hfergus

Re: WWYCD: Dumb, Da-Dumb, Dumb, Dumb...

Volt would pray that it continues and gets worse (better?). Seriously, he'd check into why. It could be a baddie trying to get heroes complacent, or testing out where he thinks heroes would not investigate. Or maybe it makes more baddies. If limited to baddies and does not make more, he would pray for more stupidity. Otherwise...

Olorin would start laughing and then investigate why. If just baddies are effected he'd laugh and let it go. - Unless the stupidity can hurt others than the baddies.

Black Tiger would be very suspicious and check it out. In any case, he would want to stop it on general principles. He dislikes any manipulations at all.

Futurian would act very much like Olorin, but might shut it down on general principles like Black Tiger would.

Re: In which Chad thanks those who probably will never read this.

My turn (great post) Bruce, I miss your halfling drooling on th door knob when you were sleepy and wanted to go home. (D&D, first role-playing PC of mine.)

David, Bill, Jeff, Mark I miss the Enigmas, Loren the Druid, Andy the Paladin, Figfi the halfling, Ariad the mage and much more. Later tonight, I will be "pulling a Romulan" (fading out due to need for sleep) (The D&D game had 3 game masters with me starting it and being overall world master. It worked well.) Volt is still arond as is Sniv and Olorin. And yes, Olorin is still my sense of humor let run loose with the power to back it up. Great times.

Re: WWYCD: King Arthur's back

Volt would try to find out if it is really Arthur or not. If he is, myth says England is in trouble, and he'd probably try to help. Maybe almost be a knight in a new round table. Remember, Lancelot in at least one version was French so an American knight is a possibility. Most likely he'd just help where appropriate while remaining American.

Olorin is a mage. Can we say the new Merlin? That is, once he was vetted as the real Arthur. This would fascinate Olorin, as it would remind him of his world. Olorin has been both king and advisor to more than one king and is used to prophecy coming true, so it'd be familar territory. He'd help as appropriate and do lots of advice.

Black Tiger would be torn. He distrusts any authority, but King Arthur is a personal favorite from childhood. He'd probably really check this out and be hard to convince. Once convinced, he'd probably throw in with Arthur almost totally. (can we say the new Gawain?)

Futurian "Arthur? Cooool! Can I be Mordred? Aw, c'mon, I'm just kidding." He check it out and help occasionally if properly convinced.

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

This recent spate of puns reminded me of a gaming quote. In a D&D campaign, just outside of a dungeon in a woods they run into a sort of wild man/nature spirit. Definately male. They killed it as it was in the way. They found out later it was the offspring of a dryad, who lived in a beech tree. Yup. One npc said It was "a son of a beech." (My NPC.) Am I lucky to still be alive? Or do you think I stunned them.?

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

You know, in my gaming group, you get fined for making puns like the ones on the last two pages. You pay a nickel for a standard pun, and as much as a dollar for a really bad one.

 

I'm always broke....

 

 

If I did that, I'd be broke too. We had rules for jokes and puns. A joke is told, the others assign points. A bad pun is told, you get negative points. Negative points do cancel out positive ones. I normally had more negative points that anyone else had positive points. Some times I think I'm lucky to be alive.

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

So you enjoy being the Pundit of the group?

Yup. I like to punish my players.It is quite punderful to do.

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

 

I love puns! My fellow players have suffered though years of them.

Me too! I'm very "punny". The more painful, the better.

Re: WWYCD: Welcome Divinity?

Volt would say "Let's see. 10 commandments, #1 commandment: 'You shall have no other god than me.' and 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.' No. I also think you are just pretenders with massive power at best. Strike me down with lightning for my temerity if you must, but - get lost." The lighning comment is ironic since his main attack is lightning.

Olorin would laugh so hard he'd be on th eground clutching his sides with his eyes tearing up. Once he recovered he'd say "Whoo!, thats good. I've been asked before by other gods, and my answer to you is the same. NO! You guys at best are trying to do good, but petty politics get in the way and thousands can, and have died when you guys get involved. And I'd have to accept worship. Yeah. Right. I like a quote by a wise man in this world that applies. His name is Groucho Marx. 'I would never join a club that would have me as a member.' Oh, man thanks for the laugh though. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while. Got any more good ones?"

Black Tiger "Are you insane? I don't trust authorities, and here you are trying to make me one? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutly. If you did this, I'd probably turn into one of the bad ones, and you'd have to destroy me. Or are you bad ones trying to tempt me? NO! Go away!"

Futurian "I am already a GHOD. Grand Humanity Over Divinity, a religion from where I come from. At least according to them. I don't buy it. Oh no! Did I start this by bringing it up here? No wait, they come later. Crud. Did I at least start the idea of man being God here?"

Volt "No. That goes all the way back to the Bible, even in the begining."

"Oh thank god!"

Volt , with a slight smirk "Is that with or without an 'H'?"

"Not telling."

Re: WWYCD: Once bitten . . .

Volt would try to find out if there are any cures, while avoiding killing if at all possible. He'd try animal blood, and willpower, and if that did not do it, get a lot of bloody meat, etc.

Olorin would go "Oh crud. I hate undead, and now I am one. Back home I could fix this in minutes; I have just the thing. I'll have to research a spell to reverse this, or find another way to reverse this. I think I'll start by putting to rest the vamp that did this to me. Some myths say that should do it, but if not, at least I will have gotten rid of a baddie." He'd try to avoid killing, but just might kill those who deserved it anyway. He'd probably never get caught, he's clever and resourseful.

Black Tiger. May do like Volt, may revel in it, but keep the deaths to those who deserve it. Knowing him, he'd probably kill a couple "on his list" then seek a cure.

Futurian "I'm a vampire now? Coooool. OK, I'll see if I can fix this. Can't I suck at least one person dry? Aw come on. Ok, I'm just joking. Give me a break."

Re: Adventure - For The Children

My characters would say "Maybe. It depends on what you want. We reserve the right to say no and you would get your money back." Given what he asks in this scenario, they would say no. Let's see, they could get killed or badly injured if they fail (Yeah, he said there would be no "permanent" damage, but they would not exactly trust him.) Even if they just get hurt, he could do something nasty while they are recovering. If they suceeded, he has more of the idea of what they can do. Nope. Won't happen.

Re: WWYCD: The Coverup

Every character I have would not take it public. 1) As one person said, "correlation is not causation". 2) What possible use could it be since we have no idea what really happened? It could cause anti hero backlash. Nope. Not going to happen.

Re: Top Signs that you need to rethink your GMing.

Your players find more and more "other things they have to do" during gaming days and don't show up.

You spend half the time (or more) during gaming time doing something else. (My group comes close. I am the only guy (GM) with 2 women players. They tend to chit-chat a lot, and I don't mind and even contribute to it. However, it is not half the time and when I start with "When we last saw our intrepid heroes..." they stop immediatly and start gaming, and the chit-chat does not normally start again.)

They start buring effigies of certain villians - or you.

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

Hopefully, though, he didn't sell it back to its mother that way.

 

"Yeah, you're getting him back... on the installment plan."

:rofl:Love it! It even sounds like something Ariad would say. (but no, he didn't. He's not suicidal.)

This is complementary to my post on "register or go to prison". Some of you have already dealt with this in my prior post, but if not...

There is a voluntary super registration. You must give up your secret id (if you have one), address and powers .(Not source, just what they are) In exchange, if they like what they see your get police powers (Fed or world depending on campaign.) They check up on you occasionally, but are not too obtrusive if you are not a criminal. Past crimes may not disqualify you; it depends on the crime and how badly they want you.

Volt would register if: A) The penalty for exposing a secret ID was the same as exposing a covert agent. The people he is protecting by his ID approve. They would.

Olorin would register as he has a public ID and has noone to protect other than other supers. However, he would drive the authorities nuts. He's somewhat of a goofball. He's unfamliar with modern earth culture. If asked what he can do he'd say "What do you want? Given enough time I could probably do just anything you want. The time involved could be years though." As he is 747 years old from another dimension, investigating his past would be a problem. 1 minute per year of life explanation would be over 12 hours of talking - assuming he would not get off track - and he would. He would be very honest about his past, even his mistakes. He'd tell them what he can do now and what he could do right now with little prep - after babbling on and on about theory and "What I could do back home with some gizmos I have there - but I can't get back there right now." He also likes to boggle minds. The person debriefing him would need a sense of humor, or the patience of a saint - or both.

Black Tiger would not register as he distrusts just about everybody, especially the government. He'd be suspicious of those who did too.

"Olorin, what did you tell the about me?" he'd ask scowling.

Olorin: "I told them you were a &%$@* who distrusted $#%*&!@ authorities and thought they should $%$#@&*!!"

Slight smile "At least you're accurate."

Futurian , the man from the future would register, as he has noone to protect. Investigating his past would be a problem, since he is from the future (OR an alternate one - he's not sure) IF asked about the future, he'd be cryptic and mysterious - and a bit snarky at times. "I can't tell you that. It would mess up the time line. Or not. Whatever."

Re: When Do Your Characters Know When The S**T Has Well And Truly Hit The Fan?

The main way my players know it is big s**t is Olorin has stopped smiling and has black lightning coursing over his body. It means he is really p*ss*d, and likely to do something rather violent (as in heart flying from foes body, going to Olorins hand and bursting into flames. Olorin then normally yells "NEXT!")

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

Ariad the mage "I'm learning the language "balrog" for the expressed purpose of swearing in it."

Ariad again "You think we can sell the red dragon hatchling back to its mother? It's burned down two of my labs already." He later sold it "for parts." Yup he killed it and sold: dragon eyes, dragon teeth, dragon scales, dragon blood, etc.

Re: WWYCD: Dr. Destroyer vs Takofanes

Most of my characters would go "oh #@%!" and try to get civilians out of the way first. Then wait a bit for them to whittle each other down; probably siding with Destroyer as as the lesser (Grimace) of two evils.

Olorin, if he could manage it, would t-port both of to Anartica to solve the collateral damage problem. He'd then wade in on the Doctor's side immediately. He hates necormancers. At least the Doctor is alive and does not want to create undead. Death is better is Olorin's opinion.

Re: Why you shouldn't play Champions while Intoxicated

Came up with another reason.

21. You (not your characters) have to do a dex (or acrobatics roll) to move around without falling down because someone keeps tilting the room on you.

I have not seen any thread like this, but if there is - ooops! If this does not aplly to your campaign, ignore as you see fit.

For whatever reason (depends on the campaign) a law is being proposed to regisgter all supers. If you do not register with the government, giving secret id (if one), address and powers, off to prison you go. "Super" is defined somewhat fuzzy; some Olympic athletes could be "super" in their field according to this law. You do not have to act on your powers, just have them and be caught. They have no way to tell right now if you lay low.

Does your character approve or dissapprove of this law? Do they state it publically? If so, how much? Do they obey the law if passed?

Volt would publically oppose it, asking to testify before Congress; even though he is an intensely private person hating publicity. He would feel that strongly. His desire for privacy is well known, and this would attract a lot of attention. He would argue against it logically and with feeling. If passed, he would not register and still try to fight evil as best he can. He'd fight the law legally in his secret ID as well.

Olorin would be very publically against it. "That is one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard, and I am 747 years old from a world where the question 'Why don't you just bring him back from the dead' is not an idiotic question; just rare, difficult and often quite expensive." He'd then launch into a well thought out logical, detailed and passionate attack on the law. If passed he'd play "catch me if you can:nya:" with the authorities (publically) while doing quite a lot of very public good. (Losts of luck catching this guy with his contingency spells and large VPP) Most people would give him sneaking admiration if not blatent approval:thumbup:. He could cause reversal of the law given time.

Black Tiger would hate the law, but lots of luck getting him involved. At best, you might get him to comment on the people who wrote the law saying "Idiots." If passed, he would not register, and continue to fight evil deep underground. (So deep he'd have to look up to see bottom.) He might go vigilante (beating up bad guys) saying "If you treat me like a criminal, I'll act like one occasionally."

Futurian, the man from the future, would oppose it publically saying "You have any idea what impact this would have on the future?" He would not go into any more detail, leaving the comment a mystery. If passed, he would not register and continue to fight evil whenever and wherever.

Re: Why you shouldn't play Champions while Intoxicated

20. You (not your characters) starting hitting on the female PC's like they are real. Even the ones run by guys. (I'm soooo confused. They aren't real?)

Re: What are you playing now?

Playing in Champions:

Olroin - Medieval mage from another dimension with Big VPP that has limitations that are hard to explain. Goofball, likes to boggle people's minds, likes to stir things up on purpose. Versatile, and if he knows what he is about to go up against, very effective. (Say fire supressing effect against Firewing for example.)

Volt - experienced energy caster that uses mainly lightning, some magnetism. Very private person and hates crowds. Does a force wall projection to protect people, but it has a side effect that almost always knocks him out.

Black Tiger - martial artist with a takedown manuver as his preferred attack. Rather dark, vengeful, untrusting in general. Has gap in his memory. He does not know exactly how he got this way - knows the miltary is involved, but that's about all

The above are current charaters.

Futurian - created by someone else, I will "borrow" him shortly. From the future - or an alternate future. He is not sure which. Awesome when machines are around. Rather pitiful when not around. (machine mind control, body drain, dex drain, etc only vs machines.)

Leadman - past character. Density increase brick. Can do tk toward ground only (gravity increase.) Rather gloomy and pessimistic "It'll never work." Tries anyway.

Re: WWYCD: Dead before your time...

Olorin would try to find out what happened. The way his powers are, they'll probably be back soon. The big problem is, he lives on the base and it is probably shut down. Untill he gets his powers back, he could not get in - or go somewhere else. He'd go to another group that knows him initally for a base. (By the way, he already has a beard, but it would be longer, and he'd notice that.) He'd also wonder why his contingency spell went oopsie. If it had not, he would have woken up in the base infirmary (or other safe spot). Since he really likes his teamates, he might fiddle with the timeline to prevent their dying. He would not do this lightly.

Volt why try to find out what happened and grieve for his companions. He'd either join another group and continue, or start yet another group (He started the one he is in now.) assuming his powers come back. If not, he'd grieve and become a normal.

Black Tiger. If there is anyone left to do vengence on, he will, even if he dies for real this time - even if his powers never come back. Would do it alone, unless he could work with a hero that would help him kill. Not a pretty sight.

Futurian would investigate. If his powers went flooey permanantly, that means his genes were messed with. As it is, if there were not machines nearby, he's pretty helpless anyway and that might be why he seems week. If he had his powers, on to the internet to find out what gives - even without a computer if in a hot spot. Would find another group to work with; would not start his own. He'd miss his teammates, but to him they've been dead a long time anyway, in a way. (he's from the future - or an alternate one. He's not sure.)

Re: Elseworlds

Dump the swastikas and death's heads' date=' keep the snazzy uniforms and kick-ass armor, and away we go.[/quote']

Why dump either? We say the swastika is evil because the Nazis used it. As others say, rotating the other way it is a good symbol. Death's head automatically evil? Why? I'm sure celebrants of the day of the dead would disagree; they use death heads (skulls, skeletons, etc.) all over - even as candy! It can be celebrating death, sure, but what if it's just to look tough? Or as a reminder not to forget the dead? As others have stated Nazi is just another name for the party. Keep the socialism and dump the racism, and many problems disappear. If you're going to be consistent, ban all Nazi symbols - lightning bolt (SS) and eagles (all over a lot of their stuff - stylized and quickly recognizable as Nazi.)

 

By the way, I've always said the Nazi uniforms looked snazzy too, and the Americans in particular looked like slobs occasionally. Can't the good guys dress nice? (Most dress uniforms do look good, but other than that...)

Re: Elseworlds

How about some classics? Try a world where the Nazis won. How about one where the Nazis won, but they were the good guys and America was fascist? I've done both. The Nazis as the good guys freaked my players out. There are so many. What about Kilingons showing up? (This is more of a crossover, but it is an alternate world.) Yup. Did that too. Babylon 5, Starwars, many others. Does this start the juices flowing?

Re: Politics or not

I also do not use real world politics as is. Just altarnate semi-parallels at best. I'm kinda right wing, but believe me, I agree with "corrupt is corrupt". Also I do think one can go too far right wing. I do have right wingers be very wrong and evil, and left wingers being sincere and honest. Anything else is too one-dimensional. Just about every right or left wing cliche occurs somewhere in my world. Sometimes I use real politicians, and sometimes I say things like "think Ted Kennedy" or 'think Newt Gingrich" as shortcuts as to what my politicians are like. My players are also right of center, but not everything goes their way. (more fun that way.)

Good comments so far on the campaigns. I wish people could be more specific as to how their heroes interact with politics though. See my initial post as to what I would like. If I get nothing on that, it's fine though.

I'm glad we did not get into a political discussion; that could get very bad very quickly. Thanks for the posts.