RDU Neil

Episode 4 Recap: Band On The Run Only had four players this week. Ferrett couldn't make it due to car troubles. It is interesting to see how the availability of players pushes the game in a direction very different than I originally intended. Without Berkmann in the mix, this session went quite differently. In the minutes following the firefight, there is a great deal of confusion about what to do. Mr. Jones staggers up the drive, and is met by Dr. Cole, who seems to have no problem seeing him, though his concentration is shot. "Don't know what to say, really..." she comments, as cleans and bandages the wound, "But you really showed me something out there. I didn't really think you had it in you." Jones isn't sure whether to take it as a compliment, or not. With Jo-Jo rescued from the back of the van, the group agrees to put the van back into the SUV, to let it burn as well. They do this before the gas tank goes up. The street is relatively quiet, but they know they have only a few minutes before the authorities show up. In the end, they agree to leave, but just the area, not the city entirely. With Berkmann warning about satellite surveillance, they take Stang's Range Rover, changing out the license plates from a collection Maggie has aquired. Owens, Jones and the unconscious Melissa are joined by Dr. Cole after Jolly puts a couple of long guns, boxes of ammunition, and a ruck of commando gear (webbing, vest, mask, etc.) in the back of the SUV. McGregor takes his own 'Vette, and they head away, after Jasmine states that she will stay behind to see if her brother returns. Berkmann remains with Stang for the time being, to gather the equipment he may need to decript the data he hacked during the fire fight. He suspects he hit some deep black parts of the Homeland Security databases, but will need time to explore this. Stang promises he can hide the man for a while. Meanwhile, Ryu has been off tracking down the last agent. The track takes him through some large estate grounds, and over a fourteen foot wall. Here he recognizes his prey as exceptional, as the agent clearly went over the wall without hesitation, and with bound, step and flip. Ryu manages it just as easily, but is presented with a choice at the top. One direction heads toward a dark and quiet side street, and the other cuts through a wooded area to a well lit and busy boulevard. Ryu makes a choice, and heads toward the lit avenue, eyes on the shadows all around him. It is the right choice. Ryu quietly spies the agent about 35 feet away, across a drainage gully, just about to step out onto the sidewalk. The man has his jacket and shoulder holster off, and is checking the wound in his chest before moving on. Trying to stop him now, Ryu levels his pistol and fires for the kill The shot is barely an inch wide of it's mark, "thwapping" into the tree just behind the agent, who goes wide eyed, and dives down into the dark drainage ditch in front of him. Ryu steps in, focusing on the faint white glow of the agent's shirt in the darkness, and fires again. There is a satisfying cry of pain (GM had to use a chit to move hit location from head to arm) and Ryu smiles grimly... just as his senses flare, and he turns to face an attack from behind. Ryu sees a female figure come out of the shadows, a gun leveled in her hands. As quick as he is, he can't escpape the snap fire shot, and is surprised to see a silvery flash and find his side pierced by two darts trailing wire. Then his side lights up in glowing fire, as the taser discharges. Ryu gasps and twitches, but stands firm. The taser fires again (continuous controlled, and the agent initiatized faster) and again Ryu jerks on the end of the wire... but he still doesn't go down. With a rapid twist of his arm he tears the wires and darts from his side, and dives hard to his right, into the trees... all to the rather stunned look of the female agent who had somehow escpaped the SUV before setting it ablaze. When Ryu spins back around, the female agent has run through the trench toward the sidewalk where her partner is staggering up, his back now bloodied close to where he'd been shot before. "Our orders are to retreat," he says sternly, as she scans for Ryu with her pistol drawn. "But these bastards killed Brollin!" she snarls... (and the players were like "oooh... they DO have emotions!") The male agent pulls her away simply snapping "Orders!" while he covers his wounds with his jacket, and the two move off down the street, walking quickly and covering each others backs. Ryu lets them go... and exhales... letting the pain of his wound flow through and out... then moves back toward Stang's, ignoring the burning in his chest. More later...

Episode 4: Blue Booking (Between weekly sessions, the group exchanges e-mails to describe character intentions/actions... ask questions... and generally discuss the game. Below are posted the e-mails I received from each player... I limited last week to one e-mail each, to avoid arguments breaking out online (which happens all the time) and because I was busy with work and couldn't answer too many.) These actions immediately set up the next FtF game. ------ From Eric... Bonhed... Hitoshi Ryu Totally screwed. Ryu will approach Jones, "Can I have my gun, please?" He will hand Jones the borrowed pistol, butt first. Assuming Jones returns pistol, Turning to Terry (slowly, gun already hidden): "Mr. Owens, since you seem to be in charge of security here, I'll leave you to make travel arrangements for your people. I am going to see to the runner. Leave when you are ready; if I'm not back, I'll find you." If there are no objections, he will track down the escaped agent. ------ ------ Jones stumbles away from the flaming cars, holding his blood soaked left arm with his right hand. When Ryu asks for hs gun, Jones looks a little confused and then remembers. He pulls the gun out with and hands it to him, covered in blood. His eyes go wide as he looks back to where he had been shot. Then he checks his holster to make sure that he holstered his gun after he unloaded it. He seems relieved to find it there and barely notices Ryu running after the escaped agent. He just starts walking towards the mansion, his face blanketed in pain. -James, Agent of Chaos ------ ------ From Storn - Owens Well, no need for two vehicles to go up in flames... Terry will put the Yak van into drive and pull away to a safe distance and get out so he can powwow. (Jo-Jo is just too much fun to let die....he's SW's Dudley Townes!). Terry just falls back on the flip side of his SAS training (which is a lot of counter terrorist stuff) and his experiences living on the seamy side of SE Asia. Terry says, once everyone has gathered; "We are screwed. We just screwed some bad people's pooch. The way I see it, we have 5 minutes before the cops show. My plan? Get some cars. Some cash. Some gear. We drive. North. Til we find a a boat we can buy, lease...whatever. And we go to Baja by sea. Promo, once we are in Mexico, you contact your people. Have them come down. We'll need to make money and your fights can do that. I have no papers. None. I am considered dead by my own gov't. We don't want to have to answer those questions... not to mention that I'm in the company of escaped Dr., a Yakuza enforcer and a guy who can go invisible at will. Leaving by sea is the ONLY option. Airport and border are out." Cellphone: "Stang, figure out who i your household is going and who isn't. Figure out what you need to destroy, and what you need to take With you. NOW move people! We don't have all night." "Hey, Jones. Focus on something, just do one thing at a time. Go pack what you need. Time is of the essence." Terry understands shellshock. ------- ------ Note: Joe/McGregor made an argument to actually stay in SF, rather than run... but he did it OOC, so I'm not posting it here. Regardless, his argument was that he feels responsible for the Yak/Triad blow-up and thinks he can actually earn some allies by trying to fix things. He thinks Berkmann can make up a story to explain it all away to the cops. ------ ------ Berkmann's response: a) They had a satellite up above, watching the entire thing. (I can show Mr. Jones proof of this via the log files of my hacking, and he should be able to testify to this fact.) I also now possess several heavily-encrypted files that I downloaded while I was there, doing a reverse hack. Also, they knew where I was in the first place, and now they - whoever "they" are - have every reason to come after us and liquidate us. Also, assuming the Briar Rose is a third organization and not tied to this incident, we now have three organizations that know exactly where we are and have proven that they can reach us. (If the Yakuzas have Ryu, they no doubt have others with his talent on file somewhere.) I can understand your responsibilities here, but to think that we, in the next twenty minutes or so, can fabricate a story that will convince the cops that we're dead AND the Yakuza GIVEN that there is hard evidence on us from an eye-in-the-sky satellite that will doubtlessly be leaked. I'm good, but I'm not that good. You might stay - and best of luck to you if you do - but as someone who's been running from these people since 1970, I have not survived by staying after a TRIAD of massive firefights that have blown our cover and drawn attention to us. I'll begin the write up of the actual Ftf Episode 4, next.

Glad you enjoyed the posts. As to you idea, I've found that since this level of game is very close to "normal" that simply reducing MA DCs by 1 is simple and effective. Subtract a d6 from normal attacks, or a DC from a KA... and you're golden. Easy for everyone to remember, and no real calculations. I leave maneuver costs alone. Thanks for the suggestions, though... and yeah, this campaign definitely has a Feng Shui feel to it... but grittier. No mook rules... and more of Hero System's variables. To me, most Feng Shui characters looked exactly the same... as the system was too lean for real differentiation. Stay tuned!

WHOOPS! I posted the wrong attachment, earlier. Sorry! The Story So Far is too big to attach, so I edited down to just Episode 3. Sorry again. Appreciate it Pinecone. I do this as a record of the game and for the players to review... but I'm glad others are enjoying it. Attached is the text document of The Story So Far... now including Episode 3. I've attached it at the beginning of the thread as well. GM Summary: The Good: The team came together, finally. There were lots of strong personalities at the board, but everyone had their input. James really stepped up with Mr. Jones, and made the play of the evening with the cell phone trick. The Bad: Ferrett/Berkmann still hasn't been in combat. He's ok, but not really a combat character, and this pisses Ferrett off. Doesn't like to be in the background. I understand this, but haven't been able to figure it out, yet. I did give Berkmann a serious hacking job to work on that was critical to the group, but it wasn't something the player enjoyed. Berkmann may be more NPC material than really a PC. The Ugly: I'd made a small logistical error in my details, and that honks me off. I'd had Stang's mansion be in LA, with the action happening in San Fran, because I really didn't expect the game to stay in SF at all. Because of the game where only two players showed up (Episode 2) I made some adjustments on the fly, and realized I'd placed Stang & Jones in SF, when he really wouldn't be that close. I had to retro-fit Stang's manion to SF. It really had no effect on the game, but I hate screwing up details. Bad GM... bad, bad, bad...

Episode 3 Recap: Don't Know Who They're Messin' With (Must... finish... write... up... So... far... behind...) After Stang's revelations, the group begins talking all at once, trying to figure out what they should do. Berkmann is concerned about the black SUV, as it screams "FEDS!" to him, and he believes he is the one they are looking for. McGregor is surprisingly interested in helping Stang get his daughter back, but still wants Stang's help in tracking down the Avenger. Terry is non-commital, but is looking for a mission on which to focus. Mr. Jones has already been working for Stang, and feels some loyalty to him for pulling him out of total obscurity. There is also a great deal of discussion about how this Yak/Triad battle affects things. During this discussion, Jasmine speaks up and says, "I have a favor to ask of all of you. My brother... he is connected with the Yakuza. He may have some information about the gang war sitaution, and..." she hesitates, looking around the room, then continues. "He wants out. He wants to leave the Nine Flowers Gang. He has great ability, and may be able to help you, Mr. Stang... but he also needs somewhere to go." "Can you get out of the Yakuza?" asks Mr. Jones, incredulously. "No... you can't," replies Jasmine. The rest of the group understands the difficulty of the situation. After some debate, they agree to speak to Ryu, and Jasmine calls him back. She gives him Stang's address, and finishes with, "I'm trusting you on this Ryu." He simply replies, "As I am trusting you." While the group waits for Ryu, McGregor's tech, Melissa, calls to say she has recovered his car from where it had been left in traffic. McGregor gives him the address, and she show's up to drop off the Corvette. McGregor meets her at the gate and thanks her, giving her money for a cab and saying, "Go back to Zeus and the gang. You guys stay low. I'll contact you when I can." Melissa heads off. Ryu makes his way to northern San Fran, and into Stang's neighborhood. While casing the place, he spots a black Ford Excursion parked in an adjacent drive, lights off and seemingly abandoned, but it is parked for a quick exit, and has a clean view from five hundred yards away, of Stang's mansion. The large estates and heavy wooded yards, coupled with the fact that Stang's property backs up on a undeveloped preserve area, makes it quite easy for Ryu to get to a back gate undetected. There, he taps into the security system, and sets it blinking in a 1-2-1-2 pattern, with a simple cut out. Recognizing the signal, Terry goes out to the gate, heavily armed in vest, pistols, and a short barrelled Mossberg 12 Gauge. He sees no one at the gate, but remembers Jasmine saying that Ryu would likely have no problem getting in unseen. Announcing himself, Terry calls out. Ryu steps out of the darkness. Ryu dumps his pistol, and Owens pats him down. When he goes to retrieve the dumped pistol, it is gone. "I did not do that," says Ryu, carefull keeping his hands up. "I got it," comes a voice, suddenly... and the two blink to see Mr. Jones a few feet away. Ryu is startled that anyone could sneak up on him. Terry just mutters, "You gotta stop DOING that!" Once inside, the group listens to Ryu's short explanation. He says that the Yakuza attack was a mistake... of sorts. He explains the situation he saw with the Oyabun... and surprisingly admits that it is suspected that Kichinishi Ichiro has Alzheimer's. Owens just laughs at this, in a deadly, unhumorous "Ain't that how people always die..." kind of way. Ryu says he has a source of more information, but does not reveal the Oyabun's daughter at this time. At this time, the group is realizing they are caught up in a number of chaotic forces. The gang war, the possible Fed investigation, Stang's secrets about the Grandmaster, the Briar Rose threat, and even the crazy Avenger vigilante... all events that seem to be wildly spinning out of control. At that point, McGregor's cell rings. After a day of constant calls and information flying around... none of it good... the group flinches. On the other end, is Zeus. "Hey boss. Everything ok?" McGregor says yes, and then, "So did Melissa hook back up with you?" "That's what I'm calling about, boss." Zeus goes on to say that he'd heard from her... that she'd seen McGregor and dropped off the car, was headed to the grocery, and would be back in an hour. That was the last the Zeus had heard from Melissa. At this point, Ryu says, "If it is of any importance, I believe there someone is watching this house. They are across the street, down the block, in a dark, window tinted SUV." The group has to restrain McGregor from storming out the front door immediately. If the SUV had been out there when Melissa arrived, they would have seen her. "They've got one of mine!" yells McGregor. Even the argument that they are likely to be Feds doesn't really persuade him. "If they grabbed Melissa, I don't care WHO they are!" The discussion is a question of whether or not the SUV is actually holding Melissa or not. No one can decide how to figure this out, when finally Mr. Jones says... "Hold on. You said she had a cell phone. Ok... go over there... they won't see me... and then I call her phone, and see if I can hear it ring." (OOC: This was a turning point decision, as no one had thought of a way to determine yes or no on going after the SUV. Kudos to James/Mr Jones for pushing the game over the edge for the evening. WHEEE!) Following Jones' plan... the group organizes. Jones circles the long block, and gets into position not ten feet from the back right of the SUV. Ryu agrees to help, and stealth's his way to about fifty feet from the left side. Owens gets himself a FN FAL w/scope from Stang's arsenal, and after slowly raising the temperature of one of the bedrooms to closer to 98.6 degrees, puts himself in sniper position, covering the front windshield. McGregor and Jasmine wait inside the front door with Jolly for confirmation on Melissa's whereabouts. Berkmann and Stang are in the security room, monitoring everything on camera. Mr. Jones makes the call... and faintly, but unmistakably, the answering ring can be heard in the SUV. "They have her," says Jones into the radio. McGregor and Jasmine move out... she behind him, holding his sword. He keeps his jacket off and hands empty and open, down to the gate and out into the streets, walking slowly. Behind the Excursion, barely noticeable, Jones hears the engine purr to life, and the SUV begins to roll forward. "They're moving," he says, and then makes his presence known by firing armor piercing rounds into the front tire, seeing the heavy treads rupture in a satisfying whoosh. "Taking the shot," says Terry, and the night opens with a crack, as his first round slams into the hood of the Ford, but there is no noticable affect. "Adjusting fire," comes Owens cold and calm voice. The SUV accelerates, still moving ahead on three tires. Ryu moves, to intercept as it pulls left onto the street. Jones follows at a distance, not wanting to run into the long gun fire now coming from the house. Just as the Ford pulls onto the street, Owens fires again, this time aiming for the driver window. It is a perfect shot, and the heavy 7.62 round goes right through the reinforced glass. The SUV jerks in response, and it's acceleration slows, though no one can see what is happening immediately. Inside as Berkmann watches things unfold... his paranoid eyes catch a flicker in the screens. Something many might miss, but he sees it run through each of the eight screens in a brief order... then repeat. He knows a carrier signal interupt when he sees one. "We are being hacked!" he says loudly... and immediately begins punching up the directory database.j As the SUV began to move and the shots ring out, McGregor just held his hand back to Jasmine and said, "Sword me!" and took the blade by the scabard, and ran. As the Ford swings onto the street, moving toward him, and side steps to the left and leaps upward, catching the built in ski rack with one hand and swings onto the roof. Owens, seeing the SUV slowed but still moving with McGregor on top, rolls out of the second story window and drops fifteen feet without a thought. "Going for a vehicle" he says, now on the front drive and heads for the garage. Ryu comes out of the bushes and grabs onto the back of the Excursion, grabbing the door handle and trying to pull the door open, but finds it locked. On the roof, McGregor tries to break a side window with the pommel of his sword, but only cracks the glass. Mr. Jones, unseen, begins to run to catch up with the SUV which seems to be only coasting erratically at this moment. Owens reaches the garage, which has just begun rolling upward, as Jolly had heard him and hit the door opener. He rolls in and comes up looking for a vehicle. The closest is the black Yakuza van, having been pulled inside to keep it out of sight. Berkmann can be heard, over the radio, yelling about tracer worms and cutting off infected servers, as McGregor continues to hammer at the window. Ryu tries to shoot out the back lock, but the vehicle is armored and his pistol round just mangles the key slot. Jones makes his way parallel to the van, which suddenly begins to accelerate again. Owens jumps in the van, keys still in it, and slams it into reverse, out the garage and down the drive toward the gate. As he looks backward, he sees that Jo-Jo, the Yak enforcer they'd captured was still hog tied in the back of the van. "Hiya bloke!" he says with a grin, as the van careens away. At the acceleration of the van, Ryu drops off the back, rolls right and fires at the second right tire not yet blown. His shots are at an angle, and "spang" off the side with no effect. Armored tires. Mr. Jones makes an amazing jump on to the running board of the SUV, and grabs the driver's door, yanking it open in surprise, while McGregor hangs on. Sitting in the driver is a large male, white, dark suit, earpiece and sunglasses, who turns, surprised at his door suddenly swung open. Jones' can see that another similarly dressed man has been pushed into the passenger seat. Bits of glass and blood are spattered in the cabin. At that point the SUV is accelerating past Stang's, just as Owens and the black van come flying out of the gate and directly at the SUV. Jones and the driver with no time to act against eachother gape through the front winshield and the oncoming van. The driver pulls sideways, and Jones just goes backward on to the grassy burm, both trying to avoid the inevitable crash. Owens swerves at the last second, hitting the front right side of the SUV perfectly with the back of the van. There is a brief image of Jo-Jo's terrified face pressed up against the glass of the Yak van rear window... and then the two smash together with an "SKEERRRUNCCH!" of glass and metal, driving both to a stop by the side of the road. McGregor barely holds on, his body flipping over the front of the SUV to slam into the windshield and hood, but he keeps his grip on the front ski rack bar. He curses himself, seeing the front door open, after trying to pound his way in from the side. Terry rolls out of the van drivers door, moving back in a crouch, covering the area from his area. Out of his sight, on the other side of the SUV, the driver comes out staggering a bit, but drawing a heavy pistol. On the other side, rear passenger door pops open... and a second agent, male, same suit, but younger and black, comes out clutching his stomach which is red with blood. He is again, blocked from Terry by the Van. Mr. Jones fires at the driver, the slug hitting him in upper chest, but it just makes him grunt and turn his pistol toward Jones, looking surprised that he never saw the shooter before this moment. He fires twice and misses, but sends Jones scrambling. Ryu gives the second agent no quarter, and flings a silent flurry of shuriken at him, one of which hits him in the forearm that is covering his stomach. Grimacing in pain, he continues standing... just as Owens casually leaps atop the Yak van... an easy ten foot verticle, and fires a burst of rounds from his FN down on the man. Injured as he is the agent still moves quickly, and rolls left and away, avoiding the lethal spray. McGregor, meanwhile, ignored the driver, and swung inside the SUV, calling out for Melissa. Inside, he is met by a third agent, and woman, and a close quarter fight breaks out in the confines of the vehicle. He tries to slam her with his sword, but she takes it on her shoulder, punching back with bruising blows on his left. Tucking up on himself, he pulls his feet up in the cramped quarters and kicks vicously over the seats. A difficult maneuver, but she is limited in movement as well, and the kick takes her in the throat, and she collapses on the bench seat. Outside, Mr. Jones and the first agent start moving and firing, both crouching and side stepping while firing, a deadly dance of bullets at twenty feet. On the other side of the SUV... Terry moves with precision, simply following the agents roll, and fires another burst at his new position. Without cover, the agent is hit with deadly accuracy. All three rounds take him in the torso, blowing through him and spraying his life all over the street. Still exchanging gunfire the agent makes a move to flee into the bushes, sending a final volley at Jones, who's own rounds miss. One bullet finds it's mark, as Jones' left arm explodes in pain and blood as the .40 caliber round blows through the meat of his tricep, just as the agent disappears. Shocked and in pain, Jones' screams inarticulately and unloads his pistol in the direction of the fleeing agent in a panicked "BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!" that ends with the futile "Chack" of his slide locking open on his empty pistol. At that moment, the back doors of the SUV bust open, and McGregor comes striding out, holding a taped and handcuffed Melissa, limp in his arms. Unconscious but alive, he'd found her lying in the cargo area of the SUV. (OOC: We left the game at this point... tired and frazzled, but I followed up with a single e-mail the next day.) >>>In the seconds after the last shot from Jones' gun goes silent, McGregor strides away from the Excursion, carrying the unconscious Melissa. Owens steps back from the the dead agent, as Ryu moves forward. Stepping back from the wreckage of the van and SUV, spent shells scattered around the dead agent, Owens mutters... "We're screwed..." Then there is a hollow "Whumpf!" from the back of the SUV... Ryu and McGregor can easily turn and see an acrid black smoke billow out from the open rear doors... then a slight lick of flame can be seen. Jasmine ,jogging toward McGregor, sees this as well and she calls out... "Uhmm.... Run?!?" and grabs McGregor's, lapels to pull him away. Everyone scatters as a wash of flames suddenly gouts out of the back of the SUV. McGregor knows that the female FBI agent was still inside the SUV... and Jo-Jo is still in back of the van, which is crammed up against the now engulfed SUV. As the SUV begins to really burn... "Yep... we're screwed," says Owens.<<< End Episode 3 (Finally... geez... now I have to type up Episode 4!

Episode 3 Recap: Dangerous Knowledge (Thanks for posting, James. Interesting little exploration of Mr. Jones.) Been a long nine days of 14 hours a piece. Need to get this final chapter written, before tonight's game, so here goes... Gathered in Stang's kitchen, the group finally has some breathing room. Many of them have been looking to Stang for an explanation... and Berkmann has been asking Stang if he knows anything about a "Briar Rose" person/group... this second thing really made Stang nervous. As they grab some food, Stang explains the situation and who he is. "Originally, I was just a business man. My father had a small import company from China, and after Princeton, I took many of his contacts and built on them. Maybe I was a little ahead of the curve, but I really saw that trading in goods was secondary to trading in information. Knowing who needed something, and who could provide it... that was just as important as the actual exchange. I started brokering deals, and with some capital, actually invested early in networked systems and computer security models. I'm actually not "Mr. Technical" but I know the concepts, and I found people to help build the systems and write the codes. I set up secure data systems for different companies. It was lucrative and interesting. No matter how technical the exchange becomes, it has to start with people talking. I guess I'm good at that." He pauses and thinks about things for a while. "Ten years ago," he continues, "I started building in Hong Kong. If you've ever been to China or South East Asia... you'll know that everyone has to get paid to get anything accomplished. That's just the price of business. You pay the contractor and the labor and the city and the utility workers, and the local Tongs... No big deal, right? Play the game, it works out in the end." Stang shakes his head, "Well, as you have all become rapidly aware of... things in this world are not always so obvious. My wake up call came over two years ago. I went to a business meeting that turned out to be with this old man. Small and wizened... a cliche of the old Chinese mystic. His people only called him "Grandfather" and later I learned that he is referred to as simply the Grandmaster. I'd dealt with the Triads, and thought I knew how to hold my own. This man was on another level. The Triads are afraid of this guy. The rumors around him make him sound like Fu Manchu... but what I found was all too real. Without me knowing it, he'd infiltrated 90% of the business deals I'd made in Hong Kong... over 60% of my operation... and with a word, could shut the whole thing down. He wanted me to know this, threatened to take away what I cared about, so that I would consider a new level of work with him. Exclusive to him." "I laughed and walked away. 'Pull the plug' I said. 'It's not that important to me. I'll turn around and start over.' I mean it, too. The business was a challenge, but not my life. I turned around... he let me go. I flew back to the States, checking with all my people... talked to my wife about how things might change... and prepared to see what would happen." "For a week, nothing happened. Business went on as usual. I almost got to the point of believing I'd called the old man's bluff. He'd lose too, if I went under. Billions, possibly." "Then my daughter disappeared from kindergarten. The teachers and staff swear under oath that they saw her mother pick her up in our car, as normal. Unfortunately, my wife was six blocks away, stopped at a construction zone. She got there ten minutes later." "I haven't seen my daughter since. The Grandmaster contacted me three days later. He wanted me to get to work. There was no question of saying no, now. He had my daughter... I have the evidence. He wanted me to start using my information gathering tools and networks, to begin looking for people for him. I was to be his eyes and ears, and only one of many I believe, in gather information and identities of certain people. Gifted people... Specials." "I'd never heard of anything like this... and it seemed bizarre and relatively harmless. I thought the man was insane... until I began to find reason to believe folks like you..." Stang gestures to Mr. Jones, Berkmann and Owens... "actually existed. People like you who were just... better... at something than anyone really shoud be." There is a flurry of questions from the group at this point, primarily speculations about the Grandmaster and what this person wants. Stang finally quiets them down, saying, "It took me over a year to find just one of you..." he gestures to Mr. Jones, whom the others had again forgotten about. Stang doesn't seem to have this problem. "I wasn't convinced until I met him... but with his work and those of my staff... we began to make headway. It was slow, though..." he shakes his head again, looking down. Finally, he say almost to himself, "I thought I'd have more time. Things have spun out of control." Once more fully to the group he says, "Until now, I think I've been able to string the Grandmaster along. I'm sure I'm just one of his tools, and so I continue to fly under the radar. I feed him bits and pieces of information... primarily those I find in Asia and Europe. The domestic stuff I've passed off as media hype and bad reporting... or typical urban myths. I don't think he knows about Mr. Jones... but then hiding him isn't a problem. What has happened in the past two days, though... I don't think I can hide this. You all have just come out of the woodwork, and actions are hitting the news... this mess with the Yakuza and Triads... and now... " he gestures at Berkmann..."Briar Rose. I don't know much about them... but the easiest way to describe them is... a competitor. I don't know their intent or goal... but they are looking for the same things. Specials... unique events... unexplained phenomena... total X-Files stuff, only it's real. They are also a helluva lot more tech savvy than even my people. Very dangerous if they want to be." Finally he says, "I know you are all looking to me as if I have the plan. That I can provide the magic bullet to get us all out of this mess. Unfortunately, I don't have that. I know what I want to happen... I thought I'd have more time, but things are cascading now." Berkmann challenges him, then. "Two years you've just done this, while this Grandmaster has your daughter? You've done nothing?" Stang's face gets hard now... his usual good natured, comfortable expression gone. "I have been doing something... I've been trying to find you. People like you... people that might give me a chance. I don't want to turn you over to the Grandmaster. I will not follow his agenda. I'm actually hoping that you... or people like you... might be able to help me. Help me get my daughter back... somehow, your abilities might be the edge I need to take on this Grandmaster and have a chance of winning. I'll take as long as I have to, to make that work." Then his comfortable appearance comes back, and he says, "But the immediate concerns are keeping us from that. All I ask is whether you might even consider working with me... and if so, I'm open to suggestions about what we do next." (Ok... I lied... this took longer than I thought. Next posting should be the finaled of Episode 3.) Here is Stang. I found this picture years ago, and really liked it. I don't know who the artist is, but credit to him/her is due. If anyone knows the artist, please chime in. If the artist is out there, let me know if you have a problem with my posting the picture, and I'll take it down.)

Episode 3 Recap: Reeling 'em in... Berkmann & Owens arm themselves (Owens with vest and dual .45s, as well as a shotgun...) and head out to get Stang, Mr. Jones and the others. They decide to take Stang's 2002 Silver Audi TT. Cut to - McGregor & Mr. Jones: After the fire fight at the Chinese restaurant, Jones and McGregor had sped away in the black Yakuza van, taking a prisoner with them. They were directed by Stang, to a nearby urban park... and he met them there, where they parked behind a row of dumpsters, backing up against rise of small apartment buildings. Relatively hidden from sight, they wait for Owens, to get an escort out of the area... hoping not to be spotted by the police. During this time McGregor decides to "interview" the Yak hostage. With the others watching, he tries some snappy banter, and tough talk, getting only a sneer and a brush off from the soldier. McGregor finally pops the guy in the mouth, busting his lip and a tooth, making it nearly impossible for the guy to talk. Mr. Jones tries to help the Yak by removing the broken tooth from the guys lip, but gets squemish. Finally they get the man some water, and he still only sneers and threatens McGregor with the "You are all dead men..." speech. McGregor's response is "Oh yeah!" and other even less stimulating reparte, finally resorting to derogatory comments, like "If you won't give us your name, we'll call you Mr. Chink!" At which everybody stops and looks at him funny... and he glances at Stang, saying, "Oh... yeah... no offense..." and then Jasmine, who caught up with them, glares and says, "Get out here! Get... over... Here!" she says, pointing emphatically. McGregor crawls out of the van sheepishly, as she says, "You are emBARrassing me!" (All in all a hilarious scene of incompetence on the part of Joe playing McGregor. ) Cut to - Ryu: As Ryu is waiting for Natsuko, he receives a call from Jasmine, who has left off chewing out McGregor. He tells her he'll call back, then exits the Westcorp building. He heads a couple of blocks away to a pay phone, checks it for any Yak bugs, and then calls his sister back. Jasmine confronts him about the Yakuza attack on Wu's restaurant. She wonders if this has anything to do with McGregor, and demands to know what the Nine Flower Gang are up to. Ryu admits he has some information about this, and that he will find out more. He states that it doesn't seem to directly connect with McGregor or Yukiko (Jasmine) directly, but he will know more, soon. He'll call her back. Cut to - Owens and Berkmann: Traveling through the streets of San Francisco, the duo is blathering about and rummaging through Stang's glove compartment. They pull out a pair of driving gloves and a bottle of 200 dollar an ounce cologne. Owen's tries on one glove, and it barely fits over his finger tips, so he tosses it out the window. "Hey!" Berkmann exclaims, grabbing the other one, putting it on, and then forgetting about it, sniffing the cologne. At that same moment, he notices in the rearview, that he sees a large, black Ford Excursion following a hundred yards behind. It is traveling fast to keep up with the speeding Owens at the wheel of the Audi. Pointing it out, Owens sees it as well and says, "Let's see what they do!" and takes a hard left at the next street. "Oops, says Berkmann... and suddenly the car fills with the overwhelming odor of Bulgari Pour Homme Elite. "Jeeze!" coughs Terry... "I didn't know you had the bloody bottle open!" Gagging on the smell, they make a couple of radical turns, faster than the SUV can follow, and lose it by pulling into an alley. With the windows down, eyes watering, they plot a separate path to Stang's location, and head on out. Cut to - Ryu: Back at the Westcorp building, Ryu meets Natsuko in a downstairs office. He is uncomfortable being with her alone, especially after seeing what just happened in the office, but he maintains the calm facade, waiting for the Oyabun's daughter to speak. It is clear she is upset, and she turns away, looking like she will cry. Turning back, all tears are gone, and she says, "You must understand how serious the situation is. I tell you this in the strictest of confidences." She pauses, then... "My father ordered the attack." Ryu blinks. "I'm also sure that he doesn't remember that he ordered the attack... and he rages as much at himself, that he doesn't remember." She finishes with, "Do you know anything about Alzheimer's?" "Enough," says Ryu, giving away no emotion. Natsuko goes on to explain the symptoms her father has been exhibiting for some time... but that this has been trivial and easily managed financial issues until now. Ryu doesn't know how to respond. "I serve the Oyabun..." he begins to slowly say, trying to maintain his poise and professionalism. Natsuko explodes! "And I am the Oyabun's daughter!" she yells... "I'm telling you this for a reason!" Natsuko comes close to Ryu forcing him to look her in the eyes. "If they find out, they will have him killed," she says. There is no question who "they" might be. "You will be the one ordered to do it!" she continues, voice rising again. Without hesitation, she says, "I am asking you not to do it. Serve your Oyabun... he has raised you as a son!" Ryu, beginning to lose his composure, says, "I must follow the orders given to me..." "And I'm ordering you if I have to, Ryu!" she says, using his first name in a casual form. "Damnit! We may never have talked, but we grew up together! I've seen you! I know there is something inside that shell. Something other than the stone killer!" Her look is angry, but frightened. "I'm asking you, Ryu... Please don't kill my father. Help me protect him!" "I will be in your debt, Ryu." Softly she says it again, "Giri..." The moment is stony silence... then Ryu simply says, "I will do what I can." He leaves her there, in the bare empty office, and walks calmly out of the building. Cut to - Everyone else: Owens and Berkmann finally arrive at the alley where the others are waiting. Stang is appalled as he sees his car... the rocker panels scored from bottoming out on the hills of SF... and Owens and Berkmann approach, Owens with two pistols out watching the rooftops eyeing the group. Everyone is glad to see them, until they get about twenty feet away, and then everyone's eyes water as the smell hits them. "Kee-rist!" says McGregor, and Stang, covering his mouth and nose, looks at Berkmann, and the massive wetspot across the front of his pants, and says, meekly... "200 dollars an ounce..." "Sorry," says Berkmann, and then heads for the van. "I understand you have a captive." He goes inside the back, driving Mr. Jones out with the smell, and causing the captive to gasp and stare. Jones, who had been taking the "good cop" role with the captive, says, "He did tell me his name is Jo-Jo..." before he leaves. Berkmann doesn't get the joke, and says to the man, "It appears that you mission was a failure, but it also appears to me that such circumstances were beyond your control. I'm sure you were just following orders." He says these things very precisely, reading the man's body language and other non-verbal cues, and realizes that his man is desperate to figure out how to save face after such a failure. Berkmann then launches into a steady verbal assault, each statement building upon the last, saying exactly what the man most wants to hear, primarily that Berkmann could be able to somehow make everything right, get him back in with his ikka, and maybe even keep peace with the Triads... which the Yak soldier KNOWS it was stupid to attack them. Berkmann so masterfully gains his trust, that the man gives names of all involved, and explains that the head of his cadre, Bi, would know more. Berkmann wants to speak with him, but when described, McGregor, listening in from outside, recognizes the man he shot in the throat, and makes a "Sorry..." shrug, and the throat slash gesture, telling Berkmann the man is dead. The Dr. leaves the Yak, who is completely cowed and subservient to him, and to all the others now, in relation. Outside the van, Owens is planning the return to Stang's mansion, agreeing to actually work as Stang's bodyguard... calling Jolly to tell them they are heading out, then taking the Audi on his own, with the black van ahead of him, and McGregor and Jasmine on their cycle. As they start to head away, McGregor and Jasmine tear off without waiting, leaving the others to make it back on their own. McGregor and Jasmine make it to Stang's place a good ten minutes ahead of the others. They cruise past, and then park their bike in a turn off with high bushes, and begin to walk back down the road of this swank neighborhood. From around a corner, McGregor sees a black, fully window tinted, Ford Excursion slowly drive past, headed toward Stang's. He moves to follow it, at the same time Jasmine's phone rings. It is Ryu. "I have more information," says the assassin to his sister. He pauses then, and taking a deep breath, continues with, "I want out, Yukiko. I do not want to be a part of this anymore. They are not real. They do not know what real honor is... they think they are something they are not." Jasmine, stunned by this... thinks for a minute, and then says, "I may have an option for you. I will call you back in twenty minutes." McGregor, ahead of her, also makes a call to Stang, mentioning the black SUV. Almost home, Mr. Jones takes the news, and immediately turns up another street. Owens, following behind, gets his gun out not having a clue what is going on. He takes out HIS phone and calls Jolly, to say that there has been a change of direction since before arriving home. All this phone tag gets very confusing, with at least McGregor arriving at the front gate with Jasmine and being let inside... the black SUV no where in sight. Finally, Stang talks to Owens, tells him about the black SUV... just in time for Owens to say... "Oh... like the one coming up fast RIGHT BEHIND ME!" In a bit of desperation, Owens says, "Have Jones take you home! I'll draw them off!" Then he guns the Audi and pulls away. It is the right call, and the SUV follows the TT at the next corner, allowing Jones to take the rest of the group to Stang's, where they park the van in the garage, with the Yak left tied in the back. Everyone else goes to check security... (and they make Berkmann go change his smelly clothes!) The SUV catches up to Terry, who is not trying to outrun it, and attempts to force him off the road. He makes a bad move (blown driving roll) and clips the massive SUV, crunching the Audi to a dead stop. The SUV's back tire actually drives up and over the hood of the poor sports car, crushing the front. Shucking out of his vest and holsters, Owens just steps out of the car, screaming bloody murder at the SUV about how these "Effin' blokes just ran over my car!" He can't see past the tinted windows at all... and tenses for an attack or something to come from the big vehicle... but after a second, it just pulls away and speeds off. Owens looks all tough and scares a soccer mom who drives by, asking if he needs any help... then packs his gear into a gym bag from the back of the totalled roadster, and hoofs it the few blocks back to Stang's. He makes it quickly, and vaults the ivy covered fence, and joins the rest inside, where they all huddle in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to do next. Jasmine speaks first... explaining for the first time, that her brother is a Yakuza, though she is not, and that he has information that could help them. She also explains that he says he wants to leave the Yakuza, and that he needs someplace to go. She asks if she can have him come to Stang's... to tell his information, and to gain some safety. Mr. Jones says, "I didn't think you could leave the Yakuza." Jasmine answers, "You are right. You can't. He is doing it anyway. Can I tell him to come here?" Finally the group agrees, and she calls Ryu back. After giving him the address, she says, "I'm trusting you on this Ryu." His reply is simple... "As I am you. I will be there later tonight." More later... the finale of Episode 3. It gets worse... MUCH worse.

Episode 3 Recap: Deeper Conspiracy Martin Berkmann: Cut to Stang's Mansion... northern San Francisco area. After the fight club, Martin Berkmann had returned with Stang and sequestered himself away, focusing on intense research on the concept of specials... looking for current, historical, mythological and cultural references. He only left the room for a short period of time to go to a nearby comic book shop in order to purchase a range of superhero graphic novels for analysis. It is later on the second day, when he notices that his laptop has been chiming, signaling an IM. He toggles it open, and actually receives a graphic image in a text based medium. The image is of a stylized rose & thorny stem, with the name Briar Rose beneath it. Knowing this means his laptop has been hacked, he still reads the message, which is simply "What are doing, Berkmann?" The Dr. attempts some banter, but the message is steadfast, eventually asking, "Specials, Berkmann?" He answers with "MU" They answer with "Leave it alone, Berkmann. You attract too much fire." Then his screen begins to flicker, pixilating the screen, freezing up... but a last second message simply reads, "Listen to us, Berkmann. Let it go" And then his whole laptop crashes. Cut to - Terry Owens: Offered a possible position as Stang's body guard, Terry was given time to review the mansion estate, the security, and decide if he wanted the job. This took place while Stang, Jolly and Mr. Jones were analyzing the images taken at the fight club. During this time, Owens tries to consult with Dr. Carol Cole... purely because he is curious about her involvement with this whole deal. Dr. Cole, and attractive blonde in her nearing 30, is clearly a talented physician and triage surgeon. Terry can't understand what someone like that would be doing in Pakistan, where she found him. Cole agrees to meet with him the next day, as she is involved in some tests, but has something to discuss with him as well. When the two finally get together, Cole is amused by Terry's abrupt and almost condescending manner. "Bird like you just should not be in Pakistan. You've bankable talent. What are ou doin' with this lot?" Cole attempts to explain that maybe she likes a little adventure as well, and that being Stang's private doctor has been more challenging than a hospital residency, and without the public health woes. "I also get to study unique specimens like yourself," she says, pulling out his file. She keeps him sitting, when he tries to leave, explaining that she has been running triple tests on the blood and tissue samples she has taken from him. She asks him again about the dark spot on his heart, and explains that she has done a biopsy... and she couldn't think to explain why else is white cell count was so elevated, his platelet production was four times that of a normal man, and his lymph system was producing metabolic fluids that normally take weeks to circulate in trace amounts, but in his body, seem to circulate in ten times the amount, in just a few days. Her conclusion is not good. "I believe you have cancer, Terry. Not any kind of cancer I've every heard of, or can track down, but at least something that acts like a bizarre form of systemic cancer. It seems to be spreading from what I can only deduce to be some kind of tumor on your heart." Terry leaves, stunned, talking about getting a second opinion and that is when he runs into Berkmann, coming out of his room. "You don't look so good," says the Dr. "I've got cancer," says Terry, handing him his file. "I'm not adept at reading medical charts, but I do know that cancer is a form of cell reproduction that is accelerated... mutated in a way... and that this is what causes the tumors and such. You heal in an amazingly rapid fashion. You must produce cells and such in a bizarrely rapid way... similar to cancer. Maybe you have GOOD cancer!" "Huh..." says Terry. "So what's up with you." "Oh, somone just threatened me and hacked my computer," replies Berkmann. "I think the world is conspiring against us," says Terry. "I'd rather discuss this over a beer..." At which point, Jolly comes around the corner saying, "No time for beer. Stang needs you. The shit has hit the fan, and he needs help." "See," says Terry. "I told you the world is conspiring against me." He moves off to the armory muttering, "There is always time for beer..." (More later... have to work all weekend. Very tired now.)

Episode 3 Recap: Assassin's Service We had all five players for this one, so we finally had a chance to get all the PCs together. Since I'd been unable to run Eric's Hitoshi Ryu last week, we still needed to bring this black sheep into the fold, as it were. The game started with a focus on Ryu. The game starts barely 30 minutes after the end of last episode. Hitoshi Ryu: Having delivered his report on the Fight Club situation that morning, Ryu had spent the day in his guise of Akito Takashi, a senior programmer salary man. Tedious, but then Ryu had been trained in how to wait... how to demonstrate the consumate patience. At 5:30, he left his desk, and heads out of the building along with the other workers. At which time his cell phone rings. He does not recognize the number, and when he answers, is surprised to hear a female voice address him as Hitoshi-san. She continues, saying "We have never spoken, but I am Kichinishi Natusuko." Ryu is shocked to find himself speaking to the daughter of Ichiro-san, himself. "Hai..." he answers quietly. "Meet me at the penthouse elevator. Your skills are needed," she says formally, and hangs up. Ryu makes his way to a bathroom, changing into his formal suit, from his shirtsleave and tie uniform, and then walks to the elevator bank, his gait and body position changed from mild mannered to steady and confident, as a man of his position should walk. Through frosted doors, his electronic pass allows him, and there he meets Natsuko. Only twenty years old, Ryu has seen her many times, but never spoken to her. The only contact prior to this came when he returned from Hokkaido after four years of training, and when he first saw Natsuko, she caught and held his gaze for a long, uncomfortable time. That was weeks ago, and now here she was. Dressed in a dark red leather pant suit... her hair cut short and spiky, with a shock of red at the tips. (Done by expensive professionals, so it looks fancy, not trashy.) A very modern look, compared to her father and his traditions. Without a word, they enter the elevator, and she keys the top, where Ichiro-san's office resides. Halfway up, she slides her card again, and hits the pause button, and the elevator stops without alarm. "Are you aware of what has happened?" she asks. Ryu shakes his head "No." "A serious situation has come about... a grave threat to the family. You need to be prepared to do whatever is asked of you." Ryu simple nods affirmative. He does notice that Natsuko seems very serious, and possibly quite upset, which is not at all normal for her. She says nothing more, but restarts the elevator, and they are soon exiting into the office. No secretary is in sight, and the go right in without announcing themselves. Ryu sees two guards standing above a kneeling and bound form... a low level kobun that Ryu recognizes... Jiro something. He has clearly been beaten, and he kneels on a heavy plastic sheet covering the carpet. Ichiro-san stands with his back to the room, looking out over the city as the sun sets and the lights go one. His silvery hair neat and glowing in the orange light of dusk. Finally, Ichiro turns back to the room, walks around to Jiro and barks at him, his aged voice harsh with anger, demanding to know what happened this evening, and why he would take such actions. Jiro looks confused and terrified, looking around at everyone but Ryu, whom he avoids looking at at all costs. He starts slowly, but then begins to fill in the details, explaining how he had gone with his leader Bi, to attack the scum Triad in his house. He explains the attack was done overtly, with much death, as was expected. He explains they had taken most of the resistance, and Bi had gone to confront Wu, when they were attacked by some gaijin. At the description of the attacker, Ryu immediately recognizes it as McGregor. Jiro was taken out by this man, and only came to later escaping just before the police arrived. He returned to report, and appologizes profusely for his failure. Ichiro is livid, slapping the man, and finally growling, "Why would you do such a thing as this? Why would you seek to start a war with the Triads? Who ordered this?" Jiro looks utterly confused at this, his eyes darting around the room, and falling in a beseaching way on Natsuko, but he says nothing. Ichiro, clearly in a rage, turns to Ryu and says, "Hurt him." Ryu nods and steps forward. Jiro mewls, and Ryu's right hand comes silently from his pocket with a butterfly knife. It flicks and spins, nearly silent... the blade flashing... Jiro's eyes wide in watching terror... then Ryu's left hand flashes out and he thumbs the nerve cluster beneath the mastoid bone, sending numbing pain through Jiro's neck and side. The knife disappears back in the pocket. Gasping and recovering, Jiro is asked again, "Who ordered this?" and again seems terrified to say, which Ryu can't understand. Ryu reaches out with his left hand then, his palm against Jiro's forehead and his thumb gently pressing at his eye. Jiro sucks in his breath, humming sickly in anticipation... when Ryu's right hand snaps out and knifes the solar plexus, causing Jiro to seize completely. Collapsing backward, twitiching and barely able to breathe. Ryu hauls Jiro up and spins him around to face Ichiro, holding him by his hair. Face contorted in rage, Ichiro leans over and asks one last time, "Who... ordered... this?" and Jiro gasps... clearly terrified to say it... ... "You did, my lord..." The room is still for half a second... the Ichiro nearly screams inarticulately, and backhand Jiro out of Ryu's grasp. Ryu just steps back, and waits... when suddenly Natsuko is by her father's side... pulling him away... talking quietly and soothingly. Ichiro is nearly shaking with rage... but he is guided by his daughter toward a private room. He is almost away, when he snaps one last command. "Finish it..." he says. Ryu nods. Jiro has only enough time to begin a slow, moaning cry... and Ryu steps behind him, and in one simple move, snaps his neck. As the two guards move in to wrap up Jiro's body, Ryu steps back, just in time to see Natsuko give a slight hand signal. A code, known only to a ninja and his master. Unseen by the guards or Ichiro. "Meet. Later. Below." Ryu nods, and the door closes behind the Oyabun... and the Oyabun's daughter. More later...

New Chit ruling... One thing I'm going to add to the use of Chits incorporates the use of the Hit Location chart. A chit can be used to defensively move a hit location result. White Chit: Move hit location by one number (up or down). Black Chit: Move hit location by up to two numbers (up or down). Blue Chit: Move hit location by up to three numbers (up or down). So... if a character gets hit in the "Five" which is head (throat), they could spend a white, and move it to a "6" and the hit is in the "Hand" now. I'm wondering about allowing chits to do the same, but on Offense... move a hit location to a more lethal area... but that could start a "Chit War" where chits are thrown back and forth to move a location around... winner is the one who can or is willing, to spend the most chits. Dunno... gotta think about that one. Part of me is loathe to have the Chits become integral to offensive combat actions, losing their main thrust, which is to take the edge off of dice that go against a character. Y'know... now that I think about it... I'll allow the Blue chit, and only the Blue chit... to act Offensively. That keeps in with the "story editing" power of the Chit to allow the character to make that spectacular, one in a million shot. If this comes into play in tonight's game, I'll let you all know how it works.

Love the modern look... and the multi-colored snakes, rather than just green serpents. Very slick.

Re: Anomoly Poster Chits, actually... and just those colored glass counters used in tons of other games. Buy 'em in bags, cheap, at places like Michael's or other craft stores... or spend much more money buying them at your FLGS. Try to make sure they are all the same size and texture, at least, because they are drawn randomly. People feeling around for the "small smooth ones" because they know those are the blue ones... that ain't right! Oh... and colors don't matter... choose whatever colors you want.

Re: Death I'm concerned about your question. From the way you phrase it, you sound like you are going to expect to find a D&D like chapter on death that says, "After a character dies, another character must cast Reincarnation within three days, and the character will return with all their equipment." Hero System is not like that. Hero System is a metagame kit for building characters... any character... as allowed by the GM and their world. This is not a game that tells you how to play it. This is a system for GMs to create whatever genre they feel is appropriate. If you want death to be a revolving door that no one takes seriously... great... your choice. If you want death to be taken seriously, make it final. Again, your choice. Hero System requires a lot of work on the GMs part. The basic mechanics are immense and finely tuned, but it is not a game, in and of itself. The GM has to make the game. Champions, Star Hero, Fantasy Hero... these are attempts to make a game out of the Hero System... but they are still painted in broad stripes. Much of the detail must be created by the GM. Granted, the system is born in Four Color Comics, so the basic mechanics do make it difficult to kill Superhero level characters. You'd have to have villains that made the extra effort to do nasty things to a PC when they go down, in order to kill them, usually. (At lower levels, called Heroic level, where defenses are more "realistic" the game can get very lethal, very quickly... but again, the GM chooses which level they are going to play.) Basically, the only answer to your question is, "It is up to you, as the GM, what happens if a character dies."

Re: Re: Huh? There are equal numbers White, Black & Blue. Maybe 30 of each in the little bag. I even let folks trade up... 3 white = 1 Blue... A black and a white = a blue, etc. Sometimes you want quantity, sometimes quality. The chits go away at the end of the game, no carry over. Use 'em or lose 'em... which encourages interactive use, not hording, IMO. The Gold Chit is usually just one "scene" or "event" They don't tend to really run the game in terms of controlling NPCs.. they just say, "Ok... here's this cool thing that I want to have happen, with this or that character..." They often don't force a certain outcome, they just want to have something that really shows off their character, or allows their character to have a really big impact on the plot. I guess it could be abused, but I've got great players. They tend to enhance the story and the world... not control it. It tends to be just of their character, as I don't think anyone would want to screw with another PC. Causes bad feelings. This should be fun. Oh yeah... the 5 pts of luck still allows for extra "good dice only" if I have them make a luck roll in random situations, as well as the chits.

Not sure what you mean by my own tables... the Hit Location chart is really the only table... and I memorized that 15 years ago. Everything else is done off the top of my head. Granted, I'm familiar enough with Hero to make stuff up that is "balanced" with the system... but really, I'd suggest not getting bogged down in charts and stuff. Keep it simple, and think of it as "flavah!" rather than rules. Just my suggestion... but that does take mature players who don't whine every time something doesn't go their character's way.

Oh yeah... I do the flat x3 Stun Multiple for KAs in supers campaigns as well. Didn't consider that optional, as much as a house rule we've used for some years. I've even considered dropping the flat rate to x2... but x3 seems good. You just have to be careful with "+1 Stun Multiple" advantages on KAs. That gets ugly, fast. (In non-supers games, the Stun multiple is figured by the Hit Location chart... so no need for a flat rate.)

Re: What's a (insert color)CHIT For a long time, I've been bugged by the fact that game systems don't deal with the fact that punching someone hurts the puncher, as well. Back in the early days of Champions, when walls had no defense, just body... anybody with STR five or better could pound a physical object to dust, given enough time. It struck me then... "But wouldn't they break their hand, hitting the steel wall?" Anyway, DEF for inanimate objects fixed that for the most part, but I agree... at a more "realistic" level, characters should have a chance to injure themselves when hitting or kicking something barehanded, or barefooted. I just don't know how technical I want to make it. I'd never use this in any kind of real "supers" campaign. Wrong feel. I do like it for this one... and maybe I'll simply take the very loose concept of "If you do more than average body with a barehand strike against a hard target, you might just hurt yourself." I'm not worried about Stun damage from punching someone, as much as the broken nuckle or two that might occur, and have fun role playing possibilities. This should be a flava' thang! Not a penalty for the players, IMO. (But a 6 PD guy punching a 7d6 whallop, and rolling 8 body... yeah... I'd probably have a wrist pop or a knuckle crunch in that case. I did it enough myself, back in my TKD days. )

Huh? Weird post. The first half seemed to be from Newbie Joe... and the second half from someone else. TheQuestionMan, maybe? It all looks like one post got mixed up. Weird. Anyway... to answer the couple questions. Chits: Way back in the days of Danger International... I'd created a generic "luck roll" to help determine random events. Roll 3d6... sixes good, ones bad. So if a player asks something like, "I need a rock to throw at the wild dogs making off with the baby!" I'd say, "Roll a luck roll," to determine if there just happened to be a rock around. Good luck, there is a perfect throwing rock, right at your feet. Bad luck... no rock to be found. Neither/nor... there is a rock, but it's 20 feet away, and will take a turn to get it. That kind of thing. Luck (the Talent back then, now a Power) allowed characters to roll an extra die for each luck die they had... and that die could only be good for them (ones didn't count.) This worked pretty well, but for years there was a need to open up Champs/Hero system, to allow some flexibility with powers and give players a little more control over their characters destiny and story. Then I played Deadlands. (Original Deadlands, when it first came out.) They had chips (poker chips) that you could spend to soak wounds, or make rolls better, or whatever. It was a great mechanic. After only one session, I realized that this was a way to make Luck in Hero very viable. Now every PC gets at least one chit of luck, and can draw one more for every d6 of Luck they purchase. There are four colors... white, black, blue and gold. The chits act as follows... White: Allows a reroll of any one roll you control. Or allows an abort maneuver (dodge, block, dfc...) without using an action. It also allows a single Recovery, without using an action. Black: Same as white, plus you can spend a black to take away a single die in a "to hit" or "skill" roll, to gain a success. Rolled a 15... spend a black, take away that 6, now you have a 9! Success! (GM gets to draw a chit for the villains, if you spend a black.) Blue: Same as Black, without any benefit to GM. Blue is also a way to "flex" powers in a supers game. It allows a power to be used in a way that fits the SFX, but they haven't paid points for. Ex: Flame character... wants to reduce the fire in a room to save a child... but doesn't have this power. Spends a blue... for this one action, his EB (or whatever) becomes Suppress normal fires, and he can do it. Blue also allows for "dramatic editing" so that the character can simply say, "I grab the broom handle and snap it off, so I have a stake to fight the vampire!" rather than asking, "Is there anything wooded around?" In the case I highlighted in the last Secret Worlds adventure... on PC was way out of the combat, and spent the blue to come up with a creative way to get his character there "right now!" Gold: There is only one in the bag (chits are drawn randomly) but if drawn, the player can become GM for a scene. They get to create and event or subplot or something along those lines, that fits with their character concept and long term goals. I've had one person spend it so his character finally got his Thesis on Paranormal Gestation Theory published, and to wide acclaim, so he became famous in those circles as THE expert on metahuman bio-genesis. Another spent it, so that during a mission, he accidentaly stumbled across some critical information about villain financing... this changed the entire SHAPE of the campaign, as the villains funding was exposed, and they had to come out of the shadows, rather than manipulate from behind the scenes. It's a great system... players seem to really love it... and it gives flexibility within limits. Many systems have this kind of thing now. Bennies in Savage Worlds... Hero Points in M&M. I've been doing it for probably 6 years or more at this point. I'd never go back.

Champions/Supers: Knockback and a 3 is double damage, an 18 a total botch of some kind. That's really it. Anything more doesn't capture the slam/bang of high power supers. Dark Champs/Danger International/Fantasy Hero: Hit location, impairment, knockdown, bleeding*, etc. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12191 Much of the flavor of the gunfight described in this recap of my current campaign is through the use of Hit Location. I actually like this lower level... few powers, mostly skills and maneuvers, kind of game. *My bleeding rules are GM option. I just look at the location hit, and the amount of body done after defenses, and judge whether bleeding is significant, or not. Any significant wounds, I keep track of in my head, in case something comes up that could aggravate them. (Bullet in the thigh... later the guy tries to jump out of a second story window... believe me, I'll add some damage dice to that roll. )

Episode Recap Due to request... and the fact that it was a good idea... I've cut and paste the Episode recaps into an attached TXT file. (I hope... never attached anything on this board before.) Down load for the story so far...

Review of Episode 2 Forgot to do the G,B & U of the last episode. The Good: The fact that I had only two players. This allowed Joe and James to really get a lot of "face" time for their characters. Mr. Jones, a guy who is so average as to be almost invisible... well a character like that can get lost in a game... and here he was able to really generate some personality. Both players and characters also got to learn a little of what they can do. A gunfight like this would have been totally dominated by Storn and Eric, both because their characters are more suited for this, and as players, they both have a lot more experience in this style of game. It really allowed McGregor and Jones to stretch their wings a bit. (Oh... and the Martial Arts -1 DC to maneuvers, really worked as well.) The Bad: The fat that three players were missing. A game really needs momentum to succeed. A great first session can derail if the next session doesn't work out. There is enourmous pressure to keep things going in our group. One pause, and you can lose players attention. I'm hoping this doesn't occur this time. The Ugly: Re-arranging some plot elements at the last moment. This accelerated some of events, primarily the confrontation between Yaks and Triads. Such storylines tend to take on a life of their own... and that can make for difficulties this early in a new campaign. Certain characters can come to the front as important, and others not, which leaves some players feeling left out. I took the risk with this, by not putting more limits on PC concepts, but I really wanted to see where the players would take their characters. Right now, we have some very "realistic" characters, in some sense. The world is very close to home, just cinematic. It hasn't really gotten "weird" yet... and some PCs are better suited for weird, rather than action. This will be a tough bump to overcome.

The last adventure, I basically went with the following slight modifications to Martial Arts. Extra DCs cost 8 points... and any marital maneuver that does normal or killing damage, then you subtract a single DC from that maneuver. Martial Strike now just does +1 DC... Offensive Strike does +3 DC... This seemed to work really well. It took two or three shots to put down a foe... unless you were using weapons. That really captured the "feel" I was looking for. Another thing Joe could have done, which is just something to learn as the game goes along... is used his sword "in scabard" to add a DC to his attacks. Basically use it as a club, since he didn't really want to pull the blade and use it, for some reason. I may have to tweak some of the normal damage weapons, as well. A bo staff doing +4 DC? Holy cow. Ok for super level stuff, but that is HUGE for this kind of game. Most KA's are well balanced in the weapon lists... but normal damage can just accelerate so quickly to unmanageable levels, if you make it 1 for 1 equivalent DCs with killing attacks. A left over result of the supers concept that is the core of Hero System... and just takes some tweaking for this level. Thanks for your comments.

Edit note. I edited a small bit of the last post... the combat scene... because it occurred to me that I forgot a neat little bit with the Chinese cook. I type these recaps from memory... and sometimes a detail slips by. All in all, though... I think they are pretty accurate.

It was funny, but afterwards we were joking that it was a GOOD thing Terry wasn't there... because he wouldn't have left anything for the others to do. Figured he would have just waltzed in a mowed everyone down, and left the others standing outside saying, "Oh please... let me have one? I'll give you a dollar!" I said that if Terry was there, I'd have another full truckload of thugs show up, just for him.

Secret Worlds: Emerald Palace blood bath... Out in the parking lot, Jasmine hops on her bike, as McGregor pulls a 270 degree bootlegger reverse taking him right out on to the street and heading back to Wu's restaurant. Mr. Jones mutters, "I took the wrong car," as he gets in with Stang, who pulls out well behind the others. Racing through traffic is not easy in San Francisco, and though McGregor pulls some daring moves, plowing up the center line to avoid stopping... he still gets stopped by a traffic jam about three blocks from the Emerald Palace. Hopping out, he grabs his sword, wrapped in his jacket and starts running. Jones and Stang pull up behind him, and just in time to see Jasmine zip up the sidewalk behind McGregor, who makes an amazingly fluid twist and leap, and jumps on behind her as she goes past, and they race down the hill toward the restaurant. Mr. Jones starts to run after them, but is quickly left in the dust. Ahead, the restaurant has turned into a combat zone. In what looks like an attack from two vehicles, one sedan has driven headlong into the front window of the store, and behind it a black van has pulled up, and it's rear door are open... likely having disgorged attackers. On the street, two men in black ski masks are using the van for cover and spraying into the building with Mini-Uzi's Other gunshots can be heard from inside. Damian and Jasmine race ahead, and McGregor shouts "Slow and stop!" which she starts to do, popping into a "Stoppie" front wheel skid position. Damian goes off the bike, rolling to the ground and back up, right in front of the nearest gunman. The guy turns and looks menacingly at him, waving the pistol... but Damian has no gun, sword is still wrapped in his jacket, and he just raises his arms and looks scared. This seems to work... especially as the gunman is quickly distracted by the sleek, sexy image of Jasmine on the motorcycle behind Damian. The man looks suspicsious, and starts to raise his gun toward her, and shouts something that Damian is sure is Japanese, but doesn't understand. He uses this distraction, to move in on the thug... (rolled a natural three on his Dex roll. I gave him plusses on any attack and he has Rapid Attack HtH). In a blur of movement, Damian knife hands the gun to the ground, snap kicks him in the solar plexus, and then finishes him off with a spinning axe kick that drops him hard. Busy firing, the gunman's buddy doesn't see this at all. McGregor signals to Jasmine to take him out and then armed only with his sword, he ducks and weaves toward the front of the store, as the buddy stops to pop his clip and reload. From two blocks up the street, Jones sees this happen, and curses that he is so far behind. A luck would have it, he comes to the end of the traffic jam, where the fire fight has caused someone to abandon their rustbucket Impala, keys in and engine running. (Ah, Blue Chit dramatic editing...) Jones hops in and floor it toward the fight. Meanwhile, Jasmine accelerates the bike toward the reloading thug, who sees her and tries to dodge, but she swerves and skids sideways, slamming into him and sending him skidding along the street with a loud crunch! McGregor has mad his way into the foyer, where he sees the dead body of a waiter and a patron, a masked mook hanging half out of the wrecked sedan, moaning and holding his mangled leg... some huddled customers under tables... but no immediate threat. Gunshots come from the kitchen just ahead. Outside, Jones comes skidding to a halt. Jasmine pulls a gun on this approaching car, flipping up her helmet face shield to squint and try to focus because she seems to have a hard time figuring out who is driving. Jones makes himself seen to her, and she swears, "Fu**! I hate this guy!" but doesn't shoot him. Jones heads for the restaurant. McGregor makes his way further up the central hall, when he sees two more masked gunmen, their backs too him, just inside a kitchen door, using cabinets for cover, and popping up and down, as if trying to get a shot at someone deeper inside the kitchen. McGregor tries to rabbit punch one while pulling the gun over to make the man fire at his own partner. He hits the man, but is unable to make a solid grapple, and the partner swings his gun, standing up in surprise, aiming right at Damian. Just at this moment, Jones is approaching the blasted out front window of the Carry Out section. He sees through the kitchen bay (where orders come up) a masked man suddenly stand up and point his gun at an unseen target. Jones takes a shot, shooting the man in the forearm. He screams and drops his gun. From McGregor's point of view, he simply sees the man pointing a gun at him suddenly scream and drop the pistol as a round punches through his arm... and this is followed by the sudden appearance at the back of the kitchen of a large Chinese cook in a blood spattered apron, stand up with a folding stock AK-47... bellow in rage, and open fire. (Truly a Gotcha! Oh shit! Cool! Oh shit! series of events from McGregor's POV.) 7.62 rounds tear into the hapless masked man, who takes the full brunt of the AK. In a panic, his partner, still grappling with McGregor, kicks backward, forcing them both out of the kitchen and into the hall. McGregor pounds elbow strikes into the guy's back, but he doesn't go down! Mr. Jones scrambles past the window, trying not to get hit by errant assault rifle rounds, and comes into the restaurant, to see McGregor struggling with the thug. Shrugging off an poor shot from the mook, McGregor swings him around into the wall and follows up with a full turning back side kick, that the man tries vainly to block. The impact slams the man back, cracking his head on the wall, and he slumps to the ground. Jones and McGregor confront each other (McGregor finding it easier and easier to notice this guy, the more he is around him) and they start to look for Wu... heading back to the private dining area and the offices they know are there. McGregor picks up the .40 Caliber pistol from the man he took down, just as the Chinese cook comes around the corner, AK leveled. Both are caught in his gaze, noticing an angry sneer and a bullet hole clean through his shoulder... "Uh... here to help?" squeaks Damian... and the big man takes in the situation... seeing the downed attackers. He grimly nods, moving up to flank the other side of the door that leads to the private dining area. "We kill them all," he says with a growl. Then he suddenly catches a glimpse of Jones, right next to him, and squints in confusion, but shrugs and seems to take it in stride. Jones and McGregor snap a look into the dining area, seeing a dead attacker and two guards sprawled on the floor... another dead waiter... and at the other end of the room and masked man standing half in, half out of the doorway to the back offices... a SPAS-12 cradled in his arms. He is in a perfect position to cover the room, and still see the offices beyond him. Jones takes the limited risk of being seen, and snap shots at the guy. It is a miracle shot (spent a black chit to roll a 3) but the bullet only strikes the man's right bicep, blowing clean through. Bellowing in pain and anger, he falls back, out of sight into the office area beyond the doorway in which he was standing. Jones moves in, as does McGregor and then the cook, who deliberately paces across the room, covering the door with his AK. Nothing happens, so with Jones nad the cook covering, McGregor pushes it open. It is a long hallway with four doors, two on each side. The gun man is again half in a doorway, but happens to be checking hsi wound as McGregor comes in... Damian fires twice, but the shots are wide, slamming into the doorframe. This still drives the mook back into the office, out of the line of fire, and freeing the hallway for the others. Looking back to the cook, Damian's shouts "Where's Wu?" The cook nods, and points to the back left office. Damian has to go past the doorway likely covered by the SPAS, then takes a running leap past it to get down the hall. The doorway errupts in blasts of 12 guage double-ought... but he was a tad to slow, and McGregor makes it past, and down the hall. At that point, the cook screams a bloodcurdling cry, and runs down the hall to join Damian, opening fire along the wall into the room where the shotgun toting gunman fled. The machine gun stitches holes all along the way, the rifle slugs tearing through the interior walls with ease. Jones moves up, back against the wall, next to the open door, cringing at the thought of shotgun blasts tearing through the drywall and blowing him away. Luckily the man doesn't just start firing. A quick glance inside shows the gunman unhurt by the cook's fusillade, but ducking down none the less. Down at the door to Wu's office, Damian sees the door is just slightly ajar... not locked... and hesitates a second, before pushing it open and swinging the pistol in to cover the room as best he can. He sees the terrible sight of a large masked attacker with a pistol shoved into the mouth of Chow Yen, yelling at someone on the floor and out of sight... presumably Wu. In a split second, he takes in the lose/lose situation... and aims at the attacker to fire. (DEX OFF! And a bad roll, Damian loses!) The man is fast, faster than the others, and kicks backward, pulling the trigger at the same time. It's a sick wet explosion, as Chow Yen's head explodes all over the office, but that moment of delay allows McGregor to take his shot before the attacker can switch his aim. A single shot... punches through the neck of the thug in a spray of red. (5 on hit location!) His hand clamps automatically on the exit wound, mouth moving... surprisingly not going down, though clearly stunned and shaking. Before he can recover, McGregor steps in and clubs him to the ground, where he begins to twitch and bleed out. At roughly the same time, Jones snaps a shot around the corner at the thug huddled against he back wall, taking him in the opposite shoulder from his arm wound, and making him drop the cradled SPAS-12. Before he can respond, Jones steps in, kicks the gun away, and presses his pistol against the man's forehead. He gets the idea, and surrenders. Back in Wu's office, Damian finds the Triad money man with a bullet wound in his leg, but still alive. There is a big safe, bolted to the floor, and it is unopened. Wu stares in shock at his dead friend, himself covered in Chow Yen's blood, bone and brain matter. The cook charges in, looking about wildly, and runs to help his boss. Damian tries to get Wu to leave, but is denied. "You go. Get away," says Wu. "This is my business. I can't leave." Damian looks unsure. "Thank you, my friend..." says Wu again... "Leave... you were never hear!" McGregor nods and runs, taking Jones and the captive thug with them. They meet up with Jasmine, and steal the thugs own van as a gettaway... heading off into the streets to try and figure out how to lose any police pursuit. Jones calls Stang, reporting what happened. Stang says, "Does the man you captured have any tatoos." Jones pulls off the man's shirt... revealing an intricate dragon tattoo along his back in red and black ink. "Mr. Stang," says Jones into the phone. "The dragon is holding flowers in his claws... nine of them." "This is bad," says Stang. In a moment of silence as the van moves away and the everyone considers the implications of this event... then, smiling, McGregor says, "Hey... Jones..." half turning in his seat. He holds out his hand in that fist-to-fist greeting that has replaced the handshake on the street. "We're good now!" he says... and laughs.* And that's where we left it. *(Nothing like a close quarters gun fight for male bonding!)