BoloOfEarth

Re: Jokes A Scotsman, visiting the US, is in Detroit and goes to his first baseball game. He's never even seen baseball played before, so it's a very new and exciting experience for him. At one point, a batter hits a grounder and dashes to first base. Everybody around the Scotsman jumps up, screaming, "Run! Run!" and the Scotsman shrugs. When in Rome, he thinks, and stands up to shout, "Run, ye fool! Run!!!" This being a Tigers game, it takes a while before the next guy gets on base, and he gets there by a walk. As the batter tosses aside his bat and jogs toward first, the Scotsman stands and screams, "RUN, YE BLOODY FOOL! RUN!!!" The woman next to the Scotsman tugs on his sleeve and says, "He doesn't have to run. He got four balls." The Scotsman is stunned at first at this news, but recovers quickly and shouts, "WALK WI' PRIDE, MAN! WALK WI' PRIDE!!!"

Re: WWYCD: Tee Vee Comes to Town Bolo would sit down at a computer for a few hours and type up a script of things that happened previously, then segue into a scene where he convinces Tee Vee to return everything to normal by playing "Rock-Paper-Scissors-Energy Blast" for max comedic effect. Make sure the script includes a note that this is the season finale, so you have some down-time before Tee Vee pops up again. Either that, or get the Screen Actors Guild to picket the city, since none of the people in this "reality show" are union members.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat The dog shows up with a shower cap, shampoo, and rubber duck, and tries to turn on the water herself. (Get the impression my dog enjoys baths?) NT: The real reason we don't have flying cars by now.

Re: When Lois married Lex: more Superman Silver Age Silliness So much for "Woman of Kleenex," eh?

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat They were only supposed to cancel 9 flights, but their typist has really fat fingers.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Honestly, if I don't wear a pink lace teddy, the armor chafes something fierce!"

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat C'mon, at least try and keep 'em realistic. "Bones, you need to repair the engines!" "Well, Jim, I'm a doctor, not an engineer, but what the hey, I'll give it a shot."

Re: Champions on an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks You recall correctly, and in fact I was starting the whole thing off with Subterrans stealing a munitions convoy after it leaves the Rock Island Arsenal, along with kidnapping a few of the soldiers to interrogate. Yeah, I keep coming back to the thought that keeping it all on the superheroes is the easiest, most straightforward way to do it. As supers they can use the "frontal assault" method of dealing with many problems and threats once inside the ship fragment, but I guess that might be better than having them temporarily run normal-level NPCs that they don't really care about. That's a good adventure (and repped for pointing it out, BTW), but I'd like something with multiple encounters and a bit more exploration involved.

Looking for some suggestions or feedback. Apologies in advance for being long-winded. I want to run a "dungeon crawl" type of adventure as a tribute to Gygax after his death. The problem is, my campaign is Champions (set in Chicago), not Fantasy Hero or D&D, and I didn't want to run something completely disconnected from my game world. So I decided to use the Invaders From Below (IFB) 4th edition module's Subterrans and Darlkings to help draw the heroes underground, and dusted off the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (EBP) D&D module for the actual dungeon crawl. If you don't know about IFB, For those not familiar with EBP, Given the EBP's colony-ship aspect, it could easily have been part of the Subterrans' original ship, broken off or jettisoned as the rest of the ship continued digging to its final resting place. Sure, it would effectively be laying on its side, but artificial gravity could keep things oriented "right way up" inside (except those sections where power isn't functioning ). The problems I'm having is (1) getting the heroes into there, and (2) deciding how to populate the EBP portion. Problem #1 I figured I could have some NPCs who had been captured by the Subterrans but escaped. On the run from Subterrans and trying to get back to the surface, they find a natural chamber that leads them into the EBP part (previously undiscovered by the Subterrans). I could have the superheroes just get a distress call from these NPCs, who made their way to the central computer/command section and figured out how to use some kind of subspace radio before the transmission is cut off. I'll call this "NPCs in the Background." Or I could have the players actually play those NPCs (as 125-point experienced normals) finding and exploring the EBP portion, making the distress call, and the players then bring their superhero characters underground to rescue them. I'll call this "NPCs Being Played." This is actually the direction I'd prefer, as it keeps the players from just blasting through walls (at least initially) to bypass threats. Problem #2 The EBP module is designed for mid-level fantasy characters with magic at their disposal, and IMO some of the creatures in there would chew up and spit out even well-armed modern normals. This isn't a problem if I go with "NPCs in the Background" but is if I go with "NPCs Being Played." I don't want to tone the beasties down too much, or they're just speedbumps when the superheroes arrive. I could just use the Darklings, sent to collect the escapees, as the primary foes for the superheroes, but somehow this feels like I'd be defeating the "dungeon crawl" aspect I'm shooting for. I have two weeks before I start running this, and it will probably go more than one session. Since my game alternates with another GM's game, that means after it starts, I'll have at least another two weeks to write up more creatures, revamp the EBP module, or whatever. So prep time isn't a major factor here. Any thoughts, suggestions, or words of encouragement/discouragement?

Re: This is Stupid... Welcome to the Awful-verse! Check all clones and dopplegangers with the attendant, then proceed to registration and classification... Guns-n-Pouches types, please step over to the left. Yes, you can compare the length of your "gun barrels" if you like. Special prize for the person with the most pouches. Mutants and Emo-Angst types, form a queue on the right, over there under the black cloud. Wolverine clones, please step through the transporter labeled "Bub-Snikt". You will be taken to a small planet devoted to your type of character. Mega-powerful and mystical characters, please phase sideways into the Discontinuity Dimension where you will be assigned to an upcoming Universal Reboot. The large center area is devoted to A$$hattery. If you anticipate acting completely out of character for entire story arcs, please wait there. No, you don't have to listen to Reed Richards explain it all "With Math!" if you don't want to.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Get her over 10,000 rep so teh_bunneh lobs off her head.

Re: Must use villains May not see direct use against the PC heroes, but will at least be known of in the universe: Dr. Destroyer Mechanon Foxbat VIPER Edit: On the heroic side: PRIMUS UNTIL

Re: What was Marvel's WORST decade? "Okay, Joe, here's the new Spiderman concept. When the dying Peter Parker bit the Punisher, his spider powers were transferred. Knowing that the world can't get by without Spidey, Punny dons the red and blue costume to fight crime. Here..." (flips down drawings) "...is the new look. Note the number of ammo pouches, which he will need for this .50 caliber BFG he carries..."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat HERMIT GETS OFF FENCE, TELLS TEH_BUNNEH TO STOP LOBBING HEADS

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat For the duration of her term in office, the knock-jingle is officially "Shave and a Shimmy, Two Bits".

Re: What was Marvel's WORST decade? Actually, I think the metagaming aspect would kick in, and the players would try to find ways for their characters to "investigate" something they wouldn't actually know wasn't "wrong" in their (revised) world. The players themselves would treat it as a mystery to be solved. That said, I agree OMD was an incredibly stupid thing for Marvel to do. But after Civil War (and the Clone Saga, and... need I go on?) this seems to be "business as normal" at the House of Ill-Conceived Ideas.

Re: My Danger Sense Goes . . . Are you talking about different results of a successful Danger Sense roll, or creating Powers with "danger sense" as the SFX? If the latter, you could have: Flash Defense (sight), Requires Danger Sense Roll -- you get enough warning to close or cover your eyes in time. You could build a Combat Luck type of defense, Not vs. AOE, Requires DS Roll. Skill Levels on stuff like Conversation, Persuasion, Disguise etc. -- only for defending in skill-vs-skill contests. (A timely Danger Sense warning makes you think twice before speaking, or as the person is trying to convince you, or "sees through" a person's disguise, etc.)

Re: Beefing up Villians Another thought is for the villains to recruit, or even temporarily hire, someone that would work very well against the heroes by taking advantage of a hole in the heroes' MO. For example, in my game none of the PCs have Area Effect damage attacks, and only one can affect desolidified targets. So one master villain recruited Pestilence, a shrinker who can summon swarms of stinging/biting insects to harass the heroes. Are the heroes mostly ground-bound? Pick a fight in an open-air area, and hire some thugs to attack from rooftops with No Range Mod sniper rifles. Are the heroes weak in enhanced senses? Hire someone with Invisibility to ambush them in combat. Is one hero the damage sponge? Ignore him and concentrate on taking out his softer teammates first. Villains can have key info on the heroes (vulnerabilities, susceptabilities), even if was never displayed in combat against that particular villain. I introduced an organization (CrimeNet) into my game that collects and disseminates info on individual heroes and hero groups, for a small fee. They start hero fan clubs and internet chat rooms and discussion boards dedicated to the heroes, giving them a lot of unwitting help in collecting this information. This made a fun plotline for the heroes to follow up on, after they discovered different groups of enemies all possessing similar printouts on their powers and tactics.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat *puts down teddy bear and backs away slowly* Purrs contentedly until you pick him up... ...AND THEN BURSTS INTO WHITE HOT FLAMES, INCINERATING YOU INSTANTLY!!! OH, IT BURNS! IT BURNS! LISTEN TO IT SCREAM, MY PRECIOUS!!! WATCH IT WRITHE IN AGONY! BWA-HA-HAAAAAAA!!!!

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Dress up in the Gillian Anderson costume and sing "I'm So Pretty".

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat ... is roundhouse kicked by his own manuscript.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Dr. Doom: Ha! You are too late! The entire universe is powerless before the mystic might of my Pink Ballet Tutu of Aggamoto! *begins to pirouette menacingly*

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Quality writing.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat I can't possibly beat Psybolt's, so I'll just say: a brick.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Okay, we've tied one end of the steel cable around the tooth, and the other end is attached to the space shuttle. 10... 9... 8..."