Roter Baron

Spider-Croc ... Spider-Croc ... Spider-Croc ...

Thanks for the info and the hint at useful literature - much obliged!

You surely do a lot of travelling! What I did not quite understand: Did this Chinese historian/ geograph write down story that he heard about Rome and the lay of the land (that is what I presume) or did he actually visit Rome? The description sound more like hearsay. And again: Was it the hearsay from a Chinese visitor to Rome or the talk of a Chinese who once met a Kushani who had had a beer at a bar with a Parthian who knew a Greek who had a sister who married a guy from the Illyricum who then moved to Rome?

The Buster Keaton movie is REALLY IMPRESSIVE! What an athlete!

Maybe I should study the rules more ... would save you guys time to answer my stupid questions. But here is another one: According to the rule on page 174 it is stated that even if you treat large objects as an Area Attack the tarteg "can oftne Dodge this sort of attack. (...) Of course, tragets can also Dive for Cocer if they prefer." Now here is the thing: Dodge and Dive for Cover are both manuevers that take half an action (or you can Abort to take them). Dodge is usually no good against an Area Attack. DCV 3 is the to-hit-number for an Area Attack. Almost all heroes (and certainly 100% of superheroes - and speedsters in their sleep) can beat that DCV by their basic, unmodified DCV. Written as is that would mean that a character with a DCV of 1-infinite is hit, unless he performs the Dodge Maneuver. Then he escapes automatically. If he for some reason wants to dive for cover, he could still fail the Dex-Check and be hit. So, how does that rule work? Not treating large objects as AE-attacks also makes it impossible to hit multiple targets unless the character does the Sweep maneuver and uses the bonus he gets by the largeness of the object to offset the multiple penalties for attacking 8 VIPER-agents als cramming in one place.

That is a nice idea for speedster combat. And super-DEX-/ high DCV- characters. To make it clear: I am not looking for a way to make speedsters ultra-powerful or invulnerable I only find it odd that someone who has a DCV that allows him to dodge lasers is unable to dodge a trown truck. With a OCV-Bonus (modified by size and maybe shape) this is problem is solved. Thank you all, guys!

The problem. You have a speester with Dex 33, DCV 14, SPD 8 and Running/ Flight beyond good reason - the character is usually acting first and more often than any other combatant and with All Combat levels in DCV very hard to hit by anyone, dodging punches and bullets left and right. But you don't usually suvive one lousy turn with a Brick because - using high strength and a convenient enviroment - the Brick just waits till you acted first in a given segment he has a phase with you (or saves his action) and clubbers you with a car/ bus/tank Area attack to kingdom come! In other games there are reactions like Saving Throws but HERO does not have this mechanic. Abort to to defensive action is the closest we have but that is no good on a segment you have already acted in. So what am I supposed to do? Save actions and stand around and wait till Mr. Sack-of-Lead has finally done something so that I can either Dive for Cover or do something? Does not really give me a The Flash-feeling. Any ideas on this Speedster dilemma?

I am struggling to get back into gming Champions (my buddies are bullying me to do it for quite some years now) but the flow of combat is what I DREAD in Champions! This is not 20 years ago when we were are attending university or school and had tons of time at the weekend and considered 6 hours of gaming short and 8 the norm - and 9-10 not out of the question. Every Saturday. Hell, we played one of my Pulp Hero adventure Saturday, Sunday AND Monday (was a holiday)! Today, it is Sundays from 3 pm to about 8 with our nurse coming in late since she sometimes has to work and can't make it before 4 and we loose time with chit-chat anyway so it is 4 hours of gaming, 4 1/2 if we are lucky. And I don't what to spend it playing though half a fight. I still remember our last Fantasy Hero campaign (generally fondly actually) when we had one measly fight against some orcs to get across a bridge. The fight was well-ballanced and we all have 20+ years of HERO under our belt but still it took about an hour. So, that was that for the gaming-day. With D&D, any old school game or basically most others this would have been a 10-15 minutes affair and we would have had the cahnce to get to the real adventure (can't count the ors I killed during my gaming-life). Yes, HERO gives you a lot of options. But honestly: Most of the time all you do is hit the target like in any other game - this way or the other. And then shuffling levels, choosing manouvers, rolling for hit locations, checking and multiplying Body and Stun damage, deducting Armor, checking for Stunning, Impairment/ Disabling damage and Knockdown really takes a lot of time. Sure, you can play without it. But if I want to play a game I like to PLAY THE GAME, not some watered down version of it. With Champions I still remember instance were some super got knocked to -5 STUN and the player ha dto wait for half and hour or more to get back into the game because all this happend on Segment 6 and between him acting again and the other players and the villains were about 30 Phases and actions! Can't have that with just 4 hours of play!

Okay, folks, here is the task/ question: How do I build a Hulk-like brick who gets more powerful the angrier he gets? Let's start with STR 70, CON 35, PD/ED each 30, END 70 and STUN 70 - so quite powerful already. Now, he should Enrage/ Berserk when he takes damage and get more powerful each phase he stays Enraged/ Berserk and/or takes damage from an attack, "more powerful" meaning increased Strength, more PD/ED, more STUN and more CON (in that order) - his Endurance should not necessarily increase since I figure that the whole ordeal is quite tiresome. As an added complication for the build I would like the increases to be "open-ended", meaning: If he does not go down the increased are theoretically limitless - it does not stop with STR 100 or PD 50, as long as he is angry/ takes damage and keeps conscious he should in the end be able to wrestle Grond, DR Destroyer and Tyrannos to the ground - all at the same time. Any ideas for a power combination?

What do you think of the Australian Sourcebook "Terror Australis"? I do have it but did not really read it through - somehow it did not really fascinate me, but that is not saying that it is bad. Do agree to your view on "Green and Pleasant Land", old chap. Marvelous little piece, indeed.

not important

Hey, they are Pierates just doin' their jobs!

I concur. The L.A. and San Francisco sourcebooks are superb and New Orleans and New YOrk City aren't half bad either. I usually choose NYC as a setting for Pulp, Champions or almost any kind of campaign and game system set in the US (if it's not Western). I have been there are couple of times as a tourist, read quite a lot about it, it has a great diversity of people and cultures, is rich in crime (= opponent, plots and adventure) and it is instantly familiar to my player through TV and movies.

Couldn't get to the May Day Labor Rally - all the sudden fell ill the night before - vomiting, diarhea, the whole works and then some. But all isn't bad: Tomorrow I am fit to work again! makes me want to start to all over again! Never missed the Labor Day Rally for the last 20 years or so. Fu ... ntastic!

So then it is the old billy-club-to-the-brain-case-routine again, proven effective since the Stone Age. But let's hear from the experts: Nook-Nook (Travelling Huntsman, Cave 9): "Bash! Always works!" Leif Snorrison (Haithabuian Raider): "A great tactic when I forgot to bring me broadsword." Abdullah al Bakr (Mornigstar-Swinger, Andalusia): "Makes infidels pray to Allah!" Hans von Steding (North-German Mercenary, currently with the Swedish Army): "I have always been a clubbing person." Blue Eagle (Ompapah Sioux Chieftain): "Turns the head of Custer into a cluster (of bumps)." Peter Müller (Weimar Communist, Rotfrontkämpferbund): "SA, SS or Stahlhelm - that makes them think again." So we see: The correct answer to the question that everybody has forgotten about after the club found its target.

I have passed through Indiana. And stayed overnight in Indiana, Pa. Twice. That should count for some.

Nah, that is way to hot and deserty to make me feel comfy. Too Nordic for that. And the whole "in-out-who-is-running-which-way?" surely is too bewildering for an old Stalinist like me. Dang! I am trapped between my Aryan heritage and my communist conviction! YOU, SIR, DID THAT ON PURPOSE!

That would be soooo thoughtful. Any chance I can get a big-ass wall, too?

Well, just yesterday I kinda, sorta called the friend I always stay with - and what can I say: I just can't withstand his Kentucky-Yinzer charm. So, Pittsburgh, Pa it is. A "program" I have none. basically I will walk around, visit old places and old friends from way back (first time in Pittsburgh was in 1994 and this will be my 10th vacation there) and have a good time doing nothing much. Maybe I'll rent a car and drive around some. So, anyone near Pittsburgh? If I 'll bring a pound of dice and haymaker away!

I always thought the motto of American police was "To Protect & Serve" and not "To Play Ball while on Duty and Be Cool (kinda, sorta, in a pitiful way)". And they forgot the following things: 1) If you want to get into good relations with the kids in the neighborhood, belittling them playing ball by "talking trash" is NOT the way to do it. 2) If you then get challenged to a ball game, do that OFF DUTY. A cop in uniform throwing a ball and getting sweaty is not exactly an image of authority. 3) If you play you can lose. 4) If you lose today, you'll find that spead on you tube and what-not because people in Afghanistan, Patagonia and Moscow South MUST KNOW what happend in your beighbors backyard, the corner next block or you sister's room. Decency IS DEAD! 5) If you win or lose, thank them for a good game and invite everybody to a coke. Be a good sport. 6) If the kids would like to play again, consider it. But don't force them to play with you. Act like an adult. And if you did not do the aforementioned, carry your incompetence like a man and don't try to cover it by abusing the power given to you by law to serve the public - not your own damged (and probably quite tiny) ego. Well, today's America it seems that the kid can count himself lucky that they did not gun him down for "cheating" at the game while using a taser and fould language. Reading all this really makes we looking forward to my holiday in the States this summer. Well, flights not booked yet. Will see. German politics and public affairs suck too but at least I don't have to spend 3T to feel miserable and alienated.

"Full Teacher LooK"! EF TEE ELL makes your (bad) conscience swell and your heart miss a beat - so be neat!

L. Marcus ... ach ... zat ... wasn't ... very ... Swede ... (thum!)

VERDAMMT! Ultimately you found my zekret Hauptquarter. But it took you quite a while, Herr Brass, nicht? And in ze end the undoing of my Hauptquarter is YOUR END, too. But bunkers can be re-built, entrances re-hidden - but where do you get a new HEAD after I drilled you a NEW ENTRANCE in it!?! RUN, RUN, HERR BRASS! BUT IN THE END YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM THE WRATH OF DER ROTE BARON!

If you really want to go over the top with trauma and sick disgust: Being forced to see the mutilation of a loved one (child perhaps) and being force-fed the cooked flesh. Why did she eat the flesh of her own child. Because of sheer and utter fear! Thus, teh heroine would be severely traumatized and deeply ashamed that she did not take a bullet to the brain but ate and ate to save her own live while her child was mutilated and cooked alive in front of her very eyes adn had to see mother eat her! If you survive such a sick and inhumane experience you are either insane and a mindless vegetable OR insane with rage against your tormentor, the world, God and - yourself. Okay, I am dizzy and feeling sick now ...

Don't even enter the territory of "realism" - we speak about a bulletproof girl that is super-strong, can fly and can look thru wall (with and without superhot eye-beams) because she hails from an exploded planet. If you are capable of excepting that then there is no reason not to accept that she wears a stainless, super-bright dress that can get dusty but *OHMYGAWD* does not even stain when some jerk spills red wine on it at a party. That is why this GIRL is SUPER!