Beetle

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Leave the Light On - Beth Hart

Re: Which supers movies were better than you expected, which were worse? I tried to figure out which movie was more disappointing' date=' [i']Captain America[/i] or Supergirl, but years of therapy have finally succeeded in blocking all recollection of those films from my mind...

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Live in Paris - Diana Krall

Re: InQuest Awards Looking at the nominees made me realize how out of touch with gaming I am these days. Besides Pulp Hero the only thing I own (or have even seen with my own eyes) is Serenity. Of course, I voted for the both of them...

Re: InQuest Awards I got a "file not found" error when I followed your link, but was able to get to the voting area off the main page. The voting form is located here: http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazines/inquest/2005iqfanawards.cfm

Re: Hard Case Crime Series Thanks for the reviews. I was hesitant on picking up the Stephen King one, but I'll have to add it to the list now. I've read three books in the series (Two for the Money by Max Allan Collins, Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas and Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips) and have enjoyed them all. They all have ideas that could be used in a Pulp game.

Re: Social Class name help Skipping past the problems with "isolationist merchants", how about "the unhomed" for the group of elven untouchables? Or you could pull a Tolkein and invent a high-falutin' elvish sounding word for them?

Re: Default side-effects of super-powers If you're looking for a "rational" justification for the various common physical attributes of supers (no aging, perfect bodies, etc.) you can't get much simpler than the steps in becoming a superbeing in the Elementals universe: Step 1 - die (preferably in a horrible way) Step 2 - be hit by a major elemental or magical force at the time of death Step 3 - come back to life Voila! You have superpowers! (but normals find you creepy to be around even if you're a good guy ... after all, you are dead).

Re: Opinion: EuroStar That could actually turn into an interesting plot - the villain who wants out of his group after realizing they're all psychos. It might not work with Tachyon, but could be conceivable with a new villain. For extra fun don't let the PCs know about the new villain's change of heart. Have them encounter him a few times with Eurostar and then vanish. Six months of game time later, up pops a brand new hero!* *yes, this is blatantly ripped off from Argent/Atom Smasher of Hero Alliance

Re: I just got Pulp Hero Pulp Hero just arrived in mailbox yesterday and I'm just floored by it. This supasses Dark Champions 4thed (gee, who wrote that one?) as the best gaming sourcebook I've ever bought. This thing has everything anybody could ever need. The historical section is fantastic, the slang list is great, the breakdown of genres, the use of old pulp covers (those are actual old pulp covers aren't they?). The attention to tiny details in a book that large is extraordinary (I laughed out loud at the description of Jack Benny's salary as "munificent" in the historical section). Pulp Hero is the total package. Time to go strike fear into the hearts of sharpsters and lawbreakers everywhere!

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? no parachutes - Throwing Muses

Re: Passing the Torch Power You should go to your local comic shop and search the old issues for copies of !mpact's Black Hood comic from the early '90s. It's a pretty similar idea.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... This actually isn't from my gaming group, it's from my last performance review at work. It was me, my boss and my boss's boss. We were going down a list of "evaluation factors" (quality of work, quantity of work, dependability, showing initiative, attitude, etc.) when the following exchange took place. Boss: "Okay, initiative..." Me (unable to stop myself): "I rolled a six." Boss: "Huh?" Boss's boss: "Yeah, but I got surprise on you." Boss: "What are you two talking about?" I had no idea my boss's boss was an ex-gamer!

Re: Shamans, or "restrictions on spell schools"

Re: Why we shouldn't worry about 2020

Re: Top Ten All-Time 'Favorite' Superhero RPG Books Ever I can't believe nobody's mentioned CLOWN yet! My top ten: 1. Champions 4th ed. (the BBB) - The first edition that I owned for myself. 2. Strike Force - For all the reasons listed by others. It changed the way I gamed. 3. Normals Unbound - really changed the way I viewed NPCs (and saved me more work than any other book...) 4. Pulp Hero - New winner of the "most complete sourcebook I've ever seen" title. Go buy it! 5. Dark Champions (4th edition) - Now the second most complete sourcebook I've ever seen 6. Classic Enemies - All the greats are there. 7. To Serve and Protect - A great adventure module. Too bad I loaned my copy out to somebody... 8. USPD - Mind-bogglingly useful, even for experienced players. 9. Justice, Not Law/Eye for an Eye/Underworld Enemies - 4th edition Dark Champions got all the good books 10. FREd - A needed overhaul of the system 11. Ultimate Martial Artist (5th Edition) - All the info on martial arts i could ever use (and some nice Storn art as a bonus). [was originally number 10 on the list before being bumped by Pulp Hero] The relative absence of 5th edition items shouldn't be taken as a criticism of current products. I just haven't had a chance to use them all that much.

Re: The Magic Doesn't Go Away... I've always liked Hambly's magic system since first bumping into it in The Time of the Dark. It's very well thought out and easily translates to gaming. In fact it's been the basis for the magic system in all my FH campaigns, and I can't count how many of my characters (including Champions mentalists) have ripped off the "cloaking" spell (the mage doesn't go invisible, he just sends off "don't look at me" vibes). I'm curious, has any fantasy author done as many different worlds while keeping the same magic system (Darwath Trilogy world, Silicon Mage world, Sun Wolf world and the "Sisters" world)?

Re: The Role Models There is one thing that Cap embodies more than any other hero I can think of - he's Mr. Team Leader. With any gathering of heroes that includes Cap, there's never any question who is going to be in charge. He has the ability to inspire confidence and loyalty among others who have more power than he does. As Ben Urich once said, "A soldier with a voice like that could command a god ... and does."

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Rush in Rio - Rush

Re: The Role Models What about Namor? Wasn't he one of the first complex villians with a point? He wasn't just looking for money or power - he had an agenda that was about helping/defending others but he went about it in a way that harmed others (and might even make readers think about "right" and "wrong"). Which makes opposing him not quite as simple. He was also one of the first "sometimes friend/sometimes foe" characters. (the same thing applies to Magneto)

Re: Is this guy BS? Whether he's bs or not is going to depend more on how you play him then on what his points and powers are. Gimmick-wise, there's not alot separating the Joker from Merry Andrew of CLOWN. It's all in the personality, goals, and motivations of the character and how the character is presented to the players. Now I have the Wierd Al song "She Never Told Me She Was a Mime" running through my head. Thanks... Thanks a lot.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? The soundtrack to Serenity

Re: Sexual Orientation=Psych Lim?

Re: Campaign idea! Sounds like an interesting concept. I just have a couple of cautions for you, though First - how well do you know the players and what they like to play? You may end up with unhappy players if they discover their character is the sort of character they really don't like to play. Second (Alice touched on this above) - be careful that your players don't feel like their being railroaded. This concept can easily lend itself to the players being more spectators than drivers of the actions (with no backgrounds they lack hooks to push the story forward themselves).

Re: pulp hero over opinions? I thought about starting a thread like this when I first saw the cover, but didn't want to seem like a doom loving nabob of negativity. But since you asked my opinion, here goes... I think the art itself is very nicely done. No complaints about the ability of John Grigni here. But I do have a problem with the content of it. Call me old fashioned, but I don't like that there's a man pointing a gun at a woman on the cover. Not a big deal perhaps, (I'm surprised it's bothering me actually) but it could be offputting for other people. The logo, with it's big friendly yellow letters, seems more like something from Seventies game show than the era of hard boiled adventures to me. But I'm sure the person who designed it has probably done more research in this area than I have. Bottom line - I don't think it will deter people from buying the book, but I doubt that it will positively influence people who are debating buying the book.