Scott Ruggels

Star Trek in the 1920s
 
 

The thing is, history, academia, philosophy, theology all discuss nature vs nurture but in the end it really is both in almost all cases.  Some people are more inclined to horrors, and they are directed toward that by how they are raised or their environment.  
 
It cannot ONLY be nature, because that doesn't explain how evil people can twist and turn others to their side and to follow their wickedness.
 
It cannot ONLY be nurture or where the heck did the first bad guy come from to create the environment that makes people go bad?
 
Ultimately though, I only bring that up as a thought exercise, because in a game I don't care.  None of that applies.  The only purpose in a game is entertainment and story.  It doesn't matter where the bad came from, unless the entertaining scenario is about that.
 
Bad guys are bad because I need them to be bad for this story and everyone has fun with it.  Getting into how the orcs are mean because they were mistreated by hobbits 3000 years ago and have struggled for their homeland blah blah, no.  That's neither fun nor an interesting story.  Stick with the GAME aspects of the game, remember what we're doing here.

A number of nation entries in the Guide to Greyhawk mention militias, and in places where there's a frequent threat they're described as well trained and equipped, and ready to call up on short notice.
 
I get the impression that this is a world where the inhabitants anticipate danger arising anywhere, and who don't expect some outside authority to come rescue them.

It's certainly been a very eventful evening at the Kintargo Opera House, what with Lord-Mayor Barzillai Thrune's attempt to murder hundreds of civilians and blame the Ghosts of Kintargo. To our profound relief, we've actually managed to kill most of the devils he was going to use, and the civilians trying to flee can all turn around and watch as we finish off the ones we now outnumber. Although it's probably just as well we're all still in our Masquerade costumes - we don't want to make it TOO easy for the authorities to hunt us down when they inevitably retaliate.
 
The Bone Devil dives to the relative safety of the floor, despite the fact it’s crawling with highly motivated adventurers - and cops Ankylosaur To The Face AGAIN as the dinosaur cosplays as Anguirus. Ayva makes a mental note for the future opera’s stage directions, to suitably represent a Bone Devil’s head getting exploded like a watermelon and its remains crashing into the orchestra pit. For that matter the small part of Terzo’s brain that wasn’t preoccupied by terror and the fact he nearly just died in the last five minutes is certainly complaining that the opera about the rebellion needs some original arias, not whatever old ones he came up with on the fly. Obviously, the opera will have to have Nox as the main character. An entire (completely fictional) redemption arc, invented scenes between her and Thrune, and dramatic reveals. Plus half of it is already set at the opera house.
 
Terzo: I imagine the authorities in Cheliax will be rather confused as they study the libretto. I look forward to it being banned - Just means more sales elsewhere. Might need to consult a cleric of Sarenrae to make the character redemption believable.
 
Painted Nox finishes off the intoxicated Dotarri.
 
Dotarri: Is that Nox? She looks …. Attractive?
Painted Nox: *poleaxe*
Dotarri: ****!
 
Rajira slashes up the already dazed, prone and bleeding Erinyes, and adds a few more Status Effects to give her a Very Bad Day. Chough ensures it’s the devil’s last day by tearing her open like a cheap dog toy and wearing her lungs as a hat. 
 
Looking around we discover to our surprise that we’re all still alive, albeit rather battered. Ayva is in the odd position of wanting to hug the ball of fire, but then Shimza’s healing flames are rather odd. At least that, and the flying ankylosaur, will ensure some rumours that the Ghosts of Kintargo have a dragon on their side. It’s true, too, although Vendelfek is hardly as deadly as the rapidly spinning Ornithischian.
 
We have Painted Nox carry ‘Thrune’s’ body to the Opera House doors, after Terzo hurriedly feeds her speech based on the final scene of The Red Tyrant. He’ll have to rewrite that for his eventual opera about recent events in Kintargo - he doesn’t want to be accused of plagiarism.
 
Rajira uses the window we threw the real Nox through to sing her aria from Huntress of Heroes, a piece she was due to perform prior to Thrune closing the opera house (and, additionally, petrified Shensen, star of Kintargo opera). Her roll comes out to 41. It’s quite possibly the most sublime performance the Opera House has ever seen. Everybody within earshot, probably including some of the Dotarri, are now dedicated to the rebellion. As news spreads, we’ll have well over 10% of Kintargo on our side.
 
Civilla’s inhumanly sneaky homunculus Luster explores the Opera House basement while Ayva hurries off to deal with the petrified Shensen while all this is going on - the rest of us can fly off on the Ankylosaur if we have to, although that might be rather conspicuous. Luster finds a vault, and a very creepy coffin.  If we move the coffin and Shensen to the bottom of the pond in Aria Park using the grotto connecting the two, we can have one of our teams move them to one of our safehouses later. If that coffin DOES contain the vampire we speculated was feeding on Thrune, there’s quite a few precautions we’ll need to take, but we do have some options to turn it human again regardless.
 
Painted Nox returns with Thrune’s body. 
 
Painted Nox: It’s a fake.
Civilla: … it’s Cizmerkis, isn’t it.
Avya: What, really?
Terzo: I’m sorry, who’s Cizmerkis?
Civilla: …Ah… er… I’ll explain later. Business Associate.
 
There are certainly some aspects of the contract that Civilla will have to consider, if Cizmerkis actually suffered True Death. Another thing she might want to consult an actual lawyer about - preferably one of the Inevitables, immortal creatures of pure Law. If Cizmerkis was Summoned as a Greater Planar Ally and Polymorphed for this entire trap, then he’s stuck as a corpse until the spells wear off.
 
Avya: Shimza saved our lives today. Cure Moderate Wounds would not have cut it.
Civilla: I’ll say. “Where’s your healer?’ ‘Up in the rafters’ “Oh dear’ ‘Directing the Flaming Ball of Healing’ ‘ I'm sorry, what?”.
 
We’ve also earned enough XP from this evening to level up TWICE.
 
Once we get that casket somewhere safe, we unseal it - after Civilla casts Daylight. Inside is a very surprised Jilia Bainilus, and she is, indeed, a vampire. So that’s what happened to the missing former Mayor.
 
Civilla: *holds up a Elixir of True Resurrection* I have a cure.
 
Jilia seems very much in favour of that even as her new vampire abilities try to Dominate us. We seal her up again, move her out into the sunlight, open it up to burn her to dust, and pour on the potion. The restored Mayor is understandably rather annoyed with Thrune and his allies. She’s not the only one - hundreds of the most influential people in Kintargo now want Thrune’s head on a spike.
 
Rajira: They probably wanted his head on a spike already, just on general principles. Now they REALLY want it.
 

You suffer a flash attack just looking at him!

My first Champions character GI Jones (don't judge me) carried an M-16.  Nothing superpowered, just a normal assault rifle.  However, the GM and all of us players were completely new to Champions, so the GM saw in the rulebook that an M-16 was "2d6/6d6" and thought the 2d6 was the damage and the 6d6 was the knockback.  And he also thought that you added up all the knockback for multiple hits.  During our first battle, I fired autofire at Brick, hitting with most if not all of the bullets.  (Hey, it's been like 40 years, I can't remember everything.)  Due to the combined misunderstanding about the rules, my shots did enough knockback to send Brick back into - and through - a building, then across an open space behind that building into a second building.  The bullets themselves did little damage to Brick, but slamming through multiple walls ended up knocking Brick out cold.

Each of these provides filters you could use to re-imagine a less "busy" version of the CU.
 
X-Men is easy. It's all mutants, or nearly all. Super-tech is created by "mutant super-geniuses." It might not even be "real" technology that other people can duplicate, but just a kind of prop for channeling intrinsic powers (an idea used in the Wild Cards series, IIRC). Magic likewise. Even ostensible supernatural creatures such as demons might be psychokinetic constructs created by a particular mutant. This might not be understood by mutant-hunting groups, who would be quite indignant to be told their super-sophisticated mutant-hunting robots are actually powered by the psychic power of the scientist who builds them -- who of course doesn't know he's a mutant.
 
Fantastic Four offers a subtler filter. One of their big themes is exploration. They gained their powers from an experimental rocket flight. Many of their regular foes operate from strange or distant places -- the Mole Man in Subterranea, Galactus and the Super-Skrull from outer space, Rama-Tut/Scarlet Centurion/Kang a time traveler, Annihilus and Blastaar from the Negative Zone, and so on. An FF-inspired trim-down of the CU could similarly tie heroes and villains to Hidden Lands and Hidden Races such as Lemuria or the Empyreans, aliens, and a limited selection of other dimensions. For instance, Dr. Destroyer would have gotten his start in super-technology from a wrecked alien spaceship; his tendency to place his Bases in exotic locations such as a remote island, a hidden valley in the Himalayas, and an asteroid ties into the theme very well. Though you might prefer to have Xarriel (from Champions Beyond, IIRC) as your top villain, and draw of the aliens in that book for additional foes.
 
Friendly Neighborhood Hero Team is an even subtler filter, in that it doesn't have to emphasize particular origin types. Actually, there are several ways you could do this. This might be a second-tier city that's a weirdness magnet, drawing in a bit of everything, like Vibora Bay. This could conceivably develop a monster/villain-of-the-week feel a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which the local heroes must deal with the latest threat to be drawn there. Or you could play up the localism by having a cadre of equally local villains who somehow can't be kept in jail for long, the way Batman has his crew of lunatics that cycle through Arkham Asylum. Or the heroes might come from a single shared origin, or closely linked origins, the way the Flash TV series has most characters tied to the Dark Matter eruption from STAR Labs.
 
OK, that's probably more than enough for one post. I hope you find an approach that you like. I'll just add that the "magic-centric" campaigns I ran to playtest for Ultimate Supermage and Ultimate Mystic were the best Champions campaigns I ever ran. Heh, when it comes to campaign design sometimes Focus is an Advantage instead of a Limitation!
 
Dean Shomshak

Yes the dark ages has a reputation for savagery but rarely was slaughter of innocents a part of the zeitgiest. Yet well into the renaissance during the 30 years war, a level of pure savage barbarity (that would not be surpassed until WW II and the Nazis) would be achieved, at Magdeburg in north central Germany. Johann Tserclaes Count of Tilly senior general of the Holy Roman Empire laid siege to the protestant (Lutheran) city. Tilly established the siege then went campaigning elsewhere leaving Graz von Pappenheim in command returning a month later with a replenished army. Pappenheim convinced Tilly to assault the city and they did so in two parts, first taking the Toll redout which exposed a portion on Magdeburgs city wall to a point blank bombardment. Tilly demanded the surrender of the city, the mayor refused believing a Swedish army was enroute. (they were but did not arrive in time) Tilly placed the assault under the command of von Pappenheim and once the army of 40,000 was thru the walls was set loose upon the city of Magdeburg. In the next 6 hours 20,000 civilians and the 8,000 garrison would be slaughtered. Towards the end of the sack, one of the last pockets of civilians was trapped at the central marketplace. Tilly was present, a large group of children (there fathers already perished trying to keep Tillys army out of the square) (estimate between 500 and 1000) marched across the square hands raised singing a Lutheran hymn and were killed to the last one, then followed the slaughter of their mothers and younger siblings. Apologists for Tilly have said that Pappenheim lost control of the army,, but Tilly sent a letter to the Emperor, I paraphrase a portion of -- Emperor you and the ladies of your court should have been here to witness the battle it was glorious. 
      You see savagery is not confined to any one period of mans history, when you vilify and make less than human your foe it becomes very easy to do any thing you may imagine unto them and justify it. 

Pathfinder : Chronicles  of Selversgard pt.16
 
In which the party encounter their most vicious opponent yet - small town politics
 
We never actually confirm WHY that werewolf woman in the isolated cottage was involved in giving that Hellknight unwanted body-hair. Maybe she was lonely. But the involvement of that Kyton was enough reason for us to get home as fast as possible and barricade the doors. But the next six months are uneventful, at least in terms of artistic dismemberment.
 
Eddison enjoys the peace and quiet. Arram, on the other hand, needs to make some marriage arrangements in a hurry. Apparently the apothecary was out of prophylactic tea - but then, given the epidemic that ran through the Ysoki warren, Skave was probably busy with that. Too late to save one of his infant children, alas. The new sewer system the Ysoki have installed under Selversgard should have helped to prevent a more severe outbreak, at least.
 
Galiante has arranged a two-week get-away at Shev’s hunting lodge way outside Selversgard, mostly as a break from their own kids.
 
On the other hand, yet more tunnels have been discovered under the town. They’re flooded, which is unsurprising given the local water table, but you do have to wonder exactly how much is buried under the town. Eddison hopes nobody remembers he’s an aquatic elf. The next council meeting discusses the issue, among more mundane matters. As usual, the current mayor hasn’t actually bothered to show up, but his second is up to the task. Some of the issues have been brought up at every meeting for the last five years, but that wouldn’t surprise anybody who has ever been on a committee.
 
Eddison, Miya and Arram are actually in attendance when Halvari Ajeri, the representative of the Fishermens Guild, keels over dead.  Nobody seems to be leaving the room surreptitiously. Admittedly he wasn’t a young man, but Miya notes that one of the late councilmember’s eyes has a wildly blown-out pupil. Mother Maybell diagnoses a stroke.
 
Mother Maybell: What can I say? It was his time - he’s with the Goddess now.
Miya: I take it the meeting is adjourned?
 
They fetch some linen, and Eddison transports the body on a Floating Disc. At least the funeral will be tomorrow.
 
Eddison: So we don't have to put him in the river to keep.
 
Eddison takes the opportunity to talk to the head of the Militia, who’s been pushing for an expanded militia for years. Eddison sympathises - he wants to expand the entire town. 
 
Eddison: Why not establish a Town Guard? Only a few people, but that’ll be a separate budget item!
 
Plus there’s a vacancy on the council now. There’s going to have to be an election. Of course, only current members of the council can actually approve new members. No wonder nothing significant has changed in Selversgard for the last few decades.
 
Eddison: Speaking as an elf, this is a recipe for stagnation.
 
The Council can be divided more or less into two factions, traditionalists and progressives. Gelvert  (usually represented by his son Gelbert), the late Helvari Ajeri, and Killane Shellsdotter are solidly traditionalist and see little advantage in changing a winning formula. Blake and Kregor both want to see more manufacturing and artificing come to Selversgard, enabling the sale of more finished goods and not just raw lumber, and they have the support of Vandruber and the Eastlake Company. Kregor also wants to upgrade his men's kit - get proper longbows and better armour, maybe even some of those newfangled gunpowder weapons, but he never gets the budget. Knobroc, when present, tends to side with them, but he was elected to counter the Fishermen’s Guild. Silas of the Green has surprised a few people by supporting some of the progressive proposals, though never when it comes to the possibility of expanding the town.
 
Helvari’s son Aldo naturally assumes he’ll inherit the position as guildmaster and councilmember. He’s a good man in an emergency, but when given the luxury of time tends to agree with whoever talked to him last. But Skiri Olafsdottir, head of Olaf and Family Boatwrights, also put her hand up, and has significant support. She’s certainly more determined than Aldo.
 
Miya: Willing to compromise, but would prefer not to.
 
Miya’s husband Falx is not on the council already, and this situation has him quite excited. And the Ysoki warren approaches Shev and Skave - they want representation on the council too.
 
Shev: Once I stop laughing I’m going to introduce you to our cousin the healer, because there’s clearly something wrong with you.
Ysoki: But you’ve dealt with the council before?
Shev: And look how quickly they accepted the proposal I leave town. I recommend our cousin Romilda - she actually lives in town and is less likely to blow the place up.
 
And then Arram receives a delegation too - Roger, Knobroc and Sennsa-Auel the elven madam - they want more representation for small businesses. Roger, in fact, is willing to stand down if Arram will take his place. They might not OBJECT to the Fisherman’s Guild having a voice of the council - they just hope it’s not Aldo.
 
Knobroc: Although there have been some grumblings about your relationship with one of your students.
Arram: A FORMER student. A fair proportion of the town are my former students by now.
Knobroc: Fair point.
Arram: … I’m going to have THREE jobs and a new kid.
 
His religious education classes have some objectors too.
 
Arram OoC: I took a freaking level in Religion for those classes! They’re just looking for something to complain about.
Miya: ‘Gods exist. Thus endeth the lesson’
 
But then being an atheist in Golarion is a losing proposition, unless your position is that the gods neither require nor deserve your worship. You might fit in in the nation of Rahadoum, though - they banned all religion. 
 
Arram canvases some of the other business owners, such as Gonno. He assures the Oread that since the council only meets monthly, and he won’t be Mayor for at least 5 years, he can handle the double-duty as schoolmaster. He also asks how Gonno’s children are doing - which, if the carpenter was more talkative, would lead to hours of happy boasting. Clearly his daughter is going to be a carpenter - look at how much hammer damage she’s done to the wall. Arram makes his excuses, and is sent on his way with a cold beer and goat cheese. He gets more refreshments at Miya and Falx’s place, while talking with them and the forestry rep Blake, but as he is heading to the Warren doubles over with agonizing gut cramps. Miya and Falx are suddenly taken ill as well. The three reach Mother Maybell’s place at the same time, seeking medical aid. She diagnoses poison. 
 
Arram: Thought so. (OOC: That’s usually why I need to make mysterious CON saves.)
 
Blake is not at home. Hopefully he hasn’t keeled over somewhere. Kragor and the militia find him, eventually, between two of the houses. Alive, but not well. It seems certain the poison was in the bottle of wine they shared. None of the servants recall even serving wine. 
 
Arram: Genuine Magnimaran Leaded Wine.
Miya: Extra sweet.
 
Skave analyzes the residue - it’s a mineral poison, usually used as a slow poison. The four victims just got an acute dose of arsenic. He prepares antidotes, while Arram checks on the other candidates. Skiri is busy at work on a Pinnace.
 
Shev OoC: It’s the finest Pinnace I’ve ever seen. Huge.
Skave’s player: You’re doing that deliberately.
 
Skiri Olafsdottir: Poison? I didn’t think the politics around here was THAT bad.
Arram: Honestly, neither did I.
 
She’s already worked through lunch, and nobody has left a plate of food anywhere for her to snack on. Arram moves on to check on Aldo. He’s out on the river.
 
Miya: A perfect alibi.
 
Skiri is certainly a more popular candidate than Aldo, although Aldo does have more influence. But Arram has made more impact on town, and influential friends besides. So it’ll be the boatwright and the teacher assuming places on the council. It’s ironic that Arram has always thought himself a conservative figure, but he might be responsible for some real change in Selversgard.
 
Skave: I buy Arram a bottle of wine to congratulate him and to apologise for all the times I’ve set him on fire.
Miya: He was just poisoned by a bottle of wine.
Skave: I checked it first!
 
Eddison has business for the new council - he requires permission for a new inn in town.
 
Eddison: I either work at the place some people avoid because the Yellow House is next door, or the place that smells of fish guts!
 
Eddison: I want to focus on the eating side of things.
Miya: Then we come to the important question, what are you going to call it?
Eddison: …..
Gonno: Hello?
Eddison: I’m thinking!
GM: The Crickets Chirping?
Eddison: I’m sure I’ll think of something before we open.
 
If he builds it on a jetty, or incorporates a living tree into the building somehow, Eddison can avoid most of Silas the Green’s objections. Especially if we do the druids some kind of favour first. And if he leans on his charisma half the people in town will give him discounts on everything else he needs to build his new inn.
 
Eddison: I’m fabulous, just ask me.
 
But the ‘servant’ that placed the poisoned wine is never identified. And part of the Ysoki warren collapses into more of those mystery tunnels. And while scouting the riverbed after a boat collision, Eddison finds an ominous dome protruding from the mud. It once had a statue on top - that’s what the boat hit.
 
And, alas, Arram does not become a father. A sad start to his new career, and the eighth year of the campaign.

I remember our long-absent forum colleague, Lord Mhoram, remarking that shortly after Fifth Edition Champions source books started coming out, he pitted his players with their team of veteran Justice League-level PCs, against Dr. Destroyer as statted in Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks. Lord Mhoram wrote that the PCs killed Destroyer -- killed him -- in two Turns of combat.

The main concern I would have as a GM is that buying Regeneration at 1 CP per time increment is super efficient with the too-cheap cost for END.  For just the base regeneration bought down to once per phase (as shown in the Advanced Player's Guide) you get 5 END back per phase without a recovery.  Or 2 Stun.  That could fit a character concept although buying reduced END Cost is probably cheaper, but it is really inexpensive for a powerful boost.
 
Or you could buy this power
Regeneration (5 of any one stat), Any one Characteristic below normal (+1/2), Regenerate once per phase (+2) (35 Active Points)
This technically requires applying an advantage reserved for adjustment powers to Regenerate, but if you're going to allow it to apply to other characteristics then why not that as well?  That's just 35 points and every phase, one stat below normal -- presumably the lowest -- is healed 5 character points.  That's 25 END, 10 STN, etc.

I was always leery about allowing "Non-Danger-worthy" characters in Fantasy Hero games. There was a type of player we would run into in the Bay Area on occasion that would play a "wacky character"  as a way to grab attention, and would skew the tone of the game.  Some of those players would  moderate their behavior after the rest of the group objected to their previous antics.  Then they would play characters that were useful but weak, requiring security provided by the other characters (and therefore attention). It got to the point where I would reject "whimsical" characters out of hand. DNPC's were not "Adventurers" in my view. This did mean my FH games were a bit serious and grim, but they ran smoothly.

"I didn't come here to insult you; you do a fine job of that on your own."

The Xenovores are not evil, if they are following their biological imperative then they are prosecuting a positive good for their species. The EVIL is what was done unto them. Now I do not intend to let them eat me, my family or any of my friends, thus I will hunt them unto extinction acknowledging that this is a genocide. But in a choice of my species or theirs, I choose mine. I will not call them evil and vilify them, for that will cloud my judgement, slow my reflex's and render me vulnerable to them. 

Regardless of how the next few minutes play out, the rebellion in Kintargo is going to have to wildly revise their threat estimate of Lord-Mayor Barzillai Thrune. The trap he laid would have devastated us, even if we hadn’t shown up. But it’s equally shocking how many resources he must have expended setting this up. 
 
Consider - in the Red Corner : Dozens of heavily armed Dotarri, Half a dozen Bearded Devils, a huge Bone Devil, an Erinyes, and a Contract Devil. Each of the devils has been concealed with expensive glamours and magical items until it was time to slaughter everybody in the building.
 
In the Blue Corner - Four artists and intellectuals and a few of their friends.
 
The Ghosts of Kintargo are not people suited to mass combat. In fact, our only member suited for face-to-face combat is Rajira’s cousin Mahat, who no doubt we’ll find sitting on a pile of dead Dotarri outside, later. Rajira is pretty deft with a kukri, true, but she got most of her skill at interpersonal violence while training for the Opera.
 
At least the Contract Devil is dead, if that was indeed Cizmerkis disguised as Thrune on the stage. And the Dotarri are clearly dismayed by the apparent death of their Lord-Mayor. But we're still seriously outnumbered, some of us are already badly wounded, and the assorted Devils have clearly identified us as People That Need To Die. Unfortunately the really big Azata is really a really big Bone Devil. They can turn invisible. And Fly. As Civilla, still up in the chandelier, will shortly learn to her cost. The Azata that was already flying is actually an Erinyes, and a horribly efficient sniper. And Rajira is having really, really bad luck avoiding the Bearded Devils. And one of the latter is paying attention to Terzo again. 
 
Then Civilla drops a Chthonic Ankylosaur onto the stage.
 
Civilla: If I kept the Xill around there was a real chance somebody would get implanted with more Xill.
Ayva: The opera about these events is going to be hilarious.
 
Happily, if Terzo dashes to the front of the orchestra pit then most of the party (and the Ankylosaur) can be buffed with the spell Good Hope. Another aria arises from the chaos.
 
Ayva: I can’t WAIT to see this opera.
 
Some of our other allies - Captain Cassius Sargaeta of the Chellish Navy, his boyfriend Marquel Aulorian, and the faerie dragon Vendalfek - keep working on getting the civilians out of the building alive, without too many of them being trampled to death.
 
Up on the balcony the Painted Nox and original continue to mutually annihilate - happily our fake is smart enough to stick as close as possible to Thrune’s bodyguard, to prevent her using her own evil glaive to best effect. And the original Nox has a Baleful Gaze attack now, after tearing a pair of blinders from her eyes in a brutal display. 
 
Although that affects her own allies as well, and the Painted Nox is immune. And for that matter everybody is too busy to even notice her trying to catch their gaze. At least Shimza can do ranged healing in the form of Scorching Rays and Flaming Spheres that make people feel better (with the added bonus that the Bearded Devils pause their attacks on people that are apparently already on fire). And Civilla and Shimza can Dimension Slide to somewhere safer than the chandelier and hide in an Invisibility Sphere. And the Dire Corby we’ve been having trained by a barbarian is finally able to help in combat. She might not be optimised for Face-to-Face Combat but she’s very very good at Beak-to-Spine.
 
Ayva: Our Lady of Squawking Death.
 
Although she hasn’t actually dismembered anything but training dummies lately. We’ve been trying to teach her to use her rage constructively.
 
Ayva in Flashback: ‘No no, you don’t cut them in half, because that’s murder. And murder is…?’ ‘... and Murder is wrong’
Rajira in Flashback: No, murder is crows.
 
Still, the Bearded Devil that Chough lands behind is definitely going to be murdered, after she grabs each side of his head and tears him in half down the middle.
 
Chough: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE
 
Upstairs, our Painted Nox prevents the original from using the gaze attack again. Or gazing at anything ever again, by slicing her shiny magical glaive through both Nox’s eyes. If that WAS Cizmerkis the Xill killed, then the original Nox might just have been released from her contract, and is free to flee. Not that she can see to flee. Further, since it was Civilla’s Xill that landed the killing blow, she might be able to claim Nox’s contract by Right of Conquest. 
 
Terzo OoC: You MIGHT want to consult a lawyer on that idea first.
 
It probably won’t matter anyway - Civilla shadow-conjures a Holy Javelin and runs her through - Arcane Casters are ridiculously versatile. The original Nox staggers as holy light and clarions ravage her, and gets pushed out a window to a Disney Death. Where everybody can see that there are clearly two Noxs, and this one was some kind of abomination, and our one a blazing figure of goodness.
 
Rajira’s player: Oh god, we’re conflating two great songs - Blinded By The Light and Holy Diver.
 
The Bone Devil manages to critically injure itself (possibly it was blinded by the light of the Nox Kebab) but the Erinyes mages to mortally wound Terzo even as he’s trying to assist his friends with their own injuries. It can also see straight through the Invisibility Sphere. It’s just as well Shimza has an Amulet of Life’s Breath that Civilla made for her, to keep her going beyond any normal amount of injury.  
 
Civilla: We magic-users know exactly how squishy we are. 
 
At least the burrowing Ankylosaur continues to be effective. At the very least the nearly dead Ayva can hide behind it.
 
Civilla: I brought a siege engine to a knife fight.
 
Chough is certainly going through the opposition like a Ballista, too. She nearly kills a second Devil as it’s trying to Greater Teleport out of her way. And then the Ankylosaur becomes even more like a siege weapon, because Ayva casts Fly on it (and Rajira), from where she was hiding underneath. The Bone Devil and the Erinyes certainly weren’t expecting THAT. The concussed Erinyes crashes to earth just as the Euphoric Cloud obscuring half the room disperses. 
 
Rajira yells to Terzo get in behind the Erinyes while she attacks from the front, but this nearly backfires terribly as the Bone Devil casts Hemisphere of Ice first - or attempts to. It would seem it forgot about the Ankylosaur. You’d think a Flying Chthonic Ankylosaur would be difficult to forget. The devil gets thagomized in the face. At least if it suffers True Death at the dinosaur's tailclub it won’t have to explain to anybody what happened. That would just be embarrassing.
 
Painted Nox does a Superhero Landing from the balcony (Constructs with Regeneration don’t have to worry about broken ankles) and contributes to the flanking on the Erinyes. Rajira Flies in to the attack. Chough leaps clear across the orchestra pit to contribute some properly directed violence. Ayva adds Mydriatic Spontaneity, to keep the devil’s pupils constantly dilating and contracting and leaving it half-blind and nauseated. The dottari still intoxicated by the Euphoric Cloud watch all this with fascination, swaying slightly.
 

 
Ayva OoC: I can't wait until Civilla can summon Chthonic T. Rexes. 
Terzo OoC: We’ve all seen that episode of The Goodies.
 

Disads in the early game presented an interesting RP/Story dynamic that was missing from other games, precisely because they were a player decision. 
D&D had a brutal psych lim called Alignment restrictions, but it was imposed by a few classes. (D&D also had limitations, like spells all were 1/day, but they were also just foisted on you.)
With disads not only did you choose difficulties for your character, yourself, you influenced the world and stories they'd be in.  Hunteds were the most obvious example, of course.  
 
What I found as I delved into building characters with the original Champions, was that building powers, then "paying for them" with disads resulted in either an unfinished character or one that was less fun to play. While if a character idea quickly filled out disads, it was an easy build and more fun to play.
 
Another thing I noticed as revs rolled was that the original 100pts and declining value disads lent themselves to "balanced" characters, while the ever higher point totals of successive eds necessitated hard campaign caps (which everyone would touch)...
 

Boy, you folks like to overthink.   It could be as simple as a race of monsters that eat human flesh.  We really don’t like having anyone above us on the food chain.  You can keep the relationships simpler.  

I can only speak for me, though it seems at least on the surface that Chris Goodwin and I are of similar minds in general.
 
My hold up is not and never really has been 'good versus evil.'  It's a schlep, but for whatever reason, at least amongst fantasy fans, it is a popular one.
 
My problem is the idea of an "evil race."  Every single example thus far of a potentially "evil race" has been "they have ties to evil" or are "evil-aligned."  There are humans (the only actual race available for study, I am afraid) who are unquestionably evil.  There are people who are unquestionably good.  Are humans good or are they evil?  Are they some sort of unique special case so that we can pretend a completely good or evil race is possible?  How does an evil race form a society?  How do they procreate?  I mean, there is little that is more evil than infanticide, right?
 
An army of people dedicated to the extermination of a nation or a race or followers of a gid or whatever--  I can totally get behind that.  Trite, but again: it is a popular schlep, so enjoy it.
 
An entire race whose point is to "just be evil?"  It is impossible to get behind.
 
I have seen the argument here about just wanting to recapture some simplicity of the way games once where--  and let's be honest, here:  we are talking about DnD when we say that, because that is the game that had the mandatory alignment system.
 
And most of you know that I don't care for DnD; that I have never cared for DnD, even when I was playing it way back in 1e, and most of you know that the alignment system was one of my first and largest complaints, even in 1e, so my inability to accept an evil race as just being "every member of this race is evil" really has nothing to do with this idea falling out of favor; I would like to think that I am one of the reasons it fell out of favor, but I know that no one in Gygax-Ville ever heard of me or anyone else I know, so....
 
And I accept that maybe it is a personal problem.  I have admitted this before, and do not like admitting it, but I am not going to pretend it isnt true because that is dishonorable to everyone who ever helped me be who I am:
 
I was raised by racists.  I was raised to _be_ racist.  I _was_ racist.  I remember when the Drow were first published, and someone at the table said "Damn!  Even the Elves got n××××...s!"  and we laughed-- all of us, including me.
 
And today that memory- and a thousand others like it- absolutely _disgusts_ me.  I can't stand that I was once like that; I hate when something jogs those memories, but they are real, and I won't deny them, and I hope I never lose them because they are my absolute proof that I am not that person, and they are the tool-- the feeling of shame and disgust they give me-- that ensures I will _never_ be that person again.
 
(If anyone ever has the chance to meet Mr. T, thank him for changing my life, would you?)
 
So maybe that clouds my view, too: 
 
I totally get wanting to unload some stress into the forces of evil and save the world, and I think that drive to be the good guys and save the day is awesome!  Go for it!  Brinf light to the realm.
 
But I cannot help but see the forced idea of a race that manages to form any sort of society and work together and reproduce and shelter and raise children yet still be completely self-deterministically evil as absolutely nothing more than saying "I just want a little guilt-free racism," and I absolutely will not let you have it.  I will shout and dance and holler until wither the idea is as distasteful as it should be, or you accept that you are comfortable with asking for just what it is.
 
 
Now I understand that I live in a real world, with people who can ultimately justify any desire or behavior they want, either because it is easier than changing or change isnt something they are interested in, so I do not expect a single convert, and that this thread may be interesting to someone, so I don't wanr to turn this into something that may lead to thread locking or other such thing.
 
I will respectfully bow out.
 
 

Story-wise, while overall it's the same in both, there are some departures. Several plot elements have been expanded and elaborated. The dialogue flows more naturally. The characters are more rounded and shaded, and several characters have been given more prominent roles that support the story well. The animation is of high quality (art was one deficiency in the comic IMO), and the action sequences are pretty spectacular (and sometimes spectacularly gory). Sound and music are also used very effectively. The voice cast are impressive and brilliant: J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Stephen Yeun, Walton Goggins, Clancy Brown, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Zachary Quinto, Zazie Beets, Michael Cudlitz, Michael Dorn, Lauren Cohan, among the more "name" actors.
 
Robert Kirkman is a writer and producer for this series, and I get the impression of a creator getting to revisit and revise his past work with the benefit of more experience and hindsight.

Have you ever heard the story (maybe apocryphal) of Alexander the Great and the pirate Diomedes?
 
Diomedes, so the story tells us, was a notorious pirate who had finally been captured and brought before the emperor for sentencing. Because of the pirate's many criminal deeds, everyone expected that Alexander would sentence the pirate to death.  Before he passed judgment, however, Alexander decided to interview the pirate.

"What could possibly give you the right to sail the seas, taking by force things that do not belong to you?" Alexander asked the pirate.

Diomedes boldly replied with some questions of his own. "O Emperor," he said, "what could possibly give you the right to travel the whole world, taking by force things that do not belong to you? What gave you the right to occupy the land of Egypt? Who made you king of Persia? By what authority did you invade the land of India?"

Alexander stared at the man in amazement, and Diomedes went on speaking. "Because I use only my own boat," he said, "I am called a pirate. You, however, use your army and your navy, and so you are proclaimed an emperor. If you ask me who is the greater criminal, I cannot say. I do know, however, that if I had such weapons at my disposal, I would be an emperor too."

Alexander was so impressed by this reply that instead of punishing the pirate, he let him go, praising him for his boldness and insight.

Like LL I know it when I see it and I have seen it. I am 71+ years old and have met 2 evil persons, one male one female. The female is dead killed in a automobile accident that I have always believed was divinely orchestrated to the betterment of the world. The male is in prison and will never get out. Canada long time past forbade executions, and a life sentence 20-25 years, we also have the Dangerous Offender Act, and if you "get put on that" they can keep you there for forever. He is one of those that's there forever.
     Not sure I can define what is evil but I think I can start,, - One who commits murder (the taking of life without cause) for personal gratification.

Investigating an exoplanet's atmosphere:
 
https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/2023/webb-discovers-methane-carbon-dioxide-in-atmosphere-of-k2-18b
 
Dean Shomshak

Human fantasy is full of classes of being which, through one agency or another, have been rendered irredeemably "evil." Demons. Undead. Unseelie. If one wishes to slaughter creatures without a twinge of guilty conscience, such things are well precedented and available to the fantasy genre. But they're things whose existence is fundamentally different from ours in some way. They may not think or feel the way we do, or interact with us or each other in the same ways as us. They may not be subject to normal aging and death, or may lack souls, or the like. They may come from a radically different environment which shaped them that way, or even have consciously chosen to follow that path.
 
If your intent is to apply the distinction between good and evil to any race with a society, family relationships, and free will at all resembling real humanity, just keep in mind that you're imposing modern concepts of ethics and morality on archaic civilizations for whom, for most of our history, such concepts did not exist. It wasn't that long ago that "The only good ____ is a dead ____" was a widely held view. It was long considered acceptable, sometimes even laudable, to kill followers of the "wrong" religion or customs, or who were held to be inferior by birth to the group doing the killing, or who were just part of a hostile tribe. (And in no few parts of the world, it still is.) Killing children was a practical measure to forestall an enemy restocking their supply of fighters, or to prevent them growing up and seeking revenge for the killing of their own loved ones.
 
If your gaming group wants to view an historically-inspired world through the modern lens, you've already moved beyond justifying killing out of hand anything in which you can see some reflection of ourselves.

One of the ideas that has become a big deal in D&D circles is that there shouldn't be inherently Evil races.
 
I'll refrain from ranting about this and cut to the chase.

Surely, creating an Evil Race is a very Evil act. The kind of thing that the Evilest of Evils would do, just to be Evil. (And because minions are useful.)

So, in other words, if inherently Evil races didn't exist, they would be created!

While I came up with this through an independent line of thought, Tolkien had already done it, as you would expect. He described the "creation" of Orcs as one of Morgoth's Most Evil Deeds.

Evil races can therefore plausibly exist, and the fact of their existence should, in fact, be horrifying.

If you need metaphors for racism, you can always look somewhere else. Just stay away from residential schools for Orc children unless you really want to go there.

Also, "race" isn't a good term. Something else would be better.

Thoughts?