Shaft

Re: Order of the Stick New one is up: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0668.html

Re: Order of the Stick

Re: Order of the Stick New one: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0663.html

Re: Order of the Stick It is now http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html

Re: Reminiscing About Star Fleet Battles Any fellow fans of the Star Fleet Battles RPGs? GURPS made an awesome version of Prime Directive that would make a great reference for an *ahem* enterprising Star HERO GM wanting to run this with FRed. Task Force Games also had a cool, but complicated system as well.

Re: Hawaii Hero

Re: Cowboy Bebop/ Firefly inspired game This could easily be done. I could probably toss in Judge Dredd elements as well.

Re: Cowboy Bebop/ Firefly inspired game Here's an ambitious timeline I wrote up for a mixed Firefly/Blade Runner/Total Recall/Minority Report/BattleStar Galactica/Neuromancer/Robocop/Terminator/Aliens/Predator campaign: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1224980#post1224980 I hope it gives you some ideas. Dates don't match the ones in the original source material. 1987 -Major "Dutch" Schaeffer encounters an extraterrestrial Hunter that uses cloaking technology and kills off his Special Forces unit in South America before self-destructing. He is debriefed by an X-Com unit. 1997 -A vice cop unit encounters a Predator in LA during a gang war. An X-Com unit is tracking it. China begins building moonbases as economic depression hits the West. NASA is privatized and sold off to the Weyland corporation to pay for government debts. Police services in several cities are privatized. Omni-Consumer Products field tests the ED-209 robot to control the rioting that occurs daily in many cities. 2004 -A nuclear explosion destroys the remnants of an Antarctic hunting maze designed by the Predators. 2013 -OCP field tests a cyborg "Robocop". Cyberdyne begins working on SKYNET defense network. 2014 -The Tessier-Ashpool corporation begins work on the Jules Verne L-5 station. Weyland merges with Yutani corporation. Recession ends as opportunities begin opening up in space. Massive population shift from third world countries to geosynchronous stations begins as space development corporations offer employment opportunities: the hardships of life in space are easy to cope with compared to the poverty in poor nations. Relatively few First worlders go, as they are less willing to give up the comfort they are accustomed to. 2020 -Tyrell corporation develops the first replicants (the Nexus-1). 2022 -The first true Artificial Intelligences are developed. Turing agency is established to ensure that controls are kept on them to prevent them from acheiving too much autonomy. 2025 -Martian miners start suffering from high rates of cancer. Many of their children are born with mutations. 2027 -Weyland-Yutani begins building a colony on Mars, as does China. 2028 -Faster-than-light travel is developped, but crews are required to spend months in hypersleep. 2029 -3rd generation replicants begin rebelling. Their use is restricted to working to develop off world colonies. "Blade Runner" units are formed to police the androids. 2032 -Skynet becomes operational. Cyberdyne downplays its effectiveness when reporting its capabilities to Turing. 2035 -The Nostromo disappears after responding to what appears to be a distress beacon of unearthly origin. 2037 -Mutant children of miners begin displaying psychic powers. They are restricted from leaving Mars out of fear that they will be able to steal secrets and read minds. Blade Runners expand their roles to hunting down rogue telepaths. 2041 -Four replicants are able to make it to Earth. A Blade Runner takes them down, but not before they kill off the president of Tyrell corporation. 2043 -Skynet instigates a war across Asia, unleashing Terminator robots on an unsuspecting populace. Cyberdyne sends in Screaming Fist operatives through Finland airspace to take on the Skynet AI that has taken over the Russian defense grid. Cyberspace Technolgy as we know it is field tested for the first time. 2047 China emerges from the Asian Land War as the clear victor and establishes itself as a globally dominant economic superpower. 2048 -Martian population begins insurgency as it seeks freedom from the Terran corporations that control it. 2050 -As Martian insurgency worsens, construction begins on L-5 colonies around Jupiter. 2057 -Wintermute AI merges with Neuromancer AI, acheiving unprecendented levels of sentience. Newly formed AI claims to sense another presence on a scale equal to it at Alpha-Centauri. The presence is Skynet, who survived by transfering itself to a hidden FTL ship that it sent off. Skynet awaits in orbit of Alpha Centauri, determined to follow its original programming. 2058 -Douglas Quaid finds an ancient Predator device under the surface of Mars and activates it, Terraforming the planet to Earthlike conditions within days. 2060 -Cylon robots are developed from the Terminator droids and are used to continue the expansion into space. Improved control methods are implemented on replicants to make them comply with Asimov's laws of robotics. 2061 -The Blue Sun corporation tests a trio of Martian telepaths as the core of a "future crimes" unit for its police contract in Washington DC. Though initially hailed as a huge success, the experiment is later deemed to be a failure. 2062 -Vast advances are made with starship travel and FTL technology, reducing the travel time between worlds to days instead of months. The BattleStar class starship becomes the most visible symbol of the Terran defense fleet. 2078 -Neuromancer/Wintermute and Skynet infiltrate the Cylon network and subvert them. However, most replicants appear to be resistant to Cylon control. A war breaks out that lasts 10 years, during which the Blade Runner change their focus again to Cylons. Psychics gain acceptance among humanity for their role in taking on the Cylons. 2088 -An armistice is agreed on. Cyberspace advances are discarded in favour of standalone systems that are isolated and more protected from Cylon hacking. The Cylons retreat to deep space where they no doubt have isolated encounters with Xenomorphs & Predators. 2089 -The Cylons develop the technology to transfer their consciousness to organic bodies. They begin a long term plan for a pre-emptive strike against humanity, and plan to persuade as many replicants as they can to their banner. 2095 -A pacification experiment goes wrong on the planet Miranda. The planet is quarantined. -Reavers begin appearing in the outer fringe of space. 2098 -Unification War rages for 3.5 years after the Outer Rim Colonies declare independence & The Alliance of Worlds disagrees. 2102 -The battle of Serenity. The Secessionist Browncoats are defeated by the Alliance. 2103 -The Blue Sun Corporation isolates the gene that triggers psychic abilities. They begin extending invitations out to talented children who they believe have psychic potential. 2109 -The USS Sulaco is sent to investigate the loss of contact with LV-426.

Re: I killed a fellow PC last night...

Re: I killed a fellow PC last night... Agreed. It's no worse than using the snap shot maneuver to fire twice with the same attack.

Re: Magesight Sense True Nature; sight based, discriminatory, anaytical, Only usable on beings with a soul -1/4, side effects (user's nature is revealed to the target, always occurs) -1/2, side effect (magic weirdness at GM's discretion) -1/4

Re: Order of the Stick New one is up: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0652.html

Re: Order of the Stick O-Chul does not sleep. He waits.

Re: Order of the Stick

Re: Order of the Stick A Paladin with CHA as his dump stat. I guess he bought up his Diplomacy skill.

Re: Order of the Stick New one is up: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0651.html

Re: Order of the Stick New one: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0650.html

Re: G.I Joe do you plan on having any of the old Joes still be active? I assume you are still going ahead with your plan to make Duke the 4 star general in charge of the team.

Re: G.I Joe True dat. I'll correct the entries.

Re: G.I Joe I suggest 175 base/75 disads, with a Characteristic Maxima of 15 (by that, I mean primary characteristics cost double after 15). You'll probably get most of your players to buy DEX's of 17 or 18 since it's worth the points to get that 6 OCV/DCV, but some might stick with a 14 DEX. A 20 DEX will be exceptional. With a characteristic cap of 15, most PCs will buy the following: 15 STR (5 pts is cost effective, but paying 11 pts for 18 STR makes STR higher than 15 rare) DEX 17 (6 CV, 12- on DEX rolls for 24 pts, 18 DEX costs 6 more points, but gets them a 13-) CON 18 (22 pts which gives base 4 ED, 4 to REC & 36 base END) BODY 13 (6 pts) INT 13 (3 pts; like STR, PCs will think carefully before spending 11 pts for and extra +1 to INT when they could just buy extra PER or Skill bonuses, unless their character concept is an exceptionally smart person) EGO 11 or 14, depending on how they want their EGO roll to be. 17 or 18 starts becoming rare in a game where there are few psychics PRE 15; cost effectiveness is the same as STR COM 10-17. PD 5 (2 pts) ED 5 (1 pt) -> Your PCs will inevitably try to get away with lower EDs than PDs, but warn them that Energy Weapons do show up. REC 7 (0 pts) SPD 4 (13 pts) END 36 (0 pts) STUN 35 (5 pts) This will cost you about 90 to 100 pts for attributes. You will find that the remaining 130-150 pts can go on skills very quickly, espcially when you add talents, cinematic skills like the autofire skills, martial arts, superskill "powers" and individual attributes that are above the ones listed such as higher STR for a machine gunner or higher DEX for an acrobatic type. Each disad should be limited to 25 pts. Joes are somewhat limited in the disads they can take, and it gets kind of lame if you have the PCS all choosing the same formulas to get their disad totals. Every Joe already has Distinctive Feature: Uniform 5 pts, Social Limitation: Subject to Orders 20 pts, and Watched by Military on 11- for 10 pts, so that is already 35 pts. Psych Limitations are easy: Patriotic, Sense of Duty etc... and can easily fill 25 pts. The PCs will have to just be creative in filling out the last 15 pts. There are very few Physical Limitations that they can take, but they can have Rivalries, other Distinctive Features (such as army tattoos), bad reputations,etc... I would not allow the PCs to take Hunted by Cobra- everyone has it for free, but for most of the Joes it's not personal- many of the times, Cobra may not even realise that they are dealing with a Joe until it's too late.

Re: G.I Joe On the allies of GIJOE, here are some ideas: A variation on Ultimate Captain America might make an intersting addition to the team in a continuity where low level powers exist (like the Max series), assuming that your power levels can handle his inclusion. On the other hand, he'd be cooler than Sgt Slaughter... The Max version of Punisher wouldn't be part of the team, but in that line, he served in Vietnam and has been been a vigilante for 35 years (he is a very fit sixty year old). He might have crossed paths with Snake Eyes, Stalker, Hawk or Duke. He may have even been a Joe who released, had a family and then used his training to wage war on crime. What will the Joes do if they have to reign him in. (on a slightly related idea, the Blue Moon Killer might be an ex-Joe too. Or a current one...). A gritty version of Nick Fury might be involved with GIJOE if he is in a timeline where SHIELD doesn't exist. Maybe he and Hawk are Jugglers together (or for an interesting idea, make Duke even older and say that he was a Howling Commando, and that all of the Howling Commandos got the Infinity formula). The Infinity Formula could be a military secret that the US government uses on its Special Forces to prolong their lives- that way most of the Joes could have signed on since the 80s and still be active. It could also be a "Super Soldier light" formula as well, that boosts attributes to atheletic levels rather than pushing the limits of human physiology the way Steve Rogers' body reacted to the still never-replicated Super Soldier formula. The versions of Ultimate Hawkeye and Black Widow (from series 1, not the more recent issues) would also make good Joes. The A-team (Hannibal, Murdoch, Face and B.A.) served in Vietnam as Special Forces and they might have crossed paths. As I recall, the last year of the show had them working as deniable operatives. The upcoming movie will reboot them and make it that they were Gulf War veterans. Thomas Magnum, Rick and TJ all served in 'Nam as Navy Seals. The Impossible Missions Force might also exist in this continuity; they had operatives in the 60s, 80s and mid-90s. There's no reason to assume they aren't still around- perhaps as friendly rivals to the Joes. While Iron Man armor technology would probably break the feel of GIJOE, a bulkier version like the classic SNAKE Armor would be a cool add on as well. The Tony Stark from last year's movie might make an interesting background character who refuses to join the team and keeps his ID secret, but occasionally helps out the Joes. Maybe as Tony Stark, they know him as a defense contractor and they don't know that he actively helps them. If you're thinking about these ideas, you're looking at running a game for 250 point characters who don't pay for equipment (which, IMHO, is roughly equal to 350 pt characters with 100 points of gear that they have to pay for).

Re: G.I Joe The Devil's Due relaunch had Destro's son (from a liason with another woman, not the Baroness) wearing the mask and trying to pass himself off as the original, until Destro himself showed up to show his son why he kicketh ass so much. Honestly though: Destro & Cobra Commander work as older masterminds now in their sixties (or 60 year olds using science to keep them younger (if you have the clone of Rommel, I assume the science is up there in your game). They should be more behind the scenes though, with the PCs rarely encountering them. Some front line villains that you could use: 1) The Rommel clone is a pretty good idea, and he might have that aberrant sense of honour as in he likes to fight mano a mano (or tank on tank) and is not the type to ambush. The revelation that he is a clone should be a surprise. 1a) Cloning other leaders might be an arc derived from Serpentor's origins. Cobra might have modified their brain patterns "dollhouse" style to imbue them with a sense of loyalty to Cobra Commander himself. These power hungry leaders might form a Viper-style council with Cobra Commander at its head Of course, they would eventually turn on one another. 2) Zartan is another good candidate for longevity. In Devil's Due, the Dreadnoks expanded to a motorcycle gang with hundreds of members across the country, on par with the Hell's Angels. The original trio of Dreadnoks might also still be around, though now they would be in their fifties and chapter leaders. 3) The DVAS (Deadly Viper Assasination Squad) from Kill Bill are natural candidates for Cobrafucation (I used them in my Dark Champions as an elite Viper unit). My version of them had: -Snake Charmer as a chi based psychic/martial artist who could hypnotize people, cloud their minds to make himself unseen. -Black Mamba was a low level speedster who could have speedbursts- it wasn't great for long distance sprints, but she was fast in a fight (in game terms she could get +2 SPD for 24 seconds). -California Mountain Snake could transform into stone. Her reflexes were unaffected by the transformation. -Cottonmouth had gills, and enhanced strength that allowed her to function at the depths and survive underwater pressure. -Sidewinder had the same psychic invisibility that his brother had. -Copperhead used poison. These characters were all expert martial artists, of course. 4) Members of the Serpent Society also fit in nicely with Cobra. They are low powered enough that you can often use them "as is". I imported Constrictor as a cyborg with retractable electrowhips in his forearms and Anaconda as a large, mannish woman with superhuman strength and stretching. I seem to recall someone in the Champions forum having a thread of write ups. 5) Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke the Terminator from the Teen Titans is a natural opponent for the Joes. Maybe he and Joe Colton are the only surivivors from that first Joe unit they made in the 60s but never talk about... 6) Chesire, another Titans foe, would make an excellent Cobra merc. 7) Rhas' Al Ghul would make an awesome Middle Eastern regional Cobra leader. Other Batman villains that fit are Deadshot and Killer Croc (Killer Croc is grerat for this since he already has the Reptilian theme). 8) Two Face as a regional Cobra nest leader might be intersting- perhaps he was an undercover Joe (code named Two Face) and he got his face mutilated on a mission. His mind snaps and he flips between his orignal inflitration mission and the ambitions of his stage persona, who has now worked his way up the ranks (and leaks info to the Joes about his rivals). 9) Brother Blood, another Titans foe from the 80s, would be an interesting Cobra ally. Of course, these ideas push the game into the low levels to Superheroic- which is not impossible for the series (Cobra-la?). The trick is to keep the science-fiction in the series cool instead of sloppy- so brainwave scanner machines are okay, but ancient snake civilizations are the dumb).

Re: Order of the Stick new one is up: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0648.html

Re: G.I Joe Duke is seriously opposed to ever getting a commision. Did you mean Hawk? They do kind of look the same, though in recent years, they changed Hawk's hair colour to brown.

Re: G.I Joe Yeah- that bit of history was told to the readers by Scarlett in the original GIJoe series #27. As for the Freudian slip, it would probably involve a foursome to which Scarlett and Cover Girl were also invited.