The Monster

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

from our Star Wars game last night:

"I refuse to be a party to milking a Jedi!"

Re: Name for a school / style of magic...

You could go with something pseudo-religious sounding, like Order of the Higher Will.

I'd suggest Humanism, as in human will over divine entities, but that would be misunderstood.

Invocation?

(trivia note: I've heard that this is a primary reason God in the Bible gave such a funny answer when Moses asked him whose name to use when demanding that Pharoah let the Hebrews free; so that he couldn't invoke "I AM" in a typical magical ritual)

Re: Need code name for cleaner

Clean Gene (obscure joke for the older crowd...)

Doctor Feelgood

Head Tripper

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

Awesome. Simply awesome.

How about Jim Stafford's "Swamp Witch"?

Re: Hyper Agility Powers...

Reflexive Parry: HKA Damage Shield, OAF any handy weapon

The Mark of...: Images, OAF, RSR, to carve letters or pictures into objects/opponents

Swashbuckling Movement: Teleport, pass through intervening space, requires OAF to move vertically - to represent the ability to tumble, jump, swing, and dodge past opponents with astounding grace

...I assume he has Swinging, extra Leaping, Acrobatics, and suchlike...

Re: Character: John Carter of Mars

The only thing I might add is a Damage Shield; I seem to recall times when he wove a "net of steel" around him so that none dared approach. But then the various MA skills could probably cover it, depending upon campaign and taste.

I remember reading the entire series in high school. Great fun!

Re: Help me create a Pulp Island.....

Well, since people beat me to Chinese pirates...

a) In the "Depths of Evil" game I ran for GenCon SoCal (an Extraordinary Gentlemen kind of game), the Nazis had recovered the power plant from Nemo's Nautilus after he had scuttled it (realizing that all his efforts had gone to naught, and all civilization was swallowed up in the Great War); they were using it to power their underwater base. While this particular bit of background didn't matter to the adventure (though the generator did!), the sub had sunk in the South Pacific, where the waters are very deep...

Just what did happen to Amelia Earhart? What did she find that caused her to be completely disappeared?

c) The Giant Rat of Sumatra, so ominously hinted at by Dr. Watson but never told, may be yet stirring...

d) Ports like Singapore and Hong Kong and Manila can and should have everything you can think of; the entire world passes through those ports, and everyone's looking for something...

e) great treasure ships from China and India and Arabia from centuries ago might never have been found and lie just waiting for the right (or wrong) team to loot them (curses? just rumors to frighten the weak!)

...that should do for starters...

Re: Thrilling Places!

I ordered Places direct from Hero, and hadn't read most of it, because I'm prepping my Pulp adventure for GenCon SoCal. Just the other day, however, I was leafing through it and found a couple of things that worked perfectly for my adventure - pulling critters and NPCs from two different chapters solved a significant gap in my plot. It's a great book, and something I'm sure I'll find useful even more as time goes on.

Re: Getting the “Pulp Feel” with Hero

Re: speeding up combat.

I use the SPD chart - but for my pulp campaigns, every PC is SPD3 unless they have a really good character reason (martial artist, basically). It really makes it easier when the SPD range is 2-4 instead of 2-9. It's one of the things that slows down Champions, IMO.

I don't so much use special combat rules for mooks as I do special recovery rules - basically, once they're KO'd, mooks won't get back into the fight - for many, even if they're just Stunned, they don't wanna play any more. One of the subtle distinctions between street punks and "elite" mooks is that the elite mooks usually have to be actually KO's or killed to put them away for good. I also don't waste time thnking too much about what mooks do - they'll generally either stand there and fight, dive for cover, or run away, nothing clever or daring. As someone else pointed out, story element, not mechanic element.

I actually do use hit locations, too. When targeting mooks, the primary application is for those head/vital shots that put the poor sod out instantly, and for the arm/leg hits that probably aren't important - yes, he's hit, but not badly enough to make him stop. I rarely keep real count of hit points (BODY or STUN) for mooks; a good hit takes 'em out, otherwise they're fine, unless they've been winged three or four times. And the color commentary for hit locations is too good to pass up.

Re: Where to start?

Hey all you herophiles out there...

 

...

So, here's a list of the characters I've got. What time period do you think they'd best be suited for?

 

• An All American football player, male, who's been surrounded by scandel
  
• A female Steppes Cossack, sent away by her father, to learn how to be a proper Cossack warrior, now searching for her father after her return
  
• A rash pilot who fought in the end of the Great War, who has decided to see the world
  
• A mysterious masked avenger, who, after a terrible tragedy, decides to clean of the mean streets with his helpful gadgets and inventions
  

 

So far, that's what I've got. I don't know if the Cossack will fit into a later date starting point. What do you think?

My general impression is that the stuff you're looking at fits better in the 30's, as far as mood and stuff - scandals, inventions, masked avengers. But that's just my impression, and can certainly be done either way.

Football player with scandal obviously works in any era since the invention of football. Especially if he's the scion of a wealthy family (irrelevant trivia: Flash Gordon's sport was polo, of all things).

As already mentioned, the Russian Revolution was fresh (1917), and the ensuing civil war wasn't fully over until well into the 20's. If the PC was still of trainable age when the revolution hit, she'd probably be about 5 years younger than the century - i.e., in 1925 she'd be 20, in 1935 she'd be 30, perfect ages to take on the role of pulp heroine, with appropriate adjustments for age and experience. The "walking bundle of plot hooks" comment certainly fits: even as a "simple soldier," her father could be hunted or slain by agents of the Reds, Whites, western allies or opportunistic brigands. In the 20's things were unsettled and unruly, and Lenin was orchestrating various brutal government programs; in the 30's Stalin had taken power and was instituting various purges. [i've had a burbling PC concept for years now of a Czarist officer on the lam from the Reds, just waiting for someone to start up a pulp campaign.] Imagine if the father was caught up in secreting away some of the missing imperial treasures...

The pilot would be about as old as the century (20 in 1920, 30 in 1930 - maybe a little older), and is a classic pulpy background. Fits perfectly in either decade. In the 20's flying was still more of an adventure than a business; in the 30's the airlines really began sprouting up. The 30's also have the transition from biplanes (either cloth-and-wood or metal) to the high-powered monoplanes we all know and love from WW2 (relevant trivia: the Bf109 first flew in 1935, IIRC). By the 1930's, though, the pilot would have had over a decade to "see the world" so he might be a bit jaded, unless he got a late start after drifting around in civilian life.

The masked avenger with gadgets is what really pushes me toward the 30's; that's a type that really took off in that period. But that's a personal impression; obviously, this could be made to work any time. The Pulp Hero book has a wonderful list of historical events and a list of new technologies, so you can see for yourself what tech is really new and impressive. I've found that having PC gadgeteers working 5-10 years ahead of the curve is plenty for my purposes (for example, my 1930's airship campaign has a prototype radar on board) - but that's a matter for taste.

Re: Rocket-propelled Chainsaw

Not to mention' date=' it's the regulation sidearm for Giant Armored Amphibious Cavalry![/quote']

 

 

Now that you mention it, the rocket-propelled chainsaw does seem to be a natural evolution of the obscure but terrifying Chainsaw Bolo, developed by a few daring horsemen in South America during the 1930's. Three chainsaws tied together and thrown proved quite effective in slashing through orderly ranks of opposing soldiers (not to mention mobs of unruly peasants!). Due to the combined difficulties of the sheer muscle power of throwing three chainsaws the necessary minimum distance, and keeping one's balance on horseback while doing so, the chainsaw bolo never caught on. There are unsubstantiated anecdotes of similar weapons being employed by cavalry in both the Spanish Civil War and against the Nazi and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, but written records are scant and conflicting.

 

This idea of chainsaws as ranged weapons seems to have lain dormant, waiting only for thright technology to make it workable. Progress is such a wonderful thing.

Re: L.A. Caveman

It's about time,

It's about space,

About strange people in the strangest place.

It's about time,

It's about flight,

Travelin' faster than the speed of light.

 

About space people and a brave crew,

As through the barrier of time they flew.

Pass the Roman Senators,

Pass an armored knight,

Pass the firing Minutemen,

To this modern site.

 

It's about time for you and me

To meet these people of amazing feats.

It's about two astronauts and how they educate

A pre-historic woman and her pre-historic mate.

 

It's about time

It's about space

About strange people in the strangest place

They will be here

With all of us

Dodging a taxi, a car, a bus.

 

Where will they go

What will they do

In this strange place where everything is new.

Will they manage to survive

Watch each week and see.

Will they get accustomed to the Twentieth Century.

 

It's about time

For our good byes

To all our pre-historic gals and guys.

 

And now,

It's About Time

It's About Time

It's About Time

It's About Time!

 

Keith "It's About Time!" Curtis

Oh My Goodness!

It has been FOREVER since I heard or thought of that show!

Repped! (argh - or will be once I spread some around!)

Re: Religion Hero??

This is of course, the problem with all religions when dealing with people not of their religion. Other religions must be either tolerated, accepted or dismissed (hopefully not in a condescending manner). The only alternative, is of course isolation. Which some religions also practice. How you deal with people of alternate religions is a personal matter, but it should be no different to how you treat items of different religions.

 

Tolerating the minor offenses of those not of your religion, because they are not familiar with your religion, or have their own beliefs that are contrary should be par for the course.

 

Should be.

Should be. I wholeheartedly agree.

It should also be "par" to avoid stereotyping religious believers (or nonbelievers, for that matter.) What's good for the goose, as they say...

Re: A Question Of Marriage

Congratulations on the wedding!

Of course, the first thing to resolve is which one of you is the DNPC...

"I am NOT a Disadvantage!"

"But, you're worth 20 points! See?"

(sfx:tearing paper)

Re: Steam Power in Fantasy

I could see them not building steam vehicles, precisely because "early-model steam engines are rather large and heavy".

 

I could, however, see steam powered siege towers or something of the sort, which might kind of fill the space you have indicated. The problem is, however, how you would transport the steam engine into place. By ship seems the most likely, but you would need serious port infrastructure.

 

 

 

They happened first, historically.

 

 

 

Just like they weren't historically...

I'm sorry you seem to assume I'm an idiot.

I specifically said it was not likely they would come up with something we would instantly recognize as tanks - that requires an efficiency and ancillary industries a step beyond railroads. I did say it would more like a traveling fort - gosh, just what you mentioned.

But I'm obviously an ingoramus to be brushed off casually.

As far as industry versus railroads, if you want to get picky, the two are symbiotic - widespread industry was made possible by and provided probably the greatest impetus toward building the roads in the first place (which, to think of it, might be another difference between how RR develops in a Roman empire and how it developed in America). One could also bicker about the definition of industry; useful engines and rails aren't possible without a certain level of industrial capability (unless you're telling me, in your ineffably superior knowledge, that all early railroads and engines were entirely handmade in barns and tinker's shops).

But I'm apparently too stupid to know the difference.

And in the realms of nautical design, engines being large and heavy would suggest to me that one of the first applications of half-decent steam engines might well be in shipping. I was considering (or, maybe I wasn't, being of a disdainfully low level of intelligence and awareness) that the comparatively calm waters and shorter distances of the Mediterranean could well lend itself to swifter adoption than the nations which needed ships to be able to weather and cross the Atlantic Ocean. Especially since sailing ships in Roman times were not nearly as sophisticated as those in the 18th-19th centuries, so the historical comparison does not necessarily hold as blithely as you have stated. What the steamships would have to overcome is not full-sized, square-rigged Napoleonic ships, but classical (or even medieval-era) galleys and sailing ships. I'm not saying I'm just plain right about this (or about any of the above), but that I think there are points worth discussing that might be fun to explore.

But, then again, anything I might say should just be brushed aside and discarded as the ravings of a drolling ignoramus.

If you want to call this a flame, you can, but I really *really* don't like to be insulted like that. If you want to discuss something, I'm happy to; but "discussion" to me does not include sneering at my casual offerings as if they were completely worthless. I hope that I'm capable of more than that.

Re: Religion Hero??

Speaking as what probably counts as a "devout" believer - and, if I may say so, a "devout" gamer! - I think the idea of making an RPG based around religion, or even a sourcebook about religions in general, is at best a quixotic ideal and at worst an invitation to a hatchet job. The problem is that everyone thinks they have the best perspective on the universe: Christians (in full disclosure, that includes me) think there is only one God, and by and large, the ideas and guidelines (or even outright commandments) in the Old and New Testaments are valid, allowing for varities of interpretation thereof. Jews reject the New Testament, holding to what they see as the only real divine scriptures, the Law and the Prophets (what Christians call the Old Testament). And so on with any religion you pick. And some modernist person who doesn't believe in any religion will treat them all as, at best, amusing morality tales for the unenlightened, and, at worst, purely fictional or even delusional methods for covering up mental illnesses and manipulating the masses. So really, nobody is qualified to make an objective, fair description of the various religions, and, even if there was someone, there certainly wouldn't be enough like her/him/it to provide a decent market for the book!

That said, my take on religion is RPGs is that I use it as a tool, much like I use psychology or sociology or history or physics, and so forth: it is a tool which I as GM and player can use to enhance the game. I'm not going to make my games or characters depend upon knowledge or application of any particular religion, any more than I am going to have characters or games which have as their primary focus accurate and detailed knowledge of psychology (in which I have a BA, for all that's worth) or physics (in which my brother is a college professor). I'm trying to make interesting stories, not treatises or lessons. (BTW, DragonRaid isn't so much an RPG as it is a Scripture-teaching tool; when I finally had a chance to look through it, it's clear - and explicit - about its purpose, and for that purpose I suppose it woould work well. I know it would not work well for me both for gamer reasons and believer reasons.) When I do use religion explicitly in games, it's always as a storytelling aid (and while I admit to sometimes using a bit of "morality tale" in a few games, it's always on the level of "good is better than evil," no more specific than something you might find on the Hallmark Channel).

I think it might - might - be possible to do a sourcebook on religions, sort of in the GURPS sourcebook mode (haven't they done one already?). But that's a very different thing than designing a religion RPG. A religion RPG would almost have to be built specificially within one religious perspective, with treatments of other beliefs derived from within the primary. And for that very reason, its sales market would be A) gamers who happen to follow that religion; and gamers who are open-minded and/or curious enough to pay money to read things that they know are likely to oppose their world view.

Again, as believer in a particular religion, I feel that my beliefs are challenged and even derided enough in daily life - including, I must say, by people within my chosen hobby - that I feel no need to seek out marginal opportunities to buy stuff that will chap my hide even if it's quality material. When I want that kind of challenge, I'll go for the real thing, not a watered-down game book. (Just so you don't think I'm just an intolerant witch-burning ignoramus, let me add here that, while I haven't had a chance to play them, I find both In Nomine and White Wolf's Hunter fascinating reading.)

Re: Steam Power in Fantasy

This is a fun idea.

IMO, they would would have tanks and steamships before they had railroads. They already had and understood roads, and given that early-model steam engines are rather large and heavy, I could see them building really large land vehicles - traveling forts (to coin a phrase from an old SF novel) more than what we'd automatically recognize as tanks, but the same basic idea: a mobile fighting platform (maybe even modelled on galleys!). Railroads require too much industrialized structure to be likely to pop up first, I think. And steamships would be an instant success over oared or sailed ships, due to efficiency of power/fuel/independence from wind.

Re: Rocket-propelled Chainsaw

Just one more thing...

Add: +2 OCV for Ranged Attack, OAF, doesn't work in smoke or fog

LASER-GUIDED Rocket-Porpelled Chainsaws!!!

Re: Are we doing this right?

Drain *is* nasty - at supers level you do as GM have to watch it. And it certainly can kill, though it's not all that easy. Also, defending against Drain is cheap: at one point per, subtracting directly from the Drain effect.

So, that 4d6 Drain BODY? average 14 points, which would zap 7 ponts of BODY. But with just 5 points of Power Defense, the average result is 9, which only does 4 BODY. And it also works against Suppress, etc.

And anyone who buys AP for their Drain power should be beaten severely about the head and shoulders with their own character sheet.

Re: 39 point me

When I stat myself in Hero, I end up as "incompetent" when I figure in my disads - and that's when I'm not depressed!

As Cancer points out, the things that cost real points are combat and action skills - of which I have very few (mostly based on decades-old memories of high-school wrestling!). And I'm even worse skills-wise than Cancer: at least he's got a PhD he can claim. My skill list just sucks; my stats aren't bad, I figure, for an average Joe - 8-11 for most things, INT 18 or more, EGO varying wildly by mood

Fortunately, I can always fall back on my one superpower:

I Am The GM: Transform anything to anything else, zero END Cost, no skill roll, Autofire (I run three or four campaigns!), Area Effect. Active Cost 985, Real Cost Free (cuz I'm The GM!!!!)

Re: Hmmm...okay, how about a Bosnian Pyramid?

Obviously, it was a Tok'Ra base, hidden very carefully to avoid Goa'uld detection.

Re: "Mundane" Magic Items

I'm married - a marital intent detector really wouldn't do me much good. What I want is...

A pen that...

--never runs out of ink

--writes on anything

--but only on what i want it to (NOT the inside of my pocket!!!!!!)

--has an "erase" setting for its writing

--is always in the pocket when I look for it (you know, the one it ISN'T leaking into)

...I suppose that would amount to a mildly mutated Images power...and if it isn't a Focus, some doofus can't even walk away with it accidentally!

Re: New Power build: Supernatural Invisibility

It seems a bit complex, but you could build your Invisibility normally, then buy a Linked, low-power, highly-limited Mental Illusions so that you could "appear" to certain people as you will.

Re: Give me your ice power ideas!

sharp ice shards = RKA

superfreezing to brittleness = Drain PD? Odd SFX for Find Weakness?

thermal-based vision

freezing blood = Penetrating EB

light frost/snow can be used to neutralize Invisibility (Drain/Suppress?)

Re: Autofire Find Weakness

Autofire Find Weakness!? Sorry, in my game it just wouldn't exist. Period.

Even if it did, the only possible result would be to cut the defenses in half. The only possible application for AF/FWk (how's THAT for an abbreviation? Pronounce it carefully!) would be to affect multiple targets.

For a "shield shredder" I would suggest a Drain, especially if it reduces the targets' defense against all attacks of that kind. Even then, I'd keep a hard eye on it in design and in play - Draining defenses is way too cheap to trust as a build.