Scott Ruggels

Malls were generally built on obsolete industry or pre-trucking food packing and processing, so you could replace the malls with a Can factory, a stock yard, or a manufacturing concern that made things that were once common but are no longer, or were4 once common, but moved out of the city in the early 70's due to toxicity, or in the 80's when they were moved over seas.

The game is Magical Kittiws Save the Day (nit a word from anyone! I was invited to play, and the length of time since I was a _player_ in a face-to-face game can be measures in decades at this point, so I jumoed at it).
 
The kitty Haunauka Jones has the lowest possible intelligence score, and the player works it to the hilt.
 
"Well, maybe we can find out if we eavesdrop at the Library-"
 
Jones: "to the Library!  I _crave_ the shrimp!"
 
Jones: "stealing a car is _easy!'  All we need is a human with keys and a large brick..."
 
At the sandy beach along the river, in total awe:  "thank you!  Thank you _so much_ for inviting me!  But...  I dont think I will live long enough to poop in the whole thing...."
 
 

But that was the thing. Champions had these really elegant mechanics in that you could wargame Superhero battles. And later anything else.  This lead to the Mercenary battles and from then Fantasy Hero.  I read superhero comics, but I read more War comics, soot was all about elegant mechanics, not minimal mechanics.  

Easy for me. I was playing wargames campaigns for years before I ever played an RPG, using rules based on those of British wargamer Tony Bath. These included NPCs with distinct personalities. I was also playing skirmish wargames. Putting the two together would create a rudimentary RPG.
 
The sources I am referring to either preceded D&D, influenced it, or were independent of it.

But that was the thing. Champions had these really elegant mechanics in that you could wargame Superhero battles. And later anything else.  This lead to the Mercenary battles and from then Fantasy Hero.  I read superhero comics, but I read more War comics, soot was all about elegant mechanics, not minimal mechanics.  

I've played GURPS Supers, V&V, I bought Mutants and Masterminds but never played it. I'm sure Steve Jackson Games had something. Played and loved DC Heroes. I've played Marvel. Is New Millennium considered Champions? I think RoleMaster (chart master) had ha hero game, though I played someone's custom version of Rolemaster. Back in the 90s, a friend was in the process of creating a game it was more like Gurps and a little heroic and it was called Zen and the Art of Mayhem. It was never finished but it was very fun.  I think the better question would have been what would you have played if D&D didn't exist because other games existed after it because they didn't like how D&D worked. 
 

The other repurposed building that might be popular as a base would be the "National Guard Armory" Castles build predominantly east of the Mississippi, which were usually fortified buildings that looked just like castles. As the nature of war changed, so did the usefulness of those buildings (MOst notably their lack of parking lots, as motorized Logistics and mechanized warfare came to the fore).  These buildings have many secure rooms, and many classrooms, and large assembly rooms/ gyms, all covered.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Street_Armory
 
http://www.upstatecastle.com/architecture.htm
https://www.builtstlouis.net/national-guard-armory.html
 
http://www.cob.org/wp-content/uploads/sehome-survey-national-guard-armory.pdf
 

Exactly my situation. slightly different games, but yeah classic Traveller, Bushido, and what ever FGU Game did a decent Crunchy fantasy.  Oh, and Welcome back, You have been missed.

So many things I want to say, and only the accursed medium of miniature touchscreen with which to say them....     :😢
 
I have only the past couple of nights begun to read Mongoose Traveller, and my findings thus far are akin to Scott's.  However, I more firmly disagreed with Mongoose's 'negligible mass" computers.  I had always assumed that a lot of the mass of the computer in Classic Traveller was the miles of wiring  and thousands of sensors and whatever electronics made things work via the computer, such as opening the airlock from the bridge, detecting a pressure change on deck 6, etc.
 
It wasn't until so many third party materials included deckplans that there would be a  large chunk of area marked 'computer' that I spent even a moment thinking otherwise, and decided "well, that's not going to fly" and ignored it, instead declaring that box to be the main computer station, etc.
 
When regarding computers the way I did,  the Mongoose change is little more than saying "that tonnage is now considered to be part of the Hull /infrastructure, so it is not _that_ big a deal, and computer money now refers to the cost od computer-specific bits like processors, etc.  The part I don't care for about the Mongoose change is that it makes the computer nearly invulnerable to minor damage, but still allows it to be completely destroyed: you miss some interesting opportunities to introduce malfunctioning grav plates, no-longer-automated doors, and life-support issues as obstacles for players fighting a running battle.
 
Miller is ambivalent about the setting because he didn't write it.  Most of it was Joe Fugate and his playgroup who became DGP who became the driving force of additional supplements and background material for Traveller.  Miller himself doesn't use it any more than I do... Well, probably even less than I do, honestly.
 
I had similar problems,with the hyper-developed universe that Scott did: it's like when people say "we are going to take a vacation and go 'explore' Manhattan."  I have bad news.  Someone already did that.  You are welcome to fight the throngs of people on the roads or the sidewalks if you like, and see if any of the streetsigns have interesting names....
 
It got so bad that Miller had to decree that one particular small area was off-limits, and was for the players to build out as they wanted.  I mean, what was the point if having build rules for sectors ans systems and worlds if someone else had gone ahead and filled all that out for even the stars _beyond_ the heavens?!
 
Hard to make that cartography cash (or even be a Scout!) When every gas station in the Imperium has a map?  What trade routes can you open when there are already megacorps bleeding the system dry?
 
Worse yet, a lot of what came along eventually made the early published adventures impossible to place anywhere in the universe except that off-limits area reserved for your own special creations.
 
It was nuts.
 
Truth be told, I think that is why the entire focus of MegaTraveller was "Rebellion!  Tear down the Imperium!"  Notice That it was followed by New Era, the focus of which was explore, make contact, open trade routes, etc?  It was almost like trying to recapture the appeal of the early days of Classic Traveller.
 
It failed, because you were rediscovering populated worlds, many of which had formed little empires with a few neighbors, and of course: somebody already lives here; we know about the imperium; we have the same tech you do-  well honestly, you couldn't just bomb everyone back to the stone age.  You weren't discovering new things; you were just finding out if the old maps were still good.
 
They tried to resolve that by adding Virus, which was to have eaten all the data of the Encyclopedia Galactica, but seriously-   from _everywhere_?  From worlds and systems that Virus never reached?   
 
It was fun(ish), but it did not recapture that original feel _at all_..
 
 How have I been successful with playing Traveller on HERO rules?
 
I took a page from Miller' book: if your background suggests that you _should_ know a little bit about something (an Army colonel _should_ know something about beureaucratics), you take the higher of a characteristic roll or 11 or less.
 
If your background suggests that you wouldn't know about it, then you take the lower of a characteristic roll or 8 or less.
 
Characters are created literally as traveller characters: roll up characteristics. Either as traveller stats and convert, or- if you are feeling a bit more generous or are in a hurry- Primary Characteristica (remember I play 2e) are 2d6 plus 5.  If you are feeling more genrous than that, roll 3d6.
 
Figured characteristics are... Well, _figured_.
 
Pick a career and get cracking.  Mods to characteristics are applied directly.  Winning a skill grants that skill at 11-.  (Skills are broad in this game).  Win it again, add 1.  Originally I added 2, but HERO character progression is much more generous, allowing characters to simply buy up their skill levels with experience.
 
Aging Crises are applied directly as well.
 
Most importantly for character creation- and I cannot stress this enough in terms of making it feel like Traveller-  F\%#: "points balance" for character creation, at least at this point.  Keep track of your actual cost, of course, because someone there will likely have played HERO, and will scream like they are being tortured if the points don't match. (if there are other game groups in the area, encourage him to find one).
 
Cascade skills: character selects a skill or small skill group (handguns or energy rifles, for example) which he will now have at his base OCV, (or appropriate characteristic roll, or 11-, depending on what skill or group we are discussing) and he will select one particular firearm (or subskill) with which he will gain a skill level.  Each time he rolls the same result, he can up that skill level, or pick a different weapon / subskill to get a plus one skill level.
 
If he happens, somehow, to get ten points worth of plus one skill levels, he can opt to swap the various levels for a 10-pt plus one with the group.  With skills, this is what most players do.  With weapons skills, it is almost _never_ done.  Once they have a plus 3 in something, they don't want to get a plus one in ten other weapons at the cost of dropping those extra bonuses with that one weapon.
 
 
Seriously though, when each character is done with his career and his mustering out and getting his skills, etc, get their points total and deduct it from the campaign limit for building the characters.
 
That is what they have left to spend or bank at their pleasure.
 
Social standing is a specific new Primary Characteristic.  If you are a noble (SS 15 or higher), it is initially treated as a Perk, and as it increases, the Perk becomes more expensive, and things such as "influence," "wealth," various noble powers, land grants, etc are added, and certain social skills are awarded.  All nobles will receive "conversation' and "high society" skills. High society skill is now based on the Social Standing Charactetistic.
 
During gernation, _no_ characteristic may be increased more than 2 points or over 15 using the "balance" points. Social Standing may not be increased at all with balance points.
 
Other than that, use them as you woukd to make a champions character- flesh out your Character with skills, equipment, perks, skill levels,etc.
 
Because it is fun to play a scoundrel or a bastard child. The Noble perk may be purchased by characters who have lower social standings than 15, just be able to explain your disgrace.  Ha!
 
No, I absolutely do _not_ use HERO rules for space combat.  I just don't hate myself that much.   We used to use rhe original traveller rules, but as time went on, the players gravitated toward the simplified rules as presented in both Traveller Basic and The Traveller Book; these systems use range bands akin to personal combat and feature simplified movement.  Not mt favorite, but it is not the HERO rules, so,,,..
 
 
I have always wanted to use the Starfleet Battles game for ship combat, but I am the only one at the table  familiar with it (I was once well-known for the Klingon Butthook maneuver).
 
 
There is so much more, but I have had all of this accursed touchscreen I can handle.

SPD is literally a force multiplier.
 
Which means that its importance is directly linked to the force it is multiplying. If you give a nothingburger agent a 12 SPD, it is still a nothingburger.
 
If you give an effective combatant a 12 SPD, then you have a potential problem. I am more concerned with the rest of the character sheet than just the SPD stat.

I wouldn't.  Supers isnt my bag.  It was the Champions mechanics and logical simplicity of the system and the ability to simplify or complicate it to precisely your comfort zone for any particular story that kept me playing it.  
 
If there had been no Champions, I would still be running Classic Traveller and several variants of it, most likely, and of course, Cadilacs and Dinosaurs, Space Opera, a bit of Star Frontiers with the right group, and the Fantasy Trip- possibly some T and T for nostalgia reasons, but I doubt it.
 
 
 
 

Here are the details on the SiG M% rifle, and it's ammunition. Yes, we are going back to using a Machine Gun Cartridge, just like WW2, but with sound suppression and far better optics.
 
 

R.I.P. BlackJack

Generally speaking, including a weak assertion which is easily picked apart or shown to be spurious, irrelevant, or poorly reasoned as part of a larger argument only serves to weaken the larger argument and undermine your general position. 

Horror on the Orient Express - Dreamlands - Dylath-Leen to Aphorat
 
February 1923
 
In Which The Investigators Take A Break From Vivisection And Graduate To Genocide And Child Murder
 
The three investigators are currently holed up in a waiting room in Milan’s Stazione Centrale, keenly aware that the authorities in at least three cities can connect them to a series of grisly deaths, even if they weren’t actually responsible for them. 
 
Alex: Well, that makes another city we can never come back to. I got into this because I thought it would be fun, but it’s not being much fun. And where’s the booze? I should never have let Flo drag me into this. Not that I recall much actual dragging. 
 
Florence might not be nursing any injuries, but she has another problem - if she reports the events at La Scala accurately, and Alex’s father realises that Alex was the foreigner that was ‘injured in a fracas at the Opera House’, he’s going to blow a gasket. Their mother would too, of course, but since she’s dead it would be freaking out from beyond the grave.
 
Alex OoC: Quite possible - she always said she’d be looking down on me. 
 
Huxley, on the other hand, has an entirely different problem - he’s still in denial that magic exists, so obviously that old woman that was trying to tear the larynx out of Faccia’s throat with her bare hands can’t possibly be the missing Diva. He reluctantly concludes that the Signora must be dead, and her organs stolen by the same lunatic that transplanted the automotive worker’s lungs. It might even become his default hypothesis whenever somebody goes missing - they’ve been kidnapped and vivisected.
 
Buried under a small mountain of blankets thoughtfully provided by the staff of the Orient Express, the exhausted investigators fall fitfully to sleep, and wake up in one of the luxurious pavilions of the Dreamlands Express. Huxley even has the tiny black kitten Blackjack snoozing on his chest. 
 
The Dreamlands Express’ creator and conductor Henri Peeters is immediately aware that the investigators are still stressed by events in the Waking World, and arranges some relaxing draughts and a light meal to settle their nerves. The train beasts will soon be arriving at the port of Dylath-Leen, to pick up passengers and swap cargo. Until then, Peeters listens sympathetically to Huxley’s tale of events in the Waking World, and how favorably the Dreamlands compare. 
 
Huxley: The whole place was wrong - everybody was so miserable and on edge. Nothing like the Milan in the travelogs.
 
Florence spends most of the time playing with the kitten.
 
The new passengers are one Mironim-Mer, a wine trader with solid yellow eyes, delegations from the cities of Sarnath and Ib on their way to appeal to the wisdom of King Kuranes, and at the last minute the dancer Zsuzsa, just ahead of her pursuit by the Prince of Dylath-Leen’s secret police. She’s certainly quite taken by Huxley, although she just as clearly doesn’t like talking about the Waking World. 
 
Dylath-Leen might not be the most salubrious locale in the realms of Dream, but given how well-appointed the train-slash-caravan-slash-gelatinous-tentacle-monsters-carrying-palatial-pavilions is, is not like you actually have to get off the Dreamlands Express to have a good time.
 
Florence: Five stars, would travel again.
 
She probably won’t get the choice - apparently you can only ride the train all the way to the end of the line once. She should probably just make the best of the trip. Alex certainly is - for one thing they actually have a male body here. Unfortunately their first opportunity to shave goes disastrously, and they cut themselves badly.
 
Huxley: Maybe this will give you a rugged bad boy look
Alex: Oh, go impress your flibbertigibbet. I’m just going to let it grow next time, I swear.
 
Huxley certainly hopes to impress Zsuzsa, and goes to breakfast dressed as dapperly as possible. Maybe that’s why the Sarnathian delegation decide he’s the only one of the investigators worth talking to, and rudely invite themselves to the shared meal despite the fact they were noisily partying all night. After they realise that the King George and the British Empire that Huxley was a soldier for are in the Waking World, they ask more questions. They seem a bit surprised that the Waking World is so miserable that the Dreamlands are a restful delight by comparison, and Huxley has to explain about the Great War. That puzzles them even more.
 
Sarnathian delegate: But you were on the winning side! Your enemies defeated, and therefore subhuman and beneath contempt! Take pride in your victory!
Huxley: …
 
By lunchtime, the train has reached Zar, the Abode of Unformed Dreams, and not a place restful for dreamers. Which may explain the screaming, eyeless lunatic that runs up to the train, and that has to be subdued by Henri, Huxley, and the tentacle beasts. The Sarnathians find the struggle quite entertaining. Henri is reluctant to have the madman on board, but Huxley persuades him to have him restrained in the baggage car, until then can get him into the care of somebody better suited.
 
The Sarnathian delegates hope Huxley wasn’t insulted by their laughter at his scuffle with the madman, and invite him along for some harmless entertainment. The harmless entertainment is ambushing one of the flabby, frog-like Beings of Ib, and holding them against the wall until they stick. Huxley wants no part of it, and helps the silent and passive Being down afterwards. 
 
Huxley: You know, I think I know why you're sending a delegation to this King Kuranes - These Sarnathians are cads.
 
Karakov, the arms dealer from the Waking World, can confirm that there’s very bad blood between Sarnath and Ib, although everybody was extremely surprised when the Beings showed up again, since the extermination of their kind happened a thousand years ago. Karakov acknowledges that a lot of the history might be propaganda by the winners, but does not appreciate the comparison to the Armenian Genocide AT ALL. But then, he was an arms dealer to the Turks, and many others. Huxley does note that Karakov seems guilty under the ire, however. 
 
After lunch Florence heads off to spend time with all the cats from Ulthar, Huxley goes to spend the afternoon with Zsuzsa in her compartment, and Alex has to go scrub their hands after they find another Being of Ib stuck to the ceiling outside their compartment. 
 
Alex: You might have warned me to grab a towel before I tried to help them down. 
Huxley: I don’t understand why the Beings don’t fight back. 
GM: If they call you in as a witness in the court of King Kuranes, you can accurately report it was the Sarnathians that started everything. 
 
While Alex is cleaning up, they hear a startled Meow and a thud from the next compartment, but it’s empty when they go to check. They do tell Huxley what they heard, before they head off to the afternoon’s entertainment - Zsuzsa in Huxley’s case, and the men’s saloon for Alex. 
 
Huxley: You thought you heard a puddy tat. 
 
Zsuzsa surprises Huxley with the heat of her ardour, and he enjoys an athletic and surprisingly flexible few hours. But then even the Waking World Express has a reputation for romance.
Huxley: What happens in the Dreamlands stays in the Dreamlands.
 
Alex’s afternoon is pretty enjoyable too - there are thagweed hookahs provided for the gentlemen, a large rack of various alcohols, and an entire sideboard of sandwich ingredients for when they get the munchies. The diplomatic courier and wannabe poet Mackenzie is already there preparing a snack. 
 
GM: This is certainly becoming a theme with you - try a new recreational drug of the Dreamlands, pass out.
Alex OoC: Well I am here to enjoy myself.
GM: Although in this case it’s not so much pass out as grin goofily and sit staring at your hands. “My fingers… they can touch everything except themselves”
 
It’s Huxley that returns to the compartment first, needing a fresh change of clothes. So it’s him that finds the corpse of Blackjack the kitten, hidden in his trunk. He’s been repeatedly stabbed.
 
Huxley: … oh dear. 
Florence’s player: DRHOZ! He’s a BABY!
GM: In retrospect I should have already had chocolate here, by way of apology, since I knew this chapter predicated kitten murder. Although it’s hardly the first Cthulhu module to have the brutal death of children in it. 
Alex’s player: It’s not not supposed to be cute furry animals, just humans.
 
Huxley dithers for a bit, then goes to find the conductor. Henri is understandably distressed, even before Huxley asks how the death will affect the agreement the Express has with the sacrosanct Cats of Ulthar. And what will they tell Blackjack’s mother, Sophie. Huxley basically blurts out the situation to Flo, in front of the entire carriage-full of cats. 
 
Henri Peeters: That was not tactfully done, Monsieur.
 
At least the three investigators have pretty solid alibis for most of the afternoon - Florence was buried in pussies, Huxley enjoying one singular, and Alex so completely blazed on thagweed that they probably couldn’t walk in a straight line.
 
GM: Even if certain historical assassins are famous for both their deadliness and their drug use. 
 
Henri asks the three investigators to wait in the banquet car, while he tracks down the distraught mother cat and tries to deal with the situation. Huxley collects Alex.
 
Alex: *waggling their fingers at Huxley* Have you got some of these as well? 
Huxley: Yes, at least twelve.
Alex: Do you know why they can’t touch each other? You’re a medical man
Huxley: … I should probably sober them up.
Alex: I'm a him! I can show you.
 
Florence consoles herself with strong drink, Alex slowly becomes aware that something serious is happening, and Huxley tries to figure out what caused the wounds - they’re too big for Being of Ib claws, and more like a letter-opener than a proper knife. Eventually Henri ushers the rest of the passengers, delegates and their servants, and a large number of very angry cats, into the banquet pavilion.
 
Henri Peeters: Ladies and gentlemen… I have grim news for you. There has been a murder on the Dreamlands Express. 

It's a bit of each. An "assault" rifle is good to maybe 300meters (effective range) Recent conflicts have had engagements beyond 300 meters, to take advantage of that. And modern body armor is getting good enough to stop 5.56 beyond 150 to 200 meters.

Possibly one of the funniest moments we've had:
 
The players have started a new hero team and only that day came up with a hero team name. The meet up with the bad guys...
 
Hero: "All right! Now you're going to have to deal with us! We're..." (player looks at other players) "Who are we again?"

You can put someone to 1/2 DCV or even 0 DCV with a PRE Attack. You can Flash targeting senses which impacts DCV in various ways. You can attack people from behind at 1/2 DCV (though some groups ignore that rule). Entangling, Grabbing, Stunning all affect DCV to 1/2 or 0. 
 
And so on. There's a DCV modifier chart somewhere in the rulebooks and supporting rules text that go thru all of this.

Create once, cry once.  Play for years.

He was definitely enthusiastic about the system, and his posting in various threads showed it.  Never thought of him as one  of th gray beards here, as he had the mental energy of a young man.  Sorry to lose him. R.I.P.

A quick Google search turned up these floor plans for a Masonic temple:

The print is too small and blurry to read what the rooms are, but you're going to change them anyway.
 
Dean Shomshak

He was definitely enthusiastic about the system, and his posting in various threads showed it.  Never thought of him as one  of th gray beards here, as he had the mental energy of a young man.  Sorry to lose him. R.I.P.

My friend decided to join Sir Terry on the morning of May 31 2022  - a master of trivia and avid hero games enthusiast.
TJack always liked stories and told some to his goddaughter two days ago. He then threatened to tell racy stories about the 14 year old’s mother “when you get to be 18”. 
 
TJack humored me. He had created Jack Flash who was Bill Maxwell rejuvenated by the little green guys and given Ralph Hinkley’s supersuit who promptly got lost in the multiverse while testing his powers. I suggested that since Bill Maxwell had lost his Black partner at the FBi and that Robert Culp played Kelly Robinson in I Spy that it would be a cute twist if Bill the FBI agent was a retired spy and that Alexander Scott was the deceased partner. 
 
I’ll be spinning tales of a kind man in his honor. Those who will miss his wit are welcome to do the same. My sympathies to those who will miss him.

I remember this because a follow-up game was done this weekend for an episode done many years ago.
 
A mob figure called Ferrari is having lunch with a hero at an Italian restaurant. Ferrari is warning the hero to stay out of his way.
Ferrari finishes the conversation with: "I hope this conversation didn't hurt your feelings."
Hero reply, "It's not your feelings I'm planning on hurting."