of Pulp Hero and Champions I can attest it is a great system for newbies. It does the job very well. I GM games at Origins, GenCon, and RockCon DESIGNED and PROMOTED for newbies. It does the job very well. I explain at conventions that Hero has a bad rap for being complex, too much math and too many rules. I then show them the 5ER and the small proporation (under 60 pages) that a PLAYER should now. Then I show them how much of the book is powers and explaination of genres (well over 300 pages) that the GM should know. It is obivious to the new player that it is easy to play. I tell them within the end of the game session they will know enough to be able to play the system. Newbie players seem to like my games, and often say good things about the system. Also I know that some of them BUY the books after my convention games. I believe that the system, presented by someone who will take the small amount of time to teach the player mechanics (which does not take a lot of time) is good for a newbie player. Now some issues: character creation and GM time/skills. Character creation; with a laptop and Hero Designer with character packs a character can be created QUICKLY and easily. I created a Pulp Hero character with the player in 20 minutes total start to finish. Creation of a character can be time consuming, but in all point based systems this can take some time. GM time/skills. Hero takes effort and time from a GM standpiont. But ALL RPG systems require much more effort and time from the GM. So IMHO it is a great system for newbies, and the character creation and GM issues are just the way it is and not overwhelming for thoses who are willing to take the time (that is a topic for another post).

Re: THE ULTIMATE MENTALIST -- What Do *You* Want To See? What would REALLY help a lot of GM's IMHO would be: 1) A very detailed explaination of the levels (+10, +20) of telepathy, mind control and others with a lot of examples and maybe even some combat examples. I have a hard time as a GM on what is a +20 effect and what is +30 and so on. 2) A set of optional rules for GM's who hate mentalists (you know who you are...) Some ideas on how to modify powers to make them more plot friendly (telepathy not ruining the investigation). 3) How to use mental powers with PRE attacks. 4) How drugs/gadgets can be used like mental powers or in conjunction with them (you already mentioned that you going to do gadgets). I will purchase this book and the PDF as soon as it is published, I love playing mentalists and GM them.

Re: Even more cool planes... The Hotren brothers did have a flying prototype at the war's end. Did not enter production. Would have been used for Amerika bombing project (NYC was target). The aircraft was captured by US Army, and it is currently in Smithsonian aircraft storage. The aircraft was examined by the Northrup Corporation engineers when when the B2 was being designed.

Re: Battleship? Sub? Naw....BATTLESUB!!! This is based on the idea of submersible battle cruisers. The idea was the "ship" would hide underwater, surface to do battle (typically against merchant ships) then dive, and disappear. Never really caught on, the torepedo is just too effective, and a sub on the surface is almost a sitting duck (little armor). So fleet subs appeared, larger subs than in WW1, fast on the surface, with very long range. US subs, Japanese, and the German U-boats to a great extent followed this idea.

Re: Starting up a new campaign -- Recruitment ideas? 1) Post on Players section of Hero Board. 2) Go to GenCon, Origins, or other local 'cons and GM some games. Mention at every game that you are in need of players for your campaign. 3) Do demo(s) at FLGS that have a game room and mention you are in need of more players. I have done all of the above and it worked out well. Got over 15 players for my two Pulp Hero games.

Re: Hollow Earth Expedition!

Re: Hollow Earth Expedition! I did not purchase the book. I looked at the book and some omissions were made that I found to be annoying. I just used that one example, I found many more things beyond THAT I DID NOT LIKE. That does not mean others might or might like it. IMHO I thought Pulp Hero was a far superior product over it, but you may think otherwise.

Re: Hollow Earth Expedition! You are not kidding, it was a PRICEY gun for the time. The 1921 did not sell in large numbers hence the reason today a model 1921 is SO valuable. Also made in small numbers were the "L" or 100 round drum. Very valuable if you have an original. My reproduction of the model 1928 (mine is semi-automatic) can use the stick mag (30 round double stack) or the "C" drum (50 round drum that you have to wind like a clock to make it work). The stick mag is more reliable than the drum but of course runs out of ammo faster. The drum is heavier, but 50 rounds is more shooting before reloading. The weapon is surprising accurate, a complete newbie can get a 4 inch group at 21'!!! The M1 model was made in WW2 an is a easier to make/cheaper design that will ONLY use the stick magazine. It is missing other features that were in the 1921 and 1928 models.

Re: Hollow Earth Expedition! The Thompson was in production during WW1. In fact the crates of them were ready to be loaded in NYC on Nov. 11th 1918 the day the war ended. If the war had continued it would have seen action. The model 1921 is interesting, I can not afford one, they are usually in the $30,000 - $60,000 range. Produced for civil use!!! Adverstied for use against cattle rustlers and were under $300 at the time. Thompsons were also purchased in the 1920's by the goverment (IIRC Coast Guard and Navy).

Re: Hollow Earth Expedition! YES. The 1921 and 1928 model. Not the M1 model. I happen to own a Thompson Submachine gun reproduction (semi-automatic model). All of this info is easily obtained on the Kahr Arms web page; it is not hard for anyone to find. It is a small thing, but I like accuracy when it is possible. This is one case where it is possible and easy to do.