Vestnik
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Re: Glassy Mars
I believe the Russians claim to have an active program. NASA's Design Reference Mission (DRM) could get humans to Mars within ten to twelve years from the time we get serious about doing it.We have the technology. What we need now is the ability to select a crew of six that can share what amounts to an efficency apartment they can't leave for two and a half years without getting homocidal.
Indeed:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,505617,00.html
September 14, 2007
THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE COSMONAUT
Russia Prepares for Mars Mission with 'Big Brother'
Experiment
How would humans react to a long and difficult trip to
Mars? To research the effects of extended isolation,
and prepare for a possible mission, Russian scientists
will put six volunteers in a closed environment in
Moscow for 520 days -- and then sit back and watch.
Sergey Ryazanski, whose grandfather helped build an
early Soviet rocket, will be a test crew member for a
simulated trip to Mars.
One ex-convict from Western Europe has applied to be
locked up again, in Russia: He said he thought the
space research mission in far-away Moscow was just the
thing for him, since he's used to cramped spaces and
isolation from his time in jail.
He and others have written to the European Space
Agency (ESA), which together with Moscow's Institute
for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) wants volunteers for a
new experiment testing mankind's limits for an
eventual mission to Mars. Within the next three
decades, Russia wants to be the first to send humans
to the red planet.
In order to prepare for the arduous journey, four
Russians and two people selected by ESA will
participate in experiments to simulate long-distance
space travel: They will be locked up in a model
spacecraft for 520 days as human guinea pigs. No
outside air and no daylight will penetrate the
container's aluminum walls. In effect, it will be like
the reality TV show Big Brother, only for science
instead of cheap entertainment.
Some 5,000 men and women from 45 countries have
applied so far. "I see good chances especially for
eastern Germans, since the participants have to speak
fluent Russian as well as English," says ESA
researcher Marc Heppener. The application deadline
ends this month and finalists for the experiment
starting in 2008 will be determined in December.
Sergey Ryazanski has already passed all the necessary
medical and psychological tests. The athletic,
blue-eyed, 32-year-old Russian is testing one of the
wooden cots in the mock spacecraft's sleeping module.
His grandfather helped build one of the very first
Soviet rockets and two years ago he managed to
graduate from Russia's cosmonaut training program. A
romantic attraction to outer space simply runs in the
family blood. "My wife was the only one who couldn't
understand that," Sergey sighs. She divorced him.
>From his training, Ryazanski knows how extreme
conditions can affect a person's psychological
well-being. "In total isolation with five people,
you're burdened by five times as many problems, and so
are the others," he says. It's exactly that sort of
group dynamic that the IBMP wants to examine.
Eighteen cameras will record every move, every
discussion and every argument of the earthbound
spacecraft's occupants. Psychologists hope to pick
candidates that will ensure the group works together
as well as possible. A university degree in medicine,
biology or engineering is a requirement.
Once the 20-centimeter thick airtight hatch has
closed, the six would-be cosmonauts will have to rely
on each other. They will have to repair things like
defective filters on their own. That's because the
crew of a mission to Mars -- unlike the International
Space Station (ISS) crew, in orbit 350 kilometers
above the Earth -- would get little help from ground
control. The further away they travel, the greater the
delay in communication will be. At its farthest point
in orbit around the sun, Mars is some 400 million
kilometers away from the Earth. Any SOS call from the
spaceship would take 20 minutes to reach mission
control and their response would take another 20
minutes on the way back.
Fresh Vegetables, but Reprocessed Urine
Food is another major topic. Each gram of prepackaged
food will be closely calculated and stored in the Mars
enclosure. If someone wants to drink two cups of
coffee in a day, someone else will have to go without.
They will also grow their own vegetables in real soil
in a greenhouse. Those vegetables, along with freshly
baked bread, will be the only non-packaged food
onboard.
The pretend cosmonauts will receive €120 per day for
spending a year and a half breathing chemically
treated "spaceship air," drinking reprocessed urine,
and eating freeze-dried food. Workers for the IBMP are
still hammering and bolting the four windowless
modules together, which will be connected by airlocks.
But the wood-paneled sleeping cabins are already done,
and they've installed the ventilation system.
The project will simulate the first manned mission to
Mars under realistic conditions. The trip to Earth's
red neighbor takes 250 days. Thirty days will be spent
on approach, landing and a brief stay on the sandy
rocky surface. Only at this point will participants be
allowed to leave their enclosure -- in a complete
spacesuit. After that, they will begin the "trip
home," which will take another 240 days.
The psychological selection process is extremely
important, stresses IBMP director Anatoly Grigoryev.
He knows what he's talking about: Eight years ago, the
Russians attempted a much shorter experiment
simulating six months in space.
It wasn't pretty. A Japanese participant dropped out
because he couldn't stand the drama. At an
alcohol-fueled New Year's celebration, a Russian
punched his colleague and gave him a bloody nose. The
team leader also tried to kiss a female participant
from Canada. "After that I only went to bed with a
knife," she said later.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Let me ask what I consider a better question. Armor, PD, ED, Damage Resistance and Force Field have all been around since the first edition. Why do we have separate powers for these? Armor is just PD and ED with Damage Resistance. Force Field just adds "Costs END" to the PD, ED and Damage Resistance.
Yeah, but they're equivalent in function and cost. FTL and MegaMadness aren't.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Indefinable Man is coming to town to take some names and kick some ass.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Quit trying to nerf my creativity, man.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Please check out this character I just wrote up, and comment, critique, whatever:Name: Deleth
Alternate ID: Joe Douglass
Stats, Powers, Skills, Talents, Perks, Disadvantages
Stuff
Dude, that is an awesome VPP!
Hey you could do that, couldn't you? Build a character who is a giant VPP and nothing else. All the characteristics and skills would come from the VPP.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Heck' date=' I've seen half-serious recommendations to fold all the Attack Powers into Transform; after all it can be defined as doing anything you want to the target.
[/quote']I was thinking about this, and I think at the system's basic, must "metaphysical" level, all characteristic and powers in hero can be divided into either stuff per se, stuff that changes other stuff, or stuff that resists being changed by other stuff.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
OK, forgive me if I'm being obtuse (which is possible), but I guess here is my real issue:
Logically it seems FTL could be folded into Megascale Movement (with the Disadvantage Not in an Atmosphere). I'm curious why it hasn't been. (As Regeneration was folded into another power.)
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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so
Now I want to watch "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask "The "Tomb of Horrors" -- a dark, dank hole in the ground in which, once you enter it, you die -- is an obvious Freudian reference to.. ahem.. I just won't go there. Let it suffice to say that Gygax has obvious psychological complexes regarding his mom.
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Thia Halmades is oppressing me.
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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so
And this goes back to the weak and frail intellectual (with no practical outdoor/survival skills) mucking it through dungeons.
Why am I picturing Woody Allen trying to make his way through the Tomb of Horrors?
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Uh-huh. That'll go on the list of "No' date=' no you can't do that." Sure, it's legal, but "Can be Scaled" specifically says "Within reason," [i']i.e., [/i]you probably can't shrink it down to anything other than 'halfway across the universe.'Fascist!
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Re: FTL vs. Lots of Megascale Movement
Cost and special effect mostly. Also once you pass a certain point with megascale the speed will be greater that the speed of light so it would make senase to switch to FTL.Edit: Or put another way megascale should be used to model anything sublight and FTL should be used for anything over the speed of light.
Hop Across the Galaxies Belt: 1" Teleport, Megascale (1" = 1,000,000,000,000,000"; Can Be Scaled; +5) (12 Active Points) OIF (1/2) (Real Cost = 8 Points)
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Can somebody tell me why one would get one over the other? What's the difference, really?
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Re: Building John Carter of Mars
I think Carter doesn't get stronger on Mars. I think Martians are just real weak.He-he. Martians are losers.
Seriously, I loved these books as a kid (and skimmed through one again recently -- I can't believe how badly written it was). Great work!!!!!!
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Re: 1 pip RKA, Penetrating
How about this?Anesthetic Dart: 3d6 END Drain, Ranged (Limited Range; +1/4), 16 Charges (+0) (37 Active Points), OAF (Blowgun; -1),Beam (-1/4), not vs target with hardened resistant PD (how common is it? say -1/4) (15 Real Cost)
But your construct is more powerful in that it also avoids power defense. Make the limitation whatever you like - not vs target a 1d6 Penetrating RKA would fail to affect; not vs targets with Appropriate Immunity or Over 10 Points Resistant PD; whatever feels right,.
True. For some reason the venom examples in the Bestiary are built in part as NND Drains.
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Re: 1 pip RKA, Penetrating
Custom Limitation: Does not penetrate Hardened Targets with DEF of X or More. (-1/2).Hmm. For poison darts, why even buy them linked to RKA at all? How about this:
Anesthetic Dart: 3d6 END Drain, Ranged (Limited Range; +1/4), No Normal Defense (Defense is Appropriate Immunity or Over 10 Points Resistant
PD; +1), 16 Charges (+0) (67 Active Points), OAF (Blowgun; -1),
Beam (-1/4) (30 Real Cost)
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Re: 1 pip RKA, Penetrating
My issue is that I want my poison darts not to do much actual damage to the target (outside of the poison). A 1d6 RKA will do plenty damage to an unarmored normal. Two darts can take him out. 3 1/2d6 RKAs can kill him. This does not fit with the idea of little darts. Hence the attack that just does 1 BODY, but stull penetrates defenses.
My other issue is that I want my Penetrating to only work on objects below a certain DEF (so it will penetrate Kevlar or thin steel, but not tank armor). I am not sure how to do that.
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Re: The hollow earth conspiracy
I can't find anything about it online, but I have very distinct memories from the 1980s that there was a cult living on Mt. Shasta that believed that Heaven was located inside the mountain. Does anybody else remember this?
Correction: I did find something:
Mount Shasta is a very special place to say the least; it represents much more than just a mere mountain. Mount Shasta can be considered as one of the most sacred places on this planet. The mountain is a mystic power source for this planet; actually, this sacred mountain is an incarnation of the Great Central Sun of this universe. It is a focus for angels, spirit-guides, spaceships, masters from the Light Realm, and the home of the survivors of Ancient Lemuria, which sank under the waves of the Pacific Ocean a little over 12,000 years ago. For those gifted with clairvoyant abilities, Mount Shasta is embraced in a gigantic, etheric purple pyramid whose capstone reaches far beyond this planet into space, and connects us intergalactically to the Confederation of Planets for this sector of the Milky Way Galaxy. This awesome pyramid is also created as an inverted version of itself, reaching far down to the very core of the Earth. You can call Mount Shasta the entry point of the Light-Grids of this planet, where most of the energy comes first from the galactic and universal core before it is disseminated to other mountains and into the grids. Most mountaintops, especially tall mountains, are Beacons of Light, feeding the light-grids of this planet.
Strange lights and sounds are often seen or heard on the mountain. Lenticular clouds, shadows and outstanding sunsets add to the mystical aura of the mountain. Several tunnels stretch far into the interior of this majestic mountain. Mount Shasta is also the home of the present-day Lemurians, survivors of the sinking of the continent of Lemuria over 12,000 years ago. Yes, our Lemurian brothers and sisters are real; they are well and physically alive, living in the subterranean city of "Telos" underneath sacred Mount Shasta.
Prior to the sinking of their continent, fully aware of the eventual destiny of their beloved continent, the ancient Lemurians, using their mastery of energy, crystals, sound and vibrations, hollowed out a vast underground city, with the intention of preserving their culture, their treasures and their records of ancient Earth's history; history that has been lost since the sinking of Atlantis. Lemuria was once a vast continent, and larger than North America, connected to parts of California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. This large continent disappeared overnight into the Pacific Ocean over 12,000 years ago in a vast cataclysm. All inhabitants of the Earth at that time considered Lemuria, their motherland, and there was much weeping on the Earth when at the time of its destruction. About 25,000 Lemurians at that time were able to migrate into the interior of the mountain, the most important of their various administration centers prior to the sinking of their Motherland. And beloveds, you who are reading this writing, know in your heart, that they have never left. They are still here in physical immortal bodies, totally unlimited, living a life of pure Heaven on Earth.
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Re: Multiform, Skills, Contacts -- oh the pain
And that which was obscure was made plain. Thanks guys.
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Re: The hollow earth conspiracy
Hey, this was filmed on Mt. Shasta. Isn't there a cult there based on this stuff?
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Re: The hollow earth conspiracy
I have to say I loved his list of his various 'high callings' which validate his leadership potential....
-Carl-
Including "Talk Show Host."
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Re: Flying Dodge
Ah, the Tunnelling Flying Dodge, a favorite of the Mole Ninja Clan.
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Hi all,
I'm making a heavily Moon Knight-influenced character who is a minion of the Aztec god Quetzalquotl (I think I spelled that wrong, but I don't speak Nahuatl, so don't sue me). One of his powers is a feathered and scaled cloak that allows him to Multiform into either a Holy Anaconda (I know they don't live in Mexico; this is creative license) or a Holy Eagle. Quetzalquotl being depicted as a feathered serpent and all.
His mind is preserved in both instances. Do his skills like Forgery and Gambling and Weapon Familiarity need to be purchased for all forms? How about any contacts I might decide to buy? It seems like he's spending a lot of points in these forms on skills he would never, ever use (WF: Small Arms, for a snake, for instance).
For sake of reference here's the Work In Progress version. Disads haven't been done yet, and the point totals don't add up exactly. I took the liberty of changing his Combat Skill Levels for each of the forms, so the skill sets are very slightly different. Feedback would make me very happy and possibly result in a child being named after you.
EDIT: Oh yeah, please don't tell me all the forms have to buy the same Martial Arts.
Main Form
Cost CHA Val
---------------------------------------------
5 STR 15
42 DEX 24
16 CON 18
2 BODY 11
3 INT 13
2 EGO 11
8 PRE 18
1 COM 12
5 PD 8/16/19
4 ED 8/16/19
16 SPD 5
0 REC 7
0 END 36
2 STUN 30
----------------------------------------------
106
Cost Powers
----------------------------------------
37 The Talon: 1d6 HKA, NND (Energy Force Field or Resistant
Magical PD; +1), Does Body (+1), 0 END (+1/2) (52 Active
Points), OIF (-1/2) (Notes: Enchanted Talon Glove)
10 The Fang I: 1/2d6 RKA, Penetrating (+1/2), Autofire (x3; +1/4),
32 Charges (+1/4) (20 Active Points), OIF (-1/2), Limited Range
(20"; -1/4), Beam (-1/4) (Notes: Fires Poision Darts)
20 The Fang II: 4d6 Energy Blast, No Normal Defense (Defense
Is Immunity to Ophidotoxins; +1), Autofire (x3; +1/4), 32 Charges
(+1/4) (50 Active Points), OIF (-1/2), Limited Range (20";-1.4),
RKA Must Do Body (-1/2), Linked (RKA; -1/4)
16 Cloak I: 8 PD 8 ED Armor (24 Active Points), OIF (-1/2)
10 Cloak II: 20" Gliding (20 Active Points), OIF (-1/2), Restrainable (-1/2)
20Cloak III: Multiform to 300-Point Holy Anaconda or Eagle (65 Active
Points), OIF (-1/2), Full Phase Only to Activate (-1/4),
Costs END (-1/2), Personality Reversion (One Hour; -1)
12 Warclub: 4d6 HTH Attack, 0 END (+1/2) (30 Active Points),
OAF (-1), HTH Attack (-1/2)
2 Blessed: 2 PD 2 ED Damage Resistance
2 +1" Running
3 Life Support: Immunity to Ophidotoxins
-----------------------------------------
132
Cost Talents
-------------------------------------------
6 3 PD 3 ED Combat Luck
Cost Martial Art
--------------------------------------------
4 Martial Disarm
4 Killing Strike
4 Low Blow (2d6 NND)
4 Martial Strike
3 Martial Throw
5 Offensive Strike
4 +1 Damage Class
2 WE: Claws, Clubs
----------------------------------------------
30
Cost Skills
-----------------------------------
2 +1 OCV with Fang
3 +1 with Martial Arts
3 Acrobatics 14-
3 Breakfall 14-
3 Climbing 14-
3 Animal Handler (Raptors and Snakes) 13-
3 Bribery 13-
3 Concealment 12-
2 Conversation 11-
5 Defense Maneuver I-II
2 Gambling 11-
2 Forgery (Documents) 12-
2 KS: The Drug Trade 11-
2 AK: Central America 11-
2 KS: Narcotics 11-
1 CuK: Yet-Unnamed Central American Tribe 8-
2 AK: Latin-American Underworld 11-
3 LNG: English, Fluent with Accent
2 LNG: Nahuatl, Fluent Conversation
2 Lockpicking 11-
3 Persuasion 13-
5 Rapid Attack (Hand-to-Hand)
3 Shadowing 12-
2 Sleight of Hand 11-
3 Streetwise 13-
3 Stealth 14-
2 Survival (Jungle) 12-
2 Tracking 11-
2 WF: Small Arms
---------------------------------------------------
75
349
Holy Anaconda Form
------------------------------------------
Cost CHA Val
---------------------------------------------------
25 STR 35
39 DEX 23
20 CON 20
10 BODY 15
3 INT 3
2 EGO 11
8 PRE 18
2 COM 14
6 PD 13/21/24
8 ED 12/20/23
17 SPD 5
0 REC 11
0 END 40
0 STUN 43
-----------------------------------------------------
140
Cost Powers
-------------------------------------------
24 8 PD 8 ED Armor
7 +15 STR (15 Active Points), Only with Grab and
Squeeze (-1)
8 Heavy: Knockback Resistance -4"
2 Not Much Appetite: Life Support (Diminished
Eating; Only Has to Eat Once Every Few Months)
8 Superb Swimmer: +8" Swimming
6 +3 with Smell/Taste Group
1 Aquatic Adaptation: Life Support (Extended
Breathing; 1 END per Turn)
12 Bite: 1d6 HKA (2d6 with STR) (15 Active Points),
No Kockback (-1/4)
3 Life Support (Immunity to Ophidotoxins)
-----------------------------------------------
71
Cost Talents
-------------------------------------------
6 3 PD 3 ED Combat Luck
Cost Skills
-------------------------------------
6 +3 OCV with Grab
3 Acrobatics 14-
3 Breakfall 14-
3 Climbing 14-
3 Animal Handler (Raptors and Snakes) 13-
3 Bribery 13-
3 Concealment 12-
2 Conversation 11-
5 Defense Maneuver I-II
2 Gambling 11-
2 Forgery (Documents) 12-
2 KS: The Drug Trade 11-
2 AK: Central America 11-
2 KS: Narcotics 11-
1 CuK: Yet-Unnamed Central American Tribe 8-
2 AK: Latin-American Underworld 11-
3 LNG: English, Fluent with Accent
2 LNG: Nahuatl, Fluent Conversation
2 Lockpicking 11-
3 Persuasion 13-
5 Rapid Attack (Hand-to-Hand)
3 Shadowing 12-
2 Sleight of Hand 11-
3 Streetwise 13-
3 Stealth 14-
2 Survival (Jungle) 12-
2 Tracking 11-
2 WF: Small Arms
------------------------------------
72
289
Holy Eagle Form
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Cost CHA Val
----------------------------------------------
0 STR 10
42 DEX 24
10 CON 15
0 BODY 10
3 INT 13
2 EGO 11
8 PRE 18
4 COM 18
6 PD 8/16/19
6 ED 8/16/19
24 SPD 6
0 REC 5
0 END 30
2 STUN 26
----------------------------------------------
106
Cost Powers
---------------------------------------
12 Talons: 1d6 HKA (15 Active Points), Reduced Penetration (-1/4)
18 Beak: 1d6 HKA, Armor-Piercing (+1/2) (22 Active Points),
No Knockback (-1/4)
33 Wings: Multipower, 50-Point Powers, All Slots Restrainable (-1/2)
u3 1) Flying: 20" Flight, 1/2 END (+1/4) (50 Active Points),
Restrainable (-1/2) (33 Real Cost)
u2 2) Gliding: 25" Gliding (25 Active Points), Restrainable (-1/2)
(17 Real Cost)
-10 Short Legs: -5" Running
-2 No Swimming: -2" Swimming
10 Eagle Eyes: +5 PER with Sight Group
16 Eagle Eyes: +16 vs. Range for Normal Sight
3 Life Support: Immunity to Ophidotoxins
24 Feathers of Gold and Silver: 8 PD 8 ED Armor
--------------------------------------------
109
Cost Talents
--------------------------------------------
6 3 PD 3 ED Combat Luck
Cost Skills
--------------------------------------------
6 +2 with Beak, Talons, and Dodge
7 +2 DCV, Only in Flight (-1/2)
3 Acrobatics 14-
3 Breakfall 14-
3 Climbing 14-
3 Animal Handler (Raptors and Snakes) 13-
3 Bribery 13-
3 Concealment 12-
2 Conversation 11-
5 Defense Maneuver I-II
2 Gambling 11-
2 Forgery (Documents) 12-
2 KS: The Drug Trade 11-
2 AK: Central America 11-
2 KS: Narcotics 11-
1 CuK: Yet-Unnamed Central American Tribe 8-
2 AK: Latin-American Underworld 11-
3 LNG: English, Fluent with Accent
2 LNG: Nahuatl, Fluent Conversation
2 Lockpicking 11-
3 Persuasion 13-
5 Rapid Attack (Hand-to-Hand)
3 Shadowing 12-
2 Sleight of Hand 11-
3 Streetwise 13-
3 Stealth 14-
2 Survival (Jungle) 12-
2 Tracking 11-
2 WF: Small Arms
---------------------------------------------------
83
298
Was the GM right or wrong in limiting my Gadgeteer?
in Champions
Posted
Re: Was the GM right or wrong in limiting my Gadgeteer?
I recommend that the OP start dating the GM. Problems will soon be over.