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The Monster

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  • Birthday 04/22/1959

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  1. Wild (and probably stupid) thought: rather than having gravity pull toward the sphere, why not invert it - so that some kind of 'solar wind' type pressure pushes everything out? Functionally, the result might be similar... It might explain why the islands haven't all 'fallen' to the sphere; larger masses are pushed slower. There may be some way to push back on a large scale - a public works project on the order of building a big hydroelectric dam, but doable when and if necessary by a stable government. Larger land masses, remain closer to the sun, thus large tracts of trackless, windswept deserts. Places with the right resources and dedication can adjust their 'solar radius' every few generations, staying within a good range for crops and comfort. And larger islands are harder to move than smaller ones, and move more slowly with the wind. The islands could be spinning to provide a day/night cycle - and could even adjust it. People who 'fall off' islands and ships will indeed fall out, away from the sun, at an accelerating rate; there's a fairly short window in which it's possible to catch them, so it's very similar to someone falling overboard on an Earth sailing ship. Sailing the skies is a mix of riding the solar wind with sails and employing thrusters (as per Treasure Planet).
  2. Re: Campaign Idea . . . almost. That could be fun; being the roadies for a local band or a venue. They aren't on stage during the concerts, but have to be around to prevent trouble. And they have to keep it quiet. Considering some of things musicians and their fans get up to...
  3. Re: Campaign Idea . . . almost. My first thoughts also were plumbing/general contracting. It gives them a reason to go just about anywhere, on new construction (are you sure this wasn't an old indian graveyard?), repairs (rats. with six-inch claws. riiiight.), or remodeling (you want this room perfectly round, with no corners? why?). They'll also deal with all different kinds of people, cultures and languages. Given the vagaries of contracting, it also gives them a little slack in dealing with deadlines and materials, and they can have a fairly wide range of locations. Plus they have a ready supply of weapons*ahem*tools, and one or more small-truck vehicles. For a little more excitment - and a reason to have some exotic chemicals available - make it a pest-control company. Again, go-anywhere, meet-anyone job, with good reason to pry into dark places. Taxi drivers? Excellent if you want a late-night, somewhat noir flavor; great for that go-anywhere, meet-anyone potential (even more so if the firm includes a limo or two for those higher-paying customers); and a ready supply of 'innocent' NPCs to get into/out of trouble. Even normal events can be dangerous, but not too much for battle-hardened vets to handle. Gives them vehicles and radios ready at all times (and you can add an NPC as the cranky, harassed dispatcher). A delivery-truck firm gives almost the same work, but with less direct public interaction. I like the band idea, but I'd be more tempted to use it as a hobby rather than their regular job. Though a 'sultans of swing" vibe, where some have regular jobs and some are 'full-time' musicians, might make for interesting interactions.
  4. Re: Pulp Holmes Meh. As far as I can tell, it has almost exactly as much to with the original Sherlock Holmes as the movie "Van Helsing" had to do with the original of that character. That's not to say it might be a fun movie - Van Helsing was not so bad, once I got over the name and rolled with the film as a thing in itself. And Downey's certainly a decent actor. I doubt I'll pay full price to see it. IMO, Brett's portrayal - and the Watson he had - were pretty much definitive. I'm not sure anyone will be able to surpass it for accuracy. Again, that's not to say people shouldn't try... (I just wish they wouldn't try to sex it up)
  5. Re: "UP" pulpy bits in it I enjoyed it. And, the best part for us pulp lovers: They DID NOT blow up the zeppelin. In pretty much every adventure film I can remember off-hand (except Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), every zeppelin that has appeared on the screen has been blown up in a huge fireball. It was SO nice to see one treated with some respect and allowed to be a dramatic setting instead of an excuse to use pyrotechnics.
  6. Re: Hero System Good Idea/Bad Idea... Once you go blue, you'll always be true...? Good Idea: The Ultimate Speedster Bad Idea: The Ultimate Speedo
  7. Re: Brainstorming an alternate Europe A few thoughts... Without a united Germany to pose a common threat, the centuries-long rivalry between France and Britain could be much stronger than it was historically. Maybe not open, all-out war, but colonial confrontations such as were in India and America back in the day. At the very least, an active rivalry could add opportunities for illicit activities, smuggling across borders, playing one against the other for local advantage, etc. If Germany is a bunch of disunited or semi-united principalities, this provides an excellent place to play spy/crime/political games of all kinds (as it was for centuries previous). Of course, the Great Game between Britain and Russia would continue apace. Another fun place for skulduggery of all kinds. Without Germany in the way, Russia would be constantly trying to push into central & Western Europe, leading to constant dustups and underhanded activities. Britain and/or France might give support to Polish nationalists, leading to much disorder (since free Poland was recreated by Versailles, and had not been subjugated long before). There could also be actual war between these powers, as was the case in Crimea less than a century before. The Baltic and North Seas might become a pirate zone, with German freebooters playing Russian, British and Swedish authorities against each other. Without WWI and the granting of League of Nations mandates over former German possessions, Imperial Japan would be less able to dominate the Pacific. Its plans against China would be largely unaffected, though. It might even offer itself as wild-card support foe various factions in Europe, as a way to gain influence and connections. (Samurai and Ninjas on Zeppelins! Total Win! )
  8. Re: Twisted Cross, Silver Bullets I've already used this idea myself, so it's OK to share Nazi mystics plan to forge an alliance with Deep Ones to aid in U-Boat warfare. In my pulp campaign, this led to a marvelous sneak-and-snipe sequence on Helgoland, where the PCs were dropped off by a Danish Communist fisherman, sneaked up to the ritual site, and proceeded to drop the head SS magician with a masteful sniper shot. Much chaos ensued, but the PCs got away by stealing a couple of Me-109s from the local airfield. I've also brought in the secret U-boat base in Atlantis - the Atlantis from the animated movie a few years ago...
  9. Re: Brainstorm: what should a spy's safehouse have? Given available resources from the Agency, they could have installed surveillance devices around the house - or have junior agents on-call to provide guards/sentinels. The former might be a Clarivoyance effect with Focus; the latter could be either a Clairvoyance effect or an actual Summon/Followers effect.
  10. Re: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies too The Zombie Cat in the Hat 2001: A Space Zombie Odyssey Hunt for the Red October After It's Taken Over by Zombies Little Zombie House on the Prairie How To Win Friends and Influence Zombies
  11. Re: Beware the church tank The Church Militant, indeed!
  12. Re: a medical magic school fer thy campain... Just a couple more possible spells for the 'school'... A Change Environment spell, with a certain amount of increased radius, could be created to set up a field hopital which protects patients (and doctors) from the elements - being able to get people out of bad weather, smoke, etc., can literally be a lifesaver all by itself. Making it a long setup time (like a minute or more), and/or a bulky focus (i.e., a tent) renders it useless as a combat ability. Diagnosis of disease might be done with a Clairsentience/precognition spell, where basically the spell shows the magician what the course of the disease will likely be if untreated. Throw in a variable result or some similar modifier and you can get a prognosis for different kinds of treatment. One of the unfortunate effects of many diseases and injuries is disfigurement and scarring. A small Cosmetic Transform spell can remove this - add a limitation that it only removes disfigurement, so you don't end up being a hollywood magic-plastic surgeon.
  13. Re: a medical magic school fer thy campain... Frankly, it sounds like your GM is being a butt. But so many of us are... Some ideas for medical 'non-combat' spells: Cure Disease could be simply a Dispel effect against disease. A variant approach, rather than curing the disease with a Dispel, would be to bolster the ability to resist the disease by using a variable-effect Aid to counter whatever characteristic the disease is draining/suppressing. Setting broken bones would be much easier with fine-manipulation Telekinesis. Even easier if you have X-ray vision. X-ray vision would also be useful for other things, such as finding embedded objects, parasites, or other things. Examination and surgery would be easier if the patient is restrained, especially if he's suffering from the agony of battlefield wounds and any anasthetic hasn't kicked in yet. A specially modified Entangle spell could hold him still while you do your work. For patients unwilling or unable to eat for some medical reason, a Life Support/no need to eat should be a simple spell, perhaps administered as a 'charge' in pill or injection form.
  14. Re: ninja heroes from each state Rumors of an itinerant hermit in the rain-soaked Cascade Mountains speak of a tall, lanky master of stealth, a silent giant who avoids all human contact as part of some deep vow, or bitter memory. He only emerges to defend the deep forests from exploitation, or to champion some other cause which matters more to the wilds than to civilization. His true name he speaks to none, but he's been tagged 'Sasquatch.' Whether that's becuase he's the actual critter who inspire the stories, or wears the label in honor of the legend, is impossible to say. But the wilds of Washington State grow more free and more wild under his vigilance.
  15. Re: Fishy, Fishy, Fishy, Fish! Or you could make a line that has no physical form at all - define it as a limited Telekinesis. Keeps it from getting entagled in seaweed, or with other lines, etc. Another item of interest: depth detector. All it does is provide a reliable measure of how far down a solid object is. If built into a ship (part of the keel or figurehead, perhaps), it need only have a range of a few fathoms, in order to avoid running the ship aground.
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