CandidGamera

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

I've started my own somewhat intermittent blog, and have occasionally posted memorable quotes there. Past and future quotes can be found under the tag 'table talk' :

http://candidgameraversus.blogspot.com/search/label/table%20talk

Re: Biggest Brains in DC

I love this topic.

I am of the firm belief that the smartest human being in the DCU is Lyle Norg, but he doesn't count since he's a thousand years in the future.

Ted Knight's work in physics is remembered in the 853rd Century. Ted Kord has an IQ of 180. but they're both dead now. (For the time being anyway)

Barry Allen - I honestly don't think Barry is one of the DCU's ultra-geniuses. He and Bart are both knowledgeable, thanks to being able to absorb information at superspeed, and Barry certainly had a science-filled background to begin with. I would consider him smart, but no in a top 10 or top 20.

Lex Luthor is clearly one of the smartest human beings on the planet.

Ray Palmer would definitely make a top 20 list for me.

Will Magnus and the Chief would also hit the top 20.

Dr. Sivana, Ira Quimby, T.O. Morrow would definitely be up there.

Batman... is a special case. I think Batman is a tactical genius, but the modern interpretation of him definitely downplays his inventor credentials - seems like he outsources most gadget building. He'd probably get in my top 20.

More later if I have time..

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

From a friend's Star Wars Saga Edition game :

Eric (OOC) : .. and now I've got a long-range communicator with full encryption capability.

Sarah (OOC) : Who ya gonna call?

Me (OOC) : GHOST! BUSTERS!

Worth mentioning because I never again thought I would hear someone unironically ask that question..

Re: D&D 4th

Yeah' date=' Level 1-5 is not fun at all, Level 5-10 is fun and balanced, and then it gets bad quickly. 3.5 is said to have a soft spot around 4-8 and my experience is the same. HERO has a soft spot at 350 too, by the way. Try to build supers with a 150 points. But D20 tries to be playable from 1-20, and only about 25% of that scale is really good. It's like making 50cp Hero Supers (can't afford a thing) and 1000cp HERO characters (Knockback? Need for ALL unusual defenses...). Won't work well.[/quote']

 

The really funny thing about this assertion of D&D's soft/sweet spot is that every single person who makes reference to it references a different range of levels.

Re: D&D 4th

Not to trying to be personal, but I always felt that argument from someone who plays Hero is just a little.... non-sensical

 

"You can have different special effects for your Energy Blast, but it's all really the same thing"

 

That is really all power sources are, Special effects for your abilities.

The difference, in Hero, is that the special effect is 100% flexible. And that the underlying toolkit that is the HERO system allows me to build custom powers that aren't 'deal damage and move the target a square'. HERO's special effects aren't a veil struggling to conceal the lack of variety in a system.

I can't find the thread but someone renamed all of the fighter abilities like:

 

Hit them so hard they stumble

Hit them so hard it scares their friend into fleeing

Smack them so impressively your teammate is impressed

 

And so on. No jedi flavor - more a Conan like feel for everything.

It's more than the names.

Re: D&D 4th

First off, thanks for responding.

 

I don't see a 'Generic Fantasy feel' to be something that is impossible to reach with 4E (from what I've seen of it). Don't want Dragonborn or Teiflings? Don't allow them. Want a totally nonmagical game? Ban anything other than Fighters, Rogues, Rangers, and Warlords. Don't like the background given for Gnolls or Demons? Change it. And so on.

I wish it was that simple. Every damn character is a Jedi Knight, packed full of force abilities now. Sure, they claim different power sources, but it's really all the same thing. And then there's the abysmal lack of diversity. It's not just the mishmash of deities from other worlds, the Feywild, the Eladrin, the Dragonborn, the Warlocks, et al. The very system itself is no longer compatible with the feel I want.

I've never much liked Generic Fantasy worlds, so I guess I'm not sure why that's a sticking point for you. (It's arguable that D&D ever even reached 'Generic Fantasy', rather than having a specific 'D&D Fantasy' feel.)

Gosh, I guess the reason why it's a sticking point for me is because I have a different taste than you. Sorry to be sarcastic, but you should be able to understand my point of view even if you don't share it.

I can understand this, although I'm not sure I agree with it. From what I've seen/heard, the classes play differently enough, even if they are mechanically similar. And I appreciate the lengths that they have gone to balance the classes with each other, and with the game world around them. In my last D&D campaign, I went through three characters, each of which was somehow hamstrung by specific 3.5E rules interactions that made the characters not fun to play. If 4E can alleviate that (without causing a whole host of other problems), I'll be happy.

I can't imagine how they'd play all that differently. And god help you if you want to try to distinguish two rogues from one another.

Here's where you and I definitely disagree. Magic Items in 3.5 were lame - there were only a handful that everyone bought, because the game required you to have those bonuses to be competative. All the other cool stuff went unused, except for those stat boost items, rings of protection, and cloaks of resistance. With 4Es downshift on the number of truly required magic items (weapon, armor, and neck-slot), that opens up a lot more of the other slots for having cool little powers that won't unbalance the game.

To borrow an old chestnut from another messageboard, the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'. Let's just say that my experiences with the (3.5) game differ vastly from yours.

Similarly, those high level magic spells tended to be broken beyond belief. I'm happy that they have been put in the background, where they can't cause arguements and headaches any more.

High level spells? Polymorph? It's not high level.. And they haven't been put in the background, they've been taken behind the barn and shot.

Re: D&D 4th

People keep saying things like that' date=' but I just don't see it. Mind expanding on what those essential elements are?[/quote']

 

Not at all.

 

The Generic Fantasy feel is gone, replaced by a very specific feel that isn't adaptable to the kind of games I want to run.

 

The elements that made characters different from one another - the parts of the game that really brought a character alive with detail - annihilated in the face of a uniformity unprecedented in the previous editions. (Don't get me wrong - I loved 3rd edition bringing consistency to the underlying system. But making all the classes virtually identical in structure has taken it too far.)

 

Everything's been hamstrung to fit into a tiny box.

 

I also don't like the downplay of magic and magical items. The acquisition of magical trinkets is almost an entertaining sub-game in and of itself, and I'm quite fond of the old versatile spells like Wish and Polymorph that provided more of a play advantage when used creatively and cleverly - far superior to "target takes 2d6+Int damage and is moved one square".

Re: D&D 4th

I'm picking up the three core books for 4th on Sunday. I've been reading all the previews and snippets and reviews.

I really think it's a board game with optional roleplaying now. I think the design influence of that board game is World of Warcraft - probably because the D&D MMO failed and the guys at the head office wanted to better "Actualize our potentialities" or something.

It seems like it would be a fun board game - but it has almost nothing of what I consider the essential elements of D&D - the things which have kept me playing D&D for 20 years now.

Disturbingly, GMs are encouraged to end campaigns with a "Destiny Quest" for players who achieve 30th level, with the goal being divine ascension. Hearkening back to the days of Basic D&D there, I suppose, with the difference being that there aren't any Immortals rules to continue play afterward.

Even more disturbingly, there's apparently a section in the DMG that gives guidelines for playing without a Game Master - the most damning sign of all that it's become a board game.

I'm very glad Paizo has decided to continue supporting and updating D&D 3.5 - I really feel that that edition is the pinnacle of this particular RPG.

Re: D&D 4th

You know, I really liked D&D 4E ... when it was called HeroQuest. Spade>

Re: Is it fun to play RPGs online?

I try not to play tabletop RPGs online. I do so-called "freeform" roleplaying online, though, which is fun.

It's sort of an odd dichotomy - I cannot abide a tabletop game online, and I cannot abide a freeform game at the tabletop. If I'm playing in person, I want dice and rules. If I'm online, I want no part of either.

Re: Jack Emmert On "Identifying With Your Heroes"

Wow, I can't possibly disagree with his take on Superman more. And I reject his premise entirely - I don't want superheroes to identify with, to empathize with - I want superheroes to look up to. This is why I read much more DC than Marvel.

Unfortunately, as a long time City of Heroes player, I've noticed a tendency Jack has to conflate "what people want and enjoy" with "what I, Jack Emmert, want and enjoy."

If you're reading, Jack - I don't play MMOs for the same reason you do, and I don't read comics for the same reason you do.

Re: Strange Hero Concepts: Discuss Your Own!

And my favourite, Forget-Me-Not...a mutant with one uncontrollable power that was always on. Once he was out of someone's field of perception, that person would completely forget about his existence. He had to make sure he always had at least two of his own teammates around him at all times just so that he would have a couple of people to vouch for him that they actually knew him as one of their own...

I had an NPC in my Noir Supers game something like that - his codename was Damper and he was, in essence, an emotional vampire. He had an always-on aura that passively fed on the emotions of those around him - it manifested primarily in two effects:

1.) An area of effect always-on bonus to Mental Defense vs. emotion-based attacks.

2.) A bright-fringe invisibility power - essentially, people could see he was there, but his aura caused them not to care about his presence unless they were specifically looking for him. The players joked he was the perfect NPC. "Hey, where's Damper?" "I've been here with you for five hours." "Oh, there he is!"

He also could focus his emotion-drain powers into an "apathy attack" - which, if I recall correctly, as an Ego Drain.

Re: Strange Hero Concepts: Discuss Your Own!

Do almost-rans count?

I was in a great Legion of Superheroes game - it was set millenia after the usual era, and was a new group of Legionnaires. I played a pregen (all the initial batch of characters were pregen) called Chlorophyll Kid II.

However, I was keeping a few backup concepts in my pocket in case something should happen to him.

We'd had some amusing references crop up to previous eras, including the 20th century DCU, so in keeping with that an our lack of a magic-user, my first-choice backup guy would have been a descendant of John Constantine, a modern day magic-user. Except, instead of John's clever, rude, and brash nature, this one would be polite, calm, and rational.

That's right, he was -

Neville Constantine, Heckblazer!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Ladies and Gentlemen - this may not be the usual format you're used to. And I'm kind of tooting my own horn - so to speak.

Let me 'splain. I engage in online, freeform, superhero roleplay, based on Livejournal.

And I feel (and hope) my rendition of Ambush Bug will amuse you all. Perhaps I am mistaken. But I feel, nonetheless, that this is an appropriate contribution.

http://community.livejournal.com/watchtower_fans/40220.html

That is 'Ambush Bug Presents #6' - part of a series of little snippets I do. It's somewhere between IC and OOC - as is appropriate for Ambush Bug. The watchtower_fans community is an open community for fans of the jla_watchtower community. There are five more Ambush Bug Presents episodes in there.

If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them - either via PM, or a new thread, or whatever.

Re: Venture Brothers Hero?

I would so play this game.

Re: Andromeda Ascendent Write-up

I'm unaware of any such thing, but I can bump your thread for folks to have another crack at it.

Re: Marvel Apocalypse

It was mentioned above, but yes, this is almost exactly Guardians of the Galaxy.

Re: Sonof Secret Origins! When did you start reading superhero comics?

1980. I was two. My mother bought comics to read to me, and soon thereafter, for me to read to myself.

She did once make the mistake of "giving away" a batch of comics I was obviously "done with" - I haven't let her live that mistake down since.

My favorites of the early 80's were Justice League of America and All-Star Squadron.

Yes, in essence, Roy Thomas is responsible for teaching me to read.

Re: City of Heroes - Online Hero Game

I'm @Eternal Ninja, and I'm active on Virtue and Justice with heroes, and Protector with villains, so far.

Re: Running jokes in your campaign

My current D&D game has three PCs - all multiclass, all part warrior - and an NPC Cleric. The Cleric has shown an amusing tendency to inspire critical hits with my dice - much to the warriors' chagrin. It hasn't quite elevated to a running gag, yet, but I'm sure they'll dub him the deadliest Cleric alive in due time.

One of the PCs has a fondness for javelins, as a ranged weapon of choice, and the other two players often mock him for playing with his little sticks.

-------------

I remembered one from a Pulp game I ran - GURPS Supers. The PCs had a 'criminal' contact named Eddie. Or, I should say, an "allegedly" criminal contact. Eddie was inordinately fond of that word, and would tack it on to almost anything he'd say.

"I heard they were moving the stuff tonight .. allegedly." We had great fun with Eddie.

Eddie was, in turn, loosely based on a D&D PC from a Planescape campaign I once ran - a tiefling with ratlike features, based on, in further turn, a character from one of the Shining Force games.

The New York-type accent I mustered for both of them was about the same, but Slade (the tiefling) had a different catchphrase. "Not too shabby."

---------------------------

Now one from a campaign wherein I am a player. I think I've talked about my swashbuckler, Victor, before. Fantasy world - he's both a swashbuckler and a magic user, and really quite brilliant. But he plays the stupid fop role very well.

His fiery aura spells that buff his attack and defense got him nicknamed "superfop" by analogy with "super saiyan".

The most amusing recurring element is his poorly-kept secret identity. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel, Victor fights evil as 'The Crimson Mask'. To change into the Crimson Mask form his normal appearance, he ties a scarf with eyeholes in it around his head.

This fools no one.

The purpose of the dual identity, though, is to keep his father from discovering that he's off indulging in swordplay rather than studying magic as he should be. And for that, it works. (Since all the action reports use the name 'the Crimson Mask'.)

This does not stop him from talking about the Crimson Mask in the third person, when he isn't wearing the mask, though.

(Victor) "Hmm, if only the Crimson Mask were here to help.. perhaps we can find a way to contact him."

(NPC, nonplussed) "Uhhh..yeah, I bet you can do that."

Re: Running jokes in your campaign

The last HERO game I ran was a Angel/Witch Hunter Robin inspired occult-investigation-slash-superbeings mix, and one of the (PC) characters was a gunslinger - from the future.

His running gag was references to movies and pop culture that hadn't yet happened.

"This is worse than when Keanu won the Oscar for Julius Caesar.."

There was an NPC with them who was an emotional vampire. Basically, surrounded by an area that subtly fed on the emotions of those around him. As a result, most people didn't care enough to notice him. (Invisibility, Always On, Bright Fringe). It was joked that he was the perfect NPC, because like many NPCs that adventure with the party, he was often unintentionally forgotten.

"Good thing the four of us were here.."

"Five."

"Oh, Damper! Didn't see you there."

Re: Give Me Your Best Ambush Bug!

Let's not forget - Hunted : Argh!Yle.

Re: Indiana Jones with root access

"Dr. Jones. Again we see there is no resource you can allocate which I cannot take away."

Re: Everyman Review on RPG.Net

I haven't quite finished it, but I like it. I particularly like the write-ups for Judson, Butler to the Champions (who has Hunted : Foxbat) and Witchcraft's cat.

Re: Who are the top 5 most powerful characters in your Campaign.

I'll come down on the side of Thanos, but the puzzler in that list, for me, was Reed Richards. Smart? Yes. Resources? Yes. Power? Some, but..

Just to add a footnote - Thanos is the most powerful of the Titanian Eternals, and possesses the energy-manipulating abilities common to Earth-born Eternals, coupled with numerous experiments he has conducted upon himself to imbue himself with additional power. He's more than a match for any given Earth-born Eternal.