T. K. Bertram

Re: Concubine Seeks New Position The more I think about this question and the more I read of the character, the more I am convinced that she should really be the competent version of Marcus Brody (the way Indy described him in the now famous bluff in The Last Crusade). To paraphrase from that film: "The hell you will. He's got a two day head start on you, which is more than he needs. Brody's got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see him again. With any luck, he's got the grail already." But that's my take on the whole situation. Your mileage may vary.

Re: Most Oscure Reference You've Ever Worked Into a Game I did once play in a Call of Cthulhu game where the GM managed to work in the Antikythera mechanism as a McGuffin.

Re: Most Oscure Reference You've Ever Worked Into a Game Well, I did manage to work Steed and Mrs. Peel into a Vampire: The Masquerade campaign I ran in the mid-90s. However, I do stipulate that this only counts as an "obscure reference" because the majority of the players I had in the game (I was the unpaid house GM for a now defunct game shop at the time) hadn't even been conceived during the years when those characters had been on television. (And it was a couple of years before the truly godawful movie was released.)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From last night's Knight Watch game: Hardpoint (after being told that haggis is considered to be a hazardous substance by a health inspector): It's part of the four basic food groups: haggis, mutton, lo mein, and beer.

Re: Why do you like to play Super Hero Games? Well, I play Superhero RPGs because they allow me an escape from a universe filled with moral ambiguity. Or to steal a line penned by JMS: "They were the bad guys. We were the good guys. And their heads made a very satisfying thump when they hit the ground."

Re: What were the best Marvel titles of the 70's? Hey, if you're talking great Marvel titles of the 1970s then you have to give it up for The Hands of Shang-Chi Master of Kung-Fu!

The Heirs to the Steve Gerber era Defenders Knight Force - Millennium City (30 seconds from now in a four-color legacy universe) Active Members Doctor Cranium - Mentalist/Psychologist Uses the team as the basis for research papers on team dynamics and the psychology of street-level superheroes. Subject of urban legend/tabloid rumors that he is an alien who has a harem of mind-controlled earth females kept for breeding purposes. Graviton - Dwarfed manipulator of the fundamental force and professor of astrophysics. Hardpoint - 7 foot tall Scottish born, indestructible Chinese soccer hooligan dressed in a kilt and a red fright wig. De facto team leader (no one else wanted the job). Currently subject of tabloid rumors that he is the reincarnation of Rasputin Jack - Team brick and expert on rigging objects for lift by cranes and other devices (including on more than one occasion, Graviton). Jammer - Exoskeleton wearing engineer on loan from STAR Labs. Obsessed potential stalker of a local female supervillain. Mage - Immortal elemental sorcerer/paramedic and the only person on the team capable of dealing with the team's Herkiemer Battle Jitney (yes, THAT one). Zero Strike - Martial artist/detective in the tradition of Batman, except not quite so intense and creepy. Drop ins The Blur - Local speedster and STAR Labs courier, incapable of either standing still or talking below 150 word per minute. The Shape - Shape shifting stunt man/martial artist Member Emeritus Inspector Jessica Pope, MD - Pathetically cute android CSI and trauma surgeon. Former liaison between the team and MCPD. Currently assigned to MCPD CSI.

Re: Strange Hero Concepts: Discuss Your Own! In the current supers campaign at the Rat's Nest the title of "strangest superhero in Millennium City" goes hands down to Hardpoint: an invulnerable seven foot tall Scottish-born Chinese soccer hooligan. Utterly without fear (or for that matter anything even within shouting distance of a self-preservation instinct), Hardpoint would head butt (his signature fighting move) Galactus if that entity ever showed up. The truly sad part is that despite his utter inability to even consider a plan and his complete incomprehensibility (the rest of the team is mostly of Northern American extraction and have difficulties with his exceedingly thick Glasgow accent), Hardpoint is the de facto team leader. (Of the other characters on the team, Doctor Cranium (the mentalist/psychiatrist) is the subject of too many rumors concerning his moral character [he's been accused of being an extra terrestrial who keeps a harem of beautiful earth women]; Jammer (the gadgeteer) has a well known romantic fixation on a local supervillan; Jack (the team brick) actually has a day job; Dr. Pope (now retired from the team and working for the MCPD forensics department) was disqualified during her tenure for being an android; Zero Strike (the martial artist/detective) is too new to the team; and Mage is trying to keep as low a profile as he can, being an immortal.)

Re: Cool Guns for your Games Back during the 70's and 80's, the Germans seemed to have a thing about making weapons that looked like they were mated with their own luggage. The best examples I can remember are the Walther WA-2000 (featured in The Living Daylights) and the H&K G11 (which would have replaced the G3 as the Bundeswher's standard rifle in the 1990s if not for the collapse of the Soviet Union).

Re: Best superhero titles of the 70's I still can't believe that no one went with this true 70's classic: Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu

Re: Best ever reason to NOT be a superhero... Two words: Liability Laws

Re: Your occupation, please. Doc Pope: Currently assigned to the PD's CSI department with the rank of Inspector. Mage: Living off investments made over a very long life.

Re: Top 10 Action Hero One-Liners Hey, come on. We're superheroes. What could happen? The Incredibles We have an unusual problem here, Jane. You obviously want me dead, and I'm less and less concerned for your well-being. Mr. & Mrs. Smith Merciful Father, I have squandered my days with plans of many things. This was not among them. But at this moment, I beg only to live the next few minutes well. For all we ought to have thought, and have not thought; all we ought to have said, and have not said; all we ought to have done, and have not done; I pray thee God for forgiveness. The 13th Warrior Marlboro: You know, that gun costs about two dollars every time you fire it. That's two bucks a bullet. Harley Davidson: Well how many'd I hit? Marlboro: You spent twelve dollars and didn't hit a damn thing. I nailed one and it cost about four and a quarter. Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

Re: (worst ever)...reasons to be a supervillain Now I can finally pay off my student loans!

Re: Your Character's Room at the Base From my group's "Millenium City Knight Force" campaign: Dr. Pope - Doc's room is actually mostly lab space. (She's the group's detective and forensic specialist.) The walls are decorated with posters showing her support for her beloved University of Michigan football team. (Doc is a huge Wolverines fan and follows them everywhere.) There are also photographs from her days as an undergraduate student at CalTech, copies of her diplomas and professional certificates, and a letter from Paramount Studios apologizing for sterotyping artificial intelligences. (Doc is an android and is a little sensitive about the whole "Frankenstein" thing.) Mage - Mage doesn't actually live at the base, but he does keep a room there. There's a wardrobe where he keeps a spare costume and a couple of changes of "civilian" clothing; a desk; and a bed. It's also the place where he leaves his communicator and other technological devices before going home for the day. (Like Harry Dresden, Mage isn't so good with technology.)