BoloOfEarth

Re: BBC Airship Article Keep in mind that I wrote an article for Digital Hero detailing an airborne casino/tour ship, the Bayside Blimp, so you can guess where I stand in regard to dirigibles. But in the process of writing that article, I did quite a bit of research on blimps, dirigibles, and other airships. Some of the things I learned surprised me. One point I heard in favor of airships for cargo transport, as opposed to planes/ships, is that an airship can go point-to-point. You don't have to load the stuff onto trucks at the factory, then unload from trucks and onto planes or ships, then back onto trucks to take the cargo where you want it. In most cases, an airship could pick up the cargo directly from the origin point and deliver directly to the delivery point. So if you look at the big picture, the airship's slowness is offset some by them cutting out a few steps in the shipping process. Given some third-world corruption** and inefficiency, this point-to-point delivery could also allow aid organizations to get food, medical supplies, and so on directly where it needs to go, without having to bribe as many officials and losing less of the shipment due to theft/misdirection in transport. Despite this, I think airships would remain a niche industry, even if they do enjoy a resurgence. Unless you're talking about delivering a fairly large amount of stuff, it would probably still be faster to go truck-plane/ship-truck. Now, the idea of cruise line airships, airborne casinos, etc. -- I'm not sure they would recoup the initial investment involved, but it would certainly be cool, and incredibly distinctive for a given city. That's how I wrote up the Bayside Blimp, as both a tourist attraction and a mobile city landmark. **I have a friend in Liberia that I can't reasonably send anything to, since she basically has to pay a "ransom" bribe to various government officials before she can receive things. She has worked in other third-world countries and said this is not unique to Liberia, either.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Nuclear Wedgie. NT: You just won the election and are President of the US! What's the first thing you do after you're sworn in?

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

Re: Vehicle Disads? Had another thought, if the vehicle was designed by an outside company: Reputation. An anti-hero employee might slip the vehicle's specifications and blueprints past security and posted them on the internet. Sure, you caught the guy and had the info removed from the web, but it was up long enough for fans -- and a few foes -- to download it. (This could tie into a group DNPC, too.) So those fans now argue online whether the AeroArrow has a greater climb rate than the BatJet, or let slip the thickness of its armor, and so on. This means an enemy might dig up details (or find and kidnap a fan to get his hands on the vehicle's specs, if you also go the DNPC route).

Re: Vehicle Disads? There's always Hunteds, too. Maybe Foxbat thinks the AeroArrow is pretty cool and wants a FoxbatFlier of his own. Or perhaps the whirlygig isn't licensed, so the FAA is trying to clip your wings. Or perhaps the vehicle is distinctive enough that it can be more easily tracked by one of your own Hunteds. So you have Hunted (8-) by VIPER, but they noticed that the AeroArrow makes a distinctive ultrasonic hum while in use, so they're able to go after you more, justifying Hunted (11-) by VIPER on the vehicle. Is the vehicle a prototype donated by a company? A Watched might then be in order.

Re: Am I the only one who ever noticed...

Re: Am I the only one who ever noticed...

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat (I know, this topic was already done, but I had to say it...) Y'know, most parents wouldn't even consider allowing their kid to have a sex change, but "she" was pretty adamant...

Re: Jokes (Can't remember if I posted this one before. Apologies to all our female posters, and to Kip Adotta.) A woman goes to her doctor and says, "Doctor, every time I go to the bathroom, nickels are falling out!" "Relax!" he says. "Put your feet up, come back and see me in a week." So a week later the woman returns to say, "Now every time I go to the bathroom, *dimes* are falling out!" "Relax!" he says. "Put your feet up, come back and see me in a week." Another week passes, and the woman storms in, shouting, "Doctor, it's getting worse. Every time I go to the bathroom, QUARTERS are falling out!" "Rela..." "DON'T TELL ME TO RELAX!" she screams. "I want to know what's happening!!!" The doctor smiles. "You're just going through your Change..."

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What is the best response when Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and Brittney Spears all show up together at your door? A: Two cups of broken glass, a handful of rusty nails, and a quart of sulfuric acid. Edit: and no, I'm not answering my own question...

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Today, we have two announcements. First, The Defenders welcome our new member, The Blob. And you'll notice that Blob is modeling our new team uniform, the Defender-Thong..."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Not thinking too much on my feet last Sunday: GM: Moira tells you that your former finace, Ronan, was caught breaking into a jewelry store. He had forged papers, though, so the police don't know who he really is. Serendipity: So, what name was he using when he was arrested? GM: (thinking of an Irish sounding first name) Conan... (desperately not wanting O'Brien, so trying to think of an Irish last name that doesn't begin with "O") ... Doyle. Serendipity: So his fake name is... Conan Doyle? Synergy: Like A. Conan Doyle? GM: Um, yeah. I never said Ronan was imaginative. (thinking: nor am I, apparently)

Re: cost of membership Look at membership cost as a combination of Position and Resources/Power. (I do Membership as 1-10 points, but I don't have the book with me, so I don't know if that's the official range or just something I decided.) In my game, I did it as 1 + Position + Resources/Power. I set Position as Low (0 points), Middle (1 point), High (2), and Head (3). And Resources/Power as Low (0 points), Moderate (1-2 point), High (3-4), and Extensive (5-6). Note that a higher Position might also mean more Resources/Power available. A grunt agent in the local VIPER Nest would be 1 + Low Position (0) + Moderate-High Resources (2) = 3 points. An elite agent/team leader at the same Nest would be 4 points, since he has a Middle Position (1). If it was at the New York City or a similarly large Nest, I'd raise it to High Resources (3). A field agent for the CIA or FBI would be 1 + Middle position (1) + Moderate-High Resources (2) = 4 points, or 5 points if it's a big office like NYC or London. The top dog of that field office would pay one more point, since he has a High position. And the head of the FBI or CIA as a whole would be 1 + Head (3) + Very High (4) = 8 points. Yakuza gang member: 1 + Low (0) + Moderate (2) = 3 points. The guy calling the shots for all Yakuza in Japan would be 1 + High (2) + High (3) = 6 points. Note that the Resources/Power increased, since the scope within the organization changed.

Re: Some help with a foe for a wind manipulator please I thought nature abhors a vacuum. As does my dog.

Re: Some help with a foe for a wind manipulator please

Re: Help get the heroes to the kidnapped Since you said "ostensibly by ARGENT" I'm guessing they aren't the real kidnappers. If they aren't, I'd arrange things so the feds are following the ARGENT angle while the PCs get a vital clue that can lead them to the true kidnappers. There's always the idea that Dad suspected something like this might happen, so he dropped a package in the mail, addressed to his lawyer with a note to contact the son if something happened to him. The package could have clues that the heroes could follow. A reporter could have some leads but is being shut out by the feds, so he/she might work with the heroes in exchange for an exclusive. Or one of Dad's coworkers, a brilliant but paranoid government-conspiracy sort, might go to the son or the heroes with information. Personally, I kinda like this one, just to have a fun NPC for the players to work with. "Sure, they say ARGENT kidnapped Dr. Dad, but everybody knows ARGENT is just a black-ops arm of the DoD, created after they had Kennedy assassinated..." The trail could lead to places that the son might know of, but the feds don't or might not think of immediately. (Like, Dad spent last weekend at Uncle Bob's cabin in the woods alone, so maybe he left something there. And when the PCs get there, so do some goons sent by the kidnappers looking for some of Dad's notes -- cue battle.)

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat And when you get in an accident because of the obstructed view, you say, "No problem, I'll just go back to my last save point."

Re: Why would I put Fast Draw on a superheroic character? Why put Fast Draw on a superhero? Well, if he needs to sketch a picture in a hurry... Oh, wait, not that kind of Fast Draw. Sorry, never mind...

Re: Answers & Questions Q: How can that hot woman be so cold-hearted? A: Twice a day, whether I need to or not.

Re: writers block Pick a theme, and make different characters based on that theme. For instance, I'm creating a supervillain group, Vermin, where the characters are all based on various vermin/insects/undesirable animals, and each of them have generally been rejected from other supervillain teams for whatever reason (grossness of powers or appearance, irritating personality, etc.). If you already have players with characters designed, take a long look at each one and make an arch-foe for each based on either that PC's powers, disads, or personality. Take an unusual situation and devise a character to fit the situation. For instance: Underground bank vault break-in -- so a tunneler would be interesting.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: So, what happened when your dad found out you took his car and got in an accident? A: I can fix it, all I need is some duct tape, a pine cone, and some semaphore flags.

Re: Teen adventure ideas? Great idea, Balabanto. Just for fun, if I was running this, I'd first have the other students nominate that PC (in secret ID) as their committee leader. Then they vote and decide on that PC (in hero ID) to honor. At THAT point, I would make the PC aware that, as that group's leader, it's his/her duty to present the award to the hero, aka him/herself.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Y'know, little lady, I got the name Mr. Fantastic because of my... Stretching prowess...

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Y'know, there *is* a certain resemblance... Replace some fraying strings on his George W. puppet. NT: Ways Hillary Clinton will spend her free time this weekend.

Re: Answers & Questions