Shadowsoul

Re: Paragon Disruption A straightforward Physical Limitation would seem to be the easiest option. Otherwise it is a constant, always on, no endurance cost, uncontrolled Minor Transform or Drain Technology.

Unusual magic items are fun! Here's one to start you off. Safety Kitten. If it's dangerous to go alone, take one of these. 1. Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED) (12 Active Points); OAF (Kitten; -1). 6 Real Points 2. Danger Sense (self only, in combat) (15 Active Points); OAF (Kitten; -1) 11- 7 Real points. 13 points total.

Re: God of Redemption He could be depicted as a father. Overflowing with love but capable of punishing wrongdoers sternly. Or a teacher perhaps. A king or general would work as well. "Join the army of the righteous!"

Re: If Foxbat is like an evil Batman... A little off topic. But this guy is the real 'evil Batman'. Can't say that the story appealed to me, however.

Re: Drain Spells On the plus side. Once a whole level or 'increment' of Speed has been Drained the target does not recover that increment until they have recovered a full 10 points. So, with the usual fade rate that character would have to wait 2 Turns before his Speed returned to 2.

Re: Drain Spells Don't know about earlier versions but in 5ER Adjustment powers ignore fractions of Speed. This means that the only effect of reducing someone's Speed by a fraction will be to make it easier to actually reduce the Characteristic with future attacks. You have to Drain a full 'level' of Speed, (10 Character Points), before a character's effective Speed Characteristic is actually reduced. For example. A character with Dex 16 will have a Speed of 2.6, for the purposes of Adjustment powers this is reduced to Speed 2. However, an Adjustment power must decrease that character's Speed by a full 10 Character Points before it can actually decrease their Speed Characteristic to 1. So, if you Drained that character's Speed by 5 points they would have a Speed of 1.5, leaving their effective Speed Characteristic at 2. If you subsequently Drained that character's Speed by a further 5 points they would have a Speed of 1.0, (assuming that they had not recovered any of the lost Character Points in the meantime), and then their actual Speed Characteristic would be reduced to 1.

(Note. The numbers here are not in any way based on research, no corrections please). Scene opens. Hitler is sitting in his office. He is studying a map of Russia which has been marked with German and Russian army units. Two high ranking Staff Officers enter the office. One holds a sheaf of papers. Both look extremely nervous. The Staff Officers salute smartly and say in unison. "Hail, mine Fuhrer!" Hitler salutes. "You are here, Gut. We must send more men into Russia. The slavic scum are on the run." The 1st Staff Officer replies, he is clearly terrified. "There are no more men to spare, Mine Fuhrer." Hitler's eyes bulge and his face begins to turn purple. "What? You dare to say that the glorious army of the Third Reich is exhausted? Who is responsible for this?" 1st Staff Officer. "Mine Fuhrer! It is because of all of these spy plots, weird inventions and occult machinations. We have lost thousands of men and untold amounts of materiel to such endeavours." He motions the 2nd Staff Officer forward. 2nd Staff Officer. Takes a deep breath. "Mine Fuhrer! We have lost more men to enemy agents and escaping prisoners of war than we did during the conquests of France, Belgium, Chekoslovakia and Greece put together. For example, more than four hundred men are believed to have perished in engagements with a single American Archaeologist!" He taps one of his documents and begins to read from it. "32 men lost from driving over the edges of cliffs. 121 men shot. 3 men strangled with a whip. 19 men killed by poisonous snakes. 28 men who lost their souls to the Arc of the Covenant ..." The 1st Staff Officer interrupts. "That was one of our many failed occult adventures Mine Fuhrer. I always advised against them." Hitler is far from appeased. "Just how many men could the Third Reich have lost to my extremely important investigations into the Occult? Any one of which could have resulted in complete victory!" 2nd Staff Officer. Pulls out a larger list and begins to read while the 1st Staff Officer edges away from him. "711 killed by test subjects or enemy action as a direct result of 5 different attempts to create super soldiers from Vampires and a further 102 lost to a single attempt to do the same with Werewolves. Exactly 1300 lost to Demonic action; causes of death include - being sucked into a Hell Dimension, being possessed, death from actual battles with Demons and Devils, death from being sacrificed to Evil Powers, death from engagements with Allied Agents attempting to prevent our experiments .." Hitler motions for him to move on to the next item. 2nd Staff Officer. Clears his throat. "322 men, two battleships, one U-boat and an extremely unlucky Messerschmitt, devoured by Great Cthulhu. Another battleship was destroyed by Dagon and our U-boat Malevolence was dragged down into the lightless depths by Leviathan, all hands were lost." He looks at the next sub-list. "19 men, 5 attack dogs and a pet monkey which had been taught the Party's salute were eaten by dinosaurs in the dark caverns of the Inner Earth. 7 men on the same expedition fell into a volcano. 27 of the remaining members of the expedition are believed to have perished in battle, though the lone survivor was too insane to explain who they were fighting." He continues. "12 men killed by Yetis and 40 more murdered by supposedly peaceful Taoist monks. 352 drowned in the sunken city of Mu and 217 destroyed by energy weapons in Atlantis. An entire regiment which had been converted in Zombies was wiped out by some kind of holy weapon, possibly the Grail. 16 men dead from enemy action after the failed attempt to graft the Spear of Longinus onto Goebbels right arm. 891 dead in the invasion of the Moon, which also cost us immense amounts of resources that had to be diverted from the Western Front." 1st Staff Officer. Cannot resist adding. "It is not just men we lack! We are bankrupt Mine Fuhrer! We have no more resources to make the weapons of war." 2nd Staff Officer. "Half a tank Division was smashed to pieces by King Kong, the other half was later melted by the firebreath of Godzilla. Both losses the result of failures to harness to creatures to the war effort. 3 Stukas and 5 Messerschmitts were turned into bats by the rogue sorcerer Rasputin after he fell out with his handlers..." So many veins are throbbing in Hitler's head that it seems as though a heart attack is imminent. "So, the Occultists have failed. Execute everyone responsible." 2nd Staff Officer. Goes white. "W-wait, Mine Fuhrer. Our many spy organisations and research divisions have also caused immense losses. Not to mention the many deaths caused by the plots of the dastardly Allies." He quickly thumbs through his paperwork until he finds another file. "980 men lost when secret bases exploded. 435 lost when experimental aircraft failed. 33 men thrown out of planes by enemy agents. 42 men lost in a single incident involving an attempt to steal a jetpack from an American inventor. 517 confirmed as being killed by Allied agents attempting to infiltrate our bases. 111 men killed protecting you from failed assassination attempts by Allied and Russian agents, that included 7 men poisoned by a venom stained hearthrug sent to you by a platoon of the British Home Guard who had heard that you bite the carpet when enraged. 9895 men killed directly by elite commando units fielded by the Allies, the indirect losses are beyond counting." Hitler. Holds up a shaking hand. "Just how many elite units do the wretched Allies have?" 1st Staff Officer. "We are not entirely sure, Mine Fuhrer. But we estimate that around 20% of the Allied forces consists of commandoes, special forces, kill squads, espionage units, secret agents, suicide squads, 'heroes' and assorted irregulars. By 'irregulars' I don't mean resistance groups but civilian agents such as inventors, detectives, magicians, adventurers, professors, scientists and wielders of unusual technology, superheroes, two fisted action heroes, square jawed action heroes, reluctant action heroes and plucky animal sidekicks." Hitler. "Mine Gott! Has no one thought to try and recover our losses?" 2nd Staff Officer. "Oh yes, Mine Fuhrer. Ah, here is the list. 40 men MIA after they were sent into the future to try and kidnap Elvis and hold him to ransom in return for much needed war supplies. 214 men phased out of existence by a device intended to steal the French fleet before the Britisher scum could sink it to prevent it from falling into our hands..." Hitler. "Enough! Get out! Do not come back until Stalingrad has fallen." Staff Officers. Salute and back out of the door as fast as possible without actually running. Hitler. Leaps out of his chair and begins foaming at the mouth, screaming incoherently until he collapses on the floor and begins chewing at the carpet. Scene ends. (Further additions to the various lists are welcome).

Re: Okay class: Make me a rogue. Aha. But now it is called Rogue so the class doesn't have to be limited to thieves anymore. From 3rd edition onwards the designers said that Rogues were simply 'skilled and stealthy individuals'. Like this non-violent Rogue. Courtesan/Spy The court is a place of cut-throat intrigue in which information is more precious than gold. Ostensibly this Rogue makes her way in the world of the court by providing exquisite entertainment and peddling her body, but her mind is her true asset and she lives by passing on the secrets that she beguiles her patrons into parting with. Skills Acrobatics 12- Acting 12- Analyze: Social Skills 12- Concealment 12- Contortionist 12- Conversation 12- Gambling 12- High Society 12- KS: Politics 11- Lipreading 12- Musical Instrument Familiarity (Aerophones, Chordophones, Membranophones) 11- Persuasion 12- PS: Dancer 11- PS: Courtesan 11- Riding 12- Seduction 12- Sleight Of Hand 12- Stealth 12- Total Skills Cost = 57 Characteristics Quick-Witted: +5 INT Lithe: +6 DEX Disciplined: +2 EGO Charming: +5 PRE Total Characteristics Cost = 32 Skill Levels Skillful Entertainer: +2 with Music, Dancing and Courtesan Beguiling: +2 with Interaction Skills Quick Fingered: +1 with Agility Skills Total Skill levels Cost = 21 Powers Sharp Eyes: +1 PER with Sight Group Total Powers Cost = 2 Total Cost = 112

Re: Okay class: Make me a rogue. There are many different kinds of Rogue. No doubt D&D's designers would be the first to say that a Rogue does not have to be a thief. They can be investigators, spies, assassins, witch hunters, acrobats and many other things. I might post one or two of those possibilities. For now, here is a criminal Rogue, (in 5er), who doesn't actually specialise in stealing things, (though he's not above it either). I haven't bothered with Disadvantages, those tend to be more personal, in my experience. The Enforcer. This man is a thug, but a competent one with a range of abilities. He is equally at home on the rooftops, getting ready to break into a witness's bedroom, as he is on the streets, breaking the fingers of those too poor or stupid to repay their debts. He prefers to force his victims to cooperate through threats or judiciously applied beatings but if greater violence is called for he doesn't hesitate to stick a knife in someone. In a serious fight, against city guards or members of a rival gang, he tends to hang back and support his allies with archery. Characteristics Brawny: +5 STR Handy: +3 DEX Tough: +3 CON Big: +1 BODY Stubborn: +2 EGO Quick: +1 SPD Total Characteristics Cost = 36 Skills. Breakfall 12- Climbing 12- +1 with Bows Fast Draw (Knives) 12- Interrogation (Torture) 11- CK: Home 11- KS: Gangs 11- Lockpicking 12- Paramedics 8- Stealth 12- Streetwise 11- WF: Blades, Bows, Clubs, Fist-Loads, Improvised Weapons, Off Hand, Thrown Knives, Axes, and Darts, Unarmed Combat Total Skills Cost = 34 Abilities Intimidation: Aid Presence 2d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 5 Minutes; +1/2) (30 Active Points); Self Only (-1/2), Gradual Effect (1 Minute; -1/2), Conditional Power Only Against One Person Or Group At A Time (-1/2), Limited Power For Threats Or Intimidation Only (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4) Brawler: Hand-To-Hand Attack +1d6 (5 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) Careful Shot: Combat Shooting Lucky: Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) Roof Runner: Environmental Movement (no penalties on Rooftops) Knife Man: Lightning Reflexes: +2 DEX to act first with Knife Attack Total Abilities Cost = 30 Total Cost of Package = 100

Re: Setting Concept (looking for feedback) Well it's certainly high-concept, though very dark. I like the idea of reality as an equilibrium achieved between competing elements. The born and unborn also sound interesting. Do the unborn include elementals, spirits and gods?

Re: Stone Molder (hoping for feedback) If he can Transform the stone into the required shape then what does he need Linked Telekinesis for? Couldn't the Telekinesis be a separate power?

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I wonder. What would happen if McGinty was called in to investigate Vitus? I'm guessing someone's scrotum would be detonated.

Re: What might you find on a Sorcerer's personal Airship? Let's see. Loot. A small flamethrower, for exterminating pests which might eat the cargo or nibble the balloon. Surely a Fire Sorcerer in a steampunk setting can justify having one of these. An aether clock. Timekeeping is important when on a journey. Don't ask me how you tell the time with aether. A really ornate compass. Book of prophecies. All-weather armour. Specially treated leather and/or rubber suits that provide an almost unnatural amount of protection against the elements as well as a point or two of Armour. Not for the fashion conscious, however. A precious gem. The original owner of this gem has sworn to kill anyone who gets their hands on it, (the Sorcerer stole it). Being hunted by this person could be the next mess that the party gets into. Bottles for catching lightning. Rooms. A relaxation room with; dice; board games that have been marked onto cloth, (to take up less weight); some cheap books/penny dreadfuls and a few erotic postcards. An observatory. Complete with telescopes, a glass floor, star charts and various arcane calculating machines. An arms locker. Weapons are issued to the sailors/airmen only when a fight is imminent. Surgery. For shipboard injuries and the treatment of altitude sickness.

Re: official permits and such The nautical term would be a Letter of Marque, which acknowledges that the bearer is a privateer rather than a pirate.

Re: Once Were Minions

Re: Once Were Minions I can't say that the idea of limiting the players' options to one or two races appeals to me. Of course I'm used to weird and wonderful parties of PCs. Back when I used to be a player in Bismark's games we had one party that included - A Highland Dwarf that fought with a big sword and some shamanic/druidic magic, a duellist with Priest powers, a rogue Snakeman that created flesh golems, a highly moral Necromancer who used his powers to combat the Undead, (and had bouts of madness), a Warrior-Priest and a Catgirl Assassin-Courtesan. A later party included a Fertility Priest, a Half Troll and a Centaur Knight. My online Campaign features a party whose line-up has changed more often than the Avengers. Currently it includes; 2 members of a magically enhanced human subrace, one who uses Celestial and Infernal magic and the other who has given up her powers in favour of being a martial artist with a semi-sentient flying blade staff at her command; a singing Mutant whose glamour is matched only by her strength and array of musical powers; an Assassin-Priest belonging to a gothic themed race that exists to serve the god of death and balance and a reformed Vampire. Previous members of the party include but are not limited to - an albino Werewolf; a Templar; a Strell, (bat-like humanoid), with psychic powers; a Half-Demon Mage-Smith; a Revenant and a Mutant Technomancer. I know that this kind of thing i.e. 'I want to play a Celestial Sea-Elf with Fire Elemental Ancestors that uses martial arts, thief skills, spells from the Priest list and Force Powers' really irritates some people. But as long as the concept works I don't care how strange the character is, in fact I designed that setting to give people an exotic array of choices. As for what causes the PCs to work together, it is the same thing that causes the players to work together - if they don't work together then the PCs are doomed. In terms of story. As the Dark Horde fragments and its leaders descend into madness, squads are formed at random from groups of Minions that gather together around camp fires for mutual support and protection. Minion characters may have been separated from their tribe/regiment/band/pack or they may be the only survivor of said group. Leaving your assigned squad is treated by paranoid officers officers as an act of desertion and is punishable by death. After that it would be up to the players to form bonds of mutual respect or simple expediency between their characters. Badger, you have a point. Humans often serve as Minions and have done so since Tolkien's day. However, I am wary of allowing people to play humans because it might tempt too many people to stick with what they know and not go out on a limb with a Ghoul or Fellbat. I might allow one human but being a human would definitely be a Social Disadvantage.

Re: Once Were Minions When survival is paramount and every NPC you meet is a potential enemy, your position on the Good/Evil continuum is not as important is it might appear. A case in point is Zaknafein, father of the (in)famous Drizzt Do'Urden He is a 'Good' Drow who is constantly horrified by the Evil of the Drow around him. His solution? He serves his Evil family as an assassin so that he can kill as many Drow as possible. Though his motivations are different to those of a normal Drow his actions are quite similar. This does not sound like the life a hero should lead but the fact is that a Good hero in an Evil city will behave a bit like a serial killer. And that, by D&D standards, is ok, because killing Evil beings is a Good act. (Presumably this is why Drow have to go and attack the Good races, if they just killed each other they'd eventually shift to the Good side of the continuum and then Lolth would eat them). But I digress. I would allow players quite a bit of freedom to decide how 'Evil' their characters were. At the end of the day they are all surrounded by a disintegrating army of monsters and hordes of alien beings so they will have to stick together even if they hate each other. They don't have to trust their companions or go out of their way to sacrifice themselves for others, they can betray each other. Of course all Minions should be aware that, if they prove too treacherous, there is nothing to stop their allies from ganging up on them and making sure that they never betray anyone else ever again. Of course there are limits. I'm not that fond of 1-dimensional Evil - characters who wander around in spiky black armour saying 'Hey! Look at me, I punch babies in the face! Why? Because I'm Evil, that's why.' I prefer more believable/rounded villains that have one or more unsavoury traits e.g. cruel, heartless, greedy, power-hungry, fanatical etc. They may have positive attributes but ultimately their actions and motivations can be described as evil or monstrous. So I would not reward Minions who decided to burn a village and torture any survivors because 'hey, we're Evil, that's what we do'. Now if there was an assassin hidden in the village and burning it down might flush him out then that would be reasonable behaviour by Minion standards. On the other hand I'm not looking for Minions who just want to angst about how tortured and misunderstood they are. Even an alien world is probably not ready for a Giant Spider who hates itself because its intimacy issues cause it to paralyze and drain of all bodily fluids anyone that gets close to it emotionally. Different Minions would probably have different attitudes. I imagine Orcs as being brutish creatures that don't look beyond the next meal or fight, (the two things being closely linked in their minds), because the Dark Lord's control over them means that they have no control over their own destinies. In the new world an Orc is likely to still be interested in violence, food and sex. But the lure of power and perhaps even the curious idea of free will could cause these brutal creatures to discover hidden depths within themselves, or they might just find that killing things and stealing stuff on their own initiative is more rewarding. A Lizardman who was effectively conscripted into the Dark Horder might have crude notions of honour e.g. accepting an enemy's surrender. A Ghoul would be perfectly friendly to everyone it meets, as long as it wasn't hungry. A Warg could be extremely vengeful and enjoy inflicting suffering on anyone or anything that crossed it, but would be capable of forming attachments to those that helped it. A Goblin might seem like the voice of reason, always pushing the idea of working together and protecting each other, but really he would sacrifice any of his companions in a heartbeat. Bottom line, there are no points for being Evil or being Good. There is no sense that there is a meaningful struggle going on in which morality plays a part. While it is possible to perform acts which are good or evil, Good and Evil are not elemental forces in this world. This would be a campaign about surviving and carving out a place for yourself in a strange and hostile landscape.

Re: Once Were Minions That's what I was going for. Good vs Evil doesn't matter any more, because Good has won. This is about what happens to 'Evil' beings once the cause of Evil has been destroyed. The idea of transplanting the Minions to another realm was partly to avoid having to worry too much about morality. I'm not interested in a D&D Monsters Campaign in which human towns become dungeons to fight through and innocent villagers are encounters. I'd rather push these monstrous characters out of their comfort zone and see what happens to them. That being said I wouldn't expect the Minions to develop a social conscience. They are out for survival. Later on they might try to gather power and wealth but initially they would just be trying to make it through the day.

Re: 40K Space Marine Abilities I'd say that Markdoc's version is closer to what I would have come up with. Space Marines are inhumanly strong and very skilled. A Space Marine wielding a combat knife will one-shot KO, (kill, cripple), a normal human 6-7 times out of ten. It's probably a monofilament edged combat knife but still, that takes a high STR score. I'd up the Ego by a couple of points. These guys are elite warrior-monk fanatics after all. Impressive list of powers to represent the various extra Space Marine organs, though. Also. In the old days Space Marines used to have a special ability called 'Bolter Drill', which allowed them to fire bolters twice if they stood still. By the time I stopped playing 40k everybody could do this if they had the right weapon. But it might be worth throwing this skill in. Bolter Drill. Naked Modifier for X points of Bolter - Autofire 2, (Extra Time - Full Phase). Or you could just make the Bolter an Autofire 2 weapon anyway.

Re: Once Were Minions A few more notes. Other minion types are - Wargs, Skeletons and Lizardmen. While the Lizardmen were not one of the races created or corrupted by Lord Doom they did favour swamps and marshes and so were among the first peoples to fall to Doom as he reached out of the dark places of the world. Doom conquered many Lizardman tribes and bound them together into the slave-kingdom of Murk. So, although the Lizardmen hated Lord Doom they feared him even more and dispatched a large army to aid him in the final battle. Equipped with primitive weapons and suspect loyalty, this army was used as cannon-fodder in the many battles with the forces of Good and the battered remains have now been integrated into other dark hordes. I use the term 'aliens' for the denizens of the new realm. That is not to say that they are bug eyed creatures with starships and rayguns. Just that they are original races that the Minions will never have encountered before. Initial adventures and plot seeds. - The officers of your particular section of the horde have chosen to attack a heavily defended hill-top fortress and most of this army is doomed. But a drunken scout has revealed the existence of a hidden cave at the base of the hill. Can your squad survive bombardment and mad officers long enough to reach the cave and hide in it until the battle is safely over? - Random executions are a fact of life. But one general has begun taking this to extremes, wiping out entire regiments. If you don't want to be next then you had better assassinate him. But how to get away with it? - The army has blundered past an ancient tomb. What secrets might lurk within it? In the old world this tomb would have been crawling with adventurers, but in this new realm perhaps it would be possible to clear the tomb's current denizens and move in. - A group of trolls has taken to camping near your squad. It is only a matter of time before they try to eat you. Try to placate them with offerings of meat while you search the alien landscape for a poison that will affect the trolls' immensely robust metabolisms. - Alien raiders have been ravaging the dark horde as it marches through a new area. Your squad has been dispatched on a search and destroy mission. - An alien warlord is hiring mercenaries to destroy the mysterious being known as The Architect. Do you have what it takes to carve out a name in this new land? - The squad is knocked out by a strange light and wakes up in a city that floats in the clouds. Can they escape back to ground level before their captors kill and dissect them?

I have a few weird ideas for campaigns at the moment. I don't have the time to put any of them into practice at the moment but I just wanted to see what you all thought of them. Once Were Minions This campaign idea was created when I began to wonder what happened to all of the minions who were left over once the Dark Lord was destroyed/defeated. Here is one possibility. The Lord Doom had gathered all evil things under his banner and laid siege to the Golden Towers, the mighty edifices which held the elemental powers of the world inside them. The Towers could not be breached by main force but Lord Doom had discovered the secrets of the Ways Between, paths through time and space. By breaching the Heart of the Ways he would be able to bypass the Towers' defences and seize control of elemental defences which could then be used to shatter the forces of Good. With the Heart also under his control he would be able to dispatch his forces to every corner of the planet, ensuring that every nation was crushed beneath his iron heel. So Lord Doom led his darkling hordes into the Ways Between and reached the Heart, alone. There he was promptly assassinated by a group of pesky heroes who unleashed the fearsome powers of prophecy, true friendship and self-sacrifice against him. The Ways were rocked by Doom's death and his army was scattered across the multiverse. Leaving the forces of Good to celebrate an age of peace and enlightenment. For heroes this is where the story ends. But this is not a story of heroes. The bulk of Doom's Dark Horde fetched up on an alien planet, peopled by strange creatures and unknown powers. The lords and officers of the combined armies were bound to Doom in body and soul and those that survived his destruction now suffer from varying degrees of insanity. Now the various armies are beggining to fragment and succumb to infighting as the officers allow their paranoia to run riot. This is not their story either. This is the story of Minions. The poor bloody infantry of the evil armies. They must struggle to survive hostile fauna, inscrutable alien races, weird powers and the demented machinations of their own officers. And perhaps, now that they have been freed from the Dark Lord's shadow, perhaps those who once were minions will forge a new and epic destiny beneath foreign stars. The party would start out as a mixed squad of minions carrying out the orders of their mad officers. As time went by they would be offered the chance to escape and strike out on their own. I'm thinking that starting points would be 125-150. 'Races' would include Orcs, Goblins, Ghouls (not undead but a living race of devolved humans that feed on corpses and are unusually strong and resilient), Giant Spiders, Ogres and Hellbats (Large firebreathing bats). Other character concepts would be considered. So tell me. Would anyone, (theoretically), want to play in this campaign?

Re: OIF "Weapon of Opportunity" I think that the difference is that it is comparatively easy to take someone's magic sword away from them and prevent them from picking it up again. You can then throw the sword into a bottomless pit or take it to the other side of the world. Doing these things will probably ensure that the sword wielder can never use their magic sword's power ever again. It is harder, as you noted, to ensure that that person doesn't have access to knives, bar stools etc. A weapon of opportunity reflects the potential to use a weapon in a certain way, you can't take that potential away from someone with a disarm, (though you might be able to do it by taking their arms away). Throw the weapon of opportunity into a well and you may stop your opponent from using their ability for that combat, but you won't have thrown their skill at using weapons of opportunity away.

Re: Malazan Hero I got stuck trying to build an Azath. I've been meaning to complete that project before moving on to other Malazan things. But yes. Many questions have been answered and there are doubtless write-ups which could be completed. The heavy soldiers of the Moranth Blue are surprisingly tough, flattening Malazan Heavies time and again when competing against them in battle drills. It also transpires that regular Malazan soldiers are closer to Marines than I had thought. They may not have crossbows or the level of initiative and sheer bloody-mindedness that Marines have but their squads have Mages and killers and mailed fists just like Marine squads.

Re: Spells/Powers only useable when mark exposed I'd just use Conditional Power - Does not work when mark is covered. But Restrainable sounds like it would fit the bill pretty well. I don't see why gestures would be a problem. If you have Restrainable Flight, (in the form of wings), you can't fly if you can't flap your wings, but if you can perform spells with your wings by using Gestures, then even if you are free, you still have to make those obvious arcane Gestures to do the spell. Restrainable means that you need a certain part of your body free to use a power, Gestures means that you have to be unencumbered and unconfined but also means that people can clearly see that you are up to something. Anyway, if you have to use your hands to perform your gestures and unveil your evil eye to use a power then that is clearly to separate Limitations. I'd say that it would be easier to use Power Limitations. An apprentice who has barely mastered one power should not get the same points for a Physical Limitation on their magic as a Grand Master would and it would be tricky to have to work out how big each character's Physical Limitation should be.

Re: Races of Men I was so busy preaching my views on race and morality in fantasy settings that I forgot what I had originally been planning to post. You should check out the world of Santhenar which has several different races of humans. These races come from different planets. The world of The Prince of Nothing has one unusual human sub-race and has believable tensions between different ethnic groups as well. Steph Swainston created a fascinating race called Rhydanne, who are descended from humans that adapted to freezing and mountainous conditions, for her Castle series of books. The Rhydanne need a high blood alcohol level to fuel their natural resistance to the cold, they are incredibly fast runners and agile climbers but have short attention spans and a worldview which seems both childlike and savage to the plainsdwellers of the world below. 5er Fantasy Hero has some Environmental Package Deals which might be useful as well.