Mike Dean

Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel

Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel This is actually kind of an obvious one... The Empty Hour At a certain hour of the night (3 a.m., potentially) a character wakes up to find the hotel completely devoid of life. There's nobody at the front desk, nobody in the lobby, nobody in any of the rooms. Perhaps the hotel is littered with evidence of people who were just there...TV's turned on, half-smoked cigarettes, etc., or perhaps the hotel looks for all intents and purposes like it's been shut down for the off season. Perhaps the place even looks like it's been abandoned for years. The character may hear signs of life from elsewhere in the building, muted conversations from somewhere far above or what have you, but all sounds cease before their source is found, and no people are ever seen. All doors and windows leading outside are firmly barred, and outside there is nothing but darkness. The power in the hotel can be on or off as best suits the story. The Empty Hour can end abruptly, with people suddenly appearing as thought they'd been there the entire time, or perhaps an NPC walks into his room just as a character is rummaging through it. Perhaps the character has to do something or go someplace specific to return to the "normal" hotel. Of course, it's also possible that the hotel is not entirely deserted during the Empty Hour. Certain key residents may also be present, with their own agendas to advance. Mike

Re: What's the closest you can get to a legal assualt rifle? Gotcha. So basically these folks are operating in a sort of legal vacuum where they can't not enter an unsecured crime scene so long as it's in support of the superhero. In that case shotguns might be a good idea after all. For civilians pump shotguns might be a better idea than semi-autos since they're more reliable (unless you prefer not to use the weapon malfunction chart). Also, pump shotguns are more dramatic; they look and sound cool when you work the action. Mike

Re: What's the closest you can get to a legal assualt rifle? The major question is, do these characters have some kind of state or federally licensed law enforcement franchise? If the hero they support is an illegal vigilante they might prefer black market weapons anyway...harder to trace without the government paper trail. If the hero is legit he's very likely a government employee, as are the support characters. If that's the case you can arm them pretty much as you see fit. If they're the equivalent of a SWAT team, say, they could have fully automatic weapons, sniper rifles, tear gas, stun grenades, the whole nine yards...all on Uncle Sam's dime. For the record, if I had a team of normals trying to take down bricks I'd only use shotguns as a last resort; instead, load up the agents with the largest caliber sniper rifles they can get and pop the heavy hitters from a safe distance. The damage is as good or better, the +1 stun mult is still there, there's no reduced penetration to worry about, and you don't have to get in the brick's face. Mike

Re: Cthulhu-esque suggestions? Horror isn't everyone's cup of tea. Still, running a horror game is something of a fine art. Far too many Cthulhu / Kult / Chill / etc. GM's go overboard with the whole "everybody dies or goes insane" bit, and that will drive a game very quickly into the ground. To have a good game the players must have some way of accomplishing their goals; it's just that direct force isn't usually the best path. Many action-oriented games (as well as other media) operate on the basic tenet the only real reason the bad guys are out there is because the good guys haven't beaten them up all up yet. There is no problem than cannot be solved by going to their base and punching them out...and that's fine. It's a relief to escape from the complex world we live in to a place where you can just kick the crap out of anyone who gets in your face. However, this mentality also runs counter to the horror genre. I'm not sure powerlessness is the right term; in a good horror game there should be some way to "win" or there's no point playing (unless, I suppose, you have particularly fatalistic players). It's just that combat usually isn't the answer. Either way it's still not for everyone. Mike P.S. For those of you who remember him, Sean Fannon tried to play in my Cthulhu game years ago. Prime example of "horror is not for everyone." For the life of him, Sean couldn't understand why you couldn't just swing on a chandelier and skewer Yog-Sothoth with a rapier.

Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel Sounds like more than a few of the hangers-on from my old gaming club... Mike

Re: Anime series as a campaign I've had a notion to run a Jojo's Bizarre Adventure campaign for some time now, but I've enough on my GMing plate as it is. Still, sometimes I find myself coming up with Stand user ideas...maybe someday... Mike

Re: Character: Nieh Hsiao Tsing (Chinese ghost) Boffo, good one. I might have to steal this one for my wild martial arts game...changing the names to protect the innocent, of course. Not sure I could roleplay a good Joey Wang, though. Mike

Re: Cthulhu-esque suggestions?

Re: Cthulhu-esque suggestions? Of course. We'd have precious little media if we didn't use real world events as a touchstone. I'm thinking more along the lines of maintaining the dramatic tension of the game. Katrina was a powerful event, and we are still feeling its aftermath; blaming it on Cthulhu may undercut the mood of the session. Or not. Depends on the players. Some players would eat it up, others would eat the GM alive. (My players would scoff and ask me if all hurricanes are caused by monsters or just this one.) For Blue, I would strongly suggest scaring up a copy of Chaosium's New Orleans Guidebook if you don't already have it; it's just chock full o' good info. Sadly, it is out of print, but maybe you could find a copy on Ebay. Mike

Re: Cthulhu-esque suggestions? I'd be wary of any "cultists summoned Katrina" plot angles. The real-life horror of the disaster far outweighs any fiction I've ever read. To say, "The Mythos did it" might actually undermine its impact. However, occultist bad guys using the hurricane to further their own aims is definitely a good plot hook, not to mention a decent metaphor for some of the callous and exploitive human behavior the world witnessed in the wake of the disaster. Also, if you set the story during and right after the disaster you can really play up the despair of the survivors, cut off from a seemingly uncaring nation while forces from within prey on them in the chaos...but instead of petty criminals the enemy is much more powerful and insidious. You can create a wonderfully bleak atmosphere where the PC's literally have no one to rely on, no outside aid to call on. As for critters, Flying Polyps are a natural during the storm. If the cult had particular targets it wanted destroyed, you couldn't ask for better cover for Polyps than a hurricane. The sort of damage Polyps cause would be virtually indistinguishable from hurricane damage. In the aftermath you could certainly throw in some undead. I've always thought the undead gain an extra creep factor when they come bubbling up from murky water. Also, if the PC's find themselves out in the bayou for any reason, perhaps tracking down a cultist lair, Dark Young are a natural choice. Be wary, of course. As written, Dark Young and (especially) Flying Polyps are close to undefeatable by even the best prepared and equipped party of adventurers. Escaping them or observing them undetected is a superior response. Even "basic" zombies and skeletons are formidible foes in Cthulhu and can ice the PC's quickly. Newbies to the genre often bear reminding that this isn't D&D and blind heroics will earn them a quick trip to the morgue. Mike

Re: Aikido & KE manipulation Martial arts in conjunction with powers are fine so long as the campaign maxima are not exceeded. Aside from that, martial arts are their own benefit...I mean, isn't this character eventually going to run into someone who can drain or suppress her powers? Mike

Re: New Mechanic: Decoupling SPD from Running For low level games (i.e. competent normal games), I've occasionally employed a house rule that points of SPD reduce the characteristic maxima of running. 10" for SPD 2, 8" for SPD 3, and 7" for SPD 4. That sets per-turn movement at 20", 24", and 28" respectively. Players who buy points of SPD can cash in their extra running for a price break. While not a problem-free mechanic ("So, now that I'm SPD 4 my Move Throughs hurt less?"), it does have the benefit of simplicity. However, I generally don't worry about the relationship between SPD and running in higher level games, and definitely not in superhero games. After all, the entire aim of those games is to be much more capable than a normal person, usually far past the point of realism. SPD, combined with full access to movement, is an important factor in giving your accomplished vigilante the jump on the mook hordes. Mike

Re: Unofficial Welcome Mat (For New Members)

Re: Unofficial Welcome Mat (For New Members) Thanks for the welcome, guys. I'm hoping to be a somewhat vaguely positive presence around here. Any other newbies want to pop in and say hi? Mike

Re: If they get better, is it actually murder? A character who prefers not to kill and a villain who may be unstoppable unless you kill him real, real good is a classic setup. Does the hero do what has to be done, even if it means compromising her principles? Non-total disads are made to be broken, but only if the aftermath is roleplayed the right way. It also sounds like this villain might be undead anyway. In virtually every game I've ever played CvK does not apply to dead people who won't sit still. Mike

Re: The Lost Room Hero

Re: Unofficial Welcome Mat (For New Members) I don't see any posts here from any actual new people, so I'll pitch in. New to the forums, but I've been playing Hero since probably 1990. Anyway, hey, how's everyone? Mike

Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel Old-ish thread. I'm reviving it. That might be bad. But I thought of one I like. Linda Linda is a pleasant-looking brunette woman in her early 30's. She is friendly and always sports a big, endearingly goofy smile. She perhaps looks a bit like Jane Adams. However, if she is ever bumped or jostled her head abruptly cants over at a sick, unnatural angle. A low cracking sound might accompany this. If this occurs Linda does not speak or cry out, but quickly slips out of sight. She never loses her grin, though. If Linda is seen again, everything seems back to normal. (If jostled on purpose after the first event nothing happens, although if her skin is touched it may be cold and leathery.) Linda is perhaps best seen only from a distance...across the lobby, on the other side of the hotel restaurant, etc. Mike

Re: The Lost Room Hero Sounds similar in a way to the premise of the old Friday the 13th TV series. The genre is sometimes referred to as Mundane Fantasy. Mike

Re: Genres HERO GAMES may want to avoid (intended to be humorous) Oprah Hero Mime Hero Former Child Star Hero Tobacco Industry Scientist Hero Enema Hero "Greedo Shot First" Proponent Hero Rubber Nipple Salesman Hero Quote Aliens, Princess Bride, and Holy Grail All Night Hero ...except I've played that last one. Mike